Plans

Markus slowly began to flutter his eye open and when he awoke, he was surrounded by his warbound. Grog, Dregg, Elara, Virlal, Trench, and sitting right at his bedside, holding his hand was Cir-El. All of them looked to be in bad shape, all of them being heavily bandaged.

" Markus!"

" Are you alright, Cir-El?" Markus asked the woman. He lifted his hand and rubbed her cheek, there was a small white bandage taped to it, from where she had been cut.

" I'm okay. Are you?" Cir-El asked the man.

" I'm alive, aren't I?" Markus joked. He gave a dry laugh, but as he looked around the room, he noticed that the others weren't so amused. " What happened?" Markus asked the people.

" Markus, you should rest." Cir-El told the man.

" What happened?" Markus asked the woman. He could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong.

" Markus." Cir-El muttered.

" Cir-El, what happened?" Markus asked once again.

" Lord Vulcan. Sideros is dead. The Hivelings are up in arms about revenge." Virlal spoke up.

" What?" Markus asked.

" He died from the injuries he sustained at the hands of our assailant. We still don't know who he was or where he came from." Virlal explained.

" My brother. He was my brother, Ares." Markus told the group.

" Ares?" Cir-El muttered.

" The Greek God of War. He came for me. And Sideros died." Markus grits his teeth and in an instant the crack of thunder and a whip of lightning flashed across the sky.

That day a great storm washed over the imperial city.

" What are we going to do about this?" Dregg asked Markus.

Markus sat quiet for just a few moments, before speaking once more.

" Everyone go back to bed. That's an order. You are all to rest and take care of yourselves. Do what your doctors tell you. We'll address this at a later date." Markus told his War Bound.

" As you wish, King Vulcan." Virlal muttered.

Everyone nodded and left the room. Everyone but Cir-El.

" Cir-El." Markus muttered.

" I won't hear it, Markus. I am your wife, and my place is at your side." Cir-El told the man.

" I was gonna ask you to stay with me." Markus responded.

Cir-El smirked and then kissed Markus on his forehead.

" Well, of course, I am." Cir-El replied.

Markus scooted over and made enough room in his bed for Cir-El to fit in. She climbed in and laid at Markus' side.

" I'm sorry, Cir-El." Markus told the woman.

" For what?" Cir-El asked.

" I shouldn't have left." Markus stated.

" Markus, no. You did your job as king and secured us allies beyond space. What happened with Sideros, what happened here, that's on us. For being weak. We were caught with our guard down and we paid for it. That's a part of life." Cir-El told the man.

" Cir-El my mistake, got you hurt, and a friend killed." Markus argued.

" Markus, look at me. I'm fine." Cir-El pulled her bandage off, revealing her cuts to be gone. " Markus, I heal fast. You are not responsible for every little thing that happens to me. And you cannot control everything that happens. You have to accept what has happened and move forward." Cir-EL told the man. " But I'll be right here all the way."

Markus listened and nodded. He wasn't pleased with himself, but he knew Cir-El was right. Though this did open so many more questions, questions he wanted answers to.

Markus turned to Cir-El and placed his hand over the spot where her slave disk had once been.

" Never again, Cir-El." Markus told the woman. " Never again."

" Oh, Markus."

" Come here, Cir-El."

Markus kissed Cir-El on her lips and slowly started pulling her clothes down her body.

.................

Hours later, well into the night, Markus slid out of the bed and slid his boxers on. He turned around and kissed Cir-El softly on her head, before turning and walking out onto his balcony.

Markus looked up at the sky as the bright light from the moon shined down on him. Even broken and destroyed as it was, it shined brightly.

" Sideros, forgive me, for not being able to save you. That is a regret I will take with me until the end of my life." Markus spoke. " But what could I have done differently? How could I have changed things? My wife is beautiful, brave, strong, and so smart. So very smart. And she tells me to not let it affect me... No that's not it. She wants me to accept it, to grieve and accept it. How do I do that? I've never lost someone close to me, not like this. God she's so strong. She's stronger than me. I... I couldn't do this without her. I know... I'm a god. I know that. A god of thunder and lightning. Just like my father. I don't know if there is a higher power than him. But if there is, please don't take her from me. In this fucked up life of mine, she's the only rock I have." Markus spoke.

Speaking of- Cir-El groaned in bed, she reached over to grab Markus, but when her hand met only the mattress, she lifted her head to look for him.

" Mhmm, husband?" Cir-El groaned. She looked around for Markus and saw him standing on the Balcony again. Cir-El sat up in bed, gathering the blankets around her body. She moved. Walked right up behind Markus and wrapped the blanket around his body and hugged him. " What's the matter, husband?"

Markus wasn't surprised she was up, he heard her calling for him from the bed.

" Cir-El, I need you. Now, more than ever, I need you." Markus stated.

" My love, you have me. So, long as I breathe you have me." Cir-El replied.

" You are my life, Cir-El. More than anyone else, you are my rock. My happiness. And now, I stand in fear that every good thing, that everything I have to come to appreciate, and love will be taken from me." Markus explained. " If decided that I couldn't do this. That maybe someone else would be better suited. Would you follow me? Would you leave this life behind to come with me?"

" Always." Cir-El replied without hesitation.

" I wish I had that strong confidence you did."

" You do, husband. You are so strong. I just wish you saw in yourself the qualities that I see in you. Your strength, your determination, your kindness. Your heart. I have never bedded another man in all my years. I never allowed another man to even think of it. I gave myself to you. The entirety of myself. Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul. All of it is yours and will only ever be yours. Of that, you never need to question."

" Cir-El, I love you. I love you so, much. But what happened, cannot happen again. I cannot allow it. I have accepted that I cannot save everyone, Cir-El. But that does not mean that I cannot teach them to save themselves." Markus explained.

" What are you thinking, Markus?" Cir-El asked the man.

" I want to restart the Colosseum." Markus told the woman. " Not for entertainment. Not to punish criminals. But to teach men and women, and even children if they wish, to learn to fight. To learn how to defend their planet. Our planet. Our home. I don't want to throw them to some creature and watch as they try to survive. But to thrive in combat. What do you think?" Markus asked the woman.

" I think, it will be hard to convince the people that such a thing is a good idea. I believe they will oppose it heavily. But maybe if you speak to them directly, and tell them your intent, then maybe they just might come around. I believe it is worth a try." Cir-El told the man.

" Very well. Tomorrow morning, we'll announce the reinstatement of the Colosseum. And then after that, if anyone wants to join, we'll train them. But I have one more plan in mind. I plan on going home." Markus explained.

" Are you leaving Valdr?" Cir-El asked.

" No. I am going home to send a message. To my family. They will know I am alive. Ares will know I am not afraid of him. He challenged me in my home, hurt my people. If he wants a fight, He'll have one. And this time, I want you by my side." Markus told the woman.

" Markus, we can't just leave." Cir-El stated.

" Of course, not. Not for some time. But once we get the military up and running. And with the help of the Green Lanterns, then Valdr will be protected, both domestically, terrestrially." Markus explained.

" That is... True. But Markus. How are you going to find your brother? And what about your people? It's been thousands of years since you were last there. Will anything even be the same?" Cir-El asked.

" I don't know. But I can't let this slide, Cir-El. My brother said I was made to kill him. To kill gods. He needs to know... They all need to know, what happens when you threaten my people, Cir-El." Markus explained. " We've still got time. Something like this will take months to plan. Will you at the very least consider it for me?" Markus asked.

" Of course, Markus. If you this is what you want, if you believe this is the right thing to do, then I will be beside you every step of the way." Cir-El told the man. She hugged once more and leaned up to kiss his lips.

" Thank you, my love." Markus muttered.

" Now, let's go back to bed. You have a busy day tomorrow." Cir-El stated.

Markus' hands trailed down, Cir-El's back and landed firmly on her ass.

" Cir-El, I want you."

Cir-Ek smirked. She leaned up and Kissed Markus once again.

" Then take me, my love. In bed." She smiled as big and as brightly as she could, making Markus smile as well.

With his own hands, Markus picked Cir-El up and carried her to the bed, for the night.