Kings of Hell

Alyssa’s POV

Dale, Ace and Jose drive me around town in a stolen red muscle car, I’m a little confused what they’re up to, but they seem focused about finding something important out here on the streets. Serge was somewhere running urgent errands.

I didn’t even bother asking what the fuss was about today, I could tell their guards were down and they were very chilled out. I sat back in the car, window down, hair flying out behind me as I looked at the green clouds passed high above the broken skyscrapers… you could almost see the sun at certain angles.

Dale shifts the car down to a lower gear and it purrs loudly as he rolls us up to the curb next to Wendy, Armageddon and Aldo, who are all talking in a huddle, sharing one single cigarette.

“You staying out of trouble, kids?” Dale drawls, using his fatherly voice.

Armageddon salutes, Aldo nods and Wendy hesitates.

“Oh… yeah, yeah, boss,” Wendy looks in at me, narrowing her eyes, “What are you wearing Alyssa? Is that a matching pink tracksuit?” Wendy comes to the window, “What in hell. Where did you get that?”

“Designed it in the bunker, turns out I’m pretty good with 3D printing, it’s easy!” I smile as I show off my pink nails as well, “Want a ride? There is one seat left, so two of you would have to squish in and sit on our laps though,” I laugh when I see the look on Armageddon’s face.

“Go,” Aldo suddenly pushes Armageddon’s shoulder, “I’ll walk with Wendy.”

Armageddon is definitely Wade’s son, his temper and joy are one thing combined, and he looks at Aldo directly, balling up his fist.

“Mmhmm, sure fucking thing,” Armageddon seems protective of Wendy, and I try not to laugh.

“Get in,” Dale suggests, and he sounds rather amused as well by the cousins bonding – finally on better terms.

Jose opens the back door and moves to the middle to sit next to me, his inked hand clenching my thigh.

I watch as Armageddon swipes a look to Wendy, “Why you blushing for, huh?”

“I’m not, shut the hell up,” Wendy goes even more red, as Armageddon slides into the car and slams the door shut. Dale takes off, chuckling.

Wendy and Aldo hold hands the moment we’ve pulled out.

“Young love,” Dale and I speak at the same time.

He looks back at me, a sparkle in his eye, “Kitten. Close your eyes.”

His voice is mellow – not sharp and cutting.

It’s rare to hear Dale sound like a… normal man.

I close my eyes, not guessing what’s coming, not asking either.

Ace turns up the music, we drive a little longer.

When the muscle car pulls to a stop, I can hear by the way sound echoes but sounds muffled at the same time, that we’re in an underground garage.

If it’s the Black Lair, it’s not much of a surprise, but still, I keep my eyes closed.

Jose reaches over me to open the door, and he carefully guides me out, even though I’m not that useless.

I jump out and Ace and Jose flank me, a hand each on my back, as we walk somewhere.

Dale speaks with Armageddon quietly. I can’t hear what’s they’re saying.

We walk up two flights of stairs and we stop.

My heart is nervous suddenly.

Knowing my luck, it could be anything.

“Open your eyes,” Dale speaks in front of me, and I see him holding out a hand to reach for Casey’s Club Mansion front door.

I don’t understand why we’re here, but I put my hand on his and he puts my hand on the door, opening it with me.

The door opens to blackness.

The first thing I notice are the many shadows.

It’s a fucking ambush!

I reach for Dale’s gun at his waist, since he is too damn relaxed to react quicker than me!

As I raise the barrel, Dale slams my hand back down, “Kitten, no,” he jerks the gun from me, and he shoves me inside the room, smirking by my shock.

I hear quiet laughing, before everyone screams “SURPRISE!”

I’m charged down by Ariel and Sally, who are at the front with Casey and V.

As the lights turn on, my children squeeze me tight, while I look around at a penthouse full of Ultimates.

My heart is racing.

The Zentihs, ARMY, even my Brownie Squad.

Everyone is cheering – only one of them is looking teary eyed with stress.

At the back of them all, my eyes find my missing beast.

Serge is in the back with wet eyes, and a very awkward smile on his face.

I grin at him and he looks past me to Dale, Ace and Jose, who seem to realise Lightning is in need of immediate rescue from his self-induced emotional turmoil. It’s hard to know if he has been tortured, but by the cream stains on his suit… I think it’s safe to say he has been through a lot.

“What is all this for?” I ask as everyone waits for my reaction, “Did someone we hate, fucking die or something?” I joke, and at least everyone plays along and finds it funny, even if it’s kinda lame to joke about Hacksaw’s explosive exit from this world.

“It’s about peace, like an Old World birthday party – they used to celebrate the day you were born in the year, isn’t that weird? Also, also,” Sally counts them off her fingers, “For being a badass mother, the best mother – and really it’s just a thank you.”

I don’t know what for, I just nod and everyone disperses to find a seat or to head to the food laid out on the table.

Savouries, sweets, everything.

“You like?” Casey steps in my way and grabs my hand and brings me to a cake, “Viola made it – Serge… hm.”

“Fuck me,” I hear a hiss from Serge as he slams into my side, his arm wrapping around my waist as he uses me as an anchor, “Doll – I did the cream, look.”

He sounds proud, and perpetually confused.

“Good job,” I smile and kiss Lightning’s cheek, “Relax, you’re going to have a stroke if you don’t chill,” I hiss into this ear.

“You fucking relax, cunt,” Serge bites back, scowling, before swinging me around to the others, “Look at this fucking thing.”

“I am looking,” I agree, still in shock about the party. Dale, Ace and Jose pick at the food, looking at Serge and trying not to laugh through their chewing, lest they choke and die, “Every Ultimate is here.”

Just as I say that, the lift makes a noise for new arrivals.

Everyone turns and sees the doors open – and everyone sees Aldo and Wendy kissing very awkwardly in the lift.

She jerks away, realising they got caught.

Aldo is pretty fake-chill, quickly walking away from her, into the party like nothing happened.

“Everyone fucking saw,” Wade calls out, smirking.

“What?” Aldo asks, laughing nervously.

Meanwhile I see Casey glaring at Aldo in an unhealthy manner.

I slip from Serge and walk between them, as I reach my Brownie Squad and cause a distraction by leaping across the three of them on the couch.

I lie over their legs in my tracksuit.

“I missed you,” I admit, grinning up at my girls.

“Fuck, me too,” Blue sobs, holding onto and hugging my knees. Raven nods and cries silently.

“Kane gave us night vision,” Strawberry changes the topic before she also succumbs to emotion, “We said we wanted to be like… nocturnal kittens.”

“Ah…. very nice, cool, yeah,” I smile up at Strawberry, and she feeds me a bit of cake.

STRIKE immediately waltz over to the opposite couch.

A.R.M.Y retreat outside for air.

The Zenith’s are trying out monopoly in the middle of us all, truly focused on the game and competitive as heck, while Ariel stands behind Wade, anxiously looking at Armageddon, as he edges closer to them.

The way they connect is very, very weird.

Silently, with glances and glares of love.

Ari is too shy, Wade is too full of himself and Armageddon is too independent to be childlike with them.

Silent love it is.

But it’s still love.

“My chest hurts,” I whisper, feeling fast rushes of… good shit – joy? Relaxation? Relief? “Dale, can someone die of shock induced happiness?” I ask it seriously.

Dale shrugs, “I guess we’ll find out,” he kicks back on the couch and opens a book about Old World laws. He speed reads through it with a weird expression on his face, “…fuck… this…” he tosses the book back onto the table, “Back then, we’d all be in asylums, apparently killing is morally wrong,” Dale sounds so serious, even though I know he’s fucking around. His purple eyes turn to slits as he snaps his head to me to look at my expression, seeing if I’ll buy it. I don’t.

But I do laugh out loud, “You’re a handsome dickhead.”

Dale looks pissed – in a good way. Ace, Jose and Serge nod though, immediately agreeing, which makes me even happier.

Strawberry tries to feed me more cake.

“I’m good,” I beg, “Please, stop.”

“More for me then,” Strawberry growls, shoving the cake into her mouth instead.

“There should be music, kid,” Ace calls out to Casey, who is holding Viola close.

Casey agrees – when the music is on, V and him are the first ones to dance.

I blush at the thought.

I roll off my girl squad and I walk to the kitchen, needing a moment.

I look over everyone, pinching my arm under the bench.

Whatever the fuck is happening right now… it’s perfect. I don’t want it to end.

Only four sets of eyes follow my every move, worried for me – or just watching, out of pure curiosity.

My lovers.

I was in love with all of them.

Serge, Dale, Ace and Jose.

They’re looking at me hiding up here, sticking my finger into a fresh batch of chocolate sauce and licking my finger clean.

I’m actually in heaven.

“Hey, mum,” Sally appears from the balcony, leaving ARMY to run to my side. She looks me right in the eyes with her grey gaze, just like her father, “Do you like it? Truly?”

“I’m trying not to die of pure happiness, Sal’, I –” I can’t finish talking before she’s hugging me to death.

“GOOD,” Sally screams in joy, jumping up and down, “Be happy!” she reaches up to my ear to whisper, “By the way, that red muscle car Dale ‘stole’… heheh… it’s not stolen, it’s your gift. Casey designed it. I built it,” she squeezes me tighter.

I think I’m going to fucking break down in tears.

I didn’t care about the car, even though that’s also fucking cool.

I just care about how kind and caring Sally is. Lil Lightning.

For all the years I lost with Sal’ as she was a little kid, growing up under the wing of an evil woman… I let all that hurt go in this moment.

I realise quick – fuck the tears. I had enough of them.

I hold Sally back just as tight.

My heart beats in perfect rhythm with hers. Our family is everything to us, for all our faults – we were a team.

At this point, with all the friendly faces in the room, all with the most lethal DNA on this Earth… I don’t see how we can lose.

We rule the world.

A much freer world.

Ultimates had to protect humanity, to ensure the human race survives.

Selfish ends, mistakes, power grabbing – to any regular human it was an attempt to control.

To Ultimates it was our full ambition to be the best, not just for ourselves, but to prove the impossible was possible, to keep proving this shit, to keep lifting everyone the fuck out of the filth the world had been reduced to at it’s dystopic hellish worst.

We killed the perfect killing machine; Louis. And that bitch Sammy. The righteous leaders like Airen or Red didn’t stand a fucking chance, even though we had been hurt by their meddling, we still won. Even when Frankincense City had been largely massacred, we were rebuilding it. We didn’t give up or give in. Even ARMY and the Zeniths, built by REIGN to test our limits – they were our friends now.

The Ultimates were that weapon against impossible odds.

Any evil could be faced, defeated – completely obliterated.

And through every single fucking adversity of our own, we would never break.

We just got stronger.

And right now?

With all our combined scars, short tempers and broken minds, we were invincible.

This was the final chapter for Kings of Hell!

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X-Ordinary is the next book for the series, set quite far into the future, check it out, it's the official start to Frankincense City [Vol.4]

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