Short chapter but that's mostly because the next chapter s going to be pretty long!

When Joy woke up the next morning it was to Lyra bringing in a breakfast tray for her and Rick. Rick was still asleep on top of Joy and Lyra cast him an unwary glance. "Honey," she patted Rick's arm, trying to slip out from under it. He gave a slight snore before rolling over, letting Joy free.

Joy got out of the bed and stretched before going to sit at her meal table as Lyra poured her some tea.

"The windows?" she asked and Joy nodded, Lyra going and opening the door to the balcony and the windows to let in fresh air, Joy hadn't realized how stuffy the room was the night before but with the windows letting in a nice breeze the stale air was soon circulated out of the room.

When Rick woke up Joy was drinking her tea, sitting at the breakfast table. After getting out of bed and stretching he wandered over, sitting next to her on one of the large cushions around the low breakfast table. "Mornin'." he mumbled before leaning over and kissing her forehead. Joy smiled at the kiss before Lyra set a mug of tea in front of Rick. "What is this?" he asked.

"It is Coola Flower Tea," Lyra said and Joy looked over at him.

"It's like if green tea and coffee had a baby," she explained and he nodded as he smelled it and then took a sip.

"He would like a plate?" Lyra asked and Joy nodded, Lyra set to work making Rick a plate and then set it down in front of him.

"So what's the plan for you today?" Rick asked and Joy shrugged.

"I didn't exactly let anyone know I was coming so there is not official plan yet," she told him. "I'm sure I'll meet with Elio at some point," she added and he nodded.

"I'd like to meet with him at some point too," he told her as she sipped her tea.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," the person they had been speaking about was standing in the doorway, smiling at the two. Joy stood up and gave the head of her church and her friend a hug before letting go of him. "We were not expecting you," he said after she let go of him as he took her right hand between both of his and kissed her knuckles in the customary way.

"We had a rough couple of weeks and just wanted some time away from the rest of the family, and I have responsibilities here that I need to take care of," Joy explained and Elio nodded.

"It is always an honor to have you here," he told her. "I'm sure the people would love it if you were here permanently," Joy smiled at that comment before shaking her head.

"I need people to learn how to be self-sufficient, they can't rely on me to do everything here," she explained and he nodded.

"I understand," he told her before looking at Rick. "Rick, my friend we have almost completed work on the machine."

"Oh good," Rick told him. "Honestly a little surprised you guys have almost finished it considering you guys barely have electricity."

"Rick, be nice." Joy told him as she shook her head. "We're here for awhile, we can help nudge them into the right direction but I don't want this place to become another Earth," she told him.

"Oh no for sure," Rick ageed. "I just think it's interesting that your planet managed to find a way to get into space without figuring out how to invent a lightbulb."

"I said be nice." Joy reminded him before looking at Elio. "Have you heard anything about Gordon or Castor?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said softly. "But someone on this planet must know where they are, maybe Freida?"

"Freida?" he asked as he looked at her in surprise.

"Yeah, wasn't she Gordon's wife?"

"Yes but," he looked down before looking back at her. "You killed Freida," he told her, Joy staring at him blankly. "When you demolished Gordon's house, as we cleaned the rubble, we found Freida's body."

"I didn't realize," she said softly.

"It has actually been a point of concern, you've made your first kill," he commented and she looked at Rick who raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"After the first kill, others are to follow," he explained. "It will become easy, second nature to you,"

"But I didn't knowingly kill the first time."

"It doesn't matter," he told her. "But the knowledge that you have killed has made some of the people pushing back against your reign think twice about publicly calling for us to hold you down to absorb you."

"That's it, I'm putting a defense mesh on your skin while we're on this planet," Rick told her and she smiled softly.

"Probably not the worst idea," she agreed as Elio looked between them.

"You can do that?" Elio asked in awe.

"I can do anything." Rick replied as Elio looked surprised.

"Are- are you a god Rick?"

"In a manner of speaking," Rick replied. "I wasn't born into the god business, not like Joy, I earned it by being the smartest man in the galaxy. There's literally nothing I can't do, literally no problem I can't solve."

"Wow," Lyra breathed and they all looked at her, Joy had honestly forgotten that she was there, and then Joy smiled at Rick proudly as she sat down with him again, putting her hand over his.

"I'd say we're a good match," Joy told Elio who nodded.

"I would tend to agree with that," he smiled at them before looking at Lyra. "Prepare Joy when she's finished with her breakfast, she has training to do today."

"I just got here and you're already going to start giving me an itinerary?" she asked and he smiled lightly.

"It is our way," he told her and she nodded.

"I know," she agreed before looking at Rick who put his hand over hers and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"I'll be fine." he told her and she nodded.

After breakfast Joy was changed into a pair of billowy silk pants and a form fitting silk shirt that left her midriff bare to go practice with Elio. A pair of gold slippers and her hair braided fully and then twisted into a bun completed her look for the training day.

Rick watched as she was dressed and pampered while sitting on a pouf in the bedroom, working on something he'd pulled from his lab coat. "I think I'm just now realizing how this place can offer you a way higher standard of living than home." he commented and Joy rolled her eyes as Lyra finished the intricate braid bun.

"I don't need to live like this all the time," she told him and he nodded.

"Sure but it must be nice," he pointed out and she shrugged.

"It's not like I can take Lyra with me everywhere," she told him and he chuckled with a small nod. "Besides, I don't think Delta would like that." she winked at Lyra in the mirror, Lyra looking down and her cheeks reddening. "You see how your body reacts to that?" Joy asked Lyra who looked up, looking in the mirror with a small frown as she raised a hand to touch her cheek. "Your body is adapting to feel different things," Joy told her.

"It proves we were right," Rick commented and Lyra turned to look at him. "Without laying hands on Joy you people are going to evolve."

"Evolve?" Lyra questioned.

"You'll be able to feel your own feelings, you won't have to rely on the church sacrificing the gods to you all to feel things."

"I did not know that was possible," Lyra admitted softly.

"Because you weren't allowed to know," Rick told her easily and then stood up, walking over to Joy and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm going to go check on the machine."

"You gonna tell me what it is?"

"When you need to know." Rick replied and she smiled before he left, Joy standing up and walking to the practice garden a few minutes later.

When they saw each other again Joy was feeling sore and exhausted and laying face down on the bed while Lyra prepared a bath for her. Rick walked into the room and looked at Joy before walking over to her. "How was training?" he asked as he put his hand on her head.

"I am exhausted," she turned her head and looked up at Rick who stroked her hair.

"What did you learn?"

"I learned how to affect people's moods," she explained as she rolled over and looked up at him, holding her arms out to Rick. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her middle, Joy nuzzling Rick's neck and sighing against it.

"You know you can always affect my mood," he told her and she smiled against his neck as he laid down on top of her, the pressure familiar and comfortable to her.

"It's because I'm basically a walking prozac," she told him, Rick snorting.

"Not the mood I was talking about," he told her, Joy smiling against his neck before sighing.

"How's the machine?"

"It's coming along," he told her. "I'm going to grab a few things from home tomorrow, do you want me to get anything for you?"

"Maybe just my pillow?" she asked and he nodded before Lyra walked in, looking at the two of them.

"Joy?" she asked and Joy looked over. "Your bath…"

"Oh, sure," Joy nodded as she gently pushed at Rick who tightened his arms. She giggled and turned to kiss him gently before pushing at his shoulders again. "Come on, my bath is ready," she said and he sighed before letting go of her. "You could join me if you want," she offered and he looked at her for a moment before glancing at Lyra. "Oh like you're body shy," she commented with a scoff as she pushed Rick off of her and then walked over to Lyra and held her arms out, Lyra began to undress her.

When Joy was undressed she looked over her shoulder at Rick before stepping into the bathroom. "Lyra," Rick stepped into the doorway of the bathroom, as Joy was stepping into the bath, "G- Go take a walk or something," he told her, Lyra looking surprised at the order and then looking at Joy who nodded.

"Go one Lyra," she agreed. "Give us some time together."

Lyra looked hesitant but then left the bathroom, Rick watching her as she passed by him and then out of the room before he took off his clothes and walked over to the bath, stepping into it with Joy and moving to stand behind her, before he sat down, spreading his long legs on either side of the bath, leaving room for Joy to sit between them.

Joy did sit and leaned back against Rick, her head resting on his chest as he took her hand and laced his fingers through hers. "I created something today," he told her. "Made something to be able to tell where Castor is," he explained and she opened her eyes, looking over her shoulder at him.

"How?"

"I need a sample of your blood," he told her. "With that I'll be able to set an analysis into the atmosphere, scan every person on the planet and find anyone who is even remotely related to you." he told her.

"Even my mom?"

"If she's on this planet I can find her Baby," he promised her, wrapping his free arm around her, kissing her shoulder after he spoke.

As the two soaked in the perfumed bath Joy sighed as she felt the stress of learning a new skill slowly ebbing away as Rick held her close. "This is something we needed," she said and Rick nodded.

"Get away from the- the bullshit on Earth," he burped softly and then sighed, laying his head back on the edge of the tub.

Deep in the city Gordon paced in a dark cramped room, looking occasionally at the other men in the room, obviously not used to being treated so poorly he scowled as a woman in the other room screamed in pain before there was a silence and then the sound of a baby crying.

Gordon looked at the door expectantly and after a moment the door opened, a harassed looking young woman walked out, wiping her hands as she looked at him. "Well?" he demanded and she sighed before nodding.

"Yes," she said softly. "We are not sure yet, but we do believe it to be a god,"

"Bring it to me," Gordon ordered and the midwife looked at him for a moment before nodding, going back into the room, bringing the squalling fussing red faced baby wrapped in a white linen to Gordon who immediately threw the linen off of the baby and held it in his bare hands. "Oh yes," he said. "Oh this will do wonderfully,"

Back in the temple Joy was wrapped in her bath sheet, drying off when a sudden pain shot through her head. Dropping to her knees she clutched at her head, gasping in pain.

"Joy?" Rick asked as he turned around, shocked at the sudden drop of his wife. "Baby! Lyra!" he shouted as Joy let out a shriek of pain.

Lyra came running in and seeing Joy on the ground turned to call out of the room. "Elio! Someone bring Elio!"

Joy let out another shriek of pain, gasping as it felt like she couldn't breathe, clawing at her neck and chest, her face turning purple as if someone were strangling her.

When Elio came into the room he looked at Rick who was trying to pull away at Joy's hands before kneeling down, helping Rick pin her hands to the ground as she thrashed. "What the fuck is going on here Elio?" he asked.

"Another god has been born," Elio said. "Someone is laying hands on it."

"So what, they're- they're connected or something?" Rick demanded.

"Yes," Elio said as he put his hand against Joy's cheek, cupping it and looking down at her. "It will not kill her," Elio assured Rick who glared at Elio, hating that Elio knew more about what was going on with his wife than he did.

After a few moment of strangled and desperate gasps for air Joy's face returned to her normal color, tears starting to spill down her cheeks, sparkling tears that that rolled down her face as she groped the air in front of her, Rick filling the space immediately, stoking her hair, holding her close as she sobbed against his shoulder.

"He killed them," she gasped when she was finally able to talk. "He fucking killed them."

"Who?" Elio asked and she pulled back to look at him.

"Gordon," she said, her voice raspy as if she had been being strangled, and he nodded.

"Rick," Elio said. "I think it's time to start the machine."

"I think you're right," Rick said as he gestured Lyra over, Lyra helped Joy get up, covered her with her bath sheet again as Rick pulled his clothes on before going to Joy and kissing her deeply. "Stay here Baby," he ordered her.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take care of a problem." he replied before turning and leaving, his lab coat billowing out behind him as he walked.

"Lyra," Joy said as she watched Rick leave the room and then turned to look at her maid. "I'm ready to be dressed."

Lyra helped Joy dress nervously when Joy explained her plan and after painting on Joy's makeup and helping Joy dress, Lyra stood back, looking at Joy who walked to the balcony and looked up, a deep green electrical discharge spreading across the sky, connecting to buildings and covering the entire sky.

As she watched the sky she could see a ship from deep in the city fly towards the sky before smashing into the green electricity, the electricity flinging the ship from the sky and Joy stood up on the edge of the balcony, watching the smoke start to rise from the crash as people began to run to them.

She could feel the power inside her almost vibrating with fear and desperation, but mostly she felt anger, anger that there were still those on her planet who dared disobey her and harbored Gordon, anger that they still allowed him to touch hands and most of all the pure fury that she felt at feeling that baby die.

Rick had science to help him be a god, but Joy had power, and in that moment she was sure that she'd rather have power.

Looking to the sky she held her arms out, feeling the atmosphere changing in the sky, feeling electricity in the form of lightning start to build up she took a deep breath.

The last time she used her power like this, on a planetary level, she'd had to be drugged to do it.

This time it came naturally to her, and despite anger being the opposite of joy, she felt it pushing her forward, making her powers more willing to bend to her will.

Stepping off the balcony she heard Lyra scream before she landed on the steps of the temple, swinging her hands apart, the gates flying open as she stepped down the stairs, she could hear Temple Keepers calling her, she could hear Rick calling her, but she ignored it as she stormed down the streets.

It was time for this planet to see what happened when they pissed off the gods.

Ooh-Whee Joy is Angey! What do you think she's gonna do? Do you think she'll just punish Gordon or will she punish the entire planet? Who knows! But we'll find out in the next chapter for suuure!