A Failure To Communicate

A Bar Without A Name, Uncharted Sector, Milky Way Galaxy

The sound of a punch delivered with super-strength filled the air of the bar, loud enough to be heard over the raucous din of the rowdy patrons.  A humanoid blur shot through the air, into the wall, through the wall, and out into the grimy street beyond.
 
The hole in the wall was roughly Lobo-shaped.
 
As the Main Man skidded to a halt on the asphalt, a bearded human wearing a cap with a checkered band stared down at him.  He was leaning against a sleek, if slightly worn yellow spacecraft.  “That might be a new record for you, Lobo.  By my clock, you got bounced out of that joint in… 3.4 seconds,” the man said with a grin. 

“Shut it,” Lobo growled.  “Don’t have time for any Space Cabbie sass.”

Internal artwork from Superman vs. Lobo #2 (Nov. 2021). © and TM DC. Written by Tim Seeley and Sarah Beattie. Art by Mirka Andolfo.

“Oh, don’t let me get in the way,” Space Cabbie replied.  “Especially not getting in the way of her.  Yikes.”
 
Walking out of the vaguely-Lobo shaped hole in the wall was a very tall, powerfully built woman. Her long red ponytail caught some breeze as she cleared some dust off her left shoulder with a dismissive gesture.  Her jet-black eyes were staring a hole in Lobo.  As she continued out of the bar, she walked slowly toward the infamous bounty hunter as he picked himself up from the ground.

Internal artwork from Supergirl #5 (Jan. 2012). © and TM DC. Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson. Art by Mahmud Asrar.

“Tall, tough, mean, and punchy,” Lobo said, a wide grin on his face.  “You remind me of… me.  They’re gonna be callin’ you the Main Woman if you keep that up, Red.”  Lobo said.
 
“The only name I answer to, Czarnian… is Reign,” the menacing woman said.  “Know it well, for it is the sound of your doom.”

“Yeah, I’m out. That gal’s gonna start doing property damage, and I don’t want my property – this here cab – on the list!”  Space Cabbie exclaimed as he headed for the driver’s side of his beloved Space Cab.
 
“Whatever. This fight’s about to end, right here, right now,” Lobo said as he cracked his knuckles and squared up against Reign.  “I know who you are, sister, and I also know there’s a steep bounty on your head.  Dead or alive, in fact.  I assume you got a preference?  Be a nice Reign and I’ll take you to the client intact.  Mostly.”

“You presume much,” Reign said.  “I’ve humbled a Kryptonian in battle.  What makes you think you can do better against me?”
 
“Ooh, so you whupped a Kryptonian?  Join the club, sweetheart. I’ve dropped Big Blue himself!  Tell me… which one did you wreck?  The little guy?  The mutt?  No, I got it – the punk in the leather jacket with the big mouth!”
 
“She is called Supergirl… and she is more of a warrior than you will ever be,” Reign replied.  “Tell me, do you plan to talk all day, or shall we just commence to the part where you run off with your tail between your legs?”

Internal artwork from Supergirl #5 (Jan. 2012). © and TM DC. Written by Michael Green and Mike Johnson. Art by Mahmud Asrar.

“Let’s dance,” Lobo replied, throwing his chained hook toward Reign with great speed and accuracy. It coiled around Reign’s left wrist.  She looked down at it with disdain, then back at Lobo.
 
“You seek to ensnare me. Foolish,” Reign said, her dark lips curled in a sneer. “All you have done is hand me your leash… cur.”  With that, she yanked on the chain with incredible strength, pulling Lobo through the air toward her… and into a powerful right cross.  Lobo fell to the pavement once again as Reign calmly removed his chain from her wrist.  A moment later, a stout kick from Reign to his mid-section sent Lobo hurtling into the atmosphere with great speed.
 
“Tell that idiot, upon his return, not to pursue me,” Reign said to the astonished Space Cabbie as he crouched behind his Space Cab.  “It would be… unwise.”
 
“Lady, you obviously don’t know Lobo,” Space Cabbie said.  “He won’t quit coming after you until one of you is dead.  He likes collecting bounties, and now… believe me… you just made him mad. Now that… is unwise!”
 
“The wrath of a Czarnian pales next to that of a Worldkiller, human,” Reign said.  “And only a Worldkiller can defeat - or slay - a Worldkiller.”  With that, Reign took flight at supersonic speed and disappeared into the nighttime sky over the cabbie’s head.
 
“Thanks for the tip,” Space Cabbie said as gravity harshly deposited Lobo into the street nearby.  As the Main Man began to extract himself from the impact crater, the cabbie walked over to him with an uneasy grin on his face.  “The big gal told me to tell you not to follow her,” he said.  “Now don’t get all ‘shoot the messenger’ on me, pal.  Her words, not mine.”

“Oh, I’m gonna follow her, alright,” Lobo replied. “Her and her three “sisters”.  Gonna need some top-shelf gear to take ‘em in though, and I know just the place to get it.”
 
“Terrible life choice in three… two…” Space Cabbie said.
 
“You still got that Mother Box engine in that bucket of bolts you call a cab, S.C.?” Lobo said.
 
“Yep.”  Here it comes, the cabbie thought with dread.
 
“Need to borrow it.”
 
“If I say no, you’ll just rip it out of my cab, so instead I’ll say ‘what for’?”  

“Need to see me a sweet old Granny about some Omega-level Apokoliptian snare tech,” Lobo replied.
 
“Oh, is that all?” Space Cabbie exclaimed.  “Geez, Lobo, why don’t you ask Darkseid for a legion of Parademons while you’re at it?  Maybe he’ll let you borrow that bucket he wears on his big grey noggin too!”
 
“Ya know… I just might!  It’d look better on the Main Man than on Ole Stoneface any day. Now fork over the Mother Box before I forget we’re buddies.”
 
“Not a scratch, or I’ll find that big Reign gal and tell her the coordinates of all of your favorite watering holes,” the cabbie replied as he opened the engine compartment of his Space Cab to extract the object Lobo desired.  At least he didn’t ask me to take him to Apokolips, he thought.  No fare’s worth a trip to that nightmare!