Defenders of the Earth: This Is Their Side Story
"I Know"
Earth B
"Duffy got a reading from Dimension P. She felt great distress in the Gordons there." Mandrake quivered, taking a breath. He hoped that nobody was terribly hurt — especially since it was all his fault.
"Dimension P..." Amy stated. "Isn't that the place where you banished Mom?"
He'd dreaded this discussion for most of the day, knowing how his daughter was going to react. "I thought I had managed to remove her power." He stroked his brow. "Now it appears I was wrong about that."
She glanced to the side, clearly distraught. "What is she doing?" she asked with a scowl.
"She's trying to conquer Earth P, it seems." He felt a deep shame. "I should have known to handle things differently."
"By that you mean that you should've killed her."
He flinched a little. What triggered that? "No," he muttered, clearing his throat. "I meant that I shouldn't have left her there." He paused to study the lovely girl, a child on the cusp of womanhood. Most people found her adorable, and there was no question of that right now. She wore a tank top over thin black pants, her hair bundled into a small half-up. She was the picture of cuteness and beauty — but there was something grimmer lurking deep within.
He had been searching for the cause of that. Most signs pointed to childhood. Amy was brought up without Cathleen. It seemed this salvation was also a vice. Her mother's absence was good for her, but it had created resentment too, an anger that Amy still fought to control.
Was she still resenting her father as well?
"I have to make it into Dimension P," Mandrake declared. "The portal will open in around two hours."
"That's kind of convenient," she said with suspicion.
"It actually isn't. Not at all. I'm afraid I know Cathleen quite well. She's hoping that I'll learn about what she's done, so she can try luring me there for revenge."
Two Hours Later
Just as he was heading toward a small spacecraft, Amy caught up and grabbed ahold of his arm.
"Remember your rule," she said with a grin. "Never take off before a drink of tea."
He chuckled a little, still feeling unhinged, then downed the small cup that she'd offered him.
Amy stared — quietly.
A few seconds later, he started to quiver. "What was in that?" he asked as he shook. The cup hit the floor. He did too.
"I can't let you go and confront that woman, not with the grudge that she has against you." Amy started moving toward the jet herself. "I'll do this."
He reached for her, too far away. Everything around him began to grow dark.
Earth P
Amy made her landing in a shady canyon. The area was fully devoid of life.
She felt her lips parting as she looked about. It was hard to fathom what had just occurred. She had made the journey to an alternate world, in a whole different reality.
There was little time to be stunned, however. She could sense now that she wasn't alone.
She opened the cockpit, and stepped outside.
"I noticed your presence several minutes ago."
Amy turned around toward the sound of the voice.
Her mother was there, covered in gold, her outfit not unlike Damian Dark's. "If Mandrake had come, I'd drag this out. With you, dear child, I'll make it quick. Then I'll rear you as you should have been reared." She launched a gold beam straight out of her hand.
Feeling no level of fear at all, Amy raised a palm, halting the shot, blocking it telekinetically. She whisked the projectile behind her back.
Gritting her teeth, Cathleen unleashed an assault with both hands.
Amy responded with each hand too, using twin shields to stop the attack.
The energy burrowed continuously, threatening to break her defenses down.
Amy started shaking. Her heels slid back.
Finally, the assault got through, knocking her down as it struck her waist. The blast sent a jolt all throughout her frame, maybe the hardest she'd ever felt.
Amy twitched a little, struggling to rise. It was clear her mom had increased her strength. She couldn't stand another impact like that.
Cathleen fired, wasting no time, shooting with both of her hands again.
Lifting her palms, Amy summoned all of the might she had, whipping the beams in an upward arch, and hurling them directly behind Cathleen. The shots hit a mountain. Boulders fell.
Cathleen managed to rush aside, dodging the rubble as it struck the ground. She looked surprised as the boulders rose, hanging in the air for a couple of seconds, before they went following after her.
She stared in shock.
The rubble hit, flooring Cathleen as it fell aside.
Amy rushed up, mounting her, pinning her arms to the ground as she spoke. "Look into my eyes," Amy said, summoning a spell as their gazes met. "Look into my eyes, and listen to me."
Earth B
Amy brought the jet down in Monitor.
"I was just about to come after you!" Mandrake uttered as he neared the craft. "What happened over there?"
She studied her father, taking a breath, relieved to see that he'd recovered well. It wasn't a particularly powerful drug. "That world is saved, for now anyway," Amy replied upon leaving the plane.
"...What did you do?" He looked unsettled.
"I made my birth mother forget who she is. She'll start a new life, meet new people..." She shook her head. "Maybe she'll even have another kid. Maybe she'll get things right next time."
Mandrake stared, absorbing that. It took a little while for him to find his voice. "Amy," he muttered, "if I had known about you when you were a child...I would've done my very best to get things right."
She held his gaze. "I know," she uttered, pulling him close.
He began wrapping his arms around her.
"I know," she said.