Paragon Eight- Nightstar will be addressed later in the story. she actually ties into another story arc.
2.
Bioship
August 22
10:56 UTC
Shooting out of another Boom Tube, the Martian Bioship streaked across space with yet another Boom Tube opening up some distance away. Making the jump again, the space faring vehicle continued to repeat the process while using the gravitational pull of planets as a slingshot for the ship to pick up speed between jumps. It was a dangerous process, but at this time, speed was a necessity for the women inside.
Situated in the rear of the ship, Cassie lay on one of the cots when a shudder went through the Bioship, signaling another jump had been made. Once M'gann figured out how to slingshot around a planet, she managed to cut down traveling time dramatically.
Bouncing her left foot on her right knee, the blonde teen let out a huff as she tried to relax with her hands behind her head. Time aboard the ship had given her the opportunity to catch up on homework, get ahead in her classes, thanks to a certain someone who hacked her teacher's study plans and downloaded all paperwork for her to complete, and to contemplate what she would do after landing on Tameran.
Following Koriand'r would be the best bet, being how she's from the alien world; however, knowing how she would be most likely spotted and draw attention to herself would be the only downside to that idea. There was always stealth, but that was something she was 'average' at, at best. There were just so many variables to go over right now and it was getting on her nerves to still be traveling at this point.
Across from her, M'gann lay on her ship-made cot with Wolf and Silkie playing nearby, the pudgy worm seemed to enjoy the attention it was getting from the large white animal.
Since the day earlier, the Martian woman had been piloting her ship, making sure it would not go off course by any chance. But with the living vehicle's 'brain' the way it was, it was near impossible for it to miscalculate by any fraction. It had not taken her long to fall asleep and for the last few hours, she was finally resting after worrying about her husband and wanting to make sure their son does not grow up without both his parents.
Up in front of the space vehicle, Koriand'r slept sideways in her chair with her legs pulled up to her chest. She had been worried about going back home and was finally tired out from the time traveled.
Looking at her alien sister, Kara smiled. The orange woman may be an adult, but she seemed to behave like a child every so often. She had to admit, it was quite nice having a friend instead of a 'sister' as her so called Granny put it. The pack of Furies she was a part of never gave her the sense of actual friendship she received from the Tameran. It also made her want to protect her should she have to face her actual sister, Blackfire, keeping her promise she made months before like a real sister should.
The ship shuddered again as it made yet another jump, getting ever so much closer to their destination.
Tameran
August 22
10:59 UTC
"GUAH! You're killing me!"
Laying face down on a table with a towel draped over his head, Red X currently had a female Tameran working him over. Her strong arms crushed down on him, gaining another groan as his body pressed down onto the flat, cushioned table surface underneath him.
All around Red X, lavish decorations adorned the walls with a gold, purple, and white color pattern. Transparent cloth hung in the corners with bunting lining where the walls met the ceiling. Velvet-like paintings of Blackfire and her conquests filled the open areas with floor beds covered in blankest and pillows ready for anyone to turn in for some rest. It was a hedonistic room made for pleasure, which was being given to the masked man who thoroughly enjoyed his massage.
"Right there. Yeah, that's the spot."
"Yo suma ha'ana la'y?" the orange skinned woman asked.
"Don't know what you said, sweetie, but I like that last word."
"Oh get over yourself!" Sitting across from the anti-hero, Jaime swatted away the hands of another Tameran female. "No massage!" he slowly and clearly said.
"Eyone?"
"No massage. No."
"En la'y sheduwa'na."
"No touchy. No touch."
"Just enjoy it," Red X said as he had the Tameran woman move lower on his back. "Just a little more. Little more. Liiiiiiiiiitle more."
"Oh come on!" Jaime yelled once he saw what Red X was trying to do.
"Hey, the callipygian needs attention too."
"The what?"
"As in the rear? The buttocks? It's ancient greek for it, read a book."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Don't you feel like a silly goose."
Breaking the banter up, a low sounding 'gong' filled the room. At once, the three Tameran girls excused themselves and gathered up towels, oils, fragrances, and clothing as they made their way out. The last of the women was seen shaking her hands out and rubbing her wrists from working on Conner who was still unconscious. Apparently her strength as being tested by how durable his Kryptonian body was.
"Well, that was fun while it lasted." Getting up, while making sure his face was still covered, Red X reached for his mask and popped it open. Fitting it in place, he then snapped it shut and hopped off the table, tossing the towel aside.
"Fun?" Jaime asked. "Fun? They bathed us, massaged us, sprayed us with who knows what-"
"Perfume I'm assuming."
"-and took our clothes!"
"Yeah, but man, that was a deep, deep tissue massage they gave us, wasn't it?"
Growing angry with Red X's lack of seriousness, Jaime fought the urge to wrap his hands around his throat and choke him out. "Look, we need to find a way out of here."
"Just enjoy it, Beetle Man. It's not every day beautiful, marmalade colored alien women scoop up virile males such as us, or mostly me, and carry them off to their planet to be pampered like we, mostly I, deserve. Just enjoy the hedonism while you can."
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
Entering the room, Blackfire made sure to make a grand entrance as two of her guards opened the large swinging doors for their queen. Instead of wearing her battle attire from earlier, she was now decked out in the finest clothes Tameranian royalty could wear.
Flowing off her shoulders, a purple, transparent cape came to rest, much like the various purple and white layers making up the lower half of her dress. Bangles covered her wrists with the corners of her cape attached to them and matched her top, which had a diamond exposure in the front. The only item she continued to wear was her headpiece, making it impossible for her mind to be attacked by telepaths with her hair tied back in a long braid.
"And how are my suitors doing today?" With two of her guards maneuvering behind Jaime and Red X, Blackfire stood before them with an air of superiority around her.
Moving to one knee, Red X respectively genuflected before the Tameranian queen. "We only live to serve you, your majesty."
"An Earthling with respect for authority. Very nice. Guards."
Grabbing Jaime by the shoulders, the two large males forced him to his knees.
"Take a lesson from your friend there. Now, how about the big man?" Snapping her fingers, Blackfire summoned an older Tameranian male into the room.
Walking in, dressed in an off white robe, the elderly alien made his way to Conner who was still lying face down on the table where the female masseuse worked on him. Pulling a small device from a bag he carried, he attempted to stick a needle in the Krypto/human's skin only to see it brake.
"He seems to be quite durable," the man said.
"That he is. Which is why he interests me so much." Joining the elderly Tameran, Blackfire watched as he withdrew a metallic collar.
"With the technology you stole from Despero's ship, I have managed to find ways to augment it for your own personal use. This one will be the first to test out my little experiment."
With the collar now clamped around Conner's neck, the man handed his queen a remote. "You will be in charge of his strength and be capable of how much he can use. Should he not want to abide by your words, you can have him grow weaker or slip into unconsciousness."
"Which should be quite fun to see during the gladiatorial fight to the death tomorrow."
"What?!" Jaime shouted as he jumped to his feet, only to be forced back down again.
"Well how do you think I weed out the weak from the strong?" Walking back to Jaime, Blackfire raised his chin so he may look up at her.
"After having my scientists study you three, I must say, I am only disappointed in one of you. You may have Reach tech connected to your spine, but I could still use you. My ancestors may have soundly defeated their race, but I still find the scarab technology quite useful and would love to lay claim to it after your victory or demise. Seeing as you will be my property according to Tameranian law."
Stepping away, Blackfire ushered her men to the door. "The large man would make perfect breeding stock given his strength. And should he be victorious, my planet will have a strong King for her equally strong Queen."
Turning to the last of the three, the Tameranian Queen sighed disappointingly. "I had such high hopes for you. While I like your attitude, and other things, my researchers have told me you are an average human. Your abilities come from your little toys. Normally I would have you taken away to be melted by the various acid spitting flora in the forests of Dela'vaha, but fortune smiles on you as they are not in bloom this time of year. So it's off to the dungeon for you."
Snapping her fingers, two of her guards roughly grabbed Red X by the arms and drug him out of the room despite his struggles.
"As for you," Blackfire said once the third Earthling was removed, "tell your friend to ready himself for the feast later tonight. Potential last meal and all that jazz. Oh, and you might want to turn in early. Tomorrow's going to be killer."
Leaving the room, with the large doors slamming shut and an outside lock being engaged, Blackfire could be heard laughing from the other side as she journeyed down the hall. After throwing over one of the massage tables with a roar, Jaime made his way to Conner's side and attempted to wake him by shaking the sleeping Kryptonian.
"Come on, Conner. Snap out of it. We're going to have to fight each other tomorrow and one of us will wind up dead. And without my Scarab, it'll be me."
Turning his friend over, the Hispanic teen wound back to slap him but thought it over. He wanted to keep the bones in his hand unbroken. Looking around for anything he could use to stir his friend awake, he laid eyes on a golden bowl of ice water and quickly grabbed it.
"Please don't hit me for this."
Grabbing Conner by the hair, Jaime dunked his head into the freezing water for a few seconds. His actions were repaid as the Krypto/human woke with a jolt. Letting him cough for a moment, Jaime backed up to give him room.
"Wh...ugh."
"Conner, you need to wake up. We need to get out of here."
"Jaime?" Conner asked.
"Get up. We need to get out. Use your...TP...thing you have."
"Just...what's going on?" Sitting up, Conner rubbed his head. "And why am I in a towel?"
"Long story short, they bathed us, massaged us, sprayed us down in perfumes, and are currently preparing a feast so we can fight to the death tomorrow." Hurrying over to the door, Jaime tried to see if there were any point for the two to center on to get out. "I think if you kick it or TP it-"
"TTK," Conner corrected him.
"TTK it here at the seam, we can-"
"Jaime, what's this on my neck?"
Putting a halt to Jaime's train of thought, Conner's words reminded the black ops member on what Blackfire and the elderly Tameran male were discussing. "Oh man, I think it's an inhibitor collar from Despero's ship. She mentioned something about stealing tech from it."
Concentrating, Conner attempted to use his TTK on the table he sat on. When nothing happened, he tried to use his enhanced hearing and infrared vision with neither working. "I, don't have...this thing's cancelled my powers out."
Pulling at the device around his neck, Conner grew frustrated at his current predicament when he heard a high pitched beep and quickly stopped what he was doing. "Guess this thing's rigged if it comes off."
As Conner let go of the metal collar around his neck, Jaime sunk to the floor with his back to the doors. "Great. You're powerless, they shorted out my Scarab, we have no way out-"
"What about the feast you mentioned?" Standing from the table he was on, Conner looked around the room for any possible way out Jaime may have missed. We can wait until then to make a break for it."
"She'll have guards."
"They won't be expecting me to be up."
Looking up at his teammate, Jaime nodded. "I guess you're right. I saw a window with a balcony down the hall. We could take it to the floor under us and make our way down from there, find a ship, and get off the planet. You just have to look out for that gas they use, it may have Kyrptonite in it with how it affects you."
"And we need to find a way to get your Scarab back online. Have you tried it yourself?"
"I had the other guy look at it. It has something clamped to it and rigged to blow up if messed with."
"What other guy?"
Standing, Jaime ran a hand through his hair. "Red X. He was one of the guys who helped us against Darkseid, remember? Said he was caught in Texas, making me think Blackfire wasn't after him, but may have been looking for us on Earth. She also said something about beating the Reach some time ago, which means they would have something to bypass their tech. She also keeps going on about using my tech as her own and using you as breeding stock."
"Yeah, we really need to get out of here."
Later that day:
Marching down a light tan corridor with elaborate golden chandeliers providing overhead light, a small group of Blackfire's palace guards made their way to the room her two captives were in. Lining on ether side of the doors, each stood at full attention with two others unlocking the entranceway to retrieve the captives.
With a loud clacking of gears, the doors opened, swinging outwards and making the guards step back. No sooner had they stepped into the room, when they were blinded by sheets thrown over their heads, pulled forward, and received knockout shots to their faces where their helmets did not cover.
Bursting out of the room, Conner and Jaime charged forward with the guard's spears in hand. Taking the others by surprise, they managed to knock several down with others being forced off balance and falling onto the wall. Leaving the aliens behind, seeing as they would not be a match for them if engaged in a fight, Conner and Jaime sprinted to the window the latter had pointed out when twin orbs crashed into the floor, creating light explosions, forcing them back.
Laughing, Blackfire flew up to her two captives with her eyes glowing brightly. "FYI, that collar not only dampens your powers, but it informs me when you're conscious and everything you say, big boy."
Surrounding the two, the queen's guards brandished their spears and powered up their fists with energy. Responding, Conner and Jaime dropped their stolen weapons and held their hands out to their sides.
"Too bad you won't be participating in the feast with the other combatants. Such a disappointment you two are not obedient, but that will soon change if you win. Guards, take them to the dungeon in the gladiatorial arena. Let them sleep and rethink their positions. They'll soon learn to obey me...and my every wish."