Meteor


"Well, this is just the darndest thing I ever seen," Momo Nakayama declared, scratching his head as he took in the sight of the solid steel doors on the rear of his truck's cargo bay, which had been crumpled like tinfoil to create a hole more than wide enough for a slender person to fit through.

"What happened, anyway?" Asked his fellow trucker, Michi Yasuda, also taking in the damage.

"Well, I'm on my way here, my last delivery for the day, when I see this purple meteor whizzing overhead. Then there's a big ol' thump, and my whole truck shakes. Then I get here and... well, y'see for yourself!" The trucker gestured to the hole torn in his truck.

"Could it have been a supervillain, maybe? You know the news says they're on the rise, despite the police's best efforts," Michi suggested.

"Well, could be - I've been truckin' for sixty years, and I've been held up by supervillains before. And I mean real supervillains, not Daizo's printed phonies! But... that was always for KunoTech stuff and the like. What supervillain in their right mind breaks into a driving cargo truck to make off with a ten liter drum of rocky road ice cream and a two liter bottle of Coca-Cola?!"


Meanwhile...


High atop a skyscraper, a figure sat on the ledge, dangling her legs over the side in complete indifference to the winds waving around her form and threatening to push her into a drop that would see her tumbling hundreds of meters to the uncaring pavement below. An observer would have described her as young, but tall, slender and beautiful, with copper-orange skin offset by dark violet eyes and waist-length hair, itself a shade of purple so dark it was almost black, clad in an outfit that seemed to combine skin-tight armor with a black crop-top, mini-skirt, and thigh-high boots.

Rather less attractive was the rapacious way she was busily devouring a ten liter drum of rocky road ice cream, hugging it close with one arm and using her bare hand to scoop out wads of frozen dairy that she greedily wolfed down.

'Stupid sister! Stupid Teen Titans! Oh, I will get even with you, Starfire! How dare you get me exiled from Tamaran! And giving our throne to your old k'norfka, Galfore? What were you thinking?!'

Fueled by equal parts hunger and fury, Blackfire guzzled down ice cream by the fistful, eyes smoldering as she stared up at the stars, fixed on the position where her former homeworld lay.

'Ever since then, I've been stuck drifting around the galaxy like some random nobody! I was to be Supreme Ruler of Tamaran! I would have been an Empress! Damn you Starfire, you glubnorb!'

Before she realized it, Blackfire had devoured the entire tub. Undeterred, she stuck her tongue out, nearly a meter of writhing violet flesh flashing around the interior of the drum to lap up the last lingering smears of half-melted, sugar-rich goodness. Once it was empty, a flex of her bicep crushed the metal container flat and she casually tossed it over her shoulder before snatching up the bottle of Coca-Cola by her side. A contemptuous flick of her wrist removed the top before she raised it straight up, tilted her head back and began to suck the caffeine-infused liquid down in a series of titanic swallows, draining all two liters of it before needing to take a breath. It too went sailing over her shoulder to bounce carelessly on the rooftop, Blackfire placing a hand on her stomach and belching thunderously before she started to pick her teeth with a fingernail.

'That hit the spot! Earth may be a primitive cosmic backwater, but their sweet treats are decent, and after cruising through the Draconis Nebula, I needed the energy pick-up... Hah, the etiquette teacher would have blown a fuse to see me acting so crassly. One good thing about being an exile, I suppose...'

'But I don't want to be stuck drifting like this! I have to get back at Starfire? But how?! I hate to say it, but little sister has gotten stronger... and there's those blasted Titans at her side. What I need is...somebody to back me up. But who?'

She shook her head.

'Ah, well, it'll come to me. It always does. Might as well kick back, relax, and enjoy the sights; my little goody two shoes sister is on the other side of the planet, so even she can't mess things up for me for now!'

The alien teen and ex-queen cast an idle gaze over the streets of Tokyo so far below, already glowing in neon lights as the night fully claimed the city.

'Hm... where might I find useful minions in Japan, I wonder...?'