Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 7: Battle Plans

"I never meant to cause you trouble,
And I never meant to do you wrong,
And I, well if I ever caused you trouble,
Oh, no, I never meant to do you harm."; Coldplay, "Trouble"

"I don't even see why we're still helping her," Cyborg said as he followed Robin through the dark valley of a mountainous terrain. The dark of night blanketed the land, aiding the young heroes to journey undetected. "She's lost her mind since her planet blew up, now she's got us on whatever planet we're on here, spying on her sister's army, which she thinks she's going to defeat with her army. This isn't our fight, why are we still helping her out?" Robin was ignoring Cyborg the best he could, pushing his own doubts from his mind. Just then, a green coyote came running up to them from the thick of the forest. The green creature morphed back into Beast Boy, who wore an uneasy look on his face. Robin picked up on this and asked, "Did you find them?"

"You need to see for yourself," Beast Boy replied as he turned around and led the two heroes back into the woods. Robin looked up at the branches of the trees above him, looking out to make sure that no one followed him.

The three teens came to the top of a hill and crept towards the ledge. As they peered over, they saw the massive camp of the Uprising's army stationed in a dried out ravine. The ravine was at least the size of Jump City, but the army was so large, it didn't even look big enough to hold them all. Robin let the shock pass as he turned to Beast Boy and said, "You know what to do." Beast Boy nodded his head, turned into a hummingbird and flew into the gigantic camp. He soared into each tent, staying careful so he wouldn't be noticed as he searched for the tent Robin told him to find. Suddenly, Beast Boy made his way into one tent that was larger and better guarded than the others. He fluttered around for a moment before he left the tent and flew towards Robin and Cyborg again.

"Found it," Beast Boy said to Robin as he returned to his human form. "Larger tent in the center right, it has to be their intelligence center." Robin eyed the tent and then turned to the branches and called out, "Are we safe?"

A small black portal opened and Raven hovered to the ground from the tree line. She looked at Robin and said, "We're safe. No one followed us."

"You ready," Robin asked.

"If I have to be," she replied. Even through her normally emotionless facade, Robin could sense a sea of emotions in her eyes: anger, fear, distaste. Under any other normal circumstances, he would have said something to try and comfort her before sending her into danger. Instead, he simply said, "Let's get this over with."

Robin didn't believe in what they were doing either.

The detached hand of Cyborg crawled undetected through Blackfire's massive army, arching one finger up and pointing it around every corner. It stopped at two soldiers approaching an intersection between tents where two soldiers walked towards where the hand was. Back up at the top of the hill, Cyborg switched on his radio and said, "Two soldiers comin' at ya from the north side." The two soldiers walk by the hand as a black portal materialized from the ground, where Robin and Raven have emerged. Robin looked down at the hand as it walked down the path towards the large tent. The finger camera pointed towards the door and noticed four guards at the doorway.

"You've got four guards at the door," Cyborg said to Robin over the radio in his ear, "Two on each side." Robin turned to Raven and said, "Make sure they don't make a noise." Raven's eyes glowed white as four strips of black energy covered the mouths of the four guards. Before they could take notice of what happened, a gas pellet went off around the guards. When the smoke dissipated, Robin stood at the entrance of the doorway. He watched as Cyborg's hand crawled inside the flap of the tent. A few seconds later, Robin heard Cyborg say, "Its all clear." Robin and Raven went inside the tent.

Once inside, the two heroes stared at the inside of the intelligence tent, which seemed to be wallpapered with maps. Robin walked towards a table in front of him, which had a computerized grid on it. Robin turned on his radio and said, "Cyborg, any way we can find any old data on attack strategies?" The hand jumped up onto a keyboard on the table and plugged itself in.

"Alien tech," Cyborg replied, "it might take a while, but I'll upload the info."

Robin looked outside the clear plastic part of the tent that allowed him to see outside. Robin walked towards it to get a better look of the army. As he looked out, he noticed one tent where soldiers were outside, waiting in line to get in. Robin watched the soldiers, who walked out firing massive bolts of fire into the air from their hands. He watched as they started to play around with their new powers: floating in the air and shooting star bolts at each other.

'The Psion process," he said to himself, "She's making an army just like her." as he continued to watch the normal soldiers enter the tent and leave with powers like Starfire or Blackfire.

"Robin, get over here," Raven replied in an urgent tone. Robin rushed over to see her holding a map. When she turned around, she held the map up, revealing Earth.

"Where did you find that," Robin asked. Raven held up a stack of maps written in Tamaranian.

"Some are of Tamaran, others are from Centauri ... and the rest are of Earth. They detail strong military points and map out plans to force through them."

"Their next target is Earth," Robin said in shock as he stared at a spot on the map marked for what Robin could make out in Tamaranian: Ion Destabilizer. Just then, the flaps of the tent are flung open as soldiers stormed in, helping up the attacked soldiers from outside.

"Intruders," they called out. At that moment, Robin pulled out his bo staff and began attack the soldiers as he screamed into his mic, "Cyborg, how much more time you need?"

"Just a sec," Cyborg replied, "Got it! Get out of there." Robin turned to Raven as the detached hand severed its contact with the computer and rocket propelled itself out of the tent and towards the hill. Robin had his hands full with the soldiers when a wall of black energy separated him and the other soldiers and forced them out of the tent.

"Move," Raven called out as she grabbed Robin's hand and led him out of the tent.

They didn't get far as they were surrounded by a large number of soldiers on the ground as well as ones in the air, who have already gone through the Psion process. Their arms glowed purple wit star bolts ready to fire and the sound of hundreds of guns being loaded made Robin break a sweat.

"There's too many to attack," Raven said as she tried to focus her energy, but the large number of soldiers made it hard for her to concentrate. At that moment, a gigantic green dragon dropped from the sky, getting between Robin and Raven and the soldiers. The dragon opened its mouth and let out a tremendous strain of fire at the soldiers. The dragon reared its head towards Robin and Raven, who looked up to see Cyborg on top, firing his sonic cannon at the soldiers. The dragon's head turned into Beast Boy's as he yelled, "Get on!"

Robin and Raven jumped onto his back as its head turned back into the dragon's and took off into the air, leaving the army on the ground. The soldiers that had the power to fly, however, took off after them.

Beast Boy soared through the air as a dragon with his friends on his back. Cyborg turned back and said, "We've got company." Robin and Raven looked back to see at least twenty Uprising soldiers flying towards them and gaining on them. They fired a barrage of star bolts at them, one that hit Beast Boy on his wing, causing them to drop sharply. He quickly regained his balance and soared downwards into the woods with the soldiers hot on his trail. The other Titans looked as they crashed through the branches and soared through the clearing. The soldiers also followed through the trees. Cyborg fired shot after shot from his sonic cannon, hitting one soldier, but the soldier merely shook it off and kept flying.

"Oh, now what is this crap," Cyborg said as he kept firing at the soldiers. The one in the lead made four sharp gestures with his hands and the soldiers broke apart into three groups, two that veered off into the woods and the other, which took off back over the tree line. Robin, Raven and Cyborg all stared around them, looking into the forest for any sign of the army.

"Stay close team," Robin said, "wait for them to make the first move." Beast Boy began to slow down and make for the ground. Robin leaned into his ear and said, "No, stay in the air. I've got a plan." Robin began to whisper the plan in the dragon's spike shaped ear.

Just then, a flurry of star bolts came out of one side of the woods. The three Titans turned to see six Uprising soldiers flying towards them. Cyborg fired at them, breaking their pattern as Raven snapped the branches around them and swung them like clubs at the soldiers, dropping all but two, which flew over their heads and back into the forest. The Titans looked into that side of the forest when Raven got hit from behind with a flurry of star bolts. She screamed and fell backwards down the tail of the dragon. Robin ran after her, but she was already too far down for him to catch.

"Raven," he called out to her, hoping it would help to bring her back. As she began to fall off, the dragon flipped its tail upwards, sending Raven towards her friends. Robin caught Raven as Cyborg fired at the other wave of oncoming soldiers. Robin looked ahead and saw another wave swooping down from the trees.

"Beast Boy," Robin called out, "Now!" The dragon arched his head upwards and fired another stream of fire at the wave of Uprising soldiers. As the soldiers plummeted to the ground, the trees behind them began to catch fire. The hell storm of fire began to engulf the entire forest as the dragon with the Titans surged onward. Soon, the other soldiers came out of their positions to avoid the fire and all gathered, surrounding the dragon. They reached out to try and pull the Titans off of the dragon, but they fought them off. Robin turned to Raven and said, "When I give the signal, I need you to surround us all in an airtight bubble." Raven nodded as the forest gave way to a gigantic lake. The dragon made a giant arch upwards and flew towards the sky with the soldiers still scurrying around them. The dragon made a loop and began to plunge straight down. The Titans all grabbed hold of something so they wouldn't fly off his back. Robin turned to Raven and said, "Get ready."

Raven nodded as the dragon flew closer and closer to the water. Right before they hit the water, Robin yelled, "Now!" Raven formed an airtight bubble around the dragon as it dove into the water. The other soldiers either all crashed into the water or floated around up top. They waited for the heroes to resurface, but they did not. One soldier grabbed his headpiece.

"Uprising scout to Blackfire," he reported, "the spies have not resurfaced. Shall we continue to hold our positions?"

"No," a booming, almost masculine voice commanded, "Return to base. They are no concern of mine now."

From the other side of the lake, the black bubble surfaced and the dragon soared onto the land. The bubble dissipated and the dragon landed on the ground. As the Titans got off of the dragon's back, it reshaped itself into Beast Boy, who was breathing heavily. Robin looked out at the hovering soldiers in the distance fly back into the air and out of sight.

"They're gone," Robin said, "We can rest."

Beast Boy collapse to the ground, struggling to catch his breath. Raven put her hand over Beast Boy's shoulder and said, "Thank you for saving me when I almost fell." Cyborg turned to the exhausted Beast Boy and said, "Yeah, thanks for getting us out of there." Beast Boy smiled, but that went away as he said between gasps, "We've ... gotta ... get the ... plans ... back to ... Starfire." Raven's slight smile went away as she waved her hand over his eyes and said, "Just rest." Beast Boy fell asleep as Cyborg reformed his arm cannon. Spooked, Raven said, "What is it," as Cyborg began pulling out some tools and tightening up the cannon.

"That guy shrugged off my strongest blast," Cyborg said, "I've got to rewire this thing."

"You don't need to make your gun more powerful just to ... " Raven started to say when Cyborg cut her off with, "Look, we're not at home, we're in the middle of some out of control extraterrestrial civil war. I'm not as strong as these people out here, so I've gotta make up for it." Raven backed away from Cyborg and walk towards Robin, who sat on a rock, looking back at the river.

"You okay," Robin asked Raven. "I'll be fine," she replied, "It's the boys I'm worried about."

"Me too," Robin said blankly.

Raven looked at Robin and said, "You feel it too?"

"Don't have to be an empath to know when your team's falling apart." Raven looked at Robin and saw all of the concern that he was trying to mask with his confidence. Yes, she thought, the Titans are starting to fall apart.

Starfire and Ryand'r sat on a bench in the middle of a vast marble hallway. Next to them was a large set of double doors, which they were waiting to enter. "They will not react kindly to this news," Ryand'r said to Starfire, "A civil war from our country that has spilled over onto their doorstep? Even if they believed us telling them that their planet is the next target, what's to stop them from taking us prisoners for warmongering?"

"We must warn them," Starfire said confidently, "I do not want see what happened to Tamaran happen to any other planet. Even if I am to be taken prisoner, at least I will know that I have done everything I could to help them."

"Well, maybe you think going to a Centauri prison is a noble effort, but I, for one, think ... "

At that moment, the double doors swung open and a well-dressed dignitary stepped out to face the two Tamaranians. "Koriannd'r and Ryand'r, the committee will hear from you know." Starfire and her brother stood up and entered a giant room, which was a massive hallway, which led up to a podium that faced a wall of a table, where twelve noble-looking alien creatures in dignified red uniforms sat, facing the podium that the two siblings walked up to. All around them were rows of benches, where observers sat in the shadows, silently watching the two Tamaranians as they came to the podium.

"You may proceed with the matter of the supposed army that is approaching Centauri," one of the dignitaries spoke. Ryand'r leaned over to his sister and said, "Well, at least we know they won't throw us in jail for warmongering." Starfire shrugged off her brother's comment and tried to remember that she was now the Empress.

"Noble Centauri committee members," Starfire began, "I am here to day to reveal a threat to your planet that has already claimed my own home planet. What began as a simple strife among provinces on our planet of Tamaran quickly escalated to the stage of all out war, dividing nation against nation to the point where the need for these nations to justify their own beliefs resulted in the self-destruction of Tamaran. The army was led by the former Empress, Kommand'r, known to those closest to her as Blackfire, who led the war out of spite of being overthrown as empress. Her anger was not calmed with the destruction of Tamar an as our Intel has shown us that this Uprising has other targets after Tamaran. The first planet on the attack list is the planet of Centauri."

Starfire's speech was interrupted by the murmuring of the people in the benches as well as the people behind the tall table. One of the committee members turning to look at Starfire and asked, "What is the proof that you have of these accusations of a rogue army attempting to attack our planet?" Ryand'r pulled out a small device and an even smaller crystal cube. He inserted the cube into the device and a holographic image of battle plans appeared in the airspace between the podium and the table.

"These plans were taken from a reconnaissance team that infiltrated the Uprising's hidden camp on the fourth moon of Drenthax," Starfire began to explain as she pressed a remote's button and the map changed into photos of the army, "as these picture will illustrate the size of the army."

The murmurs continued, but this time, Starfire could sense the fear in the tone of the whispers. The chair-committee member waved his hand over a metal plate, setting off a loud, magnetic hum, calling the room to order.

"This evidence does indeed show that there is a threat to Centauri," one of the committee members said, "However, before we jump to any rash decisions, we have to validate these claims of an approaching army. Bring in the intelligence representative.

Another set of doors flung open from the side of the room as a man began to walk inside, poised, confident and striking. Starfire looked at the man, leaned over to her brother and said, "Now the proceedings will not go so well." She glared at the intelligence representative with complete disdain as he took the stand.

"What news has the intelligence committee to offer about the current conditions of the fourth moon of Drenthax, Representative Val Yor," the chair-committee member said. Val Yor straightened his suit before walking over to the holographic imaging device. He stared at Starfire and her brother before inserting a cube of his own, displaying a moving display of the moon. However, this display only showed an empty ravine.

"Your excellencies," Val Yor explained, "What you are looking at here is current surveillance of the fourth moon of Drenthax. There's no trace of an army, let alone any form of life other than forests. The only known military post nearby was from the Gordanian Fleet Battle some forty five years ago."

"And what of the news of Tamaran being destroyed only three weeks ago," one committee member said. Val Yor began to walk around the room as he spoke, "Yes, our radars have confirmed that Tamaran has been completely annihilated. However, it wasn't due to any war as much as it was from the result of an unstable structure from within the planet. The molecules began to break apart and within a matter of hours, the planet destroyed itself from the inside out."

All eyes focused on Starfire and Ryand'r, who did their best to maintain their composure amidst the humiliation they were experiencing being called liars in a political office. Starfire did her best not to clench her fists, but all of the rage she had from the humiliation she's experienced at the hands of Val Yor was starting to build up.

"So, in your professional opinion, Representative," the chair-committee member said, "Are the claims the Tamaranians made valid enough to merit preparing for war?" Starfire stared at Val Yor, holding back all of her anger as she prepared for the final humiliating statement she knew he would deliver. .

"Fellow committee members," Val Yor began, "The Tamaranians have experienced a terrible tragedy as of late. If anything, they deserve our deepest sympathies at this moment. There's no telling what is going through all of their minds after the devastating loss of their planet. Which might explain why we are all here today, you see, they're looking to find new homes now. I've heard reports from Drenthax, Gordain and even so far as Ilenvier that Tamaranians have over flooded their borders, seeking shelter. There's even been some talk that they've brought a lot of savage ways with them as well, trying to stir up unrest by saying people were following them and were going to kill them if they did not find shelter. In my professional opinion, that's exactly what is going on here. The Tamaranians believe that the little skirmishes they've had on their planet are going to follow them. There is no evidence to support such a threat, so there should be no need to prepare for any kind of attack. If anything, we should be mindful of their plight, but not be taken in by savage thoughts of war and unsettlement."

Starfire watched with baited anticipation as the committee gathered among themselves and began to whisper. Once they sat down, the chair-committee member said, "Your highness, we are deeply sorry for the loss of your planet. We truly are. If there is anything that we can do assist you and your people, do not hesitate to contact us. However, as far as preparations for war go, we do not see any reason to cause any unrest among our people. Whatever disagreements you have on your planet, please let them rest there. If you are looking for a place to stay, our immigration offices will make all the necessary arrangements for the surviving members of your planet."

Starfire clenched her jaw before she took a breath and said, "Your excellencies, thank you for your time." Starfire grabbed the cube and walked out of the chambers. She felt the condescending stares of sympathy from everyone in the chambers as her pace began to quicken as her brother had to speed up his own pace just to follow behind her. She pushed open the gigantic doors open with incredible force and took one look back at the council as they convened into their chambers. Starfire closed the doors on them as she thought to herself, "The fools. They are only digging their own graves."

"That arrogant, Zaldernon Clorbag," Starfire yelled at the top of her lungs as she flew over the gates of the City District of Centauri with her brother. "How can that council of empty heads consider that evidence to be definitive?!"

"Sister," R'yand'r said, "If they do not wish to heed our warnings, then they will be the ones to suffer, not us."

"Blackfire should be the one who is suffering," Starfire said with pure hatred in her eyes, "Her bitterness has cost the lives of millions on Tamaran, now she wishes to end millions More! What will it take to satisfy her lusting of the blood that she has in her?!"

"Your sister will be stopped, Koriannd'," R'yand'r said as he and his sister flew over the Tamaranian base camp below them. The few surviving refugees of Tamaran have all gathered below, living out of makeshift tents and whatever space crafts they took with them as they evacuated. Starfire looked down on the survivors, where were arming themselves, preparing for battle."

"Is this all of the soldiers that we could find," Starfire asked as her and R'yand'r landed in the middle of the camp below them. The few surviving refugees of Tamaran have all gathered below, living out of makeshift tents and whatever space crafts they took with them as they evacuated. Starfire looked down on the survivors, who were arming themselves, preparing for battle."

"This is all of the soldiers that we could find," R'yand'r explained, "In fact, many are not even Tamaranian. We have allies from Ilenviar, some from Terthax 9, all have decided to aid us in our battle with Blackfire's army."

Starfire looked at the Tamaranians preparing for battle. A woman stood in the middle of the field, practicing with her lance as a fire burned in her eyes. She was so consumed by her practice that she did not notice the crying child sitting on the ground next to her. Starfire watched this with heavy eyes.

"I should not have abandoned my planet when I defeated my sister for the crown," Starfire said as she turned away from the child and walked towards a tent. "If I had stayed behind to guide our people, we could have defeated Blackfire again."

"There was no way that you could have known this was going to happen, sister," R'yand'r said as he and his sister entered a large tent, where inside, many officers stood, including Robin and Cyborg.

"I take it the meeting didn't go over well," Robin asked. Starfire looked at everyone, regaining her dignitary façade again and said, "The Centaruians do not wish to listen to our warning about the approaching army. We must make preparations as if we were alone in this battle."

Cyborg and Robin looked at each other in disagreement. Robin took a step forward, "Starfire, we really need to talk about…"

"No time, friend," Starfire said, cutting Robin off, "We must make plans. If you and Cyborg will please excuse us, we must make battle plans."

Robin froze. This girl, who he had come to know as sweet and loving has changed before his very eyes. He stormed out of the tent as Cyborg followed closely. Cyborg walked up to Robin and was about to say something comforting when Robin fired a grappling hook into a nearby tree and pulled himself up. He sat in the tree for a while, as he looked out onto the vast plains that lay in front of him. To his side, an obsidian circle formed on at the tree by Robin as Raven stepped out of it and sat next to Robin.

"I'd like to be alone," Robin said flatly.

"From what I sense," Raven said, "You already are."

"Do you have to keep examining everyone's feelings," Robin snapped, "It's all you've done since we started this damn war."

"I would if everybody would just say what they were feeling, but no one is anymore. Since the battle on Tamaran, we've been changing, but no one wants to say it."

"No arguments here," Robin said, Raven sighed and said, "Do you want to know how I've changed?" Robin shrugged his shoulders as Raven continued, "When we fought on Tamaran, my warrior side came o8ut. The one I hold back whenever we would fight as a team. I fight it because my powers are harder to control when I lose control of my emotions. But you want to know what I'm really fighting with? I fight the part of me that likes letting that side out. On Tamaran, even that fortress on Psion, I couldn't help but feel how much I loved the exhilaration of fighting. If I can't get this under control, then that will become a permanent side of me. I've been fighting it ever since."

"I'm sorry Raven," Robin said, "I should have been watching out for you…"

"You were," Raven said, trying to calm Robin, "I just never told anyone. You see what holding things back can do to people?"

Robin realized what she was saying and thought about what he was holding back. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he said, "This war is getting out of control. At first, I didn't want to be a part of it because I didn't think it was going to be our battle. Now that I know that if Blackfire wins this war, She's going after Earth next."

"The enemies that are the most dangerous are the ones that we let grow stronger before they reach our doorstep," Raven said, fully understanding what Robin was feeling.

"Beast Boy's lost his childishness, you've got issues with your powers, Cyborg's worried that he's becoming obsolete, and Star…" Robin trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to say out loud what he truly wanted to say about her. In the background, a tone sounded, calling off the Tamaranians into one area. Standing at the head of them was Starfire, who was making a rallying speech in Tamaranian, firing up the crowd. Robin and Raven watched them from atop the tree.

"She's let you down, hasn't she?"

"No, just he opposite," Robin said, "I'm more proud of her than I've ever been. She's banded the survivors of her planet amidst chaos, she has them organized to fight; she's a very strong leader. I'm only disappointed that revenge is the only reason she's done all of this."

"Vengeance is the quickest way to poison one's soul," Raven said, "If she's not careful, the Starfire we know will be lost forever."

Robin looked back on Starfire, who was finishing up her rallying speech as the army below her thundered in agreement. A Look of concern blanketed Robin's face as she watched the girl he admired turn into a woman he couldn't admire.

"This will not take long, will it," Starfire asked as she lay on the medical table of her escape cruiser. Next to her was the Psion doctor, who was preparing another experiment.

"Shouldn't," the doctor said, "You should be out for a few hours." The doctor flipped a switch and a vat of liquid behind him began to boil. "Now," the doctor said, "your strength will only increase a little. I salvaged what I could from the laboratory wreckage. Seems your sister used all of the strength serum but could care less about the speed serum."

"Will I be as strong as Blackfire," Starfire asked, remembering how hard her sister hit her in the castle throne room.

"No," the doctor replied, "You will be stronger, but not as strong as her. You will be much faster than her, though. And you can use that to your advantage. The serum was designed to work equally. The speed would balance out the strength, throwing their body mass out of proportion."

Starfire took a deep breath and said, "I am ready." The doctor nodded and went behind a control panel and activated a small machine, which moved a small mechanical arm with a syringe towards Starfire's armpit. The syringe bored its way into her arm, causing her to flinch. With a motorized vacuum noise, the syringe pumped the boiling hot liquid into her body. Starfire's eyes began to roll in the back of her head as she tried with all of her might to keep from screaming in pain. The pain was all too familiar, though, as it began to trigger memories from her past again, being given the serum at a young age. Before she passé out, Starfire could only think of one thing: "How did it come to this?"

"Kory, I'm not going to ask you again," Blackfire said, staring at her younger sister, Starfire, who couldn't have been any older than seven.

"Don' not make me sister," Starfire said, "I do not feel right about it." Starfire looked inside a store that was filled with food. There mere sight of food made her stomach growl, but she was having second thoughts about the life she'd been living with Blackfire since they escaped the Psion fortress.

"Kory," Blackfire said as she got down to her sister's level to look her in the eyes, "We're on the run now and we have to find a way to live."

"But father always told us that to take things from someone other than ourselves is wrong," Starfire pleaded.

"Sis, it's our right," Blackfire explained s she looked in the store and saw a guy walk out with a sack full of food. "We are stronger than them so they can't tell us what to do anymore. In fact…" Blackfire didn't finish her sentence before she followed after the guy with the sack of food. Starfire followed after he sister, afraid of what she was going to do. The man walked down a secluded alley before Blackfire Blackfire swooped down in front of him, her eyes glowing purple.

""Silenthia, novres ar sucre dwe abruzian," the man said in a frightened tone. Neither Blackfire Starfire understood what he was saying, since they were both on a planet foreign to them.

"Drop the bag," Blackfire said as she walked slowly towards the man. He clung to the sack as Blackfire grabbed him by the throat and lifted him high into the air. The man gasped for breath, but still held the bag tight. Disgusted, she yanked the bag out of his hands with all of her might and flung him all the way down the alley. The man rolled on the ground in pain. Blackfire walked towards him, her hands burning purple as she formed star bolts in them.

"You'll pay for your arrogance," Blackfire said as she prepared to fire a star bolt. Suddenly, a burst of green fire erupted around Blackfire, causing her to turn around and see her sister standing there, timid, but not backing down.

"Kory, what are you doing," Blackfire asked, confused.

"I will not let you hurt anyone," Starfire said. Blackfire charged at her sister and swung a mighty punch. Starfire ducked and tried to hit her sister in the stomach. No effect. Starfire looked up, frightened as Blackfire looked down at her sister. Starfire tried punching her again and again and what would usually level a wall, had no effect on her sister. Blackfire laughed as she said, "Looks like I'm the stronger one."

Blackfire grabbed her sister by the collar and backhanded her, dropping her to the ground. She then kicked her little sister in the gut, lifting her off the ground and onto the wall. Starfire slid down the wall as Blackfire stood over her, star bolts ready to fire.

"Go back home to mom and dad," Blackfire taunted, "No little sister of mine will tell me what to do." With that, Blackfire shot an immense star bolt at her sister before she took off into the air. As Starfire passed out, she saw the man walk over to the bag that was left on the ground, pick it up, turn to Starfire and say, "Faditre. Faditre, unvo pesqui." As the man ran away, she passed out on the ground.

The older Starfire awoke in her bed on the ship. As her eyes began to focus and search the ship, she noticed Robin was sitting next to her.

"Robin, she said, with a slight warmness," You have been watching over me?"

I Heard about what you had done to yourself," Robin said, "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Starfire sat up and looked around, her body still warm from the liquid that was shot through her "I Feel alright," she said as she began to stand up and walk out of her room. Robin notices her steps were a little clumsy as she ran to her side and said, "Easy, girl, you should be resting."

"No," Starfire said, "I have a battle I must prepare for. There is no time for me to rest." Starfire walked out of the room and towards the ship's exit. Robin followed after her and said, "That's what I was hoping we could talk about. This war, how you've been acting, it's starting to worry me." Starfire froze in her tracks. Robin's words began to worry her as he said, "I am sorry my attitude displeases you, but I must be strong for my people."

"I understand where you're coming from," Robin said, "But you have to understand that you're part of our team also. This whole war has been tearing us apart and I see not that the Titans need each other in order to stay together. Since we've been involved in this war, we're all changing. There are sides of us we never thought would come out and it's tearing us apart."

"What am I to do about it," Starfire spun around and yelled, "I should abandon my people for my friends? This whole war is my doing and I must make it right!"

"This is not a war," Robin screamed back, "This is revenge! This is you wanting revenge on your sister, this is about your people wanting revenge for their planet…"

"Do not even dare to tell me about what this war is about, you could not possibly comprehend…"

"And your friends risked their lives just to get you those plans, have you even thanked them for…"

"I do not have time for pleasantries…"

"What do you have time for?!"

"Nothing," Starfire screamed at the top of her lungs. "I don't have time for my friends, I don't have time for my people, I don't have time for you, and I have no more time left for my parents! All I wanted was a little more time with them and it was taken from me!!" As Starfire realized what she said, she began to break down as she ran out of the ship. Robin followed after her.

Starfire flew to the top of a hill and looked out at what going to be the decided battlefield. The plains on front of the Centauri Gates, known as Blatha Nordan. She turned her head and looked at the other side of the hill, which was a massive military base. She watched the soldiers turn in for the night as she tried to drown out her feelings about her parents. Starfire had kept her feelings about her parents at bay for the past month, but since the argument with Robin brought them back to the surface, she found that she couldn't force them back any more. She looked back on her refugee/army camp as a single tear fell down Starfire's face as she fell to her knees, fighting back the sobs. Robin ran up to her.

"Starfire, I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't want to argue with you."

"We are going to lose," Starfire said. "Centauri is unprepared, our soldiers are outnumbered and my friends are falling apart. Soon, no one will stand in my sister's way of ending the lives of countless of other families."

Robin walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "That doesn't mean we won't fight them, though." Starfire held onto Robin's hand as she looked up at the sky and noticed a green speck getting larger. Starfire stood up to get a better look at the speck as it became a green dot. Robin soon noticed what was capturing Starfire's attention as he looked up at the dot, which was getting larger.

"Should we alert our team," Starfire asked. Robin was about to agree when he looked at the sphere closer and smiled, "No, but we should prepare a welcoming party." Robin waved his hands in the air as the sphere came towards him and Starfire. As the sphere landed and dissipated, the figures of The Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman stood in front of the two teen heroes.

"We heard that you were in need of some assistance," Green Lantern said. Wonder Woman looked at Robin and said, "Batman wishes you the best of luck in your struggles."

"He sent you here," Robin askewd, almost in disbelief.

"Said you guys were in major need of reinforcements," The Flash said, "So he sent the A-list of the Justice League to help."

"He didn't say those exact words," Green Lantern said, "Just to send the available Justice League members to prevent a war from reaching earth's soil."

Wonder Woman walked up to Starfire and held out her hand, "We come to offer our allegiance to your army." Starfire enthusiastically shook it. Robin smiled as he turned to Starfire and said, "I think the odds are slightly in our favor now."

To Be Continued…