Meanwhile, in the quiet living room of the McClain residence, six individuals dashed in through the front door within the blink of an eye. There was no sound, just a gush of wind and static electricity that seemed to announce their presence and rattle the very frantic of the air around them.
A surge of black lightning trailed their feet for a split second as they looked around the living room as though they were scanning for any potential dangers. Out of the middle of the group, Mrs McClain cradled Juniper's unconscious body in her arms, her lavender curls draping over the woman's arms like silk threads soaked in water.
Mrs McClain stepped forward, walking over to the long velvet sofa in the middle of the room. She gently lowered Juniper's body into the softness of the chair, smiling as she watched Juniper's knitted softly and then loosen, giving a relaxed look on her face.
The room was warm, yet tensed with silent urgency. Esmeralda stood close by, her arms locked tightly around the struggling forms of the two Anaxmatians, who looked heavily beat up. Their clothes were torn in places, and bruises were visible around their legs—effects of being dragged around at supersonic speed. Yet, their faces still held a trace of arrogance, as if they knew something the rest of the group didn't.
Esmeralda's expression, however, was anything but amused. She tightened her grip every time they even breathed wrongly. Her eyes glowed faintly, reminding them of exactly who had the upper hand.
Sabrina took a cautious step forward, her eyes lingering on Juniper's calm face, then flickering toward Mrs McClain with a question heavy on her lips.
"Will she be alright?" She asked softly.
Mrs McClain sighed deeply, her eyes not leaving Juniper for a moment. "She'll be fine," she replied. "But it'll take her sixty days before she wakes up."
"Two months?" Sabrina repeated, her eyebrows squeezed a little. "That long, my lady?"
Mrs McClain nodded.
"The regeneration of her heart is slower now," she explained, finally turning to face the others. "Most of her powers are suppressed because of her locked system, including regeneration. Until the system is unlocked, her Vilomite biology will continue to be…sluggish. Especially when it comes to healing something as delicate as the heart."
"So, technically, she's dead?" Amron asked, making the others snap a glare at him, with Sarafina slapping his head.
"We can call it a comatose state, not death Amron," Mrs McClain chuckled.
Then she narrowed her eyes as they fell on the Anaxmatians. She stood up from the sofa and walked towards them…her presence commanding and fierce. Her footsteps made a menacing thud against the polished floor as she stopped just inches away from them.
Her eyes bore into Negun as she folded her arms and growled quietly under her breath.
"Now for these two," she said, eyes glowing green with silent fury. "Tell me, who's idiotic idea was it to come after the daughter of the great King Adonis of Vilomia…in a planet banned from first encounter by the Galactic Council?"
They didn't look up at her. Their faces were down, covered in fright of the gorery stare Mrs McClain was giving them. Negun tried to maintain his composure, though a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.
Mrs McClain squinted. A squint that made even those who stood on her side shiver a little and adjust their composure.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," she growled. Then she squatted, pulling Negun's hair backwards to see his face. "Or did you forget that the seventh solar system is banned for entry because of the humans? If I were to tear you limb from limb now, the Galactic Council wouldn't bat an—"
"The ban has been lifted!" Negun's companion finally blurted out, the pressure finally crushing him more than he could take.
"What?" Her eyes flared with a dangerous light. She stood up, stepping back a little. A glint of fear suddenly washing over her face. "That's…that's not possible. You lie!"
"It's no lie," Negun added, smirking a little. A smug smirk. "It was lifted one Earthling revolution ago, and with it, a bounty of Twelve billion Ranis was issued for the Princess of Vilomia."
At the sound of that, Sabrina and the others gasped, gathering around the Anaxmatians. The subtle fear on Mrs McClain's now becoming clearer as she turned to look at Juniper.
"That's a lot of money," Esmeralda whispered under her breath.
Her sister nodded. "Who would want Princess Juniper that bad?"
Rafa exhaled, folding his arms. "Who else?" He frown.
Everyone looked at each other, then they sighed, folding their arms in unison as they said the same name at the same time.
"Acalas," the exhaled.
"Every bounty hunter in the galaxy is coming for her," Negun's companion said.
"Even the Avinths?" Sarafina asked.
"Especially the Avinths!" They replied in unison.
"Of course," Mrs McClain growled. Then she exhaled, taking her stare off Juniper and back on the Anaxmatians. She stretched out her arm and opened her hand, making her palm face their forehead as though she was about to bless them. "You've taken hundreds of lives today, and you ought to die. But death is a merciful punishment for ones who attacked our Princess. As High Commander of the Vilomia army and the sole sister of his highness King Adonis, Lord of Vilomia…I sentence you to Necres, the Prison That Must Not Be Seen."
Right at that moment, her hand lit up in a red glow, and her eyes became balls of fire. The red glow spread and fell on the Anaxmatians, and suddenly their bodies started cracking up like glass about to be shattered. Then, like a vacuum cleaner, her hand started sucking in both of them piece by piece. And with every piece that came off their body, an excruciating pain was sent to their brain, until there was nothing left of them but the echoes of their screams.
"It's even scarier than in the stories," Amron whispered to his brother, shivering a little.
Rafa put on a serious face, stepping forward. Then he fell on one knee and bowed his head before Mrs McClain.
"High Commander," he said, "please forgive me…I failed in my duty to protect the Princess. You can do to me whatever you see fit."
At the sound of that, the others fell down to their knees too and apologised. Mrs McClain exhaled, placing one hand on her waist.
"Now's not the time for unnecessary apologies Rafa," she replied. "With this ban lifted, we'll need to leave this planet as soon as possible. But with the missions I sent your parents on, and that side project Orpheus and Nebula are working on…it's going to take sometime."
She held her chin as she thought, watching Rafa and the other stand back on their feet.
"Can't we just take care of any bounty hunter that comes for her and stay here?" Sabrina asked.
"Hmm," she replied. "We could, if the Avinths weren't involved. But they are, and only Orpheus and I can handle them, the rest of you would be—"
Just at that moment, the doorbell rang, stopping her in her sentence. She looked at Rafa and the others, raising a brow…and immediately, they put their guards up, shifting into battle formation as they surrounded the door up, down and sideways while Mrs McClain walked over to open it.
The tension in the room became so thick that you could cut it with a knife. She slowly turned the door knob, one hand on the door, the other ready with a fist. As the door widened, Mrs McClain's poker face softened. It was Reggie and Lisa.
"Lisa! Reggie!" She smiled, stopping Rafa and the others from coming any closer. "What are you—"
"I'm sorry Mrs McClain," Lisa said immediately. "We tried to stop her, but she just dash away before we could even blink! Like…like…"
"Like the Flash!" Reggie said, attempting to come in. But Mrs McClain stopped him, feigning a smile.
"What are you talking about?" She smiled broadly.
"Juniper," Reggie replied, shifting back from the door, a broad smile on his face. "She saved us…picked us up and ran from the school like a lighting bolt. Damn! It was so cool! Then she dropped us off at Henderson street and said she was going back for Jeremy."
"Did she get to him in time?" Lisa asked, "did she get to him in time?"
Right at that moment, Mrs McClain's smiling face slowly turned back to a poker face.
"So she saved you with her powers, huh?" She replied with an emotionless face.