Zola let out a quiet sigh and answered, “I ask my body to take in air, but my body asks me to release it.”
“Exactly,” Kgosi smiled as he mentally lifted his frail body off the ground and floated toward the doorway. “Relax yourself and let my words be your air.”
As the three of them left the room and Zola reset the objects that had been displaced when they crashed to the floor, Wesley was still lost in thought about the question Kgosi had posed to him. Zola's answer didn't make any sense. It was true he could take in a breath, for instance, before diving underwater, and that his body would demand to release it, but the opposite was true as well. His body demanded both. And if he was truly relaxed, and his body at peace, it would breathe without thought. Breathing wasn't a conscious effort. So weren't both answers true? Weren't there two sides to the question and the answer? Or was that why he was struggling to accept Kgosi's words? He had always considered being able to see concepts from different angles, different perspectives, as one of his strengths. Had his strength become his weakness? Or was it possible that he could see Kgosi's truth from an angle no one else was willing to look at it from?
“Are you ready?” Zola asked.
Wesley stowed his thoughts, setting them aside for the time being, with every intention of returning to them. He knew how dangerous it was, the idea that he could see past his teacher, and if he truly believed it, he would have to hide it. He would have to play along and dissect the words of Kgosi on his own time.
Wesley bowed his head and replied, “I'm ready.”
27
CARMEN
As Maksim explained the situation with the Therians to the Imperator and Magda, Carmen watched both their faces, trying to read their reactions. Magda was impossible to decipher. Her face was made of stone. It was like the woman never blinked. But the Imperator was obviously displeased.
“This isn't a negotiation!” he screamed, pounding both of his fists on the meteor that made his throne.
“I'm sure it will be fine, dear,” Magda said, placing her hand on Padamir's shoulder to calm him. “We will know if the pregnancy took hold within weeks. And then, once the Therians grant us the army we need to squash this little uprising, we can place all of this behind us.”
“But I'm the Imperator of the world!” he screamed again, this time rising to his feet and throwing his arms into the air. “There should be no negotiation. They should bow down to my orders and thank me for the opportunity to serve me.”
Magda smiled softly, her face not matching the tone in her voice. “You are the Imperator, dear, but you are untested. You cannot place that crown upon your head and expect everyone to treat you the same as Konstantin.”
Padamir spun around toward his wife, and for a moment, Carmen thought he was going to strike her. He yelled straight into her face, spit flinging from his lips.
“I am the son of Konstantin! I was born with the right to be unquestioned! These Domini mock me! I should send out my Guardians to strike them all down like I did with Takahiro!”
Magda's eyes flashed with shock and concern, her gaze flinging between Maksim and Carmen. Carmen did her best to look away immediately. She tried to conceive of a way she could pretend she hadn't heard what Padamir had said, but it was impossible. Her eyes peered up at Maksim, who looked confused, and somehow hurt as well.
“Mother?” he mumbled, his fingers curling around the edges of his cape. “What is he saying?”
Magda glared back at Padamir and said, “He's speaking nonsense. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. Either of you.”
Carmen nodded obediently, fearful of what could happen to her if Magda believed she was somehow a threat to the family's secrets, but Padamir let out a sound of derisive disgust.
“He's my Guardian, is he not? Why do we keep such things from him. He should know the truth. He should know what I may ask of him some day.”
“Husband!” Magda shouted this time, her face breaking into a panicked look. “I strongly suggest you calm down and think about-”
“You and your suggestions, woman. This throne is only big enough for one person. I am the Imperator. I have no need to hide my desires. I have no need to keep my commands a secret. Not from him. Not from anyone.”
Magda took a deep breath. “You are correct, dear. There is no need for you to do anything. It is only the wants of the Imperator that should matter to anyone. But I beg you to ask yourself: Do you really want to threaten the safety of our world? Do you want to cause more war? More bloodshed? Is this what you want your legacy to be?”
“I'll tell you what I want,” Padamir said with a hiss in his voice. “I want to be respected!”
Padamir turned to Carmen, who looked at the floor, unable to keep her eyes on him as he stared down at her. Her breathing became rushed and she unconsciously took a step backward.
“Do you respect me?” he asked, puffing up his chest to make his frail body appear bigger, stronger.
Carmen glanced at Maksim, who seemed as confused as she was. When she glanced at Magda, the woman was glaring down at her, daring her to say the wrong thing.
Carmen opened her mouth, but couldn't find her voice. She mumbled something in less than a whisper, as if her breath would be enough to appease the situation, but it was not.
“Your Imperator asked you a question,” Magda growled.
“Of... of course I do, my Imperator.”
“Why?” Padamir asked instantly, as if he had the question ready to spit out as soon as she answered.
Carmen looked around for help again, but none was offered.
She bowed her head and asked, “I... I don't understand the question.”
Padamir stepped down from the throne's raised platform and stood directly in front of Carmen. He touched her chin with a single finger, and raised her head so that she had to look him in the eye.
“Why do you respect me? Is it because I wear this crown? Is it because I sit on that throne? Is it because of my title? Or have I done something to earn your respect? Have my actions given you a reason to bow before me?”
Carmen's heart was racing. She knew her answer needed to be perfect. She knew this could change the course of her life, if not influence the Imperator's decision to start the next Super Power War. She tried to calm herself, to think clearly about what this man wanted to hear, but it was impossible to empathize with someone so disconnected from who she was. He may as well be a storybook character compared to the reality she used to live within. Yet there she was. Her life had become that complicated, that unreal. She closed her eyes, and let her heart speak for her.
“I don't believe there is any one thing you can do to earn respect. I don't believe respect is something that you get to keep. I think it's something you earn every day, with every action. It can be fleeting if you're not careful. Your entire life must be respected, not just one moment.”
Padamir, Magda, and Maksim stared at her for a moment, then Magda and Maksim turned to Padamir to await his reaction. Carmen glanced up at him and saw his head tilted to the side, as if he were honestly considering her words. Then a small smile grew across his lips.
“I believe your new bride has bigger balls than you do, Maksim,” Padamir said with a chuckle, then turned to Magda and said, “She also has your knack for answering a question without actually answering the question.”
“I... I just meant-”
Maksim grabbed her hand and squeezed, warning her to let it go. She pulled her hand away from him, refusing to remain silent. She knew, that if she was going to live the life they expected, she needed to do it her way. She would not only react. She needed to take a step forward.
“The Therians want to fight.”
Her sudden outburst caused Padamir to glance over his shoulder with the same surprised look as Magda.
“Excuse me?” Padamir asked.
“The Therians. They want to fight. You can see it in their eyes. They're beasts. They're predators. They aren't civilized. They do
n't want to grow old quietly. They want to hunt.”
“Yet they hesitate.”
“Only the Dominus hesitates. And that is for the same reason as you. He needs to be respected. By the Therians... and by the rest of the Domini.”
Magda stepped forward and glared at Maksim as she said, “I believe your wife needs to learn her place. Please remind her that while she is a part of this family, she has no place in the politics of the Empire.”
Maksim looked down at Carmen, then back at Magda, standing tall as he said, “Are you sure about that, mother? It was you that sent her to convince the Therians to fight with us.”
While Carmen let a small smile appear, Magda's eyes grew large at her son's rebuke. She opened her mouth and Carmen readied herself for the tirade of anger, but Padamir held up his hand to stop his wife before she could say anything.
“The boy is finally showing some smarts,” Padamir said. “We've involved this girl far too deeply to pull the rug out now. And she speaks with at least a sprinkle of wisdom.”
The Imperator sat down on his throne and let out a long sigh. He picked his crown up and ran his fingers through his long, thin hair, squinting his eyes shut as hard as he could. He let out a growl and opened his eyes wide as he set his crown back on his head.
“I will give the Dominus what he wants. Hell... I already have, haven't I? And now I will exercise my extreme patience and wait for him to decide to help our armies squash this ridiculous uprising. And why? Because I am the Imperator of the Zharkovian Empire... and I am a Zharkov. I will bring glory to our Empire, and our family... and myself.”
Maksim slammed his fist against his chest and said, “Yes, my Imperator.”
Magda and Carmen both bowed down and said, “Yes, my Imperator.”
“Now leave me,” the Imperator said, waving his hand in the air to dismiss them. “I don't wish to discuss this any further.”
Maksim gripped onto Carmen's hand and dragged her along with him, out of the throne room. His feet stomped against the floor with a loud, quickened stride, as if he wanted to leave the situation as quickly as possible. As they made their way down the hall outside of the doors, Carmen tugged on his hand to slow him down.
“Maksim...”
“I know,” he said. “I heard him. This whole thing, this whole war, is his fault. My brother is guilty. They murdered Dominus Oshiro. They murdered his family.”
Carmen watched his eyes as he searched for a solution to his dilemma. They darted back and forth, trying to make sense of the insensible. She reached out and touched his cheek, bringing him back to the present.
“You don't need to justify his actions. This isn't your fight.”
“Yes it is, Carmen. This is my family. This is my Empire. I am the Guardian of the West. I am sworn to follow the Imperator, without question. That is my duty.”
“And what comes first? The Imperator... or the Empire? Which do you protect, when one threatens the other?”
His brow furrowed, confused by her words, until he shook his head, dismissing the question by saying, “That isn't what's happening. The Imperator is trying to hold together the Empire.”
“After he broke it apart,” she said.
“We don't know that. The Imperator made his decision for...”
“For what? You can't tell me that your uncle is the most level-headed person. Literally anything could have set him off. Dominus Oshiro could have looked at him wrong and the Imperator would have had him killed.”
“Careful, dear,” Magda's voice said from behind them, hovering out from the doorway of the throne room. “That kind of talk could be considered blasphemous. Treasonous, even. And we wouldn't want to cross such an impulsive Imperator, now would we?”
Magda floated down the hall with her arms folded into her robes. Her face had returned to its hardened form with the slight smile that gave off neither happiness, nor anger, but rather a mix of the two.
“Mother, we were only saying-”
“Oh, I heard exactly what you were saying, my dear, sweet boy. And you should be proud of your loyalty. You should be proud of your desire to uphold your fealty, your duty to the Imperator.”
Magda turned and glared down at Carmen, floating at least a foot above her.
“But you, young lady, need to learn your place. Your mouth needs to remain shut unless your Imperator wills it to open. Your mind needs to remain inactive, unless your Imperator wills you to use it. And the only duty you have to this family... to this Empire...” Magda reached out and gripped onto Carmen's belly, her fingernails digging into her flesh. “...is to use this.”
“Mother!” Maksim shouted, stepping forward and ripping her hand away from Carmen.
“No! You listen to me!” Magda shouted at both of them. “Stop concerning yourself with things that don't matter to your station in this family. Right now, the Oshiros are no concern to you. This war is no concern to you. Nothing but producing a child should be of any concern to you. Do you understand me?”
Carmen saw Maksim open his mouth to retaliate, but she knew this wasn't the time nor place to argue with the woman. It wasn't worth the effort. Nothing could move her will. Carmen gripped Maksim's hand hard, giving his entire arm a slight tug to stop him, then bowed her head to Magda.
“Of course, my Lady. I apologize. Please forgive me. I will learn my place.”
Magda stared at her, reluctant to believe Carmen's sudden subservience. She searched Carmen's face, but unable to find any sign of dissent, she relented and continued down the hall.
“Then I suggest the both of you retire to your chambers and get started,” Magda called over her shoulder. “We have a new generation of Zharkovs to create.”
Maksim looked down at Carmen with a worried look, but Carmen smiled back up at him and said in a hushed tone, “Thank you.”
Maksim looked confused again. “For what?”
“For standing up to your mother. For trying to protect me.”
Maksim looked at the floor bashfully, but smiled and said, “It was nothing. I fought Malignus, remember?”
Carmen glanced down the hall, toward Magda's form floating away from them and said, “Compared to that woman? Malignus was nothing.”
28
ANDRE
The border of The Hive wasn't well guarded. They didn't need to worry about anyone leaving, and no one wanted to enter. There had always been a few immigrants, people who had just given up on life and thought the idea of becoming part of a single-minded culture sounded better than making their own decisions, but most people found the whole thing creepy. And when Andre pulled the stolen car up to the border guard's booth, he could see why.
The man stepped out of the booth with a glazed look in his eyes, like he was staring off into the distance, right through Andre. There was a slight smile on his face, like he was pleasantly dreaming of something else, somewhere else. Andre had seen the look a thousand times before, on the junkies in the neighborhood.
“I-I-I don't like this,” Mickey said from the passenger seat, pushing himself against the door like he was ready to run.
“Just be cool.”
“This is the H-H-Hive! What if they t-t-take us? P-p-put us in their c-c-collective?”
Andre tapped the pair of sunglasses he was wearing. “That's what these are for. They gotta look you in the eyes to do it. Besides, according to imperial law, it's supposed to be voluntary.”
“I bet if they c-c-catch us breaking the law, they won't throw us in j-j-jail, they'll z-z-zap our minds.”
“I told you, man, just be cool. We're not doing anything wrong.”
“We're driving a stolen car.”
“Right,” Andre said with a wink. “Except for that, we're not doing anything wrong.”
“Reason for entry?” the man asked the practiced routine as he stepped toward the window.
“Vacation,” Andre said dryly.
“Where you headed?”
“Rio.”
“Not much there a
nymore.”
Andre shrugged. “I'm a sucker for the old war sites. See, me and my buddy, we're history buffs.”
The man kept staring off into the distance, like there was a beautiful sunset he couldn't take his eyes off of.
“Can we go?”
The man wrote their license plate number down on a piece of paper and nodded his head. “Have a nice day.”
Andre stepped on the gas pedal and sped off into The Hive, leaving the American Republic in the dust of his tires. The anticipation he felt was overwhelming. He could almost taste the vial of chemicals that would give him the powers of Doctor Chem. Soon all of his dreams would come true. They were just a few miles down the road. His foot instinctively pushed harder on the gas.
“I don't think we should be s-s-speeding.”
Andre raised an eyebrow toward Mickey and said, “You're the last person I thought would have a problem with going fast. Especially after being frozen for the last few months.”
Mickey shivered a bit at the thought. “H-h-have I thanked you enough for getting me out of that p-p-place?”
“Yeah, man. You don't have to thank me. I wasn't gonna let you rot in there. Bobby got what was coming to him.”
Mickey stared out the window for a while, lost in his thoughts, before he half mumbled, “I d-d-didn't know what to do... after everything h-h-happened. I was lost. You know? Without my f-f-friends.”
Andre nodded his head and said, “Don't worry, man. I ain't gonna leave you again. You hear me? Never again.”
Mickey smiled and nodded, leaning his head back against the head rest and letting the sun beat against his face. All Andre wanted to do was make the kid feel safe again. There was no way he could erase the memories of what Bobby made him do, but if he could at least assure him that nothing like that would ever happen to him again, then maybe Mickey could sleep soundly.
For the next three days, they drove in shifts, trying to push as far as they could, as fast as they could. At first, both Andre and Mickey were surprised at how beautiful The Hive actually was. The roads were nearly empty of traffic besides the occasional semi-truck hauling cargo. They traveled through rolling farmlands being cultivated by huge swaths of people, all working in unison. When they drove through urban areas, everyone seemed to move at the same pace, in perfect order. Rows and rows of people, all moving as one giant body. Yet the more they witnessed the unconscious life, the more disgusted they were by it. It felt fake. Robotic. Like no one they saw was actually human, just a shell pretending to live.
Rise of the Supervillains Page 21