The Next Generation

Let one thing be clear: Rose never got along with Starfire. Heck, they had never even liked each other. But being here now, and hearing firsthand what Blackfire had done to not just her, but to Sarah as well, tormented her, subjected her to the unwanted desires of the Tamaranean guards, and the impact it had on the both of them, Rose felt for Starfire. She was never particularly one to have her heart ache at the pain of others; it only ever happened in rare occasions. The fact that her heart ached right now, and for Starfire of all people, was something she would never have expected. For the first time since changing her costume and her equipment, Rose wished she had her old swords back, swords that could cut, maim, and kill.

Rose wanted this bitch dead.

She very strongly wanted to speak up, but she held herself back. It took every ounce of mental effort she had to do so, but she did. This was a moment between Starfire and her sister. If something was going to happen, it was going to happen with those two first. Rose could see it on the faces of her teammates, as well. They all felt the same way; the anger and shock was clearly evident. But they, too, refrained from speaking, at least for now. This was a matter to settle between sisters.

"You hate me that much," Starfire uttered, jaw clenching in anger, "for things that I did not even do. You hate me for what others did, what others thought. My only crime was being born, and you so despised me for it! At least my reasons for loathing you are solid. For everything you've done to me, everything you've done to my friends, and my family, I will always hate you. A long time ago, I might have thought there was still some good in your heart, that you might be able to redeem yourself, but not after this. Now I know that your heart contains only blackness and bitter hate."

Blackfire narrowed her eyes coldly. "None of your words matter. Soon, this will be all over. You and your friends made a grave mistake coming here; you should have stayed away when you escaped, left your bitch wife to rot, because now you will all die. It's time this ends."

"Yes, it is," Starfire responded, gently laying Sarah down on the floor beside her. She stood up again and glared hotly at her sister. "This is between you and me, Komand'r. You've wished to see me suffer, wished to see me dead for so long. Well, here I am. The others are not a part of this. Let us settle things once and for all in combat. Or are you afraid?"

"I have never been afraid of you!" Blackfire retorted, as though a nerve had been struck.

"Then you should have no problem agreeing to the terms," Starfire said. "You and me, single combat. If you win, then I die as you've always wanted, as will my friends, as will my wife... and you'll have my daughter. But should I win, then I take back my daughter, my wife, my friends, and we all go free. You do not pursue us, and you never show your face to me again."

Blackfire scoffed. "And why would I ever agree to that when I could crush you all beneath my boot right now?"

At this, Starfire only smirked. "Because you're too proud not to."

Neal just once again stood by and listened as the speeches went on. Both sisters were so full of hatred for each other, whether for right or wrong. Blacfire's hate in Starfire was misguided, but it still existed all the same. Starfire's hatred for her sister was out of all the things that she had done previously. It was a strong hatred relationship for one another, and Neal wasn't quite sure what was going to happen. The challenge of a duel had been thrown down, and Starfire seemed confident that Blackfire would honor the challenge. Would she though? If she lost would she truly just agree to give up everything and let them all go? It would be a nice thought, but Neal wasn't sure how honorable Blackfire really was. Look at what she had already done!

Neal let go of the handle of his sword. For the time being this still wasn't his fight, it was theirs. His eyes glanced over towards the guards rather than the two sisters, just in case any of them tried anything funny. Neal just really hoped that Starfire could take Blackfire down and end this before it even started.

Blackfire stared back at Starfire for what seemed like a long time. Her eyes studied the enraged Tamaranean princess, the woman she hated so much. As much as she hated to admit it, Starfire was right; she was proud, too proud to decline a blatant challenge. After all, what would the people say if word got around that their queen had been to afraid to fight her sister? It wouldn't look good for her, that was certain. And besides... she was wholly confident that she could crush Starfire with minimal effort. She'd always been stronger.

"Take her," Blackfire said, turning to the nearest guard. She handed off Starfire's child and then stepped forward. "Very well, Sister. If you wish for me to kill you personally, then by all means, I welcome it."

Starfire took one step forward before hovering off the ground and flying forward the rest of the way. It was unnecessary, except that it mocked her sister's inability to fly. "Take care of Sarah," she said simply, her hands beginning to glow with orange energy.

Rose took a few steps forward and lifted Sarah into her arms. Poor girl didn't look so good. Walking back to the others, the group was ordered off to the side, to give the two sisters a large field of battle. Wonder Girl made sure to go retrieve Kid Flash, too, who also didn't look that good. Whatever he'd been hit by really did a number on him.

"X'hal, protect me," Starfire whispered to herself, then suddenly flying forward like a rocket and delivering a thunderous punch.

Blackfire raised her arms, blocking the the strike with a smirk. Her hands glowed violet, then blasting out a dark starbolt that nailed her sister directly in the chest. Starfire flew back into the air but stabilized herself a moment later, then flew off to the side, launching a series of her own starbolts. Blackfire ran to the side to avoid them, and countered with a double-handed beam of energy. Weaving around the beam, Starfire continued to throw her starbolts, one after the other. She was far more mobile than Blackfire, and that was her advantage. Of course, Blackfire's starbolt power was also much stronger than her own, so it essentially evened out.

"So, what do you think the chances are that Blackfire keeps her word, even if Starfire wins?" Rose asked, as she watched the sight.

"I'd say less than zero," Cyborg answered. "Just everyone be ready for when this fight ends."

Neal merely continued to watch, seeing that Blackfire had now accepted the challenge. Apparently despite the number of years that they were apart, they still knew each other extremely well. Or at least Starfire knew what Blackfire's weakness was. Her pride might just cost her the battle. Although most eyes were on the two sisters, Neal allowed his eyes to focus on the guard that had been handed the child. If this fight was going to break out into a giant brawl, Neal had to make sure that he went as fast as he could in order to get that child.

He turned his gaze back to the fight as it suddenly began. It was almost out of nowhere too, as Starfire had flown forward and delivered a powerful punch to her sister. They exchanged a few blows, and after the first minute of fighting it seemed like Blackfire was still winning. Damn it, fighting all those guards up to this point had only made Starfire tired. It meant that Blackfire had the advantage. Hopefully, Starfire's mobility would help her.

"Already planning, if a fight does break out our first priority needs to be getting Starfire's kid. I might be able to cast an illusion on the guy to make him panic long enough for us to get in and take the kid. At the same time though there's like fifty guards though........I've never tried casting complicated illusions on that many people at once though," Neal admitted in a whisper.

"I wouldn't do that," Cyborg said, glancing back at Neal. "Panic the guy who's carrying the baby, and he might drop her. I know Tamaraneans are more durable than humans, but I'd rather not find out the hard way whether or not that applies when they're newborns. It'll require a bit more finesse to get the child back."

Wonder Girl glanced over at the guard holding the child. "I might be able to fly over and take her from him if I'm fast enough, but again that could result in a struggle, which could injure her..."

"Well, think of something fast," Rose muttered. "Doesn't look like this fight is going to go on much longer.

Starfire definitely had the advantage with flight, staying back and throwing her starbolts. Blackfire did what she could to counter with her own starbolts, but her limited mobility compared to her sister didn't allow her a great position to defend herself, and she was taking a lot more hits than she was giving. However, she quickly devised a way to eliminate her disadvantage...

"What's the problem, Koriand'r?" Blackfire shouted, deflecting an incoming bolt of energy. "Afraid of facing me up close? You always were the weaker warrior even when we were training on Okaaara! So instead you cower up there like a a frightened bird!"

"Quiet!" Starfire retorted, tossing another starbolt. This one missed wide to the left, however. Her accuracy had suddenly gone down. Flying in closer, she attempted another shot, only to take a concentrated beam right to the gut that knocked her down to the ground.

Blackfire smirked, taking a few steps forward. "Is that the best you can do, Sister? Living with these humans has made you soft; I'm very disappointed. Here, I was hoping for a challenge."

Starfire pushed herself back up and snapped her head in Blackfire's direction, a look of pure rage on her face. Shouting out something in Tamaranean, she suddenly flew up from the ground straight at Blackfire again, tackling her through the far wall. They were gone for a few moments, in the next room, until suddenly Starfire came launching back into the throne room, rolling across the ground a few times before staggering back to her feet. Blackfire ran back into the room, leaping forward and driving her fist into Starfire's jaw, forcing her back to the ground.

"Stay down, Sister!" Blackfire shouted, bitterly. "Stay down and accept your defeat!"

"I guess you have a point on that one. Sorry, I just don't want that guard to threaten to do something worse to her," Neal admitted as he looked over towards the child in the guard's arms. Neal would give anything to have super speed or some sort of teleporting ability right now. He would even live with making himself invisible, but Neal just couldn't be certain if he could trick all of the enemy at once. Perhaps he wouldn't have to though? They'd have to make that decision when the time came.

Neal's gaze drifted back towards the fight again, watching as Starfire kept using her ability to fly in order to get away from her sister. It was at that point that Blackfire made a comment and tricked Starfire into moving in close .It was clearly a bad idea, as now Blackfire was using her increased strength in order to beat up Starfire. The fight only went a short while later, ending with Blackfire on top of Starfire and shouting at her to admit defeat. God this wasn't looking good.

"Come on Starfire you can do this, this is for you wife and daughter you HAVE to win," Neal muttered more to himself than to Starfire. He knew that she was aware of what was at stake, he just hoped that she could get up and keep fighting. Otherwise, none of them might be getting out of this ship alive.

Starfire took another few shots to the jaw. Each time she tried to get back up to her feet, Blackfire's fist sent her straight back down to the floor, and each time she was a little slower to push herself up, arms shaking a little bit more. Eventually, she lay there, her fingers twitching against the ground in attempts to raise herself. But she just couldn't, her body didn't want to. Everywhere hurt, especially her head. The entire room was spinning around her, and then suddenly she was being lifted up by her hair.

"Pitiful," Blackfire said, spitting in her sister's face. "How far the mighty Koriand'r has fallen.

As Blackfire raised her other fist, ready to finish her off, Starfire's gaze drifted, finding Sarah, still in Rose's arms. But it was something about Sarah that made her heart flutter: she was awake. Though her eyes were barely open, and her arms were barely moving, Sarah watched, weakened and unable to do anything to help.

"Kory...?" Sarah uttered, her voice a hoarse whisper.

An abrupt surge filled Starfire's heart. The next moment seemed an eternity to her, but to everyone else would happen in the blink of an eye. Blackfire's fist came screaming down at her face, but it struck only air. Moving her head to the side, Starfire drove a hand upa nd broke her sister's grip on her hair. She then caught Blackfire's arm as it wooshed harmlessly by her head and grabbed hold of it with both hands. In a swift, athletic motion, she suddenly spun herself around her sister's backside, yanking the arm backwards and bringing them both to the floor. Now kneeling on Blackfire's back, Starfire held onto her arm tightly, pulling... pulling... pulling...

SNAP!!

Blackfire immediately let loose a scream of unbelievable agony, as her arm broke cleanly, somewhere near the shoulder. When Starfire let her go, she rolled over and held her limp arm, while her body quivered in pain, almost going into shock it hurt so much. Her eyes instinctively teared up, her breath catching in her throat. She was hurting, a lot.

"My arm!" Blackfire screamed, trembling violently. "You.. you've ruined my arm!"

Neal just kept watching, despite how painful these next several blows were for Starfire. He couldn't tear his eyes away, almost as if he believed watching would somehow help Starfire through the pain. IF there was ever a time where she needed help, it was definitely now. Neal wanted to move in and just knock Blackfire off of her, and yet somehow he knew that he couldn't. It was still Starfire's fight, and he couldn't allow that to be interrupted. She needed to do this on her own.

"Come on Starfire, come on just get up one more time. You need to do this, "Neal muttered to himself. Neal was so focused on the fight that he didn't even realize that Sarah was awake, so Starfire's next actions caught Neal greatly by surprised. He watched as Starfire completely maneuvered around her sister and ended up completely breaking her arm in the process. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Neal shouted as he saw how much pain Blackfire was in.

Whatever sort of a lead Blackfire had was definitely gone. Starfire might have been in pain, but she still had full use of her body. "Come on Starfire, finish this fight!"

"You will not hurt me or my friends anymore!" Starfire shouted, charging her hand up with as powerful a starbolt as she could muster. With her sister now pretty much defenseless, she couldn't miss. Holding her hand out, she threw her starbolt and struck Blackfire point blank in the chest, knocking her off her feet. Blackfire landed on her back, still quivering in pain from her broken arm, and too injured to get back up.

"Shit," Rose said, lifting an eyebrow. "Girl's got game."

"I have won," Starfire said, walking forward and standing over her defeated sister. "Now you will honor the terms and allow us to leave, or I will break more than just your arm!"

Blackfire slowly glanced upwards, taking in deep breaths. She would normally just give the command for her guards to attack and kill them now, but there was one problem: she was flat on her back, one arm broken, her entire body numb, and Starfire was standing over her with a look on her face that said she'd shoot to kill next time, if Blackfire tried anything. Unable to bring herself to say anything, she merely looked over at the guard holding the child and gave him a small nod.

When the guard came over and gave over her baby, Starfire's demeanor instantly changed. She went from overwhelmingly furious to overwhelmingly happy, taking the small Tamaranean child in her arms gently and cradling her, smiling widely. Of course, her business wasn't finished just yet. Glancing back down, she then extended one hand. "Sarah's ring."

Letting out an annoyed groan, Blackfire reached down the front of her outfit and pulled free the necklace she wore, on which the green power ring dangled. "Just take it," she muttered.

"You can definitely say that again. Believe me, when Starfire gets mad she gets mad," Neal commented as he glanced over at Rose. He knew that Rose and Starfire had a bit of a history, but Neal doubt that Rose had seen the same level of anger that Starfire had produced against Black Adam or Blackfire right now. It was an amazing and terrying thing to see.

Neal watched as Blackfire agreed to all the terms that she had made when the fight began. Neal was almost surprised, but considering Blackfire's position she probably didn't have much choice. If she ordered the guards to attack it would be very easy for Starfire to kill her sister if that was her choice. It was only a minute before both the child and Sarah's Lantern ring were returned. They now had everything that they had come for.

"We should leave, and fast," Neal whispered to Cyborg. They might have won the fight, but the battle wasn't completely over. Blackfire still commanded a whole army in this very room, not to mention all of the other ships that waited outside. They weren't free just yet.

"Yeah... good idea," Cyborg commented, as he started backing his way towards the the exit. There was no telling how long it would take before they had the entire ship's forces on hem. Probably shortly after Starfire turned her back.

After taking Sarah's ring, Starfire began to also back away, keeping a close eye on her sister. "I pray to X'hal that we never meet again, Sister," she said, coldly. "Next time, I will not be so gentle."

And then, the entire group was running back out in the hallway towards the maintenance, shaft, where they'd left their space suits. Wonder Girl suggested finding the escape pods so that Sarah and the child, not to mention the unconscious Kid Flash, would be able to make it out into space with them. However, by this time Sarah was well enough to take back her ring and use it. Though still pretty beat up, she was confident that she could transport them all back to the Javelin without much difficult. It wasn't a very long distance, after all.

"Kory..." Sarah uttered, curling her lips into a smile as they prepared to leave the ship. "You came back."

"Of course I came back," Starfire replied, giving her wife a gentle kiss. "I would never leave you..."

Sarah's smile grew, as she held her ring up. "Let's get the hell off this ship." With that, she formed a solid green bubble around them, then shot forward at the maintenance shaft door, bursting straight through to the other side, into space. She hovered them over to the Javelin airlock, and within a couple of minutes they were safely inside... well, mostly safe, anyway. They still had to get out of there.

"I will take Sarah to our room," Starfire announced, offering a body to lean on, while also cradling their daughter in her other arm.

"And we should probably get Bart into bed, too," Wonder Girl said, carrying him along.

"Don't let him hear you say that," Rose commented. "No telling where his mind will wander."

Cyborg headed for the cockpit to start up the Javelin's engines. Within moments, the thrusters were at full power, and they were lifting off, pushing away from the Tamaranean ship for good. It was time to get as far away from here as possible.

"I can't believe we made it," Cyborg said, letting out a relieved sigh as they drifted farther into space.

"And I can't believe they didn't attack us after we started to leave," Rose commented with a relieved laugh. Of course, after having said that, she looked out the window to see something less than comforting. "Uh... wait a minute. You remember that big cannon on top of Blackfire's ship? It's, uh... it's moving this way."

Within minutes they were fleeing, heading towards their ship in order to get away from the enemy fleet. It didn't seem like they were being pursued, perhaps seeing their queen getting wrecked like that took some of the starch out of the fighting spirit? Neal could only hope so. He kept his eyes peeled though, trying to see if Blackfire had any other sort of plan to stop them before they escaped. They were able to get away without one attack or shot being fired at them though.

"I never thought that I'd be so happy to see this ship again," Neal said as they boarded back on. He took off his helmet now that there was no need for it and took a seat. "God just watching that felt stressful," he muttered to himself as he pushed his hands back through his own hair. He wanted to go and talk to Sarah, but he figured that now wasn't the best time. She had only just escaped after all, and she probably wanted some time to be spent with her wife and daughter. Neal would speak to her later.

It was only when Sarah spoke up that Neal's eyes shot open and turned towards the window. "God damn it, I completely forgot about that thing," Neal said before running towards the cockpit. "Cyborg! If this thing can go any faster now would be the ideal time to use it! That cannon could fire at any second if we're not far enough away soon," Neal said as he turned his gaze back to Blackfire's ship. "We should have snapped that bitch's neck when we had the chance"

"I'm trying, believe me!" Cyborg shouted, pressing a variety of different buttons on the control panel. "Hyperdrive isn't warmed up yet, needs another few seconds!"

"We might not have a few seconds!" Rose shot back, staring up at the cannon as it began to charge with energy. Something told her that if their tiny little ship took a direct hit from that thing, they'd all be vaporized before they could say 'ow'.

Cyborg gripped the controls and pushed them forward. "Everyone hang on!"

The cannon fired. The Javelin jumped into hyperdrive. It was a split second difference that cost them. Though they entered their faster than light travel instantly, the tail end of the cannon's beam clipped them, damaging the Javelin's wing and sending them spinning off in an different direction. Cyborg struggled with the controls, while warning lights began flashing.

"Not good, not good!" Cyborg yelled. The Javelin was forced out of hyperdrive a few moments later, now careening off towards a nearby solar system. "I've lost control of it, we're heading for that planet!"

"Is that a bad thing?" Rose asked. Obvious question was obvious.

"Ya think?" Cyborg countered. "If it has an atmosphere, we're going to burn up like marshmallows at a campfire, and if it doesn't have an atmosphere, or at leas a breathable one, then we're not going to survive long enough to care!"

"Please try harder!," Neal shouted as he and Rose both watched as the cannon began to charge with energy. If they got hit by that thing once, none of their powers would do them any bit of good. Neal almost wanted to try to wrap his soul-self around the ship, but there was no way that it could block a cannon like that!

As Cyborg shouted for them all to hang on, Neal grabbed the nearest stable thing he could and held on tightly. As the ship launched, it was clear that their takeoff hadn't been the best one. It almost felt like they were moving forward and yet spinning at the same time. Neal was pretty certain that he was going to be sick at any moment.

As he heard what Cyborg was saying, he was thankful that Rose asked the question before he did. Cyborg's explanation was pretty dark, and didn't sound very hopeful. "Do we have any other option other than just hoping that we done die!?" Neal shouted as they were still moving through space.

"Yeah, smoke if you got 'em!" Cyborg replied, still pulling on the controls. It wasn't doing any good. "That's about the best I can give you!" After another moment of frustration, she slammed his fists down on the console. "Come on!"

Just as the Javelin began to near the planet, a large bubble of green energy surrounded it. The ship began descending at a controlled speed, and protected from burning up as they entered the planet's atmosphere. It only took a few minutes before they reached the surface and were set gently down in a grassy field, bordered by tall jungle and a nearby river. Apparently, not only was this planet habitable, but it was also tropical.

As the green bubble disappeared, Cyborg let out a defeated sigh and dropped his forehead against the control panel. "Thanks, Sarah..."

Rose collapsed against the wall, breathing outwardly. "I'm never going into space again, I don't care what you say."

Neal only continued to hold on, worried that there was nothing that they could do to stop themselves from getting killed. Thankfully, it was just as they neared the planet that suddenly they began to slow down. Neal opened his eyes and looked around the ship to see that it had been protected by a large green bubble. "God I love you and that ring," Neal muttered to himself as he looked out the window.

Well, at least they weren't on a volcano planet. It could have been far worse right? The place they were on wasn't Earth, but it didn't look like they were going to die as glumly as Cyborg had stated earlier. "Well, that escape could have gone better," Neal muttered to himself before looking around the ship. "Everyone okay?"

"I'm fine," Cyborg said, getting out of his seat. "But that's more than I can say for the Javelin. Sensors say that the air outside is breathable, so I'm going to take a look and see what kind of damage we're looking at. I just hope it's not beyond repair... otherwise, we may have to make ourselves at home here, permanently."

Rose watched as Cyborg left. "Well, there's a frightening thought," she muttered. "Being stuck on this planet forever... sure, it could be worse, but I much prefer Earth."

Wonder Girl wandered out a moment later, holding her head. "That's it, when we get home, we have to get Cyborg's license revoked. I've seen trained monkeys drive better than that. How is everyone?"

"About as good as one can be, stranded on an alien planet countless light years from home," Rose said, with a shrug. "Guess we should at least go check the place out, since we could be spending quite a lot of time here."

Neal gave a nod as Cyborg mentioned that they were going to have to go outside and see what kind of damage had been done to the ship. What he ended on made Neal nervous. Was Cyborg truly worried that they'd never be able to go home? The thought made Neal worry. He had family back there after all, and he couldn't just disappear and have them never hear from him again!

Neal glanced over as Rose suggested that they go check the place out. "Do you really think that's such a good idea? I mean, why leave the ship if we don't have to. We don't even know what might be out there living in this environment," he pointed out. Why take a risk if it was unnecessary?

"Well I didn't say we had to go far from the ship," Rose responded, folding her arms and staring at him. "I meant just go outside and get a feel for the place... not explore the most dangerous areas it has to offer."

Wonder Girl looked out the window and into the sky. The sun here was much larger in the sky than the one at home, probably why it looked so hot and sticky out there. The whole jungle atmosphere was different, but she wasn't exactly sure she liked it. "We might as well; it'll give us something to do. Better than sitting around doing nothing, anyway."

"Well, I'll be outside," Rose said, giving Neal a pat on the back. "You can go ahead and join us if you want, or you can stay huddled up in here, your choice." She gave him a little wave as she and Wonder Girl went through the airlock and made it outside, where Cyborg was busy inspecting the damage done to the wing.

A few moments later, Starfire appeared in the doorway. She carried her sleeping daughter with her, and Sarah was leaning up against her gently, still a little woozy. "Is everyone alright?"

Neal just allowed himself to give a nod as Rose explained herself. He thought that she wanted to wander around the entire area, but apparently she just wanted to get a feel for the area and see what it was like. He supposed that he could understand that, after what they had just gone through Neal wasn't the only one that wanted to get off this ship after all.

"I might catch up with you a little later," Neal finally said before returning Rose's wave with his own. He just watched as the two of them left, hoping that they would be alright. Perhaps Neal was worrying too much, for all they knew this planet didn't even sustain any life on it anyway despite the tropical nature of the scenery.

Neal turned his head as he saw both Sarah and Starfire showing up with the little one. They looked a bit sick, but they seemed fine otherwise. "Well, I guess that part is up for debate. No one's really hurt but we're a bit nervous about potentially living on this planet for the rest of our lives," Neal said before looking over at Starfire and seeing the child. "How did she possibly sleep through that wild ride?"

Starfire looked down at the sleeping child and smiled. "Tamaranean children are notoriously heavy sleepers," she explained, stroking a finger against the girl's orange cheek.

"You know, we still haven't thought of a name yet, have we?" Sarah asked, settling herself down into a nearby seat. Her legs really needed a rest.

"No, we haven't," Starfire responded, gently passing the child over to Sarah to hold. She then stood behind Sarah, her hands gently on her wife's shoulders. "What kind of name did you want? I think a Tamaranean name would be wonderful, but a human name works well, too."

Sarah chuckled, rocking the child slowly back and forth. "Tamaranean works fine for me. She does look more like that side of her parentage, after all."

"In that case..." Starfire started, thinking for a few moments. "What about... Loriand'r? It translates roughly to Sunfire, in your language."

"Loriand'r?" Sarah said, contemplating the name for a few moments. "Loriand'r... little Lori... yes, I think that's perfect."

"I see, well she'd about half to be to get through that. Reminds me of a cousin I once had. He took a nap and a truck crashed into his backyard and he didn't even wake up," Neal commented to himself as he thought back on that experience. The man was definitely a heavy sleeper.

As the discussion quickly changed to picking out a name for the girl, Neal couldn't help but want to listen. This was their child after all, so they had every right to pick out the name now that they were together as a family again. "Lori..........that's a good name," Neal commented as he leaned down slightly to get a better look at the young child.

"I wanted to say it earlier but the situation wasn't the best one, but I wanted to say congratulations to the two of you," Neal said with a smile. "I just wish that we all could have been there for the moment"

Sarah looked up and smiled at Neal, truly appreciative for his congratulations; she knew he meant it sincerely. "Thank you," she responded, with a small nod. "We only wish that the moment could have been better."

"Yes..." Starfire said with a small sigh. "Giving birth in a Tamaranean prison cell is not what one would call a pleasant experience."

"They wouldn't even let me in to hold her hand," Sarah added, taking on a more solemn look. "Couldn't even see the birth of my daughter... but at least now we can be together as a family. Even if we are stuck here for the rest of our lives, at least we have each other."

Starfire leaned forward and gave her wife a warm kiss on the corner of her mouth. "As long as I am with you, I am home."

Sarah smiled again, returning the kiss. Afterwards, the held up her right hand and glanced down at her power ring. "No more charge... and my power battery was lost when we were captured. If we ever do manage to get off this rock, I'll need to take a trip back to Oa to get a replacement battery."

"Well, I'm just glad that you're both away from Blackfire. She won't hurt the two of you again," Neal said as he watched the family of three now. It was still so strange to see that they were a family now. Neal supposed that he couldn't blame them though, if they were in love than why wouldn't they have a kid together when that option was presented to them.

As they kissed and held one another, it couldn't help but make Neal miss his own home and his own family. Those two had each other now and that was enough for them. Neal knew that he had Rose, but could he spend the rest of his life with her and be happy? It was a question that he had never asked himself, but now his mind was starting to wander. Was Rose really the one that could make him happy for the rest of his life? These kind of situations got a guy to think.

As Sarah spoke up about her ring, Neal was able to shake away his thoughts as he glanced over at her. "Well, if we ever get off of this planet making a stop at Oa is definitely something I wouldn't complain about. I'd be happy to just get back to Earth in one piece"

Just as they were finishing up their discussion, Lori began to stir in Sarah's arms. The little Tamaranean fidgeted and opened her eyes, yawning. A few moments later and she began to hiccup and sob.

"Oh, she must be hungry," Starfire said, reaching down to take her. With a simple flip of one side of her costume's strap, she popped one of her breasts out into the open and began to breastfeed the child. Of course she didn't even think about hiding the act, it was a perfectly natural one, after all.

Sarah smiled as she watched for a few moments, then took a weary step up to her feet. "I feel like I need to lay down for a while. I could use a good night's sleep in a nice, warm bed."

"I'll be with you shortly," Starfire added, kissing Sarah briefly.

---

Back on Blackfire's ship...

Blackfire sat back on her throne, her broken arm sitting limply in a sling. Everytime she moved, she felt it twinge with pain, and each twinge of pain she felt, she thought of Starfire. The more she thought of Starfire, the angrier she became. Needless to say, she was not in a very good mood at the moment. Her personal guards stood by, but none of them so much as glanced at her. They feared that, if they did, she might fry them with a starbolt.

The door at the end of the chamber opened a short while later. A female Tamaranean guard walked in and bowed in front of her queen. "Your majesty, you have a visitor."

Blackfire narrowed her eyes, not even asking who it was. She knew. "Send him in."

The female guard nodded, and then exited the chamber. A few moments later, the door opened again, and a new arrival entered, flying through the air and hovering in front of her with his arms crossed. "So, where are the Green Lanterns you promised me?"

"I have three in our prison cells right now," she responded. "I can get them for you, if-"

"You said you had four," the man said quickly, glaring at her. His eyes studied her carefully, coldly. "Where is the one from sector 2814? Where is Earth's Lantern?"

Blackfire was silent for a moment, eventually raising her chin and replying, "There was... an incident."

"She's gone?!" he shouted back at her.

"Yes, but we have the others, if you'll-"

"The others don't matter!" he retorted, seething. "I wanted Earth's! I want her to be present when Oa falls. I want her to see the Corps. is crushed, so that she will know she failed, just as her predecessors before her!"

Blackfire hesitated a moment, letting out a calm breath. "I can-"

"No, you'll do nothing," he said, turning his back on her and starting to hover away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll take the other Lanterns and be on my way."

"And what of our agreement?" Blackfire said, standing up quickly. "You will be keeping your end of the bargain."

"In order for my end of a bargain to be kept," the man growled, glaring back at her, "yours had to, as well. You promised me four Green Lanterns, including Earth's. Instead, you gave me three, with the most valuable one gone! You will get nothing from me!"

Blackfire's face twisted in anger. "But you promised my people a home!"

"Yes, and how unfortunate for you that you could not provide the payment for it."

Feeling her eye twitch slightly, she raised her hand, glowing with energy. But a beam of yellow light flashed out and snatched her wrist, forcing it back down at her side. The man's eyes narrowed. "Don't," he said, coldly.