Village, Spain - 1996
Heisenberg, at the age of 13, was running up the stairs of the Dimitrescu castle with one of Alcina's bottles of wine as she followed him with her huge claws, threatening to kill him as soon as she caught him. The boy hid below the stairs, holding back his laughter, when he felt a hand grab his arm, pulling him tightly.
"He's here, Mom!" said Bela Dimitrescu, as the boy tried to pull himself free.
"Thank you, my dear..." Alcina moved closer, taking the bottle from his hand, looking at him with disgust. "...impertinent creature! I'll tell Mother Miranda that you're causing trouble!"
"We should torture him, Mom...maybe then he'll learn a lesson!" Bela said, squeezing his cheeks hard.
"Hm, that would be interesting..." The stout woman reached down, sliding the tip of her claws across his chin and lifting to deliver an attack. "Let's see if you're even worthy of being her son…"
"ALCINA!" Miranda appeared in the room, carrying a basket of corn, causing the two women to immediately back away with a scream. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Mother Miranda...this boy was stealing our wine, I was just giving him a warn."
Miranda walked slowly over to Karl, who looked at her with an expression of fear. The woman stroked his long hair, with a warm smile. Alcina and Bela looked at each other in revolt, with pure jealousy of the little boy.
"Apologize to your sisters, Heisenberg! And promise you won't steal anything more."
He crossed his arms, with a frown, and looked at the tall woman, rolling his eyes. "Okay...I'm sorry...I won't steal your stuff anymore."
"Okay, come on, I'm going to need some help cleaning those ears of corn." Miranda cast a menacing glance at both of them, taking Karl's hand and walking away from the castle.
Miranda walked with him into the ruins, past the sleeping Lycans. The few torches that hung on the walls lit the way, and the night was warm and silent. The boy jumped from rock to rock, balancing on each one and jumping on top of a larger rock, when the woman called out to him from the doorway, signaling with her left hand. Karl ran up to her, tucking his hair behind his ears, following her into the kitchen.
"Hmhm, no shoes in here." She pointed outside and he immediately removed it, leaving it outside and locking the door. "Fill that pot with water and put it on the fire."
"I thought there was no more corn!" he ran to the counter and raised his hands, lifting the pot in the air and bringing it to the faucet. "Where did you find it, Mom?"
"A kind farmer gave us some..." she went about removing the cobs from the basket, placing them on the old wooden table, sitting down.
"Everyone is nice to you... I just don't know why the other children don't want to play with me..." he said in a sad tone, taking the pot to the fire.
"..." Miranda looked at him, shaking her head. "They don't play with you?"
"No... they don't like me. They say I'm a monster."
"...Ah, Heisenberg..." She sighed, getting up and helping him light the fire with a torch on the wall. "They're just jealous of you, you know, no kid has the gift you have."
"Why?"
"Well..." she finished, looking thoughtfully as the fire consumed the wood. "...You like Mom's powers, don't you?"
Karl nodded, paying attention to what the woman was saying.
"So, this gift you have, it came from me...because you are my son, wouldn't it be strange if you didn't have them?"
He nodded again, silently.
"There you go...I'm going to tell you a secret, promise to keep it?" She held his hands, smiling.
"Secret? I'll keep it! I promise, I promise yes!" He replied, excited.
The woman laughed, touching his face affectionately.
"At first, no one liked my powers, they even wanted to lock me away, but mommy showed that her powers weren't evil, so...one day, everyone accepted me for who I am." she paused, closing the oven door. "What I mean is that it will take them a while to understand how special you are...and if one day they want to do you any harm, I'll be around to protect you, okay?"
The boy lowered his gaze, looking sad.
"What's wrong, Karl?" she asked, stroking his hair.
"I just wanted to be normal...I-I like your powers! I really do! But...I feel too different, and my sisters don't seem to like me either. Did I do something wrong?"
"Karl... they're just not used to you running around, and we've talked about having manners in other people's houses, haven't we? Has Beneviento ever complained to you?"
"No, but she doesn't like me touching her dolls…"
"Would you like it if they messed with your things?"
"No, but…"
Miranda sighed, lifting his face.
"One day they'll like you, I promise, okay? Just like the kids in the village, just don't think about it too much."
Karl pulled her hand away slowly, going to lie down on the straw bed.
"Aren't you going to help me with the corn?
"I'm sleepy..."
Miranda frowned, rolling her eyes and sitting back down to clean the cobs, leaving him alone.
Village, Spain - 2001 - Beneviento's house
Beneviento was with Moreau, talking about the recent attacks by the residents, who were questioning some of Miranda's violent decisions. Moreau agreed with everything she was doing, while Beneviento was skeptical about certain choices. Heisenberg opened the door, showing off the coat and hat he received from her upon entering. They both stopped talking and looked at him disdainfully.
"Guess who gave it to me?" he said, smiling.
"Nobody cares!" Angie said, laughing.
"She never gave me anything..." Moreau said, lowering his gaze and fiddling with the satin ribbons that were on the table.
"Because you're not her favorite!" he replied, showing his tongue to tease him.
"I don't know how she likes you so much, you're insufferable." Beneviento said, while quietly sewing one of the dolls.
"Are you kidding me? I'm the nicest guy in this village!" He pulled up a chair, leaning his arms on the backrest and rocking himself. "What are you two whispering about?"
"You don't care, Karl. Get out of here!" Angie said, grabbing his hat and flying to the stairs.
"Oh, you..." he raised his hands and pulled a water pipe from within the walls, grabbing her. The doll screamed, enraging Beneviento.
"Let her go, Heisenberg!" She shouted, jabbing a needle into his arm, making Moreau laugh.
"OUCH! Son of a..." Karl lowered his arms, removing the needle with his mouth and spitting in the direction of the fish, poking his forehead.
"Aaah! Damn it!" He cried, trying to get the needle off his forehead.
The doll flew back, throwing the hat in the face of the man, who staggered back, grumbling. Seamstress and creature looked at him with fury, while Karl couldn't understand why they were so angry.
"Are you going to tell me or what?" he asked, spreading his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"...God..." Beneviento rolled her eyes, sighing. "We were talking about the villagers' uprising, Miranda is planning an attack to serve as a warning."
"She didn't tell me any of that..." Karl moved closer, putting his hat on his head.
"It's because you only stay in that factory now...another gift from her." Moreau replied, shaking his head.
"He's right, you haven't attended our meetings anymore...we're beginning to think you're just getting in our mother's way."
"That's not true!" He put his hands on the table, looking seriously at the two of them. "You know very well the reason I don't attend meetings anymore. Alcina always picks a fight with me, need I remind you of the scars on my face?" he pointed, furious.
"Whatever, look... if you want to know more go to her, she's in the ruins." Beneviento said, going back to sewing.
"...Right. See you guys another time."
Karl walked to the door, looking over his right shoulder, deep down he wanted to have some polite and normal conversation with his brothers, but it seemed no one wanted him around. So he simply left, without saying anything else.
"I don't understand how she likes him..." Moreau said, whispering.
"Well, his powers are better than ours, brother. In a battle, she has more advantage with him by her side...and Alcina, but Miranda would never put the two of them together." Beneviento said, looking at the mess Karl had done to the wall.
Miranda was watching the villagers gathering at the highest part of the ruins, she needed to think of a quick strategy before she could lose one of her creatures, or her Eve. She was startled to hear Karl's voice in the distance, turning around abruptly.
"Mom...sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" Heisenberg approached, getting down on one knee.
"You know I hate being spoken to without an appointment." she said coldly. The boy felt a chill in her tone, swallowing dryly.
"S-Sorry, Mom... it's just... my brothers told me that you needed a plan to stop the residents' protest."
"Yes... who of them told you?"
"Beneviento and Moreau. They were both at her house." Karl held his hat in the wind, looking at her.
"I will talk to them later, I will not tolerate them talking about our meeting matters off the clock." She held up her left hand, signaling for him to stand up.
"I..." Karl stood up, shaking his head. "You don't have to, Mom...it's okay."
"Are you contradicting me?"
"No! No, never..." he replied, his voice shaky for a few seconds. "I came here because...I thought you wanted my help. You know, with the residents…"
She lowered her arm, raising an eyebrow.
"Go ahead."
"Well...I-it was on the way here..." he looked at the assembled villagers, watching them exchange weapons and ammunition. He smiled. "...do they have guns?"
"From the looks of it..." she turned, watching next to him.
"I can work something out. I can use their weapons against themselves." Karl said, looking at Miranda.
"...Heisenberg..." she said, in a sweet tone. "You fill me with pride, son." She touched his face, making the boy smile wider. "Come on, the sooner we end this mess, the more time we'll have to calm the village down."
The boy nodded, kissing the back of her hand and walking away from her, heading toward the village.
The men of the village were gathered together, while the women took care of their children at home. They gathered a considerable amount of ammunition, while a blacksmith sped up the production of swords and hammers. Suddenly everyone felt the ground shake and all the metal objects began to levitate and spin in circles in the air, when they saw Heisenberg approaching with his arms outstretched and his head bowed. The husbands and sons held their weaponry with trembling hands, while the women closed doors and windows and ducked behind walls. A tall, muscular man stood in front of everyone, pointing his gun at him.
"What are you doing here, demon?!" he shouted, aiming at Karl's face.
"Oh, I heard you guys are mad at Mom Miranda, I came here to see if it's true." He kept his head down, keeping the objects floating slowly.
"Yes, it is! This woman is crazy, she's killing all our livestock and destroying our crops! We're running out of food, and she's already killed three fathers of families who just wanted a little mercy!" One of the farmers shouted, pointing his gun at him as well.
"If you're out of food the incompetence is all on your shoulders! Mother Miranda has nothing to do with it!"
"LIAR!" The muscular man retorted. "YOU ARE TRYING TO ENSLAVE US!"
"All she wants is for you to be happy and blessed..." he raised his face. "...But all you do is complain."
"EITHER YOU GET OUT OF OUR WAY, OR WE'LL KILL YOU!"
"Wow, now you're starting to get violent? No wonder she's so mad at you!" He replied, laughing. "I'll give you a hint, big guy...you better get out of the way. In fact, you all better get out of her way, because if you start rebelling against her decisions you will suffer terrible karma! Friendly advice!"
One of the farmers shot toward his shoulder, who growled in pain, looking directly at the group.
Silence.
"...Who did that?"
No one answered.
Karl then moved closer, ignoring the pain of the bullet and levitating more objects, causing the men to slowly move away but still keeping him in their sights.
"You are an ungrateful bunch of bitches... she saved you all from a horrible disease, and what do you do? You complain and complain...and complain!" He launched an iron bar that went right through the body of the muscular man, who fell to the ground instantly. The group turned their full attention to Karl, who started shooting, while the man made a shield out of a metal plate.
The shooting lasted a few seconds until Heisenberg lowered the shield with a hateful expression. "Since that's the way it is..."
And before they could open fire again, Karl removed with just a flick of his hands all the weapons from the men's possession, causing them to retreat screaming. He then turned his fist and closed, opening fire and shooting everyone who was trying to run and hide, taking them down one by one, dead on the spot. He raised his other arm, throwing the objects at the houses, causing the glass to shatter and the roofs to crack, forming fires and total chaos in the village. Miranda watched from above, with a smile on her face as she saw her perfect weapon in action.
Karl appeared in the meeting room, stomping slowly with his face and dirty clothes, after the attack on the village. He spotted Alcina, Moreau, and Beneviento sitting in the pews of the old church, with Miranda in the center with her arms outstretched, and Lycans began to shout as if they were celebrating. Alcina rolled her eyes, letting out cigarette smoke between her lips; Heisenberg walked over to Miranda, kneeling before her, who filled a golden cup with clear water and poured it over his head. The brothers watched in silence, feeling deep anger at the man.
"My son... you have made family history today!" the woman said, with a smile on her face.
Suddenly Heisenberg opened his eyes and looked around, Ethan was standing in front of him, splashing water from the garden hose in his face. He coughed, shielding himself with his arms and staring at him furiously.
"Ethan! What the fuck?" he spat water, getting up to grab the man by the neck, but by sheer bad luck Ethan dodged and he fell face-first into the ground. "...SON OF A BITCH! ARGH!" He bent down, covering his nose with his hands.
"You're a guest, but that doesn't mean you won't help with the housework." Ethan replied, walking outside and returning to cleaning the sidewalk.
Karl raised his head and looked up at the ceiling, groaning in pain from the fall and completely soaked.
What a weird dream.