10 Dance Night

Maria looks at herself one last time in the mirror before heading out the door. Her turquoise halter strap dress accentuating her body magnificently, her gold ankle strap heels pushing her ass up, Adam would have loved the way she looked. The fan Kiyana gave her tucked safely away in her purse.

"Okay, I'm on my way." She speaks telepathically to Kiyana and Boris.

"I will be on standby." Replies Boris.

"Be careful, Maria." Says Kiyana.

Maria takes a ride to the city. Looking out her window, she recalls the revelation of the identity of Olivia's husband, Lucas. Apparently, Lucas was the generous philanthropist that had donated the relief fund for hospital staff after the shooting, and was also the one to set up and host the party Maria was on her way to right now.

"We must draw Lucas out." Had instructed Boris.

Maria and Kiyana agreed that the best way to do that was to use Maria as bait. More importantly, Maria wanted to make sure Olivia was all right.

As her ride nears downtown, Maria's thoughts are drawn back to Adam. All of this would be so much easier if he were here. She holds on to her abdomen, still able to feel the infinite explosion within.

Maria arrives at her destination, the door is opened for her by a valet, she gets out and is guided to an elevator inside a hotel lobby. She gets in, nervous, and unsure of herself. Without any input, the elevator doors close and it begins to ascend.

"Remember, don't use the fan until it is absolutely necessary." Says Kiyana.

Maria is about to respond when the elevator doors open. On the other side, a beautifully decorated dance hall. A band plays Dmitri Shostakovich's Second Waltz as the dancer's move around the hall in uncanny unison. Maria recognizes her entranced coworkers mindlessly dancing around, Olivia is nowhere to be found.

"Welcome, you must be Maria."

Maria turns to see a woman about her age, dressed in a red jacquard dress with off straps. Her lips glossed a deep red, she smiles.

"Who are you?" Maria asks.

The woman locks her arms around Maria's, guiding her through the dance hall. "How do you like the party?" She asks.

Maria follows along, "Where's Olivia?"

The woman laughs. "You are in quite the rush. Don't you want to enjoy the party?"

"Tell me where Olivia is, Lucas." Maria demands.

She laughs again. "Follow me, let us both have a little chat in private."

The woman escorts Maria up the elegant spiral staircase, through the hall, into a rustic study.

Inside, the woman separates from Maria's embrace and makes her way to serve some drinks.

"Have a seat." She says, motioning to two chairs, serving two glasses of bourbon.

Maria takes one of the seats, she is joined by the woman, who places a glass next to her, taking the opposite seat.

The woman takes a sip of her drink, "As much as I love these types of parties, they aren't really effective when it comes to taking care of more important business."

"Who's this woman, Lucas? Why don't you show yourself?"

The woman laughs yet again. "Lucas is not controlling me, dear."

"Then who are you?" Asks Maria.

The woman takes another sip. "I am Lucas' mom."

"That's your name?" Maria asks, sarcastically.

The woman refuses to share her name with Maria.

"Fine, where's Lucas?"

"Can't we have a chat? I just want to get to know you."

"Tell me where Lucas is, first." Demands Maria.

"He's listening." Affirms the woman.

"Okay, where's Olivia?" The woman lets out another of her haughty laughs. She snaps her fingers. The door opens and Olivia walks in, her eyes vacant, dull, their glimmer gone.

"Olivia!" Maria walks up to her, she attempts to make contact with her mind, only to find a thick layer around her consciousness.

"What was your reaction when you found out your son is an Eternal?" Asks the woman.

Tempted to take the fan out and release Olivia from Lucas' grasp, Maria recalls the advice to only use it when absolutely necessary. She retakes her seat again. She looks at the woman, they both eye each other.

"You and I are nothing alike." Says Maria.

"Besides the fact our son's are practically gods."

"Lucas is definitely nothing like my son, Adam."

The woman laughs again. "No, my son is much more efficient at getting what he wants."

"This is what your son wants? A bunch of puppets that obey his every whim?"

"Control is power." Affirms the woman. "But I can understand your perspective, you think winning people's hearts is the virtuous method of attaining power." She takes another sip of her drink. "Truth is, it makes no difference. People are easily manipulated anyways. There is no point in wasting resources in convincing the masses to act a certain way. All Lucas has to do is force them."

"You seem proud of what Lucas has done."

She stares off into space. "Maybe I am. Maybe I got what I asked of him. Quite the Faustian bargain. I do wonder though, before your son received his powers, what was the relationship between you two like? More importantly, were you proud of the man he had become?"

Maria is caught off guard by the question. She does remember what Adam was like before he got his powers, a loner shut-in, not wanting anything to do with the world. The obvious obsession with her panties was concerning, but Maria always dismissed it as something all boys do.

"My son is different, he's not what he used to be, it's true." Maria puts her hands on her abdomen. "And at the same time, I feel he is exactly the same. Yes he has these powers, but it's still Adam in there, regardless of what he can now do."

There is silence, Maria looks at Lucas' mother, the overconfidence she previously had now dissipating.

"You're willingly supporting your son's actions?" Asks Maria.

She nods.

"Does Lucas even love you?"

She releases a laugh, not the condescending type of laugh she had been spitting out previously, this one seems vulnerable. Her eyes vacant of emotion, she looks deeply into Maria.

"I don't think Lucas even knows what my name is."

"That's enough, mother." Lucas' voice is heard coming out of Olivia's mouth.

Olivia walks over to the two of them, standing tall above them both. "Where is your son, woman."

"Release Olivia and I'll consider telling you." Maria replies.

Olivia quickly grabs hold of Maria's neck, lifting her out of her seat. Maria looks into the eyes of Olivia and recognizes no trace of her dear friend.

"I'll make you squeal like a sow." Says Lucas.

Maria's mental barrier is assaulted with great force. Unable to reach for the fan in her purse, and conscious of the fact that an attack on Lucas' mind would lead to nowhere, Maria focuses on holding her barrier up as she invades his mother's mind.

Lucas probably neglected teaching his mother how to defend her mind from intruders, allowing Maria to easily take over.

She reaches for Maria's purse, taking out the fan Kiyana gave her. Having noticed this, Olivia, under Lucas' control, throws Maria at her.

Maria collides against Lucas' mother, hurling them both against the wall and having them fall to the floor. Olivia walks past the fan, disregarding it. Lucas intends on causing as much pain to Maria, hoping that would draw Adam out. Olivia kicks Maria on the ribs while she's down. Maria grunts in pain, spitting out blood.

"Where is your son?" Demands Lucas.

Olivia raises her hand, ready to strike Maria again, before Olivia's fist makes contact with Maria, Kiyana appears between them.

Kiyana intercepts Olivia's punch, she counters with a punch to Olivia's stomach, sending stumbling back.

"Maria, are you okay?" Asks Kiyana, still facing Olivia.

Olivia gets up, she waves the wall away, the dance hall of puppeteered dancers is revealed, all of them ready to pounce on Kiyana. Maria spots the fan on the ground, Lucas' mother seems to be regaining her bearings, Olivia stands in front of the dancers, menacingly.

Boris teleports next to Kiyana, he turns to Maria, "We'll hold them back."

Lucas speaks through Olivia, "Mother, I don't know what that thing is, but don't let that bitch get her hands on it."

All the pieces in place for a final showdown, everyone aware of their role and what they must do, remain still, in a stand-off, waiting for the other side to make the first move.

Maria, feeling the explosion in her abdomen, reminding her of Adam, lunges for the fan, she is held back by Lucas' mother who pulls on her hair, they struggle and wrestle on the ground. Maria begins to attack the woman's mind; Lucas has set a barrier up to defend her.

Boris and Kiyana make the first move in their encounter, keeping the hall of dancer's at bay. Olivia seems to be the puppet Lucas has his focus on, she's faster and stronger than the other minions. Boris and Kiyana split their efforts, Boris focusing on Olivia, Kiyana on the dancers.

"You've spread yourself thin, just come out and face us, you coward." Says Boris.

One of the dancers slips by Kiyana. The dancer slams her fist across Boris' face, before he can react, Olivia kicks him across the floor, leaving her open to attack Maria. Kiyana pulls her hair and slams her on the floor. Boris gets back up and lunges back into the fray.

Maria struggles against the woman, losing control on the ground, she is forced on her back, the woman's hands pressing hard on her throat. Acknowledging she may not be able to overcome the woman in strength, she focuses her attack on the woman's mind. Maria strikes hard at the barrier, hoping for it to let up, to no avail. Her vision going blurry, Maria's senses begin to falter, her own mind begins to wane.

Is this it? Has she failed?

As Maria's senses begin to fade away, the explosion in her abdomen intensifies. Adam's consciousness begins to form within her; she is overwhelmed by Adam's love for her.

Maria's senses begin to clear up, she looks up at the woman, her eye's hellbent on killing her. She connects to the explosion within her, amplifying her attack on the woman's mind. The barrier begins to crack, weakening with every strike. Finally, a crack in the barrier opens, Maria pours her consciousness in, inadvertently allowing for both of their streams to intertwine and mingle.

Maria is exposed to every thought and feeling Lucas' mother had stored away in her memory, her upbringing, the absolute adoration she had for her father who made her feel a happiness nothing else in her mind can compare to. Maria learns the woman's name is Isolde; she witnesses Isolde's upbringing in an upper-class family, the high expectation to maintain that status, not only for the front she has to put for her family, but her peers. Isolde never truly had any genuine friends while growing up, everyone seemed to want to just associate with her because of her status. Even the man she would eventually marry, no love, just self interest, and a superficial need to do what is expected by others. Isolde did not love the man, not like she loved her father, even when Lucas was born, the love Isolde had for her father was never achieved again in her life. Isolde tolerated Lucas, as much as she could, enjoying the act of disciplining him more than actually spending time with him. Lucas was never the intelligent type, Isolde had to coerce a prestigious university using her husband's influence to get him in. He never excelled in sports like his father, the only thing Lucas ever had that Isolde considered a redeeming quality was his ambition.

One day, Lucas appeared in her villa in Greece, completely changed, with a power she didn't even know was possible, he restored some of her youth, and took her upstairs to her bed where he fucked her harder than her husband ever dared to. In that moment, as Isolde looked up at him, as he pounded his hips against her groin, she felt something akin to pride. Maybe Lucas could one day live up to being half the man his grand-father was.

A tear runs down Maria's cheek, she separates her stream of consciousness from Isolde's. Knowing how to manipulate her, Maria creates the image of Isolde's father for her to see.

"Daddy?" She says, easing the grip on Maria's throat.

Maria, still connected to the explosion within her, punches Isolde hard on the cheek, hurling her off to the side, tumbling and rolling on the ground.

Maria coughs as she regains her breath, she crawls over to the fan, looking over at the ensuing fight, hoping Kiyana and Boris are fine.

Maria unfolds the fan, ready to use it, her arm is held back. Isolde holds on to her arm, a stronger grip than before.

"What's this you got here?" Says Isolde.

Assuming Lucas has taken over her, Maria waves the fan at her. No reaction, Isolde looks at her with a smug look on her face.

"What was that supposed to do?"

Isolde leans in for an uppercut to Maria's stomach. Maria staggers back, she coughs up more blood, regaining her composure, Maria squares up, lifting her arms to guard her face.

Isolde has never been in a fight before, she lunges for Maria's hair. Having had some practice with Kiyana, Maria grabs Isolde by the ears, pushing her face towards Maria's knee. Isolde, still on her feet, responds with a quick jab to Maria's face. Maria bobs her head to the side and returns an uppercut to Isolde's abdomen, punching the air out of her.

While Isolde gasps for air, Maria turns to the ensuing fight, before she can think of raising her arm, Olivia flies towards her, slamming her feet on her chest and sending Maria flying back, crashing against the study's walls.

Olivia immediately closes the distance, "Wow, you and my mother are a lot stronger than I thought. Where did all that strength come from?"

Maria grunts, her dress a mess, a stream of blood dripping down her temple. Olivia, still completely naked, not a scratch on her, grabs a fistful of Maria's hair and raises her to eye level.

"Once I'm done killing your friends, I'm going to take my time with you."

Maria looks into Olivia's eyes, a hint of sadness underneath a thick layer of wrath.

Maria looks around on the floor, looking for the fan, it's nowhere to be seen.

"Maria!" Kiyana attempts to make her way to help, she's held back by three dancers, Boris too has his hands busy.

"Let Olivia go, you piece of shit!" Exclaims Maria.

Olivia smiles, a tear runs down her face.

"I know you're in there Olivia. I will save you!"

"Let me take care of her." Isolde walks up to Olivia, handing over the fan she picked up from the floor.

"Such a big fuss over a fan?" Says Lucas.

"Be careful with that." Says Isolde.

Lucas makes the fan float just above Olivia's hand. The fan is shredded to tiny pieces, then those pieces are incinerated. The ashes gently drop to the floor.

"Now we don't have to worry about that." Says Lucas.

Olivia lets go of Maria, letting her drop on the ground. Isolde takes over as Olivia returns to the fight with Boris and Kiyana.

Isolde cracks her knuckles. "We're not finished yet."