The Keeper of the House

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 1: An Intrusive Brother

Her room flashed red and a loud siren blared that woke Starfire up from a sound sleep. This wasn't the alarm that called her and her friends the Teen Titans into action, this was the alarm that let them know someone had broken into their home. Within seconds, Starfire sprung out of her bed as she prepared for a battle. "The control room," Starfire thought, "That's where Robin said to go when the alarm for intruders was heard." Starfire levitated over towards her front door and pressed the code for the door to open. Starfire flew intensely down the hall as she made her way through the maze of hallways. She quickly rounded every sharp corner, not even skipping a beat to check if anyone was in front of her. If the intruder happened to be in front of her, she would be ready to fight. No one threatened Starfire's home and she would stand up to anyone that did. Starfire had just begun to call Earth her home after living there almost half of her life and one thing she holds dear to herself is the place she calls home. It was the comfort of a home she liked because she never knew where her real home was. Yes, her Kanorfka, Galfor, raised her as a princess on her home planet, Tamaran, but she always wondered who her real parents were. They had abandoned her at such an early age and the only family she knew was her evil sister, Blackfire.

Yes, Starfire's home was very important to her, so important that as these thoughts raced through her head, she failed to see the figure in front of her as she rounded the corner and flew head first into the figure, knocking them both to the ground. Starfire, ignoring the pain in her shoulder from the collision, quickly rose to her feet, Starbolts in hand, ready to fire, as she yelled, "Depart from our home, guest who has not been invited!" "Starfire, it's Cyborg," said a familiar urban voice that caused Starfire's to fizzle the starbolts in her hands. "Oh, Cyborg. Uh, I guess the bad is mine?" Cyborg had to smile at her attempt to speak Earth slang, but he quickly grabbed her wrist as he ran towards the control room, "Come on, Star, we've got to book!" And with that, Starfire flew behind Cyborg as they raced to the control room, which was only one staircase and three hallways away. "Cyborg, do you know who has entered our home," Starfire asked as they entered the control room. Cyborg stopped in his tracks as he stared in front of himself in disbelief. "Don't know what it is," Cyborg said, answering Starfire's question, "but it left a pretty big hole in our wall." In front of Starfire and Cyborg were their other friends, Beast Boy, Raven, and Robin, the three who made up the rest of the Teen Titans, who were also staring at the rather sizeable hole in the wall that stood in front of them. They could clearly make out the seagulls that flew over the ocean that lay in front of them.

"Guess our control room has a new ocean view," Raven said in her usual monotone voice. Starfire approached Robin, who was standing in front of a monitor, typing on the keyboard. "Robin," she asked, "who could have done such a thing?" Robin looked at the monitor, "Cameras couldn't capture a good picture, but look at this." The Titans watched in disbelief as the monitor shows the wall being decimated by an outside force, which entered and began flying around, looking for something. Beast Boy looked at the screen and said, "Guess the concept of doorbells is beyond this guy." Robin, having assessed the situation in his head, spoke up. "There is only one of him and five of us, I suggest we stick together so we overtake him by strength of numbers." Starfire chimed in, "Agreed, we would have a much better chance as a group." Starfire always agreed with Robin. His leadership and strength won her over as an ally, but is was the warmth he showed for his friends that won him a place in her heart. Starfire had always carried a torch for Robin, but she dared not act on her feelings because of her fear that it would threaten her home and place with her friends. For as much as she believed in acting on her feelings, it was her feeling of safety that outweighed her feelings of affection. Still, she watched in admiration as Robin scanned the tower with the security system to find the intruder. Within seconds, he spotted a flying blur of light. Robin yelled out, "There, in the gymnasium. Titans, move out!" With that call of action, the five friends prepared for a fight as their friend Raven threw a black shield around the group and transporting them up five floors instantly.

Within seconds, the Teen Titans stood face to face with a very tall, cloaked figure, who himself prepared for a fight upon seeing the Titans. He pointed his hand and a deadly bolt flew out at the Titans, causing them to scatter. Cyborg dove to the floor, aimed his sonic cannon arm at the intruder, and fired at his chest. The blast hit the intruder, but did not even stop him from rushing at Cyborg and tossing him through a nearby wall. Cyborg tried to find his footing as he said to himself, "Guy's pretty strong." Back in the gymnasium, Beast Boy transformed himself into a Stegosaurus and swiped at the intruder with his heavily spiked tail. The intruder dodged the swipes and eventually caught the Stegosaurus' tail and tossed him out the same wall he just tossed Cyborg out of, causing the two to crash into each other. Beast Boy lay on the ground with spirals in his eyes as Cyborg moaned, "Guy's really strong," right before he passed out. The intruder watched to make sure the two didn't get up, but wasn't watching as a massive barbell encased in black came crashing into his back. He turned around to see Raven using her mind to pick up various weights and tossing them at the intruder. The cloaked intruder leaned side to side quickly, even levitating in the air acrobatically to dodge the oncoming weights. Raven tried not to let her frustration overtake her. Her powers were only strengthened through having her emotions controlled. One slip, one angry thought, even one profanity would cause her powers to lose control and put her friends and herself at risk. But this guy was really getting to her with his dodging everything Raven was throwing at him, now he's signaling her to throw more stuff at him. "Insolent bastard," thought Raven as she picked up the heaviest dumbbell next to her with her mind and heaved it at the cloaked intruder, who caught the heavy weight with his hand and with blinding speed, hurled it at Raven, who tried to react quickly and put an energy shield up. The dumbbell only broke through the shield and connected with Raven as she plummeted to the ground. Before the intruder had time to react, a metal staff collided with his back. The intruder drew back in pain, but was over it quickly as he turned around to see Robin flying towards him, extending a powerful kick towards the intruder's head. All the intruder did was raise his left arm to the side of his head and the kick was blocked, but before Robin had the time to draw his foot back, the intruder grabbed his foot and was tried to toss him towards a wall. Robin wasn't going down so easily as he flipped in midair, landing his feet on the wall, and then using it as a springboard to propel himself back at the intruder. The intruder was instantly put on the defensive as Robin unleashed a barrage of kung fu punches and kicks that were easily matched by the intruder. Robin threw a back spinning crescent kick at the intruder's head, who ducked the violent kick, but Robin used this distraction to his advantage as he unsheathed his metal staff again and swung at the intruder, this time, connecting with his midsection, causing him to double over, gasping for air. Robin used this time to swing his staff upwards, connecting with a deadly uppercut with his staff on the intruder's chin, lifting him off of his feet and sending him soaring in the air. Robin was using this moment of helplessness to his advantage and before the intruder could come to the ground, Robin punched downward at his chest, sending him crashing through the floor. Robin looked down the hole to see where the intruder had gone to, but didn't see him coming up through the floor behind him and swinging both fists at his head, knocking Robin out cold.

The intruder looked around at his accomplishments, having taken out four of the Teen Titans all on his own was quite a feat within itself. However, where was the fifth one? As the intruder swung his head around to look, his face was hit with a powerful green blast of energy that knocked him off of his feet. Starfire flew at the hooded intruder with such rage that when she collided with him, it lifted him off of his feet and through not just the ceiling, but at least four levels of the ceiling onto the roof. The intruder landed on the cement ceiling with a hard thud! Starfire, floating in midair with eyes glowing solid green with no hint of pupils behind them and starbolts in her hands, ready to fire, calls out, "Intruder, show your identity to me so that I may understand why you attacked my friends!" The hooded figure looked up at Starfire and said, "Koriannd'r." The sound of this alien word made the pupils in Starfire's eyes return. "Who are you," Starfire asked, "How did you learn of that name?" The figure removed the hood from over his head, revealing a handsome red-haired man with yellow tinted skin. He was clearly a Tamaranian like Starfire. "Koriannd'r, have you forgotten your brother, R'yannd'r, already?"

Back inside, R'yannd'r sat on the couch in front of the Titans as they stared at him condemningly. "I am sorry that I attacked you all and put a giant hole in the wall of your home. I was still under the impression that my sister was being held captive." Robin said disbelievingly, "And why would you be under that impression?" R'yannd'r explained, "You see, my sister and I were separated at a very difficult time for our planet. There had been a civil war and to make sure that our family was safe, our mother and father had sent us away so that we would be safe. They made sure that we would have everything we would need to be safe. But we were separated and I was smuggled to the swamp moons of Drenthax 9 to keep myself safe. I had heard that my sister was taken prisoner and vowed that when I had gotten older I would come to rescue her, no matter where she was. It is very relieving to see you again, Koriannd'r." Starfire looked at her feet, "You must understand, for a very long time now, I did not know that I had a brother. This is all very hard to accept." Cyborg massaged his shoulder and said, "Well, you're definitely as strong as Starfire." R'yannd'r explained, "It was a gift from the Psions. From their experiment, the offspring of M'yannd'r and Luand'r would be able to protect themselves in their absence." Starfire looked at her hands and suddenly, a sea of memories began to flood in her mind. Through it all, Starfire remembered her brother's embrace as they ventured into unknown territories. "R'yannd'r," Starfire said softly, then her giddy self came out, "MY BROTHER!!!" as she flew into R'yannd'r's arms and embraced him warmly. R'yannd'r looked at Starfire and said, "Come, my sister, there is much that we need to catch up on. Is there a place where we can both converse in a more personal environment?" Starfire thinks for a while and then says, "Oh, there is the local park. It is commonly where Earthlings go to munch on the fat." R'yannd'r looked at her sister oddly before she grabbed his hand and flew with him outside. Robin stared at the two suspiciously, then turned to Raven, asking, "So, did you pick anything up?" Raven opened her eyes and said, "Can't say. I definitely feel the presence of a blood relative, but I'm also picking up something else nearby. Something more dangerous." Robin asked, "But her brother is here?" Raven nodded her head as Robin said to himself, "Then he will protect her."

Starfire and R'yannd'r walk through the park. R'yannd'r looks around in awe at the sights around him and said, "So, this is the Earth that I have heard so much about. There is so much beauty here and it is so gloriously bright." Starfire giggled and replied, "Yes, I have grown to love it myself. So tell me, R'yannd'r, what news is there of Tamaran?" R'yannd'r replied, "Oh, Starfire, since you have left Emperor Galfor in charge, things could not be better. He has brought peace to his kingdom and the southern states, he has divided the wealth among the nations so the poor would be prosperous, so many glorious things he has done." Starfire said, "I knew that he would make a magnificent ruler. Tell me, when can I see him?" R'yannd'r said nothing as he kept walking. "Brother," Starfire asked, "When can I see my Kanorfka?" R'yannd'r looked around, then at Starfire, saying, "Is there a place more private that we can talk?" Starfire led R'yannd'r into a more secluded part of the woods. Starfire looked at her brother with a worried look in her eyes and asked, "Why can I not see Galfor?" R'yannd'r took Starfire by the hand and explained, "Koriannd'r, though Galfor's reign is glorious, there are those who are unhappy with his ruling of the planet. Many have even gone as far as blaming you for leaving him in charge. Galfor had sent me here to warn you that if you were to return to Tamaran, there would be people there who would try to take your life." Starfire gasped, "Then we must set things right, brother. We must return and…" R'yannd'r grabbed Starfire's wrist and said, "Sister, haven't you been listening, it is dangerous to return to Tamaran. In fact, the best thing for you to do is…" At that moment, a deadly bolt shot down from the sky right between Starfire and R'yannd'r, separating them. Starfire looked up to see another yellow skinned Tamaranian charging towards them. Starfire was about to take off when R'yannd'r flew up at the approaching aggressor and attacked him with full force. Starbolts flew and punches were thrown as the two aliens fought in the sky. Starfire watched from the ground as her brother fought the man who attacked them both. The man landed one punch on her brother that sent him flying backwards. As he did, the aggressor flew towards Starfire. Starfire, fearing for her life, flew through the maze of tree branches in order to evade the oncoming Tamaranian. Starfire turned around and fired a starbolt at a branch above her, which she ducked and instead came crashing down on her pursuiter. The Tamaranian came crashing to the ground. Starfire turned around and was about to charge after him when R'yannd'r came out from the sky and attacked him. The Tamaranian shot the branch off of the top of him and shot R'yannd'r, sending him backwards into a tree. The two threw endless amounts of starbolts at each other. Meanwhile, Starfire stood watching this fight, watching this man attack her brother who she had just met today. She remembered everything that came back to her and how much more she wanted to know. All the questions she had about her past that she wanted answered and if her brother died, they would never be answered. The rage built up in Starfire's eyes as the pupils once again disappeared behind a sea of green flames. Starfire then let loose a concussive blast of energy from her eyes that knocked the aggressive Tamaranian off of his feet and on his back. Starfire stood over this new Tamaranian and said, "You will leave my brother alone." The man regained his composure and looked up at Starfire asking, "What did you say?" With a stern tone in her voice, Starfire said, "I know you have been sent here to kill my brother and myself and I will not allow you to do so." The Tamaranian looked up at Starfire and said, "Starfire, I am your brother." Starfire grew more angry, "How dare you! Do you think that you can fool me?!" The Tamaranian pleaded, "No, Koriannd'r, please, you must listen to me!" Starfire said, "You would pretend to be my brother?!" Just then, the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against Starfire's head as the man she thought to be her brother stood behind her, holding a gun to her saying, "No, I would pretend to be your brother. And now you will die."

To Be Continued…