Chapter Two: The Truth Behind The Velvet Man
"Captain EO, thank you so much for rescuing me. I thought I was going to die for a minute there," Renera said later on. At that moment, she was inside the Planet Express ship, which was being captained by Everstar Orion (aka "EO"). His hair was black and curly and he wore a white spacesuit. His spacesuit made him look like a dancer, so Renera respected him for that as well.
"It's no problem. I didn't want you to get hurt by those people. By the way, your raw and uncut albums are in the back of the ship," Captain EO replied. Renera thanked him and headed towards the back of the ship, her heels clicking against the floor. When she got to the back, she saw a hunched-over robot in front of a fridge.
"I need beer! Where's the beer?!" the robot shouted. Renera slowly stepped backwards, but her heel clicked too hard against the tile. The robot turned around and smiled when he saw her.
"Well, hey, there, little lady. You look good in your plastic belt," he said. Renera immediately tugged on her skirt, desperate to cover herself up. She knew her dress was short, but she didn't think it was that short. Did it really look like a plastic belt? She didn't know and would.
"Don't worry about it, Your Majesty. Your dress is fine. Bender here is a little bit of a pervert," a woman's voice came. Renera looked over and saw a Cyclops woman with a purple ponytail. She'd never seen a real Cyclops before, so she didn't know how to react.
"Shut up, Leela! I am NOT a pervert! I'm just good at checking out miniskirts!" Bender exclaimed and a midget elephant stumbled into the room. To Renera's surprise, he was holding a brown glass beer bottle.
"I found some extra beer in my bunk. You can have it," he said and handed Bender the beer. He immediately took it and downed the entire bottle on sight. Renera's eyes bugged out of her head at the sight of the alcoholic robot.
"What's-a-matter, Miniskirt? You've never seen a robot drink before?" Bender asked, nodding at the befuddled-looking queen.
"I-it's not that. Well, I've never seen that before, but…," Renera stammered out. What the hell is wrong with me? I never stammer! I'm a Zoidella; we don't stammer!
"Look, just stay away from him, okay? Hang out with me instead. I won't check out your miniskirt," Leela told her, taking her into the main meeting room on the ship. When Renera walked inside, she saw a young man slumped over the large round table.
"Just stay in here, okay? Fry will keep you busy," Leela said and left the room immediately. The minute she was gone, Fry lifted his head from the table.
"Is she gone?" he asked and Renera nodded at him. Fry stood up from the table and immediately walked over to a nearby cabinet. It was covered in psychedelic colors and it practically burned Renera's eyes out.
"Sorry about the colors. Bender painted it after he got high on stuff," Fry apologized.
"Don't worry about it, Fry; I love the colors. I've never seen a multicolored cabinet before," Renera told him.
"What's going on in here, guys?" Bender's loud voice suddenly came. Tugging down on her skirt, Renera slowly turned around. Sure enough, the beer-guzzling robot was standing in the doorway.
"Nothing much. I was just going to show her my old cassette tapes," Fry explained. He opened the cabinet and Renera gasped at the shelves. Each shelf was lined with a row of black cassette tapes. Renera's father owned a collection of tapes, but they weren't in order. Fry, on the other hand, had neatly organized his own set.
"Who would you like to listen to?" Fry asked, gesturing towards the shelves. Renera carefully scanned the shelves for a good selection. C. Richard, one label read. The Band That's Named After The Dog From the Wizard Movie, another label read. But Renera couldn't take her eyes off of the first label. C. Richard…
"I know that name from somewhere. Who's that guy?" she asked, pulling out the tape. Fry took a look at the label and smiled at her.
"He's a British singer who kind of disappeared. I have a lot of favorites from him. 'Evil Woman' is my definite favorite," he said.
"I knew 'C. Richard' sounded familiar! Can I listen to that song?" Renera questioned and he nodded at her. He took the tape from her gloved hand and put it into a tape player. The player whirred and then the track began to play.
"She's just an evil woman with malice in her mind. Beware the evil woman! She'll really nab you in the 'hind!" a lilting British voice sang. Renera gasped in horror and turned off the tape player.
"It was him, it was him! I know it now!" she exclaimed, reeling back from the player.
"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense," Fry said to her.
"There was this guy who came to my planet before. He sang that song and brainwashed my people into turning against me. That voice, it belongs to C. Richard!" Renera exclaimed.
"That's terrible! He can't do that!" Fry exclaimed, putting the tape back into its respective plastic case.
"Hey-hey, what can I do, huh? I just fled my planet because of that man. There's nothing I can do about him," Renera said.
"Actually, the captain's going to help you out with that," Fry told her. Renera looked at him in confusion, unable to comprehend his words.
"How is he going to help me out?" she questioned, cocking her head to the side. Was Captain EO going to take her somewhere?
"He wants to take you to the Cosmos, a place that's ruled by an all-powerful ruler," Fry explained. All of a sudden, the doors slid open and Bender appeared in the entrance.
"Hey, Miniskirt! We've finally reached the skimpy Cosmos planet! Can't wait to see your pretty little panties!" Bender shouted, leering at her. The minute he said those words, Renera's temper started to flare. She was the official queen of Groove 75, a blood relative in the Zoidella royal family. She would not stand for the robot's lewd remarks. She was royalty and she still had her dignity intact.
"Listen up here, you perverted machine," Renera said in a dangerously low voice. Fry reached out to pull her back, but then he thought better of it and decided to duck behind the psychedelic cabinet.
"You don't get to make lewd remarks about me. I'm not a prostitute and I'm certainly not a stripper girl. I am a dignified and worthy queen and I will not stand for your perverted comments. Do you understand me, Bender?" she stated, folding her arms over her chest.
"Um…yes'm, Your Majesty," Bender meekly said to her. Fry stared at him in shock and awe. For once in his life, Bender was actually being sincere. He was actually taking the queen seriously! Renera seemed to notice this too, so she was feeling pretty proud of herself.
"Thank you, Bender. That's all I ask of you," she finally concluded. Bender nodded solemnly at her and meekly left the meeting room. The doors slid shut and Fry immediately came out of his hiding place.
"All right, then. Let's get ready for our meeting with the planet's ruler," Renera declared and Fry nodded in agreement. They then proceeded to leave the meeting room.
…
"The Cosmos is such a lovely planet," Renera said as she walked along the shores of the Cosmos. She really did admire the planet itself. The land was clean, the sun was bright, and the ocean was glistening. It was practically a utopian planet already.
"It's all thanks to EO here, of course. He came here and he turned the Supreme Leader into a wonderful woman. She used to be bossy, but then EO turned her into a magical fairy princess," Bender explained.
"She is not a magical fairy princess and she is still pretty bossy. Well, she's gotten better since then, but still. She looks like an evil queen, but she's beautiful now," EO told him.
"But I saw that film that was based on your adventure. Didn't she become a sparkling queen?" Renera innocently questioned.
"Actually, that's the one part that the director got wrong. But they did do a great job with the casting," EO replied.
"Oh, please. You just like the fact that they chose that Michael guy to play you," Fry said. Honestly, Renera did see the connection between EO and the Michael guy. They kind of looked alike and they were both very handsome in physique. Renera didn't have a crush on EO, but she still thought that he was extremely beautiful.
"So tell me about the Supreme Leader. What's she like?" Renera asked, casting a glance in EO's direction.
"Well, as you already know, she used to be an evil queen. But she worked on herself and she became a nicer person over time. She cleaned up the planet all by herself. Because of her kindness, she became a lovely and beautiful woman. You'll get to see her today," EO told her.
"EO! Miniskirt! Does she live there?" Bender shouted. Renera immediately looked up and gasped. A super-large palace loomed over the petite and slender queen. It was absolutely marvelous and a prospering garden sat nearby.
"Excuse me. Can I help you with something?" a sultry female voice suddenly came. Renera turned around and saw a woman standing in front of her. The woman was tall and statuesque and she was wearing a sparkly black gown. Her long black hair ran down her back and her face was perfectly even and symmetrical. I've never seen such a beautiful sight, Renera silently mused.
"Hello, Karlana. It's been a while," EO said, breaking the silence. The woman named Karlana gasped at his voice. I wonder if they were lovers at some point, Renera thought to herself.
"Everstar! How have you been? I've missed you," Karlana replied with a smile on her face. She went over and wrapped her arms around EO, inciting gasps from Bender and Fry.
"Oh, and who is this young lady?" she asked, walking over to the awkward young girl. Gaining her composure, Renera rolled back her shoulders and stood up tall.
"I am Queen Renera Zoidella of the planet Groove 75. My planet has been taken over by an evil force. Captain EO said that you could help me find a solution," Renera explained.
"Well, he's a very wise man for saying those things. Of course I can help you find a solution. Let's go into my palace, shall we?" Karlana said and Renera nodded at her. They then proceeded to go inside.
…..
"Karlana's a beautiful woman, isn't she?" EO said as they entered the palace foyer together.
"She is very lovely, yes. Um…were you two ever lovers?" Renera asked him, hoping that she would be answered. Thankfully, EO was very open to her question.
"Yeah, but it wasn't easy being her boyfriend. She was constantly being courted by different kinds of men. Some were clean cut, some were hairy, and some were sleazy. Karlana didn't want anything to do with them, so she asked me to turn them down. It wasn't easy saying no to the suitors," he responded.
"Being a boyfriend is never easy. When you're in love with a beautiful woman, it gets hard," Renera said.
"Would Her Majesty like something to eat?" a timid girl's voice suddenly asked. Renera looked over and saw a petite young girl standing before her. She was carrying a tray of samosas, which were piping hot and fresh from the oven.
"Sure, I'll take one. Thank you," Renera replied, gracefully accepting a samosa.
"You're very welcome, Your Majesty. If you want any more, just call for Vannala, okay?" the girl said.
"Okay," Renera said and Vannala turned and walked away. Karlana then came back, a gigantic textbook in her hands. Her black hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail and she wore black plastic glasses over her dark-colored eyes.
"Your Majesty, I've been looking into this book for some answers. Here is the page that contains pictures of criminal overlords. Do any of them look familiar to you?" she asked and Renera carefully took the book from her. She scanned the page until her eyes finally landed upon a picture in the corner.
"That's him right there. Who is he?" Renera said, pointing at the photograph. Karlana peered over her shoulder and took a look at Renera's selected picture. The picture showed a young man with brown hair. His hair stopped at the bottom of his earlobes and his face was wrinkle-free. The young man was beautiful in every aspect and he appeared to be physically flawless. His smile was lovely and endearing, but it chilled Renera to her very core.
"That's the Velvet Man. He's pretty handsome, isn't he? Believe it or not, he's actually 75 years old in that picture," Karlana stated.
'He's 75 YEARS OLD in this photo?!" Renera choked out. Karlana nodded and took the book back from the young queen.
"You know, the Velvet Man wasn't always evil," she said. Renera looked at her in confusion, her curiosity quickly returning. Karlana smiled at her curious face and took a seat on a nearby chair.
"I can see you're confused about his origins. Well, let me tell you a little story. It goes like this…," she began.
The Origins of the Velvet Man (Karlana's POV)
Right now, you know the Velvet Man as a ruthless dictator. But he wasn't always like that. In fact, he was the total opposite of what he is today.
Back in the day, the Velvet Man was an extremely successful singer. His real name was Cliff and he had a melodious voice and a wonderful singing talent. I loved listening to his records when I was your age, Your Majesty. My parents had a whole collection that was dedicated entirely to his songs. I would steal a record from the collection whenever I got the chance.
Well, 2015 came around and Cliff wasn't singing much anymore. It wasn't so surprising, though; he WAS 75 years old by then. I was disappointed, but I still had the working music records from him. But then came THAT DAY.
I was working in my garden when Vannala came running up to me. She was holding my CD copy of 'I'm A Hero', which was made by Cliff himself. To my confusion, she was crying her eyes out. Tears were running down her cheeks and she was shaking the CD.
"Your Majesty…Cliff died earlier today," Vannala tearfully said. Like me, she was also a fan of Cliff and his music. She had a printout of his picture above her bed and she also collected his soundtracks as well.
"Are you okay?" I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sniffling one last time, she nodded and sullenly walked away from me. Gathering up my gardening supplies, I turned to follow her inside.
…
When I got inside, Vannala decided to show me the death article. Once it was loaded, she left me alone to quietly skim through the paragraphs. But then I saw something that looked strange to me. Cliff's body looked unreal and…kind of fake. To be honest, his body resembled a mannequin from an Earthling department store. Letting my curiosity get the best of me, I went onto Google and searched for things. That was where I managed to locate Cliff on Earth.
It turned out that Cliff was very much alive and well, which was very nice to see. Unfortunately, he had experienced a midlife crisis and had decided to do something about it. Frazzled about his aging state, he decided to talk to a shady salesman named Mr. Mauve. Mr. Mauve is a damaged Earthling who doesn't play by the right set of rules at all. It's kind of odd, considering he's the bearded guy who sang that song about Pooh Corner. Well, during their meeting, Mr. Mauve sold Cliff a questionable potion. He was very vague about the side effects; he only said that it would make his dreams come true. So Cliff went home and immediately downed the contents of the bottle. As soon as he did that, everything about him immediately changed. His youth was restored and his handsome looks returned to him. Cliff felt like he could do anything that he wanted to do. He considered returning to his performing career, but decided against it. Instead, he decided to do the unthinkable. He decided to take over a random planet.
End Flashback (End of Karlana's POV)
"Now here we are today, dealing with this problem. I'm sorry to hear that it was your planet, Your Majesty," Karlana said, clasping her hands together. Renera stood there in stunned silence, unable to say anything at all. A famous Earthling singer was responsible for her planet's takeover. What could she do about that?
"What can we do to expel him from Groove 75? He took over my planet and he brainwashed my people. I don't know what to do about him," Renera finally said. All of a sudden, Vannala burst into the room, a panicked look on her face.
"Your Majesty, there is a pirate ship outside our castle. The captain came out and specifically asked for Queen Renera Zoidella. Can you send him away?" she said.
"Oh, that's Captain Hook. Don't worry about him, Vannala. He's a total softie. Plus, he's not even a pirate captain anymore. He's a doctor now and I go to see him every year for a checkup," Renera told her.
"You go to someone who calls himself Dr. Hook?" EO asked her, raising an eyebrow in total confusion.
"Hey, he's a changed man and he doesn't swash and buckle anymore. That's something, isn't it? Now let's go and see what he wants right now," Renera stated. They then proceeded to walk out the castle.