Chapter Text
Lola opened her eyes, a huge gasp bursting from her mouth. Her vision was blurred but after some panicked blinking, gradually returned. She was no longer looking at her front door. She now stood on the top of a white, circular platform with tall, transparent columns surrounding her. Each was filled with a purple liquid, which bubbles rose through. The columns lowered and she saw that the platform was in the centre of a room, crammed with technical equipment. It looked as if she was on a science fiction set. However, her staring was quickly interrupted by an angry yell.
“You imbecile!"
Besides the nearest console stood a four-foot tall man, angrily addressing his companion who’s appearance caused Lola to jump. They were twice the man's height, remarkably thin, had six insect-like limbs and a pair of gigantic, startled-looking eyes. They almost resembled a grasshopper if they weren't completely tangerine. They were clearly terrified of the man, Lola herself beginning to feel uneasy in his presence.
"I told you a legendary human warrior - not this!"
"I'm sorry, Mister Big. It didn't work this time but I'll try again - we'll get a big Earth warrior who will fight plenty."
The man, Lola assumed, was Mister Big and she didn't like him at all.
"You better had, you fool. Set up another extraction as soon as possible but first-" He pointed an accusing finger at Lola, who's uneasiness had started to lead to panic. "Get rid of that."
"Yes Mister Big, I'll do it right away."
Mister Big did not seem to care for the Grasshopper's grovelling, storming off before the Grasshopper spoke, though Lola was paying more attention to them. Especially as the Grasshopper grabbed a prod-like stick with a pulsing blue end from the console and made their way towards her. Staying still and quiet had not worked out in her favour and before she could protest, she felt her mouth dry up, only managing to hold her hands up in an attempt to stop them. Her feet took a huge effort to move, her eyes widened as the Grasshopper slowly towered over her before she finally managed to speak.
"Y-you listen to me! I'm not going to harm you but if you come any closer with that, we're going to have serious problems!"
The Grasshopper was uninterested, muttering under their breath as it continued to approach.
"It should have worked, I verified the chronological coordinates. This Earthling should be a legendary human warrior, not this. I must delete and re-extract."
"Delete?! I'm not a problem! Just send me back, you can do that, right?!"
But it was no use, the Grasshopper would not listen to reason and as they finally reached Lola, they quickly jabbed with the prod device, Lola dodging to one side. The device made contact with one of the fluid-filled tubes and sent a fizzling blue network of energy up the Grasshopper's arm and across their alien body. As the sparks subsided, they dropped to the floor, unconscious. Lola, attempting to catch her breath and not think too hard that she might have murdered the Grasshopper, quickly stepped off the platform and kicked the stick across the room. She was getting out of here.
Exiting the same way as Mister Big, she now entered a deserted corridor. At one end, she saw sliding doors and at the other, the corridor curved to the left. She knew it wouldn't help her to get back home but if she knew her surroundings, she would be better prepared if another Grasshopper came along or when the current one woke up. Jogging right, she reached a dead end as the sliding doors were locked.
"This is a classified area." An electronic voice addressed. "Please look directly into the ID screen for retinal identification."
The small screen beside the sliding doors projected a red beam, which Lola attempted to duck from but instead, it resulted in snapping a photo of the top of her head. It compared the photo with multiple images of humans and aliens in yellow and silver uniforms alongside their names and serial numbers before going blank. There was no chance that Lola would be on the ship records. Though, it did strike a thought; what happens when you're not?
"Personnel match unsuccessful. Your presence on board the Group Nine Starship Custodian is unauthorised. Please remain where you are."
A deafening alarm began to wail and a second set of blast-proof doors slammed shut across the first. Lola put her hands over her ears as she quickly checked down the corridor, there was no one coming yet but that didn't calm her, she was too far away from the teleportation room to reach it safely. Her head turned from right to left, up and down before spotting a vent close to the ground. She ran over and began to frantically tug the door off. It was her only option, her fear of getting caught was greater than the vent door, which came off in one final tug. Crawling backwards into the vent, she began to hear heavy footsteps running towards her just as she closed the door.
Two alien figures came into view. One could have passed for human except for its humongous, luminous eyes, the other had matted grey fur all over its body and three sloth-like claws on each hand. Lola identified them as Stalk-Eyes and Werewolf, both were carrying hi-tech firearms. Stalk-Eyes began to scan the corridor while Werewolf produced what disturbingly looked like a real human eye. As it held it up to the retinal scanner, the alarm ceased and the electronic voice spoke again.
"Personnel Match successful, Prison Officer Kel-Hoon. Access authorised."
The two sets of blast-proof doors opened and the two aliens rushed inside. Having found nothing, they both re-emerged and walked back down the corridor. Lola knew they would soon find the unconscious Grasshopper, which would give her a chance to escape. As soon as she heard the teleportation room's door open, Lola seized her chance and as quietly as she could, she pushed open the vent door and ran into the protected room.
They were protecting a laboratory. The main feature was a contraption similar to the one that Lola found herself in when she arrived. It also had a ring of fluid-filled tubes surrounding the platform but the liquid inside was dull. The tubes were leaking onto fluid-stained cloths on the floor and at the bottom, there were snipped cable ends. It was clearly broken, a failed prototype was Lola's guess and it was useless for a way back home. Behind the prototype, there were a few electronic displays that caught Lola's eye. Curious, she went over to see that they were showing images of both human and alien species. Lola checked behind herself before pressing the flashing play button on one of the monitors, she needed to figure out what was happening.
"Extraction Target: Alexander the Great. July 356 BC to June 323 BC, Earth."
That wasn't what she had expected.
A red light flashed over the entrance passageway, the door closing abruptly. Lola checked over her shoulder once more but eventually, assumed it was on a time limit and pressed on. There was nothing to help her here, only more 'extraction targets' which were beginning to have one common factor - their warrior-like physiques but she still didn't understand why.
"Turn around slowly, Blondie."
Lola immediately put her hands in the air to not give any reason for the other to shoot. She turned as asked to see a heavily-built, tattooed head to toe woman standing in front of the closed doorway. She had a futuristic handgun trained on Lola with a nasty sneer to match.
"Mr Big will want to speak to you, you've impressed him." She spat. Lola looked at her surroundings, hoping. "Don't try anything smart, this is set to stun but I can soon change that."
Lola couldn't be sure if the Tattooed Woman was bluffing but as the woman stood in the only exit, she knew there was no escape. She silently nodded before walking towards her, it was time to meet Mr Big again.