Chapter 9 - Liar
Alana had relaxed to the extent that she now lay on the couch (shoes off, of course). She had listened to this hateful woman talk for the last several hours, and had concluded that perhaps she wasn't that way for no reason.
Not that it makes it right, she thought.
Mitsuko had told the child how she had been born in wartime Japan, in a city called Nagasaki. It had been fortunate that she and her mother had been away in the country when the atomic bomb was dropped. They had lost everything, including their home and the rest of their family.
It had been hard growing up in Occupation Japan - very hard. Her mother was a menial laborer; Mitsuko studied hard in school and taught herself rudimentary English. Finally, she caught the eye of an American corporal, who put her to work in his office. She used the opportunity to gain a layer of sophistication and to improve her English.
Alana remained quiet, listening intently. I wonder why site's telling me all this. I'll bet B-ko hasn't heard these stories, and she's the real granddaughter.
Mitsuko had lived and worked through the 'Sixties and 'Seventies - the Americans had long gone, of course, which was fine with her because she never lost her deep hatred of her nation's foe. It never occurred to her that America had entered the war in the first place because of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. She had made it a general practice in her life not to read anything about the United States or its people, if she could help it. It dragged up too many memories when she did.
Anyway, it hadn't mattered. She had met her husband, Hikaru Ataru Daitokuji, when she was a humble office worker in Tokyo. He had been a rich party boy; she had appealed to him because of her beauty and intelligence. She had represented courage and stability - two things he knew he lacked. Mitsuko hadn't only been pretty, but also hadn't been afraid to use her brains. Before long, she had found herself married into a wealthy industrialist family. It really had been amazing, looking back on it, since her own mother had died in poverty years before.
She had borne two children - Hikaru, who would grow up to take over the family business and become B-ko's father - and Shinobu, who would become a self-made fashion mogul. By the time her children had arrived on the scene, Mitsuko had become disillusioned with her marriage, learning the hard way that her husband was a philandering drunk.
If it hadn't been for her own money management and investment skills, he would have dissipated the family fortune single-handedly. Luckily, his wife had been nobody's fool and had ended up more or less running the Daitokuji zaibatsu in his absence. The man had finally died from alcoholism when Hikaru had been fourteen and Shinobu twelve.
Good deal, Mitsuko had thought at the time, and thought so now.
By that time her heart had been hardened, wrapped in a cocoon of old resentment. Since her children had resembled her late husband, she had resented them as well. She had also resented the time they took away from her business dealings.
Fortunately for her son, she had thought enough of him to put him under the tutelage of the Daitokuji Financial Group's premier executives, who taught him the rudiments of the trade he currently drove. Shinobu had chosen to go first to art school, and then fashion school. Finishing neither, she had drifted aimlessly from one marriage to another, acquiring assets along the way. Not that she needed them - her own inheritance and the money she earned from her New York-based fashion business had made her life quite comfortable.
And since Mitsuko had more or less forgotten how to love, she had no qualms about letting her adult children know what she thought of their every move. Much to everyone's mutual misery, this habit had continued unabated throughout the years.
She now paused in her saga, looking at the young girl whose slanted eyes gazed steadily into hers. "Now. Tell me about yourself, Miss Martha Kent."
Alana sat up, running her hand through her hair, fighting the urge to look at her palm to see if she had carried away a black streak. "Nothing much to tell, Ma'am. I grew up in a small town in Nebraska - it's very flat there - and came here after my parents died."
"Hem," the old woman said, crossing her arms. "And what did they die of?"
"A - car accident. Both of them together. It was - "
"Liar."
"What?"
"Liar, I said. Do you understand the meaning of the word?"
Alana's eyes grew huge.
Please Great Mother oh please don't let me cry oh please -
"What do you mean?" she bluffed, raising her chin and trying her best to return the woman's relentless stare.
The old woman stood, then chuckled. "Come over here, child."
Alana got off the couch and the two of them walked over to the library table, where a stack of what looked like tabloid magazines were heaped in profusion.
"I told you that I read the National Enquirer, girl. I told you young ladies not three hours ago that I didn't miss a single issue."
In spite of herself, Alana gulped.
"Sit down. Look at these." The dowager grabbed a stack of magazines and shoved them across the table so that they fanned out in front of her.
"Oh," the Cygnette whispered.
"I've read them all," Mitsuko continued, rifling through them with one hand. "Every single one of them." Her forefinger beat an impatient tattoo on the top of the stack. "And so - get busy."
Alana sighed, and began to pick them up one by one, skimming their huge black banner headlines:
World in Wonder - Alien Visit Staggers Earth Residents
Women from Another World Defeated EDF Men - Zuma under Fire
She-males from Space? Old Amazon Legends Recalled
Alien Cap Explains - International Space Station Chief forgot Rules of Engagement
Alien Cap Pleads with UN for Earth Aid
Aliens Reopen Ship in Multimillion Dollar Deal
Out of this World - Exclusive Virtual Tour of the Spaceship Hotel!
"We have Nothing Insidious Planned," Insists Napi - Earthlings Question Alien Motives
Alien Cap Collapses at EDF Shindig - Flu Bug or Booze?
A Quick Trip! - Daitokuii Plot Flops
EDF Head Slapped for Spaceship Fiasco
Twelve Thousand Women! GravCity Gals Fear Second Alien Invasion
Napi Drunk and Disorderly? Aliens Deny Rumors
Down But Not Out: Alien Hotel to Reopen
Spaceship Hotel Destroyed; Napolipolita Feared Dead
Alien Ship Plunges into Bay-Tidal Wave Swamps GravCity
Daitokuji Heir Blamed for Wreck - "It Was A-ko's Fault!"
Cygnans Return for Princess
Cap Napi's Secret Life: Alien Leader Arrested
Alien Ex-Captain sued by GravCity Bigwigs
Napi Turns Bistro into Shooting Gallery
Clean and sober? Napi to Enter Rehab
Alien's Life on the Streets: Exclusive Interview with GravCity Bartender
Alien-DFG Alliance Announced - Strictly Business?
The Odd Couple? Exclusive Photos!
The Odd Couple's Vacation Getaway in Tahiti - Exclusive Photos!
Napi's Battle with Kirlian Leader!
Why Alien Became Boozer - Her Untold Life Story
Hikaru, Say it Isn't So!
GravCity Gals in Shock over Daitokuii Engagement
Daitokuji Daughter in Anguish - Her Personal Story
GravCity is RumorCity - Daitokuji Gay, Sister Says
I remember that one, Alana thought. Daddy sued their butts and won.
Wedding of the Century! Exclusive Photo Section!
Great Expectations!
Napi to Model Maternity Duds for Vogue
Billion Dollar Baby - Exclusive Photos!
Alana's eyes began to blur with suppressed tears as she flipped through the cheap chronicles of her mother's life.
Oh. So there it was -
Reunited! Napi and Kids Together at Last
Before her was a full-page color photo of her mother, her sisters, and herself. She'd never seen it. It was a pretty good photograph.
The old woman sat back, staring daggers at the Cygnan girl. "What I want to know is why you tried to deceive me. I want an answer and I want it now."
"Very well," Alana sighed, lifting her chin. "We knew that you'd never let one of - us - come. We knew how you felt about our mother."
The dowager smiled.
"You know, it isn't fair how you treat her. And it isn't right that you make your son feel so bad. You're like - well - a mother who wants to destroy her own kids!"
Mitsuko gasped, not believing her ears.
"My grandma Napolipolita was killed when my mother was a kid, and she thought you would - well, sort of be a mother to her. Instead, you and your rotten daughter have done nothing but pick at her. It's not her fault that these stupid articles were written. They never even talked to her about any of them. They were lies, too. My mama was sick, not bad. Everyone knows that. She saw her mom and three hundred crewmembers get murdered by the Kirlians. I think she went a little crazy. But we love her anyway and always will."
"Do go on - Martha Kent," the old woman said, continuing to stare at the alien child.
"Your son loves you. I know he does. I think Biko does too, but she's afraid of you. You go out of your way to make them feel miser able. I don't understand. It's not their fault either that your husband and you had problems."
Mitsuko still stared.
Alana took a deep breath, dropping her eyes and rifling through the stack of tabloids. "What I'm trying to say is that I wanted you to love us. I wanted you to love - me. And I thought that if you liked me as a Terran, you might like me as a Cygnan. Unfortunately, my plan backfired."
Silence.
"I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll have Mama send the limousine, and we can leave as soon as Biko comes back. I'll wait outside. And thank you for the tea and stories, Ma'am. I loved listening to them."
Mitsuko began to chuckle. Her chuckle grew into a laugh, and then into a full-blown Daitokuji cackle.
So that's where they get it! Alana thought.
"Girl, if you aren't a feisty one!" she exclaimed, out of breath. "Hoo boo. My God!"
Alana stood motionless. She had no idea what would happen next.
Please Cybele get me out of this!
"Everything you said is true. That doesn't give you leave to say it, of course. Perhaps you aliens are raised to show no respect to your elders. But even if you are, I can't fault you for it. In fact, I can't fault you for it even under our own standards. Hah. You-are-a-feisty-one, girl."
I wish I knew what feisty was, Alana thought frantically.
"Are you in the mood for more stories?"
The Cygnette's jaw dropped.
"Cat got your tongue?"
Now what does that mean? she thought once again.
"Sit on down - what's your name, girl?"
"Alana." She returned the woman's steady gaze.
"Heh," Mitsuko chuckled. "Martha Kent is Superman's mother in the funny books, girl. I'm not stupid, you know. Do you want a story or not?"
Smiling a little, Alana walked back over to the couch, and kicked off her shoes. She swung her legs up and put her head on the pillow. "Yes. Please," she replied, wiping her eyes.
"Here," the old woman said, tossing her a pillow with a corduroy cover. "Use this one. I don't want that black stuff rubbing off on my fine damask cushion."
Alana put it behind her head.
"You're a pretty little thing," she said solemnly. "Are you a good girl? Do you mind your mother and do your lessons in school?"
"Yes, Ma'am. And I want to be a soldier when I grow up."
"Like your mother?"
"Yes. Just like her."
"Now," the dowager began. "I promised you a story. And here it is." The old woman sat back in her chair. "I'm going to tell you about a little girl who wanted to go to the Moon - "
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As soon as her mother landed her plane, A-ko and her friend C-ko jumped out even before she shut off the engine. They had planned on doing a bit of exploring before their Amazon transport arrived to pick them up. But sadly these hopes were all too soon dashed. The reason for this was because after one look at the barren rock on which they landed, both girls realized this was no tropical island paradise they read about or seen on their videos. It was just a barren rock lying in the middle of the ocean.
As A-ko's father and mother were busy unpacking the plane, C-ko remarked, "Where are the palm trees and the coconuts and all the birds?"
"Only things I can see are rock, sand, and a hundred thousand years of bird crap," replied A-ko.
As C-ko and A-ko were getting over their disappointment, A-ko's mother was willing her jet (A gift from a grateful alien race) to shrink back into a ball no larger than a compact. When she finished, she handed it over to A-ko's father and told him, "I won't be needing this where I'm going."
"You sure?" he asked.
"I'll fly back under my own power; it will be quicker."
They held each other in their arms, not saying anything at first. Then it was A-ko's mother who managed to speak. "Going to miss me?"
"Do you have to ask?"
They were about to kiss but were interrupted by the giggling of the two young friends as they looked on. But were stopped dead in their observations by A-ko's father who ordered the both of them to turn around. They did as they were told, but it didn't stop the two of them carrying on, or C-ko remarking, "Your parents are cute when they neck!"
A-ko answered by kicking her friend in the shins.
But instead of doing what she usually did under such circumstances, mainly whining and crying, C-ko responded in a like manner as the two friends gazed at the sea, laughing and occasionally kicking one another.
Ignoring the girls for a moment, A-ko's parents continued saying their goodbyes. "What are you planning to do with yourself for the next three days? Playing the happy bachelor?"
"I have some work in the fortress I have been putting off for far too long. So I guess I will just hang out there and sulk, waiting for you to come back to me."
"You'd better!" she answered.
As they clung to one another A-ko's father whispered into his wife's ear, "Please - for once in your life - promise me you will at least try to be careful."
In turn she answered his plea, "She is still my mother and I will always think of them as my Sisters. When all is said and done, I still think of them as my family."
"Not according to them," he warned.
She thought for a moment; then, letting the matter drop, gave her love a passion-filled kiss. This also presented an opportunity for both A-ko and C-ko to sneak a peek.
"Turn around, you two," warned A-ko's father.
As they did as they were ordered, A-ko's mother Diana told her husband, "They have to learn somewhere."
"NOT NOW, and NOT BY ME," answered Clark as he went back to kissing his wife.
When they finished he asked her with a big grin, "If you won't or can't promise me to be careful, then promise me you will at least think about me before you go to sleep tonight?"
"I can't make that promise, my love."
"Why not?" he asked, suddenly hurt.
"Because," she answered with a smile. "if I were to think about you before going to bed, I would never be able to get to sleep!"
They were sharing one last embrace when a sudden mist began to roll in. Diana moved to the water's edge and told her daughter, "Go say goodbye to your father."
A-ko rushed off and hugged her father, who knelt down and kissed her. When he finished he told her, "Remember Punkin' - respect your grandmother and your elders, but do nothing that makes you feel uncomfortable, no matter what anyone tells you. Look after C-ko and try to have some fun."
"I promise, Papa."
"Now go to your mother. I want to talk to C-ko alone."
As soon as A-ko left, C-ko came over and hugged Mr. Magami, and was hugged back in turn. "Do you remember everything we talked about?" asked A-ko's father.
In response, C-ko smiled and used her thumb to pull out the chain from around her neck to show him that she had remembered to wear it. "I remember everything, Mr. Kent. I'm sure Martha and I will have a lot of fun together."
"Good girl! I knew I could count on you," he replied.
Together they walked to the water's edge hand in hand, and waited next to A-ko and her mother. The two girls saw nothing but the mist that kept rolling in toward the shore.
Then - as if by magic - out of it came a low-slung vessel of ancient design. It had a large center mast and two banks of oars, with twelve on each side and with two rowers per oar. The rowers were all women.
They were dressed in short tunics and sandals laced high up their shins. Even though they were all sitting down, A-ko could see that they were all tall. Some were olive-skinned, some fair, and some even black. In addition to their different colored complexions, they also had different hair and eye colors. The one thing they all had in common were their well-developed bodies, with muscular arms, legs, and shoulders.
Besides the rowers, there were eight guards dressed in full armor and wearing crested helmets. They wore short swords at their hips, and carried long spears and shields. Standing at the bow was a exceptionally tall black woman dressed in golden armor. She carried no spear or shield, but had a long sword belted around her waist.
As soon as the boat came to shore, the rowers brought in their oars and waited for orders. Soon, the imposing figure at the front of the boat came ashore and stood before A-ko's mother. As she did so, A-ko heard her mother say to the tall woman in front of her, "It's good to see you again, Philippus."
A-ko saw no reaction - of either friendship or welcome - on the black woman's face; but neither did she see hate. That came later, when Philippus snapped her fingers and a group of women came ashore. They picked up all the luggage and carried it on board. A-ko saw the look of hurt and disappointment on her mother's face as her old friend and teacher showed her no sign of recognition.
There were other looks that A-ko recognized all too well. They came from the women who carried the luggage aboard ship, and the other women who waited there for them. A-ko saw a mixture of contempt and even hate in the faces of some of the crew and guards.
It upset her that it was directed at her mother. But what upset A-ko the most, and made her own blood boil, were the almost-universal looks of hatred aimed at her father. There were exceptions - mostly Philippus and the armed guards - who had refrained from glaring hatefully at her beloved father.
With C-ko in tow, A-ko climbed aboard the ship, her mother soon following after them. Both girls were waving goodbye to Mr. Magami when A-ko saw her mother suddenly leap back onshore and make her way to her husband. Then - in front of all of her one-time Sisters - Diana gave her husband, lover, and friend a long passionate kiss. When she finished, her husband quietly told her, "I think you are shocking your so-called family."
"Good!" she told him. "I hope they get a good look! I want them to see what they are all missing and, most important of all, just what you mean to me!"
With that, A-ko watched as her mother took to the sky, made a long loop, then slowly and gracefully settled down on the deck of the Amazon ship next to her. As the ship pulled from the shore and disappeared back into the strange mist once again, C-ko, A-ko, and her mother waved goodbye to the Man of Steel as he disappeared slowly from their sight.