Ms. Infinity (Book 1): Earth's Greatest Hero

by Kirschner, Andrew

  Hal could not perceive the communication. He could not know what was being said, or the tone or emotion. And Ms. Infinity stood with her back to him, strongly holding her heroic composure. From his vantage point, she was the invincible heroine who had saved him from the roof of The Big Box. He could not could guess the secret that she now held, that listening to the general’s reaction, she was now completely and utterly shattered. As the general expressed his approval, and heaped praise on Misery, none could see his daughter’s look of shock, her face contorted in agony at the truth she had always known, but never dared to face. And as he watched a graphic depiction of his daughter’s apparent death, he had no remorse, no regret, no concern whatsoever. He expressed only satisfaction that the pariah that had so long been weighing him down was now once and for all destroyed, and hope that now he might finally see the success that he so richly deserved.

  As she stood, desperately holding her composure, she felt the full weight of her youth bearing down on her. It was all there, the shame, the humiliation, the fear and uncertainty, the cruel memories that were with her, no matter how hard she resisted, no matter how much time passed.

  “What is going on in there?” asked Hal.

  “Well Hal, she has just used the video and her communicator to convince the general that she killed me.”

  “Oh.”

  “Hal, we can’t let her get away with this!”

  Hal did not answer. He seemed deep in thought.

  “Hal! I’m talking to you!”

  “I know. I’m just wondering.”

  “Wondering what?”

  “The thing is,” he said, “What could we really do here that would be better?”

  Ms. Infinity did not answer. She just looked at Hal in shock.

  “I know,” said Hal, “It’s not like this represents any kind of justice. But I see why she just did it. I mean, she basically just saved her own life. Okay, it was at your expense, so don’t take it like I sympathize…”

  “Hal, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you realize what kind of criminals we’re dealing with? I don’t even mean Misery now. She’s the least of it. I mean, damnit! The whole disgusting leadership! The whole system! It makes me physically ill inside to think of it! They’re going to see this and be validated in all their crimes.”

  “You’re right, and I can see that they’ve done horrors to you that I’m scared to even dream of, but now they can’t get to you anymore.”

  “But what about the rest of the population? What about all the women there who have to live like I did? Like my mother did. The thought that I would acquiesce in that!”

  “Yeah. You’re right about that too. Now I understand what you meant when you said this was ‘over my head.’ It really is. Look, it would be awful for me to try to tell you what to do here, or even begin to think I know the ‘right’ decision. I have never experienced life on Center, and I dare not imagine how horrible life is there, especially for women and girls. I can only suppose that there needs to be a revolution, maybe much more than that. But let me ask you something. Can you give that to them?”

  Ms. Infinity was silent.

  “Look, you don’t own me, and I don’t own you either. So all I would demand here is that you take me home. As long as you do that, the choice would obviously be yours. You could decide to go back.”

  “No Hal. That I will not do. I belong to Earth now.”

  “So…”

  She thought a moment. And once again, the realization was killing her. True, she had a huge responsibility; as she had said to Hal, it came with the powers. But then even that had its limits. It certainly did not include the entire universe. Just how powerful was she? And no, she was not responsible for Center. She no longer belonged there. Like she had just said, she belonged to Earth.

  Letting go of that still hurt. And Misery surely knew her pain, and was enjoying every moment of it. The thought that she was now getting away free was a pain that she could hardly bear. Yet as hard as it was, she could not give in to her anger. There was nothing to be gained by revenge, and everything to lose. It was the way of her old world, not the world she now knew, or at least the one she sought to create. And that was just it. That world was on Earth, and had been for many years now. Misery belonged to Center, and she belonged to Earth.

  “If anything,” she said, “I think she just decisively ended this, didn’t she? Now the general will no longer have any reason to attack. As you might have put it, the crazy customer was just given his ten percent off the sale.”

  “Right,” said Hal, “And if Earth is safe, well by my understanding, it would seem that the mission has succeeded!”

  He then looked at Ms. Infinity with pride and admiration and declared, “Bless you Bonnie, Ms. Infinity! You have saved us all! You really are Earth’s Greatest Hero!”

  Ms. Infinity tried to smile, but could only force a look of gratitude. “Thank you,” she said grievously.

  “I suppose it’s a bittersweet victory for you.”

  “I know! Alright? I know! Can we drop it now? Alright?”

  “Sure.”

  “Just stay with me now. I’m going to carry you while I capture Misery. Not very comfortable, but I will not let her get you again.”

  Carrying Hal, Ms. Infinity burst through the door of the TV studio. She darted at Misery, but Misery eluded her and flew out the door. Ms. Infinity flew after her, chasing her this way and that through the atrium. They flew unpredictably across, as well as up and down the heights of the room. It would have been thrilling for Hal if it weren’t so terrifying; in their flight he finally got some idea of the height of the atrium—every bit as tall as a skyscraper, if not even higher.

  Ms. Infinity finally caught up to Misery at the far end of the atrium. Misery was about to surprise her with her sword, but Ms. Infinity was ready. In a super fast action, she gave her a tremendous kick to the head that sent her reeling. She hit the wall like a stray plane crashing into an airport hangar, then plummeted at last to the floor. Ms. Infinity then dove at her with one more kick. Still holding Hal, she then flew around her at super speed. Putting a very dizzy Hal down, she looked at Misery, now tied up.

  “Alright, Misery, so this is how you’re going to leave. I’m sure you’ll get out of it sooner or later, but by the time you do, you’ll be far away, and you won’t be able to bother us any more. It’s a pretty lousy way to leave, but you chose it for yourself.

  “Like I said, your ship is on auto-pilot. You’ll have some maneuverability in case of emergency, but you can’t turn around and go back here, or certainly to Earth. It will never go anywhere else but into Center’s orbit. Someone will have to help you when you get there, but you can figure that part out. That’s almost two years from now anyway, in Earth time.”

  “Really?” said Hal.

  “Oh yeah. It’s a trek. Once was enough for me. Anyway Misery, time for your return trip.”

  Misery looked at Hal once again. She grunted, then turned to Ms. Infinity one more time. “So then, Bland Beauty, it seems that the Earth is yours to conquer after all. I take it you are moving on with it, right?”

  “You’ve done enough, Misery!”

  “Your pet doesn’t know this, does he?”

  “Misery, I said that’s enough!”

  Looking again at Hal, she laughed out loud. “You looked so cozy in her arms. You think she’s on your planet to protect you, don’t you? This woman who can destroy you as fast as look at you? This woman you love, she looks down on you, and the rest of your Earth people. You will never be her equal. Do you know why she came to Earth? Everyone from Center of the Universe knows why. You remember why, Bland Beauty, don’t you.”

  Ms. Infinity grimaced at her. “This is not your concern, Misery!”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Your task was very similar to my mission, wasn’t it? You were to destroy human civilization, and begin the new colony. Isn’t that right? Have you told this animal that yet? Or are you as big a coward
as I thought?”

  “Don’t listen, Hal! She’s deceiving you!”

  “Oh no! I’m telling the truth, every single word. Now you know why she was so angry at me. She wasn’t trying to protect your pathetic planet. She wanted it for herself. Good luck, you pathetic worm!”

  At that moment, Ms. Infinity grabbed Misery. Without looking back, she flew her out of Starship Infinity, and her into her ship.

  Ms. Infinity entered Misery’s ship, and soon put Misery down. “Look,” she said, “I hate to send you into space all tied up, but you showed me that I cannot trust you.”

  But as harsh as the moment was, Ms. Infinity did not want things to end in cruelty. There was no forgetting her many horrid and evil deeds, or the threat that she posed to her world, or indeed the cruel things she had done just now. But in the time she had spent questioning her, she had seen something else. Like herself, Misery was vulnerable, and indeed she had also suffered cruelly. In fact, she now remembered that Misery was, at most, maybe three years older than she. She had never considered this in her youth, but now that she had distance, she realized just how disturbing the consequences of that really were. Besides, Center was not her world, but it did belong to Misery. Maybe, just maybe…

  “Misery,” she said, “Before you go, there is something else you must hear. This is imperfect in many ways. Of course I do not believe that you deserve to go free after all that you have done, but so it must be sometimes. Many an adult decision is like this; we have to choose the least bad of many terrible choices. But even so, there is another part to this. You may be surprised to hear it, but I still have hope for you.

  “You have done tremendous evil, but I would hate for you to think that you were capable of nothing else. You can do at least as much good if not more so. You have been mistreated by others, but do not think that your own life is ruled by cruelty. If I have also mistreated you out of hand, then I am sorry. Your heart is not bad or dark or cruel by nature, any more than anyone else’s. You are capable of love as well, and you can also truly be loved. You can learn to live a decent life, and strive for justice and honesty for yourself and others. It’s all there in you too. The choices are yours.

  “You can bring change. I know that you are not satisfied with what you have seen, and if you look in your heart, then I think you may see that you want to be a force for a better future. And you of all people have a lot to give. You have power and privilege like very few others. But be careful. Do not mistake this for being more deserving. The universe simply does not work like that, nor has it ever. Power comes with responsibility to those who don’t have it. Most of all, you are free. That too is a privilege. You have the rest of your life to do better than you have done, and I hope that you will.”

  Misery looked confused more than anything else. It was hard to tell what she made of Ms. Infinity’s words. But Ms. Infinity then made up her mind. She untied her. Then before she left the ship, she turned and said, “So long, Misery. Never forget the power you have inside you.”

  As she returned to her ship, Ms. Infinity began to feel that she’d had enough heroism for a long time. Without looking left or right, she flew to her bedroom and closed the door.

  Misery might have been moved by Ms. Infinity’s words. Or maybe she was not. But at least on this one matter, she did act honorably: She did not make any further threats or attacks. She simply waited for Ms. Infinity to leave and return to her ship. She then took off on her long return journey to Center.

  But then there was much in Misery’s story that Ms. Infinity still did not understand. For one thing, Misery’s youth was perhaps even harsher than Bland Beauty’s. She did indeed live in a home of wealth and privilege. However she did not have the love or even the interest of either of her parents. Her name told a story in itself, the tale of the disappointment of a father who wished only for a male heir. Once her younger brother was born, Misery’s life took a downturn. Her parents’ words and actions left her no doubt that he was the only child who mattered. The elder child was treated with apathy and even contempt. When Misery finally ran away from home in her adolescence, her parents did not even pursue her.

  And so she was found by General Strongman, a bitter young girl, easily manipulated to his ends. It was not hard to turn her anger towards his daughter, and thus to direct her to his agenda. Neither he nor any of the men around him would ever consider that she might become uncontrollable, even by them.

  Misery quipped that that her captor thought that everything was about herself. While this may have spoken to her own jealousy, nonetheless the comment was not without truth. Ms. Infinity’s perceptions were colored by a self-importance that hindered her understanding of the situation right in front of her. But then her life and memories on Center had been confined to her childhood, the time of our lives when each of us is the center of our own universe. And so she may be forgiven for thinking that an entire world was trying to destroy her. What she still failed to see was that her persecution originated almost completely from one man, the general whose career was destroyed by the culturally unacceptable reality of a daughter more powerful than he.

  Ms. Infinity had deducted Misery’s intentions shrewdly and correctly, both her orders from the general, and her own intended attack on Earth. However there was something else that she failed to see, albeit something that might have seemed of little concern to her. There was a third layer to the story that had nothing to do with herself or her adopted planet. There was another reason why Misery was even in Earth’s galaxy in the first place, and not long before, that reason had stared her right in the face.

  When Ms. Infinity questioned General Imperial, he seemed to wonder why Center sent a mission so far away, and with a female leader. In fact he knew exactly what it was about—they had come for him. And it was not at first led by Misery.

  General Imperial had been exiled for many years, for reasons going well beyond the daughter of another general. What prompted Center’s attack was his emerging colonial empire. It was still small but growing. And while it was far away, Center’s president, Master of the Masses, still feared that it might one day present a threat to their empire.

  And so he sent a unit to destroy his colony, using the military from a conquered people with his own officers. It was then that General Strongman saw an opportunity, seeing its relative proximity to Earth. He arranged for Misery to be drafted onto the mission as a servant. He then secretly plotted with her, concocting a side mission to kidnap his daughter so he could have her executed.

  General Imperial’s colony was attacked and destroyed, but not long after the attack, Misery turned on her own unit. After a long celebration by the military brass, Misery murdered all of the officers in their sleep. She then took control of the army herself.

  She then coopted the army, and plotted to invade the Earth. The catastrophes that she sent were all standard attacks that General Imperial had used in advance of his invasions; these had in turn been borrowed from the most aggressive strategies of Center’s military. All of them had required advance planning and significant teamwork from the military she had coopted. She intended to kill Bland Beauty, as well as her mother, for both posed an obvious threat to her. However, she had expected to attack both of them as part of her invasion, well after the preemptive attacks. She would then have relayed news of their death to General Strongman. But that would be the end of her loyalty to Center.

  While Ms. Infinity underestimated Misery, Misery underestimated her far more. Misery had never imagined that her enemy had the power to single-handedly repel every single one of her catastrophes. She had also never expected to fight her openly. Both that attack and the military’s ambush were set up by Misery with some sense of panic. However, she did have the will and intelligence to challenge her. Indeed she came very close to defeating her once again.

  Happily, Ms. Infinity saved the Earth, thwarting all of Misery’s plans. But the significance of this was nothing for Center’s military. The goals of Center’s pres
ident were mostly achieved. General Imperial’s colony was destroyed, though he himself escaped.

  The president was indeed furious about this failing, as well as at the death of his officers. When the moon’s soldiers were contacted, he was not satisfied with their account. In his understanding, their story seemed bizarre and even incoherent. Even stranger than their fanciful monster tales was the claim that the servant girl had attempted a colonial venture, for the very notion of a female conqueror did not exist in his mind.

  Shortly after Misery’s departure from Starship Infinity, she contacted Center’s presidential palace, and had a secret audience with the president. She was clever with her words, both selective with the truth and generous in flattery. And so the president found her story satisfactory. For while an ambitious female was beyond his imagination, he could well conceive of the treason of one of his officers. And so he dealt with the matter immediately, once and for all. In the end, General Strongman’s ambition was not realized; indeed he would not live to scheme again.

  Even after being dismissed by Ms. Infinity, Misery could not be free if General Strongman could get to her. It was only upon his execution that she finally achieved freedom. And so she would have the rest of her life. Whether she would indeed do better than she had done remained to be seen.

  Upon the execution of General Strongman, rumors began to spread regarding the death of his daughter. The video that Misery had sent began to spread, and the rumor was confirmed. And behind some locked doors, many mourned quietly. Her persecution had been the work of one man, yet her protection had been led by her mother, but involved a number of men and women who had helped enthusiastically. In the years since her departure, a legend had grown about Bland Beauty, the powerful girl who had rebelled, she who did not live as her name dictated.