All extraterrestrial thoughts and speech have been translated from the native tongues to English.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=YJ=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jump City, California|

February 14th, 2016|

7:21 AM, GMT-8|

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=YJ=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Koriand'r could not believe it. After all these years, she was finally free! She glanced down at her arms and sighed. Well, she was almost completely free. She silently cursed the guard who managed to cuff her and hoped he suffered X'hal's wrath in his afterlife. She looked down from the tree she barely managed to float up to and she wondered if this was a fraction of what her sister suffered as a child; unable to truly fly. After so much time in confinement with little real starlight, the rays of this system's sun was a gift. She floated to the surface floor and let the sun's rays rejuvenate her aching body. In the solitude of the ridge beneath the branches of a tree, an unfamiliar planet with her face to an unfamiliar sun, she thanked Auron. Thanked him for her life, her newfound freedom, and her ability to fly once more. Then she bowed her head and asked for X'hal's continued protection for her family, just as she had done every single waking moment when she was in captivity. She even whispered a prayer of thanks to both of them for the freedom fighters who aided her escape, whispering pleas for their protection and continued success.

Koriand'r looked from the greenery beneath her feet and into the city. It was so different from the capital city of Tamarus. No vehicles that flew but many, many vehicles on the ground. And the people! They did not seem to be able to fly at all! Koriand'r quietly wondered just how far away from Tamaran they had taken her. The sun was yellow, so it could not be the Rao system or any other red-starred system. The Polaris system was overrun with Gordanians she had so recently escaped, so that was out. Eventually, she decided that trying to figure out where she wound up would get her nowhere. The best thing to do now would be to get the suppression cuffs off and then try to get home. With her goal in mind, she headed into the town.

She was thoroughly disappointed when she realized that the people did not speak any language she knew. And she knew a lot. She attempted to communicate through her native Tamaranean, then Okaaran, Karnian, Cullacaoan, Hynxx, Aelloan, Kryptonian, and even the accursed Citadelian tongue; none of which the beings she encountered seemed to know. Some people even seemed frightened of her and ran off before she so much as got a word out. Koriand'r sighed and gave up for the moment and focused all her attention on trying to break the cuffs. If she could simply damage them, even a little, perhaps her strength could be restored long enough to break them completely. With little idea of how the suppression cuffs worked, she went with the first idea she thought of:

Banging them against inanimate objects in the hopes the cuffs might bend.

After a long length of time, she had no idea how long she had been at it, it was clear that her plan was not working very well. Everything she tried wound up broken. She hoped no one would miss them. Then she spied a still vehicle. Surely, that would be sturdy enough to withstand the cuffs. Alas, when she brought her hands down, the vehicle only bent, crumpling beneath her strength and the hardness of the cuffs. Still, she kept trying, hoping that perhaps it would work. Perhaps it would be the thing that finally worked. But to no avail. When the vehicle was destroyed, she sighed and let herself land on the ground, no longer able to sustain her flight. It was only after she had crumpled to the floor in frustration did she finally realize she had taken out her anger on something that belonged to someone else

"There she is!"

Koriand'r froze at the snarl. No! There was no way. She had killed them all when she escaped and damaged the vehicle. There was no way they could have survived the explosion.

She stood and slowly turned and found not one, but four Gordanian slavers, one she recognized as having stabbed in the leg before the suppression cuffs had been placed on her.

"Shouldn't your remains be scattered across the planet?" She said with a grin.

"You will pay for destroying our ship troq!" the one on her far left said

"You face a princess of Tamaran!" Koriand'r shouted.

"The Princess of Troq," the other on her right chortled. "An empty title."

Had the situation been different, Koriand'r would have taken the time to roast him from the inside out and watch as his flesh burned. Sadly, the situation was what it was, and Koriand'r was in no shape to fight them all on her own. With little choice, she picked up the bits of the crumpled vehicle's frame and flung it at them. They tumbled back and she ran, trying to put as much distance between herself and them as possible.

They gave chase and were not nearly as fast as they should have been. Koriand'r supposed that she had severely injured them and damaged their armor to slow them down this much. Still, she scolded herself for not killing them when she had the chance. She might not have wound up unable to wield her fire and on the run from her former captors otherwise. When she got out of those accursed cuffs, she would not make the same mistake again. She shook the thoughts from her mind and only took short pauses to throw things at them in an effort to slow them down. Oh, how she wished she could fly, the fools would never touch her!

She picked up an empty vehicle and flung it, uncaring of where it went so long as it hit them. Idly, she noticed that the native people had went off running. She did not blame them for not aiding her. She was a stranger and the sight of Gordanians was a good reason to run away. She ripped a thin column of metal out from the ground and swung it at them when one got to close, drawing screams from natives nearby and she hoped she had not injured one of them. She did not have time to focus on that for as soon as the Gordanian was dazed, she went off running again, overturning objects and surely destroying a few things she probably should not have.

She had no idea how long she had been running, it felt like days, when she heard the sound of some sort of scuffle. Koriand'r turned and stared. Four beings had begun engaging the Gordanians in battle, one pale dressed in black and grey, another pale one dressed in grey and blue, a darker one in red and blue, and one that was white like the planet's clouds, dressed in black as well. Hesitantly walking towards the center of the fray, Koriand'r stared in rapt attention; watching as one used psionic abilities and ripped off bits of their battered armor. Who were these beings? Were they the planet's military? They were not in some sort of uniform. Perhaps they were a collective of the planet's champions? Koriand'r blinked as the grey-and-blue one easily bounced between three of the slavers and then called the others. They withdrew and Koriand'r paused. Were they surrendering? Suddenly the grey-and-blue one pressed a button upon his gauntlet and the Gordanians howled in pain.

Oh! He had put some sort of incapacitating devices on them! Two Gordanians fell down and the third struggled. Not wanting to give it the chance to recover, Koriand'r ran behind it and swung with all her might, knocking it to the ground. The four, five, as another had joined their side and stared at her. Koriand'r did not have a chance to thank them as the third one appeared behind them.

"The other one! Behind you! Behind you!" she cried.

They only blinked at her in surprise and Koriand'r ran towards them. One of them prepared for her impact but she only jumped over all of them and put her fist into the Gordanian's exposed face. He recovered and snarled, which she returned.

"Bastard," she called. "X'hal shall burn your soul."

"Troq."

She glared and spat at him, smirking slightly when it hit him square in the face. He lunged and she sidestepped the clumsy action. She rolled over him and snagged his weapon, landing on her feet and just barely able to wield the thing. He screamed curses at her and she readied herself to attack when it pulled out a remote. Before she had a chance to react, he pressed a button and Koriand'r felt her body being wracked with pain. She suppressed a wail and used the spear as a cane, refusing to bow to the monster. It chuckled, thoroughly assured in his victory. Koriand'r could feel the strength slowly being sapped from her body as the cuffs stung her. She was so close, so close to being free, she would not go back. She would die before going back.

And she would live before dying.

She slowly felt herself slipping to the ground when there was the sound of something breaking. The pain soon stopped and Koriand'r did not waste a single second. In spite of the pain, she lunged, shoving the spear into the exposed flesh of his neck. She jumped and pushed down with all her might, she jump up and drove the weapon in further, the satisfying sound of the blade piercing through bone, flesh and armor the only thing keeping her upright at this point. She only pulled back when she was sure the monster was dead, collapsing to the ground before his corpse. It was over. It was finally over. She heaved deep breaths, relief flooding her aching form. She closed her eyes sure that she would back out, but surprisingly she blinked them open again, she found a hand.

Koriand'r looked up. The grey-and-blue one was offering to help her up. She hesitated for a moment but took his hand. He pulled her up and she noticed that two of his companions approached. Another dark skinned one wearing brown and blue and the white one with psionic abilities. She watched as they spoke and as the other two who fought the Gordanians hand-to-hand began to clear the battlefield. She noticed that the pale one was putting the three Gordanians in a pile and was making a makeshift cage for them with the debris. She watched them curiously until she heard a new voice.

"Are the others like that one?"

Koriand'r turned and nearly shuddered. A flying man bearing the Maltusian symbol on his chest had approached. Koriand'r was astonished. The one who helped her up and the Maltusian soldier began to convers and her mind reeled. Was the soldier the one in charge? Was this planet under Maltusian control? He pointed his hand at her and Koriand'r stepped back, trampling the Gordanian corpse.

The grey-clad one spoke again and the two spoke again. The Maltusian soldier seemed annoyed and then sighed, pointing his hand at the grey-clad one again. The green ring on his hand glowed and emitted a bright light. It flowed over the grey-clad champion and then stopped. The green ring blinked and then it spoke.

Species: Human. Primary language: English. Not translation required.

Jewellery that could both project light and speak, surely a Maltusian creation. The grey-clad champion turned to her again and spoke, gesturing for her to move forward. She hesitated once more, staring at him for a few moments, trying to find some form of malicious intent. She could find none. Satisfied, she gave him a small smile and spoke; though sure he did not understand.

"I trust you."

She stepped forward and the Maltusian soldier pointed at her again. She could not stop herself from flinching, but she held herself still as the ring blinked and a green light washed over her body. She felt her face twist with mild discomfort when it passed over her eyes, but she felt no pain. When it was over the ring blinked again and spoke once more

Species: unknown. Primary language: Unknown.

Everyone went quiet for a while, the air still. Finally, the dark skinned one in brown spoke.

"What?"

That seemed to be what the others were thinking. They seemed to be surprised by whatever the device said. Koriand'r did not understand but nonetheless, blinked in surprise as the Maltusian soldier commanded the other five. Before she had a chance to question what they were doing, Koriand'r found herself swathed in a green light. Her glowing cell followed the Maltusian soldier and she turned back to the five below. She banged uselessly against the luminescent walls of her prison.

What was going on? He was removing her from the city and they had begun to fly over a sea. Perhaps this planet really was under the control of the Maltusians and this was arresting her for causing a disturbance. She inwardly groaned; she had escaped one prison only to walk right into another. Still, this one may have sense of his own and might help her if she asked. Koriand'r held her head up before speaking.

"Excuse me, would you please help me get this contraption off me?"

When she spoke, he seemed so surprised that he stopped. The man spoke again, this time to the ring on his finger that projected the light around her. It made a defeated-sounding noise before speaking in what Koriand'r assumed was the native language.

Language not identified.

"I heard you the first time."

Koriand'r let out an annoyed huff before attempting to peak again, this time in Okaaran.

"If you and your ring are finished, I would appreciate being released from this."

She held her arms up as a request for aid, but the man seemed too busy to notice. The ring was speaking again, this time with a different voice, flashing with every word.

"Hal, what's taking you so long?"

"My ring's translator isn't working."

"It what? How could it not be working?"

"I just told you: it's not working. I think she just tried a different language and it didn't work."

"Only Jordan would manage to brake his ring."

Koriand'r blinked. Just how many different voices did that single piece of jewellery possess?

"Hang on, I'm on my way."

"Me too! I have got to see this!"

The ring stopped flashing and the man sighed. He looked back at Koriand'r and gave sad smile. The mask on his face undercut it, but Koriand'r tried to appreciate it nonetheless.

"Sorry, miss. Hopefully, the other two and I can sort this out and we'll be able to get you home soon."

Not for the first time, Koriand'r wished she had the opportunity to assimilate the language, if only to make communication easier. She opted to languish in her little bubble and look out at the water below them. Through the green that tinted her vision she could see that the sea moved, not nearly as roughly as the seas on Tamaran, but it was similar enough to be comforting. She watched the waves roll and soon began to doze. She woke with a start at a loud shout and blinked up at the arrival of two more flying men, also bearing the Maltusian symbol. How ironic, a Tamaranean finding comfort in the grasp of the Maltusians.

"Alright Jordan, what did you do?"

Koriand'r blinked and realized that the voice was the same one from the ring earlier. The ring was also a communication device! The man with red hair seemed to find something funny, though whether it had anything to do with her, Koriand'r had no idea. The man with black hair and darker skin than either of the other two seemed completely fed up.

"I didn't do anything! I came up, grabbed her, and was on my way to the rendezvous point when she started talking. That's when I realized something was wrong," the first one said, seeming upset.

Koriand'r watched as the fed up man's eyes rolled and he turned to look at her.

"Excuse me miss, what's your name?"

Koriand'r stared for a moment. Did he think she spoke their language? She could, if she would let out! Still, her expression was flat and she spoke succinctly in Karnian.

"I cannot understand a word you are saying, you fool."

The man's eyes widened and he seemed surprised instead of upset. His expression was comical and Koriand'r could not help but laugh. The one who had been laughing stopped and he spoke next.

"Do you understand me?"

Koriand'r looked at him as though he was a fool, because he was. Did the Maltusians not provide them with means for understanding new languages? It was not as if they were incapable of it. She tried yet another tongue, this time Cullacaoan.

"Your masters are cruel."

At that, the three of them shared looks. One of horror, another of complete disbelief, and the other a mixture of both. Suddenly, the three of them were speaking, though not to each other.

"Captain, we captured the alien woman who'd been rampaging through Jump city," the one who captured her said, putting his opposite hand to his ear.

Silence before he spoke again.

"No, but we can't figure it out either."

"Our rings aren't translating anything she's saying, sir," the black-haired one said, doing the same thing to his head as the first had done.

"Well, they can't all be broken," the red-haired one said, putting his hands on his hips.

After that, the three seemed to devolve into some sort of argument before calming down. The black-haired one seemed satisfied with the outcome, whilst the other two seemed put out.

"Well, let's go," the black-haired one, said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=YJ=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Watchtower|

February 14th, 2016|

9:56 PM, GMT|

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=YJ=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The three Maltusian soldiers had flown off-planet. Towards a station in orbit. Koriand'r hoped there was someone aboard who would help her. They arrived and she was led to a room. A white room that was brightly lit; no starlight. Starfire was annoyed at being dragged out of the wonderful sunlight, but if it ended with her being un-cuffed, it would be worth it in the end. Koriand'r watched in silence as another man entered the room. He was shiny, from his hair down to his feet, with a red emblem on his chest. Not a Maltusian soldier. Perhaps a liaison with the local authorities? He looked her over with an analytical gaze before turning to the other three.

"And none of you have any idea what she is either?"

The three gave a garbled chorus of responses, and not one voice was clear over another. The shiny man looked annoyed and put a hand on his face. Koriand'r almost laughed. A being with authority over Maltusian soldiers? What world had she wound up on?

"Alright, I called in Raven and Krystallo. Hopefully they'll be able to sort this out."

The shiny man left, leaving Koriand'r alone with three Maltusian soldiers, her wariness rising. Were these people subjects of solar-system-ruling overlords? How long would it be before they realized that she was one of the millions of outcomes left behind from their failed experiments? What would they do when they found her? Would they dispose of her? Or would she be used in experiments as X'hal had been before her ascension? Koriand'r tensed her muscles to keep herself from shuddering. She had managed to avoid such a cruel fate with her previous captors for years. How terrible it would be to escape them, only to be captured by even worse masters. Masters she could not kill. Not while still cuffed. Koriand'r wondered whether she should wait to attempt an escape. The shiny man soon returned with three figures following him. A female dressed in the shades of purple and some pink, a smaller female dressed in dark blue and black, and one of the champions from the city, with the blue emblem on his chest. The purple one seemed interested in her appearance then noticed the cuffs.

"Those aren't League standard," she said, turning to the first Maltusian soldier. "Was she wearing those when you found her?"

"Yes?"

The soldier seemed almost embarrassed. Koriand'r wondered what sort of power she had to make a Maltusian soldier almost cower.

"And did any one of you think to take it off of her?"

Now the entire room seemed to be ashamed. The purple one looked annoyed before she turned on her heel and made sweeping motions with her arms.

"Alright, everyone out, everyone. The only four people in here are our new friend and the three of us. Let's go."

Koriand'r watched with wary curiosity as the soldiers, the shiny man, and the floating people slowly left.

"Are you sure you won't need any help?" the shiny man said.

"Don't worry; you can monitor us via the security cams. And we'll have Nightwing to keep us safe," the purple one said.

They finally left and Koriand'r could help but feel relieved. As nice as they had been, she did not trust the Maltusian soldiers. The last time a woman trusted anything of the Maltusians; it ended in her utter torment. The purple one turned back to her after the others left. She pointed to herself and started speaking again.

"Name: Krystallo."

She pointed to the smaller female

"Raven."

Then she pointed to the male.

"Nightwing."

Koriand'r was not quite sure what that was supposed to mean. Were those their names? Or was it something else? Was she expected to understand their language? Then the male spoke.

"Raven."

The smaller female turned to look at him. Then she spoke.

"Krystallo."

The bigger female turned to look at the smaller female. Then she spoke.

"Nightwing."

The male turned to look at the bigger female and Koriand'r understood. They were trying to tell her their names! The purple one smiled and looked at her arms out.

"Name?"

"Koriand'r."