"I've spent an entire life trying to fix something that was never broken. I'm so in love with you, Lucian. I want nothing more than to start a family with you," I said.
"Our journey starts today," he said.
We walked carefully to where my mom's body had disintegrated. The cold wind drifted across me as I bent to pick up what she had left behind: Three long and rounded pills with the Onyx logo pressed onto the center.
I handed one to each of the men and took a deep breath. The world was at peace. "Are you ready?" I asked them.
Dad was wistful but he appeared to stay strong. "I was born re
ady."
"I guess I'll see you on the other side," Lucian said.
Kahn saluted. "Bottoms up."
We dropped the pills onto our tongues and swallowed. At first, there was no reaction, but we were silent with anticipation. Within ten-seconds, I felt my heart flutter. The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy. At about a minute in, everything exploded inside of me.
I was awakened. I was no one, nothing, and I was floating throughout time. It felt like love.
Suddenly, the light lifted. The molecules came into full view. My body was rebuilt at the atomic level, and we regenerated inside of a sizable living room.
"Everybody okay?" Lucian asked.
I looked at them and laughed. "I think I'm more than okay."
In the center of the room was a long wooden table. Resting near the edge were three thin pieces of paper with red bank seals stamped on the bottom. Dad grabbed them and held them up to the light. "These are the deeds to three properties," he said. "Looks like we're all neighbors."
I ran outside and stopped at the edge of the yard. Two brand new Fords sat parked in the driveway. "You guys!" I called out. "Check out the neighborhood."
Lucian, Dad, and Kahn ran outside, behind me. Lucian nearly passed out from surprise and Kahn tripped into his back. "I was going to say that anything is better than a cage, but this is more than I could have ever asked for," Lucian said.
A man watering his grass stared at us curiously. "New cars. New houses," he said, smiling so cheerfully that his face turned a bright red. He seemed to sense our hesitance. "My apologies, it's Lillian, right?"
"Yes, um…"
He tilted the hose and sprayed a dry patch of grass. "I met your mother, just the other day."
So, my mother had been here already. It was hard to know which version of my mother he had met. I paused and remembered what time period we were in. 1939. What an odd point of reference.
My face twisted into a pleasant smile. "Well, my husband certainly loves to surprise me."
Lucian cleared his throat and chimed in. "That, I do."
The man chortled and shook his head. "I'll tell you what—ever since your family opened that power plant, we've had blessing after blessing. It's all up and up from here on out!"
"You said it…" My voice trailed off.
I cocked my head in the other direction and looked past our tiny cul-de-sac. I felt my heart drop and body sag.
Behind the neighborhoods was a large cement wall. My mother's starship was not in the center, but a giant power plant sure was.
Lucian growled. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
I nodded. "We are the world's protectors."
We are Project Onyx.
Epilogue: Lilly