Encounter 3: Starfire
Superman stood in the large and austere foyer of the Titan Tower, arms folded across his chest, gazing out the casement to the water below. It had been a day since the death of both Beast Boy and Deathstroke. Superman concentrated and focused his super hearing toward the conference room three levels below him. He could discern two voices raised in a heated argument. One was Robin's; the other he believed belonged to the Tamaranian girl Koriand'r, known to most as Starfire. Superman had never met her.
Starfire had returned late the previous night, and was shocked by the news of Beast Boy's loss. In addition to that, she had learned of Raven's lapse of control, and how Robin had left her alone after the battle.
"How could you, Robin?" Starfire's voice was full of righteous fury. "She needed you, and you just left here there!"
"Cyborg needed help! Besides, it was Raven's fault in the first place." Robin shouted back defensively. "If she hadn't let Deathstroke get to her, then Beast Boy wouldn't..."
There was a sharp slap, and Superman didn't need to x-ray the room to know that it had been Starfire's palm striking Robin's cheek. There was a deafening silence. Starfire and Robin had been interested in each other for years according to the rumors. But it had never become anything more than strong flirtation, apparently. The fact that they were using their superhero names was evidence enough that tensions were high.
He heard Starfire's boots stomping from the room and heading to Raven's quarters. After a few moments, he heard the girls speaking.
"Are you going to be all right, Raven?" Starfire asked with genuine concern. "Robin left you all alone..."
"I'll be fine." Raven said in her usual flat monotone. She paused, and then spoke in a softer voice. "Superman was there. He..."
Superman cut off his eavesdropping. There had been a day when listening in to anyone's private conversation would have been unacceptable to him. Ever since the death of Lois, he had slowly started to shift his opinions on a lot of ethical questions. They kept him up at night, sometimes. He wasn't even sure why he was still alive. No, that was a lie. He did know. He had things to do. As long as there was something to do, death would wait. And he wanted to do these things. When he was honest with himself, he knew that he'd wanted to do these things for a very long time.
As he gazed out over the water, there was the soft whoosh of a door. Before Superman could turn to see who it was, he felt a pair of slender arms slip under his biceps and embrace him tightly with extraordinary strength.
"Oh, Superman, I thank you!" Starfire's voice was exuberant. "What can I ever do to thank you!"
"That's quite all right, I'm just glad I got there in time to stop..." Superman's voice faltered as he turned to look at Starfire. The Tamaranian's head barely reached his chest, but her height was the least of his concerns. Starfire's hair was a vivid crimson, and flowed down the full length of her back. Her skin was a salient orange, and wholly immaculate. Starfire's eyes were twin flames of emerald light. Her body was the envy of any supermodel. Her generous bosom was barely covered by a violet V-shaped uniform which matched her thigh-high boots and forearm gauntlets. Her mauve lips smiled up at him with honest admiration.
"...Deathstroke." Superman managed to finish. With an effort he averted his gaze.
"Are you certain there's nothing I can do?" Starfire asked, her emerald eyes glimmered hypnotically. She laid her hands on his chest, sliding them down. "Raven told me..."
The door whooshed open again and Robin stormed into the room.
"Starfire, we need to talk!" Robin was furious. Starfire did not turn around, and instead looked up at Superman imploringly. A thousand thoughts ran through Superman's mind in a fraction of a second, and he made his decision. Superman cocked his head as if listening to something.
