Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything else within. It is all a byproduct of my overactive imagination and too many ideas in my head. This tale is written to, hopefully, amuse the many people who have wanted me to write such a story again. With that in mind, would all lawyers please leave me the f—k alone already!
NU: Red-X Redux…
Chapter 7: Red-X and the Outlaws PT. 1…
00
(Titans Tower…)
Beast Boy hummed to himself as he walked through the halls of Titans Tower. He was simply bored and trying to find something to do. However he paused when he noticed a racket coming from down the hall. The green teen looked to either side and then stealthily made his way to the noise. He then paused as a door opened and Starfire flew out while carrying some things out of her room.
"Huh?" he questioned then followed the girl. She placed the things down a distance away then turned with a sigh. She then carried more out and as she did BB idly noticed Cyborg stop and approach. She placed her load down and returned to her room yet again, this time Robin and Raven popped up and watched her carry her clothes out and set them down with the rest of her things.
"Uh Starfire," Cyborg began and the girl hummed in acknowledgement.
"You going somewhere?" BB questioned curiously as the girl flew out of her room again.
"I am leaving for Tamaran," the alien powerhouse replied as she put her things down and moved to the next load.
"And you're taking all your stuff, because?" Raven questioned as Starfire flew passed her. The redheaded alien powerhouse paused and closed her eyes for a moment. She then turned to face them with a forced smile that clearly didn't reach her eyes.
"I am not ever coming back," she admitted. Her admittance got quite the reaction as the others stared at her in shock.
"WHAT!?" they all demanded of the alien who rubbed her arm.
"S-Starfire what's wrong?" Robin questioned. However they girl continued her forced smile.
"Nothing is wrong," she assured them. "I am," she paused and looked to the side, then looked back to her friends, "getting married," she finished. The others took that bit of news about as well as they had her leaving.
"WHAT!?" they demanded and then watched as Robin passed out…
00
(Jump City, California…)
It was a beautiful day outside, birds were singing, flowers were blooming, the JCPD was in ruins… okay, so some things weren't so great. But a small crew of workers was already hard at work clearing the debris from where the JCPD once stood. Yet as they worked one of the man noticed a yellow and red flash of light run passed them. 'What the?' he wondered then gasped as a burst of air nearly bowled him over.
The yellow and crimson streak moved through the city like a bolt of lightning. Literally with the sparks of energy that seemed to flow off of it as it moved. It moved down the streets of the city, then turned and started to move along the side of a building before it flipped off of the building to reveal a teenager. He was grinning as he fell then launched forward once more as soon as his feet hit the ground.
'So this is Jump City, kind of nice,' the teen noted to himself as he ran onwards. He moved fast, so fast he looked more like a blur of colors as he passed through the park. In doing so he caused a jogging woman to nearly fall only to quickly stop and catch her a smile on his goggled face. "Sorry 'bout that!" he stated as he placed her on her feet, then he was off like a shot heading in the direction of Titans Tower.
The woman stared in shock, her hair a mess as she wondered what just happened.
As the young speedster moved he noticed a hotdog cart and touched his stomach with a hum. 'Kind of hungry,' he admitted to himself. He then came to a stop in front of the stand with a smirk. "Three hotdogs with everything my good man," he stated. The man working the stand just stared at the teen as he tapped his finger on the stands counter and glanced at his wrist condescendingly.
"Kind of in a hurry here 'bud," he noted pointedly. The man slowly nodded his head and made the three hotdogs and placed them on the counter. As he did he looked up at the teen, his bright crimson red windswept hair, green eyes, fair skin with a slim runners physique, and an odd padded 'costume'. It was yellow up top with a red lightning bolt on his chest and red gloves, red 'pants' with yellow boots, and a yellow half-cowl with a pair of attached red goggles and lightning bolt ornaments at his ears.
"Umm th-that's f-four fifty," the man told the teen who grinned.
"Sweet!" he stated then pulled a five out of his glove. "Here ya go," he stated as he picked up and ate the first hotdog. Then gave a pleased hum. "Ummm, man that's good," he stated then smiled brightly. "Keep the change," he remarked as he finished the first then ran off with the other two. The man just stared as the speedster hurried off into the distance and then rubbed his head. Then wondered what the heck had just happened?
Meanwhile the speedster finished his lost hotdog as he went, then glanced up as he noticed the bay. 'Dick said that they were on 'Titans Island' which is out in the bay…' he noted to himself, 'and did they only name it that cause they live there or what?' the speedster wondered with a smirk across his lips. He then slowed to a stop as he saw Titans Tower and snorted into his hand and snickered.
'Oh my gosh, he lives in a giant capital T, out in the middle of the bay in the open!?' he internally demanded as he held his sides and broke into laughter. "Oh that is just too priceless! How hasn't that thing been blown up yet?" the speedster demanded then exhaled a sigh and wiped a mock tear from his eye. His mirth was not abated however as he then lunged forward at top speed, literally moving fast enough to run across the water.
'Ah the joys of being a speedster,' he noted to himself with a bright smile. His journey across the bay caused the water to bend at his sides as he came to a stop on the island and rubbed his chin with a hum. 'Well it's worse than I thought, this thing is huge and yet no one has tried to hit with rockets or something yet,' he noted with a glance around the island which showed no signs of such an attack.
"Huh… it's kind of sad when I can say I expect that kind of thing," the speedster noted to himself as he raised his goggles. Though in his defense several of his mentor's enemies had tried to hit him with several weapons of varying sizes and yield… a rocket might actually be mundane by comparison. He shrugged his shoulders a moment later and sped to the front door, which he belatedly realized as more than triple his height.
"Man, I can't imagine the chewing out Bat's would give Dick if he saw this place," he noted to himself with a shake of his head. Given the Bat's propensity for secrets, stealth, and misdirection a giant T in the middle of the bay would clearly rub him the wrong way. A few of the other heroes would also see it as a major risk and kind of… well, stupid. Especially with the kind of things they fought on a bi-weekly basis.
"Well to each their own," he murmured as he pressed the doorbell. He didn't want to be rude and just barge in out of the blue after all… he'd probably do that later but first impressions and all. Not with Robin of course, he and Rob went way back, no he was trying to make a good first impression on the others. Mostly cause the number of other teens he could relax and hang around with had just potentially doubled!
Being a teenage hero was awesome and all, but his social circle kind of took a blow since he had to hide who he was from most people and run off at a moments notice on a normal day. Robin was always kind of a douche when it came to his identity, probably as a result of Batman, but the speedster was fine if he could make new friends. He wouldn't just outright tell 'em who he was of course; he'd wait till he got to know 'em first.
"Well this place seems like an incident just waiting to happen," a voice came and tore the speedster from his thoughts. The redheaded teen looked up and then grinned as he saw a girl lower down. Tall with tanned skin with brilliant blue eyes and a powerful physique, the literal Amazon landed in a low crouch and then brushed her long black hair behind her shoulder with a bright smile.
She was dressed in a sleevless red high-collared unitard that formed a W at her throat, a lengthened silver W that resembled a belt, with yellow stars that ran down from over her chest down to the sides of her legs, a pair of black shoulder pads with straps that held them on, a pair of black boots, and black sleeves under her silver manacle style bracelets. She also had a single edged gladius and a buckler, both of which were on her back.
"Hey Wally," the girl offered with a raise of her hand. The said redhead spread his arms wide and approached the girl with a wide grin.
"Donna!" he exclaimed cheerfully, "How's my favorite little Amazon?" he questioned. He then paused as the girl smirked and tilted her head. She then raised a hand to place it on the top of his head. She then raised her other hand to the top of her own head and compared the two heights. She then smirked as she noticed she was a few inches taller than the redheaded boy.
"I'm not so little for one," she noted humorously. Wally scoffed and crossed his arms petulantly. "Also, how many other Amazons do you know again?" she questioned with a twinkle in her eyes. Wally frowned and turned from the girl with his nose in the air.
"I liked you better when you were cute and innocent," he stated with a nod. Donna merely shook her head and looked up at Titans Tower with a frown. "So do you think this place is a really bad idea for a base or is just me?" the speedster questioned with a glance at his friend. The Amazonian warrior frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Honestly I'm surprised no one's blown it up yet," she replied. Wally chuckled lightly.
"I thought the same thing," he admitted with a smirk. They then paused as the doors to the tower opened up. Within they saw an old friend.
"Wally," Robin stated as he walked out with a grin, then looked to the girl, "Donna," he noted with an incline of his head, "It's good to you both again," he stated with a smile. The two in question smiled and placed their hands on his shoulders.
"You too short stuff," Wally noted. He then cupped his chin and nodded his head while the boy wonder twitched. "Nice to know that some things never change," he remarked cheerfully. Robin twitched and narrowed his eyes on his old friend while Donna looked inside of the tower with a frown.
"Dick, is it me or is this place basically an enormous target?" the Amazonian warrior noted bluntly. Robin winced and then exhaled a breath through his teeth.
"Technically I had nothing to do with the design," he admitted as he rubbed his forehead, "Cyborg's actually from Jump City so I left it up to him," he added. He then motioned them both inside, only to pause and turn to them with a frown, "Before I forget, keep my real name on the down low," he ordered then entered the tower with a flourish. As he did both Donna and Wally glanced at one another, then followed the boy wonder inside.
"So you really are being a paranoid ass again I see," Wally noted with a frown. Robin's brow twitched and he shot a look at his old friend.
"I was not a paranoid ass and you know it!" he replied bluntly. Donna hummed in response, index finger placed against her cheek.
"As I recall we only learned who you were because your mask fell off in battle," she recalled and Robin's brow twitched. Wally snickered into his hand at that and crossed his arms behind his head.
"Yeah, and then you started to glue the damn thing on with Spirit Gum!" he recalled with a grin. Donna giggled at the reminder and Robin's brow twitched. 'Why did I think it'd be nice to have them around again?' the boy wonder briefly wondered to himself. 'Oh right we need help dealing with X,' he recalled with a frown. Well there was that of course but also a few other reasons; mostly he had missed his old friends.
"So D…," Donna began as she walked up next to the boy wonder, only for him to shoot a look at her. She sighed dramatically then shook her head, "Robin," she stated pointedly and he nodded his head, "What's happening that you needed to call us both here?" she questioned curiously. Given how long it'd been since either she or Wally had seen the boy wonder, and how long his team had been active, the sudden summons was a surprise.
"We have a problem with a specific criminal," he admitted with a frown. Wally and Donna looked to one another, Wally shrugged and Donna sighed.
"What kind of a problem," she asked her friend curiously. Wally looked at Robin with a raised brow as the boy wonder scowled deeply. 'Wow, whoever it is really got under the boy wonder's skin, he doesn't usually rile up this easy,' the speedster noted to himself.
"A thief called 'Red-X'," he replied bluntly. Donna blinked at that and raised a brow.
"A thief?" she questioned. The wording sounded oddly deliberate in her mind.
"He's also potentially a speedster," Robin stated bluntly. That caused Wally to pause and then grimace. He was well aware of how much trouble a normal speedster was, but give a thief those powers…
"Yikes, I see why you called me here at least," Wally murmured. Donna nodded then looked at Robin curiously.
"And me?" she questioned. She then saw Robin grimace.
"From what we've seen thus far said thief slash speedster is also extremely good with blades and has greatly enhanced strength on top of the speed. Additionally he has a special suit that can enhance his already varied abilities," he admitted. Donna's brow shot up and she looked at him curiously.
"How badly did he beat you?" she questioned bluntly. Robin twitched and narrowed his eyes as they entered the elevator.
"Bad," he replied with a frown. Donna whistled and then looked up while Wally shook his head and hummed.
"So we're being brought on board just to help with this one guy?" he questioned. Robin shook his head in response as he patted his friend on the shoulder.
"Of course not, I've always meant to bring you guys into the team, unfortunately I never really had a valid reason to do so," he admitted. He then crossed his arms and frowned deeply. "Truth is, we also recently found out Starfire is 'betrothed' and needs to head home to Tamaran. I'm hoping you guys'll hang around here and look after the city while we're gone," he admitted. Donna hummed in response.
"Well when I came back with Diana I told her I wanted to find my own place in man's world this time," she remarked and hummed. "I've long since finished my Amazon training so I know I can defend this city at the very least, though I would appreciate any help," she admitted and Robin nodded his head. He had already been aware of that from the files that Batman kept on the other heroes.
"I could probably run to and from home in the mornings when I need to get to school," Wally remarked with a hum. "So I guess I'm good too," he admitted. Robin silently nodded his head and then stepped out of the elevator as it came to a stop. Donna and Wally followed the boy wonder as he traveled into a large hangar bay. There they saw the titanium teen, Cyborg, hard at work prepping the T-Ship for their departure.
"You might also have Garth, I sent him a request but he never replied," Robin added and saw both teens grin.
"Nice, it'll be fun to work with ol' fish-face again," Wally admitted. Donna looked at her redheaded friend with a bemused expression then glanced at Robin.
"I also sent a request to Roy," Robin admitted. Donna winced and looked away. She and Roy had a bit of a… rocky history. She'd gone on one date with the boy and that had ended in total disaster. "He basically said no," Robin admitted. Sometimes it was hard to pin Roy down, the redheaded archer was occasionally friendly, but other times he just seemed so hostile…
"Dude!" the three paused and turned as Beast Boy slid to a halt. The green teen practically had stars in his eyes as he looked from Donna to Wally. "Wonder Girl and Kid Flash!" he exclaimed and then grabbed KF's hand. "Dude it is like such an honor to meet you!" he declared. Wally arched a brow and looked to Robin who just shook his head. Donna however knelt down and smiled at Beast Boy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she stated and offered a hand. Beast Boy accepted and the dark haired amazon smiled. "And please, call me Donna, all my friends do," she stated cheerfully. BB just looked at her with a blush and chuckled nervously. Donna blinked and watched the boy back away then looked to Robin for an explanation. However he was silent while Wally snickered to himself and then placed a hand on Donna's shoulder.
"He's probably a little shy Donna and you are a total babe," the redhead offered. Donna frowned then stood up while the redhead glanced around. BB had hurried over to Cyborg and was rapidly telling him about them, pointing and gesturing towards them wildly. The titanium teen himself had glanced over and resisted the urge to gape in shock. Meanwhile Wally moved his eyes elsewhere and spotted…
"Hello," Wally noted and vanished in a burst of speed. Robin and Donna blinked then turned as a yellow / red blur reappeared a distance away. Only now he was holding a bouquet of flowers he'd procured from… somewhere. "Pretties for a pretty," he offered with a slight bow. Robin raised a brow while Donna shook her head, the girl Wally offered the flowers too merely blinked.
"Uhhh…" Raven murmured then looked at Wally strangely. She'd been reading, waiting for when the ship was ready to leave. Starfire was off sulking or doing whatever she needed to do in order to prepare for the trip. But as she looked back down at the flowers she felt her nerves start to fray. She then looked up at the redhead and then suddenly called on her powers and vanished into a pitch-black void.
As she vanished Wally reached a hand up to scratch at his hair and look at two of his oldest friends questioningly. "Was it something I said?" he questioned. Donna giggled to herself while Robin shook his head with a bemused smile. Robin chuckled with a shake of his head and walked over to pat his old friend on the shoulder.
"Sorry 'bout that," he offered then glanced at where the girl had been, "Raven… takes some time to get used to people," the boy wonder admitted. Wally hummed in response while the boy wonder nudged to the side, "we're still not sure if she's used to Beast Boy yet," he noted. Wally snickered to himself while Robin patted his shoulder again. "C'mon Kid Mouth, I'll show you to the kitchen," he stated. Wally nodded with a hum then smirked.
"You have any iced mochas?" he questioned, Robin rolled his eyes.
"Yes we have a machine for that," he replied. Wally pumped a fist in victory while Donna shook her head. "You coming Donna?" the boy wonder questioned. The amazon briefly looked about and then nodded and followed her two friends. Almost as soon as they left Starfire entered the hangar and raised a brow when she saw BB and Cy gaping towards the elevator… what had she missed?
00
(Later…)
The Titans were in the T-Ship and making their way to Tamaran. Robin had been silent since they left the tower. Starfire was zoned out, staring into space with a sigh every now and again. Beast Boy on the other hand hadn't kept his mouth shut. It seemed that even Cyborg had had enough of the green teen… at least given all the shouting. Raven had tried to ignore them all, yet unfortunately it wasn't working…
"So Raven," BB called out over the speakers. Raven felt her brow twitch and glared across the way at the green teen. "What'd you think of Kid Flash?" the green teen questioned teasingly. Raven blushed and looked away with a scowl.
"No comment," she grumbled.
"Aw c'mon Raven!" BB pleaded. The girl shot a death glare at him and he backed off with a yelp. As he did Cyborg chuckled to himself and then looked to Robin curiously.
"So Rob, are your friends going to be okay without us?" the titanium teen queried and Robin hummed in response.
"I sent a message to Speedy and Aqualad, hopefully they'll show up and help out as well," the boy wonder replied. Cyborg arched a brow while BB snickered to himself.
"Dude they'll have it made! I mean they got Wonder Girl herself and Kid Flash to boot!" the green teen declared as he crossed his arms behind his head. He was fairly certain that two of the longest running teen-heroes could handle the city on their own. Hell, he'd bet money that at the very least Kid-Flash could handle any city on his own by this point!
"Nice to know you got confidence in 'em BB," Cy remarked drolly. Robin chuckled in response and leaned back in his seat.
"They'll be fine, Wonder Girl is a fully trained Amazonian warrior and Kid-Mouth has taken over in Central City for The Flash on a several occasions," the boy wonder admitted. That was actually the truth too, though thankfully those occasions were rare and usually only when Barry didn't have time to be both himself and the Flash, like when he went on his second honeymoon.
"Dude that is so awesome!" BB declared. Robin rolled his eyes while Cy frowned and then sighed. Meanwhile Raven glanced at where Starfire was staring into the empty void of space and frowned. She briefly noted that BB and Cy had started to talk with Robin about their new… recruits… so turned off her headset and closed her eyes.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she whispered and a black shadow moved from her body and into Starfire. Starfire sat up straight when she felt, well, something then glanced around. 'Starfire calm down, it's just me, I figured we could use this little trip to talk,' Raven whispered into her mind. Starfire made to answer but Raven cut her off. 'Don't speak out loud, just think, we have complete privacy right now,' the girl assured her.
Starfire hummed then closed her eyes…
'This feels strange,' the alien powerhouse noted. 'I'm not sure if I like it, but it does have the merit of being private,' she admitted with a hum. Raven internally blinked, as Starfire no longer seemed to talk in the strange way she often did. She then recalled that these were Starfire's thoughts, thus a direct translation of what the girl wanted to say, not what she tried to say.
'Although I have to wonder why we've never done this on missions?' the alien powerhouse wondered. Raven grimaced in response.
'My powers aren't psychic based Starfire, they're magic based. I have a limited range because my soul self has to essentially connect the two of us together and it can't split itself between all of us for this to be a viable form of communication,' the dark bird replied and Starfire hummed softly. That made more sense then Raven being too lazy to do it anyways.
'I see, well in any case, why did you contact me? Is something wrong?' Starfire questioned. Raven briefly considered starting with continuing the story of the future. Especially given the revelation that X might already be just as powerful now as he was then. She was also worried about the alien girl, but she also felt that maybe she should start with a topic that wasn't so 'heavy'.
That in mind she really only had one thing available…
'What did you think of the new guys?' she questioned. Starfire internally hummed.
'I very much like Donna, she and I spoke a bit before we left. I found that we share many opinions of your culture and customs,' Starfire admitted with a very clear inflection of fondness. Raven idly inclined her head, even with what little she knew of 'Wonder Girl' that made a fair amount of sense. Though that brought up their other 'newbie', which caused the dark bird to frown.
'What about 'Kid Flash',' she questioned. Given that the first thing he did was flirt with her, Raven felt more than a little curious what her friend thought of him.
'Kid Flash seems very confident,' Starfire noted and Raven snorted.
'You mean full of himself,' she grumbled. Starfire giggled and then smiled.
'No I mean confident, he also seemed genuinely interested in you,' she remarked. Raven snorted and crossed her arms.
'Right,' she said sarcastically. Starfire frowned in response.
'I'm being serious Raven, he didn't show any interest in me, just you,' the redhead noted. That nearly caused the dark bird to completely cut the connection out of shock, but she shook her head and frowned instead.
'You're kidding,' she accused. Starfire did the mental equivalent of shaking her head.
'No I am being truthful, he did say I was very 'hot', but that was all,' she replied. She also admitted to herself that Wally was familiar… very familiar… but she couldn't really place why that was. 'Thoughts for another time,' she decided. 'So, what else would you wish to speak of?' Starfire asked Raven. The dark bird was silent for a moment before she exhaled a breath. Time to move on to the heavier stuff…
'Are you okay?' she questioned. Starfire flinched and internally sighed.
'I am fine,' she tried but it didn't sound… well, it sounded like a lie to the empath.
'Starfire I'm an empath, and we're currently linked, so please don't lie to me,' she deadpanned. Starfire sighed in response.
'I am not fine,' she admitted, 'Raven you know I was once a slave, and even a prize to the Gordanians, so I ask you what seems strange about my being recalled to tamaran?' the girl questioned. Raven frowned for a moment and nearly bolted upright.
'Wait, no one should be able to recall you since your people would believe you're still a slave, they were conquered so they certainly wouldn't recall you from gordanian space or risk some kind of retribution, and you said that none of the Gordanians got off planet so how would they even know where to contact you from or that you were still alive if they thought you were dead,' she listed. Starfire smiled softly.
'Is it wrong I'm happy you know a few of my secrets now?' the redhead wondered. Raven frowned as her mind whirled and a scowl worked its way across her lips. There was literally only one person in the galaxy who knew that Starfire was alive and that she'd been on Earth all this time…
'Blackfire,' she all but growled. Starfire sighed once more and nodded her head.
'Yes it's my sister, I was aware that she took over Tamaran in the future, but it seems she did so very early on,' the redhead remarked. The twenty-year gap was more than a little irritating. Mostly because of the fact she had so few details to work off of if she wanted to really change anything. Gizmo hadn't let her touch his stuff, Red-Arrow hadn't been much better, and as for 'Batman'… well she didn't want to think about him.
'We're clearly walking into a trap,' Raven stated with a frown. Starfire nodded.
'Most likely, I'd wager it's less a trap for you and more of a way to humiliate me further than she already has,' Starfire noted then smiled mirthlessly, 'sometimes I think my sister actually enjoys causing me misery,' she admitted. Raven snorted, that'd been pretty obvious when they first met the girl.
'Has she always been so… twisted?' the dark bird questioned. Starfire was silent for a moment and then frowned.
'I do not think she was when she was small,' Starfire replied and then sighed, 'yet at the same time, when she was born my sister was found to be a 'Black Curse',' she began.
'Black Curse?' Raven questioned with a raised brow.
'Yes, it's an ancient superstition among my people that those who lack the 'gift of X'hal are cursed. It is said the curse is due to the Tamaranean doing something to anger X'hal in a previous life and being marked for it by their black hair and lack of abilities,' the red head explained. Raven frowned.
'Is it really a curse or?' she left hanging and Starfire smiled softly.
'The Citadel looked into it after they conquered our world. It's actually just an exceedingly rare genetic anomaly, one that renders a Tamaranean's body incapable of absorbing Solar-Energy. As a result they lack our ability to fly, star-bolts, super-strength, and invulnerability,' she explained, 'They are quite easily spotted among my people in those with black hair,' she admitted. Raven frowned in response.
'Blackfire was clearly using Tamaranean powers when she came to earth though,' she reminded. Starfire hummed in response.
'Her armor was designed to absorb and convert solar radiation for her,' she explained.
'Where did she…' Raven began but Starfire cut her off.
'The Citadel modified her armor, it was originally of Tamaranean make but they added the technology which allows her to harness the power of the sun,' the alien powerhouse replied. Raven sat up at that and clenched her fists.
'The Citadel… aren't they the ones who sent the Gordanians?' she questioned. Starfire was silent. 'Starfire?' Raven pressed and her friend sighed.
'To understand, you must first know her story,' the girl admitted. She then felt something 'shift' and saw a bright flash of light. She blinked and looked down to see herself, and then looked up and widened her eyes. She was no longer in the T-Ship, instead she was standing before a vast jungle, a scent hung in the air that was almost like perfume, and the sky seemed to radiate with a golden glow.
"Tamaran," Starfire whispered as tears came to her eyes.
"It's so beautiful," a voice came from behind. Starfire turned to see Raven; the dark bird gazed in awe at the sheer splendor of the world around her. Azarath was magnificent in its heyday, but this world…
"Raven, what are you," Starfire began and then sighed, "We are in my memories, aren't we?" she questioned. Raven blinked then turned and nodded. The alien powerhouse sighed softly, then smiled and waved a hand outwards. "Then allow me to welcome you, to my home, Tamaran as it once stood," she declared. Raven blinked and arched a brow at the wording then watched as Starfire flew into the distance.
Raven frowned for only a moment before she quickly followed after her friend. They approached a grand palace, which caused Raven to widen her eyes as Starfire soon approached then landed by a window. She motioned Raven over and the dark bird approached with a frown. She looked inside to see several people, most of whom had red hair in varying shades, with one woman in particular being in bed.
"Among these people are my parents," Starfire began, "my father Myand'r, and my mother Luand'r," the girl stated with a smile. She then motioned next to the window, to an out of the way corner. There Raven saw a little girl who had a deep scowl on her face, familiar black hair that was long and framed her face, while her eyes were purple, and she wore a dark blue outfit that resembled a one piece swimsuit and little else.
"Alright, do all Tamaraneans dress like this?" Raven had to ask. She was also trying hard not to blush, half the men were in briefs not pants… as were the majority of the woman, and all of them were either absurdly handsome or drop dead gorgeous. 'Really not helping my self-esteem,' the dark bird thought to herself. Starfire giggled in response and then wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders.
"Look around you," the tamaranean declared and spun her friend around. "My world is a tropical paradise Raven, we have little need of the heavy clothing your people wear," the alien powerhouse responded. Raven grunted in response, a blush still lighting her cheeks. She also made a note to warn the boys… or well maybe they wouldn't care as much as she did… 'Boys,' she grumbled to herself then shook her head.
"So we were talking about Blackfire," she remarked. Starfire nodded and flew back to the window and looked inside. Raven followed her gaze to the young Tamaranean near the back of the room. She glanced at her friend and saw her sigh tiredly.
"Blackfire was the first born daughter of the emperor of Tamaran and the House of Tamarus, therefore she would have been first in line for the throne of tamaran," she admitted. Raven blinked and then widened her eyes.
"So wait, that'd mean that you're a princess, right?" she all but demanded. Starfire smiled gently then shook her head.
"No… not anymore," the alien girl replied softly and looked to the side. "When I was given to the Gordanians I was also stripped of all tittles, I'm just a Tamaranean," she replied and then shook her head. "But please do not interrupt again. I do not believe I can fully explain if you do," the alien powerhouse remarked. She then looked back inside and motioned for Raven to watch the near-black haired tamaranean closely.
"You see Raven, although she was first born, when they found that she was a 'Black Curse' she was passed over for the throne," Starfire explained and then smiled softly, "Despite this, she was stubborn and studied hard to be a good leader regardless, she learned tactics and strategies, sciences and technology, she planned to prove to our father that she was just as worthy to rule even without her powers," she explained then sighed.
Raven noticed a cry and turned as one of the Tamraneans held up a baby…
"Look everyone!" came a cry from a burly Tamaranean who held the babe, "Look at my pride!" he exclaimed as he held his child close and patted her head. "Her flesh is like gold and her eyes as green as her mothers! Her name is Princess Koriand'r, and like unto her name may she forever see the optimism of tomorrows," the man declared. Raven blinked then noticed Blackfire, the girl was breathing heavily with tears at the edges of her eyes.
"I was born at dawn," Starfire stated, drawing Raven's attention back to her, "on my world it is called the hour of innocence, they say it is when the day is yet to be and still brimming with hope and possibilities," the girl explained. Raven hummed in response, and couldn't help but notice that was similar to the girl in question. "Everyone rejoiced at my birth, everyone that is, except for one," the girl noted and looked to her sister.
There was a flash and Raven and Starfire found themselves standing in a hall. At the end of the hall they saw a tall burly Tamaranean man with a mustache speaking to a court. Near the back sat Blackfire, clearly a few years older but just as dour as she'd been as a child, while she could just barely make out a young Starfire beside the man. Raven looked to Starfire unsurely, and the tamaranean sighed softly.
"Despite everything Blackfire did to prove otherwise, my father was stalwart in his decision that she would not inherit the throne and that I would instead," the redhead explained. Raven arched a brow and watched as Blackfire punched the stone column next to her, only to hiss and cradle her hand afterwards. She then heard a ruckus from the side as another Tamaranean punched through a solid foot of stone and laughed…
"Ouch," Raven winced in sympathy for the girl. Blackfire twitched and then got up and stomped off with her teeth grinding together angrily.
"Indeed," Starfire replied, "No matter how smart she was, or how hard she tried, other Tamaraneans thought less of her for her lack of powers," the redhead noted and closed her eyes. "I believe it was always a sore spot for her, she often believed I laughed at her because she couldn't fly," the alien powerhouse admitted. She then crossed her arms and closed her eyes as the scene changed once more.
This time they were in a room for two children. Raven noticed that Blackfire was to the side, putting together some device or other, while a little Starfire was having her hair brushed by an older woman. Raven assumed it was their mother as the woman clearly had the same facial features as the two girls, not to mention the same eyes as Starfire, which her father had boasted about.
"As you can imagine, she was always very jealous of me as we grew up," the alien powerhouse noted. Raven inclined her head; she could very easily imagine that Blackfire was jealous. Starfire had her powers, she was going to inherit the throne, and she clearly had their fathers love… "What started as mere jealousy grew darker with each passing day," the redhead noted, Raven blinked and looked up.
Blackfire had sent a glare at the girl as their mother brushed her hair, Starfire merely waved at her sister who scowled and turned away from her. "But she was my big sister, I wanted her to like me, to love me," the tamaranean admitted with a sigh. "In my pursuit I fear that all I did was make her hate me more," the girl remarked as she rubbed her temples with her fingers as the scene changed yet again.
This time they were in a subterranean cave of some kind, yet they were no simple tunnels and no simple caves. Light bounced off of every wall and surface to create a cascade of colors, which could hardly be counted or imagine. Raven could name more than a dozen colors, but there were still more that she couldn't. Starfire seemed to brighten as they appeared in this place, and then looked back to Raven.
She motioned off to the side, where Raven now noticed a grand temple rested. But aside from the temple the dark-bird also noticed Blackfire a ways away. The dark-tamaranean seemed… different, less dour and more collected. The expression on her face more closely resembled the almost arrogant smirks she wore when the titans met her… but there was something more genuine about her expression.
"When I was six I was sent to train with the Warlords of Okaara, as is tradition for the royals of Tamaran. When I was sent to train with them, my sister had already been there for several years. She'd grown stronger on her own merit without powers and had found something she truly enjoyed," the alien powerhouse explained and then sighed tiredly as she watched her younger self hurry over to hug her sister.
Blackfire grimaced and called for the girl to release her, Starfire did with a sheepish smile. Suddenly Blackfire was very dour looking again. Raven winced as she realized that Blackfire knew what it was like to be human, she didn't have the strength or the invulnerability to shrug off one of Starfire's hugs. Not only that but it was just another reminder of what she lacked in comparison to her sister…
'Jeez, it's like life decided it wanted to kick her in the teeth repeatedly,' the dark bird noted to herself.
"Okaara is a planet that died millions of years before life emerged on any other planet in the Vegan System. It is a rocky husk on the outside," Starfire admitted and then spread her arms and turned. She smiled joyously as she hopped into the air. "But inside! Is it not glorious my friend!" she queried of her friend happily. Raven merely smiled and watched the alien powerhouse fly around once then come back down.
She inhaled a breath and then closed her eyes.
"It was here that I learned," she remarked. There was a flash and Raven turned to see the little Starfire sitting before a tall blue skinned being in a robe. "The first year was spent learning to appreciate all that was about us, to know what was worth fighting for when there was no escape from battle," the redhead explained. She then looked to the side was with a flash another scene appeared, this time the little Starfire was practicing with a bo-staff.
"You can use a staff?" Raven questioned. Starfire silently nodded her head as the young her fought with an armored blue warrior.
"The next few years were spent learning the art of warfare. Every manner of fighting was taught to us," she remarked as the scene changed again, this time the alien powerhouse was fighting with a sword against the same blue armored warrior. "We were shown how to love our friends, and how to hate our enemies," she stated with a clenched fist. The scene changed again, this time it showed the girl dodging around rockets.
"We learned of compassion and compromise, but we also learned that when they failed, there was only one recourse; War!" the girl stated firmly. She then closed her eyes as the scene changed yet again, Starfire was clearly older, and had just punched through a boulder with one hand. A gathered crowd cheered for the bubbly alien, while Blackfire hung in the back with a scowl.
The dark-tamaranean also looked much older this time, closer to how she looked when she had visited them. She wore a black swimsuit like outfit that left her shoulder blades bare, a belt overtop it, an armlet around her left bicep, a metal neck-guard, a pair of metal wrist protectors, and calf length black boots. Blackfire watched them for a moment then scoffed and walked away.
"I'm going to guess Blackfire didn't take too kindly to you upstaging her in what she felt was her 'thing'," Raven guessed and Starfire sighed and rubbed her bicep. She then sat down, Raven sat beside of her friend and watched as the scene changed. She could see in the distance Starfire and Blackfire fighting one another. She turned to look at Starfire with a raised brow and the alien girl sighed.
"In order to 'graduate' from our training a tournament was held, I entered it and made it to the final round," Starfire admitted and closed her eyes, "It should be no surprise that it was my sister who was my opponent," Starfire remarked. Raven grimaced; she couldn't imagine that would turn out well for either of them. Given all the built up animosity and jealousy, Blackfire would likely explode on Starfire.
"Although she was my senior, it was decided that I was ready to battle her," the alien explained. "I saw it as a way to show my sister everything I'd learned on Okaara," she explained then closed her eyes. "I believe Blackfire saw it as an insult, she'd trained for years longer than I after all," the redhead admitted and then motioned to the distance. Raven looked to see Starfire and Blackfire fighting by a deep chasm.
"Our battle was fierce, my sister treated me as if I were a true enemy," Starfire noted and then frowned, "she put her all into it, utterly determined to beat me or to die trying," she admitted. Raven mutely nodded her head. The two did have a number of scractches and cuts across their bodies. Though to be blunt it looked to her like Starfire had taken the worst of it.
"Blackfire looks relatively unscathed considering," Raven noted curiously. Given tamaranean invulnerability that seemed off, especially since Blackfire didn't have any powers. Starfire smiled softly in response.
"I did not wish to hurt her," she admitted softly. "Despite the way she treated me, and no matter how much animosity may be between us she is still my sister and I will always love her," she stated firmly. Raven fell silent and turned away from her friend. Instead she focused on the battle a distance away.
She watched as the battle continued, both girls using swords to fight one another. Though at one point Blackfire managed to get a rope or lasso of some kind around her younger sister's neck. The Dark Tamaranean grinned nastily as she yanked back and caused the younger girl to gasp in surprise. Blackfire then twisted around the girl's body and kicked her off into the chasm.
Her victory was short lived however as Starfire flew out of the chasm and the rope went taut around Blackfire's leg. The dark tamranean was then pulled off the ground and into the air, only to swiftly swing her sword at the rope and cut herself loose. However it was clear she hadn't planned it out as she fell into the chasm herself. Blackfire gave a cry as she fell and the young Starfire swiftly dived into the chasm after her.
The young Starfire shot out of the chasm with her older sister in her arms and landed on stable ground. Rather than show her gratitude for saving her life, Blackfire shoved Starfire away with a vehement glare. She then stalked away, leaving behind a clearly hurt and confused Starfire behind. The scene suddenly changed, showing Starfire hurrying towards a spaceship that blasted its way out of Okaara and into the depths of space…
"My Sister left Okaara, and I did not see her again for a very long time," Starfire explained and then looked up to the sky. The scene changed to show Starfire back in the palace on Tamaran. She was older again, and this time she was looking over an odd device of some kind. Raven looked to Starfire questioningly. "My sister explored the galaxy, she visited many worlds and sent us messages of the places she went too," she explained.
She then looked to her younger self with a sad smile.
"But while she sent many messages, she left out other thing she did while she was away," the redhead remarked as she narrowed her eyes. The scene changed once more to show the familiar black haired Tamaranean, now in her usual banded armor, but speaking with several green reptilian looking creatures in familiar golden armor. Raven recognized the Gordanians, and frowned when she saw Blackfire shake ones hand.
"Long has Tamaran been at war with the Citadel, a world closest to the Vegan Sun, their slavers are known as The Gordanians," Starfire explained as she waved her hand. She now showed her world under assault by the 'Citadel'. "However with our abilities we were easily able to defeat the attacking hordes," she explained. Then grimaced as the scene changed to show Blackfire in a cloak and sneaking into the palace.
"Until my sister brokered a deal with them," the redhead stated with a frown. She then leaped up and after the dark tamaranean with Raven hot on her heels. As they followed the girl they traveled high into one of the towers of the palace. Once in the tower Blackfire found a single guard monitoring a set of devices. The dark Tamaranean smiled as she placed a device at the back of the guard's neck and shocked him.
The tamaranean male shuddered and shook before he fell to the side unconscious while Blackfire looked down at him with a smirk. The dark tamaranean idly flexed her hands, as if she were savoring the feel of her powers, and then grinned toothily as she brought both hands up and smashed them down into a control panel. The metal buckled and the device sparked wildly as the girl pulled her hands back with a savage grin.
She then hurried to a window and shot off into the distance. Raven and Starfire gave chase and watched as Blackfire entered the next palace, and the next, and the next. The girl systematically destroyed each of the devices before pulling a communicator from her side. Starfire exhaled a breath and narrowed her eyes, "In exchange for the technology which allows her to use her powers, she disabled our monitoring systems," she explained.
Raven felt a pit form in her stomach as the sky suddenly turned dark, warships of varying sizes floated high in the air and then literally bombarded the planet from orbit rather than attack from the air or ground. Raven looked on in horror, as the world itself was ripped apart, where once were vast beautiful jungles, soon all that remained of the world was a barren wasteland…
"My people were unable to defend ourselves, the Citadel's attack was both swift and brutal," the redhead explained then the scene changed. Raven saw a man with a crown resting on his throne as two Gordanians dragged a young Starfire away. Blackfire stood next to a tall black skinned creature and gave a 'playful wave' to Starfire as she was taken from her family…
'Suddenly I'm feeling a lot less sympathetic for her,' Raven thought with narrowed eyes.
"My sister brokered a 'peace' between my people and the Citadel," Starfire explained and then closed her eyes. "My father and the other kings of our world were forced to agree with her terms in order to save us all from complete and total annihilation," she continued, "they agreed to give the Citadel their first born daughters," the redhead stated then turned to the side.
"All save for one," she amended. Raven looked at her curiously as she pointed to a shot of light shooting into the sky from a distant palace. "That is the home of my childhood friend, Prince Karras," the alien girl explained, "His father adamantly refused to see his daughter in the hands of the Citadel, and so sent her away instead," she explained and then closed her eyes as the palace exploded from a shot from the sky.
"He and all those who stood with him paid for his disobedience with their lives," the girl whispered softly. She then watched as her younger self was dragged away, while Raven just stood there, unsure of what she could really say. Starfire sighed and the world around them faded to black. Raven looked to Starfire unsurely, wondering how she could comfort her friend considering all that had happened to her.
'Certainly a lot more than I give her credit for,' Raven admitted to herself. She could hardly imagine how the redhead was still so cheerful and bubbly given all that. Then again perhaps she just didn't like to think about all the bad things and instead focused on the good. She so rarely spoke of her life and instead tried to generalize and speak only of the traditions of her people…
"That is Blackfire's story, as well as a bit more of my own," Starfire suddenly stated. Raven blinked and looked up as the redhead turned to her with a waning smile. "Though I admit there is more, it would take too much time to explain it all," she noted. Raven idly nodded her head and then looked down.
"How do you forgive Blackfire considering everything she's done to you, not to mention what she did to your people?" Raven questioned. Starfire smiled softly in response.
"Because no matter what she has done, she is still my sister," the redhead replied. As she did the world faded out and Raven opened her eyes to the real world. Starfire did as well and noticed that someone was contacting her. She idly flipped on her comm. when she saw that it was Robin. "Yes?" she questioned. Raven mutely looked away and attempted to digest all that had been revealed to her.
"Are you okay Star?" the boy wonder questioned, "You've been awfully quiet," he noted. The tamaranean powerhouse smiled in response.
"I am fine," she replied. "I am merely eager to introduce my home planet to you my friends," she declared cheerfully. "I also cannot wait to see Tamaran! I admit I have been having a bit of the 'sick home' feeling of late," she admitted mostly to herself. She then clasped her hands together. "First we must ingest the home squeezed glorg!" she declared and the others grimaced. Starfire had made 'glorg' for them after all…
"Or perhaps sputflinks," she considered and then her eyes brightened, "and wait until you see the Portkins, they are as big as a Flarnap!" she declared happily. BB silently imagined said creature and started to shrink in on himself.
"Um… am I the only one afraid of the big portkins?" he questioned. Robin felt his brow twitch as he then focused on Starfire.
"You said before that you're getting married," he noted with a clearly annoyed tone. Raven glanced at the team's leader from her seat and then slowly nodded her head.
"Yeah, uh, anyone we know?" the dark bird questioned. Robin shot her a look while Starfire sunk into her seat and poked her index fingers together.
"Oh I have never met him," she admitted. Her eyes were somewhat downcast as she looked to the side of the floor. "My betrothed has been chosen for me by the grand ruler of Tamaran," she admitted. She then sat up as she heard a thump from Robin's communicator, as if he'd just hit something.
"You're getting married," he demanded then paused to snarl, "and to someone you've never met!?" he exclaimed. The redhead winced and then sighed.
"Of course Robin," she replied then looked to the side, "It is the way of my people," she stated. Though that wasn't entirely true… in fact it was an outright lie. Her people were creatures of freedom; this was clearly more of Blackfire's handiwork. In fact her people barely acknowledged 'marriage' as an institution, all it was used for was politics and even that was rare as Tamaraneans believed more in the emotional connection.
This was especially true, since on Tamaran physical love was the same as friendship on earth. They loved their friends, sometimes physically, but always emotionally. It was why she was so 'affectionate' with all of her friends. She'd actually had to restrain herself quite often as she knew it wasn't the norm on their planet, but she found that their beliefs were a little strange at times… especially about marriage.
This was because on her world, soul mates were a real thing and their people could quite easily recognize when they'd found their soul mate. Her mother and father for instance had been together since their early childhood. She'd actually been promised to her friend Prince Karras at one point, but he'd found his soul mate in a girl named Taryia, a young servant in her father's palace and the marriage was called off.
She was fairly certain that this marriage however, would not end the same way…
"But Starfire," Robin tried to say, only to grunt as the T-Ship was suddenly attacked from out of nowhere. The team loked up in time to see a fleet of ships and Cyborg narrowed his eyes.
"I don't suppose this is some kind of crazy Tamaranean welcoming committee?" the titanium teen questioned. Starfire shook her head in response and he grunted. "Great," he muttered quietly.
"Whoever they are, they have us outnumbered ten to one," Raven remarked after a look at her radar. She then grimaced as a few blasts grazed her section of the T-Ship. Robin narrowed his eyes beneath his mask and gripped the controls of his ship tightly. He'd been more than a little annoyed today, but now it looked like he finally had something to take his aggression out on!
"Not for long," the boy wonder remarked firmly, "Titans, Separate!" he ordered. His team did as bade as the T-Ship split off into five separate ships…
00
(Earth…)
He heard a soft steady beep. He slowly returned to consciousness to see a white ceiling and mentally scowled. 'Fucking hospitals,' he thought to himself. He raised a hand to his forehead and sat up on the bed. He then glanced around to take note that he was in the old H.A.Y.E.P. infirmary. 'Well I haven't been here in quite a while,' the blond noted to himself and then took stock of himself.
'My wounds have healed,' he noted as he pulled off several bandages as well as the cord for the heart monitor. 'I've got nothing but my boxers on, so Giz probably got me out of my suit,' he noted and then stretched his arms out. He then smacked his lips and closed his eyes to concentrate on his internals. 'My chakra seems to be flowing like normal at least,' he mused to himself.
With that done the blond turned and slipped off of the bed and stretched out once more. He took a moment to do a few quick stretches to limber up his muscles and then walked out of the infirmary with a yawn. If he was at the H.A.E.Y.P. infirmary, then Angel and Kyd had told the Troika about their little secret. He wasn't too terribly miffed about it either; he had planned on telling them eventually after all.
He idly scratched at his head as he walked out into the semi-damaged halls of the former H.I.V.E. academy. 'Guess Kyd and Angel only cleared the halls out thus far,' the blond mused to himself. It'd only been a few months since he'd last seen those two though so it wasn't too surprising. The H.A.E.Y.P. was a massive building and it'd take a long time for two people to fix it up.
He'd only stayed away on the chance that Brother Blood was watching him. Unlike Kyd and Angel, Naruto knew that the man had kept more than a few eyes watching him around the H.A.E.Y.P. Usually they were in the form of spy drones, but he did also have the occasional student unknowingly watch him. Naruto had been sure to stay away from the wrecked H.A.E.Y.P. and avoided using his X-Suit for that very reason.
"Tempest!" he heard Jinx call out. Naruto blinked then glanced to his side and realized he'd walked into an intersection. In it he saw the Troika, as well as Kyd and Angel. Of them, Mammoth and Gizmo were amused as they looked at the now scarlet-faced Jinx; the tiny terror snickered into his hand while Mammoth smirked. Meanwhile Kyd and Angel didn't react to his lack of attire at all save for arched brows.
"Yo," he offered with a yawn. Jinx yelped and covered her eyes, which caused the blond to arch a brow. 'When did she become such a prude?' he briefly wondered then scratched the side of his head. "So did anyone bring me some threads?" he questioned bluntly. The others shook their heads and the blond hummed to himself. "Right then, emergency stash it is," he remarked and yawned once more.
"Wha?" Gizmo questioned with a scratch of his head. Rather than answer directly, Naruto raised a forearm to reveal a seal. He then bit down on his thumb and quickly swiped it over the seal with a pulse of chakra. A scroll popped into existence, which he swiftly caught and then unraveled. He unsealed a mesh undershirt, which he pulled on, followed by a red t-shirt, black flack jacket, black cargo pants, and black boots.
Once dressed he then pulled a black / red striped bucket hat out of the scroll and plopped it on his head as well. The hat shadowed his eyes as he stretched his arms to either side and then turned on his heel. "Whelp, I'm off then," he declared as he walked off. As he did Mammoth rolled his eyes and lightly tapped the back of Jinx's head. She yelped and turned to him with a glare and he mutely pointed at the leaving blond.
The girl swiftly ran to catch up with the teen while the others followed at a sedate pace.
"Oh no you don't!" Jinx growled as she slid ahead of the blond. He tilted his head as the girl narrowed her eyes on him. She inhaled through her nose and then exhaled a quick breath as she calmed herself down. "First of all, thank you for all your help last night," she stated with a nod. Naruto mutely rolled his eyes and waved it off. He'd done bigger things for his friends before. 'Like Sakura,' he internally remarked…
"Second of all, how in the name of hell did you manage to steal the academy and not tell me?!" she demanded incredulously. Naruto arched a brow with a smirk and Jinx suddenly blushed. "Us!" she blurted out with her hands raised, "I meant us!" she declared and glanced around a bit too shiftily to be believed. Gizmo scoffed from his position riding on an amused Mammoth's shoulder.
"Oy who cares how, I want to know why he doesn't live here instead of that dinky little apartment," Gizmo declared with a frown. Naruto glanced back at his short friend and smirked.
"Blood was having me watched, I wanted him to believe this place was genuinely destroyed," the blond replied, "That's also why I wasn't doing the whole 'Red-X' thing for a while, I wanted Blood off of my trail," he admitted. While he could probably take Blood in a one on one fight, he knew no fight with Blood would be one on one. Not only would the man use his friends as living meat shields but he also had H.I.V.E. agents to throw at him.
"That makes sense," Mammoth admitted. He'd been extra cautious of Blood as well as of late. Mostly in the form of smuggling Shimmer and Leviathan out of the school to keep them away from Blood's mind control. As nice as free room and board were, he was not going to put his sister or girlfriend in danger to keep it. Then again he might move them into the old academy if Naruto let them stay…
"Yeah sure," Gizmo stated flippantly, "But what'd you steal this place for?" Gizmo questioned. Don't get him wrong, the academy was a magnificent facility, but for someone like Naruto it was extremely high maintenance. Not to mention the blond couldn't tell the difference between a power adapter and a network cable…
"Mostly to prove that I could," Naruto said with a shrug then clicked his tongue, "But I also figured it'd be nice to have a halfway descent place to set up shop," he admitted. It was a pretty good reason in his opinion. Most 'villains' in this world worked out of warehouses to the point someone could toss a rock at one and likely find a villain's hideout. Naruto had wanted something better than the run of the mill con.
The Troika could appreciate the sentiment. Since they had graduated, though they were still called on by the H.I.V.E. for minor jobs, they had been set up with a warehouse on the outskirts of Jump City. It was a miracle that Gizmo had managed to upgrade the place as much as he had, and a testament to their teamwork and friendship that they had worked together to make the place into something halfway decent…
But you didn't compare something like that to the facilities in the H.A.E.Y.P.
The Infirmary alone was state of the art, add on the training facilities, the mess hall / cafeteria with a fully equipped kitchen, a massive armory, all the dorms and rooms ready for conversion to suit other means, the labs, the computers, etc etc… it was quite literally anything a villain would ever need. Plus it was conveniently hidden by way of the fact that the Titans believed that the school had already been destroyed.
"By the by, you guys can set up here if you're looking for a place to stay," Naruto offered casually. Kyd and Angel had honestly expected that to happen. They'd enjoyed their 'alone time' in the academy for long enough anyways. It would be nice to have some actual social interaction with other people again. It certainly got some… interesting reactions from the Troika.
"Wait what?" Jinx demanded. She could scarcely believe after all the trouble they had already put him through the night before that he was just going to offer to let them stay in what was, essentially, his place.
"Seriously!?" Gizmo questioned with a wicked grin. He could already imagine all the things he was going to be doing with the labs, armory… he suddenly broke into maniacal laughter as he imagined the possibilities.
"I'm moving Selinda and Levi here," Mammoth deadpanned and marched away. As he did Gizmo hopped off of his shoulder to stare at him, alongside a bemused Jinx. She had been more than aware that Mammoth was increasingly nervous about leaving his little sister alone. With Brother Blood around the older teen just wasn't comfortable leaving her or his girlfriend on their own for very long.
"Yeah, that's probably a really good idea," Naruto noted with a nod of his head. Mammoth was the only member of the Troika with any immediate, known, family after all. Gizmo's dad and Jinx's mom were full time career criminals. Gizmo Senior was still alive and kicking as far as they knew, but off at who knew where. Jinx's mom was, supposedly, still locked up in Alcatraz… though that was more of a rumor than anything.
"Anyways, how long is it gonna' take to get my suit back in working order?" the blond questioned. Gizmo made to reply but Angel punched him on the head with narrowed eyes.
"We're scrapping it and starting over," she stated firmly. Gizmo growled and glared at the winged girl.
"Hell no! Do you have any idea how long it took me to build that suit?!" he demanded. Angel leveled a deadpan stare on him in response.
"I helped work on it," she reminded him bluntly. He just growled and muttered to himself while Naruto scratched his hair.
"Err… no offense Angel, but could you at least patch up my old suit so I can still use it if I go on any jobs in the meantime?" he questioned with a nervous grin. He could always go out without it, but the suit was technically his costume and he didn't want people to know he was the one under it. Angel frowned for a moment then sighed.
"Fine," she grumbled. Gizmo smirked and snickered to himself. "But we're putting in a cut off so he doesn't hemorrhage chakra again," she growled. Gizmo stopped laughing then shrugged his shoulders.
"That's fair," he admitted. Naruto rolled his eyes at that then hummed to himself.
"By the way Giz, are those neural blocks of ours still working?" Naruto questioned. His short friend frowned in response.
"For now but I got a funny feeling they won't for long," he admitted. It was part of why the Troika had left Blood's proximity as soon as they graduated. Jinx was hyper paranoid of being mind controlled again and Gizmo had noticed that Brother Blood had something of an unhealthy obsession with Cyborg. Granted most villains had an unhealthy obsession or two, but it was better to err on the side of caution with a mind controlling psychopath.
"Think you can fix 'em up?" Naruto questioned. Gizmo frowned and rubbed his chin.
"Might take me a while," he admitted.
"I'll assist," Angel stated. Gizmo frowned momentarily then nodded his head.
"Right, good," Naruto stated with a nod and turned on his heel. He slipped passed Jinx and then turned back to the others. "Well then folks, I'm off for a lil R and R, catch you later," he stated with a wave as he turned back around. As the blond sauntered off Jinx crossed her arms with a frown.
"Sometimes that boy drives me crazy," she noted to herself. She then glanced to her side as Gizmo looked at her with a grin, standing on his spider-legs.
"Only cause you looo-ooove him so much," he teased, which earned smirks from Kyd and Angel. However Jinx mutely socked the tiny terror in the jaw…
00
(Tamaran…)
The T-Ship lowered towards the planet from orbit. There were marks from their brief, yet harrowing, battle against their unknown assailants. As they lowered towards the surface of the world, the male titans saw a barren harsh world. It looked almost like a wasteland to them. Raven however, she saw something horrifying, a world ripped apart and robbed of its glory by its enemies and betrayal.
Starfire on the other hand…
"Is it not the most beautiful place your eyes have ever observed!?" the alien powerhouse gushed. Raven looked towards the girl strangely, she had to wonder if she was being genuine or if this was her putting on a show. 'Great, now I'm questioning the reasons for everything she does,' the dark bird thought with a sigh. Maybe it wasn't so nice to know there was more to Starfire than what she presented…
The journey to the palace was an oppressively quiet affair. No one really had much to say, aside from Starfire who was gushing about her home. Raven occasionally looked her way, but couldn't get a read on what she was thinking. Robin was being broody, which wasn't that different to normal. Beast Boy seemed interested in the animals of the world Starfire spoke of, and Cyborg was interested in the technology.
Eventually they saw the palace on a plateau and approached it. Starfire was quite clearly ecstatic as she all but bounced in her seat. Raven smirked slightly, glad her friend could find some amusement in this situation. They set the T-Ship down on a landing platform attached to the palace. The team got out of the ship, Cy lamenting the damage they took from their earlier dogfight before they headed towards the palace gates.
Starfire walked ahead of them with her hands pressed together, then paused as the door began to rise up. As it did the Titans saw a group of Tamaraneans walk out, several in robes and armor, while one in the middle towered over the others, and the titans, standing at a solid eight feet and with one brightly glowing eye. The bearded balding behemoth marched forward, his shadow literally looming over them at his approach.
Starfire rose up with Starbolts at the ready and Raven looked at her friend strangely. 'What's going on?' she briefly wondered. The big Tamaranean was familiar; he'd been in a few of the visions Starfire showed her. Most of the time the big guy was with her father and so Raven assumed he was a friend to the man. But if that was the case why did Starfire look ready to fight him?
She received no answer as the big Tamaranean spoke to Starfire, of the words spoken, all Raven could pick out were 'Koriand'r' which was Starfire's real name and 'X'hal. When he finished he did so with a fist to his chest and Starfire got into his face and replied with something that sounded hostile. The big guy gave a roar as he raised his arms and grabbed at the alien powerhouse who gave a sudden scream.
"Titans, g-!" Robin began as he readied his throwing disks, the rest of the titans assumed a battle ready position as well, only for them to pause when he saw the big guy was laughing as he tickled the alien girl. Starfire herself was laughing quite loudly and literally rolling around in the air clutching her stomach. Raven sighed at this and lowered herself, while Cyborg scratched his head and Robin looked on unsurely.
"Um, unless they tickle people to death here, I think you can chill," the titanium teen noted and Robin relaxed his stance. They then watched the big guy continue to tickle Starfire for a moment longer, before they ceased. They girl giggled as she hugged the big guy tightly, then lowered down to her feet as he put a hand on her shoulder and she motioned to him.
"Friends, I wish you to meet my K'nofka, Galfore!" the girl declared with a bright smile, "he raised me from the time I was very small," she noted. 'Oh so he's like her bodyguard then,' Raven mused to herself. Beast Boy had a more animated reaction as he started to laugh out loud while pointing at the big guy.
"You mean this dude's your nanny?" he questioned laughingly. The rest of the Titans wisely vacated Beast Boy's immediate area as Galfore stomped forward.
"You find that amusing little one?" he demanded with a snarl. BB quieted up as he looked upon the bulking muscles of the enormous Tamaranean who could likely rip a full sized gorilla in half like tissue paper…
"N-no," he squeaked weakly and backed away. The others decided to put themselves ahead of the green titan for fear of him further insulting the tamaranean behemoth.
"Nice to meet you," Robin offered. Galfore nodded and pounded his chest.
"X'hal," he stated with an incline of his head. He then glanced at the T-ship. "I see you have met our new enemy," he remarked as a bit of the T-Ship fell away from the rest and started to spark wildly.
"Then you know who attacked us?" Robin questioned. Galfore nodded and then motioned to the side for the titans to look below. There they could see several vaguely insect shaped ships
"The great Drenthaxx army," Galfore responded with a wave. The titans stared in shock at what looked to be dozens, if not hundreds of ships. "They threaten to overthrow our planet, our very way of life," the big guy explained and then scowled. "And if I were grand ruler I would," he began with a clenched fist. He then inhaled a breath and exhaled through his nose with a scowl.
"Well," he began with a shake of his head, "I am not," he finished softly, "let us just say that much has changed, since you departed," he told Starfire. The alien girl merely flew forward and placed her hands on Galfore's shoulders comfortingly.
"I have missed you Galfore," she told him sincerely. The big Tamaranean smiled softly.
"And I have missed you," he began and then knelt down before the girl, "Princess Koriand'r," he stated. As he did the other guards that had been with him knelt down as well. As a result the boys stared at her in shock.
"Princess?!" both Cyborg and Robin demanded.
"Dude, your name is actually Coriander?" BB questioned with a scratch of his head, "Isn't that like an herb or something?" he questioned unsurely. The others stared at him strangely for a moment while Starfire looked to Galfore.
[Why did you call me princess? We both know I no longer hold that title,] the alien powerhouse whispered to her Knorfka in Tamaranean. The big guy narrowed his eyes in response and glanced at the guards around them. He then looked back to Starfire and placed a hand on her shoulder.
[It is as I said before, Little Star,] he began gravely, [Much has changed,] he intoned with narrowed eyes…
00
(Tamaranean Palace…)
After a feast, where they learned that Tamaranean eating habits were… well… they were kind of terrifying. Tamaraneans were apparently of the mind that if you didn't hurry you wouldn't get any, and the actual feast was more like a brawl. 'I'm going to guess Blackfire didn't get a lot of meals that way,' Raven noted with a frown. It seemed almost odd to her how poorly Blackfire fit in with her own people.
On Earth the girl was literally the life of the party, people liked her and she fit in, with or without her powers. On the flip side Starfire not only fit in on Tamaran, she was also beloved. It was literally like the sisters were polar opposites. Blackfire fit in on Earth, Starfire didn't, Starfire fit in on Tamaran, Blackfire didn't. It was kind of weird when you stopped to think about it.
Thankfully, music started playing at some point and they followed Galfore and a small entourage of Tamaraneans into a grand hall. There the Tamaraneans knelt down as what Raven assumed were trumpets, or the equivalent, played and someone marched forward from the end of the room. The titans glanced at one another unsurely for a moment, then knelt down with Starfire and Galfore as the figure approached. Raven glanced up and felt her eyes widen.
It was definitely Blackfire, but she looked more mature, or at least that was the only way Raven could describe it. Not to mention it looked like she'd put on some muscle since they last saw her. 'What happened to her in that prison?' the dark bird briefly wondered. She also noted that her long black hair seemed to have red highlights now, but aside from that her orange skin, sharp triangular eyebrows, and purple eyes remained unchanged.
She'd also changed up her armor, going for a banded metal chest-plate and arm and neck guards, with a 'broach' at her navel that connected her armor to a pair of tight black pants which left her hips bare, studded wrist protectors, and thigh high black boots with banded metal trim and toes. She also wore an M shaped crown over her head and had a fur lined purple / black cloak chained around her neck and hanging at her left side.
"All hail the grand ruler of Tamaran, The Empress," Galfore declared. Starfire looked up at that, she widened her eyes and clenched her fists.
"Blackfire," she whispered. Blackfire idly raised a brow at that and grinned.
"Hey there kids, you miss me?" she quipped with a smirk. Raven felt he brow twitch and resisted the urge to palm her face. 'She and X were dating at some point in the future… oh god there really are two of them,' she thought with a groan. One of X was bad enough without them somehow multiplying…
"How is she here?" Robin demanded with a snarl. BB and Cy just gaped, more than a little affected by the older alien's 'new look'. Not that Raven could really blame them; it was quite the startling change after all. 'Maybe she takes the whole 'ruler' thing more seriously than we give her credit for,' Raven considered. Given it was what she'd wanted more than anything else as she was growing up, that would make the most sense.
Regardless she watched Blackfire step forward and then look down at Starfire with clear amusement dancing in her purple eyes. "Surprised to see me little star?" she asked the redhead mockingly.
"I am," Starfire began and then exhaled, "surprised to see you out of prison," she stated somewhat lamely, though her eyes blazed neon green regardless. Raven noticed that Blackfire's eyebrow twitched violently and her eyes blazed with magenta fire as she looked down at her sister at the reminder of the prison.
"Oh that," she grumbled, "lets just say prison didn't agree with me, though this one girl had it so much worse," the dark tamaranean remarked and her eyes seemed to steam wisps of magenta smoke. "Something about having an unusually weak immune system in a scummy prison 'll do that!" she snarled at the redhead. She then inhaled and exhaled a breath and crossed her arms over her chest.
"So I busted out and came back home," she noted, "Funny thing is our dear parents fell ill and died not too long ago and so a new ruler was needed to lead our people," the dark Tamaranean remarked and then grinned nastily. "Of course you couldn't do it, since you were gone and… well, all those other reasons," she noted with a grin. Starfire growled low in her throat and glared at her sister for the crack.
"Then there was sweet little Ryand'r," she noted with her hands clasped together in mock concern, then smirked, "but he's gone missing," she stated simply then brushed a bit of her dark hair behind her back. "And as for cousin Alisand'r, well…" here Blackfire paused and looked genuinely confused, "no one's seen her in quite a while," she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. She then grinned down at her sister.
"Oh but enough about me," she stated dramatically, "I'm sure you're eager to see who you'll be spending the rest of your life with," the dark tamaranean noted as she stepped to the side and waved a hand back. There a handsome young Tamaranean turned around and the sight of him momentarily caught Starfire off guard. Robin gaped and pointed at the handsome young Tamaranean incredulously.
However the young Tamaranean then moved out of the way as a sickly green creature with a number of tentacles that oozed slime floated forward on a circular platform. Blackfire grinned as she waved to the green sludge creature; "Starfire meet your groom, Glgrdsklechhh," she declared and was clearly on the verge of laughter. Starfire gaped at the creature while Robin was on the verge of an apoplectic explosion.
"Um… he's cute," Raven offered in an attempt to break the tension… it didn't work…
00
(Later…)
Starfire paced in her room with a frown. She briefly glanced at her 'wedding dress' and frowned deeply. 'What are you up too sister?' she wondered to herself. The Drenthaxx were allies to the Citadel, they wouldn't attack Tamaran so long as it was still under their rule. That in mind Starfire knew that her sister had engineered this entire thing, her only question was for what purpose.
She briefly thought back to Red-X and all he'd told her, but also what another person in the future had mentioned…
"So, Robin's loosing his mind," Raven's voice came as the girl appeared out of a shadow with a frown. Starfire quickly slapped her hands to her mouth to keep from yelping and then looked at her friend crossly.
"Friend Raven you should not be here," the alien powerhouse told her. Raven rolled her eyes and shimmered like a shadow.
"I'm not, this is my soul self, I'm just here to talk and calm you down before we have two Robins running around," the dark bird remarked with a shake of her head. Starfire breathed a sigh of relief and then sat down on her bed. "So I take it none of this is actually real?" Raven questioned. Starfire shook her head and narrowed her eyes.
"The Drenthaxx have long been allies to the Citadel, when the Citadel brokered peace with Tamaran that included all their allies as well," the orange skinned alien replied with a scowl. Raven hummed in response and rubbed her chin.
"Could this be some kind of a coup?" she offered but Starfire shook her head.
"The Gordanians would devastate them if they were to try such a thing, and they are also not the stupid," she replied and then started to drum her fingers. "Blackfire wants something from that… thing… and is willing to give me to it for whatever it is that she desires," she noted then frowned, "but what that is exactly, I cannot say," the alien powerhouse noted and bit her lip.
"Blackfire said your wedding would be held a moonset, is there something significant about 'Moonset'?" Raven questioned. The phrase was a little odd after all. Starfire seemed to frown in response.
"Moonset is the setting of the Tamranean moon, which occurs roughly an hour before dawn," she responded. That got Raven's attention and caused her to scowl.
"You were born at dawn," she recalled and Starfire nodded her head. "So she's trying to taint that time of day for you?" she questioned. Starfire idly nodded her head as that definitely felt like something her sister would do. Raven frowned in response and then had a sudden thought. "Did X tell you anything in the future that could help?" the dark bird questioned. Starfire clicked her tongue and then hummed.
"Perhaps," she replied and then crossed her arms. "However I know one person who likely told me more of Blackfire's dealings than even he did," she admitted with a nod. Raven raised a brow and looked at her curiously.
"Who?" she asked and the alien powerhouse smiled mischievously.
"The Starfire of the future," she replied cheerfully. Raven idly nodded and then looked at the girl in wide-eyed shock.
"Wait what!?" she demanded…
00
[20 years in the future…]
(Tartarus Technologies…)
Naruto walked with Starfire at his side as he animatedly talked to her animatedly as they went. The younger girl snickered to herself as they entered into the OPS center of the building. "And that is why Komand'r, to this very day, has this crazy idea I'm literally the prince of all thieves," the blond declared with a shake of his head. Starfire giggled to herself mirthfully and then smiled brightly as they entered OPS.
"I am believing I was greatly needing that," the redhead remarked. "There has been too much the unfriendliness, and not enough of the joy," she noted aloud and Naruto silently shrugged his shoulders.
"Eh, well they do say that laughter is the best medicine," the blond remarked. Starfire idly nodded her head as they walked over to the kitchen. There Naruto started to gather a few things from the cabinets while Starfire seated herself and hummed. "Something on your mind cutie?" Naruto asked as he grabbed a few extra ingredients. 'Aha, there we go,' he thought as he gathered everything and started to cook.
"I am merely curious if my sister ever missed me," Starfire admitted. Naruto paused and grimaced. 'Well… she did miss out on selling you to an alien slug slash slime freak so she could have a gemstone that she thought would make her more powerful, then had me steal it for her instead… and it did absolutely jack for her,' the blond thought and then chuckled nervously. He was so not telling her about that…
"Well you know how Kom can be," he replied. Starfire sighed but nodded her head in agreement with the thief. She was very aware of how Komand'r was even towards people she seemed to like. Unfortunately she had never been one of the people she liked so she could imagine Komand'r was quite pleased by her disappearance…
"Yes," she murmured then exhaled, "But enough of such depressing topics, please, what can you tell me of your 'Outlaw' friends?" the tamaranean powerhouse questioned. Naruto hummed and scratched at his head. Truth be told he wasn't sure what he should or should not tell the redhead about his friends. He wanted Xyannis to be a surprise, that was sure to be funny, but as for Roy, Jade, and Jason…
"Well, uh… lets see," he thought and then crossed his arms. "Cheshire is a former member of the League of Assassins, kind of crazy on most days, and I'm her daughter's godfather," Naruto remarked. It was also a point of fact that Rose Wilson, AKA The Ravager, had somehow wound up as Lian's godmother… Lian had even once mistakenly assumed that meant he and Rose were together.
Starfire hummed then tilted her head in confusion.
"What is being this 'Father of Gods' meant to symbolize?" she questioned. Naruto blinked and then palmed his face. It was kind of sad how the Tamaranean language had so many really screwed up words…
"It's 'God Father' not father of gods, Cutie. Technically I'm like her K'norfka, if anything happens to her parents I'm essentially going to be the one looking out for her," the blond replied. He'd also make it his personal mission in life to murder the ones that left Lian without her parents. He wasn't really all that fond of Jade, he and Roy were… kind of iffy… but he genuinely liked Lian and wanted her to be happy.
"Oh I see," the alien powerhouse replied. She then motioned for the blond to continue and he hummed.
"Red-Arrow is… kind of a prick sometimes, but he means well enough, he's Lian's father and was ironically the one who chose me as her godfather," the blond replied then frowned deeply. He really hadn't been too happy to find out he was named Lian's godfather because Roy lost a bet with Jason… He shook his head of such thoughts and moved on with a quiet hum.
"Then you have Red-Hood," he noted and grimaced, "He can be a bit intense, but when you finally get him to chill he's an alright guy. Just don't bring up clowns or bats and he'll be fine for the most part," Naruto replied. He then refocused on his cooking while Starfire hummed.
"Is it being intentional that most of you have 'Red' in your names?" she questioned and Naruto chuckled lightly. Truth be told it'd been a coincidence when they first teamed up, but then Roy and Jason started to have fun and brought on Red-Star and Red-Robin into the group once or twice. After a while people with 'Red' somewhere in their name just started to pop out of the woodworks and work with them on the occasional job.
"No, but sometimes I have to wonder," Naruto replied with a shake of his head. He then glanced to the side as Gizmo came in on his spider-legs. The Tiny-Terror then walked over and sat down with a visible scowl. "What's happening Giz?" Naruto questioned as he checked on his food. Gizmo grunted and crossed his arms on the table.
"Fucking ghost programs are driving me crazy is what!" he half snarled while Starfire looked from him to X with concern.
"Will your home be alright?" the alien powerhouse questioned. Gizmo grunted in and narrowed his eyes.
"This place'll be fine bitch, it'll take more 'en Cypher to take it out," the tiny terror replied. Naruto smirked beneath his mask and leaned to the side.
"Brainiac would disagree," he remarked. Gizmo snarled at his friend.
"We don't speak of that!" he roared and Naruto laughed at his friend's expression. Starfire was clearly confused, and made to ask what they were talking about, but Naruto slid a bowl in front of her. She blinked then looked down to see a noodle dish with a deep brown broth, some type of green veggie, topped with a strange brown-ish colored food and tiny white things with pink spirals in them.
"What is this?" the alien powerhouse questioned. She then paused as a pair of sticks was handed to her. She looked at the sticks strangely while the thief sat down with his own bowl of the stuff and passed one to Gizmo. The tiny terror accepted with surprising grace and accepted the chopsticks with a slight frown.
"It's a sort of food my people eat called udon," the blond replied then smirked. "This particular variant is also known as 'Kitsune Udon'," he explained as he reached up to mess with his mask. As he did Starfire looked at the 'food' with a tilted head and then to the sticks with a clearly lost expression. Gizmo grunted to get her attention and then showed her how to hold the sticks.
As they did that Naruto opened the jaw plate on his mask and moved it around.
"Much better," he stated, his voice no longer synthesized. Starfire idly noted that it was most assuredly masculine, but that is also sounded a bit off… "Anyways, Itadakimasu! (I humbly receive!)" he stated and clapped his hands together with a partially visible grin. Starfire raised a brow then stared as the masked thief proceeded to inhale the noodle dish, with much gusto, while Gizmo snorted.
"Oy, I swear your table manners have somehow gotten worse over the years," the tiny terror stated with a smirk as he blew on his food and ate at a sedate pace. Starfire idly glanced at him with a confused expression.
"On my world his manners would be considered quite acceptable," she remarked. Gizmo stared at her and then shook his head.
"Fucking aliens I swear," he mumbled while Naruto finished his first bowl, and then went to get more. As he did Starfire looked down at the food with a frown then tentatively picked up one of the spiral-things she saw in the soup. She dropped it once and then picked it back up as Naruto sat back down with another bowl he practically inhaled. She briefly blew on it then popped it in her mouth and her eyes all but sparkled.
"These tiny spirals are delicious!" she stated and swiftly popped another into her mouth. She smiled while Naruto chuckled lightly.
"Narutomaki," he remarked. Starfire raised a brow in response while the blond pointed his chopsticks at the little spiral. "That's what that is," he stated, "it's called narutomaki, it's a type of kamaboko," he further explained as he continued to eat, "it's basically pureed fish that's been steamed and cooked till it's firm," he stated with a shrug. He then returned to his meal while Starfire poked at the brown substance in her noodles, aside from the broth.
"And this?" she questioned. Naruto grinned beneath his mask. 'Green bean would love this,' he thought to himself.
"Aburaage," he replied and Starfire raised a brow. She then picked it up and took a bite, and then another and another until it was fully gone. Naruto half grinned as he looked at the girl. "Also known as sweetened deep-fried tofu pockets," he remarked. Starfire stilled and then blinked in surprise.
"The Tofu…" she murmured in surprise and looked at the blond incredulously, "but friend Beast Boy's tofu was never so good," she stated bluntly. She'd tried said tofu on a few occasions to make the green teen feel better… she often regretted it. Naruto snorted and then laughed while Gizmo snickered to himself. Eventually the thief calmed himself and shook his head.
"Well it helps when you actually know what you're doing with the stuff!" he replied with a sigh. Starfire inclined her head and then pointed at the greens in her bowl. Naruto exhaled and then glanced at what she was pointing at, but decided to explain it all ahead of time with a mental sigh. 'Note to self, never try to explain something to the cutie, she asks way too many follow-up questions,' he decided resolutely.
"The noodles are just wheat flour noodles, while those greens are known as 'Negi' where I'm from, but most in these parts call 'em scallions, while the broth is kakejiro, it's basically just soy sauce, dashi, and a little mirin," he explained with a shrug. Starfire mutely nodded and then started to eat the rest of her meal. As she did Gizmo glanced at his noodles then at Naruto.
"You actually put mirin in here?" he questioned. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Just some shin-mirin Giz," he replied bluntly. The tiny terror frowned in response.
"Spoil sport," he grumbled while Starfire casually looked between them.
"Is the mirin important?" she questioned. Naruto shrugged his shoulders.
"It's mildly alcoholic," he replied. Starfire blinked and then hummed.
"How mild?" she questioned curiously.
"Only about fourteen percent at the strongest, but I use Shin-Mirin, so it's literally only about one percent," he replied with a shrug. The redhead nodded in understanding while Gizmo stared at her strangely. The tiny terror then muttered to himself and turned to face Naruto with a raised brow.
"So why Kitsune Udon?" he questioned. Naruto grinned in response.
"Irony's sake," he replied as he finished his latest bowl.
"What does that mean?" Starfire questioned and both Naruto and Gizmo snickered. Starfire pouted as they kept their private joke to themselves. After a moment Gizmo finished his meal with a sigh and then hummed.
"Oh yeah, I got in touch with the Outlaws, they said they'd swing by," the tiny terror noted as he pulled out Cypher's data-chit.
"Sweet, so when'll they show up?" the masked blond questioned. He then paused when he heard an alarm blare and Gizmo snorted.
"Sounds like they just did," the tiny terror replied with a grin. Naruto nodded as he slipped out of his seat and then glanced to Gizmo.
"So what're you going to do Giz?" he questioned. The tiny terror grunted as he held up the data-chit.
"I'm going to see if I can figure out where Cypher is held up with this," he replied. Naruto inclined his head then looked to Starfire.
"C'mon Cutie, lets go and introduce you to The Outlaws," the masked thief stated. The redhead nodded her head and floated off of her seat to stand beside him. As he did Gizmo slipped the Data-chit into a triangular device with an odd projector at the top.
00
(?)
Soaring through the skies of Jump City is a small, clearly alien vessel, which rapidly approaches the Tartarus Technologies building. Citizens, used to more unusual sights in Jump City, barely bat a lash as the vessel passes them by. In fact a few of them take the time to take pictures of the vessel as it passes. Within said vessel is a host of different people, whom are collectively known as The Outlaws!
One is known as Red-Hood, the infamous outlaw and once protégée of Batman. He's tall with an atheletic physique clearly defined by his outfit. He is dressed in a padded black suit with a red bat symbol on his chest, belt with holsters for his guns strapped to his thighs, a brown leather jacket, and bright crimson red mask / helmet. The often times notorious vigilante is currently seated beside his best friend, hands crossed behind his head.
"So did Gizmo tell you what X wanted Roy?" Red-Hood questioned, then glanced towards the back of the ship. Seated in a wheelchair is a lovely young redhead with bright blue eyes, fair skin, a wedding band, and a pair of wire frame glasses perched on her nose and a laptop in her lap. She wears a simple black tank top and blue jeans with a pair of old faded blue sneakers. "Also why are we bringing Barb with us?" he added curiously.
His friend, Roy 'Red-Arrow' Harper couldn't help but chuckle in response. He was a redhead and dressed in a red and black padded costume, the red forming a downward arrow on his torso, a grey belt with straps attached to pouches on his thoughts, grey boots with black soles, a black elbow length glove on his right hand and a black forearm length glove on his left hand, a black domino mask, and an old faded blue truckers hat.
"Cypher busted into their place again," Arrow replied. Hood rolled his eyes in response.
"Wouldn't be the first time," he remarked. Arrow nodded his head in agreement.
"True, but this time he's having us go after the H.I.V.E.," Arrow remarked. Hood blinked at that and chuckled nastily. He was going to enjoy that! However he then noticed that Arrow was looking at him with a smirk. "Why? Afraid Dick 'll make your life hell for kidnapping his wife?" he questioned of his friend. The redheaded woman in question chose that moment to speak up, though with a noticeable frown across her face.
"First of all, you didn't kidnap me, I'm helping out a friend," she remarked blandly, "and second even if he thinks otherwise, Dick doesn't control my life," she deadpanned with a nod then looked back to her computer. As she did a woman snickered and wrapped her arms around Arrow's neck.
"Aw sorry hun, looks like you don't get to tease J-bird today," the woman known as Jade 'Cheshire' Harper, Roy's wife of several years, remarked teasingly. The woman almost literally still had the body of a teenager despite the passed twenty years and birth of her daughter, Lian Harper. Aside from her height, and a little extra weight at her hips and chest, she looked nearly identical to her teenage self.
Roy grunted in response and glanced to where their final 'member' was seated. She was an absolutely gorgeous woman with a voluptuous figure deep orange skin with a beauty mark beneath her left jade green eye, and scarlet hair that cascaded down her back in messy curls. She wore a pair of green briefs with a red gem at the center, green boots and armlets, a pair of wrist protectors, green neck / shoulder guard, and what looked like a green strapless bra with a red gem at the center.
"You okay back there, Xyannis?" he questioned. The lovely redhead hummed and glanced his way with a sigh.
"I'm fine, Roy," she replied and then crossed her arms over her chest, "just remembering the last time we visited X," she admitted.
"Blackfire?" Arrow questioned. The said encounter hadn't been the most pleasant, especially since Blackfire found it funny to mock Xyannis about her situation on earth… needless to say it hadn't ended well for her. Granted this was also the bitch who caused the death of her family, her enslavement, the destruction of her world… Xyannis felt more than a little justified for a little homicidal rage.
"Not entirely," Xyannis hissed with narrowed eyes, "While I'm still more than a little annoyed by my last encounter with Komand'r, it wasn't X's fault she came by when she did," she admitted with a frown. Red-Hood shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
"Well what'd you expect to happen after you adopted the 'Starfire' name and happened to be a green eyed red haired Tamaranean who also happened to be the right age?" he reminded her pointedly. Xyannis scowled in response, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I only took that as my name because it was the name of the ship I came to earth on," she reminded him pointedly. She then huffed and narrowed her eyes, "I'm more afraid things will be awkward when we get there," she admitted. Hood blinked and looked to Roy for an explanation, however Cheshire snickered in response. She then pulled Roy's hat from his head and placed it on her own as she laid her cheek against his red hair.
"She pulled a Rose on him," she offered in explanation. Roy suddenly chocked and then started to laugh uproariously as he slapped his open palm against his leg. Cheshire giggled to herself, while Barbra snorted and then covered a smile with her open hand. Xyannis looked at the married couple with a raised brow while Hood looked to both of them with clear confusion.
"Someone please explain that to me?" he questioned. Roy took a moment to calm down and then looked to his friend with a wide grin.
"Remember how Rose had that thing for Tim-Tim for a little while when he was still hung up on Cassie," the archer began. Hood nodded his head; he quite easily recalled that particular mess of hormones… "Well there was this one time she snuck into his room and then posed naked on his bed to get his attention," the archer explained with a grin. Hood snorted and then clutched at his ribs as he laughed.
"No shit?" he demanded. The archer raised a hand.
"I shit you not," he replied, "best part is he then dragged her out of his room in handcuffs," he added and Hood couldn't help but laugh even harder.
"Oh god I can't imagine how that felt for him, especially if the other Titans saw him when it happened," he noted with a shake of his head. He then glanced back at Xyannis with a grin under his helmet. "So how'd X react?" he questioned curiously. It'd be nice for someone to finally one up X after all. The masked thief was a monster with pranks. However Xyannis just pouted and crossed her arms.
"He literally didn't react beyond asking what I was doing," she admitted. Hood gaped at her then looked to the archer who shrugged his shoulders. Cheshire just giggled into her hand and grinned down at the two.
"X desensitized himself to naked women after I used my feminine wiles against him a few too many times," she admitted. Xyannis looked at the green assassin with a scowl.
"So its you I have to thank for that then," she grumbled irritably. Hood just shook his head and sat back down.
"So what is it about X that seems to attract you alien girls to him anyways?" he questioned and Roy hummed.
"Aside from Xyannis and Komand'r I can't think of any other alien girls who were all that attracted to him," he admitted. Hood raised a finger.
"Jade," he deadpanned and Cheshire scowled.
"First of all, not an alien, second of all, I did not have a thing for that asshole! Especially not after he caused that wardrobe malfunction! That was Jinx!" she snarled. Hood raised his wrists in response. He did not want to get on Cheshire's bad side. She might've mellowed a bit with married life, but that wasn't by much.
"No I meant Jade, you know the half-alien girl, green skin and hair and eyes, she was like the first Green Lantern's daughter," he explained. Cheshire accepted that and crossed her arms over her husband's head as she laid her chin on her arms. Roy blinked and rubbed his chin with a hum.
"Did Jade really have a thing for him or were they just flirting for the sake of flirting?" Roy questioned aloud. Xyannis scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I never did see why he gave up the lantern ring," she admitted, "it was more useful than his suit and far less draining when he went all out with it," she noted aloud. Roy nodded his head in agreement while Cheshire just scowled in remembrance. She'd been on the receiving end of a few light constructs… highly embarrassing light constructs…
"He didn't," Hood suddenly replied with a frown. He'd actually tried to get the damn thing off of X's finger, but nothing short of removing his arm was getting it off and he was vehemently against loosing his arm again. "The damn thing won't go away," he added and Xyannis hummed with a sly smile across her lips. "It's also not the kind of green power ring that works off planet," he added. Xyannis pouted at that and huffed.
"Figures it'd be useless," she grumbled to herself. Hood glanced at her then at Roy who shook his head with a sigh. He returned to flying the ship and turned towards the landing pad built into the side of the Tartarus Technologies building. It wasn't just for their ship of course; they had many flying vehicles in this age. He then flipped a switch and pressed a button on his console with a smirk.
"I just sent an alert to Gizmo that we'll be setting down soon," he stated. Hood nodded and then pulled out his twin guns to check on them while Cheshire placed her mask back over her face and Roy's hat back on his head. Xyannis seemed to primp up a bit while Barbara hummed to herself. She'd hacked into Gizmo's systems too quickly; she made a note to upgrade his security protocols again after they dealt with the ghost programs.
As the ship lowered and landed on the platform a ramp lowered as the rear hatch opened. Without a word, The Outlaws, plus one, exited the ship and found X waiting for them. The masked thief chuckled and approached to grip Hood's forearm.
"Good to see you again, Hood," he stated. Red-Hood smirked in response.
"You too X," he replied while Naruto nodded his head back.
"I'd like you guy's to meet the Cutie," he stated as Starfire approached. He saw Arrow arch a brow and grinned. "She's better known as the Starfire from the original Titans," he admitted. "As it turns out Warp didn't vaporize her, she just got tossed a couple decades into the future," the thief explained. He also pointedly ignored the 'of course' he got from Hood and Arrow, since they'd had that kind of thing happen before.
Nearby Barbra idly glanced at the girl in surprise and then quickly wheeled herself passed both X as well as her and into the building. She had a bunch of ghost programs to deal with, and she really did not want to talk to her husbands ex… err… sort of ex… they never did get together after all. Technically she'd also dated him before he went to Jump City too soo… well she'd really rather not think too hard about it.
Back with The Outlaws Red-Hood approached the young Tamaranean. "Nice to meet you," Hood replied and held out a hand to the girl, "I'm Red-Hood," he stated. Starfire grabbed the hand and pulled the man into a hug, which caused him to gasp in pain while X laughed to himself.
"Greetings! I am Starfire of Tamaran!" she declared brightly, then dropped the man back to his feet, "it is a pleasure to meet you," she stated cheerfully. Cheshire and Roy snickered to themselves at that while Hood shot a look at both of them.
"Yeah, right," Hood murmured while Roy shook his head and approached the redhead.
"You probably already know me," he remarked. Starfire raised a brow.
"I do?" she questioned. Cheshire laughed even harder while the archer's brow twitched.
"Right I forgot that Dickie-bird was such a dick back then," he grumbled and X snickered to himself. Starfire raised a brow at that while the archer sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I'm Red-Arrow, used to be known as Speedy and I worked with Robin a lot back in the day," he explained. Starfire made an oh with her mouth and then hugged the man with a grin. "Oh dear lord," he grunted out as she basically crushed him in her grip.
"Not so funny from that end, is it asshole?" Hood chided his friend. Roy grunted in response while Starfire released him with a bright smile then looked to Cheshire. The green assassin narrowed her eyes behind her cat mask.
"Hug me and lose a limb," she deadpanned. Starfire yelped and looked to X, the thief calmed down and grinned at the young redhead.
"This is Cheshire, formerly of the League of Assassins, currently in The Outlaws… most of the time," he explained with a look at the woman. She smirked and offered a playful wave at the blond.
"Great seeing you too X," she teased as she sashayed off into the building, "If any of you need me, I'm raiding your fridge," she stated. X frowned for a moment and then looked around with a hum.
"Where's Goldie gone off too?" he questioned. As if in reply Hood and Roy both pointed up and the blond thief grunted as a certain orange woman pulled him into a hug. "Hey there Goldie, nice to see you again," he remarked with a smirk. Xyannis smirked.
"Nice to see you again X, you look good as always," she noted with a purr.
"I could say the same to you, babe," he replied with a smirk. He then vanished in a static flash and reappeared next to a clearly surprised Starfire. "Cutie, meet Goldie, Goldie meet Cutie," he stated with a wave to Xyannis who righted herself then flew down to the ground. She looked at Starfire with a raised brow and hummed.
"Your Karras friend, Koriand'r right?" she remarked. Starfire blinked and then felt her eyes widen and a grin threaten to split her face open.
"Wait, yes I remember you!" she exclaimed and squealed in joy, "you are his sister, Xyannis!" she exclaimed and then shot forward and nearly knocked her off of her feet. However she held firm and then looked down at the girl with a smirk as she babbled incoherently. Hood and Roy both listened with confused frowns before they looked to X.
"What's she saying?" Hood asked. The blond thief frowned and then hummed.
"She's babbling about how happy she is that Xyannis is still alive and such," he replied after a moment to translate in his head. He could really only understand every other word that the young Tamaranean was saying it was going by so fast. He then tilted his head as Xyannis idly pushed the younger Tamaranean off of herself. She then brushed off her belly and patted the younger redhead on her head.
"Yeah well anyways, sorry but I borrowed the 'Starfire' name while you were gone," she noted as she sashayed passed the younger girl. Starfire merely raised a brow.
"Why is that?" she questioned curiously and Xyannis turned around to face her.
"Some Citadel big shot named his ship that," she replied then scowled, "I ended up on said ship as his 'pet' before I got loose," she replied with a nasty grin. She then exhaled a breath and ran her hands through her crimson hair. "I ended up blowing it up and crash landed on Earth, so I took and have used the name for the passed few years," she explained and Starfire made an Oh with her mouth.
"I suppose I cannot fault you," she murmured then sighed, "Since I was not here," she admitted and Xyannis nodded her head. As she did the boys looked between one another warily.
"Think Star'd be so nice about this if she knew how she acts?" Hood questioned. X and Roy glanced at one another and then walked to Starfire and Xyannis's side.
"C'mon ladies, we should go see if Giz has found where Cypher's held up," the masked thief stated. Starfire idly nodded her head while Xyannis smiled.
"It'll be nice to finally deal with that bucket of bolts," she stated as she flew into the building. Starfire looked at the older girl strangely then to Naruto. The masked thief reached a hand to the back of his neck and sighed.
"She's been through a lot, not much mercy left in her after everything that's happened," he explained and then walked back inside. He was followed by both Red-Hood and Roy, and Starfire flew in after them as well. She quickly flew to Xyannis's side and started to ask her questions about this or that, as she did X glanced at his friends. Both Hood and Roy frowned and the three boys sighed as they followed the alien powerhouses…
00
(Present Day…)
Raven frowned as she looked at her alien friend, she'd seated herself on the bed as she told the story. However Raven was more than a little annoyed by said story, and especially the girl known as 'Xyannis'. She knew that a number of heroes were technically 'Legacy' heroes with prior incarnations, but she'd never imagined Starfire would become one of them.
"So there was another Tamaranean princess that took over as 'Starfire' while you were missing," Raven summarized and Starfire nodded her head. "Okay that certainly explains why you said 'future Starfire'," the dark bird mused then frowned, "although I'm not entirely sure if I like the one that took over for you or not," she admitted mostly to herself as she thought about this new 'Starfire'.
To here it felt like something about Xyannis was a little… off. She was friendly, but she didn't seem to care she'd taken Starfire's name. The brief 'sorry' she gave had sounded lackluster to Raven and maybe even a little annoyed. Further from their brief interaction and what little of her personality she was able to gleam from it, she felt that the Tamaranean was actually much more similar to Blackfire than Starfire.
"Xyannis went through much friend," Starfire replied with a soft sigh. "She did not escape after a few short years, she was held by them for a decade," the alien powerhouse reminded. Raven grimaced, she could scarcely imagine how Xyannis life had been growing up as a slave. Especially since her father had tried, and apparently failed, to save her when they took all the other princesses.
Not to mention how she must've reacted when her family was killed…
'She must've had a lot of anger just building up inside her while she was growing up,' the dark bird mused. 'It'd be no wonder that she might be more violent and aggressive than Starfire,' she admitted to herself. Starfire at the least still had a few family members left in her sister and brother, if her brother was still alive anyways. Though Raven could only imagine how much Xyannis absolutely hated Blackfire…
"I'm going to guess Xyannis hated Blackfire with a passion," Raven noted and Starfire nodded her head grimly.
"She blamed her for the death of her family and many other things, from what I understand they did not get along," Starfire replied. Raven nodded and then paused.
"Sorry Star, Robin just decided we need to 'help you' and is sending us out to investigate," the dark bird stated. However Starfire smiled at her friend.
"It is no problem," she replied, "I expected as much from him," she admitted. Raven idly raised a brow but didn't pry. Instead her soul-self flew up and into the distance while the young Tamaranean glanced at the white dress she'd found in the room. She looked from it to herself and then shook her head. "What are you up too Komand'r?" she wondered to herself and then thought of what Xyannis had told her.
"You seem oddly thoughtful, little sister," she heard from the door and frowned. She turned to see Blackfire with her arms crossed at the door to her room.
"I am merely attempting to understand what you hope to gain from this," Starfire replied. Blackfire's eyes sparkled and she smirked.
"What makes you think this is anything more than," she began only for Starfire to narrow her now glowing green eyes.
"Despite your opinion of me, sister, I am not stupid," she growled, "the drenthaxx are allies to the Citadel, and our world is under their 'protection'," Starfire reminded with air quotes. "I do not believe you would desire our world be further damaged," she reminded her and Blackfire frowned.
"True," she admitted after a moment. She then walked into the room and glanced out at the fleet of ships, but focused on the devastation of their world instead. "I also admit that I was a bit… hasty, when I aided their plans," Blackfire admitted with a frown. "I never wanted our planet to bleed as it has, I was just angry," she admitted more to herself than to the younger alien.
"Is that why you did not tell the Citadel where I was?" the redhead questioned. Blackfire rolled her eyes in response.
"No, you were all but banished to that rock so it didn't matter to me what you did there," she admitted with a roll of her wrist. Starfire narrowed her eyes in response.
"Then why call me back and risk the Citadel noticing?" she pressed. However Blackfire merely chuckled and then turned to face her younger sister.
"Don't bother trying to intimidate me little sister," she stated. She then walked over to the girl and flicked her nose. "My guards might dislike me, but they are all loyal to the grand ruler," she reminded the girl. Starfire twitched and narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I've got everything I ever wanted in the palm of my hand," she stated and then turned with a flourish of her cape. She then paused to look at Starfire condescendingly.
"Oh yeah, and happy birthday, little star," she stated as she closed the door…
00
TBC…
AN:
STATIC…
ERROR … ERROR
STATIC…
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Deep below Happy Hands Sanitarium is a basement. Within that basement is a set of dirty equipment. Among that equipment is a burner heating a boiling pot of water with the needles of a strange set of syringes attached to a pair of gloves submerged beneath the bubbling water. In the background a girl moves about, taking this compound or that chemical and mixing them together in beakers and vials.
She mutters to herself, her visible skin deathly pale, dressed in a tattered and patched brown 'tunic' that reached mid-thigh, an attached brown hood is pulled over her head and a simple rope is tied around her waist with an old oil-lantern hanging from the back. Her face is left mostly in shadow by her hood, however an old gasmask is visible over her lower face with a stylized skull painted over it. Her hands and feet are bound in bandages, while she idly adjusts the straps of a brown backpack.
She paused suddenly and twitched, her neck gave a sickening crack as she lowered and then crawled towards the camera on all fours. She looked up through the shadows of her hood and her purple eyes locked onto it. She reached out, tilting her head to the side in what looked like a painful turn and narrowed her eyes. She then physically ripped the camera away from its stand and held it up.
"He-hello there," she whispered with a sinister tone. "H-How are you all today?" she questioned as she turned her head the opposite way. "M-Me? You d-don't know? Oh, well I'm the Scarecrows daughter, Scare Crone," she stated with a hand to her chest. She then looked up and turned to her boiling water. "O-One second," she muttered as she rapidly approached the heated water.
She pulled the syringe needle tipped gloves free and then started to attach them to a pair of long tubes, which were also attached to a pair of straps with an odd container at one end. She strapped the straps to her biceps as she slips her hands into the gloves. She flexes her hands for a moment and then started to hum to herself. Eventually the hum turned into a familiar tune.
"One two, he's coming for you," she sung as she stumbled her way to the door, "three four, better lock your door," she continued to sing as she walked into a hallway, "five six, grab your crucifix," she continued as she began to drag the needles on her gloves along the walls. "Seven eight, better stay up late," she sang as she approached a bathroom, "nine ten, never sleep again," she finished as she entered the bathroom.
She found her eyes drawn to a mirror, it was partially cracked and showed a disjointed vision of herself. In each of the cracked off segments of the mirror, the girl could see different versions of herself. One in a cat suit, one in a purple coat, one in a green domino mask, one with a monocle, and of course there was also herself. She twitched and then slowly approached the mirror and regarded the different versions of herself.
"So many faces that I wear," she breathed with a giggle, "which is true, which are spare," she finished as she slid down and sat on the cold tiled floor. She then dropped her arms and then looked to her syringe clad fingers. "Fear…" she murmured and then started to chuckle, "what is it that I fear," she briefly wondered. "What things keep me up at night and haunt my most secure thoughts?" she wondered as she flexed her fingers.
"What nightmares haunt me, what things do I hide from…" she continued to wonder and then grinned monstrously. Her eyes then widened as she jabbed herself with the needles. "LETS FIND OUT SHALL WE!" she exclaimed madly as haunting soulless laughter suddenly echoed in the very depths of her mind…
STATIC…
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STATIC…
ERROR … ERROR
Dreams, it all started with dreams. She had always had dreams, which featured such fantastical adventures. Sometimes she was in a world with only female super heroes, and she was a villain, she thought it was fun. She had other dreams, ones where she was in a world where heroes were celebrities, ones where she was in the future, ones where she was in the past. Each world was different in its own way… yet in each one…
She heard it… laughter… always laughter… so much insane… hollow… soulless laughter… Tonight she saw darkness, then her vision returned and she saw herself… yet not herself. Her skin was white as snow, short hair a vibrant green; her eyes were just as vibrant and somehow just as green, while her lips were red as rubies. Her outfit was odd, made in a style she couldn't quite place… and had no time to examine in detail…
She felt as a heavy body slammed into her and knocked her through the window. She heard the shattering of glass as she was sent sprawling. She looked up and saw a painting of Bruce Wayne on a wall, and Batman standing in front of it. "Oh Timmy," she whispered, but it wasn't really her as she flipped forward. "I remember when you were a kid," she remarked as she pushed her feet into 'Batman / Timmy' and knocked him back.
"You were so much fun back then," she remarked, yet it wasn't her, not as she lunged forward and punched at the man yet he moved to the side to avoid the hit. "You were so much happier," she continued as she leaned forward to look into the white lenses of his mask with a wide smile.
"I was naïve," he replied in a low growl as he kicked her bodily off of him. She grunted and flew back as he got up to one knee. "I was stupid," he continued as she heard a click. "But I grew up," he stated solemnly as held a gun to her face. She snorted and then laughed as she looked at the 'dark knight' with an insane grin.
"Ha… you're still mad about old mister Pennyworth, aren't you?" she noted then glanced up, a vision of a blond girl appeared in her mind. "And Bette Kane, and well…" she paused as her mind started to drift, turning to dozens of nameless faces. "All those policemen and women," she finished with a giggle. The 'batman' looked at her with a grim frown as he spoke.
"No one else dies by your hand," he stated. She giggled in response.
"The other set of Titans won't be happy with you," she noted then grinned cheekily, "especially your ex-girlfriend," she remarked with another giggle. Her smile dropped as he chambered a round and all but pressed the barrel of the gun to her forehead.
"You're not smiling anymore, Duela," he stated firmly… but that wasn't her name…
"Well, my daddy always said, 'Duela Dent! If you're gonna go out…" she began, "go out with a," she never finished as she felt a blossoming pain at her forehead that defied imagination and a deafening bang echoed into infinity… she felt her body seize up and her heart stop… then nothing…
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHASTOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP
Her eyes opened, she was running, down a dark alley and away from something. It was cold and dark and raining and miserable. She was scared, but she didn't know why. She tried to climb a fire escape when she saw the dark figure look up at her. They fired a beam of energy that burned through the metal of the ladder she was on and dropped her back down to earth.
She fell on top of some garbage before she rolled over to the side as the ladder nearly came down on top of her. She landed with a grunt, and looked to her reflection… It was her again, yet also not her. A messy shock of red hair on her head, alabaster skin, ruby red lips, and brilliant amethyst eyes. She could make out her mostly purple clothes, but turned from her reflection to look at the man towering over her…
"This world is not yours," he intoned as he stepped forward, "Your presence in it is not tolerated," he continued as he leveled his weapon on her and she raised an arm, "The penalty is death," he uttered lowly. However before he could fire someone swung in and slammed into him from the side. Dressed in what she figured bikers might wear with a bright red helmet with white lenses for eyes.
"To each his own," he quipped as he kicked the figure to the side and landed in a crouch. "I'm not too tolerant of gun-wielding crazies myself," he declared then paused. The man he kicked barely budged and was dressed in strange clothes. He was tall and imposing with interesting hair and bright glowing red eyes. She didn't care; she palmed her way back to her feet and made to escape.
"What are you," the man in leather breathed.
"The Multiverse's only hope," she heard the Monitor reply grimly. A moment later she felt a shot hit her in the back and she fell forward. She hit the ground and her vision blurred. Her ears rang and she started to panic… she couldn't breathe… she couldn't think… yet the horrible laughter remained…
HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME
AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA DREAM A DREAM A DREAM A DREAM
It was nighttime, the sky was dark and there was water everywhere she looked. She found herself in a disjointed world, laughter echoed off of every surface. A glance around showed horribly twisted ebony figures across from her, their moths and eyes filled with a vile yellow light that seeped out into the air like smog. They seemed to roar or shriek as they shot strange boney implements at each other.
AH HA HA HA NOT FUNNY AH HA HA HA
Then several of the strange darts flew at her instead.
AH HA HA HA I'M SCARED AH HA HA HA
Before they could reach her, two figures got in the way. They were black and misshapen like the others, but unlike the others she saw a strange pink light in their eyes and mouths. It was strange, but horrifying as that pink light turned black and they fell to the ground. She saw a flash of light and too familiar people appeared in front of her instead. She felt her breath hitch as the flash passed and the world turned into a nightmare once more.
AH HA HA HA I'M SO SORRY AH HA HA HA
She looked to her hands, broken, shattered, not what they were supposed to be. She wrapped her wrong arms around herself and fell to the side and cried. The other monsters fired at one another, insane and yet somehow scared. Then she heard the laughter again, it grew louder and louder and louder as she sobbed. She gripped at her head as it began to pound and the laughter echoed louder and louder.
AH HA HA HA I SHOULDN'T BE LAUGHING AH HA HA HA
She felt it bubble forth as she saw her face in the water. What she saw was more like a twisted parody of her, broken and shattered just like her arms. She closed her eyes and hoped it'd stop, hoped that it was all just another dream. But as she opened her eyes it was still there, and the laughter echoed once more. She bit her lip as a slow chuckle echoed from her throat…
AH HA HA HA I CAN'T STOP AH HA HA HA
She half sobbed half chuckled as she looked among the bodies all around her.
AH HA HA HA WHAT A RIOT! AH HA HA HA HA
She saw both the ones that protected her, and the others who shot at her.
AH HA HA HA FUNNY AH HA HA HA
She looked to her side and took note of a ramshackle gas grenade at her side filled with a yellow-ish powder…
AH HA HA HA SO FUNNY AH HA HA HA HA
She felt something deep within her mind break and shatter, and the millions of pieces scattered…
AH HA HA HA IT'S ALL SO FUNNY AH HA HA HA
She gripped her crimson hair tightly as she suddenly burst out into raucous laughter.
AH HA HA HA IT'S ALL SO FUCKING HILARIOUS! AH HA HA HA
AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAERROR … ERROR
AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAERROR … ERROR
A certain redhead woke up with a scream, tears streaming down her face. She blinked and then touched her cheeks. "Why am I crying?" she murmured and then looked around curiously. She was in her 'office' of sorts once more, and she rubbed at her eyes and then stretched her arms outwards. "Well whatever," she declared and then hopped onto her feet as she casually grabbed a vial out of her coat.
She paused and took notice of the camera.
"Hello everyone!" she declared cheerfully, "sorry I'm late but I must've fallen asleep or something," she noted with a confused frown. She then scratched at her hair. "But the weird thing is I don't remember falling asleep," she admitted. She paused to consider that for a moment then shrugged as she injected the contents of the vial into herself with an odd looking gun, then shuddered as her skin turned bleached white and her hair vibrant red.
"In any case, welcome back readers and reviewers!" she declared with her arms outstretched. She then noticed her attire and frowned. "Huh… why am I wearing this?" she wondered and then walked to the side where a wardrobe and changing screen were located. She hummed a tune to herself as she stepped behind the screen then started to casually toss her clothes off and onto it.
She then reached out for her 'Joker's Daughter' outfit and slipped it on and walked back out from behind the screen. She then grinned widely at the camera. "So anyways, great to have you all back again! Now we can finally begin the Q and A!" she declared only to pause and glance up. "Finally? But I only just woke up!" she complained with a frown, the author was silent and Duela let out a sigh.
"Anyways," she murmured then grinned, "I feel I should make a note that none of the Tamaraneans in this chapter are OC's. Xyannis, Prince Karras, Taryia, Myand'r, Luand'r, Alisand'r, and Ryand'r are all real Tamraneans from DC lore. Prince Karras was even Starfire's first husband, I shit you not, while Xyannis was an 'evil' Tamaranean for a while, but fits as the 'dark' Starfire from The Outlaws," the girl explained in one breath.
"The author hated how Starfire was portrayed in Outlaws, but at one point genuinely believed she might be Xyannis using the name since Xyannis dressed in a similar way, was just as cruel, overtly sexual, and such. So yeah, if any of you liked the Outlaws version of Star, it's Xyannis in this story, while normal Starfire remains as she is in the show with a few bits of her comics self integrated into her," the redhead continued.
"Also, to anyone whose curious Blackfire was even more of a bitch in the cartoon than she is here and didn't care she'd decimated their planet, worked with the Gordanians several times after it, and even had all her powers. No seriously, in the cartoon Blackfire had all the powers of a tamaranean, she was jealous of Starfire because she was 'prettier' than her, and her brother Ryand'r was going to inherit the throne," the redhead explained.
"So yeah, she was even more of a bitch if you can believe it. The author felt that version of her didn't need to be around so brought in some tidbits from the early Blackfire from the comics to make her a bit more sympathetic, without removing how much of a bitch she can be when she wants too. This is also why she looks different, as it's supposed to show she's a different version than the one in the show," she continued.
"Finally, the thing about Tamaraneans treating their friends as lovers and believing in soul mates is actually cannon in the comics. Or it was back in the eighties onward, we're not sure if it still holds true in New 52 or not, but that was actually a thing and is why Starfire, when she was married to prince Karras, was still kind of dating Dick, and why Karras was with Taryia at the same time," she finished and then exhaled a breath.
"So yeah, that means threesomes and the like between Tamaraneans are a real thing," she added with an amused grin, "Take from that what you will while the spirit of Jiraiya tries desperately to reincarnate on that planet," she added and then laughed to herself and wiped at a mock tear at her eye. She then inhaled and exhaled, before she grinned widely.
"Now for the reviews! First up is…" she paused and giggled to herself, "Oh c'mon D N Walker, I have to make a back to the future reference! It's in my blood and DNA and…" she paused and widened her eyes, "I totally can't think of one now! Dammit!" she exclaimed and then sat back with a pout. She then held up her phone and flicked it to see who else had left a review she could answer.
"Kiue Jin, thanks for that, works great, and it's nice to have you back!" the redhead stated and then hummed. "Hello again OBSERVER01, Angel is technically in the cartoon, but her back story was made up by the author to give her more depth than just being Kyd Wykkyd's girlfriend. Given the Gordanian ship was never fully explored and even the one in the comics had more than just Starfire on it, this felt appropriate!"
"axc-o, nice to hear from you, sorry to hear 'bout your evil twin, they can be so annoying ya'know," she stated and nodded her head. "The physical resemblance to Mercy was intentional, in one of the early drafts of the last chapter Naruto was even going to give her the nickname 'Mercy' but would feel it was too apt and since she liked it would rarely call her by it," the redhead explained then frowned at the end with a scratch of her head.
"Ummm… what unsavory version of me are you talking about dude? Is it the one that works with Nazi's in the Bombshell's universe? Cause she's pretty nasty, I mean those teeth are just yuck!" she remarked with a gag. She then scratched at her crimson hair as she flicked the screen on her phone. "Noctus Of The Thousand Blades, what accent? I don't have an accent!" she declared and then hummed.
"Something screwy is going on here," she grumbled to herself then looked back to her phone. "Hellow there PugTheMagician, my silver age incarnation used a 'Penguin's daughter' persona once, back in the day. But of course I'm a skilled tailor, I have to have a few hobbies outside of chemistry ya'know! As for Giz, well, his younger self is an ass to Naruto because they aren't good friends yet, his older self is though!" she explained.
"Hey there DocSlendy! Glad you liked Angel, the author felt it made the most sense and it gives an excellent chance for Starfire to have a potential enemy besides Blackfire. I mean c'mon! In all of DC Starfire's enemies are always connected to the Titans, why can't she have her own badguy, err… girl… for once?!" the redhead wondered and then hummed and held her phone up once more.
"Thanks Nightmaster000, the author really wanted to make the characters stand out as their own people this time around!" she declared cheerfully with her arms outstretched and fell back with a yelp. "I'm okay!" she exclaimed before she got back up and brushed herself off. "Actually Devilscreed, she's only physically similar to Mercy, but yes her background is the author's own adaptation of the character," she stated with a nod.
"Willow is the Author's own OC, has been for years, though originally she was only going to be athletic, he felt this wouldn't mesh well with a gamer, so gave her an ability to physically adapt to trauma like the X from Dark Horse Comics. But finally he changed it to where she could grow armor because her father Two Bit can, but altered it to be a kind of armor she can control the appearance of," the girl explained and then hummed.
"Possibly, XLTerrestrial had no story for where he came from, and I'm fairly certain at least a few other characters who could physically resemble some alien species. But for the moment at least we might leave it ambiguous if any of them survived the explosion that downed the Gordanians ship. I mean that had to take out a lot of the survivors if they didn't have a ton of Gordanians still running around," she replied.
"Thanks Toa Naruto! The author was going for the whole 'Dove' theme when he designed her. It seemed to fit with what kind of character she was going to be. It also helped he wanted someone to be a medic, but he felt Seemore was…" she paused to roll her wrist, "well his medical training was literally pulled out of nowhere so meh," she noted with a shrug of her shoulders.
"To be fair, Jinx's crush on Stone came after the guy beat her and her team up, and you've got to admit that getting a crush on the guy who literally laid you and your team out is kind of suspect," the redhead intoned with a nod, "You'll find out when we go back to earth, Wally is more based on YJ Wally with a bit of his 'Justice League' self rolled in to make him a bit more friendly," the redhead began and then grinned widely.
"Him flirting with Raven is actually a bit of a reference to when they dated… no seriously that was actually a thing. This was back way back when the New Teen Titans first formed in the nineteen eighties," the girl began and then scratched her head, "but in that instance Raven had used her powers to implant the desire to do so into him so that he'd help her convince the Titans to work together," she admitted with a nervous titter.
"Yeah… people tend to forget Raven would do stuff like that back then, sure she regretted it later, but at the time she was desperate to stop Trigon so when she's backed into a wall she is willing to bend her morals to get what she wants," the redhead explained and then looked to her phone with a hum. She flicked her phone and then paused and clicked her tongue with a sigh.
"He can't do that either CeruleanKnight," she noted with a shake of her head, "The shell would keep the chakra inside and blow him up, not his surroundings. Further it takes all the internal chakra and converts it into an explosion, basically meaning its from the inside out not the other way around. The Daibakuha would basically be like that Self-Destruct technique they sometimes use in DBZ," she explained and then moved on.
"Snipa… what bad day?" Duela questioned and then glanced around warily. She then shook her head and breathed out a sigh, "A-Anyways, lets move on then shall we!" she stated hurriedly. "The thing is Happy1K1nob1 that Naruto lived his whole live selflessly and he feels like he's being selfish, we know he isn't, but with how he was raised that's how he feels," the redhead explained and then clicked her tongue.
"Uh… hello there Guest, I guess Naruto is okay, haven't met this one in person yet but looking forward to when it happens!" the girl replied with a cheerful smile. She then hummed and tapped her chin. "I will admit I love his moxy! Unlike my dad, I like spunk!" she stated with a nod and a grin. The clown princess of crime then glanced at the time on her phone and pouted.
"Oh shoot it's time to go," she noted and then waved to the camera. "Till next time everyone!" she exclaimed and then grinned, "keep on smiling!"
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