Chapter 10: Twenty-Three Titans on Tamaran
The Titans' arrival on Tamaran was relatively quiet. Emperor Galfore, Starfire's regent, had wanted the families to be able to get settled and prepare for the grand procession and subsequent feast in peace. Galfore himself met them at the landing place and warmly greeted his 'little bungorf'.
"I see that my Empress has little bungorfs of her own now," Galfore chuckled, glancing down at Robin and Rosefire. Rosefire cowered behind her brother and Galfore made a deep bow before them.
"Greetings, young ones. Your mother has told me much about you," Galfore said.
"You already know who we are?" Robin said in surprise.
"Of course I do, Prince Jason. It would be difficult indeed not to infer that you are the strapping son of my Princess and her husband. Thus I could also say that this little one here, is young Princess Rosemary, is it not?" Galfore said, attempting to peek around the edge of Robin's cape.
"Don't be afraid, honey, come out and say hello," Nightwing said, urging his daughter to come forward. She obeyed, dragging her feet and with her eyes cast down to the floor. Galfore placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his.
"Welcome home, Princess Rosemary," Galfore said gently. He took Rosefire's hand and lightly kissed it. "Come now, all of you, there is just enough time for you to rest a bit and have a change of clothes before the procession."
"Where are my parents? And my brother? I have missed them terribly in the years I have been away," Starfire asked as they were escorted through the palace.
"Pressing matters of state, I'm told, took your parents off world early this morning to inspect the mines on the third moon. They assured me that they would return in time for the ceremony," Galfore replied, gesturing to each family as the group arrived at the suite designated for each of them. Each suite contained a master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, a common area, a balcony, and rich furnishings that none of them would have expected.
Three hours later, the families arrived at the doors to the great hall, arranging themselves so that Starfire and Nightwing came last with their family and directly before them came Aqualad and Terra with their little ones. The other three fathers played rock-paper-scissors for the remaining positions and minutes later, Cyborg and Jinx took the front of the line, blinking as the doors opened on the brightly lit great hall. Jinx stood up straighter and placed her hand on top of Cyborg's hand. The crowd assembled inside rose to their feet as the imperial march began. Cyborg couldn't help a grin as he faced forward and led his family down the aisle. He was thrilled that Starfire had instructed her people to stand not just for her and her family, but for all of their off-world guests.
Arsenal softly kissed Torque's lips and glanced back at his children proudly before he led them all down the aisle next. Several steps into their procession, he gently squeezed Torque's hand. He knew that she wasn't used to being the center of attention. She smiled gratefully as they maintained their gaze on the seats of honor that they were walking toward. As nervous as their parents were, Rumble and his little sister were only too excited to be there. Nothing in the world could wipe the eager smiles from their faces.
As Cyborg and Jinx reached their places and turned to face the crowd and Arsenal and Torque continued toward them there, Changeling prepared to lead his own family down the aisle. As the kids lined themselves up, Changeling took Raven's left hand in both of his and reverently kissed it, eliciting a tender smile from his bride of nearly 17 years. She lightly stroked his face and then gestured for them to begin as he tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. With this, Changeling led his family, the largest of any on the team, down the aisle behind Arsenal and Torque.
Terra gently adjusted Aqualad's tie and kissed him as they waited for Changeling and Raven to lead their family a good distance so that they could follow. Cerdian giggled and Coral smiled and covered her eyes. The king and queen of Atlantis laughed as they turned to face the front and begin their trek down the aisle. Cerdian took his little sister's hand and the two winked in conspiratorial mischief as they followed their parents down the aisle.
Bringing up the rear, Starfire and Nightwing had never been so proud to have all of their friends with them there this night. Robin's stubborn hair had refused to lie smoothly, so it pointed in several directions, much like his father's had been at his age. Starfire tried hard to keep from fussing over her children's wardrobes, but she desperately wanted everything to be perfect tonight. Finally satisfied, she turned to face the front and straightened her posture before she placed her left hand over Nightwing's outstretched right, and the music swelled as they approached the throne, their friends all awaiting their company there. The doors to the great hall had been closed after they entered the hall and Starfire turned to look at her people with all of the approval a proud Empress could muster. The music ended and Starfire prepared to address her people, but before she could, the doors opened again, and the music began again.
"What's going on?" Nightwing asked his wife.
"It is my parents, I am certain! They have returned from the third moon just in time!" Starfire cooed softly. Everyone in the room most certainly expected their celebrated Emperor and Empress and rose to their feet accordingly. There was a reverent silence for a moment before a shadowed figure glided into the room, dressed in solid black and just as gloriously arrayed as the rest of the royal family. The crowd gasped in shock and Starfire tightly gripped her husband's hand. By the time this clearly uninvited newcomer reached the throne, the Titans were speechless, but Starfire wasn't.
"Sister!" she cried. "What are you doing here? I banished you from Tamaran years ago!"
"Now, is that any way to treat family?" Blackfire gushed, dramatically throwing her arms around Starfire. Starfire roughly pushed her back and once again demanded, "What are you doing here? Where is the rest of our family?"
"Didn't Galfore tell you? They went to inspect the renovations to the mining facilities on the third moon," Blackfire replied matter-of-factly. "What he didn't know--and quite frankly neither did our parents—was that I had no intention of letting them return!" The shocked crowd gasped and cried out in fear. Had Blackfire truly vanquished their beloved rulers? Starfire felt her knees starting to buckle. Nightwing took hold of her and eased her down to her seat and kept a secure hold on her hand.
"Grandpa and Grandma…?" murmured Rosefire, tears of anger gathering in her blue eyes.
"What have you done?" Robin growled.
"I did precisely half of what I should have done years ago. The other half your mother did for me. She brought you all here with her! With no one to legally challenge me, the throne of Tamaran will be mine forever! All that remains now is for me to finish the job!" Blackfire cried, laughing maniacally.
"Yo, Blackfire!" Cyborg shouted, his sonic cannon humming to a full charge. "Aren't you forgetting somethin'?" Blackfire slowly looked around. At every angle of a complete 180 degree turn, Blackfire was met with the angry visages of all 23 Titans young and old. It dawned on her moments later that their people were also a threat to her right now.
"I'll be back to settle this later, little sister. The throne will be mine!" Blackfire cried. With this, she vanished in a flash of blinding light. Galfore was suddenly on his feet.
"Take the guests back to their quarters! Double the palace guards! Fortify the planetary defenses! General Hesperos!" Galfore bellowed.
"Sir!" the general replied, running toward them. He was tall and strong-looking, with dark green eyes and copper colored hair. He even had a dusting of freckles over his nose.
"Put together a team immediately and go to the third moon. Do not come back without our King and Queen," Galfore ordered.
"Absolutely, milord. Nothing would make me happier," Hesperos replied, bowing briefly. He smiled gently at Starfire and made a point of bowing before her specifically before he turned and left the hall.
"What's up with that?" Raven asked with a smile.
"Hesperos and I share a birthday. For many of our growing years, he was my intended husband. When I was sold into slavery to the Gordanians, I thought I would never see him again. I am glad he was made a general. There is no one I would trust more with our military command," Starfire replied.
"Come," Galfore said more gently. "Let us get all of you to your rooms. We must get you all to safety."
"Mamma, I'm hungry," said Coral, snuggling against Terra's skirt.
"I know, pumpkin," Terra said, picking her up and kissing her cheek.
"I will have your meals brought to the rooms for you. I'm afraid the feast will have to wait," Galfore replied.
Back in their rooms, Starfire sank into a chair, still shaking and began to sob. Silkie inched up to her and nudged her as Nightwing knelt beside the chair still holding her hands, but she ignored her beloved little pet. Rosefire picked Silkie up and stroked him as tears ran down her face.
"What happened, mother?" Rosefire asked.
"How did she get back here? How did she break through the planetary defense system? Grandfather and Grandmother...she...I can't believe it...Uncle Ryand'r too...it just doesn't seem possible!" Robin stammered. He paced back and forth before the tall glass doors leading to the balcony.
"Calm down, son. We won't know anything until we do a little investigating." Nightwing replied, looking up from Starfire's shaking body. "I didn't even get to see them again...I didn't get to say goodbye...our parents...our brother...Oh, Richard!" Starfire wept.
"All right, everything's going to be all right. We're going to get this all sorted out but I need you to calm down," Nightwing said, taking Starfire's face in his hands.
"I cannot stop shaking," Starfire said.
"Koriand'r," Nightwing said, his voice becoming firmer. "Listen to me. You need to take a deep breath and calm yourself. This isn't good for our baby. You're a wonderful mother, Kori, and I know you wouldn't ever do something that would harm our children. Please, try to relax—for me and for the baby."
"I am sorry, husband," Starfire murmured. "I shall be well now…perhaps I simply need to lie down."
"Sounds like a plan," Nightwing said gently, kissing the top of her head and helping her out of the chair. Rosefire crept into her brother's lap and he hugged her, knowing that this was going to be one of the longest nights their family had ever had to endure.
Changeling walked to the window that Hummingbird was staring out.
"What are you thinking about, Livie honey?" Changeling asked.
"I'm thinking about Jason and his family. They just lost three people all at once...by the hand of someone within their family...How can anyone be so cruel? How could she kill her own family?" Hummingbird replied, losing the fight to keep a tear from slipping quietly down her cheek. Changeling stepped closer and put his arms around her.
"I don't know, sweetheart...I just don't know." Changeling replied, kissing the top of his daughter's head. Across the room, Catalyst and Thetis were meditating with Raven. Upon hearing his sister and father talking, he opened his eyes.
"This is just stupid. We're just sitting here and we could be searching for Blackfire or investigating how she got here," Catalyst grumbled. Raven opened her eyes and rested a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
"Can't we do it tomorrow? I'm really scared, Toby...and...yawn...I'm really tired..." Toby's look softened and he gently ruffled Beast Boy's hair as he stood and stretched.
"M'kay, boys in one room girls in the other. Come on, bean sprout, let's get some shut eye," Catalyst said. Little Beast Boy hugged his parents and then followed Catalyst. A few minutes later, Thetis did the same.
"Livie? Aren't you going to bed?" Raven asked gently.
"In a little bit. You and daddy go ahead. I know you guys haven't been able to hook up for a while," Hummingbird teased. The Logans blushed but smiled all the same. After they retreated to their bedroom, Hummingbird pushed open the doors leading to their balcony. The cool breeze rippled her long hair and she took a deep breath as she closed her eyes against the moonlight. Looking over to the next balcony, she noticed that she wasn't the only one losing sleep tonight.
Arsenal walked out of the bathroom in their suite and looked at his family. Tossing the towel in a basket, he sat down beside Torque on their bed. Torque was holding a sleeping Erin in one arm and stroking Rumble's head with the other, as he had fallen asleep next to his mother.
"What are you thinking about?" Arsenal asked her.
"Lots of things. I was afraid for the kids--but they are old enough to defend themselves now. I feel sorry for Kori and her family--but there's nothing I can do." Torque replied, lightly kissing the top of Erin's head. Arsenal smiled a bit and kissed his wife.
"Sure there is. You can lay down here with me and the kids and rest. Start fresh in the morning when everything has calmed down." Arsenal answered, lightly brushing his thumb over her cheek. Torque nodded and nuzzled Arsenal a bit, kissed him again, and then slid carefully down beneath the covers.
Aqualad spread a blanket over his sleeping family. The two little ones had curled up tightly beside Terra and slept hard. The flush of exhaustion on their little cheeks was still dissipating and Coral's thumb was still loosely in her mouth. Aqualad crept beneath the blanket and kissed the top of Cerdian's head, waking Terra.
"Are you okay?" Terra murmured.
"I will be. It was pretty unnerving to see Kori and Dick get all worked up like that in front of all of their people," Aqualad replied.
"I hope they'll be okay..." Terra replied softly. "Hey...you promised me something when we got to Tamaran, mister." Aqualad smiled.
"I did. What do you think of the name Tempest?" he said.
"Honey, I love it. It's perfect..." she replied. They leaned over the kids and lightly kissed before Terra shut off the light and the family fell asleep together.
"Vic?"
Cyborg turned away from the work he was doing. He had been tinkering with the circuitry in his sonic cannon arm for at least two hours. For the past 30 minutes, his gaze had drifted off into space and Jinx looked up from her drawing pad when she noticed. Taking off her reading glasses, Jinx crept off the bed and came to stand next to him at the desk.
"Sorry, baby. I didn't mean to ignore you," Cyborg replied softly.
"You are one distracted guy," Jinx murmured. Is there something I can do?" Cyborg replaced the circuits, flexed and rotated his wrist and flexed all of his fingers before smiling at her and drawing her closer to him. Nudging her a little with his nose, he kissed Jinx soundly on the mouth. His circuitry tingled as she crept into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Maybe there is something you can do for me," Cyborg teased, carrying his wife to their bed. She giggled in reply.
"Oh, Vic!"
"I love you, Veronica."
"Mmmm….Show me," Jinx whispered. For half a second, Cyborg lost his breath as he carefully inched his wife's nightgown over her head and discarded it over the side of the bed. It wouldn't be long before Jinx was clutching the soft sheets of the bed and trying hard to keep from moaning so loudly that she would wake her children. When her climax came, Jinx nearly tore the blanket in her reaction to her husband's skills as a lover. The second moon was peeking over the Tamaranian horizon line when they finally fell asleep.
Jason Todd Grayson, the Crown Prince of Tamaran, couldn't sleep. He had picked at his dinner and fled to the balcony when his family retired for the night. He was perched on the edge of the balcony railing, sitting cross-legged and staring out at the seemingly peaceful Tamaranian night. The night was clear, and billions of stars poked their light into the black blanket of the darkness. Sitting up a little straighter, he opened his mouth and spoke.
"Come out, Olivia. I know you're there," Robin said. Hummingbird stepped from the shadows and joined him on the railing.
"You're still awake, too?" Hummingbird said. Robin chuckled.
"My mother didn't get to sleep very easily. Dad's worried that the stress will hurt the baby," Robin said. "What's your excuse?"
"My parents haven't had 'cuddle time' for two months. Even if I could sleep I'd be imagining it," she replied. Robin laughed for the first time all day. Hummingbird couldn't help smiling with him.
"Hey, you try to keep the mental image of your own parents going at it out of your head and see how well you fare!" Hummingbird grumbled good-naturedly, giving his shoulder a light shove. After a few moments of quiet, Robin grabbed Hummingbird's hand and rose into the air.
"Come with me. I have something I want to show you," he said. Hummingbird stood and said, "But we shouldn't leave the palace…you know the state of things."
"We'll be okay. Come on, this is awesome. I promise you won't regret it," Robin said. Hummingbird smiled again and leapt into the air to follow him.
Robin let Hummingbird chase him as they weaved through forests and dipped and soared along a river until they came to a waterfall and Robin looked back for a second at his companion and then plunged headfirst down the steep falls.
"Jason!" Hummingbird shouted as she followed him. She copied his dive over the falls and suddenly lost sight of him. Seconds later a pair of arms took hold of her and yanked her backwards into the torrents of falling water. She screeched and pulled away as Robin rolled in the air in fits of laughter.
"Is this what you dragged me out here for?" Hummingbird cried.
"No!" Robin laughed. "That is." Hummingbird turned, and they were hovering over the most beautiful lake she had ever seen. Hummingbird's jaw dropped open and Robin chuckled.
"Told ya," he said, floating there with her in the air.
"Wow…" Hummingbird whispered breathlessly.
"Wanna go for a dip?" Robin said, moving down to the ground.
"Thanks to you, I've already been in," she teased.
"I promise you'll like it more in the lake than in the waterfall. Come on," he said, peeling off his shirt. For a moment, Hummingbird was transfixed by the sight of his bare chest. For sixteen, his muscles were well defined and lean. His six-pack abs were worth the whole flight to this particular location.
"Aren't you coming?" he said gently. Hummingbird could resist his green eyes no longer. She pulled off her jeans and sweatshirt, toed off her shoes and closed the space between them. Robin could only stare at the sight of her clad only in her underpinnings. Hummingbird took Robin's hand and led him into the water, the chill raising goose bumps on their bare flesh. For a while, the two swam, played and dove deep down beneath the surface to tease the shimmering little fish that lived there.
After about a half hour, Robin pulled himself up to the surface right in front of Hummingbird making her gasp in surprise.
"You startled me!" she laughed, wiping the water out of her violet eyes. Without a word, Robin leaned forward and kissed Hummingbird's lips, lingering there for a full thirty seconds before pulling back. Stunned, Hummingbird was speechless for a while before she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, slowly melting against his chest as she relaxed in his arms. Robin wound his arms around her waist, sliding one hand up her back and into her hair, holding her tight as he absorbed the energy in her reaction. Finally parting lips, the two young heroes looked at each other and caught their breath.
"I've been waiting years for that," Robin said, still holding Hummingbird close.
"What were you waiting for?" Hummingbird replied, brushing his nose with her own. Robin reacted and kissed her again, subconsciously turning them in the water. Suddenly, Hummingbird broke the kiss.
"What's wrong?" Robin whispered.
"Someone's watching," Hummingbird replied.
"How do you know?" Robin asked, pulling his jeans back on and fighting his shirt back over his soaking torso.
"Hold still," Hummingbird ordered. She rested one hand on his chest and one hand on her own. Jason felt what he could only describe as a stiff breeze blow over them both and seconds later, their clothing was dry.
"Neat trick," he grinned.
"Momma taught me that," Hummingbird said. A branch snapped in the distance and both teens came to attention in the direction of the sound.
"You needn't fear me," said the voice. "I am a friend."
"Yeah, prove it," Robin growled.
"As a matter of fact," said the distinctly masculine voice. "I am family."
"Family?" Robin said, slowly lowering his fist, glowing dangerously with a starbolt ready.
"I don't believe you!" Hummingbird cried, her powers crackling between her delicate fingers.
The figure stepped out of the shadows and both youngsters gasped as they lowered their weapons. Bright red hair and green eyes stood out in the face of this man. He was tall and lean and dressed in purple, just like Robin.
"It can't be…" Robin said. "You're dead….Auntie Blackfire said she…you can't be…"
"Prince Ryand'r!" Hummingbird gasped.