Footsteps echoed in the long palace hallways. The ubiquitous guards, wearing their helmets and carrying their pikes, snapped to attention as the red headed princess stomped past them. Her eyes looked as if they were made of steel, and edges on her face looked as if they were formed from flint. She soon reached her destination at the end of the hallway, where a huge, double door blocked her path. Several armored sentries guarded the door and she merely grunted at them as she stopped. Two of the burly men pulled the doors open and without even a thank you she marched into the room that waited beyond the door.

A large round table was in the middle of the room. Galfore was seated in the chair with the highest back, which was reserved for the Grand Ruler. Several men and women were also seated at the table, and were also discussing something in very belligerent and animated voices. They fell silent and their attention was redirected to the door. Galfore saw the princess and smiled.

"I see you have finally decided to assume your seat on the council." A middle aged woman acknowledged Starfire. "The presence of the Royal Family has long been absent … and your sister is unfit to take that role."

Starfire took her seat, another high backed chair that was taller than the others, and it had the family crest on it.

"I wish to speak about my sister."

Galfore nodded. "We were just discussing this year's agricultural output, but we can table that, my Princess. Speak, Koriand'r, what do you wish to discuss about your sister?"

"Why did you pardon her? You know that she cannot be trusted."

Galfore frowned. "I sympathize with your reservations. Do understand that the pardon was not unconditional. Though her rank as princess was restored, it was not fully restored. As Arianda said, she cannot take a seat on this council. That is reserved only for you and your offspring. Few of her privileges have been restored. Her rank is now primarily one of honor alone."

Starfire crossed her arms and scowled. "She behaves shamefully … she has taken her escort, a young lieutenant, as her lover."

"We are aware of that." A grizzly general named Kessa'd replied.

"Then why have you done nothing about it?"

Galfore cleared his throat. "We thought that if she was occupied in the bedroom that she might … stay out of trouble."

"She has not. Galfore, I demand that she be banished again."

Murmurs engulfed the huge round table. A small man, small by Tamaranian standards as he still stood at a towering two meters of height, rose from his chair. Starfire recognized him as the Minister of Justice.

"Milady, your sister was pardoned for services to the crown. She has been exonerated of all her past crimes. She cannot be banished again, unless of course she has committed treason anew. My Princess, what is your accusation against her?"

Starfire stood up, balling her fists in anger. "She is trying to turn my daughter against me."

"Would you elaborate, Koriand'r?" Galfore remarked.

"She is telling my daughter that we have forsaken her father, and is using gifts of food from Earth to persuade her."

Galfore stoked his beard. "Forgive me, my dear child, but we are all under the impression of that, namely your abandoning your mate, being the truth."

"It is not!"

"Then why is he not here?"

"You know very well why. He remained on Earth to protect it."

"A task that he will fail to accomplish." Another councilwoman remarked.

"I. Have. Not. Forsaken. Him." Starfire gesticulated angrily, pointing her index finger at the woman. "And he will succeed!"

Galfore raised his hand in a conciliatory gesture. "I believe you. But I am afraid that this is a family matter. While I agree that Kommand'r is behaving inappropriately, this is not a matter for the state and is certainly not an offense punishable by banishment."

"You know that she is up to no good."

"Perhaps." The Minister of Justice interjected. "But until she commits a crime … my hands are tied."

"By then it will be too late. Have you all forgotten how she usurped the throne?"

"There are now safeguards in place to prevent that from again." Councilwoman Arianda remarked.

Starfire harrumphed her disagreement. "You underestimate her cunning. And you are all fools for pardoning her and allowing her to return to Tamaran."

An old man glared at her. "You are the princess, but you will not address the council or the Grand Ruler in such a disrespectful manner."

"Hear, hear!" A chorus of voices rang.

Starfire rose from her seat. "I see that I have wasted my time warning you … I will trouble you no more."

Without saying another word she turned a left the council chamber. From the shadows a pair of glowing, violet colored eyes had been watching. As Starfire left, the eyes closed and were gone.

-( scene break )-

Nightwing and Batgirl, still stunned by the news, climbed into the helicopter. The Colonel followed them and gestured to the pilot, who guided the whirlybird into the African sky. The officer sat down opposite of Dick and Babs and after donning his headsets, he gestured them to do the same.

"The name's Cranston, Colonel Lamont Cranston."

"How bad is it Colonel, how far has it spread already?" Batgirl asked.

"It's pretty bad, ma'am. We're seeing outbreaks in Nairobi and Kampala."

"Anything outside of Africa yet?" Nightwing asked.

"Not yet, but it's only a question of time." The Colonel remarked in a grim voice.

"We'll do anything we can to help." Babs interjected.

"Actually, ma'am, we'd rather you not help."

Nightwing grew indignant. "What? Are you blaming the quarantine failure on us?"

The Colonel shook his head. "No, it wasn't your fault."

"They why don't you want our help?"

"I don't know how else to tell you this … but both of you are wanted … there's a bounty on your heads. My job is to safely and anonymously deliver you to Titans East Tower. Our trip will be in full stealth mode, no one will know where you are during transit. After that … I'm sorry, but you're on your own."

"Who placed a bounty on our heads?"

"Ever heard of G. Gordon Godfrey?"

"The tabloid journalist? Why would he put a bounty on us? And if he did, why isn't the government stopping him." Nightwing fumed.

The Colonel bit his lower lip before answering.

"He thinks that the Gordanians want to invade the Earth, in retaliation for what you Titans did to Trogaar years ago. He has no clue that they and many other alien battle cruisers currently in orbit want to turn the Earth into a piece of slag to stop the plague. He thinks that if he turns over as many Titans and their friends as possible to the Gordanians, that they might go away and leave us alone."

Babs shook her head in disbelief. "And the government is doing nothing because it covers up the real problem."

"That's right ma'am. I'm sorry."

Nightwing gave the Colonel a critical look. Grayson had a knack for reading people's faces. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Cranston nodded. "Godfrey has retained Slade Wilson as a so called military advisor on his show. It was Slade's idea to deliver you to the Gordanians … look … I'm sorry, if it was up to me, we would have taken Slade into military custody, but the people in charge, they have other ideas."

Grayson heaved a sigh. "Thank you for being candid with us, Colonel."

Cranston nodded, then headed into the cockpit. Nightwing's face suddenly became grim.

"It's over, Babs, it's done. The whole world will be infected in a few weeks."

"Maybe they've made some progress with the vaccine." She replied.

"Cranston would have told us if they had … I'm never going to see them again, my wife, my daughter, am I?"

"You don't know that, Dick. We're still alive, and as long as there is life, there's hope."

-( scene break )-

Raven slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry at first, but it quickly came into focus. The first thing she saw was his smiling, green face above her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually."

"Does anything hurt?"

"No … nothing hurts now … but it sure did hurt when she came out … where is she?."

"She's right over here, asleep."

Gar turned around and gently removed his daughter from the tiny, translucent bed where she was sleeping. Coraline was tightly wrapped in a receiving blanket. She opened her tiny eyes and yawned. Her father smiled approvingly before turning to his wife. He reached for Raven's shoulder and popped a few buttons on her hospital gown. Its front fell forward, exposing Raven's right breast. He gently handed the baby to her mother.

"I think she might be hungry."

Raven had read a few books on the art of nursing a baby, but none of them could have truly prepared her for the event she was about to experience. She moved the baby's head to her breast and with her free hand she inserted her nipple into the child's mouth. Coraline quickly latched on began to suckle with great enthusiasm. Raven looked both awestruck and overjoyed. She was so enraptured by the moment that she didn't notice when he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her very tenderly.

"Have I ever told you how amazing you are?" He whispered.

"A few times." She smirked. "But don't let that stop you from telling me again."

The continued to kiss for a few minutes and only stopped when Coraline fell asleep again and stopped suckling. He pulled up a chair and sat next to his wife.

"I examined you just before you woke up. You accomplished in an hour what takes most women a few months to achieve. I'm no stranger to your healing powers, but even I'm surprised … other than your engorged breasts there's no sign that you were ever pregnant."

"So, you're saying that we can immediately resume our love life?"

"I like the way you think, babe." He wagged his eyebrows at her. "But that will have to wait until later. I need to get back to the lab for a few hours. There is one thing I'm curious about, why did you go into labor? And it went so quickly too, not that I'm complaining, heck; you were fully dilated by the time you got here. If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were under some kind of duress. Or did this have something to do with your demon physiology?"

"Actually, it had a bit to do with both … and with Alexa."

"What did she do this time?"

Raven shook her head. "It's almost unbelievable."

"I work with those people; I think you'd have a hard time shocking me."

"Did you know that Matt McCall wants to have sex with me?"

"Ok … I'm officially shocked. Is this for real?"

"Oh, it gets even better. Alexa suggested … no … she demanded that I share you with her and Barbara McCall, at least while I recovered from child birth … I can't wait to see her face when I finds out that I'm fully recovered."

"Raven, are you serious? This isn't a joke, is it?"

"It's not a joke. She even gave me a book about polyamory, a book that claims monogamy is unnatural and even unhealthy … and guess who wrote it?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Why do I think I'm going to be surprised?"

"It was Dr. Barbara McCall."

"Ok, that really isn't all that surprising … but that's not what stressed you, is it?"

"Well, Alexa was really pissing me off. But then she went too far."

"What did she do? I gotta hear this."

"She claimed that she was your wife."

"That's ridiculous … why? Because I had a drunken one night stand with her?"

"You have a child with her."

"Please, don't remind me."

"She goes out of her way everyday to remind me. But there's more. She claimed that she is the "senior wife" in her fantasy harem, and that she has the right to sleep with you and that I can't do anything about it."

Gar burst out laughing. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"She was serious, Gar. She was demanding that I share you with her. She tried to convince me, saying that if I shared you and if I messed around with some other guys, that you and I would have a richer and stronger relationship."

"Whatever Alexa's smoking, I want some of that."

"Oh, Gar, don't tell me you smoked weed when you were in college."

"Uh … getting back to Alexa, what happened next?"

"I … I kind of lost control." She stammered.

"You mean you went all Ragey on her?"

"You could say that."

"I'll bet she crapped in her shorts."

"Actually, she was pretty cool about it. I have to give her credit, she seemed pretty unfazed, at least until the tentacles appeared and I flipped her upside down … and I threatened to send her to another dimension and not bring her back."

"Ouch … that was harsh, but she did have it coming."

"I was actually going to do it … and that was when my water broke."

"And after all that, she brought you here?"

"She did, and wouldn't shut up either. She kept prattling about us being co-wives and co-mothers. I almost sent her to another dimension anyway."

"So that's why you told her to get the hell out of the infirmary."

"I wasn't aware that I needed a reason." Raven grinned maliciously.

"You know what I mean."

As if on cue, Alexa poked her head into the infirmary. Her usual smirk was absent and instead she looked intense and very serious. Gar noticed her first.

"Alexa? Is something wrong?"

"You could say that … the quarantine in Africa failed, the disease is spreading like wild fire."

"That means we're running out of time." Raven interjected.

"That's an understatement … we have at most three weeks left." Alexa replied. "Raven, you can do magic, right?"

"Yes, I am a sorceress." She replied in her monotone. "Why do you ask?"

"Is there any kind of spell that eliminates the need to sleep? If we could do that then we could all work around the clock."

"There is, but prolonged use of it can be harmful."

"It's a risk we'll have to take … start with me and Gar. I'll send up the others in small groups."

"Didn't you hear me? If I keep everyone awake for three weeks, they could suffer brain damage."

"Yes, I heard you. But we have to work around the clock on this. If we fail, it won't matter if we're brain damaged or not … it'll be the end of the human race."

-( scene break )-

Starfire returned to her room, and quietly glided out to the massive balcony, the one where Robin once met, asking her to leave with him and not marry the horrendous and disgusting sclurch. That memory now felt so distant that it almost seemed like a dream that never truly happened. She raised her gaze to the sky and was able to see Sol, Earth's star, which shone with its dull, yellow light, a small, mediocre star in an ocean of dazzling diamonds. Had it not been so close to Vega and Tamaran the tiny and unremarkable star would probably be invisible to the naked eye.

The princess sighed and a tear dripped down her face. She returned to her room and sat on a chair, fighting back the feeling of loneliness that was overwhelming her. It was certainly a paradox, a contradiction. Richard was a weakling by Tamaranian standards and he had no superpowers. Yet she craved being wrapped in his arms. It was only then that she truly felt safe and complete. But now he was so far away, and the Council was convinced that Earth was doomed and that she had forsaken her spouse.

Starfire's gloomy funk was interrupted by an incoming call on the console in her room. She flitted over to the console and pressing a strangely shaped button (why did humans insist on button's being either round or four sided?) the view screen came to life. To her immense joy Raven appeared on the screen, holding a newborn in her arms.

"Raven! You have given birth!"

"Yes, I have. Say hello to Coraline Logan."

"This is glorious! But how are you able to contact me? Earth is under siege and all communications are blocked,."

"I called in a favor from Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern who helped you escape from Earth."

"I see." Starfire grinned before shouting into the room. "Mar'i! Wake up! Your Aunt Raven is on the phone and her baby has been born."

A clearly disheveled Nightstar, her hair a tangled, bed headed mess, ran to her mother's side.

"Aunt Raven! Is that baby Coraline!?"

Raven allowed one of her small smiles to appear on her face. "Yes, she is."

"She looks like you … she's so pretty!"

"Thank you, Mar'i … so Starfire, how are things at home?"

"They are not good, my dear friend. Galfore has pardoned Blackfire and she has returned to Tamaran and she is already trying to poison my daughter's mind with lies. She has told her that we abandoned Richard on Earth and that I do not love him anymore."

Raven cleared her throat. "Mar'i?"

"Yes, Aunt Raven?"

"You know that your Aunt Blackfire is lying to you. Your mother would never abandon your father."

"I should never have left Earth." Starfire moaned.

"You made the right choice Starfire. We're in big trouble here. The quarantine has failed."

Starfire gasped. "Then all hope is lost."

"Not yet, but doomsday is approaching. Everyone here in the lab is working around the clock and I still believe that there is a good chance they will find a cure … but in case they do not I am preparing a contingency plan."

"A plan, what sort of plan?"

"An escape plan. If it comes to the point of Earth being destroyed I will move as many Titans as possible to another dimension before they're infected. After laying low there for a while we can come back to this dimension and start over the human race on another world. I would prefer to save the whole world, but I don't see how we could go up against the entire Green Lantern Corp. Plus if everyone is infected they would all be dead by that time anyway."

Starfire nodded her understanding. "It is a good plan, Raven, you have always been the thoughtful one on our team."

"There is a problem … no one knows where Dick is, we can't get in touch with him. Starfire … listen carefully, I've made an arrangement with Hal Jordan to allow you and Nightstar to return to Earth. You can leave her with us while you go find your husband. I can't say this enough: time is of the essence. You must return to Earth as soon as possible."

"There is an emergency shuttle parked on Tamaran's third moon. I could fly back to Earth under my own power, but it would be difficult for Nightstar, since she is a child. Also, the shuttle will be faster than I could fly."

"Good, when you approach Earth, use these coordinates. Jordan will meet you there, fake your capture and take you straight down to the lab. I will teleport you inside. Understood?"

The Princess nodded. "I will arrive as soon as possible … Raven … thank you for thinking of me."

"No need to thank me, but please hurry. Raven out."

The screen went dark. Starfire picked her daughter up. "We must hurry and prepare to leave, my child."

"We're going to see Daddy, right?"

"Yes, we are. But we have a long journey ahead of us. We must prepare ourselves."

The young princess didn't need to be told twice. She quickly changed out of her pajamas and packed her bag.

"I'm ready, Mommy!" The child beamed. Starfire picked her and the small suitcase up, and took off, soaring into the nighttime sky.

-( scene break )-

Watching from her own balcony, Blackfire grinned as she observed her sister and niece fly away. Frassa'd watch with troubled eyes.

"Milady, shouldn't we report this to the Grand Ruler?"

She gave him a harsh look. "Tell Galfore? Why would I want to do that?"

"My Princess, I am confused."

"Of course you are. You see, Frassa'd, my sister has always been a thorn in my side. She deposed me when I was the Grand Ruler, and her half breed brat is now next in line for the throne. Now they will return to Earth, where they will die at the hands of the Green Lanterns. It couldn't be more perfect. Once they are gone there will be no other heirs to the throne. Then all I need to do is arrange for Galfore to have an 'accident' and I will once again be the Grand Ruler of Tamaran."

Frassa'd's eyes widened upon hearing of her plan, but he did not betray his concern.

"I am certain that you will be a wise and just ruler."

Blackfire laughed. "As if! No Frassa'd, I will rule Tamaran with an iron fist. I will execute all those who opposed me last time. Blood will flow in the streets. I will be feared, not only by my people, but by the whole galaxy! We will invade and conquer, and our first conquest will be the Centauri system. They will regret having thrown me into one of their prisons to rot just because I borrowed one of their stupid moon emeralds. They will rue that day as they mourn their dead."

"But what about the Green Lanterns, milady? Surely they will come to the defense of the Centaurians."

"It's about time that someone show Oa that they don't call the shots anymore … I will form an alliance with Sinestro."

"But my Princess, this, this is …"

"Madness? Of course it is. But all of the great geniuses and leaders throughout history were considered mad men and women. I am just another genius, perhaps the greatest of them all."

"But milady …"

Blackfire turned around, facing her bedchamber. "Come, Frassa'd, I wish to celebrate my good fortune … in my bed."

Unlike Blackfire, who was of royal blood, Frassa'd could not conjure star bolts nor did he have eyebeams. His primary weapon was a standard Tamaranian plasma blaster, which was issued to all officers. He reached for his holster, drew his weapon … and fired. Blackfire staggered as she slowly turned around to face him. Where her heart used to be there was now a large, smoldering hole in her chest. She mouthed the word 'why?' before collapsing. She was dead before her head hit the floor.

"Forgive me, my princess. I will always love you … but I love Tamaran even more."

Tears welling in his glowing green eyes, he aimed his blaster at his head and pulled the trigger.

-( scene break )-

Blackfire is dead! Who would have thought that Frassa'd had the stones to do it? I'm sure you would have preferred Alexa to die, but she still has a big role to play in this story

And now, it's mailbag time! 37 reviews at this time. What can I say, other than thanks?

Fl4mingTurd - I am always touched when someone finds one of my stories and reads it in just a few days

TrollingGirl – Cliff hangers are my specialty!

DeeThom – I can't imagine them surrendering so easily.

LSUABW – Thanks … now I want to have a Guinness!

Soulsurfer2112 – I like to mix adventure and drama in a story, though my observation is that my readers prefer drama over adventure.

Notabotipromise - You didn't have to wait that long, though I will admit that bouncing back and forth between this story and Carved in Stone is challenging.

Katt In The Boxx - Alexa will get what she deserves in the end. Just what that is, I won't tell you at this moment.

TheDarkChangeling - Sorry about that

EP – That's too bad. Where did you go?

Pb03 – Hmmm … I haven't decided yet what powers, if any, Coraline will have.

TortallianTimelord - Recovering from childbirth is a really big deal. Raven is very lucky to have her powers.

BartWLewis – You mean like have the X-ray machine fall on her or something?

Sweetums14 - I hope your ex-best friend isn't dead!

ComicSuperheroLedgendVideoGame – All interesting thoughts.

Kidstandout - The real question is how much does Slade really know? And you know that he also had an escape plan of his own … he always does!

TW - The situation is looking grim

JOHNXgambit - Imagine giving birth

Me – Thanks!

Death Stroke The Kid – No kidding!

Randamwriter – Raven has connections!

Shadico - As you can see, her plan was to drive Star away. Things, however, didn't work out for Blackfire. Regarding Star's second pregnancy, that was unveiled just before Raven and Gar headed off to the lab

gabylokita41 – Thanks!

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – It was her undoing

Bluedog197 – Why Mark doesn't like Alexa will be revealed

The Cretin – Blackfire just said that to get Frassa'd to take the Viagra

TJSC25 – Alexa always has an ulterior motive.

Anoymous136 – She viewed him as a plaything. She seriously misjudged him.

TheThoughtsofKarasu - She's on her way!

SuperNolon - Yeah, she is a nympho, heck she was all over Robin in the episode "Sisters"

Wolf of IndigoRiver – I think Raven would be a good mom

WishToBeYouSomeday – There's now in this story that will happen. Carved in Stone … that's another matter altogether.

titanfan45 - Makes you wonder if Alexa is really that stupid?

Katie TDC – I will eventually finish Bulls Eye, though I might overhaul it and start over, like I did with 8 Years Later and Carved in Stone

Dragonkyng – Eventually they would learn the truth as the pandemic would spread. Knowing Godfrey, he would say that it's part of the alien attack, a form of biological warfare.

bigC94 – I felt sorry for Frassa'd. That scene was proof that there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing"

mlbv-grimm – A clone is a genetic copy of another organism.