Chapter 6
Las Vegas
-Main POV: Deraj-
Deraj jolted awake, his arms swinging up to defend himself. He still sat in front of his computer and no one was around. He realized he had dozed off. Then he panicked because it wasn't him that had been getting the shit beat out of.
"Perfect timing. I just finished loading the rest of the hard to get footage," Scarlet said.
"Good. Then we should know where she- I mean he is being held," Deraj replied as he clicked away at the computer until he found the location of ANAL headquarters.
He grabbed his communication device off the table beside him and called Commander Yelworc.
"Deraj. You have an update for me?" Commander Yelworc asked.
"Yes, sir. I have located ANAL's headquarters," Deraj replied.
"He means WE. Even though I did most of the work," Scarlet said, her voice coming through the phone instead of from the spaceship.
That's what I get for letting her learn how to hack. Deraj thought with a shake of his head.
"Who is this?" Yelworc demanded.
"Uh, Scarlet. Obviously. Who else would Deraj be around? Well, technically I'm around him but ya know. Details," Scarlet quipped.
"Your spaceship is included in our calls now, Deraj?" Yelworc demanded.
"Apparently. That doesn't seem important right now though, sir. We know where Elyk is being held."
"It is important but you're right. We have to prioritize. It's time for y'all to rescue our boy," Yelworc replied.
"Yes, sir," Deraj said.
"Send the location to the others and get it done," Yelworc commanded. He continued, "be safe,"
"Yes, sir. Be safe," Deraj replied and the call ended as Scarlet said, "On it," Her voice starting through the phone and ending coming from the spaceship.
"Thank you, Scarlet," Deraj said as he sat back.
"You're welcome," Scarlet said, sounding happy somehow. She continued, "they have been notified,"
"Good. Scarlet, listen…" Deraj trailed off, feeling like a traitor for what he was about to say.
"Yes?" Scarlet asked.
Deraj released a heavy sigh. "You can't hop onto my calls," He said, knowing he was about to hurt her fragile feelings.
"But we're partners," Scarlet said, already sounding hurt. She continued, "this is OUR mission. I need to know all the details. Don't you trust me?"
"You're right, sweetheart," Deraj said. She sounded like a wounded child and he couldn't help but feel bad for hurting his spaceship's feelings. He continued, "but Yelworc is my commander and I am certain that I just got in trouble for it. I do trust you. More than any other,"
"This isn't Yelworc's decision. It's yours. He didn't command you to order me off," She stated.
"How about this. You can listen in but not say anything," Deraj offered.
"You don't know this planet's history like I do, so you don't understand the irony of what you just said," Scarlet stated.
"You're right, I don't understand. I'm trying to compromise here, Scarlet," Deraj said.
"Mhmm," Scarlet replied.
"Please don't be mad at me, Scarlet," Deraj pleaded. He released another heavy sigh as the only response he received was silence.
A group message popped up on Deraj's screen. "What is this?" Deraj asked Scarlet.
Receiving no response, he read it and figured it out for himself. All of his men were in the group chat and stating that they were heading to the location. He messaged back that he was on his way as well and would meet them there.
"Head to the location," Deraj commanded.
The ship took flight as Scarlet mumbled, "not even going ask me if I'm charged enough,"
"Are you?" Deraj asked.
"Yes, but that's besides the point. And before you ask, yes, we're invisible. Although, I'm always expected to be invisible," Scarlet replied.
"Scarlet, I'm trying," Deraj explained. Receiving no response yet again, Deraj turned his attention back to the new footage. It was time to scope out ANAL's headquarters and plan the rescue.
One video feed showed Ms. Drunk and another beautiful woman in a cell together. They were both passed out. Deraj inhaled sharply when he saw the other woman. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even as bruised as she currently was, and he knew that she was the girl he had been dreaming of. She had the same unruly golden locks as the little girl he had once saved.
Another camera showed Elyk in a cell, eating as he chatted with his cellmate. He looked way too comfortable to Deraj. The man should be plotting an escape, not making new friends.
Evee walked up to her red candied apple colored car. "Oh, sweetheart!" Evee said as she lovingly caressed it. The car didn't have a single scratch on it.
"Misha is definitely already here," Evee stated. She continued, "that little brat stole my car. Again. Them bastards are lucky they didn't hurt my sweetheart. I would have had to kill them twice!" Evee growled.
"Like you can't repair it with a single thought," Kat said as she rolled her eyes. Since developing her power of imagination, Evee had literally had everything she ever wanted.
"That is completely besides the point. Whose side are you on?" Evee demanded with a glare.
"Right now, Misha's. Come on, let's go help our girl," Kat said as she dragged Evee away from her car.
Phoenix and Trinity were already inside the club looking around. As Evee and Kat joined them, they saw that the club was completely abandoned. And damaged. The fight had already happened.
"Fuck!" Trinity yelled as she became a tornado, literally, smashing everything she could get her hands on.
"Babe.," Phoenix began.
"No!" Trinity shouted. Phoenix nodded her head and started burning things. If Trinity needed to destroy things to get a little frustration out, her wife was the first to support her.
"She drove here in my car," Evee began.
"Vee, this is really not the time!" Kat chastised her.
"Listen bitch!" Evee glared at Kat, her bottom lip jutting out in frustration. She continued, "I haven't seen my keys,"
"Damnit, Evee, you can imagine new ones!" Kat shouted, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation.
"You're still not listening. She probably has my keys. Or the people who took her do. Either way, I can find them," Evee stated, aggravated. Trinity and Phoenix stopped their destruction and turned to her.
"Well, what the fuck are you waiting for?" Trinity demanded.
"For y'all to fucking listen to me!" Evee growled. She took a deep calming breath and continued, "hop in my car bitches! And hold on 'cause y'all know I don't drive slow!" Evee said, followed by a full blown cackle.
They followed her out to her car and loaded up, Kat in the front and Phoenix and Trinity in the back. Evee simply imagined that the car would take them directly to where the keys to it are and took off in the direction the steering wheel pulled.
"Damn man, I forgot how small your car is!" Kat whined, earning her a glare from Evee. The car swerved and made a screeching noise as Evee continued to glare at her.
"Watch the fucking road!" Kat screamed.
Evee laughed and stared at her for a few seconds longer, just until Kat started squirming uncomfortably, earning her another laugh from Evee. "Don't insult my sweetheart! She has feelings and she holds grudges. Don't want us breaking down on a rescue mission, do you?"
Normally Kat would have said a witty comeback, but she believed Evee on this. Sweetheart was a creation of Evee's and all of Evee's creations seemed to have feelings, even the cars. Thus instead, Kat rubbed the dashboard and apologized. The engine roared and they sped along faster.
Misha cracked open her eyes with difficulty. Well, one eye. The other was swelled completely shut. Her entire body hurt and she had a suspicion that they hadn't stopped their assault when she had been knocked out.
"Fuck," She groaned.
"I bet that hurts. But you'll be fine. Nothing is broken, surprisingly," A feminine voice slurred.
Misha pushed herself up as quickly as she could, which was quite slowly. Everything ached, with certain spots feeling like a knife was being twisted. She groaned again as she discovered the source of the voice. She was in a cell with Ms. Drunk.
"I don't remember what you were so mad about earlier, but I think we can call it a truce for the time being. You've had the shit beat out of you enough for one day," Ms. Drunk stated.
"I don't think I could fight you right now anyway," Misha gasped out. She lifted her shirt and assessed the damage to her body. Her entire stomach was one big bruise and Ms. Drunk had been wrong. Several of her ribs were broken. She'd be lucky if she didn't have internal bleeding.
"I'm Star," Ms. Drunk said.
"Misha," Misha replied.
"After I get this collar off, I can heal you and we can have a rematch," Star said with a grin as she pulled at the collar.
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"How's that going?" Misha said with a raised brow. Star had scratches all over her neck and Misha had a feeling that they were self-inflicted.
"Great! You can see I've made a ton of progress!" Star said sarcastically.
"Come here. Let me see your collar," Misha said.
"Play with your own," Star shot back, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"But I can't see mine," Misha explained.
"Fine. But just know that if you try anything, I'll hit you where you hurt," Star promised.
"Well that's everywhere so I doubt even you could miss," Misha quipped.
Star rolled her eyes and smiled. She seemed to enjoy talking to Misha. Star walked over and let Misha examine her collar. It was a thick silver colored metal. It was clipped together at the back with a fingerprint scanner to release it.
"Have you touched the scanner?" Misha asked.
"Of course," Star said, insulted.
"Well that was retarded," Misha said.
"What? Why?" Star asked.
"Obviously you've never seen Scooby Doo," Misha stated.
"Scooby who?" Star asked, confused.
"It's a kids show. But in one of the movies, a character named Daphne used makeup and tape to lift a fingerprint and used it to unlock a fingerprint scanner thingy. We could have done that," Misha explained.
"I don't know if you've looked around but we're lucky to have toilet paper. You're not going to find any makeup or tape," Star stated.
"Doesn't matter anyway since you've already touched the lock," Misha shot back. She knew they didn't have those things. The cell was bare aside from two cots and a toilet that had a sink attached. There were three pristinely white, solid brick walls and the fourth wall was composed of prison bars.
"Well I didn't touch yours. So go on, Einstein, get yours off," Star challenged.
Misha searched for something to use as Star began pulling at her own collar again. Misha started by checking her own pockets, but they were empty. As she continued her search she discovered that the beds had plastic on them. She could possibly use it in place of the tape. Now she just needed a powder to pick up the print. She looked at the floor but there was no dirt. In fact, the whole cell was clean. No dirt and no dust.
Evee would love it here. Misha thought. Evee was a bit of a neat freak. She loves clean things. Prisons, however, probably not so much.
"This place is way too clean!" Misha stated, aggravated.
"Are you really bitching about the place not being nasty?" Star asked, confused.
"Well yes, but only because I need some dirt or dust to get this damn collar off!" Misha said as she laid back down on the bed, her aching body protesting all the moving around she had done on her search.
"Hmmm," Star thought, rubbing her thumb across her lips in contemplation. She continued, "would blood work?"
"I don't think so," Misha said.
"We could try," Star said, shrugging her shoulders.
"It might ruin the print and make it impossible to try to lift with something else," Misha countered.
"Oh," Star said with a look of dejection.
"We'll figure something out," Misha stated.
"Yeah," Star responded half heartedly. She slumped down on her own bed and put her head in her hands.
"Are you okay?" Misha asked.
"No. I'm sober. And hungover," Star groaned.
"Sounds awful," Misha said sarcastically. She had never experienced a hangover, Kat's hangover be gone potion never failed, but she was sober most of the time.
"Obviously," Star mumbled.
A male ANAL agent approached the cell. He was dressed like the others, black cargo pants paired with a black tee shirt. His shaggy hair was black with white strands throughout, his eyes ocean blue. "I see you're both awake finally. I have some questions," He declared.
"Dude, don't talk so loud," Star groaned.
"Who are you? And what do you want?" Misha asked, fighting to sit back up.
"I'm Shane, an agent of Alien Neutralization And Limitations," The ANAL agent said.
"Do you realize that the acronym for that is anal?" Misha asked as she busted out laughing. Star joined in laughing hysterically.
"Do you realize you're in a cage and I can do whatever I want to you?" Shane countered.
"Do you realize how rapey that sounds?" Misha threw back at him.
"Shut up!" He demanded as he banged on the bars of the cell. He ran his hand through his pepper with flecks of salt hair to calm himself.
"Hey, I recognize you with that angry mug you're wearing!" Misha exclaimed. She continued with an amused smile, "you're the agent that fell into the collar!" This made Misha and Star start laughing again.
"And you're the bitch that thought she could fight us all!" He countered with his own heinous laugh, mocking her.
"Yeah, well you needed your buddies to jump me. Pussy move if you ask me! Not being able to fight a girl on your own shows just how weak you are," Misha stated. Star nodded her head in agreement.
"You're not a girl. You're an alien scum with powers. I should label you as VAG and keep you locked up," He said with a cruel smile.
"Uh, I have a vag but I really don't understand that reference you just made," Misha said, confused.
"It stands for Violent Alien Guest. That label means you never get released. You'll stay a prisoner until you die," He said, his cruel smile widening at the thought.
"Go ahead. It doesn't matter what you label me as, Mr. Pathetic. I won't be here much longer," Misha declared.
"Is that so?" He asked with a laugh, sounding akin to a hyena.
"It's a fact," Misha responded, deliberately studying her nails nonchalantly with her one semi good eye.
"And just how do you plan on leaving?" He asked, fishing for her plan.
"Shh! It's a secret!" Misha giggled, reminding herself of Evee.
"I'm really starting to like you, Misha!" Star expressed with a laugh. She continued, "you're so amusing!"
"That's good 'cause it appears we'll be spending a lot of time together," Misha stated soberly.
"Enough of your banter. I'll be asking the questions and you'll be answering," ANAL agent Shane demanded, crossing his arms to show he was serious.
"Or what, fugly?" Star threw back.
"Or I'll take you to Doc," Shane whispered the name and looked around before he continued, "So he can figure out what makes you tick," Shane stated, looking scared himself.
"Oh, that's easy! Liquor! Liquor is what makes me tick," Star stated, dead serious. She continued, "Go get me some and I'll show you!" She said with a broad smile.
"What type of alien are you?" ANAL agent Shane asked, ignoring Stars comment.
"An alien? Are you serious? Do I look like a tiny green guy?" Misha asked, laughing. Misha was a witch not an alien, at least as far as she knew. She was born and raised on earth, well a pocket realm on earth. Details. Nevertheless, she wasn't from another planet.
"What planet are you from?" Shane asked.
"Are you for real? I'm from Earth, you idiot! Where else would I be from?" Misha responded. She was torn between confusion and frustration. She had never even met an alien, she didn't even know they existed. What was this delusional fool talking about? She continued, "Wait, did you guys seriously arrest me because you think I'm an alien? Is this actually a government agency? Like, are my tax dollars paying for this delusional bullshit? Wait, is this Area 51? Are there aliens here? Can I meet one? Have you met one? Wait, are they like ET or like the ones from Predator? On second thought, I'm not sure I want to meet one," Misha unleashed her questions.
"Well, talking to you is pointless," Shane stated then turned his attention to Star, "What about you? Do you have anything useful to say?"
"That's rude! Are you not even going to answer my questions?" Misha demanded, offended.
"No. I'm asking the questions here," Shane stated, not bothering to even glance in her direction.
"I can't think sober, and I make it a point not to answer questions sober. Actually, I make it a point not to be sober, period. So how about that liquor?" Star said in all seriousness.
Shane grinded his teeth before replying. "I guess I'll have to go get tequila,"
"That sounds nice!" Star responded with her eyes growing wide, followed by a longing sigh.
The ANAL agent walked away. Misha waited silently until he was out of ear shot. Once she was sure that he could not hear her, she said, "I think this Einstein," she pointed her thumbs at herself, "solved our dilemma,"
"Really?" Star asked, surprised. She sat up and gave Misha her full attention.
"I think so," Misha said proudly.
"Well? What is it?" Star demanded.
Before Misha could respond they heard footsteps. Shane was approaching with a female ANAL agent. The female agent was dressed like all the others, except she had on a black leather jacket. As they reached their cell, Shane smiled broadly at Star.
"Meet Tequila!" He announced.
Stars eyes grew wide at the treachery. "Uh, that's a person. Not liquor, you imbecile!"
Shane's smile turned into laughter. As it subsided he patted Tequilas back. "They're all yours," He said with a wink before walking away.
Tequila sat down on the floor in criss cross applesauce style. She smiled at them sweetly. "Hi, I'm Tequila and I'll give you a shot of this," she pulled a flask out of her jacket pocket, "if you tell me your names,"
Star was at the cell bars in a blink of one mostly swollen eye later. "Star. Mine. I mean, my name. Is Star. Give me!"
Tequila laughed genuinely, like a tinkling of wind chimes. She grabbed a shot glass out of her other pocket and poured a shot. She passed it to Star with a mischievous smile.
Star flipped it back then abruptly spit it out in disgust. "What the fuck is that?" She demanded as she gasped for air and held her throat, gagging as if she had been poisoned.
"Water. I hope it wasn't too strong for you," Tequila laughed.
"That was cruel. We had a deal!" Star stated.
"I upheld my end, sorry you didn't like it," Tequila replied.
"Back up a step. You asked for our names. Shouldn't y'all already know our names? Who arrests someone without knowing their name? Do y'all do that often? That can't be legal. I wasn't even read my rights. What crime am I being accused of? Where is my phone call? And most importantly, do your officers always beat their purp after she's unconscious or am I just special?" Misha inquired.
"We are not regular cops, sweet cheeks. We are Alien Neutralization And Limitations agents. More similar to the CIA. We don't have to know anything other than that you have powers or other qualities of an alien to bring you in. By any means necessary. As an alien, you have no rights. And you exhibited signs of being an alien," Tequila responded.
"So I don't get a phone call?" Misha asked.
"Think about your question. Would you let a potential enemy have the chance to call in their buddies with powers?" Tequila responded. Misha got a complaintive look on her face as she considered the question.
"I like a challenge so I would. Plus it would give y'all the opportunity to try to capture more aliens. Even though I'm not an alien. You guys just slapped that label onto me. But you're wrong. Do you even realize that the acronym for your agency is anal? I think that's hilarious but your buddy got butthurt when I pointed it out to him," Misha babbled.
Tequila raised her eyebrows with an amused smile playing at her lips. "I've pointed that out before, both the acronym and the point you made about capturing your rescuers. Surprisingly, you're the first alien to point those out,"
"I'm not an alien," Misha stated, aggravated about having to repeat herself.
"Sure you're not. That's why you can make yourself invisible. Because that's completely normal," Tequila said sarcastically. Tequila reached into her jacket and pulled out a second flask. She opened it and tossed it back, sighing in satisfaction. Star eyed it longingly.
"What's in that one?" Star asked, her voice cracking. She licked her lips as she stared at it.
"Answer my next question and I'll let you find out," Tequila replied with a laugh.
"N-no. Tell me what's in it first," Star replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Tequila responded by taking another swing and releasing a satisfied sigh.
"You're the one in the cage, I'm the one with the alcohol. I make the rules and the demands. Now, to find out what this is," Tequila shook the flask for emphasis, "tell me what species you are,"
Star crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her new alcohol hoarding nemesis. "I'm an earthling," She lied, holding her hand out towards the flask. Tequila jerked the flask away from her.
"Do you two think I'm stupid? Humans can't become invisible nor can they repair a building by blinking their eyes. You don't get a drink by lying to me!" Tequila responded, beginning to get a bit irritated.
Star and Misha sat silently, both glaring at their captor. Tequila breathed in deeply to calm herself. "If you would just answer my questions, you might be released," Tequila stated. That earned her more silence and glares.
"Fine. How about we try an easier topic. Why did you use your powers the other night?" Tequila asked.
"I don't remember. I have a really bad memory," Star said honestly and expectantly held her hand out towards the flask again. Misha jerked her head towards Star and glared at her.
"You did it because you were mad at me for destroying your precious club. You helped ruin my birthday, just so you know," Misha stated, cracking her knuckles in aggravation.
"I'm sure you deserved it, whatever I did," Star said with a thin smile plastered on her face, refusing to apologize for something she couldn't remember. Then she turned her attention back towards Tequila and made a 'give me give me' motion with her hand.
"I don't think your answer was good enough to earn you a sip of this," Tequila stated, jiggling the flask then taking a swig to rub it in.
"But I answered your question. And didn't lie," Star whined.
"Yeah, that's not fair!" Misha said.
"I disagree. Telling me you don't know doesn't give me anything. So why should you get anything in return?" Tequila responded.
"Because you didn't say that not knowing was against the rules!" Star stated, immensely offended.
"Well, new rule. Effective immediately," Tequila replied with a laugh. She was beginning to feel a bit tipsy.
"That's bullshit! I don't want to play with you anymore. You cheat," Star declared, sounding like a child. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away from Tequila.
"If you don't play then you'll never win the vodka," Tequila stated.
Star turned her head back, her eyes wide. "Vodka? I love vodka!" She cried out, her eyes filling with tears.
"How do we know if it's even alcohol? It could just be water again," Misha stated, not really caring but not wanting Star to get tricked again.
"Here, smell for yourself," Tequila said, holding the open flask between the bars for Misha to smell. Misha smelled it and nodded her head at the anxiously waiting Star. The fumes almost singed her nose hairs. It was, indeed, the good stuff.
"What do you want to know?" Star demanded. She felt sickly sober.
"Why were you at the club?" Tequila asked simply.
"I practically live there. I drink and I party. I love that place," Star responded, eyeing the flask but certain that she wasn't going to actually get any of it. Misha could taste that her answer was only a half truth, but she said nothing.
Tequila poured a shot from the flask and passed it to Star. Star grasped it as if it was the meaning of life. She downed it and sighed in appreciation. As it warmed it's way down, she began to feel better. More herself. The shakiness inside her eased.
"That's some good shit," Star commented, holding the shot glass back in hope of it being refilled. Tequila took the shot glass back. Disappointment flooded Star. She would have to keep playing to get another.
"What planet are you from?" Tequila asked. Before Star could respond an alarm started blaring and red lights began flashing. "Shitty timing. I've got to go gear up," Tequila breathed as she jumped up to go.
"But. The vodka!" Star whined as Tequila rushed off. "Couldn't you leave the booze!" Star yelled after her.