Mojoverse

[Mojo]

Mojo scowled while he paced back and forth in a chamber. He paused long enough to yell. ''DOOMOOOO!'' he shrieked as he flailed. There weren't any footsteps.

It wasn't like Major Domo to be far from his master. *I am going to shut that android down permanently if he doesn't appear this instant! I have to know the latest ratings for Alien Assassins! If anyone knows about TV ratings, Major Domo does.*

[Kaine]

Heavy clad boots could be heard making a thumping sound down the corridor leading to Mojo's chambers. There was a knock at the door, but the person stayed outside.

"Your most high excellency, it's Kaine, and I have returned with your latest group of potential stars," the voice rang out. "If you would like me to show you my vid records, I will gladly do so. Your recruits are safely in the holding area. I will be ready to go back out once my ship has been repaired. I ran into a bit of trouble when the Shi'ar started tracking me."

[Mojo]

Mojo's eyes became big for a few moments after he heard footsteps. *Domo?* he thought. He heard a knock on the door. ''Kaine?'' the creature muttered under his breath. After approaching the door, he opened it. He shuddered at the sight of the one with the spine.

''Sorry. It's just that humanoids are based on nightmares of my kind,'' Mojo said to Kaine. He started to frown. ''Latest group of potential stars, Kaine? Show them to me.''

[Kaine]

Kaine realized he was still wearing his head gear, so he pulled it off and tucked it in his ruck sack. He pulled out a small tablet and started to roll video for Mojo. "I was on the outer rim of Shi'ar space when I found these sisters," he said as the video showed two women with brilliant green skin and silver horns on their heads engaged in a fight with a rival group of assassins. "I had to be careful. Their horns secrete some form of toxin. It isn't meant to kill people, apparently, but it can sure knock you for a loop. Watch that little alien guy when he jumps on the first sister," he added as the video showed a small brown creature with eyes that looked like a hammerhead shark fall on the ground in a fit as soon as he touched the woman's horns. "The dude got trampled by some weird space buffalo, or I'd have brought him here for comic relief." 

As the video played, a man in a webbed outfit filled the screen. "This guy says he's Spider-Man in his world. He's from the future. Name is Miguel O'Hara. Great acrobat. Kinda weird. Apparently is some genius where he lives and makes high tech stuff." The video playback then showed a lot of other aliens and a few humanoid creatures. "He was on some intergalactic stopover before he was headed to Earth. Frankly, he never shut up, but he should make a great addition for the Flying Circus of Death. Now, about your other request..."

Kaine cued up another file and showed Mojo a map. "I have heard Spiral has been sighted in one world I visited a few weeks ago. Thing is, this video will show you something that might make you mad, your highness of television brilliance."

Another video came on the tablet, and it showed Spiral fighting a group of people including Major Domo and the slave girl named Erinyes.

"I wanted to go back there to get some of those Death Angels for your Alien Assassins show. Those are the cybernetic women I told you about who were the assassins for the king who got killed. I have a contact there who can help me round up all three of them if you want. Just say the word."

[Mojo]

Mojo wasn't as frightened as before when Kaine revealed his face. He saw the video Kaine played. The women with green skin and silver horns appealed to him. ''Warrior women always appeal to me. The other Spineless Ones love warrior type slaves. The battles to the death appeal to them. Me as well.''

Mojo tilted his head to one side after he saw Spider-Man or at least a Spider-Man counterpart. A map was revealed prior to a scowl forming on his face. ''Spiral battled Major Domo? Wait a minute! Why isn't Major Domo with me? He should be nearby and revealing television ratings!''

Scowling, Mojo faced Kaine. ''Bring them to me. If you find Major Domo, make him suffer! That naughty android should be punished.''  

[Kaine]

"I thought you might not like that," Kaine said to Mojo as he turned off the tablet. "The video stopped after that because a dragon stomped on the camera. That world is like some big theme park of magical creatures. It might actually make for a very interesting setting for some future shows."

Kaine thought for a moment about the less-than-loyal Spiral, that crazy android Major Domo and the flighty Erinyes. He'd heard someone mention Erinyes during an earlier delivery of talent to Mojo's set. She seemed like a real whack job.

"You know, would you want to scout out the place? The world is similar to the world of the X-Men, but it has a fantasy movie feel to it. And the people there are not solely from that world. There is a man there named Abaddon who collects specimens from all over the multiverse so he can experiment on them. We could always liberate a few of his finds and bring them back with us, if you find any to your liking, that is."

 

[Mojo]

''A dragon?'' Mojo asked with wide eyes. He tried to remember what they were. He frowned after he recalled the X-Woman Kitty Pryde's dragon known as Lockheed during a past battle. ''Ah. I remember what dragons are now. Nasty little things,'' Mojo muttered under his breath. He nodded at Kaine.

''I'll go with you,'' Mojo said. That was when he trembled with rage. ''Remember. Major Domo is to suffer the minute you see him! Spiral will be a little tricky to capture thanks to her ability to teleport. Why did I give her the power to teleport?'' He tilted his head.

''Abaddon? He seems interesting. Of course I'm assuming he has a spine. BLECH! Feel free to capture his finds.'' Mojo started to frown. ''How are we going to get to this world? Can you open portals like Spiral?''

[Kaine]

"No, I can't teleport for the life of me, but I have a ship that can take you there in style, but most of all, your most excellent television programmership, in safety," Kaine said as he pointed out toward the window of Mojo's citadel that was just beyond his chambers. "It's right outside. And yes, Abaddon is like me as far as spines go. My contact was not very specific about all the specimens Abaddon captured, but I think he did say they had a few mutants in the bunch. Whenever you wish to go, Mojo, we can head for my ship."

Kaine checked his energy rifle and his other gear as he waited for Mojo's decision. He was glad at that moment that he wasn't Major Domo or Spiral.

 

[Mojo]

''A ship? Very good, Kaine,'' Mojo said with a grin. His eyes settled on the window. ''Very few mutants? Oh well. Better than zero mutants at all.'' Mojo used the legs of his mechanical scorpion-like platform to walk by his new associate. He turned to Kaine and frowned.

Mojo beckoned for Kaine to follow him. ''Come on. Come on. Let's go. We are burning daylight!'' he snapped.

He looked forward to getting on the ship as soon as possible. Spiral and Major Domo were going to suffer slowly and painfully.

[Kaine]

"Better you get the mutants than have them be wasted in some sort of lab, your majesty of television excellence!" Kaine said as he grabbed his gear and followed behind Mojo. "But first, please let me alert my crew."

And by crew Kaine meant some kid he found on one of his earlier adventures. And by kid he meant someone who wasn't an old guy in a plaid shirt and glasses and someone who was not old enough to be competition for the ladies yet. The kid was smart when it came to machines, but otherwise he seemed to be a bit of a lunkhead.

"Yo, Copper, Papa's got company! Make sure you got the clean sheets on the beds!" Kaine said over his comm line. In Kaine-speak, that meant his associate, named Copernicus by his ill-willed parents, needed to put all illegal items far away from prying eyes. Kaine didn't just snag people for Mojo. He did other bounty hunter and smuggling work on the side.

"After you, Mojo," he said as the doors opened from Mojo's citadel out to Kaine's ship. The ship was large and looked like it could hold many prospective "employees" for Mojo's shows. There was a holding pen area below the main deck, but Kaine led Mojo straight to the bridge. "Copernicus! We have an exalted guest! Mojo will be traveling back with us to that place where we found all those mystical energy weapons. Mojo, please, make yourself comfortable as we prepare to depart."

[Mojo]

''Your Majesty of Television Excellence? Great title! That sounds like something Major Domo would say.'' A mental image of Major Domo wandering without him caused Mojo to tremble in rage. He had no idea if Spiral came across Major Domo. Spiral was quite unpredictable. She could have either plotted with Major Domo, or used her swords to remove his limbs. Spiral would have most likely resorted to the latter.

Mojo grinned and rubbed his hands together after he saw the ship. ''Nice ship!'' he exclaimed. He crossed the bridge until he found himself on deck. ''Let's find Spiral and Major Domo.'' 

[Kaine]

Kaine looked around for his erstwhile helper Copernicus, but the kid was clearly below decks. "Mojo, let me make sure you are comfortable and, most importantly, safe when we lift off. Copper! Where the heck are you?" Kaine yelled over the comm line as he secured Mojo in one of the command seating areas. The ship had special areas for those of Mojo's race to sit and not be jostled around. "And sorry to tell you this, but Copernicus is like me. Two legs and all. But he's smart and should be able to help us track Spiral and Major Domo."

As he got into the pilot's chair, Kaine saw Copper appear on a small vid screen. "Strap in where you are, kiddo. Papa's gonna punch it." Kaine then looked back and Mojo. "Awaiting your command to take off, my most excellent judge of talent!"

 

[Mojo]

Mojo didn't seem to mind being secured in a seating area. ''I'm aware of the possibility of Copernicus having two legs. I guess it will be fine if Copernicus is nearby. As long as he is able to help me with locating Major Domo and Spiral.'' Mojo grinned at Kaine. ''Take off!'' he exclaimed.

[Kaine]

"Oh, he will be more than happy to help you, your most magnificent benefactor!" Kaine said to Mojo as he strapped himself in and said a prayer to himself that nothing would go wrong on this trip. "While I get things fired up, is there anything you want me to tell you about this place? I am not sure how many non-humans have been there from other worlds. I have no clue if your race has ever been there. I do know that, while they seem to be technologically advanced, there are pockets of the world that seem like they are stuck in Victorian London of the Earth where the X-Men live. Do your audience members like that sort of thing? Big flying boats and steam engines and that sort of thing?"

[Mojo]

''Hopefully he won't betray me like Spiral and Major Domo did,'' Mojo muttered under his breath. He scowled again. ''I expect this exact kind of behavior from Spiral, but not from Major Domo.'' Mojo trembled with rage another time.

His eyes began to settle on Kaine. ''Yes. Tell me everything about this place. The other Spineless Ones weren't there to my knowledge.'' Mojo shook his head after the question. ''Nope. Audiences crave battles. Fights to the death. Although the X-Men were my top ratings earners for a time. I don't know if they still are.''

[Kaine]

"OK, then I know the place we should scan first when we get there," Kaine said as he looked at the screen and didn't see Copper in his sector of the ship. "Hey, kid, we're going back to where that girl was you liked so much. You help Mojo as requested, and maybe we can bring her back with us," the bounty hunter said over the comm line.

Kaine looked at Mojo and smiled. "Helps to keep the kid interested, and that little nugget he likes is not exactly my type. You might like her, though, or at least her older sister. The chick's got these crazy wings that are made of tech. They call those girls Death Angels. Make the intergalactic roller derby crowd I got for you last year look like babies."

As the ship took off, Kaine cued up a screen for Mojo. "Your worshipful programmership, this is a video on the world we are going to. See the girls in this bit of the video? Those are the Death Angels. They are enhanced with cybernetics and have some sort of demon blood. At least those ones do. The one Copper has a shine to is Kadia. You know, I have heard they can teleport. If Spiral ends up being more pain than promise, maybe you can recruit a new teleporter?"

[Copernicus]

Copernicus Kozinsky was a lanky computer genius who, given a chance, could be heading some Silicon Valley company in a few years.

The thing was, he had no idea what Silicon Valley was, let alone where it was, and he was stuck in this indentured servitude thing to Kaine.

To be honest, Kaine wasn't so bad, but Copper really, really hated working as a slaver. Bounty hunter was too clean a word for what they did, and at times it made Copper really angry.

"OK, boss, we are ready to rocket," he said as he made his way onto the bridge. He bowed to Mojo as he took a seat at the computer nav station. "I'll load up more intel for our honored benefactor while you make sure we get there safely, Kaine."

Copper was thinking of Kadia and getting to her quickly once they landed. She was with this old white haired geezer of a guy, and that dude freaked out Copper.


 

[Mojo]

The mention of a woman's wings made of tech caused Mojo to smile and rub his hands together. ''Death Angels? I like how they look and what they are called. My audience will love them,'' he said.

Mojo grinned after he saw Death Angels on a screen. ''Demon blood? The ability to teleport? I like the Death Angels more than Spiral already. I just have to make sure they will never betray me. Maybe a Death Angel can battle Spiral and defeat her. I'm aware of Spiral's strengths and weaknesses. Maybe one of the Death Angels will be able to torment Major Domo for a long time.''

Mojo saw Copernicus before he nodded. ''Maybe I can send a Death Angel to find Spiral and Major Domo,'' he said to Kaine. He started to frown another time. ''I can always control a Death Angel if she tries to attack me,'' Mojo said.

[Copernicus]

"Sir..." Copper started to say before Kaine shot him a dirty look, "I mean your most gracious Mojoness. I have spoken to a few of the Death Angels, and yes, there is a model that can be programmed for complete loyalty. The guy that created them is named Reginald Abbadon. I think that's his name. He has a lab in the heart of Londinium in that world, and he will sell his creations to the those who are interested."

"Your little cupcake, Kadia, is not one of that lot, right?" Kaine asked as Copper nodded. "Your most magnificent Mojo-self would not want that girl. We'll find you the best ones and you can send them after Spiral. Copper, did you load the camera drones before we left?"

"Yupper buppers. In the cargo bay and all primed to go. Let me call up more footage of the Death Angels," Copper said as he pulled up video feeds from several fights that had gone on during their last visit to Ronan the Everlasting's realm. "Sir, that green haired one is not too shabby. We saw her take out several rebel commandos all on her own. And that one to her left seems to have some sort of liquid metal for skin and can regenerate body parts."

[Mojo]

''A loyal Death Angel? I'm liking Death Angels with every passing moment,'' Mojo said. He focused on Copper. ''Reginald Abbadon? We'll force him to sell Death Angels.'' He turned to Kaine.

''Yes. The best Death Angels to send to Spiral and Major Domo.'' Mojo saw additional video footage of the Death Angels. He rubbed his hands together again. ''The green-haired Death Angel is that powerful? I'll take her. I'll also take the Death Angel able to regenerate body parts.''

[Copernicus]

Copper tried not to think of this guy Mojo with a bunch of those girls as slaves, but he could not push the image from his mind that easily. Then again, most of the Death Angels were bred for this sort of thing. Kadia and her sister Kildare were different. There were two other sisters, too, but one had been stolen as a baby. That's what Kadia said anyway. The fourth one was never there when Copper visited Kadia.

"You might be able to trade to get them, your magnificent Mojoness," Copper said as he kept sending fresh footage to the video monitors. "But I'm not sure what this Abbadon would want. Kadia said he was getting some new specimens delivered, whatever that means."

"I think it means he uses people in his experiments to make the Death Angels, kiddo," Kaine said to Copper as he tapped the control panel for the dimensional drive. "Buckle up, everyone. Next stop, Death Angel Central!" 

[Mojo]

''Trade for the Death Angels?'' Mojo muttered. He frowned and shook his head. ''I was going to take the Death Angels by force!'' The alien proceeded to grin again. ''Death Angel Central. I like the sound of that place.''