The Wrath of the Karmian Empire

I was in my bunk tossing and turning. Trying desperately to escape to a
shadow from the streams of sunlight that were trying to fucking blind me. “God damned stupid sun!” I cursed loudly. My air headed, dumbass, simpleton roommate Chloe who bothered my just by existing had opened the blinds again. “Get up and close the shits,” I told myself as I nearly fell from my top bunk. I smacked the button that closed the blinds but I could give up on sleep. The sun, being pissed, and actually getting up woke me up.
While planning the different ways to murder Chloe I made myself decent for my public. Soon enough I was feeling like a person. I wasn’t able to stay pissed for too long. I was on my way to the cafeteria, which is where my peeps were in the middle of breakfast. After a quick scan over the typical scum of the school I found my boys. Rain and Xander, oh yeah, Vic was there too. Damn! “Dammit Vic, you’re gay!” I heard Rain yell. I laughed. “Hey move,” I said pushing Xander and sitting beside Rain with what they were calling food. Oatmeal, fruit and orange juice. Rain’s hair was bright red. It was usually dark brown. Bright red, it was new, cute, but new. “Hi Karma,” Vic smiled suspiciously. I looked at him evilly. My eyes fell to the fork on the table, “To throw or not to throw,” I pondered turning away with a shudder.

“So what’s up for today?” I asked drinking my orange juice. “Same thing as every other day,” Xander said with sausage in his mouth. “Planning how to take over the world.” “Like I said, Bubonic Pox and ammo,” I stressed for the millionth time. We were power-hungry, outcasted, jilted teens who were hell-bent on escaping the bullshit society we were stuck in. Bubonic Pox was my doing, a cross between Bubonic Plague and Small Pox. “How’s it coming?” Rain asked. “Dunno yet,” I sighed. “The two have combined successfully but until I can find a decent test subject I know how the Bubonic Pox will act. On paper it’s hella-deadly.” I laughed. “You scare me,” Rain shuddered. I was slightly offended. “Frightened? Of me? Sweet, harmless, innocent me?” Rain, Xander and Vic were laughing hysterically. “I’m a nice little angel. A perfectly harmless person,” I insisted. “Bullshit,” Rain opposed. “I am an angel.” “Bullshit.” “Do not contradict me Rain. I will castrate your ass,” I threatened him, gripping my fork. “You’re an angel.” Finally, he saw things my way. “Good boy,” I petted him on the head. “I’m not your dog,” said Rain. “You’re my guy, close enough.” I kissed his cheek.

“Karma, you’re a lesbian aren’t you?” Vic sneered. My facial expression quickly turned deadly. “Ask your sister, she’d know best,” I retorted speaking softly. “Ouch!” Vic howled as sweet, harmless me kicked him in the patella. Told you I was an angel. “Vic, is there anything I can do to make you go away?” I asked. “No,” he smirked. “Bubonic Pox,” suggested Xander. “He’s not worth it,” I decided. “Iron Maiden.” I have a mild fetish for medieval torture. “Psychotic bitch.” A complement from Vic, I was flattered. “Dammit Vic shut up,” Rain yelled. As the three odd guy creatures started talking about Xander’s new video simulator, Alien Autopsy VI, I picked up a very shiny reflective spoon. “She’s doing it again,” Xander commented on me checking myself out in the utensil. “I look like a bug,” I cringed at my reflection. “No you don’t,” Rain contradicted kissing me. “Rain, help me take over the world,” I said coaxingly. “Sure.” “No, I’m serious. We so could.” “I know.” “So are we?” I asked. I really wanted to take over the world. “Of course we are.” Oh yeah, this world was mine.

After breakfast I escaped to my lab, hidden in the unused basement of our lovely school. I had so many dishes of Bubonic Pox and other diseases on file. I had a whole library of books down there with me. Horror books, books on diseases and plagues, books on torture and a compilation of fairy tales among the others. The only subject I could find was a rat. The greasy little rodent squeaked feebly as I held him up by the tail. “Shut up,” I snapped dropping him into an airtight glass cage. Into a needle I drew up some Bubonic Pox and injected the horrid animal. It didn’t kill immediately. Damn! It was three days before anything interesting happened. My rat was bald with red bumps on its ugly pink skin. Black circled formed rings around the bumps. Poor rodent vomited whatever it ate and was very weak. “It’s been three damn days!” I yelled furiously. “Die already!”

“Calm down hon, he’s just a rat,” Rain coaxed. I turned around to face him. “Rain, be careful down here!” I stressed urgently. “Don’t you have an antidote?” I sighed heavily, going over to a sterile fridge to extract three needles, each holding an inoculation. “Not quite,” I admitted. “But I have got precautionary measures against Bubonic, Small Pox, and my very own brainchild.” “So if I catch it?” he brought up. “If you’re inoculated you won’t.” “Good, because your rat looks miserable.” “Rain, I’d never let you get that sick. I’d end your misery,” I told him, injecting one, two and finally three. “Now leave, they need a few days to work.” He grabbed my hand, “Take a break.” “And do what?” “Play Alien Autopsy.” “Will Vic be there?” I asked cleaning up after my lab work. “Yeah.” “Can I bring Vic some cookies?” I smiled. “No!” “Damn” “Please Rain, they aren’t laced with anything. The chocolate chips are only really sweet, fast acting, two hour joke laxatives.” Rain cast a look on me. “You deranged woman.” “Thank you,” I chimed leaving my lab with Rain.

Xander and Vic were arguing over which setting to use. “Where have you been?” Xander asked not having seen me all weekend. “In my lab testing out Bubonic Pox on a little rat creature. He better be dead tomorrow!” “Can we see what happened to it?” Vic asked. “Yeah later, right now I wanna play Alien Autopsy.” I snatched the visor from Vic and slid it on my head. Xander and I settled for the dance club setting. We had to spot the aliens, kill them, dodge shots and kick ass. It was so realistic and fun. While Xander used a gun to blow his aliens to pieces, I ran at them punching and kicking. My weapon was blow darts aimed at the neck. Xander won 80,565 to 79,666. Just because he had to be a testosterone freak and use a big gun. “I could still kill you,” I reminded him. “Miserable boy thing.” “Karma’s going to kill me with her little Bubonic Pox! I’m scared! I don’t want to be a test subject,” Xander feigned being terrified of me. I laughed, “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” I did not sound threatening at all on account of me laughing and being harmless and fragile.

Alien Autopsy with the boys was a good diversion from the stresses of balancing being a girl and taking over the world. In my lab Rat I died in four days. Rats II, III, and IV were just infected and placed in cases with ten other rats each to see how it spreads. Rats, all I had to test on was rats. I was dying to see how precious Bubonic Pox would do when introduced to a human but finding a human “lab rat” was proving most challenging. This upset quite a bit. As I paced around my lab I was startled as my phone rang at my hip. “Yeah what?” I picked up the dark purple with bats mobile. “Hey.” It was Rain. “Hey, so what’s up?” “That was my question.” “Oh?” “Yeah, how’re the rats?” “Getting sick. The hair just fell off.” “Can I come down?” “If you want?” “With company?” he added. “Xander and Vic?” “Yeah.” “Sure, let me get their shot’s ready.”

“Damn Karma, how many sick ass rats do you have down here?” Vic asked roaming, observing my work. “Too many,” I snapped. “I need a human to test it on.” I was eyeing Vic quite like a wolf eyeing a deer. His inoculations wouldn’t be full for three days and stronger in a week. “Rain, keep her and her Bubonic Pox away from me,” Vic shuddered. “Vic, I’m not going to kill you,” I assured him. “We’ll need you when we’re taking over shit.” “For?” “Hacking. Find us a nearby, decent base site,” I ordered, growing excited with my plans. “For what?” “Well, we find the site; one of you can hack into its system and cripple the defenses. I’ll sneak in with my Bubonic Pox and blow darts. Then we watch the pathetic people die before we dispose of the bodies and move in. We all know how to use the shit there, so we battle and conquer,” I revealed my plan with much zeal. “Do we have allies?” Xander asked. “Yes but we don’t need them yet.” “You frighten me Karma,” Rain said again. “But you love me still, don’t you Rain,” I pouted cutely. “You know I love you Karma.” “I know,” I chimed kissing my Rain. “Don’t ever forget that.” “I just did,” I laughed. “Remind me again please.” He kissed me again. “Oh yeah, you’re head over heals for me and you love me.”

In the midst of being the bitchin’ mad scientist I all of a sudden fell into being a girl. I wasn’t on my period or having a bad PMS week, I was just being a girl. I couldn’t do anything right do anything right, I felt icky and manky, this giant wave of stupid girl emotions came and swallowed me. All I could do was cry. My almost constant tears sent Chloe’s ass away until she came back to further enrage me. I belted out a loud screech as I punched the pillows. I hid from the world and my feelings in my bunk turning the pages of Sleeping Beauty and reading through tears that streamed down my face. As I used my sleeve to wipe my face I spotted a red-haired Rain standing in my doorway. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “Nothing. What’s wrong?” I slid off my bed and into his arms. “Nothing,” I lied receiving a skeptical glance from Rain. “Everything.” “Aww, why’s everything wrong?” “Because it is,” I pouted. “Why can’t my life be perfect like in fairy tales?” I could trust Rain with my fairy tale thing; he’d watch them with me if I bothered him enough. “Their lives weren’t perfect.” I ignored that. “Happy, people loved them, animals loved them. Everything around them was magic, pretty and glittery.” “Not necessarily, if you remember Cinderella’s Dad died, her step mom was a bitch and so was one of her stepsisters.” “So what, she had friends with the servants and her pet mice. She was happy all the same.” “It’s not the stories is it?” I sighed heavily, “No.” “Then what?” Rain asked warmly as we reached his room. “It’s me. Why can’t I be like fairy tale chick who’s happy all the time, who’s loved by all, whose whole world glitters and-” “Because you’re not smoking weed and you’re smarter than twenty fairy tale chicks so you’re forced to see shit as it is, no magical sugar coats for reality.” “Why not?”
I stepped outside myself and laughed. “What’s wrong?” Rain asked as my laughter became contagious. “What’s funny you mean?” “That.” “Me, I’m a big baby. I whine, complain, bitch and moan about everything.” “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” “Perhaps it’s not, but what’s the point of it all?” “What, life?” “No, life?” “To deal with it all and blow the shit up when you’re done.” “Oh.” His theory was agree-with-able. Well, enough of being a girl. “How’s Vic’s hacking coming?” “He’s working on it.” “Cool.” There was a silence. I was using this silence to think; sometimes I got tired of being Ms. Mad Scientist, The Queen no Goddess of biological warfare. Sometimes I just wanted to be a girl. “Rain, am I weird?” I asked. “Yes.” “What would you do if I were normal, like Chloe?” “Put you out of your misery.” Isn’t he sweet? “Thank you,” I leaned in kissing his lips. “I love you,” he told me, trailing his hand on my face, neck and down my arm. I kissed him again. Stopping was not an option I decided receiving a french kiss from Rain that left me breathless.

Kissing so deeply we fell onto Rain’s bed. His kisses burned on my lips, my neck and my collar. His hands burned on my bare flesh, burning away images of everyone else I’ve ever so much as look at before and emblazoning his image into my heart and mind forever. “Rain I love you,” I gushed kissing his neck, kissing more deeply as he moaned, his hands burning more of him onto my flesh. Things we feverishly hot as Rain thrust inside me. Together we were a perfect match! Rain and I were so good. After hours of us together, as we rested in each other’s arms I felt... like a girl, like Rain’s girl. That made me so much better than any fairy tale chick ever could be. “I love you Karma,” I heard Rain say as I drifted. “Love you too.” The post-sex sleep is by far the best in the world. The worst way to wake up from the best sleep is hearing Vic at the door in the morning.

“Rain!” Vic yelled beating on the door. “Vic, dammit, go away!” Rain yelled back but the little parasite wouldn’t leave. “Rain, Xander loaded The Matrix onto an interactive game, let’s go!” “Vic, not now. I’m with Karma; I’ll see it later.” “Rain, The Matrix is more important than women,” Vic griped. “Excuse me!” I snapped sitting up. “He’s an asshole,” Rain stated the obvious then kissed me. “Rain!” “Vic, I have a proposal for you,” Rain started. “Leave now and I won’t kill you and Karma will make you cookies.” “Chocolate chip?” “Yeah.” “Bye.” He was gone! “Thanks Sweetie, that was genius but who’s baking?” I do enjoy cooking but not for Vic. “You can lace them with whatever you want,” he enticed. “Two hour joke laxatives?” “If you want.” “Rain, I love you.” “Yeah, I’ve noticed.” “Don’t start,” I warned. “I love you Karma.” “You’d better.”

It was fun being a girl with Rain. Taking over the world became more of an “our” idea than a “my” idea. Vic was still terribly livid with me because of my laxative cookies. Oh well, who cares. Eventually, Vic came around and we were civil again. Out site of infestation came up on Xander’s monitor. “Defenseless,” Vic boasted. “Their system shows no defects; they won’t even see us coming.” Things were finally happening! I was so damn happy my arms flew around Vic who cringed in my embrace. “Ugh,” he shuddered. “Get off. That’s weird and you’re scaring me.” He pushed my arms off. “So we attack when?” Xander asked. “I’ll get my darts tipped,” I said. That wouldn’t take too long. “I’ll get the guns I’m not supposed to have ready,” Xander stated. “I’ll hook up the three Harley’s and Rice Burner,” Rain added as I rolled my eyes. The Rice Burner was my bike, my purple and silver Kawasaki. “Don’t dis my Kawasaki,” I argued hitting Rain in the shoulder. “We’ll be ready to do this when?” I asked. “A few days,” Xander concluded before we drew up a plan.

Our plan was mapped out. All we had to do was wait. I waiter for the days to pass in my room. Moving around the room with her brush in hand was Chloe. “What’s with you?” I wondered. “Nothing. Just brushing my hair so it can be extra bouncy. I have to be especially radiant for tomorrow night.” “What’s tomorrow night?” Chloe sighed deeply, “The Spring Dance. Gosh Karma put down your books and tune into the real world.” My head filled with fairy tale ideas of the Spring Dance. “I have a mission. I have no time for dances,” I told myself stoutly. “But I’m a girl, I should go,” I argued with myself. “Like Rain’s really going to suffer through two hours of pop music just because I want to go and I’m not going alone.” I continued on like that with about three fragments of schizophrenic myself until I realized I was talking to my selves. I picked up my cell phone and called Rain. “Hey,” he picked up. “Hey, it’s me.” “What’s up?” “Are you done with the bikes?” “Just about. I’ll be done tonight.” “Tomorrow night, are you busy?” “Yeah, that’s our day to infest.” Damn. “Why? You didn’t want to go to the damn prep dance did you?” he scoffed looking down on the idea. “And if I did?” “I’d let myself be dragged there and I wouldn’t complain.” “Really?” I squeaked as my voice suddenly rose in pitch. “Just don’t tell Xander or Vic, I do have a reputation here.” “I won’t. What time do we go?” “We leave at nine to ride out to the base.” “Gravy.”
I stood in front of my mirror. I didn’t look like me. A dark purple dress with thin straps that crossed in the back had a sorta low neckline and fell so beautifully to my feet. The dress had a high slit on either side. Strapped to one leg was my teeny but powerful gun, strapped to the other was my dart shooter and blow darts. I still had on my new pair of black combat boots. My hair was twisted up and held in place with two black hair sticks. “Oh my gosh. Who are you and what have you done with Karma?” Chloe squeaked looking at me in shock. Then Rain came in, dressed in ironed school pants, a shirt that wasn’t wrinkled and boots. “Karma, is it really you?” he asked looking at me funny. “Rain, don’t start with me. Let’s go.” I dragged him to the hall what was holding the dance. In Rain’s arms gliding across the floor I felt like my fairy tale dreams were real. Rain held my waist and kissed me. Xander and Vic showed up. “It’s time,” Xander announced. I grumbled, pushed Xander away and kissed Rain again. “Now we can go,” I said leaving the dance.

Waiting outside were the motorcycles. “You really do need a Harley or some American bike,” Rain commented. “I like my Kawasaki. Your Harley makes too much noise and my favorite Moto Cross champ rides a Kawasaki,” I retorted putting on my helmet. “Karma, how are you fighting in that dress?” Vic asked looking at me so weirdly. “Like this,” I answered kicking him in the face. He blocked. It was cool outside. Cooler than I like. I wished I had my sleeves. I shivered a bit as my gloves slid on. “You’re cold,” Rain noticed sliding his jacket on me. “Thanks Rain.” Warm now, I mounted my Kawasaki and we followed Vic to the base. The soft purr and gentle vibration was good as scenery sploshed by. Soon the base was drawing closer. Soon it was right ahead. A loose ball of excitement coiled in my stomach. I was ready for this.

From the shadows I rose slightly higher than the guys to blow my neurotoxin darts at the guards taking out all three. “Let’s cha cha!” I cheered as we split up to do our parts. They didn’t see us coming making sneaking in and kicking ass fun. After much arguing in planning I got the control room. Also changed no Bubonic Pox. We didn’t have the time to watch them die. In my formal dress I guess the five guys on duty saw me as a little girl. Harmless and angelic, right before my booted foot broke noses and nuts alike. Doing flips, jumps and kicking in this dress was too fun. Xander, Vic and Rain showed up just as I punched the last idiot in the face kneed him in the nuts and extracting a hair stick from the twist of my hair stabbed him in the back of the neck. “That’s how you fight in a dress,” I smiled wiping my hair stick off on the dead bastard’s jacket before replacing it in my hair. “Karma, did you knee all of them?” Xander asked cringing with that pain all guys share. “No, some of them I kicked and the one that called me a whore got shot.” Vic faked a cough that sounded vaguely like lesbian. I blew a dart and hit him in the neck with it. I laughed as fear took over his face and his eyes grew to tea saucers. Rain saw me laughing, then looked as the barb in Vic’s trembling hand. “Vic, the tip is white it’s not poisoned,” Rain assured him. “That bitch is crazy!” Vic yelled marching out of the room.

What? Vic pissed me off. I get sick and damn tired of him. As the fluff tips on my darts are involved white isn’t poisoned just hurts like hell, black is my Bubonic Pox, purple darts carry a fast acting neurotoxin cocktail from a snake that will stay my secret and from the very pretty colorful tree frogs of South America. I get the cocktail from the way cool guy in California who sparked my interest in biological warfare. My ally and good friend, Phillip, who is called Wikid Sk8er.

The ride back to school was quiet. We were proud of our success but Vic was pissed about the harmless little dart. “You should be nicer to Vic,” Xander told me. “He’s not nice to me.” “You tried to kill him or you could have.” “No I could not have.” “If you shot a neurotoxin dart you could have.” “I have the antidote.” Those are orange tipped. I sighed deeply. “Fine, I’ll be nice to Vic,” I lied. We were in the cafeteria having a victory breakfast when Vic sat down. “Go away, nobody likes you!” I wanted so badly to scream. I came up from my french toast and opened my mouth to do so but Rain saying, “Shish!” shoved a big strawberry in my mouth. “Be nice.” “But... I... Rain,” I whined chewing and swallowing and trying to talk. “Nice Karma.” “Fine, Karma’s being nice,” I forced myself to say. “A very new experience for you, huh?” “Shut up, Rain.” I threw grapes at him. “I am nice. I’m a very nice person unless you’re an annoying asswipe and you bother me.” Rain gave me another look of “shut up.” “But the only one who bothers me that much is-” “Karma, shut up,” Rain yelled shoving his grapes in my mouth and cupping his hands over my lips.

Fine they wanted me quiet, I’d be quiet dammit. “We can start moving into our base and drawing up plans for more conquering,” Rain announced. “That’s good, the tech systems in that place are unbelievable,” Vic glowed. “All the toys, the guns, the tanks, the jeeps,” Xander mused. “We don’t have enough people to use them all,” said Rain bursting Xander’s ammo-filled bubble. “Yeah we do,” he argued. “Karma’s allies plus I kinda crippled and annexed a smaller base that’s linked to our system. We protect them and they fight with us.” “Good move.” “No shit Rain, this is me we’re talking about.” Your typical Xander power/ego trip. I swear he has one like every five minutes, as opposed to me with one every ten. As Xander, Vic and Rain went from talking over the world, to crazy shit they’ve done with fireworks and fire in general, to how much boy bands need to be stopped I remained quiet and said nothing. “Karma,” Rain blurted suddenly as I looked up at him. “Start talking again... You’re scaring me... Talk... Karma!” I started laughing. “How?” I asked laughing still. “You’re never quiet. It’s weird as hell when you’re quiet,” he explained. I was once again slightly offended. “Why can’t I be quiet though?” “Because you never are.” “So,” I argued. “What if I didn’t want to talk, what if talking isn’t fun anymore?” “Then you’d still talk,” Vic commented. “You’re the ever-talking Karma.” A fake slightly evil smile contorted my face. “Karma, when you smile-don’t,” Vic snapped. “Love ya too, Vic,” I chimed.

Vic was officially scared of me which is a good thing. Vic had his cool points too, but damn, he bothered me. It was cool. I got away with kicking his ass all the time. All I had to do was whine, “Rain, Vic’s being mean to me.” Them he’s say, “Vic, leave Karma alone.” or “Don’t hit my girlfriend.” or “Vic, don’t call my girlfriend a lesbian.” I loved him!

I had Rain my love, Xander my homie and Vic my... my boy on his good days and I had my enemies of course. We were constantly creeping our boarders further outwards. It was summer now so we had the liberty to stay at our base. Rain and Xander were in a room doing the training the training program they had taken from the base and revised. Vic had been pissed off by them and came into the control room where I was. I turned the page in my book and read as my favorite character died. Poor Lilly, she was mistreated all her life. She finally falls in love then she dies of a virus. I cried, well tears just came down my face. Nonetheless, Vic saw me and laughed. “What’s wrong with you?” he scoffed. “Nothing. Lilly just died and Jake is all sad and now he’s gonna go all psychotic again and kill people and...” I wiped my face. Jake is a warlord in reform, falling for Lilly changed him. “It’s not real,” he stressed. “So. Leave me alone Vic. You’d be the last person to ever feel any real emotion!” I hollered ending a chapter.

“Karma!” Vic called our from the monitor. “What?” I snapped as Xander and Rain showed up. “Holy shit!” Xander yelled. The screen showed metallic spider looking creatures that were storming our base. In a split second we armed ourselves and unleashed a small bit of hell on the spiders. They were sort of hard to kill. They were fast moving, eight-legged and creepy. The scariest feature through was the fangs that were long, sharp and metallic. They had two weak spots: the underbelly and the eye panel. Shot in either spot with laser beams they fell apart and died. As I shot the spider-bot that was trying to bight Rain I had an urge to run. As my right leg hit the ground I felt twin fangs pierce into my calf. I felt some hot liquid seeping into me as I screamed. “God damned stupid spider!”, I cursed blasting its ass to pieces. “Karmie!” Rain called running over leaving a pile of dead robots in his wake. “Oww, that shit bit me.” “You’re bleeding,” he pointed out. I reached back and felt my blood rich and warm oozing out around the fangs that had lodged in my leg.

Rain tried to help me up but I stood on my own limping painfully back to the base. “Are you okay Sweetie,” he asked following me to the First Aid room. “I’m fine,” I lied although my insides were hot and I felt as though my surroundings were freezing cold. I sat on the table with the huge fold out ‘hospital in a box’ and winced loudly as I pulled the first fang from my leg. The second came out with a little less agony. I hardly felt it after it was out. I hardly felt anything at all. A thick smoke had clouded my brain. I couldn’t think at all just fall. I hit the floor but I didn’t feel it. Then I felt pain, massive pain! My head throbbed, I was nauseas, my whole right leg was stinging. I was in so much pain I let myself cry. From the darkness of the room, since light makes my headaches worse, Rain wiped away my tears. “What happened?” I whispered so I wouldn’t make it worse. “The spiders are poisoned. You’ll be okay though.” “Where’s my Nyquil?” Rain snickered. “You’re addicted to that shit.” “Am not, I feel like shit and I need to sleep.” “You’ll be better in a few hours.” That meant three hours of pain. A few always means three and a couple always means two.

I was miserable. As I suffered I grew angry. Hatred was forming against those stupid spiders. Still foggy headed I stood up and walked into the control room. “Rain, Vic, Xander,” I started. “Those spiders were any recovered?” I was sitting in the front chair on the verge of planning a counter attack. “Yeah, they follow heat and attach. We traced them back to some Falcor guy,” Xander clarified. “He’s on the outskirts of Winders.” “Was any poison saved?” “Already in your lab,” Rain told me. “Peachy, what of their programming cards?” “Working on it,” said Vic the avid hacker. “One more question, how long was I out?” They had done so much. No way in hell was I down only a few hours. “About twenty four hours. We had to give you an antidote and you slept,” Xander filled me in. “Don’t you miss the quiet?” Vic teased. “Well, have you issued a counter-” “Did it and Winders had been fortified.” Well damn, I could just stay asleep and they’d be just fine.

“Damn I fucking hate spiders!” I fumed in my well lit, high tech no longer in a dank dusty basement lab. The bad thing was no more over abundance of test subjects. To hell with rats, i was busy in research on those spiders. Feeling very clever and quite proud of myself I filled the fangs with Bubonic Pox serum. I picked up the inert spider and carried it to where Vic sat looking at the program card for one of the eight-legged metallic sons of a bastard. “Hey Vic, can you do some hacker thing and like reprogram the spider to track and bite Falcor?” “Yeah but why would I want to?” “Because the next time a dart hits your neck how do you know it won’t be a white tipped neurotoxin dart?” “Karma, you worry the hell out of me.” “I try.” “Don’t kill me Karma.” “I won’t,” I chimed. “See the halo, see the wings.” “I see horns and pointy tail,” Rain smirked behind me, wrapping his arms around me. I laughed, “Oh, my horns are showing again,” I mock cringed acting like I was self-cautious about it. “Don’t worry,” Rain kissed me. “They’re very attractive.” “But I like the wings and halo.” “I like this horns and pointy tail.” I grinned evilly.

Vic ignored us and in about thirty minutes he handed me the program card. “I changed it to go back to Falcor and attack him. For your sickness I put in a camera chip that will feed into those monitors thus giving us a view of Bubonic Pox in action.” “You want to see him die a slow, miserable, death-haunted four days just as much as I do,” I scoffed. I’m not morbid Karma,” he lied. “Bullshit Vic!” I chide. We are all morbid. That’s what makes us so cool and able to take over the world. Feeling so good in a horns and pointy tail sort of way I released the stupid spider shit to spread the Bubonic Pox I had spent so much time and energy on. I sighed and sank into my chair with a big book of fairy tales and a bag of sour apple Trolli-O’s.

Days after the release of the spider Falcor’s base blipped onto the monitors. He stood up dressing in deep green robes and look at his metal arachnid. I tensed up and looked at the screen. The deadly metal fangs flashed and bit into him. “Oooh!” I squealed jumping up and running back into the room with a pen and note pad to document the Bubonic Pox process. “Morbid freak,” Xander laughed. “Thank you,” I smiled. I camped out in front of the monitors and spent four days constantly penning in morbid detail everything that happened to him. The blistery red bumps ringed in black, his constant puking the hair loss. He was reduced to a shriveled sick gaunt figure who wiped out his entire fort. Time for the Karma victory dance. Just kidding, Karma doesn’t dance. “Now we move into their territory and take over,” I shouted happily. “Really Karma?” Vic started. “I just figured we’d leave them be.” “Shut up Vic.”

We disposed of the bodies when we got there. Falcor’s fort was so dreary part of me wanted to go five-years-old-on-a-Crayola-high and paint the place in bright Technicolor rainbows... or not. Our enemy and his men dead, his survivors under my control, we had damn near doubled our land spread and our network of bases, forts, tanks and air crafts was daunting at times. I loved the power of ruling the world and I did work hard to make things peaceful for my many loyal subjects who loved their leader. Okay power trip/ego trip over, I think I’m back now.

The years passed we were now 19 and 20. Most of the world was ours now except for the province Magnia which we had surrounded. It was a well sized, heavily armed rich province and I wanted it for the Karmian Empire! My want or need for Magnia was consuming all of my time. I neglected my lab work, my scores on Alien Autopsy IX were becoming atrocious and sleep for me was damn near unheard of. I spent all day and all night sitting in the control room planning my attacks at different points in Magnia, even an underground mission to cripple the center fortress. As I paced around the control room I stopped when I felt Rain wrap his arms around me. “Karmie it’s four in the morning. Come to bed,” he whispered in my ear. “Can’t,” I sighed disdainfully. “Not until the world and Magnia is mine.” Then I paused and repeated that last statement in my head. World Domination can replace lab work, Alien Autopsy, sleep even but certain things could not be replaced by taking over the world. I turned around and was kissed deeply and slowly, held so tightly and warmly. “Has taking over the world replaced us?” Rain asked stupidly. I leaned in and kissed him more deeply than ever. Nothing could ever replace him. Rain made me forget all about Magnia as we laid in our bed with my zoo of stuffies on the floor with our clothes. “I love you Rain,” I whispered before I fell asleep. With a kiss on my cheek Rain told me he loved me too and once again I was Rain’s girl and my fairy tale dreams were real.

I woke up the next morning in a very good mood. A smile just stayed on my face and I felt like I was floating. “Hey Xander, Hey Vic,” I greeted them warmly. “Hey,” they chimed looking at me skeptically. “Have you had breakfast?” “No not yet.” “Cool.” I went into a let’s be nice a cook breakfast kick. As I placed food on the table Vic eyed me suspiciously. “What?” I snapped. “Nothing,” Xander said eating as Vic still held his fork above his eggs. “It’s laced with something,” he said. “No it’s not,” I insisted sitting down. Vic was still the only one talking. “Karma what’s in it?” Xander, Rain and I were too busy eating to listen to him. “If I get sick or two hour diarrhea-” “Vic that was years ago. I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I don’t trust you Karma.” “Good, you shouldn’t.” Finally he shut up and ate. For one my food wasn’t laced at all.

After breakfast I went for the control room. Rain grabbed my wrist. “What?” I turned around. “No Magnia,” he ordered. “Alien Autopsy, fun, c’mon.” I whined as Rain pulled me to the room where the games were programmed. Rain and I loaded a concert. He chose a laser gun. A nice crossbow and a full quiver were my alien ass kicking weapons of choice. It was fun. I kicked his ass! 902,666 to 698,482. That miracle was possible because the band, taken out by yours truly, was a bunch of aliens. That gave me an extra 300,500 points. Playing Alien Autopsy took my mind off Magnia only temporarily. I had managed not to think of Magnia that whole morning until the alarm sounded in the control room. i threw down the visor and ran to the main panel. “What is it Tymir,” I asked. Tymir is the city the base contacting us was in. “We’ve been attacked by Magnians!” “Damn! I’m dispatching enforcements now.” “Shit!” I cursed again. “Ready to defend our empire,” Rain asked. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Magnians had nearly wrecked Tymir. The whole place was in shambles. Our enforcements fought side by side with us. We lost each other in the midst of smoke, lasers, arrows swords, just the maddening chaos of battle. I took out so many of those bastards catching only a few knicks and scratches myself. I came from a kill. There was a shallow cut on my left cheek. I looked up and spotted Rain. The moment our eyes met we both noticed the sniper pointing a hot charged laser at Rain. Suddenly adrenaline coursed through my blood. As if powered by wings I flew across the wreckage and carnage in an attempt to shield Rain. “Karmie don’t!” Rain pushed me out of the way. I fell hard on the unforgiving ground. My right shoulder was injured, something has snapped. It hurt like hell. I lifted head from my hand’s cradling palm. My eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. I froze helpless as Rain hit the ground. “Shit! No!” I crawled over to him my eyes flooded with stingy tears. I held my hand to his face. “Rain why?” I sobbed. He was bleeding from his chest. I busied myself trying futilely to stop the blood. “I could never let you get hurt for me,” he answered shallowly. “But why?” I wiped my eyes clear. They filled up and spilled over again. “I love you Karmie.” He wiped away a stream of tears from my left cheek. “Rain, I love you.” “Karmie, you’re hurt,” he noticed. I just cried more. “It’s nothing.” “Don’t cry,” he told me holding my face in his hand. “You’ll just be over me in a few days.” How untrue. “No!” I contested. “More like never.” I bent down and kissed him. “I love you Karma,” Rain breathed faintly before leaving me here in this earthly hell.

Instantly everything changed. With Rain gone so was love, compassion and caring. In their absence I was driven to conquer and destroy Magnia. My goal, to make those miserable sons of bitches regret ever fucking with the Karmian Empire. I changed. My whole thought pattern was altered. I had been very diplomatic in my rise to power but not now. Having no one to keep my rage in check I was free to unleash Karmian hell onto Magnia! Strategically placed explosives detonated at hourly intervals hurting many and killing more. The surviving Magnians, those bloody wankers who wouldn’t die in my explosions had to suffer with Bubonic Pox for unconvincing me so. Oh how I enjoyed watching them all wither and die and rot... although I did scare Xander and Vic.

In a month’s time all that remained of Magnia was falling ruined buildings and stinky decaying corpses. They were cleared away with a wave of hungry flame until only soot and cinders frosted the ground. We had succeeded. Magnia and the world rested under the banner of the Karmian Empire. The world was mine. I sat in the control room in the seat of total power that was mine. I turned in the chair and gazed out the window. What I saw only reminded me of a year ago when I lost my love to Magnia. Everything shimmered and was so pretty blanketed in snow. “Rain loves snow,” I cried as a tear rolled down my face. I turned around and saw Vic. He didn’t tease me for crying anymore. “Hey,” he said quietly unsure of how people-friendly I was. I sighed. “You know what’s funny?” “What besides your reflection?” “I finally did it,” I said taken back by the irony of my life. “I finally have the whole world, the whole thing is mine. It’s what I’ve always wanted but to get it I had to lose the one I love the most. I’d give it all back if I could have Rain instead. I wish I could give it all back.”