To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 48

"I held your dead body, Polly. I felt it go cold. How are you still alive?"

She chuckled, letting Maddox's hand go and placing both fists on her hips. It was only then that I noticed the jagged pieces of metal wrapped around her arm and the shining, blue stone attached to it. It was the alien artifact that had enhanced her powers and kept her alive.

"Maddox saved me," she answered as though it was nothing big

I glanced at the expressionless man by her side. "You're telling me he just happened to bring the tools necessary to save you from death."

She shrugged. "Yup," she answered and smirked. Smirked! My innocent daughter was giving me the same expression her father had when he was younger.

"I knew what was going to happen," Di explained. "And told Polly." Right. I'd forgotten that Di had all the information about the possibilities from watching the show. Sometimes I forgot that she'd been the one safeguarding my secrets.

"Since she and Maddox were close friends, I told him how to save her life. He has...experience resurrecting humans using technology since he did it to himself," Di explained.

Allowing my heart to stop thundering, I walked toward her, looking my child over for the first time. I hadn't gotten a real good look at her since she'd either been dying or trying to kill me in the past. "So, you and Maddox are...close friends, huh?"

"We have been in contact for two years," Maddox informed me, his voice monotone and emotionless.

"Is that how you kept predicting when we'd get ambushed?" Jala asked, likely annoyed that she hadn't realized it sooner.

I glanced at my daughter, resisting the urge to hug her. I wasn't sure she'd react if I did. "I thought you hated them? Why did you befriend Maddox?"

"I hated Jala. I didn't care about Maddox. Plus, I didn't have any other friends so I was thankful when Di forced us to talk to each other over the comms."

How weird. "Why did Di want you to talk?"

"So we'd become friends. Then, he'd agree to save my life without question. Weren't you listening?"

"...You've become very snarky in the last years."

"Better than pretending to be dead."

"I wasn't pretending to—"

"I know. I just wanted to say it." She waved away the comment and pulled me into a tight hug, one that almost surpassed her father's in tightness. Then she pulled away and smiled in relief, reminding me of the child she'd once been. "It's good to see you, Mom."

"It's... good to see you too."

Three years of pain had finally vanished. I felt ready to conquer the world now.

"Uh..." As Polly returned to Maddox's side and Jala continued to glare at me, Ace stepped forward. "So, is that offer to make me president still standing or...?"

This time Derek was the one to smile and laugh softly. After giving himself a moment to contemplate it, he stepped forward and patted his best friend on the back. "Anything for you, Ace."

"Are you sure?"

"Only if you make me vice-president or assistant to the president or something small that'll give me a paycheck but not require any work."

"Deal."

"Good and...sorry about trying to kill you earlier...for three years."

"Meh." Ace shrugged like it was nothing. "No big deal."

"You have got to be kidding me," Jala muttered at that.

I was standing on the sidelines now, watching everything unfold. It felt almost too good to be true, seeing all these beloved characters getting along as though nothing had ever happened. It was as though this moment would suddenly end and be replaced by what had really happened, by a story full of blood and betrayal and never ending sorrow.

Now that everyone was getting along I felt like I was a viewer again, a reader pouring over the pages of a book and not actually interacting with the characters or plot. It felt like I was a teenager again, imagining what could have been but never was.

For a moment, I almost thought I was back on my bed in the middle of a daydream.

......

...Then that moment passed as Derek grabbed my arm, a tired smile on his face and a returning light filling his eyes. "Can you help me discuss the cease fire?" he pleaded, lightly tugging on my wrist. "I'll feel better about it if you're by my side."

His voice was desperate. He still needed me, was still reliant on me.

In time I was sure he'd return to his normal, sarcastic and confident self but, in the future, I'd need to find a way to make him stronger. I had failed the first time because I'd been confident I wouldn't die but that mindset was forever banished now.

"No." I smiled and nodded at grumpy Jala. "You got yourself in this mess and you can get yourself out of it. I'll be waiting here."

A look flashed across his face that meant he knew what I thinking and he smirked, mirroring his daughter's new expression. "Very well, Mrs. Mary Hacket. We wouldn't want me becoming too reliant on you, now would we? After all, you're just a weirdo from another world."

To prove me wrong, he stalked away, straightening his shoulders and waving at his enemy. Seeing that made me feel a glimmer of hope.

Maybe I had succeeded.

Maybe I had saved the villain.

But now that we'd veered off the original path this much, I had no way of predicting the future. Anything could happen. I didn't know how Derek would fix his wrongdoings and regain the trust of his friends. I didn't know how we'd face the rogue AIs and alien emperors and mystical creatures who would eventually find us, either.

.....

Who cared?

We'd cross that bridge when we came to it.

The End