Power Lass in Space

Chapter One

Before drifting off to sleep, the superhero known to the world as Power Lass contemplated how far she had come since joining the ranks of superhuman celebrities now known worldwide as Blessed. Nobody knew why random people all over the world had been given powers like hers, manifested in various ways as they were, but only a few dozen had anywhere near her level strength and invulnerability. Only a few others could claim to be stronger, but she didn't mind that. She was the strongest woman among them, and that was good enough for her. So when she woke a few hours later in a strange metal room, she had no idea that the aliens who put her there considered her the single greatest threat to their plans of invasion.

Laying on a cold alloy bench in a room with no other furniture, it's walls all smooth and bare and it light coming from randomly placed squares in the ceiling, she frowned and rose up. She spotted her Power Lass outfit on the floor, a fresh set taken from her closet. She stood, walking over to pick the hardy garments up and examine them.

“Please put on the clothing. We would wish you to be comfortable.”

The voice came from an opening that had appeared silently in the wall nearby. The face occupying the window was alien, and the height of the opening told her he was about four and half feet tall.

“Who the fuck are you? Where am I?” she asked, unafraid of this strange situation. Being bulletproof and immune to potentially every known toxin gave her certain confidence.

“This will your be room. It shall be made more comfortable for you soon enough, please accept my apologies. You are here because you have been deemed one of the humans that must be removed before our conquest of Earth can commence. We have more of you in other rooms, and yet more to collect. It is a most interesting mission for me!”

With that, he was gone and Power Lass got herself dressed hoping she was afforded some privacy but not really expected it. Once dressed, she looked around her polished cell. Was this some sort of hyperstrong metal? A prison cell built to house a superhero who could lift cars overhead with one hand?

Pressing her fingers to the metal, she was a little surprised to discover this wasn't the case. The metal was no stronger than any other she had dealt with, at least no so much stronger to matter. Her amazing strength allowed her to push her finger into the surface with no difficulty, but then the aliens took action.

The entire wall suddenly came to life, glowing as a strange energy washed across its surface in ripples of tiny lightning. Power Lass yanked her finger out, reacting purely on instinct but not before some of the energy had danced up her arm and zapped her, seeming to find the shortest path directly to her heart.

“Whoah!” she stepped back and gave her head a shake as the effects surprised her. She was pretty sure it had been intended to hurt her quite badly. But it felt really really good. The strange energy gave her a very pleasant buzz, similar to the nice buzz she got from electricity only way better. 

“We are sorry for injuring you,” the alien informed her, his window reopened. “The energy fields protect the ship from damage and repair it. You would be wise to not do that again.”

She only smiled, asking “Do what? You mean this?” before laying her hand on the walls surface and scrunching up a handful. The energy increased in intensity, and what was supposedly dangerous and harmful proved most pleasant and invigorating. The alien energy was most agreeable, feeling absolutely wonderful as it arced up her arm and poured into her. 

The alien protested, but she was lost in the bliss of growing stronger. The alien energy soothed and improved her already superstrong muscles, and by the time the aliens switched off the punitive repair system she had become noticeably more healthy, and the alien was wondering if her muscles had just gotten a little bigger.

“Damn that was good,” she confessed, rubbing her forearm with relish and looking down at the alien face. “Turn the nice power back on!”

When he replied, the alien sounded worried. “Why aren't you incapacitated?”

Power Lass laughed. “Oh wow…that was meant to hurt. Was that how you were going to keep me prisoner? With that super-sweet power wall? You know…the one you just switch off?”

There was no mistaking the look of surprise on the aliens face, and he disappeared as the window sealed shut in an instant. Power Lass smiled, feeling energy building in the walls around her before they and the floor lit up with a slightly different kind of energy. She wobbled on her feet as the power gave her an unexpected surge of pleasure. Her discarded nightgown burned up on the floor, and the rising heat began distorting the air. Her outfit held up, and she steadied herself against the wall but not because she was weakened…as the aliens watching her firmly believed. When her hand touched the wall the power surged in even more. She wondered what the hell they were doing, and how foolish it was to just make her stronger like this. The energy felt so sweet, filling her muscles with a warm tingling buzz, making her feel light headed but somehow sharpening her senses at the same time. 

The power cut off, and she stepped away from the wall checking her hands and then her uniform. No damage to be seen. The energy within her seemed to channel itself into her very bones, and she could feel it pooling in her marrow and teeming in her muscles.

She looked up as a small opening appeared in the roof and a little robotic arm dropped down. A laser scanner ran up and down her body as a device on the arm analysed her, then the arm withdrew and the square lights in the resealed roof flashed red.

Before she could call out and ask what the hell was going on, the whole room shifted under her feet and tilted left. Power Lass instinctively hopped up a few inches off the floor, then the wall behind her rushed forward and slammed into her before she realised what was happening. Realising the room had just been moved, Power Lass noticed that gravity was no longer pulling on her…and the walls around her split apart and drifted away.

The blond superhero gasped in the cold void of space, now floating in the vacuum with the panels of her prison spinning slowly away to reveal more and more of her strange predicament.

She instantly spotted the Earth, and realised she must be halfway to the moon. Her fear subsided quickly… she knew she could go very long periods without oxygen… and she marvelled at the beauty around her. The presence of the huge alien warship right there as she span reminded her how she had gotten here, and her wonder turned into a mild anger tinged with curiosity. 

Examining the ship with remarkably sharp eyes she could see several places that looked like doors of some kind, and a few though not many windows. The overall design was quite different to what she might have expected, but this wasn't Star Wars or any other movie. This was a real alien starship, and those were real aliens looking back at her through the windows.

The moment she began moving back toward the ship the defences became apparent. Suddenly the vessel was bristling with cannons, all of many various sizes and all well-aimed. The moment the first shot sizzled out on her chest she became grateful for their aim. It felt even better than the energy she had experienced in the cell, and she paused to allow herself to indulge a moment. She wasn't aware she had been rubbing her hands over her chest and abs until the shooting ceased. For a moment she thought they had realised what a terrible mistake they were making, and had stopped because they noticed they were making her stronger. But then more blasts came at her from the side, and she turned her head to see a formation of alien fighter craft coming at her. She turned to face them, and focused her eyes on the leading ship. To her surprise, the hull seemed to fade away and she was looking through it at the two aliens within. As the small alien fighters blasted away at her with very pleasant energy boosts, Power Lass used her newly awakened ability to examine all of them inside and out. They buzzed past her and flew back around to make another pass before she moved to defend herself.

Lining up the leader, she pushed a fist out front and flew straight at them. They tried to dodge, maintaining fire as she smashed head-on through the energy blasts soaking them up gratefully before her fist slammed hard and fast into the odd-shaped fighter. The Escalade-sized ship tore up from the point of impact, shredded as her harder stronger fist punched on through the armor plate alloy. The explosion was beautiful from where observed it, flying though the debris and flame, and the surge of delightful energy when she smashed deliberately though the small energy core thrilled her.

Without their leader, the formation scattered. Unable to suppress her smile, Power Lass merrily began chasing them down one by one, easily outpacing them and turning inside their sharpest manoeuvres to make short work of each one. She was so much faster she almost felt bad for them as she came up behind and blasted on through the fleeing ships as though they had been standing still.

Pulling up after reducing the last to scattered debris, Power Lass came to a stop and stood in the cold void examining the alien warship deck by deck, her new visual talent enabling her to map the vast ship and note the locations of the aliens within. The scale of their forces made her frown as she realised the seriousness of their plans.

Locating the leadership on the command deck, she could see they were engaged in furious debate. Though unable to hear them, she knew exactly what they were discussing with such energy and animation. The other main point of interest was the collection  of cells…the same as the one that dumped her into space…filled with various individuals from all over Earth. Some she knew, some she had no knowledge of. But it was who 2as missing that had most curious. No superheroes could be seen, when she had assumed they would be in the majority. A little help would have been handy, given the large task ahead, but Power Lass was still looking forward to the opportunity to use her powers without having to worry about so much about restraint. There weren't going to be any negative media reports about collateral damage today.

Reasoning that these aliens could not survive the vacuum of space as comfortably as she did, Power Lass resisted the temptation to smash her way through the command deck view port and opted to enter through what looked to be an airlock two decks beneath it.

She drifted down toward it, noting the ship was now a hive of activity with aliens rushing to their posts a day the corridors rapidly filling with armoured aliens. 

Floating outside the airlock door, she placed a hand on its surface and pressed her powerfully strong fingers into it, smiling as the metal instantly succumbed to her physical superiority. Scrunching up the metal to get a firm grip, she moved her hand to the side and tore a large hole that briefly released gases. Getting her hands on the sides of the fresh opening g as the ship's repair system began feeding her with its strange energy, she defied the nano-repairs and tore the opening wide, splitting the door apart enough that she could enter the small chamber within.

In need of answers, and therefore in need of living aliens, she waited a moment for repair system to seal the damage behind her. It was fast about it's business, and the opening she had made so easily was soon closed. 

Out in the corridor aliens had rushed to make a welcoming party, and as she raised a hand to peel aside the door to introduce herself the door opened on its own.

“Wait right there, Earthling. I have orders to keep you here until my commander arrives.”

Power Lass was unimpressed by the weapons aimed at her. “I just got hit by your ships big cannons. Do you think you can intimidate me with those little toys?”

The alien frowned. “I warn you… take one step more and we will open fire.”

Power Lass gave him a cute smile, hoping he would keep his promise, and stepped forward. True to his word, the alien security officer shot her, and his team joined in. Power Lass moaned, but not in pain. She needed to know more what these aliens were using to power their ship and weapons, because whatever it was felt so wonderfully good. But right now it was time to get to work.

Soaking up dozens of laser blasts, Power Lass went into motion. She grabbed the leaders chestplate, sparks flying as her fingers pulled the alloy to bunch up in her hand with a pitiful squeak before she lifted him up off his feet and snapped her arm straight to release him at pace. He flew backward down the corridor knocking down most of his team and eventually landing to slide along the floor pinballing off the walls until he slammed deep into the distant corridor's end. With speed that thoroughly terrified the remaining guards, she moved like a blur to instantly appear behind the alien furthest from her. She took the guard in both hands and held him horizontal, then callously tossed him him through those who still stood with enough force to shatter their armoured suits and smash them against the airlock door, though she was careful not to throw him so hard he went through into space. Shots fizzled sweetly against her torso as those on the ground began to rise. Their target moved her hands to her hips and gave them an amused smile, smugly accepting the laser blast kisses. Keeping her hands on her hips she blew lightly at the floor, expertly using her powerful superbreath to sweep the aliens across the floor and pile them up in the airlock. 

Her tilted as she examined the control panel of the airlock, its buttons a confusing selection of colours. She could see through it, and found herself not just examining the wires and substructure but also watching the energy flowing. She smiled as she realised she could actually understand the advanced technology, and see exactly how it worked. Not only that, but she could feel the alien energy in the ship all around her, almost like she could reach out and touch it. Raising her hand to make an unnecessary gesture, the airlock closed at her command. 

Pleased with her new ability to manipulate the alien technology, she turned back and checked out the activity on the deck around her. The aliens were barricading the corridors to the lifts and access stairs. Glancing up and down, she could see similar barricades going up all over the ship as they secured every deck. Checking on the prisoners, she examined the security systems for the cells and disabled anything that might harm the people held there. She didn't want these invaders to fry them, or dump them into space as they done to her.

Though it was tempting to go the long way, and deal appropriately with the alien soldiers waiting around every corner ahead of her, Power Lass was very keen to talk to the leader of these alien scumbags. So instead of walking on down the corridor, she hopped up with a little spring off her toes and smashed through the ceiling. Coming up behind some surprised soldiers, as she knew she would, she kicked one with lazily perfect martial arts form and brought her leg up higher to tap another with her toes on the head. Two managed to get their guns up while she dealt out superspeed punches and shoved their only remaining comrade up against the wall with one hand. Their blasters noisily shot purple bolts into her, and she shamelessly vocalised the genuine pleasure she felt. Experimenting with this wonderfully delightful alien energy, she reached out with her mind and sensed it very clearly now as each bolt of energy washed over her body and entered the growing pool of power within her. It was something tangible somehow…and when the next blast struck she experimentally guided the energy toward the alien she held pressed to the wall.

That which pleased her and made her muscles teem so sweetly with energy and power had a totally different effect on these aliens. The energy flowed from her hand into her captured foe and jolted him so viciously and hard that everyone knew in an instant he was dead.

“Oh wow! That was pretty cool.”

Raising a hand, she then lowered as a better idea occurred to her. With a smug smile drawn across her face, she channelled some of the energy she had collected through her gaze and unleashed a blast of power at the foolishly gun happy duo. 

The two aliens were instantly vaporised, and fortunately there were enough walls to soak up the power she had used to protect the outer hull.

“I am loving this!” she declared, realising she was moving up the power rankings real fast thanks to these aliens. “Eat your heart out, Duke Fusion! I have better laservision than any of those other guys!” 

Walking down the corridor, she kept an eye on the security teams that waited in ambush. Deciding not to play with them yet, she stopped just where she needed to be, taking note of the activity above. To get to the next floor she didn't bother to jump this time. She just lifted her gaze and floated up off the floor, raising one hand to push the ceiling to the side with ease. 

Now in the main access corridor to the command deck, she was surrounded by uniforms she hadn't seen yet. Elite guards with different weapons. Power Lass smiled at their surprise, still floating on empty air over the hole she had come through. 

These guys were the biggest aliens she had seen so far. And they had some sort of long-handled sword that turned out to have a blaster concealed in it. Without hesitation the nearest of the bulky alien elites let loose a battle cry and swung his blade hard.

Surprised by the force, Power Lase was actually moved by the blow. Very nearly a whole inch before she anchored herself properly in space and briefly scowled at his bad manners before unleashing a powerful superstrong punch. Her blow tore him apart, and splashed big alien pieces all over his friends. 

They moved well, and compared to the average human warrior they were certainly stronger, maybe even superstrong. But having taken a blow, none of those that followed really registered on her other than the ones involving energy weapons. Those she liked a lot more. Her outfit was suffering a little, but was holding up surprisingly well. She still found herself trying to take every blow directly on the skin anyway, preserving her uniform as long as possible.

In contrast to their strikes bouncing harmlessly off their powerful target, every blow from Power Lass proved utterly devastating to her alien foes. She kept floating and moved with speed that left her enemy speechless. Ignoring their weapons and not bothering to defend herself, she darted about slapping, kicking, punching, tossing and shoving the alien warriors. As she moved down the corridor she left incapacitated soldiers in her wake, many of them reduced to little more than gory messes. By the time she got to the last two they were reluctant to engage her. Power Lass finally landed, standing in front of the frightened aliens with her hands on her hips while they stood dumbfounded with their big oversized rifles aimed at her arrogantly perfect chest.

“Go on then,” she urged them, her features deadpan. “Give it your best shot.”

And so they did, and she was pleased to be struck by two heavy energy beams. She opened her stance, and it was clear how nice it felt as the purple power streams infused her very atoms with refreshingly vibrant power of a flavour she hadn't yet tasted.

“Thanks! Feels so good. Why don't you try some?”

Channelling the energy through her eyes, she returned it to them with interest, not only vaporising them from the knees up, but expertly heating the sealed door behind them until it sagged and slopped to the floor in a glowing pool of liquid.

Pleased with herself, she took one last look around at the defeated soldiers all around her, pleased with her self control. It would have been easier to splatter them, but she had been careful with them. Leaving them behind, she strode confidently onto the command deck and looked around at the various aliens staring back at her from their stations. She gave them a smile and a wave, but became focused on the proud captain and the even fancier looking alien standing beside him.

“Are you two the Bozos I need to speak with to find out why with all the kidnapping?”

They scowled at her, which didn't make them look less kickable. “I am Captain Riov, and you have the honour of being present in the aura of his Royal Highness Prince Tariv of the House of All.”

The prince snarled at the intruding Earthling. “Surrender now and be spared. Keep going…and watch your whole world burn.”

Power Lass frowned at the scale of his threat. “Seems excessive. But to be honest…I hope you really do have that kind of fire-power. That sounds absolutely delicious! But let's start with why you kidnapped me…and all those other people.”

As it turned out, he wasn't shy about his mission objectives. “I am here to conquer this planet! Such a world shall provide many workers and resources for the Empire. Those who would give most trouble have already been removed from our path. We are nearly ready to begin subduing your people.”

Power Lass was unimpressed. “Really? But you left all the other superheroes down there. Why take only me?”

The Prince laughed at her. “Where did you think those powers come from? We made you, fool! We have already taken control of our most successful hybrids, those you would call your top-tier. But you…you seem immune to our mind control. We were unable to reprogram you.”

The blond powerhouse gasped. “I shall free them from you! Those you hold here, and those you hold with your trickery.”

The Prince smirked. “Too late! Even if we were to leave now, your mighty heroes will continue to undermine your civilisation. And once my order is transmitted, they shall begin to eradicate the lesser heroes and destroy your leadership in preparation for my arrival. Our army shall have little work ahead of it harnessing your people.”

Power Lass looked around the command deck at all the consoles, her eyes piercing deep into the innards of the ship's systems until she found the one wired into the communication array. There were two systems she suspected of being for transmissions, so she raised her hand and drew power out of both of them. 

“No more giving orders to Earth.” She made sure to disconnect the power flow internally, and left the operators baffled at their blank screens and darkened interfaces.

Tariv didn't like what he just witnessed. “How did you do that?” he demanded, clearly put off by an indisputable display of her new power.

“I can do a lot more than that, Your Highness.”

She waved her hand, and the main screen showed a tiled view of all the prison cell security feeds. Power Lass was finding it easier to manipulate their systems with every trick.

“You're going to send those people home. Then we are going to take a trip together. Understood?”

The Prince laughed once more, though with less authenticity. “We aren't going anywhere. Accept your fate! Behind me comes a tsunami of imperial forces.”

She smiled in a way that made the Prince and even the stoic captain feel nervous. “I know. That's why I need to take a trip with you before I figure out what to do about those heroes you brainwashed.”

The Captain frowned. “No trips today, Earth girl. This ends right now.”

He gestured, and one of the console operators leapt up and produced a specialised weapon, firing a large projectile that opened and spread into a net of arcing energy cables. The net hit her and wrapped itself around her before tightening up with serious force. It felt simply? fabulous to be hugged so hard by the alien energy, the arcing cables delighting her immensely.

She could have enjoyed it much longer,  but as the net tried and failed to pull her arms against her side she moved to rub a breastplate in absent-minded pleasure and tore the alien metal to shreds.

More alien guards rushed in, trying again with blasters while Power Lass took her turn to laugh. There was no doubting the authenticity of her mirth as she enjoyed the near-intoxicating pleasure of being fed more energy. She even had some idea why it felt so good now…because of the aliens had made her this way using technology based on this power source, then it made sense she could access it better than energy from fire or electricity. 

Making sure the Prince was watching, Power Lass took down the security guards with deliberately overpowered blows to make clear her seriousness. It proved messy, but effective. As her fists demolished his best personal guards, destroying them with strikes that could be felt reverberating through the floor. It was a brutal lesson that ended when she turned the last alien guard to mist and appeared with frightening speed right in front of the wide-eyed Tariv. He squirmed pathetically as she lifted him smoothly off the floor with one hand, her fingers scrunching tighter into a handful of the squealing metal of his ceremonial breastplate. 

“Time to get wise, High Prince. Order your Captain here to send those prisoners home. Do it now, and I won't splatter you all over him.”

The alien prince snarled at her. “Put me down this instant!”

Power Lass looked unimpressed with his commanding tone. Instead of obeying, she raised him higher. “What do you when those under your command refuse an order? You kill them, don't you? I bet you do.”

His ceremonial armor squealed as she tightened her grip, and the Prince suddenly had a very clear sense of his mortality. “Do as she says, Captain. Put them back in the shuttle, and return them.”

Power Lass smiled sweetly, and gently petted the Prince on the cheek. She did not, however, put him back down. Not until she watched the last Earthling prisoner escorted safely aboard the shuttle that had brought them here, and launched back toward their homeworld. It took some time, but she had no trouble keeping the annoyed alien lordling up in the air, not showing the slightest hint of fatigue the whole time. 

“Cool,” she observed, finally lowering her steady arm and carefully putting Tariv back on his feet.

“So it's just you alien scumbags and me now. I want to make sure you assholes never come back trying to enslave my planet ever again. Tell me, mighty Prince…how long did it take to get here from your homeworld?”

The Prince squinted at her. “We have technology well beyond your feeble capacity to understand. The magnificent planet Daraxnyn is 72462 light years from this primitive backwater, yet it took us only 4 of your Earth days to reach you.”

Smiling, she made a decision. “You're going to take me there.”

She stood overseeing proceedings as the ship was made ready to depart. The Captain seemed reluctant, but issued all the right orders…with the exception of one. Though he managed to slip his coded command past her vigilant ears, he was unaware that she could see the preparations being made as his security teams converged on the bridge with a selection of projectile weapons and something they had picked up from a science lab.

As the shuttle landed, and everything on the command deck appeared to indicate impending departure, the security team sprang their already spoiled surprise. Having very carefully gotten into position with their special equipment, under the full awareness of Power Lass the entire time, they burst into the room with their secret new toy aimed at her. The aliens on the command deck with her had quietly stepped away from her, and the guard holding the business end of their toy was free to open fire on her. The tool he held looked something like a fire hose with a boxy gun on the end something like an oversized nozzle. The energy it fired formed a connection with its beautiful blond target and began its unique work. Power began to flow…but this time it was drained away from her and for just a split second Power Lass began to wonder if her arrogance in letting them spring their trap unopposed might just be her undoing. But the draw on her power felt noticeably feeble, despite the violently arcing energy now flowing in and around the cable to the collection unit out in the corridor. 

Smirking, Power Lass raised a hand but rather than move it in front herself to block the beam she lazily held it up to the side and the beam bent itself through the air to strike it. Their technology was manipulating the alien energy just as she did, only their use of machinery was quickly proven far inferior to her own method of controlling the power. Taking personal command of the energy flow, she shocked her enemy by reversing it and doing so with considerable greed. The energy flow into her became a blinding torrent, the operator suddenly struggling to hold onto his former power vacuum.

At such a rate, the equipment was soon fried. Energy continued to be drawn into her hand until Power Lass had totally drained the device's large battery system, then it all went quiet.

The armed aliens now filling the bridge glared in confusion at the healthier and stronger Power Lass standing before them, her muscles showing a clear improvement in conditioning. 

“Damn, that felt good,” she observed, unashamedly buzzing on a small high from the stolen power. “Now…are you losers just gonna stand around looking stupid or are you gonna start shooting me?”

Somebody hit a switch, and blast shields dropped over all the viewports while red emergency lights flashed. The flashes of their weapons soon followed, and Power Lass was entertained by many dozens of well aimed projectiles. Some were similar to Earth guns, but most were electromagnetic. Either way, the result was the same. Hardly even able to damage her attire, the projectiles proved utterly useless where they bounced off her exposed in skin in splashes of liquefied alloy.

It didn't feel so nice as their energy weapons, so she hesitated less before getting to work. Folding her arms, happy to show them how unimpressed she was with their attacks, she began blasting them one by one with blinding yet mercifully short blasts of their own energy returned to them through her eyes and amped up enough to vapourise them, though not entirely. There were terrible reminders left behind to be cleaned up afterward.

When she turned to the Captain with one raised eyebrow, her arms remaining arrogantly folded over her chest. “Fun. You'll try again…at least I hope you do…but I expect something more worthy. For now, though…I expect to be underway, like, right the fuck now. Let's get going, and you get some guys in to clean up this mess while we travel, okay?”

The scowling Captain and his imperial boss exchanged a quick look, the Prince giving a nervous nod. And soon after they were blurring through deep space on their way to Daraxnyn. 

The Captain was deeply annoyed when Power Lass sat down heavily in his swivelling command chair, seeming to be more put out by her passive aggressive power move than when she killed all his guards a few moments before. Happy to be underway, Power Lass made herself comfortable and the seat screeched and popped as her shifting rear forced it into the perfect custom shape. Commanding the Prince to start telling her about his homeworld and his empire, she absently poked her finger into the electronic keypad on the armrest and started siphoning off a little flow of energy to give herself a little buzz. She was looking forward to seeing what kind of cities these aliens had, and much more importantly she longed to see the power plants that provided them with their energy. The idea of this sweet alien power in abundance enough to power an entire world covered in cities made her bite her lip and imagine the kind of pleasure she was going to enjoy.

Chapter Two

She knew they had been very busy preparing traps for her. But their plans, at least all those she had overheard as whispers between the Captain and his officers, involved her leaving the bridge. Either to go get some sleep or use the bathroom or maybe get some food. But though each of the aliens present had cycled through a shift to go to sleep at least twice, Power Lass remained happily seated in the captains chair. 

Her questions came often, and she listened to each answer before offering a polite thank you and asking more questions. The subjects ranged from cultural matter to science, and she learned a great many things about these aliens. Their culture was, in her opinion, rather barbaric and most reminiscent of the Mongols or Huns. The more she learned of their warlike civilisation the more determined she became to make sure they never tried mounting an invasion of Earth ever again.

“How long ago did you take control of the other heroes?”

Tariv was very good at false civility, but after three days of answering the Eather's questions he was unable to successfully disguise his irritation. “Three years ago. But you knew that, because that's when your powers were awakened, weren't they? Just like all the others.”

Power Lass smiled. “Yeah. That's why they never seemed to trust me. I thought it was because they were jealous. Not many of us can fly. And that's my favourite.”

As she spoke her last sentence, the repaired door to the bridge opened and the Captain returned to relieve his first officer of command. He wandered over to his occupied chair, looking grumpy. 

“Do you need to keep poking holes in my armrest?” he asked, his tone resigned.

Power Lass wriggled the finger buried the chairs circuitry, making the small armrest console squeak and spark. She decided not to tell him about how awesome it felt to plug into his ships power supply, and that she hadn't asked for food because she was feeding off his ship. And she definitely wasn't going to tell him how she had accidentally accessed the ship's computer systems and had almost hacked their code.

“No, I don't need to. But you're boring. Did you sleep well, Captain?”

“I did. We have prepared sleeping quarters for you, if you would like to get some rest before we arrive at Daraxnyn.”

Power Lass chuckled, reaching out to pat the alien's cheek. “That is very sweet of you, Captain. To be so concerned about me. But I am fine. And no…I don't want to join you for a meal, either. Honestly, I am not hungry.”

He was not pleased. “How did you know…”

Shaking her head, She smiled mysteriously. “Kinda obvious, don't you think? You've been trying to get me out of this chair ever since I sat in it. Don't worry…I’ll be out of here as soon as we arrive.”

Prince Tariv leaned a little closer to speak. “If I may…I would like to retire for some rest.”

Looking him up and down assessing his condition with a critical eye, Power Lass almost had mercy on him. “No. You stay right by my side. I want you with me so I can say a proper goodbye.”

Tariv squirmed, becoming noticeably more shifty. It was obvious to everyone he was going to try something, but only Power Lass was certain what his plan was…because she could see the hand move to sneakily ready itself near his concealed dagger. 

Helping him cover his moves, Power Lass started asking questions about the imperial family and his place in the overall power structure. Then she moved on to science and weapons, and then to what kind of weather Daraxnyn had.

“Captain…I have a question for you. Why haven't you put Daraxnyn on the view screen yet? The looped footage of the FTL tunnel is very pretty…but we dropped out of the quantum tunnel two hours ago, did we not?”

The Captain was struck dumb, exchanging looks nervously with the other officers. “But…I mean…”

Power Lass laughed. “No worries. I get it. Put the ship in orbit, and then you can take me down to see your generator room.”

She had been keeping an eye on the galaxy outside, and knew they had arrived despite their efforts to deceive her. Another she knew is that it was inevitable for Tariv to try his move now.

The alien noble, already standing very near, drew his sharp dagger and leapt in close to stab repeatedly with trained force at Power Lass’s neck. Her only response was to tilt her head and offer him a cleaner shot. Angered her arrogant display he thrust the knife harder at her jugular only to watch his dagger bounce off her undamaged skin over and over until a frustrated strike snapped off the finely honed tip. He held it up and looked at the flat end of his dagger in fear.

“You didn't think that would really work, did you?” she asked, amusement in her voice. As he move to flee, her hand suddenly had hold of his fancy outfit and she stopped him cold. She yanked him hard into her chest, her inviting breast becoming his doom as his skull caved on its proud perfection. As he flopped to the floor, clearly dead, Power Lass rose to her feet and reluctantly unplugged her finger from the armrest.

“While they get us into orbit, why don't we make our way to engineering? You can even tell them we’re coming.”

When she rose from the seat, the Captain gestured to another officer who went ahead of them. Power Lass smiled, watching as the messenger broke into a run as soon as the door closed behind him and started barking orders through his personal coms. The trap they had set along the path to the sleeping quarters they'd planned for her use was already being moved to the lower decks by the time she left the command deck. She took her time, making sure the aliens could get themselves ready before she got there.

The Captain tried making small talk to keep her guard down, and she used the opportunity to get more information out of him. “So this energy of yours…it is different to electricity.”

The Captain didn't even try to hide his contempt. “Electron-based energy is primitive. We use graviton-based energy. Once you know how to harness them, the energy is most efficient to generate and easy to store. Graviton crystals can be used to both produce and to contain power. But even if I told you how gravitons function, your world lacks the technology to make use of the knowledge.”

They entered a lift, and her treacherous companion commanded it take them to the engineering level. When the doors opened, and Power Lass stepped out, the Captain went to follow but instead stepped back at the last moment and sealed the lift door shut.

Power smiled as the aliens in protective gear suddenly appeared in front of her and blasted her with the alien equivalent of liquid nitrogen. She had to give them a little credit…they actually made her shudder with the sudden chill. But while their equipment used advanced chemistry, it also needed power. So it was very easy for her to switch the chilly stream off simply by stealing the energy that pumped it.

“That wasn't very nice,” she observed, folding her arms over her chest and regarding them with scorn. She pouted her lips and started blowing at them, her breath rapidly increasing in power until it was whipping their alien dreadlocks around. The increasing force took them by surprise, but when the temperature dropped suddenly below even that of their special chemical cocktail they were instantly frozen so solid that when they toppled over in the wind they didn't break.

Turning back to the lift, she could see it shooting back up the shaft and brought up her hand to stop its motion with a mere gesture. While it's occupant barked useless orders at the computer, Power Lass took control of the lift and it started to come back down. When it arrived the doors remained shut, with the Captain holding an emergency door seal button. Shaking her head, the mightily superstrong blond beauty stepped to the closed door and pressed her hand easily through the double layer of alien alloy, prepared for and accepting the energy from the ship repair system. Putting her face to the little window she had made, she smirked at the wide-eyed Captain.

“I can rip the whole elevator out of there if I want to. Come out, or I'm going to pull you through a small hole than this one.”

She released her grip on the door alloy, and the repair system went to work making the damage disappear. A moment later, clearly not pleased about it any way, the Captain emerged from the lift, gave his frozen men a forlorn look of resigned hope, a waited for her to kill him. Instead, she turned and walked toward the generator room.

“Come along, Captain,” she called. “I want you to see this.”

Reluctantly the Captain followed her, not sure what she wanted him to see but certain he didn't really want to see it. When she reached the door to the generator room she didn't wait for him to catch up and open it, instead she just pushed the metal aside as easily as if were simple drapery. Her powerful strength smoothly peeled the door aside and the noisy squealing and tearing of the alloy was the only clue of the destructive power she was using. 

Inside the room there were a few technicians, a race of alien she hadn't seen face to face until now. They were smaller, and a little uglier than most of the aliens she had seen. Her interest, however, was centred upon the main generator and the emergency back-up beside it. Her eyes lit up with deep interest as she watched he'd the power flowing out of it feeding the ship systems. Enough power to travel the vast distances of space, and conquer a plenty. Enough power to do that, and get them home again. All that power generator by a crystal floating in an energy field in a glass panelled chamber not much bigger than an office water-cooler.

She stepped up to it, ignoring the gestures and words of warning from the technicians. Running her hand over the glass surface, she could sense the power and wondered if she could actually pull off what she was about to try.

“That is a gravitron crystal,” the Captain informed her. “Suspended in a quantum collection field. This is the greatest achievement of the Daraxnyn people…”

Power Lass picked her lips. “Tell me, Captain…are we in stationary orbit yet?”

Using his personal communicator, the Captian checked with the flight crew and learned that orbit had been achieved and was stable. “They will be trying to contact us. If we don't respond, they will most likely assume we are compromised and blast us from the sky.”

Power Lass smiled, not looking away from beautiful crystal and its fascinating energy flows. “Then I best get to work.” She pulled her hand back, prepared to strike the small containment chamber. Everyone loudly protested, warning her of great danger but not out of concern for her. They energy about to released could potentially tear the ship apart. However, as it turned out they had nothing to worry about.

Her fist shattered the glass easily, instantly poking a hold in the containment field and allowing the energy to escape in violent arcs. But rather than bursting the ship or imploding it, the dangerous power escaping the chamber was entirely soaked up and absorbed by Power Lass’s grateful muscles. The pleasure intensified to a level she hadn't been expecting as she wrapped her fingers around the warm crystal and pulled it free from the chamber, admiring its beauty as she held it in her hand. The arcing power raced over her arms and smouldered her uniform, the display taking a back seat to the increasing size and improving condition of her muscles. She could actually feel herself becoming stronger and gaining health and vitality no other human had experienced before.

The aliens could only look on in amazed horror as they overpowered Earth woman ascended even further beyond them. Her thickening muscles acquiring an unrivalled sheen of outrageously healthy strength and power. And while they watched with terrified expressions, her strength passed a certain point and the crystal shattered in her hand, crushed by her increasingly forceful grip. 

The explosion should have killed everyone, but the brilliant light and escaping gravitational waves were simply devoured by her improving body, triggering a surging leap in her vast gains. Lost in the deepening pleasure, she was unaware of rubbing the broken shards she held into dust against her improving muscles, though her loud groan of “oh fuck yeah” was nearly deafening.

Her alien audience watched in astonished disbelief as the vast reserves of the energy crystal contained worked wonders on Power Lass's mighty physique. As the power swirled in the air around her she looked like a god, the energy of aura wafting her hair. The light faded, her glowing eyes returning to a vibrant shade of blue, and she stood there clearly bigger than she had been. Stronger, healthier, and very pleased with her new reserves of power.

“This feels so good.” She spoke softly, but her voice conveyed awesome strength. As she examined herself, admiring her thicker muscles and wondrous conditioning, the emergency power system became fully engaged and warning lights flashed everywhere. In the red glow and low key lighting of the emergency system Power Lass closed her eyes and meditated on her increased power, feeling akin to a shaken champagne bottle only just held by the cork of her self control. She sensed new abilities, new potential, her mind expanded as much as her muscles had been. 

The Captain spoke sharply with his officers on the flight deck, making sure the integrity of the ship remained sound. The voice of his first officer made a quick report on damaged systems then announced the approach of imperial warfighters. Thanking him, the Captain had recovered enough to try speaking to the more intimidating Power Lass. “They're coming for you. Once they scan the ship properly, they'll realise what's going on and destroy us.”

Shaking off a near drunken state of bliss, Power Lass couldn't keep the smug tilt from her smile. “Well…if they're gonna blow the ship up anyway, you won't be needing that back-up power.” With that, still locking eyes with the Captain, she reached out a hand and a stream of energy burst out of the emergency generator and rushed to her waiting palm. Not nearly so dramatic, the gains still felt wonderful as she grew another half-inch taller and put on two or three pounds of healthier, stronger muscle. The ship went dark, and the aliens began to float up off the floor as the vessel became fully drained of energy, left drifting helplessly in orbit. Power Lass folded her arms over her magnificent chest and watched the aliens floundering in the zero gravity while she remained anchored to the floor.

“What have you done?” The Captain demanded, shocked by her cruel greed.

“Don't worry…I left enough juice for your air. Not that you're going to need it yourself. But as much as I would like to stick around and ask you more about your empire, I think it's time I went and saw it for myself. Besides…the welcome wagon is just about here now. Time for me to get the hell out of here. So long, loser!”

As he began to protest, dreading what she was about to do, Power Lass floated up gracefully and assumed her favourite flight pose, arms back and one knee cocked she angled her body forward and flashed a quick wave goodbye before accelerating rapidly and smashing explosively through the wall, her face an unstoppable battering rams that demolished two more internal walls and then the outer hull. Escaping air rushed out behind her, carrying the Captain and nearly a dozen other doomed aliens into the cold of space.

Warmed in the most delightful way by both the radiation of their distant sun and power pooled deeply within her, Power Lass left the silenced ship behind and flew out over the strange world of Daraxnyn. It's beauty was indeed remarkable. Green, vibrant, and covered in oceans. Earthlike, with more purples and a lot more sprawling cities. As she took it all in, a surprise missile slammed into her left side, exploding and sending her into a tumble. In the silence of space, she had received no warning. Nullifying the roll and coming to a stop, she centred her attention on the alien warfighters zooming toward her and smiled. This was going to be a lot of fun…