It took Byron three tries to get Lucas to answer.
As it was, Lucas' face finally popped into view of the three brothers on the threat of sending Slate to haul his ass back from the world of Lijian to their home world Erenveil.
His face was covered in makeup and his golden hair with their pink streaks had been styled into a shimmering wave of pinks and golds with brilliant cut white diamonds scattered about in strategic sections.
Like Byron, his large muscular chest and stomach areas were also bare. He wore nothing more than a pair of flesh-colored underwear that blended almost seamlessly with his body, but it wasn't because he was body-building.
It was because he was shooting a scene where he was making love to the leading lady of the movie.
"I am in the middle of shooting a movie. What in the world is so urgent that it can't wait a couple of hours?"
"Lucas. We need your help. Get on a transport pod and come home this instant." Byron snarled.
"Are you crazy? I'm working right now!" Lucas zoomed out, showing a crowded set. The nude female actress was still on the blanket in the sand, in front of an azure beach with gentle waves rolling onto pristine white sands.
All around them were dozens of visuals crew, holding microphones, lights, and various equipment to create the scene of an isolated beach where lovers were having intimate moments.
"How much are they paying you, Lucas? I'll triple it." Dante announced. "Get back here now!"
"It's not the money, Dante. It's my reputation on the line. I can't just abandon a worksite without good cause."
Dante had no idea what Byron's reasoning was for pulling Lucas from his job site, but he would be damned if he allowed a piddly thing as a movie to stop Lucas from lending his assistance at such a crucial time.
"Lucas. You may not realize this, but that entertainment company is one small part of my empire of businesses."
Dante waved a hand.
"Don't worry about the schedules. I'll have Thornton delay it indefinitely. You will be able to resume this movie once we take care of this urgent business."
Lucas sighed. Thornton was the CEO of the entertainment company. If Dante was Thornton's boss, it was best just to hightail it out of there.
He threw on a robe as an assistant placed a warm mug of tea in his hands.
"Since you put it that way, I'm all yours. I needed to put on some clothes and warm up anyway." He shivered and warmed his hands on the mug.
"How they expect me to act as if I'm having a hot and passionate love affair on a beach in the middle of a Lijian winter, I have no idea. All my male parts have shrunk to nothing."
Slate and Dante looked at each other, their bodies shaking with mirth. Even Byron looked amused although he tried to hide it with a loud harrumph as if he was clearing his throat.
Quickly, Byron detailed the situation that had just transpired between the Earth forces and Candace.
As Lucas listened, his face began to change. He went from puzzlement to shock to rage and then back to dismay.
"I'm not shocked that the Earth government is doing this. It's their first Avgo involvement and they want the candidate of their choice to become a contestant for the chance of ruling beside you on the Erenveil throne." He shook his head with outrage.
"But they are twisting this so far out of the realm of what is acceptable. Do they not realize that the Avgo chooses the candidates, not the people, no matter how powerful the people may be?"
"Obviously they do not understand this." Byron grounded out. "They want to manipulate this entire thing until it turns into exactly what they want to have happen. That is why I need your help!"
Lucas turned away, his deep amber eyes hooded by his droopy lids.
"I'm the least of us brothers. I have very little power to do anything." He pursed his lips. It had been stained by the makeup artist to be a pinkish red that made him look good enough to eat.
Byron sighed and turned to look at Lucas squarely in the eyes.
"Lucas. You are the best looking one out of all of us. That is your power."
"I'm just an actor, Byron."
"Yes." Byron agreed. "You are a multi-world, multi-award-winning actor with billions of fans all over the galaxy. Who has not heard of the handsome, brilliant Prince Lucas, the reigning star of the entertainment world?"
"Few people know anything about us brothers and even fewer know what we look like because we always face the world with our bat masks on." Dante spoke up. "But Lucas. EVERYBODY knows who you are. You're the face of the Erenveil monarchy."
"Because of you, all the females in the galaxy are in love with the idea of marrying Byron." Slate chuckled. "They are fighting to win the Avgo because they think all the Erenveil Princes look like you."
"They just want my body." Lucas grimaced with a heavy sigh.
Dante gave a shout of laughter.
"Little Brother, do you not realize that Great Beauty is a super power? You have the lion's share of charisma and abundant charm. Use it to your advantage!"
"Fine. What do you want me to do?"
Byron gave a slow smile as the idea began to cement in his head.
"I want you to seek that Earth Princess, what's her name?"
"Dahlia Halloway." Dante prompted.
"Yes. Dahlia fucking Halloway." Byron's eyes glistened with devious intent. "I want you to go find her and sweep her off her feet."
Lucas looked dubious.
"What if she doesn't like me? She's got her heart set on you and your throne. I got nothing but my body."
Byron laughed.
"Lucas, you're an actor. Act!!!" He raised his arms into the air for emphasis. "Ply on your charms and good looks to the fullest. Buy her anything and everything she could possibly want."
He indicated with his head at Dante. "Dante is going to foot the bill, so make sure you spend it as lavishly as you possibly can." He narrowed his gaze thoughtfully.
"Hell, fuck her if she wants that too. It's just some physical exercise for you with a bit of a happy ending."
Lucas grimaced and turned away.
"Byron. I can't just turn on my body like that. I can act like I'm interested but if I'm not, it's going to look like this."
His eyes were tragic as he pulled his robe apart and showed them a shriveled shrunken male body part that was shivering from the cold wind blasting from the beachfront.