Hi everyone. So sorry that this update took a little longer to post than I wanted. I am currently in the process of preparing for Grad School so that has taken up a lot of my time, but I promise to have this Fanfic done before my classes start. Thank you for your patience.
As soon as she spoke, his eyes were on her. It was as if she and he were the only things to exist in the entire universe and suddenly she felt so very, very small. Strangely light. He stood tall and proud, his hands resting in fists of agitation at his sides. He was a sight both magnificent and horrifying. Majestic and lethal. Carol felt herself drowning in these thoughts until finally she could hear the man's voice coming to her from a great distance, thick and creamy, and she forced herself to resurface.
"My name is Khan and the people in the torpedoes are my family. I put them there."
At these words, Carol's thoughts turned to anger. She wanted to ignite this man named Khan, to torch him in flames and watch him burn the way she had watched her garden burn so many years ago. Her voice was seeped with hatred as she said, "You are even more despicable than I could ever imagine. Not only do you ruthlessly kill strangers, but you are willing to condemn your entire family to a brutally painful death by explosion?"
Khan shut his eyes and bowed his head as a series of emotions spread across his face: sadness, guilt, anger, grief, loneliness, hope, despair. When he looked up again, his face was blotched red and his eyes were filled with tears. He grumbled, a sickeningly low and untamed noise that came from the depths of his stomach, and his voice cracked as he cried out with tones of agony, "No, no, NO! I was trying to save them."
And then words were spilling from his mouth and Carol found her anger turning to horror turning to sadness. She sat on the ground, looking up at the slender yet powerfully built man pacing back and forth in front of her, listening carefully to his words. Words about how he was once a ruler. How he was not just any man, but one who was genetically modified to be superior. How he and his crew had been slumbering. How Admiral Marcus had woken Khan from his sleep. How Marcus was preparing for war and had killed one of Khan's crew to manipulate the superhuman into building weapons and warships. How Khan had crafted the 72 torpedoes and had placed his remaining crew in them, desperately hoping to take them to safety, but then was discovered. How Marcus led Khan to believe that the torpedoes had been destroyed. How in response Khan attacked Starfleet before fleeing to Kronos. How he had learned soon after that his crew was unharmed and aboard the Enterprise. How he was here now to be near them and, ultimately, to save them.
Then there was an incredible, uncomfortable, unbearable silence.
Carol felt like her very soul had been rung dry and it took her a long time before she had the strength to speak. "You still killed innocent people. Why? Why would you…?"
Khan's eyes glowed and his voice came out powerful, harsh, and wicked. "Because I was angry. Because I was inconsolable. Because I needed revenge. Starfleet had to hurt…to suffer…to bleed. Marcus needed to pay." His entire body was trembling, his teeth bared, his dark hair flung into disarray around his face. Part of Carol was filled with fear and desired nothing more than to run far away, but the other side of her nature told her to stay.
He was a murderer. He had killed innocent people. His acts of anger were more horrible and vile than words could ever express. And he could be tricking her. Manipulating her to win her pity. He could be a complete liar. The man who had raised her for the first ten years of her life could not possibly do all those horrible things. Alexander Marcus was hurtful - he had been very hurt himself - but he was not so cruel, insensitive, or rageful as to do the actions that Khan accused him of. Images were running at marathon speed through Carol's mind. Of birthday parties, bedtime stories, Christmas carols, nuzzles, her father smiling. Then images of fists against her face, bruises on her scalp, insults that sunk into her bones, blood rushing down her skin, burning pollen and petals. She tried to stand up so she could escape, hurry back to her warm bed, away from the lights and the noise and her father and the beautifully, sickeningly, viciously broken man before her. She needed to think, to breathe, and she felt her throat constricting as little black dots began to tease her vision. But then his voice rang sharp and bitter through the silence - and laced in his words Carol thought she could sense a tinge of regret and self-contempt.
"I am a villain."
And when he turned to her and she saw the fresh tears spilling from his shattered blue eyes and his shoulders heaving up and down as he quietly sobbed, she felt her heart splinter in two. As if her father was yet again personally attacking her. The man in the glass cell was so battered, so beaten and pitiful and powerfully pathetic. He was her. She could see herself in him. A ten year old girl setting the garden on fire. Watching the flowers explode in flames. The smell of pollen and petals. Watching the man who had denied being her father douse the fire, at the same time extinguishing her passion.
She took a deep breath and then she said the words that would seal her fate.
"Yes. But you are also a victim. Please Khan. Let me help you save your family."
His blue eyes glistened as a small smile spread across his lips.
"Why? Why should you help me, Dr. Wallace?"
"Because I am a victim too," she said in a whisper, her gaze falling to the ground. Then she locked her eyes onto his deep blue ones again. "Come here."
Khan's eyebrows furrowed in curiosity but he obeyed, walking slowly over to the glass of his chamber and carefully finding his way to the floor beside Carol. She gazed at him for a long time, taking in every inch of his body, from the top of his head to his porcelain neck down his long limbs to the tips of his feet. He watched her in silence as she pressed her forehead against the glass and gestured for him to do the same. Then, she gently and carefully raised a hand and began to stroke at his hair, a timid smile on her face. His breath caught in his throat and the warmth that filled him senseless made him believe that the glass had suddenly vanished and her fingers really were enwrapped in his hair. He relaxed against the glass and watched her fingers, feeling more at peace than he had felt in far too long. His gaze moved to her eyes, so sad and lonely.
"How have you been hurt?" he asked in a tone that greatly differed from his usually powerful, tremulous voice.
Carol's smile was small and incredibly forlorn. "I have also lost family."
She leaned forward until her nose was pressed against the glass. Khan could feel her warm breath radiate through it and soon his nose was pressed against it too, his innards wrenching with loneliness, desire, and lust. And suddenly, delightfully, Carol's lips were crashing against his as their breath tangoed, covering the glass with heat and steam and passion. He moaned in frustration at the barrier that separated them. He could practically taste her - roses and smoke. And then, she was gone in a wind of blushes and smiles.
So there you have it. Now for the fun to begin. I know the story has been starting off at a rather slow pace but never fear, things will start picking up from here.
As always, thank you for your continued support and wonderful reviews. Did you know that every time I get a review, Benedict Cumberbatch smiles? Well, he does, it is true...so...you know...you should review. :)
