Hey, sorry for the late post, work ran longer than i expected this morning. Hope you like it, please review!
The Lanterns had set up a feast in their part of the ship, full of foods and drinks from many planets. Most of it, they were told, was canned or preserved food, but Hall assured them that it probably wouldn't make them sick before he and the other Lanterns from Earth dug in. Mallory stared down at her plate of strange food and poked at each dish, checking to make sure that the consistency was what she was expecting. She'd avoided anything that looked like meat or bugs, but that only left her with plants. She twisted her lips as she picked up a purple apple and sighed, then took a bite quickly before she could change her mind. She was surprised when it wasn't a sweet or even sour flavor that filled her mouth, but a dry, bitter one. She set the fruit back on her plate and leaned over to see what Zatanna had grabbed.
"Are you finding anything edible here?" she asked quietly.
The magician shrugged. "The asparagus things aren't bad. They feel like eating bamboo though."
"Great," Mallory muttered. She tilted her head. "I'd sure like some nachos right now."
"I'll bet."
"Come on, Z. This is why I got Hal to bring you along!"
Her friend chuckled. "I'm kidding. How about a hamburger?" She mumbled a spell and the apple thing turned into a Big Belly Burger, complete with the wrapper and a side of fries.
Razor came over to their table a few minutes later with a tray full of food and slid in on Mallory's other side. "What is that?" he asked.
"Magic," Mallory replied, popping a fry into her mouth. "Here, try it."
He took one out of the box and tasted it. "Not a bad flavor," he admitted, " but it has a very greasy texture."
Zatanna chuckled. "Yeah, I think that sums it up perfectly. So, Razor, what have you been up to since the summit?" He sighed and stared down at his food. "I have been busy searching for Aya between assisting the Green Lanterns and assisting in training the newest Blue Lantern recruits."
"Have you had any luck? With Aya, I mean," Mallory asked.
He shook his head. "Every time I find a lead, it seems to slip through my grasp. I have not given up hope, though. I believe that I will find her one day. I have to." Mallory nodded, understanding the need to hold out hope. "So, what about you? What has happened since I saw you last?"
Zatanna glanced at Mallory, the two of them silently tallying the list. "Not much," the magician said. "Seems like we're still fighting the same things."
"Yeah, right now we're focusing on some disappearances. It's actually one of the reasons I came along," Mallory added.
"Why would disappearances on Earth bring you all the way out to this sector of the galaxy?" Razor asked.
"Because we have reason to believe that the kids are being sent off world as part of a human trafficking deal between a group that we've been fighting for a long time and their partner from space," she explained. "We've run out of leads on Earth, and the Green Lantern Corps hasn't come up with anything, so I thought I would come out here and look around myself." She scoffed at herself, hearing how stupid it sounded. "Of course, now that I'm here, I realize that I have no leads and I have no idea where to even start looking, and I should have just stayed home and listened to Raq complain about the baby and Peter complain about Gar being in LA."
Razor took a bite of his own purple apple, chewing it slowly as he seemed to think something over. "How many humans are being sent off world?" he asked.
Mallory shrugged. "I don't know, hundreds, maybe more. It's been going on for months." He nodded. "Why?"
"Well, I may have an idea of where to start," he said.
Mallory straightened in her seat, startling Moe, who had been contentedly sleeping in her jacket pocket.
"How? The Greens have been looking into this for three months, and they haven't come up with anything," Zatanna said, keeping her voice down so she wouldn't bring attention to their conversation and offend the room full of Greens.
"Well, I have been places where Green Lanterns are less than welcome," he said. It wasn't a full explanation, but it was the only one he seemed to be willing to give.
"Where is it?" Mallory asked, desperately grasping at the chance of a lead.
"There is a place several clicks from here, a planet called Kaito. It is a hub for black markets and a haven for pirates and murderers with bounties on their heads. If no one there knows about these Earthlings, then there may not be anything to know."
"Great! How do we get there?" Mallory asked, pushing away her half eaten burger and preparing to get up.
"Well, a jump ship will be required, I know where to get one, but perhaps you should remain here. It will be dangerous."
"Yeah, so is hanging around on a planet that could explode at any moment, and that's how we spent our day today," Zatanna pointed out with a smile.
Razor tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Very well, but the Green Lanterns cannot know about it. Hal would want to come along, and a Green in this particular sector would draw too much unwanted attention."
"Done," Mallory replied without hesitation.
The Blue Lantern glanced at her new pet. "He will also need to stay behind."
"Ok, I'll just need to find someone to watch him while we're gone without having to explain too much," the pyrokinetic asked.
Razor looked down the table, where Kilowog was in the middle of telling a story, a mug of slime in front of him. "That will not be a problem."
As Razor promised, it was not difficult to find a jump ship, and he piloted it skillfully out of the larger ship's dock and through the hyperdrive. It was faster than Mallory or Zatanna had ever gone, and it had them gripping their seats and gasping for breath. It only took fifteen minutes to reach their destination, a small, brown, barren planet with no distinguishing landscapes visible from space. Razor landed the ship among dozens of others and stood, taking his blue lantern uniform off to reveal his normal clothes underneath.
"It would be best if you wait here," he told them, already walking to the door.
The girls looked at each other in surprise, then Mallory's face hardened and she stood up, her friend not far behind. "Hey, this is my case, and I didn't travel halfway across the galaxy just to be told to wait in the car. We're coming."
He stared at them for a moment, trying to decide if it was worth the fight, then he sighed. "Fine, but not in that." He half turned to see if there were any other clothes on the ship. When he looked back at the heroes, they were in coarse brown robes and headpieces that covered most of their faces. He sighed. "Fine. Do you at least carry weapons?"
They shook their heads. "We don't really need them," Zatanna said.
He rolled his eyes and went to the counter attached to the wall, and he pulled two daggers, some ninja stars, and a pair of escrima sticks from his clothes.
"Wow. Well, look, don't give us all your weapons. You don't want to go in there defenseless."
"I am not," he replied. "Now, we should go. I do not want to have to explain where we went to the Green Lanterns."
The girls nodded and loaded up. Mallory selected the escrima sticks and a few stars and Zatanna pocketed the daggers and the remaining disks. They followed Razor out of the ship and into the town made of tents and lean-tos. The Blue Lantern weaved his way around stalls and people easily, not even glancing at the tough-looking crowd that was eying them as they passed.
"You know where we're going?" Zatanna asked.
"Yes."
They continued on quietly for a while, but as they got deeper in, the more curious Mallory became. It was a rough place, with booths set up for weapons, animals, jewels and metals, even foods, and every being they came across looked like they would kill their own mothers for the fun of it. Razor just didn't seem to fit in with them, and yet he had obviously been here before.
"How did you say you knew this place?" she asked.
A large alien in Red Lantern garb shoved them to the side as he passed, and Razor glared at its back for a moment. "A past life," he said quietly. He snapped back to attention. "Now, come. It is not far now."
They followed him down a little further, until they ended up in an area where there were aliens in chains and a large stage in front of the crowd. The chained aliens were lined up next to it, and other beings were walking down the line, inspecting them. The heroes realized what it was and winced.
"Well, do you see any of your Earthings in the line?" Razor asked calmly, a blank look on his face.
They scanned the line, but none of the aliens even looked close to Earth children. "No," Mallory said dejectedly after looking at the last alien in the line, some sort of lava creature that looked more like a blob than anything.
Razor noticed her dejected look. "This does not mean it is over," he told her. "This is merely one auction, they have many here. We will talk to the auctioneer. Earthers are not common in these parts, so if he sold one, he would remember it."
"Great, let's go," Zatanna said.
Razor held out his hand, shaking his head. "No. That is not how things are done here."
"Well, then, how are they done?" the magician asked impatiently.
He tilted his head and eyed Mallory for a moment. "How are you at getting out of chains?"
Ten minutes later, Mallory stepped out from behind the row of tents, her arms and legs chained together. Razor came out just behind her, and Zatanna glanced at them from her place at the back of the crowd.
"This better work," she muttered after almost tripping over a stake.
"It will," he assured her, taking one of her arms to steady her. They reached the stage and Razor pushed her towards the auctioneer that was standing away from the crowd, waiting to begin. "Are you still accepting merchandise?" Razor asked.
"Move along, chum, we closed an–" the auctioneer, an alien with four arms and a small, bug-like head, broke off mid sentence when he got a look at who was talking. "Well, Razor, I didn't recognize you without your ring! Sure, I'll take your merchandise, but since when do you sell me anything?"
"Since I was hired to make this Earthling disappear," he replied gruffly, pushing Mallory forward a little.
The auctioneer looked her over, pinching her muscles with two of his hands and tilting her head side to side with another. "Well, she might fetch a little something, but I don't know. Earthlings have so little to offer without enhancements. That's one of the reasons we don't get too many of them, you know that."
"I know," Razor replied, "but she has to be worth something. What did you get for the last one that went through here? How long ago was it?"
"Well," the alien said, scratching his head, "the last time I had an unenhanced one through here was… oh, had to be ten years ago. All I got for the trouble was a headache. No buyers."
"What about enhanced?" Razor asked. "I have not scanned her to see what abilities she could have."
"Well, now, that's another story entirely. I've been getting quite a few enhanced ones through lately. Mostly from the same seller, come to think of it. They fetch a nice price, but they don't usually look like this one."
"Who's selling all the Earthlings?"
"Well, now, you know I don't take names. Some fancy humanoid trucked them here, dumped them, and left quick as you please. The first time I've ever had someone use a boomtube to get right in my quarters, I'll tell you that." She couldn't help it, Mallory jerked her head up at the clue, bringing the aline's attention to her. "Hey, can she understand me?" he asked.
"No, of course not," Razor said, and he motioned for her to go.
She burst out of her chains and jumpkicked the auctioneer square in the chest without warning, knocking the alien onto his back. In one swift move she grabbed the escrima sticks from where they were sheathed in her belt and held them at the ready before Razor moved to grab her.
"Well, get her!" The auctioneer yelled, still struggling to get to his feet.
Razor tilted his head at her and charged, keeping low to avoid the sticks. She hopped out of the way and slammed a stick into his cheek, knocking him to the side. By now, though, the crowd had noticed her outburst and were starting to respond. A steady stream of aliens, all with weapons and unknown abilities, started coming towards her. She dove into the fight, her sticks flying, but she knew it was more than she would be able to manage on her own.
"Hey Z," she said into her comm, "Now would be good for some backup."
"I'm here," her friend replied from behind her. She didn't turn, but she sensed her come to her side, the daggers out as a warning. They fought for a few minutes, but they were overpowered quickly. Razor groaned and held his blue ring up, putting on his blue uniform to join the fight. This gave the crowd a slight, angry pause, which was enough time for his to put the girls in a bubble and fly them out of the middle of the crowd. They got to the ship and he flew them inside, dumping them as soon as they passed the doorway and rushing to the pilot's seat. The girls watched nervously as the crowd charged closer and closer.
"Anytime, Razor," Mallory called over her shoulder. The door closed and the ship lifted into the air just as the first aliens were getting to them, the others going to their ships.
"Strap in," Razor told them. "As Hal likes to say, this is going to be a bumpy ride."
They dove into their seats as the jump ship started flying forward, barely managing to strap into their seats before they started shooting forward.
"Well, that didn't work," Zatanna mentioned, catching her breath.
"Worked for me," Mallory said. "I got a lead and I got to play Nightwing for a fight." She tossed the escrima sticks onto the counter, sending the stars after it a second later.
"Wait, you got something to go on?" the magician asked excitedly, pulling her own borrowed weapons out and setting them on a table beside her chair.
"No," Razor interrupted irritably, "she did not. She got a vague description of a single being that could live on any planet, and she blew my cover. I will never be able to come back here again. I hope you are satisfied with yourself."
"Sorry," Mallory said, "but I got more than a description. It's the same person delivering the kids, that person looks like a human so that narrows things down a little, all the kids are enhanced, and whoever the partner is, they're not getting rid of all of them, at least not all in the same place. That's more than I had before we came." She turned to face the Blue Lantern. "Thank you, Razor. Really, this is something I can use."
He just rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, if you are so grateful, then you can explain to your friends why we are five hours late."
She winced. She hadn't realized they were there for so long. "Um, yeah, sure. No hurry on getting back."
He smiled a little. "Oh, yes, there is." He put them into hyperdrive without warning, sending them hurtling back towards the rescue ship, where the three Green Lanterns from Earth were waiting.
"Where have you been?!" Hal asked angrily when he saw them walking in.
"We asked Razor to show us around and lost track of time. Space is bigger than I thought," Mallory said, keeping her face as innocent as she could.
Hal sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Nevermind. Come on, John and Guy got called away, I'm going to have to join them as soon as I get back from bringing you two home."
"What's up?" Zatanna asked.
"A few rings have gone missing in the forgotten zone, Oa is sending every free Green to investigate."
"Hey, that sounds important. You go ahead, we can wait until you get back," Zatanna offered.
Mallory cleared her throat. "Uh, not to be difficult, but no, we can't. I have to be at work on Monday, and if we miss the baby coming Raquel will never forgive us. And if we stay up here much longer Supes will probably come looking for us."
Zatanna nodded along with the list. "Yeah, she's right. Sorry, Hal, but we do need to get back."
He sighed again and nodded. "Are you ready?"
"Wait," Razor said, stepping out from where he had been standing behind the girls. "I am not busy, and you know that even in hyperdrive it can take hours to reach the forgotten zone. You should get going. I can bring them back to Earth for you."
"Are you sure?" Hal asked hesitantly.
Razor narrowed his eyes bordley. "I may not be Hal Jordan, but I believe I still remember how to pilot a ship."
"All right, all right. Thanks, I owe you one. Zatanna, make the mission report when you get back, will you?" She nodded, and he started to walk away, then remembered something and turned back to them, holding out the little fox. "Here, Inferno. Don't lose him, and of there's any signs of trouble with him, put him in the Watchtower and I'll take care of it when I get back."
She rolled her eyes, but she nodded in agreement. He jogged out of sight, and the three young heroes started back to the jump ship.
With the hyperdrive, they were back in Earth space in half an hour, and Razor eased the jumpship into the Watchtower's dock and opened the door to the airlock. The girls gathered their things and Razor followed them off the ship to say goodbye.
"So, where are you going to go now?" Mallory asked.
He shrugged. "I do not know for sure, I will continue in my search for Aya. I will keep an eye out for your quarry as well."
"Thanks." She tilted her head, studying him for a moment. He seemed worn out, beaten down. She didn't know how she hadn't noticed it sooner. "Hey, why don't you stick around for a few days?" she asked.
Zatanna smiled. "Yeah, you showed us some of your normal, let us return the favor."
He shook his head. "Thank you, but I should resume my search. I do not want to lose any time."
Mallory sighed, handing Moe to Zatanna and putting a hand on Razor's arm. "Hey, I know your search is important, but maybe you need a break. You've been looking for her for so long, maybe you're just blinding yourself to the clues. Take a few days, or weeks. It might help your perspective."
He looked between the girls thoughtfully. "Perhaps…" "Sure, it helped me," Mallory said. She linked her arm in his and led him to the air lock door. "Come on, we'll start the tour here. There's some people Iwant you to meet."