Thank you to RavenSis, cartoonfire, TAUT13, kjesStar, BerryDrops, Somewhere In Time, tennisgal456, Dancing-StarFrenzy, WalterUnaForever, and THUGG for reviewing the last chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.
This was it. The final stand. The last battle. However grim Koriand'r made it sound, it didn't matter to her. She was doing the right thing. She was with friends. She was about to die, but she was going to save lives. The thought boosted her confidence until she soared. Literally.
"Kory, get down here," Dick chuckled. "It's time to board the spaceship."
She blushed and landed, taking Dick's hand. "I believe it is time for you to prove me wrong, yes?"
"Definitely. How long will it take to get there?"
"Three days."
"Mmmhmm...good. Plenty of time."
"For what?" Koriand'r asked curiously.
"For this." He kissed her deeply, stopping when he heard Vic and Gar's groan of disgust. Dick rolled his eyes. "Well. You two are getting along pretty well."
"Not as well as you two," smirked Vic. "Ready to go? Or would you rather finish making out first?"
Koriand'r ignored Dick's blush. "We are ready! Come, Raven! It is time to go!"
"Roy Harper."
"Alan Rivers."
"Karen Beecher."
"Jenny Xing."
"Toni Monetti."
"Wally West."
"Collette Kingston."
"Gregor Armstrong."
Agent Jericho Wilson smiled politely.
Dick, Raven, Kory, and Gar were meeting--for the first time--the crew they would be flying with. Made up of about twenty people from all around the States (and a couple from Mexico) they were all the Earth had in protecting itself from the unknown forces that lay beyond the galaxy.
"At least, that's what Mr. Wayne says. He makes it sound all deep and stuff, but honestly, it's pretty fun. Thing is, it hasn't been life threatening up until you disappeared and Vic found you," said Agent West. "We were all terrified when we heard what happened it him. I mean, we'd heard things might get bad, danger's--"
"In the job description," Dick finished.
"Yeah. But we were all sure he wouldn't make it. Good thing Bruce is so rich, he got all those doctors to help our little Cy out."
"Little," Vic snorted. "Right, Wally."
Agent Harper grinned. "Wally still remembers that football game in high school year, Vic, don't worry..."
"Football?" Kory inquired.
"Yeah. Man, I beat Wally so bad, his own best friend pants'ed him after it!"
Agent West rolled his eyes. "Best friend. Uh huh. Isn't that right, Rivers?" Agent Rivers looked up from his poker game with a couple of the girls, trying not to crack up. "Oh, don't even pull that on me. I know you were listening."
"So...you all know each other?" Raven asked, surprisingly into the conversation. It was strange, actually. Girls seemed to flock to Agent Rivers, a lot like they used to do to Dick in school. Evidently, Alan was single.
"Most of us are from around the Gotham area, since that's where Mr. Wayne stays most of the time. Miguel and Manny over there, they're the farthest out. Toni didn't go to high school with us, either, she immigrated from...where, Toni?"
"Italy," she called back, returning to the poker game in time to kick Alan's butt.
"Ouch," muttered Alan, eyeing his lost money. "Well...I kinda just made up a new rule."
"And what is that?" asked Toni slyly.
He pulled her a little closer, much to the dismay of the other female agents. "Loser has to kiss the winner."
A collective groan arose from the other men, while Gar insisted, "Hey! Any of you ladies want to play poker with me?" Raven pulled him out of the poker circle by the ear. "Never mind..."
"I believe I will enjoy this game very much..." Kory giggled into Dick's ear.
"We don't have to play, if it's just the loser-kiss-winner thing that you want..." he murmured.
Vic threw up his hands. "What is this?! A makeout party?"
"Warning. Asteroid belt approaching. Please fasten your seabelts. The spaceship may have to change course slightly to avoid space debris."
A very shaken up and bruised group exited the belt after a wild ride, praying their landing was soon. The spaceship itself had avoided most of the asteroids, but the 'advanced form of autopilot, able to detect and avoid anything in its path' could not detect its passengers' discomfort.
"I think I'm space-sick," groaned Gar, looking even greener than usual.
Kory agreed. "Truly, that was the worst flight I have ever experienced. And I have been on a slave ship every other time I have flown in space."
"That'd be something to tell those high-and-mighty scientists over at the ET Lab," muttered Agent Harper. "They think they're so amazing..."
"Hey, y'all! We're gettin' a message from Mr. Wayne!"
Bruce's voice sounded throughout the cabin, rough and weak due to lack of connection. After all, they were millions of miles away from home. "Going well?"
"Yeah. A little bumps along the way but not much else. We're running pretty well, no problems with the ship. Actually, you guys might wanna fix up the autopilot, it's a little out of whack. We're about twenty-seven hours away from destination."
"Good. Apparently, there were Gordanians hiding out on Earth...they weren't informed that you'd decided to leave. A couple of them decided to attack a nearby city, as incentive for us to send the girls back."
Dick ran his hand through his hair, growling in frustration. All of the agents were billions of miles away! "I can't believe I didn't think of this! How are you going to get rid of them once they hear we've attacked the Citadel?"
"We're gearing up the scientists. Not my first choice, but a suitable plan B."
That would barely work. Half of them were over fifty years old and very out of shape. "We'll be back ASAP, Bruce. Can this thing go any faster?"
"Potentially dangerous, but what the heck," Vic said, flipping a couple switches. "It was great workin' for you, Mr. Wayne. I'm cutting the connection now."
"Good luck."
"Get ready for hyperspeed, y'all!"
And they zoomed off so fast, their cheeks were flapping.
Nighttime over the Citadelian planet proved a very effective cover. Maybe clouds covered the planet all the time, or maybe it was about to rain, but there was a thick blanket all around them. Vic frowned, looking at the readings on his screen. "The water that makes up these clouds is highly acidic. Shouldn't do much to the spaceship in the time it takes to land, but if it starts to rain, don't get caught outside. Their houses probably provide some shelter, because this would be kinda painful on bare flesh. Must be really polluted."
From what they could see, the planet was a barran wasteland. Dry sand blew in tiny, virtually harmless tornados. There were no trees, no rivers, nothing but a few clumps of strangely built structures that Dick took for cities. Obviously, the Citadel had ruined their planet to a degree that none of them wanted to live here any longer. No wonder they conquered other species.
"The Citadel are some of the oldest species in our solar system," Kory said, as if reading his thoughts. "They have long since branched out--for lack of a better term--to other planets. Most had no choice, not that they wanted one. The planet now gives its last resources to the most powerful of the Citadelians...the ones that must be taken care of today."
A collective shudder passed through the group at her words. The gloomy planet had put a damper on all of their spirits.
"You know where to go, Kory?" Vic asked, cutting into the silence.
"No. But I will know if we are there when I see it."
They zoomed over the planet, taking in the harsh landscape and ghost towns. "Reminds me of the Old West," joked Gar. "I've wanted Clint Eastwood's autograph for a while now anyways. You think we'll meet him?" No one responded.
A sudden, familiar jolt knocked them out of their reverie. "We're being attacked!"
Vic swerved around the spaceship to face its opponent. Dick's breath caught. They were outnumbered at least thirty to one.
"Oh, shoot."
And Vic did.
"The ship is sectioned off. Five different parts can operate by themselves. Divide and don't get conquered." Raven finished her explanation (very calmly, under the circumstances) and turned to one of the sections. Dick grabbed Kory's hand and ran towards another end. Four doors were opened, and the smaller ships filled. They separated and flew off in different directions.
"I hope this works," Dick muttered.
"Me too." Roy and Jericho boarded the life-rocket with them. "Keep communications going. This is gonna get messy, we need all the help we can get."
Several more detonations rocked the ship. The Citadelians were getting closer, and their targets were easier to hit in close range. "Hurry!"
The next few minutes were indeed very messy. Roy had taken over the handling of the ship, and was expertly dodging oncoming missiles. "Somebody, fire on them!"
Jericho swung into a nearby chair and immediately flipped several switches, pressed random buttons, and typed commands onto a tiny screen with nimble fingers. Dick couldn't follow any of it.
Roy swerved the ship up close to a Citadelian make. Dick had a split-second view of stunned Gordanians before Jericho opened fire on them. The soldiers were disintegrated in a fiery instant.
Behind them, in front of them, all around them, a fierce battle raged. The agents were putting up a spectacular fight, but--in horror--Dick watched as one of their ships went spiraling down to the ground. "We've lost someone!"
"That was Gregor and Colette. They're still alive, don't worry, their ship is damaged," Roy grunted, concentrating on his task. "Dick, Kory, feel free to figure out how to use the port side missiles. As long as it blows something up, I don't care how you damage it."
"Thanks." Dick grabbed another chair and sat down, overwhelmed by the whirring, blinking dots and dials. "Here goes nothing."
He slammed random buttons until Kory stopped him, one slender finger flicking a single switch. A screen appeared in front of him, calmly advising him to wear a seat belt and informing him that there was no ammunition.
"They've blown them all off," Roy said grimly. "We're going to have to work with what we've got."
Kory stared at the wall. "There is an escape hatch."
"Yeah. So?"
Without answering, she twisted it open. An acrid smell filled the cockpit. "Kory! What're you doing? You'll get hurt--" Dick yelled over the roar of the winds and blasts that could now be heard at their normal decibel level. She just smiled sadly at him and flew out, replacing the hatch door before the acidic clouds could damage the fragile humans inside.
Outside, Kory was firing up her star bolts. Dick had never before seen how much damage those things could do. "Hell," breathed Roy, watching her shoot. "Don't you dare forget your guys' anniversary, Dick."
"If we get there," he murmured, pressing his nose to the glass. Kory had already taken out one ship, and was currently barraging two more to the best of her ability. Roy turned the ship around so Jericho could hit something that was a safe distance away from her, and Dick's visual was lost.
There were still about ten Citadelian/Gordanian ships left in the skies. A little while longer, and more would come. They were going down faster than Dick had thought they would, but so were the Earthlings. In addition to Colette and Gregor, Karen, Manny, Miguel, and Alan were down. There was no communication signal from their collapsed ship.
Raven emerged from the main ship, enveloped in a cocoon of black energy to prevent the clouds from burning her. From this position she could effectively jab into ships (sometimes grabbing hostages) and destroy them one at a time. It was proving a good strategy.
A well-placed missile knocked into their ship and jerked Dick off his feet. A large hole had been blown in their hull. They needed to land. Roy regained control with much difficulty, and led the ship in a slow spiral path to the ground. Dick suddenly saw Kory again, but her skin was looking a lot redder...
"Get her inside!" he cried suddenly. "She's getting burned!"
"I can't do anything, Dick," Roy said helplessly.
"But she--" He choked on his own breath.
Kory had been shot at.
One second she was there, next, he couldn't see her at all. "KORY!" He banged on the windows, begging to be let out, but Jericho got up and restrained him. There was no sign of her anywhere. But she couldn't be gone...no way, no how. It'd been over so fast...
Dick barely noticed when they landed. He ran out of the ship, towards the spot Kory had been flying over.
"Dick, wait! There's--"
A raindrop fell on his outstretched hand, eating right through his skin.
It took SO LONG to get inspiration for this chapter...so I just wrote without it. I just want to get to the last chapter!!