Masked

Deals

"I..I killed him. He's dead. Dead!"

"Clearly not. He's leading a team of five."

Chapter 3

"Why'd it have to be a chemical factory?"

Beastboy was engulfed in watts of radiation, practically gagging at the foul stench. "It's like if someone mixed plasmus with Starfire's glorg."

Cyborg raised his eyebrows. "Weren't you the one who got bitten by a radioactive monkey?"

Beastboy yelped. "That's another reason to be worried, dude! One more splash of this and I'm the hulk!" The changeling's teeth chattered, anxious about his certain 'Tofu Smash!' future.

Robin shushed the banter. "Stay close, team. We don't want Slade to notice us." He surveyed the positions of his team, eyes landing on Starfire. "And we don't want any more mistakes."

Sensing the bristling dynamic between the lovebirds, Cyborg clamped his arm on Robin's shoulder. "Lighten up, man. It was just as much our fault as it was hers."

Ignoring the icy glare he got in return, Cyborg whispered to Starfire. It was the most guarded he'd seen her since the day she crashed to earth. "You ok?"

Starfire turned to the floor ignoring the bubbling of tears in her throat. "Cyborg, I-"

The crackle of electric wires cut her sentence short. Starfire barely had time to gasp for help when Cyborg's medal paddings crashed down on her, followed by robots raining down from the pipes.

"No!" Star heaved the tech away, to see hands yanking at Cyborg's power cords. "You shall not hurt my friend!" Hearing the warrior cry the identical henchmen diverted from Cy, blasting painful shocks down her spine.

"I am not one to make the same mistake twice." Starfire snapped their guns in one fluid motion. "Are you the o and the k?" 

"Yo, nobody messes with my power cell!" Cyborg slammed his back into the warehouse wall, crushing the bot. "It's fine, star. They're only robots, which means.."

Starfire beamed. "We do not have to hold back!" She scanned the room, looking for assistance. Raven was holding her own with her forcefield. Beastboy was whipping androids with his tail. And Robin, so enthralled with the battle, so engaged with his enemies that...

"STARFIRE!" She glanced up in the nick of time, to spot one last automaton crashing towards her. One flame wouldn't be enough to prevent the painful blow. "YAH!" Her infamous nuclear blast launched the robot across the warehouse, where it soared for several seconds before crumbling against a wall. 

"Robin, do you require assistance?" She whipped her head away from the scene, surprised to see her teammates frozen where they stood. 

"Robin?" 

The same terrified looks from the night before were once again cemented to their faces. And after turning back around, Starfire knew why. 

Blood was seeping from the robot's suit, slowly dripping into the crevices of the barricade it was smashed against. She could hear an unbearable groan of pain, so agonizing that her trembling hand unconsciously clutched her chest. "No.."

Raven rushed to the victim's side and delicately removed the mask. Beneath the metal exterior lay a young girl, with an unnerving grin plastered to her ice cold face.

The 3rd life that Star had unknowingly ended with a smile.

"They were human." Raven closed the woman's blank eyes tenderly, eyes avoiding the remains. "All of them."