Untitled Runaways Project Chapter 4 (I don't own, nor did I create Runaways, the Skrulls, or any of the comic book-y pop culture items expressed in this fic. BKV and Alphona created Runaways, which is owned by Marvel. This chapter's a doozie, kids. Cancel all appointments and leave your day open. My longest yet.)
I woke up to find myself in a hospital bed. Instead of the black spacesuit I was wearing a white shirt and pants. To my surprise I was also wearing a bracelet similar to the medalert bracelet I used to wear on Earth. I tried to take it off, but it wouldn't break no matter how hard I pulled at it. A nurse entered my room carrying a tray of food. Like the rest of the room, she was dressed in white. Her face and hands emitted a soft yellow and orange glow.
"You know, that bracelet is for your own good. Without it, your body would simply waste energy, thus making your wounds heal slower or improperly," she said. She placed the tray at the bedside table and took out a small cube. It was similar to Xavin's travel log. It lit up and floated in front of me.
" It seems that you're almost completely healed. For the next few days, it will be a little difficult to walk on that leg, but the doctors are expecting full recovery." She took the floating cube away from me and put it in her pocket. "You know Ms Dean, you and that Skrull are considered heroes. A few days ago, a photograph of you flying the skrull and Prime Minister Etia out of the wreckage was all over the news. Of course, people are still talking about it. It's good to know that you're recovery is going well."
" I was out for more than a day? My head still hurts a bit, so I thought…" I looked over to my leg and I saw that it was still heavily bandaged. " Is everyone all right?"
" The skrull heir and his cohorts are next door. He is quite worried about you. His injuries are also healing well…I'll leave you to your breakfast. You need to regain your strength, so eat. If you need something, there's a switch on your bracelet. Just press it and we'll come." With that, she smiled faintly and left the room.
With little effort I was able to sit up and eat. I couldn't exactly tell what I was eating, but it didn't matter because I felt extremely hungry. I think it was a vegetable pie of some sort. I placed the tray back to the bedside table and tried my luck with standing. My left leg stung when I stood on it so I shifted most of my weight on my other leg and moved over to the window. The view was amazing. The sky was still a brilliant mix of colors. The surrounding buildings around the hospital were streamlined and floating from the ground. People were flying around by themselves while others were on what I assumed were mass transit vehicles.
" You look so human with that metal band on," a voice said behind me. I turned around and saw Xavin in her human female form.
" Look who's talking, 'young master!'" I replied. She smiled and walked over to the window.
" I thought we were going to enjoy this view together with no problems…now it seems that simply existing until the following day is a chore…" She said sadly.
" Don't worry about it too much. After all, we're both still breathing and all our limbs are naturally attached to our bodies," I said. I squeezed her shoulder gently and she stared at me.
"I didn't mean to offend you by calling you human…" She was muttering now. I was barely able to hear her. What was the heck was going on here? Why was she suddenly being so apologetic and depressing…?
"Hey, there's no need to say sorry! There was a time where all I wanted to do was be human. I wanted desperately to be like everyone else. I wanted it so badly, but when I couldn't be 'normal'…no matter what I did…I tried to kill myself…" Xavin let out a small gasp when she heard this.
" Karolina to me, being human is overrated. That is why I apologized…but if it is something you valued…but why? You are gorgeous. If times were better I think suitors would be lining up at your doorstep to ask for your hand. What was the problem?" she asked.
I sat by the windowsill and told her about Topher and my falling out with Nico. She stood silently over me the whole time I told her the story I would prefer to forget.
" Geez, compared to you, my life must seem like a waste or something… worrying about stupid things…trifles… " Great, now I was feeling pathetic. This cycle of anxieties has to stop before it ends miserably or something…
" No not at all, Karolina. Don't say anything like that…" She then leaned over and kissed me. Holy crap! For a few moments I was so stunned that I couldn't move. She broke away and looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face. "Am I doing something wrong…?"
"Oh, uh, no you aren't doing anything wrong. I was just surprised…" She seemed a bit sad at my comment, so I pulled her closer to me and I kissed her. My leg began to sting again. I ignored it at first, but the pain worsened. I broke the kiss and felt around the bandages in my leg. The bandages singed the tips of my fingers when I touched them.
" Xavin, I'm burning…" The pain felt worse. It felt as if the leg wanted to separate itself from the rest of my body.
" Well, it is a little warm in here," she said. I looked at her irritably. " No…my injury…I think its getting worse."
" I will find someone," she said. She stood up and began transforming into a skrull, but I grabbed her arm. "Please…just don't go yet," I pleaded to her. I didn't feel like being alone. I pressed the small button on the bracelet and Xavin helped me move toward the bed. We sat next to each other on the edge of the bed.
" I apologize for not being able to do anything about this," she said. I put my arms around her and said, " Being here with me is good enough. Let's agree to hate ourselves less, all right?" She held my hand and nodded.
The nurse and a tall man behind her entered the room. The only reason the man seemed taller than her was simply because he floated into the room. His head and hands glowed a blazing red and orange.
" Nurse, please tell the Skrull to leave the room. Even 'her' extremely attractive form cannot persuade me to allow 'her' to stay," he said. He sure was a cocky person. I could literally hear and feel the ego coming out of his words. The nurse looked over at Xavin and she nodded.
" I'll see you later, Karolina," Xavin said. She stood up and left. The man didn't say a word until the click of the door proved that Xavin was out of the room.
"So Ms. Dean, I take it you're feeling a slight burning sensation in your injury?" the man asked.
" Yes, but it now feels as if it was to leave my body or something…how did you know?" I asked. He chucked smugly and said: " I see the nurse here hasn't told you about me. I am the best healer on Majesdane. Appointed by Hyle Etia himself to take care of the personal needs of his attendants and anyone else he thinks needs aid. Zerion Niall at your service for now."
After his overdramatic entrance speech beams of light left his hands and wrapped around me. "Just relax Ms. Dean. This won't hurt at all," he said.
He concentrated the light beams to my injury. He lazily flicked his wrist backwards and the light around my leg disappeared. The bandages were also gone. As much as I would like to say otherwise, the process was painless.
" See, it's all gone now. You can start worshipping me, now. It turns out that you were already fully healed. The bandages gave you a little too much solar energy, which made you feel that stinging sensation. You won't be needing that anymore either," he pointed at the bracelet. The looked over at the nurse and she took it off from my wrist. I felt sorry for her. I wondered how she could deal with someone like that all day.
" Ah, you have a nice, healthy glow. I never liked those damn armlets. Like I say, if you've got it, flaunt it. Look at me for instance; walking is overrated." he said. He then left the room. The nursed looked over to me and whispered, "He's just like that." She walked quickly and chased after him.
I stood up and practiced walking around the room. I felt fine and decided to look for Xavin. When I left the room, there was a pair of guards in front of each room. There was a Majesdane guard by my door. I asked him he knew the location of Xavin's room. He pointed at the room on my right and then tipped his helmet in my direction. I thanked him and walked over to the room. The two skrull guards stared at me. One of them had a crooked smile.
" The young master is not here at the moment," the one with the smile said.
" Well, where is –" but before I could continue the sentence the Skrull lifted his finger and said, " Look harder." I glared at him, a little annoyed, and started to turn to go back to my room, but before I took a step someone grabbed me from behind. A hand covered my eyes and I felt an arm clutching my side.
" I was behind you the whole time, Karolina," a voice said. I immediately knew it was Xavin. " I'll always be behind you."
" Geez, you scared me," I said. I turned around and she became visible.
" That wasn't my intention, but its good to see that you're all right. The prime minister wants to hold a meeting to speak of the attacks," she said. We were walking down the hospital halls. For a hospital, there was very little going on. There were nurses and doctors moving from room to room, but everything was calm. It was nothing like ER or any of the other medical dramas on TV.
" What does he have to say about them?" I asked.
" I am not so sure. All I know is that the people behind the attacks are from a small faction here on Majesdane. It is a good thing that no one put the blame on my people," Xavin let out a small sigh and squeezed my hand. "We will have to stop at my uncle's room at get ready first. These hospital clothes are not proper." Xavin transformed to her male skrull form. Each time I see her transform I feel a little guilty. Does she really enjoy being a female or is it only because of me?
We turned at the end of the hall. I could hear yelling from one of the rooms. Without a doubt, it was Ewe. A Skrull guard bowed to Xavin and opened the door. If conditions were different, the scene would have been funny. Zerion Niall had Ewe restrained with the help of the nurse. Bright beams of light circled around Ewe, who was suspended upside down in midair. He was in his underwear. There were layers of bandages across his chest. It was clear that they needed to be changed.
"Don't you dare try to touch me you runt! Don't act high and mighty simply because you were chosen! I'll kill you if you touch me!" Ewe yelled.
" Look here ya freak, or whatever your name is. Lunging at me isn't helping the situation. Cooperate and I'll be gone soon enough," Zerion said. The pride in his voice was now gone. He and the nurse placed Ewe back in the bed and changed his bandages.
"Good thing you're here Xavin. This blasted doctor is a nuisance. Were you not able to find a Skrull medic for me?" At that moment Ewe winced when Zerion removed the last bandage with a little less care.
" Sorry Uncle, but I am here to get our extra uniforms. I take it Mineo has already left to be your proxy?" Xavin walked to the end of the room where there was a row of lockers. He took out two suits and gave one to me.
" That blasted woman is lucky. If she sat in my seat and I sat in hers, she would be the one being prodded by…him." Ewe's injuries looked extremely painful. Without the bandages I could see he had several deep gashes across his chest and torso. The skin around the cuts looked burnt and was flaking off. It was amazing that he seemed unbothered by it.
" All right, let's go Karolina. Uncle needs to rest," Xavin said smugly. He put his arm around me and led me out of the room. "There is nothing he hates more than feeling inadequate. Hah, I love it," Xavin whispered.
The prime minister's room was on the other side of the floor. We went back to my hospital room to change into our suits.
" You first, love. I'll wait here," Xavin said. He two a few steps back and had a small grin on his face. I smiled back and shut the door behind me. While dressing I thought of confronting Xavin about the gender issue. If having to change into a female will ruin the image I guess I could deal with it…
I finished putting on the black space suit and moved over to the door. I optioned not to open it just yet. " Um, Xavin is it okay if I talk to you for a little. In here, actually," I said.
" Of course, but I am not able to enter your room if the door is shut," he said. Feeling a bit dorky I let him in.
" I don't know what you feel about the gender thing, but if having to change yourself for me is a hassle…" I trailed off a little and he walked over to me. He transformed and said, " There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, Karolina. I love you and my façade as a male is just for my people. As much as I hate to acknowledge this, my uncle was right...for once."
She held me in an embrace and I kissed her. I felt that she wasn't expecting it, but it didn't matter. After a few moments we separated and I said, "I love you too." She chuckled and our foreheads met.
"As much as I would love for us to stay like this forever, we have a certain leader to meet with," she said. I nodded and left the room. The Majesdane guard by the door smiled and winked at me. I felt myself blush and started hoping that Xavin would quickly finish. After a while she finally emerged in the typical purple and black skrull uniform. She extended her arm to me and led us to where we needed to go. As we walked she changed into her male form and squeezed my arm gently.
" Won't be long now," he said. At the end of the hall there was a heavily guarded elevator. There were Skrull and Majesdane soldiers conversing with each other. Each guard was wielding a weapon of some sort but surprisingly it seemed they were sharing jokes. A Skrull guard noticed Xavin and commanded the other Skrulls to form ranks. Each bowed at our presence. A guard from each side led us into the room. In it there were seven masked people and Mineo. All of them were sitting silently. Geez, the silence made it seem as if they were all waiting for the end of the world.
A guard in the room led us to our their seats. A hoarse voice began to speak.
" Now that everyone is here I would like to begin by thanking Ms. Dean and the Skrull Prince for saving me," Etia said. He raised his hand and the other masked nodded silently in my direction. " I am still paralyzed from below the waist but Healer Niall expects that the effects of the attack will wear off within a few days."
He was breathing heavily now. After a few moments he regained his composure. " Two of the nine parliament members are still in critical condition. They have not improved since they were brought here. In the unfortunate event that they do not improve within the next week, they will have to be replaced…don't look so down folks, I'm almost done with the bad news."
" I have also decided to except Prince Xavin and General Fareek's proposal for the wedding ceremony. It will be in Tarnax VII after we have apprehended the remnants of the fanatic group responsible for the attacks on the Skrull battleship and the Center building. Does… anyone… have anything else to add?" he asked. He was rubbing his arms now. His was wearing his mask, but it wasn't hard to see that he was in pain.
" Mineo and I will lend our resources to the Majesdane government in finding this group. I am sure that with our combined efforts, we will find them and bring them to justice," Xavin said. Mineo nodded as well. "With our army and your government's intelligence there is no doubt they'll be routed," she added. I noticed that her right arm was trembling. It was clear that she was trying to hide it.
Etia ended the meeting and everyone began to leave the room. Zerion accompanied by a group of nurses helped the parliament members leave the room. Light filled the room as they surrounded the government members with their power. They were carried out and Xavin and I were left alone with Mineo.
" Are you going to keep that injury to yourself, Mineo?" Xavin asked.
" Nothing gets past my liege…the healers have their hands full dealing with my husband and the parliament members. I can handle this." Mineo stood up and walked to where Xavin was sitting. She whispered something into his ear and he smiled and said, "I was expecting it. I hold nothing against you." She patted him on the back and left the room.
" What was that about?" I asked.
" In the meeting a few days ago she purposely tried to embarrass us by asking about how I was able to convince you in coming with me. She claims that it was her way of testing me under pressure. Of course she was trying to ruin me…they all are…" He banged his fists on the table.
" Hey, let's just get out of here, okay?" I grabbed his arm and led him out of the room. The guards saluted us as we left.
" Look, dwelling on this isn't going to solve anything…I guess the best we can do is stay alert," I said.
" I know, but sometimes…lets just visit my uncle and see what he thinks about this group of fanatics…" Xavin let out a sigh and let go of my arm. " Actually, is it all right if speak with him alone?" he asked.
"Oh, sure," I answered, "I'll just wait in my room." We parted ways and I headed towards my room. The guard standing by the door looked a little nervous. "Is there a problem?"
" Well, Zerion Niall is in there and he is looking strange. I told him that he isn't allowed to go inside, but he forced himself in. I couldn't attack him because he is appointed by our leader. I could lose my job for that sort of thing!"
Yeah, you could also lose your job for not doing it.
" Why did he want to go there in the first place?"
" He said that he wishes to speak to you…he didn't say about what, though."
"All right then. Let's go in and see what he wants." The guard stiffened a little and said, " Let's, miss?"
"Well, yeah, you were the one that let him in. I guess its safe to say that you should also see him out." We entered the room together. Zerion was standing several yards away from us. Instead of seeing his blazing red and orange light, he emitted various shades of blue and green. His arms were folded and he leaned against the wall.
" Did you need something Zerion?" I asked. I was a little nervous because he seemed entirely different from the other times I've seen him.
" You're not with the Skrull heir. Strange, where is that gender bender?" He was pacing back and fourth across the room. He kept his eyes on the guard behind me.
" Xavin is speaking with General Ewe. He'll come back when he's done," I said. He stopped pacing when I said "General Ewe" and looked at me.
" Ms. Dean, I want you to know that everything I have done was for the sake of Majesdane. Healing you, taking care of the Skrulls, healing injuries of hundreds of strangers…it is all for my home. You, you've only been here for a few days. What do you know about our planet and our culture? Wearing our uniforms, pretending to be like us... I want to let you know that everything I do is for the sake of Majesdane. I'm sure you'll forgive me." He took out a pistol from his jacket. Before I could react the guard pushed me aside and tackled Zerion down.
" Have you lost your mind?" the guard yelled. They wrestled on the floor. The guard was able to get the pistol out of his hands. I grabbed it and yelled for help. I looked into the hall and saw Xavin with three skrull guards heading in my direction.
" What's the problem?" Xavin asked.
" I think Zerion tried to kill me," I answered. They entered the room and saw that the guard was able to subdue Zerion. He was no longer glowing. On his wrists there was a pair of metal handcuffs. With the cuffs on, he had pale skin and brown hair. There were bags under his eyes and he looked around the room with a complacent look on his face.
" Heh, just the 'man' I wanted to see," said Zerion. Xavin stepped past the Majesdane guard and grabbed Zerion by the collar of his shirt. " You will not address me unless I allow you to, scum"
" I liked you better when you were a girl," said Zerion. The Skrull guards gasped and the Majesdane guard took a step back. Flames grew around Xavin's arms and hands. " Say that again, vermin. I liked the way it sounded," Xavin said sharply. Zerion's coat caught fire and he began to cry.
"P-please, I'm gonna burn!" pleaded Zerion.
" That won't work. You tried to kill the only thing worth anything and now, yes, you will burn."
Young master, maybe we should spare him, for now. He may know the whereabouts of that group of lunatics, one of the Skrull guards said.
Xavin looked back and nodded. The flames disappeared and Zerion fell to his knees whimpering. " You're nothing but a crazy cut-throat like your father. You won't change anything!" Zerion said in a hoarse voice.
Xavin turned to him. I could see his arms getting bigger. Stones grew from the surface of his arms and he smacked Zerion across the room. Zerion was knocked out. More guards entered the room and carried Zerion away.
Xavin and I were left in the room. "Xavin, I –"
" Karolina, please, don't say anything for now. I just need some quiet…"
He sat down on the floor and I sat down next to him. I wrapped my arms around him and he squeezed my hand.
"Okay."