Z14

Defenders of the Earth: This Is Their Story

By Marzena

Plot: Season 3, Episode 47

Chapter 14: Reflection

She felt warm and safe and happy, and yet everything was cold and scary and there was absolutely no reason for her to feel any happiness at all. What she should feel was loneliness, like she always did. And yet …

Slowly and carefully, Queen Hadea sat up in her 17th Century England Queen Anne bed, pushing a soft strand of blonde hair back from her face. The cozy fire in the elegant fireplace had gone out and the room was rather chilly right now as well as dark, since the heavy curtains were still closed and no light was anywhere to be seen.

She turned to look at the man lying next to her, still sleeping. Due to the darkness in the room, she couldn't really see his features which she guessed suited him just fine. He was the Phantom, after all, a man of mystery. Usually nobody got to see the man behind the mask, but tonight, she of all people had. Well, it had been dark. But at least he hadn't worn the mask and if she wanted to, she could light the bedside lamp and … no. She stopped herself from doing so before she could even finish the thought. He'd risked so much for her, and all she'd done was being selfish and stupid. And yet he'd come back to save her. She would not make any foolish moves now, no matter how curious she was.

Oh, Hadea wasn't misguided enough to think this meant anything. Although maybe on some level, yes, she wanted it to. But being the lonely Queen of Netherworld was her destiny and one she had to embrace. But of course, ever so often, she tried to break free from the chains that held her firmly in place in this desolate and dark kingdom. And it was always the Phantom she kept coming back to. Violence, force and threats, they had seem like good ideas back then, and sure, she managed to get the Phantom down here, as a prisoner, yes, but with her power and beauty, she knew she could get any man to do her bidding. Any man but one. The Phantom had just refused to be charmed. Not even her most revealing outfits and her most seductive voice and manners had helped. He wouldn't play along and he didn't seem the least bit interested in her, or her power, or her kingdom. Stupid. Some men were just plain stupid. She had hated him for rejecting her, for actually telling her there was no way he'd ever be interested. And then the invasion had begun and she actually had to be thankful to that man. Thankful for becoming an ally, even though he was still her prisoner. And it confused her. Hadea loved logic. Everything in the world and in her life could be solved, could be understood, could be analyzed. But a man she held prisoner offering his help and not once asking her for his freedom in return? No, that she would never understand. If it had been her, she'd have bargained for her freedom in a heartbeat and then probably would have taken off without fulfilling her end of the bargain.

Sighing, Hadea wrapped the thick blanket closer around her body. She knew she should get up and light the fire again, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the security her bed provided her right now. Stupid, she'd been so stupid. And as always, too proud for her own good. She should have let the Phantom go. Instead, in a moment of desperately trying to prove herself as a hero and not a villain, she'd interfered when her father's forces had attacked the Bandar tribe, Phantom's friends. Instead of emerging out of the situation as the hero of the piece, she'd been reduced to being the villainess once again. And that was when she'd finally let the Phantom go. Not because she was a true heroine after all, but because she'd been afraid to face him after that. The true heroine of the day had been the Phantom's daughter, Jedda Walker, who had saved the Bandar from Ming's troops.

And yet … and yet the Phantom had stayed in Netherworld, just to save her again. How much more humiliation could one person take? She wasn't as beautiful, sexy and charming as she'd hoped, her kingdom had turned against her, she'd been powerless, a damsel in distress, and she couldn't even get one damn thing right. These certainly weren't her glorious days. And not to mention her breakdown. Ugh. She was the Golden Queen of Netherworld. The Golden Queen did not break down. And certainly not in front of someone else. And yet …

"And apparently crying is the new turn-on to get laid," she muttered to herself, sighing again.

"It's only human," the man next to her commented, looking at her, his eyes now open, but his face still clouded in darkness.

She blinked, trying to hide her surprise. So typical for him to lie awake, to watch, to observe, and to make his presence known when one least expected it.

"Oh. You're awake," she stated the obvious, deciding to play it cool. She would get herself together now, no matter what would happen next. Weakness was, well, for the weak. Queen Hadea wasn't weak. She'd prove that to him.

"So are you," he replied, now sitting up as well.

There was a moment of awkward silence then. Then Hadea decided to get it over with. She turned to look at him. He looked handsome, even if she couldn't get a clear view of his features.

"I guess this is the moment when you get up and leave, is it not?" she coolly asked, trying her best to sound indifferent, like it didn't matter to her at all.

He lifted his eyebrows. "So, I'm allowed to go now?" he asked back.

"Just go!" she snapped. "You don't want to be here, I get it, and there is no reason for you to stay any longer. Besides, let's not fool ourselves in pretending that I could have kept you down here forever. There are people searching half the planet for you."

And people that need you. And people that are true heroes, not selfish and weak. People that don't disgust you. People that ...

He interrupted her thoughts. "Keeping people against their will is not the path to true happiness, Hadea. It's the path to self-destruction. You might want to keep that in mind."

He sat on the edge of the bed, carefully placing his mask on his face again, taking hold of his clothes. She whirled around, glaring at him.

"I guess what we did tonight was a pretty self-destructive thing then," she snapped. "After all, you were still my prisoner."

"No. I was being your friend here, Hadea. And what we did, we did out of loneliness. Don't think you're the only one destiny dealt the lonely card."

"You're lonely?" She certainly hadn't expected that.

He stood up, fastening his belt around his waist, and gave her a long look. "Everyone's lonely in one way or the other. The likes of you and me, serving as Queen in this godforsaken place and protecting the world as a hero behind a mask, are just a bit more lonely than the average human being."

"Which gives the likes of you and me a good excuse to get a shag in, doesn't it?" she snapped back, now sitting on the edge of the bed too, not bothering to cover herself up while searching for her underwear on the floor next to the bed.

"Actually ..." He let his voice trail off a bit, then looked back at her. "I don't quite know where that shag fits in."

That left her momentarily speechless. He looked over at her, now dressed up as the Phantom again, and from where she sat on the bed with just her panties on, the distance between them couldn't have been bigger.

"It wasn't because you were crying, Hadea, and you know that," he assured her, still looking at her. "But maybe it came to be because for once, you were almost human. And that is more attractive than all the power and all the sexiness in the world."

"You're attracted to weakness?"

"To humanity, Hadea. There's a difference."

She opened her mouth to answer but then the wooden double doors to her bedchamber were thrown open and one of her servants stumbled in, coughing and out of breath.

"Your Highness ..."

Then, seeing his Queen almost naked, he quickly bowed his head and looked down on the carpeted floor, his pale cheeks growing red.

"What is it?" she snapped, angry and impatient at being interrupted like that.

"The kingdom, your Highness … parts of the palace … it's on fire ..."

She gasped, grabbing her robe and started to dress in a hurry. How silly of her to think it was over now. Whatever Ming's plan was, it was far from over. Ming the Merciless never gave up. But his daughter wasn't going to go down without a fight either.

"Hurry," the Phantom said, then he shoved the servant out of the way and ran out of the room, obviously playing the hero again.

But this time, she wouldn't need saving. And when it was over, she'd go back to being Hadea, Queen of Netherworld. To hell with humanity. Humanity couldn't bring her kingdom back. But a good old fight just might.

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Article

Author

Chapters

1: Death

April and the other Gordons face a tragedy.

2: Beautiful

Mandrake is reunited with a romantic interest.

3: Peace and Quiet

Flash is thrown into an unexpected struggle.

4: Nightfall

Sheila and Flash continue to bond.