Lisa sat by herself in the office, fidgeting, playing with a strand of loose hair. Her scintillating robe glimmered in the light streaming in from the open hallway leading to the balcony, reflecting dim rainbows onto the floor and walls. Her face--her own--was, at the very least, free of pimples and dryness. Bath had at least afforded her that much.

She heard them approach. The sound of footsteps, light at first, then padding on the dragonleaf floors, the many exhausting stairs leading up to the Spire. Without enhancements, Lisa admitted that the skyscraper-high Spire was essentially inaccessible.

It took the family a few minutes to make their way up. Among their numbers, Lisa could hear the steps of six people. She guessed at their identities: 'Parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle?' She didn't have experience listening to footsteps, so she couldn't discern anything more from the resounding clangs of shoes as they steadily approached the office.

By the time they arrived in the doorway, Lisa felt paralyzed in place. She held her arms crossed tightly against her chest, while her foot tapped erratically against the floor, as though all the jittery motion in her body was concentrated in once place.

She couldn't meet their gazes as they came into the room, filled up the couch. Her initial guess was confirmed as she identified those present by their torsos and lower bodies. Her mother's white gym shoes, her father's steel-toed boots. Grandma's floral skirt, grandpa's high-waisted khakis. Her aunt's elegant dress, her uncle's casual gray shorts. Lisa would match those clothes anywhere.

"Lisa," her aunt was, unexpectedly, the first to begin. "You've certainly made a name for yourself." Aunt Lauretta's expression seemed oddly cool, as though she were grading Lisa on a graduated scale.

Her father certainly looked uncomfortable in the office. Lisa noticed that his clothes stuck to his body, patches of dark sweat clearly visible. "Honey, why don't you tell us what's going on."

'Did Bath tell them anything?' Lisa wondered. They seemed prepared, as though they knew what Lisa was involved in, knew her position...then again, she was in the robes of the Church.

She decided to just ask them outright: "What did Bath tell you on the way here?"

Her mother was the first to speak now, as though she couldn't wait to get the words out of her mouth. "He said that he's the Dragon." Her mother then rose an eyebrow, nervousness clearly etched into her lightly-sagging face.

Lisa sighed. She'd gone over what she was going to say so many times, but in the end, she still felt lost. How to begin? With when Bath first told her about his identity? With Angelina and Ritus?

"Bath really is the Dragon," Lisa murmured. Then, she coughed, clearing her throat. She lifted her eyes, staring each of them intently in the face. Of those present, her aunt and uncle had the most peculiar looks, almost...opposite. Her aunt's expression remained serious, while her uncle's seemed almost apologetic, or perhaps even...regretful? Sad? Lisa couldn't place it. The rest of her family just looked confused.

"We became friends as kids. Then, one day, Bath told me the truth. About what he was."

"A god," her father whispered, so softly that Lisa knew she wasn't supposed to hear. She wouldn't have heard, not without her boons.

"Not a god, but an alien," Lisa explained. "He doesn't remember where he comes from, but his first memories are of Earth...half a billion years ago." Lisa gave them a moment to digest the information. "Anyways, he and I decided that we were gonna conquer the Earth together." Lisa gave a sad little laugh, more of a cough.

"It was almost a joke, except...well, I meant it," Lisa admitted. "The Earth is pretty messed up. I was curious...to see if we could."

Her aunt gave her an icy smile. "Aren't you forgetting something, before you move on?"

Lisa paused, as though the smile froze her face. "...Yeah. I, um, I'm a kursi. Wait, let me explain this better. Uh..."

Aunt Lauretta gave her a slightly annoyed expression, throwing off Lisa further. Was this actually her Aunt Lauretta? She was normally so warm, inviting, so...Aunt-like.

"Shhh, calm down," her mother smiled. "It's okay."

For some reason, hearing that, Lisa almost felt like crying. 'I should ask Bath for a boon to seal my tear ducts,' she thought angrily to herself. 'Why am I so fucking petrified?' Steeling herself to just spit everything out, Lisa continued.

"I can control people's emotions, and I'll probably be able to make people my mind slaves eventually." He said this flatly, without emotion. 'Better that way,' she thought to herself. "I've been controlling people around me this way my whole life, everyone here, if only a little bit," she admitted. 'Better to be truthful.' "It's as easy for me as breathing, so usually...it wasn't really intentional, especially before I realized what it was."

Lisa was staring at the corner in the back of the room, determined to finish speaking without letting her family influence her. She blinked rapidly before continuing on. "In high school, Bath and I discovered the presence of another person like me. That's when we realized that I wasn't the only one. We spent the rest of high school scanning big cities and the like to try to find more, but didn't find anybody else."

"Then, we went to Alens. I found someone there who was also a kursi--someone like me. We found out that she was a part of an organization, so we went to its headquarters. In Virginia...below this very room. Bath and I found out that the organization consisted of around 1000 members, many of those also kursi.

"We also found out that there, in the headquarters...was a portal, leading to another planet. Bath pretty much kicked everyone in Ritus out of their headquarters, grabbed me, and grabbed another alien at the headquarters, and went into the gate.

"We came back seven days later. We passed through several different planets and met with different alien species. One of the aliens we met was named Juserin. We found out that he was in charge of a lot of planets in the...er, area."

"When we returned, Bath and I decided we wanted to expand our goal out to conquer the universe. So, of course, step one was conquering Earth. And...that's where we are now." Lisa exhaled deeply, then closed her eyes and sat back in the couch. "I'm not going to lie and say it hasn't been stressful, but...it's been an experience like no other." She smiled, eyes still closed, heart clear.

'Let them judge me,' she thought to herself. 'I laid everything important on the table.' She knew she hadn't said what happened in the most concise, logical way...but she said everything she wanted to. She didn't give a good reason for what she did, what she was doing. She could tell them about her dreams of making the world--the whole world, not just trifling Earth--a better place. Of exploring the unexplored, of bringing humanity out of an age of relative darkness. She could list out a million reasons why she wanted the conquer the universe, ranging from noble to completely selfish in origin.

But Lisa was starting to see that, in the end, it was easier to just say nothing. People would see her actions, and in the end, that would be what mattered.

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"The world changed very quickly," her grandfather said. "I thought the technological revolution was already fast enough." Then he chuckled lightly. "But here we are, being pulled along again by the youngest generation onto something better."

Her grandmother smiled. "Lisa, we're so proud of you,"

'Proud?' Lisa hadn't been expecting that. She'd been expecting judgment. Only villains took over the world.

"Don't look so surprised, hon," her grandfather snorted, his mustache blowing very slightly upward with the puff of wind. "Thanks to you, we're going to be able to live far longer than we ever thought. Sweetheart, did you think we'd be angry at you for solving the world's problems?"

"Seems like the Devourer's been a good influence on you," Lauretta finally added, a nascent grin cracking her formerly icy facade. "You've stopped justifying everything you do."

Lisa's eyes grew wide as saucers. She hadn't told her aunt--or anyone-- about Bath's identity as a World Devourer. Lisa wasn't the only one confused. Uncle Bern was the only one with a resigned expression.

"Everyone--" he began, only to be silenced by Lauretta's piercing gaze. Suddenly, Lisa felt the strongest kursi shell manipulation she'd ever felt in her life. Everyone else in the room--aside from Bern--suddenly leaned forward, clutching their heads in their hands. Lisa snarled, reflexively fighting against the attack. She wasn't able to think clearly while she was under such strenuous assault.

'Bath--' she thought futilely to herself. How would he know what was happening? He was probably giving her privacy...or something.

"Urgh," she grumbled, pushing out with everything she had. 'It hurts so bad, like I'm in labor' she thought to herself.

Then, something clicked in her mind. "But I've felt worse."

The mind manipulation suddenly seized, Lisa's shell free of her aunt's influence. She breathed heavily, then ran over to her aunt and pinned her against the wall in the blink of an eye, knocking her out with the force. She kept Lauretta pinned by manipulating the dragonleaf into shackles around her limp form.

Like that, everyone else was freed from their mental shackles.

"Uncle Bern," Lisa snarled, rushing forward. She grabbed him and sent him, too, up against the wall, though she kept him conscious. "What. Was. That?"

He chuckled raspily, almost as though he was choking. While he appeared fine, his throat would be bruised by Lisa's vice grip. "You're stronger than we thought. You have the talent."

"What?"

"Most kursi have mind domination as their primary ability, though this is one of many. On Earth, we've discovered a few more. Yours, dear, is one we call Regis."

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "How old are you both?"

Everyone else in the room had absolutely no idea what was going on and were looking on in abject horror. Lisa ignored them completely, determined to neutralize whatever threat the imposter aunt-uncle pair posed.

"We were young when Rome fell," he rasped. "Lost count. Most people didn't count back then, and we lived a long time."

"Rome?" Lisa's grandmother gasped. Bern was her son. Lisa's father, too, appeared lost by this revelation.

"Bern," he choked out. "What...?"

He looked at them sadly, then returned his focus to Lisa. "My ability we call Nihilum."

Lisa wasn't especially versed in Latin, but had a clear understanding of what Regis and Nihilum implied. Regis seemed to suggest some kind of ability related to ruling, while Nihilum...an ability related to the void? Lisa glanced quickly at her family members. "Memory manipulation," she breathed.

"Sharp."

"Why are you in my family?" Lisa wondered out loud, feeling utterly lost. Obviously, it was because of her...but there were many other Kursi on Earth. "And how do you know about Bath?"

"We've been watching you. You think we didn't look into your best friend?"

Lisa gaped at him.

"Imagine our surprise, when the universe itself paired the two of you together."

"Imagine my surprise," a familiar voice sounded out, dark and humorous, "When in the blink of any eye, a family reunion devolved into an assault." The snapping of jaws could be heard throughout the room as the final word sounded out, as though it had been spoken by a many-toothed beast.

Lisa felt a solid form behind her, the familiar curve of sinuous muscle covered by a military-style overcoat. She heard the exhale of his breath, felt the beating of his heart. As his arm reached over hers to grab her uncle, Lisa felt all the tension throughout her body release. She leaned back, releasing her own grip.

"I fucked everything up," she mouthed, knowing Bath would sense her mouth's movements.

She looked up, pivoting her head around, and their eyes met. They looked at each other, faces still and expressionless. Then, Bath smirked. "You beat the shit out of Lauretta," he murmured, so only the two of them and Bern could hear. "And she's thousands of years old. You kicked ass."

Lisa didn't let her unspoken words loose: 'But you could've jumped in at any time.' She knew that Bath hadn't interfered because he wanted her to deal with the problem. She appreciated, needed that kind of faith. She needed to defend herself, prove to herself that she wasn't dependent on Bath, that she could pull her own weight.

'But as long as he's here, I'm never really going to know what that's like.'

She backed away from Bath, then turned back to her parents and family. She couldn't meet their eyes. "That was probably jarring," she laughed nervously. "I'm sure you're all more shocked than I am." After all, Bern had been their son, their brother...a far more important role than "uncle."

"This is how I look now," she said swiftly, words rushing out over one another. "Bath."

Her face changed to that of the Church before their eyes.

"Bath will help you get settled in Basalith. I--I have to visit several countries as an ambassador. I'll see you soon."

Her family looked on in helpless shock. Lisa turned around, then dashed out the room, escaping the claustrophobic hallway for the open air. She leapt off the balcony, then used her magnetic sense to assist her in her fall to the ground. She adjusted her trajectory so that she landed just outside the hive.

"You look stressed," Nevis stated. She'd been informed by the Dragon that Lisa was coming, and was, therefore, waiting at the Hive's entrance. The Dragon hadn't given any explanation for Lisa's sudden appearance.

"I'm going on the trip, now," Lisa declared. "I need to get the final details before I get out, as well as a revised list of countries."

Nevis simply smiled, very much aware of Lisa's agitated foot-tapping and jumping eyes. "Did something happen, between you and--"

"Nevis," Lisa hissed. "Details. And no, nothing...ah, I can't even think." She shook her head. "There was an attack, and my family..."

The wasp queen immediately adjusted her composure. 'An attack? The Dragon hadn't mentioned it, so everything must be under control...'

"Understood," she replied, inclining her head respectfully. She led Lisa to their usual conference room. "I've typed up all the notes on the wall, and I'll send them to you now. Additionally, you can take a picture of the plan if you find the whiteboard version easier to parse."

"Good. The typed notes should be fine," Lisa monotoned. She ran her eyes over the whiteboard, digesting the details marked in bright red. These would be the changes to the plan since she last saw it. She turned around, then addressed Nevis, saying, "I've seen enough. Thanks."

Nevis nodded, then led Lisa out of the office and into the hall connected to the entrance. She broke the silence just as Lisa was about to leave. "Good luck out there. Smash a few people like bugs for us, 'kay?"

Nevis truly knew that something was wrong when Lisa just stood there after the joke. "Sure," Lisa remarked at last, voice as frigid as absolute zero. Without a backward glance, she pushed open the double doors and left.

'Nobody died...right?' Nevis wondered nervously. 'The Creator would've said something...' Her antennae drooped as the double doors slammed shut. She sighed, then shook her head slowly as she walked back to her own, isolated hexagon workspace.

She sat down at the computer, carapaced body flexing only slightly into the cushion of the chair.

>>>Search: |____

With only a moment's hesitation, Nevis typed in "White" on a hunch. Lisa's family was visiting. This was the only thing that Nevis could foresee leaving her in such a state.

After refining the search further, Lisa's family popped up on the screen, already entered into Basalith's database in anticipation of their imminent arrival. 'Mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, and uncle,' Nevis thought to herself. 'All besides the aunt are listed as blood relatives.'

Nevis swept her antennae from side to side against her workspace counter. With a few clicks and taps, she ordered two of her divisions to investigate any strange occurrences over the past hour near the Spire. Nevis absolutely detested the fact that she lacked information about what was going on. She never lacked for information, and yet...here she was, stumped.

Then she smiled, despite herself. "What if it was her uncle? He's pret-ty cute..." Nevis knew a nice ass when she saw one. His full-body Facebook profile picture left much to Nevis's imagination, though that tight ass...that was impossible to fake. "He looks old," she admitted to herself, staring at the man's middle-aged face, "but really...if his hair wasn't gray, and if he wasn't wearing glasses..."

Nevis had a sudden thought, a hunch. But her hunches were almost always worth following. She quickly looked at Lauretta--the aunt's--profile picture. She, too, at first glance appeared to be around the same age, 50s...

Nevis zoomed in. "Remove that makeup, cut out that ridiculous witch hair..."

Then she smiled contentedly. "Something's definitely amiss," she spoke softly. "What kind of woman makes herself look intentionally older?"