The characters belong to DC and Time-Warner, and I in no way own them or plan to make money off of them, but the story belongs to me.

I know it has been a long time since I've posted anything, but I've been busy with work, family and playing through the Mass Effect Trilogy and the Witcher series, sorry. I also wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this story, but now I know and have the rest of the story planned out to the end. So here is the latest chapter of Star Fall.

Chapter 29

Ceremonies II

Nightwing sat in his quarters considering what was about to happen. He was mindlessly paging through various news feeds from Blüdhaven, Gotham and for some reason Jump City. Fortunately all was quiet, though there were a few feeds about the ongoing Catalina Flores investigation and various editorials and opinion pieces about masked vigilantes and their negative effect on society. Nightwing shook his head slightly as he read some of the comments on the editorials, both for and against Nightwing and others like him. The comments were about even in number with those supporting and those against him and other costumed heroes. He knew once this was all over, he'd have to face the music over what happened, and he wasn't looking forward to when that time came.

He and Bruce had talked about the consequences last night and what options were available concerning Nightwing and the current environment in Blüdhaven at the moment. None of the options were palatable to him, but he knew he had to choose. First he had to get through the ceremonies of today, then he'd worry about that then. As much as Bruce wouldn't like the idea, he planned to ask Starfire what she thought, she would be his 'wife' after all and whatever decision he chose would affect her in some way or another.

While lost in his thoughts, he heard the door chime and he pressed the 'talk' button for the intercom.

"Yes, who is it?"

"Hey it's Flash, you wanted to see me?"

"Oh yeah, c'mon on in," Nightwing stood up and walked over to the door to greet his friend, opening door for him.

"Hey Flash, I hope I didn't take you away from anything important…"

"Nah, not a problem, you said you wanted to see me, so here I am. So, how're doing with all that's happened Bro. I haven't seen you since Cat's funeral…, you holding up ok?"

"Oh I'm as well as can be expected, I guess. Raven came by the manor last night and helped me with my emotional state, so I'm feeling okay now. I hope it lasts though, this is all quite a bit to take, and with no time to even let it all settle in."

"So Raven came to visit you last night huh, what a dog, a soon to be married man, spending time with a married woman. So, give me the dirty details." Flash said with wink.

Nightwing scowled at Flash, "Dammit Wally you know better. Raven loves Gar and she would never…, oh forget it, jerk. She used her empathic abilities to calm my mind is all she did. If Gar heard you talking like this, let alone Raven…"

"They'd have to catch me first," Flash said grinning from ear to ear.

Nightwing shook his head, "Sometimes I wonder if you'll ever grow up Wally. Besides, Gar might not be able to catch you, but Raven on the other hand…, don't piss her off."

Flash's grin quickly turned to a grimace, "Yeah, I forget what she can do, I'll drop it."

"Good, no I called you here mostly to talk things out. Sure Raven helped, but I still have my doubts. It all seems overwhelming, I have no idea how this will all work out once the ceremony's over. We haven't had time to talk about what happens afterwards, and I haven't been allowed to see her since yesterday. I guess this is how arranged marriages feel. So far we've agreed to remain as friends for now and nothing more, but what then? Not only that, there's a warrant for Nightwing's arrest now, so I have that to deal with. Cat's brother blames Nightwing for what happened to his sister and I don't think he's going to let it go anytime soon. So I'm not sure if I can go back to Blüdhaven now, at least not as Nightwing, so what do I do with him? Hell Wally I can't even grieve for Cat properly, with all this, and Matteo wants me to help him nab Nightwing. The last thing I need is for the Tamaraneans to get wind of Nightwing's situation, they may use it as a way to put a stop to everything, and take Starfire with them."

Nightwing rubbed his hands through his hair, sighing audibly.

The Flash put his hand on Nightwing's shoulder in effort to support his friend. "You've got a pretty heavy burden there Bro, but you know something, we're heroes and that's our job to carry big burdens. What you're doing for Starfire is selfless, you did it to protect her from harm and to give her the freedom she needs. I wouldn't worry about your relationship with her after your 'marriage,' it'll work out. You two have always had a connection, whether it's as friends, team mates, or lovers, the two of you will work it out. Just be her friend for now, don't feel pressured that you have to do anything more. If that's as far as your relationship goes then so be it, believe me, Star will understand."

Nightwing nodded in agreement. "You know Wally, you're right. I shouldn't worry about how things between Starfire and I work out, and it should be the least of my worries. It's all the other stuff that is pulling me down though. Being Nightwing was my dream, to be my own superhero, and I've put most of my adult life into being Nightwing. I know that my work is not always appreciated, especially by those in authority, sometimes the general public, but it's what I've always done. I guess I could remain on the Blüdhaven police force, I've got a good thing going there and still use my Nightwing resources, but…, I just don't know. It's going to be hard having him disappear for a while and pretend to hunt Nightwing at the same time."

Nightwing turned and looked out of the window in his suite at the view of Earth below. "Maybe I do need to take time off from the superhero business, get things straight. Blüdhaven's been quiet for months, and the police can handle most of the crime there. We'll see, thanks for coming by Wally, now I've got a wedding to prepare for."

"No problem Dick, taking some time off sounds like a good idea. I've gotta go finish a few assignments before the wedding anyway. See at the ceremony."

"Yeah, seeya there Wally," Dick said and smiled at his friend.

The Flash left the suite and as the door closed behind him, Nightwing turned to window to contemplate the view again. He smiled to himself, "Yeah, maybe Nightwing does need a good, long vacation."

TtTtTt

The ceremony was about to start and it was to be short and to the point. No long drawn out rituals or speeches or readings of poetry. Being warriors, the Tamaraneans weren't big on elaborate rituals, though they did have strict traditions that had to be followed. Nightwing stood at the center of a portable dais brought in for the occasion behind Batman with Superman to Batman's right and Wonder Woman to Batman's left. Behind Nightwing on his right was the Flash, Raven and Changling then on his left were Cyborg, Robin with Wonder Girl. The remaining Justice League members and Titans were standing in formation to the right of dais and across from them was a contingent of Tamaranian dignitaries, Royal Guard and a squad of Tamaraneans in white enameled armor with gold trim and gold suns emblazoned on the chest plate. This must the famed Order of the Golden Sun.

A set of what Nightwing considered off-key trumpets sounded what could be called a fanfare and in walked the Tamaranean royal delegation, Blackfire leading the formation, decked out in her royal garb of course. On Blackfire's left was a tall male Tamaranean, standing nearly eight feet tall with long white hair pulled back a pony tail, wearing white enameled armor with gold trim and a gold sun emblazoned on the center of the chest plate. Unlike the other Tamaraneans, his ears were pointed, not quite Mr. Spock pointed, but clearly pointed none the less. Nightwing surmised that this must be Lord General Ph'yzzon, Commander of the Golden Suns, the Duke of Ik'arth, Chief of the House of Zzon, Prime Minister of Tamaran and Starfire's soon to be former husband.

General Ph'yzzon kept is gaze over the heads of everyone in the room, as if ignoring the presence of the others, but as he and the delegation moved closer to the dais Ph'yzzon turned his gaze towards Nightwing and glared at him for a few seconds. The glare may not have been long, but Nightwing felt the ice in that glare and he just hoped that what Starfire told him about only her and Blackfire having eyebeams was true.

On Blackfire's right was an elderly Tamaranean female dressed in a long red silk like robe embroidered in gold with a starburst on both the right and left panel of the robe. She was also adorned with a headpiece that had the same starburst symbol, but was made out of gold and the material of the headpiece appeared to be white fur. This must be a priestess of X'hal, the primary goddess of the Vegan system pantheon.

The Tamaranians came to a halt in front of the dais and Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman stepped down and accepted a gem encrusted chest about the size of a milk crate. The three superheroes bowed their heads in acceptance and the bow was returned by Blackfire, Ph'yzzon and the priestess. After receiving the chest they stepped back on the dais and placed the chest in front of Nightwing who bent down and touched the chest to acknowledge his acceptance of the gift of restitution.

Once he did this, Blackfire stepped aside to reveal Starfire standing behind her. Nightwing was surprised at what he saw. He had expected Starfire to wear a gown similar to the one she wore the day she almost married that slimy mucous alien years ago. Instead she wore what could only be described as some type of ceremonial armor. On her head was a head piece that was a combination of her princess crown and a light purple crystalline helmet that had spikes that curved up and away from the top of her head forming a crest. Her neck was covered in a more ornate gorget than the one she normally wore as the trim was encrusted in what looked like diamonds and along with the large purple gem in the center, several nickel sized purple gems were evenly placed over the rest of the gorget. Enhancing the gorget were pauldrons on each shoulder with the same purple gems and spikes like the ones on her helmet. The body armor was two light purple metallic bands that covered and crossed under her breasts enhancing her already ample bosom and exposing her fit stomach and a purple gem in her navel. She was girded with a wide silver belt that was encrusted in the same purple gems. Hanging from the belt were strips of light purple metal trimmed in silver and covered in the same purple gems forming a skirt similar to Roman armor. She wore boots that were similar to the thigh high boots she used to wear as a Teen Titan, but these boots were covered in banded armor of the same purple metal as the rest of her armor and stopped six inches below the hem of the skirt exposing her thighs.

After seeing Starfire's wedding attire, Nightwing felt severely underdressed as he was wearing his best costume with the blue stylized eagle emblazoned on his chest, matte leather black boots and a black leather duster that went down to his ankles. To give it a more formal look, he buttoned the duster, wearing the utility belt on the outside of the coat. He thought about wearing a tux, but he felt it best to wear his "warrior" uniform. A tux would only confuse the Tamaranians. He smiled at Starfire and reached out his hand to her and she stepped forward and did the same.

As they were about to take each other's hand the Watch Tower's emergency klaxon sounded and the lighting on the observation deck was replaced with flashing red emergency lights.

"J'onn! What's happening?" Batman demanded via his communicator.

A hologram of Martian Manhunter appeared above them. "Sensors acquired a massive energy surge coming from hyperspace heading towards Earth. The energy signature is unknown…"

Before Martian Manhunter could finish his statement the Watch Terror was rocked with a massive tremor and causing fluctuations in the power grid and artificial gravity. The sudden change in gravity caused Nightwing's stomach to lurch and it was all he could do to keep his lunch down. Some of the non-flyers though were not so lucky and he saw a few Justice League members loose the contents of their stomachs. After a couple of minutes though the systems came back online and the gravity surges stopped.

"J'onn! Report!" Batman commanded.

"Report coming in now. An explosion just outside of the main reactor plant. Superman's security robots were able to stop the bomber," the hologram shifted to a view of the security robots detaining what was obviously a Tamaranian in Order of the Golden Sun armor.

Superman glared at Blackfire and Ph'yzzon his eyes beginning to glow, "What is the meaning of this your Highness?" He asked as Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Green Lanterns began to take defensive positions.

"I have no idea myself. Ph'yzzon explain why one of your men was trying to sabotage this station!"

General Ph'yzzon smirked evilly at Blackfire, then turned his head to glare at the Justice League, ending his gaze on Nightwing. "You will all find out soon enough," then he disappeared before their eyes.

"VORSH'T!" Blackfire cursed.

"That damn traitor, he had no intention of letting Starfire go! Ko'thal'as!

The Royal Guard moved faster than Nightwing believed they could and surrounded Ph'yzzon's troops and slit their throats before they could react, spilling dark orange blood on the deck.

There were gasps from several of the Justice League members and Batman marched up to Blackfire, his fists clenched in rage.

"Just what is going on here Blackfire!' He demanded.

Blackfire turned towards Batman her eyes glowing bright purple. Starfire was standing next to Nightwing now and he could feel the energy emanating from her.

"Tamaranian justice Batman, those men were loyal guards of the traitor Ph'yzzon and by Tamaranian law they had to die before they had the chance to carry out any orders he gave them. Now, Batman what would have happed had the bomber been successful?"

Batman didn't back down, but he also wanted to get things back under control, so he answered Blackfire's question. "The total destruction of the station in a matter-anti-matter blast is most likely, but Ph'yzzon would have been vaporized with most of us save the Kryptonians and a few others, he had no time to escape."

"He would have escaped. Ph'yzzon has the ability to bi-locate or be in two places at once. He can rejoin himself instantly, and that's what happened here, he rejoined himself, meaning he is on his ship. I need to know the status of my fleet."

Martian Manhunter answered immediately. "The General's ship started powering up all systems the same time the sensors picked up the energy spike. His ship is targeting your command ship. Now your ship and two of the escort cruisers are powering up shields and weapons…"

There was a gasp from the crowd near one of the observation windows and a bright flash could be seen coming from the royal command ship.

"Ph'yzzon's ship and two of your escorts just fired on your ship, damage to the primary engines and shield generators…"

Another flash of weapons fire could be seen as Ph'yzzon's ship began to pull away with the two traitorous escort cruisers following behind. One of the escorts took a direct hit aft from the command ship and from where Nightwing was standing he could see explosions rocking through the ship aft to forward before it flashed out of existence creating a momentary nebula then fading out into darkness, sending debris in all directions.

"Get the defensive systems online J'onn!" Batman commanded.

"Already online Batman, shields are at one hundred percent and weapons are charging."

"Good. Is his ship in range?"

"Yes, it is."

Batman retuned is attention to Blackfire. "Because he tried to attack this station, General Ph'yzzon committed an act of war on Earth and we must return fire on him and the ships with him. Do you have a problem with that Your Highness?"

"No I do not. Do what you need to do," Blackfire answered.

Batman then pressed a button on his belt and a different klaxon sounded along with the computer giving the order for battle stations. Justice League members scrambled to the exits to head to their assigned stations while the primary members stayed on the observation deck with the Tamaranians.

Nightwing felt Starfire grab his hand and he turned to look at her. "Seems like we never can catch a break, huh Kori?"

Starfire smiled though she was holding back tears, "No, it seems we cannot."

Blackfire walked over to the both of them followed by the priestess and placed her hand on theirs. "Listen, you two the ceremony is nothing, all the marriage needs is my proclamation."

Blackfire then turned to the crowd that remained. "As the Empress and Grand Ruler of Tamaran, I hereby declare the Hoteshna se Sutya Mehr valid and declare Korinand'r da Tikkal va Tamaran and Nightwing da Titans va Aerta husband and wife effective immediately before these witnesses of Tamaran and Earth. Are there any objections? None, good. Mother Vo'rta please give X'ahl's blessing."

The priestess stepped up put her hands on top of Nightwing's and Starfire's. "Tas glinz ta eh batesh ta X'ahl." Then in English, "May X'ahl bless you and keep you." She then stepped away.

"What? Did you two think you were getting out of here before getting married?" Blackire said with a mischievous smile.

A second later the main batteries of the Watch Tower fired on Ph'yzzon's ship, two green beams of Kryptonian based photon cannons streaked across space, striking Ph'yzzon's ship damaging the hull, causing sparks and plasma to leak from the wound. Before the Watch Tower could fire another volley, a portal into hyperspace opened up and a massive saucer shaped vessel shot out of it and blocking the Watch Tower's angle of attack. Instead the volley hit the ship, but only bounced off of its shielding.

At the sight of the vessel Starfire fell to her knees in terror and there was a look of horror on Blackfire's face as well. Nightwing could see that the other Tamaranians all had looks of fear on them too. Whatever that ship was, it represented terror to the Tamaranians.

"Kori, what's wrong, who's on that ship?" Nightwing asked her.

She looked up at him, trying to answer but couldn't. He could tell she was in abject terror. He turned to Blackfire.

"WHO ARE THEY?"

Blackfire looked at him, horror still on her face, then she regained her composure. "Psions, that's a Psion command vessel. We are all doomed."

Ah, the Psions, the creators of half the races of the Vegan system, including the Tamaranians. It was the Psions that gave Starfire her starbolts. In the comics Tamaranians were strong and could fly, but they couldn't shoot energy, only Starfire and Blackfire could. The show is a little different, and gives the Tamaranians more abilities. These guys are bad, really bad. Look them up.

Ph'yzzon in the comics could bi-locate (be in two places at once) and it was a result of Psion experimentation on him. The ability can be an advantage and creepy at the same time.

Hammer of Oblivion.