Author's Notes: Some minor edits have been made to a couple of earlier chapters to adjust for the new canon developments of the episode "GO!"

Also, beginning this chapter, there will be some slight crossing over with other parts of the DC animated universe, primarily Justice League. Some minor details of this chapter may not completely make sense to you if you are not familiar with the events of the Justice League episode "Starcrossed," or the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Legacy," but don't worry too much about it. The important stuff is covered within the chapter. Thank you.

Thresholding by CidGregor

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

This fic is dedicated to Post, for all that he has contributed to its existence. (eyebrows are not erotic zones!)
Chapter 13

"Heeeeeeee! Galfore!" Starfire squealed.

The enormous Tamaranian man grinned toothily, drawing Starfire into a crushing bear hug. "Ah, my little bumgorf, how good it is to see you again! I trust you are living well on Earth?"

"I am most glorious, my dear friend—eep! I mean, Your Majesty!"

Galfore let out a great roar of a laugh. "Now, now, little one, there is no need for such pleasantries with me. You know the crown is yours whenever you desire it."

Galfore turned to the rest of the party gathered in the bridge of his command ship, the Echo'r. All six Titans had gathered there, along with Tromand'r and his second-in-command Lysand'r, fully healed as well. "So," he addressed the Titans, "I understand Earth is under threat of takeover by the Gordanians."

"Affirmative," Starfire spoke. "Captain Tromand'r's forces arrived at Earth yesterday, but encountered Gordanian resistance already present, and lost two ships in the skirmish. Captain Tromand'r and officer Lysand'r survived the crash, and have since been attempting to make peace with Earth…however, Earth's representative, General Graham, has been…less than receptive."

Robin took over from there. "General Graham, unfortunately, ordered attacks on Tromand'r's ship as it was entering orbit, and again when the Squir'l returned to Earth several hours later. However, it appears the General was acting alone, and has since been removed from power. Earth's representatives are now more than willing to begin peace talks. As a show of good faith they've sent official escorts to guide your dignitaries to the deliberation. They're holding positions outside now."

Galfore listened intently to what the Titans had to say his expression firm. "Captain Tromand'r, do you have anything to add?"

Tromand'r scowled. "Frankly, Lord Galfore, I do not trust the humans. It is by their hands that the crew of the Isom'r met their deaths, and the humans have not offered so much as a passing apology."

Galfore returned his gaze to the Titan leader. "Is this true?"

Robin fidgeted. "…As I said, General Graham was acting alone. He does not represent Earth as a whole."

"What he did was unforgivable. But the deed was his, and his alone," Raven added firmly. "It would not be wise to judge all of Earth through him."

Galfore nodded. "Very well. I shall take all of this into consideration. In the meantime…Robin, was it not?"

The Boy wonder nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Contact Earth's escort and inform them we will meet their entourage momentarily to guide us to your royal palace."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Ah…sir? Earth isn't a monarchy. Or at least, our country isn't. We don't exactly have…ah…palaces. Our country is controlled by a democracy. The people elect their leaders, and those leaders collectively make and enforce the laws."

Galfore lit up. "Ahh…that explains things. I assumed this 'General Graham' was your Emperor."

"Oh, no, no!" Robin assured. "He's military, like Captain Tromand'r."

"I see. Well then, Robin, I leave the guidance to you and your escort. Come, we must hurry. There is no telling how long we have before the Gordanians' main fleet arrives."

Robin nodded, and turned to his communicator to rely the news to the fighter escort as the Titans, Galfore, Tromand'r and Lysand'r made their way back to the hangar bays.

"Lord Galfore…" Tromand'r murmured from his superior's side. "Surely you do not intend to excuse the humans for the deaths of the Isom'r crew so easily?"

"I intend nothing of the sort, Captain," Galfore answered. "However, I also do not intend to allow that particular injustice to overshadow the greater issue here, and that is stopping the Gordanians. I expect you to remember that as well, Captain."

"Yes sir…"

The three officers led the Titans quickly back to the shuttles, which returned them to the Squir'l. With Tromand'r back in the command chair, the battle-damaged scout craft broke away from the Tamaranian war fleet and descended into Earth's inner atmosphere. Commander Amato's squadron of F-18s met them swiftly and guided them to the planet's surface, but they did not return to the bayside of Jump City. Rather, the F-18s led them farther inland, to a desert region southeast of the Titan's hometown. The Titans all exchanged curious glances as they passed right by the city, save for Robin, who seemed indifferent.

"Uh…Rob?" Cyborg was the first to speak up, gesturing behind him with his thumb. "The city's back that way."

"We're not going back to the city. Not right now, anyway."

"...And that's because…?" Raven deadpanned.

"City wasn't secure enough. According to our escort, central command didn't want to potentially cause a panic by landing an alien craft in plain view of several million people."

"But alien beings are no longer unheard of, are they not?"

"True…but whoever is in charge now that Graham is gone thinks we're better playing it safe anyway. And I have to agree with him. There's probably already plenty of hysteria caused by the skirmish with the Gordanian scout, and the President has the National Guard on standby to enforce martial law if things get out of hand. We don't want to make it any worse."

"So then…where ARE we going?" Terra asked.

Robin turned to his team and smirked. "Where anything and everything having to do with aliens always goes, of course."

Beast Boy's eyes bulged. "No. No way. You're JOKING. You HAVE to be!"

Robin shook his head. "No joke, BB. We're going to Area 51."

And even as he said so, the Squir'l was soaring over the surface of the Nevada desert, following the lead of the F-18s as they guided the craft toward a stretch of white against the horizon of desert and wasteland.

Beast Boy stared at it, his face pressed up against the window like a kid in a candy store. "This…is so…COOL!"

"…So if I am to understand correctly, this 'Area 51' was once a secret facility established for the purpose of monitoring and studying alien activity, while at the same time concealing the existence of both themselves and the aliens from the general populace in order to prevent panic?"

Robin nodded at his new girlfriend – and oh how he already loved to think of her that way. "Exactly. But then there was Superman…Martian Manhunter…you…and most especially, the Thanagarian War not that long ago."

Starfire nodded. "I remember it well."

Robin strode along beside her, the two of them walking just behind the rest of the group under the blazing desert sun from the Squir'l to the government facility's main entrance. "After Hawkgirl and the Justice League stopped the war, the Government gave up trying to hide alien existence. There was no way they were going to cover up a global war. So Area 51 was unveiled, and became a center for extra-terrestrial study and inter-planetary relations…"

"DUDES! HOW AWESOME IS THIS?.!"

Robin glared at the green Titan that had quite suddenly appeared in front of him. "We get it, Beast Boy, you're excited. But show some restraint, will you? This is serious business."

"I know, but…it's just….DUUUUDE! AREA 51!"

Robin turned and gave Terra a pleading look, pointing at her boyfriend.

The blonde looked back with a grin. "Actually…it IS kinda cool…"

"That's the spirit, Terra!" Beast Boy cheered. "We're in Area 51! AREA FIVE-ONE! HOW COOL IS-urk!"

Robin abruptly snatched the back of the changeling's uniform around the neck and lifted him off his feet. "Seriously. Stop it. Star and I were talking."

Almost immediately, Robin regretted his words, for Beast Boy sprouted a malicious grin. "Oooooh, well, I guess I'd better let you get back to talking to your GIRLFRIEND! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Robin's eye twitched and both he and Starfire froze in place as the changeling pulled free of Robin's grip and scampered back to the rest of the Titans. Cyborg threw a suggestive grin in the Boy Wonder's direction, Terra let out a loud giggle, and Raven allowed a slight smirk to cross her face before they walked on ahead into the base.

Robin gave Starfire a sideways glance and saw she was blushing. "Um…how did they all know about…er…us?"

Starfire smiled guiltily. "Erm…because…I told them…" she admitted. "I am sorry if you wished it to be kept secret, Robin, but I simply could not contain my happiness! I do hope you are not--"

"No, it's fine, Star," Robin assured her. "They'd have found out eventually anyway. Besides," he added, taking her hand, "this way…we don't have to hide it."

Starfire squeezed his hand and grinned. "Oh, Robin…" she murmured.

"HEY! Lovebirds! Hurry up, the show's about to start!"

Starfire jumped. "Oh, yes! Come, Robin! Let the peacemaking commence!"

And clutching her new boyfriend under his arms, she sped inside, Robin flailing limply along with her.

Beast Boy's jubilation did not cease once they reached the interior of the base. He gawked and drooled at the sights like a trekkie at a sci-fi convention: research rooms full of experiments, records rooms documenting every extra-terrestrial encounter with Earth, and even war rooms where officers pored over records of the Thanagarian War, studying and learning. With every little sight the changeling saw, he was practically exploding with excitement, and truth be told, it was starting to get on Robin's nerves.

Then they reached the main conference hall. And at that point, even Robin had to admit: this WAS pretty exciting.

The hall was enormous and circular, painted a soothing shade of amber-gold. In the center of the room was a raised platform for giving presentations to the congregation, complete with a three-dimensional projector for visuals. Seats rose in tiers around the center circle, with assorted names emblazoned on plaques at some of the seats, though most of them stood blank, waiting to represent future alien contacts to come. On the far side of the room from where Robin and the Titans entered was the area that was clearly the "Earth" section; all the names on those plaques were human names, with their title and the country they represented engraved beneath that. Also in that area were seats for the Justice League. Several technicians were at work on the seats right next to those, and upon closer inspection, Robin saw that they were engraving several blank plaques with the name "Teen Titans." Scattered throughout the rest of the hall were other names, and these were clearly alien names, representing the extra-terrestrial contacts already established. In this section too, technicians were at work, engraving a handful of blank plaques with a new planet: "Tamaran."

A fair number of people were in the room already, aside from the Titans and their Tamaranian guests. Security personnel were spread throughout the hall, their eyes hidden by dark sunglasses and firearms loosely holstered at their sides. Several officers were filing in from a separate entrance, taking their respective seats, and Robin recognized among them Commander Amato at the front end of the line, his seat right next to the Titans' new plaques. Robin's eyes swept across to the back of the line, and there, another familiar face – though much less friendly – appeared.

Robin's eyes went wide. "No…it can't be…"

But it was. General Graham had filed into the room and sat down at a seat marked with a plaque bearing his name. He caught the Boy Wonder's eye almost immediately, and gave the young hero a distrusting and angry snarl.

Robin frowned back. "This could be a problem…" he murmured aloud to himself as he led his team to their seats. He glanced back at Galfore, Lysand'r and Tromand'r, who were being led to their seats. Tromand'r too had noticed the presence of the General, and his expression was nothing short of furious. Yeah, he thought. This could DEFINITELY be a problem…

Robin took the seat next to Commander Amato. "I thought you said Graham was taken out of jurisdiction!" he immediately hissed at the pilot.

"He was," Amato answered, "but not completely. He's still being allowed to participate in the deliberations."

"Why?" Robin demanded quietly.

"……"

"Commander, please, tell me."

"……Most of the other officers felt…and I have to admit, I agree…we can't completely dismiss the possibility that his opinions have some merit."

"Commander, the man attacked an alien craft with no provocation whatsoever! What merit could he possibly have?.!"

"You told me yourself, Robin," Amato countered, "that one of those guys you were bringing in has an itchy trigger finger. We simply want to be prepared for the chance that Graham is right and these Tamaranians could turn hostile. That's politics, Robin. It's about covering ALL your bases, just in case."

Robin grimaced, but he knew Graham's point was a good one. He couldn't argue with it.

Starfire, however, who'd taken the seat next to him, didn't seem so keen on dropping the subject. "Robin, we cannot allow the likes of this General Graham to disrupt our peace talks! You know Galfore would never allow hostilities with Earth to take place!"

"I do know, Starfire…" Robin said. "But they don't. They want to make peace just like Galfore…but at the same time they're being careful just in case Graham is right."

"But he is not right!"

"I know, I know…but Starfire…you can never be too careful. My mentor learned that the hard way. He taught me the same mentality these officers are following."

Starfire frowned. "Your mentor does not sound like a pleasant man, if he is so mistrusting."

Robin half-smirked. "Actually…you're right. He's not the nicest guy ever." But Robin's smile faded a moment later. "He's right though."

"Robin…surely you don't agree with them that Galfore won't--"

"No, I don't agree with them. But I can understand where they're coming from. You can never be too careful."

"Careful of what, Robin?"

Robin sighed and did not answer immediately. When he was silent for nearly a full minute, Starfire was ready to give up her inquiry, but at last he spoke.

"…A couple of years ago…before you arrived on Earth…there was a time when Superman turned evil."

Starfire frowned. "Superman? Robin, you must surely be mistaken. Superman is a noble and valiant hero that would never betray his fight for justice!"

"Normally, yes," Robin admitted. "He was turned evil against his will. Someone brainwashed him into believing he was the son of a terrible villain named Darkseid, and made Superman believe he was as evil as his supposed 'father.' But at first, no one knew any of that. Everyone thought he'd turned willingly. It took everyone by surprise…just like you, everyone thought that Superman would never turn his back on justice…and then all of a sudden, one day, that's exactly what he did. He led Darkseid's entire army of evil and tried to conquer the planet. Even after the world found out it had all been against his will, some people just never fully trusted Superman anymore. And my mentor…ever since, he's always carried a piece of kryptonite with him, no matter what…just in case it ever happened again."

Robin turned to look Starfire in the eye. "That's why these officers aren't completely ignoring Graham, Star. What happened to Superman proved that even the greatest of us aren't infallible. No matter how probable it is that Earth and Tamaran will have peace by the time we're done here, they want to be ready in case something goes wrong…because if they're not, and the worst does happen…lives could be needlessly lost."

Starfire averted her eyes. "How terrible…I had no idea such a thing had happened…"

Robin took her hands and stroked it gently. "Hey, don't worry. We'll make peace here today. I promise. Nothing will go wrong."

"I do hope not…"

A sudden hush fell over the room. Robin looked back at the center and saw an officer standing in the middle of the raised platform there. He was an older man, his hair grey and frazzled, but his demeanor was sharp and alert, his dark blue eyes active and watchful. He stood just over six feet tall, and his breast was decorated with more stripes and honors than Robin had ever seen in one place.

"General Ryan Lambert," Amato murmured to the Titans. "Best of the best. Veteran of Desert Storm, the Iraqi conflicts, and the Thanagarian War. No family to speak of…none living, anyway. His parents were killed in a terrorist bombing. Ever since, he's dedicated his entire life to protecting the country. He's seen it all."

"All right, everyone, you know why we're here," Lambert announced, his voice literally commanding respect. "Let's begin. We also have with us the President of the United States and his cabinet on conference call from Washington."

Lambert pointed a remote. A holo-projector flashed on toward the far wall in an empty area of the room, and an image of a rectangular table appeared, at which sat just over a dozen men and women, whom Robin recognized as presidential cabinet members. And at the head of the table, straight-backed and dignified, sat the most important man of all. The man who many considered the most powerful man on Earth. The President of the United States.

The entire congregation rose from their seats, except for the four Tamaranians in the room, who instinctively bowed to him instead.

"Please be seated," the President said. "So, General Lambert, you've called this emergency congregation…what are we dealing with?"

"I'll let our guests tell you themselves, sir," Lambert said. He beckoned toward both Robin and the Tamaranians. "If I may introduce Robin, representing the Teen Titans of Jump City…and the dignitaries of planet Tamaran."

Robin stood, gesturing for the rest of the Titans to stay. He'd been expecting this, and was ready. Across the hall, Galfore was descending the stairs alone as well. They met in the center and turned to face the holo-projector, where the Presidential cabinet stared down at them.

"Mister President," Robin addressed him. "We don't have a lot of time, so I'll try to be as brief as possible. This," he gestured toward the alien next to him, "is Galfore, Emperor of the planet Tamaran. Galfore, this is the President, the highest authority of this portion of Earth."

"Welcome to Earth, Emperor Galfore," the President returned.

Galfore bowed again, slapping his fist against his chest. "X'Hal! Greetings, sir President. We of the people of Tamaran bring our hopes of a peaceful alliance with your planet, and quickly…for we also bring a grave warning."

The air in the room changed at the speed of light. Wary eyes narrowed and became more alert than ever, and a low murmur spread through the room.

"…What kind of warning?" the President asked, his voice more firm and authoritative than before.

"A warning of impending invasion by a hostile alien race."

"HAH! You see?.! He admits it!"

Heads turned toward the harsh, enraged voice. It was coming from General Graham.

"He's been plotting to invade us right from the start, and we played right into his hands!" he snarled. "Their whole goddamn fleet is surrounding us, ready to kill every last--"

"How DARE you accuse the Emperor of such atrocity!" Tromand'r shouted, seething.

"That's enough, Graham!" Lambert snapped at his fellow officer.

"Hold your tongue, Captain!" Galfore ordered Tromand'r at the same time.

The two subordinates glared daggers at each other, but both fell silent for the moment.

Robin tensed. If Graham kept this up, he was going to incite a panic – or worse, they might start believing him – and that was exactly what he wanted to avoid. He needed to steer things back on track.

"Mister President," Robin broke the silence. "General Graham is mistaken. Tamaran is NOT the threat we've come to warn you against. This invasion threatens them just as much as it does us."

The Boy Wonder pulled from his utility belt a data disk and, with a nod of approval from Lambert, slipped it into the holo-projector. Immediately a three-dimensional image of Jump City appeared, and hovering over the city was an enormous orange craft, spires extending like spikes from all side of it.

"This image was recorded about two years ago," Robin said, "when an alien race called the Gordanians came to Earth in search of my colleague, Starfire of Tamaran." Robin clicked the remote, and a new image appeared, showing a Gordanian up-close; sky-blue, lizard-like, and vicious-looking. "They had taken her prisoner as a slave, but she had escaped from them and hid within Jump City. This encounter led to the first meeting of my team, the Teen Titans, and as our first mission, we fought off the Gordanian strike force trying to decimate the city in order to find Starfire."

Robin clicked the remote again, and this time an image of the battle just hours prior filled the room. "Now, it seems the Gordanians have returned, but not for Starfire. This time, their goal…is global conquest. The battle you detected in the outer atmosphere a few hours ago was between the Gordanians and ourselves. That attack was only a prelude. The true invasion force is on its way here now, and they number in the millions."

"Why us?" The President asked as the image faded. "Why Earth?"

Galfore stepped forward. "We of Tamaran have been fighting the Gordanians for several years, defending the galaxy from their invasion armies. Their resources are dwindling, and they have become desperate. They seek a planet rich in resources to continue supporting their war effort. This is the planet they have discovered, and they are putting the entirety of their remaining forces into the invasion and hostile takeover of your planet. It is, effectively, their last stand."

The President looked grim. "When?"

"It could be as soon as the next few hours," Robin said. "The battle we had just now was with one of their advance scouts. The rest of their war fleet won't be far behind."

Lambert stepped forward. "So…with this alliance, you are offering your army to aid us in defending this planet…is that correct, Emperor Galfore?"

"That is exactly what we are here for," Galfore confirmed.

"And why the hell should we believe you?.!" Graham suddenly broke in again.

Robin groaned under his breath. "General Graham, I--"

"For all we know they just want us to turn all our defenses to the sky and look the other way to fight some nonexistent threat while they slip in under our guard and rape our planet themselves!"

"General Graham, that's not true--"

"I will not stand for any more of your unfounded accusations, human!" Tromand'r shouted, leaping to his feet. "You have attacked us without provocation far too many times, and I refuse to let it pass any longer!"

"Captain, I said hold your tongue!" Galfore repeated.

"Graham, you will be silent for the remainder of these proceedings, or so help me I'll have you court-marshaled!" Lambert added to the mad General.

Tromand'r shook with barely-contained rage, but sat back down.

"Robin," the President addressed the teen, "despite his unprofessional manner, the General does raise a question that cannot be ignored. The world is understandably wary of alien contacts after Hawkgirl's betrayal and the Thanagarian War. What proof can you offer us that we should accept the word of your friend as truth?"

Robin narrowed his eyes, fearful of Tromand'r's reaction, but when the Captain said nothing, Robin turned to his team. "Starfire. Come down here, please."

The alien girl's eyes widened and she glanced in surprise at her fellow Titans, who only shrugged and gestured toward the center. Slowly, she stood and hovered down the steps, and landed at Robin's side.

Robin laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and then turned back to the congregation. "As I told you, Starfire here is also from Tamaran. And in the two years she has been on this planet she has been nothing but a model citizen and a noble crime fighter. Mister President…I give you not only my word as an experienced and dedicated crime fighter, but the example set by Starfire as well, that Tamaran did not come here to start a war. They came to stop one."

There was a snort of annoyance, and once again Robin turned to glare at Graham. "Do you have a problem with that….General?"

Graham sneered, but said nothing, as Lambert's harsh eye was fixated upon him.

Starfire stepped forward, slowly approaching Graham, her arms outstretched and welcoming. "Please, General Graham…I do not know what has inspired your extreme suspicion against my people, but I can assure you, you need not worry. We only wish to help you, and stop the Gordanian invasion. We mean you no harm whatsoever."

She had reached Graham now, and extended one hand out to him, but the General recoiled and leapt to his feet.

"Keep your goddamn hands away from me!" he nearly screamed at her, flecks of spit sticking to her arm. Starfire jerked backward in horror, hugging her arms around herself.

"General, be reasonable!" Robin insisted.

"Miss Starfire is trying to offer you the hand of friendship!" Lambert snapped. "I strongly suggest you take it!"

"Like hell I will!" Graham snarled. "I'm not taking the hand or the word of some alien bitch!"

In one moment, every eye in the room widened in horror. In the next moment, like a bolt of lightning, Robin crossed the room, put himself between Graham and Starfire, and curled his fist around the General's collar.

"You have NO right to talk to her like that!" Robin spat in his face. "Starfire is a hero to this county! She is nothing but kind and honorable and trustworthy!"

Graham shoved the Boy Wonder away. "Yeah? So was Hawkgirl! And look what happened there! She turned traitor on us and damn near wiped out our whole army!"

"General Graham, your conduct is out of order!.!.! Cease this immediately!.!.!" Lambert demanded, but it did no good to stop the hammer from falling.

"All of you aliens, you're all alike! You pretend to be our friends and then you stab us in the back!" Graham bellowed on. "Superman turned on us! Hawkgirl turned on us! And now these bastards are here for strike three!.!.! But I swear to God, I won't let you!.!.!"

Tromand'r was on his feet, his patience gone, and struggling to get at the deranged General to wring his neck. Only Lysand'r blocked his path, struggling to hold his superior officer at bay as he clawed snarled and screamed alien curses.

"You want to kill me?.!" Graham raged. "WELL COME ON, THEN! HERE I AM, YOU ALIEN BASTARD!.!.!"

FLASH!

Obsidian energy formed a wall across the center of the room dividing the space between Tromand'r and Graham.

"ALL OF YOU, STOP THIS!" Raven shouted, hovering into the middle of the room. The rest of the Titans stood in a loose circle around the central floor.

"This bickering is pointless! The Gordanians are coming, and they WILL wipe us out if we don't do something about it!" Slowly she began turning toward the Tamaranians. "Tromand'r, I need you to--"

WHAM!.!.!

"Nnnghh!" Raven gasped. Tromand'r's hand smacked her away, and with her concentration broken, the wall faded. Still Lysand'r was in front of the Captain, struggling to hold him back and slowly failing.

"Please, sir, calm down! You will gain nothing from attacking him!"

"Get out of my way! Klaatu'an de X'Hal! Vinhah! FYED!.!.!"

"A'QUATO, TROMAND'R!.!.! NEMAD!.!.!"

"General Graham, please, stop this!"

"DIE, YOU SONUVABITCH!"

"Dudes, look out, he's got a gun!"

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!"

"NO!.!.! STOP!.!.!"

"GENERAL GRAHAM, HOLSTER THAT FIREARM IMMEDIAT--"

BANG-BANG!

Every movement in the room ceased, as if frozen in time…

Every movement but one.

Lysand'r twitched once.

He twitched twice.

He stared blankly into the horrified eyes of his Captain.

His eyes rolled back.

His body went limp.

His head rag-dolled forward onto Tromand'r's shoulder, exposing the pair of bullet holes in the back of his head.

Time unfroze.

"NOOO!.!.!" Starfire shrieked.

"ARREST HIM!.!.!"

Lambert's cry jerked security into gear. They tore the handgun from Graham's hands and restrained him, but the General didn't seem to care. His face was livid, twisted into a sick and maniacal smile. He looked nothing short of insane.

"HOW DOES IT FEEL?.!" the General screamed. "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT, YOU BASTARDS?.! SERVES YOU RIGHT!.!.!"

Graham was slowly dragged toward the exit by security personnel, kicking and screaming like a child throwing a tantrum. The rest of the room, however, was deathly silent.

The Titans and Galfore encircled Tromand'r as he touched down in the center of the room, cradling Lysand'r's limp form.

"YOU HEAR ME?.! IT SERVES YOU RIGHT!.!.!"

Tromand'r laid Lysand'r on his back. His eyes stared unseeing into the ceiling.

Starfire clutched tightly to Robin's arm, sniffling into his shoulder.

"I SWORE IT!.!.! I SWORE I'D PAY YOU BACK!.!.!"

Tromand'r passed his hand over Lysand'r's eyes, closing them.

Galfore knelt beside his brethren, murmuring a Tamaranian prayer.

"YOU BASTARDS!.!.! YOU KILLED HER!.!.!"

Robin turned, staring intently at the mad General as he was dragged the last few feet out of the room, screaming his last words into the silent room before the doors closed.

"YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!.!.! ALIEN BASTARDS!.!.! YOU KILLED HER!.!.!"

The doors slammed shut, and the room was plunged into a horrified silence.
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END ACT ONE