Ah, sorry for not updating in a while, my muse has been uncooperative and basically anything I tried to write would come out...terrible. But finally I kicked the old muse back into gear and we're back in business! Only one more chapter left before the end of all this Mayhem!
I am definitely going to be sore in the morning…, Meg thought ruefully as she was half dragged, half carried into the shadowy invader's ship, wincing as each step jarred her already pained body. Ow…ow…ow, OUCH!...ow…yeah, that will leave a mark.
They marched through the brightly lit corridor until they came to a large door, intricately engraved with minute designs – which might have been rather pretty if Meg's head wasn't throbbing quite as much. The door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a complex control panel and a large captain's seat facing away from the door. The sound of a voice came from the far end of the chamber, breaking the silence,
"Well, now that I have two distinguished members of the Martian High Command in my grasp, I'm sure my plan of galactic conquest shall be more easily reached." Two members? Meg thought, puzzled. She thought carefully for a moment before freezing, Oh no…
The large captain's seat swiveled around suddenly and Meg found herself face to face with the Martian Commander,
"Commander!"
"Lieutenant! What on Mars are you doing here?"
"I was sent here to find you! What on Mars are you doing here?!"
"-Enough!" The voice cut in impatiently, "I did not kidnap the two of you in order for you to chit-chat, understand? We have negotiations to discu-OUCH!" Meg reeled around and slammed one booted foot into the screen, sending it clattering to the floor. The robotic insect holding her was distracted momentarily, giving her enough time to aim another high kick and for her boot to connect with creature's face. It squealed in pain, scurrying to the opposite end of the bridge, as another screen descended from the ceiling, lowering itself so it hung eye-level to the fuming Martian,
"What in the Universe was that for?!" It spat out indignantly.
"What was that for? WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Meg leaned forward angrily with each word, hands clenched at her sides, "YOU just turned MY ship into Earthling SWISS CHEESE!" The screen inched back timidly, suddenly losing confidence,
"Oh, er, I see…I mean to say, uh, sorry about tha-"
"SORRY?" Meg grabbed the screen and forcefully pushed it towards the front portal, "Look at it, just LOOK at it! It's completely decimated! Do you honestly think an apology is going to fix THAT? Do you know how LONG I WORKED on it? I just finished redecorating it a WEEK ago!"
"Well, I –uh, no, I mean, I don't think it looks that bad. Just a little scratch here and…uh…there…" The screen's voice faded off as a large chunk of Meg's ship's hull broke off and drifted away. It swiveled around meekly, facing Meg, who stood with hands firmly on her hips, now looking thoroughly enraged.
"A scratch?" She asked softly. Marvin cringed inwardly when he heard the tone in her voice, Uh-oh…this isn't going to end well…
"Uh, er…yes?"
"A scratch?"
"No? Hold on, I know this one..."
"A SCRATCH?"
"Wait, what were my options again…?"
Marvin, who had wriggled one of his hands free of its bonds, pulled down the visor of his helmet and ducked.
--
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Lilly dusted off her hands, surveying her work. Beside her sat a large pile of bent bobby-pins and half a dozen unlocked shackles.
"Wow, I didn't think that would actually work!" Miranda stood, looking at her freed wrists in amazement, before looking back up at the other Martian, "But…why do you wear that many bobby-pins anyway?" Lilly shrugged,
"You never know when a bobby-pin could come in handy!" She turned to observe their containment unit, "Now we just have to find a way to bust out of here." She tried to carefully pick at the electrically charged bars, but ended up getting a painful shock in the process.
"OW!" Lilly nursed her hand, wincing slightly, "Ok, that's not going to work, I guess."
"Well, duh." Miranda said dryly, when suddenly a loud explosion shook the ship, sending all three tumbling to the floor. The bars on their containment unit quivered slightly before shutting off, leaving the trio in complete darkness. From somewhere in the gloom, Marshall let out a wheezy cough and rubbed his sore neck.
"Marshall? Marshall!" A muffled voice said irritably. Marshall perked up and looked around eagerly.
"Marshall, you fat bird…thing! Get OFF!" Marshall's eyes widened when he realized what he had done and quickly scrambled up. Miranda and Lilly both gasped for air.
"Geeze," Lilly said between gasps, "Don't take this the wrong way, Marshall, but you seriously need to lose a few pounds!" She pushed herself up into a standing position and checked to make sure nothing was broken. Miranda stood up beside her and stretched her back,
"Ooooow, Marshall!" She whined, before she looked around and brightened suddenly, "Hey look, someone cut off the power! We can probably break out of here!" She took a step forward and immediately smacked into a bar, "Ouch!"
"You might want to be more careful there, Miranda." Lilly reached out into the dark and felt for the bars with her fingertips, "I don't think there's much we can do unless we have some-"
"-light?" A voice cut through the darkness as the door slid open, revealing a dark shape silhouetted against the dim glow of a flashlight. Marshall growled, putting himself in front of Miranda, who peeked out from behind her protector curiously. Lilly brightened and flung herself against the bars, gripping them excitedly,
"Marvin!"
--
"So, wait, your real name is…Marvin?" Marvin looked down at the pig-tailed Martian girl. Miranda blinked a few times and returned his look, peering up at him inquisitively. He looked back at Lilly, who grinned at him, before sighing,
"Yes."
"Oh…ok…" Miranda tried to stifle a giggle, but wasn't very successful and ended up bursting out in peals of laughter. Marvin gave her an annoyed look and snapped,
"And just who might you be?" Miranda managed to stop giggling long enough to answer.
"I'm Miranda, Meg's my big sister! You know Meg right?" Marvin's eyes widened in surprise.
"Well, of course I know who the Lieutena- er, Meg is. I didn't know she had a younger sister."
"Really? Well, she does and that's me."
"I see…" Miranda cocked her head sideways and glanced around, suddenly looking worried.
"Speaking of Meg, where'd she go?" She turned back to the older Martian pleadingly, "Is she ok?"
"Oh, don't worry about her-" A loud crash echoed throughout the ship, causing Lilly and Miranda to jump, though Marvin continued on as if nothing happened, "-she's presently taking care of-" Another crash, "-business." A large piece of metal flew through the air and slammed against the wall behind them, leaving a cloud of smoke trailing behind it.
"And that is what you get for ruining my ship's new paint job! And this-" Another loud clang, "Is for RUINING the UPHOLSTERY!"
As the smoke dissipated, another female Martian appeared; wearing scuffed armor but whose hair and appearance was otherwise perfectly in place. Miranda brightened and launched herself at her sister,
"Meg!" Before Meg could reply, she found herself caught around the waist and tumbling to the floor. Miranda hugged her sister, gripping on for dear life, while Meg laughed and patted her on the head.
"Well, someone is apparently glad to see me!" Miranda buried her face against her sister, still clinging,
"I thought you were gonna die!" Meg rolled her eyes,
"Thank you for believing in me and my survival skills." She grinned at her sister and hugged her back, before standing up. Miranda turned back towards the other two Martians and said to Lilly,
"Lilly, this is my big sister, Meg!" Meg brushed herself off and regarded the newcomer with curiosity,
"Lilly?" Lilly replied quickly,
"I know, I know, it's a weird name. Miranda and I have already been through this." Meg shook her head and said absently,
"Oh no, it is not strange at all. Actually it comes from the genus Lilium, which are herbaceous flowering plants which are native of Earth and normally grow from bulbs; also comprising of a genus of about 110 species in the lily family, otherwise referred to as Liliaceae. They are important as lovely large showy flowering garden plants, and are commonly referred to in Earth literature." She started suddenly, realizing she had been rambling, "Er, I mean, it is a rather pretty name." Marvin and Lilly stared at her blankly, while Miranda merely shrugged,
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Meg's also a botanist and an Earth Advocate/Specialist. In other words, she really likes plants." She grinned, "Don't worry, you get used to it after a while."
"A lieutenant, a botanist and an Earth Advocate/Specialist?" Lilly seemed slightly impressed, "And I thought Marv here was an overachiever. Hey, speaking of Earth, funny story: I'm actuall-"
"Moving on." Marvin cut her off, ignoring the indignant look on her face, "Before we waste any more precious time with trivial bits of botanical information, I suggest we find out, once and for all, who this phantom miscreant is."
"Agreed." Meg crossed her arms, "And once we find him, I'm making him repair my ship." Marvin whirled to face her.
"Your ship? He damaged my ship too, you know!"
"Well does your ship look like a piece of pie that was caught in a battle with a laser canon and lost?"
"Uh…no?"
"Then you will certainly agree that my ship is in greater need of forced labor than yours." Before Marvin could argue, Meg turned on heel and began making her way up the corridor. She glanced back,
"Coming?"
"As a matter of fact-" Marvin started, but apparently thought better of it, sighed and followed after her. "Why do I have to be surrounded by such difficult females?" Miranda stifled another giggle as she, Lilly and Marshall followed close behind.