Barbara was seriously starting to hate sand. Every step she took had her foot sink in and it took even more effort to raise it up again. Especially with the sun constantly beating down on her.

She could tell she wasn't the only one bothered by this. Balk was making a low growling sound from the back of his throat as he walked. He had shifted a few hours ago so he no longer looked like an ape-man. Now he was just a large, hairy human. He kept leering over at Barbara with those looks that made her want to punch him. However, now he was more distracted by Polybotes who had drifted in front of him was constantly offering him rewards and riches if he served him and then threatening him when he didn't answer.

Aurra Sing, it seemed, had experience walking in the desert and so didn't seem too troubled by it but was beginning to slow down from the pace Vader was setting. He was still walking continuously without slowing even a little, even while floating the giant head beside him which still was very weird to see.

"So what's your story, Bats?" Aurra asked, sidling up next to Barbara.

"What do you care?"

"Because I'm bored and if I'm going to eventually fight alongside you, I want to know more about you."

"Well then, first thing you should know is that I don't want to be here. The only reason I am is he'll kill me if I leave." She gestured over to Vader.

"Honey, that's why we're all here," Aurra reminded her. "If I thought for a second I could take him by surprise and end him, I would. But I can't. So for now, I go along with him."

"Was that your deal with Jacobi?"

Aurra laughed. "Jacobi offered a partnership for survival. She seemed like the tough kind so I agreed."

"Not much of a partnership," Barbara muttered.

"It was beneficial til it wasn't. She was going to get herself killed and I wasn't going down with her. In my line of business, you have to know when to walk away, when to make the right moves, and when to leave your partners behind. The only one you can count on is you."

"Sounds lonely."

"It's called surviving, sweetheart."

Barbara was tempted to argue with her but she didn't feel like explaining anything about herself to this woman. To do so would be give something away, something Aurra would use against her. "Listen, I've fought plenty of people like you over the years and even worked with some as well. So if you think for a second I'm going to trust you, guess again. Cause you were right about one thing. Right now, out here," she gestured to the desert around them, "the only person you can trust is yourself. And that's exactly what I intend to do."

Aurra gave her a sly smile. "Maybe you're not as naïve as I thought. I think this might actually be pretty fun."

Barbara just rolled her eyes and kept moving. She didn't know how long they walked, maybe a few more hours, but at last Vader came to a stop at the crest of the latest dune and Barbara sighed as she stopped as well, taking the moment to rest and recuperate.

"There," Vader said, pointing. Barbara followed his finger and saw a smudge in the horizon, one that, as her vision focused, looking like some sort of building.

"Could be a mirage."

"It is not," Vader replied, sounding sure. Barbara frowned at him, wondering why. She had already seen a mirage, an oasis several miles away. She had turned away and a few minutes later, when she looked back, it was gone. She also wondered why the heat was having no effect on him. There was so much about him that was a mystery and the more she learned, the more she wondered if she wanted to know the rest.

Aurra pulled out her rifle and pointed the scope at the smudge, looking through it. "It's a building all right," she said. "Some kind of old castle. Looks empty."

"There may be something of use inside," Vader said and then started walking towards it.

"I hope it will be your deaths," Polybotes told them all.

Aurra just gave him an exasperated look. "Do you ever shut up?"

"When I am reunited with my body, I will squash you into paste."

"Are you sure I can't kill him?" Aurra asked Barbara.

"He's currently a head living apart from his body, so no. But by all means, give it a shot."

"No," Vader said firmly before Aurra could reach for her guns. "No noise." He walked forward a few more steps before his hand shot out again and Polybotes began to choke. "Do not try that again," he warned.

Barbara frowned before she realized Polybotes had been about to yell out, giving away their position to anyone or anything in the castle. Polybotes glowered at Vader but went silent and Vader then released him.

"Why not just slice him down the middle and be done with it?" Aurra suggested, Balk giggling behind her while Barbara just grimaced at the mental image. "He may still live, however he does it, but at least he won't be able to talk."

"How dare you!" Polybotes spluttered. "I will burn your blood in acid! I will-" He was cut off when Vader began choking him again.

"He is more useful as is," was all Vader said and that was the end of it.

They continued on across the dunes, now heading for the smudge castle in the distance. As they approached, it did get bigger and never disappeared. Barbara still wasn't entirely convinced. The whole point of a mirage was to trick your mind, even in a scope. But the more time went on, the less doubt she had.

It was hard to tell how long it took, Barbara losing track of time, her mind drifting into a daze and her feet just plodding one after the other. She knew it wasn't a smart idea to lose her focus when with enemies but she knew if any of them wanted her dead, she would be already. Besides, she couldn't help it. She was dehydrated, low on energy, and suffering from intense heat with no real protection. Probably only Bruce could keep his focus in these conditions.

Vader suddenly stopped and Barbara barely managed to stop herself from walking into him. She looked up, blinked, and then looked again. She had dazed for so long she hadn't realized how close they had gotten but they were here, the building that was formerly a smudge now looming above them.

It did look like a castle, just as Aurra said. Not a big one. More like a keep from those old medieval history books she'd read. A single building of weathered stone with parapets and four points where there were rounded platforms and a larger tower in the center. If Barbara had to guess, it was the length and width of Wayne Manor, maybe a little bigger, and about double the height.

"Looks empty," she commented.

Vader said nothing, merely staring at it, assessing. Then he started walking to the side where the gates stood, blocked by a large door. Vader pulled out his saber handle and then pressed a button on the side. Instantly, it ignited into the crimson blade. He pressed it into the door, sinking into it like it was made of pudding. He then made an arch, slicing right through the stonework, before pushing with his powers. The sliced section fell through, leaving a hole in its wake. Vader turned off the blade and then turned towards Barbara. "Enter."

Barbara hesitantly stepped through, looking around. The inside was what she expected, the tower about twenty-five yards away from her, walls all around her. But she also saw a lot of metal scattered around, armor and weapons. She saw swords, spears, shields, bows and arrows, pieces of armor. She also noticed a few guns lying around, looking like old-fashioned muskets. But no skeletons, no sign of any bodies.

She didn't like it. There was some sort of aura in the air, some eerie feeling she had. This was a bad place.

Aurra and Balk stepped through after her, looking around as well. "Look around," Vader told them. "Report what back what you find."

"Oh, so we're like a test dummies, huh?" Barbara asked sarcastically.

Vader didn't respond, probably because he didn't need to. Or because he just didn't care. It was hard to tell with him. Polybotes, however, had no problem responding.

"I hope your deaths are long and agonizing," he spat.

"Sadly, not the worst pep talk I've heard," she muttered to herself. She scanned the castle again and decided to start with a side door. She opened it and saw nothing but an empty room with another door. She opened that one up and saw a bunch of barrels in it. She turned to close the door again when she stopped. Her mind was still a little fuzzy from the heat and thirst but barrels were usually full of stuff. She didn't know what to hope for, but she went anyway and checked. She opened up the first barrel and her heart sank as she saw nothing inside. She checked the second barrel and it was the same. The third barrel looked like it had something but it had clearly gone bad years ago. The rest were the same. Nothing.

"Anything?" Aurra asked as she reemerged.

"Just some empty barrels."

Balk frowned at that, eyeing her suspiciously. "Empty?" he questioned.

Barbara gestured to the door. "Go ahead and look if you want."

Balk gave her another look before going to do just that, returning with a disgruntled expression on his face.

"Alright, I'll go around this way, you two go the other and we'll meet on the other side," Aurra told them.

Barbara nodded, and moved along. She spotted another door a little ways away and checked that out. From the looks of it, it must have been the soldier's sleeping quarters with beds and hammocks set up. Another door led to what seemed to be an office of some sort with an old, splintery table and faded paper written in what was essentially gibberish to her.

"You know," Balk said, leering at her again, "you and I could have some fun in here."

Barbara gave him another disgusted look. "In your dreams, monkey boy."

"Ah, if you weren't just an ordinary human, we could have a lot of fun," he continued. "But I guess we can't get what we want."

"Just go screw yourself why don't you," Barbara told him, exiting the room back into the courtyard.

"Playing hard to get I see. Well, it doesn't matter. Cause you see, I always…"

Barbara tuned him out as she saw something that pushed everything else out of her mind. A well. An actual well, right in the middle of the courtyard between the wall and tower. She hurried over to it and saw the bucket sitting on the ground. She checked the rope and saw that, while frayed, it was still sturdy. She hoisted the bucket down until it wouldn't go any further and prayed it was because it had hit water, and not dirt. She then brought the bucket back up, already thinking, it's going to be empty, it's going to be empty. Then the bucket appeared and she grabbed it up, looking inside.

It was empty.

She sank down, choking down a scream. Why was everything so damn hard right now? Why couldn't she get one win? She was so tired and just done with this day. She was tempted to just lie down here and rest but she knew Vader would come looking and probably strike her down.

"Damn!" Barbara looked up to see Aurra standing there, glaring down at the empty barrel. "Could have used some water about now."

Balk snorted. "Weak humans," he growled. "When you live in the fighting pits like I have, you learn to cope with what you're given."

Suddenly, Aurra's gun was out of its holder and pointed at Balk. "Call me weak again," she said with a hard smile. "I dare you."

Barbara stopped listening to them as she noticed something. The bottom of the bucket was wet. Which meant there was water down there.

Then, doing what she should have done in the first place, she took out her flashlight and scanned the well, sighing as she spotted a shallow pool of water glistening at the bottom. "It's not high enough," she muttered in realization. There was only a little bit of water down there, not deep enough to go over the bucket's rim. She looked over and saw Aurra and Balk still bickering, not paying any attention to her.

She quickly and quietly tied the rope around the bucket's middle so the rim was facing to the side and lowered it again until it hit bottom. Then, carefully, she pulled the rope a certain way so the bucket rim would be facing somewhat upwards before pulling up again. Slowly, bit by bit, she lifted the bucket back up until she spotted it. Stifling the urge to reach and grab it, she brought it up all the way and then carefully reached over and took the rim, making sure it still had an upwards angle. She took it in both hands and looked inside and nearly sobbed in relief at seeing the water still inside. Not a lot, but enough. She brought it to her lips and managed to drink down three gulps. It tasted sandy and stale but she didn't care. Right now, it was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted.

And then it was suddenly snatched from her hands. She winced, flexing her fingers, and saw Balk desperately tongueing the barrel to no effect.

Aurra watched him with a half-amused, half-disgusted expression. "You were saying something about weak humans?"

Balk growled, tossing the bucket aside. "Get more," he said, pointing a finger at Barbara.

"Ok." She then leapt over the side of the well and down below, landing with a small splash into the shallow pool. She instantly reached down and cupped her hands in the water, lifting it up to drink, swallowing as much as she could. She did it twice more before Balk landed next to her with another splash. He glowered at her but then began drinking as well. And then Aurra jumped down and pretty soon they were all gulping down as much water as they could.

After a few minutes, Barbara stopped, sighing. That was enough. As much as she wanted to keep drinking, if Vader lost patience and found them like this, well she didn't know what he'd do but it wouldn't be good. She had to keep looking around. And maybe find a way to escape. Besides, at this point she was getting worried she might be sharing saliva with Balk and that wasn't something she wanted to risk.

She looked up, seeing the well was farther up than she had thought. She pulled out her grapple gun and shot upwards, pulling herself over the well rim and back into the courtyard. She felt more focused now and less tired, the water rejuvenating her a little.

As she took another look around, she found the doors to the keep, placed on the other side away from the main gates so that enemies would have to fight their way around the entire courtyard to get to it. Smart thinking. Except for one thing. The entrance was wide open, the keep doors, large metal doors at least twice her height, having been busted through. They were still standing and she could see they could still be closed, with some effort.

She heard a scrambling sound behind and turned to see Balk clamber up over the well, his ape-like agility apparently helping him up. Aurra, instead, had a grapple of her own and soon climbed over the well too. She studied the doorway carefully. "Wonder what busted through?"

"Don't really want to know," Barbara replied. Which probably meant she was going to meet it.

"Wimp," Balk snorted. "Just like a human. Whatever it is, if it's still here I'll snap its neck."

Barbara ignored him, stepping through hesitantly, her senses on high alert. She hoped that whatever had broken through those doors was long gone. Probably just some enemy combatants.

Then why hadn't the front gate been opened?

There were three main passages to go, each one large enough to fit a bull elephant through. The middle one went upwards while the one to the right descended to the lower levels and the one to the left covered the rest of this floor. She glanced up and saw a hole in the ceiling, some of the stonework having fallen apart.

Barbara quickly checked the rest of the ground floor but found nothing of true interest. So she turned to the two remaining passages.

"So who goes where?" she asked the other two.

Without saying a word, Balk started walking up the stairs. "Guess we're going down," Aurra said.

Barbara glanced at the passageway down and suppressed a shiver. In all the horror movies she'd watched, all the bad things were in the basement.

"You could always join Balk upstairs," Aurra said, seeing her expression. "He did seem to taking a liking to you."

That sealed it. Barbara instantly began walking down the stairs, doing her best to ignore the sound of Aurra's laughter behind her. Besides, if there really was anything important, it would be down. Especially an escape route. She took out her flashlight and held it out to pierce through the shadows.

It was a winding path, dust choking the air. Barbara kept expecting something to leap out at her every step but so far nothing. She couldn't hear anything either except for Aurra's soft footsteps behind her. But there was an eeriness in the air, something that made her skin crawl. The sooner she got out of here, the better.

The stairs came to a stop and Barbara found herself facing another large doorway. She stepped through and saw a large room with two main passages on either side. "Split up again?" she asked Aurra.

The woman took a look around and shook her head, hands positioned carefully on her guns. "Not this time," she said.

Barbara nodded in agreement. Even if she didn't trust the woman at all, she'd rather be with her than alone in this place. They checked out the left passage first and Barbara's foot crunched down on something. She froze and looked down but breathed out in relief when she saw it wasn't a skull or bone but just a piece of wood. A quick shine through though revealed mounds of broken barrels, casks, crates and other items. This place had clearly been the main storage area and it had been ransacked long ago. There were two other rooms beyond it with similar results.

That left the other passage. They went back to it and walked through, Barbara doing her best to stifle her unease and worry. She wanted to believe it was just the atmosphere affecting her mood. But she'd been in this job long enough to know that that wasn't always the case.

This passage seemed to be the dungeon as she found one small records room before a long chamber filled with rusted metal cells, though quite a few of them had been demolished, almost like something big had busted through.

"Not a good sign," she muttered.

Aurra nodded and pulled out her guns, holding them at the ready. Barbara did the same with some smoke pellets and batarangs.

She saw that the passageway extended beyond and so moved through the far doorway, finding yet another chamber filled with cells with again several more busted open that ended with a dead-end.

"Well, there we have it," Aurra nodded, holstering her guns again. "Nothing relevant here."

"Wait," Barbara stopped her, looking at the end of the hallway in the corner cell. There was something else there, something she couldn't quite make out. She moved closer and realized that it was a hole in the wall, hard to see from the doorway. It looked like something a prisoner made to escape. Which meant it might be a way out, if they had finished. Barbara smiled in spite of herself and dampened the urge to hurry over. She still had to be careful about all this. She approached the end of the passage, walking gently over the broken pieces of metal so as not to make unnecessary noise until she reached the hole. She stopped and shone her flashlight inside, trying to get a better look.

A second later, her blood turned to ice and she froze, eyes wide as the flashlight illuminated what was inside. It had scaly, black armor and was huddled up so it was hard to tell how big it was. At least twice as big as Barbara, maybe even three times. Large pincers were curled up near its front and what appeared to be three tails were resting at the back.

"Ok," she said in a voice below a whisper. "Stay calm. Just move away from it, slowly."

But as she took a step back, her foot landed on one of the busted metal bars and she slipped, falling heavily to the ground, the bar rolling across the floor with a slight clanking sound. Barbara's flashlight was still fixed on the creature so she could clearly see its eyes flicker and then open, staring right at her.

"Oh snap," she muttered.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed that ending. First spiders, now scorpions. What's next? (Hint: nothing good).

Thanks again for reading this. Hope you're all enjoying Stranger Things and Kenobi right now. Gotta say, while I loved Kenobi's story, wasn't the biggest fan of its directing. It was good, but nothing really popped for me there (except maybe the opening). Stranger Things was great, as always.

WildMan98 - The only Star Trek I've watched are the new films with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. If you're alright with that, then sure I'll bring them in.

SamukaiGaming - Power Rangers is a little up in the air. I'm currently reading the comics but I'm a little confused on how the Morphin Power works and I can't bring them in if I don't know cause then I wouldn't do them justice. (But if I do bring them in, Tommy will definitely be there).

CRUDEN - Diana already knew. She and Nico had met before he was introduced here. I'll talk about it more later.

fugy - I'll explain this again. I know magical weapons in the DC universe can hurt Superman. However, Percy's sword was made of celestial bronze which only works on monsters and gods and such, beings of the mythical world. For mortals, it would just pass through them, which would have happened with Superman. Due to circumstances I will not reveal yet, that sword has changed so that it can affect 'mortals' now but only as a normal sword, no magical qualities. So, as a normal blade, it just bounces off Superman's skin.

Guest 1 - I'm sorry, Spawn probably won't show up for a while as I haven't read his comics either. I probably will at some point, but there's so many other things I'm reading and watching first that it'll be a while.

Guest 2 - For the bloodbending, I honestly don't know. I would say both are pretty powerful. Will we see the two duke it out in that kind of battle? Probably, since you put the idea in my head. But we'll see how the story unwinds. However, right now I'd probably say Vader's force as he has more control and power over it.

Til next time, please leave a review if you can and happy reading and watching.