by L J Branch
“How can I prove to you that I am?”
“Hm, let’s see. I mentioned that imagination is a thief’s greatest power,” Juventas mused. “Nothing solidifies that more than the illusion, Dominion. Cast that, and I will let you live.”
“That’s impossible, that takes years to learn and decades to master! It can’t even be transferred…I don’t even know how to begin figuring it out!” Diamond said in shock. Unable to believe that Juventas wanted her, a first year, to do something her mother, the Queen, struggled to do. “I can’t even use shadow synch properly. When my band needed me most, I froze up. So, distracted by my own weakness, I forgot to use their strength to cover it,” Diamond said as she shook her head. “Dominion is impossible for someone like me.”
“Shame and here I thought you cared for your band,” Juventas said with a small frown.
“I do!”
“Then prove it. Did you forget your role? You are the grimoire, you literally have all the information you need to begin learning how to cast that illusion right under your nose. Without it, you’ll never be able to end this war with the mages or be worthy of the throne,” Juventas said and for a moment Diamond said nothing before she nodded. As Diamond put on her glove, Juventas watched as Diamond’s expression hardened as the light died down. When Diamond’s gaze met hers, Juventas could see a fire burning within Diamond’s gaze.
“Fine then, you’re on. Just watch, I’ll figure this out and then, I will take back everything,” Diamond said firmly. “But not before I steal everything from August.”
“Now you’re sounding like a true Bandit Queen,” Juventas mused. “Alright, impress me. Earn your right to live.”
* * *
Santa Monica, Midas Tower
“Finally, it’s all set up,” Alice said as she placed a pair of contact lenses in her eyes before she turned to face Roy and Eric. “Look, the world is slowly goin’ crazy. Every time you turn around someone else has died, or some business made profits through the blood of someone else. Right now, it’s only the three of us, but as we work together, do what we can to make a difference and build up our strength, we can make Wonderland even better than it used to be. I hope you guys are willing to work with me.”
“Of course!” Eric said with a grin.
“Glad to hear it, then let’s get started. Let me show you somethin’,” Alice said before she typed something into a tablet and watched as a large hologram of the planet appeared in the center of the room. “See the blue?” Alice asked as she gestured toward the image, and the men noted that a good portion of North America along with a few parts of Europe was blue. “That’s how far Wonderland spread the first go around. The purple is us now.”
“Uh I don’t see any purple,” Eric said with a frown and they watched as the image shifted and zoomed in on North America, or more accurately California. The image zoomed in until they could see the block surrounding Midas tower and sure enough, it was purple. “Oh.”
“Yeah, as you can see, we need some work,” Alice said dryly. “Fortunately, the news of our return should help us progress faster than if we were to organize an entirely new group. Power and influence, that’s what we need.”
“How much are you aiming for?”
“Watch this,” Alice said before she waved at the monitor which dismissed the image as she made her way toward the window. Alice held her hand out toward the city, it was night time so lights filled every building their eyes could see. When Alice closed her hand into a fist, the lenses in her eyes lit up and shifted a bit as every light on the block suddenly shut down. Even Midas Tower darkened as the block looked like it got hit with a power surge. “One...two…” Alice was barely able to finish the last number before the lights turned back on. “We need enough to make that last longer than two seconds and for it to affect a lot more than one block.”
“Holy shit,” Eric said incredulously as Roy let out an appreciative whistle.“Unfortunately, when P.I. rolls out their next-generation operating system with Athena up and runnin’, we will not be able to do even that much and we’ll be crushed quickly,” Alice informed them. “The good news is that I built it so I can tear it down. I made it when I was younger and dumber. I’m still young…”
“But a little less dumb,” Roy said with a laugh.
“Exactly. I can make somethin’ better, safer, that can take that thing down before it can go online,” Alice informed them “I’m gonna have to get my hands a little dirty if I want to do it though.”
“You mean we, right?” Eric said skeptically. “No offense, you’re tall but kind of scrawny.”
“Hey, I picked up a few exercises. Just give me a few months,” Alice said before she smirked. “But yes, I mean we, Eric.”
“Well, I’m too old for all of that.” Roy informed them. “I’ll be here for advice, and maybe supervise here or there to help you rebuild but that’s it.”
“You’ve already done more for me than my entire family. So, thank you, we can take it from here,” Alice said before she gave the older man a hug.
“Now, don’t get all emotional on me,” Roy said with a laugh. “If you ever need a place to hide out, you know where to find me. Just don’t be strangers.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, old man,” Eric said with a grin.
“I’ll be taking my leave now, you got my number,” Roy said before he took off his straw fedora and placed it on Eric’s head. “Look after her for me, lil’ brother’, someone has to stop her from going insane.”
“Of course.”
“Tell the Mrs. we said hi,” Alice said which made him nod before he departed, optimistic about this new Wonderland’s future. “Now come on, Eric, let’s get to work.”
CHAPTER 18: Spring of Rebirth
Los Angeles, Warehouse
“I’m in, get the car ready.”
“Gotcha,” Eric said as Alice stealthily made her way deeper into the building. When Alice spotted an armed guard, she pulled up a black cloth she had tied around her neck that covered the lower half of her face. Silently, Alice made her way to the guard as the image of what appeared to be the lower half of a skull appeared on the mask in a white light. Once she was behind the guard, Alice grabbed him in a choke-hold and held him tightly until he lost consciousness. Alice made sure to hide his body and relieved the guard’s weapon of its ammunition before she advanced further through the building.
“Where is it?” Alice muttered and the mouth of the skull moved with each word as if it had spoken. Alice’s contact lenses shifted as she scanned the boxes and crates, unable to find her target. Before she could continue her search any longer, the sound of gunfire startled her and forced her to take cover. “What?” Alice wondered in confusion as she peeked over a crate. To her disbelief, she watched as a brunette woman ran into the scene with a compact bow held tightly in her hand. The newcomers face was covered by a mask that Alice knew all too well.
“God damn it, Hood, you had one job!” another voice laced thick with a Russian accent shouted. When Alice turned to it, she found a man with a black and purple mask that held a rifle in his hand. He had brown eyes and black hair with a gray streak in it. The masked man aimed at one of the guards and quickly shot him down.
“Grimm, what the hell!?” the woman called Hood shouted in alarm.
“Relax, he had a vest. Besides, aren’t you the assassin? Act like it.”
“You think it’s that simple?” Hood questioned angrily before she loaded an arrow into her bow and shot it at a light. Alice watched as the arrow tore through the cord that kept the light suspended before it crashed down upon an unsuspecting guard.
“Can you two, please act professionally for once?” a quiet voice asked tiredly. When they turned, they found a brunette man wearing a black and gold mask, locked in hand-to-hand combat with two guards. Alice thought the man would be outmatched but to her surprise, despite his small stature, he quickly and efficiently took down his opponents. Alice frowned as she saw the man, sure that sh
e had seen him before. That said, she knew as long as they had those masks, she would never be able to discern their identities.
“Sorry, boss!” Hood said apologetically as Grimm rested his rifle on his shoulder.
“Sorry,” Grimm said before he whistled in appreciation. “You’ve gotten stronger.”
“I have to, with Frost gone someone has to pick up the slack,” the boss said quietly and Alice saw his band tense at his mention of Jack. Alice felt her heart clench at the reminder of what she lost. However, before the band could respond, more security officers quickly rushed into the room.
“God damn it, of course I run into thieves today of all days,” Alice complained as she ran a hand through her hair. Alice reached into a satchel she carried on her back and pulled out a strange device along with her phone. Alice pressed a button on the device which caused it to unfold into a drone. Alice took cover behind a crate and used her phone to pilot the drone above the chaos so that she could look for her objective.
“Alice!? What the hell is happening in there!? Did you say something about thieves?” Eric questioned through her earpiece.
“Huh, oh yeah, looks like other people are stealin’ somethin’ from here too,” Alice explained quickly. Alice winced when she saw a body land in front of her. One look at the downed guard told Alice that he would not wake up anytime soon.
“Same thing we are? Do we already have a rival group? Not surprised, we have been killing it these last few months.”
“Don’t know, but what I do know is that if they are goin’ after what we are, we need to get it first,” Alice said as her drone found her target. “I’ll be out in ten,” Alice said before a countdown appeared on her phone. Alice hid in the shadows as she stealthily made her way to her objective while the thieves continued to fight. Once she made it to her target, Alice broke her way into a crate and found smaller boxes all filled with the next generation of smartphones created by P.I. Alice snagged one of the phones and she placed it in her satchel before she ran toward an exit that her drone hovered over. Before Alice could escape her drone crashed down before her, pierced by an arrow. “Damn it,” Alice muttered before she turned to find the band of thieves behind her. “You know that was expensive, right?”
“I’m sorry,” Hood said even though her tone clearly conveyed that she was anything but. “Nice mask,” Hood complimented even as she aimed an arrow at Alice.
“Back at you,” Alice said as their boss gave her a calculating look.
“Who are you? You look…familiar,” the boss muttered before he shook his head. “I can’t get a read on her,” the boss said and Alice had no idea what that meant but it seemed to put his band on edge. “More importantly, though, why are you here? You clearly don’t work here.”
“No, but she beat us to the prize,” Grimm said as he gestured to the open crate.
“The phones,” the boss whispered. “What do you want with the phones?”
“Uh, hello? Have you seen the lines for them? Figured I’d get the drop on them this generation. Plenty of them left, take them,” Alice said as she nodded toward the crate. “Then we can go our separate ways.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”
“And I was afraid you’d say that,” Alice said before she quickly placed a pair of earbuds in her ears as the timer on her phone reached zero. At that moment, every phone that the thieves and the downed guards had on their possessions release a high-pitched noise that sent the thieves down to their knees. This made Hood release an arrow that Alice barely managed to duck under. “Hey! It wasn’t personal!” Alice shouted before she left the warehouse and pulled her mask down. Once outside, she briskly walked down the side-walk and blended in with the pedestrians as she pulled the pair of mechanical earbuds from her ears. “Jack was right, these do block out everything,” Alice mused. As she walked, Alice rolled her eyes when she saw a group of women fawning over an expensive looking car.
“Move, hussies,” Alice said as she moved through the group and climbed into the passenger’s seat.
“Sorry, ladies, gotta bounce,” Eric said with a charming smile which earned dissatisfied comments from them as he pulled off. “What?” Eric asked defensively when Alice just stared at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Really?”
“Hey, they came on to me!” Eric defended. “If anything, you saved me. You know I’m a faithful person. I’d never creep on my girl.”
“I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”
“Yup, ever since the nightclub gig all those months ago,” Eric said as Alice vaguely recalled the text that she had gotten from him the day after that party. “I’d introduce you but she’s been abroad on business.”
“Long distance? Didn’t know you had it in you, she must be special,” Alice said with a small smile, happy for her friend.
“You have no idea, I’ll show you a picture later.”
“My baby’s growin’ up,” Alice said as she pretended to wipe a tear from her eye.
“Yeah, yeah, so how did it go?”
“Successful as always,” Alice said as she pulled out the phone.
“Aw, you only got one?”
“First off, Hattori Tech is better any day,” Alice said bluntly. “Secondly, you want one? You go and get shot at.”
“Nah, I’m comfortable being your hype man. Won’t catch my ass doing half the crazy shit you do.”
“What happened to being by my side?”
“That was when you were scrawny, could probably kick my ass now,” Eric said with a laugh. Over the last few months, he and Alice had worked nonstop to spread Wonderland’s influence. They had undertaken missions that were taxing both mentally and physically. The missions in addition to Alice’s workout regimen had given his friend a very well-toned body. Between her new physique, tattoo, and hairstyle-which was shorter and sported blue highlights-his once scrawny friend had become a very intimidating looking woman. “So, you said this thing had the last piece you needed?”
“Yup, I can extract some of Athena’s code from this. Once we get back to my place, I can finally finish making our trump card,” Alice said with a grin.
“This calls for a celebration.”
“Pizza?”
“Pizza,” Eric agreed as they found themselves leaving the city, more optimistic than ever about their budding group.
* * *
Hollywood, Midas Manor
“You needed to see me?” Vivi asked as she walked into Roderick’s study. She frowned when she saw a dark expression on his face as he slid an open letter across the top of his desk toward her.
“An informant of mine sent me some unnerving information. They’ve found out who August is working with,” Roderick said as Vivi read the contents of the letter.
“June? Figures, he was nowhere near smart enough to rebuild the Knights’ Order on his own. Between her, August, and Regina she did have the brains. She’s their head healer, though, right? What interest would she have in the Knights’ Order?”
“Seems like she has a dark past.”
“Hold on, this says that June and her siblings…they’re descendants of Morgana!?” Vivi said as a furious expression crossed her face. “I thought Merlin himself banished that entire bloodline. How did they sneak their way back into their inner circle?”
“Morgana was a cruel mage, who rivaled Merlin himself, not to mention the inner circle is just as divided as the council. There are way too many openings for her to use to slip them back in,” Roderick explained. “What’s worse is that I hear she’s been seen with remnants of the Legion.”
“The Black Moon? Damn it all, I hate to admit it but I had hoped Diamond was wrong.”
“Morgana managed to get in contact with her son Mordred one last time to continue their bloodline. I’ll leave it to your imagination to guess how,” Roderick said as Vivi gained a disgusted look. “June, August, and Regina all have this blood. Though twisted, evil, and corrupted with incest it may be, the bloo
d still contains that of Arthur Pendragon.”
“August is still a mage,” Vivi reminded Roderick. “The rules are clear. He has the blood, but only a civilian can wield Arthur’s sword.”
“You’re right, but you forget that the Spring Equinox is soon approaching. At any time during that day, a mage has the option to give up their magic or regain it if they’ve given it up in the past,” Roderick said as Vivi cursed when she figured out what that meant. “Spring is their season of rebirth that allows their oldest members to give up their power and live out the rest of their days humbly.”
“If he gives up his magic…”
“…He can wield that sword,” Roderick said with a grim expression. “Not that it matters, this whole thing with August is just smoke and mirrors, she is plotting something bigger. August is just a distraction, Morgana would never devote so much time and energy to him. No, we need to find June. My contact says she’s preparing for some sort of ritual on the Equinox,” Roderick explained as he rose from behind his desk. “We have two options, we can either try to find August before the Equinox or we can go to the location where my contact found June.”
“When is the Equinox?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Damn it,” Vivi cursed as she clenched her fists. “As much as I want revenge, June’s the bigger threat. Hell, if she really was in charge, then our kids’ blood is on her hands as well. We’ll take that bitch down.”
“Exactly my thoughts,” Roderick said as he stepped from behind his desk and grabbed his cane. “Let’s go meet my contact, I have the Guild working overtime to find August. I even asked the Tribe for help. They don’t care about our war, but if the Black Moon is involved they’ll listen.”