Aberrant: The Middle Children of History - Going Home [Complete]

[Elspeth]

{Note: The story has been edited. Also, a note of warning, it does get a bit graphic at the end.}

When your time comes to die, be not like those

whose hearts are filled with fear of death,

so that when their time comes they weep and pray

for a little more time to live their lives over again

in a different way.

Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.

From The Teaching of Tecumseh

,,,,

She walked through the tall grass, a leopard, silent and dangerous, but alone. Barely a rustle betrayed her presence, but the animals in the sparse trees around her fell silent as she passed. Elspeth was aware of this peripherally, but her attention was focused on the village ahead of her and specifically on the man standing in the center next to the ashes of a dead fire. He was tall and strong and his yellow skin was not that of the native people; the people now cowering in the doorways of their homes. He wore a tight grey uniform with wide black stripes down the outsides of the arms and legs, the uniform of her enemy. The mothers shielded their children as if to protect them from the foreign man, but no one there could do anything against a superhuman Nova and the man obviously relished his position of power. His smug expression alone made Elspeth's blood boil. How dare this maggot who fed off the scraps of the likes of Jarutu dare treat her people this way.

,,

The sleek spotted leopard stalked forward to the very edge of the village and within hearing or what was being said. The asian nova boomed out with what must have been a final demand from his expression, "Turn over to me the one who spoke against Jarutu. The General is benevolent, it pains him to think some few among his people would make up stories about him. This story about him stealing food from the mouth of a baby came from this village. If no one will confess the entire village will suffer the consequences."

,,

A old wrinkled woman sitting on log beside one hut looked up at the man without fear on her face, her white hair a stark contrast against her ebony skin. "It was me. I make up da story. But it not about him Jarutu, it about Wosi, da spider, and how he find himself smashed under a rock by da children for what he do. Never spoke bout him, big General man. Me just an old woman, not able to hurt a fly." She flicked a long haired fly swatter weakly as if to emphasis how true the statement was.

,,

The man gave a look around at the villagers, disappointment on his face, as if he had hoped that no one would confess. "Very well old woman, you alone will face the punishment." He quickly strode over to the woman and grabbed her by her large arms and then unexpectedly he bent at the knees and leaped high into the air. When he was easily 200 feet up he let go allowing the woman fall back to her death. His own arc through the air carried him away from the village and continued long after the woman should have hit the ground.

,,

For the space of 5 heart beats the leopard remained in it's place watching. Inside, Elspeth was torn; should she interfere and alert Jarutu of her return or save the woman's life? The Leopard was stepping forward before Elspeth knew she had made a decision, it really wasn't much of a choice. As the woman neared the ground Elspeth reached out with her mind and will using her own nova powers to slow the woman's decent so that by the time she reached the ground she landed as gently as a feather. The entire village had come out of their homes by this time and were looking between the old woman and the foreign man who was making his second leap away having never looked back. The old woman looked around herself in amazement and her eyes fell on the leopard staring at her from the edge of the village, and understanding dawned on her face. Many of the children rushed forward to touch the old woman as their parents loudly asked how she was alive when she should be dead?

,,

In the distance the man's keen hearing detected shouting and confusion and he smiled to himself imagining the scene as the villagers crowded around the old woman's broken body. Life was good, he was getting paid 100k a month to scare the natives into line and protect General Jarutu the military dictator of Sierra Leone. What could be easier? Besides some of those Creole women in Freetown were pretty hot and being a nova meant he never had a problem getting what he wanted from them. It was the best thing about being a nova really.

,,

Back in the village the leopard moved forward on silent feet and transformed into the equally sleek figure of a young woman. The old woman was the only one to see, the leopard blur as it enlarged and grew. She couldn’t quite focus on it until Elspeth had finished her transformation and settled into her own human form once more. As the girl changed, so too did her clothes, they went from a spotted form fitting one piece suit, into the traditional robes of the Sierra Leone tribes. It only took seconds for the villagers to notice the intent look of the old woman and to follow her gaze to where one of the most beautiful and charming people on the planet stood at the edge of their village. Elspeth felt no pride in how people saw her, it was just one of her nova abilities; Jarutu’s goon was super strong, Elspeth was charming and beautiful beyond the peak of human perfection. It was no wonder many people around the world thought of novas as gods. Not that her people did, they knew what novas were and just how mortal they proved to be thanks to Jarutu's murderous rise to power. Even so, they did not fear Elspeth they way they might another nova, they loved her. She was the daughter of their former King and Queen and under her parents all the people had prospered even a remote village like this one.

,,

After a moment the people began to crowd around and one by one they reached out to touch the pale form of the beautiful blonde girl. Elspeth for her part stood silently accepting their grateful touches and admiration patiently. When all was settled down again the old woman spoke with a twinkle in her yellowing eyes, "Now da child smash the fat lazy spider wit da rock I tink."

,,

Elspeth smiled but her thoughts were not so hopeful. At last count Jarutu had 10 novas on staff at all times enforcing his decrees and serving as elite body guards. She couldn't hope to take on 10 battle hardened Elite mercenaries and survive. Besides, she was just thirteen and had never even been in a fight much less a battle to the death. How could she save these people who needed her?

[Elspeth]

Days came and went as the Leopard padded from village to village on silent feet. At each one Elspeth, moved among the people spreading hope and the message that Jarutu's reign of oppression would end soon. In each, she found a mix of staunch supporters and those who just wanted to see Jarutu thrown down. Her supporters were as diverse as Africa could produce. In one village in the mountains it was an old shaman dressed in sun bleached bones, grass and hide, his joints so gnarled with arthritis that he had to be carried out of his hut to the village center to be presented to Elspeth. Despite his infirmity he was as sharp a human as Elspeth had ever met and they sat by the fire for hours under the starry heavens discussing politics and what Elspeth meant to do for the People once she took her throne. In a village near Kamakwie, the tribe elders threw a feast in her honor and roasted a boar they had caught the day before. In Bumbuna a mother wept as she told how her two sons had been taken away and forced to join Jarutu's army leaving her destitute and surviving on the charity of her fellow townsfolk. In town and village it was always the same stories, abuse of the people and hatred for Jarutu. Only those in privileged positions seemed to be supporters of the status quo.

,,

Three weeks after her arrival Elspeth was sitting in the parlor of a town elder of Sefadu, Momigali by name. He was well dressed in western clothing and had attended university in Belgium when he was young. His smile was broad and friendly and he had a twinkle in his eyes as he told her a story of how he and his freshman roommates had sneaked into the biology labs and set free all of the frogs in the professor's office one night. Over the course of the evening while listening to the old man’s stories she had managed to put aside her worry and forget her responsibilities for a time. Near the end of this story shouts in the street interrupted them, and just that quickly all her troubles were back. The smile faded from Momigali’s face quickly as he went to the window to investigate, motioning Elspeth to stay back. From the second floor he could see down the main street of the town a good way in both directions. Moving up the street were a group of people being herded by at least three novas. He could tell what they were at a glance; one floated three meters in the air just behind the group, while two others flanked the people wearing the distinctive eufiber tights of Jarutu's mercenary elites, all gray with black trim and broad black stripes down the outsides of the legs and arms. To Momigali's great dismay they procession stopped before his home.

,,

Turning to Elspeth he hissed quietly, "You need to leave quickly, Jarutu has sent his goons to capture you. I will try to distract them while you sneak out." Elspeth's pale face flushed with anger and Momigali realized for the first time that this young woman had more to her than just charm. The expression she wore promised consequences for those who awoke her ire. Instead of reassuring the elder this only made him more frightened. Not for himself of course or his family since they were long dead of a plague that had killed many in the town, but rather fear for Elspeth's safety. The expression he was seeing, was that of impetuous youth that doesn't recon the cost before doing something hasty. Before he could speak again to urge her to flee a voice boomed out loud enough to be heard by most of the town's thousands of inhabitants.

,,

"By order of his benevolence, General Jarutu, we have come to arrest the outlaw and traitor, Elspeth, the so called Ivory Princess, whose parents illegally occupied the country and oppressed the people under tyrannical rule until General Jarutu liberated the people from their enslavement." The pompous woman proclaiming the arrest warrant barely paused for breath before continuing down a list of charges against Elspeth, all of which were false, except one. She absolutely intended to remove Jarutu from office, though she wasn't conspiring to murder him, no matter how much he deserved it.

,,

Elspeth was not at the window and therefore could not see the malevolent smile that crossed the woman's face, "These people have been found guilty of treasonous speech against the Benevolent General. They will be executed one at a time until you give yourself up Elspeth! Starting now." There was a blood curdling scream that devolved into a gurgling cry as one of the novas sheparding the prisoners reached out and raked a clawed hand across a man's throat faster than the man could react. That was followed by more screaming and wailing as the other prisoners reacted to the first man’s murder.

,,

Inside the room Elspeth was on her feet in an instant and was moving toward the window when elder Momigali hissed, "Stop, you cannot go out there. If you die, then hope dies with you! Besides, those prisoners will be killed regardless of whether you turn yourself in or not. You must flee for now or they will die in vain!"

,,

"But they will all die if I don't, and you will die." Elspeth had been raised part of the Teragen sect which taught that Nova's were inherently more valuable than baseline humans, but it was one thing to know yourself superior and another to witness the slaughter of innocent people, especially when they were willingly giving their lives for you.

,,

Tears were flowing down her alabaster cheeks as she looked up at Momigali again, "I understand, but I can save one person, you will come with me my loyal friend." She reached out and took hold of his hand and willed herself to teleport to the lobby of the Royal Garden Hotel in London. Arriving there she smiled sadly at the shocked expression on Mumigali's face and looked around until she spotted the concierge. "Maxwell, this is a good friend of mine. He is to be taken care of indefinitely and as a special favor to me I would appreciate it if you could ensure he has whatever he requires." Maxwell was an older man, with a thick but neatly trimmed mustache and a receding hairline, and despite his thickening middle he was immaculately dressed as befitted the manager of one of London's premier 5-star hotels.

,,

"As madam wishes." His phrase was precise and exactly what he would have done for any of the hotel's VIP guests, but there was a familiarity and friendliness to it that belied the professionalism of his rigid stance. Maxwell was well accustomed to dealing with the Ivory Princess as she was a frequent guest, besides she was one of the most charming people in the world, he was sure of it, and he should know, he’d dealt with royalty, pop stars, movie stars and many other of the world’s most famous people.

,,

Elspeth looked up at Momigali with a sad and regretful expression, and before he could react or protest let go of his hand and willed herself back to his home. "At least I can save one." She wiped the tears from her eyes and her expression hardened as she considered what to do next. Momigali was right she knew, those people in the street were as good as dead whether she gave herself up or not, but perhaps she could give them a chance to flee. Before she could cross to the window and assess the situation another death scream shattered the silence followed by the voice of the pompous woman bellowing loudly enough to be heard many blocks away, "See how this cowardly so called Princess lets her followers die in her place while hiding from justice?"

,,

The princess crept to the window and peaked out through the curtains. In the street lay two bodies and 13 other people who huddled together weeping in terror and confusion. The killer licked the blood from his claws as if relishing the taste, while his partner on the other side scanned the houses along the street warily looking for possible avenues of attack. The pompous woman just floated above the group looking half bored. "One minute and next time we kill two at once. Come out, come out wherever you are!"

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Elspeth looked about for anything to use against the murderers. There were bricks and timber a couple houses up the street where repairs were being done. She could use her telekinesis to throw them but doubted such a trick would do any of the mercenaries any real harm, they were battle hardened elites after all. She could sneak around to a side street and throw one while using her telekinesis at the same time from another direction, that might cause some confusion. *If only I had some help, one more nova would even up the odds considerably.* She was just about to will herself into the alley across the street when a desperate idea dawned. It was a trick she'd tried before in order to play a prank on Ptesan-Wi once, but it hadn't quite worked. This time it would have to, lives were at stake.

,,

In the middle of the room, the beautiful Ivory Princess shimmered and blurred and it seemed as if she simply took a step but at the same time remained in place. A ghostly image of the girl stepped out of her physical body, but then the image turned to face herself and grew more solid as the seconds passed. Finally, the original and the copy reached out to touch each other and their hands met in the middle and both smiled. Two voices from the separate bodies said simultaneously, "That's a relief, last time I had a headache for a week." They started to giggle at the same time, but cut off almost instantly both looking to the street realizing that it was almost time for the next victims. Elspeth looked at her reflection and said, "I'll take the north." The other Elspeth replied, "I'll take the south. One of the two shouted as loud as she could, "I'm coming out, don't kill anyone else!!!" An instant later both girls were gone.

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In the middle of the street the three novas seemed to go on heightened alert and the woman who seemed to be in charge hissed quietly, "Be ready and disrupt her as soon as you see her." The man who had remained silent just nodded, but the one with the claws grumbled, "We should kill her the minute she comes out no matter what Jarutu's orders were. I'm telling you she's dangerous, I have a bad feeling about this."

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Just then bricks and other small hard objects seemed to come from everywhere at once, one hit the woman in the back knocking her to the ground, one hit the quiet man, and two hit the man with the claws. Those two were both well aimed and hit him in the head one after the other. The quiet man simply shrugged it off as if it was nothing, but Claws went down in a puddle of blood at least unconscious. A second later Elspeth yelled at the prisoners with all the force of command behind her voice, "RUUUNNNNN!!!" The terror was overcome in an instant as their bodies acted according to the will of their sovereign. Thirteen people sprinted in thirteen different directions at the same instance, several of them trampled over the nova woman in their haste to flee.

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Unfortunately, the quiet man was unaffected by the commotion and ignored the prisoners focusing on where one of the Elspeth's had revealed herself. He stretched out a hand and waves of what looked like heat washed over the area on the southern side of the street where Elspeth had revealed herself. She screamed and clutched at her head falling to her knees in the dirt. As the waves of heat and energy continued she fell to the ground unconscious and then faded away becoming ghostly then disappearing altogether. The quiet man frowned and cautiously approached the spot looking at the ground where Elspeth had fallen. Behind him in the street the pompous woman regained her feet and looked angrily at her companion, "I told you we follow Jarutu's orders, he wanted the girl alive so he could publicly execute her. We would have gotten a bonus for her capture, now we're going to get noting and probably be out of a job as well!"

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Quiet man looked at the woman and growled, "Shut up Mirabel, the girl is still alive. What I did wouldn't have killed her. It was a mirage or something, and when I disrupted the area it disappeared. She has escaped." He looked thoughtful as he made his way back to the street and completely ignored Mirabel and their fallen companion.

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Elspeth watched from hiding as the pompous woman, apparently named Mirabel, kneeled checking the killers pulse. The woman made a sound in her throat that Elspeth couldn't recognize and then looked to her other companion, "That little bitch killed Chris! When Jarutu catches her, I'm going to make her pay for this before she dies."

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With those words the enormity of what had just happened finally struck Elspeth, she had killed a man, a nova. She wanted to throw up. Her parents had taught her about justice and that one day when she ruled she would have to make life and death decisions, but she had never wanted it to be so soon and not like this. She'd envisioned 'justice' as signing the order for someone's execution and having it done somewhere else where she wouldn't have to watch. She felt her throat constrict again and held the bile back barely as she looked at the bloody bricks lying in the street next the man called Chris. She'd ended his life and she wanted nothing more at this moment than to run away hide from it. Before she could will herself away, a shot rang out from somewhere up the street and the woman was spun around from the impact to her shoulder. Several more followed the first, and not just from the direction of the first. Someone shouted, "Down with Jarutu!" Then several more shots rang out.

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The nova whose name she'd never learned calmly reached over and grabbed Maribel's arm then they both vanished leaving their companion and their victims lying in the street their blood soaking into the dry ground.

[Elspeth]

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The next day found Elspeth sitting on a large rock overlooking a jungle pool fed from a small waterfall and in turn pouring out down another waterfall and into a the stream that continued 15 meters below. The setting was peaceful, but she was not. The face and clothes of the Ivory Princess were no longer pristine, they were covered in patches of dirt and her normally perfect hair was loose and matted. The only clean skin showing were the tear streaks down her face. She had cried when her parents died, but it had been a total consuming loss and it was to be expected. These tears didn't make her feel clean, they were tears of confusion and anger. Yesterday she had killed a man. He had surely deserved it and that was the anger. She could understand that as much as she hated it.

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The problem was that she didn't want to shed tears over the killer, he didn't diverse them. She knew that logically, but that didn't matter, and that was where some of the confusion was coming from. Time passed, the sun set, and the animals ignored her as part of the scenery. The night predators came and drank from the pool and went away in search of food, and still Elspeth sat thinking about what had happened. Late into the night she finally came to the realization that what she was really crying for was her loss of innocence. With the death of that mercenary she had lost her own childhood. She couldn't look at the world the same way any more.

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For the first time in many hours she felt a little bit of her accustomed balance return as she made decisions about what to do next. Turning her head she spoke to a jungle cat that had just arrived at the pool, "I've made my decision. I won't hesitate to kill again if I need to, but I don't want to do that. I also don't want to be hunted any more or risk more of my people being hurt because of me. So do you know what I'm going to do?" She paused as if expecting an answer from the frightened animal. "I am going to Freetown, and I am going to hunt them instead. Oh, I won't kill them, but I will find out which ones are killers like that one yesterday and I'll make sure justice is done." She smiled and some of the cold anger was in it making the cat start to back out of the small clearing, "I am going to turn Jarutu's people against him and each other." By the last word the cat was nothing but a pair of eyes reflecting a hint of moonlight shining through the canopy above, and then it was gone, creeping stealthily through the dense foliage away from the hairless white monkey that had disturbed it.

,,

In the clearing, sitting on the rock Elspeth just laughed softly, and there was only a little darkness to the sound. After a moment she stretched, stood and dove into the pool to wash off the dust and dirt of the last night. As she washed she wondered what she had done before coming to this pool and settling on the rock. She didn't really want to think about it and focused on making plans. Self-pity wasn't really a big part of her character and it felt good to scrub away the tears as wells as the dirt.

[Elspeth]

Freetown was dirty and humid and hot. Gone were the friendly faces and happy people filling the streets that she remembered from childhood. The people of the city now seemed nervous, always shifting their gazes around to see who was watching. It was probably a result of Jarutu's efforts at paying people to turn in their neighbors at the slightest hint of disloyalty. No one on these streets smiled, not even the children, no one that is except the military officers that strutted around, pistols on their hips, inspecting the people as if they were for sale rather than the good in the shops. The men looked away at the site of the officers, resentment in their eyes, and most of the women shied away afraid to attract notice. Sitting on top of a telephone pole wearing the form of a sea bird, Elsepth noted that not all the women moved away, some pressed themselves against the officers enticing them to buy something at their shops, or perhaps it wasn't what was in their shops they were trying to peddle. She tried not to judge, they had to live too after all and the officers had money to spare. Jarutu didn't pay well, but the officers and their men didn't make all of their money from their pay checks, they extorted it from the people, or earned it in bribes. As she watched and learned who was who she thought to herself, *I'm going to have a lot of work to do putting this country back together.*

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She was just about to fly off to find another perch closer to the palace when she noticed one of the officers pull out his pistol and hit a man in the head with it. The victim crumpled to the ground nearly unconscious and cowered as the military man took something from the victims cart and put it inside his pocket. "You will not cheat me swine! This was worth half what you claimed, and now you will get nothing for it at all." With a smug smile and a satisfied strut he made his way up the street seeming to dare anyone to say something about what had transpired.

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Elspeth wanted to intervene, but instead flew behind a building and shifted into a young creole woman of average looks and moved out of the alley to help the shop owner back to his feet. "Who that bad man that knocked you in da hed?" She kept her voice low and mimicked the accents of the pidgin dialect she'd heard so often as a child.

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The man looked unhappy and hurt as she helped him to a stool behind the stand in front of his shop. The dark skinned African man was old for this country, probably in his early fifties and his clothes spoke of better times now gone. Like so much of what she'd seen since returning, his suit was several years old and had seen much wear and no amount of cleaning could make it look new again. Elspeth had made her eufiber look even more ragged and poor than what the man wore. Looking her up and down he sniffed, "That was just another bully grown fat on the work of others. And who are you girl? If you are looking for a hand out you are in the wrong place." Seeing Elspeth's look of indignation, he hastily added, "I appreciate your kindness, but I haven't made a sale all week and I've got nothing to give, or I would invite you to eat something. No one can afford my leather work now."

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Elspeth smiled more warmly at the man, "Maybe I can help you den.” She pulled an American five dollar bill from her pocket and reached out to the man offering it.

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His eyes narrowed, and he sounded angry, "I don't take charity, and I don't think I would want foreign money if it came to you from the likes of Tinbu or his lot in any case." It was obvious what he thought she must have done to earn it.

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Rather than make an angry retort, the young creole woman looked over the items on the man's cart and chose a finely stitched leather handbag, "For dis den, how much more I owe you?"

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The man looked suspicious knowing that it was still charity, but took the money looking less than pleased, "You owe me nothing, in fact I owe you some back. One minute while I get it." He ducked into his shop to retrieve the change from his secret place, but when he returned coins in hand the girl was gone. He looked over his cart but didn't see anything missing. On his stool he noticed the glint of a coin, the face was that of the old queen. That money was illegal to have now and he quickly slid it into a pocket and out of sight in case any of his neighbors might be close enough to see what he had. He continued to wonder about the kind girl and her coin for days. Maybe there really was a secret resistance movement that would bring Jarutu down? It was a hopeful thought, and that was an unfamiliar thing these days.

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When she left the man's shop Elspeth ducked into an alley and changed quickly back into a seagull and flew off in pursuit of Tinbu. Now she had a name and a place to begin the downfall of Jarutu.

[Elspeth]

The sea bird glided on the winds above Freetown shifting higher then lower and back again as the currents took her. All the while she watched the strutting pig wander through the streets harassing citizens and taking things from them, no one daring to protest the treatment. After nearly two hours the man made his way back to the palace and she lost sight of him as he entered through a side door. Elspeth perched on a roof close enough to observe the palace and spent the rest of the afternoon waiting. There was some bitterness in her heart as she noted the changes that had taken place in what had once been her home, the home her parents had built. When she had been a child, the palace had been surrounded by several acres of lush gardens in the formal English style. The palace itself was a two story house of a pale local limestone stone quarried out of the hills in the eastern part of the country. Colorful sunshades had adorned the windows and her parents personal coat of arms along with the flag of the Kingdom of Sierra Leone had topped a pole in the middle of the long drive up to the house. Now the gardens were gone, burned to the ground in the coup actually, and the house had been whitewashed in some attempt to make it resemble the White House in the U.S. Where once there had been understated elegance, there was in it's place a bare sterile attempt to mimic the American seat of power. As far as Elspeth was concerned it was a pitiful failure, and just one more example of how little taste Jarutu possessed.

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That side door seemed to be the main entry point for most of those coming and going. No one used the large formal front entrance with it's marble steps and circular drive, it seemed to be reserved for Jarutu alone judging by his motorcade parked out front. Late in the afternoon Elspeth noticed a woman walking around on the roof peering out across the palace grounds as if she were a guard walking her rounds. That was probably Mirabel or one of the other Elites. Despite their lack of judgment in working for such a monster and the cruelty that she'd witnessed and heard about, they were efficient, and didn't slack in their duties as far as Elspeth could tell. Throughout the day she had seen the Elites looking out at various windows and occasionally patrolling the grounds and even flying over the palace in their sleek formfitting eufiber uniforms. They were a visible symbol of Jarutu's power and the real reason the people were too cowed to rise up. The likes of Tinbu beating a citizen in front of his shop would not have been tolerated by the people otherwise, not if all they faced was guns and knives. Super powered mercenaries who could toss lighting bolts from their hands, or shoot lasers from their eyes were just too much.

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When full night had fallen Elspeth hopped off the roof and glided to the ground near the edge of what had once been the palace gardens, there she transformed into a large brown rat. Her eyes and large teeth gleamed in the moonlight as she made her way slowly across the grounds to the house. She went to the side entrance and waited until one of the guards came out the door to have a smoke and chat with the watchmen on duty. As he exited she scurried forward on her four small legs as fast as she could in through the door. She almost didn’t make it before the door slammed shut, but she pulled her tail in close to her body and breathed a sigh of relief in the bright light of the hallway. Once she was sure no one was in sight, she changed into a calico house cat with mismatched eyes, one green and one blue and a patch of white on each paw. Inside the house a rat might get stepped on, but a cat would be welcomed by most and ignored by the rest, or at least that was her hope. Moving through the house on silent paws she wasn't surprised to see that the inside had changed even more than the outside. The priceless art pieces that had adorned the hallways and rooms were gone, as was most of the furniture; what remained was cheap and worn. Elspeth suspected the they had been sold off to help fund the Elite body guards in the beginning when Jarutu realized he could not access the royal bank accounts since they had been secretly moved to Switzerland shortly before the coup.

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When guards walked down the hall she moved close to the wall and pretended to stop and clean a paw. They didn't pay attention to a simple house cat, no doubt there were others around the palace, tolerated for their ability to catch mice. She was just congratulating herself on what a good disguise she'd chosen when a door opened just up the hall and Mirabel, the nova that had been in charge of her capture in Sefadu two days ago stepped out. She froze, the hair on her back rising as she stared at the approaching nova. Unlike the guards, Mirabel did notice her and smiled. Elspeth had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Mirabel reached for her and lifted her from the ground and flipped her over on her back. Elspeth thought for sure she would soon be dead, and was exposing her claws prepared to scratch the woman’s eyes out if she could when the woman started rubbing her belly and scratching her under the chin. She started to breath again and relief flooded through her. Mirabel couldn't sense her quantum signature... she just might escape from this with her skin intact. The evil bitch who had sworn vengeance against her was cooing like an idiot and taking her to the kitchen for a treat. If she were in human form she'd be laughing like a crazy person over the absurdity of the situation. *But dammit, no wonder cat's like to be scratched behind the ears... that feels good.* For the next few minutes she purred dutifully and did her best to act like a cat. When Mirabel finally left her in the kitchen with a bowl of milk she sighed a big relief; which in cat form came out as a low meow.

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From the kitchen it wasn't difficult enter the dining room where Jarutu's favorite's ate their meals. As long as the Elites didn't frequent the place she should be safe here, and it should give her all the opportunity she needed to mess with Tinbu and the other officers. She curled up in the shadows next to an old fashioned jukebox and waited patiently, the evening meal should be served soon.

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An hour later men began to file in and take trays of steaming food. It was good food too, well prepared and Elspeth was sure these men were eating far better than the average citizen. Even to her sensitive cat nose it smelled good. After a good portion of the meal passed and she was sure the Elites wouldn't be coming in she stood, arched her back in a cat stretch and wandered over to where Tinbu sat with a group of other officers. There was nothing unusual about a cat begging food after all. She rubbed up against his calf since physical contact would make her telepathy even stronger and more effective. It could be touchy the first time entering someone’s mind, not knowing if they would have defenses, or what you would find. It wasn't something she enjoyed, most of the time it was like taking a bath in a sewer, especially with someone like Tinbu. She gritted her teeth and dove in, sifting through the surface thoughts and going deeper. It was disgusting. The things he thought and worse the things he'd actually done were enough to earn him a death sentence several times over. Rapes, murders, and hundreds of small but cruel acts like today's beating and robbery of the merchant. They were all laid out before her, and his mind was weak and posed no challenge at all. From this one source she learned the identities of a dozen others who were at least as evil as he was.

,,

This was her first target though, and she wanted to make sure she planned it right. She waited as he finished his meal oblivious to the fact that all his secrets were laid bare before his judge and that the verdict was guilty. Elspeth felt sad and hated that she had to be the one to judge him and seal his fate, but she thought of her parents and their example and how no one needed to fear the kinds of things that this man had done when they were alive. That thought caused her to move backwards in his memories to the night of the bloody coup. Tinbu had been there with Jarutu, one of the followers that had opened fire with rockets and grenades and bullets on her parents. His hand had pulled the trigger over and over, fear and excitement rushing through him.

,,

She broke away quickly lest she reveal herself in her anger. She was making a low growl noise in her throat that had attracted attention from the diners. She quickly altered Tinbu's memories to include feeding her several times and how friendly of a cat she was. He reached down beneath the table and picked her up and petted her and offered her a piece of chicken from his plate, just like he had a dozen or more times in his memory. She ate the offering then licked her paw ignoring him as she recovered her wits. The anger at this man over his part in her parents death had almost blinded her to her own danger here in the heart of the enemies stronghold. She needed to be more careful from now on. Once he was done with his food he carried her back to the room he shared with three other officers. It took nearly an hour for Elspeth to alter his memories to her satisfaction. She didn't make any major changes, she didn't try and turn him into her loyal follower or anything directly against his basic nature which would have been noticeable to others. She just heightened his paranoia a bit, giving him memories of various officers doing small things that made him look bad in front of Jarutu. She focused on one other man in particular from the dozen most evil that he knew of. She made Tinbu and Oscar bitter rivals and enemies to the death. She concocted evidence in his mind that Oscar was a traitor to Jarutu and that he was planning to kill Jarutu at the Liberation Day ceremony next week. Tinbu would save his beloved leader just before the man struck and so he would show Jarutu and all the others who had ever scorned him just how loyal and valuable he was!

,,

Elspeth purred in satisfaction as she waited for the next man to arrive in the room; Tinbu's three roommates all being evil men according to the memories she'd seen. Of course, it wouldn't be just to sentence them before trying them for their crimes, so she would go through each ones mind and make sure they were deserving of punishment. *And if they are, they will be sentenced to the same fate as Tinbu.*

[Elspeth]

A week passed with Elspeth quietly existing within the very fortress of her enemy. It helped that they didn't know she could shapeshift so they weren't on the lookout for a nova disguised as a mottle-coated brown, black, and white calico house cat. During that time, one by one she had made her way to each of the 12 most evil men she knew of in Jarutu's service and probed their thoughts, judging them and sentencing them to death, though they did not know it. In each one's mind she altered memories subtly making each think that one of the others was plotting against him personally and Jarutu as well. She implanted them with the memories necessary to lead to the inescapable conclusion that his sworn enemy must be eliminated decisively and in such a way as to win Jarutu's favor. Using her telepathy this way was not an easy thing, it took hours with each man to alter and build the memories that it took to ensure that they would act in a predictable manner at the time of her choosing. She also had to be careful not to use too much quantum energy lest she give herself away to the other novas in the palace. Some might be able to feel quantum being used after all, it wasn’t a common talent, but it is one she would have wanted if she was hiring body guards to protect her against enemy novas.

,,

Another week passed and the time came for Jarutu's annual Liberation Day celebration. This year was the third annual and he had planned an extra large ceremony complete with military review of parading troops and weaponry as well as a conspicuous display of his elite nova mercenaries. Every bit of the ceremony went without a hitch right up to the climax which was to be a speech by Jarutu to the people broadcast live over the national media outlets. The event began with some nova enhanced fireworks designed to be visible during the daytime which was popular with the everyone even those who were only in attendance because they were forced to at gunpoint. That was followed by the military parade of several thousand troops marching by the reviewing stand followed by tanks. Several nova Elites who were stationed on the reviewing stand guarding Jarutu rose into the air and made slow graceful sweeps around the city, firing off blasts of energy of various sorts, from lightning to fire to bright lasers. That particular display of power was greeted with unenthusiastic forced applause. No one seemed to like the reminder of the Elite's presence. Even many of the members of the military frowned or displayed stony expressions and avoided looking at their 'betters'.

,,

On the stand itself sat the most loyal of Jarutu's supporters and advisers with Jarutu placed prominently in the center of everyone on a raised dais on top of the already raised reviewing stand. At his sides and back stood six novas, each and every one looking deadly and serious in their grey and black eufiber tights. Jarutu himself was resplendent in his military uniform with it's rows of medals and ribbons and fringed epaulets. When the time for his speech came he stood and straightened his jacket and hat and strutted up to the podium. Two of the novas shadowed him and stood a step or so behind him and to each side looking intimidating. The speech was long winded and pompous in both tone and delivery saying nothing new but making the usual promises to bring glory back to Sierra Leone. The one thing that did surprise Elsepth was mention of herself. Jarutu spent a good five minutes harping on how cowardly she was and how she was a traitor to the great democratic republic of Sierra Leone. Of course it was neither democratic nor a republic and everyone knew it, but no one was foolish enough to say so. Through out the entire proceeding Elspeth kept silent and watched the live presentation on one of the palace TVs. As the final words were uttered Jarutu raised both his hands in a triumphant gesture that she knew he would make. He always ended his speechs with that pose, thinking it looked particular impressive. Perhaps it did to someone other than Elspeth; to her it seemed like gloating on his part, and she had counted on it in her own plans...

,,

On cue thirteen men, those most loyal to Jarutu stood as one and faced left to salute their leader in what they believed was a planned part of the ceremony. As they did each man had his personal enemy's back presented to him, then each yelled at the top of their lungs at the same time, "FOR JARUTU!!!", and then plunged his dagger into the back of the man next to him. Of course only one man survived this, he was the one at the end of the row with no one at his own back. He was also not one of the twelve that Elspeth had judged. He was evil in his own right, but not so bad as the others. Making him part of the plot, but not actually die as a result, was Elspeth's way of showing him mercy while still ensuring his punishment. She was sure Jarutu would not be gentle with him in his efforts to root out the cause of this bloodshed.

,,

Their shout at first was thought to be a part of the ceremony, until twelve of the thirteen fell over dead or dying with daggers in their backs. As they fell confusion reigned. The novas rushed to surround Jarutu and a visible wall of force sprang up around the entire group and they ushered him off stage. The people in the audience began to flee fearing greater violence might ensue. The others on the stage stumbled out of their chairs and backed away from the bodies fearing both their own deaths and to be associated with the dead. One of the novas not inside the force bubble raised a hand and shot something from it that hurtled across the stage and splattered into the man's chest rapidly expanding and forming some kind cocoon around his middle pinning his arms and legs so that all he could do was fall over like felled tree.

,,

Elspeth smiled like the Cheshire cat and raised one paw to her mouth and began to lick her fur in a very satisfied way. She was pleased to note that the cameras did not immediately cut off but continued to film Jarutu's less than glorius retreat from the stage as well as the reactions of the others on the stage. Perhaps someone from the state controlled media wasn't so fond of the Benevolent General and chose to keep filming. Regardless, she was pleased to see it since it represented yet one more crack in Jarutu’s control over the country.

[Elspeth]

The next part of her plan came to her one evening when she was in the kitchen begging a treat from one of the cooks that had adopted her. Several young creole women were brought into the kitchen by a guard and pointed toward the cooks, "Have them feed you something before you leave." The burly guard who was missing three teeth sneered and pointed to first one then two others, "You three, don't come back. Jarutu wasn't interested in you." His sneer turned into a leer as he turned toward the other two; the prettiest of the five, "You two, come back tomorrow evening. Jarutu didn't choose you tonight but he might tomorrow, he's like that. Likes variety. So do I. If he doesn't take you in a day or two I will spend a little money on you myself." He moved closer to the two looking them up and down and reached up to grab one girl by the chin and check her teeth then let his other hand wander around probing at her body. Elspeth was disgusted and wanted to act, but she dared not lest she be discovered. The girl just stood stiffly trying not to look at the man in the face or do anything to provoke him. For his part he seemed to be thrive on by the girl’s fear.

,,

Elspeth couldn't stand witnessing it any more and reached out with her mind and with a great deal of disgust dove into his mind, trying to ignore his surface thoughts as she messed with him. In his mind she placed a vision of the young girl with cold sores on her mouth, as if he'd just noticed them. He recoiled from the girl and looked her over again in light of this new evidence of disease. "You, get out now, and don't come back!" He backhanded the girl so hard she nearly fell to the ground. When the girl recovered she rushed out the kitchen door into the night.

,,

Elspeth felt bad for the young creole but, at least she was safe from this man now. Meanwhile the guard had turned his attention to the other girl who seemed to be encouraging him and even flirting. Elspeth was surprised at first, but then realized she must actually be a prostitute, not just a local girl that was forced to come to the palace. She quickly delved the woman's thoughts and confirmed what she suspected. She was shocked at the thoughts too and quickly withdrew from them. As sweet and young as the girl looked she was hard as rocks inside, and now that she looked she could see it in the girls eyes. The girl had a cold disdain for men that was completely in contrast to how she was acting toward the guard. That was when Elspeth decided how to attack Jarutu next. Though she didn't want to go into the prostitute's mind again she would have to.

,,

Over the next several days Elspeth made a point of being in the kitchen at that time of evening and made sure she probed the minds of all of Jarutu's potential bed warmers. She felt like she needed a shower as she read their minds and the things they had done with Jarutu or other men for money. She did have some sympathy for them though, each one had reasons for doing what they were doing and not all of them had had a choice. The education she received this way was both disgusting and detailed, but she knew it was also devious and would hit Jarutu far harder than her little demonstration at the Liberation Day celebration.

,,

When she had finished tweaking the prostitutes and ensuring that those who were innocence or nearly so were weeded out, she put her next plot into motion.

,,

That night Jarutu tried to take three lovers and failed with each one. They used their arts subtly to ensure he would have a difficult time, and when they were dismissed they giggled and left, each one a little nail in the coffin of his pride. They also talked among themselves as the guards escorted them out about how Jarutu had failed to satisfy them and compared notes about his short-comings in bed. The disgusting guard with the missing teeth was amazed and guffawed loudly at their talk.

,,

The next day rumors had started to circulate about how Jarutu had lost his manhood. Each day more prostitutes were brought and each time he failed to achieve. The problem of course had been started by the three who had deliberately sabotaged him, but then his own insecurity had compounded the problem so that even willing girls were unable to help him succeed. Elspeth was very amused, she didn’t understand how male pride could be so important to them and so fickle a thing, but she knew from the thoughts of the women she’d scanned that it was true. She suspected she never would understand that, no matter how old she got, or how much she learned.

,,

In the barracks the men who had been increasingly abused by Jarutu's Elites and made to feel inferior were taking great delight in their master's bedroom failures. From what she could learn from palace gossip, even the people in the city were talking about it. Elspeth figured that at this rate his own military would stage a coup and oust him before the month was out, and that would suit her just fine. No one else knew enough about Jarutu's deals with DeVries and how he managed his finances to be able to take over in his place. The Elites would leave and then nothing could stop her from taking what was rightfully hers.

[Elspeth]

Everything was going better than Elspeth could have planned and she felt confident that within a month at most her hated enemy would be dead. Since the officers had been pushed out of the palace thanks to Jarutu's fear that they could be turned against him, she'd had a much easier time moving about. Another benefit was that all of the servants had become use to the little calico and ignored her completely. The only ones she worried about were the Elites, but even they had proven oblivious to her presence. Even so, she still avoided Jarutu's personal quarters and those of the Elites for fear that one of them might be able to tell she was more than just a cat. Some novas she knew had the ability to see the quantum energies that permeated an area and thus could see her own strong quantum signature no matter what shape she took. She tried not to take any chances and avoided even being in the same areas of the palace as the Elites. She wasn’t too worried though, with several novas in the palace at all times her own minor uses of quantum should go overlooked.

,,

For almost a month it worked. She'd only had the one close call with Mirabel when she'd first arrived. That all changed one Saturday afternoon. She couldn't stand going so long without a bath or shower any longer and decided to risk sneaking into one of the unused bathrooms. She changed back into her true shape and doffed her eufiber, first washing it carefully and hanging it over a towel rack to dry changing it to look like one of the other towels on the rack. That was one of the great things about eufiber, it had the ability to take on nearly any shape or texture at it's owner whim.

,,

The shower was wonderful. The feel of water against her bare skin was luxurious after spending a month in the form of a cat. Not that being a cat wasn't fun, it really was and had given her a different perspective, but being able to stretch out and just be herself was a big relief. Jarutu was out of the palace this morning having gone off in his motorcade into the city. She had seen from one of the windows that eight of his ten Elites had been with him. That meant that it was relatively safe to relax. Plus, with her enhanced senses she should be able to hear anyone approach with plenty of time to change back into a cat or teleport away if worse came to worse. After a quick shower to get herself clean she filled the tub with hot water and laid back relaxing fully. She hadn't realized just how draining it was to maintain a different form for so long. She didn't need to sleep and hadn't been doing anything thing else with her quantum, but even so, she felt drained now that she was back in human form. Her eyes slid closed slowly and without being aware of it she fell asleep.

,,

She came awake quickly and sat up in a tub now grown cool, feeling like something was wrong. She didn't hear anything approaching or within several rooms of her, but the sense of unease didn't fade. She stood up as quietly as possible, not because she was afraid someone would hear, but so that any noise she made wouldn't mask the approach of someone coming for her. She was reaching for her eufiber when four people appeared in the room with no warning. Without thought or time to consider she willed herself to Ptesan-wi's cave retreat, the safest place she knew of. To her amazement she didn't move, her teleport hadn't worked. That was when she recognized one of the four as the quiet man from Sefadu, the one who could disrupt other nova's powers and he had a look of concentration on his face that made it obvious that he was responsible.

,,

In the time it took for her attempt to teleport the other three were reaching for her. One grabbed her by the hair and yanked, pulling her off balance while another punched her in the solar plexus knocking the wind from her, the third shot something from his hand that wrapped around her legs and pinned them together. Even with everything she still had the presence of mind to strike out with her arms. One reached out to strike the quiet man, hoping to end his disruption of her powers, the other arm swung toward the one that had her by the hair. It just wasn't enough, the one that had her by the hair was a battle hardened Elite and was smart enough to keep her off balance and away from himself. His free hand caught one of her arms and pinned it behind her back in a move that made her ashamed of how easily he was able to subdue her. She had some training in the martial arts and was not bad, but he was better, much better. She continued to struggle but they quickly had her arms bound with the same substance that had her legs pinned. The only thing that was keeping her upright was the fist full of her hair that the big man was clenching.

,,

While the man with the binding power checked the strength and surety of her bonds she took the opportunity to observe her captors. The big man was ugly and scarred and bald as an egg, and had a mean look to his eyes, the kind of look that spoke of pulling the wings off insects and torturing small animals for fun. Like all of Jarutu's Elite henchmen he wore the grey eufiber uniform with the broad black stripe down the sides. It looked ridiculous on him, like a parody of a weight lifter, his muscles bulging beyond what a normal person would ever want to achieve. The second one she focused on was the one that had punched her. She had her breath back now, but looking at him she was pretty sure he had enjoyed it and wanted to strike her again.

,,

As if her thought had been a command to speak, he said, "Maybe we should soften her up some before we take her to Jarutu. Wouldn't do to have a tough little bugger like her get loose and hurt our employer." He cracked his knuckles and smirked unpleasantly. In any other company he would have been considered a large well built man, but next to Big Man, as Elspeth though of the first thug, he was just ordinary. The third one, the one checking her bindings, that he had used his own powers to create was down right scrawny, but he didn't have the hard look that the other two had. He even seemed concerned for her. His large brown eyes were sad as he stood back and looked her over and he rounded on the puncher, "Nick, you're a pig. There is no way she is a threat now and you know it, besides Jarutu would be very upset if she were delivered to him damaged. He doesn't want her looking like a martyr in the press." He reached for a towel to cover her with, and Elspeth felt a welling of gratitude for his gesture, but Big Man jerked her away which hurt her scalp and neck since all her weight was hanging from her hair. Big Man, just said one word to the binder, "No." Meanwhile, the one called Nick, seeing that she was helpless now, took the opportunity to leer at her naked body. Elspeth felt both dirty as his eyes passed over her and disgusted that some creep like this was able to see her this way. "What's the matter Jason?," he taunted his scrawny companion. "You don't like girls?"

,,

Jason's retort was quick and effective, "I like women, not children, like you do." Elspeth felt just a hint of hope that perhaps she could foster dissent among her captors and get Jason to free her. Three against one wouldn't be good odds through, and besides, with Quiet Man damping down her abilities she couldn't use her quantum fueled personality to sway them. With her abilities intact she could have them fighting each other in no time. She didn't think she would get the chance though. Quiet Man looked completely professional and dispassionate. Even now that they had won he hadn't opened his mouth to say a word, not to hurt her or to defend her. He had a strong square-jaw, black hair and a poker face that betrayed nothing.

,,

Her contemplation of her captors ended when she was jerked again sending pain through her neck and scalp. Big man was strong, nova strong, and without any seeming effort he just kept holding her above the floor, dangling from her hair and carried her out of the bathroom and along empty halls to the throne room where she could hear many voices and some commotion. For a moment she had the hope that maybe the coup was happening and Jarutu was being over thrown, but it quickly became apparent that the voices were raised in excitement not anger, and Jarutu was among them. After what seemed like a long time the four men entered the hall and moved to the middle of the floor. Jarutu was seated on her father's chair gloating down at her. "What have we here, the cowardly girl has returned finally." Speaking loudly for all to hear he boomed out, "The brat that has caused me so much trouble has been captured and will be dealt with. Let no doubts remain that the glorious Democratic Republic of Sierra Leone will triumph. Our triumph is complete! I am triumphant!!!"

,,

Being a smart ass and because the four hadn't thought to cover her mouth, she said, "It is a triumph... for the department of redundancy department. I guess it feels good to be such a strong man that you can't deal with me yourself, but require four real men to capture one lone little girl. I had heard you weren't much of a man, but I guess this proves it." They were big words for a naked helpless thirteen year old facing a death sentence or worse. Elspeth grinned and stopped herself from laughing, afraid it might have a bit of a histerical edge to it. It wouldn't do to show weakness before her enemies, she had that bit of training from her parents. Parents that his pig had murdered.

,,

Jarutu's eyes nearly bugged out of his head and he spluttered an unintelligible response before getting control of himself again. "I will show you how much of a man I am, girl, and I will show you right here and now."

,,

Until that moment Elspeth had not had much time to think about being naked. Nudity had never bothered her, she had been raised by Teragen parents who taught that it was important to rise above human culture and it's taboos. Hanging by the hair, still dripping wet from the bath, with her hands and legs bound, and wearing not a single stitch of clothing had not phased her. Jarutu's eyes as he looked at her body did, him and his two henchmen Big Man and Nick. For the first time in her life she felt afraid. She was in this man's power and he really could do worse to her than kill her with the help of his hired thugs.

,,

She looked around the room hoping for some aid and saw that it was filled with Jarutu's military officers, his Elite nova mercenaries, and the only other woman present was Mirabel. The woman who had sworn to torture her before she died. She had a look of evil delight on her face as if she were eager to see Jarutu hurt his prisoner. Elspeth didn't doubt that she was. As the big African descended from the dais and toward her, she struggled against her bonds. Even without her overt powers she was still stronger than an average man, but it didn't matter. Whoever this Jason was, the bonds he created were very strong. She still had one hope though. If they released her legs so that Jarutu could rape her then she could use them to hurt him, perhaps even kill him if she got a good kick in. That thought of rape sent a chill of fear down her spine. She had to remind herself that she was still a nova and no matter what they did to her body she would heal if given time.

,,

She looked at the four Elites holding her captive and searched their faces for any hint of pity or compassion and tried to use her natural charm on them. These men were hired thugs and killers though, specifically hired for their dubious moral character. Only Jason, the smallest and seemingly the weakest of them showed any hit of compassion. Quiet Man was still unreadable, but she suspected that if he wanted to he could have made her weaker with his disruption, that he didn't meant he was ordered let her have enough quantum energy to sustain her through whatever was to come, or that maybe, just maybe he felt sorry for her. Whichever the case, he didn't lift a finger to help as Jarutu unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down enough to free his erection. From across the room Mirabel yelled encouragement to her employer, "Give it to the little bitch!"

Jarutu ignored Mirabel, and spoke to Elspeth loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear, “For days now you have used your nova powers to prevent me from spreading my manly seed, but now that you are captured and your powers are blocked, I will show you just how much of a man I am.”

,,

The men holding her didn't release her legs like she had hoped, they simply spun her around and forced her to bend at the waist presenting a rather lewd target to their master. He moved toward her with all the subtly of a rutting bull. He didn't waist a moment but just thrust at her. Elspeth didn't know what to do, she just reacted instinctively and clinched as hard as she could. It hurt like being punched, but to her surprise Jarutu was foiled. He tried again and again failed to penetrate. Elspeth couldn't help it this time and burst out laughing. Despite the histerical edge it had an effect on the people around her. They thought she was laughing at Jarutu's failure. Seeing an opportunity to strike further at his ego and reputation, she yelled out loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear, "What a shame, the mighty General, can't even satisfy a virgin. Your glorious leader isn't even man enough to penetrate a helpless girl! How can you follow such a weakling?" It was a brave front, but she did it more to strike at Jarutu than out of any real bravery, inside she was nearly shaking in fear.

,,

From her position she couldn't see anything but the feet of the men holding her, but she heard snickering, and then outright laughter from the gathered people including her captors. Jarutu gave up his efforts as he heard her words and realized their effect among his followers. He quickly did up his pants, but left his shirt untucked and looking messy and it somehow made him look even weaker. He had always ensured that even his followers never saw him except immaculately dressed, and now he was beaten by a naked 13 year old girl who was, to all appearances, completely at his mercy.

,,

Jarutu snarled at her but quietly enough that only her captors could have heard, "I was going to wed you and secure the my reign that way, but now I will kill you." Hatred dripped from his words. Looking toward the dais he yelled, "Bring me my gun, it is time to finish this." The three that were holding her spun Elspeth around to face Jarutu and pulled her from her feet allowing her to hang from her hair again. She was turned around in time to see Mirabel take a large gaudy gold-plated fifty caliber pistol from it's holster and take to Jarutu where he stood only feet away from his victim. Elspeth was really now. She couldn't help it, she couldn't see any way out now. She had beaten him and he was doomed even if he didn't realize it yet, but she was going to die first. There was no one who would lift a hand to save her among these evil men.

,,

She did the only thing she could, she showed courage that she didn't truly feel and spoke, "Ah, the great General couldn't penetrate me with his little gun, so he has to borrow a bigger gun to do the job right!" Again there was scattered laughter throughout the room and looking at her captors she could see smile lines at the corners of quiet man's eyes and open admiration on Jason's face. The other two were as uncaring and cruel as ever, and of course Mirabel was practically bouncing with glee at the prospect of Elspeth's execution. Around the room however, she could see unhappy expressions on the faces of many of the baseline men. Perhaps it was Jarutu's humiliation, or perhaps it was the courage she was showing but they didn't look pleased. As she scanned the room looking for any possible escape she was surprised to find that there were not any other Elites present. Perhaps these five were the only ones with the moral flexibility to participate in the rape and murder of a 13 year old girl? She hoped that was it, not that it would make any difference; she was still going to die.

,,

Jurutu stepped forward and struck her as hard as he could with the pistol, bruising her cheek, but not drawing blood. She just stared at him and he struck her again and again. It hurt, there was no doubt about that, but it didn't do nearly the damage it would have done to a normal human. After the third blow she laughed aloud as though amused at his rage. That infuriated him further and he started punching her with his fists over and over until they bled, raging at her like an uncontrolled beast. After a few moments he tired and retreated a few steps and pulled the gun from his belt where he had placed it when he started beating her and chambered a round. His 'audience' sat in silence completely transfixed by the spectacle. They had never seen their leader so out of control or looking so weak. The laughter flowing from Elspeth was genuine now, somewhere in the last minute as her enemy had beat she had understood… she should be a lifeless bloody pulp, but the blows barely effected her. Quiet Man despite his stony unemotional poker face had switched sides. Maybe it was her courage in the face of death, maybe he just resented working for a pig like Jarutu, but he had released her from his disruption power.

,,

The sound of a loud click drew her attention back Jarutu. The time had come, her enemy, the murdered of her parents, raised the gun and took aim. Elspeth felt the strength flowing back into her as if her abilities were coming back. He pulled the trigger and she felt the bullet tear into her abdomen and it felt like a being hit by a Mack truck. It knocked the breath out of her for a moment and it took three attempts before she could gasp in a deep breath of air. Jarutu just stared at her and the hole in her middle where he had shot her. The hole was far smaller than a .50 cal should have made, but she was bleeding and in great pain. As the audience looked on Elspeth laughed again. It was weak and pained at first, but it grew stronger after a few seconds.

,,

The laughter was cut off by the tremendous concussion of a second shot from the large ugly pistol. Another hole appeared, this one in Elspeth's chest, and it took longer for her to get her breath back this time. After a few seconds of complete silence her weak laughter came back.

,,

A third deafening shot interrupted the laughter. Another shot in the gut. Ironically, Elspeth was feeling stronger with each shot. Oh she hurt like hell and she was bleeding from three different wounds, but she could feel her power returning, and even as the third bullet penetrated her body, her quantum fueled healing was starting to repair the first one. She looked around and saw a tight smile on quiet man's face. It was directed at her. He had released his disruption of her abilities, but that smile said he was her man now. She thought of escape, she could teleport away if she wanted, but before she could gather the power, she realized that the chamber wasn't silent any more. The people were murmuring and shifting in their places. She laughed again, louder this time.

,,

Jarutu fired, this time stepping forward and taking careful aim at her heart. It still hurt, but not as much as before, and this one only barely penetrated the skin. She laughed louder than before and without as much delay. A look of fear entered Jarutu's eyes and he hissed, "Why don't you die!?!"

,,

Even as he said it she could feel the quantum energizing her again, enough to fuel her for a few attacks at least. She turned to her captors and poured all the force of her will into her words and demeanor. "Release me now, or face my wrath." Despite her age she was born of two extremely powerful novas and had been trained her entire life to use her voice and personality to command. Two of the three holding her blanched and looked fearful and loosened their grips stepping back. The third, the big man smiled an evil smile and raised a hand as if to punch her, but before he could quiet man raised a hand and the big man staggered releasing Elspeth's hair allowing her to drop to her feet. As she did she burst the bonds on her legs and wrists now that they were no longer being maintained. Reaching out with her mind she shoved at the big man sending him slamming into Mirabel, knocking them both to the ground.

,,

She turned back to Jarutu who had stood stunned, watching as his Elites released her. There was real fear in his eyes now and he raised the gun to fire again, but she used her telekinesis to hold his finger off the trigger.

,,

Standing straight and proud, and every ounce a Queen despite her nakedness or the blood streaming down her abdomen and chest. There was fire in her eyes as she declared loudly, "Jarutu, for the murder of my parents, for treason against the lawfully appointed rulers of this land, and for the crimes you have committed against the people of Sierra Leone, I sentence you to death." The gun twisted around against his will and he brought up his other hand to try and force it away, sweat streaming down his face now both from fear and the exertion he had put forth to try and beat her to death. Despite strength born of desperation he wasn't strong enough to push the gun away and at last he cried out, "Please, have mercy!" When the barrel was pointed directly back at his head she forced his finger down on the trigger. One loud shot rang out, and then there was silence in the hall again as General Jarutu's body collapsed to the floor with a large hole in the head. When she looked around at her former captors and the audience, most now stood looking surprised or afraid. Big man and Mirabel were nowhere to be seen, but Elspeth would worry about that later. Right now she didn't feel afraid anymore. She didn't feel vindication for avenging her parents deaths. She didn't feel angst over ending the life of another person. She didn't feel anything at all, she just felt tired, a deep bone weariness, but her face remained hard and cold like a marble statue of some ancient warrior queen.

,,

First quiet man went to one knee, then her other two captors followed, and soon every one in the room knelt before her. Quiet man called out, "Long live the queen!", and it was echoed again and again by everyone present.