Thank you for the continued positive response to this story and feel free to PM me to prod me along about updates!
.
Disclaimer: All of the DC Universe: Not mine and as the True Master would say: not now, not ever.
Jukebox concept: so mine
.
Additional Characters and details of the DC Universe and the world mentioned in this chapter:
Phyz'zon (Tamaranean) – For the purpose of this story, a General in Komand'r's (Blackfire's) Armies and his allegiance is to Blackfire although he remains an adviser to Starfire. He wishes to pursue Starfire romantically after she saves his life. (In the comics Starfire did save his life, they were married for diplomatic reasons [her second marriage; her first husband Karras, also a diplomatic marriage, also ended with the death of her husband], and she did become pregnant. Phyz'zon was also experimented on by the Psions and could bilocate or duplicate himself. After he died and Starfire returned to Earth, nothing was ever mentioned about the pregnancy again.)
The Green Lanterns are basically uninvolved with the Vega system, even though Oa is there, where the Guardians of the Universe and the keepers of the Rings of the Green Lanterns are.
Another fun fact, the star Vega exists. It is 25.3 LY (light years) away (it is rounded up by DC to 26 LY). It does appear to have planets, but not perhaps the 25 mentioned in the DC comics (less the 3 that X'Hal, the living goddess of the Vega system, worshiped by the Tamaraneans destroyed). Vega is heavily reference in Science Fiction lure, including the first episode of Star Trek.
The force of Earth gravity at the surface is 9.8 m/s2. Different planets due to their different masses would have different gravitational pulls and forces. I'd assume that like everything else seems to be, that what would used universally would be what is on Earth.
Cloister: Two definitions that may be intersecting: A place of seclusion; and/or a rectangular open space, often surrounded with walkways and high arched walls, and attached to a building, possibly a church or dormitory. Not to be confused with cloistered, which means cut off, as in a monastary where the monks are cut off from the outside world. Although a cloistered community will have a cloister to provide an area to reflect in. As I see it in my story, Kory is reflecting privately within an outside area where she can be in the sun next to the palace but be essentially alone, yet safe.
.
Jukebox
.
Chapter 7
.
"Four-fifty-one, four-fifty-two, four-fifty-three, four-fifty-four..."
"Ah man, Dick, can't you do that somewhere else, it's 7:08 in the morning!" Vic grumbled.
"No," Dick grunted, "Four-fifty-five..."
"Count in your head then!"
Dick push up into a squat and then into a lotus position. "I did that for my situps."
"Why not for your push ups?" Vic paused. "Then again, why am I asking? And why are you working out so hard?"
Nightwing shrugged, "Not sure about the gravity on the station here or on the T-ship, don't want to lose any muscle or bone." He took a long sip from his water bottle.
Vic rolled his eyes. "Sure, that'll happen." He checked his monitors on his arm. "You're fine here, Dick... actually the pressure is 9.97 m/s2, so you should even feel less light in the loafers than usual."
"Very funny, Vic."
"The truth is, you don't have to work as hard, the extra gravitation pull means more resistance-"
"I get it, but it won't stop me from pushing myself."
"Wanna look nice for your girlfriend?" Vic teased. After all these years, he was still seeing if he could get a rise out of Dick for that one.
"Yes," Dick smirked.
"Yeah, like sexual attraction was ever a problem for you two," Vic pretended to mutter to himself, and then chuckled, "As for me, better hook up." Vic and Dick laughed at the segue. His type of hooking up at the moment was to his recharge machine although he had left the lovely Sara Simms at home who he had the honor to have been hooking up with quite regularly. Vic smiled and fiddled with on his I-pod.
Nightwing shook his head. He had thanked Vic many times for the sacrifice he was making for leaving Earth; so many times in fact Dick was told to 'stuff it' and other more colorful ways to convey the same thought.
And as for Dick's attraction to Starfire, yes, that had never, ever been a problem for Nightwing. From the moment her landed on Earth he was taken with her, even though he thought at that point she was a threat. A threat in handcuffs but even so, a huge, huge threat.
Dick had never been attracted to anyone the way he was to her, nor had he ever been attracted to anyone that way since. And maybe that was what bothered Batman so much. Batman never understood how humans could feel that way about Aliens. Hell, Bruce Wayne didn't even refer to Kory as Starfire or Koriand'r or Dick's teammate or girlfriend: she was 'the Alien'. A nice thing to call your son's girlfriend. Oh, and to a person who was a hero and fought to save the world, that is your world, who even fought occasionally by your side.
But Dick never saw that Tamaranean first, she just saw Kory. Being different was for him just an extra, something that made her more special, what made her even more 'out of this world'.
That gave Richard even the more reason to hate himself once he came to his senses after returning from Gotham. He let Bruce affect him, and affect them: both Nightwing and Starfire and Dick and Kory. On the field and off. She was the best thing that ever happened to him, one of the very few things that ever made him happy anymore... and then he treated her poorly, threw her aside and with little thought. Kicked her off his team and out of his heart.
"Hey, broody-pants, are you gonna just sit there and just stink or what?" Vic said, breaking Dick out of his reverie.
Dick shook his head to clear it although the dread he felt and disgust at himself never truly left him for a single waking moment since those days after his return from Gotham. That is, once he finally came to his senses, "All right, just a couple more minutes and then I'll hit the showers. Then I guess it's breakfast over at the bar and we'll find out how we'll meet up with these Jukebox keepers or whoever operates this thing and see what I'm in for."
"Sounds like a plan."
A couple more minutes was about 15 minutes of non-stop gymnastics floor work, mostly comprising of pommel horse moves on the floor, doing circle work and scissors while repositioning his hands and spinning, swinging his hips up into flares with his legs up and finally above his head. Then he'd walk on his hands all around the ship and do handstand push ups, mixing in all kind of moves that would make Beast Boy monkey jealous.
"Dick, you are such a showoff - save it for the ladies!"
"Just want to keep in shape for-"
"I know, I know..." Vic said, "but she won't go near you if you don't shower."
"We aren't getting there today, Vic."
"Well, to be honest Dick, your level of hygiene has kinda slipped since Kory left."
What Vic said had been true, but that didn't mean that Vic didn't deserve Dick throwing his sweating towel at his head just out of general principle.
"Hey, I'm hooked up here! Get this disgusting thing off of me, or, as I've threatened before, I'll leave your spiky haired ass stranded out here."
And with that Nightwing retrieved his towel and soon was back with a cup of coffee just the way Cyborg liked it.
TtTtTtTtTt
"Good morning Princess Koriand'r," General Phyz'zon said, dropping to one knee as he bowed before her.
She mentally rolled her eyes. She would hardly have asked him not to bow to her, but still there was such an 'ick' factor to it all. She then almost giggled to herself. How many of the little expressions and mannerisms from Earth had she picked up through the years? Would they stay with her if she stayed there on Tamaran? On Earth, for one thing, she had been allowed to be a teenager from time to time, even if she was a hero, even if Raven was her closest female companion. Thank Heaven for those girl-a-ramas, those get togethers with Bumble Bee and some of the other Titan heroines.
But then there was Phyz'zon himself that brought out those type of reactions.
'You save a guy's life one time...', she remembered Argent saying once after a mission, when a fanboy would not leave her alone after she had simply used her powers to hold back a wall of a building from collapsing onto him so he could escape during the aftershocks of a large earthquake. It wasn't even like she had hoisted him out of there, she had also said. It wasn't like he was being hunted by a supervillain. It was a natural disaster that would have been normally handled by a first responder. Well, maybe not the holding the building up part. Argent just was there, and was doing her job as far as she was concerned.
Now Starfire understood completely what Argent meant. But at the time she saved Phyz'zon her choice was clear: Phyz'zon was a top general, an asset to Tamaran. Starfire had done the calculation and had a better than even chance of rescuing him out of his ship that he had refused to abandon along with the rest of his crew when they were jettisoned. The ship was no longer in a trajectory that would crash into a populated area. So she saved him and as Jinx would say, it was the 'no big'. Well he apparently thought it was the 'big'. And due to that, well, he was first to arrive every morning in her throne room unless he was on a mission.
Why, oh why weren't there more missions?
"Good morning, General Phyz'zon."
It wasn't that there couldn't be a level of kinship. He had also been captured by the Psions and experimented upon, which allowed him some ability to bilocate, or be at more than one place at once. Which Starfire found even more disturbing considering that she strongly suspected that he was currying her favor politically and romantically, as he clearly had her sister's before her. Would he try it with both of them in the future when Blackfire got better? Even simultaneously? Ew.
He had been one of Blackfire's advisers and she had no problem with that, nor that they had probably been lovers. Phyz'zon could continue to advise Starfire, but his persistence in pursuing her romantically was wearing thin. Yes, there was most definitely an ick factor with all this.
He needed to get the hint. Or perhaps the clue.
"Perhaps if the afternoon sessions do not run to late we can take a walk later and dine, or even take a flight at moonrise," he suggested to her in a way that she found to be more befitting an eager ensign her age and not a war worn general nearly twenty years her senior. "I have yet to find a way to express my feelings about you risking your life to ensure my survival during that unfortunate event with my star ship."
Not for lack of the trying over these past 63 days, but who is doing the counting? And to now open the daily debriefing with such a suggestion, this must stop!
"It is a kind offer, Phyz'zon," Koriand'r began, thankful for her comfort in her own skin. Not too long ago such an offer would have left her blushing and twisting her fingers in her lap. But having grown up a bit and having had a mature relationship will often provide one with at least some confidence no matter how it ended. Oh yeah, and ruling a planet helped as well. "However, I am unable to join you at this time." Perhaps she needed a little more time to work on a stronger and more direct approach.
"Your heart belongs to another." Phyz'zon said with compassion. He did not sound at all defeated, as if only offering to clarify and perhaps offer assistance.
She suppressed the gasp that would have been the reaction to those words on Earth. She figured he would be aware, it would be obvious to another Tamaranean, but he never said it before.
"On Earth, such a statement would be considered presumptuous and quite rude."
"But you are no longer on Earth, Princess."
That is certain, and as Super Boy would say, 'I'm afraid we aren't in Kansas anymore'. I was so pleased that I had seem that Wizard of the Oz movie and had gotten a reference of Earth popular culture without having Richard explain it to me. He was so proud of me too and the celebration over it was most, friendly... no, that is not the right word... oh, wait, I was talking to Phyz'zon...
"No, I am not General, I am well aware that I am on Tamaran and I am ruler of this planet, and you not to speak to me so plainly."
"My apologizes Princess. Please forgive me."
He dropped to his knee and bowed again. He was really pulling out the stops. Not that Starfire was fooled.
Starfire smiled and allowed her face to soften. "You may rise, General." There was no reason to mask her emotions. Phyz'zon was correct, she wasn't on Earth. "Very well. Are there any military matters that happened overnight that we need to discuss?"
"There was a report from Okaara, Princess. Unofficial of course, but credible I assure you."
Koriand'r cocked an eyebrow. He would deny it, and being a Tamaranean he was a poor liar, but these unofficial reports were likely from Komand'r. Not a great way to score points, General.
"Of course, continue."
"Komand'r is improving."
"Then it is time that we ask for another official report on her progress," she stated firmly, looking at him dead in the eye to see any reaction.
He paused for a moment and then said, "Shall I handle it, Princess?"
Again, Koriand'r was surprised. He was far too bold, that offer was out of line. "I shall handle the communique myself, and I will call my advisers and ministers for a meeting at Moonset."
"Moonset?"
Starfire's eyes flashed green. "General Phyz'zon, why do you question me this morning?"
"My apologizes Princess."
"I did not ask for your apologies, I asked why you are questioning me. It is unlike you to be insubordinate."
"I wish to assist you. If we convened sooner in the day perhaps..."
"I grow impatient with you. I will have the advisers and ministers contacted for a meeting at Moonset. I do not need to remind you that due to the difference in the time of day in our two worlds, that it would be morning in Okaara at Moonset here, do I? Therefore, any decision we make about our contact with the Okaarans and Queen Komand'r would only have to be delayed until later anyway.
"You are absolutely correct, Princess Koriand'r. It apparently slipped my mind."
Starfire kept her face impassive, "I find that most difficult to believe, General. You have navigated the Vega system and knew the comparative time and relative time zoning since before I first was able to feel flight. I must inform you that if you intend to carry out some sort of deception that you shall fail. I am not simply Queen Komand'r's little sister any more."
"A deception! No, I implore you, no!" Phyz'zon dropped to his left knee and took her hand and kissed the ruby jewel embellished with gold scarabs encircling it on each of her braces, "I only wished to spend the Moonset with you this evening Princess. It has been 63 days, three turns of the moons since you saved me, and I wanted to mark this special day by being together!"
His persistence momentarily threw her, "But I have declined your invitation only minutes ago."
"Princess Koriand'r I need to tell you that I love you and that I wish to marry you."
Kory was surprised about her composure. Then again, she almost got married to a green bag of goo on this planet a few years back. Although this would be an improvement... or is that might be?
"General Phyz'zon, I do not love you. I do not wish to marry you."
"Princess, please consider my proposal. We could lead Tamaran into a new age, into a better future."
She paused. He certainly was persistent. Why? Wasn't he one of Komand'r's supporters? "General, my answer is no. I am honored by your offer, and you will remain as my adviser but I cannot be your wife. And as for Tamaran and my rule, did you not say earlier that Komand'r was improving? Perhaps she is ready to return."
"Princess, you can learn to love me, and I would be most honored to serve at your princess' pleasure. As for your sister, is Queen Komand'r best for Tamaran?"
Starfire considered this as Phyz'zon echoed her own words, words she had said as a 16-year-old, "I believe that is to be discussed this evening and again when we can get more information from Okaara. You are dismissed General. I shall be in the Royal Cloister for the remainder of the day."
He opened his mouth for just a moment in protest and Starfire's eyes flashed green so he backed down, bowing again, "I will see you this evening my Princess at Moonset. Please send for me if there was anything that I can do for you in the meantime."
TtTtTtTtTt
After showering and changing, Dick waiting for Vic outside the T-ship, looking out the window of the hanger. Now much closer, Vega was easily visible without a telescope. What would be there to greet him at their arrival? He thought back to the atrocities Blackfire had committed that he had read about in Bruce's files back in Gotham. Guilt washed over him. He thought he was protecting Starfire but was he? Not telling her about Blackfire, he was just underestimating her again. Wouldn't that knowledge have been helpful if Kory needed to face off with her sister again? Did she just walk into the lion's den? Did Kory need him and he let her down? He had been telling himself that it wasn't his fault, that he hadn't thought she'd ever leave for Tamaran without telling him, but then again, he forced her into it.
Bruce's files weren't up to date and it was also unclear with what was going on with the leadership in Tamaran. Galfore had been injured when Blackfire had again resumed the throne, but Galfore had a great deal of support and was not mortally wounded. Was Kory with him, perhaps organizing a resistance? Was Kory on Okaara, where she had also mentioned that she might go?
Again, Dick slumped his shoulders, nothing could make up for everything he had done wrong.
Vic came behind him, feeling sorry for his leader and friend, but that didn't stop him from the comment, "Dick, we'll find her. It'll work out, but you gotta get over yourself. You've gone from Mr. Broody-pants to Mr. Broody-guilty-worthless-pants haven't you?"
"That's Captain Broody-guilty-worthless-pants to you, Cy," he deadpanned and Vic laughed.
Dick eyed him and the corner of his mouth twitched up ever so slightly, "Just go." and the two headed toward the bar to eat breakfast and meet up with Grace.
TtTtTtTtTt
For once, Princess Koriand'r felt comfort having her security detail. She kept them at bay, asking them to give her a wide berth. Anything too different from her routine would raise suspicions. She chose to sit on a spot on bench made of the orange veined dort'mar stone. She loved the feel of it as she ran her hand over its smooth surface, perfectly cut to befit the Royal Cloister. The stone was quite similar to marble in both texture and its ability to remain cool in the bright sunlight of Vega at what was then four hours past the rise of their star.
Her Royal armor was a necessity, but it confined her and prevented her from absorbing the amount of energy she wished to. Due to her temporary rise to power, she would not remove it and opening it, in spite of the more free display of one's skin on her world, would be provocative in her case. She would take a break later and head up high in the atmosphere to recharge fully, likely with some trusted female guards in tow. Again, these were things that she was known to do, and keeping her routine was vital.
Starfire's tactical mind was brilliant, there was no doubt in that. The irony was that it was never displayed on Earth, not that she cared that it hadn't been. There was no need. There was a very strong leader already. It was never a male/female thing, she never minded taking direction from Robin, or later Nightwing; it was just how it was. Ego had no place unless you were leader.
But the politics, the deception, that posed a problem and might have been for her in that position on Earth. Emotions worn on her sleeves, her inability to lie. The sorry attempts she made to hide Silkie when he morphed into mega-Silkie was a great example.
Those characteristics were so rampant on Earth, but Koriand'r had never seen it on Tamaran, or so she thought. And then it hit her – of course she had! Sold to slavery by her family, if that is not a political decision, well, what is? She wished her "trusted advisers" were that, but even those who were once her father's may not be that trustworthy.
She wished Richard were there, and for not the first time considered communicating with him, and this time it wasn't for something personal. She wasn't ready for personal. Working on multiple teams and between them, with governments and intergalactic organizations, he was a great leader and a negotiator as well. Plus, it was well two months since she had left, and she knew that she should at least let him know that she was all right. Kory owed him and the team that much. She had said she was going to the Vega System, to either Tamaran or Okaara, and that she would contact him. She never had so far, and Richard wouldn't have been able to contact her easily without the assistance of the Green Lanterns and probably a lot of favors. Probably a lot of favors borrowed from Batman. Oh sure, he'd be handing those right over to his former junior partner.
Or again, to quote Beast Boy: maybe winged simians might exit out of her posterior.
But outgoing messages, Kory would have better luck. If she couldn't reach the Titans directly, she could reach the Watchtower, and if not, again she could try the Green Lanterns. The Lantern's relationship with the Vega system was tenuous and they weren't present in Sector 2828 at the moment, but they wanted to be, so that would be eager to help.
But Starfire resolved that the first person to consult would be Galfore, still recuperating from horrible injuries from Blackfire's takeover a year ago. His broken back and hip were healed as were his multiple lacerations. It was amazing that he survived. He would never be again be a warrior, but he was up and around finally. In their last correspondence only about 10 days before, Galfore had hoped to return within another cycle of the moon. Starfire had asked him to stay in the palace once he could leave the hospital on the Southern Continent of Kalapatt. But for now, she needed someone she could trust to talk to.
TtTtTtTtTt
To be continued...
TtTtTtTtTt
Yes, the exchange between Starfire and Phyz'zon was meant to be confusing and awkward. It was meant to show her at the crossroads between teenage and adulthood, between Earth and Tamaran, between team member and leader. She is learning to trust her instinct with men and Phyz'zon is sending mixed signals. But if Blackfire and Starfire are going to have a disagreement in how things are to be run when Blackfire come home from Okaara, who will he side with? Does he even know yet?
So thank you for reading and please, please review. This was all current story, obviously a lot of a deteriorating emotional turmoil by both parties.
Next chapter will be more back story including the time surrounding Starfire leaving Earth and the fallout that creates.
TtTtTtTtTt
And if you haven't seen it, please check out my parody/humor piece, "All Things Titan" which I finally updated. The latest chapter describes a time when comic book Robin (Dick Grayson), circa 1981, visits the Cartoon Titans Tower. In the first two chapters, Starfire, metal bikini and all, also circa 1981, visited. Well, she's still there. Find out why Robin of the cartoons has gone from saying, "Works for me!" to "Great, just great..." in a sarcastic tone of voice.