Part Three
Go.
BOOM! A collision of gas and screams shot through the star-illuminated hallway, scarfing down their footsteps and slithering after them in a dramatic gallop. Dying moonlight peaked in and out, eclipsed by the ceiling-scraping columns that seem to run past the four. Sound pounded his heartbeat into silence. Slowly, just slowly, eerie silence beating like his pulse choked out all senses, only revealing what remained in front: a hallway that seemed to run on for eternity and the three friends that pushed on through.
He met pace with Beast Boy, "Hey dude! Hey there. How's it going, you guys?"
Cyborg kicked in a breath to trigger a huffing voice. "Pretty good, y'know. Just outrunning poisonous gas!"
Robin's eyes focused. From the right where artificial light shafted into the runway, a turn existed, catching Robin's attention. Suddenly, sound slapped back into his senses. At the sound of a crackle, he lashed down to find a spurt of yellow gas wrap around his tunic, dissolving it furiously. How fast can you run, Titans?
He pushed himself in his stride and rose his head to find a wave of infantry men, tumbling in its wake, spatting out men of glowing yellow hands, red eyes, and majestic weapons. Their fists fastened and powers ready to blast, the Titans eyes went wide. Think fast Robin! Cries arose in crescendos and at the cue of the turn, Robin charged the ramping wall, hit the air, soon to meet the floor where the others ran. Gracefully, he slammed his team into the quick, furtive turn of the hallway, avoiding the clash of earthlings.
Whirling around, Cyborg aimed his massive technology-touched arm at the walls, unleashing a mighty electric blue blast of dazzling sparks against the chrome, melting under the heat. At her call, Raven, locked in a plunging hover, stuck an arm behind and another in front, clenching her palms, sweeping a wave of black energy that stretched the melting metal to overlap their tracks, shielding the four from the one hundred who scrambled outside the newly closed off hall.
Spurts of gasps huffed between Cyborg's words, "Nice thinking Robin!"
"Yeah, wasn't sure if we wanted to go against the UFE just yet!"
"Not sure how long it will hold!"
"Long enough!" In his strides, Robin huffed, eyeing the dark corridor that loitered in front. "Not sure where that leads, but it may be our only escape!"
The four plunged from the light into the depths of the prison cell. Suddenly, the air of a new room hit the running team where majestic high rise columns draped with purple tapestries zoomed by their footsteps racing upon marble. Gates of steel chains marred the room, provoking a sinister feel to creep.
Five more strides: the room dissolved into a massive stairwell, where the four marveled in its majesty. White marbled stairs spiraled around them, locking upon the wall, ascending to sky light that rested above. Sky light! Outside!
A cry of a trumpet sounded and fifty poured down the stairwell, consuming the white steps in black, metal boots that clanked and stomped down them. Like flies swarming their nest, the UFE scrambled down the staircase to retrieve one, two, three, four, but the fifth was not present. To the Titans, names they couldn't recognize as heroes who were in their black uniform—faces, they could.
Beast Boy gawked, eyes ready to water, "Guys! Remember! We're your friends!"
Cyborg jumped in, "We don't wanna hurt you!"
An offender's blast struck their ground, exploding it into shattering pieces. From their stance, four were knocked and tumbled violently from each other! Smoke and smoke! Ashes and ashes! That was all to be seen. Pinned against the weight of angst, fear, and battle cries descending from above, they waited for a call..
"TITANS!" It came. "DEFENSE FORM SIX AND NINE!"
Plunging into her hover, the hooded empath whirled at the call of Robin to feel the rush of newborn wind-her right hand struck behind and her left struck forth—them to dance with black magic and suddenly collide. Burst of black stains swung out of her fingertips in form of octopus arms, lassoing around her friends, consuming them in a bubble. Smoke fled and the four delighted in each other's return, flashing quick smirks at one another. They focused on their hooded friend. Magic, powers, and weapons gnawed from the outside and ate at the empath who held them out. Punch by punch, the damage channeled into her.
"Beast Boy! Cyborg!" Robin called under the weight of clashing sound, "Tear up the floor!"
"Wha?"
"You guys are the only ones strong enough! Just tear up the floor!"
Meeting eye contact, the two nodded, shifting back to back. One… Two…Three: The green boy shifted into a mighty gorilla, massive in arms, sending Cyborg to take him by his weight and slam him to the ground. With the combo of two massive forces doubling into one punch, the floor cracked beneath their feet.
The quake of ground trembled beneath her feet. Suddenly, Raven's white eyes shot open, summoning such strength—and the bubble began to leave the floor, taking the plate of ground beneath, slowly ascending to new heights where aggressors charged.
In a dance, the three boys skirted the bubble, protecting its conductor in the middle, deflecting and repelling off all attacks the smashed itself against. Robin slid to thrust a wrist through the strike of a fist, lassoing its human from his steady stance. With a swinging kick, Robin knocked the man into the wall. "Sorry! You leave me no choice!"
"Who." Beast Boy launched an octopus tentacle at a man's weapon. "Are." He flipped around, slapping a platypus's tail across the face of another. "These People?"
Her eyes glowing, Raven called from her trance, "They're just trying to intimidate and corner us back into the prison!"
Receiving the charge of a small man, Cyborg tossed him across the plate and onto the third staircase platform, "We'll it looks like they ain't holdin' back!"
"Titans!" Robin's voice called out as a sword swept across the air almost slashing his throat. He ducked, and launched himself into a kick, slamming his attacker back. "Titans! Here we go!" The skylight peaked forth, dissolving the darkness in the light of dawn. "This is where the war begins! We-we may get separated—our parts may take us somewhere else… But that's okay!"
Against the screeching crescendo of light and sound, white dissolved the scene and the outside hit the pair of four.
"President Roak. I believe we are having a bit of trouble in the prison cells."
"Define trouble."
"The Titans have escaped."
"What! Who permitted this?"
"Escapes are not permitted, Sir. It appeared that Blackfire was unbroken."
"I see."
"Shall we alert General Superman?"
"I think not. Superman has his own worries, so leave him be. I will take care of things. Sound the horns. I believe this should give our little Tamaran a pleasant surprise."
Catching the team who erupted out of the hellhole, Raven's magic let them down upon the prison's high top gently. Men who pursued came to a slow stop and eyes darted into the distance where an army, draped in a sea of purple awaited. They flooded the horizon where a new day cracked. The four remained in front of their aggressors where steady breaths were taken and hell was hushed into eerie silence.
Robin pushed himself slowly into a turn, soon to face the faces of men that quivered before the tamaranean army in the distance. Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg followed. Breath to breath, eye to eye, emotion flooding emotion, anger was quelled—shrouded away to reveal one hundred and four beings stopped in their tracks. The Titans looked to them: some were bleeding, the red curling with the sweat, dripping down. Others were bruised. They looked to the Titans who were beaten down and dressed in satin black and chains. Severed gashes peaked from the uniform and bled small patches of red through the fabric.
All that remained in the radius focused on black gloves of a boy who wore black-ripped clothes and beating blue eyes concealed by a mask. Oh how they slowly rose to the air, eclipsing that army that threatened in the distance. His team followed, powering down all their gifts that separated them from the others who trembled before them. Caught in the mix of compassion, a syllable was all Robin could choke out.
Interruption.
Slow gonging of bells, the roar of trumpets, and the cry of battle conjured into one tone, flowing a sound of a bloody beginning over the great cliffs and into the valley. Those upon the prison's roof lashed around at the UFE's threat, clutching their poor years, beating against the long-streaming shriek. Robin tossed his head towards the massive ship, towering overhead, finding massive organ-like pipes screaming. Eyes wide, he turned back to the valley. Three… Two… One…
'It's time,' two distant commanders plunged a heavy glare to each other. From the arms of the tamaranean fleet, red lasers built in the distance, swirled into a cannon ball, launching itself forth, penetrating the distance between in likeness of a sling-shot. Soon, red crackling swept the vision of a Robin who ducked down in prayer. A red fire galloped. Oh how slow it came, consuming all in red fuzz. Three heartbeats the boy counted. All he could think of was her. A tear seeped.
"Starfire! Please! You have to stop!" Diana launched her frame to the bars, only to be held off by the metal fleet. Her fists beat heavily upon the bars, her crying frantically. Light of sparkling white danced upon the black metal, channeling from the fingertips of a girl, suffocating on the floor.
"It is… not… too late!" Huff. "Please… somebody!" Another light she pushed out.
"Starfire! Please!"
Batman could only sit from a distance, eyes locked on her, mouth askew as if in need of breaths. Sweat from rioting sadness and anger, doubled in one punch, fell down his cheeks, replacing tears. On his knees, he violently shook his head. Robin, he saw within her. Robin—he was tempted to choke out the name.
"My… friends…" Huff. "sacrificed themselves… to-to save" She huffed and launched out another light. "Me!" It dissolved into the distance where the rosy glow of day break remained. She choked and coughed violently. Her head fell, gently rolling to find Batman. "Because… they love… me…yes?"
She paused, looking dearly upon his face. "And… I love you… and earth… and Tamaran." Huff.
"Starfire, no."
Another spotlight shot to the air.
*BOOM!*
No pain dealt and Robin hesitantly shook his head from the wall of his arms, clutching his crown, to find a black cape blowing in the wind. Eclipsing the rolling of red death, Raven stood, arms stuck towards it position, summoning forth purple auras, outweighing the force. Her brows furrowed the rush, pushing back her hood, letting the mass of purple hair fly. One hundred and four soldiers found themselves in her bubble, where the rims danced with a red-laser glow.
"Rah!" Her arms swung, lassoing the red-flickering force from the roof and into the mouth of the desert, resting between the armies. The world quaked and roof-standers fell from their positions. White-wash erupted from the ball's collision with the ground, sprinkling the battle field in ash. Slowly, chunks of black blew down, shrouding away to reveal the first blow of war. Steady breaths the team took ready to hear the screech of another blast.
They stood in awe of her, "Raven."
"You guys go."
Beast Boy's voice broke stillness. "We're not leaving you here alone."
Cyborg brooded, gently grabbing his shoulder, "Let her go Beast Boy."
"What are you gonna do?"
Robin nobly stepped in, "Are you sure you're strong enough?"
Her torso facing hell draped in black ashes, she peaked over her shoulder. "I will have to be." She turned fully around and faced her friends, "Like you said, Robin. We all have our places. I can buy us time—not sure how much, but I can…"
A second blow threatened from the distance, screeching.
"Now go!"
A few steps the dissembling four took.
Wait.
With a pause, the family acted upon a sudden heartbeat, lashed back, and ran to another, enveloping each other in a strong embrace. They found themselves pressed up against five years' worth of encouragement, hurt, pain, comedy, fun, and love in human forms. Surrounded in the heavy arms that clasped around another in the form of a shield, the family could not help but to choke up sobs.
"For Starfire."
"For Starfire."
"For Starfire."
Robin concluded the climax, "For Starfire."
Another blow sounded as they backed away, backs towards their destinations, pacing slowly. When distance was far enough, the three whirled around from the empath and dove from the roof.
The empath withdrew her breath and outstretched her arms, unleashing a powerful glow to shoot through her eyes. Slowly, she ascended in height and yelled the hundred, gawking behind her. "Listen! There will be a lot of fire! I suggest you get off this roof!"
She watched them flee. In a slow motioned-pace, Raven plunged a mighty hand into the depths of her wing-span, conjured a sweep of black glow, whirled upon a heartbeat, and struck such force into a rushing laser-ball of energy. The collision of powers stood one on one, then to explode into the heavens. The smoke shrouded away to reveal an empath, her cape blowing in the wind.
She clutched her head to concentrate the remaining of her energy and found her pulse beating violently. Her eyes wide, she called into the deep depths of her mind.
"Starfire, we need you… fast."
Starfire blinked helplessly back into reality, letting the warmth of the skylight from above kiss against her skin. Oh so stiffly, she placed a hand upon her chest and breathed steadily. "Raven?"
A few more breaths Starfire took and she gently closed her eyes lids.
The explosion of red… the rain of ash shrouding away to reveal one-hundred… no… one-hundred and four upon a prison roof…the embrace of four… one blue, one green, one metallic, and one masked… the call of her name. "For Starfire."
"You know, little sister?"
Startled, her body jolted against the suppression. A force of exhaustion kept her back onto the ground, but her eyes frantically soared to scan the heavens for a voice. Her green eyes glossed against the metal bars. Suddenly, feet, bonded in black boots, stepped onto it, and a torso leaned down. A flow of long black hair slipped from behind the silhouette's back and brushed the aerial bars. Starfire pushed herself to focus on her visitor's face.
"I never thought I would be the one to break you out of prison."