The island nation of Themyscira is a lush, tropical hideaway just south of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. The island's inhabitants are a legendary race of what some refer to as "Amazons," whose heritage and culture date back to mythological beginnings, and to most of the outside world, people are still cynical about the Amazons' origins. If not for Themyscira's most famous export, the heroine called Wonder Woman, most people would still regard the island the way they did Atlantis, almost imaginary. That status was due largely in part that tourism isn't huge on Themyscira; the natives don't care for visitors solely for tourism's sake.
The time was 3:45pm, and the sun was still high in the sky as one very welcomed guest to the island indulged in the glory of the day. She was contemplative. Much had happened in her life recently, which had led her on this retreat to her 'sister's' homeland. She wasn't the type to try and escape her fears and worries, but meditation had its merits and she knew a personal regroup was key for spiritual wholeness. She felt that soon she'd be able to make a decision as to where her path would next guide her, either back out to the black depths of space or to her adopted home in the United States.
Beside a narrow river which washed toward the island's edge, she lay on a patch of grainy sand and rocks, her long, taut legs bent at the knees, perched on her elbows with her head arched back. Her tawny hair, thick like the mane of a lion, poured around her body like a blanket. Her golden skin seemed to glow from the afternoon's sunshine, appearing as if she was encircled by an aura of light. Goddess-like in her stature, she was a vision to behold for men and women alike. But the sisters on the island knew that she was there for retreat, and she had wished not to be disturbed. So she was able to sunbathe privately, dressed only with the warm, soft breeze and misty wetness from the waterfall emptying into the river by which she basked.
She was known as Starfire, alien powerhouse member of the Titans, endowed with the ability to project bursts of caustic energy from her hands; they were called starbolts, and depending on the intensity of the blast, could break down a brick wall and potentially kill a human being. She was born into royalty on Tamaran, a lush world that only knew peace until the day came that an invasion meant the balance between her freedom and her peoples'. To her people, she was heralded as Princess Koriand'r. To her captors, she was nothing but a slave. Aside from the starbolts, she was a combatant of warrior's proportion, trained by a race of beings dedicated solely to war and strife. It was this training that helped her escape to Earth those few short years ago, landing almost literally in the collective lap of the Teen Titans. Though her life had been miserable and torturous thus far, she had no way of knowing what would become of her once rooted on Earth.
She had been blessed with a pseudo-family in her fellow Titans, most especially with Donna Troy and Dick Grayson, who had given her the nickname Kory. Dick and Donna were the glue that kept her grounded in emotional moments when she could have easily given into her fierce nature. They were also suppliers of the love that had been wrenched from her on the day she was wrenched from her weeping father's arms.
Wind began to kick up in the flora behind her, cold gusts wafting her way. It made her shiver and sit up, cradling her arms around her bent legs. Her wide green eyes scanned the wooded perimeter, looking for… something, just uncertain as to what. With the cold, she sensed a familiar presence. The smell of jasmine was suddenly pungent, bringing with it a metallic taste on the tip of her tongue. Kory's hands began to shimmer with a red-hot energy as she stood and shouted, "Who's there?"
An icy breeze washed over her back as she spun in the sand and gawked at what stood before her. It was the essence of a woman she had known as Raven, aglow in ghostly, yellowish form, part physical, part immaterial. Faint hints of black and velvet-blue crept through the nearly colorless apparition before her. It appeared as if Raven had become godly, much like Kory's own deity, X'Hal. The apparition raised its hand and reached out to Kory.
"Raven?" Kory asked, the starbolt energy dwindling from her hands.
"Koriand'r," replied the specter, "you are needed." The voice was muffled, as if being thrown by a ventriloquist. Its lips never moved.
Kory stepped toward the ghost that was Raven and offered her arms forward; unexpectedly, Kory was able to feel Raven's hands. They morphed from being stone cold to suddenly humming with warmth. Color began to rise in Raven's skin, her cloak, her rings. The eerie haze that encircled her began to fade. The two women stood, hands clasped, Raven's neck arched to meet eyes with her towering alien friend. Raven's black eyes locked on Koriand'r's. Though no words were being exchanged, transference of knowledge and understanding was taking place. Raven seemed to be nonverbally downloading information to Kory.
Kory's muscular arms seemed filled with electrical vibes as images were racing through her mind. This moment was to be the culmination of her retreat on the Amazon's isle, for now her path was evident. Her teammates were in trouble, and she was needed. She didn't question how Raven had known, or why she herself didn't simply intervene on the Titans' behalf. All Koriand'r knew was that her homecoming was about to take place, someplace in the skies above Ohio, as the fate known as Raven had just envisaged.
Kory released Raven's hands and bent to grab her things. Raven immediately began losing color and substance again, drifting back into her glowing ghostly form.
"How much time do I have, Raven?" asked Kory, armoring up in a purplish metallic uniform that was more like a swimsuit.
The apparition nodded as it lifted a fading black hood over its head, and said, "Leave now."
Koriand'r slipped her large feet into their boots, and turned to say goodbye to her immaterial friend; that which was Raven was gone. Kory took a glance around at the splendor she was about to leave and peered up toward the sun. Her thick hair began to thicken as her feet lifted off the sand, and as she streaked away from Themyscira, only a smoking-hot trail of fire remained in the sky, marking Starfire's path back home.