[Location: Apokolips, Ignis: Stellar’s abode.]
The stillness of Stellar’s room was an indeterminate universe. Diving into her own thoughts was easy. She had awoken in the dense Apokoliptian night to punch her bed three times. Stellar didn’t know why. But she did know that Tilde wasn’t around. And she had never received a reply from Steppenwolf. Stellar fanned her arms across satiny bedsheets, thinking about the presentation she would give soon.
She definitely wasn’t thinking about any night terrors that might have flowed out of her mind like oozy suppuration.
“Ha…”
A sigh fluttered forth from Stellar’s dry mouth. She looked toward the domed ceiling vaulted above her in a portal of darkness. During bleak day hours, the skylights seemed to be suspended in a circle of red brilliance.
“I’ll prepare my speech some more… I guess. I’m just showing off my old work though… My calculations, the velocity equations… Everyone knows they’re right. What an annoying formality…”
Stellar forced herself to get out of bed. She paused. It had been awhile since she saw Tilde physically. Being the middle of the night, Stellar hadn’t expected to see her awake. But Tilde wasn’t where she had fallen asleep in Stellar’s room.
“…Where is she?”
Stellar hugged her arms, walking into the darkened hallway outside her bedroom. Days and nights on Apokolips were twenty-four hours each. Complete absence of twilight told her that it was halfway through the night. Tilde’s disappearing act was beginning to sear ropeburn across Stellar’s thoughts. Tilde wasn’t like her elder sister with emotional spittle that spewed forth at seemingly everything. Instead, her emotions were a somber fog that one could peer into if they were granted access. She probably needed a mental evaluation.
Those didn’t exist on Apokolips.
Doctors that treated physical ailments of Apokoliptians were present. But it was rare for anyone to see them. Corporeal illness had largely been eradicated thanks to bioengineering. Weeping injuries were usually sustained by the military. And commoners opted to treat themselves at home for everything. A wise choice not just for the high medical fees, but also since hospitals acted as hubs for putrid experiments. No one wanted to become a puddle of flesh because some scientist messed around with their DNA.
“…Tilde?”
∞
Suli’s existence was a nimbus humming in gold to Uxas. Radiance. So, then why did she feel like a princess made of glass? Not that she would ever be a princess… Or queen for that matter. She could see the Royal Palace bursting with flames in her mind’s eye. Suli had stayed cooped up in her home since the conversation she had with Uxas a few days prior. His sneer, laced with the vengeful syrup of a molten sun, would not leave Suli’s recollection. The way he spoke of his own mother, like she didn’t mean a thing…
“She did try to fight me to the death… And in front of Chasma… Not that she could have done anything, she can’t even acknowledge my existence anymore… But – I mean, I don’t know… Heggra is still Uxas’ mother. Surely this could have gone down another way? Is the Queen of Apokolips so unstable she must kill anyone who dares to meet the heir?”
Suli pulled a comforter around her body, creating a makeshift hood. Hair surged out in a dark swell. She smiled when a silly thought poked her mind.
“Does that mean the Queen wants to also kill herself for fear of soiling Uxas?”
Suli allowed a small laugh to come forth, placing hands on her knees. The laughter quickly dissipated into sticky silence. She was starting to feel lonely.
And Uxas was expecting her soon.
Crystal chills flowed down Suli’s spine. She believed something horrid would happen soon. An error on the floor. A waterfall region.
That’s why she hadn’t gone anywhere.
∞
The Apokoliptian night swirled on in a pool of crimson shadows. But not in Steppenwolf’s home. As per usual, every light was burning away in an electrical flux. He didn’t need shade to rest. Although, Steppenwolf wasn’t in his bedroom resting. He was on the balcony outside. Sterile headlines glowed on a bright screen that cut through frail murkiness. Steppenwolf was reading the news. Or rather, the sanitized news that was trickled into a few servers.
[KING YUGA KHAN AND QUEEN HEGGRA HAVE ORDERED THE INVASION OF NEW GENESIS ON 10.14.XX]
Steppenwolf flicked through the article list with a swipe of his index finger.
[APOKOLIPS’ TWIN PLANET WILL FINALLY BE ELIMINATED. WILL WE SEE THE LIGHT OF OUR LONG FORGOTTEN STAR?]
[MYSTERIOUS MIRAGES REPORTED OVER UMBRA. A SIGN OF APOKOLIPS’ IMPENDING VICTORY!]
Steppenwolf set his device down on a table with a disappointed thud. He was looking for any and all mentions of himself. Outside of the Legion and Female Furies, no one seemed to care about his new position. Or maybe it was just the format of those little articles. Apokoliptian news outlets were smothered into submission, so journalism was always brief and nebulous. Journalists weren’t even allowed to put their names on anything they wrote.
“Um…”
A whisper. A thin web of crystallized ice. Like the network barely holding Apokoliptian society together. And it seemed to come from the ether. No… It came from below. A familiar voice.
Steppenwolf shot forward, planting both his hands on the balcony. He peered below in disbelief. Was she panicking about the invasion already?
“Stellar! What are you… Doing here? You are supposed to… be asleep, aren’t you? The report…”
Stellar’s silhouette appeared to be in some other universe, backlit with luster from distant fire pits. She grabbed the hem of her dress in a childlike manner. Steppenwolf noticed her boots weren’t laced. Had Stellar left her observatory so quickly that she couldn’t even bother to properly dress? Everything shucked away and…
“She’s gone.”
Steppenwolf gripped the balcony tighter.
“Excuse me…?” He spat.
“Tilde.”
Steppenwolf shuffled backwards, remembering the young woman who seemed to constantly hug herself. Rubbing sore arms… The younger sister of Mad Harriet. Steppenwolf knew that Stellar had allowed Tilde to seek refuge at the observatory. He had never reported this for Stellar’s sake. Tilde was a gentle being, fluttering with apologies whenever Steppenwolf was around. Her quaking voice was somewhat a bother… But Steppenwolf had decided not to be an accessory to her nightmare. Somewhere inside the depths of his lost dreams… Inside the peal of an echo… The shadow of a sound. Of thoughts folding and unfolding in a race to secure every possible “wrong” idea… He harvested a feeling of empathy for the abused Apokoliptian.
He regarded Stellar cautiously. From whom the concept of friendship had been granted to him. Why? He could see himself watching while worlds were devoured alive in the flames of Apokolips. Relationships would get in his way. The Crown didn’t want weakness. Queen Heggra didn’t want weakness. His sister didn’t want his… emotions.
But Stellar did.
Stars bloomed into supernovas in Steppenwolf’s field of vision. He didn’t feel well. The invasion of New Genesis had to be completed. He had to help lead Apokolips to victory. And-
“I don’t know what I should do!”
Stellar was crying. A transmission of manic grief surfing on the edge of acceptable thought.
“You will find her, Stellar.” Steppenwolf responded without trailing off for once.
“I- W-what?”
“I said you will find her. Your mission is to find entire exoplanets outside the Fourth World. You can find a single girl who likely hasn’t gone far.”
“But what if she-?”
“Stellar… Why did you come to me first?”
To be continued…
