Falling Stars, Part Six:
“Redemption”
Blackfire dropped Jupiter to the ground and turned to face Roy. She snarled as she pulled the arrow through her shoulder and dropped it as well. “And what drug are you on now, little fool?” she asked. Roy felt sweat streaming down his face and fought to keep his arms steady. “Just adrenaline, baby,” he said, trying to project more confidence than he felt. “Now you just settle down and we don’t wind up with hot chick on a stick.” Blackfire’s eyes scrutinized Roy and he felt another rivulet of sweat run down his back. A cold smile crossed her lips. “I think you are lying,” she said. Roy fought down an urge to swallow. “You don’t want to try me,” he bluffed. “Yes I do,” Blackfire said as she fired a starbolt. Roy fired as he dove out of the way. The starbolt missed, but his arrow also flew wide. Blackfire smirked as she watched it fly past and then renewed her assault. Starbolt after starbolt tracked Roy as he scrambled for cover. A fist slammed into Blackfire’s jaw, knocking her backwards. “Thanks for the distraction,” Wonder Girl said. “I just needed to catch my breath.” Another punch sent Blackfire out the window, with Wonder Girl close on her tail. Roy dropped to his knees as the bow and arrow clattered to the floor beside him. Now that the danger was over, he couldn’t stop shaking. He was just so cold! He felt an arm around him pulling him to his feet. “Come with me, Mr. Harper,” Jupiter said. “We need to get out of here.” Jupiter pulled Roy out of his office and started toward a safer location in the tower. Mr. Smith was behind them, carrying Roy’s weapons and ever watchful for any signs of Blackfire returning. Wonder Girl smiled as she flew through the air. She plummeted downward, keeping her eyes firmly on Blackfire. Blackfire quickly pulled out of her dive and flew back at Wonder Girl as energy coronas formed around her hands. Wonder Girl dodged the energy blast and grabbed Blackfire, driving her downward. Shattered glass from the building’s windows followed them. “Burn,” Blackfire ordered as she got a hand free and locked it onto Wonder Girl’s face. Donna screamed as starbolt energy began sizzling against her face. Blinded, Wonder Girl grabbed Blackfire’s arms and flipped her. Blackfire crashed into the building as Wonder Girl began trying to look around. I can’t see! Wonder Girl thought with horror as she began trying to rub tears out of her eyes. She heard the next starbolt too late. It struck her in the back and threw her into the side of a neighboring office building. Roy heard familiar voices as he, Smith, and Jupiter neared the safe room. Without thinking, he shoved Jupiter and Smith inside, then sealed the room. “Harper!” Smith yelled as Roy ran down the hallway, grateful that Smith had returned his weapons on the way to the room. Jupiter couldn’t even watch as he wondered if any of them would survive the day. “Come on!” Robin yelled. He’d gathered Aqualad and Aquagirl and they were looking for Kid Flash when they heard Wonder Girl’s scream. He rushed across a deserted office to the window just in time to see her flung by the bolt into another building. “No,” Robin muttered. His hand formed a fist and he thumped the window. “How can she be taking us apart this easily?” ”Because she is a soldier,” Aqualad said. “You have been restricting yourself. You look at her and see your lover. She looks at you and sees only an enemy to be destroyed.” “How do we fight that?” Robin asked, throwing out his hands in frustration. “She’s already taken us all apart once, and now Donna’s down! How do we fight back?” ”You don’t have a prayer if you’re going to cry like a pussy, Grayson.” The three Titans turned to see Roy standing in the doorway. “This is a surprise,” Aqualad said in a haughty tone. “I would have expected a rat like you to have already fled the ship.” “Later for you, fish stick,” Roy said, fighting to feign confidence he didn’t really feel. “Grayson, we need to work together if we’re going to get out of this in one piece.” ”You’re right,” Robin said. He turned to look at Roy for the first time. “You got your bow?” ”You know it,” Roy replied. Robin turned completely from the window and confidence had returned to his stance. “All right. Pity party’s over. Let’s find Wally and take this chick down.” Donna Troy pushed a block of cement off of herself and sat up as Kid Flash zipped up beside her. “Need a hand?” he asked. Wonder Girl shook her head. “I’ve got it,” she said. “What’s going on?” ”Boss man’s got a plan,” Kid Flash said. He reached out and grabbed her wrist. “He needs you, too. Let’s go.” Before Donna could protest, he was pulling her back to the Titans’ headquarters at super-speed. “Got her,” Kid Flash said as he arrived in the locker room where the rest of the Titans were waiting. “Good,” Robin said. They were gathered around a laptop which Robin had hacked into the building’s security systems. A glowing dot on a floor layout indicated Blackfire’s current location. “Excuse me,” Wonder Girl said as she tried to clear her head. “What’s going on?” Robin thumped a fist into his other hand. “We take her down together.” Outside, a space cruiser slowed and hovered over the Jupiter building. Blackfire flew down a hallway. “Where are you?” she muttered. “Come out and die.” Her lips curled back in a cruel smile as she saw movement inside the gymnasium. She blasted the doors open and flew inside. Robin stood in front of the pool. She smirked as she raised a glowing fist. “So you are the first to die,” she said. “Not quite,” Robin said. “Now!” he added as he dove out of the way. Blackfire let out a cry as Wonder Girl dropped from behind her and pulled her hand out of firing position as the two crashed into the pool where Aqualad and Aquagirl were waiting. Aquagirl used her powers to turn the water into ice which surrounded Blackfire’s wrists, handcuffing her. Aqualad and Wonder Girl simultaneously punched her in the face. Finally her eyes closed. Wonder Girl surfaced, gasping for air. She dragged the unconscious Blackfire with her. She looked up into a face she’d never seen before. A man stood there before her. He wore a black uniform with silver piping. He had movie star looks and his long brown hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail. “I am Officer Jo Nah of LEGION,” he began. He stopped and blinked. “And it appears you have our prisoner,” he finally finished. Later, the Titans had assembled in the meeting room. Blackfire had been transferred to the overhead LEGION cruiser which had then departed in order to avoid alarming the local population any more than they already had. “I’m impressed you caught her,” Nah said. He stood at the head of the briefing table. “Blackfire has been one of our most wanted criminals for some time. We thought we had finally captured her, but she managed to escape from the Gordanian bounty hunters who had reported her capture and even destroy their ship.” The Titans shot guilty looks around the table. Jupiter appeared to be ready to speak, but Nah cut him off with a gesture. “Don’t worry,” Nah said. “I can see what happened. She was a skilled trickster. What story did she use?” ”She said that her name was Koriand’r and she was escaping from slavers,” Jupiter said. “The aliens who pursued her had even called her Koriand’r.” “I see,” Nah said. “She knows all the tricks. The Gordanians probably suspected she was using her sister’s name. She’s tried that trick before, and it always seems to work.” Nah’s tone grew wistful. “I suppose that everyone hopes deep down that Princess Koriand’r will be found alive someday.” Nah’s voice returned to normal. “I’m just surprised she didn’t try to use her body as payment for helping her escape.” Robin fought to keep his face steady as Speedy kicked him under the table. “What will happen to her?” Robin asked. “She will be taken to Takron-Galtos, our prison planet,” Nah explained. “There she will undergo rehabilitative therapy to try and curb her evil impulses.” Speedy jumped up. “Wait a second. You said that she was one of your most wanted, right? Is there any sort of reward?” Nah smiled. “Indeed there is.” He pulled a bag from a pouch on his belt and handed it to Jupiter. “One million UP credits. I only hope that it will help to repair your city.” Nah launched himself into flight and flew out the shattered window. The officer who opened the airlock fell into step beside Nah as he boarded the cruiser Norg. “Do they know, sir?” he asked. Nah shook his head. “No, and that’s how I’d like to keep it,” he said. The officer shifted uncomfortably as he led Nah into a small conference room. “You need to see this, sir,” he said. He pressed a button on a control board and video screens sprang to life with Blackfire’s image. “Fools!” she ranted as she was herded into a holding cell. “My master is coming and he will destroy you all!” The picture froze as Nah released the button. Beneath his tan he’d gone deathly pale. “Does anyone else know about this?” he asked. “No one except the officers present and they have been ordered not to discuss it.” “Good,” Nah said. He pressed a communicator. “Bridge, this is Officer Nah. Set direct course for LEGION homeworld at maximum speed. I will also be sending a coded priority message shortly. Aside from that, we travel in radio silence. Nah out.” Later, Nah sat at his desk and faced the communicator. Finally he began speaking. “This is Officer Nah aboard the cruiser Norg. We are returning from Sol III with the prisoner in custody.” Nah swallowed. “I have reason to believe that Sol III may soon be the site of a Code Red incident. Repeat, possible Code Red incident. We are returning to headquarters at maximum speed and under a communications blackout so that I may update the council. Nah out.” The message sent, Jo Nah leaned back in his chair and thought dark thoughts about what was to come. End Book Three... Next Issue: The Titans accompany Aqualad as he returns home. But there may be more to this simple visit than there appears to be… Previous Issue | Next Issue |
