A/N: Double upload because of that terrible pun at the end of the last chapter. I am not sure how I feel about it.
Three days later, in the Atlantic Ocean...
Rock was leaning her forearms on the protective raised metal guard at the very front of Koko's container ship, the Atlas. All she could see, from all sides, was the deep blue of the ocean as they headed for South Africa for Koko's contract she'd initially received in Dubai. Her own sapphire blue eyes were at peace. Compared to flying, this was a much calmer experience. No security to hassle her about her glasses, or her choker, or for Roxy - who was on a leash at her feet, which was currently secured to Rock's left forearm - just a calm, peaceful expanse of blue waters and the sky above.
Aside from security and their bullshit - a rather broadly termed curse, she noted - the thing she didn't like about flying was the 'what if...?' part. The unknown risks, since back home, even the most powerful of mages - her mother, oldest sister, the Royal Court Mage, even other great minds in the fields of magic - could only hover, at most, their own height off the ground before either falling on their faces, or slowly returning to the ground by using the magic before it ran out on them. Non-mages like herself had no chance of experiencing 'flight' and most of the population feared heights, including herself.
Luckily, she knew how to swim, so falling overboard wasn't as daunting as falling off a roof or a ledge.
"I didn't know you could swim." Jonah's teasing voice came from behind her, and she smiled at his mental eavesdropping. Their Lifelink was growing stronger and stronger by the day, and now they could eavesdrop onto each other's thoughts when they were at a reasonably close distance of about ten to fifteen feet. Jonah, of course, had caught the tail end of her train of thought, which was of course about her ability to swim dissuading her fear of heights to some degree. "Now I want to see you in a bikini..."
"And what in the world is a 'bee key knee'?" Rock asked over her shoulder, one eye visible with a highly arched brow questioning the new word.
"Female swimwear." Jonah replied. "Male swimwear is called trunks."
"What's the difference?"
"It's... hard to explain. You might want to ask Koko or Valmet that one." Jonah didn't have a coherent response. Simply because he lacked the vocabulary to really offer an educational approach to the question's actually rather simple answer.
At the same time, in Langley, Virginia...
"Alright, Bookman, what was so important that you dragged me all the way here from Afghanistan? I'm still handling my end of the whole shitshow in Bagdhad..." Hex, the buxom loose cannon CIA black operations agent, was testy. A long flight from the other side of the planet, limited sleep and the aforementioned urgency of this unknown fiasco had her in a nearly feral bad mood. The only thing keeping her at 'testy' rather than 'homicidal' was a brief moment to drink a coffee about ten minutes prior. Luckily for everyone in the building... she got to finish said beverage uninterrupted.
She was, of course, speaking to the large, suited man in glasses eating a bag of peanuts behind his desk while she stood before it in slacks and a dress shirt with the top three buttons undone to prevent the small bits of plastic from becoming high velocity projectiles that failed to contain her infamous rack. Literally bigger than her head - but not by much - her chest was used in a variety of ways, from seduction to bludgeoning, hell, even suffocation.
"The President himself issued these orders to me, Hex. Take that into consideration before we move to the boardroom for the meeting." Bookman paused his snacking to give her a level stare over the top of his spectacles. "I've been told to inform you to keep all information regarding this new operation strictly word of mouth. You can't even write down directions. It took me ten minutes just to get the boardroom to memory."
"Interesting... So this op doesn't even conceptually exist. I get it." Hex quickly caught on, her sense of - morally questionable - duty giving rise to pique her interest. "So when is this meeting?"
"In five minutes. Follow me." Bookman rose from his desk, bringing his snack with him as he lead the busty commando into an often unused boardroom in one of the back wing's of the CIA headquarters, which was now very occupied by two very unusual women, one seated at the head of the long table, the other standing slightly behind them to the side, like a bodyguard. "Empress, this is the associate of mine that was mentioned during our last meeting with President Obama."
The woman seated at the table slightly tilted her head to the side, clearly intrigued. "Enter, close the door."
Bookman of course did as he was ordered, and Hex narrowed her eyes. This woman was strange, clearly an obnoxious aristocrat from some ass pit of a country, given her attire and attitude... But for some reason, Hex felt like she and the 'Empress' shared some... connection.
"Now then... I am told you are referred to by the name 'Hex'?" The woman set her red and blue gaze upon the woman, almost completely ignoring the fat man - who had completely stopped his snacking in her presence - that was standing at the door with his hands by his sides with rapt focus on his face, compared to the woman's more relaxed, but subtly aggressive body language.
"I am." Hex replied curtly, still trying to figure out why the woman felt so familiar to her.
"I am also told you are one of, if not the best field agents that this 'CIA' organization has to offer." The royal woman continued in that same tone, and Hex inwardly noted her voice sounded like it had a hint of a French purr to it. "If that is true, I have high expectations concerning the matter you and I will be discussing with this meeting."
"And what is this 'matter' you're talking about?" Hex was getting fed up with being left out of the loop for so long.
"Take a seat by my right hand, and I shall elaborate upon the details." The royal woman gestured to the seat at her right hand. "Including that feeling you're so confused about right now. I just so happen to know exactly what it is."
How the woman knew was beyond Hex, so she begrudgingly obeyed the order to sit at the specific chair offered to her. "Details first, feeling later."
"You are in no position to be making any sort of demands, Hex." Bookman warned her.
"No, that is quite alright, Mr. Black... I understand why she made such a demand, I assure you." The royal woman held up a hand to silence to only male in the room, only briefly looking at him before setting her heterochromatic gaze onto Hex's face. "I... am Black Star Empress, Queen of the Otherworld. Behind me, my middle daughter, Black Rock Beast. I have called upon your organization's services, and in particular, your expertise, to assist me in handling a very dangerous matter that threatens both Earth and Otherworld, simultaneously. The first step of which involves locating a specific person that my experts on my end have confirmed has come to Earth through a means that only a select few under my direct control are even capable of doing."
"If your experts confirmed that much, why not have them handle it? Why call upon the CIA in the first place?" Hex challenged, crossing her arms and leaning back in the desk chair.
"I shall explain the 'why' in due time, but for now let's continue under the impression that my experts aren't experts in all fields." Empress gave Hex a slightly stern stare before continuing. "This person, under whatever identity she may now be using... is my youngest daughter, Black Rock Shooter. She has been missing for over three and a half years, but after a string of incidences on my end, I was informed that a wandering merchant, by a stroke of luck, caught a good look of my daughter going through a Royal Portal Sphere in an area of the Otherworld known as the Badlands in the past few months. After informing me of this, I had my experts pinpoint which of many worlds that the, shall we now call the RPS, deposited her. That of course is here, Earth."
Hex waited for Empress to continue, having kept up with the details so far.
"Unfortunately, my own RPS didn't deposit me with the intended accuracy I desired. Despite my vast knowledge of Otherworld concepts and magic in general, even now I am unable to pinpoint even a trace of even the faintest of particles that could lead me to my daughter's last known location. This is of course where the CIA and yourself come into the picture."
"You want us to locate the girl, don't you?" Hex asked. "Alive or dead, is my next question."
"Alive." Empress' glare couldn't have been any more dangerous than her shift in tone. "Not that a mere human could even hope to harm her. She possesses one of the rarest abilities of our kind, and that is to constantly heal any and all wounds in mere moments. I do believe your English language refers to this as 'regeneration'?"
"Yes, mother. That is the correct word." Beast suddenly spoke up without even glancing in her mother's direction.
"So your daughter's immortal? Lovely. I like a nice challenge." Hex uncrossed her arms and leaned forward. "So in that case, I'll need very detailed information about what the little girl even looks like. I may be the best, but the best can't do anything without a face to match what we do find."
"That leads me to the other part of our discussion..." Empress didn't acknowledge Hex's subtle challenge regarding the 'spoken only' rule of their entire operation. "That feeling you're experiencing... it's called a Lifelink."
"A Lifelink?" Now Hex was suspicious. Sure, the woman figured out she was distracted, but unless she started making sense, she'd be chalking the royal bitch up to a 'royal pain in the ass' very shortly...
"A spiritual connection, of body, mind and soul, shared between two people, initiated at birth, regardless of age differences. When found, the two then become one." Empress recited rather poetically. "If you didn't catch on... You're Lifelinked to me..." Empress smirked darkly. "Whether you like it or not."