Stay - A Problem

“No no no; hate is such a powerful emotion. Far too grand for you my dear.” Blackfire explained with a wave of her hand, “I simply cannot hate someone so below me and who’s barely a blip on the grand scale that is my life.”

Layla simply tilted her head to the side as she gave a slight cough.

“Ugh; look .” Blackfire said as she clapped her hands together and spoke through clenched teeth, “You haven’t done anything large enough for me to actively hate you. Annoyed, sure. Bothered, Yes.” The alien paused with a grin as she moved a hand to about just below the table.

“Hate? Sorry, you must be this tall to ride the Blackfire hate train.” She finished with a smirk.

“Oh… I think I get it. Koff.” Layla muttered as she shuffled in her chair as she reached for a different colored pencil, “Well, mom hates me. Or at least does when she thinks I step outta line.”

“Controlling mom huh.” Blackfire said as she made herself more comfortable in her own chair.

“She just wants to do the fun stuff, and wants me to like all of her stuff she does. But I don’t, and she gets mad when I wanna do something else. Something 'unfitting' for me..., koff.” Layla muttered as she gave another slight cough while she colored.

“Like she wants me in nice stuffy dresses or fancy dinners or always at parties with photos…, and I like that just not all the time.” Layla continued, “I’d much rather draw, or play games, or go exploring the backyard. That’s the only good thing about my house, it’s got a huge backyard, koff.”

“Do you now?” Blackfire asked as she leaned forward a bit, cupping her chin in her hands.

“Yeah!" the little human seemed to perk up, her eyes growing a bit wider, "It’s really big and wide with a lot of trees in the back. Dad wanted to build me a treehouse, koff, but mom and Mr Sean said something about property value Koff koff.” Layla pouted, letting out more coughs.

“Potential useful.” Blackfire thought, a small smile on her lips covered by the angle of her hands, "If my memory is right, one doesn't get a 'big and wide' back yard on earth without having a decent sized house to go with it..., and those tend to be pricey."

Along with the fact her mom seemed to be..., willing to show off her wealth; it seemed pretty clear the young tyke was from money. She wondered if reward or ransom would be better to ask for. Oh sure Zac would throw a fit but hey..., follow the money here. Oh the poor woman must be so 'beside' herself about her missing daughter. Besides, she could even spin it as a 'good thing' towards her sister and her friends... or any hero that might find offense to it.

Why the poor girl didn't LIKE being waited on hand and foot and partying to the nines was beyond her. And the fact that Zac had SOMEHOW landed with some heiress long enough to have a spawn..., eh. Well, not her problem. Just had to find out a bit more about what kind of money Layla's mom had..., like the sort of jewelry she had. She was about to ask when another question popped into her head.

Was Layla always that pale? And was she always this prone to coughing?

“Hey… are…”

Before Blackfire could finish her sentence, the young girl was doubled over onto the table as the cough grew worse and more wrenching. Her face was starting to change color and tears started to form around her eyes. Layla tried to move, to signal something to the alien or try to say something when she lost her balance in the chair.

She was surprised by what happened next enough to stop coughing for just a moment. Blackfire, the evil space queen/princess, had caught her. It wasn’t a gentle hold but it wasn’t rough either. Just… kinda held, like a box of groceries. But she hadn't face planted onto the cold metal floor, thanks to the villain.

Blackfire’s own surprise dwarfed that of the human child. Her eyes wide and lips pursed together as she fought to understand. Why had she done that? She hadn't even realized what she was doing until the girl was in her arms.

“What.. the…” the villain started to mutter before Layla gave another cough, “Zac!” She quickly called out loud, turning her head to better shout his name down the hall.

The rest of her thoughts left her as Zac was already there, quickly moving towards her with… some bright colored tube in his hand?

A few minutes ago...

Lucky for him, the computer’s controls were pretty easy to understand. It wasn't too different from a usual computer set up, maybe more buttons and options. The human found how to access the interior cameras of the ship, letting him catch the end of Layla and Blackfire’s meeting as she slipped out the airlock. He knew she’d be back. The alien didn’t have anywhere else to go, not unless she found some other vessal to ferry her.

That wasn't very likely given her finances. And given she probably didn't have much to work with or fall back on, seizing a ship would cause far more problems Blackfire probably didn't want to deal with. At least for NOW she probably didn't. So Zac settled into flipping though the booklet that came for with his gift. All the while keeping a watchful eye on Layla through the monitor.

The gift was some sort of transformation belt. When used, the wearer would turn into a armored combatant, boasting increased physical ability. This could be further enhanced with some of the supplied trinkets, additional ones sold separately of course and or found. Wasn't entirely sure how to get new ones short of buying them though. The suit as is was pretty well set up to handle a lot. Phsycial ****, biological threats, gas attacks...

“Even vacuum. What can't this thing stand up to?” Zac muttered as he put the booklet down to look at the supplied trinkets.

The sound of a metal latch opening made him look back up at the screen he sat at.

Blackfire was back inside, looking … well worse for wear and…, extremely skimpy. Her pants sported a lot more holes than when she left, showing off those damn inviting legs of her. Her toned arms were on display due to the jacket's arms being burnt away down to the shoulder now, and her crop top was..., how the hell was that still on? It was little more than a bikini top or a bra now, and that cleavage was damn inviting.

"She'd probably kill me if she knew I was staring." Zac thought to himself..., though would she? She didn't seem to care what he saw or not, even with the threats.

The woman’s face seemed to quickly shift through several different phases of annoyance as she took long steps down the hallway. Zac was sure he could hear her teeth grinding from where he was. Blackfire stopped when she got to the main, “hub” area and took a look around the corner into the kitchen block. She quickly snapped her head back around when she realized Layla was in the kitchen, the alien's eyes looking straight up before she pinched her nose.

Zac watched as she walked back to the air lock and rummaged though a few of the ‘closet’ compartment near it. Her face lit up as she found something, looking like a spray can to Zac. With a shake, Blackfire started to apply said spray to her pants, making sure to aim for the most…, revealing burn marks. Anywhere she sprayed, the fabric of her pants started to mend back together or possible just be patched by the strange substance. When she was content with her fixes, and a few sprays for her jacket, Blackfire put it back and walked back towards the kitchen.

The woman paused for just a bit at the corner, rolling her eyes before working the zipper of her jacket. Took Blackfire a bit to get it closed but when zipped up she was far more presentable. Giving a small nod to herself, Blackfire made her way over to the little girl. That she spent time fixing her appearance like that…, was she that proud and protective of her appearance? Or how others saw her?

“Then again…,” Zac thought as he watch the pair, start talking, “She wasn’t as bad around Layla.”

In fact while she had been crass or vulgar around him, her words seemed to be far more guarded around his daughter. Her threats and even physical 'attacks' seemed more... restrained and comical, over the top rather than grounded. Was she holding back around Layla and if so why? Zac was more than willing to ponder this idea when a sound caught his attention.

A small but noticeable, koff. A sound he knew full well what it meant.

Zac quickly made the camera zoom in on his daughter’s face. The flush cheeks, short breathes she was taking, the light shake in her voice; an attack was coming on. Was it due to something on the ship? The burns on Blackfire’s clothes or maybe that spray? Didn’t matter right now. What mattered was how well Cupid did their homework.

Zac made a dash towards the bed, looking though any compartments near it. He hoped it would be here, if not should be in Layla’s room. Maybe in the bathroom. But he kept one near his sleeping spot always, as a just in case when he was visiting Layla. It took him till the fourth compartment to find what he was looking for. Zac grabbed it and dashed for the door, hearing Layla coughs get worse.

He made it just in time to see the alien catch Layla and see Blackfire turn to call for him. It took Zac only seconds to cross the distance. No time to try and hold Layla, just have to trust Blackfire.

“Just hold her okay?” Zac spoke, slow and deliberate towards the Alien as he brought up the strange tube towards his daughter’s mouth.

When Layla seemed to be sucking on one end, Zac pressed down on the back end of the shape. Blackfire could here a strange sound, akin to pressurized air being deployed. Layla was still coughing, but with some help was able to steady herself. The second dose of the air seemed to have far more effect, letting her start to breathe easier.

“That it, slow long breathes.” Zac reminded his daughter, moving to rub the back of her chest, “Take another when you’re ready.”

Layla nodded as she took hold of the small device. It took another four or so puffs before she settled down. Her face was still pale and her voice was shaken.

“I’m okay… koff…, I’m okay. Just…” the girl started. Only for her father to cut her off.

“No. You’re not. Come on, let’s get you to lie down.” Zac states, taking Layla into his arms.

“Dad! I’m fine! Koff, I’m not even tired!”

“No protesting. You’re gonna rest in bed for a bit. I’ll get you some soup and juice for your throat. Maybe there’s a tv in your room… Hmm, should still have your movies around here somewhere.” Zac said as he wondered where they would be in her room.

He started to walk away before pausing for a moment to turn back to Blackfire. She stood there with a bit of a dumb look on her face, trying to process everything that was happening.

“Hey, I need to get her in bed…, could you get a pot out for me at the very least?” Zac asked.

This seemed to shake her out of whatever mental block she was having. A slight shrug and a wave of her hand, siginaling for him to just 'go' answered him. Seems she was back to normal.

“Fine… Whatever. If only because it’s makes everything easier.” Blackfire, continuing to wave him off, "Just go... take care of whatever is happening with her."

Zac nodded and turned to walk down the hallway as she moved towards the cabinets with a grunt.

“Ugh, asking me to do a task like this…, even this simple. Ugh.” Blackfire thought to herself as she dug through the cabinets for a pot.

“Although, how firm and capable he is under stress like that…, that’s kinda hot.” the alien thought as she hummed a bit to herself. __

........

“Where the FUCK did that come from??!!?!” Blackfire internally screamed as she shot up from her crouched position, pot in one hand.

While it was true Zac wasn't.... the worst looking man; Blackfire could do OH so much better. She could have, and SHOULD have, very important people hoping to woo her, either for the power she had or out of fear of what she'd do to them. Bribes and riches, worshiping pets eager to please her in whatever way she wanted. Why the hell did she think this grimy worker was 'hot' over his reaction to his sick daughter?

Whatever, it had been a long day thus far. Couldn't hurt her if she thought her new 'pet' was attractive. Only attractive, nothing else. Someone like her needed to have something to show off... yes that was it. This is what she told herself as she put the pot on the stove stop and folded her arms as she leaned against a countertop. She didn't even realize that she scratched at her hand a bit as she waited for the human to come back.

A hand that, under her gauntlet, now held a small faint tattoo of a crystal.