Kamen Rider Chrome: The Indigo Tribe has come to teach Blackfire compassion...by force.
Re: Oh good, someone caught that. If you only watched the DCAU you might not recognize them right-away since I don't think the Indigo Tribe ever really came up.
frostyjace101202: plot twist... you evil motherfucker...I love it! i was really hoping for more original arcs. thanks for the chap man
Re: Yeah, now that the foundation is done with Seasons 1-2 done, I can diversify, and I've been itching to work in the Indigo Tribe after reading a bunch of Green Lantern comics on DC Universe.
superpierce: Doesn't the Indigo tribe usually "recruit" insane and apathetic psychos I mean from what I understand about Blackfire she doesn't entirely lack compassion but I guess her being so selfish and using her status as Grand ruler to obtain greater power as well as putting her people under threat did her on their radar.
Re: You do realize they tried to "recruit" Sinestro at one point, and that he wasn't an "insane and apathetic psycho", right?
LoamyCoffee: Well, s***. I actually forgot about that bit since canon didn't mention it.
I did get confused in the episode when she didn't laugh off their accusation and bring that up. But this is good, got to see Vent and Terra cut loose on something sturdier. Little sad I didn't see the Hamon but the fact Star has been exposed to Dragon Ball pleases me immensely.
Vent just can't help himself can he? Starfire might be getting a brother in law.
And understandably the Indigo Tribe appears for Blackfire.
Huh, this is the first time outside comics I've seen them.
Re: Yeah, I thought back to that fleet of golden remote-controlled ships from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and I thought, wouldn't that sort of thing be normal? I mean, on Earth we have drone strikes. For a technologically-advanced society, wouldn't an invading/occupying fleet eventually be treated with the same sort of detachment instead of wasting human lives on something a machine could do?
And yeah, I enjoyed letting Ventus and Terra cut loose too, since as Elementals, they really are powerhouses when they aren't worried about collateral. As for Starfire using [Hamon], no, unfortunately Starfire didn't have enough time to bring it up to any usable format; it wasn't just because I forgot to put it in. As for Ventus being unable to help himself…
Also, I really liked the Indigo Tribe, so I'm glad I could work them in without shoehorning it too badly. The Indigo Tribe abducting Sinestro created the perfect narrative tool, especially since most if not all of the Indigo Tribe are abducted in such a matter.
Ft Knight: … Great, and now we/they must deal with the cluster-f that is the Lantern corps…
Re: Only one of 7 (or 10 depending), but yes.
skinnydude911: Well... that escalated pretty quickly. It was fun seeing Terra and Vent go all out with their powers, and that slight moment of Robin freaking out when he found out Ventus was holding back while on Earth. I'll also say I didn't miss THAT JoJo reference with what Starfire said (Red Stone of Aja).
As for the ending, I'd like to use my own TFS quote here. Okay first, WHAT? Second, THE F&CK!? I have got to know what you've got planned here.
Re: Yeah, that was fun for me too. It's so rare to see someone in DC Comics cut loose, but when they do, HOOO boy! And yeah, the Jojo's reference was because a friend of mine pointed out that the Red Stone of Aja and Jewel of Charta were basically the same thing; amplifiers for solar energy.
And yeah, that TFS quote IS pretty appropriate given the curveball I chucked.
*TEEN TITANS*
"What the fuck was that?!" Robin gawped as he eyed the pock-marked grounds around them, castle guards patrolling agitatedly in case the indigo-clad monks returned.
By the standards of the Vega System, the traditional grace period between a departing and arriving new invader was at least a single planetary cycle. At the minimum!
"Uh… Space Jedi?" Beast Boy groused.
"All Jedi are 'Space Jedi'," Kitten deadpanned. "You know, 'cause they all come from 'space'?"
"Cyborg," Robin said ignoring the byplay. "Any idea where they went?"
"I don't know…" Cyborg said as he scanned anything and everything, leaving no stone unturned; literally. "Ruptures in space-time should be leaving behind all kinds of residue; quantum energy, air samples from pressure differentials on the other side of the portal, unnatural pockets of solar radiation, but I'm not picking up anything. It's almost as though nothing even happened?"
"What about the residue from the energy blasts? Can't you use that as a point of reference?" Terra asked floating over a half-melted rock.
"That's the weirdest thing. There should definitely be residue, but there isn't," he said holding up a scorched rock. "I am literally looking at the scorch marks, but my instruments aren't picking up anything," he said confusedly. "Raven? You picking up anything on your end?"
"No," Raven grumbled, drumming her fingers on her crossed leg as she meditated. "And I don't mean they covered up their tracks; I'd detect that since concealment spells leave pockets of emptiness, like someone applying bleach to a floor tile. What I mean is, there's just… nothing…" she said confusedly. "It's like none of what happened was even real. I can't track them…"
"Well, our very own princess has an 'in' with Tamaran's Grand Ruler. Maybe she could pull some strings?" Terra groused.
"Why would I pull on lengths of braided thread when I can just call for him and request assistance?" Starfire questioned with a tilt of her head.
"Princess Kori'andr," Galfore said marching up to them, multiple Tamaranean men and women in different garments from those that'd been seen before following in his wake, beefier men and women hauling in all sorts of scientific equipment on ordinary-looking wagons. "I am sorry it took so long to get the word out, but fear not. You do not have to look for your friend alone."
"The Science Guild!" Starfire gasped.
"That is correct. Let them take over the search. Making yourselves weary won't have any purpose," Galfore implored, the now-named Science Guild setting up their equipment across the battlefield in-earnest. "In the meantime, why not enjoy what our planet has to offer, now that we are no longer in a state of occupation and Kom'andr is deposed, the markets should be re-opened."
"Cyborg, Raven," Terra spoke up. "Have you both tried everything at your disposal?"
"As much as we can with the equipment we have, why?" Cyborg asked.
"I'm going to send the Justice League a message with the Ansible, see if they have a super-tracker they can lend us," Terra answered. "In the meantime… I think it might actually do us some good to take a break, let the Science Guild do their work."
"But Ventus could be in trouble at this very moment!" Raven protested.
"It doesn't change the fact that without a way to follow after him, or learn where he even went, we wouldn't be able to help him anyway," Terra answered. "Besides, did you miss what happened when he finally cut loose? Whoever's on the other side of that portal, they'll be sorry if they mess with him."
"They wouldn't like him when he's mad," Beast Boy hummed knowingly. Back when that living tornado hit, he felt the hair of all of his animal transformations stand on end. Nothing in his arsenal could stand up to a force of nature like that; that was for sure.
"Though that just leaves the question…" Robin hummed. "Why did he go after Blackfire's abductors like that?"
"Because… it was the right thing to do," Starfire answered. "She may have done the horrible things, but she is still my sister, and I love her. She may have been banished, but she does not deserve to be abducted toward an unknown fate. That is not something I would wish on anyone…" she trailed off, hugging her arms to herself.
"Do not worry yourself, my little Bumgorf," Galfore said placing a hand upon her shoulder. "Now that we are freed, the whole of Tamaran is at your disposal. We will see your friend returned, that I can promise."
*TEEN TITANS*
"You know, now that we don't have to worry about evil dictators, this planet is actually pretty nice," Beast Boy hummed as the Titans, minus Terra, walked through a night market. Or "Moon Market" as the locals called it.
"I never thought I'd have the chance to go shopping on an alien planet…" Kitten said, eyes wide with awe as she took everything in. "Wait, shit!"
"What?" Raven asked.
"Earth money's probably no good here!" she whined. "And I really liked the look of that swimsuit…" she said looking longingly at something rather skimpy-looking.
"Actually, that is casual-wear," Starfire corrected, finger extended.
" . . . Huh?" Kitten asked, her mind short-circuiting.
A moment later and the store clerk hastily bundled it up before placing it into Starfire's hand, speaking to her in the native language.
"Oh! Thank you very much!" Starfire beamed in Interlac.
"Um… What just happened?" Beast Boy asked.
"Oh, it seems that my shown interest was taken as a request for the item in question," Starfire returned casually.
"I guess overthrowing an evil dictator has its perks," Raven hummed eyeing some alien jewelry similar in style to her own; these had blue jewels atop silver plate.
"Oh, are you perhaps interested in those?" Starfire asked.
"Well, yes, but-"
The next moment Starfire said something in Tamaranean, the store clerk smiling brightly before packaging the jeweled belt and clasp up before handing them over to her.
" . . . Thank you," she returned.
"Friend Cyborg, is there anything you require?" Starfire asked.
"I'm pretty confident in my prototype Translator," Cyborg hummed. "As long as you can float the bill, I mean. I don't think they accept Earth Credit Cards."
"Why would I place the monetary note on water?" Starfire asked confusedly.
"It's a figure of speech," Cyborg said as he approached what looked like a New York magazine stand. Walking up to the store clerk, who seemed excited to tend to a member of Starfire's entourage, received Cyborg's choppy Tamaranean with a certain amount of grace. The man reaching behind him, plucked a magazine from a shelf before placing it in a brown paper bag before handing it on the counter.
"What'd you buy?" Beast Boy asked peeking over the cyborg's shoulder.
"I asked for anything he had on spaceship repair," Cyborg said opening up the magazine he'd been given to the centerfold, only for blood to spurt out of his and Beast Boy's noses at the sight that greeted them.
"Whoa!" Kitten gawped pinching her nose, a flush on her face. "I know it's an alien planet and all, but if this is what a magazine on spaceship repair is like, I'm almost scared to ask what the porn is like."
"Actually, pornographic material is what Cyborg requested," Starfire corrected. "His Tamarenean… is not that good," she said nervously.
"W-What the…?!" Cyborg gawped as he snapped the magazine shut, shoving it down into the bag. "How did I confuse 'spaceship repair' with 'porn'!?"
"Your Tamaranean is not that good," Starfire repeated more-casually.
*TEEN TITANS*
As the Teen Titans continued through the alien bazaar, Terra eventually rejoined them. After finding out about how Starfire had curried favor with the populous after deposing her sister, she was a bit hesitant to do so, but eventually asked Starfire about getting some "freebies" for herself. Starfire was all too happy to accommodate, simply glad that Terra was opening up to her again after the way their friendship had "ended" months before.
Learning she could manipulate any rock, not just the rock of her homeworld, was a real confidence booster for the former villain, so Terra pointed out a collection of uncut gemstones and ordinary rocks from Tamaran. Cyborg's scanners indicated they were similar elements to what was found on Earth, though the gemstones were predominantly Corundum, found in things like rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. In short, nothing "exotic" that would be dangerous if brought back to Earth.
Of course, after Terra bust a gut laughing over the "Magazine Mis-Hap", Cyborg rescinded the use of his scanner.
It'd have had more of an impact if Terra hadn't already gotten the rocks she'd wanted.
Eventually the Teen Titans had gathered whatever freebies caught their eye, though at the expense of having to carry the gifts Starfire herself received from the vendors once word had gotten around that the former Grand Ruler and deposer of Kom'andr tlhaw'DIyuS ("Blackfire the Cruel" in Interlac) was among them. Kitten and Raven put up good fronts, but Cyborg had to do the bulk of the carrying once the gifts became too much, before eventually offloading the labor onto Beast Boy who had to transform into a beast of burden hauling a wagon.
When he turned into the thing from the palace entrance, he wound up causing a bit of a panic, so he changed into a terrestrial elephant, which was markedly well-received by comparison.
"What exactly was that thing from the entrance hall?" Terra asked curiously.
"Oh, friend Beast Boy had transformed into a… I guess in Interlac it'd be called a 'Juvenile Flesh Devourer'," Starfire answered.
"That thing was considered 'Juvenile'?" Cyborg gawped.
"Oh yes, the females are much larger," Starfire said without an ounce of concern.
"And I assume they aren't vegetarian," Raven hummed.
"Oh no, in the earliest days or our people, we would often sacrifice criminals before their dens to placate them," Starfire answered with a completely straight face, causing the others' to pale. "Once we developed animal husbandry, we were able to somewhat-domesticate the males, and their excrement went into the manure used to grow our crops, which meant we could cultivate more animals in exchange for more high-nutrient manure," she continued, Robin pulling his hand away from a bag of spotted "apples" on Beast Boy's cart.
"How big are the females?" Kitten asked.
"Hmmmm… Perhaps ten-fold?" the alien princess groused, causing the Titans to pale. "Oh, but do not worry. They remain dormant for long periods and rarely venture into civilized areas."
"Still, to think that Beast Boy could turn into alien animals as well…" Kitten hummed. "Is your ability sight-based, or off some sort of 'Life Web'?"
"It would have to be 'Life Web' because how else would he turn into extinct animals, like dinosaurs, that he has no way of seeing in person?" Terra asked before Best Boy could reply.
"Oh, but maybe the reason he can turn into alien animals now is because he's actually seen them-"
"So the Life Web might only apply to Earth-"
"Which means-"
While Beast Boy's eyes spun in his head from the back-and-forth between the two girls, Raven nervously clutched at a silver wing-patterned vambrace, her eyes only half-focussed.
"Friend Raven," Starfire said, a hand to her shoulder. "Do not worry. I am sure that by now, Galfore and the Science Guild know exactly where our friend has gone."
*TEEN TITANS*
"I am sorry, but we do not know where your friend has gone."
" . . . Huh?" Starfire blinked confusedly.
"We have exhausted every science known to our world," Galfore said indicating the now-fully-formed research facility around them. To the Earthlings, it reminded them of the facility S.H.I.E.L.D. created around Mjolnir in the movie Thor. "We have countless witnesses, and even video surveillance, but that's all we have. It is almost as though the entire event was nothing but a fabrication."
"But it was not a fabrication! My friend is gone, my sister abducted!" Starfire cried.
"I am sorry, princess, but unless you want us to call aid from off-world, there is nothing we can do," Galfore apologized. "I have passed the symbol you saw upon their clothes along to xenotautologits across the Vega System, but no-one has come forward with any information of similar sightings."
"Then… What do we do now?" Starfire asked.
"I can send the Justice League a follow-up message through the Ansible, let them know we'll need that backup after all," Terra suggested.
"We can't delay any longer," Raven spoke up. "The more time that passes, the lower our chances of getting Ven back are. Our window is closing and we need to do something now."
"Grand Ruler! Up in the sky!" one of the Science Guild cried, pointing upward.
"Hm?" Galfore hummed. "HAH!" he yelped, eyes going wide. "EVERYONE! SCATTER!"
"Why? What is going on?" Starfire asked worriedly.
"It is the Star of Calamity!" Galfore answered, the Titans' eyes locking onto a glittering violet star streaking through the sky. "SOUND THE ALARM! EVERYONE TO YOUR HOMES!" he bellowed, a loud horn sounding out in the distance, the sound of stampeding feet echoing across the war-torn plane, lights flickering in the citadel windows.
"DUDE! IT JUST CHANGED DIRECTION!" Beast Boy cried as it suddenly took a harsh downward turn.
"IT'S COMING THIS WAY!" Galfore said scooping Starfire up in his arms and bolting.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Robin shouted, the Titans scattering for whatever cover they could find as the violet comet descended on the scorch-marked battlefield.
Right as everyone had ducked and covered the violet comet hit the battlefield, a wave of dust shooting out in all directions. To their confusion however, there was no titanic crash associated with an asteroid making planetfall. Slowly poking their heads over their cover, the dust clearing, those gathered realized what fell wasn't an asteroid… it was a ring! A violet-colored ring with a starburst symbol embossed on the face.
"Is that…?" Kitten gawped as she looked at the glittering accessory.
"A Star Sapphire Ring…!" Terra gasped. "What's one of them doing here?"
"You know what that is?" Beast Boy asked, poking his head out from his turtle shell as Cyborg walked out of cover.
"Yeah, I read it in Slade's files. Star Sapphire Rings are basically the same thing as a Green Lantern Ring, only they're powered by love instead of willpower."
"Well, why do you think it's here?" Raven asked.
"Love conquers all!" Starfire suddenly gasped as she forced herself from Galfore's arms, everyone giving her quizzical looks. "That is the old saying, on many planets. When Friend Ventus was taken from us, the love that we held for him must have drawn this ring toward us! After all, 'fondness makes the heart grow absent'."
"It's 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'," Raven corrected.
"Okay, but how does a piece of bling help us when those indigo monks didn't leave behind any trail to follow?" Cyborg asked.
"Star Sapphire rings have the ability to create a 'tether' between two individuals, allowing for instantaneous warping regardless of distance in the known universe. That's why Star Sapphire could always get the jump on Green Lantern no matter where he was," Terra stated. "In short…"
"We could open up our own 'Stargate', and go after him!" Kitten gaped.
"Exactly!" Terra nodded.
"One question," Raven stated. "Why is it circling around like that?" she asked as the ring moved about in a small circle as it orbited the space it stopped at, the starburst symbol momentarily focusing on Terra, then on Kitten, and finally on Raven, before repeating the cycle.
"The three of you must hold an impressive amount of love toward friend Ventus in your hearts, which is why the Sapphire Star's Ring has not yet made its choice," Starfire mused.
"Good to know," Beast Boy nodded, he and Cyborg stepping away before Robin scrambled after them.
Raven about to follow suit, was immediately stopped when a twist of Terra's heel caused a circular slab of ground she was on to spin her around, Kitten grinning a knowing cat-like smirk as the pushed the reluctant mage forward, she and Terra forming a loose circle around the ring.
"Rachael Roth of Azarath/Tara Markov of Earth/Kathryn Walker of Earth… You have great Love in your heart/heart/heart…" the ring spoke in a feminine-sounding artificial tone as it eyed each of them. "W-W-W-Welcome to the Star Sapphire Corps…" it stuttered, dithering around through the air like a child indecisive about what candy it wanted.
"You're not going to let me leave, are you?" Raven asked as clusters of stone locked around her feet, holding her in place.
"Hey, you love that boy too no matter how much you try to hide it. You're as much a part of this as we are," Terra stated. "Though I'm impressed. Here I thought you were just pent up and horny like a nun, but you really love him, don't you?" she asked turning to Kitten.
"Indeed~" the blond purred cattily. "I wonder if her O-face is like the fanfics~"
"My what?!" the mage hissed/yelped.
"Wait, what happens if the Ring makes whoever puts it on turn evil?" Beast Boy asked poignantly.
"That is why it is called the 'Star of Calamity'," Galfore spoke up, though learning just-now it was a tangible ring, rather than an omen. "In the past, one of our number would disappear, never to be seen again in the wake of its passing."
" . . . Shit you're right!" Terra yelped after a moment. "What do we do if that happens?"
" . . . Give me the ring," Kitten said after a moment.
"What?" Raven asked her way.
"Terra, listen to me," Kitten said firmly. "I'm the daughter of a supervillain, so if that thing makes me go nuts, it's no real loss, I already did the villain thing before…" she said self-derisively. "But you… You're his best friend. Maybe his 'everything'. If you put that thing on and 'go rogue' again, he'll never forgive himself. That's why… That's why you have to give me the ring."
"But what about you?" Starfire asked worriedly. "Though you and I are not truly friends, by principle I am concerned about whatever fate befalls you."
"I don't know if I'll be able to hold it together for long… but we're all out of options, so if I can hold on to my sanity long-enough to open the doorway so you can get him back…" she trailed off before holding her ring finger forward more-forcefully. "My name is Kathryn Walker of Earth, and I love Ventus."
"Wait, what're you doing!?" Terra yelped.
"My name is Kathryn Walker of Earth, and I love Ventus!" she said with more force, stepping forward with ring finger held out openly.
"Hold it, there has to be another way," Raven said phasing through the rock boots as the ring fixated solely on Kitten.
"MY NAME IS KATHRYN WALKER OF EARTH, AND I LOVE-"
"Kathryn Walker of Earth. Welcome, to the Star Sapphire Corps."
The ring affixing itself to Kitten's finger before either of the girls could stop her, a brilliant violet-colored light burst outward like a corona, nearly blinding the gathered Titans and pushing them back, a ribbon of energy spilling out of the ring and coiling around Kitten like something out of a magical girl transformation. Her entirety wrapped with energy bindings, when the light faded, Kitten's original clothing was replaced with-
"EYAAAUUUGH!" Kitten shrieked as her hands went up to preserve her modesty moments after realizing what she was wearing.
…an extraterrestrial violet unitard exposing a great deal of chest and down to her naval which was emblazoned with a glowing starburst symbol. Said unitard went up to her neck, her biceps, thighs, and buttocks sheathed in black spandex while her skin-tight gloves and boots were the same shade as violet. Framing her head and cheeks was a pointed violet crown similar to what Blackfire wore, but more aerodynamic and pointed, seeming to extend from the sides out over her eyebrows.
"WHO THE FUCK DESIGNED THIS THING?!" she cried curling up on herself and turning her back to the gathered Titans, feeling absolutely mortified as she beheld how close the low-cut of her unitard came to exposing… certain things she'd rather not as a young woman. "Oh god… If daddy saw me like this, he'd ground me to my room until I was fifty!"
"Kitt-Kathryn!" Terra shouted approaching her. "Calm down!"
"Calm down? CALM DOWN!? I look like a space hooker!" Kitten shrieked as she hugged her knees to her exposed chest.
"Yes, well, you aren't going nuts, so that's a good sign… Right?"
" . . . Hey, you're right!" Kitten gasped, rising to her feet and turning to the others before whipping back around, turning her back to them. "Eyes up here, you perverts!" she shrieked causing the boys to whirl around, a nervous blush on their faces. "Ugh. Animals, the lot of them. Why couldn't I get a black bodysock or something?" she asked aloud.
The next moment, responding to her distress, all the exposed parts of her midriff and chest were covered by the same black material enveloping her biceps and thighs, the violet starburst symbol remaining where it was but far less sexualized than before without the blatantly-exposed skin.
" . . . Oh. Neat," she hummed, feeling less exposed than before.
"Sooo… You're cool?" Beast Boy asked, if only for confirmation. Green Lantern was one of the League's heavy hitters, and Star Sapphire could go toe-to-toe with him even on a bad day, so even if Kitten was only a "juvenile Star Sapphire", they themselves were "juvenile heroes" as well…
"I… think I am…" Kitten said as she felt around her crown and then to her eyebrows.
" . . . I should tell the populous the calamity has passed. I will leave you to your work, Princess Starfire," Galfore said patting the girl's shoulder before walking off to calm his people.
"Sooo… You've got Star Sapphire's powers now…" Robin paused. "What now?"
"Um… Ring?" Kitten asked, looking into the embossed starburst.
"Acknowledged," the ring spoke in a feminine voice.
"Vent… The one I love… He was taken from us, but we can't find him…" Kitten spoke unsurely. "Do you… Is there anything this ring can do about that?"
"Kathryn Walker. Your love has been recognized," the ring spoke, glittering ribbons of light spilling out of her body like curious feelers. The feelers passing over the Titans, after a few moments they began to twine around Raven and Terra's hands, not like bindings, but of a lover's hand. "Three hearts attuned," the ring continued, a crystalline spike protruding from between Kitten's bosom before it shot out in a glittering rope.
A moment later the crystalline dart caused the air to ripple, a swirling violet portal like glitter down a drain appearing, the glittering line tugging at Kitten's chest pulling her from the ground.
"Hey, hold on a minute!" Raven said trying to draw back.
"Let the others get-"
But their protests were cut off as the line suddenly drew taut, pulling the three girls into the swirling mass overhead. Before Starfire could fly off after them, the portal snapped behind their feet, leaving the Titans bereft of their number once more.
"Not again!" Beast Boy cried, only to get sour looks from the others. "What? Too soon?"
*TEEN TITANS*
"AAUUUGH!" the three girls cried as they fell through the portal into a pit of mud with a loud *SPLAT!*
"Blaugh!" Kitten cried as she broke the surface.
"Where are we?" Terra asked as they began to climb out the pit.
"We definitely aren't on Tamaran anymore," Raven answered, the three going back-to-back-to-back and taking note of their surroundings.
Tamaran had been at "moonset" when they'd left, but here the sky was even darker, the stars completely different as was the sun the planet was under. The jungle they were in looked completely different as well, dark, oppressive, with everything tinged a very dark shade of blue or purple with the occasional splash of green. Also, instead of two full moons, there was only a single moon in a thin crescent.
"You sure we're in the right place?" Terra asked.
"As sure as I can be with this thing on," Terra said looking down at her new Ring, the words- "Destination reached." -sounding from it.
"Well, let's get cleaned up, then start looking," Raven stated.
Picking themselves up from the muck, each girl used their own powers to clean themselves; Terra used her [Geokinesis] to pull the muddy earth away, Kitten expanded her personal forcefield, and Raven went intangible causing the mud to slough right off.
"Wait, did you get that from Danny Phantom?" Kitten blinked.
" . . . He may've brought it up," Raven returned, a small flush flickering across her face. "Anyway, don't we have something more-important to do?"
"Oh! Right! Ring," Kitten spoke holding up her fist. "Can you find where my loved one has gone?"
"Tracking…" the Ring replied, the starburst glinting a couple of times before a mote of light leapt from the face, tracing a serpentine line through the air like the waypoint indicator in the Deadspace series. "Loved one found-Error. Indigo Contamination interfering with Loved-One Tracking."
"Indigo?" Kitten blinked at the correction.
"I think that's our cue to get moving," Terra said lifting a nearby boulder and hopping on, flying off after the violet-colored trail with Kitten and Raven following after and matching speed.
The trio shot through the forest at breakneck speed for several minutes, failing to encounter any fauna on the way. There was the occasional stone ruin or fragment, but no writing or hieroglyphs; and even if there were, it's not like they could've read any of it. They also kept an eye out for any of the monk-like figures from before, but failed to find anything on that front as well.
To make matters worse, the violet trail Kitten's ring had crafted for them began to lose cohesion, thinning out before breaking apart into dots instead of a line. Eventually the separation between individual dots grew so wide they had to pull to a complete stop before leapfrogging to the next. Eventually however, the trail completely evaporated like morning dew.
"Whatever that 'Indigo Contamination' is, it's no joke," Kitten sighed. "Maybe if I had more time with this thing?"
"You got us closer than we could've gotten on our own," Terra said appreciatively.
"You take a break. I'm going to try something," Raven said as she crossed her legs, slipping into a meditative state. "Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos… Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos… Azarath… Metrion… Zin-"
The next moment her eyes snapped open and shone silver, images of Ventus fighting the alien monks, pursuing their number deeper and deeper into the forest filling her mind. He wasn't holding back by any means, but whatever these trees were, they could handle him cutting loose, even by some small measure as the sounds of trees groaning but not falling filled her mind.
"What did you see?" Kitten asked.
"I… He's been fighting… All this time…"
"Then that's all the more reason to find him," Terra stated.
"Right…" Raven nodded. "You two, protect my body. I'm going to try a wide sweep."
The mage entering her meditative stance once again, upon the invocation of her Activation Key, a black astral raven shot out of her body and began to circle around her in a spiral, the distance between it and herself growing wider, and wider, until it vanished altogether in the treeline. Terra and Kitten keeping themselves readied in case some large snarling animal came out to make a quick meal of them.
After several minutes that stretched on into eternity, a jet-black ray shot out of the forest and into Raven's chest, the mage gasping deeply and almost falling from her perch had Terra not moved over to catch her.
"Vent's in trouble!" she gasped. "He's surrounded! We need to move! Now!"
"Which way?"
"That way! Go! Go go go!" Raven said pointing off in the distance, Terra shooting off with Kitten right behind her, blasting away any low-hanging branches or vines in their way.
"-YOU NEED TO LET HER GO!" a voice echoed from the distance.
"There! In that clearing up ahead!" Raven shouted, Terra and Kitten readying themselves for combat.
Mere moments later, the three breaking through the treeline and into a clearing, were immediately beset by the eyes of countless indigo-clad space monks in a phalanx that surrounded them, and at the center of it all were three figures, two in a staredown, the other staring off into nothing.
The first figure was Ventus. In the time he'd been absent his clothes had become coated with mud, berry juice, and energy burns. Other than that he seemed perfectly fine, fatigue notwithstanding.
Standing across from him was a tall slender alien woman with red skin, indigo-colored eyes, her black hair drawn back in cornrows. She had a coral-like staff in her hand with a lamp at the top, and her attire was extremely minimalist, a loincloth around her waist, and a loose-fitting top with a high under-cut, white bandages around her arms, and the same O symbol tattooed across her forehead and other points of her body and emblazoned upon her chest. She had manacles around her neck and wrists, but no chains connecting the vacant links upon them.
Off to the side was Blackfire, or what was left of her, at least. The black of her attire had become indigo, her silver into black, her clothes fully repaired, with additional studded manacles around her neck and wrists, the latter linked to the prior by lengths of chain that seemed more symbolic than constrictive. Upon her head was a facsimile of the crown worn by Starfire during her wedding, and upon the center of it and on Blackfire's chest was the same symbol the others wore, her indigo-colored eyes staring blankly forward bearing the same sigil.
"Huh?" Ventus blinked as the three burst into the clearing, countless indigo rings levelled at them. "Wait! Wait! Stop! No more fighting, please!" he pleaded, the gathered Lanterns lowering their ring-bearing appendages, causing the three girls to let out a sigh of relief. "Kitten? You're-" he blinked as he took in the catty blond's attire before he shook his head, turning his attention back to his previous conversation partner. "Indigo-1, please, there has to be a way."
The woman known as 'Indigo-1' in turn replied- "We will release her if you can give us your word that she can find redemption without our ring."
"What?" he blinked.
"It's a simple question," she returned. "Do you believe Kom'andr of Tamaran is capable of redeeming herself? Of becoming 'good'?"
At that question, Ventus' eyes became downcast, the three girls at his back holding their breaths as he mulled over Indigo-1's words. His gaze shifting to Blackfire, her besigiled gaze straightforward and unmoving, he held his eyes there for several moments before turning back to Indigo-1.
"I want to believe it," he eventually returned, in full honesty.
"I see," the alien woman returned. Extending her ring toward Blackfire, the gathered aliens following suit, indigo-colored light spilled out and around her, the brainwashed alien leaning back onto an almost organic-looking laboratory slab that rose from the ground to cradle her. A breathing apparatus covering her mouth and entering her nostrils, Ventus' hand was all that stayed the others from action. After several moments, the indigo sigil on her forehead vanished, the alien girl letting out a frantic- "AHHH!" -as the slab holding her up evaporated into tendrils, her battle-damaged clothes returning to as they were.
"KOM'ANDR OFF-LINE," her ring spoke in a sterile tone.
"What… What happened…?" she gasped, blinking her eyes rapidly.
"The Indigo Tribe has released you, at my begging," Ventus said to her as he offered a hand, helping her to her feet and slipping the now-inert ring off. The proud girl was unsteady like a newborn doe, leaning heavily into him, but after a few moments she was able to regain her footing.
"Kom'andr of Tamaran," Indigo-1 spoke, the former dictator reeling at the sound of her voice, shivering, actually shivering, as countless indigo-tinted eyes fell upon her. "This ring changed me," she said showing the ring on her hand. "If I can be changed, if a child killer can learn to feel things even without the Indigo Ring, then so too could you, in time. However," she said inclining her head. "Your friend believes you do not need our intervention to be saved. I hope his faith in you is not misplaced."
With those words said, a simultaneous utterance of- "Nok." -sounding from every direction, in a flash of light the indigo-garbed monks vanished, without a trace.
"Um… What just happened?" Kitten asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," Ventus returned.
"What? Don't like the new look?" she asked unashamedly showing off her figure.
"Is that how you found us?" he asked with a tilt of his head, a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks.
"Yeah. And with four more rings we can summon Captain Planet," she grinned, Blackfire flinching as she clenched and unclenched her ring hand. "What, too soon?"
"What I want to know is, why didn't you just leave her here?" Raven asked. "That Indigo-1 was able to exchanged dialogue with you, it has me thinking they're the good guys."
"Blackfire might have done horrible things, but it doesn't mean she deserves to be enslaved and brainwashed," Ventus returned.
"After what I put my little sister through, it would've been ironic," Blackfire said as she brushed the soot off her clothes. "Do any of you know where we are? I don't recognize these star formations," she asked looking into the sky.
"Why the hell would any of us know? Barring you and Raven, none of us have been to space!" Ventus said pointing at himself, Terra, and Kitten.
"And you didn't think to ask?" Blackfire said in turn.
"Well sorry if I had other priorities," Virgil growled back, then turning to Kitten. "You… used your Star Sapphire powers to get here, didn't you?"
"I did," Kitten nodded.
"Hold on, how do you know about this?" Raven asked.
"The Justice League has a file on the subject," Ventus replied. "I got access after becoming a League Reservist."
"Yeah, that's great and all, but how about getting us home, Pinkie," Blackfire said drolly.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your space-pants on," Kitten huffed. "Alright, ring. Take us home!"
"Two hearts attuned," the ring spoke, a violet harpoon bursting from Kitten's bosom before she was yanked through a portal. That exact moment however, Kitten was sent tumbling face-first into Ventus' back driving him into the loamy soil. "Destination reached."
"Yeah… I noticed," Kitten said irately as she helped him to his feet while Terra cleaned him up.
"So wait… Does this mean we're stuck here?!" Terra gawped.
"You blackmailed Robin into a date that one time. Why not attune to his heart?" Raven asked.
"Love and infatuation are two completely different things," Kitten huffed.
"Oh, like you're such an expert."
"Oh I'm sorry, but are you the one wearing the magical love-powered decoder ring?" Kitten snarked the mage's way.
"Girls, girls! There's a solution we're overlooking," Ventus said holding up the indigo ring from before.
"Nu-uh, no way!" Blackfire said backing away. "I'd sooner take my chances up in space then put that thing on again."
"I didn't say it was for you…" Ventus said looking down at the ring apprehensively. "If this thing flung us halfway across the universe, maybe…" he said as he slowly moved it toward his finger.
"Hey, wait!" Blackfire and the others cried as they dove at him, only to be pushed back by the flash of indigo light that followed.
"VINCENT VALENTINE OF EARTH. YOU HAVE GREAT COMPASSION IN YOUR HEART. WELCOME TO THE INDIGO TRIBE," the ring spoke. "NOK."
When the light cleared, Ventus had become garbed in what looked like black-and-indigo Air Nomad robes, the sigil of the now-named Indigo Tribe embossed upon his forehead, eyes, and the beaded necklace dangling from his neck. Like Blackfire, he had chains connecting the manacles on his neck and wrists, though there were cracks in them for some reason. Held in his hand was the same coral-like staff as Indigo-1 had wielded, sized to him since Indigo-1 was quite tall.
"Ven… Vincent…" Terra paused since the ring kinda gave that away. "Are you in there?"
"Nok," he returned with a flat stare.
"Well, shit, looks like he's been brainwashed," Blackfire said bluntly.
"Whatever that thing is, it's messing with his head," Raven said after scanning him with her empathic powers. "It's like the ring is… dyeing his thoughts toward the color of compassion."
"Green, Yellow, I assume Pink, and now Indigo? Just how many colors do these things come in?" Kitten asked looking down at her own ring.
"Hey, Ventus," Blackfire suddenly spoke up drawing the Indigo's attention towards her. "You're all about Compassion, and I can't exactly return to Tamaran, so can you come over here and do me a solid?" she asked gesturing him over.
The Indigo Lantern walking over to her without hesitation, the former dictator drew him in much to the others' consternation as she whispered something into his ear. The possessed teen nodding his head in understanding once her message was conveyed, he stepped back from her before pressing the facet of his ring into the top of his lantern-topped staff.
"Tor lorek san, bor nakka mur,
Natromo faan tornek wot ur,
Ter lantern ker lo Abin Sur,
Taan lek lek nok – Formorrow Sur!" he intoned slowly before his voice rose in intensity, a brilliant light shining from the top of his staff.
"RING CHARGE AT 100%" his ring spoke as he leveled his ring off to the side, an indigo-colored portal whirling into existence. Blackfire for her part flew towards it, shooting him a smirk and a wink before vanishing, the portal closing shut behind her the moment she vanished from sight.
"Uh, where did he just send her?" Kitten asked.
"Wherever Blackfire wanted, apparently," Raven huffed, unwilling to really judge him for it since she too had been victim of "acting on her emotions".
"Ven… Ven, can you hear me?" Terra asked walking up to him, looking deeply into his now-indigo-colored eyes. "Please, if you're in there, say something."
" . . . Nok," he returned in a flat tone, creating another portal before, with a swing of his lantern/staff, the portal shot towards him, enveloping the four and spiriting them away from the planet of Nok.
*TEEN TITANS*
Elsewhile…
"Alright, let me see if I have this straight," Robin said as the Science Guild returned, their work resumed the moment Star Sapphire Kathryn Walker shot off into space with two of his teammates. "You know the direction that Kitten has warped herself and two of my teammates, but you don't know the distance?!"
"Kitten's warp trail was markedly easier to track, but whatever was on the other side is interfering without our readings," Galfore answered succinctly. "They could be on a neighboring planet within the Vega System, on the other side of the galaxy, or have been transported to Andromeda for all we know."
"Perhaps we should call the Justice League?" Starfire asked.
Before Robin could speak up again, an indigo portal suddenly manifested in the center of the battlefield, the gathered Tamaraneans and Titans getting into battle positions as shadows manifested on the other side of the portal.
The next moment the portal swept backward, Raven, Terra, and Kitten unceremoniously tossed from it onto the ground while a fourth figure in robes carrying a staff stepped out, dispelling the portal with a wave.
"Friends! You have returned!" Starfire smiled brightly as she moved to embrace her female teammates.
"Hey uh… Why is Vent dressed like an Air Nomad?" Beast Boy questioned as he jabbed a thumb at the robe-clad teen.
"And what's with that look in his eye?" Cyborg asked waving a hand in front of his eyes, both now bearing the insignia of the Indigo Tribe.
"Friend Ventus, what is the matter?" Starfire asked worriedly.
"In order to get us back here, he… He had to put on the thing that brainwashed Blackfire," Raven said worriedly.
"Wait, that's what happened to her?" Robin asked. "Where is she now?"
"Nok."
"We don't know. All Ventus is capable of doing right now is saying some word in an alien dialect," Raven returned. "Galfore, if I gave you some of the vernacular he used while under this thing's influence, could you tell me what language it is?"
"Only if I am familiar with it," the giant returned. "If it's from beyond the Vega System, well…" he said with a dismissive shrug.
"Right. Ahem," Raven coughed into her fist. "Tor lorek san, bor nakka mur. Natromo faan tornek wot ur. Ter lantern ker lo Abin Sur. Taan lek lek nok – Formorrow Sur," she intoned, her robes flickering indigo as… something, pressed against the back of her mind. As opposed to the presence of her father in her mind, what had momentarily touched her was… different.
"Hmmmmmm…" Galfore hummed drumming his fingers on his arm. "I am sorry, but it is not like any dialect I've ever heard."
"It sounds like a poem," Starfire hummed. "It was strangely soothing."
"I think that was the Oath of his Lantern Corps," Kitten stated. "The Green Lantern's oath is 'In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape our sight, let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's light'," she recited, since it'd been invoked on Earth by Green Lanterns enough-times it'd become somewhat-common knowledge. "The Star Sapphire oath is…" she paused as she manifested a pink rectangular window to manifest in front of her, the garbled alien text cycling through to Interlac before she read- "For hearts long lost and full of fright, For those alone in blackest night, Accept our ring and join our fight, Love conquers all- With Violet light!" she intoned more-enthusiastically toward the end, bright ribbons of pink energy rising off of her briefly. "Whoa…! What a rush!"
"Yes, yes, you'll be a hit at open mic night, but what are we going to do about that?" Cyborg asked as Beast Boy poked at the brainwashed wind-wielder, who seemed to pay the changeling no mind.
"Wait, he's doing something!" Terra said as Ventus took his hand away from his staff, which remained standing under its own power as he moved it toward the ring on his hand. Hand trembling, he quickly wrapped it around the ring before wrenching it away, a violent flash of light nearly blinding those unprepared. The teen falling to his knees, panting and gasping for air as his robes and staff vanished, Raven, Terra, and Kitten all went to him as he entered a shivering fit.
"VINCENT VALENTINE. OFF-LINE," the ring spoke as it was removed.
"Wait, that's his name?" Beast Boy chuckled only to get slapped across the back of the head. "What, too soon?"
"Ven, are you okay?" Terra asked.
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine…" Ventus shuddered, clenched fist trembling around the ring held in his grip.
"Now that you're yourself again, do you know where you sent Blackfire?" Raven asked.
"I… don't know…" he said as he crammed the ring into his pocket. "Everything was… kinda… blurry… Like I was looking through opaque lenses…" Ventus said as his hand went to his head, slowly rising himself to his feet. "Starfire?" he asked turning her way.
"Yes?"
The next moment he broke out of the others' grip before walking up and enveloping her in a hug, the alien girl blinking before she reciprocated the gesture.
"Is something the matter?" she asked, completely nonplussed by the PDA as she held him to her.
"Kom'andr told me to tell you… that she is sorry for everything she has done to you," he whispered low-enough for no-one but them to hear.
Upon hearing those words, Starfire's eyes blinked wide. After a couple seconds, the alien girl let out a sniffle before tightening her hold on him, leaning into him and sniffling into his hair, tears of joy spilling out of her eyes. The others in turn shifted nervously, mainly Galfore who was torn between tearing the foreigner away from his princess, but also respecting the princess' reciprocation of the gesture, since such emotional outbursts were common and even encouraged on Tamaran, as no negative stigma existed for revealing when one was sad, or even happy to the point of tears.
"There, there. Everything's going to be alright," Ventus said soothingly, stroking her hair and her back. It wasn't the embrace of a lover, more of a sibling, or a really good friend, one that Starfire recirprocated in equal measure.
"Because of your message from my sister… I can truly believe that," Starfire said with a smile. "Thank you, friend. You do not know how much those words meant to be heard."
"Anything for a friend," Ventus replied with a smile. "Come on," he said gesturing to the landing dock above in the citadel. "Let's go home."
"Yes. Let us go back home," Starfire returned with a beaming smile.
"Sooo… We're just… not going to talk about the two of you getting Power Rings?" Beast Boy asked aloud as they all trickled toward the citadel. "Not at all?"
*TEEN TITANS*
AN:
Well, I guess we know what Lantern Corps Ventus would be in if given the opportunity~
Of course, that doesn't mean the Indigo Ring isn't without its own drawbacks, hence why he won't make the thing a permanent part of his arsenal. Other than the drawback what comes with each color (sans Green since it exists at the center of the Emotional Spectrum), a Power Ring is called "the most powerful weapon in the universe" for a damn good reason. You don't need to know how something works to make it happen, only what it looks like and "that it does", so a Green Lantern could just-as-easily make a Death Star with a live [Death Star Superlaser] without even the slightest hint of mechanical training.
Of course that's not to say Ventus will just toss it in a wall safe and never touch it again, but don't expect him to re-brand himself so-easily~