Chapter 18: Sibling Rivalry
Situations like this can be truly difficult to call.
The battle between the Tamaran sisters Starfire and Blackfire were now being waged with equally frenzied states for both participants. Blackfire, having suffered the horrors of a prison infamous throughout the universe, fought with the rage that only a broken, scarred, and poisoned mind could muster, utterly certain that the fault in the torment she had suffered lay in her sister's inability to do anything, unable to accept her own role in where she had been placed, totally irrational and not wanting rationality. Just bloody revenge.
But in her revenge, Blackfire had unwittingly set herself up. For all her kindness and innocence, Starfire had been trained as a warrior on her planet, just as Blackfire had. The talent to manifest the destructive energy blasts known as the Starbolts was linked to anger. In harming a man, hurting him deeply, for no other reason then a sick desire to get back at her, Starfire would have been angry herself. But the fact that Blackfire had done this to her lover had put her in a state of rage that easily matched her sister's insane one.
In the end, it would be about who wanted it more.
Perhaps the true victim of this situation would be the apartment complex (thankfully abandoned) that Blackfire had lured Robin to and in whose basement she had tortured him in. The two sisters had made Swiss cheese out of the building as they had thrown each other through walls, ceilings, and floors. They finally left the building out of a seventh story window, flying through the air as they traded punches.
Blackfire reared up for a big swing, but she telegraphed herself too much and Starfire dodged it, flying around Blackfire and slamming her laced hands together down, smashing Blackfire down towards the ground. She landed with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Starfire flew down, as the smoke cleared. Blackfire screamed and snapped her hand up, throwing a Blackbolt. Starfire met it with her own blast, and an explosion detonated between the two, throwing them backwards.
Starfire was getting up when Blackfire rammed herself into her gut, flying backwards and driving her through the apartment walls and out through the other side. Starfire stopped the charge with a vicious elbow to the head and followed up with a pistoning blow to Blackfire's chest. Blackfire countered with a cracking hook that nearly dislocated Starfire's jaw, but Starfire spun with the blow and slammed her heel across Blackfire's face, sending her flying.
Blackfire halted herself in mid-air and fired beams out of her eyes. Starfire dodged away from them and fired off a Starbolt. Blackfire dodged and flew right into Starfire's vicious punch. She bounced off the side of the building and lanced back at Starfire, grabbing for her throat. Starfire blocked it with her arms and the two grappled in the air.
Blackfire began kicking at Starfire, but the Titan blocked the blows with her legs. Screaming in Tamaran, Blackfire reared back her head and slammed her skull across the bridge of Starfire's nose. Starfire staggered back, and Blackfire flipped in mid-air and slammed her foot across Starfire's chin, sending her flying upward. Blackfire zipped past her, grabbed her, and then blasted downward, driving Starfire into the roof of the apartment building. Every single remaining window in the building shattered from the impact, even as the roof caved in. Loud crashing came from the building as the two broke through the floors, and then the building shuddered violently one more time and collapsed, burying the alien girls under tons of rubble.
Robin watched the building collapse with some shock and fear.
While he had not worn most of his costume, he had brought it, in a small bag Blackfire had not noticed him dropping because she was too busy seducing him. He had managed to sneak up the stairs, sometimes barely avoiding the warring aliens, and grab it, putting his costume back on.
He had been worried for a moment, as Blackfire had managed to take his mask off, seeing his face. However, he soon realized that she couldn't give a damn if he had a secret identity or not: she just wanted to hurt Starfire. At least some good had come out of that torture. He still hurt, but his training had allowed him to recover much quicker then the average man, and hence he had managed to make it out of the building before it had collapsed on his head.
"Kory?" he said.
The wreckage exploded upward as the two sisters blasted out of it, still grappling with each other. Blackfire finally broke it up by violently kneeing Starfire in the gut, and when she lurched forward, ramming her elbow into the back of her head. Starfire hit the ground hard.
"I was always better then you sister." Blackfire said as she flew down, her hands glowing purple. "In fact I'd say I have this fight wrapped up!"
And she fired four Blackbolts in a quick one-two burst. The blasts shot out, but they didn't detonate. Rather, they hit the rising Starfire on her arms and legs, carrying her backwards until she hit a wall, where the energy pinned her there.
"Always." Blackfire said, charging her hand again. "Time to die, dear sister."
Blackfire charged.
And Starfire screamed, and then yanked against the bonds. The energy didn't break.
The wall did.
Blackfire stopped as her sister yanked chunks of the wall off to escape, and then Starfire struck by lashing out and ramming the broken parts into Blackfire. The rock shattered on impact, as did the other piece. Blackfire staggered back, and Starfire lanced a kick into her gut and sent her flying back into the rubble.
Screaming, Blackfire flew up into the sky. Starfire followed, and Blackfire opened fire with a barrage of Blackbolts, hundreds of them.
Starfire flew into the midst of all the blasts, her hands and eyes glowing bright green, and then she countered with her own onslaught. The ground shook and the sky filled with fire. Robin dove for cover as the heavens thundered.
Blackfire kept firing, and that proved to be her downfall as Starfire flew out of the explosions and nailed her. Blackfire flew down and hit the ground so hard she tug a three-foot channel in her wake.
Starfire dove down as Blackfire stopped her trip and flew up, landing. Her eyes blazing hate, she thrust out her hands and threw so many Blackbolts they overlapped each other, all of them zooming in on Starfire as she flew at her sister.
The explosion was so strong it knocked the rising Robin flat on his back again. Indeed, the two sisters were making such a racket that the approaching Titans could hear them. But they were still a few minutes away.
And Starfire, burned and battered but still mad as hell flew out of the smoke of the explosion and punched her sister across the face. Blood flew.
Blackfire was stunned but not unable to counter, and she did, slamming her own fist across Starfire's face. Starfire countered with a roundhouse heel kick, and Blackfire countered that with a jumping knee strike. Each driven back a bit, the sisters thrust their hands out, their fists slamming into each other so loud it sounded like a gunshot.
Each sister tried to follow up with their other hand, and once again their hands intercepted each other. Interlacing their fingers, the two sisters fought a furious war of strength and wills as green and purple energy crackled around them and the ground shook, parts of it rising off the ground and disintegrating from the sheer force Starfire and Blackfire were exerting on each other.
Neither won that war, so the two went back to trading punches, and more blood flew as the sisters opened new wounds on each other and re-opened old ones.
Robin watched in shock, completely unable to comprehend that the Starfire he knew could be so vicious.
He hadn't seen nothing yet.
The end was coming, though neither side knew it. But it might have become apparent to the outside viewer when Starfire dodged aside from a Blackfire hook and rammed her fist into Blackfire's chest so hard it almost seemed to bulge out Blackfire's back. Blackfire gasped, and then Starfire smashed her foot across Blackfire's face. Blackfire stumbled and nearly fell, but Starfire didn't let up, slamming twin left and right punches across her sister's face. Blackfire staggered back, trying to recover.
Starfire threw a Starbolt, but Blackfire dodged, grabbed Starfire's arm, and threw her above her as she fired her own Blackbolt after Starfire. Starfire met it in mid-air with another Starbolt and again an explosion blasted the sisters apart. Blackfire was immediately back on the offensive as she flew at Starfire, swinging her fist. Starfire dodged and Blackfire followed with a roundhouse. Starfire ducked under that and snapped out her legs, sweeping Blackfire's feet out from under her, and then whirled and slammed Blackfire with an uppercut while she was still in mid-air. Blackfire spun, out of control, into the sky, and Starfire, yelling something that Robin couldn't make out, flew up, grabbed her sister by her head and knees, and flew downward, slamming Blackfire down on her knee sternum-first as hard as she could. Robin felt the impact from fifteen feet away.
Blackfire hit the knee so hard she bounced off it, and then she went limp and collapsed at Starfire's feet. She coughed, blood welling from within her and coming from her mouth. She tried to get up, but all her strength was gone, her anger keeping her exhaustion hidden until it too had burned out, leaving her with nothing left.
She looked up at her sister, at her sister's cold, angry eyes, and finally realized just what she had done.
"Sister…"
Starfire said nothing. Instead she held out her right hand as it began to glow green.
"Starfire…Koriand'r…" Blackfire begged.
"You claim I sent you to hell, Komand'r. Well, you were wrong. I am doing that now." Starfire said in a tone that dripped ice, and thrust her hand down.
"NO!"
Robin's staff knocked Starfire's hand aside at the last minute, and Blackfire just caught the shockwave of the killing blow, sending her flipping head over heels across the ruined landscape. Starfire looked at the staff and then Robin was in front of her.
"You can't do that Kory. It's what she would do. And that's not you. Neither is this. Come back to me Kory…" Robin pleaded.
"Tim…"
"Kory, please…it's over…it's over." Robin said, taking off his mask so that Kory could see his eyes.
Starfire blinked, and then the cold killing rage, a rage that lurks in all of us, dissolved as she collapsed into Robin's arms, weeping.
"Tim…!" she sobbed.
"It's ok Kory. It's over. We'll all ok…" Robin said as he stoked the sobbing alien, trying to give her comfort for her pain.
"Why?"
"…Why what?"
"Why did this happen? My sister…she was irresponsible and mean and even a little cruel but she was never…why Tim? Why did people do those things that made her like this? Why do people hurt each other so much, for no other reason then to do it? Why, for pity's sake, WHY?"
For a moment Robin had no answers for Kory, of why people did the things they did, and what happened to those who were hurt, and how sometimes they became even worse then those who hurt them.
And much of madness, and more of sin, and horror the soul of the plot…Poe had written in his poem The Conqueror Worm. Somehow that just fit. There was no ending or answer to this plot. Just horror.
"It's ok Kory. We'll help her. We'll say she committed new crimes here and has to stay here for incarceration. We've saved so many chunks of the universe so many times I'm sure we can call in a favour or two. We'll get her therapy, help of any kind. We'll try and help her get better. I promise you." Robin said. It was all he could do, as he had no answers for Kory's most agonizing questions.
"Uh, guys?"
Robin opened his closed eyes to see Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven standing in front of him, apparently curious about what was happening.
"Guys! Glad you're here! We have a problem, Blackfire came back…" Robin stammered, as he pulled himself away from Kory and tried to switch from Comforting Boyfriend to Fearless Leader mode.
"Yeah, we gathered that from the noise. But since I doubt you two would be all kissy-kissy if she was still running around, so mind telling us what happened?" Cyborg said. Robin grimaced. He apparently hadn't heard Starfire's pain over what she had just did, over what her sister had forced her to become, and Robin, through a glance to the side, could see she had composed herself. Instead Victor had thought Kory and he had been making out.
Insensitive, but there was no malice in Victor's perception. Robin would let him have his misconception. He'd rather never speak the truth.
"Well, Starfire managed to beat her, she's…" Robin said as he looked over to where Blackfire had landed.
But she wasn't there any more.
"Ah nuts, I thought she was down for the count! Titans, spread out! She was pretty banged up, she can't have gotten far! GOGOGO!" Robin said. He did want to help Blackfire, but he also wanted her in a padded cell rather then free.
In the end he was only human.
It was amazing what pain could do. It could make monsters and break them, and in Blackfire's case, it had broken it.
The fog she had lived in for a while had faded, at least somewhat. It had been replaced with the pain that consumed her, but Blackfire, crouched in a nearby alleyway, taking in ragged gasps of air, could live with that.
Maybe she had been wrong. Wrong in her methods anyway. She had no idea that such a savage could have existed inside her sister, and in retrospect, maybe driving her sister into such a state had been an error. But Blackfire wasn't done yet. She had to heal, and she may have changed her views somewhat, but her sister had still done nothing to help her, and for that she had to pay.
Indeed, Blackfire was in such pain she barely noticed the figure drop down the roof behind her. But she DID notice.
Now, she knew it couldn't have been any of the Titans yet. She'd seen the other arriving as she had fled, and she knew they'd spent at least a little time checking each other out for injuries. But that was only the original five. She had heard they had added a sixth member, and he might have seen her sneaking off. She couldn't have that.
Well, he probably didn't know her that well. She'd say a charming word and then Blackbolt him through the wall. That should give her enough time to leave.
"Well…" Blackfire suddenly said, turning around to face the man who had dropped down. "If it isn't the newest Titan…hey wait…"
And then the tendril sprang out of the shadows, lancing through the air and wrapping around Blackfire's throat. Blackfire gasped and started to gag as her air was cut off.
"AH WHAT ARE YOU DOING! AIIIIGuuuhhhhhhhh…" Blackfire managed to get out before the grip became so strong that she couldn't form words. She clawed at the energy strand as it lifted her off the ground with ease, but she couldn't get a grip, and her battle had left her weakened.
"Sorry lady, but my recent life experience has given me a very strong hatred for brunettes. And since I can't go for my real birdie, well…you'll do…" the figure said.
The last thing Blackfire saw was the merry joy in his eyes, undertoned by the furious, murderous anger, and then she knew nothing more, as the muscles in her neck finally gave in and caved under the pressure.
The figure dropped the alien on the ground, pleased. Then his ears pricked up. Company. It wouldn't do for them to see him like this. It would raise questions, and he didn't want those.
There was still a lot to do, and they couldn't know of it. No, him being seen would not do at all.
The figure snapped out his energy rope and pulled himself away from the scene.
The Titans arrived roughly 12 seconds later. Their reaction, needless to say, was quite strong.
"SISTER! OH MY GOD! OH NO, OH NO!" Starfire said.
Most of the Titans were stunned into a motionless state. They had expected to find Blackfire hurt, but they hadn't expected to find her sprawled in an alleyway, her throat literally crushed. Only Raven, in her usual calm state, reacted, floating over to see if she could help.
She was amazed when she still detected a faint sign of life. Had Blackfire not been an alien species, she would have dismissed it as impossible. But something in her alien constitution still allowed her to cling to life even after her throat had been destroyed.
But she knew it wouldn't last much longer.
"Damn…blast it…" Raven cursed. She had the talent to heal, but Blackfire's throat and neck were so damaged that she was hesitant to try anything lest she make a mistake and finish whatever had caused this.
Beast Boy, having had enough shock for one day, first heard the noise before Savior landed in the alleyway.
"Noel!"
"Hey guys I got the signal what's…oh geez…" Savior said as he saw what had happened to Blackfire. "What happened here?"
"We'll tell you later…" Robin said.
"Noel can you help her?" Starfire pleaded.
"Her windpipe had been crushed. I need it to be open so she can breath, but…" Raven said.
Savior's eyes narrowed.
"Ok, I'll see what I can do…ok…ok…" Savior said, focusing all his concentration as he slipped a Shimmer strand out. It carefully flowed out and into Blackfire's mouth, as Savior tried to guide it so it could set the windpipe, at least enough for Raven to heal it and keep Blackfire alive until she could get surgery. The strain of such a delicate "field operation" was murderous, especially considering that Blackfire was an alien and may not have a respiratory system that Savior could understand, but through sheer good luck Savior managed to correct the windpipe long enough for Raven to heal Blackfire's throat.
"Now she can breathe, but this kind of injury needs serious medical attention, NOW." Raven said.
Savior used the Shimmer as a brace to set Blackfire's head, so moving wouldn't cause her further injury, and Raven and he teleported away, even as Starfire began to cry again.
The next day was hell, as Starfire walked around in a terrible state from her sister's horrible injury and the mystery of who had inflicted it, while Robin tried to explain exactly how the scheme had happened and all their roles in it.
"Kory had the flu, which is why you thought something seemed off, Noel." Robin explained during a meeting held during the day.
"Why didn't she say something?" Cyborg asked.
"Because of you, Victor."
"WHAT?"
"No, it's not your fault. Remember when Beast Boy had that hangnail?"
"Hey, I don't care how overall harmless it was, that hangnail HURT!" Beast Boy complained.
"Yes Gar, I know, but Victor ragged on you anyway. Somewhere in there he said that next you would be complaining of the flu. Apparently Kory overheard this, and later, when she got it, she didn't want to complain because she thought you would see her as a lesser because of it. Also, she says, she didn't want to give it to me, so she was wondering what to do. But when she went to go get the pizza, Blackfire ambushed her. She found out about the flu somehow, and how it was making Kory act odd…and she used it. As you all well know. The plan was to embarrass you guys so that you would avoid me, and then lure me in and well, you know the rest."
"Gotta hate quantum theory." Noel muttered, commenting on how one of the theories suggested that a small event somewhere could somehow cause a much larger event elsewhere.
"If a butterfly flaps its wings…" Cyborg said, agreeing.
The day ended well, at least, as Star Labs contacted the Titans. Blackfire was finally out of surgery, and while her alien nature left things up in the air, the specialized scientist had hope that she would recover from the attack. Starfire immediately cheered up and left with Raven to give the scientists all the medical data about the Tamaran species she could. Feeling relieved, Savior also excused himself, saying he had something to do.
"Man, he has a lot of errands to run these days. Or nights. Does he ever go out during the day?" Cyborg pondered.
"I haven't seen him." Beast Boy said.
"He must have been far away to take so long answering the summons."
"Well we can't all teleport…" Beast Boy was saying. The Star Labs tech was talking to Robin and didn't seem to need them, so the two horsed around. At least until Robin bid the tech goodbye and turned off the screen. He looked back at the two, his face a bit grim.
"What's wrong Tim?"
"Something about Blackfire's injuries. The doctors there are having a hard time making sense of it."
"She was choked, right?"
"Yes, so hard that the muscles in her throat tore off the bone and her windpipe collapsed."
"Ow."
"Yes. But there's something REALLY weird. Her spinal column was hardly damaged at all."
"Uhhhhhh…"
"Gar, do you know how much pressure it would take to make that happen to a human throat, much less an alien throat? You couldn't do it with your hands, even if you had superhuman strength. Especially considering the lack of damage to the spinal column. The amount of pressure exerted would vary too much with hands. Different fingers, sweat, the fact that most people have one hand stronger then the other…it would vary all over the place. No, whoever did this somehow managed to do it using the EXACT amount of pressure around the whole neck, with a degree of precision so that the windpipe and throat were nearly destroyed while the delicate nervous system remained unharmed."
"So, uh…"
"Guys, the doctors found a bruise that is a perfect circle around Blackfire's neck. Like a rope. But no mere rope could do this. An unmoving, exact amount of pressure on all sides rope doesn't exist. This would have to be some kind of magic rope…or something that has properties…of a rope…"
Beast Boy and Cyborg took a few seconds to get it, but they did.
"….No…" Beast Boy whispered.
"Yeah that's my thought. But it does seem…very strange…"
"But…no way! We'd know! Somehow!" Cyborg declared. "It can't be!"
"I didn't say it either. But it's just an idea…an idea…" Robin said. But all the things Batman had taught him were nagging at his head. Particularly a certain line Batman had once said.
It is those with the brightest of faces that often hide the darkest of souls.
Robin hoped that wasn't true.
He didn't want to find out the one who had struck down Blackfire was a teammate.
Thus ends the Janus arc, and now, it is time for the Titans to learn of the nature of a foe…that may very well be a friend…
Next: ENEMIES!