Aboard the Arion ship CS-1121, in geostationary orbit above the Arions' Terran System Base 1 on the *dark* side of the moon.

A score of Arions, both Primes and Betas, are seated around a long conference table.   System Leader Du-kem has assembled this special meeting of his key subordinates in response to disturbing reports from Sector Leader Kar-lem, a tall, black haired, ruggedly handsome Arion Prime known to Terrans as Gauleitier Karl Messner, chief administrator for New Danzig - the former city of New York.  A week ago, Kar-lem reported that a young blond woman appeared in the Reichsbank of New Danzig and during the course of a robbery, Kar-lem and two other Arions discovered that the young girl was, to all intents and purposes, a Velorian Planetary Protector.

The last reported sighting of a Protector was over 300 (Terran) years ago (at least in this dimension).  Protectors had been chased back to their home world of Velor by a race of powerful beings called the Ancient Ones and were forbidden to leave Velor because they were *upsetting the delicate universal balance*.  In the vacuum created by the  absence of Protectors, the Arions (cousins of the Velorians) and their allies quietly began to enslave planets, including the Earth/Terra of this dimension.  Since Arions look like dark-haired, light skinned Europeans,  they were easily able to infiltrate the society of Germany in the 1930s and help Adolph Hitler's Nazis win World War II with sophisticated alien technology *discovered* by German scientists (with the help of the Arion plants, of course).   Then the Arions began a slow process of replacing German (and later, Italian) leaders with their own people.  Those who were not replaced were given Arion *advisors* or *assistants*.  And the fact that aliens were infiltrating the planet was kept from the Terrans.   Anyone who demonstrated any suspicion of aliens was soon *disappeared*.

The Earth of this dimension is, at the end of the 20th century, a dark and repressed place dominated by German, Italian and Japanese empires covering most of the world.  Europe, Russia, and the eastern half of the old United States and Canada, now called Westland  or Westland, are semi-autonomous regions of the Third Reich - Nazi Germany.   The  states west of the old Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as eastern Russia, China, India and Southeast Asia are part of the Japanese Empire.  The Italians are still engaged in campaigns to control Africa and the Middle East.  There are . . . *tensions* . . . between the victors concerning who should get the few remaining *free* countries, tensions which sometimes result in armed skirmishes.  The Germans never lose these skirmishes, of course.

A young, inexperienced Protector was in her use-once spacecraft on final approach to the Terra of another dimension.  Cai Trin's ship was hit at the last minute by two Arion weapons, one of which was an experimental prototype, and the confluence of these powerful forces *skipped* her ship sideways into this dimension.  Instead of finding the Terra she had studied in classes back on Velor, instead of joining a famous Protector named Aurora who would help her complete her training, Cai finds that she is alone in a world infiltrated by vicious Arion Primes and Betas, enemies of her race, and none of the Terrans here have ever heard of *Velorians* or *Arions*.   And now the *big dogs* controlling this system are planning how they can run down and capture this young super heroine.

"Your report, Kar-lem," Du-kem begins,  "tells only of three confrontations with this Velorian, then nothing for a week.  Do you think she might have died from the trap your associate . . . what was his name? . . . no matter.  Did the trap kill the slut?"

The associate, a Beta named Ja-ber, in his secret identity as Jurgen Brucker, was the head of the Gestapo in New Danzig.  Seated beside Kar-lem, he begins to feel honored that he has come to the recognition of Du-kem - until he realizes that Du-kem doesn't even know his name.  Perhaps that is just as well, considering . . .   Ja-ber had planned and launched a clever trap for the Velorian, dousing her body in a gel consisting of gold flakes and an adhesive.  As expected, the gold was a major shock to the teenager, and rendered her incapable of resistance by robbing her of her powers and will.  When gold comes into contact with Velorians and Arions, it not only leeches their energy and super powers, it also acts as a powerful aphrodisiac.  Cai was helpless and in the hands of Terran Gestapo agents (Arions couldn't very well risk contact with that gold) but was rescued at the last minute by members of a cell of the American Republican Army.  She hasn't been seen since that rescue.

"We haven't seen the young bitch," Kar-lem replies, using the standard Arion pejorative for a Protector, "and we're sure that the Terrans don't know about the effect of gold on Velorians, so if she didn't regain consciousness and tell them what to do, then she's probably dead."

"A shame," Du-kem sighs, "we could have used her genes . . ."

"Not to mention her body," one of the other Primes says, sotto voce.

"What!?," Du-kem snarls, "keep your mind on business, Vad-em!

"Just to be on the safe side," Du-kem continues, "I've sent a message to Aria requesting some *Valkyries*.  I'll know later today whether this request will be granted.   Until then, Kar-lem, you and your associates must do everything you can to ascertain the status of this Protector. Find out if she IS a Protector and not some new threat.

"I've ordered three Primes, Len-dak, Mar-dak, and . . . you don't seem to be too busy, Vad-em . . . these three will join you in dealing with this problem.  I am sure you are all aware how we must proceed here - don't let the Terrans know about our existence but stir them up against her.  Deny her any allies, then when she's flushed from cover, we can take her.

"I see," Du-kem says, turning to face Kar-lem, "that you have begun using the local media to incite the Terrans to find and surrender the Protector to you.  Your report says that you have people infiltrating all the known cells of the ARA.   Commendable.  Hunt her down with Terran and Arion spies, then close in with Arions.  Just remember, do not kill the Protector.  Aria has other uses for her . . .   Anything to add to your report, Kar-lem?"

"Just one thing, sir," the tall, well-muscled alien super being replies.  "I've also *borrowed* several other people - from this ship and from the other two.  Your nephew, Kel-kem, is among them.  I have devised a way to get them inside the resistance cell holding her once I find out which one it is.  We have Terran agents in most of their cells right now.  But I don't want to have to rely upon Terrans alone - they might actually BELIEVE her when she starts babbling about *Protecting* and *evil Arions* and so on.   So once I know which one she's in, I intend to put several of our people in the cell . . ."

"Fine, fine, just be subtle, Kar-lem, and do not reveal our presence to the Terrans," Du-kem says, waving a hand at the other man.  "Remember, although she looks like a young, naive girl, you must all know that a Protector is, or at least USED to be a very formidable opponent.  We need to know why she suddenly appeared here - did the Velorians somehow find a way to get around the Ancient Ones?  Are they coming back out to protect planets?  Is she a rogue Valkyrie?  Aria has questions - she has the answers.  Fine . . . dismissed!"

"Excuse me, Du-kem," Kar-lem says, halting the others as they're rising from their seats, "but do you have any orgone projectors we can use, in case we encounter her again?"

"Hmm, as far as I know, there's only the one large unit in the Confinement Center down below, in the moon base.  Too large and uses too much power - besides, it isn't something I'd like you to take to Earth - I don't want Terrans to even KNOW about that technology.  Since we stopped encountering Velorians, our female Primes have been too successful at getting the things removed from our colony ships."

"Because you males use them on us when you're bored!" a female Prime, Mar-vel says.  As the First Officer on the command ship, she can get away with some things that would bring swift death from Du-kem.  The fact that she shares his bed also gives her latitude other Arions, male OR female, would never test.  Also, in this instance, she's right.  With no Velorians to torture, too often a bored Prime engaged in subjugating a planet would use female Arions (Betas, but even a Prime if available) in his crew for sexual outlets.  And Prime males tended to savor violent sex, so the punishing and erotic effects of orgone on an Arion female was as much a turn-on as was the actual taking of the woman.

"Engineer," Du-kem says, turning to one of the many Betas whose menial work allows the Primes to conquer new races.  "See if you can devise a portable orgone projector for Kar-lem, in case there is a live Protector down on the planet.  We just need something that will subdue her long enough to get her back here.  Be sure to put a self-destruct switch on it - something we can detonate by radio signal, if necessary.

"And that reminds me," Du-kem continues, "I don't want you sending out just Terrans to bring her in, Kar-lem.  Send along a Beta or two, maybe one of the Primes you're taking.  Terrans won't be able to kill them as easily as they killed your Terran agents on your last attempt to capture her.  Anything else?  No?  Fine . . . dismissed!"

The Arions rise to salute their chief, then after he leaves, they break off into small groups and head off on their various missions.  Kar-lem grabs Vad-em by the shoulder, then leads him off in search of the other Arions who will be accompanying them back to Terra.  Ja-ber watches the Primes leave and seethes with anger - he has worked diligently on this case - it was HIS people who infiltrated the Terran resistance cells, it was HIS plan that mapped out what could be done when they found the cell that's hiding her, his suggestion about Kel-kem, but these arrogant Primes . . .

The Beta knows he can't confront a Prime and hope to live, so Ja-ber swallows his anger and makes his own way toward the shuttle for the return to Earth.  "Let Kar-lem find those other Primes - and as long as I can stay out of their way and another fight with the Velorian, and get my plan to capture her to work, I might just survive a few weeks longer."

At a meeting of leaders of the *Fightin' 69th* cell of the American Republican Army in the back of a grocery store in New Danzig.  This particular cell, in a predominantly Irish neighborhood, rescued Cai Trin from the Gestapo one week earlier at the urging of Kevin and Moira Conroy, two members who have befriended the Velorian teen.

"Well, Moira," the leader, Ian O'Brien begins, "how's your little *Supergirl* doing?  Do you think she might make an appearance today?"  His words are dripping with sarcasm.  He, like many of the Resistance members, doesn't believe what's been said about the young woman - she looks like a teenager, for pity's sake!

"The girl was very ill . . . maybe near death," Dr. Fitzgerald interjects.  The old man has been treating Cai like a long lost granddaughter during her recovery from the gold poisoning.  "We got all the golden goop off her body and costume but she says that her energy, for some reason, is very low.  She told me that she needs to spend some time in the sun but, since it's been raining for the past week and we've been keeping her hidden, at her request, behind lead panels in that cellar room on East 67th Street, she says she hasn't been able to, in her own words, *recharge* herself.   She does look like she's wilting down there."

"I, for one, don't believe any of this crap about her having super powers," another man interrupts.  "I mean, I saw her, and she doesn't seem very powerful to me.  Maybe she's just pulling our leg."

"Now you listen here Tim Feeny, and you too, Ian O'Brien!" Moira hisses, "I was AT the Reichsbank and I'm here to tell you that bullets bounced off her body and that she ripped the door off the vault. And I even FLEW with the lass!  You'll see!  Kevin's bringing her here, even as we speak!"

"Well, the fact remains," the other woman in the room says, "the Gestapo has a very high price on that child's head - t'ree hundred t'ousand marks!   Now, I don't know who she is, or what she is, but if the Gestapo wants her that badly,  I t'ink we need to consider WHY they want her, and what she can do for us.  Maybe there's something to what Moira and the Doc are saying, now."

"T'ank you, Mary Kelly!" Dr. Fitzgerald says.  "My sentiments, exactly.  But first, we need to help the lass get back on her feet!  Now, she told me that another way to get some of her energy back would be to, well, damned if I believe it, but she said electricity would help her!"

"Language!"   "Sorry, Father Mike."   "Say t'ree 'Our Fathers' and there's an end to it."

"WHAT!"  "Are you crazy?"  "Is she a robot then?"  other voices shout from around the room.

"Well, I didn't believe it myself, until I saw it with these eyes," Fitzgerald continues, briefly pointing at his face, "but yesterday I saw her cut into a lamp cord and grab the live ends in the palms of her hands.  Her hair started to billow out from the sides and top of her head and she began to shake and sizzle.  Well, I grabbed a chair and hit her with it, knocking her away from the hot wire.  She just looked up at me, said 'It's all right, I know what I'm doing' and grabbed the wires again.  After five minutes, when the lights in the rest of the flat began to flicker and go dim, I knocked her away again.  'You'll start a fire!' I told her.  'There's not enough energy here,' she says to me, a sad look on her face, and that's the end of it.  I could see she was disappointed, though."

"So then she can short circuit an electrical current," Tim snorts derisively, "not much of a super power, if you ask me!"

"Just shut up, Tim" Moira snarls. "If you knew the girl, you'd know that she needs more energy.  Pat," the woman says, turning to the doctor, "do you think she could survive if she came in contact with one of the larger mains?"

The others around the room look at the thin middle aged woman as if she was crazy.  "Are you saying we should electrocute a young girl because the house current didn't do the job?!" Feeny asks.  "And what do you propose we do?  Walk down to Consolidated Power and say to the guard, 'Please, sir, our wee friend here needs to hook up to your lines for a bit.  Stand aside, now!'"  Feeney gets up to leave, saying "if you people ever feel like getting back to fighting the Germans, call me."  He and two others head toward the door to leave the room, talking sarcastically about teen aged supergirls.

"FEENY!" the old doctor shouts, causing the younger man to halt in his tracks, "I brought you into this world, lad, and I know almost all of the rest of you, or your parents.  Now, I don't appreciate your rudeness, lad.  Why not wait until Cai gets here and let her show you - ALL of you," the man says, waving his arm around the room, "just what kind of *supergirl* she is!"

"Well," Feeny sneers at the old man, "since you put it like that . . ."

Suddenly the door opens and Kevin Conroy, Moira's husband, walks into the room.  Ushered ahead of him is a short figure wearing a yellow raincoat and rain hat.  The raincoat is ill-fitting - too long, too tight across the shoulders and chest area, too loose around the stomach.  Probably not much protection against the cold November winds outside, either.  The yellow vinyl hat hangs over the person's ears and face, concealing his/her identity until she removes it, allowing her short blond hair to cascade down from the top of her head and onto her shoulders.

"Hi," she says, smiling at the older people around her, "I'm Cai Trin from Velor.   I can't thank you enough for protecting me from those Nazi Gestapos or whatever they're called."

"We've got a plan," Kevin says, looking conspiratorially at the other ARA members, tossing a bundle on a nearby counter.  "I propose we use Cai and her powers to break into the power substation outside the park during lunch.   She can get her energy and at the same time, we can shut down power for the center of the city, right in the middle of the noon broadcast by the turncoat Paulson!  Then let's hear how those kraut bastards explain away a city-wide blackout!"  Father Mike glowers briefly at Kevin and is about to say something when he turns away to look at Cai.

As Kevin talks about his plan to the others, Cai stands and slowly removes her yellow vinyl raincoat.  As she unbuttons the coat and slips her left arm out of the coat, several men in the room gasp audibly - she's wearing her red, yellow and blue costume and although her energy has been depleted considerably, her breast, a principle storage place for her energy,  is still quite impressive as a 34C; it seems to be straining against the tightly stretched blue Velorian fabric, trying to burst free.  She removes her other arm from the coat and turns to place the raincoat on a nearby chair.  As she leans forward to place the coat on the chair, she bends slightly at the waist and her cape and skirt ride up slightly, exposing the back of her lightly tanned and muscular thighs.  One man moans in a voice so low that only Cai has heard him.  She smiles at the thought of what her body is doing to these people - not just the men, but obviously the woman, as well.  Father Mike would be livid with the Velorian Protector's pride in her physique and her enjoyment of what the sight of her body does to Terrans.

"So what do yah think!?" Kevin says expectantly, finishing his proposal as Cai turns back to face the ARA leaders.  She puts her arms behind her back and clasps her wrists, then flexes her arms to work out some kinks.  The effect is profound.  Her breasts just jut forward further (if possible) and her biceps and triceps swell magnificently.  The front of her thighs bulge as those muscles also flex and grow.

You could cut the silence in the room with a butter knife.

"Kevin," Moira says softly, apparently immune to this woman-child's ways, "you'll have to tell them again.  I don't think anyone but me was listening to yah.  And Cai, darlin', you'd best sit down, lass, if we're after getting any work done this day!"

"Ah, Cai is it?" Ian O'Brien says, finally breaking the tension in the room, "Cai, why don't you tell us all about yourself, your powers.  We need to better understand what to expect from you.  I'm sure you can understand - we can't risk any more of our people on the promises of the Conroys."

Cai starts to rise when Kevin also rises and pulls a metal rebar from the bundle he had placed on the counter.  "Show them what you can do with this, lass," he says, smiling at the young heroine.

Cai takes the inch thick metal bar wraps one small hand around each end, about a foot apart.  Smiling at O'Brien, she easily and effortlessly bends the rebar downward, her hands meeting less than a second later.  Then she grabs the two new ends and bends the doubled-over bar in half.  Not a sound in the room.  Finally, she focuses her super vision on the rebar and her heat vision quickly sears the four parts of the bent bar.  In seconds, metal begins to flow from the rebar to the floor.  Significantly, her hands were only four inches apart and all the rebar parts between her hands became first red- then white-hot.  Less than thirty seconds since Kevin handed her the rebar, Cai is ready to sit down again.  The rebar is thoroughly destroyed - she holds four small parts of the original bar in each hand and maybe half of what she started with is a gooey metal pool on the floor, the pungent aroma of super-heated metal filling the room.

"Sweet Mother of God!"   "Mind yer tongue, now, Ian!"   "Sorry, Father!"

"It's a trick of the light," Feeny decides, pounding his fist on the table before him.

Kevin takes another rebar from his bundle and hands it to Feeny.  "Look at this, Tim Feeny!  Are you satisfied that it is real?"  Feeny takes the bar and pounds one end into one palm, then tries to bend it himself.  Not even a quiver.  He puts one end on the concrete floor and tries to bend it by pressing down with one foot on the middle of the rebar.  Nothing.  He hands the rebar to Cai and in seconds this one is as destroyed as its mate.  Feeny slumps back into this seat, a look of shock on his face.

"Give us yer hand, darlin'," Kevin says, smiling.  The girl extends her hand, palm upward, to Conroy who pulls a large carving knife from the bundle beside him.  As he puts his hand underneath the girl's, holding it steady, he drives the knife blade into the counter-top, scarring the wooden surface.  Then he takes the knife and rams it, just as hard, into the girl's delicate-looking little palm.   Cai was prepared for this; she tightened her arm muscles and braced for his blow and her arm didn't move a centimeter.  Kevin almost dropped the knife, had to lay it down, in fact, and massage his wrist after ramming the blade into something stronger that case-hardened steel.

"Would you care to try, Mr. Feeny?" Moira asks Feeny, raising one of her eyebrows and smiling at the man in victory.  "We could use a gun on the girl, but old man Murphy might object to the loud noise."

Feeny says nothing, content to just look at this beautiful young woman and think about what she must feel like.  Obviously, if hot molten steel and the pointed end of a knife have no affect on her skin, it must be incredibly tough.  Suddenly Ian O'Brien coughs and asks, "Cai, what's the *S* for?"

"Well, a Velorian Protector is a kind of homo supremis - a super human.  We put a character on the front and back of our uniforms, something that can stand for Supremis in one of the languages of the world we're protecting.  I was given the letter *S*."

"Well, I'm convinced that you are definitely a super human of some kind," O'Brien says.  "Since that *S* is on your, ah, costume, I think, hereafter, we should refer to you as . . . how about *Suprema*?  Does that suit you, Cai?"

"Mnh, yes, I guess it's okay.  A bit flashy, but no worse than calling me *Supergirl* or something.  Okay, you can call me Suprema when I'm in my uniform!"  At Moira's prodding, Cai - Suprema - begins telling the ARA leaders about her abilities, then about the war, in her own dimension, between Velorians and Arions.  She explains how she was approaching the planet Earth in that dimension, blacked out, and awoke in this dimension, with no contacts, no way home, and apparently the only Velorian Protector left outside of Velor, hunted by Arions.

"Which brings up the problem of hiding you, lass," Ian O'Brien says.  "You're death for anyone the Nazis can link to you.  I don't know if we can afford to shelter you here much longer."

"The Devil you say!" Father Mike spurts, then suddenly sinks back in his seat, aghast at his language.  As others look at him, shocked by his outburst, he continues, "I mean we can't just turn her out on the streets!  The lass has no place to go, no one to help her learn about surviving in this world!  Surely we can act toward her as we do with the other refugees and people fleeing the Nazis - can't we help her as we do the others?"

"Sure 'n it would be the Christian thing to do," Tim Feeny says, "but them others HAVE someplace to go - out west, to the southern hemisphere, even to one of the few free states.  We just help them along.  But this one - Suprema - how long would she be staying with us?

"With the Gestapo after her, I think it would be best if we just sent her on her way!" Feeny concludes.

"Over my dead body!" Moira Conroy snarls at the man.  Several others echo her sentiment.

Suprema sits silently in the back of the room, trying to sink into her chair.  She doesn't fully understand this situation, why so many people seem to hate her!  She's here - well, she came from Velor - to PROTECT people!  This is the wrong planet, sure, but she can still try to fulfill her role as a Protector.  Don't these people realize how lucky they are to have her here to remove the Arion infestation?

"Then let it be on your head, Conroy," O'Brien decides.  "She can move in with you two and you two can be responsible for her.  But keep that blond hair out of sight, or dye it red or black so she looks a bit like the rest of us!"

"All right, all right!" the Conroys reply.  Moira smiles briefly at Suprema, who smiles back, glad to have at least found some allies here.

Discussion again turns to a raid on the power station near Central Park.
"There won't be a Gestapo goon or Nazi soldier left in the city when Suprema here uses her heat vision on any who get in our way," Mary Kelly gloats.

"That's cold blooded of you, Mary," Father Mike admonishes.

"I can't DO that!" Suprema gasps, leaning forward in her chair, suddenly shocked at the discussion.  "I was sent here - well, to AN Earth, at least, to PROTECT humans, not to burn them down!  I'll fight the Arions for you, but not the humans."

Again silence descends on the room.  "But we need your help to defeat the Germans and throw them out of our country!" Mary Kelly pleads.  "They wouldn't be here if not for those Arions of yours!"

"Let it be, woman," Ian says.  "Let's just see how the Germans stand up when Suprema here removes their crutch.  Have you any idea how many of these Arions are in the city, Suprema?"

"I've seen six different ones - a Prime and five Betas."   She tells them about the four at the Bank and the scores of humans with them, then the large number of human soldiers and security men and two Betas at the train station.

"Well, that doesn't seem like much - but since you can spot them, maybe you can protect our people until those Arions show up, then take care of them, okay" Ian asks.

"No, you don't understand," the young Protector says, "on this world, in this city, YOU people are the law breakers."

Shock washes over half the faces in the room.

"I SHOULD be helping the authorities," she says earnestly, "but the Arions are already doing that.  I can't help you BREAK more laws.  But . . . I can't help the Arions stay in power, either, by doing nothing.   I," a tear appears in the corner of one eye, "I just don't know what I'm supposed to DO!

"I don't think I should attack the Arions openly - that might draw the Ancient Ones.  One of the Betas said that the Ancient Ones had already sent my people back to Velor.  I'll have to think about this a bit more, I guess," she says sadly.  "Is there another way for me to get to their electrical station, or another way to *recharge*?," she asks Kevin.

"Kevin, I think you and Moira should take this . . . this person away for a while," Ian interrupts, the strain evident in his speech, the anger obvious on his face.  "We need to think about working with this *super heroine* who won't work for our interests to restore the planet to the way it should be!"

"But you might not have won the war . . ." Suprema protests.

"YOU - DON'T - KNOW!" Tim Feeny yells, almost crying.  "You said the Germans lost in your dimension!   Did you *Velairians* and Arions interfere in THAT war?  Did the Germans lose on their own?"

Seeing the tempers getting hot, the Conroys help Suprema get back into the yellow raincoat.  Disgust and resentment are evident in the way several of the ARA leaders *thank* Suprema for visiting with them.  As the trio heads out the door, Ian O'Brien calls after them, "Doc will come by later and tell you what we've decided to do about you.  You can either help us or not, as you think right.  But in the mean time, think on this, Suprema:  hundreds of humans are dying every day because of the mess your Arions made here, and you're the best damn chance we have of leveling the playing field!"

As the trio, with Cai again in her yellow raincoat and rain hat head through the front of the grocery store toward the street, she spots copies of the New Danzig Times - "All the News That's Fit to Read!"  The lead story is about the massive eruption of a volcano on Haiti, an island in the Caribbean.  "Hundreds die, millions in property damage!" the banner screams.  A large photo shows the erupting volcano.

"THATS'S IT!" Cai says to the Conroys, pointing at the paper, "I can get recharged in that volcano!  One thing that was stressed in my training was that the more natural the energy I absorb, the longer it lasts with me.  Electricity is good, but energy from a star or the planet is much better for me.  I recall from training that Haiti is roughly south of here, or would be on my Earth.  Is that right?  I can go there and not have to risk an attack on that power plant thing, right?"

After buying a cop of the paper, the trio exits the store and walks slowly toward the Conroys' temporary shelter - an ARA *safe house* two blocks from the store.  The ARA gave the Conroys a small one bedroom apartment on the top floor of an old tenement building after it became obvious that the Gestapo knew about them and was interested in them - and their *guest*.  The sun has set and a few wet and heavy snowflakes are falling, dusting the streets and the few parked cars and hinting of another overnight snow storm.

"Well," Moira begins, concerned at Cai flying off to some unknown place.  "Yes, it's still down there to the south.  And before you ask, the island is controlled by the Spanish, not the Germans.  They joined the Axis powers late in the war and have taken over all the islands of the Caribbean, plus much of Central America.  There might be some Germans there, love, but maybe none of the Arions.

"But is it a good idea to take off before the ARA cell leaders decide what to do with you?  I mean, maybe you should be here . . ."

"No, Moira," Cai says with confidence in her voice, "I should go down there.  First, I might be able to help people - and even if only the Spanish know about it, that's a good first step toward building good will with Terrans.  I'd be helping them deal with nature, not with who should be running their country.  Second, I won't be hunted so much around here if I appear in Haiti, right?  You folks might be safer!  Finally, I'll be back at full strength in no time at all, Moira, so I'll be able to help you, if we can figure out what I can do for you that won't *upset the natural balance*."

The youthful determination in Cai's face tells the Conroys that she's already decided to go to Haiti.  "Let's get back to the flat," Kevin says quietly, "take care of a few things, then you can leave in the morning . . ."

"Oh no!  Tonight!" Cai says brightly, a big grin on her face.  "I'll follow you to your new home, so I know where it is, then I'll leave from there!  Oh, isn't this a great opportunity!"

Less than an hour later the young Velorian Protector leaps into the air from the snow-covered roof, waving *goodbye* one last time at Moira and Kevin, standing huddled together near the door to the roof.  Memorizing landmarks to help her find the tenement building when she returns, Suprema scans the surrounding streets one last time, then thrusts the powerful muscles in her legs.  In seconds, the heroine is several thousand feet above the city and racing southward at Mach 2 toward the island of Hispaniola.  As friction begins to warm her body, Suprema lowers the top of her costume and bares her breasts.  She tilts her body upward at the waist and to an on-looker she looks like the figurehead on an old sailing ship, roaring through the night sky, back arched, breasts bared, arms holding down the top of her costume.

Seconds later, Suprema closes her eyes and hums lightly.  Friction has heated her small, round breasts and a slight amount of energy is even now pouring into her body, warming her, giving her a feeling of comfort she hasn't really had (gold poisoning doesn't count) since arriving on this nightmare planet.  "Mmmnhh," Suprema thinks to herself, admiring the light glow edging outward from her nipples as she speeds south.  "If this feels good, I can't WAIT to dive into some hot lava!"

Aboard CS-1121, the Arion colony ship in stationary orbit above the far side of the moon, one of the Beta technicians hears an *alert* buzz and then notices a blip on one of her screens.  "Watch Commander," the woman says to her chief, "I've got an anomaly - an infrared heat source off the coast of Westland - relayed from a weather satellite.  Traveling at nearly 38 frands - too fast to be a Terran plane."

"Where did you say it was?" the supervisor replies, walking to stand behind his technician.  "Off Westland.  Hmm, where do you think it came from, where is it going?"

"It's just running south, very fast.  Ooohh, look at that signature!  Whatever it is, it must be burning up from friction!  If it ran in a straight line, then it came from . . . New Danzig and is headed south - Caribbean somewhere.  Can't tell which island, sir, or if it even plans to stop there."

"New Danzig.  Hmmm.  I know we had an advisory . . .  Wait here, I'll get back to you.  Keep tracking, see if you can get some resolution of image.  I'd like to know what you're watching.  Check other satellites, see if they have any useful information."

The chief moves away.  Seconds later, a klaxon begins honking and the supervisor runs back to the technician's console.  "By the Ancient Ones, Technician, you'd better keep a good eye on that blip!  I've notified the Command Deck.  An object moving that fast, that low, coming from New Danzig, means it might be the Velorian they're all looking for.  If you know what's good for you . . ."

"Yes sir," the techie says, suddenly very wet and concerned.  "Goof here and I'm Prime meat," she realizes.  "Come on, little Velorian!  Keep doing whatever you're doing, keep giving me an IR signature to follow!

"Commander," the technician says, checking another satellite, "this survey satellite has done a spectroscopic analysis of the object - looking at the heat source to see what is burning.  No metals or ceramics - no substance in our records matches the burn signature."

"What's the interruption!" Mar-vel snarls. The First Officer of the Arion forces strides into the room wearing her *play* clothes, a shiny black LeatherEx © body suit, white gauntlets and white knee-high boots.  She had been *exercising* with several Betas when the klaxon rang; it was her watch so she had to investigate such alerts.  Moving to stand beside the Watch Commander, Mar-vel is informed about the sighting on the planet.  After checking on available ships - the WC reports that only Kar-lem's is near Earth and it's on a vector toward New Danzig and can't easily get after the UFO.

"Number One," the WC says, noting a slight musky smell coming from the Prime woman, "we've, uh, we've done some simulations and it might be faster for a ship from here to get after that object than it would be for a ship on Terra to do so.  A ship launched from here can slingshot around the moon and move toward the planet at a higher rate of speed."

"Excuse me," the Technician says tentatively, "but I've projected the object's course - it's headed directly toward that bright light source - a volcanic eruption on the planet.  If it is the Protector, maybe she's going there to help the Terrans?"

"Good work, Technician!  Watch Commander!" Mar-vel says, turning toward the exit.  "No time to waste!  You keep tracking the object - I agree with you that we have found our little Protector off trying to save humanity.  I'll take a shuttle down after her - get the Ready Team to the shuttle bay and inform Du-kem,"  Mar-vel says on her way out of the control room.  Just minutes later, a shuttle with the Prime First Officer, two other Prime officers, and four Beta soldiers leaves the colony ship on a high-burn course toward the island of Hispaniola on Terra.

Some time later Suprema, racing through the night sky toward the island of Hispaniola, reluctantly pulls up her top to cover her glowing breasts and begins scanning the area around the volcano with her super vision.  The newspaper had said that the volcano had erupted with a loud explosion earlier this same day, covering many square miles in ejecta - volcanic ash.  Then the lava began to flow.

Suprema sees a stream of lava flowing like a river down from the volcano's caldera toward a small ash covered town.  "I'd like to soak up some energy first, but that town doesn't have the luxury of waiting for me to get ready," Suprema says to herself.  "I think I can divert the flow into that river below town; maybe that will save them."

Suprema flexes her powerful leg muscles and dives toward the ground.  She swoops down to the ground and dives into the ground ahead of the flow, using her hands and arms as small plows, pushing dirt to either side, making a small v-shaped culvert in the loamy soil.  In seconds, she reaches the river bank and punches through the bank, maybe a foot above the water.  Suprema then flies back to the start of her ditch and makes another run, parallel to the first.  By the time the lava reaches her ditch, the little Protector has made four passes, first making two culverts about three feet apart, then digging out the ground between them, and finally making the bottom of the ditch deeper, about three feet below the surface.

As the leading edge of the lava flow enters Suprema's ditch, she lands beside the flow, slightly winded from her strenuous efforts.  After watching the flow for a few minutes, she's regained her wind and is satisfied that the ditch is wide enough and deep enough to handle the flow rate.

"Whew!" Suprema says, brushing some dirt off her hands and arms.  "Now I can go soak in the lava - that should replenish my energy in no time!  I just wish someone was here, so they could see what I've done to the lava flow.  I could use the opportunity to tell them the truth about the Germans!"

"An' what would you tell us, cher?" a deep voice from behind the heroine says.  Suprema wheels about to see an old Black man and two others standing on the edge of the tree line.  "Whatchu t'ink you kin tell us we don't already know, chile?  You de new t'ing?  You some kind of German superwoman, come to show us we can't fight you no more?"

"N-no," Suprema says, still trying to figure out what this man is talking about.  "The Germans have nothing to do with me!  I'm Suprema, I'm from another planet.  You don't understand . . ."

"Oh, we unnerstan' all right," the old man says as he and the other two men walk toward the costumed heroine.  "Ain't bad enough we have to deal with dem Germans and Spaniards, now we got you . . . an' you say you from 'nother planet?  We gonna send you home like we sent them German boys home, cher!  Andre, Poul, take her arms!"

As the three men near Suprema, she suddenly notices that the two beside the old man have blank eyes - their pupils are fully dilated!  The movements of the two men are stiff, jerky, and they reach toward the Protector with out-stretched arms, obviously planning to grab her arms.  The old man reaches into a pouch on his waist as he nears the heroine and pulls out something in his closed fist.

"Well, I'll just have to let you see for yourself that there's nothing you can do to me," Suprema says defiantly, "then maybe we can talk!"  The Velorian teen adopts a stance with her legs slightly spread, hands on her hips, elbows sticking out to either side, her chin and breasts thrust toward the men.

As the two younger men move to either side of Suprema and grasp her biceps with cold bony hands, the old man tosses a handful of powder at the girl's face, covering it.  He intones some words in a mixture of creole and older African tongues.  As Suprema looks at the man, confused by this weird behavior and not sure how to react, the old man digs into his pouch again and this time pulls out a stick of charcoal.  One gnarled old hand of his goes behind the girl's head and the other raises the charcoal stick to her face.  He quickly draws a rune on the heroine's forehead and Suprema suddenly feels a wave of exhaustion, of weakness wash over her body.

When the old man tossed the dust and bits of other junk into the Protector's face, she decided she didn't appreciate being touched by these people, didn't understand what the old man was trying to do, but knew it somehow wasn't right.  Then when the old man puts his hand on the back of her head and raises a burnt stick toward her face, the girl from another planet and dimension decides to end this strange ritual.  When Suprema tries to say something to the man or step backward, though, she is suddenly powerless, unable to control her muscles!

"Wh-what did he DO to me!" she screams in her mind as the two men on her sides lift her off the ground by her arms and begin carrying her into the trees.  "I - I can't MOVE!  I can't say anything!"

"Les' take de girl back to de church," the old man says to his helpers.  As they walk away from the lava stream, he says to his robot like partners, "dat juju I use on her don't last long.  We need to get back so I can use stronger magic on her!"

Suprema screams in her mind and struggles with all her strength but the Protector is helpless, unable to break free from the old voodoo priest's magic.  As the group moves into the trees along an old path, no one sees a bright light streaking across the early morning skies.