Chapter 2: Might Of Trogaar.

Panic, a feeling that had already consumed Jump City, caused by an invasion of strange, lizard-like aliens. This feeling was only amplified when the sounds of a battle broke out, causing the civilians to become more frightened than they already were. The authorities had already attempted to call for support, but all transmissions were being blocked somehow. And so, the city was on its own, and they had been threatened with complete destruction once already.

The panic, however, changed to confusion, when the sounds of battle suddenly died down only a minute after they began, and the aliens all took off into the air, flying back towards the huge ship that hovered just beyond the city. For a few minutes, the people of Jump City hoped that the invaders had found their prisoner, and were leaving.

These hopes were dashed, when the holographic image of one of the aliens reappeared.

"Fools! You Earth scum were warned! Now, you shall be destroyed!"

As the image faded, everyone in the city stood, frozen, their tiny brains processing the information.

And when they finally realized what this meant, sheer terror set in.

Raven sighed and quickly raised her mental shields. These people were so idiotic it was painful. The alien next to her wasn't helping matters either.

"I knew this would happen! You should never have assisted me!" Starfire said, giving the empath a look that was somewhere between anger and fear. Raven returned it with an even deeper glare than usual, silencing the Tamaranean before she could say anything else.

"I've already told you, I have a plan."

"But what if…" Starfire began again, only to be cut off by the hooded girl raising her hand up.

"Starfire… Just… Calm… Down." Raven half-growled, this girl's emotions were wrecking havoc on her control. Though the alien may have looked fierce and brutal in the grey battle armor she wore, she had only been that way because she was scared. Raven could only assume that her species reacted differently to fear than humans did.

While humans ran or hid, Starfire broke things. Makes sense.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, the empath stepped out the alley the two had been waiting in, and motioned for her alien companion to follow. Glancing up at the ship, Raven noticed that the ship's main cannon had lowered, and was now aimed directly at the city. The very center of the weapon had already begun to glow.

"Great…" Raven muttered; if they were going to do anything, they would have to do it quickly.

She turned to Starfire, and sighed, calming herself.

"Ok, brace yourself, this is going to feel…strange."

Before the orange-skinned girl had a chance to ask what she meant, Raven muttered something under her breath, and the two were suddenly consumed by a solid shadow, which expanded into a sphere around them, before vanishing into the ground.


"Lord Trogaar, the particle cannon is charged."

The large chair in the center of the command room rotated around to face out the large windows of the Gordanian ship, revealing the largest of the lizard-like aliens, Trogaar. A smirk grew across his hideous face, as he stared at the human city in-front of him.

"Then commence the firing sequence."

The alien soldiers on the row of computers in the front of the sip began rapidly entering commands. A low hum filled the air, as on the main gun, five energy rings began to glow. The hum grew louder, and on the largest computer, a countdown started.

"The Earth-scum shall perish! No one defies the great Lord Trogaar!" The commander boasted; his smirk changing into an evil grin as the countdown reached the halfway mark.

"We'll see about that."

A green blast of energy flashed past Trogaar's head, striking the center computer. The device exploded in a shower of sparks, knocking back the lizard who sat in front of it. Trogaar whirled around, to see the Tamaranean standing at the entrance of the command room, hands glowing in green energy. Besides her was a figure in a dark cloak.

"Nice shot." Raven whispered. Starfire's blast had disabled the firing sequence, as the timer had faded from the screens.

"Thank you, but in truth, I was aiming for Trogaar." Starfire muttered, a small blush crossing her face.

Before Raven could respond however, the alien leader roared, signaling his men to attack. In a few seconds, every Gordanian in the command room was charging them.

Starfire met the attack, flying forward and driving her fist into the first lizard she reached, sending the warrior crashing against the wall. She was much stronger than any single Gordanian, and it was fairly easy to crash through the mob, until she had reached Trogaar himself. As she neared the alien commander, a smirk grew on his face, and the claws on his hands extended.

The Tamaranean realized her mistake, but a little too late, as Trogaar had already struck. Starfire cried out in pain as her back slammed into the wall, creating a large hole in the surface. The front of the girl's armor had been sliced, and some of the metal plates began crumbling off.

Starfire fell to the floor, but quickly pushed herself up, and charged Trogaar again. This time, the red-haired girl was faster, and she delivered a powerful punch to the Gordanian's chest, sending him stumbling backwards. Seeing she had gained an advantage, Starfire didn't let up, driving an uppercut into Trogaar's jaw. Unfortunately, it had no affect on the large creature, as Trogaar simply took a step back, before steadying himself, and glaring at the Tamaranean. The girl's green eyes widened in fear, as the Gordanian commander lunged at her.


As Starfire charged after Trogaar, Raven found herself having to deal with the brunt of the Gordanian guards.

"Wonderful…" She muttered, her eyes glowing a soulless white as the aliens moved towards her.

The empath's powers were strong, something several of the Gordanians learned as they were incased in dark energy, and sent flying into the walls. However, Raven was unable to hold them all back, and an energy staff suddenly struck her. As the sorceress picked herself up off the floor, she was greeted by the glowing end of the staff two inches from her face.

And then, she heard Starfire scream.


Starfire struggled against the hold Trogaar had on her, but even being a Tamaranean, she didn't have the strength to overpower the Gordanian leader, who simply laughed at her efforts. Growing angry, the girl's green eyes suddenly began to glow.

Trogaar couldn't react in time.

A green blast of energy struck the alien's face, causing him to lose his grip on Starfire, as he stumbled backwards, his hands over his eyes. Starfire hit the ground, hard, knocking the wind out the red-haired girl. As she pushed herself up, she heard a growl, and glanced over, gasping at what she saw.

Trogaar had moved his hands away, revealing only one eye, with a bleeding hole where his right eye had been. The Gordanian growled again, his face one of pure fury.

"Insolent whelp! I will destroy you!" Trogaar roared, charging at Starfire. The Tamaranean's eyes grew wide as the monster's huge form drew close. His fist closed, and it shot forward.

Starfire didn't even have time to move, so, she screamed, just as pain shot through her.

Her body slammed into the far wall, and she crumpled to the floor. For a second, all her body was numb.

Trogaar smirked down at the struggling girl as she attempted to push herself up. He raised one of his hands up, and the claws extended.

Starfire stared, her eyes following the beast's hand as it came down.

But before it struck, the command room was suddenly covered in darkness, and the next instant, everything exploded.


"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Raven always knew her powers were unpredictable, but this was far beyond that. Starfire's scream had caused her to lash out at the Gordanians near them, the dark energy blasting them away. A shield had suddenly formed around her, and she quickly pushed herself to her feet.

Raven could feel Starfire's fear and pain, and quickly looked through the barrier, trying to find her. The alien soldiers around her were trying to break the barrier, but even they weren't strong enough for that.

And then, she saw Trogaar.

Now, a wall of fire swirled around the barrier, as the explosion consumed the whole area. Raven had been knocked back down, as the ship violently shook. As the flames faded, her shield dispersed, and she got a good view of what she had just done.

The command room was scorched; everything past the seven-foot mark had been destroyed, revealing the star-filled sky. The bodies of Gordanian soldiers lay strewn across the floor, most of them badly burnt.

Raven's eyes then fell on an orange-skinned body, lying about ten feet away from the empath.

Raven took as step towards her.

And then, the world started to fall.

Raven toppled onto her hands and knees as the ship began to plummet. Instantly, she understood. Her powers must have detonated the ship's power source, causing the explosion, and knocking the craft out of the sky.

Despite the increasing pressure on her body, Raven managed to push herself up, and take another step towards Starfire.

And another.

And another.

The sorceress was almost to her, when a sudden, hulking form rose up in-front of her.

Trogaar.

The alien's face was badly burnt; his one remaining eye seemed to only have the slightest bit of focus. Burns and cuts adorned the lizard's body, and blood streamed down him.

Despite it all, however, Trogaar was still alive.

The monster drew back his hand to strike Raven, who could barely move, much less dodge.

A smirk spread across his burned, twisted face.

Then, a blast of energy cut through his chest.

Starfire, barely pushing herself up, her right hand glowing green, smiled at Raven, before all her strength gave out, and she went limp.

Trogaar stood for a second, trying to resist it all, before he succumbed, and collapsed to the ground.

The moment Trogaar's body touched the floor, was the same moment the ship crashed into the water.

Giant waves rose up on all sides, washing over the destroyed walls, and flooding the command room.

Within seconds, the remnants of the Gordanian ship sank beneath the waves.


Just off of Jump City, was a small island, with a large, now useless, alien transmitter tower. And flying around that tower was a single, black bird. The bird flew down to the surface of the island, and froze in midair, its form slowly expanding, until it took on a humanoid shape.

Her shadow-self faded from around her, as Raven laid the red-haired girl she was carrying down on the ground.

"You owe me for this…" She muttered, kneeling down beside Starfire. The Tamaranean's eyes fluttered open, and she smiled weakly.

"We… Are safe now, correct?" Starfire quietly asked, Raven simply nodded.

"Yes, Starfire, we're safe now."

Raven had to resist the urge to smile back on the girl, but she had to concentrate right.

"Hold still." She commanded, Starfire froze, even though she had barely been moving anyway.

A blue light surrounded Raven's hands, and she held them just slightly over the girl's body. The burns on Starfire suddenly faded, and she felt the pain that had spread all through her body dissolve, as she felt her bones and tissue healing.

It was a very odd sensation, to say the least.

After about ten minutes, Raven removed her hands, and started breathing hard. Starfire meanwhile, seemed amazed, as she carefully got up, examining herself. She then turned her gaze to Raven, and quickly hurried over, just as the empath, who had been attempting to stand, lost her footing.

"Friend Raven, are you alright?" the alien girl asked, catching the empath.

Raven simply nodded, continuing to breathe hard, as Starfire balanced her. Finally, she felt her strength returning, and she turned to Starfire, with a surprised look on her face.

"Friend?" Raven asked, questioning the previous name.

Starfire blushed slightly, and looked away.

"Yes… We are friends now, correct?"

"What do you mean?" Raven could feel the hurt and disappointment radiating off of Starfire even as she asked.

"Oh… You… Saved my life, more than once. We have battled together against a common foe; I even prevented Trogaar from attacking you. On my planet, these would result in friendship."

The Tamaranean's head bowed, and she sighed.

"I guess… here… things are different."

Raven couldn't decide whether to succumb to Starfire's guilt trip, or tell her the truth. While it would have spared her mind some immediate headaches if she had just agreed to be Starfire's 'friend', Raven had never been good at keeping a long term lie.

"Starfire, it's nothing against you, or anything that has to do with this planet." Raven began, turning her head to the sky, which was beginning to show the very traces of dawn.

"It's just… If you knew who I am, what I am, you wouldn't even want to be near me." Raven confessed, not turning to look at the other girl.

"Raven… If I did not want you as a friend, I wouldn't have called you so." Starfire spoke suddenly, startling Raven.

"What?" The empath asked, blinking.

"I do not care what you consider yourself, or what secrets you may hide, or what race you may be. You have proven yourself a valuable alley. And if you wish to be my friend, it would be my honor."

As Starfire finished her little speech, Raven finally turned, and stared at her, a look of disbelieve in her eyes.

"Really?" She questioned, in a voice much quieter and uncertain that her usual monotone.

"Of course."

Raven nodded, slowly, and then smiled.

"I… think I'd like that."

"Oh, glorious!" Starfire yelled, quickly grabbing Raven in a huge hug. The empath struggled, before wincing in pain.

"Ow…Starfire… I'm still sore…" She choked out. The girl quickly let go, and blushed.

"Oh… I'm sorry, I had forgotten." Starfire murmured, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's…not a problem." Raven said, enjoying being able to breathe again.

Just then, the sun peaked over the horizon, and both girls turned to watch. For Starfire, it was her first morning on Earth. For Raven, it was her first morning that she wasn't alone.

With the Gordanians gone, the idiotic humans who lived in Jump City could go right back into their usual routine. With the Gordanians gone, Starfire was free, no longer doomed to be sold to some space-fearing race.

Raven wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but right now, she was just a little too tired to care.

"Friend Raven," Starfire suddenly began, another blush appearing on her face. "May I ask you a favor?"

Raven simply smiled, and nodded.

"Sure Starfire, what is it?"

The blush on the alien girl's cheeks grew, but she remained in eye-contact with Raven.

"I… wish that you would remove your hood. I would like to see what you truly look like."

Raven stood quiet for a minute, before slowly reaching up, and pulling back the hood from around her head.

The light from the sun shone on the girl's short, purple hair, which was just a duller shade of the color of her eyes. Her face was young, and the same pale/grey color as the rest of her body. Her most outstanding feature, however, was the red gemstone in the middle of her forehead.

Starfire stared at her for a minute, before smiling, and nodding.

"Thank you." Starfire said, earning a tiny smile back Raven, as they both turned back to watch the sun rise, on a new day in Jump City.


Author's Note: So... I really like this chapter... Sue me.