Chapter 1: Go!
The Slave Ship Trak'r, Milky Way Galaxy
The Gordanian warlord Trogaar reclined in his captain's chair with a look of satisfaction on his face.
He and his crew were transporting their most recent prisoner to the Citadel homeworld to be used for slave labor as well as a bargaining chip against Tamaran and its rulers.
He had sent two guards to check on her as was their daily custom. She was typically defiant and her screams of outrage could be heard throughout the whole ship. But recently she had been quiet. Perhaps she had finally accepted her fate.
His musings were interrupted by blaring alarms that caused him to grit his snarling teeth.
Perhaps not.
Minutes ago…
"Is our prisoner behaving herself?" The first guard asked his friend as they made their way to the cell door.
"As well as can be expected." His friend answered. "She has been quite the marvelous little plaything. It seems we've finally taken all the fight out of that little Troq."
"She has been remarkably quiet the past few days. It looks like the girl has finally learned her place. I'm almost sad that we have to drop her off at the Citadel homeworld."
Peeking through the bars, the guards saw the Princess laying prone, face down on the floor. When the girl had first gotten here, she'd been defiant and ornery. But after weeks of torture, physical and mental, the Troq had become submissive and pliant.
Opening the cell door, the Gordanians towered over their captive, familiar with the routine by now.
"And how are we feeling today, your majesty?" One jeered.
The girl didn't seem to hear.
"Look at me, Troq!" The other spat.
She was still unresponsive. Normally, she would at least spare them a hateful glance or a fearful look when words failed her.
The guards shared a look before one reached down and pulled their prisoner to her feet by her arms. Her head lolled and she put her hands on his chest for support.
The last sensation the creature ever felt was the most intense heat he'd ever felt burning twin holes through his torso.
His friend was in shock as the Tamaranian girl's hands and eyes emitted a harsh green glow he'd never seen before.
He wouldn't have much time to ponder it as a moment later his head was smashed into the cell wall multiple times until it caved in.
Breathing heavily, Koriand'r powered down and hurriedly reached down to snatch her captors' keycards.
Later
Her weeks of observation had paid off. It had taken longer than she'd liked but Koriand'r had been able to learn enough while in her captivity to know the general layout of the ship.
Waiting for the right moment to escape and reveal her powers had been torturous but it was well worth it. The keycards she swiped earlier had granted her access to the lower level where the escape pods were kept.
Naturally, her escape had not gone unnoticed, if the blaring alarms were anything to go by. More Gordanian scum was surely on its way to intercept her. The pod wasn't particularly large nor was it weaponized, but it would suit her biggest need: To escape this hellhole.
Hopping in, she found the pod's start-up sequence easy enough to master. Rocketing out just before the airlock shut, Koriand'r felt something she'd only been able to dream about for too long: freedom.
Her joyous train of thought was quickly ended by the barrage of artillery currently careening towards her pod. Gritting her teeth, Koriand'r drew on every lesson she'd ever learned about piloting and did her best to keep her pod steady. She was able to dodge the first wave, but she knew she couldn't keep this up for long especially if she didn't have the ammunition to fire back. She had no idea what star system she was in, but she spotted a planet in the far horizon. It looked to have a surface solid enough to safely touch down upon.
Cutting a quick turn in its direction, she hoped for a smooth landing upon which she could ditch the pod and regroup.
No such luck.
Inevitably, a beam struck her craft, blowing out an engine and causing the vehicle to sputter wildly.
"X'hal!" She cursed as she began a harsh nosedive.
Faster than she would've liked, the surface became startingly clear as she entered the planet's atmosphere.
Clenching her eyes shut, the fugitive braced for impact, praying to X'hal this wouldn't hurt as much as she thought it would.
Jump City, California
Silas Stone's house
1 hour earlier
Dr. Silas Stone couldn't remember the last time he had been so grateful to be safe within the walls of his own home.
He'd just returned from a rather harrowing encounter with the man known as Damien Darhk, the H.I.V.E headmaster. He had been getting restless waiting for the completion of Project: Cyborg. Silas had been stalling for over a year now by supplying them with other things, but he sensed Darhk's restlessness growing with every encounter. He wished he'd never gotten involved with the H.I.V.E. in the first place but when his family had been threatened, he knew he had no other choice. He also couldn't deny the fact that this was the only way something as dangerous as Project: Cyborg would ever get off the ground. His other colleagues had deemed it unethical and feared for the repercussions it would leave on the test subjects. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on who you asked, Silas had only had one test subject that thankfully turned out to be a success. Speaking of whom…
"Victor?" He called out into the dark.
The evening twilight cast an eerie glow in the living room making for an unsettling atmosphere.
"Did you find anything out?"
Silas would never admit to the cold sliver of fear that shot down his spine, but Victor could see it anyway.
Stepping out of the shadows, Victor's hulking form cut an intimidating figure.
"God, Victor you…"
"Scared you?"
"I was going to say startled."
"Sure you were, Dad. So did you find out any new info from your best buddy?"
"Nothing we didn't already know." Silas sighed, taking off his glasses. "Victor, I don't think you should be pursuing this."
"So, what, you're just gonna help that monster, give him what he wants, and hope he goes away?"
"If it keeps us alive, yes!" His father cried in frustration.
"You call this living?! Dad, you get to go outside, go to lunch, take a drive. Ever since you did this to me, I can't do any of that. All I can do is sit inside and people watch. I'm frickin' Quasimodo! I'd almost prefer going out and looking like a total freak compared to being declared dead. Which you never asked me about, by the way."
"Victor, we've been over this." Silas responded, his voice rising in kind. "If the experiment failed, you would have been dead anyway. And you are the living embodiment of what HIVE wants! I am not turning you over to them. The more questions I ask, the more suspicious I'll seem. What if they burst in here one day, unannounced, and find you?! They'd dissect you and kill us both. We have to keep your existence a secret. I'm sorry, but I think that life in a cage is better than no life at all."
"Says the person living outside of one." Victor huffed.
"I'm just trying to protect you." his father sighed.
"You know, I saw Ron and Marcy last week." Victor blurted, staring at the ground but seeing nothing.
"You went OUTSIDE?! Victor, you know you're not supposed to-"
"I've been doing it for months." Victor revealed in a monotone voice. "I'm 19, Dad, not 5. I can handle myself." Lifting his robotic arms, he attempted to joke. "Especially now."
Shrugging as if to concede the point, he gestured for his son to continue.
"They were at JCU. Living out the dream we always talked about. I didn't have to watch them long to know…they're together now. Couldn't have happened to two better people."
"Victor…"
"I approached her that night." He continued as if he hadn't heard. "I wasn't angry. At least not as much as I thought I'd be. I just wanted to talk. She got one good look at this thing…" He gestured to his glowing red eye, "…and took off running."
Silas reached up to touch his son's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"So am I." Shrugging the shoulder off, Victor turned away. "I can't do this anymore, Dad. I can't take another minute just sitting in here with only my feelings for company. I've got to go out and, I dunno, hit something! Anything but sit around feeling sorry for myself."
"You really wanna take down H.I.V.E., don't you?" His father deduced.
"Much as I wish I didn't, I've got this body. Maybe we can do something with it. We can outfit me with more weaponry. And you're on the inside, Dad. We can find out what they're planning and stop it. I don't see the Justice League coming out here to stop it."
Taking his glasses off, Silas rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to regret this." He muttered to himself. Speaking louder, he declared, "Fine. Let's do this."
Surprised, Victor turned back around. "You're serious?"
"If you are."
With a ghost of a smile, Victor answered, "Thanks, Dad."
Smiling back faintly, his father waved him off. "Why don't you go get some air, son? Just promise you'll be careful."
Thrilled at his father's stamp of approval, Victor raced to grab a hoodie before his father could change his mind.
Zipping it up and throwing his hood on, Victor made for the door, calling back, "I'll be back soon."
Downtown Jump City
Even minutes later, Victor still couldn't believe his dad had let him go and agreed to his plans. Maybe they were finally turning a corner.
So far, his attempts at being a local superhero hadn't gone to plan. He'd heard alarms blaring earlier from the jewelry shop on Menville and Loren but by the time he got there, someone else had already taken care of it. The JCPD seemed just as confused as he was about how the jewel thief got trussed up upside down in an alleyway. If the cops hadn't nabbed him who else could've?
His thoughts were broken by a cry for help by a young woman in distress. He looked across the street to see two older women hefting up bats, obviously trying to hit her up for something or other. They were tattooed, beefy, with multi-colored hair and looked to be up to no good.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Victor interjected, trying to deepen his voice to sound tough.
"Oh yeah? And who are you, big guy?" The one with with green hair asked.
"Uh…I actually hadn't thought that far ahead yet."
"Well it won't matter when we get through with you. The only name you're gonna be known by is John Doe." Her red-haired partner snarled with glee.
On that note, she turned her bat on Victor who lifted his forearm causing it to shatter on impact.
Taking advantage of her surprise, Victor shoved his would-be assailant down with authority before menacingly turning to the redhead.
"You want a turn?"
Throwing her own bat at him, she turned tail and ran.
Swatting it away, Victor looked down at her partner. "I think you might wanna follow your friend's lead."
Heeding his advice, she bolted down the street and out of sight.
Walking over to the trembling victim, he asked, "You all right?"
"Um, yeah. T-Thanks." And with that, she scampered away, eager to get as far as possible from him.
Victor sighed, looking at his reflection in a storefront window.
"Still a freak." He murmured to himself.
"Dude! That was so cool!"
Almost jumping out of his skin (or what was left of it), Victor whirled around to see someone even freakier looking than he was.
It was some green kid, in a purple and black uniform, with elfish ears and a fang poking out of his mouth.
"What in the heck are you?"
"Name's Beast Boy. Doom Patrol member, hero extraordinaire."
Victor only stared blankly, politely ignoring when the kid's voice cracked.
"Okay, so I'm not a hero extraordinaire yet, but it's only a matter of time. I'm working on the solo hero thing. I had to drop the rest of the Patrol, they were cramping my style." He explained in a cool voice.
"I'm sure." Victor deadpanned. "And who exactly is the Boom Patrol?"
"Doom Patrol." Beast Boy frowned.
"Yeah, that."
"Doesn't matter." The kid shrugged. "Anyway, I came here lookin' for a fresh start, a town of my own to protect." He continued dramatically. "Y'know, can be my sidekick, if you want."
Victor appeared nonplussed. "I'll pass. 'Sides, I was here first."
"Well, hey, we can be partners, right?"
"Sorry, kid, I'm more of a solo act."
"Aw, c'mon, man." He whined in protest. "I'll be your sidekick. I could be your best friend."
"What makes you think I don't already have one?"
"Yeah, I'll bet a freaky android guy has lots of friends." Beast Boy answered sarcastically.
If looks could kill, 'Beast Boy' would've been a pile of ash.
"Sorry." He said contritely. "That was mean."
"Naw. You're right." Victor acknowledged, his self-pity evident. "Look, BB, I get what you're trying to do here but don't you think you should go back with your old team?"
"Once I prove myself, sure. I'm just trying to show 'em I'm not such a loser." He replied, downcast.
Ruminating on his own attempts to impress his father, Victor answered, "Yeah. I get it."
After a pregnant pause, Beast Boy asked, "Uh, would you mind showing me around? I have absolutely no idea where I'm going."
Holding back a laugh, Victor nodded. "Sure, kid. Where do you wanna go first?"
They were interrupted by a roaring sound. They raised their eyes to the heavens to find a fireball streaking over their heads. Their eyes followed it until it crashed blocks away into Main St. The crash caused an enormous tremor and emitted a starburst of light that was impossible to miss.
"How 'bout that way?" Beast Boy prompted.
"Good idea." Victor agreed.
….
When they finally reached their destination, they found a giant crater. At the bottom, there was some sort of aircraft that was smoking.
"I wonder if anybody's in there?" Beast Boy spoke up. "We should probably try to—"
The front of the pod was burst open by a green energy beam that would've burnt the kid's face off if Victor hadn't yanked him back.
As it was, the heat was still enough to singe off Victor's hoodie, revealing his cybernetic form in all its glory.
Rising out of the crater, a female figure in purple clothing floated up, her eyes burning with green energy. The girl had long, bright red hair and orange skin, indicating she wasn't human.
"Whoa, an actual alien!" Beast Boy squeaked excitedly. "Dude, you gotta go talk to it!" He exclaimed, turning to Victor.
"I'm not talking to that thing. You talk to it." Victor urged, shoving him forward.
The girl's fearsome gaze whipped downwards once the poor soul was in her sightline.
"Um, hey. W-welcome to Earth, miss…?"
She stared blankly.
"You want me to guess your name? I'm great at this. Stargirl? Space Princess?"
She only seemed to look more confused at that.
"Okay, uh, how about charades?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"Guess that's a no. You wanna help me out here?"
Her answering silence spoke volumes.
Hoping for some kind of reaction, Beast Boy stuck out his tongue, bulging his eyes out while flashing jazz hands.
The reaction he got wasn't exactly what he'd been hoping for.
The girl roared in defiance and lunged for him.
Squeaking in fear, Beast Boy shifted into a squirrel just in time to avoid a punishing blow to the face.
Victor's jaw dropped. He never thought in all his years he'd witness an alien chasing a green squirrel.
The sight would've been comical if, one, he'd known that this kid could transform into freaking animals, and two, if said alien wasn't flying around actively trying to kill the boy.
Changing back into human form, BB called out, "DUDE! I could use some help, here!"
Snapping out of his trance, Victor raced over, intercepting the girl mid-flight and swinging a punch that would've floored anyone else.
The girl's head snapped back as she was stopped cold. She slowly turned back, appearing almost delighted if he didn't know any better, an ominous smile adorning her face.
Wiping her mouth, she spat, and murmured something in no language Victor had ever heard.
Shaking out his hand, Victor only realized after the fact how much that punch had seemed to hurt himself more than her.
The girl's hands ignited with green energy as she charged up for another attack.
Beast Boy and Victor's eyes widened in fear, as they braced themselves for a fight.
As the girl reared her arms back, an unknown projectile whizzed through the air, striking her face.
She rebounded quickly and growled as she watched the weapon return to its owner.
Victor's jaw could only drop once more and Beast Boy looked as if Christmas came early.
"You're…you're…"
Finally acknowledging them, Robin the Boy Wonder turned as if to say something before quickly shouting, "Get down!"
Following his orders, they dove behind a taxi on the street as the alien began firing a volley of beams their way.
"So who are you two?" Robin shouted over the barrage.
"Beast Boy." The kid shouted back. "And this is, uh…" Turning back to his new friend, he asked, "What's your name, dude?"
Hesitating a moment, Victor answered, "Cyborg."
Taking in the information, Robin nodded before reaching into his belt. "Cover your ears." He instructed, throwing a disc.
The disc slid into the vicinity of the alien and opened up, emitting high-pitched sonics that shattered all the glass nearby.
Screaming in agony, the girl covered her ears and fell down to her knees.
Taking advantage of the opening, Robin dove from behind their hiding place and raced into the fray, revealing his bo staff.
With a roar of his own, he whipped it back and forth, cracking it across her face in the hopes of quickly knocking her unconscious.
The force of the blows rattled up his spine and he figured it was enough to subdue her.
Without warning, she snatched him by the front of his uniform and tossed him as easily as one would a beach ball.
Sailing through the air, Robin eventually landed on top of an SUV with sickening crunch.
Groaning as he pushed up to his elbows, he let out a gasp as the alien was divebombing towards him.
He rolled off just in time as her boot landed where his face had been.
As he retreated, he threw a volley of birdarangs all of which were either disintegrated or swatted away.
Entering a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Robin bounced off various vehicles with his assailant in hot pursuit.
Cyborg and Beast Boy were so stunned they could only watch the insane sight play out before them.
Eventually, The Boy Wonder's luck ran out. The girl grabbed ahold of his cape and yanked him backwards slamming him into a brick wall.
Not releasing her hold, she smashed him onto the hood of a truck, face-first.
As he groaned in pain, the girl raised him up by his cape, inspecting him closely.
Finally snapping out of their collective trance, Cyborg and Beast Boy began to dash over to assist but were stopped dead in their tracks by what happened next.
No one was more surprised than the Boy Wonder when the alien girl pulled him close and planted a kiss on his lips.
He incredulously opened his eyes in shock, trying to break free. Not being able to budge her, he closed his eyes, finding himself about to kiss back.
Any thoughts of that died when the girl dropped him like a sack of potatoes.
"Curse you!" She screeched in English. "All you klorbags have done is delay me and in doing so, risk your planet's destruction."
"Hold up a second." Cyborg said, jogging over. "You wanna destroy the Earth?"
"Of course not! I care nothing for this mudball. Unfortunately for you, neither do the Gordanians and they are not as merciful as I am."
"So you trying to kill me was merciful?" Beast Boy asked indignantly.
"You threatened me first! Did you think I would not respond to your challenge of combat?"
"I was trying to make you laugh! Why would I wanna fight you? I don't even know you!"
"I…apologize." The girl said reluctantly. "On my planet, such actions are indicative of wanting to engage in combat."
"Well, on this planet, it's supposed to be funny." Beast Boy pouted.
"Anyway," Robin broke in, "Who are these Gordanians? Why are they after you?"
"They are a race of barbarians. They have enslaved me and were bringing me to the Citadel homeworld as a trophy. I could not allow that."
Still not fully understanding, Robin pressed ahead anyway. "So you crash-landed and you're trying to escape?"
She nodded.
"We'll protect you, then. We don't take too kindly to alien invaders. Uh, no offense."
The girl laughed. "None taken. Although if you could not defeat me in single combat, I have trouble believing you can handle an army."
"You'd be surprised." Robin bristled.
"Hey, what's all this 'we' stuff?" Cyborg interjected. "I didn't sign up for an alien invasion."
Turning to go, his path was blocked by a green llama.
"Kid, get out of my way."
Morphing back, Beast Boy pleaded, "Aw, c'mon, Cy. You gotta stick around. We need you for this. Besides, how many times in your life are you gonna have the chance to fight an alien armada?"
"Hopefully just the one. And tell me you did not just unironically use the word armada?"
"Man, that's Robin over there. You can't tell me you've never wanted to team up with a big shot like him."
"I sure can. 'I have never wanted to team up with a big shot like him'. And isn't he a sidekick?"
"Batman's sidekick. Think for a moment about how badass you have to be to be Batman's sidekick."
Victor put a hand on his chin and seemed to think it over. "Thought about it. Still not impressed. Step aside, Green Bean."
Morphing into a cat, Beast Boy turned up a pitiful gaze of pleading.
"Man, how do you do that? And how do your clothes magically stay on?"
Changing back, the boy let out a puzzled sound before he answered, "Y'know, I never thought to ask. But if you stick around, we can find out together…?"
Smirking, Cyborg brushed past him. "Nice try, but…"
A massive shadow appeared in the sky as an honest-to-God spaceship hovered over their heads.
"I guess it's too late to back out now, huh?" Victor asked in a small voice.
"Yep." Robin and Beast Boy affirmed in unison.
Heaving a sigh, Victor steeled his nerves. "Just checking."
The warship projected a holo-screen and the alien girl sneered upon seeing the face onscreen.
It was an ugly-looking salamander type-thing in battle armor that she clearly had a history with them.
"Earthlings! For your sakes, I hope my translator is working. It has come to my attention that a stowaway prisoner of ours has stumbled upon your world. Hand over the Troq and your backwater world will be spared. This is your only warning."
"So we hand over Trocky here and you'll just go away?" Cyborg shouted up at the image.
"Do NOT call me that!" The girl growled in outrage.
"Not an option." Robin cut in.
"Then you leave us with none, either."
The ship opened up and a swarm of scaly monsters spilled out, wielding various weapons.
Naturally, this sent the populace of Jump City into a massive panic.
Within the chaos, the Gordanian who had been onscreen calmly strode through the chaos in their direction, his wicked gleam focused squarely on his redheaded stowaway.
The girl's hackles raised in challenge.
Quickly diagnosing the situation, Robin turned to the other two boys. "Beast Boy! Cyborg! Protect the civilians at all costs and try to minimize the damage!"
"Who died and made you boss?!" Cyborg exclaimed incredulously.
"What are you gonna do?!" Beast Boy asked panickily.
Sidling closer to the alien, he said, "I'm going to help her with the big bad. If we take him out, we might be able to get the others to stand down."
"I do not require your assistance." She pointed out.
"Too bad. You're getting it." Robin countered.
Admittedly, Koriand'r wasn't used to such flippancy, considering she had been treated as royalty her whole life. However, it was a welcome change. This one showed spirit.
"Very well. Do not slow me down." She warned him, zooming towards Trogaar.
"Be careful." Robin ordered the others before following her.
"Stay close, B." Victor said. "This could get real ugly real fast."
"Speaking of ugly…watch out!"
Cyborg turned just in time to dodge an alien's attempt to skewer him.
Blood pumping, he unleashed a fierce blow that knocked the thing away from him. More started swarming towards him and he ran farther down the street in an attempt to lead them away from the civilians.
Once he put some distance between them, he bent down and grabbed hold of a car fender. With some effort, he was able to flip it end over end and flatten a few of his pursuers.
Not wasting any more time, he yanked a sign free of its post and flung it around as a weapon, swatting down anything that came close.
Meanwhile, Beast Boy was skittishly pacing, unsure what to do or where to start. He'd never been in a situation like this by himself.
To his left, he saw two young girls stumble on the curb, two nasties bearing down on them.
Finally making his legs work, he turned into a snapping turtle, nipping at the creatures' ankles and giving the girls time to run.
The monsters snarled down at him and Beast Boy involuntarily turtled into his shell before he recovered enough of his wits to morph into something with a little more firepower.
Changing into a skunk, he promptly turned his back to them and let loose a gust of flatulent spray.
The creatures cried out in a mix of outrage and pain before scrambling away.
Shifting back to his human form, the changeling wore a self-satisfied grin that quickly faded once he saw them return with more of their buddies.
Assuming the shape of a porcupine, he began firing rapid-fire quills that only seemed to annoy the aliens.
Whatever Robin and that girl were doing, he hoped they were doing it fast.
….
Robin was having as much luck fighting the Gordanian leader as he had with the redhead girl. Which was to say, not much.
He was getting small hits in here and there but the girl was doing most of the work.
This guy was no pushover, though. He had a wicked-looking battle axe that had come close to slicing Robin's head off more than once.
It was strong enough to withstand the bursts of energy the girl kept firing off.
The two combatants were going back and forth in a language Robin couldn't understand but the exchange seemed to piss the girl off.
With a war cry, she released another beam of energy that her would-be victim deflected back at her.
She was caught off-guard and her own attack sent her skidding down the street.
Glancing around, Robin noticed the Gordanians were cleverly driving Cyborg and Beast Boy in their direction. Best to keep all your enemies in one place.
"Everyone, gather together!" He shouted, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.
Regrouping, the four heroes backed into a semicircle, enclosed by the Gordanian army.
"A valiant effort, heroes." Trogaar mocked with false sympathy. "But alas, you sealed your fate when you intertwined your destinies with this Troq."
The creatures began to stalk closer when, out of nowhere, a piercing shriek screamed through the air.
A massive dark shape dominated the skyline above them. Upon closer inspection, it was in the shape of a bird.
It's wings emitted bursts of black energy that arced like lightning, eviscerating the Gordanians with horrible wails of pain as they dissipated as if they were never there.
Miraculously, their would-be victims were all unharmed.
They all stared, dumbfounded as the giant bird shrank down, leading back to a hooded figure who had their arms splayed out, controlling the apparition.
The person reached up to pull back their hood, revealing a gray-skinned, purple-haired young girl in a leotard with a red stone in her forehead.
She meekly lifted a hand and they all took an involuntary breath in anticipation.
"Hi."
