Brotherhood
Chapter 13: The Fire Rises
The two Tamaraneans made their way through Gotham City under the moonlight, dressed in human street clothing. Baseball caps covered their hair, and sunglasses took care of their unmistakable eyes. One wore a backpack, which she quickly shrugged off and placed on the ground once they'd reached a secluded location. As soon as the main zipper was opened, a small creature covered with coarse brown fur darted out. Its head snapped around eagerly, its keen nose sniffing the air and immediately zeroing in on the scent of its keeper. The animal scuttled over on its four legs, affectionately nuzzling the hand of the Tamaranean. The only characteristics differentiating the animal from a cat were its large, bat-like ears and equally sensitive nostrils, essential for any tracking predator.
"You coddle him too much," the other Tamaranean spoke up, a male. "Vorns are supposed to be hunters and killers— not lap animals."
"He'll do his job just fine," the female Tamaranean shot back, taking out a small spray canister and dousing the animal in a few bursts of diffused liquid.
Another small machine followed quickly after the spray canister had been put back: this one was a small sphere, designed to track the unique chemical signature given off by the solution her Vorn had just been coated with. After making sure everything was working right, the Tamaranean knelt down and spoke to her pet.
"Find the Princesses," she said. "We'll be following you every step of the way, my friend."
The Vorn nodded enthusiastically, its dark green eyes bright as it gave a rumbling purr of assent. The animal turned and sniffed the air tentatively, pinpointing the distant scent of other Tamaraneans before quickly using its long claws to burrow underground. The pair of aliens followed where their scanner led, each of them quiet until the tension grew too oppressive to stand any longer.
"Sivi'k," the female Tamaranean said, "we're doing the right thing, aren't we?"
"Of course, Mara," Sivi'k answered calmly. "Gran'kar is powerful, but he lacks the patience needed to rule well. It takes more than a thug's ambition to command Tamaran, especially now."
Mara nodded, but part of her remained unconvinced.
"But if we go through with this," she continued, "we would have to remove our Emperor from his throne to avoid execution upon returning home."
"Which won't be difficult, if we have Komand'r and Koriand'r on our side," Sivi'k countered. "The throne rightfully belongs to one of them, anyway. And without the Spearhead to support him, Gran'kar will fold."
"Hopefully," Mara said darkly, "he won't take any of us with him in the process."
"The salvation of Tamaran matters far more than any one of us," Sivi'k said. "If I have to sacrifice my life to ensure it, then so be it."
Mara said nothing, a knot of unease growing larger and larger in her chest.
"Slade's plan is as thorough as any I've seen," she spoke up after a few moments, "and I doubt he told us all of it."
"Still, he is only a human," Sivi'k replied, quiet disdain in his voice. "Now isn't the time to be harboring doubts. Our wills—"
"—Must be as steel," Mara finished for him, before sighing. "I know. I just don't want to see another civil war, Sivi'k."
"We won't," the other Tamaranean assured his companion, before stopping up short as the Vorn re-emerged from the ground in front of them, looking excited.
"What is it?" Mara asked, giving her pet an appreciative scratch behind the ear. "Did you find them?"
The tracker nodded, pointing insistently toward a building about fifty yards away.
"Good boy," Mara commended, before putting her backpack down again and opening the zipper. The Vorn jumped in and curled up, going back to sleep.
"They have security," Sivi'k noted, spotting sentries on the roof of the building and staked out at various windows overlooking the street. "A direct approach would be a hassle."
"And I don't think killing their guards on the way in would convince the humans of our peaceful intentions," Mara added wryly. "Diplomacy it is, then."
"So it would seem."
The silence in the small room following the messenger's announcement was deafening. Robin and Damian were too confused to speak, Starfire was stunned and Blackfire felt her anxiety choking her as she anticipated the revelation she would shortly be forced to dump on her younger sister.
She highly doubted it would go over well.
"But… why would the Spearhead come all the way here, looking for us?" Starfire asked her sister at last. "Why would our parents not have sent someone else, like Galfore? They always kept the guard around them, in the palace."
"Starfire," Blackfire said slowly, "I want you to promise me that you won't be angry with me, for what I'm about to say."
The younger Tamaranean gave her sister a puzzled look.
"Why would I get angry with you?"
"Just promise me," Blackfire repeated, insistently. "Please."
As surprised as she was by her sister's supplicating attitude, Starfire regained her calm quickly and nodded.
"I promise," she said. "Now please, tell me what is going on."
Blackfire took a breath, hating that there was no gentler way to break the news.
"Our parents…" she began, before faltering. Refocusing herself, Blackfire tried again. "Our parents are dead."
Silence fell over the room again, holding until a small, fragile whisper shattered it.
"Dead?" Starfire said, sounding devastated. "Are you certain of this?"
Blackfire nodded.
"I heard it from one too many sources for it to be a rumor," she answered. "Gran'kar assassinated them, and took the throne of Tamaran for himself."
"Assassinated?" Starfire echoed again, looking like she was hoping to wake up from the terrible nightmare playing out in front of her. "But that is treason," she said, trying to convince herself that the truth was impossible and failing. "Gran'kar would never have… never… never…"
Her words had grown fainter with each repetition, until a sob choked her up and Starfire broke down. Robin quickly drew her into a comforting embrace, but knew from experience that he could only do so much.
"You should go talk to them," he told Blackfire evenly, his eyes free of judgment. "She's going to need some time."
Blackfire nodded wordlessly, giving Robin a thankful look for not haranguing her about keeping the truth a secret until now. She rose, and Damian followed suit.
"Before you even ask," he said, "I'm not letting you go out there alone. I don't care if they swore on your parents' ghosts, I still don't trust them."
"I don't, either," the princess said as she walked out of the room. "And just so you know," she said as the two of them made their way through the complex, "I was going to ask if you wanted to come along. I might be proud, but I'm not an idiot. Don't treat me like one."
"Fair enough," Damian said, wondering what this turn of events meant.
If an alien planet famed for its military prowess and ruthless combat tactics was getting involved, the whole situation was on the brink of becoming too much for even the League of Shadows to handle on their own.
The night air was cool as it rushed to greet the pair, and Damian took care of closing the door behind them while Blackfire moved forward to address the other Tamaraneans.
"You wanted to talk?"
"We do, Princess Komand'r," Mara answered, ditching her shades and hat as Sivi'k did the same. "Is your sister not with you?"
"She's not in a good place right now," Blackfire replied. "This was the first she'd heard of what happened to our parents."
"I am sorry for your loss," Sivi'k said solemnly. "The Spearhead tried to prevent the takeover in the wake of the assassination, but we were too few."
"But if you follow Gran'kar's orders now," Blackfire asked, "why are we even having this conversation?"
"Not everyone on Tamaran supports him," Mara explained, "and that number grows every time he moves to expand the Empire through war. Our stability was threatened enough by the coup and your parents' death, and yet Gran'kar does not concern himself with political subtlety."
"I wouldn't expect him to," Blackfire said. "I never trusted him, but of course my parents never listened to me back then."
Mara and Sivi'k let the bitter comment pass, before moving on to the matter at hand.
"The Spearhead was enlisted by a man in Jump City known as Slade," Mara said, the name putting the other pair immediately on edge. "He was granted our service by Gran'kar, in exchange for knowledge of your and your sister's whereabouts. The other three surviving members of the guard are with him in Jump City."
"He really doesn't pull any punches these days, does he?" Damian mused, hoping that Robin understood what he was getting in to. "And you think Slade's just going to let you change sides and not care?"
"Of course not," Sivi'k countered. "We intend to work as double agents. The Spearhead still believes that the throne belongs to your bloodline, Komand'r," he told the princess seriously. "And we will fight to restore it to you, when the time comes. But for now, playing the long game is in our best interests."
"I agree," Blackfire said, "so long as you can keep the game up without Slade getting suspicious. Which is impossible," she added, "because he's always suspicious."
"As long as his focus remains on Jump City, we should have no reason to worry," Mara assured the princess. "If anyone asks, Sivi'k and I will say we're still tracking you."
"Did Slade tell you anything about what he was planning to do in Jump City?" Damian asked, and Sivi'k nodded.
"Some details," the Tamaranean answered, "but not all. He wanted us to help enforce his political takeover, and make sure that the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil stayed in line. Is your leader aware of what this means?"
"That's a loaded question, man," Damian said. "Sometimes Robin can be aware of something obvious and just refuse to admit it."
"This has become much more than a simple feud, or the kind of skirmish to which you humans seem to be accustomed," Sivi'k elaborated. "Slade is turning this into a war, in its purest form. If you aren't willing to adapt to that, you will be crushed."
"Robin isn't going to start killing people, if that's what you're getting at."
"Then he should find someone who is," Mara said, "and fast. It won't be long before Jump City is no longer safe for the Teen Titans."
The pair of Tamaraneans turned and departed, flying up into the night sky. Blackfire and Damian watched them go, and as soon as they'd disappeared Damian chuckled.
"He should find someone who can kill, huh?" the prince said, amused. "Why do you think I'm here, exactly?"
The white-haired man was waiting for Terra at the appointed spot, looking quite impatient as he glared over at her.
"You're late."
"By three minutes," Terra snapped back, before hurriedly taking two more of the pills she'd gotten from Slade. "Relax, Malchior. Just do your thing, open up the portal and let's get this over with."
"My, don't you sound enthusiastic," the demon dragon said sarcastically, before turning his attention to their mission. Focusing and letting his eyes close slowly, Malchior began to recite the ancient spell used to travel between planes. Terra had trouble understanding any of the words, and gave up trying to soon enough.
The portal suddenly snapped into existence in front of them, a pitch-black void ringed with white energy and pulsing with the light of what looked like stars shining through the darkness.
"Here we are," Malchior said as he opened his eyes again, taking a breath to regain his mental balance. "Hold on to my hand the whole way through, or you'll get shunted off to some other random plane. Which may or may not turn out to be Hell. Maybe even something worse… you get the idea."
Terra nodded, trying her best to hide her fear as she took Malchior's hand. It felt cold and dead, and she began to regret ever letting herself fall into Slade's pocket again. Being hired muscle or a simple spy was one thing; walking through a magic portal with some random demon she'd never even met before was something else entirely.
As soon as they stepped into the void, Terra felt her whole body lurch forward. The sudden movement threw her completely off-balance, and she was hurtling through the darkness fast enough to make her peripheral vision blur before she even knew what was happening.
"Stay focused," Malchior shouted back to her. "Don't waver, and don't scream or I'll let you go."
Terra shut her eyes, trying to at least block out the scary, blurred whirl of darkness and light that sped by around her. It felt like days had passed when they finally slowed to a stop, and even then she kept her eyes closed tightly.
"We're here," Malchior's voice broke impatiently into her thoughts. "Stop shivering and get some rocks underneath your feet; I can't fight and focus on carrying you around at the same time."
Terra opened her eyes at last, and the sights she saw spread out in front of her took her breath away. Huge buildings, constructed out of stone that seemed to glimmer gold in the sunlight; verdant gardens cut through with bright, clean brooks; magnificent towers and streets wider than any Terra had seen before. Raven's home was one enormous metropolis, and the former Titan wondered why she'd ever left it in the first place.
"Move," the demon dragon snapped, glaring at her. "We probably set off at least five different alarms when we broke in."
Terra nodded and quickly wrenched some nearby floating earth free of whatever was holding it aloft, using it as a platform. Malchior released his hold on her, and the pair made their descent down the rest of the way onto Azarath's soil.
True to Malchior's concern, it hadn't been more than a couple of minutes before blue-cloaked mages began appearing around them. Some came through portals, but the more skilled ones simply materialized out of thin air.
"Stop!" one of them boomed out, an old man with a beard so long and white that Terra couldn't help but wonder if his name was Merlin. "Your kind are not welcome here, demon. Leave now, before I am forced to destroy you."
"Did you just read that off of a card?" Malchior said spitefully, his cold eyes narrowing. "I thought someone like me deserved a more personal touch."
The mage barely had time to react when Malchior's mark of Scath blazed to life, a pair of fireballs following in its wake a heartbeat later. The mage managed to block one, but the second broke through his defenses and incinerated most of his chest.
"What the hell was that for?" Terra shouted, horrified by the violence. "I thought we were here for Raven, Malchior!"
The pair of names was enough to send the surviving mages into high alert, and they all immediately went on the offensive. As Malchior and Terra dodged the withering barrage of attacks, the demon dragon yelled at his partner.
"What, did you think they were just going to hand her over if we asked nicely enough?" he said. "And the next time you open your mouth, make sure you don't tell our enemy anything of importance, or I'll rip out your tongue and watch you choke to death on your own blood. Are we clear?"
Terra was too busy trying to stay alive to respond, but Malchior's message came through more than clearly. She finally got a shot on one of the mages and took it, knocking them down with a boulder to the chest. The mage's hood flew back from the force of the attack, and Terra was surprised to see that the young woman wasn't much older than her. She ran over to make sure that the mage was still alive, relieved to feel a pulse at her throat.
As soon as she turned her attention to another attacker, however, Malchior walked over calmly and threw a fireball right at the young mage's face.
"Stop it!" Terra shouted, barely avoiding a spike of white light that almost cut right through her left oblique muscle. "We don't have to kill these people! Those aren't our orders!"
"You have your orders, human," Malchior said dispassionately as he slaughtered the last of the advance guard Azarath had sent against them, "and I have mine. Don't get in my way, or I will kill you."
Terra clenched her fists against the threat, her anger giving her the strength to stand her ground.
"If you think Slade—"
"Don't even bother finishing that thought," the demon dragon snapped acidly. "If you seriously think Slade matters even one bit in all of this, you've become utterly delusional. As soon as Trigon has regained his rightful power, every human who has slighted him will die an appropriately horrific death. Slade included."
Malchior went quiet at that, shifting his attention to the rest of Azarath that lay spread out before them.
"Now that we're settled on that score," he said, "I think it's time to get serious. Please, do try to keep up."
Terra had barely had a chance to blink before Malchior's form began to change, growing bigger and more inhuman until he had turned into a gigantic, hulking black dragon.
"Woah," Terra breathed in surprise, before a massive gust of wind from Malchior's wings forced her to float up on a chunk of rock just to avoid getting bowled over. He flew past buildings and gardens, streets and fountains, laying waste to whatever was alive.
Terra watched the carnage in mounting horror, realizing that Malchior's orders from Trigon must have been to simply destroy everything he saw. No doubt that would be enough to draw out Raven, and then things would get truly vicious.
"Oh, and be aware," Malchior rumbled after he had finished incinerating a house, "Raven did not come here alone. She was accompanied by another one of the Titans— the changeling."
Terra had been in the middle of shielding the family of the burning house from the flames with a slab of rock, and almost dropped the rock on top of them when she heard that Beast Boy was in Azarath as well.
"Wha… what's Beast Boy doing here?"
Malchior gave a dismissive grunt as he set another garden on fire, before attacking the mages that appeared to challenge him. Massive swaths of flame completely overwhelmed their defenses, annihilating them.
"What does that matter?" the dragon asked. "He got dragged here by Raven when I gave him a mortal wound. I would have killed him, but the trap needed bait."
The revelation that Malchior had nearly murdered Beast Boy shocked Terra out of her stupor and right into blinding anger. She only kept her desire to attack at bay in order to maintain the element of surprise, and it was as hard as Terra had ever fought against her powers.
"He's dead, then?" Terra asked numbly, while subtly exerting her willpower over every nearby piece of rock that she could reach. Malchior gave her an annoyed glare.
"Maybe," the dragon said, "maybe not. I merely wanted you to be on guard against the possibility that he might have survived. Let's go; hopefully Raven will show up before I've burned this whole city to the ground."
Terra followed Malchior, dragging all of the rock along with her through the air. As soon as she saw the dragon preoccupied with preparing to burn down another house, she struck.
The hail of earth and stone slammed into Malchior with as much force as Terra could give it, feeling satisfaction as she heard the dragon cry out in pained surprise. She didn't care what she'd promised Slade, at this point: butchering civilians was going way beyond what Terra could tolerate. And knowing that the dragon might have also killed one of the only people who'd ever bothered to care about her... that was more than enough extra motivation for Terra to put her life on the line.
If that's what it would take to stop Malchior, then that's what she would do. No one else would get burned alive because she was too afraid to stand up to him.
Malchior whirled on his ally with rage in his eyes, roaring loudly enough to send Terra's hands clapping over her ears as they burned with pain.
"You fool!" he shouted, lashing out with his claws and cutting a deep trench across Terra's chest.
She felt the blinding pain, and could barely see her blood splattered on the ground in front of her. The wound was fatal, and Terra could tell from Malchior's condition that she hadn't even managed to seriously wound him.
So much for that, she thought with a chuckle as her world began to fade to black. Guess I really am worthless, huh?
She barely felt the dragon's tail slam into her side, the force of the blow knocking her clean off of her feet and sending her plummeting towards the ground.
The last thing Terra saw was a blast of white light smashing into Malchior, causing the dragon to scream out in pain once more.
The last thing Terra felt was something unexpectedly soft. Definitely not the ground, or she would be dead.
What…?
And the last thing Terra heard was the sweetest voice she knew. The one she never thought she would hear again after she'd so cruelly turned him away that one day at school, what felt like half a lifetime ago.
"You're safe," Beast Boy said gently. "I got you. Just hang in there, okay?"
Terra vaguely saw a large green bird fly off and engage Malchior shortly after she'd been laid carefully on the ground, and then everything was swallowed up by darkness.
…
…
A/N: So, yeah. It's been almost two years since I last updated this story. That's a ridiculously long time. To all 25 of you who still have this on Alert, I apologize. Also, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you still have this thing on Alert, period. I really don't deserve that after leaving you all twisting in the wind for nearly two years.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, in any case! I can't make any promises on when the next chapter will come out, but I can at least say it won't be two more years from now.
To anyone who's still reading, you have my profound thanks.
- Jazz
p.s. Yes, the title is a reference to "The Dark Knight Rises". Seeing that movie this past weekend was a big part of what got me inspired to jump back into this story again after so long.