Chapter 25 - Interlude 3

Koriand'r felt her entire body lighting up with pain as the Psions bombarded her with synthetic sunlight. Tamaraneans could absorb, and even survive exclusively on sunlight, but everything had a limit, and Koriand'r could feel her own approaching.

She felt the light entering her body break through a limit and continue, more and more sunlight entered her cells. She felt like she would explode, the energy she had always carried with her pulsating inside her body and reaching a crescendo.

"X'hall's Breath!" She heard her sister scream in pain despite the metal wall separating them.

NO! Her mind rebelled. They would kill Komand'r! Her sister had been born sick, she could not absorb sunlight, and the very act caused her physical pain.

Her wrists strained uselessly against the manacles even as a stream of fire seemed to enter her very veins, Koriand'r screamed even harder.

Even with the pain she was feeling, Koriand'r heard the explosion in the other room, it was followed by a short struggle. Soon, she saw her sister break down the door and look inside her room.

Swallowing her scream, Koriand'r smiled on the inside, Komand'r was free. They could escape!

For a few seconds, her sister stared at her, her face impassive. Gritting her teeth, Komand'r turned her face aside and stepped away.

"Sister!" Koriand'r managed to scream through the pain.

Komand'r paused, without looking back, she lifted a hand and two bolts of purple energy flew from her finger, one hit the solar generator and stopped her torture, the other pierced through the machines around her and hit her right hand manacle, breaking through the reinforced metal and sending another jolt of pain through Koriand'r's body.

Lowering her hand, Komand'r stepped away from the door.

"Thank you." Koriand'r whispered as she heard Komand'r's steps running away. For a moment, she had believed her sister would leave her locked there to be tortured, the fact that she did not brought no small amount of joy to her heart.

Gathering her strength, Koriand'r pulled her arm away from the broken manacle, sending shards of metal flying through the room. Grabbing her remaining manacle, she pulled against it with both arms at the same time.

Koriand'r felt something rising inside herself. She channeled that feeling into her actions and, with a shout, her hands burst into green light as she ripped the manacle in half.

Directing her newfound power towards her legs, she felt the energy leaving her body. Green bolts of energy flew from her hands and exploded against the locks on her legs, it was not enough to destroy them, but the attack had damaged them enough that she could pull herself free.

A Psion security drone appeared on the door. "Prisoner 01245557841, do not resist, lethal force has been authorized!" The electronic voice commanded. Hands still glowing, Koriand'r looked at the robot and released twin bolts of light from her eyes, driving the robot back against the wall with surprising power.

The Drone tried to recover but, after a single step, it tilted sideways and fell down. Two more took its place, their weapons raised and already shooting lasers at her.

Koriand'r's training kicked in, she floated aside and grabbed a heavy apparatus hanging from the ceiling, with a powerful twist, she ripped the appliance off its support and threw it towards the drone on the right then followed it up with a pounce.

Her makeshift projectile hit the drone and crushed it against the wall. Her own punch was a perfect example of Okara's martial arts, her hand piercing all the way through the robot's head. Grabbing its disabled body, she used it as a shield against a hail of lasers from her right side.

Koriand'r grabbed the robot's gun and pointed it forward, pressing the trigger repeatedly, only for it to refuse to fire. It must have some security feature to prevent any prisoner from stealing it.

Looking at her own hand, Koriand'r thought about her energy bolt, she still felt the ultraviolet light just under her skin and, while she had never been able to use it as such before, gathering a bolt of light into her hand felt instinctual, almost as easy as flight.

The lasers kept hitting her drone and melting their way through its armor. With a warrior scream, Koriand'r held the drone with a single arm and charged her assailants, using her other arm to return fire.

Her starbolts were not strong enough to destroy a drone with a single shot unless she could hit their heads, but she was trained in the use of projectiles, and she still managed to destroy three of the robots before slamming her makeshift shield into a fourth.

Now in melee range, the drones stood no chance against her. She weaved between them like a cat and disabled their weapons with a single hit each. She also discovered that her new powers could increase her strength, allowing her punches to break through their armors no matter where she struck.

Twelve drones lay destroyed at her feet in less than a minute, woefully, that was far from enough. From the other side of the hallway, Koriand'r saw at least another thirty drones, led by an armored Psion.

She wanted nothing more than to slay the lizard where he stood, but she had no cover. The robots were also far enough, and in enough numbers, that she was unlikely to survive another charge.

Turning around, she flew away as fast as she could manage. Koriand'r hoped she could find an escape ship or, barring that, a less protected Psion she could capture.

Instead, she found an open area filled with robots and Psions, all of them armed and ready for her.

Stopping in place, Koriand'r felt her body sinking to the ground, she was not going to escape; there were too many and they were too well armed.

Closing her eyes, she remembered her sister had also escaped, Komand'r had always been physically weaker, but she had also been an even better fighter than her.

Yes, her sister would survive. Despite their differences, Koriand'r knew Komand'r cared about Tamaran. She would be a good queen.

"X'hall give me strength." She prayed. Her duty was clear. If she could not escape, she could at least keep as many of their defenses busy. She could distract them and, hopefully, buy her sister enough time.

The prospect did not scare her. Instead, Koriand'r felt her flight stabilizing, her heart filling with hope instead of fear. With a scream of fury, she charged her enemies.

Green energy gathered at her fingertips and on her eyes as she waved between laser shots and returned fire. Any enemy that got into melee range was quickly dispatched, with prejudice, and those far away were bombarded with starbolts.

Koriand'r felt the lasers start to hit her, despite her newfound strength, there were too many, and she was tiring. She fought, she screamed, she destroyed, every time she thought of giving up, Koriand'r remembered her sister, her family.

Koriand'r was acting more on instinct than conscious thought, her body hurt everywhere and her arms felt heavy. Then she noticed another woman suddenly joining the fight.

For a second, her flight faltered as she thought her sister had failed to escape, but she quickly noticed the woman had blonde hair. She was also devastating the enemies. This stranger had little skill, but was acting with overwhelming power and savagery.

Koriand'r quickly recognized the woman's prowess, how laser shots could not even cause her to flinch, how a single punch could shatter a robot as if it was made from glass. Changing her approach, Koriand'r started fighting smarter, eliminating hidden enemies and those who thought to reorganize their defenses.

She had hope. They could win!

The fight was brutal, and the woman, no, the girl, devolved into a mess. Her attacks became more brutal, her screams showing pain despite nothing in the room seeming capable of hurting her.

Koriand'r knew she was not a fighter, despite all her power the girl did not have the training. She had not been a warrior before this, but, after the battle, that would change. No one went through such an onslaught and remained a civilian.

When the fight was finally over and the girl was left blind to her surroundings, attacking a dead Psion in a fit of rage, Koriand'r approached her.

She was careful, she had seen what the girl could do, but she could not leave her alone, she could not abandon her here without help and in the state she was in. A simple touch on the shoulder was enough for the girl to turn her rage upon her.

Koriand'r stepped back, her arms raised in surrender, but her muscles were tense and ready for a fight. Despite all her power, Koriand'r knew she could subdue the girl if it was needed. She hoped it was not.

She was right, the girl's eye stopped shining with red light, and her arms dropped to her sides as she took deep, long breaths. Slowly, and with very deliberate movements, Koriand'r warped her arms around the girl and pulled her closer, letting her cry against her shoulder while holding her tightly for comfort. Just as she had hoped Komand'r would hold her.

"Do not cry, rejoice, our fight has destroyed most of the forces they were willing to send." Koriand'r told the girl with a reassuring smile, the girl ignored her, as if still lost in her rage. Grabbing her shoulders, Koriand'r turned the girl's face towards her. "Do not grieve, we are safe now. You are safe now." She said, and felt the urge to hug the girl which had so recently been turned into a warrior against her own will.

The girl's eye finally focused on her, and Koriand'r could see she was sane and calming down. The girl spoke, but Koriand'r could not understand a single word. Had the Psions captured someone from outside the sector?

Koriand'r was glad she could help with that, while the girl still would not be able to communicate with others, Tamaraneans would not have that problem. Koriand'r nodded in understanding and cupped the girl's face in her hands, her ability could be activated just by touch, but she was not that experienced, and a kiss would be far more effective, and far less likely to lead to mistakes.

Koriand'r kissed the girl. She was briefly surprised, but far from displeased, when the girl kissed her back.

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"AHHHH!" M'gann gasped, causing Koriand'r to snap out of her memories and turn towards the blushing girl.

"What troubles you, Friend M'gann?" Koriand'r asked, feeling safe to use the superhero's name while in their mind connection, but making a mental remark to start utilizing their codenames while on a mission.

While the other Titans were still feeling uneasy at letting the Martian into their minds, Koriand'r had perceived how the girl was starved for a mental connection and freely let M'gann into her mind, even allowing her to make a deeper connection.

"Nothing!" M'gann shouted, her blush growing even more pronounced despite her ability to shape-shift.

Koriand'r did not understand, she knew the girl had been able to see her memory, at least the last moments of it, but, what could have caused such a pronounced reaction? Humans, and Martians too it seemed, were most peculiar.

"Everyone, are we ready?" Aqualad checked one last time.

"Ah, let's go already!" Kid Flash could barely contain himself.

With an effort of will, Miss Martian opened the ship's hatch and the attack team jumped down. As the team's leader, Aqualad would be acting as the field commander for this operation.

He, Robin and Kid Flash, had the correct training in order to lead a stealth operation, while Miss Martian's shape-shifting gave her a natural advantage, which ameliorated her lack of training.

Although Koriand'r had the correct training, stealth was not her specialty and Superboy was still far from being capable of infiltrating anywhere, they would stay on the ship and act as support, or reinforcements, as the situation demanded.

It was best if they were completely unwearied if they were needed.

All four of them released Kara's drones into the air as soon as they approached the Venom factory. The devices shimmered and disappeared from view, quickly spreading through the location and conferring an immediate display of the entire location.

Koriand'r and Superboy watched closely as the robots located every objective they had: Kobra himself was overlooking the operation, and there were at least four Kobra-Venom enhanced on the factory alone. Still, there were places deep within the factory they dared not infiltrate remotely.

"Crap, I hate when the villains are smart." Robin cursed as he looked at the computer on his wrist. "They don't keep any important information on the local servers."

"Alright, remember, capturing Kobra is the primary mission." Aqualad informed them through their communication devices.

That had been one of the first lessons The Atom and The Green Lantern had given them. As some of the only heroes who had been representatives of a military not focused on individual prowess, they had been an indispensable constituent of the Titan's initial training.

"Yeah, yeah, we all remember the debriefing." Robin huffed. He was far too accustomed to working with The Batman. Having to communicate his actions was both inefficient and unfamiliar to him.

"Control, we will start the mission in one minute." Koriand'r informed The Red Tornado. Being the one responsible for monitoring the mission, Koriand'r held her breath and looked at the enemies locations one final time.

She gave them the signal. "Proceed!"

All four attacked at the same time, each one responsible for a few guards. Their enemies' surprise was total, and the attack left no chance for any escape, or even the raising of the alarms. A second later, Supergirl's holographic devices were thrown on the ground and immediately started replicating the guard's movements for the last minute, making sure none could notice their attack, at least not with a simple glance.

Koriand'r gripped the edge of her seat tightly and leaned forward, her heart pounding against her chest. She did not know having to act as overwatch could be so exhilarating!

"All targets neutralized, proceed." Superboy said on his comms. He too had to relax his grip on the dented chair.

Poor bioship, Koriand'r hoped she could not feel pain from such a small location. Then she gasped, had she just been pinching it? She really disliked when Komand'r pinched her. "Apologies." She whispered while gently patting her seat.

Using the drone images, Koriand'r and Superboy guided the four Titans through the facility, utilizing the holographic projectors to delay their discovery for as long as possible.

"I've located a shipment of Kobra-Venom, it seems ready for delivery." Robin called out over his comms.

Turning her head towards his screen, Koriand'r frowned. A large quantity of Kobra-Venom was neatly packed and ready for transportation, too large to be distributed locally.

Typing fast, Koriand'r opened a screen with the information Robin had been able to hack from the local servers. There really was no immediately important information, but there were records of an increase in security and change in guard locations every week at the same time.

Koriand'r quickly sent the information to the four of them and got up, crossing her fingers, she stretched her tense arms above her head, then behind herself and bent down. With how much tighter the security was going to get, Koriand'r knew she and Superboy would have to intervene.

"What're you doing?" Superboy asked with an uncertain voice.

"I always observe proper stretching techniques." She answered and grabbed her leg, pulling her feet up to her back, pressing her chest forward. "Come, Friend Superboy, join me."

"What do you think it means?" Kid Flash asked while punching out a minion and setting another holographic dummy.

"A sale." Robin answered, his voice becoming more animated by the second. "Come on, not only can we capture Kobra, we can get one of his buyers too. I'm really feeling the aster here!"

"Friend Robin, I do not see any flowers from the surveillance drones." Koriand'r commented as she finished her stretches.

"What?" Everyone asked in confused voices.

"Please, were you speaking of the cellular structure then? But, there must be so many, to be able to feel them…"

"No, I mean, aster as in, the opposite of disaster…" Robin explained in a frustrated voice.

"I… did not know the vernacular could be used in such a way." Koriand'r mumbled while blushing. She would have to search for the idiom later. Friend Robin was most confusing.

The mission continued, Miss Martian acting as lookout to keep anyone from noticing while Kid flash installed explosive devices on the factory's machines and Robin searched Kobra's documentations and personal computers, trying to find proof of other villain's involvement.

They had discussed simply disabling the produced drug supply, but, even without Kobra or Bane, the factory could still be used to restart Venom production, it was best to destroy it all.

Also, Robin did enjoy blowing up things.

Finally, a drone caught sight of an approaching helicopter, also, Kobra himself appeared. Flanked by two Kobra-Venom users, the cult leader left the building and walked calmly towards the Helipad.

"Main Target located." Superboy informed everyone. All four heroes quickly dropped what they were doing and converged on Kobra's location.

Robin just disappeared from view, his new stealth suit allowing his impressive skills to reach a new level. Aqualad threw a holographic display and hid inside it, a second later, Kid flash slid into place beside him.

"Alright, how're we going to do this?" He asked.

"Starfire, Superboy, how long until you arrive?" Aqualad asked.

"The bioship is already floating above the factory." Superboy replied, cracking his neck, he and Koriand'r stood in the middle of the ship and prepared to open the hatch.

"Have we identified the buyer?"

"We have not. The drones do not have a good view of the helicopter." Koriand'r informed them. She commanded one of the drones to approach, but the wind was disturbing its flight. "I could try and approach, but the drone's stealth can not overcome the harsh wind."

"Hello Megan! I'll try to take a look myself." Using her powers to camouflage her body, Miss Martian started approaching the helicopter from the air.

"Miss Martian!" Aqualad grumbled under his breath, but it was too late.

Kobra lifted an eyebrow and glanced up for a second. He took another three steps and then wiped his arm up, throwing a dagger exactly where Miss Martian was floating. Miss Martian was able to react in time, but the dagger still pierced her shoulder and she dropped her camouflage.

"Eliminate her!" Kobra shouted in anger, but he didn't move himself. Lifting his arm, Kobra spoke at a device on his wrist. "Nothing must disturb us, activate the jammers."

A batarang flew through the air towards Kobra, but one of his bodyguards blocked it with an arm. With a beep, the batarang exploded and covered them with a cloud of smoke, obscuring their visions.

"Attack!" Aqualad ordered, and that was the last thing he managed to say before their comms stopped working.

"Miss Martian, mentally connect us!" Koriand'r shouted in her mind and ordered the bioship to open her doors.

"I-I… just a moment!" Miss Martian shouted back, she pulled the dagger out of her shoulder and hid behind the factory while using her shape-shifting to heal the wound.

Grabbing the edge of the door, Superboy looked around and located one of the large Kobra-Venom guards rushing towards Aqualad's location. Pushing against the ship, he caused it to swing around in the air while he pounced on the giant man, smashing his entire body on the floor and causing the earth to shake under their combined prowess.

Koriand'r dropped out of the ship and floated in the air for a second to access things. The situation on the ground was chaotic, but she decided to focus on the helicopter which was turning aside to reveal a giant artillery piece.

Koriand'r shot a starbolt at the weapon, but the metal proved far more resistant than she had believed. A wave of bullets hit the ground causing it to explode in a shower of gravel.

Kid Flash had been waving between cultists, utilizing his celerity to steal their weapons and disable the lesser minions, but he stumbled on the impaired floor and fell down.

Another three shots of her starbolts disabled the aircraft's munitions and Koriand'r turned her face to the ground again.

Suddenly, a javelin flew towards her right from the helicopter she had already dismissed. Koriand'r reacted fast and floated aside. With lightning-fast reflexes, she grabbed the projectile midair and twirled it in her hand before throwing it back with all her strength.

It had barely left her hand before it exploded, only a few centimeters away from her body. The shockwave sent her hurtling right into the factory building, bursting through the roof and into the steel beams.

"A little help here!" Kid Flash's desperate voice shouted in Koriand'r's head.

"Kinda busy!" Robin yelled and Kori could feel his concentration. "This is totally not whelming!"

"Miss Martian, support Superboy before he's overcome. Starfire, help Kid flash!" Aqualad's voice overcame the chatter in their minds. "I'll help with Kobra."

Koriand'r was already moving. She burst through the factory's wall and took in the scene again. Robin was desperately fighting Kobra, but it was clear the cult leader was stronger and more skilled.

Superboy was facing four Kobra-Venom cultists. He was stronger and faster than then, but the cultists were more skilled, and the half-Kryptonian was getting overwhelmed by their attacks.

Kid Flash was also struggling with two Kobra-Venom cultists, and there were several people trying to shoot him. Usually, he could run circles around them, but his fall seemed to have contused his ankle, and he was far slower.

Koriand'r narrowed her eyes, "Leave, him, alone!" she growled, shooting the closest Kobra-Venom cultist with a green starbolt before slamming into the second one with a knee to the face.

Bullets pinged against her skin with bruising strength, but Koriand'r ignored them to fight the enhanced. Despite their size and appearance, they were competent martial artists.

"Thanks!" Kid Flash shouted.

"What about the buyers! " Robin shouted in their minds, but Koriand'r could feel Aqualad shaking his head.

"Priorities! Disabling Kobra is our main concern."

Focusing on the Kobra enhanced, Koriand'r weaved between their blows and hit them. Unfortunately, she had never personally battled a chemically enhanced regular human and didn't know how resistant they were.

Without the heavy hitters, Kid Flash was able to disable the remaining cultists, allowing Robin and Aqualad to fully focus on Kobra without having to worry about stray bullets.

When Koriand'r finally subdued her enemies, she saw the aircraft starting to fly up with the latest delivery of Kobra-Venom. A blonde man wearing a metal mask was supervising the lift off while using projectiles such as darts and javelins to assist Kobra.

The cult leader himself seemed to be trying to escape, but Kid Flash had joined the fight and, together, they were keeping the man from running away.

Koriand'r rushed towards the masked man, throwing starbolts at him to stop him from helping Kobra. Reaching him, they started fighting. The man was incredibly skilled, and he knew to avoid her blows instead of blocking them.

They danced around each other as Koriand'r disabled his weapons. Shooting a starbolt from her eyes, Koriand'r forced him to duck under the blast and leave himself open for a kick to the chest.

He tried to block her kick with an arm, but her strength blew right through it and hit his armor. At the very last second, the man had jumped up so that his body flew back.

Koriand'r was just about to follow him when she heard the beep coming from her leg. It exploded with incredible power for a device so small, sending her flying back.

She reoriented herself quickly, only a slight burn on her leg. But the aircraft was already flying away, the man hanging from a rope connected to a harness at his waist, one of his arms broken while the other held his wounded chest.

Koriand'r shot a starbolt at him but the helicopter swirled aside at the last moment and someone inside shot a missile at her. A second starbolt blew it up but, by the time Koriand'r could see again, the helicopter was already far away.

She flew after it, she was just about to start hurling bolts again when the vehicle revealed another compartment. In a second, the aircraft shot three dozen smaller missiles towards where the Titans were still fighting. Koriand'r did not even stop to think, letting the helicopter escape in order to intercept the projectiles.

"He's gonna make a run for it!" Robin shouted in all of their minds, as Kobra looked around and finally bought himself some space.

Throwing a bomb to the floor, Kobra caused a large black cloud to rise around them.

"No he isn't!" Kid Flash shouted. Already warned by Robin, he quickly ran around their location and used the generated wind to disperse the cloud.

Kobra had made surprising progress in his escape even in that short time. Keeping close to the ground like an ophidian he had almost literally been trying to scurry away, but the cloud dispersed too soon and both Miss Martian and Superboy were already blocking his path.

The two heroes were a little battered, Superboy's costume had several dents in it, but they had proved superior to the Venom enhanced cultist they had fought.

Koriand'r finished destroying the missiles and floated down to face the cult leader. Kobra took a look at the Titans and gave a resigned sigh. Straightening his back, he lifted his arms with a smirk on his face. "I surrender."

"No shit." Kid Flash said.

Robin just threw another batarang at the man's face. Kobra grabbed the weapon midair and it released a small green cloud, causing the cult leader to collapse face first to the floor. Everyone looked at him.

"What? It's safer this way." He shrugged.

"Pity the buyer escaped." Kid Flash sighed. "And they took so much of the drug too."

"About that," Robin smirked. Pressing a button on his wrist he deactivated the holographic displays revealing all the disabled cultists, and also revealing a large quantity of the Kobra-Venom dumped to the side of the factory. "Since they had already prepared the drug for transport so conveniently, I thought it best to move it away for the moment."

"So, what did they carry away?" Miss Martian touched down on the floor and asked.

"A tracker." He snickered. "Well, I also had to fill it with some random crap for weight, and a holographic device to keep the disguise."

"Nice!" Kid Flash lifted his hand in the air and Robin high-fived it.

"Do you think they'll check on the drugs before arriving at their location?" Superboy asked, making them all trade glances.

"Communications are still blocked." Aqualad informed them after checking.

"I'll contact the mountain!" Miss Martian called and hurried towards the Bioship.

"I'll look for the signal blocker." Kid Flash ran towards the Factory.

"Hey," Robin called for Koriand'r's attention. "You don't think Supergirl is gonna be mad I let the villains take some of her devices? I know Batman hates when that happens."

"Do not worry, Friend Robin. Supergirl has installed assorted means of self termination in all of her devices." Koriand'r nodded with a smile. "It will most likely explode after some time, or if they attempt to study it. She will not care."

Robin and Aqualad traded unease glances then looked at their own costumes and the teleporting devices at each other's backs. "Now, when you say it will explode, do you mean the…"

"Come, Friend Robin, this is a victory and I was informed that, after victories, it is custom to do the partying!" Koriand'r grabbed Kobra by his coat and hoisted him onto her shoulders. "I am most eager to have some mustard with pizza on the bottom!"

The mustard party was magnificent, and it became even better when The Batman informed them the League had been able to pursue the signal. The villainous enemy Koriand'r had faced was identified as Sportsmaster and had been arrested by Wonder Woman herself.

They had also found a most villainous sanctuary where animals were being experimented on in India, a member of the UN charter, so the Justice League had been able to interfere. The Batman suspected the villain, The Brain, to have been involved but the mastermind had still escaped.

Feeling somewhat enervated, Koriand'r arrived home, and that very prospect already brought a smile to her face. Taking a quick shower, Koriand'r paused in front of Kara's room.

The blond was already sleeping, her body in a fetal position, her arm curled under the pillow. She had a frown on her face and her entire body shook. Dexter stood on top of her body, his claws kneading at her shoulders.

Stepping inside the bedroom, Koriand'r sat down on the bed and, carefully, laid beside her best friend. Kara did not wake up.

"You are safe now." She whispered at Kara's ears and, when her friend's hand grabbed at her shirt, Koriand'r lay down on the bed beside Kara and held her tightly against her body until the girl stopped shaking.

Koriand'r felt the cat curling into a ball between their bodies and smiled. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep.

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