Chapter Twenty-One
The Preserver
It was funny that after all the time Superwoman spent trying to find Lobo, it was he who found her. Hovering far above the city the sound of engines unlike any she had ever heard sounded and she turned to see a black shape drop down from above her. There was a high pitched whining sound as both wing mounted cannons opened fire on her.
She dove into evasive flying, dodging and twirling across the sky. Superwoman was confidant of her invulnerability with most things on Earth, but she had never been hit with an energy weapon before. She didn't want to get cocky, not after what happened with her first exposure to Kryptonite. Besides she was fast enough the dodge, even if the black alien spacecraft stayed on her tail.
She watched as the red energy bolts shot past her to dissipate somewhere far in the distance.
Those things have a massive range, Superwoman thought, if he hit something or was firing towards the ground. She mentally balked at the thought of the damage inflicted because of this careless alien madman that was just after her.
I have to end this, she told herself, and away from here.
Without slowing down she changed direction, shooting upwards through the Earth's atmosphere. Clouds tore apart as she punched through them, and behind her she could hear Lobo's ship following. The blue glow of the atmosphere quickly gave way to the vast emptiness of space, yet still she flew onward twisting and twirling to avoid blaster fire.
Some distance from the Earth she slowed, turning to see Lobo's ship had following her closely. The alien vessel boasting better speed and agility then anything Earth had to offer. The ship turned sharply, Lobo having not expected her to stop so suddenly. She lunged forward managing to grab hold of the side of the craft, before planting her feet and kicking off.
It said something about the crafting of the ship, the metal it was made of was strong enough that it only slightly dented from her kick. She had hear Lobo cursing inside.
"Hey! Hands off my ship!"
He spun his vessel around into a better firing position and Superwoman was dodging again. With a ship like that, she thought as a burning hot blast shot past her face, this might take a bit of work.
She and Lobo's crafting ended up preforming a game of cat and mouse, with the roles switching back and forth between the two of them. One of the wings clipped her, sending her spinning. It took her a moment to stop herself and by then she had lost her advantage. Her speed and smaller size meant little as Lobo closed in, and the moment Superwoman stopped herself.
He shot her in the back.
The blast hurt, the energy weapon did little against her skin or even her suit. But still it hurt. She opened her mouth in a soundless cry of pain, another blast hit her and once again she was spinning. When all of a sudden all motion stopped, a bright red light encompassing her. She looked up to find the underside of Lobo's ship over her, it was coming towards her. Or rather she was being drawn towards it.
Tractor beam of some kind, Superwoman thought as the cargo doors opened. She tried fighting its pull but it held her tight, and the edges of the cargo bay doors were too far away for her to grab hold of. Superwoman floated for moment inside the ship, then in an instant the cargo bay bars snapped shut and the tractor beam shut off. Superwoman had a moment of strange sensation from the sudden reassertion of gravity. Slamming into the floor she lifted her head slightly to look around. It was a large empty room, the floors, walls, and ceiling made of the same dark grey metal. A large door stood across from her, and Superwoman sent her jaw.
Let's have a word with Lobo in person, she thought taking a step forward. Only to bounce of a sudden burst of blue energy. After stumbling back a step she reached a hand out watching as it came to rest on a glowing blue barrier. It didn't hurt her in anyway, but no matter how hard she push it won't give.
Energy shield, she realised. Blaster blots, tractor beams, and energy shields. She was really starting to dislike energy weapons. The roof, floor and walls were all similarly shielded, and Superwoman couldn't spot anything creating the shield. She was for the moment trapped. The slight vibrations of the floor and the sound of engines powering up made it clear to Superwoman that the ship was moving again.
She glanced at her wrist communicator taking in its blank screen. Out of range, she realised. I have to work on that, she thought.
She was pacing the line of the containment field, unable to shake the growing unease. Despite her status as an Alien on another world. Besides her first trip to Earth, Superwoman had never really had a large trip through space. The longer she stood there, the ships engines sending the ship deeper into space. The further away from Earth she got. Finally after she had lost track of time the door across from her slide open and in stepped Lobo grinning madly.
"Heya babe," He said crossing the room.
"Lobo," She growled. "Let. Me. Out!"
"No can do sweet cheeks," he said grinning even wider "I got a contract to fill."
"A contract?" She echoed, before remembering something he had said last time they meet "Who sent you? What was the contract? Something about dead or alive?"
"Ehhh," Lobo made a dismissing sound waving a hand, "There was no actual instruction, just to retrieve ya. Usually in those situations I go for dead, corpses are easier to ship. But you… well I like you."
"Lucky me," She muttered before asking, "Who hired you?"
"You wouldn't know 'im," Lobo said rolling his eyes, "Calls himself the Preserver. Don't worry I'll introduce ya real soon." He checked a reading on machine against the wall a press of a button and a screen appeared in front of them. "In fact here he comes now."
The approaching ship was massive larger than anything Superwoman had seen. Its edges curved and rounded, made of a golden metal.
A light headed feeling sweep over her, as a tingling sensation spread up her arms and legs. Raising her hands to her face, she watched as a faint glow covered her.
"Yeah," Lobo grunted as if understanding what she was feeling, "You might wanna brace yourself. First time teleporting can be a real bitch."
Telep…her thought was suddenly cut off when suddenly everything went black.
Then nothing.
#SC#
Her head hurt, that was the first thing that she noticed. The limbs felt heavy and weak to her. With a soft groan her eyes flitted open. A red glow of light covered the room and she blinked slightly at the strange familiar feeling it stirred inside her. Shifting she looked down at herself, someone had changed her clothes. The outfit she was wearing reminded her of the ceremonial robes the Jor-El program wore, only more feminine. Lifting a hand she touched the metal headdress she could feel resting on her head.
Sitting up quickly she looked around. She founded she had been laying on some kind of arm chair. Its design matched the rest of the room. Its metallic and crystal material both happily and dauntingly familiar.
"Krypton." She breathed.
"Wrong." A voice stated behind her, "A simulation of the lost planet."
Superwoman spun around in search of the new voice. Outside of what she had now learn to identify as an energy field floated an alien she had never seen before.
It was smallish and vaguely egged shaped, its main features a pair of large eyes and a mouth. It had two stubby arms with little hands, and no legs. Not that that it needed them as it hovered face to face with Superwoman.
"Who are you?" She asked stepping forward. "Where am I?"
"I am the Preserver ." The alien introduced itself its voice calm and almost bland, "I collect rare and endangered species from around the galaxy. When I heard of you. The last Kryptonian, I know I had to add you to my collection."
"Your collection?!" Superwoman exclaimed.
"My collection is to prevent the extinction of many species." The alien explained, "Without me all these species would be lost." He gestured around himself. A Superwoman looked both ways past her force field barrier. Taking in similar cells with numerous aliens, from insect-men and lizard creatures, to a giant floating blob that looked like a massive jellyfish.
"It's a zoo," Superwoman breathed taking a step back to look around her own… enclosure.
The Kryptonian furniture and the red sun lighting. Outside on the fake balcony she could see the picture of a megacity of towers and spires. She blinked trying to settle down the warring feelings of inside her. This place might have been a fake, but it was as close to the real thing she would ever get.
Twisting her head she spotted another enclosure besides hers, separated but connected. It held various Kryptonian pieces of technology, all displayed as if in a museum. She recognised the computer systems and a few other pieces, and at the very back. There it a small hanger with a metal and crystal shape in it.
Was that a Kryptonian spaceship?
"Various pieces scavenged from long abandoned Kryptonian outposts." The Preserver informed.
"OK, that enough." Superwoman said finally, "This is kind of sick. I'm not going to be kept like a zoo animal. Let me out!"
"No."
Just no? She thought, fine. I'll get out of here myself. Unlike Lobo's ship the force fields in the enclosure were fixed to metal pillars. Stepping forward she moved to take one out, but as the punch connected.
PAIN
Clutching the throbbing hand to her chest she stared amazed at the undamaged pillar. Her strength was gone.
"The red light of this enclosure is designed to negate the unnatural effects of the alien yellow sun." The Preserver informed her.
She was powerless, she realised looking down at her red knuckles. For the first time in her life she was powerless.
#SC#
"Heya babe," A voice called. She had seated herself back on the arm chair staring at the ground, trying to think of a way out of her situation.
"You look good," Lobo grinned suggestively, "'though not as good as that tight blue number we were wearing before."
"Are you happy Lobo?" She calmly questioned looking up, "Willing to do anything to feed your greed?"
"Of course not…no wait. Hang on let me think," Lobo paused "Ummm. Yeah, yeah I am."
She rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of greed." Lobo said before called out to her 'host'. "Hey where's my pay?"
"The credit amount has been transferred to your account," The floating alien said drifting towards them. "One question Lobo. Are you a Czarnian correct?'
"Yeah what of it?" Lobo growled.
"The Czarnian race was wiped out correct?"
"Yeah so?" Lobo said looking confused.
"Oh no," Superwoman breathed, having been watching the conversation like a tennis game, she made to connection before Lobo did. It was too late however, as with a press of a button Lobo's form disappeared and reappeared in a cell across from hers.
"Two new endangered species added to my collection," The Preserver said looking from Superwoman to Lobo before floating off. "Such nice additions."
Lobo watched to alien leave for a moment before looking back to Superwoman.
"Oh shut up." He growled.
#SC#
"Lobo?" She called across the walkway between their enclosures.
"What," He snarled back at her pacing back and forth across his cell.
"I'm sorry…about your people," She said softly. She had lost her own when she was a child and still it stung beyond measure. But to have known them and then lose them, she could imagine the pain.
"What?" He looked confused, before shaking his head, "Ehhh don't worry about it."
"What?" It was her turn to be confused at is easy brush off.
"They deserved it," Lobo shrugged.
"WHAT?!"
"They were so boring," He explained, "I mean what else was I to supposed to do? Bunch of no fun downers."
"You…You …..What?!"
"Czarnia the universe's most peaceful planet," He snorted, "Most boring planet most likely, and now the most dead. Now that was fun."
"You killed your own killed because it was fun?" She asked sickened.
"Coz they were boring," He corrected, "Your point?"
Silence fall between then before Lobo called over to her.
"Hey Supes wanna play a game?"
"Shut up Lobo."
#SC#
"Well I'm getting bored," Lobo said looking down at a device strapped to his wrist, "They must be in position by now."
"What?" Superwoman questioned forgetting her disgust with him.
He didn't reply, only grinned at her as he pressed a button on his device. Multiple explosion rocked the ship and the force fields surround the cells flicked and died.
"What was that," Superwoman asked stepping free of the enclosure.
"Boombots," Lobo said simply, then continued at her look. "They took out the teleporter and the shielding. What? I'm a bounty hunter, I don't go anywhere without an escape plan."
"It looks like we're not the only ones escaping," She said noticing other aliens leaving their enclosures as well, as alarms began to blare.
Lobo turned and started running off.
"Wait Lobo we can't just leave them," She called after him, turning to come face to face with an approaching lizard alien. With a snarl, it open with gapping jaw to roar at her.
"Right," She said before turning to run after Lobo.
She found him further down the corridor.
"Lobo you have to take me back to Earth," She said as she approached him.
"Nah I ain't goin' back to that backwater planet," He snorted continuing on, he paused turning to look at her. "You could come with me 'though." He leered down at her.
"Lobo you….." Whatever she was cut off when movement ahead caught her attention, "Look out!" She cried grabbing his arm to pull him around behind a pillar. Blaster fire filled the area where they had been standing.
Growling under his breath, Lobo looked around the edge of the pillar at the firing squads of humanoid shaped robots. Hunkering down as laser fire chipped at the edge of the pillar, given what blaster fire had down to her in her powered form, she shuddered to think of what it would do to him or her now.
Lobo pulled his blaster free and dove from behind the pillar rolling across the corridor the come up behind another pillar. With more space to move, Claire shifted pressing against the pillar before peering around it. She almost had her nose shot off.
Despite being out of the red sun simulation of the Krypton enclosure, Claire's powers hadn't returned. She was on an alien space craft, full of hostel alien, with a madman, in a laser fire shot out…..without her powers.
"Lobo give me a weapon!" She called over the sound of firing. There was no way she was going to cower behind something, when she could at least try the stop this.
Lobo grunted tossing her a smaller blaster. Despite having never used a weapon before it didn't take her long to work out how to use it, what with multiple targets to practice on.
With of the both of them firing around the pillars they were able to thin down there attackers. The robots might have been many but Claire and Lobo had coverage and better shooting. As the finally robot sparked as fall to the ground, the two stepped out into the open.
"You're not bad with that," Lobo said gesturing to the blaster, "You sure you don't wanna come with me? We could have so much fun."
"No thank you," She said, "I just want to get back to Earth."
"Ehhh," Lobo groaned programing something of his wrist device before pulling it off and tossing it to her.
"What this?" She asked looking at the device.
"Coordinates." Lobo shrugged, "Tells you how to get back to Earth. And access to this ship hanger doors."
"Thanks," She said giving him a small smile, despite her weariness and general disgust at the alien this was helpful to her.
"Nah just consider it pay back for before," He said gesturing to the robot troops on the floor around them, "Oh and Supe's."
He punched her.
"What the hell," Stumbling back holding her jaw, she was lucky he pulled the punch …well mostly.
"Just so you don't think I've gone soft," Lobo grinned, before turning to walk off.
"Hey is that it?" She called after him.
"I got my pay, contract filled. My work here's done," Lobo called over his shoulder before adding "Unless you wanna kiss goodbye?"
"No!" She replied quickly, "What about the Preserver? And how do I get off this ship?"
"Boombots to care of the Preserver. As for getting' off the hunk o' gunk… Not my problem," Lobo said walking on, "See ya 'round Supe."
Claire stood watching him go for a moment, before realisation struck.
"The Kryptonian ship," She exclaimed before turning and running back the way she had come.
The other escaped aliens had long since vanished from the area as she entered the small hanger.
"Thank goodness the Preserver guy was such a thorough collector," She said to herself as she approached the ship, "Please work, please work."
The access button panel was easy to recognise, and the doors slide open for her. She had a moment to be thankful that her desire to learn as much about her lost home world had included piloting their spacecraft.
Settling into the pilot seat, Lobo device overrode the collector ships commands to open the hanger door. Smoothly and quickly the ship lifted off and as it left the Collectors ship turned onto its path home. To Earth.
#SC#
Deep in space the signal from the last Kryptonian ship being flown by the last Kryptonian was picked up.
-Error Kryptonian ship detected outside of containment-
-Tracking trajectory-
-Scanning systems-
-Locating lose Kryptonian-
-Require return to containment-
-This is the will of Brainiac-
TBC
DC has a large number of fictional Cities, I mention a few through at my story so far in passing. Here's a short list of some for those of you that don't know.
Metropolis Home of Supermam. Funny enough is meant to be located where New York is, even though New York exists in some of the comics too.
Gotham: Home of Batman. Fictionally located in the vicinity of lower New Jersey and Delaware, across from Philadelphia. Blüdhaven: Home of Nightwing (Future hero Dick Grayson) is right next door.
Central City: Home of The Flash (Barry Allen) Speculated to be in Missouri or Minneapolis.
Star City: Home of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen). Located in San Francisco. (However I, having O.D'd on Arrow episodes, choose to call it after the T.V show city name Starling City)
Coast City: Home of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) Have no idea where it's meant to be or was or is again…..(long story)