Chapter 2: Out for blood

Cap was trying to make sense of it all. Was he the one who was just tagging along here, after all, while Kim was who Blight had been really after? The taken blood sample seemed to suggest that. But somehow he didn't buy it.

"You've finally flipped for good, Blight," the superhero stated, hoping the villain would spill the beans on what her scheme was so he would know what to expect.

"My thought exactly," Kim added, feeling uneasy.

The doctor smirked, ignoring the jab. "Didn't either of you wonder what your blood might do to her?" The question clearly took her captives completely by surprise and Blight knew she had the upper hand.

'How does she know about my blood?' Cap wondered. No one except Gaia, the Planeteers and Kim knew about it. So where had the doc gotten the information from? They hadn't talked about it afterwards either, so her bug spy couldn't be the reason.

And how in blazes had the doc found out about what he had done in the hospital? He had kept it a secret from everyone else but the Planeteers. Back then, the doctor there had mentioned there had been something strange in the blood sample they had taken after that, but Cap and Kim had convinced him it was nothing to worry about. The couple had wondered what his blood might do to the woman but when nothing had seemed to happen, the matter had been forgotten for the moment.

Kim didn't know what to make of it. Letting her imagination run wild, she thought that maybe the villain had had a spy in the hospital, who had somehow managed to see what the superhero was doing and had reported it to Blight. But she hadn't, and still didn't, felt any different after that so what could have changed?

Now Doctor Blight of all people claimed it had done something. How had she found out about that when even they didn't know about it?

The superhero gave a laugh and crossed his arms over his chest, appearing unconcerned. He was getting a bit worried, though. "You do realize that having blood's a human trait and I'm obviously not human." Only half human. That was again something only the aforementioned people knew.

"He does have a point, you know," Kim added.

That was obvious but once Blight got her hands on his blood, she would find out how it was possible, in addition to trying it on herself.

When asked if she had proof to back her claim about the blood, Blight simply turned to look at MAL. His green face disappeared and was replaced by an image of the Crystal Chamber. The image zoomed in to the three people inside.

After watching and listening to the conversation, it was Kim who spoke first. "It has to be a fake. We've never had a conversation like that."

"True." However, Cap had noticed something else while watching the tape. "But it seems we will. Did you notice the date?" If the date had been real, the tape was from the future. He just couldn't believe it would take them that long to notice something was not as it should be.

The brunette hadn't thought to look at the date that had been displayed on the upper right hand corner, having been so caught up with what she was seeing and hearing. She received an image of it from him, though and her eyes widened. "Has she been time traveling again?" The tape they had seen couldn't be explained in any other way.

So, if what they had seen and heard was real, it would mean the dose of blood her boyfriend had given her had indeed changed her. The proof had been right there on the screen. Her future self hadn't seemed to age at all.

"In a manner of speaking," Blight told her. "I was visited by my future self who gave me that tape you just saw."

Kim's head was spinning. Time travel, two Blight's scheming, prolonged lifespan… What was next?

Cap sighed. The cat was out of the bag so there was no use to try denying it anymore. "What could you possibly hope to gain by this?" he wanted to know. "If all her blood will give you is longevity?"

"If the dose you gave her gave her a longer lifespan, keeping her young, imagine what it will do to me if I take a bigger dose," Blight said. "I will gain immortality and have powers at the same time." She was reminded of what her older self had looked like and definitely didn't want that to happen. But now she had the solution at her fingertips.

The scientist had taken everything out of proportion. Cap knew there was no point in trying to tell her that. All he did was exchange an incredulous look with Kim and shook his head a little.

Then again, for all he knew maybe a bigger dose would do that…

But MAL was another matter. "Excuse me," he interjected. "You can't be sure…" The computer didn't get further than that before Blight told him to can it. She didn't want to hear any word edgewise, having made up her mind about the "facts".

"Where's she taking us?" Kim asked Cap after the doctor had left them alone, leaving MAL to keep an eye on them.

"To her hideout, presumably," the superhero replied. He was sure that otherwise the doc would have already made her next move.

"Can't you break us out of here?" she asked next, eyeing the transparent wall separating them from the rest of the ship. "That doesn't look so thick."

Cap figured it was better than just waiting for something to happen. At least then they would know how good their chances were. The superhero rammed the plexi glass in much the same manner as he had rammed an ice wall at one time, shoulder first. As he made contact with it, Cap felt as if he had been burned. With a surprised exclamation, which made Kim gasp, he jumped back and his hand went to his shoulder.

"I guess I should've known that wouldn't work, really," the woman commented with a sigh, seeing he hadn't hurt himself too badly. She just had had to think of something. Before anything more serious happened.

The superhero shrugged, taking his hand away from his shoulder. "It was worth a try."

MAL chuckled. "That's toxic plastic, Planet," the computer informed the captives. "Left over from the patch Dr. Blight had made for Plunder. Harmless to your girl but not to you. So stay put."

"So is this it?" Kim said, sitting down beside the glass wall separating the couple. She was biting her lip. "We're stuck here, with no way to escape?"

The superhero's mind was working to think of some plan, some way for them to get out of this. There was no way he was going to leave Kim with the demented doctor so the other option was the Planeteers. He knew his girlfriend could take care of herself but he still wanted to protect her. This was Blight, after all. Neither he nor the Planeteers knew where Blight's hideout was, though.

Cap sat down beside the partition. He could sense his girlfriend would have needed to him to hold her. He couldn't blame her, considering the situation they were in. He would have wanted to hold her too, if only to comfort her. The least he could do in this situation was stay as close to her as possible.

"There's always a way," he stated in a low voice. "Once we reach the mainland see if you can spot any landmarks that could help the Planeteers in locating us," he told her, switching to telepathy. "I'll let them know what's going on."

Kim looked at him and smiled a little, nodding. It made sense since she had a better view out the cockpit.

"Blight's nabbed us. Probably taking us to her hideout. If at all possible, we'll try to get you some directions. Stay tuned."

Captain Planet's message was short and to the point, making it clear what had happened. Wasting no time Gaia gathered the Planeteers to the Crystal Chamber. They discussed the best course of action to take.

First of all, they had to figure out how to find Blight's hideout but had nothing to go on. All they knew was she had the habit of establishing a hideout wherever she needed one. Hopefully Captain Planet could direct them where to go although he hadn't sounded sure. They knew the superhero could take care of himself, up to a point. And he would make sure Kim would not be harmed if he could help it. This also posed a problem, namely that he would not leave even if he could, not until he knew it was safe to do so. They had no idea what Blight had in store for him but if they knew something it was that it would not be anything good. The sooner they rescued the couple the better.

"What if they cannot give us directions?" Linka wanted to know. "How will we find them?" There were times when even Ma-Ti didn't know where to go and this seemed to be one of those times.

"We must not lose heart," the Heart Planeteer told her. "If there is a way lead us there, he will find it."

A/N: I know there are more readers out there than just the one reviewer suggests. So drop me a line and let me know what you think of the story so far.