I've had this completed since...November or so? But I hit a wall writing the 13th chapter and then lost my passion for writing due to personal incidents. Regardless, it wasn't fair to hold the 11th and 12th chapter hostage this long while I tried to break through the writer's block. I made a couple changes (as expected) to what happens in both present and past but the core of the story is still proceeding as the original run.


Location: Med Bay, Metro Tower

Time: 1100 hours

Rose groans, hearing a heart monitor beeping next to her. She opens her eye to a white, tiled ceiling, closing it again quickly due to the harsh light. She lies there, trying to discern where she is. She turns her head and takes in the sights, smells, and sounds. The only thing she hears is that incessant beeping from the heart monitor. She can smell a potent smell of disinfectant and sees white walls, ashen floors, and a singular chair for a visitor.

She feels the needle attached to her arm and the oxygen cannula on her face. There are bandages on her arms and legs, a wrap around her stomach. She must have been more injured than she thought. So she's in a hospital, or at least a medical ward. She looks towards the door and feels her heart leap into her throat, Kenra? No, this person just looks like her. This person has her arms crossed her chest and a piercing gaze that's directed to Rose.

"What were you doing out there, half-dead?" The tone of Shayera's sharp voice promised pain if she didn't get a desired response. Rose looks away, realizing who it is: Kenra's older sister. Shayera scowls at the young woman's silence. "Well, are you going to answer or do I have to force it out of you?"

Rose reluctantly turns back. "I…I'm going to assume you saw the news about the attack on my old home? And how they pulled out Wintergreen?" Rose struggles to speak confidently under Shayera's menacing gaze.

"Who is Wintergreen?" Shayera barks, beginning to grow impatient. "What does this have anything to do with us?" If Rose hadn't shown up, Shayera would have been able to finish preparations! Rose steels herself and slowly sits up. Shayera resists the urge to get into a defensive position when she realizes how pained Rose looks.

Rose takes a deep but shaky breath and looks Shayera straight in the eye. "The Gordanians attacked us and abducted your sister." Immediately, the harsh pinch on Shayera's face softens into surprise and her arms drop at the mention of her sister.

So that's why this girl kept muttering Kenra.

Rose shifts uncomfortably in her place as she begins to wonder if she should have kept quiet. Shayera has been quiet for a while now. "Do…" Shayera clenches her fists. "Do you know where they took her?" Shayera whispers, hopeful. This could be their chance, they could-

Rose looks down, shaking her head. "No…I'm sorry." Shayera could feel the hopefulness leave her instantly. "Are you still going to rescue her, though?"

"Yes," she replies without hesitation. Rose looks up at her.

"Let me go with you," Rose firmly demands, catching Shayera off guard.

"Let you go? You're injured!"

"You're injured too!"

Shayera looks at Rose in confusion. "And how the hell do you know that?"

Rose crosses her arms, some of her confidence coming back. "Kenra told me."

"My injuries don't matter. Kenra's my younger sister and I have an obligation to protect her." She glances to the side in deep thought, her expression changing to remorse. "I've already failed so many people…I'm not going to let Kenra be another one of them."

"Kenra's all I have left," Rose begins, clutching the bedsheets. "When I betrayed the Titans…it was clear that I wouldn't be welcomed back. All I've had since I left was my da- my father and Wintergreen, our butler. When Kenra arrived…I was jealous at first because it meant I could fall out of favor with my father, but…" Shayera looks at Rose with uncertainty. "Please let me come with you. You don't know how lonely it was when I was working for my father. I don't want to lose – to betray anymore of my friends as much as you don't want to let down the people you care about!"

The door suddenly swings open, Superman glowering at Rose. Rose tries not to shrink from his gaze; why do heroes keep assuming she's the worst of the worst? Oh right, because she betrayed Kid Flash and her old friends.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here after betraying the Titans."

Rose tenses up, choosing her words carefully. "…I came because I was hoping you could help me rescue Kenra."

Superman scowls, "That's rather hard to believe. How do we know your father didn't put you up to this?"

"Superman, Kenra's my only friend. I've betrayed my father for her…If you're rescuing her, I want in."

"You should be thankful that we haven't given you over to the authorities yet," he reminds her.

She sighs. "Look, I know I've done inexcusable things that can't be forgiven easily and I accept that I deserve to be locked up. But the point is, I want to help you save Kenra." She gazes at him, pleading. "Please, just give me a chance."

"No." He firmly crosses his arms and narrows his unforgiving eyes at her. "Before we head out, I'll contact the authorities and you'll be taken to Blackgate Prison where we'll keep a close eye on you. I believe Kid Flash would want to personally take you in himself."

Rose widens her eye in horror and anguish. Bart…Shayera looks just as equally shocked. "But-"

"You're not a superhero anymore, Ravager. I'm not willing to risk taking you on a rescue mission where you can suddenly double-cross us."

Rose snarls at him. This is Superman? This man standing before her is known for justice and fairness! And yet, everything he's doing right now just shows that it was all a lie that Bart had told her! Why can't he see that she's being sincere in this and that she'd never do anything to ruin her chances of saving Kenra?

Rose trembles in indignation, hurt by Superman's accusations. "Why do you think I came here beaten and bruised – nearly dead?! I came to ask for help, but I didn't expect you – you, man of steel: savior of the weak to turn me away! All I ask is to let me come with you on the rescue mission. After that, you can take me to Blackgate Prison. I don't care! You can get Bart and the rest of the Titans to personally walk me to my jail cell! But please! Just let me go with you."

Shayera grabs Superman's shoulder and softly whispers to him, "Give her a chance."

He turns to her in shock. "Why, Shayera? We're leaving in less than an hour and you want to take a villain with us? Aren't you worried that she'll literally stab us in the back?"

"In case you forgot, you gave me a second chance when I messed up. And I betrayed you all as well. But you didn't give up on me when everyone else did. So why should you deny her of one?"

Superman glances between the two, realizing that she has a point. It seems he won't be getting his way today at all. "If you insist, but don't forget who we're dealing with."

"Believe me, I won't. Besides we'll need all the people we can get to rescue my sister. I'm pretty sure the Gordanians are prepared to counter us." Shayera trails off, praying that her sister is still holding out against their enemy.


Location: Holding Room, Gordanian Mothership

Time: ?

"This is getting boring…" one of the Gordanians complain as the room beneath them sparkle with light. They can hear the constant, electric buzzing from the machine they dubbed their 'toy' down below. The Gordanian can't help but wonder how their sole prisoner hasn't uttered a single yelp despite the torture.

"I know, she ain't even whimperin'. She ain't passed out or anythin' right? You sure we can't up the intensity?" his partner asks.

"Any higher than this and we risk her getting killed. And Commander will have our heads if we kill her."

"But this is so damn borin'!" Can't we go down and torture her ourselves?"

"What, and risk letting her escape? No way. If we get close, who knows what she'll do. She's one of 'em goddamn Assassins and I can bet she'll figure out a way to escape even with her arms and legs restrained."

"You wanna bet on that?"

"There will be no betting!" the squad leader roars. "I'm not going to risk losing our bounty just because you're bored. If you want to entertain yourselves, then go out and rampage around in the forest. Or better yet, you can use each other for target practice!"

"I don't even know why th' hell we're still 'ere!"

Their leader has a strong temptation to shoot his soldiers, but he resists. "Were you even paying attention? Look, we're using her as bait! The commander told us that her sister is likely to come for her and it'll be a perfect opportunity for us to bring them both back to Karna. We'll be hailed as heroes!"

"But still…I'm sick of doin' nothin' here," the soldier grumbles.

"Quit your complaining or get the hell out of here! I told you all that you can shoot up the forest or each other! We'll get out soon enough. When Lt. Hol and her group find us, we'll ambush them and while they're still recovering…we'll swoop in, snatch the lieutenant, and we get the hell outta here. Perfect plan!" The Gordanians start to protest again. "Shut your traps! If you're so damn bored, stand over there and I'll blast your heads off!"

The Gordanian closest to the grille looks down at the sparks, grunting. "We might as well turn this off so we don't waste the ship's energy." He inserts his spear into a keyhole and the electricity stops; he notices Kenra's head flop down.

"Tch, she's not responding at all. Typical Thanagarians, so damn weak," a Gordanian spits in contempt.

"Shut the hell up," the leader hisses as the guards all sit there quietly waiting for something. All they hear are the hum of the ship's engines and soft, rapid panting of their prisoner. The leader abruptly stabs his spear into the keyhole again and the electricity is activated once again.

Kenra still refuses to utter even a scream, the restraints groaning as she strains against it. He pulls the spear out and the torture stops.

"Hmph, that bitch won't even whimper," one of the guards complain.

The guard leader alters the device to occasional shocks just as he receives a notification on his pad. He huffs, "She'll find a way to get back at us if we're not careful. Now get! Our cook just finished lunch, it's time to eat. You stay here and make sure she doesn't try anything funny. I'll bring you back some food."

Receding footsteps can be heard from the ceiling of Kenra's small and dark prison cell. She quietly gulps for air as buckets of sweat trickle down her face and onto the burnt floor in front of her. Her wounds she had sustained during their ambush have slightly reopened and blood is also dripping down. Kenra closes her eyes, tempted to sleep as her heart rate finally starts to calm down.

The periodic pulsation from the shackles and the morbid smell of her singed flesh pervades the room, keeping her conscious if only slightly. She bites her lip, the urge to scream – to just let go and cry out – is forcibly shoved down as far as she can push it. But she wants to let go and scream. Oh, how she wants it so badly.

But the worst form of torture would be letting these damn lizards hear her cry. Thus she will never give them the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

She needs to figure out a way to escape and reach her sister, preferably before they arrive on the ship. She doesn't want them to walk into a trap just to rescue her. With renewed vigor and determination, Kenra takes a deep breath and steels herself. She pulls at the shackles with as much force as she could muster but a timely electric shock jolts her to the point that her trembles can be mistaken as seizures.

She bites her lip out of surprise and feels the blood dribble down her chin. A bleary thought forms in her mind; what if she just bit her tongue and ended all of this by bleeding to death? She could try to activate the controls and give herself a strong enough jolt that would stop her he- No, that would be the coward's way out. A Thanagarian must face their enemies head on, not escape from them.

Her mind begins to wander to her life thus far. Recalling how despite her rebellious nature, her parents still chose to protect her to the very end – protecting her from their crumbling home rather than escaping to help lead Thanagar to a possible victory against the Gordanians. After all, she was considered dead weight by almost every Thanagarian on the planet.

Surprisingly, she and Fray were assigned the same room for the night. Once she and Fray settled in, as a formality, she was given the news that her parents had died. But the soldier that had given it to her did not hesitate to tell her to lie to her sister should she ask how they perished, "She doesn't need to know the truth about how esteemed soldiers lost their lives protecting a child."

Fray confronted the soldier, earning another backhanded slap to the face. But he refused to back down, even laughing at the soldier after he had left the room.

Fray has always been there for her. Even in his last moments…


She flew towards Fray, sword in hand and caution to the wind. She swore that she would do everything in her power to keep Fray alive so the two of them, at least, would be able to escape Thanagar together. Backing him up, she had killed twenty consecutive Gordanians when one snuck up on her and slammed the butt of his spear into the back of her head. She crumpled instantly, her head pounding in pain and her body sluggish. The Gordanian that had attacked her lifted his spear, but Fray interposed himself between them.

He swung his axe at the Gordanian, the head rolling away from the body. Fray knelt and picked up Kenra, flying her away from the battle. Her eyes fluttered open, trying to regain her bearings. Fray stayed beside her, stroking her cheek with his callous finger. "Hey Kenra, how's your head?" he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Kenny…I should've been there to stop that. How can I be your hero if I can't even save you? I'm worthless."

His words shocked Kenra out of her dazed state and she hastily stood up, nearly losing her balance. Fray caught her and held her up. The young woman grabbed a hold of his hand and squeezed it. "No, you're not," she objected. "We all had our own assignments; you can't always be there to watch over me. You've done everything you can up to this point and you even saved me from getting killed back there. You will always be my hero, Fray."

He shook his head. "According to myself, I'm no hero. I'm just an orphan that rose way too quickly through the ranks because I wanted to prove something. And we don't have time to argue about this, okay?" he added, seeing Kenra about to object. "I'm going to take you to the Academy so you can escape from here."

"What? No! Let me fight with you…Our friends are dead! Either you escape with me or we die together!" she protested. But her betrothed slowly shook his head. Picking her up bridal-style and ignoring her complaints, Fray spread his wings as far as they could before doing one powerful, swift pump off the floor and into the sky. He flew straight for the Academy, doing his best to avoid every opposition in the way.

He narrowly dodged a beam, singing his arm slightly and he hissed in pain. "Hang on, Kenny. We're almost there," he puffed, his arms shaking in pain.

Kenra looked away, wondering if she can somehow convince him to go with her. Suddenly, Fray let out a scream as a concussion blast hit him in the back. Fray dipped forward and turned his body midair so that his body would take the brunt of the fall. Fray tightened his grasp on Kenra as the pair slid on the ground for a few feet before coming to a stop.

Kenra waited for a few moments before opening her eyes. She regretted it. Above them is a squad of Gordanians and just a couple yards away is the Academy's entrance. She rolled herself away from Fray and pulled her sword out, taking a few experimental swings. Fray is quickly up as well, brandishing his large battle axe. As the squad descended upon them, Kenra ducked as Fray swung his battle axe in a full circle.

He was able to make contact with three of the five Gordanians that had charged them. The other two swerved to the side and Kenra swept her blade at them, cutting off one's arm and the other's leg. They collapsed on their backs, howling in pain. Kenra landed between them, both hands flicking upwards as her hidden knives shot out of their holsters. She swiftly put them out of their misery.

She stood up and turned towards Fray, about to say something when he grabs her hand. "C'mon!" he yelled, almost dragging her towards the Academy.

Once the pair arrived at the hangar, Kenra grimaced. Thanagarians of all ages lay on the ground, weapons in their hands. Several bodies were children and a caretaker, seemingly gunned down by a Gordanian that lay several feet away. At least, his body was. His head was nowhere to be seen.

Kenra couldn't help but curse her people's fate. Why? Why did the bypass have to be destroyed?

They stopped in front of the sole aircraft and Kenra realized that there is only room for one person. "Fray, wait," Kenra began as Fray started inputting commands into the shuttle.

"No time to argue, Kenra." Another squad began charging into the hangar as the hatch opened. "Get in!"

"Fray, I'm not leaving this place without you!" she protested again, grabbing his arm. She noticed how tattered his wings were; there's no way he'd be able to fight midair anymore. And when a Thanagarian is unable to fly, they're doomed.

"We don't have time for this, Kenra!" A Gordanian snuck up behind Fray and Kenra pulled out her sword, instantly stopping him from killing Fray.

"I can help you fight! You're in no condition!"

"I won't let you risk your life! I want you to get out of here!" The squad began converging on them and Fray grunted, forcing himself to expand his wings. Pain was evident on his face as he grabbed Kenra forcefully and placed her in the shuttle's seat. He pressed a button and the seatbelts wrapped themselves onto Kenra as she struggled to release them.

"Fray! What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry, Kenny," he apologized quietly as he inputted commands into the shuttle. Once finished, he gave her a quick kiss before pulling away. The two lovers stared at each other, unspoken words dancing between them. "I love you," he whispered before leaping off of the shuttle. The hatch lowered itself as Kenra watched Fray, with a war cry, leap into battle.

She tried to override the instructions but cursed when it became obvious that Fray had used his personal codes to set it. By doing so, no one but Fray himself would be able to change the commands for as long as he wanted it. Kenra pounded on the hatch door just as a large and imposing Gordanian stepped into the hangar.

Fray, by this time, had already lost his mask and blood – both his and the Gordanians' – flowed down freely. The squad's corpses lie around him and he was panting, exhausted. Despite that, he held his battle axe in both hands, his stance ready for an attack from any direction. The Gordanian, which Kenra assumed was one of the commanders, glanced at the shuttle before looking back at Fray.

"Stay away from the shuttle!"

"And why should I listen to you?" the commander mockingly asked.

"If you beat me, then I'll let you have the shuttle," Fray promised, standing in front of it. Kenra began punching the hatch harder, knowing full well that they can't see her but she can see them clearly.

"We can afford to let the shuttle go. Whoever is in there is probably just a child. You, however…" Fray was unable to react as the Gordanian grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the side. "You will make a fine addition to my collection."

Fray coughed up a small puddle of blood as he glanced up. The Gordanian confidently strode towards him and picked him up. Although Fray is tall, the Gordanian is much taller than he is. Fray tried to break out, punching the Gordanian's arm and trying to kick him but he barely reached.

Kenra's hands by now have started bleeding from her efforts as tears began streaming down her face once again. How many times does she have to go through this? The shuttle roared to life right as the Gordanian grabbed Fray's wing. "No," she whispered, her eye widening.

The commander tore out Fray's wing, ignoring his screams of agony. He discarded the wing to the side as Kenra began punching the hatch harder. He dropped Fray, blood beginning to pool around the injured Thanagarian, as he put on a glove. "How does it feel, Thanagarian?" He kicked Fray in the ribs and sent him rolling towards the shuttle. "To see your home be destroyed like this and see yourself at the mercy of a Gordanian?"

Fray does not reply as he tried to push himself up. The Gordanian squatted down besides Fray, trying to provoke him. Fray suddenly leapt towards the Gordanian and slashed at him with a knife. The Gordanian backed away in pain, screaming, as Fray staggered to his battle axe.

While the Gordanian was recovering, Fray charged and swung his axe. The axe cut the Gordanian's abdomen and he howled in pain as the momentum caused Fray to fall to the side.

Fray looked back up to Kenra, his eyes unfocused, as the shuttle finished its preparations. The commander growled, bleeding but not enough to kill him, grabbing Fray by his head and tore out his other wing. "Your wings are clipped now, you filthy Thanagarian," he hissed, ignoring Fray's screams.

The Gordanian glanced up at the hatch, raising his hand again. "No! Don't do it! Please…" He turned back to Fray and thrusted his hand into Fray's chest as the shuttle blasted out of the hangar. The last thing Kenra saw was the Gordanian ripping out Fray's heart and tossing his body to the side.


Kenra forces herself out of the memory as she looks down, seeing little droplets on the ground. The tears continue to stream down her face as she holds back sobs that threaten to overwhelm her. Anger also festers within her; the commander that had killed Fray is somewhere on this ship and she could have her revenge.

Her ears pick up footsteps above her, a set of feet standing directly above the grille. What would a Gordanian want with her? "We're taking off soon," he notifies her; although, the tone indicates that he was forced to tell her. But why?

She hopes her voice isn't shaky. "I thought you were going to use me as bait."

"Do you really think we're gonna let 'em come to us while we're on the ground? We're going aerial and rejoining the rest of the army. But it's not like it's going to mean anything to you. You have no way of communicatin' with the outside world, so you can't warn those 'heroes' even if you wanted to," he taunts her.

He walks away, leaving Kenra to think over the news. There has to be some way for her to relay the information, but how? The ship rumbles as it prepares to fly and she renews her attempts to escape. She tries her best, only to get electrocuted again.

She allows her body to relax against the restraints. Her heart – her body – won't be able to take much of this anymore. That's when she hears it: a crack on the left arm's shackle. She curses, even with this little crack, it doesn't mean she'll be able to escape. She barely has energy left to remain conscious, let alone try and get out of here.

Hell, if her sister did somehow manage to get here unscathed, how are they going to fight their way through the army? Would Rose even be in the right condition to help them? Would they even listen to Rose? She is, after all, a villain that betrayed her friends for Slade.

Then again, Slade didn't leave her much choice after hiring a mercenary to kill her foster mother and father. Tch, if she somehow escapes this, the first thing she's going to do is find Slade and kill him. Hopefully, that would free Rose.

But first things first, she has to figure out how to get out. She'll have to hope that Lady Luck will be on her side today. For now, she'll wait patiently until an opportunity arises.


Location: Metro Tower Hall

Time: 1200 hours

"I believe we're ready," Superman declares, looking at the assembled heroes. Shayera is cradling her mace with John standing directly behind her, ready to support her if she ever felt weak. Flash is also by her side, also attentive to Shayera. Vigilante is double- and triple-checking his guns, making sure that they are full of ammo. He even checks his pouches to make sure he has extra bullets. Huntress fiddles with her crossbow while Rose is standing in the back with Diana. Diana's presence causes Rose to fidget and nervously look around despite her attempts to play it cool. The Question is leaning against the wall, waiting for their departure.

"To recap, this is going to be a rescue mission for Shayera's younger sister, Kenra Hol. We're going up against the Gordanians so be ready for anything that they could throw at you. Any questions?"

"How do we know we're not gonna get ambushed the minute we step foot on the ship?" Huntress asks.

"We're going to come at them unexpectedly. I doubt they'd see us coming," Superman replies.

"Actually, they might," Rose speaks up instinctively. She regrets it when the group turn towards her, but Shayera nods at her encouragingly. She takes a deep, shaky breath to steel herself. "Before I escaped the building, I heard two of the Gordanians talking to each other. One of them mentioned setting a trap for anyone that might try to rescue her. I think they're expecting Shayera to rescue her," her eye meets Shayera's and realization dawns on the older woman, "and then use that opportunity to capture both of you and bring you back home. They mentioned they were putting Kenra on trial and publicly execute her so it's likely they might try the same thing with you."

"They seriously think they can beat us?" Huntress fumes, bristling at the thought that Gordanians, of all species, could defeat her.

"Well, no. But they're expecting a big rescue team and they know about the Founders. So you can bet that they'll have your weaknesses ready," Rose glances at Superman specifically. "But I doubt they'll be expecting you three."

"Then we'll kick their asses!" Huntress growls, excited at the prospect of kicking ass.

"Wait, Rose," Shayera begins. "Did they mention anything about a Mothership?" Rose thinks it over, trying to remember but everything that had happened is still hazy in her mind.

"I…don't remember, I'm sorry," she apologizes.

"What's wrong with a Mothership?" Flash asks, curious.

"A Mothership usually contains hordes of Gordanians in there. If there's a Mothership, smaller fleets are bound to be near them because a commander is usually on board the Mothership. It's going to be nine of us against a massive army."

"Our focus is the Mothership, correct?" Diana asks.

"Of course, that's where my sister is."

"Then we can mobilize other available heroes to hold off the rest of the ships."

"So we're virtually declaring war on them," Flash states. Diana nods grimly.

"The heroes will fight any opposition and protect the citizens while we infiltrate the Mothership to find Shayera's sister," Diana explains. "It will allow us to focus on the mission at hand and ensure that no one gets hurt while we are gone."

Superman calls L-Ron forward. "I assume you already-?"

"Yes, your Supey-ness. I've compiled the list of available heroes, on- and off-duty, and I'll contact them once you leave. Good luck on the rescue!" he replies cheerily.

Superman nods and turns to Shayera, letting her know that she'll be the leader of this group.

Shayera deeply inhales and closes her eyes for a moment, clutching her mace tightly. She opens them again and turns towards the door, "Let's go."


The goal is to finish chapter 13 before I upload chapter 12. When is that? Hopefully by next Sunday. I can't make promises for how many chapters I have left because I ended up changing a couple plot points here and there + combined bits of chapters 13 and 14 together.

Thank you for being patient with me.