Juliane had laid in the pile of rubble for hours, trying to block out the burns and pain she felt pulsing throughout her body. Her muscles would randomly spasm, reopening her healing wounds. She wanted to fall into the warm sleep she felt pulling at her eyelids, but she knew that death would take her and she had too much to live for.

She tried to lift her head enough to see her surroundings, but the vision from one of her eyes was black. She couldn't see. She gasped in surprise and began to tear up. Am I an ugly witch now? What will happen to me?

Juliane's other eye darted around the scene. All she could see was the carnage the giant robots left behind. The square was silent, but you could tell that more than a few lives had been taken. Trees and bushes had been ripped to shreds so that their carcasses were thrown anywhere that wasn't already broken. The ground was cracked and split into millions of giant pieces. The hall had been reduced to a simple pile of rubble and the broken fountain spilled water onto the ground, creating a dusty, gray puddle.

Juliane moved her aching head to her body, trying to brace herself for what she might see. She left out a moan as she saw giant electricity cords wrapped around her legs and her arms, creating thin red lines that pulled open her skin. She screamed at the horror of herself. No one would look at her the same. What will happen to my daughter? What will happen to my sweet little angel?

Juliane tried to move, tried to slowly climb her way out of the rubble, but failed as the wires cut even deeper into her skin. Everything stung, ached, and bled. She swallowed. Her mouth was dry and tasted like copper. She relaxed her head on the ground as her tears began to overwhelm her.

"Help!" She coughed. "Somebody! Anybody! Just get me out of here!" She closed her eyes and kept screaming, begging. "Have mercy!"

Her screaming finally stopped when her throat was rubbed raw, dry, and bloody. Her eyes began to droop and her remaining vision slowly faded to blackness. Juliane's heart slowed as her muscles began to relax. A warm bright light soothed her senses as her face began to tingle. Her hands fell from her abdomen as her mind stopped thinking and her ears continued to ring a high pitched note.

Then suddenly, a warmth was caressing her face and patting her cheeks. The ringing gave way to a low murmur as she forced her eye to squint open. The figure grew more clear as her eye opened further. The light blurred together to make a large shadowy figure. The voice grew more clear as she focused intensely on the sound and on the figure.

It soon became clear that a man was dressed head to toe in black and was gripping his dark mask in one of his hands. His presence seemed to demand attention and silence as his words grew louder in her ears. He had dark hair. The same kind that her husband had. The man had the same pitched voice.

She coughed and almost choked on the blood. "Wh-Who are," she coughed again and the man was by her face cupping it in his hands.

"Shh, my darling. Don't talk. You'll make it worse." The man's eyes darted around them as he held Juliane close. He could hear sirens, and police cars racing to the scene. "It's me. Your Lyle."

Juliane's eyes blinked as she forced herself to stay conscious. "My-My dearest Lyle Kane." She coughed and her mouth spat blood over Kane's face.

He didn't cringe, but only wiped it away from his eyes. "I'm here, Honey." Lyle's eyes began to grow teary as he saw his only love begin to die and drift away in front of him. He glanced down at her abdomen and placed his gloved hand there.

Juliane moaned as she followed his gaze there. "Wh-Why are y-you all in black?" She had to force the words out as the darkness began playing tug of war with her. "T-Tell me."

The police siren got closer and closer.

Lyle swallowed and kept his eyes away from hers. "Shh, don't talk. I did something bad honey."

He couldn't face telling her the truth after what happened to her. He couldn't tell her that he had been planning this for months for them. For a better future for his daughter. He couldn't tell her who he really was. He held back his tears as he gazed into her eyes, wishing with all his might that his daughter wasn't dead. "I can feel her."

Juliane's eyes slowly blinked and she only nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll get her out. I'll take care of her." Lyle choked on his sobs as Juliane's slow nodding just stopped. "Juliane?!"

She blinked.

"They're almost here! Hold on." Lyle darted away into the brush.

She closed her eye as darkness pulled her consciousness into a soothing calm.

******

The halls of the Washington D.C. Infirmary were barely lit in the middle of the night. The shadows creeped everywhere as the watch guards footsteps echoed throughout the building. Lyle slowly hid himself in the shadows, hiding from anyone that could see him. He was wanted by the authorities and it didn't matter if he was dead or alive.

Lyle gave an agitated sigh. He didn't know how anybody found out. He made sure that his identity was top secret. He made sure that he prepared for the worst.

Someone sabotaged me. My army was perfect. No mistakes next time.

They were calling it the attack on Jelapose. Apparently they named it after the mayor who died in the battle. Lyle focused his mind and reeled in his emotions. Everything he did had to be perfect now. He got back to work.

Like the assassin he was, he zoomed to each of the rooms, checking for the one that held his wife. He was wishing with everything he had that his Juliane wasn't gone. Wasn't dead. She needed a daughter and their daughter needed her.

She's not gone. She's not gone. Anger crept into his spine as his footsteps got lighter and faster. His mind cursed as the rooms kept coming up empty. None of them had her. None of them were showing any signs of her.

He stopped in the middle of the hallway, rage bubbling from within. He knew that he only had one place left to check. Only one place and the thought of it only made his emotions even more unstable.

The morgue.

He ran there as fast as he could, still keeping to the shadows. When he reached the room, it was shrouded in complete darkness. No one was there. He grabbed a light from his pocket and began his search.

The room had three tables in the center with tools and scales surrounding them.The metal was glossy and reflected with the light. On one wall, there were rows and rows of metal cabinets. His eyes eagerly darted for the shelves that held the bodies. He immediately began checking doors not even caring how much noise he was making. He only had one goal on his mind. Finding Juliane. He had to know.

His shuffling grew louder the more shelves he checked. His emotions drove his inhibition and his movements. He even let out a few curse words as he went.

Eventually he opened a drawer and saw a familiar face. He slammed it shut. He had to hurry and keep it together. He opened it again and clenched his teeth. Tears began to claw at the back of his eyes, but he wouldn't let them come. He lowered his voice into a whisper and began to talk.

"I'm sorry." He pulled the drawer out further and looked at all of the scars on his wife's body. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You and me were supposed to rule together." A single tear fell down his face as he lowered his voice. "It was their fault. They killed you. The League did this. They'll pay for what they did." His eyes glanced down at her abdomen. It was flat. "She's alive."

He whirled around when he heard the slight footsteps on the stairs behind him. He reached for the gun hidden in his belt and without even thinking, fired a shot.

It shook and rang throughout the building and Lyle heard a thud on the steps. He shined his light onto the body's face. It was a guard. They were coming.

Lyle turned back to Juliane, nodded, and then disappeared into the shadows. He was rushing to get to his daughter. He would get her and he would raise her just like Juliane would have wanted.

To be a relic of hope.

A beam of Justice in the dark world.

And she would be his relic.