Baltimore International Airport was crowded as usual, but not at the level Baratos and I experienced as we stepped into the baggage claim. My short but wavy blue hair bouncing as my cyan eyes skimmed the area looking for our checked items.
"Back in the United States," I said, shaking my head as my Catalonian husband and I walked past other carousels to where all the other passengers of our final flight were. "After a long ass tour, we're finally going home to rest!"
Home. Of all the places, we were finally here. After traveling to places as far as Bangkok to Lima or London to Johannesburg, we were finally home. The final stop of our world tour.
Might I add that many of those stops were two to three-night concerts? Ashley Asha only had to deal with mostly two during her days as a disk jockey. Well before my Aunt Callisto joined her side. Now she's sitting in the big chair as the CEO while my aunt works as her personal assistant. Both of them are one of America's most iconic power couples.
I, Nerida Stanwell, actually went on tour without a single hitch on this planet. No need to cut it short just because some baddie was afloat wreaking havoc. Believe it or not, that hasn't happened in a while.
Though, I don't like it.
Which is why I opted for a world tour. Especially after being involved in a spaceship crash that killed just about every single member of my crew. That concert was an ill-fated one, but this one was worldwide on Earth to keep things safe. Dedicated to the lives lost of course, and I donated half my wages to the families of the victims.
Many have written me since my return from Catalon, urging me to continue playing and to not allow terrorism to win.
It's been the message down here on Earth. Especially since there used to be terrorists running rampant throughout the planet. Nowadays, many of them are in fear that I'd eventually catch onto them.
Especially since just about every country decided to follow South Korea's suit in CCTV. Closed-circuit television was a pretty big one. Believe it or not.
The Allied Planets and the rest of the universe were even inspired to make CCTV a planet-wide thing. Even in the oceans using super-sensitive satellite imagery. Say that last sentence fast!
We hurried through the baggage claim and hopped into a limousine provided by Ashear Records. The driver politely relayed the message that Ashley didn't need me to go in. No one told us that we were going to be flying for more than an entire day.
We returned to our condominium at Silo Point. Spacy and simple was the way we kept the home. Other than all the art on the walls and in the living room and bedroom, it was a simple home. I hardly held on to any of the clothes in my wardrobe, but I daresay this superhero belt came handy whenever it came time to spring cleaning.
Honestly, I've thought about it before. I don't think Angela is the first descendant of Empress Pedonia to have cybernetic powers. To be frank, I think this Professor Agnur Mertiatus might have been some form of technopath, a superhero who knew how to put technology together and make it good.
If he had the ability to invent a belt that gave me the ability to change clothes so damn quickly, then he most definitely had to have that knowledge as a technopath!
"It's just the two of us again!" I said as we walked through the plain white doors into what looked like a simplified light beige hall with a wooden floor and furniture with the matching black colors. "You know Baratos, I never saw this much of Planet Earth as a kid. Like, I've been to a few places whenever my father was sent somewhere, but most of the time I was living in a suburb an hour from here."
"Soon to be a twin city from what I've read," Baratos said, making sure the tie on his black man-bun was tight enough. "Your residency over there after Generia was defeated led to the steady growth of your city."
I never really noticed it before, but Baratos was growing to be quite the scholar. While I did the touring, he spent his time studying. Of course he put the books down whenever I was in the room, but whenever I was busy, he'd have his nose in the books. Of course, some of my groupies tried to flirt with him, but he brushed them off and told me as soon as he saw me.
And of course, I got defensive of him a little, so they quickly stopped. Never saw another problem with them again. Not to also mention Baratos was more than happy to continue studying after that.
Though, I can't blame them for swooning over him and his surface-sculpted figure. Tall, slender, but also very muscular. Many of my fans tell me that I'm lucky to have him.
Ashley oversaw most of the tour from back home. With the help of Callisto of course. Although, there's been a problem with her dipping out of virtual meetings lately. Like, she wouldn't say much despite Ashear being the way it was run. Estella had to step in and speak for her whenever there'd be a technical difficulty. Although, Vesta insisted the obvious was going on behind closed doors.
Callisto, my aunt.
They have been together for so many years yet they still act as though they had recently gotten married. Eight years ago today I think, and I believe they were going to spend the whole weekend, holed up in their penthouse doing the obvious. Not that any of us wanted to know, but hey! At least they're happy!
I hope Baratos and I stay happy throughout the rest of our lives together. Might not do what they're doing up there, but I'm glad that I have him in my life. I'm a bit more different than Ashley of course, because I don't go around being completely affectionate with Baratos. Especially in public.
Asami's caught onto this despite having a busy schedule in Ashan now. Not to also mention she recently returned to her military duties following a successful pregnancy. I am now the aunt to a Princess Rin Fujia. A royal baby.
As for me, I wasn't planning on getting preggers anytime soon. There were other things in my life I needed to get out of the way, like allowing Baratos to finish his college degree. Then I needed to go back to school. Following in the footsteps of everyone else.
Ashley Asha though. She was a much different case. Although she were only enlisted, she managed to buy the time to study part-time over the span of several years and finally obtain a college degree. And right after she did, they commissioned her and gave her a permanent reserve assignment at the Pentagon. That was where she was assigned to be during her duties.
Although, according to Asami, the Ashanian Space Force in conjunction with The Allied Planets were trying to activate soldiers and forces from each and every country throughout the Earth to serve and spend some time as a "temporary donation." It was the result of what went down in Catalon. They took several months to rebuild, and there was a huge dip in the amount of available troops total working with The Allied Planets.
Not to also mention that Earth was behind in technology and development, and they thought the experience for troops serving throughout Earth could help. Kind of like a way to help Earth in the event they get attacked again.
That was when Asami told me what was going on. Apparently, The Allied Planets wanted Earth to join in. Of course, with the way the planet was still divided into different countries in some places, the United Nations was still a thing. So during the 2038 Geneva convention, all the remaining split countries got together and held a world-leader style election to whether or not Earth should join.
It was a unanimous yes.
Which is why everyone is currently worried about one major person in the intergalactic spotlight, and believe it or not, it isn't me this time:
It was Ashley.
Nothing could have prepared me for learning that she still wished to continue her military service after the first contract. When it came time for her second contract to end in the United States Air Force Reserve, she chose to continue. Every other year, she'd get activated and placed elsewhere in the world, but I made sure that she wouldn't be needed for any superhero duties.
We also had to make it look like everyone wasn't needed, which was rough. However, there was hardly a villain who required the entire force of True Knights present to defeat. Lecro was another story, given the situation with me being actually getting taken hostage.
Vesta gave me quite the lip about it. Speaking of which, she paid a visit within the first hour of our arrival home. With dinner in hand alongside Daro Altio, who was now her fiancé.
I could hardly help but to stare at the way he turned out. As the personal assistant to my first boyfriend Aries, he remained a close friend even after the breakup. Of course, it was no hard feelings plus Aries and I are still friends. Baratos even enjoys his company whenever we hang out.
Once we were settled in for the evening, I received a call from Vesta, who had just left a board meeting at Ashear. Since Baratos and I had no place to go that night, we decided to let her pay a visit. After all, it's been a while since I've seen my friends. Lisa was already on her way as well.
Baratos and I freshened up and changed our clothes. This time around, we were dressed more casually and down to Earth for the evening. Baratos in a gray T-shirt and dark blue jeans with white socks and I with a light pink graphic T-shirt and blue jeans with matching socks. We were that typical young couple who were just as down to Earth as everyone else.
Except this time, we had different hairstyles. Baratos was cleaner cut compared to his Catalon days with his black hair parted to the side with a fade near his ears. Then there was me, who grew my hair out a little bit longer to where it was now touching my shoulders. Though I must say the lack of excess extreme sunlight led to our skin getting lighter.
Vesta was the first one to arrive. Long, blonde hair tied in a bun, she wore a white long-sleeve T-shirt, gray slacks, and black pumps. Since her sister Ashley founded a company based on little to no knowledge on being a CEO, she took it upon herself to study business administration for her first college degree, so she could easily step in just in case Ashley was deployed.
"Nerida!" she cheerfully said as soon as I answered. We briefly hugged. "It's so good to finally see you after all these months!"
"Same here!" I replied. "Why didn't Ashley just send you out to monitor the tour?"
She rolled her eyes. "She wants me to closely shadow her every move. Just virtually, and I can already guess why."
"Well," I told her. "You were right. Maybe she needs to take a step back and have someone else run it."
"It sure as hell is not going to be me!" Vesta replied. "And yes, I just said hell."
I'm not too daunted by that. She and I had come a long way since middle school. Once being strangers in each other's presence. Now we were working in the same music company and she was one of my closest friends.
"You know," I told her, "I'm starting to wonder whether or not I should continue touring myself."
Her jaw dropped. "Nerida! After all these years and that prolonged commitment to avoiding a planetary throne, you want to quit? No way!"
"Let's face it. I'm married. Remember?"
"So you're saying you want to settle down?"
Baratos cut in. "Nerida, you really don't have to do that if you don't want to. I can take care of the kids while you go on tour."
We both looked at him.
"True," I said, "but I also want to be able to spend more time with them. Whenever they arrive."
Hopefully just not too soon.
Lisa arrived within the next fifteen minutes. By then, we were sitting in my living room, which had a set of thin leather sofas that perfectly matched the gentrified walls and black-framed sliding double doors to a ridiculously lavish balcony, complete with a hot-tub. Baratos and I took our seats at our recliners at both ends of the coffee table while Vesta and Lisa sat on the sofa.
Lisa continued to wear her long brown hair down. Except now she went for a gentrified outfit based on her ripped light-blue jeans, loose frog-green long-sleeve shirt, and a loosely knit light brown vest. Kind of like a retro hippie look more specifically speaking.
We talked about life as usual. It was a lot different for us without Asami, but we had gotten used to it by now. Even though I were married to Baratos, we still had our get-togethers, and he was really nice about hosting them. Especially after we had just arrived off a long-haul trip following a long, grueling world tour.
Now it was time to get in touch with those who remained down to earth. Even though she wasn't completely down to Earth anymore herself, Vesta still took the time to hang out. Then Lisa, who was now in a serious relationship with her boyfriend, still took the time to have these nights.
"You could have brought your guys over you know," I said. "Baratos is still getting used to being outside Catalon and he could use some guys who've lived in an urban setting for a while."
"Daro had to chauffeur Aries tonight," Vesta replied. "He's got an interview in New York with Bret Nichols."
I remembered him. We all went for an interview with the guy following that already thwarted hostage situation involving Vesta and Callisto. The only tricky part was how we could stop them without accidentally revealing ourselves to the public. Everyone was still convinced that our superhero entities were completely different people who just happen to catch us whenever we're in trouble because we're hot shit.
Well, I guess we are kind of hot shit. Supreme hot shit? Perhaps.
"I still can't believe Ashley decided to propose to my aunt while we were there," I said, shaking my head then looking at my husband. "Although, since I'm married now, I can't complain about it."
Not to mention that I was still in love. Just like when he approached me on Catalon. I had almost found myself with another.
Still cannot imagine what my life would be like if Cavius were still alive and I escaped Catalon knowing that I fell in love with another. All of the tabloids and public scrutiny following that high profile breakup. Imagine. Baratos and I wouldn't see the end of it for a long period of time.
Unfortunately, Cavius was no longer here. I did see myself settling down to marry him, because I felt a sense of safety around him. He was always protecting me and understood my disdain for the excess limelight outside work. With his military background and ability to freely patrol outer space, it was his duty to be a protector to all. Even me whenever he was off duty.
"I'm about to follow soon," Vesta said, wrinkling her nose as I looked back at her. "Guess you can hear me say this only once, but I currently hate the fact that I have telepathy. It gave away the thought from Daro that he wants to propose to me and is nervous as to do it!"
"And soon he'll have to figure you out," Baratos said. "I remember when Nerida told me she was Imitai. It was a shock, but after that she was the only woman I wanted to think about all the time."
The three of us girls giggled.
"I hope he feels that way about me after I say something," Vesta said, eyes moving over to Lisa. "And you. How have you been holding up with your guy?"
"Quentin?" she asked as my telepathic senses picked up some pretty dirty images. "He's been great. The sex has been nonstop since he proposed a month ago."
Vesta and I gasped in shock. Baratos on the other hand, shook his head and smiled. He obviously had no idea what to say, but I sure as hell did!
"Lisa!" I told her. "You didn't tell me anything!"
She cheered as a result. "I did it! Quentin told me to surprise you when we woke up after our first night. By the way, he's currently in Orion meeting with Dad and Mom. He wants to formally ask their permission before I marry him. Since I'm about to finally finish college and everything, I felt that this would be good timing."
"Timing?" Vesta said, eyes bugged out at the sight of her. "Don't ever force yourself to rush through things. That's for sure!"
"Yeah," I told her. "You can talk to Asami about it when the two of you talk to each other sometime."
I knew some things alright. Some very, very important things that she'd probably want to know. The fact that my little sister almost had sex with our doctor at sixteen was shocking enough. In many places, that's illegal, but in other places like Ashan, no one really looks at it. Reason why Ashan is like that is due to Empress Pedonia's age when she became Empress.
Empress Pedonia practically married Gallius shortly after getting crowned.
"Damn," Baratos remarked. "Everyone's getting married! We started a trend my love!"
I beamed back at him. "We sure did!"