Page 21 of Interlude

“It kind of is.” I feel Brannock’s chest rumble as he gets involved. “Lila becomes a new species every time she mimics someone. I bet if the cyborg ran her DNA now, she would be a mixture of every species she’s mated to or mimicked. It’s no surprise she has their weaknesses too. We need to get her in contact with a different earth element, or she’s no good to us at all.”

“There’s the horticulture level, with plants and soil up there. It isn’t exactly the same, but it might help,” Bubby suggests.

“Yes, it will boost her power until we can get to Husadavia at least. Once there, she should have no problems rejuvenating,” Xavier agrees with him. “Wait here, we won’t be long.” I feel him put his cobby hands on Brannock and me, and that disorienting feeling of teleporting washes over me, not helping how I feel one little bit. I groan, and my head flops back.

“Easy, little one,” Brannock murmurs as we arrive at our destination. I want to snort with amusement, but I don’t have the energy. No one has ever accused me of being little.

“Put her down here,” Xavier tells the Aaz’axian, who seems reluctant to let me go, but he places me gently on the ground. I groan as I feel grass below me, and I roll over, my hands turning to claws I instinctively burrow into the soil. My headache starts to ease up, as does the rolling nausea in my stomach. The aches and pains in my limbs melt away, and I can open my eyes and look around.

I feel my mouth drop open in shock. I haven’t been to this level before, even though I had been told about it. It looks like a massive community garden. It takes up the entirety of this level of the ship. I see people tending rows of crops, watering, deadheading, and pruning different plants and bushes. There is a grove of fruit trees on the far side of the space, my elemental eyesight making it easy for me to see despite the distance.

I turn my attention to the area closer to me and find myself in a small park. There is a little pond with a bench next to it. Beyond it, there’s an open grassy space with a soccer ball lying abandoned on it.

“Wow.” I roll over into a seated position, my wings fluttering behind me as I continue to soak up the energy from the soil below me. “I had no idea this was here,” I tell the two males who are watching me carefully. My gaze lifts, and I watch clouds drift across the sky as I feel warmth on my face. “How is it doing that?” I ask, nodding toward the clouds.

“Same way we control the climate in the Aquilian level and the Iceen tundra,” Xavier says, and when I look at him, he still seems worried, his little corncob mouth all pursed with tension. “How are you feeling?”

“A little better. The headache and nausea are disappearing, and I don’t feel so heavy.” I pull my hands out of the soil and look around in shock. The grass around me has all died, like I pulled out all of its life force. “Is that normal?” I ask, and I see the two of them exchange a glance.

“I don’t know if it’s a result of you being so low or not. I would assume that most elementals don’t kill the things that help them survive. I didn’t pick up on anything like that in the mind of the one you mimicked. We’ll have to do some research.” Xavier sounds a little worried.

I struggle to my feet, and I waver a little. Brannock’s hand shoots out to steady me, and I smile up at him. The two of them tower over me, so I flutter my wings and feel myself rise up so I’m now head height with them. “Okay, I think I’m good to go,” I reassure them when they both look at me with concern still evident in their eyes.

I see them exchange a glance. “Maybe you should stay behind,” Brannock suggests bravely, and when I look at my warlock husband, I see he agrees, but he is happy for Brannock to deal with my wrath.

“Absolutely not.” I cross my arms stubbornly and glare at them. “I’m fine and will be even better when we get to the planet, where I can soak up all it has to offer. I mean, poisonous, venomous, man-eating plants have to have some major power boost properties, don’t you think?”

They still look unconvinced, but neither of them argue with me, which I appreciate more than I can express. “Fine, Lila, but don’t get too far away from either of us,” Xavier says, pointing between me and Brannock. “I’m not going to be much help in this glamour. It’s cumbersome and awkward,” he says as he steps up next to us, and I have to smother the chortle of laughter that wants to escape. He’s not wrong, he kind of waddles. “If I have to, I’ll drop the glamour, but I don’t want to until we can ascertain whether you can mimic the creature that repels all the danger. We want to stay under the radar as much as possible.”

“Okay, I’ll stay close. Let’s get this show on the road.” They still look unconvinced, but Xavier puts his hands on us again, and we shift back to the transport room.

“Oh good, you’re back.” John heaves out a sigh of relief, which is echoed by William and Eric.

“And you look much better.” William scans my form and looks relieved.

“Yup, feeling pretty good,” I reply, although it’s not the complete truth, but I know if I admit I’m still feeling weak, then the mission will be aborted, and I won’t do that. I’m sure once I get to Husadavia, I’ll be at full power in no time. I wonder if, as an earth elemental, I’ll be able to control the plant life on the planet. I’m sure they’ve probably tried that, though, so probably not.

“Are you ready to go now?” Bubby asks, looking between the three of us.

I don’t wait for any of the questions or arguments, marching up to the platform with Xavier and Brannock following behind. “Let’s do this. Engage!” I shout and see Bubby press a button, and as we disappear, at least Eric has a smile on his face at my antics.

Lila

The three of us reform in the docking bay of the station, and all around us, lifeforms are rushing back and forth. There are a few smaller vessels inside the bay, and the noise is quite loud.

Let’s get moving. We don’t have long until harvester sign-ups, Xavier says inside my head, so he doesn’t have to shout. I can tell he projected it to Brannock as well from the nod he gives him.

Screams of horror sound out, and I use my wings to whirl around, looking for the danger, but I realize it’s us. We’re the danger—or the spiky red and green man next to me is. People are freaking out at the sight of Brannock in his berserker mode.

“Shit, change of plan.” Xavier waves a hand, and everyone in the docking bay instantly freezes. I can feel the tingle of his magic at work, so I’m assuming he’s wiping all their minds of what they saw. That was not the low-key kind of entrance we were planning. We want to be as forgettable as possible.

“Ah, maybe it would be better to change back to normal or assume a glamour. Otherwise, there is no way we are going to get hired if this is the kind of reaction you get,” I mutter to him, and he chuckles.

“I thought there would be enough time since the last war that people would have forgotten our reputation. I guess that’s not the case.” He sounds disappointed. I guess I would be too if my appearance caused that kind of reaction without even getting to know me. Brannock’s body shudders, and I watch with interest as the red and green is replaced by his pretty sparkly blue opal color. His back and shoulder spikes also reappear, pushing out of his skin in a gruesome display that must be uncomfortable if the grimace on his face tells me anything. His whole body shakes, and he sighs, stretching out a little, before it shimmers and the pretty, sparkly man is replaced with another corn man.

“Good thinking,” Xavier says. “This race is in tune with plants that bear fruit. It’s why this one was hired in the first place. We’ll say you are his brother. That fits his narrative.” My warlock husband’s ability to pry someone’s brain open and get all their knowledge is an incredibly scary yet handy power to have. He waves a hand and unfreezes everyone. It’s funny to watch how confused they are, but they quickly shake it off and continue on about their business prior to realizing a predator was amongst them.

“Come on, we need to get moving. It’s about a ten minute walk from here to that bar, and we’re running out of time.” Brannock stumbles as he starts to move. “Fuck, this isn’t easy,” he grumbles as he catches himself. I’m not even sure how they move, to be honest. There are no visible legs, they kind of just shuffle. At this rate, it’s going to take us forever.

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