Finding Home

Chapter 10 - Meeting the Mortals

When I finally stopped crying, I stood. My walls shot up once more as I faced my family. "Whomever has done this, must pay." I said, my rage clear in my voice, but also my grief. "They have taken my father from me, and I shall spare them no mercy." I looked around at my family. "Get ready."

Everyone except Bianca rushed into their rooms to get ready. I asked her to stay behind in case Jamison needed her. I also asked her to inform the commanders of our plans and to request that they look after the people in my absence.

After she agreed, I walked to my closet and changed into one of my formal cloaks. Hopefully the lack of armor would put whoever we were going to speak with at ease. The battle would already be over by the time we arrived, so there was no need to wear my armor anyway. Anything else we needed, I could summon if necessary, so I didn't worry about packing anything. When I walked back out, my team was already there, dressed in their cloaks, and ready to leave. "Where are we headed?" Luke asked.

I stood up straighter. "Where the surge originated. Terra."

The team looked shocked. "Terra? I don't believe Terra would have the power to harm your father." Sarah said.

I looked her dead in the eye. "That is why we are going to investigate the cause of this surge."

I opened a portal for us, and we walked through. Right onto a battlefield. There were still people cleaning up from a recent battle, which seemed to have many casualties. I stood in front with Nico on my right and Luke on my left. The rest of them fell in behind us. I calmly and quietly strode through the field, heading for the palace in the distance. I figured that the leader would be there, and I could speak with them.

Halfway there, we reached a blue force field which I parted with ease, though I was a bit impressed with how advanced the technology was. It seemed strange that Terra would have come so far, considering they were far behind most of the universe. When we reached the palace, I ignored the guards at the gate, walking right past them as they chased after us. It seemed they were still recuperating from the battle and were lacking guards. I walked straight to where I sensed the most powerful life forms, knowing that was where the leader was most likely going to be.

I opened the doors to a room of people in weird outfits for people of Terra. A man in a red, white, and blue outfit turned to me. "Who are you?" he asked, standing tall. He was trying to act confident, but I could hear the grief and weariness in his voice.

"Who did it?" I asked. My hood was up, so he couldn't see my face.

"What do you mean?" asked a girl with blonde hair. She was wearing a black suit.

I growled, causing everyone to reach for their weapons. Even some of my team thought I might get out of control. I took a deep breath and my family relaxed. "The power surge." I clarified. "It came from Terra. I want to know who did it."

The man set down his shield. "A titan named Thanos."

I looked to my team. "Zoe? Ever heard of a titan named Thanos?"

Zoe shook her head. "To my knowledge, no such titan exists."

I frowned. "What about the planet Titan? Could he be a survivor?"

Sarah nodded. "That is a possibility."

I scowled. "Will, call Ms. Danvers. See if she knows anything. She has more contacts on Terra." I turned back to the humans. "Tell me what happened. All of it." I could just read their minds and gather whatever information I needed, but I liked to respect others' privacy, so I asked.

The humans looked at each other nervously. Finally, one man spoke. "Why should we trust you? We haven't even seen your face."

I shrugged and lowered my hood, shocking them all with my appearance. "Now you have. Tell me what happened," I said. "I want to know why half my people are gone."