Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, the Justice League, Young Justice, or anything else in the DC Universe.

2. The Proposal

Uninvited and uncontrolled tears began to pour out of the Tamaranian princess as Nightwing pulled her into a tight hug, preventing her from collapsing when her knees grew weak from the shock of the news. The Titans watched their friend carefully, all too shocked and saddened to offer additional condolences. They all loved Galfore and knew how much Starfire adored for her k'norfka.

After a moment, Starfire pulled away from Nightwing and sniffed hard. She cleared her throat, "Please, if what you say is true, why has not my sister contacted me directly?"

"That," Batman offered affectionately and apologetically, "was my doing. I'm very sorry, Star. We intercepted her message to you, and I insisted upon the prudence of waiting for it to be delivered until we were able to learn all we needed to before looping you and your team in. We wanted to ensure you wouldn't shoot back to Tamaran prematurely, risking yourself and countless lives on both planets unnecessarily."

Starfire gave a slight, wary nod, but it was evident to all present she was equally aggravated. Concerned, she finally concluded, "I should make with the haste to return to Tamaran and help my people."

"That may not be wise," Flash countered sympathetically before Nightwing could protest.

"We know Komand'r has a strong presence on Tamaran. She controls two large fleets: a Psion army as well as Tamaranian. To attempt to infiltrate with brute force would result in dire and unhelpful consequences," Wonder Woman explained. "We're in process of finding your brother, Ryand'r, for his assistance, but we would also, humbly, ask for your support in expelling the Psions and reestablishing safety and order on Earth."

Beast Boy interjected, curiously, "I didn't know Starfire had a brother."

"We have not done the seeing of one another in a very long time," Starfire sighed. "To the best of my knowledge, when I was offered as prize to the Gordanians, my parents sent my brother away, along with about half of the royal armed forces, in hopes to preserve Tamaran. I believe my parents were having their suspicions of Komand'r, or Blackfire as you know her, and her loyalties. The exact location was not disclosed to her, nor even to Galfore."

Raven, noticing Starfire's awareness of her meditation, stopped her quiet utterance. Starfire mouthed a soft "thank you" to her, in genuine appreciation of the slight ease her friend brought to her mind.

"So, wait," Cyborg questioned, trying to get the timeline straight. "Let me get this straight. You were offered as a prize by your own parents? And when do the Psions come in? Were they partnering with the Gordanians to do these 'experiments' on you? Do we need to worry about the Citadel's involvement? How did Blackfire get into the equation?"

Nightwing cleared his throat, "Now might not be the best time to discuss how Starfire knows these aliens. The point is she knows them, and she knows—"

"No," Starfire interrupted sweetly. "Thank you, Nightwing, but, please, I understand friend Cyborg's question, and I am not caused the pain by it. It is only natural he should want to understand, especially as a dear friend." She turned to Cyborg, Beast Boy, Bumble Bee, and Oracle apologetically, "I promise, I wished to tell you all at some point. I did not know how, admittedly, but I did, and do, consider you all worthy of my trust in having the information. I only apologize it had to come to the light in this manner."

"You don't owe us an explanation, Star," Cyborg apologized, "and I'm sorry for making you feel like you did."

Starfire smiled gratefully, but continued, "Still, it will be better for all of your sakes, given everything we know, the full situation at hand. The first time I came to this planet, when I met you all," she gestured to Nightwing, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven, "was not the first time I escaped from Gordanian captivity." Cyborg and Beast Boy's eyes widened, which Starfire interpreted as an invitation to continue.

"Approximately one Earth-year prior, I had managed to attack one of my captors I served, retrieve a key for the collar bondage they held me in to limit my strength, and break free from captivity. It was different than the ones you met me in, which they used for transporting their prizes and prisoners.

"After I escaped, I made it back to Tamaran, to my parents' horror. They rejected me. As grand rulers of Tamaran, they were obligated to honor their treaty with the Citadel, which involved my enslavement. It was made abundantly clear the potential damage my actions could have done to my people. They commissioned Blackfire to deliver me back to the Citadel."

Starfire paused, surveying her audience. Beast Boy's mouth was gaping while Raven remained expressionless and stoic. Barbara was shaking her head in disbelief. She removed her round spectacles to rub the bridge of her nose. Cyborg and Nightwing had similar, angry expressions with their arms folded across their chests in defiance. Even though Nightwing already knew everything Starfire was sharing, it made him all-the-more furious to hear it again. He couldn't imagine sacrificing his daughter the way Starfire's parents had.

The members of the Justice League had already pieced the story together, primarily due to the efforts of Batman and Martian Manhunter, but it was the first time they heard it directly from Starfire and there were details she filled them in on. They were solemn, but they, Nightwing, and Raven all knew the worst part of her story hadn't been shared yet.

Starfire drew a shaky breath, "As we were flying back, we were spotted by a Psion ship. When we attempted to flee, they attacked us. The Psions are well-known across the cosmos for their acts of sadism. Unfortunately," Starfire addressed the members of the League, "if they have taken humans with the meta-gene as you say, it will not be good. When my sister and I were taken, they were particularly excited to find specimen of our heritage. Tamaranians are incredibly tenacious. We are capable of enduring in the most hostile environments. I must confess to you I feel an anxiousness, disgust, and a perplexity as to how they will mimic the experiments on humans." She turned her focus primarily to her friends now, "I believe I informed you all upon my arrival the Gordanians were not nice, which is true. For perspective, the Psions are most assuredly worse."

She sighed heavily, and continued sharing her story, "They tested our energy absorption capabilities, using destructive blasts of solar energy to accomplish their work." Starfire noticed Nightwing tensing as she explained further, "Their desire was to see how long it would take before we exploded, but they were not intending for us to develop more abilities. We now call these 'starbolts,' but at the time I only knew them as my opportunity to escape. With my new starbolt capability, I melted my constraints and broke free. I rescued Blackfire, and we caused severe enough damage to the Psion ship to ensure we would not be followed.

"I mistakenly believed Blackfire would be grateful for my assistance, but she was angrier than she ever had been. When we were clear from the wreckage and a safe distance away, she attacked me. She knocked me out, and completed her mission to deliver me back to the Gordanians. They were in a scouting ship on a mission, so they took me along with them. I had been free of the Citadel's grasp for probably about seven of your Earth months at that point, and they were eager to have me back. Once the ship completed their mission, I was to be returned to the Citadel to live out my time as prize… I did the time of biding for my next opportunity to escape. They were unprepared to respond to my new capabilities. The opportunity came as the ship was passing Earth, and… I believe you all know the history of the rest."

Cyborg and Bumble Bee shook their heads in disbelief. "I cannot believe," Cyborg uttered, rubbing his chin, "that you not only endured all of that, but then after all you went through you welcomed Blackfire with open arms.. That you accepted her and welcomed her friendship."

Starfire looked down at the carpet sadly, expecting judgment from her friend for her behavior. "She was my sister."

"You're incredible," Cyborg offered reassuringly, and the rest of the group nodded their agreement.

Starfire allowed a gentle smile, but before she could say anything else Black Canary interjected, "What do you mean by was your sister?"

Starfire nodded, "If what you have disclosed to me this evening is of the truth, do no making of the mistakes. I believed Blackfire to be my sister. While we will always be the bound by the blood, she is no sister of mine. If what you say is true, I am unable to do the forgiving of her actions. I am curious by her message, but I cannot currently ascertain if I wish to view it."

Black Canary nodded while Batman addressed Starfire once more. "If you would like to view it, it's your choice, but I advise against it."

Wonder Woman agreed, "Ultimately, it is your choice, and we will support you. Just be aware that her message is rife with attempts to bait you back to Tamaran. We believe she wants to kill you."

Starfire cocked her head slightly, then shook her head. "I must do what I can for my people, even if it means dying in the process."

Nightwing coughed uncomfortably, concern evident from his body language. He scratched the back of his neck, "Uh, Star, it sounds like the best course of action is to bide our time, build up support, and find your brother like the League has determined."

Starfire's lips formed a thin line in a desire to disagree, but as she considered her options she realized they were right. Resigned, she asked, "What then am I to do? How may I best provide my assistance?"

"With the Green Lanterns on mission elsewhere in the universe, there is only one person we know of who is familiar with both Blackfire and the Psions, as well as their methods," Batman offered, looking directly at Nightwing. He then shifted his focus back to Starfire, "I understand we're asking for a lot, given your past, but it's our hope we can try to prevent what happened to you from happening to others. If you agree, you will help us covertly infiltrate and decimate the Psion operations on Earth. If possible and necessary, we would also like your assistance in locating your brother." He shifted his glance to Nightwing again, "It will require you to move to Paris and establish a secret identity to be most effective."

Nightwing did his best to remain stoic at the recommendation, but his glance back to Starfire gave away his anxiety.

"Will you help us?" Wonder Woman asked.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews so far! As a head's up, as one of you touched on this in your review, there are going to be some things that will need to be rewritten/reconsidered with the mashup I'm working on here. Consider everything that happened in the Teen Titans TV show as "history" for this story, and there will be some elements from Young Justice/Justice League that are changed up. That being said, not *everything* will match what's canon, but I hope you enjoy the story regardless. :)