I do not own Teen Titans


"And so then I killed the forknarb using the sigtal technique…."

Airen rolled her eyes in annoyance at Tal'an's insistent prattling. As her betrothed he insisted on following her everywhere and since his father was one the highest-ranking nobility at court and Airen had little choice in anything in her life, no one stopped him. Once she had threatened to feed his internals to a clorbag and make him watch if he didn't stop following her around, but he had just laughed as though she had made a joke. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to back up her threat at the time due to the fact that she was under house arrest and had absolutely no control over her life. Technically she still wasn't able to back it up, but she was far more tempted to risk the consequences this time.

Having him follow her around wouldn't be so bad if he would simply shut up. For some reason, he seemed to think that she was fascinated with his stories of hunting and competing in various tournaments. Most of which Airen knew for a fact that he either had his father pay people off in order to win or simply hadn't competed in together. However, saying so would only anger him and cause Airen yet another evening of punishment, which this week she couldn't afford.

Airen rubbed her temples against the throbbing headache that was being brought on by the overtalkative clorbag behind her. She wove her way through the palace halls making her way to the main foyer balcony where she and Or'ran would meet and officially greet all of the visiting delegations that were arriving for the treaty signing tomorrow.

Arriving at the large doors leading onto the balcony Airen paused and took a deep breath.

'Showtime.' She thought. She forced a polite, but a bored expression that suggested power and commanded authority onto her face. She then nodded to the guards who opened the double doors for her.

Immediately her headache worsened. The buzz and clamor of so many people, so many thoughts pushing against her mental barriers made her wince.

She stepped out onto the balcony and took her place in the middle standing closest to the doors. She had four guards surround her. Two stood behind her up against the wall on either side of her. The other two stood on either side of her, a few steps away and a step in front of her. Standing immediately to her right was Tal and immediately to her left was Mi'nah. A small crowd of advisors and nobles came to stand behind her as soon as she took up her spot. It wasn't unusual for royalty to work while greeting foreign delegates.

Or'ran and his large group of attendants arrived moments later. He took up a similar position as Airen's closer to the stairs that led onto the balcony from the foyer. Or'ran's group of guards and attendants took up a position that mirrored Airen's.

With a curt nod to the attendant standing at the top of the stairs, Or'ran signaled the start of a very long day. Biting back a groan and holding in an eye roll, Airen turned her attention toward Tal and Mi'nah who both now held papers in their hands that needed to be addressed while waiting for the first delegation.


The trip had been long, but uneventful. Batman, Wonder Woman, Nightwing, and Cyborg had taken turns piloting and navigating. Everyone else had the daunting task of entertaining themselves. At first, the excitement of an adventure and traveling to a planet that most of them had never been to before was enough to keep everyone entertained. But then around hour three or four the excitement slowly wore off.

Nightwing, Cyborg, Changeling, and Raven took turns debriefing everyone on Tameranian culture, rules, and expectations. Cyborg then handed out an invention of his that looked a lot like their coms. It was a translator, he had explained. It would translate any language that they heard into English for them, and anything they said would be translated into whatever language the other person spoke natively. Batman then got up and sent an hour on the dangers of foreign technologies, even if the Tameranians did provide their own translators they were not to use them. They were to only use Cyborg's translators. Wonder Woman then got up and lectured them on diplomatic expectations and mannerisms. Even after all of that they still had several hours to kill.

Robin and Huntress worked on homework. Their parents had made it very clear that just because they were going to another planet did not mean that they could slack off in their studies. Raven pulled out a book while Changeling played a video game next to her. Shade and Beast Boy switched back and forth between reading books and working on homework. Bumblebee had brought her sketchbook along and was working on new ideas for her next fashion line. Flash, Superman, and Manhunter got into a heated discussion about who was the better news reporter, Lois Lane or Iris Allen. Shadow settled in with a book while Black Hawke contemplated the new information, he had about Airen Stevens.

'No wonder she didn't want me to run the DNA test…But she said that she didn't know who her biological father was. That's why she was in Gotham in the first place. Okay, so if she didn't know who her father was going to be on the DNA test then why didn't she want me to run it? The locked file from the Justice League! That must be it! Whoever her mom is must be a bad enough criminal that the League has a locked file on her and Airen didn't want me to find out who her mom was! That must be it!'

Satisfied with his deductive reasoning Black Hawke settled in to play video games for the rest of the flight. After all, he couldn't let the opportunity to beat his dad at Mega Monkeys 4 pass him by.

"We're here," Nightwing called back from the cockpit.

Black Hawke and Shadow moved with everyone else to see the planet Tameran. The planet was nothing but desert for as far as the eye could see. Jutting mountains of orange rock streamed past as the jet flew by.

"Woah…." Shadow muttered. Black Hawke was inclined to agree.

The jet approached a towering city that looked as though skyscrapers had been stacked on top of each other and bridges had been used to attach them together. White stone shined against the harsh orange light of the planet's three suns. Windows and balconies dotted the buildings at random intervals.

What caught Black Hawke's attention however wasn't the city itself. It was the runway below. On the ground in front of the city was a large expanse of desert land dedicated to landing and taking off ships. Several runways pointed in multiple directions, each with some type of spacecraft on it. On one end of the airfield were lines of parked spacecraft. What looked like hundreds of people milling around the field. Several wore purple uniforms that Blake Hawke assumed were guards or military of some sort. The rest were all different shapes, sizes, and colors, all of them wearing some sort of expensive-looking clothes. Tram-like vehicles transported people and luggage alike from the field into the city.

"Logans. Come here please." Raven's voice broke Black Hawke out of his amazed trance.

He and Shadow reluctantly pulled themselves away from the window to join their parents and siblings.

"I want all of you to listen to me very carefully." Raven began. "I know that this is all exciting and new, but you are not to leave your father or mine's side. At all. Is that clear?"

They all looked at her confused but nodded in agreement. Shadow looked as though she was going to protest, but Raven continued.

"I don't care if you two are adults. You are to go nowhere without one of us unless told otherwise and even then, you are not to go anywhere alone. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." They both nodded in agreement.

After disembarking from and unloading the invisible jet a group of Tameranian guards escorted their group to the palace in one of the tram vehicles. The ride to the palace took them through some of the streets of the capital city. Booths were set up throughout the streets with vendors selling items. Some of the things for sale could have been from Earth while most were clearly alien. People milled through the streets, making way for the tram as it went by. The whole scene reminded Black Hawke of the marketplaces he had seen in the Middle East.

The tram approached a large wall with huge doors in the middle. Guards dressed in Tameranian purple uniforms stood on either side of the huge doors which were standing wide open. Though the way the common people seemed to avoid it with looks of caution, Black Hawke figured that this was not a normal occurrence.

"That's new…." Black Hawke heard Nightwing mutter as they approached the wall. He saw Changeling nod in silent agreement.

The tram drove up to the gate and paused. After the guard driving showed one of the gate guards the group's invitations, the gate guard waved them through. They drove through the gate and into a large courtyard-looking area. People in guard uniforms and what Black Hawke figured were servant uniforms dashed around the courtyard in an organized but crazed frenzy. Other trams also sat in various places in the courtyard, servants, and guards alike unloading them.

Their tram drove right up to a set of doors that were just as large as the gate doors. The large tower-like building that they were attached to towered over them. Black Hawke had to lean out of the tram in order to see all the way up. He let out a low whistle, impressed.

The guard that had been driving turned once the tram had stopped. Speaking gruffly and quickly he ushered them out of the tram.

"We are at the palace. You are free to go in. Do not concern yourselves with your luggage, we will see to it that it is unloaded and taken to your chambers for you." He said.

Black Hawke could see Batman and Nightwing alike stiffen at the thought of their bags being carried by strangers, and out of sight no less.

"We can take care of our own bags." Batman insisted. Usually, people didn't argue with Batman. He had a way of…. convincing them without lifting a finger. Usually.

The guard, however, surprised them all as he shook his head.

"No, you must not. It is an insult to us. Now you must go. I am needed to help transport more delegations."

They tried to protest more but the guard wouldn't hear of it. Finally, they filed out of the tram Nightwing grumbling and looking sour and Batman looking even "broodier" than normal.

As they approached the giant doors, they swung open revealing a large entrance hall. The hall had marble floors, walls, and ceilings that were made from Tameranian sandstone that, when polished like it was now, gleamed in the desert suns. Torches were evenly placed high up on the walls and were alight with orange flames. Banners hung in between the torches. Each banner was a deep purple with gold edges and embroidery. In the middle of each banner was a symbol that Black Hawke assumed was Tameran's version of coat of arms embroidered into the purple cloth with gold threading.

Those in their group who had never been to Tameran before were once again impressed. Equal amounts of "oohs" and "ahhs" were uttered as they made their way into the hall. A loud slamming sound echoed through the hall as the doors swung shut behind them, causing more than one of their little group to jump. Someone gasped as red eyebeams accompanied by a Batarang bounced off the large doors. The hissing of a sonic cannon filled the hall alongside the growling of a green tiger. Wonder Woman could be heard chiding Robin for drawing his sword as Huntress and Shade tried not to giggle at the adults' startled reactions. Raven frowned at the green claws embedded in her upper arm.

"You can let go now Gar." She drawled, reminding herself that he had more than enough reasons to be jumpy. After all, their last visit had not gone what anyone would call "well".

He retracted the claws with a sheepish smile.

"Heh, sorry Rae."

With the doors closed the hustle and bustle of the streets and courtyard outside were silenced making the hall feel like a tomb.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Changeling whispered after a few minutes.

They didn't have to wait long for an answer.

The sound of clicking heels on the marble floor filled the hall as a young woman walked towards them. She was tall, taller than most Earth women. She had orange skin, dark hair, and emerald eyes. She wore a purple outfit that revealed more skin than what most people considered modest. She wore a large smile as she approached them.

"Hello!" She greeted. She paused before the group looking at them with interest. "May I ask which delegation you are?"

"We are the Earth and Azarathian delegations," Superman answered stepping forward.

"Ah! Two delegations at once! Excellent! Yes, I do believe there was something about Earth and Azarath traveling together…." she said enthusiastically. "No matter!" She waved it off before clasping her hands together. "My name is La'rin. I will be your Tameranian liaison during your stay!"

Everyone nodded and responded with greetings. Well, almost everyone. Black Hawke saw Wonder Woman nudge Batman and glare at Robin and Bumblebee backhand Nightwing.

"Excellent! Now, can I have the leaders of both delegations step forward please?"

Everyone stepped aside as Batman, Nightwing, Raven, and Changeling stepped forward. They each introduced themselves. When it was Nightwing's turn La'rin gasped.

"You are the Nightwing! I cannot believe it!" She said in both awe and wonder. "You are a legend amongst our people!"

Nightwing shifted his feet not knowing how to react. "Ummm…thanks?"

To his relief, Raven stepped forward to introduce herself and her husband.

"Perfect!" La'rin said once introductions had been made. "Now, if you will all follow me, we can get started!"

Everyone followed as La'rin led them down the long hallway going on about "fascinating" points of Tameranian history. She even explained which coat of arms belonged to which Tameranian noble family as they passed the banners.

La'rin led them through to the end of the hall to another set of giant doors. Black Hawke was going to just assume that all of the doors around here were the same ginormous size. The doors opened to reveal a large cathedral-like room. It had the same walls and floors as the hall. The ceiling however was vaulted and had strange pictures and symbols painted on it.

Tables lined the edges of the large circular room, banners, and torches hanging on the walls behind them. Guards stood placed strategically around the room as well. Across the room from where they stood in the door was a grand-looking staircase that led up to a huge balcony. All Black Hawke could see of the balcony was the railing along the edge, the very large banner with an emblem that hung from the railing, and the backs of what he again assumed to be guards.

The room was packed full of people. Most milled around the room interacting and mingling with each other. Some were Tameranians but the rest were from other planets. Over by the staircase, a line had begun to go up the stairs. The line went all the way up the stairs to the balcony. Black Hawke could see guards standing on either side of the stairs, both at the bottom and the top, letting people through two at a time.

"Welcome to the main foyer!" La'rin exclaimed. "Over there hanging from the balcony is the banner with the royal family's official emblem!" She explained.

"What's with the line on the stairs?" Changeling asked.

La'rin looked over curiously then nodded in understanding. "Ah yes, the welcome line. That is the line to meet members of the royal family. I'm afraid not all of them could be here for this, but the Grand Ruler and our Crown Princess you will get to meet! It is a tradition in our culture for the royal family to greet and welcome any visiting delegations! Though there is no rush! First, you may enjoy mingling with delegations from other planets!"

Black Hawke noticed that Nightwing tensed at the mention of the royal family. He also noticed that his parents along with Cyborg became fidgety at the mention as well.

"We'd like to meet them now," Nightwing said more agitated than usual.

La'rin's face fell.

"But-"

"Now." Nightwing practically growled.

"But the other delegations! It is expected for you to…" La'rin said nervously, clearly uncomfortable with making Tameran's "legend" angry.

Raven saved the day. Or situation. Stepping forward she gently placed a small hand on La'rin's arm.

"We don't usually do what's expected of us on Earth or Azarath. It's part of our charm. Besides, we've had a long journey. We're tired and would like to go to our chambers as quickly as possible."

La'rin still seemed unsure, but Raven's explanation seemed to help.

"Very well." She finally agreed with a sigh. "Let us go and take our place in line. You must go two at a time and females must be paired with a male partner."

That was how Black Hawke ended up standing on the stairs with Shadow as his partner. They two steps down from their parents with Beast Boy and Shade behind them. After that Nightwing and Flash kicked off the Earth delegation, with Batman and Wonder Woman behind them. Superman and Manhunter followed, then Robin and Huntress and Cyborg and Bumblebee brought up the rear.

"Yo, grass stain! Can you hear anything?" Cyborg asked over the coms. Everyone else would think that Cyborg was asking about political/diplomatic procedures, but the four original Titans knew what he was really asking. He was asking, hoping against hope, that the changeling would hear a certain Tameranian voice over all of the others.

Changeling's ear twitched for a moment before he shook his head discreetly.

"Sorry, no. It's too noisy. Too many other sounds."

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "Man, those ears ain't good for nothin'!"

Changeling's ear twitched again. "Hey! They are too! My chick digs the ears!"

As he said it he turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Raven who rolled her eyes.

"Aw, man! Ain't nobody wanna hear that!"

"Children…." Batman chided over the line in a warning tone.

Without realizing they had reached the top of the stairs.

The guards nodded and La'rin ushered Raven and Changeling through. Black Hawke and Shadow stood at the top of the stairs as their parents were guided to a large group of people. Some were guards, but several were dressed in clothes that looked expensive and like only ridiculously rich people or nobility would wear. There was one person that drew Black Hawke's eye.

A very large man stood at the center and forefront of the group. He was well over 7 feet tall and looked to be about 400 pounds of pure muscle. He had orange skin and flaming red hair that flowed to his mid-back and a matching beard. White scars dotted his bare chest and arms indicating that he had fought many battles. He wore deep purple pants and boots and a matching vest robe-like thing that seemed to only make him scarier. Silver gloves with green gemstones in the middle, a silver brace thing on his neck with a green gem in the middle, and a matching belt accented the outfit. Silver armbands seemed ready to burst from where they sat on his upper arms from the bulging muscles. To top it off a gold crown-looking thing sat on his head framing his face. Somehow it didn't seem to belong there on his face, and neither did the armbands.

Changeling, whom Black Hawke had never thought of as a "small" man seemed tiny compared to this monstrosity of a man. Raven seemed absolutely minuscule.

Black Hawke gulped and Shadow murmured a small "Woah". For some reason, the Beast stirred from deep inside Black Hawke. Lately, the Beast had been agitated due to Airen's absence, but this was different. For some unknown reason, the Beast seemed uncomfortable with the large man. In fact, the longer Black Hawke listened to him, the longer it seemed that the Beast flat out did not like the giant man.

They watched as Changeling and Raven stood in front of him, bowed respectfully, and then were ushered away. Not once during the entire interaction did the man even look at Black Hawke's parents, let alone acknowledge them. A small voice in the back of his head hoped for the same treatment.

The guards nodded and La'rin ushered them in front of the large man and his group. She hissed something about bowing when they were introduced before she moved away from them. The group of people was clearly working, and the large man seemed more inclined to pay attention to them than to the two members of a foreign royal delegation before him. Black Hawke was okay with that.

Someone off to the side began to speak.

"His royal majesty Emperor Or'ranand'r, Grand Ruler of Tameran."

The speaker paused, clearly waiting for some signal. The big man did nothing but wave them off dismissively.

The speaker then rushed through his next line, clearly relieved in a fearful sort of way.

"Their royal highnesses, Princess Shadow and Prince Black Hawke, Crown Princess and First Prince of Azarath."

The speaker nodded at them, and they bowed, eyeing the big man carefully. He didn't even flinch.

Once they were ushered away from the group Black Hawke let out a deep breath, he didn't know he had been holding. His next breath in grabbed his attention. Breathing in, he caught a familiar scent that made the Beast shift inside of him, but in a different way than before, though he couldn't place the scent.

"That was…interesting," Shadow muttered.

"Yeah." Black Hawke agreed, distracted.

They were currently being ushered toward the second group of people. It looked similar to the first group, though this one was smaller. Their parents were currently standing there talking to the person at the center and forefront of this group. Changeling seemed confused while Raven gently pulled him away, an unreadable emotion on her face.

"I mean honestly if it's a tradition of their culture…." Shadow muttered under her breath.

Black Hawke wasn't listening though. His attention was on the person his parents had been talking to. Well, three people to be exact. On the far right was a young girl who had similar features to La'rin. Tall, long dark hair with orange skin and green eyes. She wore a purple uniform signaling that she was a servant of some sort. The person on the left was a young man. Scrawny was an understatement. He was short and thin and didn't inspire any thoughts of intimidation at all. He had orange skin, though it looked pale compared to the other Tameranians'. His red hair was dull, oily, and short. Freckles covered his face, and his green eyes were watery. He wore a similar outfit to the emperor, though he wasn't wearing a crown or armbands.

Black Hawke's attention moved to the person in between the other two. A young woman stood between the other girl and the guy. She wasn't as tall as any of the other women he had seen, including the one next to her, though she was taller than the guy she was standing next to. For some reason, he found this oddly satisfying.

Shadow suddenly gasped next to him.

"What is it?" He asked absent-mindedly. He was still too distracted by the girl to pay attention.

She was thin with an hourglass figure that would make men drool. Her muscles were subtle, but very clearly toned. Unlike the other Tameranians' her skin wasn't orange. It was a deep tan with a hint of an orange hue, but it wasn't obvious. Scars, big, little, long, short, white, scabbed even a few that were still red and others that still looked pretty new and nasty, covered her body.

Black Hawke remembered their debrief aboard the jet on the way here. Nightwing had explained that Tameranians were warriors. Their whole culture, their whole planet, revolved around war. To them, scars weren't just healed wounds, to them, each scar represented a battle won.

"How do they know they've won a battle?" Shade had asked.

"They survive it." Had been Nightwing's dark answer.

The thought made Black Hawke shiver. The scars covering this woman's body represented people she had killed.

He shook his head clear of the thought and continued to study her. For some reason she seemed familiar and the closer they got the stronger the familiar scent became.

The woman wore a purple…. well, the best word he could use to describe it was a dress. It was made of a light airy material that reminded Black Hawke of a scarf. The skirt was made of two pieces, each falling to the floor. The front piece was a mere strip that hung in between her legs. The piece in the back fully covered the back of her legs and some of the sides but didn't quite reach around to the front. The two pieces were connected to a belt-like piece that sat on her hips. Very low on her hips. From the belt, the piece was a single strip of material that went up to her chest covering pretty much only her belly button. At the bottom of her chest, the one strip split into two single strips that covered her assets in a very wide and very low v neck. The two strips continued upward to connect again underneath the silver neck brace thing with a green gem in the middle that she wore. When she turned to address the girl next to her, Black Hawke could see that another single strip of material came out from under the neck brace to follow her spine straight down her back to meet the belt once again. Another piece of purple airy material acted as a sort of cape that was attached to her armbands and flowed down to the floor behind her.

Black Hawke gulped. In his opinion, it looked as though the whole thing was made out of the same long strip of material. The whole thing left very little to the imagination but still covered what was important.

She wore a pair of purple boots that came up to her knees and looked similar to riding boots. She also wore the same silver gloves and armbands as the Emperor had. She even wore the same crown, though hers was silver and it, along with the armbands, seemed to belong on her.

He sniffed, the familiar scent getting stronger by the step. For some reason, the longer he looked at the woman in the middle the more he felt like she was familiar too. He tried to place what about her was familiar.

'For one thing the curves.'

"It isn't possible," Shadow whispered next to him.

'Gah! I know this scent! Why can't I place the scent? And those curves….I definitely know those curves.'

He seemed to notice for the first time the woman's hair. Instead of being red or black like the Tameranian's, her hair was a brilliant vibrant golden color. It was pulled back into a high ponytail. He followed her hair down her back once again drawn to her body.

"What isn't possible?" He asked not really paying attention to the conversation.

'I know that scent! I know those curves! But who….?'

As they came up to the group the guy next to the woman raised his voice at her and waved papers right next to her face to get her attention. He seemed annoyed with the lack of attention from her.

Suddenly she whirled around, eyes glowing green and a large ball of green light in each hand. She snarled and snapped her teeth at the guy as though she was going to bite him. He backed off for a moment, surprise covering his face. Then just as quickly he recovered and looked bored at her pointing to the papers and saying something.

Suddenly the glowing eyes and lights in her hands went out and it hit him.

He knew the curves.

He knew the scent.

He knew the eyes.

He knew her.

Green and gold eyes crashed with mask and suddenly the rest of the world, the rest of the universe dropped away. His heart stopped beating, dropped, and existed all at the same time. His stomach flipped and the Beast crooned with pleasure, victory, and satisfaction.

"No."