Chapter 53

Jaina and Johnny have just finished eating breakfast and are walking back to the Solo apartment when a Trandoshan bumps into Johnny.

Trandoshan: "Watch where you're going, Human!"

Johnny: "You bumped into me, Lizard Man."

Jaina: "Let's go, Johnny. Trandoshans never make good company and this one is drunk."

Jaina turns to leave, hoping that Johnny will follow. As she does so, the Trandoshan grabs her shoulder. His claws press into Jaina's flesh. She turns and looks into the Trandoshan's red eyes.

Jaina: "Let go."

Trandoshan: "Who's gonna make me? You or your wimpy little boyfriend?"

Johnny: "The lady said let go."

Johnny transforms his right hand to flame and places the fiery hand on the Trandoshan's upper arm as he says this. The Trandoshan releases Jaina and howls in agony. Then he draws his blaster. In a flash, Jaina ignites her lightsaber and severs the reptilian's arm at the elbow. The blaster falls to the ground. Johnny incinerates it with a wave of his hand. The wounded Trandoshan, realizing that even a Trandoshan can't regenerate from ashes, beats a hasty retreat.

Jaina and Johnny walk away. When they get back to her parents' apartment, Leia notices that the shoulder of Jaina's blouse is stained with blood.

Leia: "What happened?"

Jaina: "We had a minor confrontation with a Trandoshan."

Chewie: "Rrrrhhh!"

Han: "A trandoshan?"

Leia starts to push up Jaina's sleeve to examine the wound.

Jaina: "It's not serious, Mom. It already stopped bleeding."

Chewie: "Rrhhg?"

Han: "Yeah, what happened?"

Jaina: "The Trandoshan bumped into Johnny and tried to pick a fight."

Johnny: "When Jaina and I started to walk away, the Trandoshan grabbed her shoulder."

Jaina: "And when he refused to let go, Johnny burned his arm."

Johnny: "When he went for his blaster, Jaina cut off his arm."

Jaina: "Then Johnny incinerated the blaster, and the Trandoshan got scared and ran away."

Chewie laughs loudly at the thought of a Trandoshan running away from a fight. To say that there is no love lost between Wookiees and Trandoshans would be a vast understatement.

Leia(to Jaina): "It sounds like you two make a good team."

Chewie: "Rrrhhgg?"

Han: "I'm curious about that too."

Han and Chewie are looking at Johnny. Johnny can tell that they are waiting for him to answer but he doesn't know what the question is.

Johnny: "I'm sorry. I don't understand Wookiee."

C3PO: "Master Chewbacca wishes to know details regarding how you burned the Trandoshan."

Chewie: "Rrrhh!"

C3PO: "And how you incinerated his blaster."

Johnny: "Oh. I just used my hand."

Han: "Your hand?"

Jaina: "Show them, Johnny."

Johnny demonstrates his power by transforming both of his hands into flame. Then he turns them off.

Leia: "So you can turn your hands into flame?"

Johnny: "My entire body, actually."

Chewie: "Rrrhhh!"

C3PO: "Master Chewbacca is impressed."

Johnny: "Uh...convey my thanks."

Han: "Chewie understands you, Kid. You just can't understand him."

Johnny: "Yeah. I knew that. Just forgot for a second. Uh...did Ben leave already?"

Leia: "Yes. He left just before you and Jaina got back."

Johnny: "Okay. I better go."

Jaina: "It was nice meeting you, Johnny."

Johnny(smiling): "Yeah. You too, Kid."

Jaina: "Hmmph! I am not a kid."

Johnny: "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm older than you and I get called Kid all the time."

Johnny leaves.

Chapter 54

When Hal Jordan, Spider-Man, and Tahiri Veila enter the Yuuzhan Vong flagship, they are met by ten Yuuzhan Vong warriors. Hal knocks them all out with a single blast from his ring. Then Hal goes off on his own, cutting a swatch through oncoming warriors on his way.

Hal is seeking out the Yuuzhan Vong leaders. Their Supreme Overlord Shimrra and his apparently meek servant Onimi. Tahiri informed Hal that although the Yuuzhan Vong shamed one played the part of a jester in Shimrra's court, Onimi was really a Dark Jedi. Or the Yuuzhan Vong version of one anyway. The Yuuzhan Vong, as a race, had been cut off from the force completely. But Onimi had performed shaping experiments on himself that had inadvertently granted him access to the force. He had used his new abilities to manipulate Shimrra. Onimi was secretly the Yuuzhan Vong's true leader.

Another squad of warriors arrives to confront Tahiri and Spider-Man. Spider-Man makes a shield out of his webbing to protect himself from the thud bugs that the warriors are throwing at him and Tahiri. Tahiri deflects or dodges most of the bugs, but one gets by her defenses and hits her in the shoulder. She grits her teeth against the pain.

Spider-Man is facing off against six warriors when another one attempts to sneak up behind him. Spidey's spider sense warns him. As the Yuuzhan Vong warrior swings his amphistaff at Spider-Man, he turns around and catches the body of the serpentine staff. The end of the staff morphs into the head of a snake and tries to bite Spider-Man. Spidey quickly flings it away. Then he picks up the warrior and uses him like a club against the other warriors. Some of the warriors try to defend themselves by raising their amphistaffs and attempting to block the attack. The unfortunate warrior receives several bites from the deadly staffs.

Three more squads of warriors arrive just in time to see this. The display causes the Yuuzhan Vong lieutenant who is leading the new arrivals to send two of the squads to confront the masked infidel while he and one squad of warriors engage the female.

Spidey: "I guess this is the downside to being popular."

Spidey grabs the nearest two warriors and cracks their heads together. Then he leaps straight up, sticking to the ceiling. He shoots two quick bursts of webbing, blinding one of the warriors. The warrior struggles to remove the webbing from his face. Three of the warriors, working in unison, hurl their amphistaffs up at Spider-Man like spears. Spidey catches two of the amphistaffs but the third pierces his side.

Spidey: "Ahhh!"

Spidey leaps down. He discards the alien weapons. One of the warriors uses his amphistaff like a whip to lash at Spider-Man. The amphistaff coils around Spidey's arm. Spidey uses the whip to pull the warrior into his fist. The warrior is knocked out. Spidey removes the amphistaff from his arm and tosses it to the floor. Two more warriors rush at Spider-Man, swinging their amphistaffs at his head. He ducks and punches each warrior in the midsection, sending them flying across the corridor.

Another warrior swings his amphistaff low aiming for Spider-Man's legs. Spider-Man jumps up and kicks the warrior in the face. But as he does so, another warrior swings his amphistaff at Spider-Man's knee. It is a glancing blow, but the incredibly sharp blade severs Spider-Man's patella tendon. When Spider-Man lands, his right leg buckles under him and he collapses to the floor.

Chapter 55

Tahiri has already fought and defeated several warriors. She is beginning to tire. One of the remaining two warriors-the lieutenant- charges at her. Tahiri leaps and kicks him in the face. She hears and feels his nose break as her bare foot crashes into it. The warrior lets loose a loud cry that is a combination of pain and rage.

As Tahiri lands, the second warrior swings his amphistaff at her head. She raises her lightsaber and blocks his attack. Then, tapping into the Force for added strength, she sidekicks him in the kneecap. His leg snaps and he falls to the ground.

Tahiri turns around. She jumps back just in time to dodge the lieutenant's amphistaff. The blade slashes the front of her shirt. He strikes again. She blocks his amphistaff with her lightsaber. She parries and strikes downward. He blocks her attack. Then he kicks her in the stomach. Tahiri falls to the ground and drops her lightsaber. Deactivated, the jedi's weapon skids across the floor.

The Yuuzhan Vong warrior tries to stab her while she's on the ground. She rolls out of the way. Tahiri pulls a dagger out of a holster on her belt. She throws the dagger at the warrior and it goes deep into his shoulder. He screams in pain. Then the other warrior, whose leg Tahiri broke, grabs her by the throat.

One of the warriors kicks Spider-Man's wounded side while another warrior rips off his mask. The warrior at Spider-Man's side goes to kick his side again and the warrior who ripped off his mask starts to stomp the bridge of his nose. With his left hand, Spidey catches the foot of the warrior who is attempting to kick his side. With his right, he catches the foot of the warrior who is trying to stomp his nose. Then he effortlessly throws both warriors. The warrior at his head is thrown straight up. He slams into the ceiling and then crashes to the floor unconscious. The other warrior is thrown to the side and collides with two more warriors. The impact knocks all three unconscious.

Using his good leg, Spider-Man kicks up to a standing position. Standing on one leg, he faces the remaining nine warriors.

Spidey: "You guys are a real pain."

Yuuzhan Vong Warrior(in Yuuzhan Vong): Die, infidel!

Spidey: "Gesundheit."

An amphistaff spits venom into Spider-Man's eyes. He is instantly blinded.

As Hal makes his way to the throneroom, many more Yuuzhan Vong warriors attempt to stop him. Hal briefly stops and points his ring at them. The warriors are shocked when their amphistaffs revert to their snakelike forms and coil themselves around their own masters. Hal continues on his way.

When Hal reaches a door which he believes to be the entrance to the throneroom, he is confronted by a lone warrior. The warrior is speaking in his native language. Hal uses his power ring as a universal translator so he can understand the warrior.

The warrior identifies himself as Warmaster Tsavong Lah and challenges Hal to a duel. Lah brandishes his amphistaff and performs some fancy moves with it. Obviously meant to intimidate. The display reminds Hal of that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones shot the swordsman. Unable to resist the urge to imitate the scene, Hal uses his ring to create a gun construct and shoots the Warmaster in the chest. Fortunately for Tsavong Lah, the emerald energy blast only knocks him out.

Chapter 56

Spidey is able to use his Spider sense somewhat similar to radar so while he can't see with his eyes, he can still "see" in a way. On his left, he senses an amphistaff being whipped at him. On his right, he senses a staff being swung at his throat. He catches both amphistaffs. He tugs on the whip and pulls the warrior holding it into his fist. He throws the spear and the warrior holding onto it into a wall. But while this is happening two more warriors attack from behind. One spears Spider-Man's left shoulder blade. The other lashes Spider-Man in the back.

Spidey leaps up to the ceiling. Crouching upside down on the ceiling, he pulls the staff out of his shoulder and webs it to the ceiling. The amphistaff venom begins to take a heavier toll on Spider-Man. He began feeling the venom's effect immediately after he was stabbed in the side, but with some effort he was able to ignore its effects. Mostly. It did slow him down quite a bit. After receiving two more doses of the venom, he's finding it much harder to resist the effects of the poison.

Spidey senses an amphistaff being thrown at him. He catches it and webs it to the ceiling. While he's doing that he senses another amphistaff flying towards him. He dodges and it imbeds itself into the ceiling. Spidey jumps down. He senses one of the warriors trying to punch him in the face. Spidey catches the warrior's fist. Then he grabs him and jumps back up to the ceiling. Spider-Man webs the captured warrior the ceiling. He catches another thrown amphistaff. He webs it to the ceiling. He hears one of the warriors shouting at the others in their native language.

Warrior: Stop throwing your amphistaffs at him!

Spider-Man jumps down again. He senses three warriors in front of him. Two are behind him and one more is to his left. Spidey fires three quick bursts of webbing, blinding the three warriors in front of him. The warrior to the left swings his amphistaff at Spider-Man's good leg. Spidey jumps over the amphistaff and backhands that warrior.

One of the warriors behind Spider-Man punches him in the back. Spidey reaches back and snap mares the warrior to the ground. Spidey loses his balance and falls on top of the warrior. Another warrior attempts to spear Spider-Man in the back. Spidey senses the attack and moves out of the way. The fallen warrior is stabbed through the stomach by the amphistaff meant for Spider-Man. Spidey grabs the warrior who just impaled his fellow and leaps back up to the ceiling. He webs the warrior to the ceiling.

Hal blasts open the doors to the throneroom. He sees two Yuuzhan Vong inside. Remembering Tahiri's descriptions, he recognizes the large one as Supreme Overlord Shimrra and the other one as Onimi. Onimi is pretending to cower behind the throne. The Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord confronts the Green Lantern. Shimrra is shouting a challenge in his native language. Realizing that Onimi is the real threat, Hal conjures a Wookiee construct to fight Shimrra while he concentrates on Onimi. The green Wookiee charges at the startled Supreme Overlord and strangles him into unconsciousness. Its work done, the Wookiee vanishes.

Hal looks at Onimi. The Yuuzhan Vong Dark Jedi blinks in shock several times. Then his expression switches from shock to rage. Onimi begins to use his telekinesis to hurl objects at Hal. Hal puts up a dome shaped forcefield around Onimi and himself. All of the levitated objects bounce harmlessly off the forcefield. This enrages Onimi further.

Chapter 57

Spider-Man crouches on the ceiling for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He is finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. His muscles feel numb, but he keeps moving through sheer force of will. He jumps down, hitting a warrior on the head with a double axehandle blow. Then Spider-Man feels a painful sting on his neck as he is whipped by an amphistaff.

Spidey: "Ahhh!"

The three remaining warriors, who had been blinded, have finally managed to remove the webbing from their eyes. Spider-Man senses a warrior to his right. He grabs the warrior by the face and throws him into a wall. The warrior's face was slick with what Spider-Man presumed to be blood. He deduces that the warrior had cut the webbing off his face.

Spider-Man senses another warrior approaching from behind. Spidey jumps up and spin kicks the warrior in the face. Amazingly, Spider-Man lands on his feet. But he collapses when his injured knee buckles. The remaining warrior lashes Spider-Man in the back with his amphistaff. Spider-Man struggles to remain conscious. He rolls onto his back. The warrior hardens his amphistaff into a spear and gets ready to finish off Spider-Man. Spider-Man catches the body of the spear, stopping the blade just inches from his throat. Then he snatches the spear out of the hands of the warrior. The warrior reaches down trying to take the amphistaff back. Spidey thumps the warrior on the forehead, knocking him out. The unconscious warrior falls onto Spider-Man. Spidey throws him off and then tosses away the amphistaff.

"I think I'm just going to lay here for a few minutes", Spidey jokes to himself.

Then he begins to realize that he may not be getting up at all. He tries to get up and finds that he can't move. The amphistaff venom has now completely paralyzed his muscles. It occurs to him that if he doesn't make it home, he'll never see Aunt May and MJ again. He starts to think of all the things that he would like to say to MJ. Then he blacks out.

Tahiri reaches out and uses the Force to draw her lightsaber to her hand. Then she chops off the injured warrior's head. Next, she kicks up to her feet. The remaining warrior, who has pulled the knife out of his shoulder, charges at Tahiri. She blocks and parries. He extends the index finger of his left hand and a poison dart hits Tahiri in the neck. She coughs violently. The warrior punches her in the face and she falls onto her back.

The Yuuzhan Vong lieutenant plunges his amphistaff into the young jedi's shoulder. Tahiri begins to feel the paralyzing effects of the amphistaff venom immediately. Thinking that she is defeated, the warrior turns his back on her. He looks to see if his fellow warriors have dispatched the masked infidel. He is shocked to see that all of his warriors are unconscious. Then he notices that the other infidel, who is now unmasked, is also unconscious.

Drawing heavily on the Force, Tahiri slowly rises to her feet. She picks up her deactivated lightsaber and runs at the warrior. She leaps into the air and shouts a battle cry. The warrior turns around. She hits him in the left temple with the end of her lightsaber's handle while simultaneously pressing the activation switch. The lightsaber's blue blade goes through the warrior's temple, killing him instantly.

Tahiri looks around and sees Spider-Man lying unconscious on the floor about twenty meters away. She staggers over to him and collapses. Just before losing consciousness, Tahiri attempts to mentally contact Green Lantern.

Just then Hal receives a mental cry for help from Tahiri and is distracted. Onimi blasts the Green Lantern with force lightning. Hal is caught off guard and the blue energy knocks him to the ground. Hal's auto shielding protects him from any serious damage so he is just momentarily stunned. Before Onimi can unleash another lightning attack, Hal strikes back with an energy blast which renders the Dark Jedi unconscious. Hal uses his ring to devolve Onimi, undoing the shaping experiments which gave him the ability to use the force and effectively stripping him of his powers. Then Hal goes back to help Tahiri and Spider-Man.