Global Union: A New Life

by K. L. Lewis

  The man was a parahuman, pale skin, thick black ears, and short black hair combed back. He smiled as his eyes shifted around the room before turning to Jiao. “Where is he?” he asked with a joyous pitch.

  Jiao made a slight squint of her eye as she pointed at DeMarcus across from her.

  The man turned to DeMarcus, his smile growing wider. “Ah, so you’re DeMarcus? I heard about the attack you were in…sorry if I’m stirring up any bad feelings.”

  “It’s okay,” DeMarcus said. “After everything that’s happened, I’m just lucky to be here.”

  “Luckier than most,” said the man. “Where are my manners? I’m Yongshen, but you can call me ‘Shen’ for short. I’m Jiao’s husband.”

  “Nice to meet you,” DeMarcus said.

  “Likewise,” said Shen. “My wife hasn’t been giving you too much trouble has she? She can be quite a smother.”

  Jiao’s eye twitched, then she smirked. “Honey, you’re breaking up!”

  “What? No, I’m—” Shen’s face vanished as Jiao shut off the call, leaving her and DeMarcus alone once more.

  “Fun guy,” DeMarcus said with a snicker.

  “He has his moments,” said Jiao. “He’ll probably try to call again soon. At any rate…” Her OmniMorph buzzed again. “And there he goes…”

  Shen’s face appeared once again, this time with a blank stare at Jiao. “How’s the connection now?” he asked.

  “Fine,” Jiao said with a smile.

  “So,” Shen began with a glance at DeMarcus. “Did they ever find your parents? No doubt they’re worried for you. I don’t know what would happen if my daughters were in the same boat.”

  “No such luck,” DeMarcus answered. He remembered it like it were yesterday when his mother told him to hide. She promised she’d find him, and he hoped she’d make good on her word. But the passing moments made him itchy and antsy the more time went on.

  Where was she? And what took her so long? She said she’s been through worse.

  Unless the worst had already come. Then what? He hardly knew anyone on Earth. Where else could he go?

  “Well, if you need a place to stay, we have plenty of room at our home!” said Shen. “Right, honey?”

  DeMarcus’s ears jumped at the offer, but he wondered if he should take it? He turned to Jiao, who shrugged and smiled.

  “It’s up to DeMarcus,” she said. “I’m sure Yue wouldn’t mind having a new friend stay over.”

  DeMarcus smiled back. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Jiao’s OmniMorph buzzed once more, displaying a timer and a little girl’s photo, one that looked like a younger image of Jiao with twin buns on her head. “Looks like Amy’s done with school,” she said as she rose to her feet. “I’m gonna have to cut our time short. I’ll come back to see you another time, okay?”

  “Sure,” said DeMarcus. “See ya later.”

  They waved each other goodbye, and once again DeMarcus was by himself.

  Turning back to the news-screen, DeMarcus shifted through the articles and videos, then went to a public terminal hoping to find some news that his mother was still out there. If only he still had his OmniMorph, he’d be able to send a private message to her. He grumbled at the lack of mentions of his mother. Where was she?

  He typed in “Iuvian leaders” in the search, hoping his mother’s name would pop up there. But all that was displayed was an image of a bronze-skinned human, the Iuvian Marshal Keith Iyrons, the grandfather of Tyrone from earlier.

  The first few articles were the same thing he heard earlier from Tyrone, that Keith was in Great Toronto meeting with another Iuvian commander assigned to Detroit. It didn’t say who the commander was, which made DeMarcus think it was none other than his mother. After all, she didn’t like being mentioned on the newsfeed very often.

  Then again, why would she be all the way in Great Toronto?

  Maybe there was something important going on related to the attack, who knew? But if she were there, all he had to do was wait and hope she’d finally arrive.

  He made a trip to his room, following the map given to him by his nursebot who was waiting inside. “Welcome back, Mr. Maahes,” she greeted.

  “Glad to be back,” he said.

  “I’m sensing a change in your mood. You appear to be more excited than usual.”

  DeMarcus chuckled. “You could say that.”

  All he had to do was wait. It was just a matter of time.

  CHAPTER 8 – GIVING UP

  Two weeks. Two agonizing weeks DeMarcus waited in the hospital, and still no sign of his mother. He didn’t want to believe she was gone—he had no OmniMorph to contact her, his calls and messages from the hospital received no answer, and his calls to the Tavilla Terraport came empty, as he was told she hadn’t checked in. He didn’t have a means of contacting his father, which would have saved him all the trouble.

  For every day he waited, his hopes sank further and further as his routine continued—waking up for breakfast, walking around the common rooms, speaking to his therapist, and returning to his room for the night. Only the occasional visits from Yue and Jiao put him at ease, but he still kept quiet about who he really was. Sure, it didn’t seem smart, but was it really worth the risk of people knowing? What kind of stir would that cause, that the son of a great war hero went missing, or said war hero being killed? He only gave his full name, the Tavilla Complexes where he stayed, and permission for Dr. Alisha Iyrons to freely use and examine the nanostrain in his body, nothing more. Beyond that, he waited. And waited. And waited.

  The waiting was grueling, and after two weeks he began to give up. He vented his frustrations during his therapy sessions. “She’s not here!” he shouted. “She’s probably dead by now! I’ve tried everything to reach her and find out what happened. What else is there to do?” The therapist’s question cut into him. “If your mother sacrificed her life for you to live, would she want you giving up?”

  His hands curled to fists as the question rung in his ears. No, she wouldn’t want him giving up. He could hear his mother’s words echo in his mind—it may not be easy, and it may not always be nice, but you have to learn and adapt. Not the most calming words to remember, but ones that always struck a chord from the training sessions she gave him since the day they came to the city.

  After the session and Alisha’s usual checkup, DeMarcus sat near the windows in the common rooms out into the city where the mark of the last attack had since faded away. The wounds it created remained, not just with him, but with many other survivors that sat around him as they waited for their loved ones to see them once again. Must be nice, he thought to himself, that they get to see their families again. Meanwhile, all he had left from that day was the foggy sheet of orange plastic he pulled off that woman who attacked him. He couldn’t forget her face—her dark blue eyes and black hair over her cold pale skin, the evil gaze she gave him when she jabbed her knife in his stomach. It was all he pictured as he stared into the plastic in his hand, squeezing it in his grip as he wondered where she was now.

  Then, without warning, the plastic sheet lit up and five yellow bars floated toward the center. They grouped together, forming a yellow A-shaped insignia. It was a symbol known around the world, that of the Amalgam Concord. Was that who she was a part of? Were they the ones responsible for his loss? It seemed so unlike them that it made little sense.

  But there was more, a message that appeared over the symbol. “Alert! Section compromised! All personnel are to evacuate to nearby points GLDETAlpha42-83 or GLILLGamma41-87 and reorganize under the unit’s command.”

  DeMarcus squinted at the message. Were they attacked? There wasn’t any news about it, nor were there any mentions or claims from the Amalgam over whatever this message referred too. It was difficult to imagine they were responsible—they didn’t attack civilians, or so they claimed. If that was the case, then what was that raven-haired woman doing with this message?

  He folded the message away a
s Alisha came by for a routine checkup, along with Yue and Jiao and two other people. He recognized Tyrone among them, but there was a man among them as well—a parahuman, dark-skinned, well-built with a buzz cut of black hair, all while wearing a green NAF army uniform. His tag read “Iyrons,” the same last name as Alisha and Tyrone, and it was safe to assume that this might be Tyrone’s father.

  The man stared at him, he leaned toward Jiao’s ear with barely a whisper. “Him? He smells like medicine.”

  “James, quit sniffing like a dog,” Alisha scolded.

  James snickered. “You’re mean.”

  “How’ve you been?” Yue asked as she sat next to him. “It’s been weeks. Any luck?”

  DeMarcus shook his head. “I don’t want to assume the worst, but it’s looking like that the more I wait.”

  Yue paused, then gave Tyrone a look before returning her gaze at DeMarcus. “Well, hopefully things get better,” she said.

  “I suppose next you’re gonna tell me to hang in there,” DeMarcus said.

  Yue’s lips tightened. Looked like he hit the mark based on her silence.

  “Is there anyone out there to stay with?” Tyrone asked. “It would suck if you were by yourself.”

  He had been by himself ever since this whole mess started. Even with Alisha and the therapy sessions, he had no other family to go to. And aside from Yue, he had hardly made any new friends in the city. Where else was he supposed to go? What else was he supposed to do?

  “I’m sorry to interrupt,” said Alisha, standing beside DeMarcus. “I’ve tried contact Iuvia and find someone there, but my calls aren’t reaching them.”

  “Why not ask Dad for help when he gets here?” James suggested. “Who’re you trying to reach anyway?”

  “Anyone would do. Someone there must be worried for him.”

  Then, where were they? It had been two weeks. No one else had reached out to him. It made him rethink whether to keep his identity a secret any longer, regardless of everyone’s reactions. Or maybe they’d find it too silly and laugh?

  Either way was a mess no matter how much he thought over it.

  “Too bad grandpa isn’t here right now,” said Tyrone. “He’d definitely be able to help.”

  “What’s taking him so long to get here anyway?” Yue asked.

  “Probably some special Iuvian business,” Tyrone said with a shrug. “You know how tight-lipped he is.”

  It was a wonder what kind of business that had DeMarcus curious to meet the man. But before he had a chance to voice his thoughts, the adults approached them with their discussion over his living status. “If there’s no way to contact with them, someone’ll have to foster him,” said Alisha with her eyes landing on him. “But there’s so many orphans already. It only puts him in a further bind.”

  James ears shot up. “He can stay with us!” He said, with Tyrone smiling at DeMarcus. “He and Tyrone could be like brothers! And when dad comes back—”

  “Uh, stop right there,” said Alisha. “I don’t think an army nut like you stressing him out with a regiment is a good idea.”

  “You say that like I’ll put him in boot camp.”

  Alisha glared at James, signaling that was exactly what he’ll do, and it wasn’t something DeMarcus found appealing either. Not after everything he had been through.

  James relented. “Okay, fine.”

  Jiao raised her hand. “Well, how about us? We can take care of him. Shen’s said he’ll do anything to have a son around, even if we have to adopt one.”

  The discussion frustrated DeMarcus and he departed for the windows. All these uncertainties were hitting him so fast. Why did all of this have to happen anyway?

  Jiao smiled at him. “Of course, it’s ultimately up to DeMarcus. Rather inconsiderate to ignore his input, don’t you think?”

  Yue walked behind DeMarcus and wrapped her arms over his shoulders. “Wanna come with us? We’ll take care of you.”

  He wasn’t sure. They were great people, but he’d rather be with his mother, if she were alive. But since that wasn’t an option, he shrugged. “I guess. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “Well, you do now,” said Jiao. “And we’ll make things better for you.” She turned to the Iyrons. “Well then, let’s arrange the adoption papers. And hopefully we can contact a relative sometime soon.”

  “Alright!” shouted Yue, spooking DeMarcus. “I’ve got a brother!”

  Tyrone shrugged. “That’s fine. I’ll still consider him my bro. And I’ll make sure she doesn’t cause too much trouble,” he said, nudging DeMarcus’s side.

  DeMarcus jolted back in pain, rubbing his sores, and shot Tyrone a dirty look. Tyrone backed away. “Sorry, my bad.”

  The adults continued their discussion, and DeMarcus watched Yue type the news on her OmniMorph. After a long wait for the adoption papers, Jiao signed herself as DeMarcus’s legal guardian, and she and Yue escorted DeMarcus out in a wheelchair. In the halls, nurses and doctors rushed to tend to other patients. A grim sight with many injured people sitting out in the hallways, groaning, and calling for help. He felt sorry for the people as they passed by soldiers asking around for a missing child. Yue frowned as some of the people cried over the loss of loved ones, the same feeling DeMarcus had over his mother. That kind of wound wasn’t easy to heal.

  The Suns bided the Iyrons goodbye as they reached their blue van. Jiao helped DeMarcus in the front, with Yue content to sit in the back. As their van activated, backed out, and drove off into the street, DeMarcus wondered what to expect of his new home and family. He never had a sister for one, and his new mother Jiao was far more preppy than his mother Sekhmet as she went to work on her OmniMorph.

  All this uncertainty gave him a bad itch near his injuries that he couldn’t help but scratch, which caught Jiao’s eye as she glanced his way. “Don’t scratch your bandages, sweetheart,” she said.

  It had only been hours and she was already treating him like her son.

  “Sorry,” DeMarcus said with a chuckle. “Just nervous.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll love our home. Which reminds me,” Jiao opened a screen above the radio and commanded, “Call Shen.”

  The screen blinked with the name “Shen” as it rang, and the man’s face appeared over the panel. He was in a tan suit, with a tie that he loosened from his neck. “Yes, dear?”

  “Hi, honey!” Jiao greeted. “Tired of being the only man around?”

  “Don’t tell me…you’re pregnant!” Shen shouted with glee.

  The group’s eyes widened, and Yue’s jaw dropped. Jiao palmed her reddened face as she muttered to Shen. “That’s…not what I meant.”

  Shen frowned. “Darn.”

  “Remember that boy we brought to the hospital?” Jiao asked.

  “DeMarcus, right? How is he?”

  “Well, we figured that, since he’s orphaned, why not foster him?”

  Shen smiled. “That’s great! When’s he coming?”

  “Actually, he’s right here.” Jiao directed Shen to DeMarcus waving nervously at him.

  Shen smiled. “Ah, DeMarcus! You’re gonna be with us, huh?”

  “Looks like it,” DeMarcus said.

  “It’ll be nice to have another man around the house. I love my daughters, but it feels lonely being the only guy around. And together, you and I can hang out while the ladies have their little girl sessions.”

  Jiao crossed her arms. “I’m sitting right here.”

  “Good for you,” Shen sassed. “Well, can’t wait to see you, son! Later!” Shen waved then hung up.

  Perhaps having a new family wouldn’t be so bad, but it was like a boulder on his back as DeMarcus continued worrying over his mother. And the more he thought of people who tried to kill him, the more he found his hands curled into fists with his fingers digging into his palms. If only they weren’t long gone by now. But that was then, and this is now. A new feeling. A new life.

  CHAPTER 9 – NEW HOME

  Oran
ge filled the sky as dusk approached, and cars sludged through the damaged streets and highways. DeMarcus heard Jiao grumbling over driving an aircar to fly over all this traffic. With rec-workers and construction-bots clearing debris and directing traffic around them, it took half an hour until the van took the bridge over the river and into the suburbs.

  DeMarcus eyed the Eastern ruins scarring the edges of Downtown, which looked half as messed up after the attack tore up the city. He went on his OmniMorph and searched online for any new details on the attack, with no mention of any militants responsible. Amazing how this group got away.

  The car parked, and Jiao announced their arrival. “We’re home!”

  DeMarcus looked up to his new home: a large, blue and silver building that looked like two blocks stacked upon each other. Flat, rounded balconies stretched over the garage, where solar panels glinted in the direction of the sun, and the dings of bronze wind chimes rattled over the porch as the driveway lit up on their arrival.

  Jiao parked into the garage next to the aircar, and moments after they got out Shen was already at the door, arms stretched out. “DeMarcus! Welcome home!”

  Shen was a little taller than DeMarcus imagined, although slender than James and with a lot more energy on his face. DeMarcus took shy steps toward Shen, who gave him a squeezing hug. DeMarcus yelped from the splitting pain of his wounds, putting Yue in a scare.

  Jiao gasped. “Shen, his wounds are still healing!”

  Shen released DeMarcus, chuckling as he rubbed his wounds. “Oh. Sorry about that. Guess I got too excited. Well, come on in!”

  Shen guided DeMarcus into the house as Yue and Jiao followed. DeMarcus stepped onto the kitchen’s dark, red tiled floor, staring at the holograms floating over the chrome grey counters and tables.

  The refrigerator flashed on as Jiao strolled by a little girl passing her into the kitchen. The girl was a spitting image of Jiao, the same black hair and black lines streaking down her cheeks but with her hair in two small buns.

  She washed her hands in the sink, took an apple from the fridge, and took a bite before giving a weird look at DeMarcus. “Who’re you?” she asked.