CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As morning dawned on the great city of Metropolis, a streak of red and blue cut through the pink and purple sky. Like a missile, the Man of Steel darted past the Daily Planet, LexCorps, and over the west side of the city. His eyes were everywhere, darting back and forth as he searched for something suspicious, something sinister.
Something like Rancor. The Titans had said he was a large man, with a thick, leathery hide as black as night, with bony spikes and knobs acting as armor here and there along his back and limbs.
The part that concerned Superman most was the fact he was a telepath, and that he had already ensnared some of the Titans in his web of deceit. Apparently the one called Beast Boy had attacked New York and his friends against his will. Starfire, the pretty young Tamaranian, had also been ensnared by the telepath's dark intentions. Bruce's ward, Dick Grayson, under the guise of Robin, was now in Rancor's grasp. Clark Kent had met the boy two years ago, at the same time Superman and Batman had teamed up against Joker and Luthor. Within a few months, the Justice League had been formed.
Superman had to help Robin, as he would give his all to help any innocent person in need. Rancor would not get away with the terrible things he was doing.
In a private Wayne Enterprises airfield west of Metropolis, Superman met four other members of the Justice League, as well as two Teen Titans and the mysterious visitor who had come to hunt Rancor. Hawkgirl had joined Batman, the Flash, and Green Lantern. The Titans with them were Starfire and Cyborg, both whom he had met briefly after the Titans had been allowed to form a team.
The one that intrigued him most was the slender, blue visitor. Numara had shed Raven's spare cloak for his leather garb. The Gem of Ages hung loosely at his neck. He greeted Superman with a bow, bending low at the waist.
"Greetings, Superman. My name is Numara."
"Welcome to Metropolis," the Kryptonian said, bowing his head.
The Justice League members separated themselves from Numara and the Titans to speak quietly among themselves. Starfire floated next to Numara, hands clasped hopefully before her. She hadn't spoken in quite some time; as a matter of fact, Numara hadn't heard her speak since they had met with Batman. He watched her quietly from the corner of his eye, trying not to be obvious.
"What are they saying?" she whispered.
Numara frowned. "The one you call Superman is worried about the telepath."
"Aren't we all?" Cyborg muttered.
"He has our friend," Starfire agreed. "He must not be allowed to get away with this!" She moved closer to Numara, frowning. "What else do you hear?"
"He's asking Batman if he knows a way to keep Rancor out of our heads. Smart man." Batman shot the Nasserian a look, and Numara smirked. Superman turned his head as well, eyeing the alien. They had not expected such keen ears from the young warrior. "And now, I suspect they're searching for a way to keep secrets from me." He strode over to them, Cyborg and Starfire right behind them.
Superman stared at him, a little miffed. "You have good ears."
"No better than yourself."
"Batman…" All eyes turned to Starfire; the girl put a hand on the back of her neck and blushed. They waited for her to continue. "Well, sir, I was wondering if you had an answer for Superman's question."
Batman shared a look with Superman. This was certainly unexpected. "J'Onn is working on it as we speak. He said he has a neural inhibitor. It should keep any telepathic thoughts out of our heads."
"What about J'Onn?" Hawkgirl asked. "How do we communicate with him?"
Green Lantern smirked. "The old-fashioned way. The communicator."
"What do we do while we wait?" the Flash asked.
Numara considered, and glanced to Cyborg. "You and I will go after Rancor. We are the only two unaffected by his telepathy. If we can isolate his location, we may be able to locate Robin."
John Stewart, the Green Lantern, arched his brow at the small warrior. He was slender, only a few inches taller than Starfire. While he looked like he was in shape, Numara certainly didn't look prepared for battle. The big man scratched his head and looked over to Superman.
The Man of Steel looked back, not quite certain what to say.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea," John admitted.
"What do you mean? I was sent here to find him, and that's what I intend to do." He approached the big, black man with a glare in his eyes. "You should consider yourselves lucky that I hold back. Truthfully, while I appreciate your help in apprehending this maniac, I certainly don't need it. I was a great warrior back home. The Gem of Ages makes me greater."
"All right, all right, I'm sorry." John glanced to Superman for help.
Superman, in turn, looked to Batman, who nodded. The Man of Steel sighed heavily and turned to the Nasserian. "Go on ahead, but keep Cyborg with you. It may be the only way we can track you when we have the neural inhibitors."
Numara nodded. "It's a deal."
"Let's do this thing," Cyborg said, and turned away from them. Numara joined him as they walked away.
Starfire darted out in front of them, floating just above the ground. "I wish for you luck on your journey. Clobber that Rancor for me."
Numara nodded. "I intend to, Star. Just…be careful. He's unpredictable."
"And you, friend. If you find Robin, please…help him remember me."
Cyborg moved over and embraced the girl. "You know we will, Star."
She watched with tears glistening in her eyes as her two friends, the cybernetic superhero and the blue warrior from another dimension, disappeared into the city.
* * *
Otho and Shani found themselves in Metropolis later that morning. The dwarf-mage waited atop an abandoned warehouse as the Nasserian went out to explore, bent on locating the Gem of Ages. Years of acrobatic training had given her exquisite grace, and tumbling off of tall buildings and falling hundreds of feet was second nature to her. In fact, she preferred this to the tedious suffering of the courtly life her parents had been accustomed to.
Shani kept herself as discreet as possible, but in the bright of day in an alien city that was filled with people, she knew she was spotted several times. No one seemed to think much of it, though, for they didn't try to make a spectacle of her presence. Remembering the odd flying machine from the night before, Shani decided that somebody tumbling through the valley of towers probably wasn't all that big of a deal. Shani hoped that their knowledge of her presence didn't alert Numara, or worse, Rancor, to her location. In the past, that had certainly been a problem.
She had been there, at the Albara Temple, when Numara had banished Rancor into the Void with the help of the Gem of Ages. She had suffered the indignity of the Priestess condemning a member of her family for violating the sacred temple.
At the time, she hadn't realized that Numara had decided to rely on desperation.
In the time after the battle, that desperation had been all too clear. He had preserved the temple, but the loss of life there was catastrophic, and since it had been Numara's fault that Rancor had infiltrated the base, it had been only natural that Numara suffer the consequences for his actions. Shani might not have liked the decision, but she respected Nasserian law.
The fact that her mother's corpse had been discovered among the dead made it easier to let Numara go.
Numara and Shani were brother and sister, dependent on one another, a pair who had once cherished their relationship, but the truth brought about by death and destruction had forced them down different paths. They were self-made enemies now.
Is this the life we are meant to live? Is this all that has become of our family? Her thoughts flowed like solemn tears as she swung by a thin, Nasserian rope between two buildings and slipped into the shadows of another. It was an uncomfortable feeling, to be alone in a strange world, and the only living person she had ever been close to was now an enemy to her and their people. If she could only go back in time, to right all those terrible wrongs and give justice to the people, then she could learn to breathe. Longing wrenched at her heart, prayers whispering within her lonesome soul to make everything right in the world once again. She knew that Numara would not entertain those ideas, not now that he belonged to Rancor.
She recalled a time when she had been happy, nearly two whole cycles ago. The family lived in a social ward outside Dubane. Her father traveled into the city every morning, unless he was already there. Typically he would spend three or four days there, advising Lord Argo on matters of state. Sometimes, he would take the family there, but that was not a common occurrence. As his children reached their third cycle, often viewed as the coming of age for Nasserian youths, Dumai was certain to get them into the Tongari Training Facility, warrior training grounds where youthful Nasserian nobility learned to fight for their freedom and prosperity.
About the time Numara had left home, the family began to slowly drift apart. The love was still there, of course, but no longer did the whole family sit at the dinner table when Dumai was home. For Shani, it was a strange existence, and grew stranger still when she too reached her third cycle, old enough to leave home. It was either marry and move away or she could join with the other warriors in the facility where Numara had recently become a tutor, rather than a pupil.
At first, Shani had been all too eager to reunite with her brother, but she soon learned that nothing would ever the same. Despite their relationship back home, Numara had become a leader, and he seldom had time for a novice like his sister. Shani turned to her own mentor, an elderly master by the name of Kendor, a man who taught Shani more about life than anyone she ever knew. She also learned how to fight. Before it was all said and done, Shani was considered one of the better students to ever train at Tongari.
In time, after Numara had left, Shani too became a mentor. Her duties were heavy; she aided Master Kendor in the training of novices. Many students entered the facility completely oblivious of the nuances of combat. While it wasn't an impossible task, and she enjoyed meeting the new students as they came in, it wasn't easy.
Swinging between a pair of towers, Shani suddenly found her suspended in midair. Searing pain shot up her leg as something snatched her ankle. A sickening pop followed as the joint popped loose in her ankle. She screamed, her hands slipping from her rope, and dropped from the sky.
Her eyes widened as the pavement rushed up to break her fall.
* * *
Robin grinned at his victory and dropped the grapple over the side of the building. He watched as the blue-skinned girl fell to her death. Whispers of congratulations slowly crept into his thoughts, and he knew Rancor was nearby, thanking him for his assistance.
[Excellent, Dick. I applaud your skills. The last thing we need is for that little bitch to get in the way of my plans.]
Robin said nothing. He just stood there, silent, his grin wide and sinister.
"Yo, Robin! I'm here for ya, buddy!" Cyborg seized him in powerful, cybernetic arms and pulled him away from the ledge. The Boy Wonder struggled.
[You can't let him win, Dick. You're going to have to finish him.]
Robin gasped, continuing to struggle. One thought raced through his mind: What the hell's going on here?
"Quit strugglin' Robin! I don't wanna hurt you!"
For a moment, Robin quit struggling.
[Don't be a fool, Dick. He'll kill you. You don't want that now, do you?]
What was that voice in his head? Briefly, Robin realized where he was, and how he had gotten here. Fury raced through his mind. Rancor had him.
But how?
The woman was lying on the bed, draped in pink, silk pajamas, ripped to nearly nothing by the giant, green bear standing over her. Robin glanced back to see Starfire enter the room. Her eyes glowed furiously. Starbolts ignited, encompassing her fists with intense, green light. The sneer on her lips only reflected what the Boy Wonder actually felt: fury and determination. They were through messing with this bastard.
"Get away from her, Beast Boy!" he shouted. The shape-shifter turned suddenly to glare at him. "You want a fight, you got one. Come on!"
Beast Boy hesitated, casting a weary glance at Starfire. "We do not wish to fight you," she announced, tears welling up in her eyes. "But you leave us no choice."
Even as she spoke, the shape-shifter changed. The howler monkey that took the place of the bear opened his maw and bellowed out in all his hideous fury. The starbolts faded from Starfire's hands as she clasped them over her ears and went to a knee.
Robin's eyes opened wide, and then narrowed an instant later. He drew his staff and lunged for the changeling, burying one end of the weapon into the howler's gut. Beast Boy grunted in pain and doubled over.
[You cannot save them, Robin. They belong to me now.]
"No! Starfire!" He turned to see her, lying on the ground. Kneeling at her side, he glanced to Beast Boy. Neither of his friends moved. "Oh no…"
A hateful laugh echoed through the apartment. He turned, his eyes meeting Rancor's. He stood there, not far off, over the woman lying on the bed.
Only she was no longer lying down.
Her arms were draped around one of Dreamwalker's, an arm even thicker than her waist. Pink scraps of fabric clung loosely to her slender body. He had her, Robin realized, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He held up the staff, but he didn't approach.
Robin remembered nothing after that point. Darkness swarmed his every thought, casting shadows in his heart. He felt his soul dwindling as the blue-skinned alien tumbled through midair to the streets below. His heart began to pound frantically as he wondered what grievance had led him to commit such a atrocious act of violence. He allowed Cyborg powerful arms to wrench him off of his feet and pin him to the ground.
[Let it go, Dick. This is how it has to be.]
Robin couldn't argue. The voice was right. There was no other way.
Robin's victorious grin slowly returned.
"Robin, listen to me. You've been–"
The Boy Wonder reached out and slapped something small against his friend's chest. He activated the tiny device and watched as the energy drained from the cybernetic hero's body. His robotic optic faded to darkness.
"My power cells!" Cyborg cried.
They were his last words. A moment later, Robin slipped free of his friend's grasp.
He stood near the edge of the building and peered down, searching for a blue smear on the pavement, thirty stories below.
But there was nothing. Robin frowned.
[It's all right, Dick. We have the robot. That's good enough for now.]
Yeah. Sure it is. Dick drew a deep breath and turned back to Cyborg.
What was he going to do now? The others would know for sure where to find him. All they would have to do is follow the tracker imbedded in Cyborg's right arm.
[Let me handle that, Dick. You just take ten. Grab a bite to eat or something.]
The mysterious, sinister laugh echoed through the Boy Wonder's mind as he sat near the edge of the building and peered down onto the streets below.
* * *
Just before Shani would have hit the pavement, a blue streak raced beneath her and snagged her out of midair. She was hyperventilating, gasping heavily for breath due to her terrifying ordeal. She knew without a doubt she had made mistake, and that mistake should have cost her dearly. She should be dead, yet she wasn't. Someone out there had taken pity on her.
Someone had spared her life.
"Sister! Are you all right?"
Sister.
Shani's head began to spin. She knew without a doubt who had spared her life, and it twisted her heart viciously. Every frail cell in her slender body went numb. She thought her heart might fail her. Watching as the world raced by, she realized that her brother, Numara had spared her life. Her brother, who had at one time been her dearest and closest friend, had found pity within his traitorous heart.
For the moment, she pitied him as well.
Where he took her was a mystery to her, but soon he landed atop a tall building. Off in the distance, she saw a giant globe, no doubt a replica of the very planet they were on, resting atop another tall building. She wondered what greatness it represented for the building. Surely it was a temple worthy of the gods of these people.
Numara went to a knee and laid her gently on the ground. He eyed her leg, taking great care in investigating her wounded ankle.
"Dislocated," she whispered to him, her eyes never leaving his face.
He seemed somehow…different. She could not describe the change in him, but there was something in his eyes, something in the way he stared at her. The soft countenance of his face told her that something was dreadfully wrong.
Yet, he found a way to smile. "You'll be okay. Just rest."
Her eyes moved to the stone around his neck. Her eyes narrowed.
"So it is true."
He sighed. "I wish it did not have to be this way. I never asked for our people to suffer." He reached out and stroked his cheek. "Dear sister, you know me to be an honorable man. I was to become the apprentice to the Grand Master. I treasured my life back home, but something forced me to change. Rancor. His powers over the mind are unparalleled. Even the Priestess understood that."
She eyed him. "You have forsaken our people. Defaced the Temple of Albara."
"The Temple was damaged, yes, but I would never forsake our people."
"You are no more than a common thief."
Her brother frowned. "Must you remind me. Not a day goes by that I do not regret that I have stolen innocent lives–"
"I am talking about the Gem of Ages, Numara. You have taken the very hope of the people. The Albara Temple has fallen."
Numara gasped. "But…"
"I do not know how you did it, but I see it now around your neck," she hissed. "I know the truth of what I've been told. It is a crime worthy of its sentence."
"I did not steal the Gem of Ages! It was given to me by the Elders!"
"You lie."
"No! I would never lie. Father came to me in the Void, and told me that the Elders had agreed to allow me reinstatement of citizenship, so long as I could destroy Rancor. That's why I'm here now." The boy was gasping for breath, desperate to have her believe him. Was what she told him true? Was the gem considered stolen? It didn't make any sense. "Why would father steal the Gem of Ages?"
She glared at him. "Father did not steal it. He is dead."
Numara's jaw dropped. His heart leapt into his throat. "No…that's not true."
"It is. Just like Mother. You killed him just as you killed her. They are dead because of you." Tears poured from the girl's eyes as she glared at him. She trembled with hatred. Numara could only gaze at her, lost in his sorrow. Shani could think of no more to say. She did the first thing that came to mind.
She spit in his face.