Official RP Thread: The Evolutionist's Stone (12)

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Mississippi==

Overlady Alexander lounged across her couch, and brushed back auburn-red hair. The rain was simply divine to observe, when you were safely away from its touch. Everything washed over with God's tears, she remembered her mam saying once. When she asked what in the world God had to be crying about in the first place, what with having all the power there ever was to be had, her mother patted her gently on the cheek. All the knowledge in the world made it all the easier to have all the sympathy in the world.

She shook her head with a smile. How seldom she meditated on God, and when she did, it was almost always associated with a memory of her mother. It made her wonder: when she was dead and gone, would anyone ever think of her when meditating on God?

The thought was disrupted with Aletta came into the room with her younger brother, Jupiter.

"Mistress Overlady?"

"Yes, Aletta?"

"Overlord Annullin is here."

She bade Aletta to let the Overlord in, and the servant returned with Annullin looking thoroughly distraught. He ran a hand through his fiery-red hair and plopped down into one of the Overlady's satin red seats. Day sat up, trying not to let out a great, annoyed sigh. She put on her best sympathetic face before speaking aloud.

"What's troubling you, Fred?" she spoke, her voice vaguely saccharine, "You look like you have a lot on your mind..."

He did. But he could only express himself by fumbling for the remote, and turning on the TV that hung on the wall opposite him.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

"In other news, the Overlady of Louisiana has recently gone MIA. After an unanticipated assault on her manor, leaving the entire estate in shambles, the Overlady seems to have vanished into thin air. Initial reports indicated that she may have been killed in the crossfire, but to the cautiously-optimistic relief of the people of Louisiana, an email came, hours after the initial reports, that the Overlady and most of her staff are fine. Purportedly, the message was sent by Bellissima Gianotta, Overlady Cade's friend, adviser and Overlady-in-Waiting, from an undisclosed location, but reports cannot confirm the validity behind it. More news at 11."

Fred clicked the TV back off, and slumped wearily in his seat. How could somebody do this to his poor Lisa-Lee? Who could do such a thing? Lisa-Lee was perhaps the nicest, most benevolent ruler in all the US of A, and by extension, in Fred's mind, anyone who attacked her absolutely had to be among the most malevolent. It was utterly ridiculous, he continued. When he got his hands on the hateful, spiteful, vengeful, jealous-hearted so-and-so that ever had the audacity to scare his poor friend-formerly-with-benefits into hiding...

"Fred." Day snapped, promptly shutting the Overlord up, "Calm yourself, would you? Good God, get a hold of yourself. All this ranting and raving, you sound like a lunatic. Honestly, you'd think you had never heard of some madman off on a mission of conquest before."

Much as it bothered her to call herself mad, it honestly bothered her more to hear Fred's blathering on about his wonderful Lady of Louisiana, Lisa-Lee. She wanted to badly to change the subject.

"All right." Fred exhaled, "Fine. I'm...I'm calm."

"You're not." Day retorted plainly.

"I KNOW I'm not, dammit!" Fred raged.

An instant after the sentiment left his mouth, the Overlord burst spontaneously into roaring, hateful flame, with his chair kindling his fiery rage even hotter; the servants recoiled and watched in horror as the Overlord hyperventilated his way back to calm; slowly the flames dimmed, dimmed, dimmed more, and finally Fred returned to view from out of the fire. The servants remained aghast; Fred's face went from outraged, to upset, to resentful, to resigned.

Day's face remained apathetic.

"Ya know, Fred", The Overlady began, motioning to her servants to fetch the Overlord a new chair (it was the third he had ruined that month), "I realize that you're angry. But, like my mother always said; no use crying over spilled milk. Those reports are saying that she's just fine. I'm pretty sure she'll be back to ruling in no time. And if not, there's always the option of an early retirement--"

"Day!"

"Sorry, Fred." The Overlady chuckled, "That was in bad taste...But I'm not kidding when I say that you should get a grip. Lisa-Lee can take care of herself. And she's got those rebels on her side, anyhow. In all honesty, I really wouldn't be shocked if this whole attack business was some big hoax cooked up to get folks' sympathy. It wouldn't surprise me one little bit."

Fred crossed his arms, and glanced at Day, before returning to his thought. He just knew she must be wrong. Lisa-Lee wouldn't do a thing like that...right?

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Chicago==

When the next morning came, Fitz and Lisa-Lee's emissaries began discussing, over breakfast, their next plan of action. It would be no easy task, for certain, but Fitz could feel it; they were on the edge of a breakthrough. The only thing missing from their planning session was Lisa-Lee herself. And so Bella headed up to where Ivan and Lisa-Lee slept; the Overlady's approval would be needed to break the tie.

"Goodness, y'all sure get up early," Lisa-Lee rubbed her eyes, with a chuckle, as she sat down at the War Room table, "Now, ya said y'all needed me for somethin'?"

"Yes, Overlady." Max looked down at a print-out of the news-report transcript from last night's news, "Bella sent out an email yesterday. She confirmed dat you and ve vere alright. But dere is still a bit of an issue vith dat."

Lisa-Lee crossed her arms and legs, "And what's that? Sounds to me like a good course of action. The people of Louisiana needed to know that I was alright, and it serves my attackers right, to let 'em know I won't go down so easy."

Alyssa spoke up, "That's true, Lisa-Lee, but we can't agree on what course of action to take next. I suggested that we just make a comeback. Exert your power stronger than ever. Not oppressing the people, but maybe putting up more security in public places. It'll even make for more jobs and such."

"However", Fitz chimed in, "It sounds a bit aggressive. At least for Lisa-Lee's style. We should probably return to how you normally do things, Lisa-Lee. It shows that you're steady. Unshaken from your normal routine."

"Vell, vhatever ve decide on, let us decide it quick", Max said, looking to Fitz, "In downtime like dis, people vill take it as deir opportunity to move in quickly, and take over."

Everyone muttered their begrudging agreement; things like this had to be handled with great quickness.

"Oh, snap." Alyssa spoke up, "I just had an idea."

Bella, Lisa-Lee and Fitz exchanged glances, and then looked at her, "Well?"

"Well, I know it might sound crazy...but, what if we let someone else take over?"

Everyone looked at Alyssa like she had grown another head, and Lisa-lee crossed her arms, "Um, yeah, you're right, that sounds crazy. NEXT."

"Wait...wait, let's hear her out." Fitz blinked, "Now, uh, whaddya mean, let someone else take over?"

Alyssa tented her hands together, "Well, to be honest, my plan wasn't exactly letting somebody else really take over. But more like, let everybody THINK somebody else has taken over."

"Wait...you mean a decoy?" Bella was intrigued.

"Exactly. And not just any ol' decoy. Somebody who doesn't look even remotely capable of ruling."

"Tha'...tha's ingenious." A smile crept across Fit'z face, "When they see some incompetent idiot sittin' on Lisa-Lee's throne, whoever intended to dethrone Lisa-Lee will get mad that somebody got there before them. They'll come chargin' in to take out what looks like a pushover ruler..."

"And we will have the culprit." Changing Wind finished, impressed, "That is a rather wise course of action. So...that is the course we are taking?"

Everyone quickly agreed. And when the others woke up, they would agree, as well. Now was the time to turn the tables of whoever had made such a direct attempt against Lisa-Lee's Kingdom.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Chicago==

After the meeting, the guys were feeling restless. Ivan recommended that they go for a workout, but Marcus was sort of anxious to see what life was like outside of Lara's house. And so, instead, they decided they would go for a quick walk or jog around the block. Maybe to a nearby park or something, just for some fresh air. Or at least, most of them were trying to enjoy themselves.

"Can you believe it?" Pierce muttered under his breath to Ivan, as the two walked behind the rest of the group, "Just...just look at him! Thinks he's so great..."

"Well...he is pretty great." Ivan snickered, "He's good-lookin', an awesome dancer, and not half bad at cards, either, last I saw."

Pierce glared at Ivan, and the bruiser got the hint to shut up while Pierce continued his rant, "You don't understand, Ivan...It's...it's like he's trying to make me look bad, all the time! All smilin' and laughin' and jokin' and whatnot. Seriously. There's no way in hell he's that damn happy and nice and cheerful all the time! It's an act! An act, I tell ya!"

"Well, can ya tell someone else?" Ivan scoffed, "Marcus looks like he's about to pick up the pace, and I kinda wanna catch up to him. He's way more fun to talk to, when you're like this..."

Ivan patted Pierce on the head, and headed to catch up with Marcus. The electro continued behind them at his broody pace. He wanted to exercise, but how could he, with Marcus in his presence? Surely, if he caught up to Marcus and Ivan, Marcus would take Pierce's presence as some invitation to compete. And then, Pierce would get all competitive, and try to show off. Whether he won or lost, he'd likely be made out to be the bad guy. Nobody hated a sore winner, or a sore loser. It was absolutely ridiculous how manipulative and conniving that Marcus was!

"Hey, Pierce!"  came Marcus' voice over Pierce's thoughts.

He cursed; but as Marcus turned around to face him from a few yards ahead, he mustered up a smile. If Tessa read from either of their minds that he had been giving Marcus attitude, he'd probably be in for an earful. And he was NOT in the mood to get chewed out by Mandy, mentally or verbally. Marcus gestured for Pierce to catch up to he and Ivan, and reluctantly, he did.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The day was sunny, there was that, Pierce decided. He sensed no oncoming storm. The wind was tame. People were pretty chill, since Overlady Camphrey had been unseated from her throne. Whoever had taken over since her--an aerokinetic, if he remembered correctly-- was obviously doing wonders for the morale of the city.

Pierce sighed as Marcus and Ivan chatted, jogging side-by-side, and decided that he'd just stay behind. With all his force of will, he would suppress the urge to show off how fast he was, or challenge Marcus in running or parkour. He wouldn't let Marcus' effortless athleticism bother him. There didn't have to be an alpha male in these sorts of situation.

"'Ey, c'mon, Petey!" Ivan called back to Pierce cheerfully, "You're no fun when you're in your stormy moods! And we came out here to have fun, right?"

"Yeah, fun..." Pierce grumbled under his breath, before saying aloud, "Uh, no, you guys, go ahead without me. I think I'll just enjoy the scenery a little more..."

"Enjoy the scenery?" Marcus chuckled, "Okay, that's cool. If you ain't in the shape to walk, you coulda just said so. Didn't have to make up no excuse. We'll just see you when we back at Lara's house."

Pierce perked up. Did Marcus just--? Pierce caught Marcus glancing back with that sly, smooth-criminal grin. He did! He was challenging Pierce! And certainly Pierce would have none of it. So, it was decided. If a competition was what Marcus wanted, that's what he'd get. He stopped a second, dug his shoes into the gravel of the road, and took off.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Fitz, Adam, Max and Ivan watched, impressed as Pierce drew nearer and nearer. Marcus just waited with eager anticipation. Finally, Pierce was giving him the time of day, not ignoring him. Now was the time to show this white boy what he could really do. The others slowed, and Marcus stopped completely until Pierce made it to where he stood. And then, the two took off with a great burst of speed, that promised to make for a great race.

Down the street they headed. Fortunately, cars were scarce, which meant that they could run full speed, and only their stamina would be a factor in how long they would run before they stopped.

"You tired?" Marcus smirked at the electro.

"You wish!" Pierce quickly retorted, "I got plenty of juice left!"

"Good", Marcus spoke under his breath, "Me, too."

Almost as though the street itself wanted the two to go head to head, the street soon gave way to trash cans, street lights, trees, bushes that needed dodging; low fences like hurtles; plenty to make for an exciting spectator sport. Ivan, Adam, Fitz and Max were now engrossed, wholly forgetting their own plans for exercise.

With great agility, the two dodged; around people, over parked cars, using tree branches to assist vaults, over trash cans. Neither seemed even close to tired. They seemed fueled simply by the notion of competition.

"So since we racin'", Marcus called over to Pierce, "You got any idea where we should stop?"

Pierce looked over to Marcus, and was on the verge of answering, when there came a loud scream that made them both stop where they were. A loud bang, like a body against metal, and again there came a desperate female cry for help. The two exchanged glances, and decided simultaneously. Their competition would have to wait.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Chicago==

Pierce and Marcus made haste to see what the trouble was. Hopefully, they would make it, before things got too out of hand. As it turned out, they were just in time.

In the alleyway where the cries originated from, a group of teenaged boys thought that it would be fun to harass a boy and his female friends. Apparently, their wallets weren't enough; the boys thought they'd stick around for some more fun until they'd had their fill of violence.

Two held the boy, while a third, bigger boy, delivered powerful kidney shots, and gut shots. He could have been a boxer, his hits were so precise. The girls were restrained, only allowed to watch. Fortunately, they were not watching alone.

"Hey!" Pierce called out, crossing his arms, "What the hell do you think you're doin'?"

The bigger boy turned slowly, and retorted with a smug grin, "I dunno, OFFICER. Feels like boxin' practice to me."

"Oh, really?" Marcus looked the kid over, as his friends laughed at his dumb joke, "Well, you look like you enjoy it. Maybe you want some of what you been dishin' out to him."

The kid turned from his victim, and cracked his knuckles, "Sounds good to me."

His eyes lit up white, and his hair burst into blue flame. Similar blue flames spouted from the palms of his hands. His two friends pushed the girls to the ground, to join the fight. One spouted large psionic blades from his fingertips, with eyes aglow purple; the other levitated a foot off the ground, with wind kicking up fiercely around him.

Just in time, Ivan, Fitz, Adam and Max arrived.

"So, gents..." Ivan said, sprouting his second pair of arms with a mischievous smirk, "What'd we miss?"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

The fight was quick and decisive. Naturally, the punks started off confident, even arrogant that they could take on the supers that faced them; they thought their abilities superior, but it didn't take long before the painful reality would set it.

Pierce leaped forward first, his body dancing with electricity, rife with the smell of ozone. He and the pyro exchanged dazzling, frightening blasts of energy, left and right, barely missing their own allies and the people the supers had come to rescue. Finally, the pyro saw himself losing and bounded wall to wall, using his flames as a boost. If he was to have any real chance at not getting his behind handed to him, he'd have do to combat in the wide space of the building rooftops. And Pierce was just fine with that, he decided, as he used his electricity to bound up after him.

And as Pierce took on the pyro, Marcus jumped after the psionic. His claw-blades made no difference to Marcus. A preflexer like him? He'd only need one well placed blow, and the punk kid would be done. And Marcus did more than his share of well-placed blows. At first, he had to dodge; the kid was wild and unruly. Had no good boxing set. But once the kid got tired of missing, let his frustration get the better of him, it was even easier. A few good jabs, duck, bob weave, gut shots, kidney shots, left, right, uppercut, and for the finisher, a roundhouse kick to the gut.

Meanwhile, Ivan busied himself with the aerokinetic. Sure, the kid's friends were tough, with cool powers, but he knew his ability was mainly to blow. And that sucked. And this four-armed freak did not look like he would go easy. So away he blew, kicking up angry winds to keep the strongman at bay. But Ivan had a plan for him. He braced himself against the measly winds, and finally ducked back behind the dumpster. When the kid grew tired of blowing at nothing, he peeked behind the dumpster to see if perhaps the strongman had given up or left. Caught.

Which left the pyro kid's other two friends. The two that had held the boy for the pyro to beat up. Turns out, in all the chaos, they had scrambled to the back of the alley, and were trying to climb the fence. Max and Adam would have none of that. Max pushed up his glasses with his pointer finger, and hurried after the two normals. Finally, he reached them, and leaped up, striking them, mid-air, on pressure points on the backs of their necks. As they fell to the ground, Adam pulled a very long rope off of his concealed notepad, to tie them up neatly for the police.

Things were over fairly quickly, after. The pyro tired and got zapped out of consciousness; the psion got KOd without landing a single slice; the aero was held in an amusing headlock by Ivan's four arms; and the normals were quickly rounded up. The boy and his female friends could barely think of how to thank the supers enough. But the supers assured. It was nothing; all in a day's work, and all that jazz.

"So, uh, Marcus." Pierce scratched the back of his head, expertly ignoring his tiredness, "Now that we got this little pit stop all wrapped up...what say you and me get back to the real exercise? Last one back to Lara's place has to make dinner?"

Marcus looked over at him, and smiled wide, "Aiight, Petey. You got yourself a deal."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Chicago==

After handily losing the race back to Lara's house, Pierce found himself pleasantly surprised (and everyone else found themselves relieved), when Marcus volunteered to go ahead and make dinner for everyone anyway. It was probably for the best, anyhow, Marcus reasoned; no reason anybody should have to die of food poisoning just because Pierce lost some bet. But first, they would have their showers; they had worked up quite a sweat.

Though, the others were more than ready to see what Marcus had up his sleeve, when it came to cooking. Their hunger and their curiosity lured them quickly out of the showers, to hurry and dress, and to wait eagerly for Marcus to make something delicious...which left Ivan bathing by himself. He wasn't hungry just yet, and he wanted to get squeaky clean for Lisa-Lee tonight...

Pleasantly, the strongman hummed to himself some hip-hop song he'd forgotten the name of, muttered the rap verse and then went back to humming. It had been a while since he had a shower to sing in, without his friends being able to overhear, and tease him or complain he was off-key. It felt pretty stinkin' good. If only Lisa-Lee would come join him...

Ivan stopped mid-thought, as he heard the door quietly creak open.

"Yo, Petey!" Ivan called back behind him, "Marcus? Toad? Somebody forget somethin?"

No response. Ivan remained calm, and went back to showering.

"Ya know...This whole thing might go a lot quicker if I wash your back." there came a sudden voice, right behind him, "And, uh...maybe you can wash mine..."

Ivan whipped around. Definitely not Lisa-Lee.

"Oh...hey, Bella." Ivan smirked a bit, "Don't take this the wrong way, but, uh...I don't think Lisa-Lee would like us bein' in here at the same time. I'm almost done; I'll be out in a minute, if you're in a hurry..."

"I'm not." Bella chuckled, "We can take all the time we need...Get a little clean...get a little dirty...You'll enjoy it, I promise."

"Really, now?" Ivan didn't stop scrubbing himself, "Izzat what kinda guy you take me for? The two of us, standin' here, stark-naked, and so automatically, we're gonna f*ck? Honestly. I'm above that. And I thought you was, too. Me and Lisa-Lee is together; you know that."

Bella looked sort of amused now; perhaps it was Ivan's accent; perhaps it was the sentiment he voiced; or, just maybe it was how comfortable Ivan was bathing himself in front of her, while she, too, was completely naked.

"Well, sure, you and Lisa-Lee are together..." she continued, "But...neither of you ever said anything about being exclusive, did you? I'm sure she's had other guys in your absence..."

Ivan stopped bathing a second; looked Bella over, and smirked again, before turning to rinse the suds off his body, "I came close, once, to cheatin', since me and Lisa-Lee been apart. I'll admit that. But then I thought about somethin'. The first time I met Lee-Lee. She used me for arm candy, cheaper than a regular male escort. Then she used me for sex, cheaper than a hooker, cause I didn't even take money. But then, little by little, she wanted more outta me. We kept in touch, on the phone, through letters. Lisa-Lee changed. And she changed me. Now...I don't wanna scare her by sayin' it to her face, but...I don't think I want nobody else. I probably could get it up for another girl, but...my heart wouldn't be there. My heart would be with Lisa-Lee..."

And then, having said his piece, Ivan turned the water off. He picked up a towel, tossed one to Bella, and headed for the door, without another word. Simple as that. And Bella could only watch him leave, with a look of surprised approval. She had to admit, she didn't think he would pass her little 'test of temptation'. In fact, in all honesty, she figured she'd only have to drop the towel before she'd have to fend off his horny sexual advances. Perhaps, she mused internally, she would have to reconsider her ideas about this Ivan Fisk. Maybe he was worthy of Lisa-Lee, after all...

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Chicago==

After dinner, things were fairly relaxed. Pierce, Ivan, Marcus and Adam busied themselves with a video game tourney that promised to last all night. Max, Fitz and Anita consulted diligently in the War Room. Tessa and Changing Wind meditated in the Peace Room. Alyssa, Lara and Nadia watched reality TV in another room. That left Bella and Lisa-Lee sitting alone in the living room.

Bella put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "He's crazy about you, ya know..."

"I'm crazy about him, too..." Lisa-Lee sighed, "At least, I'm pretty sure I am."

"Well, he's at least worth a shot." Bella crossed her right leg over her left, "He seems pretty committed to you."

Lisa-Lee shot her a glance, "You--? You didn't."

Bella shrugged, "I did. And he totally passed the test. I mean, totally shrugged me off. Didn't even look like he was interested. Just kept bathing, and--"

"You walked in on him while he was showering?" Lisa-Lee menaced Bella playfully.

"What? It was the only place I could get him alone!" Bella shot back, with a chuckle, "And besides, like I said, nothing happened. Even if he came onto me, I wouldn't let it escalate into anything."

Lisa-Lee shot her another playfully accusatory glance, "Well, you better not. Ivan isn't like other guys; he's special. I think he might be the first guy that I ever really luh--oh, hey, Ivan! Guys! What's goin' on?"

Fitz, Anita and Max had finally reached a conclusion, and so they and the rest of the supers filed into the living room, to fill the Overlady in, and get her feedback on the idea. Fitz stepped forward, and sat down on the arm of the chair nearest to Bella.

"A'right, we've been thinkin'." Fitz started, "And we've come up with the perfect person to put on the throne in your place."

Lisa-Lee and Bella exchanged glances and replied simultaneously, "...Really? Who?"

"I think de choice is rather wise, Overlady." Max straightened his glasses.

Anita smiled a bit, "So do I. She'll be very convincing, I think."

"Agreed.", Fitz crossed his arms, "Lara will make a lovely fake Overlady. Don't you think, Lisa-Lee?"

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==New Orleans==

The calm in the air was slowly interrupted by Adam's power at work. Wall turned into door frame. Wall turned into wood. Wall patterned elegantly. Wall separated into door. Wall opened, and everyone stepped through. Ivan put a hand up to shield his eyes from the light of the sun.

"Oi, did we really have to come back so early?" Ivan complained, "Louisiana still woulda been here around noon..."

Lisa-Lee giggled, "Hush up, you. My land awaits my return."

"You mean MY land awaits my ARRIVAL." Lara smirked.

Lisa-Lee rolled her eyes; she was right, "...So, Max...I just...wait here? Stewin' in my own juices? Goo'ness, this is gonna get borin' real quick..."

Though, on the bright side, Lisa-Lee would have the option to move between Chicago and New Orleans freely, as she saw fit. Long as she didn't set foot into Louisiana for the duration of the operation, her part was being played.

As for Lara, she would come bearing the goodwill of her good friend ex-Overlady Lisa-Lee Cade, who had been frightened right out of ruling. Louisiana's former ruler would be retiring in some land where no stake was held for her, and where chaos was cut down to a minimum. Quite simply, she couldn't handle the pressures any longer, and wanted peace. She would even lend this new icy Overlady her alliance with the rebels. And they would defend her fiercely.

Yes, that story would do quite nicely. Or, so the lot of them hoped. Though, it would be up to the people of Louisiana, and more importantly, to Lisa-Lee's enemies, to show the supers whether they were convincing or not.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==New Orleans==

The shiny, black limousines Adam had drawn up were flawless. There was one flag on the right side of the limos; the flag of Louisiana. The flag on the opposite side was new; icy blue, with a snowflake in the middle. The Flag of Lara Darling.

On the way to the site of where Chateau Shangri-La was being rebuilt, Bella pulled out her phone. Called several television news stations. Promised them all a scoop they couldn't pass up. If they hurried, they would soon find themselves in the presence of the next ruler of Louisiana. And not much more had to be said that that.

In barely fifteen minutes, all the local news stations were huddled in their clunky vans, across the manor's lawn. Lara was unsure if she should be loud and obnoxious, hanging out of the window, greeting them like the celebrity she was supposed to be, or reserved and aloof. The point was to come across a pushover, but she wondered if maybe that would be a bit much. She caught sight of the media, and decided, yes; that would be entirely too much. She'd better spend her remaining few seconds hand in hand with Tessa, meditating.

The first limo stopped, and her limo stopped, breaking her focus. Fitz turned to her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"A'right, Lara. This is it; the moment we planned for. We're here." he smiled.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==New Orleans==

Bella stepped out of the limo, followed by Max, Alyssa and Changing Wind. Bella pulled off her shades and whipped her hair back dramatically to greet the news people as they approached. It was so good to see the four of them again, various reporters insisted. For a while, it seemed like the empire was in trouble, others volunteered. And finally came questions about Lisa-Lee's departure. Bella smiled. What a shock they would soon be in for.

She turned back to the second limo, "Yes, the empire was almost in trouble for a little minute. But you all should know, better than anyone. Louisiana recovers quickly from whatever life throws at it."

Lara's cue.

The limo door opened, and an icy-blue heel landed softly on the ground. Out stepped the blue-haired beauty, in a tight white dress, simple but elegant. Her stud earrings were winking blue sapphires, as was her necklace and her Dolce and Gabbana shades. Sure she had caught the group's eye by now, she blew a bubble of blue gum, and popped it.

She did a half turn, snapped her fingers back to the limo, and behind her, Ivan stepped out, followed by Nadia, Fitz, Pierce and Tessa. Ivan and Pierce were obviously the bodyguards, and the rest her entourage. Fitz shut the door behind him, and Lara led the way across the lawn at a confident stride.

Ivan stepped in front of her, let out his second pair of arms, parted the media people like the Red Sea, and called out to one of the geos working on Chateau Shangri-La. The geo gladly obliged, putting out his hands to raise a platform, before returning to his work on the manor. The group walked onto the platform...waited until everyone's cameras were on and rolling...and then proudly introduced Overlady Lara Darling's regime to the political world.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

==Mississippi==

The lavish second-floor parlor was nearly silent, except for the television; Overlady Alexander almost seemed not to notice the devilish smile that curled the corners of her lips as she watched the fresh new Overlady give her little address. Just what the hell did this blue-haired bimbo know about politics and the art of rule? What experience could she possibly have had? Had she even heard of foreign policy, or interstate treaties?

"Oh, Lisa-Lee...you are slippin' up." the Overlady sank a bit in her seat, heady with thoughts of her next move, "Aletta! Jupiter! Call up Freddie! He's just gotta see this."

The two servants exchanged glances. Day did not hear movement, and so turned back to see just what was going on.

"Well..." Jupiter began.

Aletta put up a hand; she would break the news, "See the thing is, Miss Day, Mister Annullin didn't take the news of Miss Lisa-Lee's leavin' so well. He left to go find where Miss Lisa-Lee went off to."

Day's face, her whole body straightened; her muscles tensed. She closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly; how she hated having her daddy's angry twitch. She steeled herself, and spoke again through gritted teeth, "...Really now? Any more good news you two feel like springin' up on me?"

Jupiter whistled casually, and avoided the women's glances; he would let Aletta handle this one, too.

"Ya see, the thing is..." she began, "Since Miss Lisa-Lee's up and gone, the people know that you wanna try to lay hold to her land. And they know you'll want people to do it; their uncles and sons and daddies and wives and sisters. They ain't takin' the news real good."

She took the Overlady by the arm, and led her to the window. Day couldn't believe her eyes. Just outside the gate of her thick black gate, there was easily a couple hundred people. They waved flags and held up banners and hoisted up signs she could barely make out. They yelled at the top of their lungs, sometimes in unison, sometimes not. They cried and begged and pleaded. Leave Lisa-Lee's land alone. Leave Louisiana alone. Spare our boys. Day plopped back down in her seat, to sulk.

"Well, damn." she grumbled, tenting her fingers together, annoyed, "Guess I'll have to go about this another way."

[Celadon's Penultimate]

POST COMING SOON