Kory was ecstatic. She almost couldn't believe her eyes, but no matter how many times she pinched herself, there was no denying it: she was home. She was back on Tamaran, in the palace where she'd grown up. It was even more beautiful than she'd remembered.

She flew down a corridor as if she were a child again, letting her fingers trail along the walls, her feet barely touching the ground. She could hear laughter coming from a room near the end of the corridor, and she flew toward it. She knew it must be her family laughing, together and happy again. It seemed like a lifetime since she'd seen them, and she missed all of them; her father, mother, Ryand'r, and even Komand'r, despite everything Kom had done. Kory was ready to forgive her sister if it only meant she got to see her family whole again.

She threw open the door of the room the laughter was coming from and froze, her blood turning to ice. Komand'r was there alright, and she was locked in a passionate embrace with Roy and Jason. Roy was running his fingers through the thick waves of Komand'r's auburn hair and seemed to be completely at ease. Jason looked like a parody of himself as he nuzzled Komand'r's neck. Kory felt like she'd been punched in the stomach.

Both of Kory's friends seemed totally enthralled with her younger sister, but at the sound of her intrusion, all three of them looked over at her. A huge grin lit up Kom's face.

"Sister!" she addressed Kory. "So glad you could finally join us! It seems you still know your way around!"

"What have you done?" Kory demanded, ignoring her sister's words. There was no way the Roy and Jason she knew would be cozying up to Kory's abusive little sister of their own free will.

"What do you mean?" Kom asked, feigning innocence, but with a touch of malice creeping into her smile. Roy and Jason stared at Kory with blank smiles on their faces, only seeming to see her with the vaguest hint of recognition.

Kory thought of all the awful things she'd endured because of her sister: torture, slavery, and much, much worse. Roy at least was well aware of Komand'r's true nature. What had she done to her sister's friends?

"Please, Komand'r," Kory said as evenly as she could manage, deciding she would try the diplomatic approach first, "let them go."

"But can't you see they're happy?" Kom asked innocently, batting her eyes. She gently tipped Jason's face toward hers with one long finger and kissed him. He grinned and leaned into it, frowning when she pulled away to return her gaze to Kory.

If Kory hadn't been convinced something was wrong before, she knew it for certain now. Jason was never one for large displays of affection, especially not this giggly, mushy, romantic kind. She'd heard him use a word to describe himself once, "demiromantic" or something similar, she thought. He just wasn't the type of person to act so… promiscuous.

And Roy would never cheat on her. Grace had jokingly called him a "man-whore" once or twice, but he wasn't the cheating type. Yet now he was cozied up with Komand'r as if Kory had never even existed. This was not the Roy she knew and loved. It couldn't be.

"What's wrong, sister?" Kom purred. "I haven't hurt your darling human lovers."

She ran her fingers through Roy's hair. His body language didn't indicate even a hint of discomfort, only blind devotion. Could he and Jason be acting? Or had Komand'r found a way to brainwash them?

"Why are you doing this?" Kory asked. Did her younger sister's cruelty know no bounds?

Kom seemed almost confused by the inquisition.

"I'm doing this for you, sister," she said. "You've been away for so long, Koriand'r. If you're going to be queen, you can't afford," she paused for a second to glance at the men whose arms were wrapped around her, puppy-like looks of devotion on their faces, "distractions."

"What?"

Kom sighed. "You have returned to claim your throne, have you not?"

Was that why she was here? Kory thought it seemed possible. She loved her people dearly, and it would be an honor to lead them once more. But not if it meant her friends became Komand'r's slaves.

Kom continued without waiting for a reply. "The humans cannot remain here if you do. I am eliminating the distraction so you will not have to. You should thank me!"

"Thank you?" Kory exploded. She could feel her starbolts forming around her clenched fists. "I want you as far away from my friends as you are able to go, and even that will never be far enough! I know what you are capable of, Komand'r, and I will not allow you to hurt anyone else!"

Kom ignored her and whispered something in Roy's ear. He turned to look at Kory for a second, turned back to Kom, and nodded. Reluctantly, he stepped away from Komand'r and approached Kory. There was nothing but sincerity in his eyes as he held his hand out to her. He hadn't said anything, but Kory couldn't shake the feeling he was about to tell her goodbye. Still, she took his hand and Roy squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Kory," he said gently, quiet enough that only she could hear, "it's okay. Komand'r makes me happy."

"How can you say that?" Kory asked, matching his volume but unable to keep the devastation from her voice. "She let the Blight torture you! She helped them!"

"Only because she was forced to! She won't hurt me or Jason, at least not anymore." Kory caught an unmistakable hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Please, do not leave me. I do not want to do this alone." Kory was on the verge of tears, but if she could get through to him, they could stop Komand'r together. "You know you don't love my sister. You know she does not care about you. I care about you. Jason cares about you. Dick, Donna, Wally, Victor, Raven, and Garfield care about you. Oliver and Dinah and Connor and Mia care about you."

Kory saw Roy's face harden. He was really seeing her now. Still, she let one more name slip between her lips.

"Lian cared about you."

Roy's eyes widened and he sucked in a breath.

"What are we doing here?" he asked. "I feel really gross all of a sudden."

Kory almost laughed with relief. Two against two were much better odds than three against one, and figuring out how to save Jason would be easy. Komand'r didn't have the upper hand anymore.

On the edge of her vision, Kory saw a flash of electric blue and smelled burning ozone. She looked up in time to see a starbolt slam into Roy's back. She screamed his name as his face went slack. Before he could collapse, she caught him and gently lowered him to the floor.

Komand'r was laughing, but the sound seemed distant.

Kory tried to keep the panic from her voice as she whispered "It's okay, it's okay, I will figure this out, you will be okay. Stay with me."

With one hand, she supported his back, with the other she felt for the wound. Burned clothing and flesh met her bare fingers. The bolt Komand'r had hit him with was small, but it was powerful and had ripped almost completely through him.

"Please," Kory whispered through her tears, but she knew it was too late.

"How could you do this?" she growled at her sister, looking up. But Kom and Jason had both disappeared. The room was completely empty except for Roy's body and Kory.

She pressed her forehead to Roy's and sobbed until he grew cold in her arms. Then, she lowered him to the floor and set him down gently. A few seconds passed in silence, then she screamed, a long wail that came from her very soul. Roy was dead and Jason had disappeared. Dick was light-years away on Earth. Donna and the other Titans could be anywhere in the Universe, and Kory had no way of contacting them. She was completely alone and stranded. The only thing she felt like she could do was cry, so she did, wrapping her arms around herself in a mock embrace.

"Hey," she heard a soft whisper, "it's okay, it's okay, you're safe, I've got you."

She opened her eyes and was met with near-darkness. She realized her arms weren't the only ones around her and that she was lying down. She flipped over and was face to face with Roy, the real Roy, who was warm and alive and looking at her with concern. She wrapped her arms around him and cried with relief. He rubbed her back gently and whispered "It's okay, you're okay," and variations thereof into her hair.

"Bad dream?" he asked quietly when she'd stopped crying.

She nodded. "You?"

"Yeah. I don't think I'll be getting back to sleep any time soon."

"Me neither," came Jason's voice from the foot of the bed. Roy and Kory both jumped and looked over to see Jason resting his elbows on the mattress. "Mommy I'm scared can I sleep with you?"

Roy sat up. "So, I guess none of us are gonna get back to sleep are we?"

Kory and Jason both shook their heads.

"Does anybody know if Waffle House is open?"

A/N: That's the end! Next, I'll probably write a fluffier oneshot, because I know for a fact that Waffle House is open 24/7.