Chapter 14
[Next day]
As Cyborg had promised, today was a training/sparring session for the team so; after breakfast was eaten the team went to the training grounds for the session. It was the usual day for going through the obstacle course. It was something that Solor and his Starfire had been through a few times before their forced refugee status, though.
"Well, team," Cyborg said, "Today we have a challenge: The one with the best time through the course, without teleportation or damaging the equipment outside of normal wear and tear will be allowed to pass their chores onto the person with the slowest time for three days and Edward's offering $100 to the victor in today's sparring matches as well…in cash."
That was a decent incentive for the team, but, Edward wasn't concerned. He already had a plan in mind, especially for Cyborg. He knew Solor was going to set up the Insta-Lube 9000 in the near future. The problem would be keeping the other Titans from triggering the device early, especially the two Starfires. In both universes the device missed its target and either hit Koriand'r by accident or Solor triggered it to keep his Kreinyol from being hit. Regardless, Beast Boy was on the wrong end of a Tamaranian's wrath.
Then again, this time, both princesses would be aware of the impending prank and why it needed to be done.
"So," Cyborg said, "Who wants to go first?"
"I shall," Kreinyol stated a split second before her counterpart did. Kreinyol had selected a new uniform as well, to aid the public in seeing the differences. Her new uniform was a one piece, form fitting suit. Dark purple in color, it showed off her physical attributes quite clearly and there was a very low and revealing V-neck as well that left little to the imagination. Solor was beside himself, feeling the hormones stirring in a way that confused the younger dragon. He would have to try to get more of Edward's advice later. Hopefully, he had gone through similar feelings/changes. Until then, it was going to be hard to focus on the tasks at hand.
[Sweetheart,] Raven said, [I think we need to pull Solor aside later on and train him some on controlling his emotions and hormone responses to his Starfire. He's going to be distracted by those. I hope for his sake you can help him.]
[Not being of the same direct species will make it tough,] Edward mused, [Then again, with I was with Cally in the late 1st century, it was tough dealing with some of the hormones. She never knew that, though.]
[I do wish she didn't hurt you as bad as she did,] Raven said.
[Rae, I forgave her a long time ago,] Edward said, [Before I married Paula, she actually died in a fight and it was Callisto's spirit who restored Paula to life. After Callisto's suicide, she was fully redeemed as her evil died. She was sent back to help me and to make amends. I got a measure of vengeance on the entity who gave Callisto the means to kill herself.]
"Solor," Edward asked aloud, "Are you OK?"
"I am fine, Edward," Solor said.
"Well, Raven and I want to see you on the roof later," Edward said, "Without your Starfire this time. We're concerned that what you're feeling might accidentally interfere with your ability to focus during missions. It's one reason I meditate with Raven. Another is to help with my own anger, as you probably figured out."
Solor glared, "I can handle this problem without your help."
"Humor me, then," Edward said, "It took me a long time, relatively speaking, to realize that Raven can handle herself quite well in a battle and to not be over-protective of her. It actually did interfere with the rest of the team. You're in the top tier here when it comes to overall power alongside our respective Tamaranian friends, Cyborg and myself, so, we have to all remember that there's teamwork involved.
"Tell you what. Take the time today or tomorrow to get some pointers from Rae on deeper meditation techniques on controlling the emotional aspect and as long as it doesn't interfere with missions by your next Hatching day, we'll let it slide. You don't have to meditate on it, just hear my wife out. Fair enough?"
Solor gave it some thought and realized that this time, Edward was willing to compromise. He nodded, "All right."
"Awesome," Edward said and they settled in to watch Kreinyol's attempt.
Kori stepped aside to allow her counterpart to go through the course. There were slight changes to her universe's version, but, as Kreinyol took her spot at the starting line, Cyborg started the countdown.
As soon as it hit zero, she took off, avoiding the lasers that threatened to knock her out of the air. Cyborg adjusted the firing pattern and sure enough, Kreinyol was tagged, knocking her down, but, she recovered quickly and headed towards the next part of the course: the fists. Those, she avoided easily until the last one caught her by surprise and she headed towards the ground. Cyborg tapped a button and the ground opened up to reveal that there was a large container. Kreinyol ended up in there and the doors closed. Or would have closed, locking her in except that as they closed, she flew out with a ½ second to spare.
"Not bad," Edward observed.
Solor merely snarled.
"Easy, Friend," Koriand'r said to him, "She will be the OK." Hearing that got Solor to relax. Since the native Starfire had forgiven him, she had taken the time to try to get to know him better between missions and it was paying off.
When she finished the course, she had not done that well, finishing at 2:36.3. That did not please the younger Starfire at all as she walked over to Solor.
Cyborg reset the system and asked Solor if he would like to take his turn or wait. He opted to hold off, though.
"I'll go," Edward said, "Not like I can win my own money, anyway." That would give Solor another opportunity to see how to get through the course anyway.
Edward lined up with the starting line and nodded, indicating he was ready to go.
Cyborg started the countdown and when the timer hit zero, Edward took off at a quick run and dodged the incoming laser blasts by going to his silver scaled mini-dragon form. That also enabled him to evade the fists. The triple doors were avoided, but, Cyborg threw Edward a curve ball and had the lasers all aim for the weak spots on his wings. It would do minimal damage, though.
Edward heard the lasers powering up and before he could react, he felt them hit.
"Dammit, Cyborg!" Edward roared after hitting the deck, but, he continued on.
As the explosive projectiles were fired, they were intercepted by Edward's lightning breath and they exploded well before hitting Edward.
When he finished, his time was far slower than usual: 2:15.6. He was certainly not happy.
[Solor's not going to get a chance to get payback today,] Edward groused, [Cyborg's going to get lit up later.]
[Don't take it so personally, dear,] Raven reminded him as Beast Boy lined up for his turn.
[Oh, I'm not going to fry his circuits,] Edward said, [Just a reminder that he shouldn't make it a habit to hit my wings.]
By then, Beast Boy had already started his run through the course and when he was through, he was actually in the lead with 2:05.2
The rest of the obstacle course went well, even Solor was pleased seeing what was happening. He got to see how well Terra controlled her powers and when she was done, she was in the lead for the day. Solor went over to Terra and not only smiled at her, but, complimented her on how her control was.
"I finally see what my universes' Terra is capable of doing," Solor said, "Edward taught you well, I see."
"It was a team effort, Solor," Terra said, "I owed them everything, including my life."
"A life debt?" Solor asked.
"You could say that," Edward replied, "She has repaid that, with interest, Solor. She long ago earned the teams' forgiveness. That's why we all retaught her to control her powers. I had to teach my son when he was her relative age how to control his powers, so, I had some experience in that. Raven showed her how to meditate and that helps a lot as well. Terra has come a long way from that scared little girl."
"I guess that's where my Terra's history will be different," Solor said, "When she arrived, I was warning my father of something my older self told Kreinyol a few weeks before I was tossed here."
"So, if I understand it correctly, she was thrown forward in time?" Edward surmised, "That explains her reaction to the team at first. She thought that she was much further in her universe's timeline."
Cyborg lined up to take his turn as Nightwing took over the controls. But, Edward had other ideas as well. Solor and Raven saw the "You're so dead" grin Edward put on.
"If you'll excuse me for a bit," Edward said, "Time to remind Cyborg that he shouldn't be calling a couple of Dragons children."
"This I gotta see," Solor said with a smirk.
Edward teleported to a spot above the course and circled the area.
Cyborg started to go through the course and after making it through the lasers, he had another problem. No one saw Edward's ridges lighting up a brilliant white and before Cyborg knew it, there was a barrage of lightning raining from the sky along with the resulting thunder, forcing Cyborg to dodge those. Then, there was a significant amount of bone chilling cold that caused a sheet of ice to form that put Cyborg on his metal butt.
Both of the Tamaranians giggled as Cyborg lost precious seconds coping with the ice and lightning barrage as Edward continued.
Finally, though, Edward figured Cyborg had taken enough and landed.
"Yo, man!" Cyborg yelled, "What did I do?"
"Collector's ship, remember?" Edward said, "I warned you before about calling me a child. Yet, you did anyway. Karma's a bitch."
"Man! That means I gotta watch out for Solor as well," Cyborg groused.
"Got that right, tinman," Solor whispered.
By then, Solor was, oddly the last to take part in the obstacle course, so, he excused himself to take his turn and, he did not disappoint!
He shrugged off the lasers when they tagged him where they actually stung the other folks. Edward raised an eyebrow at that and realized that Solor absorbed light based attacks the way he absorbed lightning.
"See that?" Nightwing said, noticing it as well.
"I see it, man," Cyborg said, "Solor has a variation of Edward's lightning absorption. It might make Solor stronger in the long run."
But, what they saw when Solor went into the area with the exploding disks made everyone's jaws drop as he unleashed his newest weapon. Edward didn't really have to fake being impressed. In fact, even though he had seen it the night before, watching his spinal ridges lighting up and that new weapon firing was still something he would have to get used to seeing.
"What the heck is that?" Cyborg asked.
"It appears to be a new weapon Solor's gained along with his flame," Edward said, "He's still at the 'teenager' level of his development, so, it does seem logical that he's merely maturing. But, even my experience is of little use here. For all we know, this is a normal development for a Light dragon."
Solor crossed the finish line and looked at the time. He was actually a fraction of a second ahead of Terra and Edward smiled.
"Looks like you earned the prize, Solor," Edward said, "Come see me after the sparring session and the money is yours."
"I still have a couple hundred from last night," Solor said, "Kreinyol, however, ran through her allotment and she barely beat your Starfire."
Edward nodded, "As you wish, then. I will give her that instead, if I am reading you correctly. As we haven't even assigned you a day for the chores, I would suggest talking to Cyborg pretty soon. That way, you can pawn off the assignment to "
"Very perceptive," Solor said, "Shall we spar?"
"I've given it some thought," Cyborg said, "I know that there are other villains out there that will give Solor or Edward a hard time and, therefore would give the rest of us problems. I'm thinking maybe Edward and Solor team up against the rest of us."
Edward looked at Solor and said, "You up for this?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Solor replied sarcastically.
"Let's rock," Edward said and went to his mini-dragon form. Solor was already in his dragon-human hybrid look.
"Just keep the breath weapons at a level where they know they're hit, but, not to put anyone in the Med bay," Cyborg said.
"I usually do," Edward said, "You shouldn't have to ask, considering you've seen my weapons at full blast. Well, Solor hasn't seen my lightning at full power. We were interrupted last time."
"True," Cyborg replied, "With that out of the way, let's begin."
Solor grinned, "This will be fun."
Edward said, "Fighting shouldn't be all fun, though. Between us, sure, let's keep it fun. But, when it's for-real, it's not always fun."
"Quiet you," Solor said.
With that bantering out of the way, the two Dragons squared off against the other Titans. There were the advantages that both dragons had, though. Solor in his hybrid form was as hard to actually injure as Edward was natively.
Edward already had his target picked out and without lighting up his ridges, shot a lightning blast at Cyborg that caught him totally by surprise.
"YEOW!" he yelled as Edward intentionally put some added sting behind the voltage.
He didn't get a chance to recover, though, as Edward was finishing teaching Cyborg a lesson. Edward whacked Cyborg with his tail, knocking him literally head over heels before stopping.
Edward felt a large clump of dirt hit him as Terra decided to defend her friend from the onslaught. That earned the geomancer a glare from the elder dragon that merely reached over and swatted her away.
Solor had his hands full with a team-up of Raven and both Tamaranians.
"You're going to have to spar us, Solor," Raven said, "You cannot allow your feelings for your Starfire to get in the way."
"You think I'm not up to the challenge?" Solor said.
"Prove it, friend Solor," Kori said, "Unless you are the worried that we'll beat you."
"I can take you, Kreinyol and even Raven," Solor said.
Little did Solor know, the girls had talked earlier on how to take down either Edward or Solor. Raven especially knew that Solor would be vulnerable due to his budding feelings and she was not above showing Solor that in a friendly spar.
Both Starfires knew that they could take Solor on so they were happy to team up. Kori knew that if she could get Solor into a certain position, she had a move that even forced Edward to tap out and she knew that Solor would also have to tap out, so, she was looking for her opportunity. It would also take Solor down a few pegs without really hurting his pride too much.
Kreinyol, though, was a little worried. His rage the previous night at Dr. Light was not typical, even for Solor's usual. But she also knew that Raven was right. Solor could not allow his personal feelings to be a distraction with the team or Nightwing may try again to ban the relationship.
It turned out that the guys were going for Edward. It wasn't just Edward vs. Cyborg, it was Edward vs Cyborg, Nightwing and Beast Boy and possibly Terra. In fact, Edward knew that Terra was the wildcard as she could easily entrap both dragons in the very earth. Edward could escape, Solor would be hard-pressed if buried where he couldn't get out.
He hadn't seen Terra really let loose, though, and that put Solor at a disadvantage.
Edward's thoughts were interrupted by Nightwings's explosive disks exploding against his scales and those actually stung a bit. The damage wasn't penetrating his scales, but, he responded with an ice attack that forced Nightwing to leap out of the way.
Beast Boy morphed to a bull and charged Edward, only to discover that Edward had also morphed to a bull to meet the challenge head on. The two collided with a thud as Edward merely dug-in and twisting his head, flung Beast Boy aside. It wasn't as easy at it looked, though, as Beast Boy morphed to a T-Rex and tried to put the bite on Edward, who morphed to a rather gigantic ape. He grabbed Beast Boy's head and twisted hard enough to flip Beast Boy. He hit the ground and morphed back to human as the stars circled his head.
Edward returned to his mini-dragon form.
"Well, Beast Boy is…" Edward didn't get to finish as the ground suddenly rose up, tossing him aside and covering him up.
OK, Terra's trying something. Let's see what she's really got.
He allowed Terra to try to cover him totally and before the geomancer knew, the ground exploded as Edward applied his strength to the problem. She quickly compensated by forming the flying dirt and rocks into missiles and flinging them at both Edward and Solor.
"Hey!" Solor objected, "What's going on?"
"Terra being a smart-aleck," Edward replied before trying to hit her with the lightning, only to see a wall of dirt raise up to take the hit.
Solor had his hands full trying to dodge a barrage of starbolts and eyebeams, plus Raven's powers as well. Edward had a moment to swing his tail at Kori and that got her attention when it connected, forcing her to the ground.
Before she could react, his tail wrapped around her waist and she was flung towards Nightwing. That was intentional on Edward's part, though. He wanted to see if they would team up despite their differences to spar him.
He forgot that Cyborg was still in the mix, but, when the sonic cannon fired up and slammed into his side, it got a hiss of pain from Edward.
"OK, if that's the way you want it," Edward snarled.
He unleashed his ice breath and encased Cyborg's lower half in a thick layer of ice.
"That ought to hold you for a minute," Solor said as he watched Cyborg struggling to free himself.
Beast Boy had recovered and was back in the spar. He changed his target to Solor, though, figuring that he already had his hands full with the other gals on the team and wouldn't be as able to defend himself.
It was a good idea in theory, but, in practice, not so good as Solor easily adapted to the new threat.
They all discovered that when Solor unleashed his newest weapon, it was a good idea to back away. Kori and Kreinyol took off in different directions as Raven put up a shield that barely held. Beast Boy wasn't as lucky and was blasted with that light weapon and, yes, it did hurt!
Beast Boy had morphed into a gorilla, but, when that light weapon got too close, he morphed into the form of a cheetah and tried to get out of the way and ended up blasted into the air. He hid the ground and rolled before returning to normal and you could almost see the little stars again.
That, of course, got Terra's full attention and she pelted Solor with some sizable clumps of dirt and he ended up half buried.
He was too busy trying to escape that he didn't see Kori behind him until it was too late. He managed to extricate himself and was immediately put into an arm bar that she had learned on Tamaran. Solor was well and truly stuck.
Edward had noted that as well and said, "Solor, Kori's used that little trick on me before. You can't power out of it without damaging your arm, even as durable as you are. Your only option: Tap out."
"You're kidding me, right?" Solor grunted as he tried to wiggle his way out, forcing Koriand'r to tighten her grip.
"Afraid not," Edward said, then, ducked a blow from Nightwing's staff.
Solor was in dire straights and as much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't able to escape. He did the only thing that he could and "tapped out".
"I concede, Kori," he said. He immediately was released from the hold and he turned around to see a smiling Kori.
"You managed to get me," he said and extended a hand, "I hope we're even now."
"We are," Kori said taking Solor's hand.
They turned their attention to Edward (except for Solor. He was done fighting) and Edward was hit with a barrage of starbolts and beams.
Edward responded with his lightning to try to force the two princesses apart, but, wasn't expecting to see Raven defending them with her powers.
But, Edward also realized that with the others able to focus their attacks on him that it might be best to concede, so, he teleported over to Solor's side and reverted to human.
"I'm conceding as well," he said, "Everyone did a good job."
With the sparring session over, the team headed back to the Tower for additional training.
Edward headed for Cyborg's weights and Solor followed, having finally gotten Cyborg's approval to use the equipment as long as Edward spotted him. Edward was OK with that as was Solor.
"Welcome to the weight room, man," Edward said, "Not many folks on the team can lift this heavier stuff. I, Cyborg and Kori are the usual ones to use this. It will be nice to have you and Kreinyol using this as well."
"What's the maximum weight for this?" Solor asked.
"Hmmm, I usually set it for 2 tons, but, I know it can go to 15 tons," Edward said, "The Tower's support system can't handle much more than that without an extensive remodel."
"What's your personal limit?" Solor asked.
"Well, when Rae and I were on our honeymoon, I had to assist an airliner what went down in the ocean. It was a 737-400, so, the weight was certainly up there, and the water that flooded the plane almost doubled that. If memory serves, the empty weight is 38.1 tons and maximum weight is double that. That was no picnic, though."
Solor whistled, "Impressive for a Dragon not native to my universe."
"I think there's TV footage recorded," Edward said, "We can watch it later." Edward chuckled, "The local news was pretty stunned seeing my full size."
"What's your full size, though?" Solor asked.
"One word: Godzilla,"
"You as big as the Godzilla in the latest film?" Solor asked, "You should be a lot stronger than you let on, then?"
"The plane was unwieldy, that's all. Even with its landing gear down, I had to be careful carrying it out of the surf," Edward explained as he set the controls for the weights.
"I also have to be careful at that size," he continued, "Unlike Godzilla films; I try to not wade through buildings if it can be helped. Had our first encounter had been in the middle of Jump City, countless lives would have been at risk. Then again, I think once you saw the Tower, that would have helped you calm down before punches were thrown, if I understand you right."
"Hmmm," Solor said, "I'm not so sure. Would you guys have wanted to help if I simply showed up and given you some story about a dragon exiled from his home universe?"
"Good point," Edward said, "I can't speak for the others, but, I might have bought the story after having to help others exiled from their home."
"Your first wife?" Solor realized, "She was exiled from her home?"
"You can say that," Edward said, "Paula was born in last century, actually, along with some other close friends. An evil force altered this universe's history and when things were set right, they were relocated to 1750. I couldn't even teleport them home."
Solor did a double-take as he realized that Edward revealed another layer to himself: Time Teleport.
Edward chuckled, "Yes, Solor. I can teleport through the time stream as well. I only use that in exceptional cases as I could accidentally alter history."
"How far back in time can you go?" Solor asked.
"Far enough that had I been forced to, I would have dropped you in front of a real T-Rex," Edward answered truthfully, "I am glad, though, that you've become a friend, instead. I've never been forced to exile someone to the distant past to the point they are a dinosaur's snack."
"You could go back and prevent some historical evil, then?" Solor asked.
"Yes, and no," Edward replied, "Yes, I can go back to 1933, for example, and eliminate Hitler and thus one aspect of World War 2. But, would the Japanese have had their own ambitions and gone unchecked until it was too late? Or prevent the sinking of the Titanic? I can see it now: Meeting myself on that ship and warning my past self that the ship would sink. It would create a paradox that would likely negate all existence, according to Raven. And, yes, I've been tempted to try to set right a lot of things. What stops me: Paula's memory. If I interfere with the past, I will never meet her. Yes, it's selfish in a way when I could alter history and prevent 6 million Jews from the horrors of the camps and their grisly deaths. Believe me, Solor, I fought in that war, as a Dragon and I was God's instrument of revenge. When I am involved in a war, my reluctance to kill goes out the window. In war, as you know from your own universe, it's kill or be killed. So, yes, I will use whatever force is required without hesitation. That's why I supported your decision to kill the Collector."
"Dang," Solor said, "We're not allowed to interfere with the mortals in my universe. The Circle looks at things very long term. When mortal lives are measured in the blink of an eye, intervening is seen as pointless."
Edward shrugged, "I suppose your Circle and I would have many other differences. I prefer to assist humanity and to help them achieve greatness. Yes, they have stumbled badly in their history and will do so again. Now, I'm in a position, even with the Titans and the Justice League, to lessen the effects of a stumble, even if we can't prevent it totally."
Kreinyol walked in then and Solor walked over to her to give her a kiss. Edward smiled seeing that, but, kept his mouth shut.
"Edward," Solor said, "Can you get Raven to come in here? There's something that I have to say to both of you."
Edward nodded, "Sure." He focused inward and opened the mind-link, [Rae? Solor wants to tell you and I something. Can you come to the weight room?]
[I was meditating, hon,] she replied, [But, for you, I'll be there in a moment.]
"She's on her way," Edward said. Sure enough, a black sphere came up from the floor and Raven emerged.
"Hi," she said, "What's up, Solor?"
He looked at Raven and then at Edward, "I wanted to thank you both for what you've helped me with."
Edward grinned, "If you're referring to helping you and Kreinyol, you're very welcome."
"I don't know what I would have done without you two," Solor said, "The Circle would not approve and will likely cast me out for good when or if they find out that I am dating Starfire. They don't approve of a human relationship, they will freak out if they knew I am seeing an alien."
"Well, it if would help," Edward offered, "I could record something to your Circle and hopefully plead your case. It probably will not hold much sway with them, though, but, if there's a chance…"
"There isn't," Solor said, "At best, they would see it as trying to lessen my punishment, at worst, they may consider it interfering on their jurisdiction and make my punishment even worse. You do not speak my native tongue and that would not help matters."
"Then, teach me how to speak in your language," Edward said, "I can certainly craft a respectful message that will not be seen as stepping on your elders toes nor to lessen your banishment. They could not have foreseen a Tear of Oblivion, right? Your banishment is, to be blunt, worse than when I had to hide for centuries and, for now, comparable with my friends who were time exiled. Solor…they were never able to return to this century on their own. Their enemy made damn sure of that. My son's namesake had a split personality that when good and angry rivaled our combined tempers. It took a while for trust to be accomplished…almost a year, to be honest. But, his alter ego and I fought against the person who helped exile them. They weren't supposed to even survive the first winter. If I wouldn't have found them the first day they were there and determined that they would not have survived and stepped in to teach them survival in the woods…they would have died. So, yeah, I know all about forced exile not only from one's home, but even exiled without hope of returning to their present … or in your case, your home universe."
"Will we ever go home, friend Edward?" Kreinyol asked softly.
"Sweet Starfire," Edward said gently, "I don't know. I know that your Raven will never stop trying to find you. My Raven never stopped looking when I was kidnapped and she was able to eventually find me, so, I know that your Raven is still looking for you. You guys have a home here regardless. Nightwing has stopped trying to find a way to get rid of Solor, so, you two are safe."
She couldn't stop the tears, though. Solor reached over and pulled her into a hug. Edward put a friendly hand on her shoulder as well.
"It'll be OK," Edward said, "You're still with your best friends even if they are older and I consider you to be a friend…I did the moment I rescued you because of Koriand'r who I cherish as a warrior and as my adopted sister. In my eyes, Kreinyol, I do not make any differences between you and your counterpart."
Edward paused to think and continued, "We'll wait to do this weight training for a bit. I'm not comfortable continuing while a team mate is saddened.
"Star…No matter what happens, remember that you're truly with your friends and one who has given you his heart. Solor truly loves you, my dear. Keep that close to your heart and keep hopeful that your Raven will find you and Solor."
"I will, Friend Edward," she said, "I am the thankful that you helped Boyfriend Solor and I."
"We know," Raven said with a small smile, "Solor's proven where his heart is and I know that Edward and I had to repay Solor for his help before."
"You've more than repaid any debts," Solor replied as his Starfire calmed down, "Without you chewing me out, Raven and Edward's support, I don't know what I could have done. I couldn't break her heart."
"Yeah," Raven said, "Breaking her heart would have been bad. Her flight powers require that she feel the joy of flying. If she is overly sad or angry, then, she is not be able to fly."
"You and Kori switched?" Kreinyol asked.
"Don't remind me," Raven said, "It was difficult letting myself actually feel emotions at the time. If it happened again, at least I am allowed to be open with my feelings."
"And I am glad of that!" Edward said, "Are you folks feeling up to some weight training?"
Kreinyol had already calmed down and was ready to assist. Raven said, "Well, I cannot pump this iron, so, if you don't mind, I will return to my room to meditate some more."
Edward gave her a quick kiss and said, "I'll join you ASAP."
Raven floated out of the room with a smile on her face. She didn't have to pull Kreinyol's emotions out, so, as she headed back to her room, she was pretty happy.
In the weight room, the two dragons flipped a coin to see who would go first. Solor won the toss and went to his hybrid form in order to use the system.
"How much weight?" Edward asked.
"Set it for a ton, for now," Solor said. Edward hit a few buttons and the weight machine read 2,000 pounds.
"OK," he said, "Whenever you're ready."
Solor looked at the system and nodded. He sat down underneath the bars and after powdering his hands, grabbed the bar. He made it look easy, though as the mere ton to Solor was like lifting 20 pounds. He did 20 reps at that weight and asked Edward to take it to three tons.
Edward shrugged, trusting Solor to know when to stop. The machine was set for three tons and Solor ripped through ten more reps.
"Double it," Solor requested.
Edward complied and Solor went through 20 more reps and Solor asked for 12 tons. After he went through those, he wanted to go to 15 tons and while Edward complied, he noticed that Solor was starting to tire ever so slightly.
Edward morphed to a form that could handle the weight, as his human form was not capable of lifting 15 tons without possible damage and went over to Solor.
"Just a precaution," he explained to Solor, "This is the max that the machine can use as I said 30 minutes ago. And, in the possible case you actually do get into a jam, I can lift this off you."
"I don't need your help," Solor objected.
"Sorry, this time I can't be chased off," Edward said, "It's Cyborg's rules. Relax, though, unless I see that you are struggling, I won't intervene."
Solor snorted, "Fine, wouldn't want to annoy Cyborg."
"Dammit, Solor!" Edward said, "This isn't a matter of annoying a team mate! It's safety and something I do take seriously. Cyborg made me agree to let him spot me before I could use this equipment and that condition he is rightfully imposing on you as well. Do you really enjoy the trips to the Med Bay and worrying your girlfriend?"
"Cheap shot," Solor groused.
"Not a cheap shot," Edward said, "You are a couple. Therefore, you cannot be selfish or arrogant, especially with Starfire…Both of them. You have to show her, DAILY, that you are worthy of her affection. Look at Nightwing's predicament. He managed to really anger Koriand'r and I will have to try to get him out of the doghouse at some point today. Part of this is making sure that your Kreinyol only has to worry about the once in a while injury. Like when I healed your nose, for example. Those, Rae or I can handle. Should you shatter a bone in your human form, it might take a combined effort of Rae and myself to heal the damage or, in a worst case situation, a blood transfusion from me to you. My blood is universal, so, it would actually impart my healing factors in a more direct method…and temporary immortality."
"I'm pretty hardy regardless of form," Solor said, "You saw that two days ago and that nose injury was not typical in my hybrid form. I wasn't going to allow the forces of Darkness to sneak up on me again.
"But, you're right. I can't allow pride to get in the way anymore. I wonder if this is what the Circle wanted me to learn."
Edward shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine, friend. You have the advantage in your universe's customs."
Solor chuckled and started his reps. By the end, he was actually struggling and on number 15, Edward intervened and using his strength, pushed the weight up and grunted, "Out. You're obviously done."
Solor moved out of the way and Edward set the weight down carefully.
"I had that, Edward," Solor objected, "You did not have to spot me."
"I made the call, dude," Edward said, "You were struggling with the weight. Being macho is one thing that I respect, but, when I see my training partner lifting close to 350 tons and struggling on the last rep, I will intervene. Even in your hybrid form, could you have shrugged off the impact of 15 tons easily? Unless I'm in a much larger form, that could hurt me as well."
Solor still looked angry, but, there wasn't anything he could do.
"Friend Edward's correct," Kreinyol said, having watched the entire exchange.
Solor knew he was out gunned and sighed, "Fine."
Edward silently thanked Kreinyol for her assistance and noted that Solor didn't argue with her.
I wonder if Solor realizes that she already has him whipped? He thought to himself.
[He knows,] Raven replied, [He doesn't want us finding out, though.]
[Then, I won't say anything,] Edward said as he motioned Solor over to the control panel.
He explained to Solor how to change the settings on the weight machine to various resistance levels to simulate the changes in weight.
"Like you," Edward said, "I have to assume a different form in order to safely lift this. If I tried to use my everyday human form, the higher setting would have the potential to do damage."
"Even with your immortality, eh?" Solor chuckled.
"Yuk it up, wise-guy," Edward replied, "There's a difference between being immortal and invulnerable. Superman cannot be hurt normally and when someone or something manages to get through his skin, it means a helluva lot of force was required."
Solor nodded, "True. If this universe's Superman is like the one in my universe, only thing that weakens him is Kryptonite."
"Same here, then," Edward said as he moved into position to start his weight training. Kreinyol moved towards Edward to spot him. Solor raised an eyebrow, but, that was all. He knew that she would move to help a friend, especially one that helped bring them together.
Edward had set the machine back to two tons and started bench pressing. To him, the weight was more like lifting 20 pounds instead of 4,000, so, he opted to do 25 reps instead of the 20 that Solor was doing.
"Show off," Solor said when Edward was done.
"Bah," Edward said, "Move the slider to six tons, please." Solor did that.
But, as Edward's luck would have it, the alarms went off.
They hauled rump to the Ops center and Cyborg said, "It's Plasmus again. We're all going, so, that means the Dragon Express."
They ran for the roof where Edward morphed to his mini-dragon form.
"I'm teleporting, Solor and Kreinyol, hop on!" Edward said. They complied and Edward took to the sky and a moment later, he teleported to the scene of the crime.
"Hey, Sludgehead!" Edward said, "Remember the last time you oozed into town? I do."
Plasmus roared and fired off some of his gunk at the team, only to see it intercepted by a chunk of pavement ripped up by Terra.
"Titans, Go!" Cyborg said, not wasting another moment.
Raven tried to use her powers and was hit by a large chunk of goo, effectively disrupting her abilities.
Cyborg's sonic cannon was ineffective, as was Nightwing's explosive disks. But, Plasmus had a different weakness.
"Edward!" Solor shouted as he dodged the slime, "Flame him! Terra, when Edward's done, cover him in the dirt for a moment."
But, Plasmus overheard the plan and chose to attack one of the Titans to distract Edward from his plan. He launched a huge ball of slime right at Kreinyol, not realizing that doing to would enrage Solor.
The ball hit Kreinyol and she was instantly encased and glued to the side of a building.
"Oh, shit!" Edward exclaimed, recalling the previous night and how angry Solor got because Dr. Light merely knocked her down. Now, she couldn't even breathe!
Solor enlarged to his true fighting form and loosed a roar of unbridled rage before anyone could react.
The others covered their ears as the Godzilla-like roar echoed through the streets.
"Plasmus," Edward said, "I strongly recommend that you get the hell out of here, NOW! What I threatened to do to you the time you hit Raven is nothing compared to Solor's wrath."
Plasmus wasted the only few seconds trying to understand what Edward said as Solor's spine ridges started glowing white. But, unlike Edward's white ridges, which denoted an impending ice attack, the white on Solor indicated a light based weapon was about to be used.
Edward said, "Solor, listen to me! Get her out of there first. We'll handle Plasmus."
Solor snarled angrily, switching over to his native language, "Vir yin rok! Rok fent ken dii bah arx Kreinyol!" (Engligh: "How dare he! He shall taste my wrath for harming Sunfire!")
"Focus!" Edward said, snapping his own claws, "We have to get her out!"
Edward decided not to waste any more time and turned his attention on freeing the younger Starfire.
Flaming the gunk might have hurt her, but, freezing it was an option, so, Edward switched gears and moved to freeze the stuff.
Solor unleashed his new beam weapon at Plasmus and the goop instantly ignited in a ball of flame.
Terra gasped before recovering. She quickly encased Plasmus in the ground and that put out the fire.
Solor snarled as his eyes continued to glow a brilliant green, indicating his utter rage and moved to try to dig Plasmus out, only to discover Koriand'r holding him back.
"Friend Solor," she pleaded, "Plasmus is the defeated. Please do the calming down now!" She was badly frightened to the point she reverted back to her earlier speech patterns.
Solor continued to snarl and pushed back against Kori's efforts. By then, Edward had frozen the material and with a single tail-strike, freed Kreinyol. She collapsed and passed out from the lack of air.
Edward went over quickly and joined Kori in holding Solor back. Cyborg raced over to check on Kreinyol, as did Nightwing.
Edward's strength combined with Koriand'r was enough to halt Solor's advance.
"Solor," Edward said gently, "It's going to be all right. Please calm yourself. Sunfire's free already and being cared for. Plasmus is not going anywhere."
Solor struggled, though and Edward said, "Stop, Solor. Between Kori and myself, not even you can power your way through. Don't jeopardize the trust you've earned. You don't want to hurt Koriand'r any more than Kreinyol. I've seen that already about you."
Terra opened a hole in the mound to allow the now out cold kid to breathe.
"You're honorable," Edward continued as Solor struggled a bit more, "Where is the honor of killing a defenseless kid? That's what Plasmus is in the inside, a kid! There's no honor in that! Kori would lose trust in you and so would her counterpart! Don't do this!"
[I could use some help!] Edward pleaded through the link.
[His anger is extreme and hormone based,] Raven replied, [It's not pure anger like I sense from you a lot of times.]
[Even soothing him a little may be enough to get him to calm down on his own,] Edward rationalized.
But, it wasn't needed. Kreinyol started to gasp for air and when she saw Edward and her counterpart having to hold Solor back, she said, "Boyfriend Solor! Please do the calming down, I am unhurt!"
Solor turned his head to see her trying to stand and the glow went out of his eyes quickly and stopped pushing back. His will to kill was extinguished instantly, seeing his love was alright.
"Release me" he said.
"Not a chance unless I know you're not going to try to hurt the kid," Edward said, his voice cold as ice.
"I'm all right, Edward," Solor said.
Edward's grip lessened as Solor reverted to his hybrid form.
Edward released the hold and nodded to Kori, "Let him go."
Solor went to support his girlfriend and she latched onto him in a bearhug.
Terra released the unconscious human form of Plasmus and he was carried to a nearby hospital by Beast Boy in his own Dragon form. It allowed the other non-flying Titans to leave as well. Raven and Koriand'r stayed with the two dragons for morale support, if nothing more.
Edward morphed to his human form and went to check on Kreinyol.
"You OK?" he asked gently.
"I am fine, Friend Edward," she said, "Thank you for rescuing me, again."
"It was no trouble," Edward said, "Holding Solor back…We shall be discussing that and I will not take no for an answer this time, so just take your medicine."
"Don't be too hard on him, dear," Raven said, "He's as protective of his Starfire as you were of me."
Edward rolled his eyes, "Trust me, I won't chew him out too badly, but, not when emotions are running hot, either. And, yeah, I do see that there's a protective streak there that is similar to how I am with you."
"Brother Edward," Kori said, "Friend Solor is the protective. Just like you are with Sister Raven. I do not understand why you will yell at Solor for stuff you are also the guilty of."
Edward raised an eyebrow, but, knew that Kori was correct. When he first joined the team and realized that he saw Raven as his mate as well as a friend, he was just as quickly angered.
He sighed in defeat, "You're right, Koriand'r. I would be a hypocrite if I chewed Solor for the same behavior I exhibit with Rae. Solor, I apologize. You're not going to get chewed out by me. Just try to keep the raging hormones under better control. Meditate with Rae and I later, please."
Solor replied, "All right. I did kind of lose it there. I do not like that Kreinyol was possibly hurt.
"Also, you called her Sunfire?"
"I did," Edward said, "I figured it's a good temporary name for Kreinyol. Something that …"
Solor started chuckling, then, broke out in a huge laugh! "You've learned one word in my language! Kreinyol means Sunfire!"
Edward said with a smile, "You keep speaking your native tongue, man, and I will learn it. Ask Koriand'r. She was surprised that I picked up Tamaranian as quickly as I did. She loves it when she can talk to me natively. Kreinyol will enjoy the conversations as well.
"But, I'm glad to see you're finding this so funny.
"The thing to remember is that all these woman are more than capable of handling themselves in a fight. Raven is far stronger than she lets on with her powers. So is Kori. Kreinyol will get the same experiences here on Earth, regardless of universe. Don't interfere in that education, instead, enhance her experience, help her to learn about your customs. I'll smooth things over with the others, but, they are actually used to my draconic anger and that will help.
"What was it you said a moment ago, though?"
Solor replied, "How dare he! He shall taste my wrath for harming Sunfire!"
Edward raised an eyebrow, "You seem to revert to your native tongue when angry. Regardless, I would like to learn it. No one else on this planet speaks it and in a battle, having two people being able to talk thus would be a huge advantage."
Solor nodded, "I see the point. Yes, I shall teach you to speak my native tongue."
"Thanks," Edward expressed, "I will be a good student."
"You better be," Solor mock-threatened.
Edward had another task that day, though and it was time to pull aside the other Tamaranian.
"Kori," he began, "I know that you are still the angry at Nightwing for a couple days ago. He really is sorry for his actions, my dear.
"I don't expect you to want to forgive him just yet, but, for the team's sake, please try. If you can forgive Solor for hurting me, please don't hurt Nightwing anymore. He's been disciplined by the team and he knows that a lot of trust is gone that he has to build again. He will eventually be the team leader again and, well, he needs to have his girlfriend by his side. Kreinyol's accepting that Solor has the same base instincts that I show towards my sweet wife. Nightwing made a big mistake that should have gotten him thrown out, but, we offered him a chance to redeem himself."
"Boyfriend Nightwing tried to hurt Solor, though," Kori objected.
"And Solor wasn't even hurt," Edward pointed out.
"He's right, Starfire," Solor said, "Like I told Kreinyol, even in a human form, my species is quite durable. Nightwing's staff didn't hurt me. Probably more durable than Edward is in his human form."
"Yeah," Edward said, "That's something you have the advantage on me. I'm able to be injured in this form."
"There's a reason I invited Kreinyol to stay in my quarters, Star," Solor said, "I did not mean to cause you and Nightwing problems. You are Kreinyol's older counterpart and I did not wish to hurt you anymore than I would hurt her. But, I did and I am sorry for that. By having Kreinyol with me, it allows you space to forgive Nightwing and let him share your bed again."
Kori looked at Solor and the others. She saw that Raven was not saying anything.
"What do you think, Sister Raven?" she asked.
"I think that Nightwing should be forgiven, Starfire," Raven said calmly, "He is missing a piece of himself. He hasn't really opened his heart before he met you and he really does love you."
"His mind was clouded by the anger," Kori said.
"He wanted to get rid of Solor and by extension your younger self," Raven said, "He admitted that and it was a mistake when everyone else had forgiven Solor and started to trust him. You remember when he was this way in the early years of the team and you forgave him then."
Kori said, "You are right. I shall forgive him."
"Glorious!" Kreinyol said happily, giving her older counterpart a hug.
Solor, though, couldn't get his mind past her new uniform. It was driving him crazy and he wasn't sure how long he could keep his emotions in check.
It didn't take Raven's empathy to know that Solor was confused, though. Edward gave it some thought and said, "Girls, why don't you head back to the Tower? Solor and I will follow shortly. I want a private – friendly—chat with him. Some 'guy talk', actually."
Raven and the others lifted into the air and waved back at the two dragons.
Solor looked at Edward and said, ashamed, "It shows, doesn't it?"
"Yep," Edward said, "Raging hormones and all. Like I told you before, it's normal. Kori gives off different pheromones than Kreinyol is giving off, and you're reacting to them more than usual, I suspect.
"I'm not familiar with everything regarding Tamaranians, but, I think that your Starfire has likewise chosen you as a lifelong mate. Granted that she will not live as long as either of us, her scent is really different when she is around you. It's similar to Kori when her and Nightwing are together, yet, quite different. In my dragon forms, I can detect the differences better than in human form. Hers is a sweeter aroma, almost like honey to my nose."
"How do you not act on those?" Solor asked.
"Easy," Edward said, "I have a hard rule: I will not interfere in someone else's relationship. I've learned to filter out the possible emotional response to Kori's pheromones as well as Terra's. Ignoring Kreinyol's is not a problem. She only sends those out when she's around you. Kori does the same with Nightwing, but, other than that, you're on your own. Hopefully, this will settle on it's own. My issue here is actually due to the difference in time between the two universes. Here, you're technically 5 years OLDER than when you left in your own universe. Heck, Terra, to you, probably doesn't look much older than her counterpart. Being turned to stone halted her aging process totally. Heck, we were lucky to get her back."
"Why is that?" Solor asked.
"There was a LOT of open emotional and mental wounds that are still healing," Edward explained, it seemed for the hundredth time in the last couple of weeks, "Between her being asked to leave her true home and her lack of control over her power chasing her across the county to Slade's mistreatment of her did a lot of damage. As I noted before, Beast Boy really is the one who keeps her outbursts to a minimal and she does talk to me a lot knowing I'm not overly prejudiced. Even though Slade couldn't defend himself when facing an angry geomancer and Dragon who was able to fool Slade."
"You fooled Slade?" Solor asked. Edward answered by morphing into Terra.
"Good, but can you sound like her?" Solor challenged.
"What do you think?" Edward said using Terra's voice.
"Impressive," Solor said as Edward morphed back, "A perfect disguise."
"Not really," Edward said, "I can't use her powers."
"I take it that it fooled Slade," Solor noted.
"It did," Edward said, "And he tried to resume his abusive nature. That was his biggest mistake. It cost him several broken bones when I dropped my cover and restrained him. Terra, like I said, unleashed her reawakened powers and broke both legs, an arm, some ribs and one right to the groin."
Solor paled hearing that Slade ended up with crushed man berries.
"Ouch," Solor said.
"At least here, Slade is no longer a factor," Edward said, "I'm not mourning his demise and from what I understand, Terra was saying 'Good riddance'. Can't blame her. She's made a lot of progress in the last year or so.
"But, you need to meditate with Raven today. She wants to instruct you some more on how to control your emotions. Today was not a day of progress, I'm afraid. That little display was a big step backwards and we need to nip it in the bud. Luckily, the team is used to my protective streak with Raven, so, it should be easier to get them to overlook it."
"If you say so," Solor said unhappily, "I'm heading to the Tower."
He wasted no time in taking to the air with Edward in pursuit a moment later only to teleport to the roof of the Tower.
The others arrived a few minutes later and they went to relax in the ops Center.
Edward figured he might as well prepare lunch for the team and figured that a nice lasagna would do for dinner as well.
15 minutes later there was a small thud on the roof as Solor landed, but, there was no entrance a few moments later.
Edward had Raven take over the cooking and he went upstairs, only to find the door locked from the outside.
"Sorry," Edward muttered and going to his shoulder sized form, teleported to the other side.
He landed on the roof and hid where Solor would not be likely to see him.
Edward watched as Solor sat in a lotus position and started to sing. It was a song that he had never heard before and as Solor continued, Edward noted that Solor had tears in his eyes.
[Something's wrong,] Edward said, [Solor's actually singing and I think he's crying.]
[He's upset,] Raven replied, [His Starfire told us that when he's upset, he retreats to the roof and doesn't even let anyone close, not even my counterpart.]
Edward processed the information and decided to give Solor the space he needed.
[His Starfire said that Solor sings quite well,] Raven said.
[I'd agree there,] Edward replied.
[I'm heading back in, then,] Edward said a moment later, [Solor needs to work this out and I think it's best to leave him be. The roof is off limits till Solor decides to come in.]
[Agreed,] Raven said.
Edward went to teleport, but, was stopped when Solor said, "I know you're here, Edward."
[Busted!] He said to Raven.
[Ooops!] Raven said.
"My apologies, Solor. I was concerned when you didn't come down. I see that you wish to be left alone, though," Edward said, "I'll head downstairs and keep the others from bothering you further."
"What?" Solor said, "No other lectures?"
"No, I've said my peace," Edward said, "Take all the time you need to think things over."
"Thanks," Solor said sadly, "But, stay for a few moments."
Solor spent the time telling Edward about how his species normally deals with the hormonal imbalances and that he was worried that his displacement was having a negative impact on his friends back home. Edward merely listened the whole time and when Solor was done, he thanked Edward for just listening.
"You're welcome," Edward said as the monologue ended, "I think you should continue to meditate up here for now. It's a beautiful day still and the sound of the waves below will help you to relax."
Solor smiled, "I think I'll do that."
Edward took his leave and teleported back to the ops area. He had a good feeling about Solor's ability to cope with the changes, anyway.
Solor, however, was unsure. So he continued to sing. While Edward didn't understand it, the words were simply to display mourning. Slade may have been an enemy, but without him, the Titans would not have become as powerful as they were in this world. So he mourned the death of Slade, the death of a powerful enemy, as was tradition in his culture. "Slade los dilon. Aal faal Diist bolaav mok tirahk rahnd wah borii laas." (Slade is dead. May the First grant him safe passage into the next life.)
Many miles away, the words hit Jericho's heart, and he began to weep.
XxXxX
[Solor's Home Universe - Titan Tower]
"Two and a half weeks", came the growling voice of Robin. "Two and a half weeks, and no one can tell me where the hell Solor and Starfire are!"
It was a dark day in Titan's Tower when Robin called this meeting. Raven looked mentally exhausted, Beast Boy wasn't even smiling, Cyborg was busy on the computer, and Terra was shaking. Everyone was on edge, because no one had stopped, not even for a second, to take a break from finding their friends. This had upsides and downsides as well. The upside? Well, crime had taken a serious beating. Without the restraint that they had before, the Titans were becoming more vicious so they could return to the search faster. Villains like Slade, Cinderblock, Overload, and Plasmus were all on maximum security; they couldn't sneeze without a guard making a check in on them. Terra, personally, had Slade trapped in concrete with no access to any devices, toys... she even broke his mask and kept him shamed at knowing the world knew who he was now.
The downside? Everyone was at each other's throats.
"Well, what do you expect?" Beast Boy growled. "I've had all my connections with the Doom Patrol come up blank. If he was teleported anywhere on this world, we have no idea. And the Justice League hasn't seen a single scale of him on this world or any other."
Cyborg nodded. "BB's right. Solor's not anywhere, and neither is Starfire. And my trackers should have caught them by now if they're anywhere on Earth. Raven's the only one that can find them at this point... her or maybe Herald. You know the dude's got that magic trumpet."
"And obviously nothing is working", Terra finished.
"That's because we're not trying hard enough!" Robin roared. "Solor is the strongest member of the team, as much as I hate to admit it! And without Starfire, we have no moral support on and off of the battle field! We need them both, and because we can't get them back, we need to-"
"What we need to do is rest", Raven said, glaring at Robin. "You've kept us so busy with this search that I haven't meditated in the past three days. Beast Boy hasn't made a joke in a week, Terra's been on edge since the last time her powers sprang out of her control, and Cyborg has been glued to that computer since Solor disappeared. Face it, Robin. We need a break, or else we will never find them."
"And it is within my interest that you find Solor and your alien friend before long", came a new voice. Everyone turned, and were surprised to see a new figure had managed to break in. Everyone quickly got ready, despite their tired appearances, facing the new face.
"Who are you?!" demanded Robin. "How did you get in?!"
"The front door was unlocked", the newcomer said, examining his bronze claws as though there weren't five super-powered teens getting ready to attack him. "Honestly, in all this time, you so-called Titans are getting lazier and lazier at your attempts of security. Is losing my son so disturbing that you mortals are forgetting basic protocol?"
Raven straightened at that. "Wait... you're Solor's father?"
"Call me Sol", said the obviously older dragon. "I am here to ask why you have not found him yet. It is disturbing that those charged with keeping him in line have no knowledge of his whereabouts."
"Wait... how did you know he was missing?" Beast Boy said, surprisingly playing the logical thinker. "He told us he was banished and had no way of talking to his family!"
"Just because we kicked him out does not mean that we do not keep tabs on him."
"Well, you've been doing such a bang up job", Cyborg said sarcastically.
"Believe me, this troubles us as much as it troubles you", Sol said, growling. "Do not try my patience, Dwiinmul. I am not as forgiving as my son should you anger me."
Raven stepped forward. "Solor was taken from us, Sol. Something... dark amplified my anger to a degree that I was able to be controlled. I cast a spell... one that I never heard of before."
"A Tear of Oblivion, yes", said the dragon, sighing. "I was afraid of that. Very well, we shall help you find Solor, but there is a catch."
"And that would be?" Robin asked, already on edge.
"Ruvaak - Raven - will have to cast that spell again... and risk losing one of her teammates to find the others."
Raven glared. "And why would I do that?"
"Because it is your only option", the Light Dragon said, as if it were obvious. "I will not ask you to choose now, for you obviously do not trust me. But I shall only give you a day. Give me an answer then, and I may teach you how to find my son."