“Oh, all of the ways I can think of to kill you all! I just don’t know what to pick,” Khivar stated, sneering at the pathetic bodies writhing on the ground.

Across the room from Khivar, Alex and Maria were still huddled underneath one of the tables, hoping and praying for the best. Max was lying on the ground, with his loyal subjects strewn beside him. All were breathing heavy, and gripping at the last shreds of painless being.

“But I think I’ll start with this little traitor,” Khivar said, using his powers to force Owen closer. “It’s not very good to cross me, dear Owen. You could have had a great position at my palace, but ah, maybe it was I who was delusional in the thinking that you would not conform.” Khivar smirked at the boy. “No matter. You brought the royals straight to me anyways.”

Owen slowly stood up before him, glowering at the evil life form in front of him. This… thing was a horrible beast that harmed innocent people and destroyed millions of lives. Owen would be damned if he let Khivar have the last laugh.

Raising his hand, Owen challenged Khivar with the last shaking energy he had.

“You will never defeat the royals. You never could.” Khivar smirked cockily at Owen’s statement, just daring Owen to try to hit him. Aiming a blast at Khivar’s head, Owen quickly moved his hand to the side and wiped out all the guards behind Khivar. Startled by the change in motives, Khivar instantly raised his own hand, defending himself.

“Looks like you’re all alone now,” Owen stated, glaring at Khivar with all his mustered rage from the past few years. “You didn’t really think it would be that easy to kill the Royal Court and the Protector Four-Square, did you?” Khivar blinked at Owen’s sudden power force, seemingly regaining his energy. That couldn’t be possible. Could it?

“How’d your two seconds of power feel, Khivar?” Sandy called out behind him, entering the room with a guards’ uniform on... the exact same uniform the guard who had taken Liz away had been wearing. “It’ll be your last, most definitely.”

Khivar raised a hand at Sandy but a sharp bolt of energy from behind stung his hand before he could even muster the force to hit Sandy. He was losing control so quickly and definitely without his permission.

Khivar turned at once to the comatose guards behind him, narrowing his eyes at the one who now was holding up a shield against him. Her eyes screamed anger at him, but Khivar was too infuriated to be concerned.

“Disobedient brat!” Khivar screamed. Ignoring the shield, he forced energy against it, letting it be absorbed into the shield rather than reflected from the shield.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” Manika yelled back, keeping her shield steady. She watched as Michael, Adam and Ben crept up from their positions behind Khivar’s turned back, and slowly lost distance between them and Khivar.

Khivar was eyeing his enemies stealthily, watching as they surrounded him. Khivar was busy trying to determine a plan of action.

“Don’t think that without my soldiers, you can defeat me. I’ve spent years training for this day, wanting to kill the mangy child that threatened my throne.” Khivar eyed Max, wondering if he could kill him and still have enough time to escape the room.

“That’s too bad, Khivar,” Max replied coolly, standing up, fully recovered from his “hit”. “Because I didn’t even want your throne, but now that you’re offering it to us…” Max whipped his hand in front, aiming at Khivar. Khivar stared straight at his hand, neither flinching nor recoiling.

“I thought you were hurt, oh Prince Zan,” Khivar snarled at him.

“I guess you were wrong, huh?” Adam replied beside Max. “The thing you seem to keep doing is underestimating people of earth.” Adam shook his head in mock disappointment.

“Plans. Surely you know about plans, oh great one,” Isabel said sarcastically, circling Khivar. “I mean, you have a few of your own, don’t you? And really, are we that much of fools to come rushing in here without one?” Isabel leaned in slightly, saying in a lower voice, “You’re quite gullible, actually. Not everything is what you see.”

“You’re going to regret everything you have ever done in your life,” Max stated with a disturbing calmness. “I’m going to make sure of that. I’m going to make sure you regret ever thinking about my Leandra and my Liz.” The air around Max sizzled with power, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out. He was ready to kill.

“No, Max, please!” Manika cried out at Max’s stance. “Let me… I have a battle I need to finish with Khivar before we kill him.” Max nodded, and stepped off. Manika stared coldly into the eyes of a murderer, someone she hated with every inch of her body.

“Woman, you have nothing to say to me,” Khivar hissed. “You are a traitor like you’re friend Owen here. Nothing but a-” Another sharp bolt hit his shoulder, and he turned to glare at Michael.

“She said listen, jackass,” Michael replied. “You play our game now.” Crossing his arms, he watched Khivar closely.

“I never thought men like you existed, cold, mean hearted men who were so greedy that their insatiability would be their downfall,” Manika started. “Antar was once a place of peace, love, and security until you destroyed it with your evil methods, and deceptive actions. You shattered every single strand of harmony our royals had spent their lives making for us.

“I lived in your village, among the peasants. I lived with my mother, father and my brother. We were just normal citizens of Antar, keeping ourselves out of the political battle. We just wanted to survive like every other peasant after the downfall. My father and brother both worked endless hours just to keep us alive and somewhat sane.”

~“Mama, Papa, I’m home!” Manika yelled out as she entered her small cottage she shared with her parents and her older brother, Karan.

“Ah! The brat arrives,” Karan says as he greets Manika. She sticks out her tongue at him before running into the next room where her parents are. Karan follows after her.

Manika’s mother smiles fondly at her, glad to see her daughter home and safe. Her father welcomes her just as affectionately, opening his arms to invite her into a warm embrace. Manika enthusiastically runs to her father’s arms, hugging him back. Leaning back, she stares at her papa with passionate excitement in her eyes.

“Oh, what is it, Manika?” Papa asks, chuckling at her obvious eagerness to share something. “Come on, out with it, young one!”

Manika moves to her mother’s side, kissing her cheek lovingly before sitting on her mother’s lap. “Mr. Riln let me help him organize his book shop again!” Papa and mother both chuckled again.

“Oh Manika, that man is going to get sick of your persistence to aid him in his shop soon,” Mama teased, tickling Manika’s side.

“Or at least get sick of looking at your face!” Karan ribbed, earning him another tongue shot from Manika.

“He said I could come in whenever I want to help him!” Manika replied, grinning proudly. “He said I’m great help.”

“And I’m sure you are, sweet angel,” Papa said. He stood up from his seat, but soon winced from the effort.

“Papa! Did you injure yourself at work again?” Manika asked, concerned. Papa just nodded.

“I told Papa not to lift the heavy things as I would get them, but he never listens to me,” Karan sighed. “Papa, you’re getting much too old to be continuing working hard labor.”

“I’m perfectly able to do anything you can,” Papa responded. He leaned down towards Manika, kissing the top of her head. “Isn’t that right, sweet angel?” Manika nodded, agreeing with her Papa with an unknowing smile.~

“You destroyed my family and my life. You came to our village, with hundreds of your guards, setting fire to houses and exploding anything and every in sight. You barged into my home, and killed my brother and father with your bare hands. I watched you snap my brothers’ neck with the will of your hands. I will never, ever forget the horrific sound of breaking bones in Karan’s neck. I will never, ever forget watching you grin as Karan fell to the floor in a pile of dead flesh. And my mother… you gave my mother to your beast guards. They raped and killed her.”

~“MAMA!” Manika screamed from underneath the table. “MAMA!”

Her young body shook with unreserved horror, hearing the tortured screams from outside her dwelling. Fire was not near her, but the scorching of its flames already felt like it was blistering her skin with its fiery fierceness.

“Papa? Karan?” Manika sobbed, the loneliness consuming the very depth of her soul. She just needed someone to tell her it was all right, that her family was all right.

“Manika?” a voice whispered so softly that she wasn’t sure she heard it. Looking up from her kneeling position, she saw that Karan was crouching next to her, anxiously looking from side to side. He let a small, sad smile grace his face for a brief moment when she looked up at him. So innocent was his sister. So young was she to see these things.

“Manika, listen to me, sweet angel. You must be quiet. I can’t stay with you, but don’t get hurt.” He stood back up but Manika grabbed his leg before he could take a step.

With tearful eyes, she asked him, “Where are Mama and Papa? Please don’t leave me! I’m much too scared, Karan…” Karan softened, not wanting to leave his sister. How could he? How could he leave her with such horrid beasts out lurking? He would protect his sister. He might die, but he was going to die protecting her.

He crouched back down, and kneeled next to her. Instantly he wrapped his arms around her petite form, and pulled her close.

“Sweet angel, Papa is… Papa is no longer with us. And Mama… is gone as well. She cannot come back.” The heartbreaking cry Manika gave was enough for him to let his life be taken away just to ensure his sister’s safety.

“Why, Karan? Why would he do this? What have we done to Khivar?”

“You’ve done nothing, sweet angel. Khivar is just a horrible man. Don’t worry, all right? You be strong, just like Papa and I have always shown you. Don’t ever forget your Papa, and your Mama. Don’t forget, sweet angel.” Manika shook her head feverously.

“Never, Karan. Just stay with me, ok? Don’t leave me ever.” Karan did not reply. He just kissed the crown of her head and pulled her closer.~

“You kept me as one of your concubines. When you found out I was pregnant with your child, you fed me poison to kill me. You tried to kill me. When I refused to submit to your wishes, as many women have just to escape the pathetic thing you call a life for them, you gave me to your guards. They beat me until my child was no more, and I lost anything resembling sanity.”

~“Please stop!” Manika cried awfully. “You can have anything, but please don’t take my baby!” The kicking didn’t stop. The hitting didn’t stop. The curses and repulsive name-calling didn’t stop. The nightmare refused to stop.

“You can have my body, you can have anything you want, just not my baby’s life!” But her screams went unheard as the slashing of belts and bare hands rained upon her body, leaving her as nothing but a resistant yet futile, abused slave. A slave of torture, humiliation and immense loss. A slave of life.~

“I became hard then. Angry, disgruntled, and turned to the war. I joined your army, became the best woman warrior to ever serve in your military. It was my surefire way to join in the battle on earth, and aid the royals in hopes of rekindling a peaceful Antar.”

~“Manika, you’ve done wonderfully in this program!” her commander boasted proudly. Manika just nodded at him.

“You’ll be on that ship to Earth in no time. I will personally see to it that you are added to that mission!” Her commander grinned again and slapped her back. “I can’t imagine what would make you fight so vigorously, and I don’t want to know either!” The commander turned and walked off.

“Revenge,” Manika replied quietly to herself. Sweet revenge.~

“You killed my family, you killed my child, and in essence, you killed me. Because of that, you will never live to regret your mistakes.” Manika’s cold, hard stance was nothing compared to the shaking and grief happening inside of her, yet years of training and learning how to distance her emotions made her strong on the outside. Stable.

Max stared at Manika, shocked by the story expressed by her. A story so heartbreakingly tragic, a story so upsetting that Max felt like collapsing right there. The most horrible thing about it was that it wasn’t just a story, it was Manika’s life. Something she’s lived with everyday, been tortured to remember for every waking moment and probably every dreadful sleeping moment as well. And she looked so… cold, so detached from anything that could possibly mean everything.

Manika wasn’t the same charming young lady Max had first met when he awoke from his slumber. She was now an inconsolable being who’s been forced to drudge up her past just to show her tormentor what he had done to her. Khivar had done nothing but give her a life full of misery, pain, grief and unbelievable lost.

“But that’s not the sad part, that’s not the part that makes both her and I retch in disgust. It’s that she isn’t the only one he’s destroyed. There are so many more out there.”

Owen’s previous words flooded Max’s mind, and he felt his knees buckle underneath him.

“There are so many more out there.”

God, what had Khivar done to his people? The people he was supposed to protect and make better lives for, not devastate completely.

And here Khivar was again, messing with his life and the lives of the people he cherished most. The coldhearted bastard who couldn’t let things be.

“Such is war, sweetheart. There are winners and losers. There are strong and weak ones. There is death and pain,” Khivar stated plainly. “It is not my fault that you lost people in war. I do believe it is you who signed up for this war. Don’t blame me for your selfish reasons.” Manika narrowed her eyes at him, a cold fury passing over her. Max didn’t want to know what she had planned for the asshole, but he would deserve everything he got.

“There shouldn’t be a war in the first place,” Max growled at him.

Alex and Maria watched from their spot underneath the table. Not stupid enough to enter the clash, they kept quiet, just wishing to make it out alive. They didn’t want some stupid throne. They wanted to be able to take their next breath and be able to have families one day. Maybe even start a whole life with their Czechoslovakian lovers.

“Oh shit,” Maria whispered suddenly. Alex raised an eyebrow at her.

“What?” he whispered back. Maria bit her lip and pointed towards the door.

A moment later the door busted from its hinges and came soaring through the air, crashing on the dead floor with a deafening thunder. In its place stood a very angry, very aggressive looking Liz Parker with red rage burning in her eyes and clenched fists dangling dangerously at her side. Alongside her was Kyle Valenti, super sidekick supreme.

“That,” Maria stated bluntly. Alex closed his eyes in frustration. Couldn’t this just end already?

“Liz,” Adam warned tightly, joined in by silent warnings across the room. Liz chose to ignore each and every one of them.

“You know, I’m really pissed off. Actually more than that, I am tremendously angry,” Liz yelled out into the room. She stared furiously at Khivar, nearly burning holes into him already.

“Yes, incredibly angry. I have realized you agonized Zan, Leandra, and their fellow royalty, their faithful companions. You’ve managed to take the last two years of our lives here on earth and make us live in complete fear and chaos. You’ve had us running and running until we had nowhere else to run other than right into your devious hands. I almost watched you cut my best friend to pieces because you didn’t like what I had to say. You were about to kill him.

“You tortured an amiable soul like Manika’s, making her commit to a life that she never wanted. A life where she knows nothing but revenge. Not just revenge for her family, but revenge for her entire planet. You’ve taken lives that aren’t yours, and you’ve shattered people who have spent their whole existence to piece together what you’ve managed to damage in a matter of seconds.

“And it’s time for it to stop. For all of this to stop. You’ve pissed me off long enough.” With a blink of an eye, she raised her hand and a sharp, piercing bolt struck Khivar through his chest and he fell to his knees without so much as an effort. A horrid pain flashed through his face, and his whole body crumpled to the floor.

The silence overpowering the room was chokingly thick, everyone amazed and terrified by what had just happened. Eyes quickly honed in on Liz’s trembling figure.

“What the fuck was that?” Michael burst out, staring at his sister with something mixed between fear and awe.

“Liz… I thought you didn’t have physical powers,” Ben added quietly. She stared at him, wide-eyed. She looked just as frightened as everyone else.

“I don’t.”

“You’re talking… Liz, you’re talking…” Maria trailed, remembering how Liz was wordless before her ass-kicking moment. Liz turned her mystified eyes on her, completely taken aback as much as Maria was.

Max just openly stared at her. Was she really Liz? The woman he loved life after life? The woman who just completely obliterated their eternal enemy with less than an ounce of planning or time? The woman who’s eyes blazed in crimson fury and lost any benevolent bone in her body?

“I don’t know about you guys, but that was pretty fucking sweet,” Kyle exclaimed into the room. His face lit like a brilliant light bulb, his grin shining brightly. “And you should see the trail of bloody, frozen bodies from the car to here! Holy shit, man!”

Sandy did the room a pleasure and smacked Kyle across the head. A small “ow” came from his lips and he silenced immediately.

Liz felt the eyes of all her friends staring at her, and she heaved a sigh. She couldn’t even explain what happened to her, what was still happening to her. She felt so energized but so exhausted at the same time. And she was so ultimately confused.

“Just… lets just get out of here,” Liz sighed. Turning away, she walked out through the open doorway and disappeared. Without any other choices, the rest of the group filed out silently behind her.

Maria and Alex stood up from their hiding spot, Alex still leaning heavily on her. He looked Kyle straight in the eye and asked quietly yet sternly, “Why would you bring Liz in here?”

Kyle shrugged. “Wasn’t my idea, it was hers. She said she was connecting to you guys and heard Manika’s story. She was pretty pissed. And I mean REALLY pissed.” Kyle put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I learned a lesson early on in my life. Never piss off a bona fide alien queen with powers. Who knows what she could zap off?” He gestured downwards, and then shrugged.

Alex just nodded, letting a slight smirk sweep across his face. He and Maria slowly made their way out of the room, leaving Kyle to take one last glance at the room. A room that was ravaged by aliens in a battle of capture and domination… a room ravaged by simple greed.

Kyle looked down at the lifeless body of Khivar. With all the force he could muster, he kicked the alien with great thrust.