33. Ivy

Ihated that damn device pressed to my neck. And I hated even more that the damn Supervisor had ruined my surprise pregnancy revelation to Kren.

We were heading into that damn padded room again.

Damn, damn, damn!

I refused to enter it. I had already assumed the calm the ability my baby wielded inside me, and felt that familiar throb in my belly.

Up for it again, little buddy? I said. You can sleep until you're ready to come out and say hi to us. Okay?

There was no response, save for a warm throb in the pit of my belly. I took it as confirmation.

"See you soon!" the Supervisor said, and he eased us inside the room.

I threw my arm out and slammed my palm on the control box. Sparks hissed from the little box—meager and pathetic compared to the bolts of lightning Kren could summon—but it was enough.

The wall hissed shut, splitting the pair of us apart, hurling me forward and the Supervisor back into the room.

Kren caught me before I hit the floor. He scooped me up in his arms and hugged me tight.

"Are you all right? Are you okay?"

"I am now," I said, smiling up at him.

"Is it true? About the…?"

He didn't need to specify. It was clear from the expression on his face.

"Yes," I said. "Are you mad?"

Kren approached me and I should have looked away. I didn't want to see the disappointment in his eyes…

But there was no disappointment. He broke into a grin and his eyes sparkled.

"Of course I'm not mad!"

"You said you didn't want any kids."

"I said I didn't want any kids in here. There's a big difference."

"I agreed to a plan with the Supervisor. He said you're from an extinct species. You're the only one left and that if I had your kid then—"

He pressed his finger to my lips.

"Sh. We don't want the baby to know the truth about how it was conceived."

"You think I'm going to tell my kid how it was conceived?"

"We could include positions and diagrams. Or maybe even a demonstration—when they're old enough."

"You're sick."

"It must be what being in love feels like. I've felt sick ever since I met you."

"I… take that as a compliment. I think."

"Please stand back," Computer said. "Opening cell door now."

The cell door.

The Supervisor was getting out.

Kren took me by the hand and led me up the stairs to the Supervisor's quarters. We reached the top and darted across the room to the door that led out onto the platform where the shuttlecraft sat.

Kren placed his feet and braced the door to force it open. His face turned red at his effort.

"Computer. Open this door."

"Negative," Computer said. "You lack the authority to open this door."

"There's a fire!" I yelled. "We'll die if we don't get outside!"

"I have alerted the fire services," Computer said. "Please find a safe area to wait while they arrive."

My shoulders fell.

"We're not getting out of here, are we?"

"We will," Kren said.

He placed his hands on the door and focused. I could see it now. The way he accessed that ability buried deep inside him. If anyone could get us out of here, it was him.

"Hold it right there!"

We spun around to find the Supervisor standing in his tripped-out armor. It was no longer cut up into pieces but welded together somehow.

"Why can't you just let us go?" I said.

"Because you are carrying my property," the Supervisor said, jabbing a finger at my stomach.

Kren stepped in front of me.

"If you want her, you're going to have to go through me first."

"Fair enough."

The Supervisor swung out an arm. It struck Kren so hard, he flew across the room like there was no gravity. He collapsed to the floor in a mound of body parts.

"Kren!" I screamed.

I ran to him and fell to my knees.

"Are you okay? Kren?"

He muttered under his breath and struggled onto his feet.

"You were the missing piece in my Ability Armor," the Supervisor said. "You were the link that tied everything together. Without your ability, I couldn't fuse the pieces together. Have you ever tried to bring molten fire and shards of ice together? It's not pretty. But you and your species have no special ability on your own. Only when you come in contact with others do you become dangerous. It's the ultimate defense. You use your opponent's strength against them. The more of you there were, the more powerful you became."

Kren shook his head and struggled onto his feet.

"Kren, don't," I said.

But he ignored me and forced himself up.

"That's why my species had to wipe out the neb," the Supervisor said. "You were too powerful. Eventually, you would challenge us and declare war. It's better your kind dies out now than billions of shrale lives. Your ability is the key against any hostile species we come against. We can drain them of their strength and turn it against them. Give me Ivy and no one else needs to be harmed."

"He's right," Kren said, shaking his head. "We can't beat him. None of us can."

"What are you saying?" I said. "I can't lose you. If I don't have you, I don't have anything."

He pressed a hand to my belly.

"But you do. Take care of the baby. Bring it up to know love and warmth. Never let it have the life I had. I didn't have a life until I met you."

He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

No, I thought. This can't be right. This wasn't how our story ended. Not after everything we'd been through.

Once again, I felt that soft thump in the pit of my belly.

I took Kren's hand and placed it there so he could feel it.

"Can you feel it?" I said with tears in my eyes. "That throb?"

Kren's smile broke, he was so happy.

"Yes. I can feel it."

"Do you want to feel this again?" I said.

He looked at me.

"Then destroy this asshole," I said. "Once and for all."

"I can't," Kren said. "He's too strong."

"Too strong for one neb maybe," I said. "But two? He doesn't stand a chance."

Kren shook his head and then felt that pulse in my belly again. A new resolve took over and he turned to face the Supervisor in his full suit of armor.

"You seriously want to do this the hard way?" the Supervisor said. "Okay…"

I felt the pulse in the pit of my belly, the sense that the baby wanted to do something else, something more. I didn't pretend to understand what it was but I would run with it.

Twice now my unborn baby had saved my life. Twice it had used that throbbing beam of light to save its mother.

And now, it would save not only me but its father too.

"Kren," I said. "Wait. Here."

I took his hand and placed it on my belly.