[Location: Apokolips, Ignis: Stellar’s abode.]
Stellar had stared at the message repeatedly. She had stared until it began to loop in endless spirals.
[10.9.10XX]
[Messaged received from V01X_]
Stellar of Apokolips. As one of our planet’s primary astronomers, it is your assignment to select exoplanets for the military to receive. As you are well aware, there is an invasion to New Genesis set to be completed on [10.14.XX]. New Genesis has been a source of distraction for too long. Because of the importance of this mission, you are required to accompany the military and you are to aid them in finding New Genesis’ planetary weaknesses. Before you leave on [10.12.XX], you are to report to the Royal Palace on [10.11.XX] and present past findings on New Genesis. One of our lead generals has positioned Lashina of the Female Furies as your supervisor.
[End message_]
This position meant Stellar had to physically be on the warships. And Stellar had never seen combat. A schism of dismay unfolded at the realization, gridlocking her instincts. If Apokolips was victorious, this would be an excellent accomplishment to add to her resume. But it also meant Stellar would likely be in the nucleus of war. Remembering the viciousness of Steppenwolf’s speech a few hours prior…
“Ah, he will have to know I’m now required to go…”
Stellar’s grip on her communicator threatened to crack the screen.
“Stellar?”
Stellar felt a cold deluge undulate in her heart. Tilde was standing in the doorway hugging her arms. It was hard to see in the hollow shade of dusk, but dark marks were present on her arms. They were ornaments of authority left by her elder sister: Mad Harriet, the Female Fury. An unyielding fighter, that she was. But Harriet was equally known for her unstable personality. As required of all Female Furies, trainees or graduates, Harriet had lived at the Happiness Home for years. But she would pay visits to her younger sister whenever it was permitted. Harriet was never satisfied with Tilde living a docile life. Whenever Harriet’s visit was over, there was always a sore branding of her enmity left behind. And the sisters had no family left except each other…
Stellar’s home was the only place of solace for sweet Tilde.
And now Stellar had to leave.
“But Harriet will be with the military – not Tilde…”
How could Stellar immediately think of herself first when there were Apokoliptians, like the one before her, suffering? At least Stellar was considered an elite. No one could honestly count their blessings on Apokolips. But those serving the Crown were less likely to perish if they acted with immaculate obedience. Even if Stellar was injured or even killed during the invasion, she had at least been free. Right?
“I was… I was just going to say I was hungry. Why do you look so upset again?” Tilde questioned.
“Maybe Harriet will just finally die…”
Stellar answered her meek friend.
“I’ll make us dinner. But there is something I need to tell you. And something I want you to do…”
∞
“You’ve never been aboard the Abysm; have you, Steppenwolf?”
“No… But I know what it is. We all do.”
Goodness walked around an array of monitors, tracing her finger along a screen’s perimeter. Messages had been sent to all invasion participants after the rally ended. Goodness and Steppenwolf had retreated to the Happiness Home, conversing in low tones between layers of exhilaration. But Steppenwolf was beginning to feel his mood descend from the earlier elation of being seen by millions. The Queen had given cursory words of approval to them both before vanishing. He knew that his elder sister wasn’t going to drizzle affection on him for following orders. And he didn’t want her too. But she was submerged deep enough in her own oily feelings that everyone else was becoming white noise.
“She still hasn’t said a single word about that woman…”
“I’ll have Lashina show you around the Abysm before we lift off.”
Steppenwolf gave his response by peeking out an open-air window in Umbra’s direction. Umbra was another sector of Apokolips and it was masked behind the royal palace. Armagetto crammed in front of the Crown’s residence at an advisable distance. Umbra started three miles behind the monarchy’s abode with a landing strip connecting the two areas. Two of Apokolips’ primary fire pits stood on each side of the palace like guard dogs. Whenever anyone was visiting with the monarchy, they would usually circumvent Armagetto by going around these fire pits. And the roaring flames made Umbra difficult to access for civilians lest they dare try going through the palace.
Umbra was also where the Abysm was kept.
“How soon can Lashina take me on a tour, Goodness?”
Goodness answered flatly. Her mood seemed to be morphing as well.
“Are you that eager to decimate New Genesis?”
Gauzy flashes of Heggra lecturing and Uxas’ lopsided grin filtered through Steppenwolf’s conscience in viscous bursts. He leaned forward, pressing his palms against the monitor table. He looked into a pulpy horizon beyond the present. What kind of future did he have?
“New Genesis… is our eternal enemy, aren’t they?”
A ding softly wavered through the room. Goodness sat down in front of the monitors, waving a hand towards Steppenwolf’s gadget.
“It seems you have a message.”
∞
A group of females huddled in the corner, linked by their arms in a fleshy tesseract. She had been screaming at these frightened women until it felt like her voice dissolved. She looked at the silvery skin on her hands. Then at the fearful assembly before her. These weren’t Apokoliptians. Where was she? She backed up and the hive of eyes followed her with anxiety. Her back pressed against something. She slid her arms across its surface. A window had stopped her. She switched her position to face it, mutedly lifting the bottom pane. The city was unfamiliar. Fire pits weren’t screeching through the air in tumultuous glints. There wasn’t any sound at all. The scene before her was a pool of undisturbed purity.
Until she noticed bloody clouds rolling across the sky in splashes of nocturne.
They were here.
A horrid giggle ruptured from her system.
“This world will end… But I will live.”
She launched herself out the window. Suddenly she was upon ground aching with the dendrites of her molten homeworld. Terrain gasped as vermilion streaks of lava dichotomized the area. Liquescent patterns from the ancients spread across the ground in search of prey. An entire world devoured by luminous artifacts from an unknown source. She looked towards an area where light threatened to destroy her retinas. A figure reached towards three objects in praise.
“Who am I?”
Buildings of a less advanced civilization crumbled into a garnet torrent. Creatures were falling into hemic despair. Everything was null. She reached into her mouth. One of her many pointed teeth was on her palms, dripping with gooey transience. How long did this world last?
Submit.
Submit.
Submit.
Velvet midnight embraced her field of vision. Scintillant beams flowed across her vision until they formed a reflective door and then-
Stellar leaped out of her bed, throwing a cocoon of blankets to floor. She clawed at her throat. Bile was choking her. Or at least, that’s what it felt like. She stumbled to a window and wretchedly dry heaved outside. Stellar’s dreamscape never received such a vision before. That’s what she got for attempting to sleep after eating. That’s all it was. It had to be. She slinked to the phosphorescent floor, listening to the minute sounds of her nearby observatory. She hoped Tilde hadn’t heard the embarrassing commotion. Tilde had been through enough recently.
And she was Stellar of Apokolips. She could never be anyone else.
To be continued…
