by Kipjo Ewers
“Why everyone?” Sophia mustered the strength to reason with her. “Why not just eradicate those that do evil?”
“Because they’re all the problem!” Peace threw up her hands again. “The weak are just as guilty because they are weak! This twisted circle of life bullshit that we are trapped in is the reason for the downfall of our society and our planet because it is easily abused. We must shatter it and wipe the slate clean, and the only way to do that is for every last one of us to be strong! There can be no chink in our armor for us to succeed!”
“Your brought up the ‘flood’ a couple of minutes ago,” Sophia scoffed. “What makes this plan any different than that one?”
“Rolling out a better product line,” she smiled.
“And that’s the end game?” Sophia asked. “A world of just superhumans. I guess you didn’t take the possibility of overpopulation into consideration.”
“Which would be like what a hundred or so years from now?” She shrugged. “Yeah, I did, but by that time our planet would have been healed, we would be ready to write the next chapter in our soon to be epic history.”
“You’re planning on going back out… there?” Sophia looked up, figuring out her long term plan.
“Very good,” she clapped. “I told you I have no intentions of being a leader, but a conqueror of worlds I can do. And with the discovery of several super Earths around the known universe, we’d be crazy not to claim them as our own, thus also solving our population problem.”
“That’s not just it,” Sophia shook her head. “You doing this because you want an army… for what? What do you know?”
“Come on.” She dully glared at her. “I don’t need a college diploma to know that the virus that made us what we are now wasn’t created in some Petri dish in a lab.”
“What do you know of Project Evolution?” Sophia asked, forgetting that they were talking about worldwide genocide for the moment.
“I love this one-sided ass relationship we have where you think you can just ask me anything without giving anything back.” She sarcastically rolled her eyes. “When you torched #1 on that day at Mount McLoughlin, you also obliterated the tablet that held all of the data concerning Project Evolution. But the times I got to snoop around Rosen’s files after I put him to bed with my good stuff, I learned that our universe is not only as vast as we may think, we are definitely not the only ones in it.”
“What are you talking about?” Sophia’s eyes widened with interest. “What did you see?”
“I didn’t see jack,” she sneered. “It’s what I read. When the US Forces invaded Nazi Germany and liberated the Ohrdruf concentration camp, they found an entrance to a secret research lab that ran underneath the camp. There they found what they codenamed ‘The Holy Grail.’ They took it and everything else that was there, detonated the lab, and smuggled it out of Europe and back to the US.”
“You didn’t see any picture of this Holy Grail?” Sophia asked.
“Nope.” She shook her head. “Whatever they had, they didn’t want anyone to know what it looked like. It was all extremely cryptic. I do know whatever it was, based on what I read and could figure out, they were taking samples from it. Samples that they used to create the first strain of the virus.”
At that moment Sophia wrestled with whether it was a curse or blessing that she was still alive, as she willingly gave vital information to the origin of their new life.
“So now that we’ve had this very groundbreaking sentimental conversation between the two of us,” Peace got back to business, “I got to know right now if you’re in or if you’re out.”
“No.” Sophia shook her head. “I cannot, and will not, allow you to do this. It’s not that I don’t agree with some of the things you said, which is hard for me to even admit, but the way you intend to implement change is not the way to go about it. Getting to the ends will not wash off the ocean worth of blood the means will bring.”
Peace wore not a face of anger or disgust. It was one of disappointed as she turned her back to her stepping away.
“For whatever reason we survived that nuclear explosion,” Sophia said, reaching out a hand to reason with her, “we’re alive. I have plenty of reasons to hate you. But maybe if I had your life I would have turned out the same as you or even worse. Time has opened my eyes where I can see the bigger picture. I can forgive in time. If a better world is what you want I’m in, just not this way. Surrender, pay for your crimes, and maybe we can work toward achieving that goal together.”
Her words were both earnest and tactical, #3, or Peace as she called herself, was not the same woman she pulverized seven years ago. She was powerful, maybe even stronger than her. To fight with her again would mean possible destruction on a global scale. She had to use all means of diplomacy to prevent that from happening.
“A tempting offer,” Peace sighed before turning back to her with a dull look. “But one I am afraid I will have to decline. And since we both can’t reach an accord on the fate of this world. I regrettably have to ask you leave, and by leave… I mean the planet.”
Sophia looked like she was stuck for a minute as she held up a hand unsure if her perfect hearing had just heard what Peace ordered her to do.
“Did you just tell me to leave the planet?” Sophia requested confirmation.
“Yeah, I did,” she nodded. “You see, we’re currently at a discord. I had hoped that you would come to your senses and join me, but I also made preparations to do this without you. And as much as I would love to throw hands with you again, I kind of need the planet and the people here intact to implement my plans. Really sorry, wish there was another way, but you really need to raise up out of here.”
“Oh really,” she scoffed. “And how do you intend to do that, aside from going another couple of rounds with me?”
“It’s already done the second I hit the Regulator’s base,” she smirked. “Revenant is currently having afternoon tea with your dear old parents at their house, while Wendigo is right now hovering over your little island.”
Sophia’s eyes expanded again with shock and fear. Slowly the rage grew on her face.
“And if you attempt to fly off,” Peace warned, “or put your hands on me again, my young resident telepath who has been monitoring this conversation has been instructed to tell Revenant to turn your parents to bone and dust, while Wendigo kills everyone on your island and then sinks it back to the bottom of the ocean that you raised it from to the tune of ‘Kill Everybody by Skrillex.’ I’m personally more of a Halestorm type of gal, but you can’t tell kids shit about their music these days. Oh, and if you think I’m bluffing.”
She quickly reached into a small pocket on the inside of her tight red leather pants pulling out a small carbon fiber looking case. She opened it up revealing an earpiece. She checked to make sure it was still intact, tapped the button on the side to turn it on, and then tossed to Sophia. She snatched it out of the air and quickly put it on.
“Hello?” her voice quivered.
“Hello, Ms. Dennison,” a gloating Revenant came over the other line, “you have a lovely set of parents. Your mother, in particular, is a very colorful and charming woman, I can see where you get your fire from.”
“Sophee!” her mother came loud and clear over her headset.
“Mummy!” She fought back panic and tears.
“Nuh worry bout we baby!” she yelled. “We nuh fraid ah no godless jackcrow dog! Look pon you! Yah fava ah ole whore!”
“Like I said,” sighed Revenant, “colorful woman.”
As he hung up on his end, she removed the headset crushing it in the palm of her hand. Her eyes blazed as tears streamed down her eyes burning a hole through Peace who tanked her glare.
“Whatever chance you had of me not hating you anymore,” she reared her teeth, “you just lost it.”
“Yeah, I know,” she nodded, “but for the greater good I’m willing to take that hit. You’re not going to believe me because you’re all pi
ssed off, but this is not personal between you and I.”
“You made it personal… again.” Sophia narrowed her eyes as she fought to control the building rage.
Peace walked up, standing toe to toe with her to look her in the eyes.
“Baby girl,” she whispered, “if I wanted to make it personal I wouldn’t need stooges to wipe out your entire bloodline, and everyone you ever loved and cared about. A month baking on Mercury, where I adjusted to, and then harnessed, the full power of the sun is all I need to do that. Hell… I could have wiped out the entire planet with one blast, leaving just you and I to fight to the end of the universe or till I kill you, and there is a way to kill you.”
She made a popping sound motioning to her head, her yellow eyes blazed showing the unfathomable power coursing through her as the two women once again sized each other up.
“But it’s like I said, it’s not about you,” she snarled. “So when I came back, I stayed under the radar, and made preparations to exploit your most obvious weakness. Do I really need to say what it is?”
She slowly began to stroll around her as Sophia lowered her head, grinding her teeth.
“To do that I needed to find a team both heartless and lacking a conscience like I was,” she explained her master plan. “That I thought was going to take a while, until I tracked down the Zombie Nation. They really are a bunch of Satan worshippers who believe their powers came from the ‘Dark One,’ bunch of friggin idiots.”
She laughed at herself, shaking her head.
“Wasn’t that hard to bring them to my side of the Force,” she shrugged, “especially when I tore their leader’s heart out and reduce him to ashes right in front of them. I think his name was Dybbuk. Anyway, I had my team, just needed to do some intelligence work to ensure that you and I were the only current heavy hitters on the planet. All the other superhuman units around the world, as impressive as they looked, proved no threat to me. Nor did any of the so-called independent ‘heroes.’ I thought I had all the intel until I learned that the US commissioned their own super hero squad. Yay! Attacking Times Square which was my idea. I wanted to see what this new team was capable of. The bonus was watching that A-Hole Captain Omega die, although I would have preferred to have been the one to pull the trigger myself. Got to stop underestimated the Draugr, he does some fine work. And the double bonus was watching you swoop down to save the day. I really thought you shied away from grandstanding, but you had me fooled there. I also didn’t factor the Egyptian, he really took me by surprise. A real mystery that one, you wouldn’t happen to know his name?”
Sophia looked up with an sneer telling her where to go and do with herself.
“Bah!” Peace waved her off. “Doesn’t matter, he may seem formidable, but with you out the picture, easily dealt with. Now I must tell you, although Anchimayen can’t read your mind for some reason, his ‘astral signature’ range of detection is extremely friggin impressive. That mean once he gets within a proximity of you, like in Times Square, he catch track the energy your soul gives off almost anywhere. That’s how he explained it anyway. That’s how we were able to find the Regulators’ base. I mean this kid can both tap, detect, and pinpoint me from space!”
She sighed with some motherly pride.
“Under that robe is the most beautiful little boy I’ve ever seen,” smiled Peace, “with an unfortunately nasty disposition. Did you know when he acquired his powers, he removed both his parents’ tongues by the root, and then made his mother watch as he broke every bone in his father’s body? He then tore each of her mother’s limbs off one by one leaving her head for last. All because they denied him dessert for not finishing his vegetables.”
Peace acted as if she had the jitters from telling the story, while Sophia wore a face of disgust.
“I believe we’ve now come to an understanding, right?” Peace asked. “That the life of your parents and everyone on that little fantasy island… including your daughter, depends on you not returning to Earth. In return, I will ensure that not a hair is harmed on any of their little heads. The rest of the planet is another story, I make no promises on that. And after fifty, maybe a hundred, years after you’ve roamed the universe and found yourself you can come back and see all the wonderful work that I have done. By then everyone you pretty much loved would have croaked. I won’t be able to use that trump card forever.”
She finished her carousel walk around Sophia standing face to face with her again.
“Except for your little girl,” Peace beamed, “she’ll be a grown woman by then, but she’ll be here waiting for you. Now I know I said I’m not paternal material, but for you… I’ll do the best that I can. I can’t wait to have that girl talk about boys.”
Sophia sighed, letting out an unnerving laugh as she lowered her head. When her raised it again, a smile was plastered all over her face as her body trembled uncontrollably.
“Somehow, some way, I will be back,” she promised, “and as God as my witness, I’m going to make you wish that nuke had killed us on that day.”
“Yeah,” Peace coughed. “Your track record for keeping promises hasn’t been so good. Shall we?”
The two women slowly ascended into the air, neither one bothered to increase speed as they just stared at one another through the entire trip into space. Through no words they came to an understanding that their next encounter, even if was a thousand years from now, one of them would die by the other’s hand.
Sophia followed her past the moon where Peace slowed coming to a stop. She signaled that where they floated was as far as Sophia was allowed to come near the planet. With a wave she turned, parting ways with her blasting off back to Earth signaling the beginning of Sophia’s exile.
Sound in space only exists in the form of electromagnetic vibrations inaudible by the human ear, but Sophia screamed anyway. Her eyes blazed brighter than any star. If sound did carry the entire universe would eventually hear her and tremble as her mind swam with sadistic thoughts of murdering Peace. Every method, extremely slow and painful.
In her mind, she would not be returning in fifty or hundred years. Before the end of the week she was going to see her daughter again and feel her hands around Peace’s throat choking the life from her. She roared that promise to whatever god or beings were listening.
CHAPTER 21
She hovered in the darkness of space. Her rage subsided, she now had to focus, think, and put plan into action.
If Peace’s warning was solid, Anchimayen’s ability to sense her even in space meant she had very few options. It was then that she remembered her bracers and personal A.I. She touched her ear realizing her earpiece was gone. It was either lost or destroyed during the battle. She slid open the compartment revealing a touch LCD screen. Bracing herself, she began to type, “Vincent, are you there?”
“Yes, Ms. Dennison,” her A.I. responded by projecting words via the screen. “How may I help you?”
“Can you call Earl’s number?” she typed.
She prayed the answer was ‘yes,’ desperately needing to know what the situation was at Sanctuary.
“Negative,” he responded. “Even if I connected to local satellites, distance from the planet as well as the limited capability of his phone will not allow for a direct phone call. However you can send him an email or text message. It will take ten minutes for the message to reach his phone.”
“Let’s do it!” she frantically typed.
“Whenever you are ready,” he announced.
She quickly typed a message getting directly to the point.
“Message sent,” Vincent confirmed.
She prayed it reached them in time.
“Can you connect me with Lady Tech?” she typed.
“Attempting to connect with local satellites to increase range in order to connect to her,” responded Vincent.
She patiently waited for a response.
“No response,” he relayed, “shall I keep trying?”
“Yes,” she ty
ped.
“Emitting encrypted beacon signal,” informed Vincent, “it will conserve power while sending a signal. Once she responds I shall connect you.”
Sophia sighed and prayed that everyone was still alive at the Ranch. Her finding a way to return home and stop Peace depended on it.
Until then she floated in the cold black void with no home to return to.
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Back in the buried central command, everyone, save for Adrian holding his sister, and Angie kneeling beside him, stood as the chaos outside settled.
“Maxine rotate us to the entrance,” Erica commanded.
“I already attempted to do so, Miss,” Maxine informed her. “A massive amount of debris has jammed the servos. We are unable to rotate.”
