Chapter Four/Sixteen: Go! III

Kiina frowned. She and Gresh managed to escape their cell after all, since Tanika had broken them out, but things didn't seem good- an explosion had just rocked the ship, slightly tilting it and triggering a deafening alarm. This would not be such a problem if they were in a normal prison, Skrall having thrown them in after a tussle, but the Gordanians seemed to be everywhere! It would be nigh impossible to flee, but if they stayed unseen, they might very well be able to.

"Coast clear?" the Glatorian whispered to her friend.

"I think so," he replied. "But we'll need to be quick." That was another problem- they'd had their weapons confiscated, and things had been too hectic to find them. Brute force was usually enough to take down an enemy, but as Lewa and the alien girl had shown, in this case flashy powers were definitely a help.

Kiina smiled. "You're lucky. Quick is the only type of running I know how to do." She adjusted her weight, moving to leap out. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Alright- let's move! On the count of three… three… two… one!"

With that, the two were off, speeding down a hallway at a quick jog and laying low to keep unseen. The Glatorian didn't know exactly where they intended to go, but both were in agreement that it required them to be able to get off the ship at a moment's notice, so they had focused their attention towards getting to the escape pods- it was going to be a gamble, but it was the quickest way out, and most of the other locations on the ship were such as well.

As red light bathed the two and a steady beep drowned out any background noise, the path to the hangar appeared. "Yes!" the Tajunan cheered. "Shouldn't be much longer now-"

"Uh, Kiina-"

"What?"

"Coming up in front of you!"

She scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Incoming-"

WHUMP!

Both groaned. Something, or someone, had knocked them off balance, and neither exactly envied finding out what…

"Ah. There you are."

It was a Gordanian. Damn it.

"I had not imagined Glatorian to be this fast," he said, picking them up by their shoulder pads. "It is certainly hilarious, but I had hoped the scientists would have taken note of this when they experimented on you."

"It's not!" Kiina hissed. "We're supposed to be this athlethic!"

"And I am not supposed to be this nice," the Gordanian retorted. "No matter- I suppose I will have to do so myself-"

"Sm'ist!"

He sighed, walking down the hallway. "Maybe later. For now, my Lord awaits."

Sm'ist sidled up by Trog'aar and frowned. "What is it, Your Majesty?"

"The cannon. Do you know how to trigger it?"

"A bit," the Corporal scowled. "Must you-"

"Unfortunately so. We only need it as a warning," the Lord said as he moved to a terminal. "Come. The emerald Earth awaits. Oh, and take those Glatorian with you- I want them to see what the Gordanian Army does to escapees."

Sm' grinned evilly. "Did you hear that, troq? Lord Trog'aar is angry- I do not think trying to run down the hall like that was a good idea." He took a seat at the monitor with prisoners; watching as black sky faded to grey clouds and a brightly lit city, dark blue ocean on the horizon; and punched a few codes into the keyboard. "Is this green island a good spot?"

Trog'aar leaned in. "Yes… there. They must all hear of our message."

"Very well, my Lord." ist typed in a few more codes.

"Drop capsule here?" the computer voice asked.

The Corporal looked to the Lord, who froze for a second before nodding and smiling grimly.

One more keypress. "Impact site confirmed. Releasing…"

A loud mechanical groaning filled the room, the ship shaking, before both stopped and a large silver tube appeared on the monitor. The Glatorian gaped.

"Woah," Gresh said in awe. "You're not really thinking of…"

"I am afraid so," Trog'aar sighed. Earth must be informed of the danger, although if all goes to plan we will not have to destroy them." He took the intercom, adjusted a camera on top of the terminal, and sneered. "Now sit back and relax, Glatorian. This is going to take a while."

Before his eyes, a huge spaceship appeared over the city, passing over the bay before stopping at an island. Could it be? Could aliens really exist? It was a stupid question to ask- Bionicle and the crazy lighty girl had both been aliens- but they seemed rather friendly. This seemed a little less so, if the loud screeching moaning was anything to go by-

A hatch opened under the ship, large metal tubular thing falling out. Oh yeah. Definitely not friendly.

As the… thing crashed into the island and wedged itself into the rock, Beast Boy knew that this was probably not going to be his day.

"Looks like Space Girl has friends," Cyborg remarked.

"Or enemies," Robin said as he rejoined them.

A neon blue bolt of energy, flashing brightly enough to make it seem like it was daytime, shot down from the top of the capsule, splitting itself to reveal a giant holographic screen. An image appeared; it may have been clouded by static, but Lewa had a good idea on who might have landed-

The static cleared.

"Oh no. It can't-"

The witch sighed. "I'm not going to kill you, you dolt. You haven't annoyed me enough for that yet-"

He grabbed her by her soft shoulders and roughly turned her body around.

"What's so interesting about-" She paled. "I… I have absolutely no idea what that is."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Lewa groaned. "Here? Why?"

"What? Who's here?"

"Listen and I'm sure he tell you."

A reptilian face, bearing rough dark green skin, opaque red eyes, numerous spikes, and a jagged piece of metal that looked like a crown began to speak.

"People of Earth!" he yelled.

When the thing opened his mouth, several pointed teeth appeared, covering a black abyss. His voice was hissy and grated on the ears, like glass on a pavement, but it still somehow managed to have a smooth bass quality to it. Quite unnerving, really.

"We come to your planet hunting a prisoner-" he coughed- "a very dangerous prisoner."

Lewa frowned and headed back towards the heroes, who were congregating by the ruins of the bus. The witch ended up following him as well.

"Do not interfere," the reptile continued, "and we will leave your 'city' with only minimal damage." He paused and sneered, hissing and allowing a long forked tongue to peek out of the mail slot that was his mouth. "But if you attempt to assist her…"

BLIP. "Your destruction will be absolute."

"So let me get this straight," Akhmou asked. Malum nodded, motioning for him to go on. "You found Toa Lewa in a place called 'Jump', Karzahni-knows where/how many kio from here, and expect me to help you… rescue him?"

"That is the gist of it."

The Matoran pouted, looking at the Glatorian angrily. "I'd like to stay here, actually, especially after the state you left me in." Everyone groaned in unison.

Malum had gone off from their landing site quickly, to find shelter and a way out of the putrid orange cornfield, so he had left Akhmou behind to save time. He'd expected to be back within the next day or so, health notwithstanding, but the Kents had just been so… nice. Nice and wholesome. They seemed to embody the spirit of Superman very well.

That didn't really matter, though. After the trio spotted Lewa on a television program, continuing his Toa ways in a new city, Malum was eager to get to him, jolting right for the cornfield. Given Akhmou's previous behavior, he'd thought the conman would awaken tired and grateful, like a literal sleeping beauty… he had snapped.

"I can't believe you would just LEAVE me here, stranded and alone!" Akhmou had yelled. "Don't you know if this place is dangerous?"

"If it makes you feel any better," Malum had said sheepishly, "the only wild animals out here are 'dogs', 'cats', and 'bugs'…"

"I don't CARE! You left me out here to die!"

"But I didn't…"

Akhmou growled.

So on and so forth. The duo had done this gig for a while, before Martha smoothly told them to shut up and asked what they planned to do. The consensus was pretty much to go after the Toa, but neither of them had any idea how to get there…

Which was why the Glatorian now sat upon something Jon dubbed a 'motorcycle', flattening some cornstalks, while the Matoran stood on the porch and threw insults at him.

"I apologize," Malum said softly and sighed. "Can we go now?"

Akhmou stay silent for a moment, thinking things over, then finally smiled. "Sure." He jumped onto the vehicle, causing a tiny thump, and fistbumped his companion. The Glatorian tensed in surprise and was relieved when Martha came over, carrying some baskets.

"You two ready to head off?" They nodded. "Don't leave yet! I got some more stuff for the ride!"

More stuff? Malum flinched. He'd thought the previous five were enough. "It's alright, miss, we can manage."

The Kent gasped and marched right up to him. "You can manage? No, no, no! Take the food! We can't keep it around anyway!"

"But what about…" Akhmou signed, "the man? The super man?"

Martha paused before registering this. "Superman?" She laughed, big guffaws echoing over the cornfield. "Nah! He's too busy saving innocent people, and I don't think he thinks helping two aliens get across the country is worth his time."

"Are there not others?"

"The other heroes are pretty preoccupied too. Listen, cross-country road trips are something anyone can do! There's no need for Wonder Woman, or Flash, or… heck, even Aquaman to assist them. Just head off and you should be fine. If something does happen, then they'll be there."

Akhmou growled. What a piraka.

"Well," Jon said, coming out as well, "I guess you'll be off then." He helped his wife load the extra baskets onto the bike. "Good luck! I went cross-country once. It was a load of fun. Hopefully you two feel the same." Tossing the Malum some keys, he stood back and waved before flinching. "Oh, almost forgot!" Once again, he pulled something out. "Take this!"

It was a flimsy paper map, a fairly detailed one of the entire landmass that showed off all of its cities, roads, and physical features. The Glatorian frowned as he read it.

"Figured it'd help. We're near the middle, Smallville, Kansas. Jump City is off to the left in California, right at the bottom corner. Have fun."

With that, Malum inserted the keys into their shaft and turned them, the bike quickly activating and shaking around.

"Have fun, you two!" Martha said while she waved. Although they were slightly uneasy, the duo waved back. The family had assisted them, after all, and expected them to come out of their quest victorious. The least we can do is gratify them, they thought as the motorcycle zoomed past the house and flattened more cornstalks in its wake.

Martha sighed. "I feel bad."

"For who?"

"For Clark."

"For Clark?" Jon looked at his wife curiously. "Why d'you think that?"

"He's- he just told us about the whole alien thing, Jonathan. It would really break his heart to see more of them in the equation. How would he explain it to his friends?"

"Like he always does. With grace and finesse. Truth, justice, and the American way."

"You think so?" Martha smiled, taking her husband's hand. "Well, you've never been wrong before."

"Not that much," Jon said.

"No matter. Let's go inside and watch some television." The two headed into their house, closing the door to the silent world behind them.

"Sooo," Akhmou said with a smile. "How're things, chum?"

"Not bad."

"Really? You seemed pretty chipper when you found me." He frowned as the Glatorian stayed silent. "How are you riding that thing, anyway? I thought you only had Sand Stalkers."

"We had a few vehicles, too," Malum replied. "Cendox. Very, very useful."

"Wait- you don't mean to say that you-" The Matoran smiled slyly. "You wouldn't!"

"So I did. Now shut up. I don't want you starting things again and I need to concentrate."

"All right," Akhmou said. "Hey… where are we, anyway?"

Malum sighed. "Smallville, Kansas, like they said."

"But… we don't know where! I mean, I know those two were trying to help, but it doesn't seem like they had a grip on anything…" Akhmou began to panic. "How do we get to Jump?"

"Easy. We take this one red road, the I-whatever, and it'll take us right there. Just need to find out how to reach it…"

He frowned, looking around.

"Oh, slag. I see what you mean."

As far as either of them was concerned, there was no way to get to Jump. All around them, as far as the eye could see, was corn; fields of corn, stalks of corn, corn, corn, CORN. It was maddening.

Martian Manhunter frowned. Manning the Watchtower could be fun, but at the moment it was very, very boring.

Suddenly, he heard it. The alarm. Checking the radar, his eyes widened. They were here.

The first person to know was Superman. Manhunter reached out to him mentally, training his thoughts around until he was able to make a link- clik! The man was surprisingly not panicked at all, calm as ever, but J'onn ignored that and went for his speech lobes.

"Superman," Manhunter called. "They have arrived."

"Who? The aliens?"

"Yes. Do you wish to not engage them?"

Superman's thoughts began to whirr, swirling in a mass. "I don't know, J'onn… Fortune telling is pretty much your thing, but I can't help but get the feeling that we were wrong in telling everyone."

"No," J'onn said. "There is still an outcome that needs to be reached. Nobody will be purely angered by this but Batman, and he has a good reason to be."

"He lost Robin?"

"Yes. Precisely."

The whirr calmed and Clark's thoughts settled down. "Very well then. Keep monitoring these guys for any interference-"

"Gordanians. Civil but vicious reptilian creatures."

"Oookaay. Keep monitoring the Gordanians. If things get too bad, tell the team the same thing you told me."

"As you wish, Clark," J'onn said, and then he was gone, mind pulled out of Superman's.

Manhunter frowned. Gordanians… they were very dangerous. Robin and the girl had to have a very good reason to beat them… wait… was that another-

The creature's image disappeared, beams receding from the island and retracting into the castle. As the quartet watched, machinery began to jerk into action, the hatch beginning to open again.

"That's a big ship." Cyborg remarked again.

The hatch fully unsealed itself, legions of aliens just like the one everyone had just seen flying out over the city. They'd never indicated having wings before…

Beast Boy bit a nail. "And those are some scary-looking aliens."

"They told us not to interfere," the witch softly intoned.

"You're still going after her-"

"Mmm! Mmm!"

The group turned to Lewa. "What is it, dude?"

The Toa began to speak, pouted and growled upon realizing he couldn't, and began to gesture frantically.

Robin glanced, concerned. "You… want to leave?"

Lewa smiled and shook his head, continuing to gesture.

"You want to eat something?"

He glowered and facepalmed.

"You-" Beast Boy looked at his new idol, studying him, and gaped. "Your chicken went into the girl's bathroom and flew down a well? Oh no! I'll-"

"AGH!"

"What?" The green male shrugged. "It might've happened."

Lewa began to grow red, eyes glowing green. The witch sighed and sidled up to him. "I can't take this anymore," she moaned. Touching him on his shoulder armour, the girl began chanting, eyes gleaming white and hand leaking black all the while.

"What are you-"

"Shh," she whispered. "Azarath metrion-"

"But I don't quick-know-"

"Quiet! Azarath metrion ZINTHOS!"

The two vanished in a black aura, blinding the others. When this receded, they remained, Lewa smoking but otherwise still happy.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "That supposed to help us?"

The Toa turned to him, crossed his arms, and scowled. "She's a magic-witch! Of course she'll aid-help us-"

He froze. "Woah. Am I-"

"What about you?"

"Don't backtalk!" Lewa snapped. "It's just-" He gasped, feeling his throat. "I AM! I can actually understand you guys!" Squealing joyously, the Toa ran up to the witch and caught her in a brutal hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The witch sighed. "Don't mention it."

Beast Boy grinned at the sight. "Congratulations, sir-dude! Nice to see you can speak so well!"

Lewa frowned. "This isn't a gain-reward. I should've been able to speak-talk your language, but the law-rules of this universe are so cruel- that I couldn't. Isn't this kind of a cop out?"

"By that standard, all magic is," the witch replied, floating down.

"Oh. Okay. Ever-shame I didn't have some paper; I might've been able to scribe-write to you guys using the Rau…" He trailed off, noticing that the others weren't listening. That was surprising.

"So," Cyborg said, "like I said before I was so rudely interrupted." Lewa growled. "It's okay, man, just- you're still going after her, aren't you?"

Robin frowned, the others looking at him curiously. "Can we come too?" Beast Boy asked.

The Boy Wonder paused for a moment, obviously in thought, then smiled. "I suppose I could team up. Just this once."

"But Toa-hero Robin!" Lewa looked sullen, mouth a bit open. "The Gordanians- these guys- are much-dangerous, and… I don't know if you'll be able to hold-take them…"

"Don't worry sir!" Beast Boy beamed. "I know we can take those creepy snakes on. Right, Robin?"

"I don't know," Robin said. "But don't worry, um…"

"Lewa. Toa Lewa." He grinned and held out a fist again, quickly returned by three of the four.

"Then don't worry, Lewa." The flashy hero set off, the others following in his steed. "We'll do what we can. If it's too dangerous, I suppose I'll have to call the Justice League in to beat them- till then, though, it's probably better to contain the threat."

The Toa smiled grimly, socked his palm, and continued on. He would do it- not just because Tanika might be in danger, but also because this world could be destroyed. Although he didn't know if he'd be able to get back, Lewa had come to like the place. It would be nice to keep it around.

"But sir," Beast Boy whimpered, "the Justice League is on vacation…"

"They're WHAT?"

"Yeah! Hiatus! They don't wanna fight these aliens!" The newly independent hero withdrew and scuffed the floor. "That's what I heard, anyway…"

Robin growled. "Damn it… Well then, I guess we will have to do it ourselves." He turned to the witch. "You in?"

She gasped, looking to have come out of a trance, and turned to the heroes for a moment before looking at her right foot sadly. "I'm not the hero type," she murmured. "Trust me. If you knew what I really am…" She fully turned away, cloak hiding her. "You wouldn't want me around."

"Nah," Lewa said, "I think you'll be okay. A little bit cross-wired, maybe, but for the sake of unity I guess I can dark-ignore that-"

Robin walked back to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know enough."

She looked at him, hint of a smile threatening to break off her cheek.

Wolfman Square, normally a lively mall nestled in between Pèrez Tower and LexCorp One, was surprisingly silent. The Gordanian Army had cleared it out in their search for the rutan'gah. The girl's whereabouts remained unknown, but Lord Tro'gaar had been confident that Earth would give her up sooner or later.

H'ssiah winced. He had been assigned to the First District, the top squadron for situations like this, but he couldn't help but shake the feeling that Tro'gaar knew he was going to fail. They hadn't found her yet, and if something didn't happen soon…

Never mind it. He jammed his spear into the smooth metal surface, pulled it away, much of it ripping off, and looked inside the vehicle. Nothing. He rose and looked to his men, hoping they'd been successful. Still nothing.

There was no use in meandering around, poking stupid things with sharp points. They had to move. H' jumped off the vehicle, called the troops, and formed them in a line. The Gordanians raised their spears, understanding the silent command, and fired.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

A bright white light filled the area, debris falling down like rain on Zenthax-B. One soldier jumped over to the impact site, inspecting the debris.

"Found anything?" ssiah asked in the moaning neighs that were the Gordanian language.

"No!" the man called, shaking his head. "Nothing here either!"

The Sergeant sighed. That was concerning. He called the others over and leaped away.

Behind them, Robin, Beast Boy, the witch, and Lewa poked their heads out from an adjacent alley. Robin looked at the others and exhaled. "All right," he said softly. "We need some way to track-"

"She's near."

Everyone stared at the witch curiously, upon which she smiled sheepishly. "I can sense things," she hastily added.

Beast Boy grinned. "I'll see if I can pick up her scent." He seemed to disappear, but had instead taken the form of a Ko-Koronan mail kavinika. The Rahi looked at the others for a moment before trotting off to find a lead.

"There's a sonic analyzer on my forearm," Cyborg said, rolling up his right sleeve to reveal blue and white paneling, a display and masses of circuitry. Lewa gasped. It reminded him of a Dark Hunter who been forced to exchange her arm for a mechanical one- Lariska, he believed- and for the boy to have that advanced technology-

The display was tapped a few times, numbers and letters appearing rapidly and a panel opening. "If she's around, I'll hear it."

Robin turned to Lewa, silently inquiring as to whether he had something to add to the search. The Toa grinned.

"I've got an Akaku!"

"An Aka… what?"

"You know, an Akaku! The Kanohi-Mask of X-Ray Vision-Sight!" Lewa frowned, reaching for Robin's mask. "You… do think-know of it, don't you? I mean, you've got one right here… never learn-heard of it, but it's a-"

"NO!" Robin flailed around, slapping Lewa's arms into his mask. The Toa winced. "Sorry. I need that on."

Lewa smirked, taking off his mask to reveal his robotic face. "Long-time enough for me to see what it is?"

The boy sighed. "It keeps my identity a secret. Can't let you have it."

"You know," Lewa said, "it's not like I meet-know anybody here…"

Robin shot daggers at him. "Aaagh! No ifs, ands, or buts! I have to keep it on!"

"Okay, okay, jeez. Forget I thought-asked." He put his Miru back on and switched to the Akaku, focusing the lens to see in closer detail. "Why do you need to keep it a hide-secret, anyway?"

The interface beeped, indicating the presence of a few lifeforms that Lewa quickly turned to examine. Robin frowned. "You… really don't know anything about superheroes, don't you?"

The kavinika moved towards a… video store and barked. "Uh, duh!" Lewa beamed and elbowed the hero. "Why d'ya think I walk-followed you?"

"Because you wanted to help?"

"That and I had to see what actual Toa-heroes do. Not ones in protect-armour that twirl their weapons and spout useless talk-banter."

"That's… actually pretty nice of you! I'll admit, though," Robin said, "what you described is pretty much what we do, although I don't quite know anyone who wears armour…"

"I'm sure they're around somewhere."

Lewa blinked his eyes, the blurry red vision a strain. He really wasn't experienced with this thing… maybe he should have asked Kopaka to help- oh, wait. He couldn't have.

Robin looked at Cyborg, still focused on the display. "Y'know," the robotic man said, "I've stayed out of this for a while, but I feel the need to tell you- Lewa- that it's necessary. Can't have villains findin' out about your loved ones, after all."

"Couldn't you keep-prevent them from doing that?"

Cyborg smiled. "Nah. Kinda impossible when you've got powerful technology, training, and wit and they've got magic powers and are masters of emotional manipulation."

Robin growled.

"That wasn't a jab at you, Boy Wonder… though now I guess it is. What about you, Lewa? Feelin' similarly?"

Lewa thought about this, finger on his lip. Makuta had had what could be construed to be magic powers, however robotic ended up being… but at the same time, he guessed he and his siblings did too. So he shrugged.

"Good," Robin said. "I don't think anyone could feel the way I have-"

PC- Tamaranean. 10.9 bio. That was quick.

"I think I've quick-found her!" Lewa yelled.

The kavinika barked, turned to the others, and changed back into- Beast Boy. It was going to take Lewa a while to get used to that. "I've got her trail!"

He turned back into a Rahi, allowing the two to see Cyborg's panel. It beeped rhythmically, red spikes appearing in patterns. "And I can hear her heartbeat," the man said.

The five flew down the alley, turning onto the next street.

Chapter Sixteen!

1. Are Malum and Akhmou acting too bro-ish? Because I can change that.

2. SUPERDICKERY

3. There's the language barrier gone. Thanks, Raven, for providing an easy copout. (I actually want to see more of Greg's serials, though. It would help a lot to know how the whole language-learning quest was supposed to happen.)

4. I hope the cultural clashes between Toa and the DC heroes were illustrated properly. Makes sense to for Lewa to believe that Robin would be wearing a mask, or that he's acting way different from the Toa he's seen before.

Read and review... I guess...