Page 34 of Interstellar Love Song (Villains in Space #3)

ZIGGY

Our stellula hadn’t stopped thrashing around inside my vessel since our meeting with the Hydrassians, but I wasn’t certain if this was due to the increased excitement or simply the normal activity level of parasitic babies.

I suppose I could ask Leeloo…

But I most likely won’t.

“…And this is the module I added to miniaturize cargo,” Micah proudly babbled as he demonstrated the latest enhancement he’d added to both the Lodger and his own embedded tech.

“It’s what I used to snatch the True Stellarian archives from Apotelesma before the Planet Eat… err, Musaa knew it was gone.”

“An incredible display of power, My-kuh,” Leeloo praised. “How did you ensure everything remained in the correct order for when you enlarged it again?”

Micah smiled shyly, clearly embarrassed but always ready to discuss his creations. “I just linked each item to the ones around it using electromagnetic bonds. To be honest, I’m hoping I didn’t fuck up the memory bottles with my rudimentary attempts at nanotechnology.”

And… I’m lost again.

Leeloo chuckled. “Fortunately for you, I do not believe memories have physical properties that could be negatively affected by changes in scale.”

Theoretically.

In the end, what my mate did was a combination of science and sorcery, but just because most of these discussions were over my head didn’t mean they couldn’t spark questions of my own.

“How accurate do you believe the archives are, Leeloo?” I asked. “Since the entire collection is built from subjective memories?”

“Subjective and collective,” Leeloo corrected. “Unlike The Knowledge, which is based on first-hand accounts provided by individuals, the collective well is communal, and ever-evolving. Each bottle you peered into contained memories from multiple sources—throughout space and time.”

This must be why the Musaa doesn’t approve of anyone peeking behind the curtain…

“And possibly from multiple universes,” Micah added, shaking his head in amazement.

How he could maintain his unshakable enthusiasm for knowledge in such stressful circumstances was beyond me, but that was why this sunshiney superhero was my emotional anchor .

The perfect mate for me.

His comment brought up another question that had arisen while Uuktar ranted about “tainted” visions. A question I almost didn’t dare ask.

Because I might not want to know the answer.

“Do you…” I swallowed thickly. “Do you think the vision I had of Stellaria falling to the Musaa… Could it have come from the other universe?”

Please let the answer be yes.

It was incredibly selfish—wishing that fate on anyone—but I couldn’t help desperately clinging to any possibility that what I’d subconsciously witnessed wasn’t a prophecy set in stone.

Micah smiled sadly. “It’s hard to say, Zig. Hopefully the twins can tell us more once they return from the collective well.”

Assuming the Musaa doesn’t drag them to another dimension while they’re in there…

Micah’s phone vibrating on the dashboard had me tensing, my thoughts immediately turning to worst case scenarios.

If something happens to the twins, Theo will never forgive me.

“Cuuute,” Micah chuckled, showing Leeloo his phone screen before turning the device so I could see. “I guess Bron went down to the archives with Pedro…”

I couldn’t help smiling at the sight of our ferocious little star perched atop the memory bottles once again.

Wait …

“Is Pedro sitting on the same bottle as last time?” I muttered as some deep-rooted awareness buzzed in my head.

Witchy bish ish, as Micah would call it.

My mate flipped the screen to face himself again. “Oh, weird… I think they are. I wonder which species that bottle is about…”

Before I could suggest he use the data from The Knowledge to match the bottle to our family tree, Micah tapped out a message, presumably in response to Bron.

The path of least resistance.

When the reply came through, he snorted. “Can you believe it? Musaa.”

How…

“That is not surprising.” Leeloo nodded sagely. “A Trol’s karnilian gemstone has strong protective energy. Pedro may have sensed a threat and was trying to shield you.”

Why is this making me emotional?!

Being pregnant is overwhelming.

Once again, my unruly feelings were at odds with reality, but I had to assume I would return to baseline once this three-week sentence was up.

When we get to meet our beautiful baby…

NO, Ziggy.

CRYING IS NOT AN OPTION!

“Hold up,” Micah gasped. “Is that what Pedro’s superpower is? A shield like ours? ”

Leeloo hummed. “Similar in theory— more of an energetic shield than a physical one . Unfortunately, Trols are an elusive species not commonly understood, so when the Hydrassians claimed their stones held the power to predict and ensure victory in battle, their lies were readily believed.”

My blood boiled at the thought of everything Pedro and their kind had endured thanks to the greed of others. “So those snakes were simply collecting stones to protect themselves?”

Leeloo’s permanent prison would be well-deserved.

The Eki sighed. “The stores beneath their caves are lined with ill-gotten karnilian, yes. However,” they held up a sparkling hand as I opened my mouth to rage, “we must remember the Hydrassians are not a formidable species. Yes, they possess psychic powers but, unless they are able to hypnotize their mark, these powers can not be used against others. And most of the Caelestis lineage are immune to this hypnotism.”

“That doesn’t excuse their behavior,” I huffed, crossing my arms and choosing anger over tears on Pedro’s behalf.

NOPE.

“Of course not,” Leeloo gently replied. “But sometimes, actions that are detrimental to others must be taken in order to protect our own kind.”

“Like when you trapped me beneath a shield our first time on Ekistron!” Micah cheerfully recounted the incredibly stressful ordeal I barely survived.

Blowing up the scenery helped.

“Exactly,” his mentor chuckled. “Although I mostly did that as an experiment—to see if you could remove a shield of someone else’s making. I was also curious if you could still connect with your mate when trapped.”

Micah huffed. “I probably could have connected with Zig if we’d completed our bond, but we hadn’t linked our minds yet. Now we can connect when I have my shields up—even when no one else can get in.”

Because you’re my stellar collision.

Leeloo nodded before focusing at a point beyond Micah’s head. “I meant to ask after your wedding how exactly you acquired a Photon Lance? I have not seen one in many moons.”

“Ziggy gave it to me!” my husband proudly exclaimed. “He, uh… borrowed it from The Knowledge for an engagement present.”

Permanently borrowed.

“It was on the Pinterest board,” I confirmed, standing a little taller at the reminder of one of my greatest successes.

“Ah, yes,” Leeloo hummed. “The last known Photon Lance in existence. I am certain The Knowledge will not miss it.”

Oops.

“I meant to ask if the Eki created the lances.” Micah grabbed his engagement present from its holder on the wall before twirling it around like one of his Jedis. “And what does it do… besides looking badass?”

Leeloo was radiating amusement as they nodded. “Yes, the Eki created it as a companion to Astrum Force’s Celestial Cube. The lance magnifies the abilities of whoever is wielding it tenfold.”

Micah abruptly stopped his lightsaber demonstration. “Wait. The old Astrum Force Command had Photon Lances?”

Leeloo chuckled mischievously. “No. We attempted to convince them to only issue the lances to Star Unit soldiers, since they’d be the ones in the field .

Unsurprisingly, the commanders refused to allow their subordinates to have greater power than them, so we destroyed all but one, which we donated to The Knowledge. ”

“That’s how the game is played.” Micah shook his head with an appreciative smile. “But dang, the Eki don’t suffer fools. Are you sure the prophecy wasn’t about you, Leeloo?”

“I am certain,” they replied before turning to face me. “Zig-ee is clearly the Morning Light, but I am not convinced your child is the ‘twice over’ referenced by the Hydrassians.”

Before I could ask them to elaborate, Gabriel and Andre appeared, panting from exertion but grinning maniacally.

Thank fuck.

For as powerful as the twins were, they had limited experience in the field. This was partly because their powers could inflict damage over long distances, but mostly because their eldest brother had once negotiated with their parents to spare them the horrors he’d experienced.

And possibly to limit the power of his subordinates…

Since that’s how the game is played.

“Ooooh… that was close!” Gabriel crowed, making my anxiety spike all over again. “But we found the other Musaa.”

Andre snorted, already slipping on his impassive exterior. “It helped that the Hydrassians were making enough noise to draw the Big Bad’s attention their way.”

Exactly as we’d hoped.

“Did any of the Hydrassians anger the Musaa enough to be removed from this universe?” I asked.

Also as we’d hoped.

Gabriel shrugged. “Dunno. As soon as we got the intel we needed, we hopped straight here.”

“Well, spill, bestie!” Micah exclaimed, gesturing wildly with his lightsaber before awkwardly jamming it into his gun holster. “Are we dealing with a good twin, bad twin situation here?”

Sounds familiar.

“Close,” Andre replied, looking at my mate with open admiration before burying the emotion.

“More like, bad twin, morally ambiguous twin, and the ambiguous one is apparently who talked to us in our dreams back in the day. Either way, we learned Musaas were specifically created to capture planets for the Markarians to eat.”

Micah wrinkled his nose as I huffed in disbelief.

I can’t believe Theo was right…

“So that’s how the term ‘Planet Eater’ became associated with the Musaas,” Micah mused. “Planets were absorbed by these messengers of death and never seen again.” He glanced apologetically at Leeloo. “I’m sorry, Sensei. That was insensitive. ”

His mentor waved him off, unconcerned. “Do we know if Musaas possess the power to kill whoever they absorb?” Leeloo asked the twins, no doubt thinking of Kanrienus’ fate.

“They don’t,” Andre confirmed, shaking his head. “Nowadays, when anyone gets sucked in, instead of being held in a temporary prison, they pass through the collective well and into our mirror galaxy.”

“M-mirror galaxy?” Micah choked out, and I prayed his reaction was more concern than curiosity. “Does that mean the other Musaa confirmed this multiverse exists?!”

Fuck.

Definitely curiosity.

Gabriel nodded, although he didn’t seem nearly as enthusiastic as my mate.

“It sure does. Apparently, when the last Markarian was consumed by the last Musaa, they duplicated everything already in creation in a last gasp attempt to duplicate themselves. They were successful, but then the last Musaa on the other side— in the other universe —consumed them all over again. That’s when the collective well was born…

from the remains of duplicate Markarians and between the now two remaining Musaas. ”

The silence in the cockpit hung heavy for a moment, until Leeloo broke the spell. “The Musaa you spoke with—from the mirror galaxy—is not a threat to us?”

“We don’t think so,” Andre replied, chewing his bottom lip in a way that reminded me of his twin. “While they took down their creator right away, they’ve otherwise just let things ride over there. ”

“Does this mean everyone and everything in the mirror galaxy is the same as here?” Micah asked, and my stomach twisted at the sheer excitement in his voice.

Maybe it’s just the stellula thrashing around again…

The twins glanced at each other before Andre replied, his tone uncharacteristically gentle. “Not… exactly. We managed to access our thoughts — the other Gabe and Dre’s thoughts—and things are very different on Earth…”

“Yeah,” Gabriel cleared his throat and continued.

“There are still supes—which we think means the Musaas didn’t consume the Markarians until after the original Eki- Lacertus- Stellarian mashup—but otherwise, inventus bonds don’t even exist as a myth.

Heroes and villains are still enemies. Our families are not aligned.

” His pleading gaze met Micah’s. “Balty and Zion aren’t together…

None of our siblings have found their mates. We don’t even know Theo…”

“What about me and Zig?” Micah softly voiced the question I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

“We don’t know, sunshine…” Gabriel pulled Micah in for a hug as his resonance began to hum. “We aren’t friends in that universe so we don’t know anything about your life.”

To my surprise, Andre stepped closer, so the other two could bring him into their embrace. My resonance began vibrating at the sight of my family comforting each other, even as my chest grew uncomfortably tight.

“It’s probably safe to assume the old Astrum Force is still in charge,” Andre mumbled into Gabriel’s hair, the faint glow in his chest pulsing in time with his twin’s. “And that Ziggy still found Theo on his own, which means… ”

I hissed in a breath as that reality—the reality I once wanted more than life itself—came into focus. A reality where I’d captured Theo and brought him back to Stellaria for trial and certain death.

A reality where I’d never met my stellar collision.

“Is that what our Musaa is hoping to accomplish by sending the weak to the other universe?” I gasped as realization washed over me. “A reality where destruction is the only goal? Where our bonds don’t exist?”

It sounds like no life at all.

“We sure as hell hope not…” Gabriel replied as Micah pulled me in to join the huddle the best I could in my current physical state. “All we know is?—”

The psychic supe went deathly still as both his and Andre’s blue-eyed gazes turned distant.

“No…” Gabriel breathed, his face paling.

“Fuck,” Andre growled before snapping to focus. “That was Theo sending an SOS. I guess we weren’t as undetected in the collective well as we thought…”

Oh no.

I stumbled backward, only managing to stay upright thanks to Leeloo’s steady hand on my lower back.

“What do you mean?” I croaked, already knowing the answer as my intuition shrilled loudly in my head. “What’s happening?”

“It’s the Musaa… our Musaa,” Gabriel whispered, clearly terrified. “They’ve appeared in the Milky Way galaxy and are threatening to make Earth disappear from our universe forever.”