Promptings from Valhalla - 32. Mission to Mars

“What the fuck are they thinking? We can’t possibly continue with the mission now! It’s a logistical nightmare!”

“We need her expertise. There is no mission without her.”

“That’s exactly my point! It’s dangerous enough without having to care for—”

“Care for what? Or who, I should ask?” Natasha could picture the expressions on Dmitri and Vladimir’s faces, even though she could no longer actually see them. She smiled, enjoying their discomfort.

“Uh… well….” Dmitri’s voice cracked. “How did she hear us?”

“Shut up, you fool!” Vladimir hissed.

“I’m blind, not deaf,” Natasha stated. “And you need me, so deal with it.” She laughed at the sound of retreating footsteps. Cowards.

Dmitri rubbed his arm where Vladimir had grabbed it, dragging him into a room away from the giant freak. “What the hell, Vlad?”

“Watch what you say and think!”

Dmitri raised an eyebrow.

Vladimir sighed. “What I’m about to tell you is top secret. I was only authorized to tell you prior to launch, so there’s no way to spread the news.”

“What news? What’s going on?”

“That lightning strike didn’t only take Natasha’s sight—it also gave her… certain abilities. Believe me, she is no liability.”

“What do you mean, ‘certain abilities’?”

“Crazy as it sounds, she can read minds.”

Dmitri snorted. “Are you sure you weren’t the one struck by lightning?”

“Would I say it if it weren’t true?” Vladimir narrowed his eyes and started at his colleague, until the other man squirmed. “Think of something and don’t say what it is.”

Dmitri furrowed his brow and looked at the door separating him from the tall monstrosity. The sound of loud, raucous laughter made him flinch. His eyes widened and he looked at Vladimir. “Oh my God… it’s true, isn’t it!”

“Only in your dreams, little man,” Natasha’s mocking voice caused him to turn bright red. “You are most definitely not my type.”

“Enough of this. Time to prepare for launch,” Vladimir stated. He stood and they headed for the launch site after gathering the still-snickering woman from the adjoining room.

Dmitri’s stomach roiled, and he didn’t think it was from the trip from Earth to Mars. The landing had gone as smooth as possible, and the trip had so far exceeded expectations. He’d drawn the short straw and was stuck with guiding the freak. He was a tall man and his head only reached the behemoth’s breasts. Not a view he was particularly enamored with.

The woman was strange on a good day, but now she seemed almost giddy.

“This way,” she said, turning to the right and dragging him along.

What the hell did she need him for? It was as if she already knew where she was going. But how could she, since this was the first manned mission to Mars?

The two other crew members followed behind. Dmitri had to take hopping steps in order to match the long stride of the world’s tallest woman. Soon, they had outdistanced the other astronauts to the point they couldn’t even see them.

“Slow down! We’ve lost Vasilly and Ivan!”

Natasha laughed and walked even faster. She slowed as they approached what appeared to be the entrance to a cave. Dmitri’s heart pounded in his chest, and not from the exertion of their journey. He experienced a chill as he realized Natasha knew exactly where this place was, and not from any previous reconnaissance. The rovers had never made it this far.

“Where are we?” he asked, then swallowed.

“Home,” she stated. She disentangled her arm from his and walked to the entrance of the cave. She emitted a high-pitched keening sound, then waited.

Dmitri felt the urge to flee. He was in danger; he knew it in the very core of his being. But his explorer side wouldn’t allow him to move and he stood and waited with her.

They didn’t have to wait long before several beings the same height as the gigantic woman tentatively emerged from the cave.

They all smiled and converged on Natasha. “Welcome home, sister! Come, the others are waiting.”

“I have one thing to take care of first.” She turned toward Dmitri, who finally decided now was the time to run.

Natasha reached him in several strides, then ripped the oxygen tube from his suit, leaving the human writhing on the ground of her home planet, as she returned to her long-lost brethren.