Starfire flew above the festival grounds, smiling widely. Everything was good, finally. The joy of flight was strong in her, and it led her soaring through the sky, to the cheers of people below. It felt amazing, being so happy and free.
Friend Robin was opening to them, little by little. She was incredibly happy to see it. They were all friends, with bonds forged in the heat of battle and through many trials they faced as a team. And now, they could truly trust each other. No more secret plans behind each other's backs; they were now a true team. Not having to fear being backstabbed by someone they trusted.
And others were also faring well, she thought, flying through the beautiful blue sky. Friend Beast Boy was as adorable as always, even when he wasn't in his cat form, and his crushing victory over Slade boosted his self-esteem a lot. Friend Cyborg was seemingly one of those people who just enjoy having his friends together, and not fighting each other, and his mood drastically improved lately. It definitely helped that he somehow, and she was very curious how, managed to spend more time with friend Raven as well.
And friend Raven, of course. Since they started meditating together, she was understanding her friend more and more. She had such great burden upon herself – her powers were truly dark in nature, and trying to take control all the time. Starfire was amazed by her friend's resilience. She could not imagine how it must feel, having one's powers rebelling.
For her, just like all Tamaranians, their powers were as natural as breathing. They never had to fight them, or force them to obey; it was just next step of childhood, learning to use them, just like walking and running. And just like them, it was also a lesson in when not to use them.
Tamaran was a planet of proud warriors, and their powers were the main reason for it. They even allowed them to travel through space, which only few races could do without sophisticated starships and other equipment. And for her, and others of her race, it was so easy and freeing.
She honed her powers for years, before Gordanians; and now, after escaping from them, she was once again free to use them. She could feel the sun on her skin, and smiled, feeling the warmth. The sun was powering her, giving her strength to use for good purpose; and so she would, as she did for the past months, alongside her friends.
The thought of Gordanians brought up her old wrath; but, instead of fighting it, she channeled it into energy. She fired multiple quick, but bright starlights, which exploded in the air like fireworks; she flew among them, her anger disappearing, and joy of flight guiding her. Life was so good.
She landed on the ground, and smiled, seeing awe-filled eyes of people watching her. It was similar, in some ways, to the admiration she got sometimes as a Princess on her own planet; but here, it was not just thanks to her noble birth, but her actions. She was a hero to these people, and she was proud of it. If her knarfka could see it, he would be so happy.
Sadly, thoughts of home brought back sadness, so she returned to the sky, basking in the sunlight. It was a shame none of her friends could match her speed and grace in the air; she longed for the chu'kara air dance with her old friends. Even friend Beast Boy was either too slow, or too unwieldy to follow the complicated, fast dance.
Friend Raven left quickly, understandably; she was never a fan of crowds, and having her powers herself Starfire could understand it easily. Friend Beast Boy was talking with his many fans, or using his powers to make kids happy and awed. Friend Cyborg was just walking around; with his huge, metal body, some people weren't brave enough to talk to him, but with the amount of people here, it was still enough to make sure he was busy all the time.
She couldn't see friend Robin. She was trying to find him, when she suddenly heard someone behind her. "Looking for someone?"
She turned around, and saw Wonder Woman, effortlessly flying alongside her. She was keeping up with her without any problem. "Yes, but I think I found her!" Starfire smiled, and sped up, turning rapidly. The older woman answered to the challenge, flying after her.
It was even more refreshing then flying on her own! Finding someone who could keep up with her, she was filled with the joy of flight, and soared through the sky again, closely followed by Wonder Woman. They flew above the festival, causing nearly everyone to cheer and shout, with some even recording this amazing aerial performance.
"Do a barrel roll!" Someone in the crowd shouted. Now, Starfire wasn't really well-versed in Earth's culture, but she was aware of some of the memes. Beast Boy showed a lot of them to her, starting with what he called a 'classic' memes. She had a pretty good idea what the request was about, and smiled even wider when she had an idea.
She started an alleron roll – the maneuver that was often mistakenly called 'barrel roll' – and tapped into her wrath. Just a tiny bit, but it was enough. She started firing small, instantly-exploding starbolts.
As a result, she became a gold arrow in the sky, surrounded by green explosions; Wonder Woman following behind her, like a second arrow released from the same bow. It was as breathtaking as she imagined it would be, and later, when seeing the recordings, she would beam with pride every time.
But now, she had to take a break. The maneuver itself could be slightly disorientating, and combined with the bright explosions she nearly lost special orientation. She stopped, trying to keep herself flying, only to feel Wonder Woman gently catch her by the arm.
"Thank you, but I was fine." Starfire said, smiling, and breathing a little faster. That was exhilarating! "And I thank you for doing the flying with me, it was amazing!"
"The pleasure was all mine, Starfire." She let go of her arm. "You are an amazing flyer, I could barely keep up. At this rate, you will soon be as fast as Superman, if not faster. Be careful or Flash may be jealous." She smiled as well. "Now, I believe I have to go down and help with some preparations for my speech. Gulvax Shotnog, Koriand'r." Wonder Woman flew down, leaving stunned Starfire alone.
Formal goodbye, in nearly perfect Tamaranian. She was overtaken by joy, and flew higher, not caring about it at this moment. It was perfect! It reminded her of all the good things from her childhood, and she suddenly felt much less homesick. She could now clearly see why friend Beast Boy was holding Wonder Woman in such high regard.
She forced herself to land for a moment, with people already swarming her for pictures, autographs, or just few words. She enjoyed it, even it could sometimes be overwhelming. She was also raised as a Princess and learned how to deal with situations like this, leaving everyone satisfied.
"Starfire! Starfire!" She heard another person say, and turned around just in time to see a young man, clearly very nervous, with a small box in his hand. "I am so happy to see you! You did so much for me and my family, please, take this as a small token of my gratitude!"
"Thank you, but…" She started, only to stop mid-word as he opened the box.
Inside was a necklace so beautiful, it was hypnotizing. The chain was made of gold, very thin and delicate, but obviously expensive. But it was nothing compared to the piece of red, shining crystal on it. Starfire gently took it from the box and look over it, amazed. She never saw anything like it. It was like the legendary shard of the sunlight from dying red sun, from the ancient stories on Tamaran. It seemed to almost shine on its own, regardless of sun or shade.
"Thank you, it is an exquisite gift. But, I cannot…" Starfire manage to look away from the sun held in her hand, but when she tried to find the person who gave it to her, she found him already gone. People were swarming around her, trying to also take a look; she couldn't blame them. It was beyond beautiful.
She put it on and flew up, slowly, then faster. To her amazement, she could feel the crystal feed her power; and not only that, she could feel herself absorbing more and more sunlight. The spring sun, even filtered by atmosphere, was now as nourishing as if she was in space close to it! She flew around the festival area, feeling her strength increasing more and more. Amazing! With something like this crystal, Tamaraneans could be even more powerful, faster, and stronger! Was this really the legendary crystalized sunlight?
Sadly, too late she remembered the moral of that ancient tale. She could feel her power still growing; overflowing. She landed in a shade, but it helped only for a moment. Her body was growing so sensitive to the light, even now she could feel herself absorbing it. It was too much!
She took the necklace off and dropped it on the ground. Still not enough; her power was overflowing, like it was ready to burst. She never felt anything like it; it was scary, like her power suddenly became alive. She tried making a small starbolt, to discharge some of it, but it started growing instantly, and she barely managed to extinguish it before it grow to size bigger than any of her normal starbolts.
And she was still absorbing more light! It was horrible. She had to hide from the sun, somewhere, before it's too late – she felt like she could just explode at any moment! She tried to think of any such place, it had to be close, she won't make it to the Tower no matter what. That place where they were chasing Slade-bots with a fake bomb, it was close and dark.
She flew straight there, wincing when she had to fly through the sunlight. She felt so hot, like she was going to burn. She flew into the underground system, as fast as she could, and flew ahead until she hit the ceiling she couldn't see in the dark.
It was not enough! She couldn't see anything, but could feel it, the invisible pricks of light, hitting her skin. She felt like she was burning inside, it hurt! She blindly started punching the ceiling with her now increased strength, trying to bring it down.
Soon after, it collapsed, cutting her off from any light. Starfire, now finally in the dark, crawled from under the rubble, and laid down in the shallow water, shaking. She had to hold it. Her power, it was trying to get out, but she knew from experience her body was using solar power all the time; there was a limit to how much she could absorb, and for now, she just had to stay here. Without food and drink, she would use more and more of her stored sunlight to sustain herself.
It was so hard, holding it in; it felt like Raven's power, but instead of freezing and dark, it was burning and bright. But she had to. If she released it now, huge part of the city, if not all, would be vaporized! She switched on her communicator, and after a moment clicked the alarm button; she was deep underground, but she had no doubts her friend were already looking for her, and with sensors they had available and Raven's telepathy it would take no time.
She silently thanked friend Raven and her lessons, meditations, and help in controlling her power when they swapped their bodies and later. If not for that, she had no doubt she would have already lost control and exploded; thank to her friend, she managed to hold, barely, but she did. Friend Raven manages it all the time, she thought, and I will not bring her shame by surrendering so easily.
She sat there, in silence, fighting her inner battle in the darkness.
And she waited for a long time.
Starfire is nearly a match for Superman. Nearly. While she is not as strong or fast, she lacks his vulnerability to green Kryptonite, making her much harder to contain. But, lab analysis shows that her source of power is solar radiation, just like him. It means that a piece of red Kryptonite could, as a last resort, overcharge her powers. Better method of incapacitation, preferably with less suffering and risk of explosion, is still being researched.
- Agamemnon Contingency. File codename: Supernova.
