“Birgitta,” she smiled, as chills skittered down my spine hearing my given-name on her lips.

“Mother,” I bit out through clenched teeth.

She motioned towards the house where the glass door stood open, my friends frozen at the dining room table. “Your talents are wasted on this planet. Unfreeze them, my dear,” she commanded, speaking in our native tongue.

“Why?” I shifted on my foot, and a flutter of activity amongst her flank of guards caught my attention. My insolence clearly rankled them. I smirked at her, irritating them even more, their gloved hands reaching for the weapons at their side. She tsked at them and they relaxed a fraction, clasping their hands behind their backs.

“Birgitta,” the queen tilted her head, a hint of her annoyance peeking through her typical mask of indifference, “there are matters we must discuss with these people.”

I scoffed, “There is nothing to discuss. And I want nothing to do with you or your horde. Leave. Now.” She bristled at the rage in my tone, but smiled in spite of it, “My dear, how you speak to me? What sort of manners are taught on this planet?” She wrinkled her nose and motioned her gloved-hands around her. The guards snickered at her clear disgust for the home I’d chosen.

“Well, for starters,” I lifted my hand and began ticking on my fingers, “this planet isn’t ruled by one tyrant, seeking thrills by murdering innocents simply because they disagreed with her, and yielding powers against those who have nothing to protect themselves.” Her golden eyes flared, and I lowered my slightly-shaking hand.

“Enough of this,” she declared, waving her hand as the moment in time unfroze. My scream of panic was quickly cut off by another tendril of her power, and I was kept in place, as my friends’ laughter rang out in the dining room. It was instantly halted as they noticed the unwelcome presence outside.

“What the fuck,” Steve exclaimed, shooting up from the table and charging outside to demand answers. The others stayed back, throwing anxious glances my way.

“Uh uh uh,” my mother warned, halting Steve as he stepped on the grass at the end of the pool.

“Birdie,” he turned to me, “who the fuck are these people?”

A peal of laughter rang out, “Birdie?!” my mother exclaimed, breaking from her practiced indifferent nature. “Birdie,” she tasted the name on her tongue, switching to English, “well, that’s ridiculous.”

Released from her power, I stepped forward to the edge of the pool, cringing slightly at the touch of the sun on my skin. “Please,” I begged, hating the sound of it, “please leave. They have nothing to do with this,” I motioned between her and me, our fractured relationship deeper than my betrayal of leaving our home.

“Birgitta,” she purred, “the moment you used your powers, you involved them.”

“Powers?” Steve sputtered, the rest of the group slowly joining behind him to stare at me, “what powers?”

“She was going to die!” I stressed, “I am not like you, Mother,” I jeered, the eyes of my friends widening in shock. “I had to save her…had to.”

She brought a gloved-hand to her paled lips, the hood still providing coverage from the sun while I stood there, roasting, “So admirable, Birgitta darling. Choosing to save her, after all this time of having your powers go unused.”

“What powers?!” cried Steve and Marisol. The others muttered similarly.

I moved towards them but stopped as my friends visibly flinched backwards. My mother laughed again, and I hated myself, hated her, hated everything in that moment. But I faced them and admitted, “My powers,” I looked down at my hands then up again, “I stopped time to save you.”

“How?” Steve asked, disbelievingly. “Who are you? What is going on?”

I swallowed, my throat tight from the facade of my life falling apart, “I…” I stammered, “I’m not–from here,” I finally admitted.

“Obviously,” Chris called out, standing at a safe distance, “you’re from California.”

Another chuckle from the guards and my mother. “Cal-i-forn-ia,” she drew out the word, “is not a familiar place to me. Your friend,” she waved her hand gracefully at me, “is from Clydonia.”

“Is that in Europe or something?” Chris asked, completely oblivious. I resisted the urge to smack my hand into my face as my mother chuckled again, “What rare and intelligent creatures you’ve surrounded yourself with, Birgitta. No, human,” she condescended, “Clydonia is a planet. Far from here.” Murmured curses escaped from my friends as the shame of my secrets flooded my cheeks. She continued, “Birgitta hails from this magnificent planet and chose to leave against my wishes years ago.”

“You forced me to leave,” I countered aggressively, taking a step towards the pool as the tendrils of her power slinked over the water, locking me into place once more.

“My dear, why would you say such a thing?” She feigned hurt, placing a hand over her cold heart.

I withered a stare, ignoring the bait, “Mother, please…leave.”

Steve interrupted our stare-off, exasperated, “Bird..Brig…whatever your name is, listen, tell us what is going on. Also, why do you keep calling her Mother?”

I sighed, turning my head, still rooted in place, unwilling to fight against her power. “I left out of sheer necessity and came here to start my life again. Keeping everything about myself hidden, I never once used my powers because I knew the moment I did, it would alert her,” I jerked my chin towards the invaders, “to my presence. And I’ve avoided it so well. But the second I saw Annie,” she looked away at the mention of her name, “almost die, nothing mattered. Nothing. I just knew I had to save her. And she,” I motioned across the pool, “is my mother. I’ve lied to you, and I am deeply sorry. But please, you have to trust me. I lied to protect you all.”

Steve and Marisol exchanged a look, and I wondered what unspoken message passed between the two of them as Steve nodded, then glanced at me, “Ok…ok, we’ll talk about this later. Whoever you are, we still love you. But we need to talk.” I swallowed hard at their unwavering support and nodded. Fighting against my mother’s powers, I stepped out of her strong, invisible hold. A surge of surprise flowed through the guards at my strength against the ruler, and I threw them a tight smile as I paced the pool to stand directly across from her.

“Leave,” I asked again. She looked down at her hands, inspecting them as she turned them over. My heart faltered as her head lifted, and she decided, “No,” throwing out her arm towards my friends.

Annie shrieked as my mother bent her to her will and she came crashing down on her knees. Lawrence fell down beside her, holding her in his arms as tears escaped down his cheeks, “Help her!” he cried to no one in particular as she writhed in pain. My mother stayed firmly in place, a malicious grin ticking up at the corners of her mouth.

“Mother!” I screamed, “Stop this!”

She cocked her head, furrowing her brows, as if surprised by my request, “My dear, you know how this works. You interfered with her fate. You risked our entire existence with that little stunt. And now she must die.”

Another cry from Lawrence and Annie, and I ignored my mother entirely as I rushed to Annie’s side. Lawrence hesitated at my approach, but stepped aside. I took Annie’s trembling hands in mine, and sent my own power through her, defeating my mother’s. She instantly stopped shaking and sighed with relief, meeting my gaze. “Thank you,” she whispered, “thank you for saving me.”

I nodded, my throat tight. Standing to face the queen again, I stayed in close proximity to my friends, guarding them at my back. “Leave. Now,” I repeated my demand, gathering the courage in my voice to convey the severity.

“Settle the debt owed. And we will,” she replied simply, shrugging her shoulders, her cloak rippling with the movement. “And come home, my dear. We miss you.”

I laughed, and her eyes widened infinitesimally, “No, Mother, you miss the idea of another cog in your machine.” I marched away from my friends, ensuring their safety with a wave of my hand. I faced off against her, standing directly across from her on the other side of the pool. “You miss ensuring your horrific regime continues with me. Well, I’ve got some news for you. I’m never coming home. And when you die…and you will die…your precious war-mongering regime will come to a beautiful stop, allowing the people of our home to live freely once more.”

I gripped my throat as her power choked me, tightening around my windpipes. I struggled for air as my friends’ panicked screams reached me.