The Neon Supremacy Part 1

Sky Darkly stood on a cliff overlooking a purple horizon and a strange sea. His long red coat danced in the breeze, and while he had no hair, the spikey tendrils lined along his head swayed all the same. “I’m a lucky man,” he explained to the holographic figure behind him, “This is my woman, Lady Diamond. She’s a living planet who chose me to be her lover, and for that, I’m eternally grateful. She has found in me things I never knew about myself, and she’s everything I have in life… except piracy, of course. Her powers have allowed me to expand my business farther than most. I don’t even need a ship when I have my beautiful, planetary lady. She absorbs energy from the galaxy she inhabits and channels that into wormholes, which allow me and my crew to travel the Universe.” He turned and pointed with a single, raptor-like claw at the small team he had gathered, “This is the rest of the crew I’ll be taking along for this mission.”

The first crew member was a short creature that seemed to be a mixture of a chimpanzee and an orange cat, with a metal plate and clothes consisting of a single vest and gloves. “This is my first mate, Spazz,” Sky Darkly explained. Next was a thin, green alien with a bulbous head, large black eyes, long fingers, and four bat-like wings. “This is FlimFlam. He’s not from this dimension, and his race has light-based energy powers. Really weird.” Next came a large robot with oversized hands and feet. “This is the Slobber-Knocker. No AI. It’s a repurposed construction-bot, so it’s strong, sturdy, and ready to fight.” Once Sky Darkly finished introducing his crew, he placed his more humanoid, gloved hand on his breast as a sign of respect, “I think you’ll find them more than adequate.”

The being in the containment suit studied the space pirates via hologram, “This target is supposedly quite powerful. Are you sure you can capture her?”

“Once we get her on Lady Diamond’s surface, it’s gonna be smooth as blork. Express package right to you.”

“We’ll be waiting to receive,” the hologram disappeared, leaving the pirates.

Once their client was gone, Spazz turned to the captain, “Still don’t know why they can’t do this themselves,” he sneered, “If they’re so powerful.”

“With the amount of credits they’re giving us,” Sky began, “I don’t care about the whats and the whys,” he turned to address the long grass that stretched out toward him, “We’ll soon be rich and because of that, I can give Lady Diamond the wedding she deserves. Let’s go.”

Minutes later, a wormhole opened in the middle of a living room. Sky Darkly stepped out, his long red coat flapping behind him dramatically with Spazz and FlimFlam trailing behind. Two of them had been in that apartment before, but FlimFlam was new to the location. The three moved to the bedrooms on either side of the hallway and noticed Wally Cooper asleep in one room and Kim Park asleep in the other. They were satisfied to know the humans were out of the way, but couldn’t understand why their target wasn’t present.

A small drone lifted off from the coffee table and hovered to their location. Sky Darkly and Spazz both produced laser pistols as it grew near, but there was no attack. There was only a holographic message: Rooftop. FlimFlam led them to a stairwell and up to the roof where they finally saw Astra Machina on the ledge with the Moon behind her.

“Sky Darkly,” Astra began, “I remember you,” she pointed to Spazz, “And your little friend.”

“I’m sure you do,” he placed his gloved hand sincerely against his breast and motioned toward the third member of their group, “And allow me to introduce FlimFlam.”

“Heh heh,” FlimFlam giggled slightly, “She doesn’t look so tough.”

“So…,” Sky looked around curiously, “… why the roof?”

“I didn’t wanna wake my friends,” Astra explained.

“But you were expecting us?,” Sky asked, still holding his laser.

“I expect people to come into our home to attack me. It’s really annoying.”

“That makes sense,” he tapped the side of his partially-shaved head, “By the way, you understand me, yes? We’ve been equipped with better translation chips this time.”

“Yes, I understand you. Are you gonna try to capture me again?”

“Of course. We’ve been paid a lot of credits for you.”

“Big money!,” Spazz shouted excitedly.

“Who paid you?,” Astra asked.

“Pirates don’t reveal the names of their clients. It’s not professional,” Sky casually informed her.

Astra sighed, “Let’s get this over with.”

Her wrists elongated across the roof, striking Spazz and Sky in the chest. They toppled over, but FlimFlam cupped his hands before seemingly draining light from the area for an unknown distance. She was cast in total darkness but could still make out the life signs of the three enemies on the roof. FlimFlam raised his hands, and a streak of light energy burst forth and threw her into a free-fall after she was pushed over the ledge. As she fell off the roof, she began to construct a jetpack to allow her to fly, but she soon noticed FlimFlam fluttering after her with energy enveloping both hands. She stretched out her limbs, grabbing one set of wings before swinging him into the side of a wall while she continued to plummet. He fell into a dumpster below, and she hit the pavement.

Above, Sky spoke into the device on the lapel of his coat, “Release the Slobber-Knocker!” A second later, a wormhole opened, and the large robot raced out. Astra was slammed by two large fists and embedded into the pavement; the Slobber-Knocker’s hydraulic fists began to pump rapidly, hitting her hundreds of times in a second and with enough force to drive her deeper into the ground. Tendrils shot out of Astra, ripping into the robot’s head before she pulled it in close and released a punch. The robot arched back and was forced to let go, which was when Astra fired the cannon that had just sprouted out of her stomach. The blast sent the Slobber-Knocker over a building, and Astra took the opportunity to use her jetpack and fly back to the rooftops.

Sky and Spazz pressed buttons on their belts, and anti-gravitational energy surrounded them, allowing them to lift off from the roof. They met Astra in the air and fired identical weapons. Energy lassos shot out and wrapped around Astra. “We snagged her!” Spazz called out, “After we bring her in, can we get Earth jam?” Sky shook his head impatiently, “Forget about the jam!”

Astra pulled against the ropes of energy entangling her. When she couldn’t break the bonds physically, she opted to separate herself. The top half of her body snapped off and fell loose. The bottom half likewise fell, leaving Spazz and Sky holding empty snares.

As she fell, Astra stretched her limbs and pulled the lower half toward her. Once the two pieces were pressed against one another, her nano bots stitched her back together. “I wasn’t sure that’d work,” she thought to herself before flying back into the air. As Sky and Spazz dipped down toward her, she shot tendrils their way. The tendrils ripped into their energy weapons and quickly disabled them. The pirates stopped and hovered in the air while Astra flew in close.

“You have more crew members and weapons this time,” Astra told Sky, “But it’s still not enough. Just give up and never come back to Earth.”

“Sky Darkly never gives up!,” he shouted back.

“Yeah, never give up!,” Spazz echoed.

“I’ll keep breaking your stuff then!”

Astra’s hands grew several sizes and formed two large clamps that held the two pirates in the air. They flipped together like an acrobat troupe before Astra slammed them onto a different roof. With both of them stunned once more, Astra prepared to destroy their anti-gravity belts, but then a large figure leapt onto the roof. The Slobber-Knocker wrapped both arms around her and carried her over the ledge and toward a highway overpass below.

As they dropped, Astra turned to a partially liquified form and merged with the robot. As she seeped inside it, she moved in and out of its body, reemerging on the other side. She solidified and completely disconnected from the robot, shooting out of its back and leaving it to plummet to the highway below. The robot hit the asphalt, leaving a substantial crater. As it picked itself up, a semi’s tires screeched behind it. The large truck didn’t quite stop in time, and when they collided, the robot was sent rolling along the road.

Meanwhile, Astra returned to where she left Sky and his companion. They were also picking themselves off the roof when she landed next to them. “Like I said,” she continued with an annoyed tone, “You need to leave.” Another portal opened up, and FlimFlam emerged once again, but this time, there were others. Blue energy surrounded Wally and Kim as he carried their unconscious forms into the air.

“Heh heh,” the strange alien cackled, “Got your ape buddies!”

He flew into the air, bringing the two humans along with him and was followed by Sky Darkly and Spazz. “Wait!” Astra shouted and flew after them. Somewhere, the Slobber-Knocker’s large feet ignited, and he flew after them as well. Astra quickly caught up with the group and was inches away from grabbing FlimFlam when she noticed Wally and Kim disappearing along with the blue light surrounding them. She realized that, with FlimFlam’s ability to manipulate light, it had been an illusion all along, and she cursed herself for not checking for life signs.

Just then, a large wormhole opened up above the city, and as the three pirates entered, she stopped. She hovered in the air, making sure not to fall into their trap. Behind her, Slobber-Knocker rapidly approached; it slammed a fist into the small of her back, and they both vanished into the wormhole before it disappeared.

When Astra hit a patch of grass, she noted how different it was from any foliage she had seen on Earth. Additionally, she noticed it was now daytime. The sky was a purple haze, and the trees were twisted and appeared to be moving on their own.

“This isn’t Earth,” she said, standing up to face the space pirates.

“Did you forget about my most important crew member?” Sky asked, “Lady Diamond. She’s the one providing all these wormholes.” A tree branch bent down as if offering a hand, and he kissed it.

Astra picked up strange life readings from her surroundings, indicating that the planet itself was one, living organism, but it wasn’t important in the moment, “Send me back to Earth.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Sky told her, “It’d be bad for business.”

“Keeping me here would be bad for you,” Astra formed a massive pick-axe from her limbs and brought them down on top of the Slobber-Knocker. The impact finally ripped the robot apart and reduced it to a pile of scrap.

“That’s gonna be expensive to repair,” Sky groaned.

Next, Astra swatted Spazz into the air, rendering the small creature unconscious. “Heh heh,” FlimFlam giggled as his four wings fluttered, “I was hoping she still had some fight in her.” He flew toward her while crackling with light, but she fired a small energy blast that dropped him to the grass in an unconscious heap.

“We need your help, my love,” Sky spoke to the trees calmly, even as Astra made a leap toward him.

A swirl of energy enveloped Astra, holding her in the air. She tried shape-shifting but found herself bound by an intensely strong force. When she checked her sensors, she learned that a center-point of gravity was surrounding her. A sound came from the suddenly rustling trees that was recognizable as a voice, “I have slightly altered my central gravity to ensnare you,” the omnipresent voice explained, “You won’t be able to move until our client arrives.”

Sky Darkly smiled, “You see why I love this woman?”

A hovercraft soon arrived, piloted by an unseen crew. Astra had no other option but to watch as the craft landed and the rear hatch opened. A humanoid figure in a containment suit exited and strolled casually toward her.

“Impressive work,” came a voice from within the suit, “The remaining payment is being sent to your account now.”

“Pleasure,” Sky said happily as a holographic screen displayed what Astra assumed to be a bank account of some sort. “Just as a professional courtesy, Astra Machina is still very adamant. Once she leaves the confines of my beautiful living planet, she’ll be free to attack, so you should be prepared. If she escapes, I’m afraid there are no reimbursements.”

“We are more than capable of containing her,” the figure explained before raising a hand.

Lights emerged on his gauntlet, and another wormhole opened under Astra. She was suddenly sucked in and found herself hurtling through a star field. The galaxy blew past her as she flew at warp speed, very much against her will. She had no idea where she was going, who her new enemies were, or what they wanted with her. She only knew she was hurtling through deep space to parts unknown, and she had no clear method of escape.

Continued…