“Tonight, the IHO, Izanami Health Organization, has issued a “caution” flag for a disorder affecting the settlement of Johansontown. Hospital beds are currently full at the moment while researchers on the ground attempt to figure out what’s been spreading like wildfire throughout the settlement. They stress that no one needs to be alarmed as of yet as quarantine was enacted days ago and they say that it is holding. A new disease is nothing new for residents of Izanami; a popular tale from the time of the first 100 involves them dealing with their first non-earth-born pathogen for the first time….”
-News.Bleed.net.
Roxanne doesn’t sleep anymore, at least not like she used to. Sleep used to be a thing she just did like clockwork to recharge the next day. Now, it was akin to just another arm of her duties as holder and wielder of the Mantle of C’hiad. Her physical body still rested, of course, because one cannot bypass human physiology. Her powers, too, needed the occasional recharge. Not that she had a finite amount—never tested—but it was always at its most potent when she was at her best, both body and mind.
During times of rest, Roxanne’s inner self would retreat to her mind palace. She’d meditate and surf the electromagnetic spectrum that made up every atom of our universe for anything out of sorts that might require her attention. Her mind palace was an offshoot of the pocket dimension in which Azonne resides; thus, her abilities, shared experiences, and memories of her predecessors could be accessed. In time, this space would join in with the rest, and she would join the call to aid her successor, whoever that is, and whenever that is.
Since this was a mental construct, it could look however Roxanne desired. She opted for her dream apartment. Still technically living with her grandmother—at least considering her delivery address when she’s actually on the planet—Roxanne had many daydreams of the type of place she’d love to call her own. She was a simple girl; a mid-sized studio with a small second-story loft was as far as her imagination went, and she wondered if that spoke to her character or lack of one. Similar apartments infected the real world. What did it say about her when this is what she picked?
Whatever, Roxanne chose not to care. She knew that fighting the anxiety monster in her head never lead to anything productive. The second floor housed a bed, dressers, and a closet. The first floor of the mental domicile was filled with boxes of ancient music because she could have anything she wanted. The rest of the room housed an oversized red comfortable couch, a view screen, and a kitchen. It wasn’t precisely functional since she didn’t need to eat here, but it felt empty without one.
Roxanne was perusing a box, trying to find what to listen to, while she got down to brass tacks. The crate was filled with records belonging to artists she listened to constantly on her private streaming server. Roxanne’s server had all kinds of music. Tracks and bands from Old Earth, such as Marvin Gaye to Aretha Franklin, shared space with those who didn’t exist until decades post-Izanami colonization, like GMC 1500 and Slam Matheson.
[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/939246405011251231/1066203372694294559/Roxrecordcolor1080.png?width=670&height=670]
Azonne materialized next to her and asked: “What are you doing?”
“The usual routine,” she replied.
“Yes, obviously, but you usually don’t take this long.”
“I don’t?” She looked up, closed her eyes, and smiled. “Maybe I’m thinking about other things.”
“Is it the state of the universe?” They asked. “Or perhaps what you plan to do about the duplicate rings you still possess?” Roxanne rolled her eyes and resumed going through the box.
“I’m always thinking about those things,” she said back. “I’m not sure I’m a fan of this sass you’ve picked up.”
“If you search for what to blame, I recommend a mirror,” and the avatar smiled. “I saw you finally got what you desired….”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Roxanne blushed. Of course, as they lived in her head, Azonne was privy to the many—many—thoughts she had concerning Christine in the not-too-distant past. Indeed, they were happy for her.
“It’s nice thinking about something else for a change,” Roxanne continued while she pulled out a record and studied it. She thought this was the one, and music filled the room immediately.
“Indeed,” Azonne replied.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Roxanne said while she crossed her legs and settled on the floor. Azonne winked out of existence, and Roxanne shut her eyes. The entire universe lay bare before her, vibrant, beautiful colors representing countless nebulas, gasses, and stellar dust across all wavelengths and frequencies. Instead of peace, a growing unease slathered with a small topping of anxiety washed over her. She kept waiting for another shoe to drop but hid in the belief that nothing terrible would be on the horizon because it hadn't happened yet—at least that she could prove, anyway.
She couldn’t hide forever; she knew that. With every passing second, she felt that safe space slowly being ripped from her. The universe twisted and warped, and she bit her bottom lip instinctively. She heard a sound, like a metal ball bearing dropped in the ocean. This sound echoed loudly. Space rippled, the force of which she felt on an atomic level. Her neural impulses retreated, and a section of the wall in her palace imploded and gave way.
Roxanne shot up in an instant.
Beyond the wall was the greater universe. Somehow it cried out. She stared at the border beyond the wall; the colors were there but faded, almost sickly. She felt an invisible hand clutch her heart and was awake the next moment, planted on her old bed in her old room and staring up at the ceiling.
The feeling remained.
“What the hell was that?” She asked out loud.
Something has happened.
“Yeah, got that—but what?”
Nothing good.
“Can we pinpoint where?”
Likely, I’ll keep you posted?
“Please,” Roxanne sat up and checked her surroundings. Sparse, except she didn’t bother putting away the closet or sink. Both stood there open and used, the basin caked with dried-up used toothpaste. She used the sink again, let the auto wash do its magic, and pressed the panel to make it recess back into the wall. She walked to the closet, picked up a few scattered pieces of clothing, threw them back in, and sent them back onto the floor. She felt momentarily embarrassed, acting like a slob on her first night home; she had a lot of nerve.
It was just so awesome to have a physical space again; she couldn’t help it. Whether she was flying through The Bleed under her own power, hitching a ride in a cramped cabin on a crappy ship, or an even smaller hotel bank on some random planet, having this much room was a luxury. She took a moment to stretch and exited the room. It was downstairs from there to the kitchen; the homestead hadn’t changed at all.
Grandmother was at the kitchen island packing sandwiches, drinks, and various snacks into floating coolerbot. It was a gunmetal black rectangle that walked on four telescoping legs and retreated to the body when not used. It had been in the family for years; Roxanne called it Fred.
“Wow, using Fred? You must be excited,” Roxanne grinned. Millie looked up at her and smiled warmly.
“Good morning, dear,” she said. “And you’re darn right. I’m excited.”
“Yeah?” Roxanne attempted to grab a sandwich but had the back of her hand lightly smacked.
“There’s one in the fridge for you,” Millie told her. “Did you know I haven’t been out of this city in decades?” Roxanne reached into the fridge and pulled out a white plate. A ham and cheese roll with lettuce, tomato, and bacon sat atop. Roxanne thanked the verse grams had forgone mayonnaise. She could take it or leave the stuff—mostly leave if she had her way— but still, free food.
“I can believe it,” she said and took a bite.
“Sit down; I taught you better than that!” Grandmother gave her a wry smile and a look that said, can you believe this? Sheepishly, Roxanne brought the plate to the kitchen island, sat on one of the stools, and resumed eating.
“Being out there, on an honest-to-goodness farm? Free among all that green?” Grandmother Millie took a long deep breath. “Sweetie, I just cannot wait.”
Roxanne beamed. She loved seeing her grandmother happy. After everything she and her grandfather had done for her, they raised her right and were responsible for the woman she was today. Being able to pay that forward—currency via pride—fulfilled Roxanne. It made burdens easier to bear.
“Gresh, I wish I could take you off-planet even just once,” Roxanne sighed happily. “You would just love some of the places I’ve been to.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it, sweetheart,” Millie replied. “I don’t doubt it at all.”
She resumed checking the coolerbot and ensuring everything was packed and ready to go. Silence filled the room, save for Roxanne’s chewing and Millie’s fussing. Millie paused and glanced toward Roxanne, whose attention became transfixed on the last two bites of the sandwich she held between her fingers. She was almost sad.
“Very dramatic, Roxanne.”
“You have no idea what kind of crap I’ve had to eat out there. A sammich like this is near impossible sometimes.”
“Oh, I bet,” Millie smirked. “I’m also sure that, when you did eat, you picked the most nutritious things.”
“Stomach of steel, what can I say?” Roxanne polished off the sandwich and tapped her little pooch happily.
“So, did things go well with that girl?” Millie asked. “Christine?”
“Chris,” Roxanne replied. “And they’re genderfluid, gramma; I’ve told you this.”
“Now hang on, she told me she didn’t mind ‘she’ pronouns.”
“They were just being nice,” Roxanne said.
“Oh poo, now I feel like an ass.”
“You’re fine, and yes, things went very well.” Roxanne hesitated, then smiled. “We kissed.”
“Was that your first?”
“It was,” Roxanne turned red.
“You two are so cute together,” Millie grinned.
“Graaaaams,” Roxanne groaned.
“Fine—fine,” she relented. “But I’m looking forward to getting to know her—them—better!” Grandmother Millie resumed counting how many snacks she’d put in the cooler. Roxanne watched her for a bit before running up and hugging her tight. Having realized she hadn’t done that yet since she’d been home, she felt disappointed in herself.
“You’re the best, grams,” Roxanne said. “I love you.” Grandmother blushed. The front doorbell rang, and Roxanne got excited as that was likely Chris. She zoomed to the door and looked herself over briefly. She was just in blue jeans and a t-shirt, sneakers, the usual. It’s fine. She took a deep heavy breath, let that out slowly, and opened the door.
Chris was facing the street and turned to lock eyes with her. They blushed, and their eyes darted to their feet.
“…Hey,” They said. Roxanne grinned, grabbed them by the collar of their leather jacket, and playfully closed the gap. Roxanne brought her face up and accepted a soft kiss; nothing existed to her but this moment. They separated, and Roxanne leaned back on her heels; she said:
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Hey yourself.”
----------------------------------------
The Masterson farm, located 500 miles outside of city limits, was an 8-hour drive if you took a land-based vehicle and 2 hours via air. Corina opted to charter a shuttle, a luxury vehicle that was wide in the back and thin in the front. A small bubble indicated the pilot's seat. At the end were several exhaust ports to aid in propulsion. It had a white body, red trim, and writing on the fat side: Instant Air.
Most of the time, for such a trip, Corina usually flew under her own power—same for Roxanne any time she tagged along. This shuttle made more sense with Millie, Danielle, and Chris's addition. Corina hated carrying people, and she only had two hands. Sure, Roxanne would find a way, but why not spend a little?
They had all met up on the roof of her penthouse; the pilot was busy fueling the ship when they had. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they boarded and took off moments later. An hour had passed inside, but no one seemed to notice. The inside was spacious, a rounded cabin with two booth-like seating arrangements on either side of the aisle. The walls are gray, the seats and table white with red cushions for the chairs and a red tabletop. Danielle, Millie, and Corina sat at one booth, talking and laughing.
Chris and Roxanne sat in the other booth. Chris was drawing in a beat-up-looking old sketchbook, and Roxanne just watched, content with sitting reasonably close. It appeared Chris was on the final page and was drawing a costumed woman. The figure had long black hair, wore a blue armor set, and carried twin pistols.
“Who’s that?” Roxanne inquired.
“Her name is Nebula Blue.”
“And you made her up?”
Chris smiled, nodded, and replied: “When I was a kid, I wanted to be Captain Steel so bad, like, I was soooo obsessed.” They paused to erase a line, then continued: “I created her. She was me—or the me I wished to be maybe? Anyway, I drew her constantly. Y’know, living out fantasies,” they grinned.
“That’s so adorable.”
“Oh, stop,” Chris replied. They stopped drawing and studied the drawing, unsure if they were satisfied; Chris curled their upper lip and tapped the edge of the book with a pencil.
“Can I see?” Roxanne asked. She held out her hand; Chris hesitated briefly but handed it over. Roxanne flipped through the pages of drawings featuring various characters in dynamic poses, and she was impressed.
“Babe, this is really good,” She said. “These are all your characters?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah, I keep most of the plot ideas up here,” and they tapped their head.
“You should make a toon.”
“I have, actually,” Chris replied, turning partially red. “I mean when I have the time. No one looks at it.” Chris felt their face get flush.
“Well, I would,” and Roxanne smiled. The two bumped shoulders; they got closer, and the ride continued. Roxanne had to remind herself she needed to chill, didn’t she? She hadn’t felt this way about someone before, and it could be messing with her head. Stop overthinking it. Indeed, Roxanne found that to be the ticket; stop thinking about it, and things will work out. It’s served her well so far.
Everyone felt a drop in the pit of their stomach from the shuttle lowering its altitude. Below lay the Masterson Farm, 500 acres of farmland deep in the jungle. Anchoring the land at the center was a massive three-story mansion, stunning and fancy but not upper-class fancy. Like rustic fancy, country fancy. It was built out of natural wood with 20 rooms, five bathrooms, a basement, a two-story garage, and 3 barns.
Various farmhands milled around all over the grounds. Beyond corn crops was a landing platform for guests and deliveries; that was where they would land. Corina looked outside her window, and down on the platform was a young girl waving: her niece, Athena Masterson, and oldest of the twins by 5 minutes. Corina grinned and waved back though she wasn’t sure if she could see her.
The ship touched down softly; the pilot did landings like this in his sleep. Everyone got up while the captain shuffled out from his chair and back toward the cabin.
“So when do I need to come back?” He said. He was a four-foot-tall round man with thinning green hair.
“In two days,” Corina said. The man nodded in acknowledgment and returned to his hole. The ship's side door hissed and raised vertically like a garage door. Athena was just outside, bouncing on the balls of her feet, super excited and full of energy. She had curly black hair cut down to the bottom of her chin with messy bangs that covered her eyebrows and parts of her eyes.
“AUNT CORINA,” She shouted and bounded in her direction. Corina barely stepped a foot off the ship when she was hug-tackled. Athena was Corina’s height, crazy enough, a super rarity in itself. The teenager squeezed so tight, and Corina returned it right back.
“It’s good to see you, kiddo.”
“Oh god, I have, like, so much to tell you,” Athena spoke a mile a minute and barely took time to breathe most days. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she talked and never missed a beat. “First, I totally did not have bad grades; it was MJ.”
“Shocker,” Corina said and helped Millie down from the cabin.
“What I said!” Athena grinned and glanced up through her eyelids like she was only revving up. “And also—”
“Honey, give it rest, okay?” Danielle stood at the ship entrance; backpack strung out over her shoulder. She smiled wryly and said, “Let Corina breathe, honey.” Athena looked at her mom and stuck her tongue out playfully.
“Oh, she’s fine,” Corina said. “She can talk my head off any time.”
“Well, before that give us a hand with our bags, huh, sweetie?” Danielle said. Athena nodded at her mother and reached up to help her with her backpack. Roxanne stepped off the ship and looked around, impressed.
“Wow, did you guys add more space while I was gone?” She asked.
“ROXANNE.”
“Athena, Hi—” she was not quite tackle-hugged, but as small as she was, she was immediately off her feet. “Hey!”
“Dude, I haven’t seen you in forever!” Athena seemed determined to keep the hug on until it was reciprocated, so Roxanne obliged. Was she like this when she was 17? Roxanne brushed all that aside and smiled.
“It’s good to see you too,” she told her. Chris hopped down behind Roxanne and had a star-struck look on their face. They had never seen anything like this place, ever.
“Holy shi-”
“Ooh, who’s this?” Athena grinned and waved. “You’re cute.” Chris blushed; Roxanne enjoyed seeing it.
“Athena, Chris. Chris, Athena,” Roxanne said, and the two shook hands. Athena turned red, giggled bashfully, and went back to her mom. Chris glanced back at Roxanne and snorted out half a laugh, making Roxanne giggle. She grabbed their hand and gave a little playful tug.
“Come on, hot stuff.”
----------------------------------------
The group spent the rest of the day touring the grounds. Here, they had chickens for egg production and cows for milk and grew crops like corn, wheat, and carrots. They also had a small stable of horses. MJ, Michael Masterson Jr, could not join them due to having to re-write a paper because of the aforementioned poor grades. Athena certainly didn’t mind; she excitedly led the procession and acted as a tour guide. Chris remained impressed, asking all sorts of questions since they had never actually left the city themselves either.
Later that night, the 7 of them all sat down for dinner, and it was a veritable feast. Baked pork shoulder covered in a savory sauce with mashed potatoes on the side and an assortment of vegetables to round it out. The house had an appropriately massive dining room with a large rectangle wood table shining under the overhead light. Athena, Roxanne, and Chris were putting the food out onto the table along with dishes and utensils.
Millie, naturally, offered to help almost every few minutes but was consistently rebuffed.
“Athena,” Danielle said as she sat down. “Could you get your brother, please?”
“Sure thing, mom, “Athena replied. She walked out of the room and approached a small box, an intercom. She pushed the lone button on it and said:
“Hey, turd, dinner!”
“I could have done that,” Danielle sighed. “And what did I tell you about calling your brother a turd?”
“Do it early and often, so he’s used to it?” Athena replied with a smirk. Danielle rolled her eyes, and the table laughed. Danielle sat at the head of the table with Athena to her left and Corina to her right. Next to Corina was Millie, across her, and next to Athena were Roxanne and Chris.
Bounding down the stairs two at a time was MJ. He was the spitting image of his father; MJ was tall and muscular with short black hair that he slicked backward at an angle. He was wearing a tight muscle tee because he liked showing off. He took a seat at the other end of the table, opposite his mother, because he took the idea of “the man of the house” surprisingly seriously. Athena often teased him about it, and so did Danielle, if only to keep that mindset from getting toxic.
“You’re really gonna just sit without saying hi to your aunt?” Danielle asked him. He made a big production of sighing and got up off the chair. He walked over to behind Corina, grinned, and laid a massive hug on her.
“Hello Auntie, missed you,” he said. She welled with sweet pride and hugged his arm back. MJ walked behind his mother and gave her a peck on the cheek, smiling as he did. He then walked behind Athena. He mussed her hair up and whispered something in her ear.
“I should totally tell mom what you just said,” she opined, eyelids closed. MJ closed his eyes and sat down with a thin smile on his face.
“I dare you,” He said. “Just remember, I know secrets too, bitc—”
“Alright, alright,” Danielle interrupted. “Enough playing to the crowd; I know you’re both bored.”
“Yes, mom,” they both said in unison.
“Dig in, everyone,” she said, and it was on. Plates were passed around and filled with heaping spoonfuls of food. Roxanne practically buried herself in it. She hadn’t had an authentic home-cooked meal in 6 months—it was heaven. After dinner, everyone retired to the den, where she moaned and groaned and felt dangerously close to slipping into a food coma.
“Maybe you should go lie down, dear,” Grandmother said.
“I totally don’t want to move grams, sorry.”
The room laughed and continued talking and sharing stories. The twins spoke of their homeschooling and studies, leaving a large elephant in the room that everyone ignored. Danielle kept the twins a secret, deathly afraid of what the world would do if they found out. She feared the world would all want their piece, scared that doing so would take them down their father and Aunt’s path. Perhaps, in a vacuum, it probably wasn’t so bad.
But life wasn’t a vacuum, and their father died doing it. Corina typically fluctuated between being miserable and cranky; she didn’t want that for her kids. But Danielle was also mindful that the time was rapidly approaching, where she wouldn’t have much say in it either. She briefly locked eyes with Corina, who had been watching the twins tell a story animatedly, and they both smiled at each other. Danielle got up and stretched.
“I think I’m going to call it a night,” she said. “Will you two show everyone to their rooms when they’re ready?”
“Yes, mom,” they both said without missing a beat.
“I’m going to head to bed, too; I want to get up first light!” Grandmother had gotten up and kissed Roxanne on her forehead. “Don’t stay up too late, sweetie.” Roxanne groaned. Half because of her full belly, half because she wasn’t five years old. The two climbed the large grand staircase and disappeared upstairs. Both twins followed them up with their gazes, then looked at each other after a few moments and nodded. Athena left and went into the other room.
“Bring mine too!” MJ shouted.
“Bring your what?” Corina asked, suspicious.
“You’ll see!” Moments later, Athena returned, dressed in White compression tights with red bands around the knees. She wore a red leather jacket, sleeves rolled up, over a dark gray turtle neck sweater. She was holding a gray and yellow t-shirt and tossed it to her brother. On her shoulder was a circular emblem: an ‘A,’ a lightning bolt, and an ‘S.’ Corina went white and looked at her other nephew; he had put a shirt on with writing on his chest:
‘K,’ lightning bolt, ‘S.’
“This is a prank, right?” She asked; she really hoped it was a prank. Even Roxanne had sat up at this point. She loved a family spectacle as much as the next girl.
“No joke Aunt Corina,” MJ replied, looking so pleased with himself, Athena too, for that matter. Corina folded her arms.
“Explain,” She said.
“Kid Steel,” he said as he pantomimed, underlining the symbol on his chest. He made Athena turn to her side and did similar to her shoulder, “Athena Steel. Hers sucks.”
“Hey!”
“No, explain the meaning of-of-this!” Corina gestured in their direction emphatically.
“Auntie, we thought you’d be happy,” Athena began.
“I mean, you’d been training us secretly,” MJ finished.
“Guys,” Corina sighed. “Keyword: secret.”
“We’re tired of being a secret,” Athena said. “We want to honor our father’s legacy.”
“Help us convince our mother that it's time,” MJ added. “That we’re ready!” He made a fist emphatically. Corina’s face flushed. Yes, she trained them privately in how to use their powers, which felt like the responsible thing to do. With the same power set as his father, MJ needed guidance, while Athena, who could convert kinetic energy into strength and power, needed the trust and freedom to experiment. Danielle was only publically interested in the basics, at best.
She also trusted Corina to respect her wishes.
“Your mom is going to kill me when she finds out,” Corina lamented.
“I think it's kind of cool, personally,” Roxanne offered.
Roxanne, I have something.
“Ah excuse me,” Roxanne got up. “It's my, um, other job.” She returned to the dining room, closed her eyes, and was instantly transported to her mind palace. In the real world, she would be safe, standing perfectly still and upright. Within her palace, the wall was still busted; the avatar of Azonne Le was waiting for her there.
“I have located the source of the anomaly,” they said. Roxanne nodded, and the entire room melted away, showing a bird's eye view of the milky way. Southwest from the galactic core, a waypoint appeared, indicating where the avatar was speaking about. The view zoomed in and showed a cluster of stars and molecular clouds surrounding the waypoint.
“So what’s happening?” Roxanne asked.
“Strange gravitational anomalies are being reported in the area. For lack of a better term, a space storm seems to have erupted there. I have gathered that multiple ships are stuck in a gravity well.”
“That’s no Bueno,” Roxanne said. “I should probably bring this to Corina’s attention. Maybe she could help?”
“A solid plan.”
“And no idea why this is happening yet?”
“If you’re looking for me to say this is because you broke the balance, I cannot,” they replied. “We would need to be there to make any kind of determination.”
Roxanne grumbled under her breath, and an eyeblink later, she was back in the dining room. She made her way back to the den when Corina also entered the room.
“I just got a blast from Central One,” She said. “Colony B-11 is, well, it's freaking weird—you know anything about that? That why you left the room?”
“Yeah, I might,” Roxanne said and nodded.
“I used to live there ages ago.”
“Well, whatever is happening there definitely requires my attention. So,” Roxanne said. “Do you want to tag along?”
Corina grinned.
“God damn right I do,” she replied. “That place was my second home for close to a decade before I became Lady Steel.”
“What do you wanna do about…?” Roxanne gestured to the living room, having meant the twins and their idea for a coming-out party.
“I got the call from Central One, and that put an end to that for the moment,” Corina replied. “But I made them promise to wait until I said okay.”
“And they bought that?” Roxanne asked, incredulous. Patience was not something she had ascribed to either of them.
“I told them I’d help them convince their mom,” Corina replied. “And I meant it. They’re not wrong; it was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“But you’re scared.”
“Well yeah,” Corina replied. “I’m super proud of them for wanting this, but I’m worried about how Danielle will react.”
Roxanne understood this. She could tell there was a point of pride for Corina. The fact that they wanted to honor her brother—their father—and the legacy he left behind obviously made her happy and excited.
“We should leave as soon as possible,” Roxanne said after a brief nod.
“Okay, but I’m not waking up your grandmother.”