Alexander

Watching through Dela's eyes, Alexander kept his metaphorical mouth shut, and tried to stay calm. The situation should have been impossible, but it was happening, so he had to deal with it.

Dela was looking all around, first at Huginn and Muninn, then the guards, and then the surrounding area. 'Think of something,' she thought to him.

“You shouldn't think of anything,” Huginn said.

“Just speak the truth,” Muginn said.

Alexander allowed himself a small smile. The supervillains were creepy and powerful, but somehow they couldn't read his mind. He didn't know what would happen if he tried to speak to Dela, but at least he could counter their best ability, that gave him, and Dela, an advantage. Now if only he could figure out how to escape.

As they walked, the ruined city began to show signs of life, the buildings were patched up, the streets were cleared of debris, murals were painted haphazardly on the walls, and laundry was hung up to dry. Individuals, pairs, and small groups of men and women were doing various tasks. A woman handed out bread from a backpack to a group of ragged labourers in a vacant lot had been turned into a vegetable garden. Five men pushed makeshift wagons full of old bricks through the street. A woman in a patchwork dress was cooking over a barrel fire, doling out bowls of soup to a group of children. Several people were playing some kind of dice game, they seemed to be betting cigarettes, food, clothes and jewellery, with plenty of bickering over what something was worth.

“See,” Muginn said, waving her arm at the sights, “Grenadier is a good ruler.”

“Obey him, and he will treat you well,” Huginn said.

“Where did all of these people come from?” Dela asked.

“When the Wardens use their weapons to send us here, they don't always hit their target,” Huginn said.

“And they'll often, accidentally, hit underlings and partners when firing,” Muginn said, sarcasm practically dripping from her words.

“So they end up here, lost and alone.”

“The lucky ones find places like this.”

Alexander felt Dela hug herself. “And the unlucky ones?” she asked.

Muginn began laughing, sounding almost like a cawing crow. “They die.”

“Or worse,” Huninn said.

Sitting unseen and unnoticed, Alexander thought about their situation. Maybe the supervillains were right, maybe this was one of the better places in The Oubliette. From the videos he'd seen, many other parts were a warzone between gangs of super powered inmates. He'd seen one recording of an unreal scientist who had created a gang of Frankenstein like monsters, that cried and moaned in pain as they moved.

Should they stay here and offer their services to someone who at least seemed sane?

Maybe they should try to make a break for it now, before they met Grenadier. But if they were being closely watched, he was pretty sure he was bulletproof, but testing it out was not high on his list of things to try in a dangerous situation. And if they did get away from this group, where would they go? And if they tried to escape but failed, Grenadier wouldn't trust them, which could be deadly, and would make escaping in the future a lot harder.

He wished there was someone he could talk to. Even talking to Dela might help him come up with a plan. But if he opened his mind to her, Huninn and Muninn would probably hear him. He was the ace up their sleeve, he couldn't give up their one advantage until it was the right moment or there was no other choice.

'I'm getting tired,' Dela thought to him.

He groaned to himself. Dela had spent over an hour talking to their therapist, and with everything going on the stress was wearing her out faster than normal. She was gaining strength, able to come out for longer periods each time, but she was still very limited in how long she could keep her body.

“Don't worry child,” Huninn said.

“We are almost at the Court,” Muninn said.

Alexander realized that the street was getting busier and noisier. Turning the corner they came a large square, a few dozen people stood near the center, looking up at a pedestal that had probably once held a statue. Now it held a throne of brick and metal, a grey haired man, wearing an immaculate black suit sat on it, his presence turning the crude construct into a brutal sign of strength. he was old, but there was no weakness in his appearance, his scarred and heavily lined face made granite look soft.

Making their way up to the throne, Dela's eyes turned to see five young people kneeling on the ground, guards watched them closely, guns raised ready to shoot if they stepped out of line. One of the youths, a teen girl wearing a shiny green and white suit, had clearly been badly beaten, her right eye was practically shut from a bruise, her nose was crooked and swollen, blood dripped from her chin, and she was breathing very shallowly. A teen boy knelt by her side, gently leaning against her, he was handcuffed and had a black bag over his head.

The other three were also teens, they weren't injured or bound, they just looked scared and confused. Only the beaten girl was in a costume, the rest were wearing civilian clothes. They didn't look like they belonged in the Oubliette. Alexander wondered if they had fallen into the Oubliette the same why he and Dela had.

“Grenadier,” Huninn said, bowing as he did, “we have the last of the newcomers.”

“She is confused and scared, but came willingly,” Muninn said, also bowing as she spoke.

Grenadier nodded, his lips twitching in what might have been a smile. “Very good Huninn and Muninn. As always you have done your job perfectly, tell me what you would like as a reward this evening.”

The brother and sister bowed again, then leaving Dela behind, went to the throne and knelt on either side of it, watching the teens through their creepy bird masks.

One of the guards gave Dela a shove hard enough to make Alexander wince in sympathy. “Get in line and kneel down,” the man said.

He could feel Dela gratefully get into position, breathing a sigh of relief to be off her feet. There was a mental tug as her grip on the body loosened. He resisted, digging his mental fingers into the weird nothingness that surrounded him. He couldn't come out yet. The tugging stopped, he felt Dela breathing deeply, regaining control of herself.

“What is your name, girl?” Grenadier asked in heavily accented English, his dark eyes staring down at Dela.

“Dela,” she replied.

A guard kicked her in the back, it wasn't hard, but it made her yelp in pain. “You will call him sir, when you speak to him,” the guard said.

Alexander ground his teeth in impotent fury, he didn't like Dela, but he didn't want her hurt.

“I'm Dela, sir,” she said.

“How did you get here?” Grenadier asked.

“I don't know, sir. I was walking with my brother and we fell. Then we were here.”

“where is your brother?”

“I don't know, he isn't answering me.”

He had to give her credit for her answer, it was truthful enough that Huginn and Muginn couldn't detect the lie. No one could really say where he or Dela went when they weren't in the body.

Grenadier rubbed his chin in thought. “You can telepathically talk to your brother?”

“Kind of. It's hard to explain,” she said.

Alexander nodded to himself, that was very true.

“So he is in the Oubliette, and is just choosing to be silent?”

“Maybe.”

“Do you have any other powers?”

Alexander listened to the questions and answers with half an ear, he had more important things to worry about. The Grenadier was one of the oldest prisoners in the Oubliette, being sent there in 2001, two years after it opened. He was one of the superpowered dictators that the prison had initially been created for.

The mercenary turned warlord, had taken control of a chunk of territory along the Black Sea after the Soviet Civil War in 1992. He'd stabilized the area, so most countries had been willing to live and let live, but then he'd started invading neighbouring countries. He was smart enough to wait until there was some unrest, and then he moved in with his 'peacekeepers'. If the country in question tried to fight, the Grenadier would lead his army from the front, using his explosive powers to blast a hole in the enemy defences or bringing the enemy offensive to a halt, allowing his army to sweep in and destroy them. Against a properly led, modern military, he could have been dealt with, but against the poor and poorly trained armies of the area, he was unstoppable.

Then he'd invaded the Reformed Soviet States, and the Wardens had been waiting for him. In a battle that saw thousands of soldiers on both sides die, the Wardens had led him into a trap and opened a portal under his feet.

From what little Alexander had read of the man, he was a competent leader, his country, the Black Sea Republic, had been well run, but dissidents were harshly punished, often by public execution. If Grenadier hadn't invaded his neighbours so often, he likely would have been ignored.

So the man was sane and competent, but he wanted power and demanded absolute loyalty. That was something he and Dela could deal with, at least for the short term.

His attention snapped back to the real world, the questions and answers were over with. Grenadier leaned forward on his throne, eyeing all of them.

“Lucas,” the man said, pointing at the boy beside Dela, “stand up.”

The boy did. He looked to be about fourteen and he was shaking in his boots. “Yes, sir?” the boy asked, in an Australian accent.

“Your fire powers are useful. You may join my community as a skilled worker. You will follow instructions from the guards and the work leaders, but you may command all those beneath you. You will have private quarters and good food, so long as you do your tasks quickly and correctly. If you do well and follow instructions, you can become a work leader in time and gain unlimited access to the entertainment. Will you swear loyalty to me?” Grenadier asked.

“Yes, sir!” the boy said. “Thank you!”

A guard patted Lucas on the back and led him to the far side of the square.

“Tobias,” Grenadier said.

A young man who seemed to be around twenty jumped up, he was grinning. “Yes, sir,” he said, sounding like a soldier.

“As you can see, we don't have many animals here, just rats, a few cats and mangy dogs. Controlling them is not very useful. Still there is potential. You can work in the farm as a labourer.”

The grin turned into a grimace of disappointment. “But-”

“SILENCE!” a guard shouted.

“As I was saying,” Grenadier said, frowning at Tobias. “You will be a labourer, but you will also be trained as a guard. It can give you some privileges, if you learn to hold your tongue, you may be able to enjoy those privileges in the future. If you do well, you could be put in charge of the farm in due time. Will you swear loyalty to me?”

“Yes, sir,” Tobias said, not nearly as enthusiastic as he had been. He went to stand beside Lucas, glaring at the younger boy.

“Now, Ivy, stand up.”

“Yes, sir,” a sixteen year old girl whispered.

“I enjoy music,” Grenadier said, “it's been far too long since I've heard good music. As a siren, you can help inspire the people here and entertain us after a long day. You can have a position as chief entertainer, you'll be just below my commanders, and what few luxuries we have here will be yours. Will you swear loyalty to me?”

“Yes, sir. I will,” she said, more loudly than before, allowing Alexander to hear a faint English accent.

“Liar,” Huninn and Muninn said in unison.

“No!” Ivy shouted. “I'm not lying! I was just thinking about getting back home, but I know I can't. I don't want to be here. Who would?”

Grenadier watched impassively as the girl cried. Then he looked at the twins, raising an eyebrow.

“She wants to escape,” Muninn said.

“She will wait for a chance to escape and take it,” Huninn told him.

He nodded, sighing loudly. “Very well. Ivy, I understand you want to escape. I will keep most of my offer, but you will be closely guarded until you realize that your best hope for a long and comfortable life is here. You will also obey the guards and are not allowed to leave the living area without an armed escort. If you try to escape or break these rules, you will join the other entertainers. Do you agree?”

The girl nodded, still crying she moved to join the other two volunteers.

“Very good. Dela I will have an offer for you soon. For now, I need to deal with the two trainee Wardens,” he said, turning to the hooded boy and the beaten girl,” his voice as cold as ice.