CHAPTER 9: Strength (Mar'is POV)
"Who wrote the note?" Starfire asked, her hands covering her mouth in suprise.
"Blackfire." I replied flatly, hoping she wouldn't be mad.
"But that is not possible, Blackfire is still in Prison due to her treason on Tamaran." Star spoke, her voice wavering slightly in confusion.
"No, not your Blackfire, MY Blackfire - 20 years from now." I explain.
"She escaped?" Cyborg pushed in, his eyes wide.
"Yes, and much more." I reply sadly, deliberately leaving out the details.
"She was the Tamaranian that betrayed us to the Gordainians in the future war!" Starfire realised, her eyes glowing a furious green.
"Yes." I replied sadly. Usually when people talk about family issues, they mean that they have divorced parents or that they move around a lot. Mine? Well, my psychopathic Aunt killed my mother and travelled back in time with me to kill me and take over the throne of another planet of which I am next in line to rule. You just can't make this stuff up can you?
"She betrayed us all, and killed a lot of good people." I finished to myself, my mind replaying my mother's death over and over again like a broken record player, and I couldn't find an off switch.
"She has to be stopped; we're coming with you tonight." Cyborg piped up, confidence flowing through his voice. I smiled slightly at my support.
"Yes, I shall join to as well." Starfire joined in, her anger replaced by an equal amount of confidence. That wiped the smile straight off my face.
"NO!" I shout before I can stop myself. I feel heat prickle at my eyes as tears threaten to fall as the memory of my mom dying becomes more vivid. I can see the smoke around me as the flame lick hungrily at the walls. I find myself struggling to breathe as the room gets smaller and smaller.
"Mar'i" Star shouts, shaking me gently as I snap back out of my panicked daze.
"You can't come with me." I continue whilst avoiding eye contact, trying to push out the images at the back of my mind as I spoke shakily. "I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Mar'i we are in this together. You need us." She reasoned as her eyes sparkled with determination.
"You don't understand! You could die!" I was getting desperate, trying to hide the truth but pleading for her to stop.
"So it is ok for you to put your life in danger, but it's not alright for us to endanger ours?" She protested, her eyes flashing green once again.
"You don't understand!" I challenged, my eyes mimicking hers as I hover slightly off the ground to prove my point over hers.
"I would if you would just tell me!" She shot back, hovering as well, but slightly higher than me.
"I can't watch you die again!" I shout before I can stop myself, the burning anger too much for me to hold in. My eyes stop glowing as I lower myself back to the floor in defeat.
"I can't...not again. It was my fault and I couldn't stop it. I can't make the same mistake twice." I explain, biting back the urge to cry.
My mother's expression istantly sofens as she lands next to me and pulls me in for a tight hug.
That's when I lose it. My knees grow weak as I risk collapsing, my mother's arms around me keeping me standing. I allow tears to escape from my eyes, releasing all the pain I'd locked away since I travelled here. Every burning moment of guilt and hurt I feel, flowing out as weakness, something I was told never to show. But I'm only one person. I'm not as invincible as my Dad wants me to be. And my Mom understands that.
A few moments pass before I run out of tears to cry. Leaving my mother's embrace, I wipe my cheeks on my sleeve and turn to face Cyborg (who I had, until now, forgotten was in the room with us).
"If you come with me, Blackfire can't find out. You can be there as back up and ONLY back up, deal?" I reason, too drained to argue back anymore.
"Deal." He replies softly, as if scared to set me off crying again.
"Ok." I confirm, sniffling slightly. I glance at the clock, 10 hours to go until midnight. "Ok," I continue, "So here's the plan..."
