Heavy footsteps drew her attention. She lifted her hand, readying a blast of energy that would surely kill whoever was approaching her. When the footsteps reached a certain point, she aimed and let the energy discharge. The shot hit nothing, but illuminated a man wearing a dual-colored mask. Lights suddenly flashed in the darkness and lit the warehouse. "I know who you are," the man murmured in a dangerous voice. "I know what you want. And I can help you." Blackfire grinned. ---------- While it was a daunting task, climbing the famed Mount Everest was a possible feat. However, there had been few expeditions in quite some time, and for good reason. The storms, which had always been deadly, were now sheer death made solid. Whosoever tried to climb the mountain was found dead a few days later at the base of the summit. Amazingly sharp pieces of ice had been embedded in the adventurers' bodies, not to mention the ice burns and looks of absolute terror frozen on the dead faces. Despite all this, Blackfire followed Slade's advice. She flew to the famous mountain and up above its peak. There was an eye to this storm of ruin, and the vengeful woman dove into it. The sight she found was something few people have seen and lived to talk about. Hovering above the very top of Mount Everest was a creature of legend and horror: a demon. It wasn't just a random, lowly demon either. This demon that hovered, meditating, at Everest, was none other than Chaos Morningstar, heir to Hell itself. Chaos sat in the air, legs crossed, with her hands on her knees and her eyes closed. Blackfire swallowed her fear and started to float towards Chaos. Even she, a woman rarely taken by fright, could not deny that Chaos was utterly terrifying in her true form. Black feathered wings curved slightly around her, and a tail hung curled in her rumination. Her clawed feet and hands were loose, and the scars all over her body finished the aura of Hell's future ruler. Her one-sided blade hung in the air before her, as if she were staring at it with her eyes closed. When Blackfire drew close, Chaos' six pure red eyes snapped open. The alien froze briefly, but kept moving forwards with her confident smile. "So you're the famous Chaos Morningstar," Blackfire said almost nonchalantly. "Death herself. I thought you were supposed to be scary." Her lies did not seem to faze those eerie, unblinking red eyes. Chaos continued to gaze straight ahead at her sword. Blackfire dared to meet those eyes and smirked at the demon. "Word is you have a score to settle with someone I want to get rid of," Blackfire sighed conversationally. "If it's not much, you could just bump them off." Chaos said nothing, as if waiting for Blackfire to continue. "I want revenge against my sister. Think you could handle killing a girl?" Chaos closed her eyes and continued to meditate, completely ignoring Blackfire. The dark-haired alien snarled and threw a sphere of energy at the demon. The energy was dispersed against a brief wall of black flames and the alien lurched back. "I have killed millions," Chaos murmured abruptly. "I have killed women, children, and anything else you can name. What makes this girl so special that I should kill her for you and not for my own pleasure?" "She's a friend of a person you want dead," Blackfire protested. "Kill my sister Starfire and the world will have one less faulty hero." A shard of ice flew by Blackfire's arm and tore a sizably deep gash in the alien's flesh. "I will have nothing to do in this," Chaos muttered. "I owe a favor to Raven, and that in turn becomes a favor to Starfire. I will do nothing that would harm either of them." Blackfire sneered at her, but then realized the meaning of what she had said. "Are you saying that Starfire is involved with Raven?" Blackfire questioned in a hiss. "They are in love," Chaos stated simply. "Now leave before I kill you." ---------- The night in Black City was surprisingly slow on crime and wrongdoing. Thusly, the Teen Titans were resting and watching an action oriented, comedic science fiction movie. Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy laughed uproariously at a random joke, and Raven continued to read her anthology of poetry. Starfire took a breath, her giggles finally ceasing after a time, and looked to Raven. A smile tugged at Starfire's lips and she carefully shifted as close as she could to Raven. She even dared rest her head on Raven's and smiled in delight. Her arms laced around the sorceress, and Raven only smirked a bit in response. Raven's dark eyes suddenly gleamed and her voice rang in Starfire's mind. "Listen for a moment," Raven's voice said. "'Be calm...and love me...today and yesterday...what tearful longings I have for you. You, you my life, my all...farewell. Continue to love me and never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved. Ever thine, ever mine, ever ours.' Always think of this from me." Starfire blushed brilliantly and hugged Raven just a bit tighter. Robin looked directly at the screen, keeping his eyes from the other side of the couch. He knew that it was his own jealousy that was making him so terribly angry at his teammates. He knew that he should try to keep his jealousy under control, but it was tremendously difficult. Robin still cared about Starfire. It was plainly obvious, even to Starfire herself. At times, he wished there was a way all three of them could be happy in their own right. At times, he wished that he was the one that Starfire cared for. At times, he wished that none of what happened had happened. Robin hated what had happened, but knew he had to accept it. ---------- Blackfire scowled as she walked through the hallway. Slade's advice to see Chaos had proved nothing but a time-wasting folly. She returned to demand why he had said such a useless thing, but he found her first. "Consider it a test," he had said. "I wanted to see your reaction to facing a creature known for death. Go to the deepest, darkest part of this city and find the one that has a price. She's well known, even by the Titans. She is an assassin, a thief, and a demon. Give her this, and she'll gladly help you in your efforts." He handed her a small card with words and numbers that meant nothing to Blackfire, but she went to find this person with a price. After asking some riffraff and threatening them with deadly blasts of energy, she had been directed to an apartment building that was entirely empty save for one person. Scores of bottles lay scattered in the halls and rooms and stains covered the walls. Knives and bullet holes added to disturbing visage. Blackfire, however, found none of this too frightening. After meeting with Chaos, not much seemed very intimidating. Pounding music grew louder as Blackfire hovered up a few more flights of stairs. She followed her hearing and came to a door that lay open, lights spilling from within. The music suddenly halted and Blackfire found a blade against her throat. "Name yourself and your purpose," a voice said. Blackfire let her eyes slide along the blade to see a tall young woman standing with her eyes closed. Her ears were pointed, and a tail twitched around her waist. When her eyes opened, Blackfire stared at the trademark blood-red eyes of a demon. "An assassination," Blackfire murmured, carefully keeping her throat from the blade. "My name is Blackfire. Here." She handed the card to the demon woman. After a moment, the demon lowered her sword and turned about. "A new credit from this Slade fellow," the demon chuckled. "Very well. He's always got a fine offer. Give me your terms, Blackfire." "Tell me your name first," Blackfire demanded. "Kali," the demon replied as she sat down at a table. "I am a death dealer and a thief of the highest caliber. Now give me the terms of this assassination." "I want my sister dead," Blackfire replied. "Her name is Starfire. Kill her, and anyone that gets in your way." Kali smirked and grabbed a bottle of liquor from the table, ripping the cork from the container with her fangs and spitting it away. "Simple terms," she said, smirking. "Starfire of the Teen Titans, yes? I have baffled them before with a few thefts and murders. Who've you asked before you came to me?" "Some demon named Chaos Morningstar," Blackfire sighed her answer and shrugged. Kali paused, the bottle of liquor almost at her lips. She grinned a fanged grin. "Chaos wouldn't take this job?" Kali asked. "How odd, though I understand. She kills for her own pleasure, not for money. I wonder why?" Blackfire scowled. "She said she owes a favor to Raven," she grumbled. "Since Raven and Starfire are 'in love' as she put it, she won't kill Starfire." Kali chuckled. "Something tells me," she started. "Well, never mind. I'll start my work tomorrow, but I've got my own terms. You stay out of my way, or I'll have to kill you on your terms. One last thing, before you go to leave me to my work. You can neither back down on this, nor can you say that I'm working too slowly for you. The job will be done." As she began to drink, Kali closed her eyes and pointedly ignored Blackfire. Blackfire took the hint and left the demon. Kali lowered the bottle a few minutes after Blackfire left, the container completely drained of its contents. She looked up at the flickering florescent lights and smiled slightly. "Chaos," she murmured, her demon blood easily rinsing the toxins from the alcohol and leaving her only with the taste she appreciated so very much. "It's been at least a century since I last saw you. How much have you changed, I wonder? Are you still that wicked heir to Hell I fell for? Are you still my madness?" Kali chuckled and threw the bottle against the wall, smiling up to the sky she couldn't see. ---------- Raven smiled at Starfire, who was yet again curled up with her head in Raven's lap. The red-haired girl had fallen asleep some time after the movie had ended and the boys had retreated to their rooms. She had remained with Raven, enraptured as the sorceress read her a few choice poems from her anthology. In the darkness of the room, Raven's eye caught one poem in the moonlight. Even though Starfire was sleeping, she began to read in a soft voice. "Because of you, in gardens of blossoming flowers I ache from the perfumes of spring. I have forgotten your face, I no longer remember your hands; how did your lips feel on mine? Because of you, I love the white statues drowsing in the parks, the white statues that have neither voice nor sight. I have forgotten your voice, your happy voice; I have forgotten your eyes. Like a flower to its perfume, I am bound to my vague memory of you. I live with pain that is like a wound; if you touch me, you will do me irreparable harm. Your caresses enfold me, like climbing vines on melancholy walls. I have forgotten your love, yet I seem to glimpse you in every window. Because of you, the heady perfumes of summer pain me; because of you, I again seek out the signs that precipitate desires: shooting stars, falling objects." Raven lay a gentle kiss on Starfire's lips, smiling at the soft sigh Starfire let out in return. The sorceress realized that her life, her all, truly was in this innocence that was Starfire. She was, for the first time in her life, utterly happy. "I love you, Starfire," she whispered in the silence of the room. "I love you."
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