CASTLE BRIGHT MOON
May 16, 15:58 UCT
"A little to the left!" Bow waved, hunched over his tracker pad in the aftermoon light. His dark brow wrinkled in concentration, upping the gain on the spectrometer and narrowing the bandwidth yet again. He almost had it before the waveform collapsed. "No, that's too much to the left! Okay, Catra, try moving yours to the right!"
Far above, on the castle's central tower, Adora clung white-knuckled to the sweeping crenellations. By contrast, Catra swung languidly from a thin banner pole on the tower's far side, indifferent to the hundred-foot drop beneath her. Each held an oblong antenna in their free hand.
"Uuugh," groaned Catra. "Why are we wasting our time with this dumb science crud instead of hunting down the creep who tried to murder Adora?!"
"Catra! This 'dumb science crud' is important!" Glimmer called indignantly from below, before turning to Bow. "But seriously, Beau, why aren't we hunting down the creep who tried to murder Adora?"
"Remember that weird portal that scooped her up?!" Bow asked, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Oh, you mean the shrieking nightmare vortex?!" Catra yelled over the sound of whipping winds and Adora's knocking knees. "Nah, completely forgot about it!"
Bow repressed a sigh. That kind of comment was not helpful. "Well, that 'shrieking nightmare vortex' left behind some kinda weird energy particle!" He yelled back, working his pad. "It's the same particle given off by Horde Prime's teleporters! I think I might be able to track if I can boost my range!"
"You mean she's one of Prime's goons looking for payback?!" Catra asked.
"I didn't say tha-" Bow began before...
Beep-beep-beep-beep!
His tracker's screen flashed blood-red, threat runes screaming for attention. Whatever those weird particles were, he was picking up a massive influx of them.
[-]
WHISPERING WOODS
May 16, 16:03 UCT
BOOOOOM!
The indigo maelstrom thundered into existence in the moon-filled sky, far above the blue-green forest canopy. From the booming aperture in space-time emerged a sleek bat-shaped drone. The Bat-Drone's crimson optics scanned the surrounding area, blinking for a moment before turning bright green.
Miss Martian, Halo and Terra stepped out of the Boom-Tube. Momentarily freefalling through the crisp air before they were caught by a cushion of Martian telekinesis.
"Sorry." Halo winced sheepishly, their aura shifting from indigo to orange as they took flight. Their 'cousins', Victor and Danny both needed precise co-ordinates to open a Boom-Tube anywhere. Halo's powers were less restrictive, more intuitive. The downside of that was they could be a little hit or miss, especially over interstellar distances.
"Halo," beamed Miss Martian. "You Boom-Tubed us into an alien atmosphere from across the galaxy, with nothing but Green Lantern's long-range telemetry to go on, on your first try! That's amazing!" She turned to her other companion. "Terra, are you okay to-"
But the young Markovian had already summoned a stone platform from the ground below, riding it through the air like the galaxy's rockiest surfboard.
"Okay then. Let's touch down in that clearing up ahead and get our bearings," ordered Miss Martian before Bravo Squad set down in the soft turf. She gazed up at the alien sky, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the bright sun- moonlight. There must have been at least half a dozen of the softly glowing orbs in the rose-pink sky.
According to John Stewart, this planet was light-years from the nearest star yet had a fully functional day night cycle. Maybe the moons generated their own light and heat somehow, maybe it was just magic?
Growing up in the subterranean cities of M'arzz, M'gann had never had much opportunity to study even her own world's sky. 'Up' for most Martians was nothing but a cave ceiling. Maybe that was partly why her people had never made any real foray beyond their desert homeworld until very recent memory. It simply hadn't occurred to most of them there was anything 'out there'.
That was until her uncle J'onn, missing for decades, had suddenly started transmitting from Per'elandra, M'arzz' long silent sister planet, better known to the native life-forms as 'Earth'. The sudden revelation they weren't alone in the universe, or even their own star system, had been a profound existential blow to a society long calcified by tradition and prejudice.
It had been the same when Superman, and later her uncle, publicly revealed themselves to the people of Earth. Even for a species whose mythology and pop-fiction was brimming with stories of strange visitors from the heavens, actually meeting one in the flesh was one hell of a culture shock.
Which was why Miss Martian was determined they keep as low a profile as possible. "Let's split up and do a short reconnoiter of the area, we'll rendezvous in thirty minutes. Stay in telepathic range, stay out of sight. Remember, this is just a quick recon mission, no drama."
[-]
THE GODHEAD
May 16, 16:06 UCT
Granny Goodness brooded on her command throne. The scarlet-hued hololith of Etheria and her twelve moons cast a hellish glow on her ancient features. She hated losing her temper in front of her children; discipline was a precision instrument, like a scalpel, to be administered with a cool and steady hand. Still, she couldn't let Gilotina's jealous little tantrum go unpunished. Too much was riding on this mission. It was Goodness' last chance to regain her position among the Elite. Her last chance to earn back His favor.
"Granny?"
Goodness turned to find Barda waiting at attention. The Fury captain stood ram-rod straight as she gave a clenched salute, the perfect little toy soldier. Goodness smiled. "Yes, Barda dear?"
"Sensors just picked up a Boom-Tube somewhere on the planet's surface."
"Not one of ours?"
"I don't believe so."
"It's a small galaxy, after all," chuckled Granny. "Well, we can't let interference by the Enemy stand."
"I'll Boom-Tube to Apokolips and muster the senior furies immediately."
"No," Granny tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Fetch one of the new girls instead; it's about time they earned their keep."
[-]
Halo flitted through the Whispering Woods, their aura a warm orange. They were on a mission, they knew, but it was hard not to be distracted by the branches that swayed without wind, or the fairy lights that drifted through the air like pollen. Forager would love it here. There was something eerily beautiful about the alien forest.
It reminded them of New Genesis, the Utopian world where the living super-computer Motherbox had originally been forged before merging with a dying Earth girl to give birth to something entirely new: the being that now called themself Violet Harper AKA Halo. Was it possible to be nostalgic for a place you've never actually been?
What was that, Halo? Miss Martian asked through the psychic link.
"Nothing," muttered Halo aloud, shaking their head. I mean, nothing to repor-
They halted before a small hill nestled among gigantic roots. Which wouldn't be particularly noteworthy if not for the curtained opening in the side of said hill.
Hold that thought. Halo touched down, cautiously moving towards the opening on foot. No sign of life. Remembering what Miss Martian had about staying out of sight, they slowly began edging their way back into the undergrowth until…
"MARA!?"
Halo yelped, spinning on their heels and falling on their derriere. Above them stood a stooped old woman wrapped in a purple robe and lime green shawl. A veritable bush of grey hair framed her lavender-skinned wrinkled face.
Halo? Halo, are you alright?! Miss Martian's psychic voice rang like a klaxon in Halo's mind.
An embarrassed Halo dusted themself off. I'm fine, I just… bumped into one of the locals.
Stay whelmed, we're on our way!
"Mara?" The forest-witch leaned on a gnarled old broom, frowning thoughtfully as she examined Halo through a pair of goggle-like spectacles. "Madame Razz didn't know you were coming today?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." Halo glanced over their shoulder. "Um... Who's Mara?"
"Now don't be silly, Mara dearie." Razz chortled, dragging Halo into her home. "Come, I'll make you some spoo."
[-]
The interior of dwelling was earthy, literally. The walls were made of packed dirt, the roots of the ancient tree above acting like support columns. For all that, it was surprisingly dry and warm. 'Cosy' was the first word that jumped to Halo's mind. It reminded her of a movie their girlfriend, Harper Roe, had shown her once: the one with the little green puppet.
Razz darted from one end of the cluttered domicile to another with a speed and nimbleness that belied her wizened form. "Sit, dearie, sit!" She exclaimed, placing Halo at the head of a low bench that served as a dining table, distributing four wooden bowls from seemingly nowhere.
"Um, thank you," said Halo. "But who are the other bowls for?"
"Why your friends, of course, dearie!" Razz chuckled. "Just ask them to clean up after themselves, would you?"
"How do you know about my friends? And what do you mean clean-" Halo began before Miss Martian phased through the dirt wall, followed by Terra simply punching a five-foot hole in it.
"Wait! It's alright!" Halo jumped to their feet, placing themself between the girls and Razz. "She's friendly."
"Oh? Oh, my gosh, we are so sorry," Miss Martian spoke apologetically. "Terra?"
With a gesture, the laconic geokinetic sealed the dirt-wall. "Good as new."
"Thank you, dearie," said Razz, hauling a jar of grey-white rubbery cubes sloshing in greenish brine. "Now, who's for spoo?"
[-]
"Seconds, dearie?" ask Madame Razz, hovering over her guests while brandishing a silver ladle.
Miss Martian proffered a picked clean bowl. "Please!"
Razz turned to Halo and Terra. "And you, dearies?"
"NO!" Halo blurted in mild panic. "I mean, No, thank you."
Terra poked the remains of her own half-eaten bowl. She could have sworn she saw one of the grey-white cubes move. "I had a large breakfast... very large."
"Suit yourselves." Razz shrugged, rustling through her cupboard.
"I still don't understand how you speak English?" Miss Martian asked.
"Why you thought Madame Razz, of course, dearie!"
"But I've never met you before today?"
"Don't be silly, dearie! Razz never said anything about before," chuckled the forest-witch, sniffing another jar of spoo. "Yech, still too fresh. Mara dearie, could you fetch Razz another batch from the barrel out back?"
"Who is Mara?" Terra whispered.
"Me, apparently." Halo took the empty spoo jar as they got up to head outside. "No problem, Madame Razz."
"Such a sweet dearie, my Mara. Always so kind to poor old Razz," the forest-witch sighed low. "Razz just wishes the poor child didn't have to get hurt again."
[-]
Halo gagged as they pried the mildewed lid from the aged wooden barrel, releasing an acrid green miasma. They covered their mouth and nose as countless pallid grey cubes sloshed listlessly in the oily green brine. They prayed 'spoo' was Halal, or failing that, the Most Merciful would forgive their lapse.
As Halo reached for the empty jar, a golden arrow-shaft suddenly sprouted from the side of the earth hut. They spun on their heels, only to find themself surrounded by four brightly clad yet imposing strangers.
Their leader was an eight-foot-tall golden Space-Valkyrie wielding a sword of pure light. Flanking her was a heterochromatic-eyed cat-girl, straight out of one of Harper's anime, her claws flexing in agitation. Alongside them was a dark-skinned archer, and a pink-haired girl wielding an ornate staff, their respective weapons aimed directly at Halo.
The Space-Valkyrie levelled her shining blade, issuing an imperious command in a strange alien tongue.
Halo tilted their head quizzically. "Pardon?"
[-]
"I said 'step away from the spoo!'" She-Ra repeated, realizing how stupid that sounded once she'd said it out loud twice. She shook her head. "Who are you?! What are you doing skulking around Razz's cottage?!"
The hooded stranger responded with a flurry of anxious hand gestures and indecipherable babble.
She-Ra blinked. "Wut?"
"I don't think they speak Common," whispered Glimmer, mage-staff trained on the stranger. "Bow, are you sure they're the one we're looking for?"
"I think so." Bow consulted the tracker pad nestled in the crook of his elbow. No mean feat when he was also trying to aim him namesake weapon. "I'm reading traces of the same weird particle from that vortex back at Bright Moon."
Catra bore her fangs. "Which means they're with the psycho that tried to gut Adora!"
[-]
The dark-skinned archer said something that sounded placating to the snarling cat-girl, who glared at Halo with hot undisguised hate. Clearly there had been some miscommunication.
"Okaaay..." Halo's voice was low and calm as they backed away slowly, as though from a frightened animal. "I'm just going to go back inside to my friends and Madame Razz now."
The Space-Valkyrie's eyes widened. "Razz?"
[-]
"THEY'RE GOING AFTER RAZZ!" Catra roared, claws flashing as they pounced on the stranger.
[-]
Tara! Miss Martian! I... AAAIII!
"Violet!?" Terra cried, nearly knocking over the table as she bolted from the hut with Miss Martian hot on her heels.
"And so it begins..." Madam Razz intoned ominously, before shrugging. "Or ends? Razz always gets those two mixed up."
[-]
"Whoa, easy Catra!" She-Ra cried, catching her girlfriend in mid-pounce by the scruff of her neck like a quarrelsome kitten. The hooded stranger let out a small yelp as they lurched back against the earth-packed walls of Razz' hut.
"You heard Bow!" Catra squirmed in She-Ra's grip. "They tried to kill you!"
"I never said that!"
"Everyone just- just breathe, okay!" She-Ra turned towards the hooded stranger. "They don't seem anything like the girl who attacked me, maybe we can-"
Unfortunately, She-Ra's pleas for diplomacy were cut-short by a section of the earth abruptly punching her square in the face.
"ADORA!?" Catra cried as two more aliens emerged from the hut, a blond runt of a girl in green, black and gold, followed by an older ash-white skinned specter passing ghost-like through the walls.
"Protect Adora!" Catra snapped at Bow and Glimmer as she charged the newcomers. The blond runt wasted no time summoning cannonball chunks of stone from the earth, launching them at the felinoid with rapid-fire fists.
"Seriously!? There's a freaking Rock Princess now?!" Catra narrowly leaped and dodged past each flying chunk. "Melog!"
Catra suddenly shimmered out of existence, leaving the blond geomancer glancing about the clearing warily before four scarlet slashes erupted across her back.
[-]
"TARA!?" Halo cried with fury, aura shifting into yellow as they sent an energy blast searing through the seemingly empty air. The alien cat-girl decloaked as she was sent flying across the clearing. She landed on her feet, not with grace but minimal bruising at least.
By the cat-girl's side was yet another vaguely feline alien that glowed with a blue eldritch light, like someone had tried to sculpt a panther out of fairy dust from second-hand description. Its shimmering blue mane turned an angry crimson as it pounced on Halo.
Halo! Hold on, I'm- Miss Martian reeled as a golden arrow whizzed past her before erupting in billowing black cloud.
[-]
"Woot! Smoke bomb arrow for the..." Bow's voice died in his throat. The billowing black clouds parted to reveal the pale alien girl hovering within, eyes blazing with otherworldly green fire.
"More arrows!" Bow yelped, rapidly firing another volley of fletched projectiles only for them to halt in mid-flight at a gesture from the alien redhead. With another flick of her wrist, the arrows spun in mid-air, pointed tips aimed directly at their original owner.
Bow gulped. "Oh boy."
[-]
Miss Martian kept the arrows telekinetically trained on the dark-skinned archer, who was doing the sensible thing and backing off. Good. With any luck they could still deescalate this situation before...
"GIYYYA!"
A pink-haired girl winked into existence before M'gann's eyes in a blinding flash of violet light, before thwacking the stunned Martian across the head with a silver-tipped mage-staff.
[-]
"Catra? Catra?!" She-Ra huddled over her girlfriend's still form. "Please say something!"
"Anyone get the number of that hover-tank?" Catra groaned, trying to sit upright before wincing in pain.
"You're fine. Just take it easy for a minute." She-Ra placed a small kiss on the cat-girl's forehead before rising to her feet, fist clenched about the hilt of her energy sword. "I'm ending this."
[-]
The glowing pseudo-feline clawed and slashed ferociously though futilely at Halo's crimson energy sphere, hissing and snarling like an enraged demon.
"No! Down! Bad Kitty!" Halo implored, reluctant to retaliate against a creature they weren't even sure was sapient. Fortunately, their energy sphere held strong.
Right until a swing from a shining energy hammer sent Halo, and their sphere, ricocheting across the clearing like a pinball. The young hero fell to their knees, clutching their throbbing skull as the Space-Valkyrie barreled down on them with glowing warhammer held high.
[-]
"FOR ETHERIA!" She-Ra roared with white hot fury as she leaped high, ready to bring her warhammer crashing down on the hooded invader that dared hurt Catra.
Until she was stopped cold by a broom to the face.
"OW!"
[-]
"Mara! How can you treat Madame Razz's guests so shamefully?!" The forest-witch shook her broom at the eight-foot Space-Valkyrie, who cringed before the wizened old woman like a guilty child.
Halo rubbed their head, hand glowing a soft violet to bring down the swelling. "I thought I was Mara?"
"Shh, Adora," Razz hushed the Earthling before bustling past. "Now, why don't we all settle down and talk this out over some nice tea like civilized peoples, yes?"
"Is she always like this?" Halo asked.
The Space-Valkyrie shrugged, muttering something Halo assumed translated roughly as 'Pretty much'.
[-]
One boiled kettle and a psychic crash-course in Etherian Common later, Miss Martian, Halo, Terra, Adora, Glimmer and Bow were sitting about Madame Razz's table as the forest-witch poured steaming blue-green liquid into an assortment of mismatched cups. Catra and Melog held back in the corner, watching the off-worlders with undisguised suspicion.
"Thank you, Razz," Miss Martian blew on her tea to cool it, careful not to hold the hot mug too close. "So... Adora, is it? You're saying you defeated Horde Prime?"
"Oh, she totally obliterated him!" Glimmer gushed proudly.
"But in a non-violent, spiritual kind of way," added Bow.
"D'aaaw, you guys!" Adora chuffed.
Back in her mortal form and red jacket, the pony-tailed youth seemed little like the eight-foot golden demi-goddess Bravo Squad had faced less than an hour ago. If she were an Earthling, M'gann would have put her down as… nineteen, twenty, maybe twenty one? But then this wasn't Earth, and by Martian standards, M'gann was barely any older.
From what she had gathered, Etheria had spent most of the last millennium trapped in some sort of 'shadow dimension' not unlike the Phantom Zone. It had been abruptly pulled back into real space and conquered by Horde Prime little over a year ago. Prime had been hell-bent on harvesting the planet's natural reserves of mystical energy into some kind of doomsday weapon before 'She-Ra' and her friends finally put a stop to him.
Are you buying any of this? Terra's voice echoed in Miss Martian's mind.
I don't know, Miss Martian replied wordlessly. They seem genuine enough but... Magic princesses, talking horses, vanquishing alien empires with the power of love? It's like something out of one of those old cartoons Uncle J'onn used to send us back in the 80s.
Ah yes, Pretty Pretty Pegasus. I used to have the figurines.
Aren't you both being a bit cynical? Halo inquired. If they wanted, they could have just kept fighting? And Madame Razz trusts them?
No offence, Violet, Terra replied. But I just saw Razz talking to her broom.
The three Solar visitors continued exchanging silent glances back and forth, along with the occasional wordless nod.
"Uh... Are you guys okay?" Adora asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry," answered Miss Martian, realizing she'd gotten distracted. "We were just-"
"Having a secret psychic conversation? Yeah, we guessed," snapped Catra, turning to her fellow Etherians. "Why are you telling these people everything when they've told us almost nothing! I was on Prime's flagship for weeks and he never mentioned a planet Earth, or Magic Ring Corps, or... anything beyond the Horde Empire!"
"Why would he?" Glimmer countered
Catra's eyes narrowed at the mage-queen. "Seriously, Sparkles?"
"No, Glimmer's right," said Bow. "If Prime really had already conquered the entire universe, why would he even need the Heart of Etheria in the first place?"
"I can't believe you're buying this?!" Carta cried. "Have you forgotten about the sword-wielding freak who tried to kill you today? For all we know they sent her!"
"Sword-wielding freak?" asked Miss Martian.
Miss Martian's brow furrowed as she was brought up to speed on the Etherians' day. Their description of the white-clad assassin's inhuman strength and speed, as well as her almost fanatical sadism, struck an uncomfortably familiar chord. M'gann exchanged a glance with Halo; she was thinking the same thing.
"Bow, can I see these 'weird particles' you picked up?" Miss Martian asked.
"Uh sure." He passed her his tracker pad.
Miss Martian took the pad, studying the data runes closely. "These look like Zeta particles?"
"Zeta particles?" Bow asked.
"They're usually given off by Zeta-Beams or..." M'gann's blood ran colder than the frozen icecaps of her homeworld. "This portal you saw, did it make a loud noise? Like a boom or a crack of-"
KRAKATHOOOM!
The small hovel exploded in a blast of white lightning and deafening thunder that sent the stunned occupants flying in every direction.
Halo... Terra...? Miss Martian struggled to cut through the pain flooding her mind as she density-shifted herself out of the debris. She reached out a hand to telekinetically disperse the smoke and ash obscuring her vision, only for a black-heeled boot to viciously stamp down on her wrist.
Looming above the prone Martian stood a statuesque brunette, built like an Olympian goddess. She was clad entirely in black, save for the jagged golden lightning bolt emblazed on her chest.
She grinned wickedly. "Hello, Megan."
M'gann reeled with horror and recognition at the face glaring down at her. It was a face she had always associated with innocence and light, now twisted with cruelty and hate.
"Mary?"
[-]
Adora's eyes flickered open weakly; the swirling dust made them watery and stinging. She couldn't have been out of it more than a few minutes, but that had been more than enough time to turn the Whispering Woods into a shrieking warzone, ringing with harsh angry voices.
"Please, Mary, this isn't yo-" Miss Martian pleaded before she was sent hurtling across the clearing by whip-crack blow that struck faster than she could turn intangible.
"Oh, spare me the concerned big sister act, Morse. You never cared about me, none of your so called 'Team' did," snarled her attacker, a girl clad in form-fitting back who floated over the blasted Earth, yellow lightning arcing from narrowed eyes. "And the name is Black Mary!"
The girl in black stalked towards the fallen Martian only for two slabs of solid granite to snap close around her like a mouse trap. Across the glade, Terra's brow furrowed; sweat beaded down her face as the rock prison began to tremble, before exploding in a blast of stony shrapnel.
Glimmer and Bow leaped into action, peppering Black Mary with a flurry of magic bolts and blast arrows only to be sent flying when she brought her black boot down like a jackhammer, sending a seismic wave rippling through the earth. Adora primed herself to join the fray when…
"A-adora?" came a soft voice.
"Madame Razz!?" Adora swiftly threw aside the rubble pinning her mentor. The forest-witch seemed uninjured but had never looked so fragile, as though Razz's very bones were as brittle as the twigs twined in her grey hair. "You okay?"
"I'm fine, dearie," coughed Razz, still prone. "But you must run, girl! She's after you!"
"Run? But, my frien-"
"Please, Adora!" Razz pleaded, shaking her by the shoulders. "I know it might jumble everything, but please listen to Razz and just this once, run!"
Adora caught sight of Black Mary swatting aside a pouncing Catra and Melog with casual brutality.
"I'm sorry, Razz," whispered Adora, summoning her energy sword. "I'll be back in just a sec, okay?"
Razz watched Adora go, just as she'd watched her go countless times before, just as she'd watch her go countless times again. Every time, Razz tried to talk her out of going and every time Adora went regardless. It was just her nature; it was why Razz loved her.
And why Razz always hated this part.
[-]
Catra tried to stagger to her feet, only for Black Mary's boot to pin her to the ground. She tried to scratch at what bare leg was exposed by the black costume. But trying to break the new girl's pale skin was like clawing at marble. "The hell are you made of?!"
"Sugar and spice and all things nice," Black Mary quipped. She started pressing her weight on her boot. The pressure on Catra's ribcage began edging towards her breaking point.
"Let's see what you're made of," sneered Black Mary, before She-Ra tackled her like a golden comet. The two demi-goddesses tumbled across the clearing, digging deep troughs in the soft earth as they grappled.
"You actually think you can outmuscle me, blondie?" Black Mary barked derisively, wrestling with the Princess of Power. "I possess the Strength of Hercules, the Stamina of Atlas and the Power of Zeus!"
"Yeah!? Well I have no idea who any of those are!" She-Ra roared. She hooked her arm under Black Mary's and, with a single titanic heave, lifted the shocked Fury directly over her head before tossing her clear across the glade.
Black Mary slammed into a boulder with enough force to crack it in half, but not nearly enough to dampen her rage. She was about to launch herself back into the fray when she was stopped short by the end of a broom ineffectually slapping her in the face.
"Leave my Mara alone, you… you ruffian!" Razz bellowed, continuing to pelt the invader.
"Seriously?" Black Mary chortled through the ineffectual whacking.
"Razz!? Get back!" She-Ra cried.
"Oh, I am so done with this." Black Mary seized Razz by her throat, dangling the forest-witch in mid-air. "She-Ra comes with me, or I snap the old hag like twig!"
"She's bluffing!" M'gann insisted, as much to convince herself as the others. "I know you, Mary; we were friends. You're not capable of that."
"Well, you never did think I was capable of much, did you, Morse?" Mary's eyes hardened. "And we were never friends."
Mary's fingers tightened about Razz's throat, eliciting a rasping wheeze from the forest-witch.
"STOP!"
She-Ra stepped forward, her golden aura dissipating as she reverted to Adora. "I'll come quietly."
"The heck are you doing!?" Catra hissed, grabbing Adora's arm. "You heard the spooky pale girl; it's a bluff!"
"I can't take that chance. It's going to be okay, promise." Adora gave Catra's hand one last squeeze before pulling away to approach Black Mary, arms raised above her head. "I'm ready."
In a blur of motion, Black Mary dropped the gasping Razz, streaking forward to grab Adora by the collar. The two of them were nose to nose before Adora's eye could even register the movement. "Don't try anything cute, blondie," whispered Mary. "Fatherbox?"
BOOOOOM!
The Boom-Tube opened behind Black Mary as she dragged her captive into the fiery portal, pausing to flash a vicious leer at her former teammate. "It's been real, Morse. Let's do this again sometime." With that, he vortex collapsed around Adora and Black Mary, leaving only empty air in their wake.
"Razz!?" Halo cried, flying to the forest-witch's side. "Are you okay?"
"My poor sweet Mara…" Razz sobbed softly. "Not again… not again…"
"We have to go after her!" Catra rounded on the three off-worlders, wild-eyed with panic. "Can't you track that thing!?"
"Boom-Tubes can go almost anywhere," explained Miss Martian. "We don't know how to track them."
Bow stroked his chin thoughtfully. "We know someone who might."
[-]
THE GODHEAD
May 16, 18:13 UCT
Black Mary snapped a heavy collar about Adora's neck before tossing the thrashing Etherian roughly to the deck plate.
"I said I'd go with you... But I never said I'd stay!" Adora leaped to her feet, thrusting her open palm to the heavens. "FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!"
Nothing happened. She posed expectantly in the dim silent corridor, waiting for the familiar rush of power. "I said... FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!"
Black Mary's hands rested cockily on her hips. "Wow, that sure showed me."
"I... I don't understand," Adora stared at her empty hands. "What happened to my sword, my powers?"
"The inhibitor collar is designed to suppress your... abnormalities. Well the obvious ones at least." An elderly woman, built like a truck and armor-clad stepped from the darkness, a look of smug triumph on her face. "You're not the only one with friends in low places."
Adora spun on her heels, confronting the newcomer. "Who are you!?"
"Why, child," cooed the crone sweetly. "I'm you're dear old Granny."
"Like heck you aRRGHH!" Adora buckled to her knees as the inhibitor collar sent a jolt of white-hot agony surging through her nervous system.
"Language," chided Granny coolly, deactivating the shock with a tap of her gauntlet.
"What do you want with me?" Adora asked as Black Mary wrenched her back to her feet.
"I'm so glad you asked, dear," spoke Granny, tapping another control on her gauntlet.
The heavy metal doors at the end of the corridor grinded open as an armored cyber-demon lumbered out of the shadows. Slung over its shoulder, like a sack of potatoes, hung the limp insensate form of Gilotina.
The white-clad assassin's once icy cruel eyes stared blankly into the void, glazed and soulless. A droplet of spittle traced a thin snail's trail from the corner of her slack lips.
"What... What did you do to her?" Adora asked, voice faint.
"I've given her something most would sell their souls for; a second chance," Goodness gently brushed a lock of platinum blond hair from the catatonic Fury's vacant face. "Her mind is now a blank page for Granny to write on anew."
"You... YOU MONSTER!" Adora was shocked again by the collar, this time slumping to the deck as the pain began to overtake her.
"Such an unruly child," tutted Goodness, cupping the stunned Etherian's cheeks. "But don't worry, dear. Granny will empty all those nasty ugly thoughts out of your pretty little head."
Adora felt herself slipping into the darkness, Goodness' last words echoing through her fading consciousness…
"Mary, be a dear and introduce our new guest... to the Lump."