1. Maximus Boltagon
He never thought he would face this much humiliation in his short fourteen years of life. As a second-born, his fate was sealed to never be considered for the throne. He was born an inhuman, but the process that was supposed to turn him into someone greater reversed his genetic make-up instead. There had been whispers among his own family that he should have his royal status removed. The people who had been his allies turned their backs on him. His brother, the firstborn of the now deceased King, had the power to destroy the whole city with a careless whisper, but still, the Council insisted that they will have a King who cannot speak to his people, for his people. Does he, Maximus Boltagon, son of former King Agon, younger brother of crown prince Blackagar Boltagon, even exist in the eyes of the Council?
The door opened, and Maximus could barely keep himself from shouting. "Were you the reason they let me walk out?" His voice trembled with anger. Blackagar sat in the middle of the vast room, turned away from the door. Meditating? Maximus sneered in disdain. He studied his brother as he picked himself up and faced him, worry etched on his face.
Maximus stood rooted to his spot. He had taken just one step into the chamber. "I was in there for barely a day before I was escorted out," he began noncommittally. His brother stood unmoved, so he went on. "I was met with scorn, with jeers. Apparently, I'd pulled strings because of my bloodline, because my brother is the future King!" His voice escalated. "So tell me." He suppressed his agitation, before continuing. "If it was you."
No. Blackagar lied.
"What happened to not wanting to be King? I see you're already using your power for influence. Let's get this straight, brother. I don't need your help, nor your pity." He spat the last word out with enough hostility to make his brother wince. Blackagar opened his mouth as if to say something in reply, but slapped both hands over it with a pained expression on his face.
"Didn't remember to do that with our parents, did you?" Maximus watched as anguish took over his brother's features. He turned to exit the room, but Blackagar moved swiftly and grabbed his shoulder. Maximus faced him, his glare cold and impatient. Wait. I'm sorry. His brother implored him to stay. For what reason, Maximus was unconcerned.
He turned away as he spoke. "The council can do what they want with you, brother, but even if you stayed silent forever, it won't bring our parents back." Maximus waited for his brother to inevitably release the grip on his shoulder, before leaving the chamber without another glance back.
Three days after being released from the mines, it almost felt as if life was back to normal. Maximus found himself meditating with Karnak in the training grounds after some combat training. Gorgon was off somewhere training with the Royal Guards as he was being groomed to be their leader in the future. Medusa was a distance away from them, training to control her hair. She was currently lifting five separate objects simultaneously. The more she had to diversify the movement of her hair the harder she needed to concentrate. Maximus watched her with much fascination.
"You're not focused enough," Karnak reprimanded, his eyes still closed. "Focus on your very core of existence, and nothing else. Don't let your emotions cloud your mind. Block out all thoughts and concentrate on your breathing." Maximus rolled his eyes. "Being annoyed won't help," his cousin pointed out.
Maximus shook a stubborn lock of fringe off his forehead and sighed. Karnak cracked an eye open, before sighing himself and broke out of his meditative stance.
"How is Blackagar?" Maximus, taken aback by the sudden question, reacted a little too defensively than he would like. He gave a nonchalant shrug.
Unfazed, Karnak pressed on. "You must have seen him after you were allowed to return from the mines." It was a statement not a question.
Maximus knew he couldn't deceive Karnak so easily. "Yes, I paid him a visit. Or rather, I was allowed one."
"How is he?"
"He appeared to be fine," Maximus replied curtly, hoping his cousin would stop pressing this matter.
"Did he say how he got the council to overturn their decision?" His cousin was getting on his nerves.
"No," He replied guardedly. "For all we know, he had nothing to do with it. They may have changed their minds of their own accord, decide that they should have an alternate candidate for the throne in case the one they'd chosen doesn't pan out the way they want." Maximus, fast losing his patience, stood up to leave.
Karnak rose to meet his eyes warily. "Like it or not," he said, restrained. "Your brother will be King."
"Okay, you said you were going to show me something amazing," Medusa stopped in her tracks.
Maximus frowned. "And I am."
Medusa gestured agitatedly around them. "This is a prohibited place! You're taking us into a laboratory that's been sealed off for years! Do you even know your way out? I wasn't really tracking our steps when we came down here..."
Laughing, Maximus ignored her dramatics. "Come on, you'll see." He unlocked the metal door that sealed off the lab with a key he brandished from his pocket, and beckoned for Medusa to join him. She stepped forward hesitantly.
As the lights were switched on, the amazement on Medusa's face assured Maximus that bringing her to the lab had been the right decision.
"You made all this?" She turned a full circle to take in the array of guns, books and other knick knacks she couldn't possibly identify.
"Mostly," he shrugged.
"You're making… weapons?" She gasped in realisation.
Maximus grinned. "Not really… These are just prototypes. They don't actually work," Yet, he thought. "But I enjoy fiddling with things like that. Tibor was very supportive of my interests, maybe even more than my own father. He pulled strings to get me access to the weapons lab. All these," he gestured vaguely around the room, "were pilfered over the years."
"Wow, unbelievable."
"Are you going to tell on me?" Suddenly, Maximus wasn't so sure he had made the right choice to reveal this part of him to the girl he'd grown to be fond of.
"Hmm… It depends…" Medusa grabbed a gun off the table and pretended to shoot. "Are you going to show me what these do?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eye.
Maximus laughed, partially out of relief. "Careful! You don't want to fire that by accident." He took it from her grasp.
"I thought you said they don't work? What does it do?"
"It's supposed to be a stun gun. Temporary paralysis. It's just a prototype, but perhaps I should test it on you?" He joked and Medusa shrieked, dropping the gun back on the table. He laughed and pushed the gun aside. Working or not, he wouldn't want either of them to be on the receiving end of its blast.
"Oh, what about this? Or this?" Maximus looked up at Medusa who had lifted up three other guns with her hair.
"Oh, stop showing off," he called out and started chasing after Medusa to reclaim the weapons from her hair. In her hurry to evade his advances, she accidentally fired off one of the guns and a small slab of ceiling fell to the ground.
Both of them froze for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"What did I tell you?" Maximus mock-scolded. Medusa, hastily put the guns down. "Sorry," she said meekly, but he waved her off in good nature.
There was a quiet beat as Maximus moved to stow his prototype guns in a safer place, before Medusa broke the silence.
"So this is where you've been disappearing to to since... you know?"
Not wanting to make eye contact, Maximus busied himself with clearing some of the clatter on the worktables. "Most of the time when I'm not with you and the rest, yes."
"And your brother? How's he coping? You can spend time with us, but he's… all alone."
It was an innocent question and Maximus could hear the genuine concern in her voice, but he could feel his anger rising to the surface. Somehow, the conversation had shifted to the topic of his brother again. "He's too dangerous to be out in public. One sound from him and he could destroy our entire city."
He saw Medusa's eyes widen in shock. She had probably only heard rumours of the prince's powers but to hear it firsthand from Maximus…
"Is he allowed visitors?"
Maximus shook his head. "Only the Genetic Council and his tutors are allowed in the chamber.
Medusa balked at his answer. "Not even you? You're his only family now."
Maximus fell silent. He could feel Medusa's gaze on him. "Strange, when I think about it," she mused. "We're alike in more ways than I'd imagine. The only family I have left is my sister."
Maximus mulled over their similar plights, fiddling with the stun gun prototype in his hands.
"I am genuinely sorry for what happened to your parents," he said after a moment.
Medusa faced him and gave a shake of her head. "You don't have to. In the end, it was just a consequence of them fighting for their ideals."
"It was admirable, what they did."
"You think so?"
"It takes great courage to fight for what you think is right, especially against seemingly insurmountable odds."
"They tried to lead a revolt against the council and your parents, the king and queen. You think this is admirable? I don't." Maximus could hear the derision in her voice.
He left the stun gun on the table and walked alongside the length of it, contemplating his next words. "Medusa, our entire civilisation is based on change, on transformation. In any society, prolonged stagnation will eventually lead to demise. Constant evolution is key to being relevant in this universe - it brings progression. We have been this enclosed society for such a long time, self-governed and self-sufficient, and a false sense of security has begun to set in among our people. I think what I'm saying is that some form of change is welcome. Our leaders need to be challenged occasionally to keep them on their toes. We may be living in a time of peace now, but even you and I both know this will not last forever."
Medusa was silent for a moment before replying. Her eyes downcast. "I'd rather much have my parents around for my sister and myself. I wished they'd placed us above their ideals."
"Your parents - they were punished for fighting for what they believed in. My parents were compliant till the end, and look where that got them?"
"Don't say that, Maximus. If it helps, I don't blame your parents for what happened to mine."
Maximus forced a smile. He thought it was a twist of fate that the discord between their parents had brought them together.
Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! This story continues after the one-shot I wrote (He Can Never Speak Again). It doesn't matter if you've read it or not, as I've written this story to fill in certain gaps left by the Inhumans TV show. There will likely be two more chapters after this, which I'm in the midst of completing. Please like or review the story so that I know I'm on the right track! Fanfiction is a very new thing to me so every review, favourite or follow is very much appreciated. Shout-out to Ardhoniel Marvelite and FriendLey for reviewing my one-shot, giving me encouragement to write more. Thank you! :)