Chapter Four
"Hostile?" Mars snapped. "You think I'm too hostile?"
"Yes, I do," Selena retorted, "and so does everyone else, but I'm the only one brave enough to call you on it, so don't go defending yourself when they're avoiding you because of it."
The wind howled louder, and the rust-colored dust of the Martian surface was swept up in greater quantities, sweeping across and through the two sparring dieties until only silhouettes were barely visible. "You listen to me," he said. "I can be as hostile as I want to. You were when Numbar built something on your world, but you let him go too far. I won't make that mistake."
"I didn't take it out on the others like you are, and don't give me any of that 'I'm the god of war' crap, because I'm not having it."
Mars scoffed. "Beats being the 'moon goddess'."
The cloud of dust gathered more densely above their heads, and Mars began to seem genuinely afraid. Lighting flashed, and even in the thin atmosphere, the thunder was quite loud. The wind howled, and the dust made the air seem solid, as if it were a second layer to the planet's surface.
Mars recovered himself and said, "And she calls me hostile."
"I heard that," Selena snapped, and the storm grew worse. Mars jumped at a particularly loud crack of thunder, and Selena smirked. The storm began to calm, but it didn't abate entirely. "At least I centered my anger on the thing that caused it. You'd do well to do the same."
"Who the hell do you think you are, lady, the Buddha?" Another crack of thunder shook the surrounding area. "Well, I know one thing. You're not Jesus."
"I'm thankful for that much."
"But seriously, I'm handling this. If I torture this guy enough, he'll pack up and move."
"If he's not dead first, and he very likely will be, and who knows, maybe he willed it to his daughter."
"Oh, yeah, and she wants to be a part of his life."
"For once, I agree with you."
"Now will you just leave me alone so I can get on with my life?"
"I'm here as the only willing representative of our kind. Don't you think that's a little sad?"
"Well, maybe, but until Numbar and his scum are off my planet, who gives a damn what they think?"
"Every Earthling under their influence cares what they think, whether they realize it or not. They fled your influence, but that means they reduced their influence on their aspects of Earthlings' lives. That gives you greater control, and I'm beginning to suspect you planned this."
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, but either way, if a tactic makes a statement, I'm using it."
"That doesn't necessarily mean the tactic works."
"For me, a statement definitely works, and as long as he takes notice, I'm off to a great start."
"He's not going to pay attention. You know that, don't you?"
"Doesn't matter. Someone will stop him within the next three weeks. I'll make sure that happens."
Selena huffed and spirited herself away through the gathering storm over Mars' head. He was being completely impossible, and she began to doubt his sanity. Regardless, she had to get to Zenon and Proto Zoa, and they had take action, before it was too late.
ZZZ
Proto Zoa strummed his guitar, and Zenon closed her eyes and leaned against him, listening quietly. After a moment, she asked, "Isn't that Supernova Girl?"
"Nice work, love," he said with a laugh. He began to strum a different tune and asked her to name it.
"Oh, this is an old one," she said. "'Don't Want to be Found'?"
"Very good. Try this one." He played yet another tune.
"Oh, that one's easy. 'The Galaxy Is Ours'."
He chuckled, but he didn't strum another tune until he saw that one through. Then he strummed 'Out of this World', singing along to his parts. Before she knew it, Zenon realized she was singing along with him, helping him finish the song.
"Excuse me, I'm standing right here," Selena said, interrupting Zenon and Zoa's moment. They looked up at her, both startled out of their wits. She looked annoyed, as if she'd been standing there for an obscenely long period of time waiting for an answer.
"Oh, uh, sorry. We didn't notice," Zenon managed.
"Alright, look. I tried like hell and I can't reason with Mars right now. It's almost like he lost his mind. My advice right now is tread carefully, because he might mistake you for the enemy and kill you."
"If we're trying to get Numbar off of Mars the planet, why would he mistake us for the enemy?" Zoa asked.
"I told you, he's losing it, and I think the only way to solve this is to get Numbar's colony off, and if there's anything I know from experience, it's that he won't have any of it. He'll do everything he can to stop you."
"We still have a few weeks, and if we're lucky, he'll schedule a ride up to see whether or not he can get going on schedule. We sneak aboard, and he won't even know we're there."
"What happens when we get there?" Zenon asked, giving Proto Zoa a slightly annoyed look.
"Oh, I haven't thought about that part yet."
Selena looked a little more indignant and disbelieving than Zenon, and she even shook her head, completely refusing to comment.
"Well, don't get me wrong, the whole sneaking on thing sounds good. Take it from someone who's done it before," Zenon said, "but I think we need a concrete plan before we do anything that major."
Zoa shrugged. "Fair," he said. "Now, anyone have any ideas for such a plan?"
