32 Hippolytas true heir (1/2)
The dinner ended in everyone having an impromptu party at the outside pool. An Ma was a good host and aided by An Ning, managed to steer everyone from dark thoughts of Yu Yan and mind-controlled mythical Amazons kept in an island somewhere.
Sarai served wine and fruits by the poolside. Since An Ning was not allowed to drink anything stronger than water, Richard poured her a glass of her favorite iced tea and gave her some peeled fruits which she nibbled on while walking leisurely with him around the pool.
When they neared An Ma, he pulled An Ning's arm and motioned towards Gara, who was by himself looking somewhat confusedly at a bottle of beer Sarai had given him. An Ning mouthed the word 'intern'to her father, who frowned and glanced again in Gara's direction. Just then, Matt, who was nervous to be talking to him but trying to act cool about it, asked him a question. An Ma was forced to bring his attention back to him.
Ceres appeared in the doorway and motioned to An Ning, who motioned to Gara. An Ning said a few words to Richard and followed her mother and Gara inside.
The three of them headed to one of the rooms which An Ning had recently cleaned up and converted to a war room.There were tables inside, some chairs and the most sophisticated computer hardware anyone could find anywhere, including the Pentagon.
The three of them sat at a round table, watching each other, waiting.
”Did you tell my mother what happened?” An Ning said, finally breaking the silence.
Gara shook his head.An Ning turned to Ceres and related what had happened, the attack in Moira's store, the discovery that the attacker was a drone, the attempt to hack into An Ning's computer system, Gara becoming human after he tasted An Ning's blood.
Ceres listened and did not interrupt. When An Ning finished, she turned to Gara who looked calmly back at her.
”The women came and attacked your village? Where?” Ceres asked.
”I don't remember where my village is exactly.I don't know the exact location.All I remember is that my grandfather and father were fishermen. My mother stayed home and looked after us kids.”
”How old were you at that time?”
”Twelve.”
”And they only took the men?”
”The younger men. The rest were killed.”
”What happened after that?”
”We were transported somewhere. I don't know where because we were kept in something dark for several weeks. And then we were taken to this compound and we were forced to train.”
”Train? Train in what?”
”Combat. And they experimented on us...” Gara took a deep breath. ”They said it was to toughen us. And then the experiments became more brutal because they started fitting us with machine parts that basically transformed our bodies.”
”How? Chemicals? Drugs?”
”I don't know. Somehow they found a way to fuse together skin and metal. Some of us died while others survived.”
”Alchemy?” An Ning asked Ceres.
”Might be. Yu Yan took my mother's and father's books away when she left. Both were very interested in the dark arts, you know, but your grandmother was mostly interested in making or creating things likeweapons or a time machine. She studied them because she found them fascinating, so did Father.But when I was born, Mother's interest became more focused on building a machine that she could use to travel through time and space. Her books on alchemy she kept in the house. The rest were kept in the cave, mostly the blueprint for the machine.”
”And you said Yu Yan owns a tech company, right? What type are we talking about?”
”Military and defense contracts.”
”Fuck!” An Ning swore.
Ceres smiled grimly.
”Is she building an army?” An Ning wondered.”Are there more of you in that compound?” she asked, turning to Gara.
”There are twenty of us as far as I know.They call us the hi-tech soldiers. There were about fifty of us when we arrived but the others didn't survive. We saw them die but we couldn't....we didn't know how to help them.” Gara's voice cracked and steadied.
”Were you aware of what you were doing when they controlled you as a drone?” An Ning hated to ask but she had to know.
”Before they fit us with the parts, someone would force us to take something. It's not a pill or anything but a tonic. We would swallow it then our minds would sort of blanked out. The other night when I attacked you, I didn't even know what I was doing. I woke up when you were putting me back together. Then I tasted your blood and it was as if my mind immediately cleared and I became a human being again,” Gara said, looking with an almost worshipful eyes at An Ning.
”That thing there, what he said, just what is that, Mom? I'm some kind of cure now for people who are part machines?”
”You have to remember that what we are dealing here is an enchantment, daughter. Call it alchemy, magic or whatever. That means it has a counterbalance that cancels its effect. Like water to fire, air to ice. I didn't know it could affect the blood though. It was essence with your grandmother. But the effect was the same. She could give life and take life. It seems you have inherited one of her elemental powers.”
”Just a drop of blood could do that?” An Ning was shocked.
”She merely takes a bath in the waterfalls and the entire vegetation surrounding the house blooms as if by magic,” Ceres says smiling. ”You are, in fact, her true heir. You also inherited her strength.”
”She's that strong?”
”Daughter, Hippolyta is the queen of the amazons. Do you know what that means? Her very breath is connected to each of those women. She dies, they die. When the next heir dies, they die. When I, as Hippolyta's next heir, tumbled, they tumbled with me. Do you see now? There is a symbiotic relationship that holds these women together. It's more than their love for war. It's generations of strength and independence. These women walk with wolves dressed as wolves, do you understand?”
Gara, who was listening back and forth as the women talked, suddenly piped in.