Well, here it is--the revision of what was once known as Project: S-boy.
Hope everyone likes it. ^^;;
(Takes a deep breath...hits 'Send'....)
This is a work of fanfiction. Superboy, Knockout, Tana Moon, Rex and Roxy
Leech, Triad, and Jason Blood are all copyrighted by DC Comics and are not
used with permission. A-ko and her alphabetic bunch are all copyrighted by
Soeishinsha/Final-Nishijima and Central Park Media and are *also* not used with
permission. Everything else is mine.
This story may be posted and distributed freely--just don't monkey with my
text, especially this heading. Got it? Good.
I like comments, so send any you might have to David Outram at
kmagami@hsonline.net Constructive C&C is naturally preferred, but I'll take
what I can get. ^_^; Thank you.
Revision notes: Those of you who follow the Superboy comic book series
might notice some oddities about Knockout's character. The reason for this is
simple--I started this fanfic before the "Losin' It!" storyline and had to make
my own guesses about her motivations and background. So as far as this fic is
concerned, Knockout has genuine feelings for Superboy, though she remains rough
around the edges.
For those concerned with continuity, this story takes place shortly before
"Losin' It!" in the Superboy comics, and little while after the fourth episode
of Project: A-ko.
*******
Tales of Graviton City
Author's Foreword
Sometimes I thought I would never complete this book. Endless research of
news items, interviews with all the participants (some of whom were damned dif-
ficult to find!), writing, re-writing, and *re*-re-writing all took their toll
on my scant time. But finally, at last, I have completed the book, which you
now either hold in your hands, or view on your screen.
The disaster known as the Conjunction of the Planes affected a great many
people in profound ways. Considering this, it is surprising just how little
most people know about it. Certainly, everyone has seen or read the news re-
ports, and almost everyone has a Conjunction story to tell, either among
friends at the bar, or to a psychiatrist on the couch, or to a priest in the
confessional. But no knows exactly what happened. It is too far beyond the
prior experiences of anybody in this world--or any other.
I hope to correct that with this book. While I could hardly cover *every-
thing* that happened during this period--such a tale would fill a dozen CD-ROMs
to overflowing and *still* be incomplete!--I feel that what I *was* able to co-
ver should help clarify the matter substantially.
Some may wonder why I chose to present this material as I have, in the form
of a tale, rather than as a "proper" scholarly text fit for publication in
history textbooks. Well, I cannot speak for anyone else, but I always found it
easier to digest dry facts when they are wrapped in something juicy and tasty.
This is not to say that I distorted any factual account for the sake of enter-
tainment. I merely employed the adage of instructors and entertainers every-
where: "Keep 'em hooked!"
Besides, I was never, nor will I ever be, a "proper" scholar. :P
Others may wonder why it was I who wound up writing this book, rather than
one of the more major players, such as Superboy, Eiko Magami, Kumi Mano or any
one of a number of others. The truth is, I was the only one who possessed both
desire and time in sufficient quantities to even make the attempt. The others
were either not of a writing bent, or were too occupied with the reorganization
following the Conjunction. If you were hoping for a scholarly treatise from Bi-
ko Daitokuji, or maybe some action-filled blood-'n'-guts story from C-ko Hibi-
ki, them I'm afraid that you're out of luck. What you have is me, and I intend
to tell the story my way. And so, without further ado...
--JY
{[Editor's note from the original draft]}
[Honestly, J, are you incapable of expressing yourself without four-letter
words? Do you realize how long it took me to remove all the extraneous obscen-
ities from your text? Four hours! *Four*! Would you mind doing your long-
suffering editor a big favor and keep the swear words to a minimum outside of
the dialogue? Please? --ed]
{[JY's reply]}
[P*** off! I'm doing my f***ing part! You do yours, and leave me the h***
alone! --JY]
*******
Tales of Graviton City
Part One
A Tale of Strange Visitors
[Author's Note: It is not absolutely certain when the Conjunction offi-
cially began, though many conjectures have been made (some more informed than
others). Some feel it began when the first tear appeared between the dimension-
al walls, while others claim that it actually began much earlier, when Olkon
manipulated Xena of Universe VS into granting him access to the fabled Talho
sector, where all the universes thoretically grind together in some mindbog-
gling five-dimensional dance, where he is supposed to have set the Conjunction
into motion.
For the purposes of this tale, however, I will begin with a more mundane
event--the initial crossing of two people from one universe to another.
--JY]
*******
The young man leaned against the wall next to the display case in the dark-
ened museum. His posture was slouched, his eyes half-closed, as his gaze wan-
dered aimlessly around the room.
Boredom personified.
Superboy yawned, his red-gloved hand moving listlessly to cover his mouth.
"Man, how did I let 'em talk me into pulling guard duty again?" he muttered
rhetorically to himself. His eyes slid over to view the artifact encased within
the confines of the display case, his lip curling in a grimace. "Like, who'd
wanna steal some old book, anyway?"
Sighing in resignation, the teenaged superhero reached into one of the poc-
kets of his jacket, pulling out his Gameboy. "Might as well do something use-
ful..." Flipping the switch to the "on" position, Superboy proceeded to sharp-
en his virtual fighting skills.
Superboy had nearly triumphed over the forces of evil and earned the right
to continue to the next level when his peripheral vision caught a flicker of
movement. Remembering what he was supposed to be doing here, he raised his
head to see someone striding toward him.
Superboy watched the approaching figure with admiration. It belonged to a
tall, statuesque woman in a green, skintight outfit. As the woman got closer,
it dawned on Superboy that recognized the costume. Reluctantly, he tore his
eyes from her torso and looked at her face.
"Knockout!" he exclaimed. "What are you doin' here?" He glanced at the
artifact he was charged with guarding, and added under his breath, "Or is that
a stupid question?" He replaced his game and surreptitiously braced himself
for a fight.
Knockout was more observant than he anticipated, though. She noticed his
attempt at subtle combat preparations, and grinned wolfishly. "Relax, pup. I'm
on your side now, remember? I just came over to help you guard this moldy old
book," she said, gesturing at the tome to which she referred. She gave him a
broad wink. "Your track record as a guard hasn't been very good, at all."
Superboy scowled. "Y'know, reminding me about that isn't gonna exactly set
me at ease." After all, Superboy had first met Knockout when she stole another
artifact, the Spear of Lono, from this very museum while Superboy was guarding
it.
"Hey, I only stole the damn thing 'cause I wanted a good brawl," Knockout
grinned. "You sure gave me that."
Superboy grimaced, remembering. That fight had left him aching for days af-
terward. "So why do you wanna help me? Guard duty's boring as hell, believe
me."
The redhead shrugged. "It beats hanging around your place, being ogled by
Leech." Rex Leech was Superboy's "business manager". Slimy didn't *begin* to
describe him. Admittedly, he seemed to do well by the kid, but that didn't
mean Knockout had to like him.
Superboy, distracted by the effects of Knockout's shrug on her torso, was
slow in answering. Remembering himself, he again raised his eyes. "What the
hell," he decided. "Oughtta be more interesting than sittin' here by myself."
Knockout agreed heartily. "Oh, I'm sure we can find ways to make this a
*lot* more interesting..." she purred.
Superboy shifted uncomfortably. Contrary to his image, he wasn't really out
to score with every female he met. He was deeply in love with a woman named
Tana Moon, and didn't want to do anything to damage their relationship. While
he saw nothing wrong with staring and flirting, anything more than that was out
in his book. He was well aware that Knockout wanted *much* more.
"C'mon, Knockout, we've discussed this before," he said in a pleading tone.
Knockout caught the tone and reluctantly backed off. "Oh, all right," she
grumbled. "Have it your way." She was pushing too hard, she realized. She
needed to ease up a little, or risk losing him for good. _I'm not used to com-
peting for a guy,_ she thought. _It was always the other way around, before.
Before I met Superboy._
She mentally counted off her list of rivals. Tana Moon, of course, was at
the very top. Superboy had made no secret of his feelings for this reporter
woman. _Why her, of all people?_ Knockout thought. _She's a lowly! She'd be
lucky to make it as a Hunger Dog. The pup could have so much better..._ Be
that as it may, Moon remained her primary rival. Shaking her head in disgust,
Knockout wished she could figure out a strategy to eliminate the annoying re-
orter woman as a factor, but the best idea she had had so far was drop-kicking
Moon into the nearest active volcano. She didn't think Superboy would be too
well-disposed toward her after pulling something like that, so she resolved to
find a better, more subtle way.
The rest of the list was easier to deal with. Roxy Leech, Rex Leech's
daughter, had seemingly resigned herself to more of an "older sister" role in
Superboy's life, so was hopefully no longer in the running. Knockout was un-
certain about this conclusion--why else would Roxy decide to join this world's
pathetic police force, if not to try to impress Superboy?--so she decided to
continue to keep an eye on the blonde bimbo.
The various teenyboppers in Superboy's high school were also no serious
threat, as he obviously preferred older women.
She had, however, caught references to some girl from the 30th century that
had caught Superboy's eye when he visited there (then?). What was (will be?)
her name? Dryad? No, Triad. Knockout saw no real problems, there, either. She
understood that long-distance romances never worked, and you couldn't get much
more "long-distance" than a thousand years.
_Enough of this,_ she told herself. _Talk to him._ "Does this book here
have a name?" she asked, for lack of a better topic.
"'The Book of Olkon' they said," Superboy replied. "I guess this 'Olkon'
dude wrote it, or something."
"You look inside?"
"Nah. The dudes that briefed me said they had a specialist comin' in to
take a look at it. Name of Jason Blood. What kind of a name is *Blood*? Any-
way, accordin' to them, Blood said never to open the book."
"This Blood say why not?"
"All I caught was somethin' about 'alertin' the original owner to it's pre-
sence'. I had...other things on my mind at that point," Superboy admitted.
Things such as a beautiful woman in a short skirt passing by him.
"I can imagine," Knockout commented dryly. "So what are you worried about?
That book's gotta be a million years old! The original owner's dust by now."
Knockout reached toward the case.
Superboy grabbed her wrist. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Knock-
out," he warned. He looked at her curiously. "Why are you so interested in it,
anyway? No offense, but you don't exactly seem like the bookish type."
Knockout couldn't explain her interest, but she didn't care to admit it, so
she said, "A lot *you* know, pup! Maybe you should try to get to know me bet-
ter, huh?" Shaking loose his grip, she again reached for the display case con-
taining the Book of Olkon.
Superboy again tried to restrain his partner, but a shove sent him stagger-
ing. "What the--?!" he shouted. He flailed his arms, but was unable to recover
his balance, falling on his rear. He immediately jumped to his feet, but it
was already too late. Knockout had opened the case, her strength easily de-
feating its lock, and had picked up the old tome, caressing it in her hands.
"KO! Put it back!" Superboy demanded, an unexplainable dread filling his
being. He rushed toward the transfixed woman, intending to strike the book
from her grasp, only to crash into the wall when she stepped abruptly to one
side, seemingly not even noticing her partner's effort. As Superboy turned,
ready for another try, Knockout opened the cover.
As soon as she had done so, the compulsion left her. Superboy stormed over
to her, irritably demanding, "What the hell'd you do that for?"
"I...I dunno," Knockout shakily replied. I just knew I *had* to open it,
and no one was gonna stop me."
"You serious?" Superboy asked.
"Yeah."
"Okay...this is weird..." said Superboy uneasily. After a moment, he con-
tinued. "Well, nothing seems to have happened. I guess it's okay."
Apparently, that was a cue, because the moment the words left Superboy's
lips, a chill wind blew through the room, and the lights darkened to a fitful
glow. Peering through the gloom, Superboy and Knockout could see a swirling
darkness a few yards ahead of them. The swirling coalesced into an inky-black
hole in space, through which stepped a gut-wrenchingly hideous beast. It had
a body that looked like a bloated cross between a toad and a pig, topped by the
head of a lizard that had gotten too close to a garbage disposal unit. A pair
of long, prehensile, purple tongues flicked in and out of its mouth rapidly,
leaving spatters of slimy drool on the floor beneath the creature.
"I've got a BIIIIIIIIIIG mouth!" groaned Superboy.
The monster spoke in English, with that surrealistic timbre reserved for
evil supernatural creatures. "Thank you for finding my book for me. I was be-
ginning to think I would have to deal with the Conjuction without it." He
turned to Knockout, who was still holding the book. "Red Hair, by your action,
you have earned my pleasure. You shall have the honor of being my high priest-
ess and consort, forever at my side, as I rule the multiverse. You are my Cho-
sen One."
"*Consort?!*" shrieked Knockout, outraged and disgusted. "Uh-uh. *No* way.
C'mon, Pup, let's take this creep out."
"I'm with you, KO," Superboy replied. He rose into the air and prepared for
battle.
The demon laughed; a cruel, terrifying sound. "Fools! I am *Olkon*! Most
powerful of the elder demons! I have laid *worlds* to waste! What--"
Olkon's tirade was interrupted by Superboy's, "Never heard'a ya! Now why
don't you just go back through your little hole, and leave us the hell alone?"
_Well...it's worth a try; maybe he'll go..._ Superboy mentally added.
Olkon was not amused. "You shall pay for your insolence, whelp. But for
now, bide awhile and witness as I give my consort a taste of her many pleasures
to come."
"Did he mean what I think he means?" Superboy asked his partner, a look of
disgust on his face.
Knockout's face looked even more disgusted than Superboy's, with outrage
added to the mix. "I don't think so..." she growled, her well-defined muscles
flexing in preparation for mayhem.
Olkon ignored his Chosen's posing, stretching his twin tongues toward her
rapidly. "Great pleasures indeed," the demon leered, his words somewhat dis-
torted due to his tongues being otherwise occupied, as his prey was partially
entwined.
"Only in your twisted fantasies!" Knockout snarled. She snagged the two
grotesque digits and yanked with all her considerable strength, doing absolute-
ly no damage, as the tongues merely extended to accomodate her pull. Olkon made
use of the extra length to wrap around Knockout's arms. "Shit!" she yelled,
beginning to panic as she realized her mobility was being threatened. "Pup! Do
something!"
Superboy was already in motion. He flew directly at the monster and slugged
him in his deformed head. Olkon roared in rage as he flew backward with the
force of the blow. He was unable to maintain his grip on Knockout's body, let-
ting her fall to the ground. The redhead got to her feet, and called, "Thanks,
Pup."
"No prob, KO," Superboy called, closing with Olkon again. "But don't call
me--"
The young hero's sentence went unfinished as Olkon's fist struck hard into
his stomach. Superboy doubled over, gasping in pain, and the demon's follow-up
strike smashed into his head. Dazed, Superboy slumped to the ground.
Olkon grabbed him and held him aloft in his massive arms. "I should make
you suffer days for your assault on me," the monster snarled. "But I haven't
the time to spare. The Conjunction of the Planes is too close." The demon made
some intricate motions, and a second black disk appeared in the space behind
Superboy. "I banish you to another world," Olkon intoned grimly. "May you ne-
ver return!" With that, he hurled Superboy into the portal.
Superboy only had presence of mind enough to yell, "Oh, shiiiiiiii..." as he
disappeared.
Olkon turned to Knockout, who was standing aghast nearby. "Now where were
we?" he asked rhetorically, as his tongues reached for her again.
*******
"*Weekend*!" yelled C-ko happily, bounding down the front steps to Graviton
High School for Girls. "Two whole days to ourselves! Isn't it *great*? What
should we do? We gotta do something *fun*! What do you want to do, A-ko?" As
usual, the diminutive blond girl's mouth was going a mile a minute.
A-ko smiled tolerantly at her friend. C-ko was like this every Friday. Of
course, come to think of it, she was like this almost every day at some point.
Brushing an errant lock of red hair out of her eyes, A-ko replied, "I dunno, C-
ko. I hadn't really thought about it."
"Well, we gotta do *something*," C-ko insisted. The short bundle of enthu-
siastic energy adopted a look of intense concentration--the sort of look she
never used in class. "I know!" she exclaimed at last. "Let's go on a picnic
tomorrow! We'll sit in the park on a blanket and I'll cook lots of things to
eat and--"
The moment C-ko mentioned cooking, A-ko's survival insincts kicked into
gear. Horrified, she quickly interrupted, "Or maybe we can see a movie. There's
a new cartoon from America you might like." C-ko loved American cartoons,
though A-ko didn't really care for them. They were almost all aimed at kids (or
people with a kid's mentality, A-ko thought ungraciously, glancing at her
friend), and they always drew the eyes so *small*--you could hardly see them!
But anything to get C-ko's mind off of *food*...
"An American cartoon? Great!" C-ko enthused. "We can go there after the
picnic."
A-ko cringed, feeling queasy. _After the visit to the hospital for a stom-
ach pump, she means,_ A-ko thought with resignation. _Sometimes you just can't
win. And Mom and Dad wonder why I always stuff myself at dinner. After sleep-
ing late and missing breakfast, then lunch a la C-ko, it's the only decent meal
I get to eat all day._
C-ko's cooking was infamous for its lack of edibility. Even A-ko's otherwise
cast-iron stomach was unable to keep it down. But that never stopped C-ko from
regularly attempting to poison anyone who couldn't avoid it. As C-ko's best
friend, A-ko was a frequent victim of C-ko's culinary terrorism. Only A-ko's
superhuman endurance saved her from an agonizing death.
_If only refusing that toxic waste she calls food was an option,_ A-ko
thought bitterly. _But the only thing worse than eating C-ko's food is dealing
with her hurt feelings._ She sighed and made a mental note to smuggle some Pep-
to-Bismol to the picnic.
Not that it would do any good.
_Face it, A-ko--you're doomed..._
Her gloomy thoughts were interrupted when C-ko asked her, "Do you hear
that?"
A-ko, lost in horrible visions of death by botulism, hadn't been paying at-
tention to her surroundings. "Hear what?" she asked. Then she heard it; a
faint scream that sounded like, "...iiiiiiiiiii..." A-ko stopped and cast about
for the source of the noise.
Abruptly a dark hole appeared directly before A-ko and the the scream in-
creased in volume--"...iiiiiiit!" A figure emerged from the hole at high speed
and crashed into the wall behind A-ko, who had dove to the ground barely in
time.
"Damn, that was close!" A-ko swore. "Who *was* that?" She got to her feet,
dusting off her rear, and turned toward the person imbedded in the wall just as
the wall collapsed, burying him. All the two girls saw was a flash of red and
blue clothing before he disappeared under the rubble.
A-ko ran over to the pile of rock. "C'mon C-ko, we gotta get him out of
there!" She began hurling slabs of concrete off of the pile, disrupting traffic
and damaging property for miles around. C-ko briefly tried to help, but gave
it up when she found that couldn't lift even the smallest piece, so she settled
for cheering on her friend.
Asa, nearby, dove for cover, keeping her camcorder trained on the rescue ef-
fort. _B-ko's not paying me nearly enough for this,_ she thought. B-ko was a
beautiful, spoiled, rich girl in A-ko and C-ko's class. She considered herself
and A-ko rivals for C-ko's affections, despite C-ko's obviously complete devo-
tion to A-ko. This fact was totally lost on B-ko, who, under the assumption
that A-ko was the only thing standing in the way of her desire, used her inven-
tive genius and great sums of money to create a series of robots designed to
defeat and humiliate her rival.
A-ko, using her natural-born superpowers, defeated them easily, time after
time, until B-ko finally came up with the Akagiyama 23, an extremely powerful
battlesuit, which, while it covered very little of B-ko's lush body, nonethe-
less enabled her to fight A-ko directly. The massively destructive battle which
followed was interrupted without a decision when C-ko was kidnapped by aliens.
But that's another story entirely. Since then, the rivalry between the two
schoolgirls has simmered (with occasional destructive flareups, causing insur-
ance premiums in Graviton City to skyrocket, and the construction industry to
boom). B-ko, a firm believe in the adage, "Know thine enemy", has maintained a
constant surveilance on her nemesis, using Asa and several other girls from
their class.
B-ko sat in her favorite chair, watching A-ko shift the pile of rubble on
her monitor, but her mind was wandering elsewhere.
"Kei," she sighed to herself, feeling maudlin. "We could have been so good
together. Why did you have to fall in love with C-ko?" She sighed again. Re-
minded of C-ko, she raised her eyes to the monitor to view her other true love.
As she did so, A-ko tossed aside the last slab covering the mysterious figure.
B-ko glanced at the unconsious figure of Superboy thus revealed. Then
looked again. She stared. "He's...gorgeous," she murmured.
Kei? Who needed Kei?
A-ko was also staring at the unconcious boy she had rescued, but her gaze
was fixed on the stylized 'S' symbol on his chest.
"Dad?" she whispered.
*******
[Author's Note: The phenomenon of a demon's lust for human females is all
too well-known. Why such creatures would prefer humans for their depravities
rather than their own kind is, quite honestly, beyond me. It isn't merely a
matter of human women being easier than demonesses to physically overcome, as
there are a number of ladies who are more than capable of defeating an individ-
ual demon if pressed. The general consensus is that, to a demon, a human girl,
especially a virgin, represents innocence and purity, and there is nothing a
demon enjoys more than defiling such things. As innocence and purity are nota-
bly lacking among female demons, and goddesses are generally too powerful to
safely molest, that leaves mortal women to be target number one for demons out
on the prowl. It is regretable, but demon rape is a danger that any woman faces
when confronted with the denizens of the netherrealms, regardless of the state
of that woman's innocence.
Those of you who are of a sensitive nature may wish to skip to the nine par-
agraphs just before the next line of seven asterisks after the one just below,
as the portion before that contains material of a nature offensive to some.
--JY]
{[Note to Editor: There! I put in the f***ing idiotic disclaimer. Are ya
f***ing happy now, or do you want to p*** on the facts some more? --JY]}
{[Editor's Note to JY: Maybe *you* thrive on flames, J, but I, for one,
would prefer to go without them. I am not asking you to remove or alter any
factual information. We just need to warn people when something possibly shock-
ing to their sensibilities is about to occur. --ed]}
{[Note to Editor: Just tell the priggish a**holes, "Welcome to the real
world, d***head. Deal with it." And stop censoring my f***ing swear words!
--JY]}
{[Editor's Note to JY: No, to both demands. I will leave the obscenities
in the dialogue of the main text, as agreed, but they are *not* necessary in
the Author's Notes.]}
*******
Knockout stared with horror at the hole into Superboy had disappeared. "No,"
she whispered. Then she heard Olkon's, "Now, where were we?" and was reminded
of her own plight.
"You don't have time to torture Superboy, but you still have time to rape
me?" she demanded incredulously, springing back out of range of his grasping
tongues.
"I just want a quickie," replied the demon, leering. He lengthened his
tongues, and managed to coil one around the woman's waist. He quickly pulled
her closer.
"Geez, you sure know how to give a girl a good time," Knockout said sarcas-
tically. She managed to unwrap the grotesque tongue from her waist, but its
twin grabbed her before she could get away. She shuddered in disgust as the
slimy organ came in contact with her bare flesh.
"You will say that again and mean it when I am through," Olkon replied.
"Yeah, right," she spat defiantly, cursing the way her voice betrayed her
growing fear.
The demon ignored her. With a lightning-quick movement, the demon's free
tongue shot out, wrapping itself around his victim's arms, drawing them togeth-
er, immobile. "Now, let's see what you've got," he said.
Knockout felt blackness of panic closing in as her freedom to move was taken
away from her. _No!_ she mentally screamed. _Not now!_ Sweating with fear,
she grimly clawed her way back to full awareness. Trying desperately to avoid
showing her critical weakness, she snarled, "Let me go, you bastard!"
"Now is that any way to address your master?" Olkon replied with amusement.
He pulled her within range of his arms, and tore her costume asunder. "Very
nice," he murmured gutterally. Replacing the tongue holding Knockout's legs
with his hand, he caressed Knockout's exposed body with the prehensile digit,
leaving a trail of slime wherever it touched.
Knockout shuddered in disgust. "Fucking pervert!" she gritted.
"Very true," replied the demon. "I approve of honesty in my high priestess.
But I tire of talk. Let's get down to business."
Knockout opened her mouth to blast the monster with a stream of obscenities,
but Olkon took this opportunity to thrust his free tongue into it, nearly mak-
ing her gag with this revolting French kiss.
Knockout, had it been physically possible at this point, would have laughed
at the demon's idiocy as she bit down with all her considerable strength, com-
pletely severing the offending organ. Olkon bellowed in pain, hurling Knockout
away. She rebounded from the wall, landing next to where Olkon's book lay,
feeling an odd tingling as her bare arm brushed it. Spitting out the severed
end of Olkon's tongue, she staggered to her feet.
"Eyech! Get me some mouthwash!" she muttered.
"Bitch!" roared Olkon. "You need a lesson in humility! Chosen or not, you
shall pay for this affront!"
"Oh, shit," Knockout said under her breath, and looked frantically for an
exit. She was as brave as the next person, but enough was enough.
The only escape route not blocked by Olkon's bulk was the portal though
which Superboy had been thrown. _Good enough,_ she thought, running for it.
Olkon, realizing her goal, quickly began the motions necessary to banish the
portal, but was too slow, as Knockout dove through just before he completed his
spell. The portal winked out behind her. "Damn her!" snarled the demon, curs-
ing his slowness. _Oh, well,_ he thought. _I'll just deal with her after the
Conjunction is complete._ He made a mental note to do that, and to examine his
book to see why the spell of subservience that it was supposed to have cast on
the Chosen had apparently malfunctioned. _Speaking of which..._ Olkon glanced
around for his tome.
Where did it go?! It was gone!
The red-haired bitch! She must have taken it with her!
He'd chosen a random dimension. He had no idea where she or the book were
now.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!"
*******
[Author's Note: This also marks the first appearance of Olkon as himself in
the mortal world in recent times. When he tempted Xena, Olkon was always in
his "three-headed dragon god" avatar. The fact that he dispensed with any such
disguise in his encounter with Superboy and Knockout indicates that he no long-
er felt that the Convocation that limited the activities of demons and gods in
the mortal worlds had any further binding on him--a chilling clue as to the
nearness of the fruition of his plans.
As for the reason that a woman like Knockout became Olkon's Chosen, there is
no real way to tell. Olkon never gave any reasons behind his decisions, and
there were no other available sources of information about this matter. Some
theorize that *any* female with certain qualities would have become the Chosen
under the right circumstances, while others believe that Knockout was somehow
predestined for this role. Knockout herself never knew why she was Chosen, and
showed little desire to find out. She was content enough to put the matter be-
hind her, an attitude for which I cannot really blame her.
--JY]
*******
Knockout emerged from the portal fifteen feet above ground level. She only
had time for a surprised curse before she hit the asphalt below. Painfully
getting to her feet, she became aware of horns honking, and voices shouting in
some foreign language. It seemed her entrance had caused a major traffic jam.
She smirked. This wasn't the first time.
Knockout scanned her surroundings. Almost everyone around was staring at
her with wide eyes. *Very* wide eyes--they seemed to take up nearly a third of
their faces. Weird. She was used to being stared at, though, so she ignored
them. She was more concerned with those people who were averting their wide
eyes, or covering up the wide eyes of their children.
She had a horrible thought and looked down at herself. _Oh, shit!_ she
thought. She was dressed only in her green boots, gloves, and domino mask. The
rest of her was fully on display. While she had not too long ago made a living
as an exotic dancer, she had no desire to put on a free show at this time. She
quickly began looking for an alley in which to disappear.
She had just spotted a promising one when a bus-load of gaudily-dressed
tourists began aiming cameras and camcorders in her direction. Red with fury,
the temperamental redhead stalked over to the bus, squatted, and grasped its
undercarriage. Unintelligible catcalls quickly turned into shouts of panic as
she overturned the vehicle. Presenting her middle finger to the stunned tour-
ists, she turned and sprinted for the alley.
Once safely out of view, Knockout slumped against the wall behind some
dumpsters. What was she going to do? Lost in some non-English-speaking coun-
try, on another *world* maybe, and no visa, passport, money, or clothing. She
hadn't seen Superboy when she had emerged from the portal, so he could be *any-
where* for all she knew. She sighed in despair. When she had joined Superboy
in guarding that damn book, she had envisioned an entertaining night of putting
a few moves on his hot young body, or at least getting into a nice, destructive
brawl. Instead, she had lost Superboy, almost gotten raped by the ugliest thing
she had ever seen in her life, and ended up exposed naked in the middle of a
busy street. *Not* the best day of her life. And all she had to show for it
was some ratty old book that was...lying...at...her...feet...
She stared at the tome, lying innocuously on the ground. _It can't be,_ she
thought. She bent down and looked closer. _It is,_ she finished, astounded.
_Could I have picked it up without knowing?_ she wondered. _Maybe, but I don't
really think so. Well, let's take care of this for good._ She picked the book
up, again feeling the tingling sensation she remembered from the last time she
touched it. Being careful not to let the book fall open, she shoved it into the
dumpster and buried it under some trash. _So much for that._
Next thing to do was find something to wear. She crept to the alley's mouth
and observed the passersby from the shadows. The main problem with outfitting
herself in this manner was finding someone close to her size. Knockout was well
over six feet tall and very well built. But she was certain that someone would
be along presently. All it took was patience.
Half an hour later, Knockout's patience was ended, and she was ready to lash
out at whoever was unfortunate enough to pass by next, regardless of that per-
son's size. Fortunately for whoever that would have been, it was then that
Knockout spotted her victim. She was a big, beefy girl--a little shorter and
broader than Knockout, but she would have to do. Knockout checked to ensure
that no one was watching, then made her move.
Mari had walked this route to her dojo for years--so long that she could
allow her body to travel on autopilot while she daydreamed. Thus, she was
caught completely by surprise when the red-haired woman grabbed her from be-
hind. A quick blow to the back of the head dazed Mari and left her vulnerable
to her assailant's powerful following strikes. The muscular girl caught only a
blurred glimpse of her attacker's naked form before a final punch sent her to
dreamland.
Knockout, while disappointed that the fight was over so fast, wasted no time
in dragging her victim deeper into the alley and stripping her of her school
uniform, leaving the underwear behind. She didn't really need it, anyway. She
just had to be careful how she moved in her new skirt.
Knockout dragged the unconscious body behind the dumpster behind which she
had hidden earlier, then rubbed her arm where one of Mari's wild swings had
connected. She'd have a bruise there tomorrow. _That girl's *strong*,_ Knock-
out thought with grudging admiration. _Might have been a nice challenge, if I
hadn't ambushed her. Ah, well. Maybe next time._
She took Mari's purse and started going through it. _So much for my 'reha-
bilitation',_ she thought, smirking. _Only a week after partnering with Super-
boy, and it's back to petty theft. What *will* he think?_ She grinned. _Not
that he's going to find out._
She found some bills and change, Mari's student ID, several origami figures,
house keys, tampons--the usual array of items found in purses. She removed ev-
erything but the money and placed them next to Mari, under a handy lump of me-
tal, where Mari could easily find them when she awoke. Examining the bills,
Knockout noted the yen signs marked upon them. _Must be in Japan,_ she ob-
served. It didn't explain the huge eyes or the weird hair colors everyone here
had, but at least she now knew what language everyone had been gabbling.
Knockout stuffed the money back into the purse. She'd been here long enough.
Time to move. She climbed a fire escape to the roof and made her way along a
row of buildings before descending to ground level again.
As she walked down the street, she pondered her dilemma. She was certain Su-
perboy was in this city somewhere. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did.
She needed to find him. Fortunately, given Superboy's love of publicity, Knock-
out knew that all she had to do was watch television, and sure as Olkon was
ugly, she'd see him on the news eventually. Not knowing the language would
make that a bit more difficult, but she could only deal with one problem at a
time.
First things first. She needed a base of operations. For that, she needed
more money than she had gotten from Mari. She pondered a moment, and came to a
decision.
A taxi was approaching. After a moment of thought, she hailed it, praying
the driver could speak English.
The driver said something in gibberish as his cab screeched to a halt beside
her. Horns blared as other cars quickly swerved around the taxi to avoid col-
lisions, their drivers cursing the cabbie at the tops of their lungs. The taxi
driver took a moment to make an obscene gesture at the passing cars before
turning back to Knockout and repeating his question.
"I don't suppose you speak English?" she asked, hardly daring to hope.
The driver's weathered face brightened into a grin. "Ah! American? Don't
you worry--old Hoshi knows the English. I ask where you want go."
Knockout opened the rear door and slid into the cab's interior. "Maybe you
can help me out here, old man. I'm trying to find work."
The old man tapped a yellowed tooth thoughtfully. "Hmmm...well, that depend.
Is Hoshi right think Red no have visa to work in Japan?"
"Maybe," Knockout admitted.
Hoshi nodded. "That narrow things down a bit." He paused for a moment,
considering. "Hoshi maybe know place, but Red maybe not like." He eyed Knock-
out's stolen high school girl's uniform. "Red maybe too young, too."
Knockout smirked. "You'd be surprised, old man. I'm older than I look. So
what do you have in mind?"
Hoshi shrugged, mentally washing his hands of the matter. "Is place name
Orange Silk Club. Hoshi know manager. Is place where..." The old man paused
for a moment, glancing in his rear-view mirror at his passenger, noting a dan-
gerous look in her unusually small eyes. He gulped, uncertain how this strong-
looking young woman would react. He had heard tales about the fiery tempers of
red-haired caucasians, and had little desire to confirm the truth first-hand.
But he finally conquered his mild fear and continued. "...where ladies take
clothes off for money."
Hoshi was surprised when Knockout laughed. "That's perfect!" she said, ges-
turing for the cabbie to get the taxi moving. "Take me there."
"You not upset?" Hoshi asked, putting his cab into gear and immediately
swerving into a narrow space between two moving cars.
Knockout shouted to be heard over the irate honking from the car behind
them. "Hell, no! I was a stripper for a long time not too long ago. Guess
it's time to go back for a while. I thought you were going to say this Orange
Silk place was a brothel. *That* I'd've been ticked about."
"No, no!" Hoshi assured her. "No hooker there. Just 'stripper', as you
say."
"And I don't need a visa? This illegal or what?" Knockout asked.
"Is legal, but Sludge--he manager--not often look for visa when he hire dan-
cers, especially when dancer built like you."
"I trust he won't expect me to give him a 'private audition', right?" Knock-
out purred dangerously.
A bead of sweat appeared on the back of Hoshi's head and slowly ran down his
neck. "Er...Sludge maybe try, but somehow Hoshi think Red can make Sludge not
do that..." More horns bleated out their anger as the taxi accidently ran a
red light. Knockout took no notice.
"You got *that* right, Pops." the redhead smirked. "Thanks for the warning,
though. So can you tell me a bit more about this Sludge? What'll it be like
working for him?"
Hoshi relaxed slightly, recovering control of his vehicle. "Ah, well...
Sludge--he good friend, but...well, Sludge not really do much at Orange Silk.
He just hire dancers, then let them do own thing. It headliner who one *real-
ly* in charge. Her name Miko. She keep girls and all in line."
"Sounds like how it was back in the Boom Boom Room," Knockout remarked, men-
tioning the club she worked at back in Hawaii before she decided to hook up
with Superboy. "The boss was a waste, so I had to crack the whip myself."
"Ah, Red headliner back at old job?" Hoshi asked.
"Yeah."
"You not cause trouble for Miko, Hoshi hope," the old driver said earnestly,
taking a corner on two wheels. "Miko good girl--hard worker. Not need trouble."
"Relax, old man," Knockout said. "If she's as good at keeping things under
control as you say, then I won't have to worry about doing it myself. She a
good dancer?"
"Miko best!" Hoshi said, nodding vigorously. "She not have lots to show
like Red do, but the *way* Miko show it--*woo*! *Everyone* come see Miko
dance."
"So she relies on technique, rather than big tits, huh?"
"Right! Like Americans say, it not size, it style. Miko got *style*."
Knockout grinned. "I like her already."
*******
Superboy awoke to the tune of a thousand mallets slamming into his head. At
least, that's what it felt like to the battered young man. Sensing light, he
kept his eyes shut tightly. He didn't *think* his head could possibly feel
worse, but he had little desire to test his theory by opening them.
Just then a feminine voice asked something incomprehensible. He cracked one
eye open before he thought, and shut it immediately with a pained groan. It
seemed his head *could* feel worse, after all. His quick glimpse showed him
that he was lying in a bed somewhere, and that a red-headed girl was standing
over him.
"KO?" he asked. "Is that you?"
"A-ko," the girl corrected, then added in poor English, "But you close. You
know me?" She winced, knowing how mangled her speech sounded. English was not
exactly her best subject.
A-ko had quickly realized that this boy couldn't actually be her father, of
course. He was far too young--about A-ko's own age, in fact. Plus, she had seen
her father just that morning, as she was heading out of the house on her way to
school, and he had said nothing about visiting other dimensions today. He never
did that ever since he lost his powers, anyway.
But A-ko had decided to bring the boy home. She *had* to learn more about
this person who wore her father's old symbol and survived a wall collapsing on
him. Plus, he obviously needed help. What else could she do? C-ko had agreed,
naturally, declaring the entire situation "cool", and had (over her protests)
been sent on to her step-parents' house, where she was now struggling with the
homework A-ko usually helped her with. Or, more likely, pushing it off until
Sunday and reading manga instead.
A-ko realized her patient had said something and asked, "[What did you say,
again?]" reverting to Japanese.
To Superboy this sounded like, "Nannygobbledygook?" He sighed and grumbled,
"Well, this conversation's goin' nowhere fast." Braving the light, he shaded
his eyes with his hand, and peered around the room for his jacket. Spotting it,
he pointed it out to the girl and asked, "Could you bring me that, please?"
She cast him an irritated look, but rose to do so. Superboy wondered about
that look until he realized he had spoken loudly and clearly, spacing each
word, like a stereotypical arrogant bonehead American, dealing with those ig-
norant foreigners.
A-ko, returning to the bedside with the boy's jacket, saw his look of cha-
grin and decided to forgive him. She smiled as she handed it to him. He nodded
his thanks and began digging through the pockets. "C'mon, I know you're in
here somewhere," she thought she heard him say. With her less-than-perfect
English, she could have easily mistaken his words. _If only he understood Jap-
anese!_ A-ko thought resignedly. _It would save a lot of trouble._
With a cry of triumph, her mysterious guest retrieved something from the
folds of his jacket, and dropped the latter at his side. The former he took
between thumb and forefinger and inserted into his ear. Then he smiled at A-ko
and said, "[Okay, now we can talk.]"
A-ko's jaw dropped. He was speaking fluent Japanese! Not even a trace of
an accent!
"[H-how d-d-did you-ou-ou...] A-ko began, stammering as she occasionally did
when flustered.
Her guest grinned and tapped his ear. "[Telepathic earplug. Picked it up a
while back.]" A-ko still looked puzzled, so he explained, "[I don't have the
faintest idea how it works. All I know is it can translate any language and
lets me talk underwater and stuff. Anyway, as you might have guessed from the
'S']," he added, gesturing to the symbol on the back of his jacket, "[I'm Su-
perboy. And you're--what'd you say?--A-ko?]"
A-ko nodded. "[Yes. A-ko.]" She smiled. "[Welcome to Graviton City.]"
*******
[Author's Note: Eiko Magami and Superboy--on the surface, they are a lot
alike. Both possess great power, and both must live up to a heroic ideal. For
Superboy, his ideal is his namesake, the Superman of his world. To Superboy,
wearing the 'S' shield is a great honor, of which he tries to be worthy every
day of his existance. As for Eiko, she lives in the shadow of her heroic par-
ents, all the more so now that their identities are publicly known. She con-
stantly needs to prove that she is more than just "the daughter of Superman and
Wonder Woman"--that she is, in fact, a person worthy of respect in her own
right.
But both of these young heroes are just that--young. Eiko, at the time the
Conjunction occured, was just seventeen years old, and Superboy was at the
physical/emotional age of sixteen. They have the recklessness and inexperience
that is part and parcel of being an active teenager. They both tend to go a bit
too far in their efforts to live up to their ideals. So is it any wonder that
they found in each other kindred spirits, or perhaps the sibling they never
had? The friendship that developed between these two young people is the sort
that inspires songs and great epics (if I may be permitted to put on airs)--the
kind of friendship that stands the test of time.
--JY]
*******
Next--Knockout arrives at the Orange Silk Club and meets Miko, a most fas-
cinating young woman. There is more to her than meets the eye... Join us next
time for "A Tale of Exotic Dancers".
Miko: It's positively sensual!
David: Do you think this is El Hazard?!
********************************************************
* Kent Magami and David Outram (kmagami@hsonline.net) *
* Second Deacon of Ryoga, Tracker of the Wandering One *
* Co-founder and High Priest of the Holy Order of A-ko *
* Motto: You can *never* have enough C-kos! *
********************************************************
* One month after B-ko hypnotized C-ko... *
* *
* C-ko: Hi, B-ko! What're we gonna do tonight? *
* B-ko: The same thing we do every night, C-ko-- *
* try to destroy A-ko! *
* C-ko: Waiwai!!!! *
* *
* o/~ One of them's an airhead; the other one's *
* insane! It's C-ko and the Brain! o/~ *
********************************************************