Author's Note: *cricket noises* ... I had homework. I'm really really truly sorry guys :( I'm going to make this short because I really want you to get down and read this update hahahaha as always thank you for bearing with me and don't forget to tell me your thoughts by leaving a REVIEW below :D Thanks guys and enjoy!
To Levi16: Thank you hahaha sorry for the late update... hope you keep reading though! :)
To laniDG11: Welp I had the time... I'm getting real conscious about how late I'm updating this fic :( But thanks for staying with me and please do read on! :D
To AndAnotherOneBitesTheDust: Yuuup that just happened :D I've only ever read your profile because as I said to Miss Geek during the earlier parts of this fic, I don't read other fanfics so that I don't get pressured by other people's writing so I'm sorry if I haven't reviewed your stories yet... but nonetheless they deserve a shout-out 'cuz from the looks of it, you have really really good content :D thoughts are appreciated as always and I totally agree about siding with Red X... ladies love a bad boy, and hopefully, Star loves one too ;)
To 9linn8: You're very welcome hahaha and thanks for the review! Hope you like this one :D
To reader . scorpio: Awww thank yoouuu! Sorry to keep you waiting though huhuhu school really drains me and makes it hard to produce chapters that meet my personal expectations... but I hope you still enjoy reading! :)
To thnx4killingme: I'm going to collectively reply to your reviews and to start off I love your enthusiasm! Reading your reviews genuinely made me smile and I really do appreciate how much you like my story :D I also like the sort of dark humor going on in there... we have that in common (shhh) hahahaha anyways keep holding on if you want to reach the end of my fic! ;)
To x-Misao-x: Thanks! Hope you stick around though :) Btw RobStar is cute (like I won't even deny it when I watched the series) but that spark between Starfire and Red X really won me over, especially after looking through fan art like holy sh*t XD
To brenda sianipar: Well here you go! Sorry for the late update though... hope you enjoy reading and thanks for the review!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the story line and plot of this story.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The miniature fleet that consisted of at most twenty of Val-yor's drones were different than those they fought on Earth—their shape was more aerodynamic and sleek, and looked more like sizable versions of Val-yor's ship. Each drone had two blasters beneath them, armed and locked and ready to shoot. Robin's knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he banked the T-ship hard to the left. "Titans, brace yourselves!" he yelled through his microphone. The fleet followed in hot pursuit, shooting green starbolts at them rapidly. The T-ship shuddered violently as it took the hits, the sounds of the impact outside a low boom that reverberated within the ship's walls.
On the port side, Red X grunted, followed by a sharp intake of breath as the cuffs on his wrists tightened. "Screw this," he muttered. He opened his palm, where an electric shock X-shuriken appeared, catching it with his two fingers just as the T-ship lurched forward once more. He prayed a silent prayer, hoping that he wouldn't accidentally electrocute himself, and flicked the X-shuriken at the cuff. It sparked and fizzed briefly before releasing him. He produced an X-blade, slicing through the rest and buckled his seatbelt on.
"H-hey! What do you think you're doing?" Cyborg stuttered in disbelief. "B-but... those were thief-proof!"
Red X stared at him through the windshield, his brow raised—then burst out laughing. Tears were in his eyes, Cyborg's whining making him double over in his seat. "'Thief-proof'... good one..." he said in between breaths, clutching a stitch at his side. The T-ship lurched again, this time to the side. Robin had opened fire, blasting the drones in front with charged particle beams.
"Now's not the time for games, Red X!" Robin yelled at him.
"Relax, I know how to fly this thing—well, sort of," Red X replied confidently, fixing the sloppy way his headphones were put on his head. He gripped his own steering wheel and prepared to release his pod from the T-ship. He was fairly familiar with the basic controls, and that was all that mattered. He reeled back slightly, palpitations closing up his chest, his brain fogging up when he remembered who taught him how to fly. You'll be thanking me one day for this, Jason, Slade's voice echoed in his head. He shook his head violently to get rid of the voice before he started reminiscing the painful torture that came afterward. Red X hit the switch that detached his pod from the rest of the Titans. "What are you doing? I didn't tell you to separate!" Robin yelled through the communicator.
"I told you before, kid," he said, turning and locking on his targets, "I'm not part of your team, so stop bossing me around and let me have a little fun." He fired, charging at the drones, coming up behind the rest of the T-ship and firing at those that were tailgating it. He shot at them with ferocious accuracy, never missing a target, quickly moving to the next after the first was destroyed.
He's a fair flyer, even better shooter, Robin thought—he stopped himself before he started to gawk at Red X's skills, groaning loudly, and ordered, "Titans, separate!"
The remaining pods detached with a hiss, with Cyborg flying ahead, and Raven and Beast Boy taking the drones on the right. Robin turned his ship around, shooting down the drones in his way with precision that matched Red X's. He sped towards him—or rather, the drone that was targeting him. He leveled out, lining his pod up to the drone, and opened fire, the energy blast causing the drone to explode. He flew over Red X's pod, barrel rolling over it. Red X gave him a curt nod before he veered to the right, where Cyborg shot the last drone.
"Booyah!" he said, throwing a fist in the air as the pods regrouped in the middle of floating debris.
"Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!" Beast Boy added. The two high-fived through their windshield, causing Raven to roll her eyes.
"Nice flying, X," Robin said.
"Not so bad yourself, kid," he said. Robin figured that that was as close as he could get to a thank you from him, but he allowed himself a small smile.
He couldn't see under the mask, but Red X was smiling too. Though that smile faded quickly when he reminded himself that he wasn't one of them, that he will never be one of them—and that he didn't want to become like him. Red X was sweating bullets underneath the mask, and all he could hear was the sound of his breaths and the voice that haunted his dreams.
"Not bad, Jason. You're almost just like him. Nothing a little more training can't fix," Slade said. He was strapped to a reclined chair with thick leather belts strapping him in place. "However, you're still fighting it. The longer you resist, the more painful it gets." He screamed when the first wave of electricity coursed through his veins. He continued screaming, shock after shock, even though he knew that no one would come for him, that no one could hear him, that no one could save him.
"Is everybody okay? Raven? Beast Boy? Cyborg? X? X, come in! Are you hurt?" Robin asked. Red X flinched, trying to control his uneven breathing, his hands shaking as he gripped the wheel. "Aww, so you do care? I'm flattered, kid," he said, hoping that the snide remark was enough to mask how shaky his voice was. It may have fooled Robin, who rolled his eyes and grumbled, but not Raven. She looked across her window past Beast Boy, wondering what Red X had seen. She could delve into his mind and find out, but when he looked back at her with that knowing look in his eye, she knew it wasn't her place.
Starfire was first aware of the voices.
They were hissing, fading in and out, getting louder and a little bit discernible as she came into consciousness. Still, they sounded as if they were underwater. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the bright lights. She was still in her glass case, but she wasn't in the ship anymore—she was in a huge, circular room with a domed ceiling and brightly lit panels on the walls. At the center stood a tall metal pillar with thick wires attached to four ray guns, which protruded from its side. Slimy schlurches were lined up on platforms above them, which connected to four catwalks that converged onto a circular platform at the top of the pillar. At the center of the domed ceiling was a large, circular glass lens. Something white was glowing up there, its brightness rivalling that of the sun back on Earth.
She saw her fellow Tamaraneans lined up, tears forming in the back of her throat when she saw that they were bound in chains that linked them all together. Some of them were still children, whose lime green eyes that matched her own were filled with fear and terror. Val-yor's drones hovered beside them, menacing space guns pointed on a swivel at her people, pushing those who put up a fuss along. Those in front were standing directly in front of the ray guns, and with a loud zapping sound, they cried out in pain, the same, silvery white light engulfing them. Starfire gasped when she saw that their powers were being taken, the neon green ultraviolet energy being sucked up through the ray guns and into the wires that led to the top of the metal column. After they were through with the guns, schlurches hauled their unconscious bodies outside the room.
"No! Stop!" she cried, helplessly banging on the glass. "Please, stop hurting my people!" Some of them looked at her, the expressions on their faces hopeless and forlorn. Others' eyes glowed, but before they could even strike back, the drones fired, emitting the same silver beam that took their powers as well. Starfire had never felt so remarkably helpless in her entire life. She thrashed about in her glass capsule just as a drone hovered in front of her, its metallic arms wrapping around the capsule and taking her up and away from her people. She was unable to stop the tears that streamed down her face as the zapping and screaming continued, her hands flying to her ears in attempt to block out the cries.
"Aww, hush now, little sister," drawled a familiar voice, causing Starfire's head to snap up. The drone set her down at the edge of the platform, turning it around so that she was facing her sister, Blackfire. The source of the brightness earlier was shining right behind her, outlining her entire figure and making it hard for Starfire to look at her. She narrowed her eyes at her, especially since she noticed that the crown of Tamaran was back on her head. "It seems as though you've already met my partner," she added, placing her hand on her hip while the other gestured to the side, revealing Val-yor, whose fingers were drumming on a panel. She smirked. "Why do you work with him?" Starfire asked, enraged, "Do you not know what horrible word he uses to call us? He uses the T-word!"
"I think you mean just 'you', hon," Blackfire said. "Because I'm not like the rest of the Tamaran, am I, sister dear? I'm stronger, faster and far more powerful than you'll ever be."
"Not like the rest of you troqs," Val-yor huffed, standing next to Blackfire. "Blackfire here's been telling me stories. She even reminds me of myself—and you? Just look at the lot of you. All that power going to waste. It didn't even take a proper fight to get you guys to surrender."
"Why are you doing this?" Starfire asked, her heart sinking with dread.
"After your encounter with Val-yor way back when, word slipped out to his home planet that he was saved by a Tamaranean—the lesser beings. He was stripped of his ranks, and banished from Vernathia. So when he came back to Earth, he vowed to destroy you and your precious little friends. Little did he know of course that I wanted that, too. And so, call it fate or whatever, we came up with a brilliant plan to get rid of you."
"How could you do this to me? To Tamaran? How could betray your people like this?"
"I think you mean how could you betray me!" she snapped. She marched to the capsule, jabbing an accusing finger at her sister through the glass. Her eyes glowed purple dangerously, reminding Starfire of her horrible past—the experiments, the torture, the radiation. "You exiled me. You cast me out of our home. You took everything away from me. And now..."
Blackfire smiled wickedly, reminding Starfire of a lioness with its teeth bared—and with her lilac eyes, she looked twice as evil. "... I'm going to do the same to you."