Titans: Elemental

Chapter 7: Sisters, Part 2

We see the exterior of the creepy run-down warehouse Blackfire mentioned. It is nighttime. A thumping dance beat can be heard within as multicolored lights pulse at the windows.

The team are in their civilian clothes.

The place is packed with partying teens.

Blackfire makes her way among the crowd, with all Titans except Starfire close behind.

Blackfire, "step aside, Earthlings, the queen of the galaxy has arrived!"

Raven looks back the way they came and sees Starfire standing at a distance now. The sixth Titan moves hesitantly through the dancers and gets jostled back and forth.

Starfire, "oh…. Excuse…. Oh…. Uh….", her foot is trod on, "ow! You really should apologize after stepping on someone's foot."

Raven shakes her head and says, "this is a lost cause", and then moves further into the crowd. Blackfire is already getting down.

Blackfire, "ha ha! Now don't tell me you big tough superheroes are afraid of a little dancing."

BB, "betcha Victor can do the Robot."

He does a little bit of that old dance and gets a very unappreciative glare from the big bionic man standing next to him. Blackfire dances across the pair, after which they and Dick start to get into the spirit of things. Raven, Jack and Starfire watch, Raven with the same posture and expression she wore at the carnival game booths. Jack is getting into the beat a little, but sticks by his two friends.

Raven, "this party is pointless."

A goth-looking boy comes up next to her.

The goth boy, "everything's pointless. Wanna go talk about it?"

She looks sideways at him and says, "maybe another time. I'm gonna try to enjoy myself a little."

The goth boy shrugs and walks off.

Jack turns to Starfire and says, "me and Raven are gonna dance with the others for a bit. Let us know if you need anything."

Starfire nods as she is left by herself. She makes as if to follow them, but does not. A couple of slacker types pass behind her and back up for a closer look.

Slacker, "hey, hot alien girl. You digging the scene?"

Starfire, "I…. Did not know we were supposed to bring shovels."

The slackers laugh for a minute before Starfire walks away sadly.

….

We see a view of Earth from outer space. The ship that launched those four probes drifts slowly into view; inside, the two crewmen are still watching the planet on the main viewer.

Alien 2, "the girl may have defeated one probe, but she will not fare so well against three."

The probes are launched, one by one, and they rocket toward Earth.

The three bright trails disappear into the Jump City skyline.

….

Starfire sits on a ledge, head in hands. She is utterly dejected, and she heaves a sigh.

Starfire, "perhaps I do not belong here after all."

Dick, "of course you don't."

Dick is holding open the door at the top of the stairs that lead up to the roof.

Dick, "you belong down there, having fun with the rest of us", he closes the door and steps out, "what's wrong?"

Starfire, "nothing is wrong. Everything is wonderful", he sits by her, "the pounding music and blinding lights are quite enjoyable."

The words are barely out of her mouth before her real mood rearranges her face. Dick looks on with concern.

Starfire, "everything is not wonderful. I am happy to see her, but Blackfire rules the video games, and she is able to share very depressing poems, and she knows the cool moves…. And she always knows when people are not talking about shovels. Sigh, and I am nothing like her."

Dick puts a hand on her shoulder, "no, you're not. And I think-"

They are interrupted by a creak of hinges.

Blackfire has opened a skylight to let herself out. She holds it propped open; her hair is now shorter and bright pink. An obvious wig on her head.

Blackfire, "how do I look?"

Dick, "... Pink. Look, can you give us a minute here?"

This response is not quite what she expected. However, her demeanor changes in an instant with the music.

Blackfire, "gasp! Oh, I love this song!"

She flies over, grabs Dick's arm, and yanks him down through the skylight. It swings shut to leave Starfire alone on the roof again. She sighs wearily and stands up from the ledge as the sound of something in flight is heard from. She looks up.

Starfire, "huh?"

From between the letters of the lighted sign on the roof, a glare can be seen fading away. Its source, one of the three launched probes, pokes out and charges at her. A shocked gasp escapes her!

….

BB and Vic are dancing to the beat, but the little green goofball stops short and looks up. He sees Starfire and the probe, visible only as silhouettes, are fighting it out on the skylight panes. It finally seizes her in its tentacles and darts away!

BB runs across the room to track the alien craft. Losing sight of it near the wall, he turns back to call in a little help.

BB, "Vic! Star's in trouble!"

Vic stops dancing and turns to look, just as BV is grabbed by the tentacles of a second probe and dragged toward the door.

BB, "whoa! Help!"

Vic runs after him, but is broadsided by the third probe; he fetches up against the wall, and the craft closes in.

….

We see Raven and Jack in a dark corner of the warehouse catching their breath.

Jack, "so, what do you think of show tunes?"

The probe hauling BB passes before she can answer. Raven flies to lend a hand with Jack right behind her, blasting himself into the air on a slab of Earth. Two crates are promptly levitated and projected at the craft; their impact jars BB out of its grip, and he falls to skid across the floor. Through the skylight, Raven spots the one that has caught Starfire; it gains altitude and then goes into a screaming dive to crash through the glass and into a pile of crates. She moves back to avoid the impact. Vic lands a punch against the probe that struck him, after which Starfire and the one that seized her break out of the crates. She blasts it back with a starbolt.

BB, momentarily in the clear, suddenly yelps and jumps back a bit to get out of the way of the one that tried to tow him in. Transforming into a tiger during his backflip, he lunges at the alien craft and drives it across the room with a swipe of his paw.

Jack lends a hand by shooting fire at it, the flames managing to hold it back!

It stops beneath Starfire; in no time, it and the other two have closed in on her. She gasps and flies around and around to shake them, finally getting a breather thanks to Vic's flying tackle that brings down all of them. Looking down as his grunts rise to her, she sees him taking on the three craft. One is punched away, another slung out by its tentacles; the third, however, spins like a high-speed flail and sends him tumbling.

….

Dick and Blackfire are on the stairs. His attention drawn by the commotion on the other side of the wall, he turns toward it as Blackfire tries to pull him away.

Blackfire, "where are you going? Stay and talk to me."

Dick, "look, I just want to make sure that Starfire's okay."

Blackfire makes a guilty expression and says, "you're right. I've been so excited to meet all of you, I guess I forgot to spend time with her like I should."

Dick, "make sure you apologize before she gets the wrong idea."

Blackfire nodded.

Just then, Vic comes crashing through the wall. As he stands up, rubbing his head and grumbling, Dick runs over to him.

Dick, "what's going on?"

Vic, "remember that thing that attacked Star? It had friends."

He rushes back into the melee, leaving Blackfire alone at the top of the stairs. Dick starts to follow, but stops upon seeing her there.

Dick, "didn't you hear him? Your sister needs help!"

Blackfire smiles genuinely, "right. Of course."

She pulls off her pink hair and drops it. Now she runs down the stairs.

….

Back in the alley behind the warehouse; Starfire crashes out through the wall, hits the one opposite, and drops into a nearby Dumpster. The three probes float out as she opens the lid for a peek. One of them slams it down on her head and starts to hoist the entire container skyward; her screams are heard from inside as all three take off.

Dick's wingding flashes into view and severs two of the tentacles holding the Dumpster, causing it to fall to the ground. It returns to his hand.

All of the Titans stand together.

Dick and Vic, "Titans! Go!"

Before they can move, Blackfire flies over their heads and straight toward the three probes, which move to intercept. Beams of energy shoot forth from her eyes and blow them all away; fragments of hulls and tentacles rain down as she lands in the alley.

Vic, "aw, yeah! Good times!"

BB, "nice shooting, Tex."

Raven, "very nice."

Jack, "you've got a lot of talent with those skills of yours!"

Dick, "how did you know where to hit them?"

Blackfire shrugs, "lucky guess."

Vic, "we could use luck like that. Maybe you oughta join the team."

Blackfire, "me? A Titan?"

The Dumpster lid swings open, and Starfire pokes her head up and gasps in undiluted shock. A banana peel has fallen on her head.

….

Later, back at the Tower. It is later that night, and waves break loudly against the island's shores. Starfire walks slowly to the edge of the roof. She carries a backpack by the shoulder straps. She looks back; her face tells the story: she is ready to throw in the towel once and for all.

Starfire, "she will be a better Titan than I ever was."

She lifts off from the roof. Dick steps out, and his words stop her from heading into the great wide open.

Dick, "were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Having been called out in this manner, she cannot look him in the eye, but instead dips her head and descends back to the roof, her knees half-buckled. The backpack slides from her shoulders; finally she looks up at him.

Starfire, "Richard, I-"

"Wait!"

They both turn to see Blackfire approach.

Starfire, "sister?"

Blackfire, "Starfire, I'm so sorry. All of this time I've been here, and I never took your feelings into consideration. I was never trying to replace you. I've just been so excited by everything, that I let it get the best of me. I don't want things to be like how they were on Tamaran, where I never hung out with you. I'm so sorry."

Starfire tears up as she and her sister hug.

But soon, the embrace is interrupted!

The sound of an approaching craft draws a gasp from them and an over-shoulder look from Dick. The same ship that launched the four probes in the first place. One of the two aliens is standing on its flat top deck. It turns 90 degrees to present one side to the Titans, and the standing man lashes out a long tentacle from his right arm that pushes Dick back and then snares Starfire! Another alien does the same to Blackfire! The tentacle's end wraps itself around their mouths before they can put up any sort of resistance, and the ship begins to haul them away.

Dick gets to his feet and sprints most of the length of the roof, finally leaping over the edge toward the alien vessel. Slowly but surely, his momentum carries him closer to Starfire and Blackfire, with his hands straining towards them. The effort falls short, however, and they are lifted toward outer space as their muffled cries ring in the air.

….

The ship flies into view; now the other aliens are on the top deck, handling the navigational duties. One of them presses a button that surrounds the sisters in force fields as they are bound and gagged. Starfire lets out a series of garbled shrieks, wrestling her restraints. Blackfire seems to be struggling even harder.

Alien 1, "prepare to leave Earth orbit. We have the Tamaranean girl. Her sister will make good compensation for what she's done."

Alien 2, "once we return to Centauri, you will pay for what you have done to us!"

They can only struggle and grunt through her bonds.

….

Meanwhile, Dick is hanging on the end of the ship!

Dick, "nobody's taking them away."

He vaults to the deck and lands facing the crewman at the force-field holding cell.

Dick, "my friends stay here!"

The Centauri roars and charges at him with a swing of that right arm, but he easily dodges this. A roundhouse also misses him; the alien's next attack consists of a series of right-handed laser blasts, the thing on his arm is a multi-purpose weapon. Dick leaps away from the shots, several of which hit the force fields holding Starfire and Blackfire and bounce off, and the Centauri charges toward him. An overhead swing crackles upon impact with the field and leaves his underarm exposed for Dick's counterpunch. This blow sends sparks up from the armor and pushes the aggressor back a bit.

Now the young man retreats to a spot near one of the ship's engines, on the side. Out comes that tentacle, which he barely dodges; it hits the edge of his cape and deflects into the engine, causing it to flame out.

Centauri 1, "no!"

The craft begins to lose altitude, throwing his colleague off balance and putting the brawl on hold for the time being. It plunges through the clouds and just barely skims a riverbank.

Centauri 1, "I cannot control it!"

Dick scrambles across the deck to the control button and deactivates the force fields. The ship descends ever closer to the river as he peels the tentacles away from their bodies.

Starfire, "Dick!"

Blackfire, "thank you!"

Dick, "come on!"

They reach into view and join hands all together. They leap from the deck. The ship turns nose down first and grinds into the riverbank, skidding a considerable distance before finally stopping and tumbling forward to land on its top deck. Starfire and Blackfire lower Dick safely to the ground and land beside him.

BB, "Star! Blackfire! Dick!"

He, Vic, Jack and Raven run up.

Vic, "you guys okay?"

Jack, "what the heck is going on?"

The two Centauri crewmen stand up amid the clouds of smoke pouring up from their wrecked craft. All of the Titans brace for action.

Dick, "Titans! Get ready!"

The Centauri approach.

Centauri 2, "in the name of the Grand Centauri Empire, you are all under arrest."

He shows a badge, the sight of which leaves the entire team momentarily stunned.

BB, "uh…. You can't be the good guys. We're the good guys."

Centauri 2, "and we are Centauri police."

Centauri 1, "the Tamaranean girl is a liar and a thief. She's committed thievery in the Centauri system."

Everyone looks to Blackfire.

Starfire, "you stole from them?"

Blackfire nodded, "after you were taken as a prize, I was left in charge. But no-one thought I could lead us. Especially our Aunt Ashfire. So I fled. I was hoping to get enough money to free you, and so I stole from these men. I always meant to pay them back as soon as I knew you were safe."

Starfire looked down at her necklace.

Blackfire, "but…. I will take whatever punishment I shall receive as long as my sister remains safe."

The Centauri nodded before Starfire said, "wait! If we were to return the valuables stolen, would my sister be allowed to remain here with us?"

The Centauri looked at one another before the first one said, "very well. But she may never return to our planet unless she is under your supervision."

Starfire nodded, "I may be the youngest, but I shall watch her as if I were the eldest."

Minutes later, Blackfire handed the valuables she had stolen, including her sister's necklace to the Centauri.

The two Centauri left, and the Titans returned to the tower.

Blackfire stood before everyone and said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you. I thought that if you knew about my crimes, none of you would want me around. Especially Starfire."

Everyone gave sympathetic looks before Starfire hugged her sister.

Starfire, "your apology is accepted. Please just tell us the truth from now on, alright?"

Blackfire nodded and said, "thank you."

Jack then said, "I got an idea. How about you guys spend the day together tomorrow? Catch up, shop, eat, whatever you guys feel like doing?"

Starfire, "oh! That sounds most excellent!"

Blackfire, "I'd very much like that."

And so, the sisters had reformed their bond, and would soon make it even stronger.

….

Later, we see it is now the sunrise of the next day. Starfire sits at the edge, bathed in light and lost in thought, and looks out over the sparkling bay as the wind blows her hair where it will. Dick comes up.

Dick, "hey. How are you doing?"

He sits by her.

Starfire, "I am…. Sad, about what happened."

Dick, "and for yourself?"

Starfire, "I am just glad that the truth was discovered before I was replaced, and either me or my sister were taken away."

Dick, "replaced? What are you talking about?"

Starfire, "well, you…. Everyone was having such fun with her, and then Victor said-"

Dick, "look. Your sister is interesting, but she could never take your place. No one could ever take your place."

Her answering smile shows that she has heard him loud and clear.

Starfire, "I hope for my sister and I to get closer as she joins the team."

Dick, "same here."

And the two spent the next couple of minutes staring at the sunrise.

….

Reviews:

raven 2012: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.

DaV1nc136: I'm glad you like the chapter, are excited for more, and found the fun fact interesting.

CenturionEon: I'm glad you enjoyed it. And expect way more in the future.

….

And thus, Blackfire joins the Titans instead of being a villain. Someone will replace her as a villain in her later appearances.

Raven decided to hang with Jack instead of the goth boy, and you can probably guess why.

The next chapter will be another relaxation one, as most of it will be about Starfire and Blackfire bonding, and a bit of it will be spent with Jack interacting with the others at the Tower.