Prince Da'akaar groaned as he strolled through the hallway, leading to the throne room. He had been called upon by the Queen for an apparent tactical war meeting. He shrugged it off; it was an irritation but at least he would have information for the Citadel. He quietly laughed at how desperate the Tamaranians were for help and at how stupid they were for not sensing anything suspicious.
The masked human that was always with the Prince and Princess on the other hand had repeatedly cast him a glare. Da'akaar was almost certain that his name was Nightwing; he seemed to have more intelligence and apparently knew better than to trust him straight away. The Prince couldn't help but feel minor respect for the earthling. He was smart and that always had to be appreciated in adversaries. However, he still needed to be killed as he was part of the opposing team.
Prince Da'akaar smirked as he approached the large double doors leading into the throne room. He sighed and forced a neutral expression onto his face.
With that, he pushed the doors open and strutted inside. He immediately noticed that everyone was staring solely at him whilst silence filled the huge room. Da'akaar firstly looked at his fiancé. She held an expression that screamed hatred which he already knew. The Prince was well aware of Koriand'r's dislike of him although, he didn't exactly disagree with her. Why would she be ecstatic about marrying some random Prince?
Still, it didn't matter if she liked him or hated him. It was a winning situation for him either way. Nobody could deny that she was beautiful and it never hurt to have a pretty young woman to hand.
As he drew closer to the Queen, he noticed that even her expression was different. He went along with things and kneeled briefly before Queen Luand'r,
"Your highness... You wished to see me?" He confirmed, glancing up at her,
Luand'r stood from her throne and glared down at him.
He raised an eyebrow, "My Queen, are you-"
The Queen cut him off, "Silence, you worm!" She yelled,
Prince Da'akaar realised then that they had found out the truth but he kept the act going. It didn't matter; he was prepared for such a thing.
"Excuse me, my lady?" He gasped,
"You can stop the act now, Prince Da'akaar. We are all aware of your treason." Kori interjected,
"You are a traitor. You were working with the Citadel this entire time. There is no point is lying anymore." Ryan added, crossing his arms over his chest,
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Luand'r interrogated, placing a hand on her hip,
Da'akaar slowly stood up straight and calmly placed his hands behind his back. He sighed and looked up at the royal family, "Well, since you ask, your highness..." He paused and the conniving grin returned as he drew his sword, "NOW!"
Eight of Prince Da'akaar's men had entered the room with him and now they surrounded him like a protective fence. They all drew their weapons and pointed them at individuals within the room.
The Queen gasped and took a couple of steps back; her naivety causing her not to suspect such a response. Ryan on the other hand, instantly got into a battle stance and unsheathed his sword.
"Blind them all!" Da'akaar shouted. The soldiers surrounding him all dropped pellets which caused the room to fill with thick smoke. Batman covered his mouth with his cape before slipping a breathing device into his mouth. He glanced at Superman who was able to dismiss the smoke easily.
"Are you alright, Batman?" Clark asked, earning a short nod from the dark knight.
Da'akaar chuckled amidst the blinding chaos, "Slaughter them all but take the Princess!" He ordered,
Kori gulped and patted her waist. Her heart dropped at the realisation that she didn't have her sword with her.
"No!" She whispered to herself as she heard shuffling around her.
The Princess began to worry. She was skilled in hand to hand combat but it was practically useless when she couldn't see a thing. She accidentally breathed in the smoke and coughed and spluttered, giving away her location.
Kori tried to remain as still as possible but it was ineffective. Suddenly, she felt searing pain in her neck as a soldier struck her from behind. Kori groaned as she fell to her knees and slipped into an unconscious state.
The soldier grinned at his apparent triumph and picked Kori up and threw her over his shoulder like a stuffed ragdoll.
Nightwing squinted as the smoke began to clear. He had heard Da'akaar's demand of taking the Princess and his heart rate had increased considerably.
There was a loud shattering sound as the soldiers smashed the windows as an escape route. Dick glanced around, frantically searching for Kori.
He spotted her and his eyes widened at the sight of her unconscious form,
"KORI!" He roared, grabbing his electric tonfas from his belt and dashing after the soldier who had Kori slung over his shoulder.
"Nightwing! What is-" Ryan began,
"They've got Kori! We have to move! Now!" Nightwing ordered,
The two of them began fighting off the soldiers who had been left behind within the throne room. Dick growled and took down soldier after soldier. He was desperate to get to Kori.
With one final uppercut to a large soldier standing in his way, Dick turned and sprinted towards the broken window with Ryan closely following behind. Nightwing placed one foot on the window frame but remembered his hero counterparts,
"Batman!" Dick paused, "Superman?"
The two established heroes appeared from the fog and nodded to Dick,
"We're alright!" Superman replied,
"Ryan and I are going to get Kori!" Dick informed them,
"We'll protect Queen Luand'r. Go!" Batman responded, kicking an approaching soldier in the chest,
Dick nodded and jumped out of the window with Ryan at his side.
Kori groaned and her head spun as she remembered where she was and what was happening. She allowed her eyes to open and in one swift movement, she threw her leg up and around the soldier's neck. She used all of her strength to pull the man down, forcing his head against the hard cold ground.
He moaned in pain and completely released Kori from his grasp. Suddenly, the warrior Princess recalled a backup weapon. She reached into her boot and pulled a sharp dagger out. She stabbed the soldier in the neck, killing him instantly and she proceeded to wipe the blade against her skirt.
"Kori!" Dick called, catching her attention,
He and Ryan reached her without hesitation and sighed in relief over her safety.
"You're okay..." Dick confirmed, earning a small smile from Kori,
"Watch out!" Ryan warned, jumping back as a small group of soldiers emerged from the shadows of the night,
Kori was reluctant to fight the soldiers. With no weapon, she was basically defenceless. For some reason, she couldn't quite trust her skills of combat against those with a weapon. She assumed the outcome would never be in her favour.
She slowly backed away in hopes of getting closer to her own room so that she could get her sword.
The Princess froze as she heard rustling from the forest behind her. It was difficult to see out on the battlefield. It was one of the darkest nights in a long time and it was never a good time for battle.
Suddenly, Kori heard a shriek of a battle cry and watched in shock as Prince Da'akaar leapt from the tree above her, raising his sword above his head.
She gasped and rolled out of the way, not wanting to fall victim to him. She groaned as she stood up as she didn't know where Prince Da'akaar had gone.
Kori heard a small snarl from behind her and quickly turned around to face the source of the sound.
She faltered as her face met Prince Da'akaar's face which remained merely centimetres away from her.
Kori coughed up blood as she felt severe pain on the right side of her stomach.
The Princess' eyes widened as she realised it. She looked down at the sword that had punctured her body. Her breathing became laboured and she felt tears prick her eyes.
Ryan and Dick turned around to see the atrocity unfold. They both stopped out of pure disbelief and couldn't seem to shake it off.
The Prince was the first to cry out, "Kori!"
Prince Da'akaar grinned at Kori's pale face, "If I cannot have you, Princess... Then no one can..." He hissed, snatching his sword out of the raw wound.
Kori struggled to breath even more so after he removed the weapon. Her eyes fluttered and she felt faint. She began to accept that this was her fate; that she was going to die today.
Ryan gave into a furious battle cry and attacked Da'akaar head on. The Prince stumbled back, not expecting such a sudden and ferocious attack.
Dick however hurried across the space and caught Kori just as she collapsed. She bit her lip as the pain burned through her and she let tears slide down her cheeks. Fear and doubt were beginning to fill Kori's mind and she clawed at Dick's uniform.
Nightwing frantically glanced over her, not knowing what to do.
"Please Kor... Stay with me!" He pleaded, holding her close.
Kori fought to keep her eyes open but it was obvious that she was losing her grasp on her own life. Dick gritted his teeth and scanned his surroundings for anyone that could help.
"Please! Somebody help! The Princess is wounded!" He screamed, hoping someone would come to aid Kori.
Kori focused on Dick's lips as he whispered to her, "Kor, hold on..."
That was the last thing she saw before everything went black...