[color=gray][INDENT][COLOR=SILVER][SUB][SUP][H3][b]JUPITER[/b][/H3][/SUP][/SUB][SUB]Sol System - Milky Way Galaxy[/SUB]
[SUP][i]Now[/i][/SUP][/color][INDENT]The droning sound of the klaxon stirred Rocket from his state of unconsciousness. His vision blurred as he tried to stand, the metallic smell of his own blood drowning his olfactory sense and leaving him nearly nose blind to the fire several feet away from him.

Every bone in his body felt like it had been fractured. He remembered their first encounter with Lobo, and how lucky he had been to survive it. Their saving grace this time being that Clark wasn’t onboard. They had been a casualty, just a preventative measure to ensure they couldn’t interfere. 

Judging by the state of the ship, Lobo had succeeded. 

Cracked screens flashed through numerous red warnings as the nearby planet continued to draw T.I.T.S. into its gravitational pull. 

[color=#b45f06]“Shields offline, weapons offline, thrusters offline. Life support is failing, structural stability is down to twelve percent, does anyone have anything positive they want to say right now?”[/color]

[color=#e6b8af]“I [i]am[/i] Groot.”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“I love you too, buddy,”[/color] Rocket snapped at Groot,[color=#b45f06] “But I was more hoping for some hidden talent or ingenious engineering before we’re swallowed by the swirling storm that looks like a Bolovaxian’s scruthole.”[/color] 

[color=#c9daf8]“Rocky!”[/color] Lylla’s voice suddenly echoed from the main cockpit, [color=#c9daf8]“Captain’s hurt pretty bad.”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“Cap’n!”[/color] Rocket cried, a groan whistling through his teeth as every muscle in his body protested against movement. 

[color=#b45f06]“Groot, where’s Max?”[/color] 

[color=#e6b8af]“IamGroot.”[/color] Came the saddened reply.

[color=#b45f06]“He threw her out the airlock?”[/color] Rocket exclaimed, his eyes moving to the nearest porthole, as he stared in horror out into the Black[color=#b45f06]. “Damn, I know she’s a tough lady, but still, that’s not frakkin’ good.”[/color]

[color=#c9daf8]“Rocky!”[/color] 

Lylla’s cry was accompanied by a chorus of beeping, the groaning of metal echoing through the ship’s corridors. The ship had entered the nearby Jupiter’s gravitation pull and it was quickly becoming apparent they were going to crash. 

[color=#b45f06]“C’mon, c’mon,” [/color]Rocket muttered, urging his cybernetics to respond as he pulled himself towards the cockpit.

[color=#c9daf8]“We’re going to crash if you don’t do something,”[/color] Lylla urged.

[color=#b45f06]“Only if we don’t frakkin’ burn up first,”[/color] The Raccoon-like alien muttered while pulling a panel open. Pressing the nearby intercom, Rocket shouted into it.

[color=#b45f06]“I need to reroute power from the core to all impulse thrusters, J’ak, you still kicking?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“I wish I wasn’t,”[/color] Came a groggy reply, [color=#ffffff]“Tigorr and I are both down here, though he took the brunt of the beating.”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“We’re still in a bit of a frakked up situation. Can you cycle the coils, and open all manifolds?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Aye,”[/color] J’ak replied, [color=#ffffff]“I think I can manage that.”[/color]

The navigation console suddenly illuminated in a shade that wasn’t red. Lylla scrambled to the controls before selecting the impulse thrusters and throwing the lever to max. The ship shuttered and protested, slowly trying to reverse course. 

[color=#c9daf8]“We don’t have enough power!”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“I’m given’ her all she’s got!”[/color]

A loud thud on the hull rocked the whole ship. Suddenly it began to move out of the Jupiter’s orbit and slowly drift back into space. Pulling himself to his feet, Rocket looked to the viewscreen, coming up empty before going analog.

[color=#b45f06]“Max!”[/color]

Rocket exclaimed looking out the porthole to see the warrior queen helping push the ship free of Jupiter’s pull. 

[color=#b45f06]“I thought you were dead,”[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“Fear not, my little friend, it takes more than the black of space to kill a Queen of Almerac.”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“Frakkin’ right.”[/color] Rocket celebrated, going to the airlock to allow Maxima back inside the ship. She entered, leaning slightly on the door frame before speaking.

[color=#b6d7a8]“Now, let us go find my Clark.”[/color][/indent][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/01999ab1-cb01-748d-bd12-afb19d17251c.webp[/img][COLOR=SILVER][SUB][SUP][H3][b]EARTH[/b][/H3][/SUP][/SUB][SUB]Sol System - Milky Way Galaxy[/SUB]
[SUP][i]Now[/i][/SUP][/color][INDENT]Lex swung his fist, connecting with the alien through Hope. On the streets below the Luthorcorp towers, Hope moved as Lex instructed, his experts continuously analyzing the alien’s fighting pattern while Lex adapted to it. 

The alien smiled as Hope began to dodge more and more of his blows, anticipating his weapons and clearing her reinforcements. With some breathing room, Lex activated Hope’s repair protocols, the nanites quickly repairing any fractures while sealing her synthetic skin to hide the cybernetics within.

Keeping up the ranged attacks, Hope fired blast after blast from her palm. The energy was enough to stagger the alien bounty hunter, but any lasting impact was immeasurable. He simply seemed to shrug off each blow, relishing the fight the longer it went on. 

[color=#ffffff]“Oh, I see you for what you are little puppet,”[/color] The alien taunted,[color=#ffffff] “The Main Man is coming to rip your innards out and then I’m coming for your master.”[/color] 

Warning lights lit up in Lex’s headsup display as the space bike suddenly flaked Hope. Paladins moved to intervene, only for the bike to unleash a pulse attack that crippled the suits the Paladins wore. A burning pain seared into Lex’s head as Hope was caught in the energy attacks, his neural interface threatening to overload as it began to overheat from the stress.

It was a moment of hesitation that gave the alien the only window he needed. All too quickly he was on top of Hope again, delivering a blow that immediately put one leg offline. Hope screamed in agony as Lex fought to remain in control. Retreat protocols were quickly cancelled by his team, as Lobo wrapped a hand around the android’s neck.

[color=#ffffff]“You’re next, humie.”[/color] The alien taunted, staring into Hope’s eyes so that Lex knew the bounty hunter meant him. 

But Lex Luthor did not surrender.

Hope pulled back another desperate punch. From his remote command center, Lex swung with all his might, feeling the haptic feedback of Hope’s fist connecting. He winced as the overwhelming feedback caused his arm to ache. But the hit had finally counted, even if Hope’s arm had completely shattered. 

Lex watched smugly as Lobo was sent flying.

[color=#ffffff]“Sir, that wasn’t you,”[/color][/INDENT][CENTER][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019a2712-4c90-7008-93dc-efe48ef687f0.webp[/img][/CENTER][INDENT]The citizens of Metropolis watched as the fight continued to unfold, once again disappointed that their elected protector was losing while the one they had come to depend on was nowhere in sight. No doubt driven out of town by Lionel Luthor and his pitchforks and torches. 

Sunny skies shone down over the blood bath below, and emergency services did what they could to keep people from the carnage while extracting the Paladins who were still alive. The alien’s threats became more and more real with each second, and as Hope’s leg was shattered, there was a sudden push to evacuate Metropolis.

But then thunder echoed over the city.

Only lightning didn’t follow. The clear skies echoed the thunderous boom of something breaking the sound barrier again. Hope rallied one last time, pulling a fist back to hit Lobo with all her might, but this time she wasn’t alone.

Through the streets of Metropolis, a blur of black raced through the once familiar routes, now forgotten to the Kryptonian. He charged towards Lobo, stretching a fist out before connecting and carrying the Czarnian away from Hope, away from the downtown and into the sky.

Lex watched from his command center as a blur of black raced past the screen. Lobo was hit again, and then again, as something moving faster than the human eye struck him repeatedly. 

The Blur had returned to Metropolis. 

[color=#6fa8dc]“You were looking for me?”[/color] Kal-El asked, suspending Lobo by the throat miles above the city outskirts.

[color=#ffffff]“Kryptonian, you’re looking better than I left you,”[/color] garbled Lobo with a laugh. Heavy boots curled up, connecting with Kal’s chest.

[color=#ffffff]“It won’t last long.”[/color] Lobo boasted, breaking free before whistling as the space hog caught its rider. The engine roared, as Lobo drifted the bike through the air, pointing it back towards the city as he gunned it towards Metropolis. 

Kal-El flew upwards, arcing backwards before plummeting straight down as his feet connected with the space hog and sent it into a nose-dive. Launching off the forward forks, his hand wrapped around Lobo’s lapels, dragging the Czarnian from the bike as it careened out of control. 

His eyes began to glow red as the pair flew higher and higher, breaking the atmosphere while Lobo fought against the Kryptonian’s grip. 

[color=#ffffff]“Are you going to kill me, Lover Boy? Like [i]I[/i] killed your [i]keezy fem[/i]?”[/color]

Kal-El replied only with the most chilling smile that Lobo had ever seen as the other alien suddenly kicked Lobo out into the black, sending him head over heels in the weightlessness of space.

Reaching for his belt, Kal-El suddenly produced a crystalline crest and held it in his palm outstretched towards Lobo.

[color=#ff354d]Kal-El, are you sure this is wise? That crystal holds but a single use.[/color]

[color=#6fa8dc]“Death would be too sweet a release.” [/color]Kal-El replied to Lobo, ignoring Keelex’s warning, [color=#6fa8dc]“Isolation would be punishment.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“[b]BASTICHE![/b]”[/color] Lobo screamed, trying to propel himself away. But it was to no avail as the crystal released a mirror-like pulse. It enveloped the Czarnian, ripping him from the current dimension before he was compressed into the prism. It began to spin rapidly, disappearing into the distance before crossing the threshold between planes.

[color=#6fa8dc]“The Phantom Zone will hold you.”[/color][/INDENT][/INDENT][/COLOR]