Chapter 8
Starfire's first instinct was to protect her daughter, and to do that she had to remember everything she knew from her crime-fighting days. She turned to her daughter, who was looking worried at the high-pitched claxons going off around her.
"Nightfire, this alarm means that someone is attacking the Tower. We are going to leave this room. I am going to make sure the coast is clear, then you are going to run, do you hear me? Run to the end of this hall, where there is a panic room. The door is hidden, but if you pull out the fourth bannister-support from the top, the fourth from the top, then a panel will appear. You have to enter a code, that code is 9487, repeat it."
"9487" repeated Nightfire.
"Good. You will hide in the panic room, and lock the door, until I come for you. There are security cameras in there that show every room in the Tower, you can watch if you like. Now, I am not going to fight whoever this is, I am only going to see what I can find out, but if any of this doesn't work, if something goes wrong, there is a cupboard next to the room. I want you to hide in there, I know it sounds stupid, but just do it."
"Maybe it's just a false alarm." Nightfire said weakly.
"Maybe" said Starfire unconvincingly. She stroked her daughter's hair lovingly. "I love you" she said. Then she grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her towards the door. She opened it inch by inch and looked out, the sirens were even louder outside. Starfire stepped out into the corridor, then she spun around and said to Nightfire,
"Okay, Go, Go!" Nightfire ran. She ran to the end of the corridor and up the stairs like a bat out of Hell. The whole time she was terrified she would forget something vital, screw up and get herself, or worse, her mother, killed. She knew she wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if her mother died trying to save her. She reached the top of the stairs, and had to turn back to count four supports from the top. She wrenched the fourth every whichway, until it gave way and shot out away from her. She heard a click as the electronic panel slid out of the wall. She hurled herself to her feet, and dialed in the code. Little lights flashed and she replayed her mothers words in her head, checking and rechecking that she hadn't made a mistake. Finally, after what seemed like ten minutes, a separate panel in the wall slid away, to reveal a small, metallic room. She dashed inside and the door automatically closed. In there, you could hardly hear the sirens, and the sudden silence pressed on her ears, making her heart beat even faster. Every second was like an hour, but she became more aware of her surroundings, and she remembered the security cameras. She could see the screens piled against the wall and she crawled towards them. She looked for the controls, and pressed a nearby green button hopefully. The screens sprang to life, startling her. She saw the hole in the wall, the smoke in the living room, the men in black jogging through the Tower.
The doors opened, and she screamed. She stopped however when she recognised her mother. The doors slid closed again, and her mother pulled her into a giant hug and they settled to watch the screens together, always keeping one eye on the one showing the hall outside. The smoke in the living room had cleared, and they watched the brutal battle unfold. They didn't say a word, just knelt and watched as hundreds upon hundreds of people all in black flooded the Tower. The Titans were fighting bravely, knocking down invaders by the handful, but it seemed that for everyone they knocked down, three more took it's place. One by one, Raven, Beastboy and Cyborg were overwhelmed and ……..drugged? Until only Nightwing remained standing. He was surrounded, and there was no way he could have won, but he still fought, his bow-staff spinning dangerously in his hand. He moved so fast he was hard to follow, but the circle of intruders tightened around him, and then there was nowhere to move to, and he too fell.
