GraceFall [ONC 2024]

8

Sean Smith's apartment ...

The revelation of his own feelings cut deep. Zjahn had never felt much of anything for the people of this world. They were insignificant compared to the task he had made for himself. That had always sounded callous to his own ears, but they were not his people. Only his oath meant anything and he held a debt to the heroes of Earth that had come, albeit far too late, to defend his own world.

They were pitiful, small creatures, filled with petty grievances, still fighting among themselves for the dirt they called 'countries'. They were primitives. Their emotions controlled practically every aspect of their lives. They fostered greed and hatred. They divided themselves, while yearning for inclusion and companionship. They were selfish. Filled with irrational fears, yet foolhardy against those things that they should fear. Saving these people was not an act of compassion, but one of preservation and duty.

And yet ... This woman, this one woman, had caused Zjahn's greatest crisis. Not through malicious intent, granted, but by mere dint of existing in proximity to Zjahn. He had known her for some years. Spoken to her on various occasions and had, once or twice, attended her social gatherings. Nothing up to this point had given him any indication that he considered her of greater value than any other.

That had all changed upon meeting Wade Tompkins. The obvious attraction he still held for Betty, the look upon her face as she spoke to him, the thoughts that billowed from the man's undisciplined mind had all contributed to Zjahn's ire. Zjahn had wanted, in that moment, to protect Betty. To bring her to his side. To become her mate.

He removed the hands from his features, his true features, and stared at them. The green tinge, the scales, the claws that could rip out a human throat with ease. His hands. Familiar, yet he had not looked upon them for some time, preferring to remain in his human forms. Either that of the hero, Psycona, or Sean Smith, the nondescript neighbour. He had hidden himself for so long, it felt odd to look upon his own skin.

Nothing made sense. She was human! Human! How could she ever crave comfort from him, an alien? It didn't border on the ridiculous, it crossed that threshold and destroyed the path back. They could have no future together. Could not mate. Could not foster offspring between them. They were incompatible on every level, yet he found that, accepting his realisation, he yearned for her. He ached for the silence of her mind.

"No. I cannot allow it." He pushed himself from the unfurnished floor of his apartment, supporting himself against the wall. "It is an abomination. A foul thought. I must ... must ..."

Something had changed. His senses far more acute than any human's. A shift had occurred, somewhere, and a part of his mind answered that call.

"She is a danger to us." The voice of Phaross emerged from Zjahn's own mouth. "It cannot be allowed."

-+-

Madame Misstery's shop, Fenton ...

The old woman looked at Betty like a starving man looked at cake and now Betty had the distinct feeling she had made a terrible mistake coming here. Everything the old woman had said could as easy be theatrics. The kind of spooky revelations she spouted to all the people who sought her out for her 'psychic' abilities. Nothing Madame Misstery had said could become proven, not unless Psycona, himself, could confirm it.

"You're talking nonsense." Betty glanced at the door, but the old woman sat between it and Betty. "Thank you for your time, but I don't think you're quite what I'm looking for."

"When you were a child, you realised you could tell when people lied to you." As though she knew Betty's thoughts, Madame Misstery stood, moving to the side and offering Betty her escape. "You had deja vu so often that you thought you were going mad. Every so often, you would answer questions that people hadn't even asked. One day, you refused to get on a train, your mother berating you harshly for your petulance, but you stood firm. Thirty minutes later, a battle between Minerva and Capstone derailed the train, killing several people and injuring dozens of others. Your mother never failed to listen to your fears again."