Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.
"Everyone stay as quiet as you can. We can't afford to wake these things up. They might try and stop us from leaving again," a fellow Tamaranian whispered to them. Koriand'r nodded at him, creeping along silently. It was hard to move all hundred or so aliens in an orderly fashion, but slowly, the first one made it back on the ship. They filed on, careful not to disturb the sleeping Sha-la-ing creatures.
Raven was the last to get on, since she was the one they wanted most. Wordlessly, she ushered everyone else on, nodding at Dick as he went by. Koriand'r chuckled at him. He was so strange at times. In fact, he'd spent the last evening completely choked up whenever she'd attempted to speak to him in his own language. Surely he wasn't just communicating with her in a way she'd forgotten to pick up, yes? He could not make that funny expression on purpose!
In her reminiscing, she didn't register what she was seeing until it was too late. One of the little creatures stirred, its pink eyes opening wide. "SHA-LA!"
"SHA-LA! SHA-LA!"
"RUN!"
No one bothered being quiet anymore. The last of the prisoners dashed onto the ship. Even Raven managed to get on, though her cloak was ripped a little by one of the creatures trying to hold her back. The door was closed immediately, and the ship was ready for takeoff.
Everyone was still cramped in the docking bay, and Koriand'r struggled to get free, running right into Dick.
"You know how to steer a ship?" At least, that's what she pieced together from all of his stuttering.
"Not as well as Raven," Koriand'r admitted.
"Good. Then let's get out of the way." He grabbed her around the waist and dragged her out of the chaos.
They ended up near a window, scared out of their minds as they watch the natives of the planet throw themselves at the side of the ship, squealing madly. The ship took off, but they didn't stop. A couple even hung on, but were eventually thrown off as the ship flew faster and faster.
"Good morning, Q'st'a." Raven's voice rang through the whole ship, with her trademark bored tone. "This is your makeshift captain speaking. We have now cleared the planet and are heading full speed towards Earth."
"Uh...so..." It was funny how, when Koriand'r couldn't talk at all, it had been so much easier to be around her. But now, Dick was at a loss as for what to say. Maybe because the girl had kissed him for no reason whatsoever and had totally forgotten about it. If that wasn't confusing enough, no one else seemed to care AND she now spoke English almost fluently. If Dick hadn't been in outer space, he would've long since been gone to Hawaii on a 'business trip,' just to get away from the chaos..."I didn't know we'd be heading to Earth--it seems kind of out of the way, I guess--I mean, I wouldn't know..."
"Well, as we have just left Earth a few days ago, it is the closest planet, and we have a passenger from there--namely, you," she explained. "I believe this would compare to a human 'bus,' yes?"
"If you think about it, sure."
He wished he'd've said more, because now the conversation was at a dead end again.
"I'm really sorry."
"For what?" she asked confusedly.
"For running you over. For hurting you so bad."
She giggled at him. "Do not be, Dick. Your human car could not have done anything to me."
He didn't smile back. "Then...what did?"
She didn't need to answer.
Eventually, Raven and a couple of other aliens worked out shifts, and they discovered that there were quite a few dependable pilots on board. Currently, Dick and Koriand'r were waiting for Raven to finish hers.
"What I do not understand is how the Gordanians managed to find us so quickly...and why they did not believe I was dead..."
"Maybe because you're alien, you show up different on their radar or something," Dick offered. It was the best explanation he could come up with. He wasn't exactly NASA material. "I honestly have no idea how they managed to get from Gordania to Earth in the first place. All our scientists haven't been able to find life on other planets...but the other planets kinda found us."
"Yes, the Gordanians tend to do that. And most of the time, when they do not intend to conquer the planet, they are very stealthy. However, I do not expect that they would bother Earth until all of their own resources have diminished. And if, by then, you have not destroyed your own planet, they will take it over by force. But humans need not fear slave labor. The species in general is not the strongest," she explained. "I do not mean to offend you by that."
"It's fine, I've figured that out by now. Everyone here is probably bigger than me..."
Koriand'r bit her lip. "I apologize for doing the dragging of you here. I had no idea the Gordanians would find me--and you--and that all of this would happen. I merely thought I could work up the strength to leave and there would be no more talk of the matter."
"Heh. That's not how it usually works, is it? But hey, I've gotten an all-expense paid trip to the most exotic places I could dream of--I'm not complaining."
She smiled. "I am forever grateful to you. You did not need to bring a strange girl to safety. I am very lucky for meeting someone so kind."
"Oh...uh, it was nothing..." He wanted to blurt out 'so, you are a girl, then?' but that would probably ruin their little 'moment.'
He shouldn't have worried. The Gordanians definitely didn't.
BAM! The ship was thrown on to its side as the first missile cut through empty space and lodged itself on the starboard side before exploding. The two lost their balance and crashed into the opposite wall. "We need to find Raven! She might be able to hold off the Gordanians with her black stuff!"
Suddenly, the ship jolted far to the left, probably to dodge the missile that had just gone by. Dick got just one glimpse out of the window at a familiar blue planet before Koriand'r pulled him towards the captain's cabin.
Around them, panicking aliens headed for the escape pods, while the braver ones stayed to fight with whatever limited weaponry the Q'st'a had. On entering the captain's cabin, he found random objects hovering in mid-air and Raven in a frenzy. The window was much bigger, here, but only showed a good eighth of the Gordanian's giant warship.
"Holy shit!" Dick whispered, the blood draining from his face. No way would they be able to escape this. It was probably fifty times as big as their puny ship. How had they not noticed it coming?
"I can't do anything. Nothing we fire at them is going to hold them back, and...that was the last escape pod," Raven announced hopelessly.
"Did everyone else get out?" Dick demanded.
"No. There were only enough pods for the Gordanians, and there are a lot more prisoners on board than there were slave traders." She shook her head. "It wouldn't have helped anyway."
She was right. Immediately on deportation, the pods had been shot down, spiraling deeper into space...almost fifty prisoners had been taken out in the blink of an eye. Pretty soon, the other fifty would meet with the same fate.
"Isn't there anything we can do?"
"Brace yourself."
This time, the ship really did explode.
"Dick...Dick, please...wake up..."
He didn't actually feel like waking up. Since when was Alfred's voice so high pitched? And the butler had better have a whole bottle of asprins...this hangover was impossibly painful.
"Dick? It is I, Koriand'r."
The voice was getting clearer. Dick opened one bleary eye, but it only made everything worse. Why was it all so white? Was he in heaven? Why would he be in heaven with a hangover? Maybe Bruce had some flourescent lighting installed...right above his bed...
A curious face poked in front of the glare, easing the brightness. "Are you feeling well?" Her hand smoothed the side of his face, relaxing him. "Dick? Please do not say you have lost your power of speech...not when I have so recently acquired it..."
"Mmmhmmhmm..." he mumbled, somewhat excited by the discovery that he could lean into her hand and his head didn't hurt that much.
"Dick, please...do not fall asleep again, you are injured, and that may result in a coma...which Raven has already fallen into..." Her voice wavered with worry.
"Smhmuhsm...whsummhmm..."
"Please, Dick, I do not know what you are saying."
"F...five more...minutes..."
"For what, Dick? Dick? Something is...on your..."
He had this strange, tickling sensation all over his body. It was unsettling, but not nearly enough to get him up. Like little, marching creatures inside his shirt...even more irked, Dick worked up the strength to look at his arm.
"ANTS!" He jumped up, sweeping them off his chest and arms. Only then did he notice that his shirt was missing, and that there were a lot of wounds that had been inflicted...but by what, he couldn't remember.
As soon as the last little bug was off, Dick stepped away from the area he'd been lying down on (which turned out to be an anthill) and started to get very, very dizzy. Spots flashed before his eyes and he swayed dangerously.
"Dick! Are you--oh!" Koriand'r caught him just before he fell, careful to avoid his injuries. "I did not know those creatures were dangerous. I thought they were the natural healers of your planet..."
"'S okay..." He regained balance and sat down, holding his head. "Why does everything hurt so much?"
"Raven managed to enclose us in a protective structure before the explosion, and were were thrown in the direction of your planet. However, it took quite a bit of effort to do maintain it while we were landing, and soon after we exited the atmosphere, Raven could do so no longer."
"You mean...we all fell...from the sky?" he questioned weakly. He glanced around at the acres and acres of farmland. They must've been like a meteor or something...
"No. We were very close to the ground when she passed out, only about fifty feet. We had all hit the ground before I could fly and catch you, but I did not even try. I apologize...it was wrong of me to assume that the two of you had anything liked a Tamaranian build."
"I fell fifty feet?" he repeated, his disbelief evident.
"And you are not unscathed. But I could not do very much, with the limited amount of resources I have. I only hope we are able to wake Raven. Her magic will be of much use to you." She handed him back his shirt and went over to Raven. Dick ignored it and just groaned, trying to lessen the throb in his head, but massaging wasn't helping much.
"Raven? Raven, please, wake. It is I, Koriand'r." She said something in Tamaranian, too, but it didn't work very well, either. "Please, friend, you must rise. We are in danger here..."
Raven remained resolutely still, floating three or four inches above the ground. She didn't stir at all, and nothing Koriand'r said made any sort of difference. Dick stopped the pleading girl, shaking his head. "Where are the others?"
"I...I do not know."
Dick hung his head, but the movement nearly split it open. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out, but Koriand'r already seemed to know something was wrong. She looked so helpless, he tried to put a smile out there, just to keep her happy.
"Hey, not so bad, though, right? Fifty feet and we're all alive, I call that an achievement."
It didn't really work. She scooted closer to him and pulled down his shoulder, resting his head in her lap, massaging it herself. He closed his eyes and smiled. "That feels great, Kory..."
"Koriand'r?" she helped.
"Kory's a nickname...it's shorter...so when I don't want to interrupt what you're doing I can keep the words to a minimum..."
"Oh. Very well then," she giggled. "I like it."
"Hmm..."
It was nighttime when Dick finally felt well enough to walk by himself. Raven still hadn't shown any signs of life, and Kory(and'r) was even more worried than before. He knew that the thoughts crossing her mind were anything but positive, and was doing his best to wake Raven in a more aggressive way than Kory thought acceptable. Though, after the first time she caught him shaking Raven violently, he wasn't allowed anywhere near the comatose alien.
"What if she does not wake up, Dick? What if she dies...all to protect us?"
"Hey, don't talk like that. She won't die, and she'll be up soon. Don't worry."
"How can I not?" He didn't have an answer for that one, and pulled his once-discarded shirt back on to stall.
They heard the car long before they saw it. Hip-hop music was blaring out of the open windows, so much that the car was bouncing on its wheels. The driver was singing along in a rather out-of-tune voice. It would have looked very normal, except for the fact that they were obviously in the country, and there weren't too many hip-hopping Mercedes drivers cruising down the dirt roads.
"Kory, get Raven out of the way. I don't like the look of this." She obeyed him, gathering the other girl in her arms and disappearing into a clump of wheat. Dick hid, too, but made sure he could see what was going on.
The guy pulled over and parked, casually getting out and looking around. He was tall, bigger than Dick, but obviously nothing Kory couldn't handle. The moon glared off of his bald head, looking like a halo compared with the man's dark skin. Glasses covered his eyes, but Dick knew he was searching...
The man slipped his hand under his suit jacket, grabbing a gun. This only confirmed Dick's hunch: this guy was bad news.
"I know you're here! You can come out now! I won't harm you unless you are openly hostile!" His voice echoed in the empty space. Dick frowned and, making a split second decision, decided to show himself. Hopefully this gets Kory and Raven out of trouble.
"You looking for someone?" The man whirled around his gun at the ready. Dick held up his hands, surrendering. "Whoa, whoa. You can check me, I don't have anything on me."
The man's eyes widened so much, Dick could see them over his sunglasses. "Dick Grayson?"
Uh oh.
"I--"
"Vic Stone, you don't know me, but I know you! Man, we've been looking all over for you! Your dad's been going insane! You've been gone for two weeks now! Where have you...don't answer, I know. How bad did they hurt you? Mr. Wayne'll never forgive himself if you're permanantly damaged, I bet..."
Dick hadn't even realized it had been so long. He glanced back to where Kory and Raven were. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me, man, the aliens! Where'd they take you? Did they experiment on you? Don't answer, we're gonna get you home first, but then you've got some serious questioning coming your way. Get in the car. I can't believe I found Dick Grayson..."
"I can't go. You'd better leave. You're in danger here."
Vic seemed surprised, as if the thought of Dick Grayson not being glad to go back home hadn't even crossed his mind. "Huh?"
"I said, leave. It's not safe."
"Are you kidding me? Not safe is my job, man! I'm part of your dad's private team...which you're technically not supposed to know about, but it's too late now...I'll tell you on the way back, okay?"
Dick crossed his arms. "Tell me now."
Vic scratched his hairless scalp, trying to figure out who was more of a threat to his job. "Bruce Wayne came into contact with aliens a few decades--I mean, years--ago. At least, that's what he told us. Aliens exist, and he's got enough money to fund the research to prove it. When you disappeared, and when he heard about all that weird stuff going on, he knew what happened."
"Have you personally come into any sort of contact with aliens?"
"Uh...our radar detected one ship before this...but that's about it."
"But you know enough to realize that some will kill you without a second thought."
"That's what I've heard."
"Then you understand when I say you have to leave here if you don't want that to happen to you. Somehow, aliens like that have been following me everywhere, and I don't want to go anywhere near another person if I might hurt them."
Vic snorted. "Don't try and be all 'I'm gonna be serious and solemn 'cuz I've gotta save the universe' on me. I already get it from the guys at work. Like I said, danger's in the job description. Now get in the car. We'll track down the aliens and blow 'em up for you, how does that sound?"
Dick smirked. "Fine. But I've got a couple of friends...don't shoot, they're not the bad ones. Kory! Bring Raven out here, he's okay!"
A choked hissing sound, like a snake having a laughing fit, emitted from the clump of crops. Dick's eyes widened as three Gordanians emerged. "I lied! They're the bad ones! Shoot!"
I think some of the wording was a little off in this chapter. When I said 'He shouldn't have worried. The Gordanians didn't.' I meant that the Gordanians didn't worry about interrupting their 'moment' like Dick was worried about doing that. I just didn't know how else to word it without it sounding dumb.