To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 35

I had been slipping in and out of the darkness for months. The only time I ever woke was when the pain killers stopped working. Then I'd yell for the mad scientist and he would feed me some food and help me to the bathroom before he put me back to sleep. The pain was too much to stand for more than ten minutes so our meetings didn't last long before I fell unconscious again for a few more days.

Lucky for me, the more time my body had to heal, the longer my waking moments became. Once my bodily functions were met I'd start asking Alphenstine more questions about my survival and what was happening in Manica. He always helped me with the first question but never the second one. He always said current events didn't interest him.

He was apparently obsessed with the Valdis. Said that if he ever found one he'd experiment on it to find out its secrets. That was why I'd never explained how that snow mound had come to be.

You see, during my fall I had found that, although my powers had become incredibly limited, I hadn't lost all my gifts. I had used every ounce of strength to gather the snow together moments before I'd hit it. I'd also tried to use my telekinesis to slow my fall even more but it had only been enough to save my life, not to keep my body from getting flattened like a pancake.

My telekinesis was useless, though. Unless I got this bracelet off I wouldn't be able to use it and there was no way to remove the blasted thing.

I'd asked Alphenstine to get rid of it but he'd kept saying he might accidentally cut off my arm instead. The only part of me he didn't mind cutting off was my hair, which he continually shaved to keep out of the way. It was starting to grow out a little more now and I'd been taking care of it lately to keep it short so it didn't look too bad.

This was my life now. I had to sit by and wait for my body to heal the all-natural way with a tiny bit of help from my Valdis powers. No matter what I did, it still took too long.

Each time I woke up my head would rush through all the possible outcomes of Zora's actions. How was Derek doing? Was Polly okay? Had they moved on without me? Normally, that last thought would have seemed depressing but in my case it would have been good. Moving on meant Derek wouldn't turn into Dark.

All I could do was wait and have faith in my husband. I had to trust that he hadn't become the villain.

He couldn't have, right?

◑○★☆●◐

"Derek."

I turned away from my daughter, who was too distracted by Di to pay attention to me anyway, and watched as Zora entered my office, which had formerly been the control room. It felt like I'd been seeing a lot of her lately.

"Derek, can I speak to you in private?" she asked me, casting a glance at my distracted daughter. "I have matters to discuss with you."

"I'll be right back, Polly," I told the preteen who barely looked away from Di's face long enough to nod.

Satisfied, I joined Zora outside the room and shut the door, motioning for the guards to walk away and give us a moment alone. "What is it? Have they found Jala yet?"

Zora shook her head. "That's what I'm here to talk about."

I waited.

"I think it's time you stopped hunting them."

"What? That's ridiculous. They murdered my wife."

"But you could be spending the time you've spent hunting them doing more productive things. What about those weapons we talked about making a few months ago? What about taking over Manica and bringing world peace? You're wasting the potential that alien artifact has given you."

"Yeah, well, your vision of world peace is different from mine. I'm not the dictator type."

"Then give me the power. I am more than capable of running the country on my own."

"Sure," I drawled sarcastically. "Letting one person rule alone is definitely going to work."

"What if your wife was the one asking? Then would you do it?"

"Don't bring her into this," I growled.

The rawness in my voice made her steel expression soften and she rested a hand on my arm, making me flinch. "I'm worried about you Derek. This obsession isn't good for you. You need to forget about Mary and move on to do—"

"Forget my wife? What's wrong with you?" I yelled before glancing down the halls to make sure no one had heard me.

Zora smiled like a caring mother. "I didn't mean forget. I just meant that you need to move on and the best way to get over a lost love is to replace it with another. I can do that for you, Derek."

What was she thinking? "No one will be able to replace my wife."

"You're right." She sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm using all the wrong words today. I'm saying that I care about your well-being, Derek, and I just want to ensure that you're okay physically and mentally."

"I'm fine!"

"And what about Polly?" she suddenly asked loudly. It was strange to have her stand up to me like this. It reminded me of when Mary used to do it, though Zora was more authoritative.

"What about her?"

"Polly needs a mother in her life."

"She has me."

"She has a father who cares more about her mother's killers than her. She needs a woman in her life, Derek, and I can do that. I hate to see you two wasting away."

Derek, Derek, Derek. Why did she keep saying it like that? I hated it! "Stop calling me that!" I suddenly yelled, punching the wall so I wouldn't end up hurting her instead. "Don't call my name!"

"What?" Zora backed away, her lips pursed in confusion. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it offended you. I ... what should I call you?"

My mind flashed back to the show. What had my name been in that? It started with a D. I wanted to remember it. I needed that name. I needed to use it so I'd stop remembering Mary and everything associated with her. If people called me by a different name then I'd stop hearing Mary's voice anytime they said it.

"Call me Dark," I whispered, not caring how lame the title was. It was the one I'd been given and the one I wanted. Something about it felt right. Natural. "Don't ever call me Derek again, understood?"

She nodded hesitantly, fear entering her eyes for the first time. Good. I liked it that way.