Ruby and Martin:
Chapter 1: Departing
Nearly four years ago
Ruba reached and touched the cracks with the tip of her finger. She felt her body getting sucked through as if she were dust being sucked in by a vacuum cleaner. Her butt hit something gooey, softening her landing, but as she gets up, she started to wish that this was all a nightmare and she'd wake up in her bed. The egg-shaped temple, beautiful on the outside, was monstrous on the inside. Pillars and beams of abstract red and white supported every wall and ceiling. It made her think of spiderwebs made out of blood and the gooey floor was a purée of bones.
"You really have a way for interior design," she blurted out.
"Not my idea."
She heard her voice, purring and echoing far more than her hosts' spirits did. A purple string, some sort of non-corporeal being, slithered from the bleeding beam above me. She was made of energy and yet Ruba felt like she was seeing a nest of snakes. This is Violet's essence.
"I was wondering if you'd be the one presented to me," Violet said to Ruba.
"How do you know?" Ruba felt an unusual pain on her chest.
"A girl found with my birthmark is like a new eye on the outside world for me. You can say that spying on their lives helps me pick favorites." Violet started slithering up Ruba's arm and the latter almost sweated on the inside. "That's a lovely necklace. Great symbol of familial acceptance."
Ruba covered her necklace with her hands even though the gesture itself seems stupid.
"No need to hide secrets from me." Violet's moved her way up to Ruba's neck. "So, you think you're fit to be my host?"
"I just want to go back to Earth," Ruba gulped.
"So what? You don't love your Felindrax family? Your friends don't matter to you?"
"Do you want a host?"
"What do you want?"
Ruba felt intense feelings growing. Her shoulders were heavier than usual because of Violet's essence slithering over them and she managed to grow to the size of a constrictor. How could Ruba forget that Violet was the goddess of frustration? She feeds on it and spreads what she has consumed the same way one spreads the cold. Ruba's nose inhaled and her mouth exhaled calmly. The weight compressed off her shoulders and now the godly essence faced her.
"OK, you convinced me." Violet sounded like she could be shrugging. "You'll be my host."
"Really?" It felt too good to be true.
"Just a few things," Violet added. "First, watch out for Iron. He's your most dangerous opponent in your duty. Delay him or find Royal's host before he does, because in any case scenario, Iron will try to kill you."
Ruba nodded.
"Second, watch out for how you get injured. Fatal injuries, I can cure, but it will cost you three strikes. The first two strikes will boost your powers, but if you hit the third, I'll be fully reincarnated and you'll never return."
"For a goddess who needs to live in a mortal body to spread her judgment, you don't seem to be a big fan of the process," Ruba remarked.
"I'm a believer in free will?" Violet shrugged. "The last thing. I highly recommend you stay prudent to those you love most."
"What?" But her essence had disappeared. The temple shook and Ruba's skin began to sweat. Something hit and stung it, and Ruba saw the red specks of blood dropping from the melting pillars and hitting her. She ran to find the doorway from which she came in, but all the walls were as smooth as new polished metal. Her fist banged the wall and when the melting blood made a knee-level pool, she screamed.
"Help!" Pain jerked its way up her bones, she lost her balance and landed in the blood pool. Her muscles were killing her as she tried swimming in the red liquid. An exploding agony neutralized Ruba's senses and she drowned.
Present day Earth, a few days after the events of RJ AND MARTIN
"Ruba? RUBA,SNAP OUT!"
Ruba fell off her seat after Diamona practically yelled at her.
"Diamona?" She rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"
"Still 10am on the human clock. I guess Violet's not talking to you right now, because you normally have a spaced out expression whenever she talks to you in your head. Also, you dozed off reading the newspaper."
Ruba got up and noticed the newspaper she had dropped. She picked it up and noticed the Examiner's headline 'POSSIBLE OFFSPRING, A MONSTER. WORLD SAVED BY ALIEN SUPERHERO.'
The news had spread quickly on Earth, how Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable had a daughter with powerful Mystical Monkey Power, only in her case, it wasn't MMP but the essence of Royal, a space alien god of power. The world was both shocked and enraged on how their formerly favorite heroes had given birth to a monster who almost destroyed New York with the help of some aliens (the newspapers mentioned nothing about Ronilda's weaknesses exposing her to brainwashing from both the late Wardeth, whose soul now rested with his parents Warhok and Warmonga, and Iron the god of age, who was still out there in the universe, hoping to force Ronilda into fully reincarnating as Royal and nuke the universe... again).
Global Justice tried their lousiest methods to hold back the press and angry civilians from the base where the aliens were preparing their spaceship for departure. The press was mainly interested in the aliens, because unlike the Lorwardians, the Felindrax had no interest in invading Earth, and the angry civilians were more interested in throwing between a riot or a march against the Stoppables. Either to express rage against breeding a monster or accusations of child abuse, whichever one preferred.
"Where are Flora and the others?" Ruba threw away the newspaper in a nearby garbage disposal.
"Loading up what they can on human materials for research. Then again, everything is so primitive." Diamona shrugged as they walked down a hallway, passing the human agents who failed at hiding bitter glares. "Flora's taking too many plants and seeds, we'll have to be on the lookout for potential allergies during the trip."
Ruba shrugged.
"Still frustrated that you haven't killed Ronilda Stoppable yet?" Diamona guessed. "Or that Fiske's idea of extracting Royal out of the pipsqueak seems too easy?"
"Diamona, I don't care what method I have to use or if it means holding Stoppable's corpse, but I'm killing Royal and getting Violet out of me!" Ruba punched her fist on the nearest wall, disintegrating it into violet rubble. "I've been Violet's host for four years now, and before that I spent my life training the energy out of me just so I could get the key to my freedom! I'm almost too close to getting my third strike and inadvertently reincarnating Violet!"
"Is she still not talking to you?"
"What do you think?"
"Considering you haven't spaced out around other people nor have you been screaming in your sleep, I'll go for 'no'. Is she worried that you want to talk to her about Fiske's idea?"
Fiske's idea was to see if there was a way to extract Royal out of Ronilda so that Ruba could spare the host and perform her duty. This was why the humans were to join them for the trip. Ruba had tried to ask the goddess if it was possible, but Violet wouldn't answer.
"You know what? Forget this conversation. Let's go back to the spaceship and have some herbal tea."
Later
Flora placed the last bag of cocoa beans into the crate and let the crew workers screw the lid on it.
"Why do you bring so many Earth plants to your trip?" Melgo asked as she watched this crate join the other five crates Flora had filled with flora to be boarded on the spaceship.
"To study them. Grow them. Perhaps evolve them," Flora responded. "We never had the chance to study most of Earth's primitive resources. I don't know yet how they could be of use to us, but they should be worth studying. Perhaps they'd make a lovely human touch for the Felindrax city's exterior design, especially in case we risk entering another fourteenth cycle..."
"Back up!" Melgo paused her. "Human touch? Fourteenth cycle?"
"Well yeah." Flora stared at Melgo as if it was obvious. "The Felindrax have a life, you know. Whenever an alien girl is taken from her home planet and brought to us, the Felindrax take data from her 'life' to add it to their city. Make it more adaptable for her. You'll understand better when you get to see it. Problem is, Ruba is the only human in our ranks. She doesn't have much from Earth in the city, just cotton trees and buildings fashioned like the rowhouse she grew up in Crown Heights."
"That's it?" Melgo frowned while they walked around the deck while the aliens kept preparing the spaceship.
"What? It's basic all over the universe: each god created a planet during or before the cycles, each planet came with a particular resource, and as evolution goes, aliens trade resources among each other. The planets originating before the first cycle are among the elite, especially if their resources have variable uses, and those with a minimal amount of resources... well the clients pay well, but the planets are unbearable to live on. That's why after some cycles, some planets don't have a problem with aliens kidnapping their own, you might as well say it's the norm."
Flora spotted Drakken and Shego coming from behind Melgo's back. The Coraplastia alien grimaced and walked away to go help her alien comrades.
"Interesting conversation?" Drakken asked his daughter.
"Hard to tell. One thing I can guarantee, Earth might not be of any interest to them since we're so primitive." Melgo shrugged.
"Charming," Shego said sarcastically.
"Another thing I can guarantee is that the Felindrax don't really seem to question their methods nor do they seem to care that we'd personally prefer saving Ronilda. Clearly, they don't care what happens, they just want Ruba Kala to finish off Royal to save the universe, even if it means killing Ronilda..." Melgo looked up at the sky and bit her lip. To think that out there, her friend was lost, probably struggling to make sure she survived in some dimension where everyone wanted to kill her. "To think I wasn't there when she needed me..."
"Now there, sweetie." Drakken patted her on the shoulder. "You didn't know."
"I did know, that's the problem!" Melgo shoved away her father's hand. "I never should have told her to keep her Mystical Monkey Power a secret, I never should have let her steal that phony microchiped necklace, I never should have let her alone with Fiske, and I should have told her first hand of Buffy's and my suspicions! Now she's lost in the stars, probably nuking things with her uncontrollable powers while Iron is still out there after her!"
Melgo ran back to the base, probably to find a nearby bathroom to cry, her parents trying to catch up after her. Just as they did that, Diamona and Ruba came out of the spaceship, the human carrying a tray bearing a bottle and three cups.
"Whatever happened to the cold colored skin humans?" Diamona asked.
"Probably still weeping tears because I sent Stoppable flying into outer space." Ruba shrugged. The trio found a couple crates to bring together, the perfect spot to sit on and drink herbal tea.
"Difficult much, Ruba?" Flora poured tea into the cups and distributed them between her and her friends. "They're your species. You tend to be this emotional too, you know."
"I've stopped being this emotional when the Felindrax forced me to grow a spine when I was six. And hosting Violet is already frustrating, it's not exactly easy for me to stay calm and focused when I don't get things done." Ruba took a sip of tea and sighed as the warm liquid went down her stomach. However, the moment she saw a particular group of humans arriving, her tea felt bitter. "You know what, I'd rather drink inside." She grabbed the tray and jumped off the crate.
"Ugh, worst parents of the year and the ghud's family? Let's get out!" Diamona joined her in disgust when she saw what Ruba had noticed: the Stoppables and the Fiskes among the humans getting ready to board the spaceship.
"You REALLY need to rub it in?" Kim Possible gritted her teeth.
"No, you've never seen Diamona literally rub someone." Ruba wrinkled her nose. "She normally writes an essay on a tablet and hits a person's head with it."
"And her main topic would be called 'Kim Possible, She Can Do Anything, Including Being a Horrible Mother. Ron Stoppable, the Stupid Sidekick and Stupid Father. The Fiskes, False Godly Egos who bred a ghud'." Flora joined.
"Godly Host, Useless and Dormant." The trio snarked to the humans before finally disappearing into the spaceship. Martin Fiske, in the meanwhile, groaned and gripped his fists in frustration.
"I hate her," he groaned.
"Might want to be a bit more specific," Gilliard told Martin, who just contended to give him an angry glare.
The humans made their good-byes to those remaining at the GJ base and entered the spaceship. Dousus, the main Felindrax doctor of the ship, took the liberty of giving the humans a tour of the spaceship. Perhaps larger than the Lorwardian spaceship, this one was made of perfect purple and silver colored metals fashioned to resemble some futuristic sea monster's insides. Glass elevators transported them all over the spaceship, getting the humans to witness the wonders they offered: engine room, control room, training room, dining hall, dormitories with annexed bathrooms, cargo loading hall, game room, and television room.
"A television room?" Gilliard's eyes beamed. "Do you guys have video games?"
"Video games as well as access to any televised channel on any planet," Dousus nodded. "Though don't get overexcited. Most of the televised shows in the universe are either the news, reality shows, and universal sports. We're still working on putting the human channels, but we only managed to put two useful networks. The CNN News and whatever Cartoon Network."
The humans scowled at the second channel's mention.
"By tomorrow afternoon, we will be arriving at the Felindrax planet." Dousus got the group to get off the elevator. "Some words of precaution: our civilization is both elite and highly militaristic. 90% of all the crewmembers here are trained soldiers, so I highly disrecommend trying to provoke them. Do not pick fights, to not try to damage the ships, and most of all, DO NOT push Ruba Kala's buttons."
"I think we already know she's a walking hurricane waiting to explode," Shego pointed out.
"Ruba Kala was already dangerous before she even became Violet's host." The doctor's fingers tapped nervously on his arms. "Believe me, I've served time as a doctor in the Felindrax training grounds. When Ruba learned to grow a spine, she started attacking her classmates who tried to bully her for being the weakest. And that was before she requested her claw appendages."
"How bad was it?" Will Du dared to ask.
"Try three days of putting rib cages back inside the skin... For thirty children."
"Thirty?"
"21 girls, and 9 boys. 17 aliens and 13 fully-cured Felindrax children. Normally, for one child, I could have done it in two hours, but..." He shuddered in disgust before he took a deep breath. "Look, I imagine your current disdain for her, but please do not lash your frustration on Ruba, especially when Violet feeds on frustration. Trust me, with what she deals with, Ruba gets frustrated easily, it's hard for her to stay calm. So no nagging, no hating, no fighting, and no stupid questions with Ruba. Can I trust you?"
The humans nodded in mixed emotions. Dousus sighed in satisfaction.
"Good. Now, since this is your first time boarding a Felindrax spaceship, you'll have to lie down in your dormitories during the departure and the gal-jumper transfer. First-timers tend to get sick easily, particularly those who are not familiar with our technology. Dormitories are co-ed and mixed species, so each of you will be paired with a Felindrax in the dormitories."
Martin raised his hand. "Is this regular or are you purposely having us kept an eye on in our sleep?"
"Both. We do it on a regular basis. Don't be too frightened, we're usually relaxed when we're off the clock," Dousus joked. "Still, don't take the privilege of harassing the Felindrax, especially if you're bunking with a soldier. They sleep with one eye open in case danger comes."
Dousus pulled out an alien tablet and tapped on the screen, summoning some Felindrax crewmembers to come and bring the humans to their dormitories.
"Wait." Dousus halted Martin. "I need to talk to you, Fiske."
Minutes later
The main area for dormitories was formatted like a beehive of silver and purple, each numbered door designed like a hexagon.
"Are you purposely trying to have me killed?" Martin demanded to Dousus as they walked down a pathway.
"I know this might seem unpleasant, but you must understand why I requested that you shared a dormitory with Ruba Kala during the trip," Dousus said calmly. "Outside of certain members on this ship and your Global Justice base, no alien knows that you're Crimson's host. Worst case scenario if the rest of the Felindrax found out, they'd beg Ruba to execute you since they don't know your allegiance."
Martin groaned. Now he felt like he was Ronilda back when she was RJ and was convinced that the Fiskes would murder her if they found out she had Mystical Monkey Power. Thank goodness his parents were fond of her. Then of course, the aliens didn't like Ronilda for different reasons, Wardeth because the power she inherited killed his parents, and the Felindrax because the death of the god she hosted would mean liberty for all mortals. It was bad enough for Monkey Fist to find out the bad side of not being the Ultimate Monkey Master, but for Martin to find out he was the host of Crimson the love goddess. Humiliating. Even Iron, or his new nickname Helgiron, almost considered at the last minute to just finish off Martin since Crimson was practically useless.
"Point is, despite your obvious differences, you do have some things in common." Dousus got his attention. "You want to keep Royal from reincarnating and nuke the universe... again and your both godly hosts. Perhaps by trying to reach out to Ruba, you might melt the ice away to better work together. Maybe even indirectly learn from her on how to control your talents as a godly host."
"I've learned Mystical Monkey Power since I could walk," Martin pointed out.
"The thing you call Mystical Monkey Power is just something the gods' essences have created when fused with your ancestor's skills in Tai Shing Pek Kwar. It is only a mere percentage of what comes with being a host. Ah, here we are."
They reached a door with the number 231. Dousus raised his hand to touch the hand scanner, but before he could lay it on the screen, the door immediately opened, letting the two men step in. Ruba Kala was lying on the lower bunk bed, her eyes glued on a comic book. Piles of books, magazines, and comic books rested by her bed.
"Catching up on years of missed reading?" Dousus asked.
"For primitive beings who waste such an amount of paper for things outside of historical manuscripts, humans do know how to invent distracting stories," Ruba shrugged passively.
"I bet the researchers will just love dissecting such information. Well, I'd advise you two to get settled. The spaceship will depart soon."
And to that, Dousus left them. Martin looked nervously between the door and Ruba Kala, who took the opportunity of Dousus' leaving to toss aside the comic book and pull something out of her pillow, something that looked like a folder dossier. Martin immediately recognized the logo of the U.S Army.
"You broke in the U.S military base and stole a file?" Martin asked with random curiosity.
Ruba sighed. "The Felindrax would punish me for doing so if I wasn't Violet's host, but I had to. With the crewmates busy getting human goods on this ship, Flora helped me break in a U.S Army base with whom Global Justice was associated with." She frowned as she saw the content of the folder, full of images, profile pages, and some ripped out newspaper article.
This didn't make sense, but Martin sat down next to her to have a view of the dossier. It belonged to a certain Arthur Kyle, a U.S veteran known for his bravery in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and married to a nurse, Celestine d'Arc Kyle. There were also mentions of Arthur's brother, Robert Kyle, who was an astronaut constantly travelling between the Earth and the Moon. One of the pictures showed them at some kind of outdoor barbecue, but what shocked both of the readers was the small brown-haired child laughing while Arthur Kyle gave her a piggyback ride.
"Is that you?" Martin looked at Ruba, but she said nothing. Martin then saw the child's name written on the back of the picture. "Ruby Kyle... Oh man, I actually heard of you."
"Did you?" She coldly looked at him.
"Just around the time when I was eight and after I freed my parents from the Yono, there was a missing child report on the only American news channel we watch." He pointed at the child on the picture. "They showed you in that picture on the news. They said a veteran and nurse's child had mysteriously vanished in her own house. They searched for days, months, and years, but from their hometown to the black market, the child was nowhere. Even the neighbors didn't see her leave." Martin looked back at Ruba. "You're the child that vanished because the Felindrax took you."
"As if that's new," Ruba said bitterly.
Just then, the spaceship began to rumble. Martin felt his stomach churning and he rushed to their dormitory's window. The spaceship was lifting itself off the ground, leaving behind no signs of dust clouds and allowing Martin to vaguely hear the soothing humming of the engines. In a matter of minutes, the GJ base and then the country began to shrink.
And then it happened: they were out of Earth. Martin had never seen the planet surrounded by an infinite mass of stars, it was such a spectacle. Well, it was a spectacle until he went to puke in the bathroom. Dousus didn't joke about first-timers getting sick. Martin came out dehydrated while Ruba hid away the U.S Army dossier under her pillow.
"So your real name is Ruby, huh?" He said.
"Don't you already know?" She said dismissively.
"Do the Felindrax always rename the girls they kidnap?"
"No."
The speakers in the spaceship announced that the crewmembers and humans were free to move around the ship since it would still be six hours until they reached the first gal-jumper. Ruba made her way out but had enough time to give a warning glare at Martin.
"I won't tell anyone about the dossier," he promised.
"Obviously," she muttered before the door closed after her.
And Dousus expects me to befriend her? Martin thought in frustration.