There was a stark contrast between the planet Earth and Kalanor. Earth was teeming with life whereas Kalanor was barren in comparison. Much of the planet was desert, though there were oases that allowed for life to prosper. If Kalanor even had a tenth of the life of Earth…

Then Despero would not be who he was. Those harsh, unforgiving lands made him into the man he was. Without it, he would not be standing on Earth as it was. Upon leaving the desolate rock the Tamaraneans had taken refuge on, the Kalanorian leader had made his way to the nearest coast and traveled along its sandy beaches. Eventually the beaches rose into cliffs filled with vegetation.

He could feel so many minds. They were a constant pressure in his head, Earthlings anxious about their continued existence and mundane activities. It was a constant cacophony, endlessly playing. It could drive a man to distraction if they gave into it. On Kalanor, his people only thought of the way they could bed serve him.

However, there was a positive to this. It allowed other, more focused thoughts to be detected, contrasting with the endless ramblings of the populous. This allowed him to identify minds that were purposefully looking for him, most of whom were Green Lanterns. The glow of their power was easy to spot.

Because of his size, he knew he was not suited for keeping himself hidden on Earth. Precautions had to be taken. It was fairly easy to access the minds of the pursuing Green Lanterns, blinding them to his presence. There had even been a time or two a Green Lantern had stared right at him and did not see him, his telepathy erasing his physical presence from their minds.

It had been quite some time since the last Green Lantern had flown by. Their patrols were either spreading further out, or had ceased. It did not matter because none were strong enough to resist his telepathy, save for the Guardian. No doubt if the Guardian had taken the search upon himself, he would have realized the mental manipulations.

Then came a mind Despero was quite familiar with. The Martian's mind began probing for him and Despero had to shield himself as forcefully as he could. If there was still one being that could stop him at this junction, it was the Martian.

For a time, he held his position, feeling the Martian probing for him. He was quite thorough, Despero had to admit. Truly, he was a worthy opponent.

Eventually, he felt the Martian's presence fade, allowing the Kalanorian to continue on his journey. Eventually, he reached a cliff that gave him quite a view of the dark ocean that reached out to the horizon. The sound of crashing water upon rocks filled the air. Without fear, Despero stood out in the open on this cliff, the safety of the forest behind him, beckoning him.

There was a reason for this, no matter how risky it was for him to be so visible. The moment he felt familiar minds, he hailed them. Tilting his head up, he looked up into the clear sky.

Because of his third eye, he detected a shimmer in the air. It was descending from the atmosphere, closing in on his location. Despero watched it as it soon came to hover right at the edge of the cliff he stood on. Color began to reflect from the shimmer until a ship became visible, one of Kalanorian design. It was certainly one of the smaller ships in his fleet, but that was its purpose.

A door rose up, a ramp extending out until it touched down on the cliff. Two Kalanorian guards stood at attention within the doorway, plasma rifles in hand. "Lord Despero," they both greeted, bowing to him in unison.

"At ease," Despero dismissed as he strode onto the ramp, entering the ship. "Where is the fleet?"

"They have arrived at the outer reaches of this solar system days ago," one of his guards informed him, falling behind the Kalanorian leader. "They should reach the target within the next day or two."

"Excellent." Despero calculated the time difference between Earth and Kalanor. The two planets' rotations were fairly equal, but one rotated approximately two hours faster. "We have thirty hours to be ready. We are proceeding to the next stage."

A grin appeared on Despero's face following those words. He was very much eager to see the fruits of this next stage.

New Tamaran still stood, the newly made rock weathering the purple, fiery storm. What had been put on it could not say the same. There wasn't a single spaceship that was rightside up. Any supplies was decimated. There were weapons that survived…well, if you liked them melted…

There were survivors as well. So many were injured, and too few came out with minor scrapes. Things were going to get so much worse for the Tamaraneans before it got better, but when it would get better, no one could say. The only thing for sure was that it was going to get so much worse.

This was especially true for one Tamaranean.

There could be no other place for the Titans but a front row seat to the latest tragedy in Starfire's life. Red Robin kept his guard up, because it wasn't just them standing close. Those Tamaraneans who had been lucky enough to avoid too much injury, or not given the responsibility to managed the injured and the dying, were here too, paying respects.

Their friend was crouched close to the ground, her shoulders shuddering and shaking. Before her kneeling form was a massive mountain of a Tamaranean who had once stood so tall and so strong. The teenage vigilante could personally attest to the man's incredible strength. Now, that man lay on the ground himself, wheezing from the hole in his chest.

Galfore was struggling to keep his eyes open, and it was a testament to whatever unreal stamina he had that he was still able to do that. Each breath he took forced that expansive chest to rise, and disturbingly caused a whistling noise as air escaped out of that hole. It was hard to watch this, but Red Robin refused to look away.

Whether it was out of respect, or to make a show of honoring the fallen, he did not know and frankly didn't want to put a name to it.

Dying eyes, one of them already discolored from a lack of vision unrelated to his most recent injury, gazed up to the distressed Starfire, and lips nearly hidden away by that distinctive beard pulled back. "You…you are not…hurt…are you…bumgorf…?"

Starfire's breath hitched, her shoulders falling still from the effort of not losing it. "I," the young Tamaranean began, her words stopping just as they began. Slumped shoulders squared, and then Starfire began her answer again. "I am physically in good health. Please do not make too much effort. You need your strength."

Galfore's body spasmed from the throaty chuckle he gave. This was not easy to watch.

"I…I am…glad…" the dying man rasped. "You…still…live…my bumgorf… Both…?"

Both? Oh yeah. Blackfire. The last he had seen of her, Tamaran's Grand Ruler had scurried off. Licking wounds, no doubt, but right now, Red Robin couldn't muster it within himself to care. He'd been hearing some new things about what had really happened with Tamaran. The full story could be learned later, but right now…

Beside him, Raven lurked by, and in a hushed tone, she said, "We shouldn't be standing here. There's work to be done."

Being a leader, huh? He understood, but it was just…right now. Right now, Starfire was grieving again, and their friend was going to need all the support she could get. No longer welcomed among her people, and now the guy who had a hand in raising her was…not doing so hot.

"She will talk with us when she is ready," Raven continued, responding to his thoughts eerily accurately. How sure was he that she couldn't read thoughts? "We can trust her. Right now, we need to take charge of the situation."

Is that what Batman would do? A hack distracted him from that thought, and he returned his attention to the sight in front of him. Starfire was struggling to hold it in, and you could tell because her shoulders were no longer still. The strain of holding it all in was causing some shakes to escape.

"My sister is alive. I am not concerned for her. It is you… Do not continue to waste your strength, k'norfka. I…we still need you," the Tamaranean continued to plee.

"What…we need…is a hand…to guide…our people," Galfore pressed on. A large hand grasped onto Starfire's, its size also seeming to cover her lower arm. "Too much…deception… Tamaran…needs…a stronger…leader…"

Starfire shook her head. "But I am not a leader. I do not possess the strength our people need. And our people do not trust me."

"They trust…strength. Find…it."

It was obvious what Galfore was trying to do. It was a plot point in any movie, take your pick. However, this wasn't some random Tamaranean begging here. This was someone important to Kori. This was the man who raised her. Who was there for her in her vulnerable moments until he couldn't be. Who greeted her with a hug the second he saw her. He loved her, and she him. Galfore was family to the masked teen's friend.

So this wasn't some small ask. This had a lot of weight to it.

There was a sniff, soft and yet it was so sharp to Red Robin. Kori was getting to the edge of her restraint. "I do not want to lose you, k'norfka. Not when you have returned to my life."

"Come…my bumgorf. Lose…me…? Pah… It was I…who lost…you. I placed…my loyalty…to a…crown. Fool…I. No. You…have…strength." Galfore was raising his head up by now, and his single, regular-colored eye was blazing with intensity. "You are..stronger…than you know. I know…so find…your strength. Find it…where you need to. In yourself…in those who…cared…for you. Do…what…you…must. I…believe…you…"

Strength seemed to leave the Tamaranean warrior, his head falling back. Kori was quick to slip her other hand under the balding head, slowly lowering it down to prevent any more harm. Galfore's breathing was getting harder, and the end that was always coming seemed so close. This was getting harder to watch, but damn it, for whatever reason, Galfore deserved the respect being paid to him.

You could see it in the face of those who stood there. So many were baring this sotically, but you could see the water in their eyes. Others were looking down, but their eyes remained open. Tears were leaking, and they had to have known by now that the inevitable was…

Damn it, why was this happening?

"Find your brother." Whoa, that was the first complete sentence coming from the dying Tamaranean. "I believe…that he must…still…live… Protect…protect…our people. Dark times…but we must…live…"

"Please, I beg you, speak no more," Kori sobbed.

Galfore's head trembled. "I…have…not spoken…for…too long. Now…while I…yet may…I…will speak. I…will…speak."

A loud, long wheeze followed, and there may have been gurgling. That…that was hard to hear. And what was that? You couldn't even call that a cough.

Red Robin had seen injuries before. He himself had been beaten to within an inch of his life. How many times had he or someone he had known come this close? Barbara and her back. Cyborg paralyzed. That guy Wonder Girl nearly punched to death. Batman digging himself out of his own grave. Who knew what else since he had left Gotham? So many close calls, and so far no one had been hurt to this point.

It was hard, but it had to be harder for Kori.

Breaths were longer now, and slower, but damn, Galfore was still hanging on. The guy was looking right at Kori, but because her back was to him, Red Robin did not see how she looked. "Now…bum…glorf…do not…" a longer wheeze interrupted, "...please…a smile…you always…were…so beautiful…with… a smile…"

Kori head raised up, and from the small reaction Galfore gave, there could only be one thing happening.

"So…"

Galfore's chest lowered as air left the lungs, but then it did not rise again. There was no more wheezing. No more rasping. No more sound, until Kori's head lowered once more and a loud sob left her.

There should have been thunder. Rain. Anything to underscore this…but there wasn't. Red Robin finally looked away and to the rest of the team, his friends, and at least Cyborg and Wonder Girl were returning the look. Raven was fully turned away, Beast Boy had an arm around Terra and was holding her close, and Kid Flash had not looked away yet.

Now may have been a good time to leave, but Kori was not going to be leaving any time soon. Not when her pain was still so fresh. They were friends, and she had been there for them all in their darkest times. They would repay the favor.

Let the Justice League and the Green Lanterns handle everything else. Right now, the Teen Titans were needed right here at a heartbroken Tamaranean's side.

Galfore had called it right, though. Dark times. They were here, they were now.

But when Kori could stand up once more, they would help her with what she needed. Hunt down that bastard Despero. Kick in Blackfire's teeth. Whatever she needed.

That was what family did.

J'onn's eyes dimmed, a frustrated look on his face.

That wasn't a good sign if Diana had to guess.

"I cannot locate Despero," he reported, his tone indicating just how much he did not want to say those words.

After Diana had gotten J'onn away from New Tamaran, a purple light had covered the island. Soon after, the Justice League, Green Lanterns, and even a few Tamaraneans had reached their location.

Now they were back on New Tamaran. The Tamaraneans had congregated at one area of the island, the uninjured ones at least. The League and Green Lanterns were seeing to the injured regardless of side. It was quite clear the fighting was over.

"I have Green Lanterns combing the area," Ganthet added. "So far they have not located Despero either."

This was not good. At all costs, the Kalanorian tyrant needed to be found. There was no telling what trouble he could cause on his own. While he was clearly lying low, he would not stay that way, not for long.

"I think we're going to need more help on this one," Shayera said after a moment. "If it's alright with you, I'm going to report back to my people and see if we can't get them in on the patrols."

"We don't have a lot of options," Superman said. "I say do it. Coordinate with one of us when you can."

"On it." The Thanagarian opened her wings and she took off into the air. Diana found herself watching her Sister leave.

She wasn't the only one either. John was doing the same, but he managed to tear his eyes away as he looked to Ganthet. "Is there anything else we can do? Maybe fan the League out as well?"

"No," J'onn interjected. "Despero is too strong for many of them. They are also at risk for his telepathy."

"You could say that about everyone though," John was quick to point out. "We can't sit on our hands on this either."

"Do we not have other options?" Diana asked. "Surely we can access satellites in orbit, or even obtain thermal tech, or night vision."

"The Watchtower should help with that, as long as we still have access to the satellites," Superman said. "Ganthet, if it's not too much to ask, could you keep up the patrols here while the League returns to the Watchtower?"

"Certainly," the Guardian answered. "I, myself, will join the search."

"I'll stay too," John volunteered. "No way am I leaving that maniac down here."

Diana shared that feeling, but there wasn't much they could do about it. They at least had a course of action they could take, which was better than none at all. Still, the Amazon wished they had something more concrete with a greater chance of success.

Waller knew immediately when the beta team had returned. To save time, she had herself placed them right where they could do the best to get the most information out of their newest captive. It would be her first time interrogating an alien, but if there was anyone up to the task, it would be her.

Task Force X Beta were somewhat noisy as they reached her position, though most of the noise came from a bragging Peacemaker. A little noise could be overlooked provided that the results were exemplary. Waller looked away from the sight in front of her to zero in her gaze on the extraterrestrial life slung over Peacemaker's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"One alien, alive and kicking," the musclebound task force member announced, slapping a hand right over what Waller assumed was the rear. As if a thought occurred to him, Peacemaker added, "Well, not kicking, but if he was a guy alien, I'd think—"

"That's enough. Put him down," the high ranking A.R.G.U.S. agent ordered.

Shrugging, Peacemaker did just that, practically flinging the green-colored alien off of his shoulder and dumping the creature onto the floor.

Hmm. The satellite imagery left a lot out. The ridges that bumped along the brow and upwards along the skull were prominent. Hell, if any of those conspiracy theorists who believed in reptile people were to see this thing, they'd have a field day. The robes that covered the green-skinned body did a hell of a job of hiding the rest of the body, and so making sure the alien was in otherwise good health would be an issue.

Beta team better hope they didn't give the alien too much damage.

The alien pushed himself up into a sitting position, taking in his new surroundings. Pinpricks that indicated pupils stopped on the sight that now served as a backdrop to Waller, and it didn't take a genius to figure out there was recognition there.

Behind her was the World Engine, even now so massive in size and it was pure luck they were able to find a hanger to store it. The location was highly classified, security was at max levels, and even the staff were boarded here. No chances were being taken to allow any knowledge of what was here to be leaked out.

"You have no passing resemblance to the Tamaraneans," Waller began, looking down on the reptilian alien. The dark eyes with the pinprick pupils pulled themselves away from the alien terraformer to look up at her. "You keep to yourself. What do you know about the World Engine? You're obviously not a fighter, so why keep something like you around unless you have some purpose? Tell me what I want to know and this will be so much easier for you."

Perhaps it was the ridges that lined its face, marked its brow, or maybe its facial features were too dissimilar from humans, but Waller didn't get a read on this alien. The alien did raise a hand to its throat, rubbed there, then continued to its lips. When it did nothing else, Waller raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

Now what could be the meaning behind that? Was it trying to say it could not speak? Doubtful. She knew a stalling technique when she saw one, and to think she'd see one from an alien of all creatures. If she could get a shark man with a broken jaw to talk, this alien would be no different. It was just going to require a different approach.

"Ma'am, if he's being a little bitch about this, it would be my privilege to teach the little bastard some respect," Peacemaker offered.

"Your opinion isn't needed here, Peacemaker. Keep them to yourself," Waller snapped.

Curiously, the alien's eyes darted to Peacemaker, then back to her. No sooner had she stopped speaking did the eyes dart over to technicians who were speaking with one another. Someone calling out a greeting drew its attention next, then a spoken swear from a technician that was working on the World Engine but failing to expose its secrets.

"There is no escape," Waller stated, regaining the alien's attention. "It would be best for you to remain in the here and now. You aren't going anywhere without answering my questions."

No sooner had she stopped speaking that the alien was looking elsewhere. Rude and disrespectful. The pinprick pupils kept changing what the reptilian alien looking at, and Waller noted how it was always someone talking. Content did not matter. What was this alien up to?

The dark-skinned woman loomed over the alien, bending her waist slightly so that she leaned forward. "This will go so much easier for you if you talk. If you continue to stall, everything will become that much more unpleasant. Do you understand me?"

The alien's throat seemed to spasm, as if it was swallowing. Lips parted and, "More speech bgrhkltsh open communication. Skkklppbwlg zmmglkktwpl nbddtjhk understanding."

Now this was a cause to raise her eyebrows. There was what sounded like gibberish and then there were clearly English words. The most decipherable were "more, "speech," "open," "communication," and "understanding." It took her a moment to puzzle out the meaning, but the working theory she had was that the alien needed to hear more of their language for some reason.

"You need me to talk more for you to understand, correct?" she asked dryly. Frustratingly, there was no nodding of the head, or any other reaction other than the alien watching her. At the same time, there were no gestures that gave a negative answer either. Deciding to take a chance and act on this theory, Waller glanced at the waiting squad and ordered, "Start talking, Beta team. Use as many words as you know and try not to be repetitive. I don't care what you say, but say anything."

That was the start, and it took the better part of an hour until she began to make any kind of headway. What she did learn was that this alien called itself a Psion, and they were a scientifically minded race. One such aspect was that they had designed a chip and implanted it into their throats. What was the purpose of this chip? To record and decipher the multitude of languages and dialects out in the universe and then allow the Psion to speak that language once it had acquired enough vocabulary. There was a secondary chip, one implanted in the Psion's language centers in its brain, and that was for understanding what it was listening to and what it was saying in turn.

It was a concept of science fiction, but in the case of this Psion, it was just science.

"Let's try this again," the A.R.G.U.S. official said once she felt enough time had been wasted. "You've been brought here for the sole purpose of rendering any and all intelligence you have about the World Engine. I expect you to answer every question I have."

The Psion gave the impression that it would have shrugged its shoulders, but instead it was gazing on the World Engine itself. "My species created the World Engine, Human," the alien stated. "I know everything about it."

Waller kept her features stone cold, but inside she felt energized. Well, well, who would have thought they got their hands on a gold mine? Someone who might have actually worked on it, meaning they knew the nooks and the cronies of this machine. Now they were getting somewhere.

"You will tell us how the World Engine operates?" Waller asked without betraying any excitement.

Those pinprick pupils turned to her, regarding her in the same way one would a dead butterfly in an insect collection "What is your interest?"

"I want to know how it works. I want to know how to turn it on. I want to know every detail about it," Waller listed off. "Will there be a problem, or will you be accommodating?"

The Psion continued to watch her, giving nothing away. Normally, Waller had a good read on others, their body language always giving away what they were thinking. Perhaps this Psion had different body language, much like how an hour before it understood no English whatsoever. Well, she could learn the tells in due time. It was like learning a new language, and she knew many herself. What was adding one more to the repertoire?

"I know how to turn it on," the Psion eventually said, returning its gaze to the World Engine.

"And will you?" Waller pressed.

Another moment of silence, the Psion's thoughts kept to itself. Waller waited, not holding her breath but expecting all the same. Those alien lips parted, and then the answer was given.

"I will."

A small Thanagarian ship flew up to the larger prison ship, if indeed that was what it was. At the very least, it was certainly not the much larger command ship.

Smoothly, it flew up to the larger vessel, locating a docking bay. Permission was granted when the docking code was given. Doors slid opened with a groan, giving the spacecraft passage.

Flying into the bay, it landed in an open space, a couple of guards approaching it. It was a basic security protocol and one that was expected.

"Get ready," Batman whispered as he opened the ship's door.

There was a red blur and a moment later, the two guards suddenly appeared slumped against the wall across from the open door. "That's two down," Flash reported. "Only a ship's worth to go."

"Hide them first," the vigilante responded. "Make certain no one will find them easily."

"There's sleeping quarters on this thing. I'll just toss them onto the beds and if anyone does find them, they'll think they were sleeping on the job."

That wasn't a bad idea at all. "Do it." Flash took off with the two Thanagarian guards, doing exactly as he had said. It only took a few seconds before the speedster was back with the dark-clad man.

During those few seconds, Batman had activated the thermal vision in his cowl, turning the lenses in his mask purple. He wanted to see if he could detect any other Thanagarians in the vicinity so that they could take immediate action. The last thing they needed was to set off a ship-wide alarm. Detecting no other Thanagarians, he turned off the mode and quickly exited the small ship.

Flash went into action as well. He quickly sped throughout the room, returning to Batman as he took cover behind a nearby ship. "There's a couple of doors with keypads." The red-clad man held up a card. "I got this off of one of the guards. Think it'll help?"

It would get them out of the docking bay, but taking into account how massive this ship was, they couldn't be wandering around it blindly. They needed to find out where Waller's task force was being held. That meant they needed to find a room with a mainframe they could access, preferably one that could give them some privacy. "Show me to the door," he said.

Instead of just running off, Flash began to lead him there, not bothering to use the surrounding ships as cover. Considering he had just made a quick survey of the bay, it was very likely he searched for other patrols and didn't find them—or at the very least took care of them if they were here. Soon, they were at a set of doors, a digital pad interface right next to the door. There was also a small terminal next to the pad.

Batman went right for the terminal. Pulling out a small device, he held it above the console, a camera lens allowing it to "see" the various buttons with the corresponding Thanagarian symbols. There was a small screen that showed what its analysis was and it returned a translation for what each button did.

After having the Thanagarian files translated, Batman had uploaded the translations onto this device for quick conversions. It was a good thing too since every computer terminal would be using Thanagarian programming and language. As he began pushing buttons, a monitor on the terminal lit up and began relaying information. Angling the device so that the camera saw the screen, he soon received a translation for it.

Seconds turned into minutes, which only began to heighten anxiety. "What's taking so long, Bats?" Flash questioned as he seemed to be bouncing on his feet.

"I'm trying to locate…" he trailed off as he finally found what he was looking for. "One floor up, down a hallway, there's a room we can use to get out of sight. The closest thing to an elevator lift is down the hall behind this door, a right, a left, and then another left."

"Then I hope you brought your dramamine because I'm going to get us there fast," Flash said.

Batman had expected as much and he knew it was their best chance at remaining undetected. "Wave that card you found in front of the pad. That should open the door."

The speedster did as instructed, holding the card in front of the wall pad. The whole thing glowed green and the door began to slide open. It was perhaps halfway open when Flash grabbed a hold of Batman and took off through the opening. The vigilante was unable to make out any details around him as the corridors blurred, the sensation of turning right, then left, and then left again the only thing he could make out as progress.

And then they were in front of a lift, the one Batman had seen on the bay's computer terminal. Ignoring the queasy feeling he felt, he immediately stepped onto the lift platform, spotting another card pad the moment he was on. So did Flash as he waved the card in front of it. It too glowed green, but then three symbols appeared, one above the other.

The middle symbol Batman recognized as the Thanagarian equivalent of one. The other two he hoped were arrow symbols for up and down. Leaving the one symbol alone, he pressed the upper symbol, discovering the pad was a touchscreen interface. Immediately, the lift began raising up, bringing them to the next floor. Thankfully, there weren't Thanagarians on the next floor waiting to use the lift.

"Where to now?" Flash asked.

"Down this hall, the first right, the second left, and then we'll find a hall with several doors. It should be the third to last one."

Without a word, Flash grabbed him again and they were racing through the corridors. A second or two later and they were in the very hallway the vigilante had described, standing in front of the door he had mentioned. Using the security card, it opened the door and revealed a room with a number of terminals, thankfully none of them in use.

The moment the door closed behind them, Batman went right for a terminal and got to work. The first thing he did was seal the room so that they weren't interrupted. Essentially, he put a higher security access on it, one that only something called the Council could open. That must have been the Thanagarian leadership and they clearly had a command structure where people of certain ranks had certain accesses.

Now for the main reason they were here. Continuing to use his translation device, he did a search for prisoners being kept on board the ship. It was slow going since he was typing with one hand on a foreign keyboard, but they were at a point where they couldn't afford mistakes. If slow was how they had to go, then that's what they would do.

"You know, I haven't seen that many patrols since we got on board," Flash remarked as he nervously paced the room. Clearly, he was anxious and was doing his best to handle it where it wouldn't interfere with Batman's work.

"We've been fortunate so far," the vigilante responded. "Your speed has kept us out of their paths so far."

"I hope that's what it is. If this place does have a prison, or brig, or whatever it's called, you would think there would be more guards."

That gave Batman pause as he considered those words. If this was a prison ship, one would think there would be more security. While the usual prisoners were probably of alien origins rather than whatever task force Waller had assembled, there still needed to be that security presence.

Another factor was that they were applying human behaviors to Thanagarians. It was entirely possible they had different technology for keeping prisoners, or protocols they followed that were different from how humans did them. There were too many variables to consider that would explain their success thus far.

It was at that moment his work on the terminal bore fruit. "Got 'em," he announced. "The brig is on the upper level of the ship. According to this, there are four cells in use. It doesn't say anything about the level of security, however."

"Then we'll just do it the old fashion way and scout it out," Flash declared. "Now give me the directions and I'll get us there before you can sneeze."