Lord of Maxwell

— Wait, what?

— wwhat no

— im not threatenin you

— i just didnt wwant there to be any misunderstandins about wwhat just

— um

— nevver mind

— She didn’t seem to think anything of the wand poking her in the hip, so at least that was a relief. But what the hell did she just say about the “Lord of Spirits?” You take a second to decide whether or not she’s some kind of lunatic.

— When she draws her weapon on you, she pretty much confirms it for you.

— wwhoa holy shit lady lets just settle dowwn okay

— lets not do anythin hasty wwe might end up regrettin alright

— You’re a dead shot, but you’re armed only with your B.B. gun, and that’s not likely to so much as break this girl’s skin. Your fingers slip into your pocket, turning over the severed remains of your wand. You’re tempted to pull it out, but…if you try to use it, you’re almost certain it will backfire. You decide it’s better to play it safe, lifting your hands in surrender.

— It feels painful to stoop this low. But you have a directive. You can’t waste time fighting for your life.

— just calm dowwn im not tryin to hurt you or nothin

— honestly you humans havve a serious knack for ovverreactin my god

— You wonder if changing the subject will get her off your back.

— wwhat wwere you just goin on about anywway

Thankfully, a drawn sword and a few forceful words seemed to do the trick, and the grey one surrendered.

"Is that so?" she said, eyeing their grey hands. "I wouldn't know anything about humans and their propensity towards overreaction, but it sounded like you were threatening me with the weapon in your pants. But if that wasn't the case..."

She kept the sword level for a moment or two longer, just enough time to make sure the grey person got the message, before finally lowering it. "Truth be told, I would rather not fight if it could be avoided. But if I'm forced to, I will not hesitate. I'm sure you understand." She may have lowered her weapon, but she still didn't fully trust the grey person. Not yet.

Her expression hardened in an instant at the grey creature's next words. "It's not nonsense," she said, her voice as icy as her gaze. "It is who I am. I am Milla Maxwell, the lord of elemental spirits. I control the Four Great Spirits of earth, air, fire, and water, and I am the sworn protector of Reize Maxia. I am Lord Maxwell, and I would appreciate it if you did not call that nonsense."

There was no magic in it, but her glare could've cut holes through a rock if she tried hard enough.

♒ — The Condesce’s orders are clear: make your way to sector 5 and inspect whatever glacier she mentioned, in order to determine what it might take to…you don’t know. Melt the damn thing, probably. The important thing is, there’s something in sector 5 that can help you water-dwelling highbloods ascend the ranks of this godawful place.

— With that in mind, you streak through the shadowed streets of the Hive, hellbent on making it to the sector in question before nightfall.

— The trouble is, you have no fucking idea where you’re going.

— You don’t even make it through sector 3 unscathed. As you wander the streets, you become increasingly, painfully aware that everything in this sector looks similarly garish. You bump into a few people that can only be prostitutes, shrug off a few rude remarks from a couple of filthy humans who’ve never set eyes on a troll before, and find yourself…at a dead end.

— wwhere the fuck am i supposed to go from here

— Frustrated, you turn on your heel and storm back the way you came. When you reach the mouth of the empty street…

— wwhoa

— …you run straight into an unwitting stranger, with such force that you actually stagger backwards. You sneer.

— wwatch wwhere youre goin

— uh

— You realize with a jolt that the fragments of your wwhite wwand are laying horizontally in your pants pocket, and that the tip poked the hip of this stranger when the two of you collided.

— wwhat no its not wwhat you think

— i havve a concealed wweapon in my trousers so youd better wwatch out or

— i MEAN

The only bad part, as far as Milla was concerned, was that the restaurants in the area were fairly disappointing. There was a lot of interesting food, but nothing that really stood out, nothing that caught her eye. It was disappointing. She was considering returning back home to District Beta when someone ran into her. They sort of bounced off her, poking her in the side with something long and hard in the process before falling backwards. Milla only turned her head to look at them, eyes showing only slight curiosity.

"Apologies," she said, settling on a neutral inflection. "Are you alright? You didn't fall, so I don't think you'd be very injured." However, the grey being did not answer, instead talking about the weapon in their pants. Milla raised an eyebrow as they continued to stutter a bit before falling silent.

She tilted her head. "That must be what poked me. An odd place for a weapon..." Milla turned to face the grey person, folding her arms over her chest. She considering them for a moment before a jolt of realization hit her.

This girl was a strange sort, but Jack knew very well that he was one himself. She looked quite happy poring over the menu… and Jack admitted to himself that he’d done the same thing when he’d first come here, so many months ago. The look on her face was practically priceless.

"A burger… okay, that’s easy. It’s a sort of sandwich: two pieces of bread with a fried patty made out of minced-up meat stuck in between them." He held up both hands in front of him, miming the action of holding something in his hands. "You put other stuff like cheese and onions and ketchup and whatever you’d want. There’s a little menu thingy you could look at, if you want. It’s at the back, I think…"

Jack went on to explain all the items on the menu as best he could. In a way he was in the same boat as Milla, or he had been—his training did not include the esoterica of contemporary American cuisine. Sure, he knew the basic stuff, but that sensation—of learning about so many things, new and strange and wonderful things (even when they were mundane as dirt to other folk) was something he could empathize with. When Jack finished in his ramblings, he looked at his menu again.

When prompted, she took the menu back, looking for a picture of the fabled hamburger. It didn't take long for her to find it, and just looking at it made the woman's eyes gleam. She began to look through the menu as Jack explained the foods, looking for pictures as she went. It all sounded so good, she could hardly think of what to actually try. "A warm, meat sandwich, with lots of toppings... Thin potato strips, fried... Chopped vegetables with a sauce... Pieces of chicken, cut up and breaded... Grain shaped into appealing shapes, cooked and covered with sauce..." she murmured.

By the end of Jack's explanations, Milla still wasn't sure what to try. There was simply too much to choose from, like a treasure chest filled with valubles, but you were only allowed to take one. Perhaps later she could come back and try something else, but what would be her first conquest?

She glanced up again when Jack explained his choice, looking back to the menu for guidance. His choice was a particular kind of hamburger with large french fries, plus an alcoholic beverage. It was a start. "I've decided, then," said Milla, putting the menu down. "I'll have exactly the same thing as you, so when you order your meal, ask for one for me as well."

The boy whirled around to see a head poke into his trap door hideout and he had come to the conclusion that the voice was indeed NOT disembodied.

"Non! Come in."

He watched the woman enter the little trap hole he was nestled in and took another drag of his cigarette and scooted back a smidge further, passing it off as allowing her more room.

He eyed her cautiously for a moment, taking a thoughtful drag and exhaling slowly- hesitating to ask her anything. Mostly because he wasn’t expecting God to show up. Or be female. He truly didn’t know how to react.

Never did he ever expect this day to truly come.

Mole squinted his eyes at the woman and flicked the ashes off the end of his cigarette loosely before finally speaking up.

“Are you God?”

If only the Four were here. Efreet could use his flames to keep her warm, and maybe Gnome could have constructed a suitable shelter for her. Undine could have provided water, and Sylph would ward away monsters...

Milla sighed, taking a seat before the fire. It was pointless to think about the Four, she best she could do for now was to survive this ordeal. A short rest to warm up, and then it was back into the Sectors, trying to keep out of whatever area was experience the heaviest freeze. Milla heard the sirens, and she didn't want to be anywhere near them when they sounded.

“Are you God?”

The woman was silent for a moment, eyes focused on the flicker of the flames instead. "There are some who worship me," she said, not taking her gaze from the fire. "To others, I am a myth. I suppose I might have created the world, in a very roundabout way. And if I looked, I could see nearly anywhere in the world as well, so maybe I was omniscient. But I am not omnipotent. God or not, for now, I am human."

Looking into the fire, Milla suddenly felt very lonely. She found herself missing the Four, maybe now more than ever. She spoke quietly now, the red of her eyes matching the red of the flames in fierceness. "I am Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits. That is all. Anything beyond that is something humans have said, not I."

As if it were some cruel and unwarranted joke by God himself to 1up Mole, the boy had been taken from his own home and brought to this “Hive City” as a social experiment just in time for everything to break and for the icy cold weather to take hold; completely shutting out any and all traces of heat in some areas following a loud blaring noise mere seconds before everything in the area fell victim to a cruel frozen death.

After having bid the scientists the good ol’ one finger salute and angrily grabbing his shovel, Mole stomped out the door and examined the map to find where he’d be staying. He figured he may as well make due for the time being. At least he wasn’t at risk of being grounded here. Unless they’d brought his mother, too. Which he highly doubted.

It was a bit of a trek to District Epsilon for the boy, but he’d made it. It wasn’t much to look at, either. It was a cesspool of merchants and marketers with their little stands and carts scattered haphazardly about a city of boxes. It was almost as bad in the ruins he found underground, where he’d preferred to be- and since he wasn’t told WHERE to stay in District Epsilon, he decided underground was the place to be.

Now here he was, burrowed in a nice deep little hidey-hold he’d dug for himself with his shovel they had thankfully let him keep. It had been a few days since the power went out everywhere and there were monsters everywhere and the cold was unbearable. Being underground only made it slightly less so.

“‘Zis sucks.” he had muttered to himself as he bundled up next to the fire he’d set with gathered sticks and branches and lit with one of his last few matches from his match book. He shook loosley and tossed the stick into the fire before pulling out a smoke and lighting it with the fire he’d just lit.

Even having rolled down his sleeves and the golden warmth of the fire splashing over him, he was still chilled to the bone. He’d have to do better than a small closet-sized hole in the ground if he wanted to survive this. There was a high probability the monsters would follow the smoke rising from the hole’s entrance one day, too.

With a loud sigh he shut his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

The only problem was that she didn't have an overall objective. Milla walked without much purpose, bent on finding food and shelter, but not having anything planned beyond that. Was the objective merely survival? No, there had to be something to aim for...

Milla was so deep in thought that she almost tripped over the hole. Thankfully, the smoke tipped her off, as did the rather pessimistic voice coming from it.

"I hope you’re happy you omnipotent piece of shit."

Did they know she was there? Milla decided to answer anyway. "I'm not, actually. If anything, I find this rather uncomfortable too. Perhaps if I had all my powers, I would fare better, but that's not the case."

"Wait. Did you say you were a Spirit? A winter Spirit? Well then..."

"True." It seemed that Milla came from an… interesting world, in the Chinese sense. The way she spoke on such things—with a weary sort of knowledge—made Jack think they had more in common than they thought. "The easy road is not usually the right one." It would have been so easy to ‘harvest’ the Little Sisters, for instance. Atlas had rationalized their humanity away, telling Jack that if he wanted to survive, he would take their lives to save his own. The fact that he was chatting with Milla now was evidence to the contrary.

He would have agreed with her, that power was a corrupting agent. His own father was proof of that—Andrew Ryan, Russian titan of industry, a man who fought tooth-and-nail for everything, who had led an entire city of some of humanity’s best and brightest to utter ruin. What would Milla have thought about a man who saw altruism as the greatest evil?

Jack felt better when the conversation shifted to a lighter topic. for all its faults, life in Hive City had its ups. Its cuisine was definitely one of them. Sector 4 had restaurants from all sorts of places, and Jack had only been too happy to sample them in his stay here.

"I can tell you what you need t’know when we get there."

"It’s this way." With an amused smile, he led the way—not that it was really needed. The place was only across the road. The restaurant was not the fanciest place in the world, but it was a lovely place by Jack’s standards. The mouth-watering smell of grilled beef wafted in the air as he walked towards one of the tables outside the restaurant proper, and sat down.

Maybe people told themselves that the easy was was not always the right way in order to make themselves feel morally superior, or maybe as an excuse for doing the wrong thing. Either way, Milla wasn't sure she agreed with it.

"Hm. Morals are a complex and highly objective topic, anyways," said Milla. "If the right way is the hard way for one person, then it must be the opposite for another person, right? Just because one person thinks the right way is hard doesn't mean the next one will."

What Milla did was unequivocally the right thing, though. After all, she was Maxwell, and she only had the world's best interests at heart. Sometimes her path was the easy way, and sometimes it was hard, but it was what had to be done. Anything less and Reize Maxia would suffer.

When she picked her head up again, Jack was leading the way. Milla fell into step behind him, trying to imagine what sort of food a hamburger was. Probably made of ham, though she had no idea what a 'burger' was. The man led her to a modest-looking place nearby, and from there, to a table situated outside the storefront. Already, the smell was overpowering Milla's senses, and she barely noticed Jack motion her to sit down before passing an odd collection of printed sheets. The woman leafed through it, for a few moments before realizing exactly what it was. Her eyes grew wide. There was food.

Sure, just pictures of food, but food nonetheless. Milla grinned, leafing through the sheets of culinary creations, almost none of which she recognized.

At the mention of cars and the other strange machines, Jude began to tug at his bangs in thought. "Yeah, it’s amazing what kind of devices they have here." Trains, cars, and everything is between had been incredibly foreign to him when he first arrived. While he didn’t study engineering, he wouldn’t have minded learning how all these were invented. "I suppose this technology was developed due to the lack of spirits or mana in this city. I wonder if our world would’ve been the same if our people’s mana lobes never developed." At least that was the reason for Elympios’ technology, so he could only theorize it was the same here.

But when Milla brought up Elympios, the medical student could only tilt his head in confusion. “Wha… Huh? The future?” He stared at the Spirit, not quite processing her words. “That’s… interesting. I mean…” He trailed off, not sure how to continue. She was right there with him after all. If she had gone missing any time before that, he definitely would have noticed. But… with all the impossible things these scientists could pull off…

He shook his head before the thought kept confused him too much. He had no reason to believe Milla would joke around about something like that. “Well… I guess I can see that happening. Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t talk about it much then, huh?” That’s the storybook protocol, right? You can’t talk about the future to people from the past! …Or something like that.

The details of future and past interacting aside, the teen couldn’t help but crack a smile at Milla’s love of food. “Pfft… I see. Food again, huh?” However weird the setting, it seemed she wouldn’t be shy about finding a good meal 

And yet...

Why did Reize Maxia not have things like televisions or vending machines? Even things like the engines or airships of Elympios went totally beyond anything Reize Maxia was capable of. While spirits produced cleaner advances and were better for the world as a whole, it didn't seem to progress as quickly, because there simply wasn't any need for it. This wasn't a bad thing, it was just... interesting.

"I couldn't say," said Milla. "But it's likely. That's how Elympios developed, after all. Which you apparently know about."

That was another troubling thing, the concept that the scientists of Hive City were not only taking people from different worlds, but also different times. It was all far too much for Milla to think about on an empty stomach.

"Yes, the future," she said, fixing her gaze on Jude. "That's what I'm guessing, anyways. I met Leia earlier, and we discussed some things, like our trip to Elympios. I've yet to experience it, but apparently, both you and Leia have already been there. Frankly, it only adds to my questions about what the people of this world are capable of. But in the meantime, it doesn't change very much. I would just be very careful about what you say around me, because it could have unpleasant consequences when I return." The woman frowned, folding her arms as he brow furrowed. "No one was meant to meddle in temporal affairs, Jude. It's a very dangerous business."

It was tempting, however. If Milla were a lesser woman, it would be very hard for her to resist the allure of such valuable information.

But then the topic of food came up again.

"Of course food," she said, surprised that Jude found the situation humorous. "Have you seen some of the foods available here? They would put some of the greatest chefs on Reize Maxia to shame. There's so much here that I've never seen or tasted before, so why would I be excited? I think the real question is why are you not nearly as interested in it all as I am? I don't think I could even pick a favorite if I tried, there's just so much. It's exciting."

Cultural differences were interesting and all, but Milla was only really interested in the food.

“Oh, the boxes with the pictures in them are TVs! They have lots of tv shows like…hmm…soap operas and news and anime and cartoons! They’re lots of fun, but lots of people only stay inside and watch TV all day…and the wagons? Hehe, I think you mean cars! They’re powered by engines and help people move around really fast! But not too fast, or you get into crashes!”

Even while speaking of dark things like car crashes, Hajime was endlessly upbeat and positive. It was simply the way she was, and Milla was right. What the scientists had said to her had had close to no effect on her. She was having too much fun here to care.

“That sounds like a really important job!! And similar to mine kind of, I guess I kind of have magical powers too, but I don’t think any of us Gatchaman would really call it that! But it sure sounds fun to call them that, doesn’t it?”

“I’m really sorry they limited your powers though! They did that to me too, and it is kind of annoying, but there’s not a lot we can do about it so!” 

Hajime shrugged, a big smile still on her face as she did so. Milla’s mission sounded so brave and admirable, and she was so glad that their missions were similar. Even if Milla’s seemed to be on a much larger scale than hers. 

"I see. I suppose that answers some of my questions, so thank you, Hajime. One is a form of entertainment, and the other is transportation, then? Amazing what the people of this city were capable of inventing without the use of spirits... It was even more impressive than Elympios.

"Yes, it's a very important job," said Milla, folding her arms. "Without my intervention, the world of Reize Maxia would have fallen into chaos long ago. Although, now that I am here, I see no reason not to protect the people of this world as well. There's a lot I didn't know about our universe, but my mission is still to protect people and maintain harmony between them and the spirits. Even if there are no spirits here."

Whether or not she was in Reize Maxia, Milla saw no reason to abandon her duty. Even with her powers stripped from her, she was still Maxwell.

She tuned her gaze back to Hajime, raising an eyebrow. "Gatchaman? There's another term I'm not familiar with." Was it another kind of technology? It sounded like it had a human element, but Milla was clueless as to what it could be. "They limited everyone's powers, didn't they? But there's also a way to earn them back, if I'm not mistaken. I've already had all my powers stripped from me once, so I think I can manage a second time, tiresome though it is."

"But I'll certainly show you my artes some other time," she said, nodding. "Perhaps late at night so the next day, along with renewed powers, comes soon after. I don't know a lot about this city, so I'd like to be prepared, you understand."

Still, a blow to the head was a blow to the head, and even after reverting back to her humanoid form, the Manakete’s wound remained with the blood trickling gently down her face. She was slightly dazed, evident in the shakiness of her footsteps, but she pressed onward regardless. Who knew if those humans would return with help or not — which in worst case would be detrimental to her safety if they ended up being strong enough to harm her in her dragon form.

Once the Divine Voice had made it to the street once more, she was almost immediately questioned by a woman fashioned in some rather unusual attire. Not that Tiki was one to speak, personally, but Milla’s clothes were clearly of another world from her own point of view. She also asked some peculiar questions for someone of this realm. Unusual noises could be heard almost constantly. The stranger had an odd manner of speech as well, as if she wasn’t well versed in casual communication. Still, Tiki couldn’t help but give a slightly pained smile in response to the woman’s assumption that the source of the roar had wounded her.

The woman before her finally gave an answer, though not one that Milla was fully expecting. "You were the one roaring?" she said, eyes widening. "Huh. You must have a powerful set of lungs to accomplish something like that. Or were you playing some kind of instrument? Maybe a large horn or something?"

She wasn't too phased. If anything, she was rather impressed to learn such a loud sound came from such a benign-looking woman. But as curious as she was, there was still the issue of the bleeding head wound.

"I've been in similar situations, so I know exactly why it is something you need to worry about," said Milla, folding her arms. "I've lived even longer than that, technically speaking, so maybe you should listen to me. At the very least, we can clean up the blood. Otherwise people will be asking all sorts of questions."