L.I.S.P. Ch. 1 Arrival

L.I.S.P.
League of Insanely Sexy People


Chapter 1: Arrival

Sabrina Slade gripped onto the blue strap hanging from the ceiling as the turbulence from the enormous carrier ship attempting to land shook the passengers violently. The ship, NEA 3200, finally hit the runway, sighs of relief filled it's cabin as the passengers thanked God and made haste to the exit. Sabrina, her knuckles white from the death-grip she had on the blue strap, shook her head and followed the crowd towards the exit. The flight attendants stood by the exits, ushering people through the doorway as fast as they could but in the nicest way possible with their cheery smiles. "Welcome to New Eden."

Sabrina returned a smile and continued down a hallway into the terminal. The whole spaceport was thriving with new arrivals that were ready to take in all that Mars had to offer them. It had taken nearly 200 years to create a livable environment on Mars but it eventually happened. It was the 50th anniversary of New Eden, the first city on Mars. Sabrina's sister, Xara, had invited her to come watch the celebration ceremonies that would take place in a few days. Even bought her a ticket to ensure that she would come. It had been 5 years since Xara had moved to New Eden with her husband Victor. Sabrina tried to convince her not to go, but Xara was intent on it. She would travel back home during the holidays, but other than that, Sabrina never saw her sister. She was actually surprised to get the invitation to come.

"Sabrina!"

"Sis?" Sabrina had spaced out and was surprised to see Xara run up and hug her.

"It's so good to see you!" Xara grinned. "How was your trip?"

Sabrina shuttered as she thought back to the ship ride. "Don't ask."

Xara giggled. "That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea!" Sabrina smiled. "Where's Victor?"

"He is at work. Although I don't know that 'work' is what it should be called. All he does is fight at the New Eden Stadium."

"He's a fighter now?"

"He has always been a fighter. He just gets paid to beat people up now." Xara laughed. "Hey, maybe we can go see one of his fights tonight. You want to?"

"Maybe." Sabrina faked a yawn. "I'm a bit tired."

Xara's smile faded. "Oh, okay. Maybe some other time."

Sabrina felt guilty for being so rude when her sister had paid for her trip and was giving her a place to stay. "But if you want, we can go now."

Xara immediately brightened up. "Sure! Here, let me take your stuff. We can drop it off at the house and pick up a quick lunch before we go."

Before Sabrina could say anything, Xara had already picked up her luggage and was making her way to the parking lot.

Sabrina took in the sights of New Eden as Xara drove them through downtown. She was amazed by how populated Mars had become since she had last been to New Eden 5 years ago. "You know sis, on Mars, clocks register on a 24½ hour basis, which is just a little longer than that of Earth's 24 hour basis. Along with longer days, Mars also has longer years – spanning 685 days as opposed to Earth's 365 days." Xara was giving her spill on "how great Mars is" again. Sabrina had heard the same thing when Xara first told her that she was moving.

"Mhm. So how far is your house again?"

"It's right here." Xara pulled onto a long driveway leading up to a revamped medieval looking castle.

"You live here?" Sabrina gawked at the huge establishment.

"Yeap! Me and Victor have been living here for 3 years now."

"Wow. You two live in this colossal castle by yourselves?"

"No, silly!" Xara giggled and shook her head. "We live in the West wing of the castle with Eva, John, and Hannibal. Carmelita, Eddie, Tony, Gabriel, and Jack live in the East wing. Then in the mid-portion lives Johnny, Roxie, Belle, and the Sargent. "

"Whoa, you live with all of those people?!" Sabrina cringed at the thought of living under the same roof with a crowd like that.

"It's not that bad really. I enjoy their company, plus a lot of them work with Victor at the stadium. The Sargent is the real owner; he rents out rooms to us."

"Wait a minute." Sabrina held her hand to her head. "Please tell me I am NOT sharing a room with you and Victor."

"Not unless you want to!" Xara grinned and patted her sister on the back. "No worries sis. Eva is letting us use her room while she is away with Progarius."

"With who??"

"Progarius. He is a troublemaker that has been coming around when he pleases and killing Victor."

"Um, don't you mean tries to kill Victor?"

"Look, sis. There's something I need to tell you before…"

"Hey Gorgeous! Who's the babe you got with ya?"

Sabrina jumped as a man popped up next to the passenger's side of the car.

"Hey Hannibal. This is my sis, Sabrina." Xara pointed to Sabrina who gave an embarrassed wave.

"Sup? You staying for a while?" Hannibal winked.

"Yea, I'll be here for a few weeks." Sabrina pushed her hair back and smiled at Hannibal.

"Sweet! You are gonna love it here. Trust me."

"Alright man, you think you could take Sabrina's stuff up to Eva's room for us?" Xara popped the trunk.

"No prob! Gonna show sis the sights?" Hannibal kept talking as he walked to the back and grabbed the luggage.

"Actually, we are going to see Victor at the stadium." Xara beamed proudly.

"Ah, going to see the big kitten I see. That's cool. Let me know if he gets whipped or not." Hannibal smiled mischievously, savoring the thought of Victor losing.

"Haha." Xara rolled her eyes and smiled. "You know you are welcome to come?"

"Me? Watch Victor? The man whom I live right down the hall from? And have to see his smoking hott wife kiss his caveman face every morning? Get his butt kicked in front of thousands of spectators? Sure. I'd love to."

"Then hurry up and get those bags upstairs!"

Hannibal saluted Xara and bolted towards the front doors. Sabrina giggled. "So that's Hannibal?"

"Yepp. Hannibal King."

"How come you haven't mentioned him before?"

"Well, there is a lot of people I haven't mentioned to you."

"Yea, and why is that?"

"Well, you see…" Xara bit her bottom lip as she tried to explain. "Look, sis, there's something you should know."

"What's that?" Sabrina quickly became concerned.

"The reason I haven't mentioned Hannibal or these other people is because…"

"Back!" Hannibal scared Sabrina again, popping up right next to her window for a second time.

"Great! If we hurry, we can get some lunch before the next fight starts." Xara was quick to accept a change in topics. Sabrina thought about saying something to her, but decided it was best to leave the conversation for when they were alone. Plus she was preoccupied with wondering how Hannibal had taken the bags up to the room so quickly.

After stopping for some lunch, well a late lunch as it was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon, they finally arrived at New Eden Stadium. At the gate, Xara rolled down the window to talk to the security guard. "Hey Phil."

"Afternoon, Mrs. Creed." The security guard stepped out of his small kiosk to talk to Xara. "I hear your husband is doing well in the standings today."

"That's great news!" Xara smiled. "Is he in the arena right now?"

"No mam. He isn't set for a match until 5."

"Perfect. Thanks Phil!"

"No problem, Mrs. Creed."

Xara pulled around to the VIP parking behind the stadium. Sabrina didn't realize how much of a celebrity her sister had become in New Eden. Posters of Xara and Victor were everywhere – the prized couple of the New Eden Stadium. Xara led Sabrina and Hannibal through a set of double doors into a long hallway. Straight ahead of them was a large door that said "gym" in big bold letters. "Hey, sis. Why are there pictures of you outside the stadium? I thought you said Victor worked here?"

"He does. I didn't say that I didn't work here too." Xara grinned mischievously at her sister as they walked side by side towards the gym door.

"Do you fight too?" Sabrina was shocked there was so much about her sister that she didn't know.

"Yes. But only tag team. I started about a year ago and have loved it ever since."

"So you and Victor – "

" - tag team fight? Yes."

"Well, that explains all the posters."

"Yes, but it doesn't explain her insanity for being married to the giant bear." Hannibal piped in. He had been busy sucking down a large coke which explained his silence. With his Styrofoam cup now empty, there was nothing to keep him quiet.

Xara rolled her eyes as she pushed the door open and ran into a large muscular man. "Easy there, Wildcat." Sabrina recognized Victor, his large canines gleaming as he smiled down at Xara. His smile quickly faded as he spotted Hannibal. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, hello to you too princess." Hannibal gave a mocking smile.

"He came along to keep Sabrina company." Xara quickly intervened. "You remember my sister?"

Victor looked over at Sabrina and then back to Xara. "Yea I remember."

"Mr. Creed!" Everyone turned to see a young boy, about 17, run down the hall, his ID tags bouncing wildly against his chest. He stopped in front of Victor and Xara, gasping for breath. "Sir, you are needed in the arena."

"What?!" Xara looked up at a clock on the wall. "It's only 4:30!"

"It's not for the fight. Some man asked for you. Said he had a score to settle." The boy looked down and fiddled with his ID tag. "He said his name was Progarius."

"What?!" Victor roared, his deep voice resounding down the long corridor and causing the young boy to cringe.

"Victor, listen to me." Xara stood in front of him, holding onto his lower arms. "He's not worth the trouble."

"Yea, Kitty, don't worry about him. He only took four of your nine lives last time." Hannibal cracked himself up and doubled over in laughter.

"Shut it Hannibal." Xara snapped at him, her eyes searing through him like knives.

"Whoa, it was just a joke-"

"- This is serious." Xara's cold eyes were full of fear.

"What is so special about this guy?" Sabrina piped in.

"Nothing." Victor snarled and pulled away from Xara's grip.

"Victor…" Xara watched him pace down the corridor towards the arena.

"Is something wrong?" Sabrina wrapped her arm around Xara to comfort her.

"He is going to die…" Xara sighed heavily. "…Again."

"Again?!" Sabrina pulled away from her sister. "What do you mean again?! I thought that thing about the nine lives was a joke?!"

"Look sis, I haven't been completely honest with you about some things…" Xara looked down. She then inhaled deeply and rose her head, full of new resolve. "I can't explain it to you right now. Victor needs me."

Before Sabrina had a chance to argue, Xara had already turned around and sped off. "Sis! Wait!" She chased her sister all the way to the arena. The bars on the arena door had already closed and Xara had her arms threaded between them towards Victor on the other side.

"Wait." Xara's voice whimpered and the soft sound caused Victor to stop. He turned and walked back to the bars. Xara took his hands and kissed them. Sabrina hadn't really noticed till now, but he had extremely long and pointed nails on each of his fingers. "Please don't do this. Forget about him. Come home with me."

Sabrina tried hard not to gag at the sappy moment and she had to cover Hannibal's mouth to keep him from making another sarcastic comment. "Don't you say a word." She whispered harshly and he nodded slowly.

"Hey, Fingernails!"

Sabrina noticed a tall man in a large black cape and an even bigger sword on his shoulder walk towards them. Victor turned, his canines seeming longer than before as he growled at the approaching man. "Victor!" Xara cried out as he lunged towards who Sabrina assumed to be Progarius.

"Nice try," Progarius sidestepped Victor's attack. "Why don't you try something new?" Victor leapt to his feet and approached his enemy, slower this time.

"Progarius!" Xara screamed angrily through the bars.

"Yes?" He turned his attention towards Xara and Victor took advantage of this distraction. With another powerful lunge, a successful blow to the waist sent both men tumbling into the middle of the arena.

"Now that's the spirit!" Progarius gave Victor a quick kick to the chest that sent him sprawling backwards. "Let's see if you can keep it up."

Xara pounded the bars with her fists as she watched Victor take a kick to the chest. "Alright, that's it. We can't do anything here. Let's go around to the speaker's box and see if we can't talk some sense into them from there." Sabrina and Hannibal nodded and the three of them sped off down the corridor.

Victor climbed to his feet again, a little slower than before. Progarius smiled and quickly swung his sword. Victor ducked and the sword whistled past him. "Not bad." Progarius retaliated with another swift swing of his large blade, this time hitting its mark, embedding into Victor's left arm. "But you could do better." Victor howled in pain as Progarius pulled the sword out of his arm and swung it towards him again. This time, Victor grabbed the blade and ripped it out of the hands of Progarius. He took the sword and flung it to the other side of the arena.

"Now what are you going to do?" Victor grinned as his wounds began to heal. Progarius returned an equally cocky smile and grabbed Victor's arm, flinging him into a nearby wall.

"I will just have to kick your butt the old fashioned way." Progarius chuckled at his own taunt. Before Victor could recover, Progarius delivered a vicious blow to the ribs, sending a sickening crack sound reverberating through the arena.  Victor gritted his teeth and lunged at his enemy again. His injury effected his speed, Progarius easily sidestepped the lunge and catching Victor by the leg, sent him crashing to the ground on his already battered ribs. "Ouch, that will take a while to heal." Progarius continued to taunt his prey, still holding onto his leg, and threw Victor back into the wall a second time. Victor retaliated by pushing off the wall and tackling Progarius to the ground, digging his unusually sharp nails into his enemy's chest. Then, in a strange turnaround, Victor pulled Progarius up and flung him into the wall.

"Let's see how you heal from this." Victor charged towards Progarius and with a powerful blow from his right hand, clawed the side of his face. Progarius, blood trickling down the side of his face, glared at Victor.

"That was the wrong thing to do." Progarius then lunged at Victor, sending them flipping across the arena. Fists flew and claws shredded as the two continued their brawl. Finally fed up with the ensuing battle, Progarius delivered another forceful kick to the chest and retrieved his sword. Before Victor could fully recover, Progarius returned and pinned him to the ground. Progarius tasted his own blood and became infuriated with Victor. "You're going to die for real this time."

"Don't!" Progarius recognized the voice. He quickly looked up to spot the source. In the speaker's box above the stadium stood Eva. "Progarius, leave him alone." Touched by her words, Progarius lowered his sword. "Now, let's go." Eva exited the speaker's box followed by Xara. The two women rushed out into the arena, Eva taking ahold of Progarius and Xara rushing to Victor's side as he began to climb to his feet.

"Here, let me help you." Xara held onto Victor's arm, pulling him to his feet.

"I'm fine." Victor grimaced as he walked towards the exit with Xara at his side.

"You should have let me kill him." Progarius stood bent over to let Eva wipe the blood from his face.

"And how much of a friend would I be to let my boyfriend kill my best friend's husband?" Eva held the cloth to the side of his face to keep more blood from flowing out of the wounds. "Couldn't you just leave the man alone?"

"He isn't a man. Just a beast trapped in a man's body." Progarius glared at Victor as he walked by with Xara. "She is my friend too. And it would be irresponsible for me to sit back and watch that monster destroy her."

"She is happy with Victor." Eva pulled Progarius's attention away from Victor and looked him in the eyes. "Just like I'm happy with you."