by K. L. Lewis
“In Themiskyra, working with the High Council!” Keith answered. “Need I also remind you she helped build the whole country and was there in the fire when Serali first carved their place over Mid-Asia.”
His mother was one of Themiskyra’s founders? That explained how that Councilor he met knew about her. But still, DeMarcus didn’t know that part of her reputation. And here he thought she was only known as the “Bloody Leo” for her efforts in the Solar War. Hearing her name again made him slump over the table like a giant boulder had pressed down on his back, and he downed his glass of water as the conversation dug up memories of his old life he wished back.
“How is Ms. Leona by the way?” Danni asked. “We still have yet to meet her.”
DeMarcus lifted an ear toward Keith. Maybe he’ll finally know what happened to her. “I’m sure she’s doing fine,” Keith said. “Though I haven’t spoken to her in a while.”
Maybe not…DeMarcus downed another glass of water, then another. He was so full he felt his stomach sloshing. Yue gave a worrying look as she watched him down another glass. “You okay?” she asked him.
“I’m still surprised Iuvia allowed her to fight on the front lines during the war,” Qin continued. “Isn’t she related to the head of state there?”
“The Imperatrix’s daughter no less,” said Keith. “Those Iuvians are fierce. Almost every one of them is trained to defend their nation regardless of whether they join the military. That Sekhmet was still a rascal even when she was young.”
“Talk about a prestigious lifestyle,” said Shen. “I wonder how she deals with it?”
“She doesn’t really care for the fame,” said Keith. “Ever since the Crow Storm Uprising, she’s wanted to keep a low profile. After all she’s been through, that woman deserves a rest.”
“It’s a wonder who’d be lucky to have her as a partner,” said Abrams. “She settled down with anyone?”
Keith smiled. “Oh, definitely! And they already have a son!”
DeMarcus coughed out his water, with Tyrone patting him on his back. “Geez, man. That’s enough water for you,” Ty said.
“So, how did you guys deal with Monuman and Serali?” Yue asked. “They’re a huge talk these days even in the NAF.”
“We helped the Themiskyrans build their own industry,” Keith answered. “They were hard at work producing their own tech and arms. Then the HDF somehow got involved; bastards salted half the southern parts of the continent and started trouble between Themiskyra and the NAF the same year they were founded. After that came the Crow Storm Uprising, and…well let’s just say the Fronties picked the wrong time to make a comeback.”
The redwood doors opened behind them, with Alisha, Jiao, and James walking into the room with a large box in tow. Keith looked over his seat as they approached the table with the box off to the side. “Hey son, how was it?” he asked.
“No comment,” James answered.
Keith snickered. “Other than what you said?”
James groaned at his father, sparking a laugh from Jiao. “Someone was a little henpecked,” she said, turning to Alisha, who smirked, shrugged, and looked away.
James lifted the cover of the box, revealing a large cake divided into red, pink, and blue sections. Holo-projectors flashed over the cake, with the words “Happy 15th Birthday DeMarcus, Yue, and Tyrone!” hovering in white letters. Jun lit the candles, the room burst into song, and the birthday girl and boys made their wishes as they blew out the candles.
Keeping his thoughts to himself, DeMarcus wished he could see his mother again—alive, with him in the future. Not like it made any difference. It was wishful thinking, but he had long accepted the reality he was in now.
After getting his slice of red cake, he took to his seat and unwrapped his OmniMorph from his wrist, sitting it on the table like a laptop as he resumed his search over the numbers and letters from the Data Slip. A chair clacked next to him, and he turned to Jade scooting closer with a smile. “Why didn’t you guys tell us it was your birthdays?” she asked.
DeMarcus shrugged. “It was last month. It didn’t seem important.”
“And the trip was kinda the present,” Tyrone added. “Especially since Yue was eager to travel somewhere new.”
Gabby rested her elbows on DeMarcus’s shoulder. “Well, I wished you told me sooner. I wouldn’t mind giving you a present before you leave. If Yue doesn’t mind, that is?”
“Eh, knock yourself out,” said Yue.
Seeing her wink at him from the corner of her eye, it was a wonder what Gabby had in mind as a gift. A souvenir of some kind? Maybe even a picture to remember her by? That Yue was fine with it stunned DeMarcus, but he was never one to ask for much anyway.
But what caught his eye afterwards was Jade narrowing her eyes and puffing her face at Gabby. Was she mad at her? He thought they were friends. What in the world did Gabby do to get this response from her?
Jade’s eyes switched to him and her face changed to a smile. “Say, want to look around the city?” she asked him.
DeMarcus blinked and raised an eyebrow as he finished his last piece of his cake. “Where to?”
Jade rose from her seat and tugged his arm. “Come on, I’ll show you!” She said with glee.
That quick change of her face puzzled DeMarcus, and he nearly fell out of his seat at her second tug. He turned to Yue and Ty and waved them along. “Yo, come on! We’re heading out!”
The two smirked at each other and shook their heads as they rose from their seats. Normally he’d see them ripping at each other when their faces matched like that, but they looked like they were sneering at DeMarcus as they followed along with Gabby trailing behind. Jade’s grip tightened as Gabby walked past the two and caught up to DeMarcus, and he was beginning to wonder what the heck happened between the two.
But that flew from his mind when he spotted Amy and Bianca watching them. “Where are they going?” Bianca asked as she and Amy rose from their seats.
“I wanna come!” said Amy.
“Hurry before they tag-along!” Tyrone whispered, running ahead with Yue. What was their hurry? They didn’t know where they were going.
With a glance back at the table, he breathed a sigh of relief when Jun stepped in and stopped the two from reaching them. Sure, his birthday had long passed, but this was still his moment too, and the last thing he wanted was for those two to be there and ruin it.
Following Jade and Gabby and linking up with Ty and Yue outside, they climbed the steps for the city highwalks and watched as the city lights shined a golden hue under the waning sky. Jade led the group toward the Great Thames River, where beady white boats drifting through the waters. Towering over the city at the center of the river stood three giant superstructures with slanted white walls, and a bulbous yellow tower at their cores. Each looked like giant lily pads sprouted at a distance, with bridges hovering between them and connecting the city together.
“Yo, DeMarcus. Something’s up with your other girlfriend,” Tyrone teased.
“What the—? She’s not my—!” DeMarcus nearly tripped on his feet as they turned the next corner, and the walkway started moving under them on the way to the middle lily pad. They stood in place, letting the path carry them further to the center.
Drawing closer to the outer walls, they noticed gnarled branches and vines twisting along the edges of the walkway, spreading around the surfaces where blue colored lamps lined the edges. Green grass, stone-white walkways, and red bushes lined the ring around the outside, and the air was moist as blue bubble-shaped drones hovered around spraying mist around. Jade waved the group over as she went through one of the wide, wooden doorways to the center of the lily pad. Passing through to the other side, the moist air sweetened in DeMarcus’s nose, and he followed the smell to a massive stalk sprouting at the center.
The emerald-green and pearlescent leaves shined along the golden branches, and its trunk glowed between the sapphire-blue foliage of the smaller trees surrounding them. Yue pulled out
her DroneGimbal and started a recording. “Wow, this is so beautiful.”
It certainly was a sight show, and that was just the scenery. Lining around the walls were stores and shops galore, and elevators rising and falling to the floors above and below. DeMarcus couldn’t help himself when he sniffed the buttery scent of bread whiffing in the air. He followed the scent-trail to an auto-bakery in the middle of puffing and buttering its bread, then it twisted them into shapes, from pretzels and cinnamon sticks to a variety of cookies laid out behind the display.
He purchased the fudge cookies, bite-sized morsels in bags of six. Each one melted in his mouth as he munched. “Don’t plump yourself on the biscuits,” Jade said with a giggle.
Biscuits? DeMarcus looked at the cookies in wonder of what he was eating, then finished his last one before following Jade to one of the wide balconies closest to the massive stalk. “So, how do you like it?” she asked.
“It’s just like the Megaplaza back home,” DeMarcus said. “It’s a shame we’ll be leaving it in a few days.
“Well, nothing really lasts forever it seems,” said Jade.
Her words cut at him as his mother came to mind. “Yeah, you can say that again.”
The near growl in his voice sent Jade aback with her head sinking to her shoulders. “Are you okay? I didn’t upset you, did I?”
“No, it’s not that. Just having bad memories.” His head tilted up to the stalk’s canopy where drones drifted through the surrounding mist. He’d never seen anything like this before, and he paced around the balcony in wonder of how such a massive plant could exist. “So, what kind of tree is this?”
“It’s called the Jade Megastalk,” said Jade. “You can see where I got my name from. Took them decades to grow after the war, and it helps clean the air beyond the city.”
“So, it’s not a normal tree then?” DeMarcus questioned. “It’s a wonder how long it might’ve took to grow it?”
“It was a gift from Meska during early Reconstruction, and they grow pretty fast,” said Jade. “They never really stop, actually, which is why they’re so useful. I’ve heard stories of others absorbing radiation from nukes. You can imagine how wicked something like that would be.”
“My, you two are getting awfully close.” They flinched at Gabby standing just behind them with a smirk and a glance at Jade. “What’cha talking about?”
“Nothing much,” said DeMarcus. “Just enjoying the view. What’s up?”
“Well, I was thinking about your present I had in mind.” Gabby strutted toward DeMarcus and stood between him and Jade, her finger sliding from his neck to his chest. “You want it now, or later?”
DeMarcus shrugged. “Now’s good. What kind of—?”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence when she gripped his shirt pulled him in for a lock on his lips. His tail stiffened as Gabby pressed her face into his, wrapping her arms around his neck in an embrace. The sudden shock of the kiss had his knees shake. He wanted to reach out and stop the rapid clicking of Tyrone’s OmniMorph catching the moment, but he found himself paralyzed in pleasure. Meanwhile, Yue stood by, eyes wide and jaw-dropped with Jade who looked on in horror. Then Gabby released DeMarcus, giggling at his stunned expression.
He blinked and stared out in space. He couldn’t believe that just happened. But seeing Yue’s arms crossed and her brows furrowed, he knew a fire was about to rage. “Okay, you said nothing about a kiss, you flirt!” Yue shouted with a finger at Gabby.
Gabby kept smiling. “It was supposed to be a surprise. And you did say it was okay.”
“Snogging someone out of the blue is a hell of a surprise, Gabby,” Jade scolded.
“Oh, were you that interested in him?”
Jade blushed. “W-what? No, that’s not what I meant.”
As DeMarcus returned to reality, he shrunk at his sister crossing her arms and tapping her foot as though she were ready explode. But then she shrugged and relented. “No, it’s fine,” she said. “Happy Birthday, DeMarcus. Enjoy your first kiss.”
“Way to go, man!” Tyrone brought DeMarcus in for a knuckle to the head, and DeMarcus wrestled him off and put Ty in a friendly headlock. The other girls stood back and shook their heads at them, but it was all in good fun, this was nothing compared to what they did back at the Compound.
Yue kept a wary eye on Gabby. “You’re lucky I like you. Otherwise, I’d slug you.”
But seeing Jade storm off triggered a flush of guilt in DeMarcus as he chased after her down the steps toward the megastalk. “Jade, wait!”
He knew she was upset, and it was only now he realized that she really liked him. It wasn’t his fault what Gabby did, but that didn’t make him feel any less shameful letting it happen.
“Jade!” He called out once more in a race to the bottom. She turned to him as he crossed the bridge over the water to the trunk of the megastalk, her face sullen and low. He didn’t know what to say when he reached her, scratching his neck as he searched for the right words. “Look, I’m so—”
“It’s not your fault,” she said, putting him in a pause. “I was too slow.”
“Slow for…?”
Jade raised a brow at him. “Are you really that thick?”
“Wha…?” What in the world was she talking about?
“Dense? Daft? You didn’t notice how I felt for you all this time?” she said.
“Not…really?” DeMarcus said with a shrug. “I don’t get a lot of attention, so it was something I didn’t know until now. Look, I’m sorry if I didn’t notice.”
Jade snickered. “Makes me wonder how the girls are like in your country?”
DeMarcus was still trying to figure that out himself, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. In a few days he’ll return to the NAF, and he wanted to enjoy what remaining moments he had here. A moment he wished was more private, without the hairs of his neck rising at Yue and Ty watching them from above. He wanted to tell them to go away, but Ty pointed behind him at Gabby approaching across the bridge.
“Uh…this is awkward,” he said as his eyes switched between Jade and Gabby.
“It shouldn’t be,” said Gabby. “Took you long to notice, but ever since that incident in Brighton, Jade’s developed a crush. She just has a hard time expressing herself is all.”
The reddening of Jade’s face and the fierce look she gave Gabby said it all. But DeMarcus found it flattering, and it was funny to see Jade’s face puff as she turned away with her tail thrashing back and forth. “I thought you two were friends?” DeMarcus teased.
“We are,” said Gabby. “But every once in a while, I like to give her some grief for fun. It’s not like we hate each other, just that someone’s just a little jealous.”
Jade growled from Gabby poking her face, sending DeMarcus a back at what else might happen. But he couldn’t help but laugh at the two going at it like sisters. “Don’t be like that,” Gabby said. “Tell you what. I’ll back away and let you have a moment. Give him a gift to remember before he leaves.”
“Really?” Jade said with a skeptic tone.
“Aw, isn’t this so ky-ute!” Yue stood behind them with her DroneGimbal hovering over her shoulder. It had DeMarcus rush to grab it, knowing she was recording everything.
“Yue! Knock it off!” he said, reaching for her drone.
Yue backed away and kept the drone hovering. “Come on! This scene is perfect! Why not take some shots of you enjoying yourself? It’s more than what you’ll get from Crystal anyway.”
He really didn’t want to be reminded of her at a time like this. Yue turned to the girls behind him. “Wanna take one in front of the megastalk?”
Gabby turned to Jade. “Well? You may never see him again.”
Jade raised an eyebrow. “What’re you saying?”
“Let’s have memories of the guy who saved your life?”
“Don’t I get a say in this?” DeMarcus asked.
Gabby and Jade smiled as they pulled DeMarcus in. “Nope!�
� They said as they sandwiched him between them.
They posed for the picture and the two girls surprised DeMarcus with a kiss on his cheek. Then a second shot caught him smiling—this was certainly a gift to remember.
Come the end of the trip, everyone packed their bags and traveled to the aeroport as the Suns and Iyrons prepped for their return home. Yue gave Jade and Gabby copies of the photos and recordings she took, and everyone exchanged heartfelt goodbyes. Gabby and Jade gave warm hugs to DeMarcus (and slipped in their online profiles on his OmniMorph) before he boarded the shuttle. “Bye, DeMarcus,” Gabby waved.
“Yeah, take care,” said Jade.
“You too,” DeMarcus said as he boarded the shuttle, sitting next to Tyrone and Yue as they shared the memories made. The inside echoed with the muffled whirrs of the engine as the shuttle took off, and DeMarcus gazed out the window, already missing Gabby and Jade as the British Isles shrunk from view.
Sad that a good thing, like many things in his life, had come to an end.
CHAPTER 24 – PAIN, TRAUMA, STRESS, AND DESPAIR
The British Isles trip felt so long, yet the experience so short. Now it was back to the usual domes and towers of Detroit, the usual neighborhood, and the usual training at the Compound. But the memories made were worth it, and DeMarcus was eager to tell Mitch and Sarah about them when they returned. Mitch was having a blast in Great Toronto while Sarah enjoyed a family reunion in Chicago, and it wouldn’t be long before they joined in the anti-militant defense training at the Compound while DeMarcus reinforced his skills there with Yue and Tyrone.
Speaking of the Compound, the three were excited upon hearing LaBelle’s promotion to Major after foiling an assassination attempt by a faction of HDF militants in the Illina province. They saw her on the news while touring the British Isles, and they were curious about how she foiled the attempt. “Let’s just say it zee Fronties tried to hire some outside help, but zhey didn’t show up,” she told them.
It was one of the latest stories on the news, an unmarked ship drifting the middle of the Great Lakes, said to belong to the Fronties—their way of sneaking in and out of the country. It was just outside the shores between the Detroit and the Illina provinces and was captured by NAF authorities that caught it before it departed.
