Part 7

Earth Takes a Stand

Chapter Seven: Raymond's friends.

by Anonymous

Raymond walked back into the room and saw something that made him drop his coffee. Two women, who he had known for a long time, were actively and passionately pleasuring each other on his couch! One, Lisa, was his best friend since grade school, the other, Joy, his girlfriend of nearly two years. Not only did he just finish a heated argument with Lisa, but as far as he knew, both of these women were as straight as anyone he knew.

He stood astounded for a moment. It had always been his fantasy to watch to beautiful women making love, but not these two. It seemed, well, wrong for his girlfriend to be with anyone but him, and he'd known Lisa far too long to think of her sexually. But here they were, Lisa's long legs straddling across Joy's waist and Joy pressing her thigh against Lisa's warm sex.

Joy was undoing Lisa's bra when he walked in, and was now licking and sucking her nipples. Lisa had her arms around Joy's head, pressing her into her breasts and arching her neck back in sheer pleasure. The two seemed completely oblivious to Raymond.

Then the vile of pheromones caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Lisa must have slammed it down too hard in her anger, and cracked it. Now the chemicals were filling the air and the most powerful aphrodisiac known to man had turned these women loose on each other, all sexual preferences and inhibitions lost in a sea of desire.

He watched as Joy used her feet to remove Lisa's panties, her mouth and hands still busy with her breasts. She was a flexible one. As soon as they were off, she moved one hand down to slide her fingers down Lisa's slit, causing an immediate and powerful shudder to travel all the way up Lisa's body and back down. Lisa let go of Joy's long brown hair and let her kisses travel down Joy's neck, chest, tummy, and finally the top of her legs. She raised Joy's skirt to her waist and, simply moving her panties out of the way, began to return the pleasing sensations that Joy had just finished giving her.

Raymond snapped out of it as he realized that these two women were not completely under their own wills. He started for the vile of pheromones when he heard Joy's high voice, perfect for a pouty and sensual call to him. "Ray, honey, you have something we need..." Raymond's most powerful fantasy had just come to life, in his own house and on his favorite couch. This, combined with the effect of the pheromones, was too much for any man to resist. His mind said no but his hormones shut that off the instant before. He took off his shirt as he left the vile behind and headed for the women on the couch instead.

"Nnnnhhhh... Ohh" was all Joy could say as Lisa parted her nether lips and made a few quick flicks with her tongue. Raymond knelt beside the couch and began to kiss Joy with all the passion that he'd ever felt for her. She pulled him closer until he was half laying on the couch himself. Still locked in his embrace, she undid his belt and slipped his pants off, freeing the erection that they had been hiding ever since he first walked in.

Raymond pulled away from the kiss and began to trace circles around her nipples with his tongue. Lisa brought herself away from between Joy's legs and did the same with Joy's other breast. The simultaneous sensations on both her breasts at once were too much for her, and holding the two tightly to herself, she experienced the most powerful climax she had ever had, and without anything having penetrated her.

Joy's arms fell to her sides, her orgasm drained all her strength for a moment as she let the glow subside. Lisa and Raymond let her rest as they exchanged a deep kiss, Lisa's breasts pressed firmly up to Raymond's chest and sending tingles of pleasure through the both of them. Raymond could feel her hard nipples pressing against him contrasting with the soft feel of her breasts pressed all around the area. Raymond pressed her backwards into a laying position with the force of his kiss.

By now, it was obviously a bonus for Raymond to have an extra-long couch. Joy had her head on one armrest as she rested and enjoyed the show Raymond and Lisa were putting on. Lisa had her head on the other armrest, and the couch was so long that Joy's legs ended at about Lisa's waist.

Raymond put his arms on the armrest on either side of Lisa's head, and pulled himself across the couch as far as his reach would comfortably let him. Lisa slid down aways, ticking his chest and stomach with her hair, and took his cock into her mouth. She got an immediate reaction from him as his neglected cock finally received some attention. She sucked and ticked his manhood until the first real sensations of pleasure built up in his loins, and she was cut short by Joy.

Joy had gotten her strength back, and turned around on the couch to allow her tongue access to Lisa's parted legs. She nearly forgot about Raymond as she felt the unexpected sensations flowing through her. Raymond's cock was far beyond ready by now, and he needed release. Dismounting himself from Lisa, he ran his hands down Joy's back, found her waist, and turned her over in one smooth motion. She giggled and let him do whatever he wanted with her, only interested at this point in feeling as good as she possibly could.

Raymond moved to stand behind the high armrest between Joy's legs, and gripping her ankles, pulled her across the couch until her moist pussy was within easy reach. He slid himself easily inside of her, and began to make love to her.

"Ooooh, yes, Ray... just the way I taught you... mmmm..." Joy had a few bad sexual experiences before she met Ray, none of her partners ever bothered to ask her what she wanted when they had sex. When she met Raymond, she decided that enough was enough and she would teach him exactly how to make her cum. Raymond was a quick study, and had always been, and quickly learned what a woman wanted from him. At least what Joy wanted. He made love to her just the she liked it, long and slow at first, quickly later, to make it last as long as she could take it.

Meanwhile, Lisa needed something as well. She had been close to climax twice now, but needed something to throw her over the edge. She got up, knelt over Joy and facing Raymond, and let her lick and suck her clit as Raymond was making love to her.

Lisa came first, massaging her own chest as Joy's tongue danced over her clit and slid into her pussy. She fell backward onto the couch, her head missing the slightly harder armrest by about an inch. Joy wasn't far behind, the familiar shudder and waves of purest pleasure washing over her just before Raymond spurted his seed into her, adding to the sensations and making it last a bit longer.

Lisa and Joy cuddled up together on the couch, Joy a bit farther down than Lisa. Their warmth and glow would be with them for quite a while as they lay there in each others arms.

Raymond sat down for a moment. His hormones satiated for the moment, he was able to think clearly again. He calmly got up, still naked, and took the vile of pheromones into the next room where he sealed the cracked vile in a Ziplock bag.

*

Steve and Jennifer were at Lisa's house while she was at Raymond's. They had just moved in that morning because Steve was now a known accomplice of Raymond, by the Arions, by the police, and by Laura and Chris. "Steve, what are we going to do? We have no where to go, it goes without saying that this is the end of your career, and we can't sponge off of Lisa forever. Why did you have to start helping that madman?"

"Jenny, please. Raymond is my friend. He's been my friend since the first day of my college freshman year. And he's trying to help everyone. How could I know this would happen?"

"I don't know, I don't know anything anymore. I just want to go back to our normal life!"

"Oh Jenny, you know that ended years ago, when we found out about those aliens. I don't think we're any worse off than we were yesterday. Besides, I don't think the police really want us. They want Raymond. They want the aliens. If we just sit tight, Raymond will finish what he started. We can stay here, or at Raymond's, until he's finished. I don't think he's done anything illegal yet, besides have a few weapons and controlled substances that he's not supposed to have."

Steve wanted to hold her while he was telling her this, but it was impossible to do both. Jennifer had lost her hearing and her right arm in the Arion battle with Supergirl in Colorado. She had nothing to do with it, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now Jennifer had to read lips, and learn to work with her left arm.

"This will all be over soon. I've done my part, it's over for us as soon as Raymond makes sure we're all safe. He'll finish off his part. And if he can't, then I'll take the armor and I'll finish it myself. If worse comes to worse, I can say he forced me to help him. Or something. I'll go over it with Raymond. He'll fix everything, he always has." Steve really believed that. Raymond had a forceful will, and was a born leader. He excelled at fixing problems, which was why he became a mechanical engineer in the first place. In the little click that Steve, Lisa, Raymond, Dave, and a few others started in college, Raymond was always able to pull things together and keep them out of trouble with the law and the administration, no matter what it was they were doing.

Now Raymond's abilities, both as a leader and as an engineer, were put to the most grueling test they had ever faced. Steve was certain that as soon as Raymond got back, wherever he was, he would make everything all right again. He always did.

Steve's faith had a momentary shake, however, as the front doorbell rang. Through the curtains, he could make out the shapes of a police officer and a plain clothes detective. He hoped that they couldn't see inside as clearly as he could see out. "Jenny, go answer the door!" He whispered, "Pretend you're Lisa. Get rid of them!"

"What should I say?"

"Tell them what they want to hear. Go!"

Steve hid in a closet, watching everything from between the cracks in the door vents, and Jennifer went to answer the door. "Hello? Can I help you?" There was an obvious shake in her voice, doubtless the two picked it up.

"Hello, Miss Lisa Jencott?" The detective was instantly suspicious. Lisa's medical records mentioned nothing about a missing arm. It was sort of hard not to notice. Second guessing himself though, he thought that perhaps it was a birth defect and he shouldn't bring it up. On another count, however, all her information listed her as Miss Lisa Jencott, but she wore a wedding ring.

"Y-yes,"

"How are you today." It was a greeting, not a question. "Do you know a man named Steve Iwikos?"

"Not well, I knew him in college. We haven't talked in ages though. It's too bad, he was a really good friend of mine. We had our little group who did things together, and it made the years go by a little quicker. But we went our separate ways a long time ago. Not so much as a phone call lately. Heh-heh." It was all Steve could do not to try to stop her. She was nervous, and when Jennifer was nervous she babbled. She might say too much.

"Are you aware that he may be an accomplice to the man who has been seen lately in a suit of armor with an illegally owned machine gun and several other counts of illegal possession?" The detective flipped through a small notebook, staying very professional. "He's wanted for aiding and abetting a known criminal. The armored suspect is wanted for several counts of aggravated assault and battery, firing all manner of weapons within city limits, destruction of private and public property, administering vigilante style justice, and we think he may have unpaid parking tickets. Do you know where we can find Mr. Iwikos?"

"Oh God, no." Jennifer was visibly shaken. She didn't realize it was this bad. Raymond had been breaking all sorts of laws trying to make the world a better place. At least they didn't know who he was. Yet. "I have no idea. Like I said, we haven't spoken in years."

"Then can you explain why we found your address written on a notebook in his house, Miss?" The police officer behind the detective spoke up.

"I, uh, no. I can't. Maybe he was looking up old friends? My number is in the phonebook. Ah, maybe he was looking for a place to stay. I, haven't been home lately. Maybe I missed his phone call?" Jennifer was trying her best to keep her lies straight. She told the truth wherever possible though, the truth is always the safest lie.

The detective made a note in his notebook. "Thank you ma'am. We'll be in touch." The two walked back to the car and drove off. Steve came out of the closet.

"Oh God, I just lied to the police. This is going too far, Steve. This has to stop! We have to tell Lisa what just happened. Oh no, Lisa... if the police come back they'll see the real Lisa here and they'll know I was lying. Steve! What are we going to do!" She fell into Steve's arms are started crying.

Steve knew that Jennifer couldn't see his lips move from where she was, but he spoke anyway. "I don't know, Jennifer. I don't know."

*

Back in San Fransisco, Bacstin and Tabral were busying themselves trying to get the destroyed base back into working order. It took their minds off the fact that they were alone now. They had both always had direction and purpose in life, even though it was imposed on them by the Arion military, and now that they had left it behind it was a little scary having to take responsibility for themselves all of a sudden.

"Hey Tabral, does that monitor still work?"

"I don't see any damage. It should. Don't tell me you actually found a terminal that might work."

"When it fell over, the rubble fell around it, the first two chunks of concrete shielded it from everything else. I don't think it got busted up too badly. It's worth a shot."

They hooked up the computer and monitor and started the system back up. To their surprise, it actually still worked! "All right! And the battery is still good. This should hold us off until we get the electrician in. Only problem is finding one who won't tell anyone. Well that's for later. Right now, let's see..." Bacstin booted up the operating system and tried a few things. "Well, the files are still intact, the whole system seems to work... I think we found a working computer in here! You want to stop here, or should I push my luck?"

"You know what I'm going to say." Tabral grinned. When they had known each other years ago, Tabral was constantly telling Bacstin not to push her luck. And Bacstin was always pushing it. That's how she finally worked her way up the one of the highest ranks a Beta could achieve in the Arion military. Now all that was paying off as she told Tabral to adjust the antenna and she tried to receive some Arion messages. If she pulled this off, she could know where they were and what they were doing, and they'd have no idea how.

"Hey Tabral! Get back down here! We're getting signals! We did it! Just, don't move the antenna!" Bacstin was elated. She hadn't really expected any of this to work. They needed a working terminal, monitor, antenna, and power supply, and somehow they had actually found all four. Of course, the power supply would be drained soon, but that would be easily fixed by the end of the week.

"All right! Let's see what we can get." Tabral watched over Bacstin's shoulder as she worked.

*

Aurora, still trapped on the Arion ship, was formulating a plan. If it worked, she could try to make her way to a POD and get back to Earth. If it didn't, well, she really didn't have anything to lose. Her gold bonds were keeping her weak, but the chains were long enough not to interfere with movement. She swung her arms up and caught the chain around the light on the ceiling. She hung from it with all her weight, and brought it crashing to the floor of the cell.

"Hey, what's going on in there?" One of her guards walked into her cell and butted her in the head with his rifle. She still had most of her invulnerability, even though her strength was gone, and all it did was knock her down. He started picking up the mess, when Aurora surprised him from behind, wrapping her chains around his neck!

The second guard her the commotion and rushed in to help. Aurora, keeping her guard off balance, managed to swing him between her and the second guard just as he opened fire. A powerful energy blast, meant to be able to hurt even a Velorian, killed him instantly. The second guard, aghast at what he had just done, froze just long enough for Aurora to pick up the other rifle. She rolled out of the way to avoid a second blast, and returned fire with three quick shots. The second blast caught the Beta guard in the arm, making him drop his rifle. Aurora hurried to her feet and shoved her rifle into his chest with all her remaining strength.

"Where are the PODs!?" She demanded. The panicked guard could just stand there and stutter. She didn't have time for this. Someone might have heard the shots, and if she waited too long this guard might get his composure back and sound the alarm. She shot him at point-blank range, and tossed him in the cell with the other guard.

She then fired on her own chains, freeing the rest of her mobility from her arms and legs. She was about to fire on the cuffs and regain her strength, when she was hit hard by a violet stream of energy that send her sprawling, and in her weakened state she dropped the rifle.

"Restrain her!" Kayne had chosen the worst possible time to arrive in the holding cell. A small company of Betas who had accompanied Kayne rushed over to Aurora and held her down. Kayne approached her and smacked her forcefully across the face. He then grabbed the remaining chains attached to her arms and pulled her within an inch of his face. "You BITCH. I would kill you right now if Captain Thaylen would allow it. But the bastard insists on a 'ritual execution.'" There was deep sarcasm in his voice when he said those last words.

"He's been a pain in the ass for me ever since I was assigned under him. He refuses to let go of his people's ways." Kayne had needed someone to vent his anger at for a long time. "'Custom dictates this' and 'tradition does not allow for that.' He's in the Arion Military now! He should start acting like it!" He sent Aurora sailing down the corridor with a powerful punch, wrenching her from the grip of the Betas who were holding her. "I can't stand him!" The Betas rushed back over to Aurora and brought her back to Kayne.

Aurora wondered what was going on. He obviously needed to vent some anger, but that wasn't enough to explain what he was talking about. Who was Captain Thaylen? He apparently wasn't an Arion, but was this Prime's commanding officer. Could he be another Kryptonian rouge like Sh'Lyra? Or worse, a Velorian? Velorians were pretty set in their ways, Thaylen could be one of them. On the other hand, little was known about Kryptonians. Her thought was cut short by another powerful blow to her solar plexus.

"Don't look away from me, Velorian!" He picked her up by the neck, and the Betas let go of her. "I won't kill you this time. But know that if you try to escape again I will not hesitate to disobey my orders. Ritual execution is not necessary if an opponent can be killed in battle."

Aurora was thrown bodily into a new cell. "You two, get some shorter chains and bind her arms closer together. You four, clean up the mess in her other cell. And from now on, I want ten guards on her cell at all times, unarmed. If she tries to escape, restrain her physically. I want no weapons where she can get them again!" The Betas quickly went to work, seeing that Kayne was enraged. Whatever he came to Aurora for had been forgotten in his seething anger, he simply stormed away, boots echoing his powerful steps through the corridor.

Putting a few more ideas together in her head, Aurora realized that this was not an Arion ship. Arion ships were an industrial steel grey color, built for purpose and not for design. There were hard right angles everywhere on an Arion ship and computer terminals and communications panels jutted out unceremoniously wherever they could fit. Arion ships were mass produced and built for battle, not comfort.

None of this applied on the ship Aurora was on. Everything was a light red color. There were no hard angles, everything was built around curves. Even where the walls met the floors and ceiling, it was curved. The front of her cell was arched outward, and everything seemed to be built for aesthetic effect. Not one that she cared for, but there was a definite theme dominating the architecture.

She tried to find another way out, but it didn't look good. Her ten guards could overpower her in her weakened state, and Kayne had deprived her of a chance to get something to cut her gold bonds with. Maybe she could find a way to get a message back to Laura and Chris? Not likely, but she considered it.

*

Laura and Chris were still looking for Fairchild. They tried calling the house in Hawaii, but there was no answer. It had been two days now with no sign of her. The anxiety was obviously taking its toll on them both. They were on top of the tallest building in Los Angeles, scanning the horizon and trying to think where she might go if she was in trouble.

"What about Frank's place?" Chris suggested.

"Which Frank, Kara's father?"

"Yeah, we already checked just about everywhere else. Fairchild knows she can trust him, and, well, I don't have any other ideas."

"Eh, what could it hurt to look." Taking a hold of Chris once again, Laura leapt skyward and flew in the direction of Frank's house. The area brought back some memories she would be more comfortable forgetting. The time Kara got her powers, the bridge that fell on her, the massive Earthquake responsible for it all. And thinking of Kara always brought back memories of her death.

Laura almost wasn't even paying attention when she realized they were already at Frank's. When they knocked, they were greeted by Frank in an overly calm manner. He seemed half asleep, or more. "Oh, hi Laura, Chris. Come on in, make yourselves at home. What can I do for you."

Laura had to shake herself out of asking Frank what was wrong. He looked like he needed some coffee, badly. Either that or another 12 hours of sleep. "Frank, did you know that Fairchild is missing?"

Frank looked for a moment as if he was about to yawn. He didn't. "No, I hadn't heard. Is she all right."

So much for that line of questioning. Another dead end. Laura instead took the time to vent her frustration. "I can't belive it. We don't know where she is, how she'd doing, what happened. She hasn't called, we're out of options. And I don't know what to do next!"

"Could I get you something to drink." Huh? That came out of left field. Laura had an odd look on her face, and didn't answer.

Chris spoke up to break the silence. "Um, a couple of ice waters will do fine, thanks Frank." Frank walked out of the room. "Laura!" Chris spoke in a harsh whisper. "We're in his house, show a little respect for the man."

"I... that's... he's acting strange. Don't you notice?"

"Look, we'll talk about it later. Just, be polite and we'll try to see if he can help us out any." Just then, Frank walked back into the room with the ice waters. He blankly handed them to Chris and Laura. "Thanks Frank."

They made small talk for a few more minutes. Laura was obviously not comfortable with the whole situation. There was something more than just tired about Frank.

After a bit, Frank suddenly made another left-field comment. "I'll have to ask you to leave now. I'm expecting someone soon."

Laura had to hold back another surpised expression, but Chris simply shook his hand, and with a quick "nice talkin' to ya," they left.

"Chris! There's something not right about that whole deal. Frank has some problem."

"If he wanted us to know what was up, he would have said something. It's not our place to butt in. Whatever was wrong, he obviously wanted to deal with it himself."

"That's not it, it's, I can't explain it. There was something wrong in there.