Once again the giant holographic globes floated in the Grand Hall. Both rotated slowly while tactical military personnel tapped away on their data pads. Both spheres would constantly update, reflecting the ever changing tactical situation.
The sphere that represented Tamaran was mostly white; with the odd swirl shaped colors on its surface that made it look like jawbreaker, at least to human observers. Tamaranians had no such candy. Red dots representing Sunfire corvettes would rise from the surface and take their place in equatorial orbit.
Today there was difference from the last time the Tamaranian prepared for war. Over two dozen heavy cruisers, which had been recalled from their deep space missions, guarding the Vega system from any Gordanian intrusions, had been summoned home the last time and were now also orbiting Tamaran. They were cigar shaped and about a kilometer long each. It was that a single X'hal class cruiser could take on over a dozen Gordanian battle cruisers, though that had yet to be verified on the battlefield. What was really on Galfore's and Kessa'd's minds was how the ships would fare against one hundred Green Lanterns.
The other sphere represented Earth. The last known positions of the Green Lanterns and other blockading vessels were also represented by dots, which orbited the planet, with the Lanterns floating in geosynchronous orbits while the blockade observers occupied various orbital planes, most being past the moon's own orbit. One of the observer vessels flashed in a deep red tone. It was Trogaar's new ship.
Galfore was seated at his throne, observing all that happened in the massive hall. General Kessa'd stood next to him.
"We will take out the Gordanian ship as we approach Earth." Galfore growled. "I have not forgotten what they did to Koriand'r."
"I will assign my best Sunfire squadron to take it down. The Princess will be avenged."
"Once we get past the Lanterns we should find minimal opposition on Earth. The humans are technologically backward … did you ever see the pitiful ship in which they brought Koriand'r home, when she was betrothed to that disgusting sclurch?"
"I remember it well, Grand Ruler. It was a toy. It's amazing they did not perish when they were attacked upon approaching Tamaran."
"They almost were destroyed … what do you know about Earth, General?"
"Its surface is comprised mostly of oceans and it has two larger landmasses and two smaller ones, one of which is located in the southern polar region. Most of the larger urban areas are located along the coastlines."
"Do you have a strategy, General?"
"I do. We will have the heavy cruisers engage the Lanterns. Our Sunfire squadrons will slip past the blockade and descend to Earth's surface. Once they do, they will have limited time until a Lantern pursues them."
"Yes, General, they will need to be swift. Have you selected the targets where to search for the Princesses?"
Kessa'd tapped on his data pad. Three flashing dots appeared on the Earth's surface. Galfore furrowed his brow as he leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "Those are good choices, General. She is almost certain to be in one of those locations. When will the fleet be ready?"
"We will be ready to depart in 4 hours, my Lord."
"Good … make it so, General. And prepare my personal corvette … I will be coming to Earth as well."
"As you wish, Grand Ruler."
-( scene break )-
Titans Tower, Jump City …
"This sucks, this totally blows."
"I agree, Connor, but we have our orders." Wally remarked in a less than enthusiastic tone.
The half Kryptonian crossed his muscular arms over the famous "S" shield on his black T-shirt.
"The whole city is rioting. We should be out there, doing something."
"And what would that be?"
"I don't know." Superboy flailed his arms.
"Exactly."
"So that's it? While Jump City burns to the ground, the Teen Titans just sit on their butts and do nothing?"
"You're still scrubs, you aren't Teen Titans yet, which is why we take our orders from Cyborg. And if he says that we barricade ourselves in the Tower, then that's what we do."
"I'm not afraid of Slade's bounty."
"That's not the point. Of course we aren't afraid. But we have our orders." Wally reminded him.
"Well … our orders suck."
"They do, but they still stand."
"Arggh! I can't stand this hiding and pussyfooting around … I just wish something would happen!"
"Careful what you wish for Connor. You never know when you'll get it."
-( scene break )-
The dining hall seemed emptier than usual, which wasn't surprising as meals were being sent directly to the lab and the only diners were the support personnel, who were not required to work around the clock.
An air of despair permeated the hall. The news that the virus was slowly but steadily spreading to the four corners of the Earth was now hardly a secret, and it was clearly reflected in the demeanor of all those present. Raven, being the empath that she was, could hardly push back against the ocean of unhappy thoughts. She noticed that Matt McCall was seated at a table in a far corner, calmly chatting with a pretty young woman. She too was able to sense his emotions, which were very target towards the shapely young woman. Feeling disgusted with what she was sensing from Matt, she raised a mental barrier and blocked out all emotions.
Is that all he can think about? At least he isn't hitting on me anymore, thank Azar for small favors.
There was no line where the food was served. Raven decided that she didn't wish to eat in the dining hall, and instructed that she wanted everything in to go containers. She asked for an extra meal and the server didn't even blink an eye as she filled another Styrofoam container with meatloaf, potatoes, green beans and gravy, placing it in a large plastic bag. She also, without being asked, placed a whole boxed apple pie into the bag which she handed to the sorceress.
"Aunt Raven, did you get some dinner for Mar'i?" The green child asked.
Raven shushed him. "Yes, I did, now let's go to the library and …"
Her discourse was interrupted by a shrill alarm, which she immediately recognized … someone had been accidentally exposed to the virus.
Her first instinct was to reach out to him. She lowered her barriers and a torrent of emotions flooded over her psyche, blinding her mind. They were, as she expected, turbulent and wild. She rapidly sifted through them until she found him. Gar was scared and concerned, but he did not fear for his life.
Raven heaved a sigh of relief. Were he to become infected and if no cure was found, she would have to leave him behind when they escaped to the sanctuary in another dimension. The very thought of that made her windpipe constrict and her heart rate speed up. Losing him was not a scenario she cared to contemplate.
As Raven relaxed she sensed another voice in the crowd, one that was familiar but also didn't belong.
Raven gasped when she recognized the owner of the stray emotions, which exuded fear. She dropped the bag with the takeaway dinners, which fell to the floor and splattered.
"No!"
-( scene break )-
"There's a child in the containment chamber!"
Gar hastily put his coffee mug down on the counter, spilling some of its contents in the process, before rushing to McCall's workstation. He skidded to a halt in front of the large window and felt his mouth go dry. Other lab personnel arrived at the scene and stared in utter disbelief at the scene before them.
The crowd began to murmur.
"How did she get in?" An anonymous voice asked.
"Wasn't the airlock be secured?"
"Who is she? I've never seen her before."
"Beats me, neither have I."
"She's been exposed to the virus!"
"We need to get her into a stasis chamber, pronto … where's Dr. Logan?"
Mar'i looked as if she was ready to cry. A pair of blue starbolts began to form around her hands. Beast Boy pushed his way forward to the workstation, where he grabbed a microphone. After pressing the push to talk button, he gently spoke into the microphone in a calm and soothing voice.
"Mar'i, you need to put your star bolts away. You could hurt someone with them."
"Did he say starbolts?" Another voice asked.
"She's gonna breach the chamber!" Alexa shouted. "Everyone, get out of here."
The crowd didn't need to be told twice and it stampeded out of the room.
Gar remained at the station with the mike in his hand. "You can do it, Mar'i, put the starbolts away."
"I'm scared Uncle Gar."
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
Her starbolts shrank until the finally disapperared.
"That's my girl, I knew you could do it."
"Who is this child?" Alexa hissed at him. "I've never seen her before and she isn't on the roster. And why does she know you?"
Gar sighed. "She's Starfire's daughter. Her name is Mar'i."
"And how did she get into my lab?"
"I have no idea why she's here. She's supposed to be on Tamaran with her mother."
"So you're telling me that his child flew from the Vega system to Earth, evaded the Green Lantern blockage and somehow was able to slip past our security system and get into our facility."
"I don't know how she got here, but I suspect Raven knows. I haven't seen her in two days."
"Gar, do you have any idea of how disruptive this is? Get her into a stasis tube before she becomes ill."
He shook his head. "I'm not sure we can do that."
"What are you talking about?"
Nightstar began to whimper. "Uncle Gar, I want to get out of here. I was looking for Aunt Raven. She left me in the room and Uncle Cyborg called and said it was important."
"She's only half human; the stasis tubes are set up for humans. I'll need to adjust it for her."
"Then what are you waiting for? Get to it!"
"Relax, she's my responsibility."
"You'd better believe it, pal. Once you've tucked her away, you and I are having a talk. But first I'm having a heart to heart with your wife."
"Bad idea, you aren't exactly her favorite person in the world."
"I'll be the judge of that." Alexa seethed as she headed for the exit. "When I get back, she'd better be in a stasis tube or there's gonna be hell to pay."
"Are you threatening me?" He growled at her in a guttural tone.
"Just do your damn job!" She howled as she slammed shut the lab door, which sealed airtight with a hissing sound.
Gar's shoulders slumped. He remembered that Nightstar was in the chamber and turned to face her. He did his best to form a reassuring smile.
"Mar'i? I need to take a blood sample from you."
"What's a blood sample?"
"It means that I will have to stick in needle into your arm, and take just a teensy bit of blood."
"I don't like needles, Uncle Gar. Why do you need my blood?"
"I need to check if you're sick. And if you are, you'll need to sleep in a special tube until we can make some medicine to make you better. Mar'i, I know you're a brave girl, right?"
She nodded slowly and without any real conviction.
"I'm going to put on a special suit and come into the room to take your blood sample. I have to go put it on, but I'll be right back. You promise to wait for me right where you are? You can't leave that room, understand? It's really important that you stay there."
Again she nodded.
"Good, I'll be right back." He said before hurrying out a
Nightstar waited patiently for what felt like a small eternity, until the door reopened and what looked like an astronaut in a space suit entered the room, and he was carrying a small briefcase. He made his way to the airlock and after passing through the two doors he was in the chamber. Nightstar stared at him, dumbfounded.
"You're wondering about the suit, right? Mar'i, there are some germs in this room that could make me get really sick and I don't want that. I think they can't make you sick, but I need to check before we let you come out, or you would make everyone sick." He opened his case.
"I don't feel sick."
"I know, it's too soon for you to feel sick. That's why I have to check your blood for germs. I also need to check your body chemistry. If you are sick you'll need to sleep in a stasis tube, but since you're Tamaranian I'll need to change the tube."
Mar'i cringed when she saw the needle. "I hate needles too, but you're a brave girl."
Gar quickly took the blood samples, which had an odd orange/red hue. It looked like neither human nor Tamaranian blood.
"Ok, we're done." He reached into his case and gave her a paper bag. "They're donuts. Go ahead and eat them all if you want. I'll be just right outside; we have a special microscope I need to use. It won't take me long, I promise."
The child felt her stomach growl and she sniffed the bag's contents. A small smile appeared on her face as she crammed a chocolate glazed donut into her mouth.
-( scene break )-
Ignoring the splattered contents of the take out bag, Raven grabbed Mark's hand and the familiar hum of her dark energy was heard. A black hemisphere appeared and engulfed them before sinking into the ground. The half ball of eldritch energy rose moments later from the floor in the small living room in the apartment. Raven immediately noticed that they were not alone.
"If you're looking for the child, she's not here." Alexa fumed. The expression on her face was both stern and angry.
"What are you doing in my apartment? And where is Mar'i?"
"So you did smuggle a child into the facility. I knew you were nothing but trouble the day I met you."
"Where. Is. She?"
"She's in the lab. You left her unsupervised and she wandered off into the lab and exposed herself to the virus." Alexa replied in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"How did she get into the lab without anyone noticing her?"
"We don't watch for stray children, because there aren't supposed to be any! We're working around the clock and we're very focused. Of course you wouldn't understand that, would you, 'Dr. Roth'. What is your PhD in anyway, underwater basket weaving?"
Raven ignored the put down. "You said she was exposed to the virus."
"Yes, and your husband is tending to her, fitting a stasis tube for her, when he should be working on finding a cure … I knew you should've stayed in Jump. You're nothing but trouble."
"I want to see her."
Alexa glared at the sorceress. "Follow me."
They walked to the lift and Alexa pressed the button for lab level 8. The doors closed and the elevator began to descend. The tension in the air was thick.
"You just had to come, you mousy, territorial and possessive harpy. You just couldn't bear the thought of sharing him with anyone."
"I won't even grace that idiotic remark with a response."
"You just did." Alexa smirked.
"I'll give you a response! You've been scheming on getting yours claws on my husband since the day we met. Then you have the gall to call yourself his other wife just because you had a once night stand with him that blew up in your face."
"Ok, so maybe I did screw up, but at least I took ownership of my mistake. You on the other hand, smuggle a child in here. Why didn't you just say that you needed to babysit this girl? You could have had support! She would have been supervised in the daycare and you wouldn't have needed to hide her. Now, because you tried to outsmart me, the child has been infected. And you know what Raven?" Alexa poked her in the chest. "This is your fault. And I don't care if you are a hero with powers, what you did was outrageous and irresponsible. And for the record, I don't want Mark to be around you anymore."
The elevator doors opened before Raven could reply. The scene that greeted them was … unexpected.
The lab staff had returned since Alexa left and what appeared to be a party was underway. People were dancing, hugging and kissing. Barbara McCall was on her knees and weeping. A man had his hands raised as he thanked God.
"What is the meaning of this?" Alexa shouted.
The party stopped and a young woman turned to them, looking deliriously happy.
"Dr. Logan found the cure!" She cried happily. "He's saved the whole world!"
-( scene break )-
Yeah, it was predictable, wasn't it? Detail will be given next chapter. And no, this story is far from over, so hang around. We have some ornery Tamaranians to deal with still, and a few more surprises are in store, so stick around. Also, this story is eclipsing Carved in Stone, so that story will go into hiatus until I finish this one.
And another promise: Once I finished this one, I will republish the original story and finish it as well.
We are approaching the 1000 review mark for this story, and I couldn't have done it without you, my loyal readers. Views are not looking too shabby either; we are already past the 50,000 mark.
What this means of course, is that most of you have chosen to remain lurkers. I would really like to know what you're thinking about this story. What works for you, what doesn't? Drop me a review and let me know.
And now, it's time for the mailbag!
TheBeezKneez – Nope it was Nightstar
punkrocka23 – Which TV Series? Batman the Animated Series or The Batman?
ToraHimeSama - Raven forgets that not all kids were as precociously mature as she was.
TW - They don't like being messed with.
Avamys – The Atlanteans seem to like keeping to themselves. Still, it could make for a good side story.
SuperNolon – You forgot!? How could you!? Just kidding.
Guest – Thanks! And I say that because there is some pretty stiff competition out there. Might I suggest "The Crime of Passion" by Sir Alwick? I personally think that's the best story now.
The Cretin – Indeed, you'd think that for once Nightwing would just shut up and enjoy the ride.
goldenrod51 – Kids really do say the darndest things.
Anoymous136 – Uh … yes!
Me – Thank you!
EP – Hang onto your hat, another plot twist is coming up!
Ubiytsa - Yup, that game is so old I figured most of my younger readers have never played it.
gabylokita41 – I'm evil that way! Beg, reader, beg!
Bluedog197 – I know, I did kill Raven in a couple of my stories, but it should be obvious that the only one who will die in this story is … wait a minute, I can't tell you that!
WishToBeYouSomeday – Too late!
Soulsurfer2112 - I'm planning on it being a boy.
checkit789 - Well, a cure was found.
Adventuresstime - That is high praise. Thank you!
Katie TDC – Poor Alexa! She's just a poor, misunderstood, power hungry, nymphomaniac!
mlbv-grimm - Poor Mar'i, she just wanted to see her father, and went looking for Raven to tell her.
DeeThom - It's been established that they are immune.
Shadico - I aim to please
Fl4mingTurd – Kryalla Orchid has me beat, hands down. When she gets into the groove, she can update daily!
BartWLewis – Well, as you already know now, she was.
Angelic Demon - Mark is still pretty young, and has lived a very sheltered life.
Sweetums14 – This story isn't close to being done.
Randamwriter – Yeah, she'll live
JOHNXgambit – Hmmm … those aren't good odds.
Hairul The Nightrage Beast – Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
Wolf of IndigoRiver – You are clairvoyant!
krostovikraven1 – As a mom, you are more than familiar with this trait in kids
titanfan45 - Alexa was really chewing her out!