Ft Knight: Huh, color me surprised. I honestly would have guessed that this trip with the Lanterns would have been a single 2 chapter affair.
Still, as far as twists go, this was well written and well played upgrade and enhancement.
and I love how you decided to empower Kitty so she's in live with Raven and Terra, in a general Power test as of the ladies in the race for winning a place in Vincent's Heart they are the one's in the lead.
Re: Yeah, when I thought about the changes I made to Kathryn Walker/Kitten, it only made sense to give her this sort of power-up since she isn't the same shallow girl from the Canon. Plus, when it came to tracking down the Indigo Tribe, a Star Sapphire ring was really the only way to go, since the Indigo Light has "Nat-20 Stealth", so it all worked out splendidly.
Linkonpark100: Ah, Green Lantern mythos. I can assume that we might see Ventus face-off against Nekron in the future?
Re: Maybe in an off-shot, though Nekron's never made any animated appearances in the Earth-12 DCAU. Anyone with "sufficient willpower" can become a Green Lanter, but that's kinda lazy since between Red/Rage – Orange/Avarice – Yellow/Fear – Green/Will – Blue/Hope – Indigo/Compassion – Violet/Love, [Will] is smack-dab in the middle and influences people's base personalities the least, and at the same time making them the most emotionally-rigid. Whereas people like Atrocitus in the Red Lantern Corps, and Carol Ferris in the Star Sapphire Coprs, experience significant departures from their base personalities, so radically different "types" of people enter into the other Lantern Corps. It takes a very special sort to wield all the light of the Emotional Spectrum; like Kyle Rayner from the comic book universe.
superpierce: While it's not widley known it is a fact that those who wear green lantern rings become more stubborn and independant in thinking.
Re: I don't think it's so much about [Will] being the factor as it is, the Guardians making Themselves and The Green Lantern Corps into the "law of the land", automatically making them think the GLs are in the right. The GLC attempted to "outlaw" use of the Emotional Spectrum, with Hal Jordan taking the lead, but he never did anything to stop his Corps from using [Will], because he's always been led to think he is morally in the right. It's barely a step above the Justice Lords in that way.
LoamyCoffee: Ah, Translation errors and a surprisingly quick resolution to the situation. Though Ventus can't keep an eye on her if she leaves. Though I suppose she has much to think about. Can't run from it now Raven, a Power Ring just confirmed it.
Hmm, Kitten as a Star Sapphire will be very interesting indeed. Ventus having that ring will certainly be helpful in the future.
Amazing job once again, and now I must wrap presents.
Re: Spaceman actually came up with that one. Originally there were going to be more Translation Errors, but I couldn't work them in organically. As for Kitten as a Star Sapphire, originally I was just going to have her use the ring to re-brand herself as "Pink X"… though I might wind up doing that ANYWAY… I'm not 100% sure whether to go with that plan, or stick to her current Star Sapphire attire from Justice League: Doom.
Kalbario: Yo! I just had a thought. You said before that Vent's "flame alchemy" works kind of like Roy's in that all he has to do is to increase the oxygen density in the spark that the lighter produces in order to make a great flame. You also said that he has a WWII era Flame thrower. So! if we combine the 'flame alchemy' principle and add it to the flame thrower, Basically it's like Madara Uchiha's Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku!
In the Christmas special, you basically made him like jack frost. Will there be a repeat performance this season?
Do his friends even know how dangerous he can really be?
Again, as I've said before. What a monster you've created!
12/9/20
Re: I mean… yeah, he could force-feed oxygen into a fire, but he's not going to just walk around with a bomb strapped to his back. Love the energy, though. As for the others realizing how-dangerous he can be, I think they're starting to learn it now since he pulled a Disney Hercules on that alien fleet.
frostyjace101202: An indigo ring huh? I'm not really sure how that would help a guy who can manipulate one of the 4 elements of nature at the slightest of his whims in terms of making him stronger. I'd go for something like Venom to enhance his physical body. But you're the author and I guess you have something in mind regarding that so I won't make a fuss about it. Looking forward to where this'll go, hope you update soon, and thanks for the chap!
Re: He won't wear it all the time; the why of it will come up later. Well, actually it already has; the Indigo Ring messes with his head to the point he has memory gaps, which isn't unusual given how far from the center of the Emotional Spectrum its wavelength operates on.
*TEEN TITANS*
"So you're telling me in all the time I was gone, you didn't do… any maintenance on your ship?" Ventus asked as dozens of engineers scrambled to make the T-Ship space-worthy again.
"We were a little pre-occupied trying to rescue you from a gang of space Gandalfs," Cyborg grumbled as he worked in one of the command pods, having to swallow his pride and ask for help if they were going to get the T-Ship home in any timely manner. What would've taken him days if not a week of double-shifts to accomplish would be completed in a few hours, and in fact, the Tamaranean shipwrights were better at this than he was since they made spaceships for a living, while Cyborg himself only did it recreationally.
During the Gordanian invasion years ago, most of their own space-faring vessels had been destroyed, and the economy had been slow to grand them clearance to make new ones, so at the least, there was no shortage of volunteers.
"Friend Ventus, are you truly okay with ferrying so many of my belongings?" Starfire questioned as royal servants carried packages, plants, and foodstuffs into the T-Javelin.
"Yeah, it's fine as long as weight-and-balance aren't stressed too much. And it's not like the T-Ship can carry any of it," Ventus answered while Cyborg grumbled under his breath.
"Don't worry, Cyborg. Nobody thinks you 'caved'."
"Shut up, Terra. Don't patronize me," he said shrugging off the shoulder-pat.
"Excuse me, Galfore, I have a question," Kitten spoke up.
"Speak, child."
"What if Border Patrol treats the flora as an invasive species?" she asked gesturing to a small berry tree.
"Your planet is advanced-enough to be concerned over that?" the giant questioned.
"The Justice League might. Would kinda suck if one of these plants was carrying a disease that would end all life on Earth as we know it," Beast Boy hummed.
"A valid concern, I suppose," Galfore admitted. "If Eee'Arth's biosphere can't handle our Flora, send them back or dispose of them properly."
"Earth."
"What?"
"Our planet's name is 'Earth'," Terra stated.
"Really? But there's an 'A' in it. I'm just going to keep calling it 'Eee'Arth'."
*TEEN TITANS*
Once all of their ducks were in a row and Starfire had said her goodbyes, the Teen Titans left Tamaran for Earth, receiving a Hero's Farewell accompanied by cheering, fireworks, and the occasional Starbolt, an honor guard comprising Tamaran's equivalent of Earth's Blue Angels escorting them to the edge of the Vega System, where they entered Slipspace for the return journey.
The trip in of itself was nothing to write home about, and when you could say that about space travel, that was really saying something. Slipspace wasn't nearly as pretty as Star Wars' Hyperspace, so by and large, once the return vectors had been slotted in, Ventus, Terra, and Kitten were free to move about the cabin.
In addition to their plus-one.
"Remind me again why you aren't on the other ship?" Ventus asked jerking a thumb over his shoulder, crossing his legs before the meditating Raven, surrounded on all sides by Starfire's swag in the rear half of the Javelin.
"Let's just say that after that beating the T-Ship took, I won't be too keen on riding it for a while even if it's been repaired."
"Well, it was originally a submarine, sooo… Yeah," Ventus admitted.
"My turn. Should you really be back here?" the mage asked, looking over his shoulder at Slipspace.
"Any attempt to take manual control would send us careening out of Slipspace and into a planet. At best. Worst case it's a sun or a black hole. Or send us to the end of the universe like Thor: Ragnarok when Thor and Loki got booted out the Bifrost."
"Also fair," Raven admitted. " . . . You're still holding, aren't you?" she asked glancing toward his pocket.
" . . . Yeah…" he said withdrawing the Indigo Ring from his pocket, thankfully inert.
"And you didn't think to get rid of it? Or give it back?"
"Better to have it and not needed it than not have it and really wish I did," Ventus returned. "Also, if Indigo-1 wanted it back, she would've called it to her side, or something. If she comes back for it, I'll hand it over, but in the meantime, I defer to reason one."
"Well… Be careful. Coming from a girl whose emotions can literally get away from her, that's saying something."
"Relax, I won't wear this thing again unless I really need it," he said digging through a drawer. Drawing some string he happened to come across, he made a loop he threaded through the ring before tucking it into his shirt. "I see the others are getting a power nap," he said looking to the two bunks, presently occupied one pretty blond apiece.
"It would seem so," Raven replied, eyes drifting to the ring on Kitten's finger. "She went the extra mile for you, you know. She was willing to throw everything away for the chance to get you back."
"Really? I didn't know that," Ventus hummed. "I'll have to do something nice for her when we get back planetside."
"I'm sure she'd appreciate that," Raven replied. "Why don't you take a nap. I'll wake you up when we leave Slipspace."
"But the bunks are occupied."
"Maybe, but I can give you the next best thing," she said lowering herself to the ground, patting her thighs invitingly.
"Oh my…" Ventus gulped.
"I'm sure you're exhausted, whipping up that giant death cyclone and chasing Blackfire's abductors to the end of the universe," she reasoned. "Don't make this weird."
" . . . Okay," Ventus nodded, turning his back to her before lowering his head to lay on her lap, the mage tenderly stroking his hair.
"It's good to have you back," she smiled.
"Yeah… Me too…" Ventus replied, eyes drifting shut as the hum of the engines lulled him to sleep.
*TEEN TITANS*
After leaving Slipspace, it was a simple matter to arc their crafts' flight above the Ecliptic to bypass the asteroid belt entirely. With the whole of the Sol System laid out before them, it was truly an awe-inspiring sight. It wasn't as grandiose as the Vega System with its countless inhabited worlds, but a sense of contentment washed over the Titans as they made their return to the pretty blue/green marble that served as their home.
"Justice League Reservist: Ventus to Watchtower. Do you read me?"
"Watchtower. We hear you."
"I'm currently carrying extraterrestrial flora that was bequeathed to one of our team members after we annulled her wedding to a nightmare tentacle monster, and want to know what the procedures are regarding planetary import of foreign fruit-bearing plants."
"Um… Could you repeat that?"
"Yeah, sure," he nodded. "I'm currently carrying extraterrestrial flora that was bequeathed to one of our team members after we annulled her wedding to a nightmare tentacle monster, and want to know what-"
"Th… That's enough… Just wanted to make sure I heard that right," the man on the other end replied. "Are you symptomatic in any way? Did you eat any foreign food during your foray to… Where are you returning from exactly?"
"Planet Tamaran, in the Vega System. And yes, he partook in a royal banquet with goblets the size of industrial oil drums."
"I see…" the man replied, pausing for an awkward period. "I'm sending you flight vectors now. Please surrender yourselves and your cargo for decontamination. We'll send you on your way momentarily after ascertaining the viability of your imports."
"Flight vectors received. Making approach," Ventus replied, waving the Titans to follow behind him into the Watchtower.
*TEEN TITANS*
Upon arriving at the Watchtower, the Teen Titans (and guest) were immediately greeted by a squad of Hazmat suit-clad men giving off a strong Monsters Inc. vibe. The Titans surrendered themselves without any issues and were ushered into a decontamination chamber, thankfully with all of their clothing on since they weren't irradiated by any foreign high-energy matter.
It was a testament to how-common and pedestrian extraterrestrial forays were to League members that the staff attending to them didn't treat it as anything special, even if it was from a Reserve Member and his "young tagalongs".
Despite all the weird food they had eaten, no-one had contracted any extraterrestrial diseases or parasites that Earth science could detect, so while Starfire's cargo was processed and appraised for viability into Earth's biosphere, the gaggle of teenagers took a break in the cafeteria, sitting at a table overlooking the Earth.
"So… Do you think I shall be allowed to keep my Zorka Berry tree?" Starfire asked hopefully. "They are my most favorite of sugary treats, and I have been missing them dearly."
"As long as they aren't an invasive species, I think they might let you keep it. But don't hold me to that, I don't really know the procedure," Ventus returned.
"Sooo…" Kitten hummed getting her love's attention. "Think I could get an autograph from Wonder Woman?"
"I'm not sure I have that kind of pull yet, but I'll get back to you on that," the wind wielder returned. "Where's your ring?"
"Hanging from my neck," she returned, idly glancing about. "I don't want to cross one of those guys in the green-and-black jumpsuits and have them get the wrong idea."
"Kitten, come on, I'm sure as long as you don't use it for anything evil, they'll let you have it. The Justice League doesn't exactly have a monopoly on superpowers."
"But they got you here, didn't they?"
"I'm 'renting', not 'selling'," he clarified. "Plus, they slapped the credit for taking down one of the baddest dudes on the planet into my lap. It would've happened eventually, but for now, Speedy and I are Teen Titans."
"Wait, Speedy's a Reservist too?" Robin asked.
"Yeah. Green Arrow got him on the list. Why, didn't Batman do it for you?"
" . . . "
"Excuse me, Ventus, was it?" a man in a lab coat and glasses asked.
"Yes, is there a problem?" he asked rising from his seat.
"Well, there's good news and bad news," the man replied. "Good news, none of the flora you've brought home with you need to be destroyed."
"That is most splendiferous!" Starfire clapped happily.
"Bad news… you can't replant them in terrestrial soil," he said inclining his head out the window.
"What? Why not?"
"We still don't know the effects that cross-pollinating alien plants will have on Earth's biosphere," he replied.
"Then what the heck am I supposed to do with it if I can't take it planetside?" he asked brusquely.
"There is an alternative," the scientist reassured. "If you'd be willing to leave the plants here, we could study them at length for future consideration, and any fruit they bear you could simply collect and bring back planetside through the Teleporter. Provided you properly dispose of any leftovers."
" . . . What do you think, Star?"
"Hmmmmmmm… You will treat them with the love and the respect?" she asked hopefully.
"Undoubtedly. The Hydroponics department love looking after extraterrestrial plants. I'm amazed you were able to bring back such a healthy specimen, and from as far as the Vega System."
"Well, she is a princess, so-"
"A princess you say~?" a man in a gaudy blue-and-gold outfit with visor asked throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Hi there, I'm-"
"Beat it, Booster Gold! She isn't interested!" Ventus and Robin said simultaneously.
"Great, what did they used to call it? Stereo?" the future-born hero asked as he slinked away.
"Well that wasn't very nice," Starfire pouted after the golden boy had gone.
"Star, the guy's a gold-digger. Trust me on this one," Robin pleaded.
"Well, if you insist," Starfire conceded. "Sooo… I'll be able to come up whenever I wish?"
"I'm sure an exception can be made for Teleporter access. What with being royalty and all."
"Oh no, you do not need to go through all of the trouble. I can just come in through an airlock," she said brightly.
"You can breathe in space?"
"I don't need to," she replied happily as though it were an everyday thing.
"Um… Well… I'm sure the staff would prefer you not using an airlock every day. If the two of you could come with me, we can hash this out with the station master," he replied inclining his head at Starfire and Ventus. "The rest of you can wait in your vessels. Everything has been processed."
*TEEN TITANS*
"So you've got Watchtower access?" Robin asked as the Titans mounted the T-Ship.
"Indeed I do," Starfire replied. "The master of the station was most kind once I explained the situation to him. He seemed quite interested in what Zorka Berries tasted like."
"Guy might've had a sweet tooth, though the big green eyes and miniskirt probably didn't hurt," Cyborg hummed.
"What do the color of my eyes and the length of my skirt have to do with it?" Starfire asked innocently.
"We'll… tell you when you're older," Raven hummed.
"What, you not going to ride on the T-Javelin anymore?" Cyborg asked dryly.
"I can trust this bucket of bolts to carry us that far," she said inclining her head in Earth's general direction.
"Yeah, that's fair," Cyborg admitted. "But seriously, what's that Javelin made out of? He took on more of those bug-ships than we did and he came out with barely a scratch."
"Well it probably helps that 'he' didn't treat it like a World War II Star Wars-style dogfight," Ventus cut in through the radio. "Just a thought."
"Yeah, why do the space fights in Star Wars look like planetside dogfights?" Beast Boy asked.
"I'm sure there's a YouTube video out there that explains why. For the time being, can we please get to Earth?" Raven asked. "After the way this trip went, all I want to do is lay down in my bed and sleep for a week."
"The trip wasn't that bad," Terra chimed in.
"You didn't get slimed."
"Come one, guys. We can whine about the low points of our trip tomorrow morning at breakfast. Preferably when Star isn't in the room," Kitten chimed in.
"You do know I can still hear you, correct?"
" . . . Initiate emergency drop!" Ventus ordered, the T-Javelin dropping through the floor a moment later.
*TEEN TITANS*
By the time the Teen Titans returned to Jump City, it was already dark out planetside. The city was beginning to come alight, and the Position Lights on the T-Ship and T-Javelin gave everyone the indicator they needed that the Teen Titans had returned. The two ships setting down on the roof, like the dutiful butler he was, Wintergreen was waiting for them.
"Welcome home, sirs and madams," the butler greeted with a bow.
"Hey Wintergreen, how's the homestead?" Beast Boy asked.
"Unless it's pressing, it can wait 'til the morning," Ventus said letting out a long yawn. "I'm going to bed."
"I just thought I'd let you know, your understudies teleported out once you were on radar," the man returned.
"Okay, so then it's just us for breakfast," the wind-wielder yawned. "No need to wait up. Things didn't go to plan, so we'll probably sleep in until noon."
"As most teenagers out of school or a job are wont to," Wintergreen nodded. "Just so you know, your beds have been made and freshened, and I went through the trouble to set out lavender-scented candles for your convenience."
"Thanks, Wintergreen. You're the best," Terra hummed.
"Indeed I am. Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."
"Ugh, don't even get me started on bed bugs…" Beast Boy shuddered.
Let's just say he once turned into a bedbug on a lark… and leave it at that.
*TEEN TITANS*
True to form, the Teen Titans slept in well toward noon the following morning. If you thought jetlag was bad, try travelling between planets, in different star systems. Now that, was hell on the body clock.
Of course, the bliss brought about by sleep couldn't last forever. Terra's months of training with Slade and the schedule it entailed eventually roused her from slumber. Rolling over in bed to check on her T-Comm., she found a message waiting for her.
"Hello?" she yawned.
"Oh good, you picked up. Thought you were going to sleep forever."
"Morning… Beast Boy…" Terra said sleepily. "Did I miss breakfast?"
"Naw, girl. The others are getting to it now," the changeling returned. "Think you could get Vent and Kitten for us? You're closest and no-one else wants to get up."
"Sure… Sure… Just let me get some pants on."
" . . . What else aren't you wearing?"
"Goodbye, Beast Boy," Terra said shutting him out.
He wasn't a total creep about it, but it was obvious he was still crushing for her. Hard. Maybe not too hard, but one of these days she might have to put her foot down.
After getting into her Kim Possible-style outfit and brushing out her hair, Terra made her way across the hall to her crush, the door opening at her approach.
"Hey Ven, wake up! It's time for breakfast!"
Turning to where she knew Ventus' bed was, the next moment she let out a horrified gasp at the sight that greeted her.
"Shhhhhhhhhhh," a beautiful orange-skinned woman with long ebony tresses and purple cat-like eyes shushed her, laying in the bed with her back against the wall, spooning against the room's intended occupant in nothing but a pair of Tamaranian pajamas; or in Earth vernacular, she was in the buff. "He's sleeping~"
"Blackfire…!" Terra growled, her eyes coming aglow as she willed the bracelet of extraterrestrial ore around her wrist into a liquid state, the blond changing the ore's shape into-
"Ah-ah-aaah," Blackfire chided, waggling her finger at the geokinetic before bringing said digit to the underside of the soundly slumbering teen's chin, a tiny purple Starbolt causing the blue-eyed girl to wilt. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to your little boytoy, would you?"
"Why… are you here…?" Terra growled as she let the rock fall to the floor.
"In due time," Blackfire replied, holding the bed's other occupant close. "Until then, be a dear and bring my sister over. She and I need to have a little… heart-to-heart~"
"If you hurt him, I swear I'll-!"
"All you need to worry about doing, is what I tell you to do," Blackfire returned in a haughty voice. "Now… about that call~?"
*TEEN TITANS*
"Friend Terra, is something the matter?" Starfire asked floating down the hall. "Why are you standing before friend Ventus' door?"
"Hello, baby sister~"
*GAAASP!* "Sister!" Starfire growled as her eyes came alight. "Why are you-"
"Now, now, baby sister. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your English teacher, would you?" Blackfire asked coyly.
"Sister… Why are you here?" Starfire asked, angry her friend was being held hostage, used as a living shield, an act worthy of much dishonor on Tamaran.
"Better question, why are you there?!" Terra bristled jabbing a finger at the one-person bed, now occupied by two.
"Let's just say my current position holds many… tactical advantages~" the former dictator purred as she adjusted her hold on him. "Poor thing was so exhausted after returning to Earth, it was so… simple to get right next to him."
"So this is where you got off to…!" Terra growled. "How'd you get past our security?"
"Well, it either had to do with this indigo bauble," she said fingering the ring still-hanging from the teen's neck, "or you never removed my credentials from the system since you thought my relocation to that Centauri prison was a little more… permanent. Now, here's what's going to happen~"
The next moment Ventus murmured in his sleep, the three girls nearby stiffening for various reasons as he shifted in his slumber. A moment later, Blackfire blinked openly as Ventus rolled over in her arms, Terra visibly bristling as his face nuzzled deeply into the alien's full, mature bosom, a coy smile playing at the former dictator's face as he nuzzled himself against her nude form.
"Well, it looks like he knows what he wants~" Blackfire purred. "Now, as I was saying-EEEP!" she squeaked as the aerokinetic's hands began to sleepily wander across her body, Terra's livid expression shifting to sheer embarrassment as the former alien dictator writhed against her would-be hostage.
"Hey guys, what's the holdup? Breakfast is waiting-OHMYGOD!" Kitten gasped as she poked her head in through the door, face reddening and eyes wide as she peeked through her fingers as Blackfire bit her lower lip.
"Na… Nyaaaaah~" Blackfire mewled as the sleeping teen's hands continued to roam across her body, calloused fingertips dancing across all of her most sensitive areas.
"Oh my god…!" Kitten gasped at what she saw. "He's a Sexsomniac!" she gasped, blood spurting from her nose.
"This is the first time I'm hearing about this…" Terra muttered dryly under her breath. All the times she'd camped out with him and he'd never acted like this.
Then again, she didn't have the robust… mature frame that Blackfire had been pressing against him with.
"Klimtholg…! How are you so good at this?" Blackfire gasped heatedly, drool trickling down the corner of her mouth as she made a desperate bid for freedom, her naked body quivering all the while. "Sis… Sister… Help me, pleEEASE!" the raven-haired beauty squealed as Ventus rolled out of the bed after her, his arms encircling her shins and his lips suckling on the sensitive spot behind one knee.
"I am… most confused by what it is I should be feeling…" Starfire hummed as her eldest sibling's back arched and her toes curled, the former dictator writhing in delicious agony before her.
On the one hand she was deriving much pleasure from watching her sister's tormented expression even if she would never admit as much aloud. On the other, she was confused as to why the raven-haired beauty was repeatedly muttering the name of their collective god and begging for "more".
"What is it she is begging for 'more' of?" Starfire asked without batting an eye.
"We'll uh…" Terra gulped. "We'll tell you when you're older."
"This is way hotter than the fanfiction…" Kitten gasped, hotly rubbing her thighs together as Blackfire's eyes rolled up in her head.
*TEEN TITANS*
"Yo Star! How long does it take for you to wake up-WHAT THE HECK?!" Cyborg squawked as he walked into Ventus' room a minute later, eyes the size of dinner plates and his processor stalling as he tried to process what it was he was seeing.
Sprawled out on the floor was a buck-naked Blackfire, her ebony tresses matted against sweat-covered skin. The girl was drooling into the room's carpet, her bosom pressed into the floor and her ass sticking up in the air as she half-crawled away from the room's only bed. Blackfire herself was twitching, her eyes partially rolled up in the back of her head from what appeared to be sensory overload of some sort. And the apparent cause of it all, the room's intended occupant, half of his body hanging out of his bed and laid out across the floor face-down, giggling in his sleep as he molested the alien girl's feet with surprisingly-deft ministrations.
"What the hell happened in here?!" Cyborg gawped at the sight before him.
"It appears that Ventus was somehow able to incapacitated my sister with some form of martial arts I am not acquainted with," Starfire explained, completely ignorant of the fact that her sister being naked was anything out-of-the-ordinary. At least on this planet.
"Sure, 'martial arts' is one way of putting it…" Cyborg said as he looked between the drooling mess on the floor, and then back to the sleeping teen who'd fried her brain. 'If he can do that to a girl while he's asleep, I wonder what he can do to one while he's awake,' the cybernetic teen wondered via subroutine.
*YAAAAAAAWN* "Man, I just had the weirdest dream," Ventus yawned as he woke, pushing himself from the floor and stretching his arms above his head. " . . . Starfire?! What're you doing in my room!?" the teen yelped as he covered his morning wood. " . . . What is she doing there!?" he gawped as he pointed to the insensate Blackfire, the other hand clamping over his eyes in light of the fact her derriere was pointed right at him, all her sacred regions completely exposed.
"Maybe you could tell me," Cyborg said crossing his arms as the two halves of his brain literally grappled with the dilemma of whether or not he should record what he was seeing 'for posterity'… yeah… that's why… " . . . I forgot to take her off the-"
"You forgot to take her off the list, yes," Terra clarified.
"Seriously though, what happened to her?" Ventus asked angling his body away from the door, grabbing the nearest bedsheet he could reach and peeking through his fingers long enough to throw it over Blackfire's quivering body.
"You do not remember?" Starfire asked quizzically.
"I think I'd remember stripping a girl naked and judo-throwing her face-first into the floor," Ventus replied as he scrambled for a bathrobe.
"Oh, you did not strip her naked. Blackfire was already unclothed while she was in your bed."
"Say WHAT?!" the teen yelped with a completely red face.
*TEEN TITANS*
"Well, at least we know where Blackfire asked to be sent," Raven said as Blackfire, fully dressed in a spare bathrobe and still red in the cheeks, sat bonelessly on the sofa, arm linked with Ventus' as she leaned dreamily into the crook of his neck.
"Man, he's got more game asleep then you do awake," Cyborg said to Robin.
"Quiet, you…!" Robin growled before rounding on the current source of his ire. "So… Ventus… Want to tell me just why she is here?"
"And where are her clothes?" Raven asked with a raised brow, poignantly ignoring certain hot-pink-colored thoughts galivanting across the back of her mind.
"In that order… I have no idea, and… I also have no idea," Ventus admitted after realizing he had no answer for either. "But… hey, she's been overthrown and banished from her home planet, and I assume she pardoned herself for her past crimes once she became ruler in the first place, so all things considered, she has a clean slate. We gave Terra a second chance, why not her?"
"You sure you weren't awake back there?" Cyborg asked.
"Why is she wearing your bathrobe…?" Beast Boy asked confusedly. "And what's that smell?"
"Not important!" Kitten said clamping the changeling's nose shut with a clothes pin.
"Does someone want to tell me why she's in that state?" Robin asked aloud. The next moment Cyborg leaned over and whispered something into his ear. After a few moments, Robin struggling to hold a neutral expression, he extended an arm to Starfire and backed away, taking the alien girl with him.
"What? . . . What?!" Ventus asked confusedly. The next moment Terra leaned into his personal space and whispered into his ear. For his credit, Ventus kept a straight face, though it didn't stop the growing trickle of blood dripping out of his nose and down his chin as the details of Blackfire's arrival in the Tower grew more and more… graphic. "And I did all that while I was asleep?"
His face was a mix of awe, embarrassment, and self-loathing in equal measure.
"Oh yeah, big time."
"Seriously, what did I miss!?" Beast Boy asked irately.
"You don't think any less of me… do you?" Ventus asked her worriedly.
"You were totally asleep when it happened, and even if you weren't, you were in a hostage situation… Kinda."
" . . . So when is she going to wake up?" he asked glancing at Blackfire, who half-liddedly tried molding her body against his, purring contentedly.
"If I may, sir," Wintergreen groused with a small silver tray in hand, atop it, a single smelling salt.
Setting the tray on the table, he took the smelling salt in his gloved hands and broke it in half. A moment later and the two halves were shoved into Blackfire's nostrils, the alien's eyes going wide as she shot up five feet into the air before landing on Ventus' lap, the teen gasping under the sudden weight while Blackfire shot the smelling salts out of her nose, Beast Boy squealing as they left dents in the coffee table in front of him.
"The flagnar were those?!" she gasped, eyes clear and unlidded.
"Extra-strong smelling salts, made with metahumans and aliens in mind," Wintergreen hummed brushing the discarded smelling salts onto the silver tray before dropping them into the trash.
When did the Titans even get a silver tray? Did Wintergreen bring it with him, or something?
"So, now that you're lucid, we can finally begin the interrogation," Terra said with her hands on her hips. "First question: Why the hell were you in Ven's bed?!"
"She was where!?" Beast Boy squawked.
"I needed to begin negotiations from a position of strength," Blackfire answered cooly as she crossed one leg over the other, the teen she was sitting on flushing red as her hips shifted against him.
"What? To live here?" Robin asked incredulously. "Did you really think that after everything you've done, to your sister, that you'd be allowed to stay?"
"That was the assumption I made, yes," Blackfire returned, turning over her shoulder and patting Ventus' cheek before planting a sultry kiss on the other.
"VENTUS WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Robin raged.
"W-Well… I figured with the whole banishment thing, that she got a bit of a clean break…" Ventus replied, flushing red under the elder sister's attention. "Are you, um… going to get off?"
"Oh, sweetie, it hasn't even been thirty minutes yet and you already want more~?" Blackfire purred, grinding against him. "You animal~" she bat at his chest playfully. "I like that~ All the boys back home were just… so boring~"
" . . . Ohhhhhhhhh…" Beast Boy said flushing brown. "I get it."
"It's about time. She's been beating you over the head with it for like… five minutes," Kitten hummed.
"To be fair, it's either this or becoming a criminal. Again," Raven chimed in.
"Quiet, you."
"No, Robin, she's a member of this team and she has a right to the floor," Ventus chided. When his hands went to her hips to lift her from his lap, the alien's flirtatious purring had his face reddening. 'Think unsexy thoughts think unsexy thoughts think unsexy thoughts,' he chanted to himself like a mantra, trying to keep his pulse, and his libido, under control. "Kori, what do you you think?"
"Oh, I think it is most wonderful!" Starfire beamed happily, her sister letting out a startled squawk as her younger sibling wrapped her arms around her neck, Ventus letting out a grunt as more weight settled onto his lap. "To have my sister back in my life now that all has been forgiven! You really do care!"
"W-What is she talking about?" Blackfire squawked, sandwiched between the two teens.
"You know. Your message. The one you asked me to give her next time I saw her," Ventus said flatly.
"I-It was the ring!"
"No, I was wearing the ring at the time," Ventus returned. "That message was all you."
"Urk!" Blackfire flinched, her cheeks growing a darker shade of orange as her sister rubbed her cheek against her. " . . . Okay maybe I did mean it… But only because of the brainwashing!"
"Nope. That ended when Indigo-1 pulled all the Indigo Light from your system. That was all you~" Ventus purred with a self-smug grin.
"Don't act so smug…" Blackfire muttered, her cheeks darkening, and slightly disappointed at the male's quieting libido as Starfire sat off to the side.
"That reminds me for whatever reason, but where are your clothes?" Raven found herself asking, her feelings conflicted as she idly eyed the wind-wielder's bathrobe being molded to the older woman's frame.
"Well obviously I'm not going to walk around in those old rags," Blackfire brushed off. "Not after the thrashing they got. They aren't even fit for a peasant."
"You may borrow my clothes, sister," Starfire offered happily.
"That… would probably send the wrong message," Blackfire returned as the rest of the Teen Titans leveled her a look. "Besides, I do have… special needs~
"If you think you're sleeping in his bed again, you can forget it," Kitten hissed, the ring on her finger glinting passionately.
"Not what I had in mind, but I love the direction," Blackfire hummed. "No, what I mean is, my previous armor helped my body absorb solar radiation since I can't do it on my own."
"I didn't know that…" Robin admitted.
"It isn't something I like to advertise. Like that Kryptonian's vulnerability to the irradiated rock of his own homeworld," Blackfire waved off.
"But if you can't absorb solar radiation on your own, how could you still use your powers?" Kitten asked.
"Because she's like a phone without a charger. She can still use Apps, but she's running down the battery," Terra answered. "I take it you're running on fumes?"
"All things considered, I think I'll play that card close to the chest," Blackfire hummed placing a hand upon her bosom, leaning back contentedly into her former hostage's own.
" . . . If you're serious about going straight, I guess I could see if the Justice League has any super-textiles we could use for a new suit, but first… Would you please get off my lap?!"
"Oh, but I'm so comfy~" Blackfire purred.
"Starfire… Why don't you give your sister a tour. I'm sure things have changed since she was last here."
The next moment Blackfire let out an undignified squawk as her sister giddily hauled her off Ventus' lap and flew off into the depths of the Tower.
"Alright, now that that's done… I'm going to take a very cold shower," Ventus said with a renewed dusting of red on his cheeks as he hurriedly walked off.
*TEEN TITANS*
"Sooo… How long are you going to be on hold?" Beast Boy asked, he and the others eating breakfast while Starfire dragged her sister about the Tower.
"Quiet, Beast Boy, I'm working here," Ventus returned brusquely, all-business as he sat in front of the console.
"Hello there, young man."
"Superman!?" Ventus gasped, the others spit-taking.
"In the flesh, so to speak," the Man of Steel replied. "I heard you had a friend who was 'radiationally challenged', needed a new suit."
"That's right, sir."
"Please, call me Kal. No need to be so formal," the world's greatest hero replied. "I've been following your exploits. Sorry we couldn't help with Slade, but it was a coordinated world-wide assault and as-always, the League was stretched too thin. By the time any manpower was freed up… it was already over."
"I just want to make it abundantly clear, I didn't kill Deathstroke. I was just adjacent to him when he fell and took a hot lava bath."
"No-one's saying you did."
"I've got a few million from the international community that says otherwise. Moving on… why are you returning my call? Not that I'm not flattered, but still…"
"Well, when it comes to solar-powered aliens, I'm a bit of an expert on the subject," Kal-El replied. "I've gone over the specs for Kom'andr's previous suit, and I think I might have a textile available that perfectly suits her needs."
"That's… That's wonderful…!"
"But, and I hate to play Batman's advocate on this, but… I've read her dossier as well. She tried to pull a Red Herring on her sister, became dictator of her homeworld, and tried to marry off her sister to a… 'nightmare tentacle monster', if I'm reading this transcript correctly," Superman returned. "From what I can tell, without a new suit, 'Blackfire' has no way of recharging her abilities, and she's done wrong by your team, her own sister in particular, in the past. Tell me, why are you so eager to give her a second chance?"
"Because Kom has lost everything. Tamaran might still be there, but she can never go back. She's lost her throne, her possessions, she's a woman without a homeland," Ventus answered. "More than that… I want to believe she can be better than her baser impulse. Believe she can become a better person. I know that's a pretty weak line of reasoning, but-"
"Say no more, I understand perfectly."
"You-You do?"
"Of course. I too want to believe that everyone has the capacity to change, to be better," Superman replied. "From what I read, Deathstroke had Terra wrapped around his little finger, made her betray her friends, but you saved her from that. It takes a special kind of strength to believe in someone even when they give you no reason to."
"To be fair, Slade was mixing gunpowder and drug cocktails into her food," Ventus amended. "But yes, Terra deserved a second chance. She's trying to do right by it every day, it might even take years for everyone to forgive her, if at all, but she wants to be better, and I'd be a sorry excuse for a hero if I didn't give her that chance. Same with Star's sister. I really want to believe she can be better, and I know Starfire would love to have her sister around as a hero too."
"Alright, I'm sold," the man of steel nodded. "I'll bring up a Recovery Suit, and you can come pick it up at the Teleporter Bay. I hope your friend likes black; it only comes in the one color."
"Superman, if I wasn't positive Blackfire was eye-banging me throughout her interrogation, I'm sure she'd kiss you for that. Pardon my French."
" . . . I can also loan you a supersonic rape whistle if you're worried about it."
"No, no, Blackfire might've done some horrible stuff in the past, but I'd like to think she isn't nearly that depraved."
A few parting words later, and Ventus hung up the line.
"So you really did it? You got Blackfire a new suit?" Robin asked.
"More or less. We might have to do a little tailor-fitting, but the Recovery Suit should be perfect for Blackfire's needs."
"OH! You mean like 'Mullet Superman'!" Beast Boy blinked.
"I'm sure he doesn't appreciate being called that, but yes, I believe that's the suit he's referring to," Ventus returned, since Superman's "Black Suit" had only made the one appearance in Metropolis following his "death" at the hands of Doomsday and his follow-up fight with his murderous doppelganger.
*TEEN TITANS*
"Ventus, can I ask you something?" Robin asked as he and Ventus watched Cyborg and Blackfire tailoring the black-and-silver suit though a one-way mirror in the fabrication lab. "Why are you extending this olive branch to one of our more-hated enemies?"
"Maybe because I don't want Starfire to have to fight her own sister the rest of her life," the wind-wielder returned. "Because even though Blackfire isn't built from the strongest moral fiber, and she's done horrible things to her, I don't think she is one-hundred percent a grumporg undor grimnax."
"A what?" the Boy Wonder asked confusedly.
"Sorry, slipped into Tamaranean back there," he apologized. "In layman's terms, I don't think Blackfire is '100% a dick'," he amended. "Villains aren't born, they are made-"
"Dude, you just ripped that off from Powerpuff Girls-OW!"
"As, I, was saying…!" Ventus groaned. "Take it from a fellow Gothamite. Every villain has a reason for doing the things they do, even if it's self-motivvated."
"You're from Gotham?!"
"Is it really that surprising? I left hints to it everywhere."
"What hints!?"
" . . . Okay maybe I didn't," he conceded. "Point is, I'm sure Blackfire had a deeper reason to do the things she did than 'just because'," he finished.
"You may be right about that," Raven said walking out of the shadows. "I've been keeping an eye on her all day, and her malice is largely depleted than when we were on Tamaran. If the possibility exists she can do good, if for Starfire's sake more than anyone else's, we owe it to her to try. That girl's been the heart and soul of our team since day one, so if we can 'give back', then we should."
"Alright… But this is Blackfire's second, and final chance, do you understand me?" Robin said putting his foot down.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to give Blackfire enough rope to hang herself if she's playing another con."
"Would hanging even work on her?" Terra asked curiously.
"Not the point…" Ventus sighed. Down in the lab, it appeared that the last of the adjustments had been made, if Blackfire lifting her costume from the fabricator was any indicator. " . . . It looks like they're about finished. Let's give her some privacy."
"What do you care? You've already seen her buck-ass naked," Kitten huffed. "Not like she can show you anything you haven't already seen."
"That's not the point and you know it," Ventus blushed as he ushered the others out.
*TEEN TITANS*
The Teen Titans waiting in the living room for Blackfire to change, gave Robin the opportunity to air his grievances without Blackfire present.
"Starfire, are you really sure this is a good idea?" Robin asked.
"Well, what other alternative is there?" she asked poignantly, with a look Robin had never seen her direct at him. "That the two of us fight one another the rest of our lives until one of us is slain?"
"Starfire, that isn't what I-"
"Blackfire may have done horrible things to me in the past, that much is certain, but I am willing to extend the branch of olives and forgive her," she went on. "All that her wickedness has ever wrought her was loss, and defeat. She has been banished from Tamaran and the throne is forever beyond her reach. There is nothing left for her to lose but her freedom. That is why I agree with friend Ventus. That is why I want to open our doors to her, one more time. Because the point of being a hero isn't to fight the villains at all of the turns, but to make the fighting stop. I will not perpetuate the violence between my sister and I forever unless there is no other recourse. If I can even stop one wheel of hatred in the universe from turning, I owe it to her, and to myself, to at least try."
"Wow," Blackfire hummed as she strutted into the room. "For a minute there, you almost sounded like a true Grand Ruler."
"How's the Recovery Suit treating you?" Ventus asked.
"A little tight. In all the right places~" she purred, striking a pose for his benefit.
Blackfire's new attire was a modified version of Superman's "Black Suit" so-skintight it might as well have been painted on; not all that different from how Superman used it, actually... Apart from the black material that would serve as the "adapter" to let her absorb solar radiation and fuel her powers, the silver gorget and belt from her original outfit had been worked in, but not the mini-skirt. At first it looked like she'd kept her black-and-silver thigh-high boots as well, but it was only the soles and thigh-height bands that were retained, her legs similarly covered in Recovery Suit material. Instead of her original gauntlets, they had instead been replaced with a pair of Wonder Woman-esque bracelets, also in silver. Scattered across the black of her outfit were a number of sequin-like flecks meant to resemble stars in the night sky.
All in all, a significant departure from her original attire, but not so-far departed people wouldn't recognize her as Starfire's sister.
"Well, um… It wouldn't be the first skintight outfit out there…" Ventus said tearing his eyes away.
"Are you kidding me? That suit looks like it was painted on!" Kitten argued.
"Oh, like you're one to talk," Terra huffed back. "Remember that giant cleavage-and-navel window you were sporting?"
"Hey, I fixed that!" Kitten snapped, flushing red as she protectively cradled her Star Sapphire ring.
"So, Ventus, when're you going to give me that tour you promised me~?" Blackfire purred as she pulled Ventus aside, pressing him to her tightly-clad body.
"I still don't like this…" Robin muttered to himself off to the side, Starfire's inclusion in Blackfire's conversation offering Ventus some form of relief form the clearly-amorous alien's attention.
" . . . She is right you know," Raven hummed. "Not just her, Ventus as well. Terra and Kitten could've become permanent villains, but Ventus changed that. They aren't our enemies anymore, and ever since Ventus rescued Kitten from her crazy ex, Killer moth's been nothing from a model prisoner. Did you know he's actually being considered for parole?"
"Really?"
"Yes. The fact that he stayed in the supermax prison even when Deathstroke broke everyone out says a lot about his character," she went on to say. "He might be a giant bug-man, but he genuinely cares for his daughter, and if she becomes a Hero… maybe that'll be enough to keep him on the straight-and-narrow. Hell, someday he might join the Justice League."
"Uuuuugh…" Robin shuddered visibly at the thought.
"And besides, you know Starfire's home situation," Cyborg saw fit to add. "Her parents are dead, her brother's missing, and her planet was almost glassed by the Gordanians. If her sister can clean up her act, the two of them will actually have the healthiest family dynamic out of all of us."
"What is it with superheroes and family issues?" Kitten asked.
"You don't put your life at risk for complete strangers every day if you come from a happy home," Terra huffed.
"Alright, we'll give her a chance," Robin sighed. "Blackfire!" he shouted getting her attention. "I can't believe I'm saying this out loud, but… Welcome to the team."
"We're giving you a chance here, so don't fuck it up," Terra said sternly.
"We'll ship you out to Space Guantanamo if you do," Kitten hissed angrily at how she was still pressing Ventus' face against her bosom.
"Yeah! And Ventus has Superman on speed-dial, so don't think you'll get off Scott Free if you cross us!" Beast Boy added.
"You follow all the house rules, and we'll get along just fine," Cyborg said crossing his arms.
"Don't even think of betraying us. After the last time that happened, we're ready," Raven said inclining her head at Terra, who for her part couldn't countermand the statement.
"Oh, don't worry, team. I'll be on my very best behavior~" she said with a mirthful grin, sending a flirtatious wink Ventus' way.
"I'll prepare the extra bedding," Wintergreen hummed without batting an eye as he walked off.
"No need, servant. My arrangements have… already been made~"
"No they're not!" Terra and Kitten hissed angrily, Blackfire sending them a smug look while Raven rubbed her temples.
"Why do I feel many headaches coming on?" Robin grumbled as he followed suit.
"Already there," Raven grumbled grimly.
*TEEN TITANS*
BOOM! Canon change!