"I am sorry." Starfire apologized to her alternate universe counterpart, who was sitting in her cell in heavy chains.

"Do not be." The prisoner answered like an uncanny mirror, still proud even in defeat. "You were with her until the end, while I could not. At least she did not die alone, and died free."

Starfire hesitated. She could understand herself so well, but at the same time, it felt like there was a barrier between them. How, she wondered, could a single thing make them both so different? And, more importantly, did she do the right thing in the end? They were imprisoned, true, but she and her friends were at least safe while their counterparts protected Jump City.

And now, they would leave their world almost undefended, and the local Titans would be executed for their crimes. And she was one of the people responsible. In fact, if not for her, Terra would be still alive, and maybe she could break the prisoners out… and then what?

"Why is this… why is this all so complicated?" Starfire finally gave voice to her inner conflict. "This just isn't fair! Why did I have to do it, why do I have to leave you, why did you do it? All of it? Why?!"

"You wouldn't?" The prisoner-Starfire answered, her eyes like steel. "The people I loved were hunted down, forbidden from using their powers and helpless while evil thrived. Would you just accept it? Would you not protect those you love?"

"It's different!" Starfire protested.

"Different how? What would you do?" The defeated superheroine – or was she a villain now? – strained against her chains, not for hope of breaking them, but just to do something, anything. "I was already betrayed once by the people I loved, people I trust. No one on Tamaran opposed them when the slavers took me, and no one opposed Luthor when he took power here. They just stood by, and ignored it!"

"That's not true. That's not true!" Starfire protested loudly, her eyes lit up as her anger manifested.

"They cheered as Luthor treated us like animals, as he let everyone suffer just to strike at us! Do you not love your friends?! Would you not challenge evildoers and their evil ways?"

"I would!"

"Would you not oppose those who are evil? Even if they had the money and power, and propaganda and armies?"

"I would!" Starfire was shouting now, shaking with barely-controlled fury.

To her surprise, the imprisoned Tamaranian just laughed bitterly. She looked at the chains binding her, at her cell, and finally at her captor. "Then maybe there is still hope for your world then." She said, her anger gone. She stopped struggling against her bindings, instead just standing in her cell.

"What?" Starfire looked at her with confusion and anger.

"I will die soon." The prisoner said, her voice now calm, if sad. "And I will die, knowing that I failed everyone I loved. And this world will be left defenseless from those who threaten it. There are still some supervillains left, hiding, waiting for this moment. And there are enemies among the stars who will come and attack Earth once they learn that we are gone. You know it."

"There are still Green Lanterns left. They promised to help." Starfifre answered weakly, her anger dissipating.

"And none of us will be here to see it, or to help them." The imprisoned superheroine closed her eyes, trying to ignore the chains, the cell, and the trauma it invoked in her. The memories of Gordanian captivity were haunting her still. "I can't do anything to protect this world. But I want to do at least one more thing before I face my death." She opened her eyes, tears only stopped by her iron will. "Promise me, Starfire. Promise me you will protect them. Your friends. People you love. Promise me you will not abandon them, no matter what."

"I will never abandon my friends." Starfire declared without any doubt.

"And what will you do if Luthor comes to power in your world? Will you stand by, and do nothing while your friends are hunted down and killed?"

Starfire closed her hands into fists. Would she? Even seeing where this path leads… could she just surrender? "I will fight." She finally declared, even if her voice shook a little.

"… then perhaps not everything was for nothing." The prisoner answered, closing her eyes once again. "Go now, join your friends. Protect them. Do what you have to do. And remember your promise to me. Do not let them down, Starfire."

And only after her captor left, did the prisoner finish the sentence. And only then did she cry.

"Do not fail them, like I did. Oh, Terra…"

And then she never cried again. She never spoke a word again, and never showed any emotions, right until the very end.

And the end came soon. Public wanted blood, and they got it in spades. he public wanted blood, and they got it in spades. The life of Starfire came to an end at the hands of the people she once swore to protect, with crowds cheering and politicians making grand speeches about a new, better world that they would build now that the superhero menace was gone.

But she cared not for that, her last thoughts being only of the friends she has failed.

Starfire entered the main room of the alternate Tower, only to find Robin fuming at the computer screen with others already there. Raven was fully awake now, and her face was emotionless as always, but Starfire knew her enough to see how tense she was. Beast Boy was openly furious, and Cyborg was trying to calm him down, even though he was visibly angry as well.

"Starfire." The Green Lantern – their own one, not the alternate universe version of him – welcomed her from the big screen. "I'm glad to see you. We were worried about you all once we heard you were also captured."

"But not worried enough to come to us before attacking the Lords yourself." Robin said angrily. "Why didn't you come for us first?! Why would you ask Luthor for help, of all people!"

"Luthor?" Starfire asked, confused.

"They gave him a full pardon after asking him to help fight the Justice Lords." Beast Boy answered instead, still furious.

"What? Why?" Starfire looked at Green Lantern in shock.

"We couldn't defeat them by ourselves. We needed help, and Luthor was the only one we could find." The green superhero defended his decision. "I'm as angry as you all are, but what's done is done. Justice Lords are defeated, and we are leaving this universe soon. We'll open a portal for you after we deliver our prisoners to the government."

"Are you proud of yourself?" Beast Boy asked, shaking off Cyborg's hand when he tried to calm him down. "All he does from now is on your hands!"

"Careful there Beast Boy, you sound like a Justice Lord." Green Lantern chastised him. "And whatever he tries to do, we will stop him, like we always do. Don't worry about that."

"And what if he becomes the president?" Everyone looked at Starfire as she quietly asked her question. "What if he does exactly what his counterpart did here? What then?"

"This won't happen. People will never stand for that. He's a former criminal, pardon or not." Green Lantern answered, shaking his head. "No one would vote for someone like that."

Beast Boy wasn't satisfied by this answer, but in the end Green Lantern apologized and disconnected. He and the League were busy delivering Lords to local authorities and answering some questions, offering advice and generally trying to help as much as they could before leaving.

Not that they could do much to help. This world would have to survive on its own, now.

Next few days passed quickly, which doesn't mean that nothing happened. Titans returned to their own Tower, scouring it for any traces of sabotage or traps, finding nothing of the sort. In fact, the alternate reality Titans took great care of the Tower, even refilling the fridge. Cyborg was slightly torn about it, but in the end decided to just use these supplies to make some tasty meals for the next few days. He found it unnerving how his alternate self seemed to have basically the same habits when it came to cooking, aside from not having any Raven-specific ingredients.

Robin took it upon himself to explain the situation to the public officials and the general public, following the Justice League's press conference. It wasn't the first time Earth had encountered alternate dimensions, and explaining it went quite well, aside from one issue. Robin and the League were truly worried about how people didn't seem to mind the presence of the Lords and alternate Titans on Earth for a short time. In fact, some people even expressed hope that their own heroes would 'learn how to properly deal with criminals'.

The Elite incident was a great example of why this wasn't as cut and dry – and League's description of how the other Earth worked tempered some people in their hopes – but there were still many who believed Lords to be the better superhero team. Some companies even created Lords-themed merchandise, featuring great and catchy phrases like 'dead criminal equals no crime' or worse.

The second group of people were those who expressed doubts about superheroes in general. League decided to hide the worst of what Lords did, omitting the fact that they became basically rulers of entire planet. After some fierce arguments it was decided that public opinion did not need to know that and it would only result in them losing faith in superheroes. For now, the public only knew that Lords were oppressing normal citizens and punishing them for peaceful protests or even small things like littering.

Despite that, even in Jump there were people idolizing the alternate Titans, and Robin found it worrying to say the least. Fortunately, they were still minority, as were those who opposed superheroes in general. He focused on returning to their normal routines of patrols and training. Out of all the Titans, he had the fewest problems after their visit to the alternate Jump. For him, it was all easy and simple; evildoers were defeated, and local authorities would punish them, therefore his team was no longer needed there. He did not feel responsible for that universe, arguing that they had enough on their plates in Jump right here and now. Besides, the alternate Earth would outlaw superheroes soon, and he was not going to oppose that.

Beast Boy and Starfire were visibly the most impacted by the Lords incident. The green superhero found himself questioning many things he had once taken for granted. He often discussed his newfound realizations with Robin, usually leading to heated debates. For Robin, it was obvious. People would never elect someone like Luthor, and would never allow him to just outlaw superheroes. And even if they did, all the Titans would only need to wait until the public realizes its mistakes and votes Luthor out or until he is taken down by the judiciary system.

Beast Boy disagreed, pointing out that Luthor played his cards perfectly in the alternate universe. First limiting superheroes through a web of laws that slowed them down, limited their options and made them unable to react in time or to do much. Then, shifting the blame onto them, making them appear not just bad, but openly lazy and neglectful in the eyes of the public.. It was easy then to convince the public that League was unnecessary and even harmful, especially with him having absolute control over media and 24/7 stream of carefully crafted half-truths showing the supposedly 'absurd' costs League generated.

It was a dispute between optimism and faith in humanity and pessimistic notions of manipulation and propaganda. Neither side could 'win' this debate. To both of them, what the other one proposed was impossible to agree on. From Beast Boy's point of view, Robin would simply allow someone like Luthor to take power and ruin the world just to stay true to his belief that superheroes should never participate in politics.
However, in the eyes of Boy Wonder, the idea that the Titans should initiate some form of political agitation and attempt to persuade people on how to vote was a terrible idea. Politics, Robin argued, are rotten to the core; what if they supported someone only to find out that they were in fact corrupt and evil? How would this reflect on Titans who once endorsed this politician?

In the meantime, Starfire was focused on the recordings from the time evil – were the truly evil? – Titans were at the Tower. She focused mostly on her alternate self, noting the many, many similarities. The Tamaranian on the screen seemed proud and strong, and yet deeply cared about the people. She expressed belief during some discussion that people can't really decide for themselves in many things, but they need to be protected no matter what, and this led Starfire to question her own motives for helping others.

The other her witnessed with her own eyes how two homes betrayed her. First, her homeworld sold her to the slavers for the greater good, and now Earth chose to forbid her from using her powers and forced her to stop helping others. Starfire couldn't even imagine the pain this second betrayal must have caused, and yet the person she observed on the screen wasn't vengeful or angry. She was strong, protective, she was something that once upon a time she herself aspired to be; someone who could protect her home from all threats, no matter what they were.

And Starfire left her to die. The princess of Tamaran was now awaiting death, alone, bereft of even the company of her beloved in her last days. Looking at the recording, at the smiling, laughing, serious when fighting and happy when with her friends figure, Starfire felt her resolve crumble. It was her penance, her punishment, her responsibility. She would not be a coward who sentences someone to death and runs away from her choices; she knew what she did, and she would face the consequences of her decisions. She still remembered her short conversation with imprisoned alternate Titan, and found herself still unable to truly answer the question asked.

And now she stood in the recordings room, slowly looking at the archived images of her alternate self, her thought in turmoil. If her friends are ever in danger from someone like Luthor, but refuse to fight back on principle, and forbid her from saving them… would she?

What was most important to her? The happiness of her friends, or protecting them against their own wishes?

"Starfire could only hope that she would never have to find an answer.

Raven had been meditating a lot since coming back from that alternate universe. Like her friends, she also had many things to consider but unlike them, she was focusing more on herself rather then the alternate reality itself. She was well aware of different dimensions, timelines, realities, and universes; in fact, she could easily travel between them. She could have, in fact, ended up in that other place instead of here during her escape from Azarath.

Part of her wondered what would happen then. Would Lords consider her an enemy, and kill her, unleashing Trigon on the world? Would they be able to find a way to do that safely, somehow? Or, perhaps, they would consider her an ally? The idea of her joining the alternate reality Titans back then was disturbing, but not impossible; back then she was desperate for help, and would probably join anyone who promised help.

But here and now, she was older and wiser, and free to think about such ideas without dreading them. Her fears retreated back into the depths of her mind, unable to control her anymore. Thanks to the Titans, she found inner balance, and even when they learned who she was they did not reject her, instead welcoming her with open arms. Beast Boy and Cyborg even fought her demonic side, and Starfire felt the touch of her powers and emerged victorious, resisting the taint and temptation of dark magic.

Or so she thought.

"You… did what." It wasn't even a question, just a statement. Raven was so shocked, she was unable to even question the words she just heard. The inner balance she was so proud of shattered momentarily, and she was left speechless and just looking at Starfire. The lightbulb in her room shattered once again, and the room seemed to be shrouded in shadows and darkness. "What. Did. You. Do?" Raven's voice was now betraying the swirling emotions inside her.

Raven, please, take a deep breath." Starfire said, her voice calm and her mind centered. All the long hours of meditation now paid off, and she was a pillar of calmness despite the gravity of the situation. She knew that any kind of physical contact right now would be unadvisable, so she helped as much as she could by simply remaining steady and not allowing herself to panic or feel fear.

It helped. Raven took a deep breath, slowly letting it out, focusing on her friend. Seeng Starfire calm and not panicking allowed her to slowly find her own balance and push the panic and raging emotions down, although not completely out of her mind; she was still angry, afraid, worried, and felt many other emotions, some that she couldn't even understand.

"Starfire." She tried again, this time finding herself able to speak normally as the darkness in the room receded. "Why did you do that? Why would you use these… these horrible powers? You felt them, you know how evil they are."

"If not for them, you would not wake up, and we would still be prisoners." Starfire answered without hesitation.

"But… your souls is now tainted." Raven pointed out, her voice shaking a little. How horrible. She led one of her friends, arguably the closest of the Titans to her, down the path of damnation. She corrupted her, tainted her, just like she feared she would. "He will have your souls, Starfire."

"Perhaps." Starfire answered, her voice still fearless. "But I am not afraid of him."

"You will be." Raven answered darkly, her mind remembering the tiny bit of Trigon's power she could feel once upon a time. "He is nothing like the enemies we have faced before, Starfire. Nothing you say or do can prepare you for the unimaginable horror of his realm, and the eternal suffering he will inflict on you… I'm sorry." Raven almost felt tears in her eyes, but she pushed them down.

"Raven. Please, look at me." She did, and saw Starfire still standing, sad, but brave. "I am not afraid of him because of you."

"M-me?" Raven asked, hiccupping a little as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Yes. Raven I know you would never let him do this to me. If he comes for you, or for me, we will face him together." Starfire said with absolute conviction and a smile. "And we won't be alone. We will have our friends, the League, Green Lanterns, and so many others. We will face your father, and we will do this together."

Starfire gently extended her hand, and Raven equally gently took it. It felt good.

And for a fleeting moment, for the first time in her life, Raven truly believed that they can indeed defeat her father one day.

"Let us engage in the meditating together, friend." Starfire proposed, sitting slowly on the floor, still holding Raven's hand. And then, both of them sat in silence, their minds at rest and focused at the same time. Thing were not great. But they were not the worst, and they had each other and their friends to help.

There was yet another thing left, announced by the call from the League on the very next day.

"You cannot close the portal yourself?" Raven asked to make sure she understood correctly.

"Yes. Yes. We have all the information on how to open it, but none on permanently closing it, and we decided that it's the best solution." Superman said, this time deciding to contact the Titans himself. Seeing the Man of Steel on the screen was definitely much more welcome to the young superheroes then Batman, or even Green Lantern, right now. "The Green Lantern Corps has a policy of avoiding intervention in other realities unless necessary, and we decided to follow their advice," Superman explained.

Beast Boy held back his comment on how convenient it would be to no longer care about what's going on in the place they abandoned. He knew it wouldn't do any good right now, and he had some time to cool down a little, even if he was still angry at the League for letting Luthor go.

"And you want my help?" Raven confirmed. "To close the connection between worlds permanently?"

"Exactly. And, Raven… I am sorry." Superman looked sadly at the young magic user. "It seems that since you arrived we hurt you more then helped, in the end. I am ashamed, of myself and others. You and other Titans were nothing but the exemplars of heroes, and I wish I could do more to help you."

"It's alright." Raven answered, her voice monotonous as always, but she had no doubt that Superman understood her intention, somehow. The Man of Steel seemed to understand her well. "When do you want me to lose it?"

"Any time from now. Do you need any help? We can perhaps…" Superman started, but he didn't get to finish. Help? Raven's Pride flared a little bit, and she smiled slightly.

With but a wave of her hand, she put all her power into the fragile link between realities she could feel. Since one of the portals actually exited in the Tower's main room, she didn't even need to go anywhere. It did use quite a lot of power, but she didn't show it at all, enjoying the stupefied look on everyone around.

From the League's perspective, the portal they were monitoring suddenly flared back to life, and then shattered like glass, the pieces of broken reality evaporating. Same happened in Titans tower, in full view of Superman. Even her friends were absolutely impressed – Beast Boy seemed quite stunned, even. She just waved her hand and closed their dimension off from another one, just like that.

"Anything else?" She asked sweetly, enjoying the sounds of alarm and confusion coming from behind Superman. Apparently Watchtower also did not expect this.

"No, um, that's all. Thank you, Raven. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go and calm everyone down." Superman turned around and terminated the connection, but not before the Titans heard him trying to calm everyone down.

"Show-off." Cyborg commented, smiling widely.

"Not like they don't deserve some good shock right now," Beast Boy added, shaking off his own surprise.

"Hopefully that's the end of this." Robin said with certain satisfaction. "We can go back to our patrols without interruption. I'm sure some supervillains will try something soon, so I booked some extra patrols for everyone."

Groaning and sighing were the only answer.

Unknown to them, Lex Luthor smiled as he stood in front of an army of journalists, his press conference going splendidly. "Will I go back to business now?" He repeated the question he was asked moments ago, his smile only growing wider. "No, I won't. To be honest, I found the world of business growing stale and boring recently. Now that my innocence is obvious and proven to everyone, I considered something more… refreshing."

"Politics."

As we are slowly approaching my second anniversary as a fanfiction writer, I hope to finish Volume 2 before that. And it's going to be an emotional ride for sure.
Poor Terra. And everyone else.