Journey's End

by Luke Derricks

  “That’s right. He said the crystals could be programmed. How do they do that?”

  “No idea. But what are you going to do about saving your friends?”

  “Well, Earth’s out of the question. Mastermind will be expecting anything Earth has to throw at him. And there may not be a future worth going to there, either. The desert world and tropical beach planet don’t seem to have any civilization or technology. That abandoned space ship might have some good stuff, but I’d die instantly in the cold vacuum of space. What about this place? Did you and Dad ever find any weapons or anything while exploring this pyramid?”

  Charlie shook his head. “Just a lot of empty rooms.”

  “Then that leaves Eden. I’ll have to see what they’ve got to offer. Simeon said they were at war for a long time. They’re bound to have something I can use.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “I’ll find us some powerful weapons, or some kind of technological advantage, and then use my power to save Ray and Dawn before anyone dies.”

  “Sounds good. And then Earth?”

  “Yeah. And then we save Earth.”

  “We can’t let this be a repeat of last time.”

  Luke was determined. “It won’t be.”

  Mastermind didn’t like taking chances. That was why, at this very moment, he walked across the scorching, unforgiving desert on planet Sekhmet.

  The massive pyramid was just ahead.

  It was so damn hot. But Mastermind needed a little extra insurance. Chuck and the others were probably gone for good. But he wouldn’t risk it. And even though his mutants were permanently under his mind control, and by now half the world was under his spell too, he couldn’t afford anything to go wrong now.

  Not right when he was so close.

  He needed more power.

  He arrived at the entrance to the pyramid. Pushed the blue button. The circular door rolled open. He entered inside – and headed directly for the innermost chamber.

  Mind control wasn’t enough.

  A portal opened at the garden on Eden. Luke peered his head through, looking around.

  “Is it safe?” his uncle asked.

  “Seems so. Looks like Mastermind’s been gone for a while now.” His timeline-duplicate was missing too. “I don’t even see the other me.”

  Luke and Charlie stepped through the portal.

  “Oh, the Edenites would’ve taken care of the body by now,” he said.

  “Am I buried here?”

  Charlie shook his head. “I don’t believe they bury anybody here. They probably ejected him into space.”

  “Oh,” said Luke. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. This whole other-self-being-dead thing was really messing with his head.

  Was he dead? Alive? Both? One version of him lived; the other, not so fortunate. He wondered, secretly, if he should even try to save his other self. On one hand, it was cool having two of him around. On the other hand, it was starting to get really annoying too. Besides, maybe drifting through space was a fitting end for an alternate timeline copy of him. He loved Star Trek and other sci-fi shows. Knowing that some version of him was laid to rest flying among the stars – it was a good ending for him.

  Still, the moral questions arising from time travel were becoming a bit too much for him. What right did he have to choose who should live and who should die? The power to change history and define another’s fate – should any mortal man or woman possess that kind of power?

  Either way, he had the power. He had to make sure he used it for good. As best he knew how.

  A second later, a different visitor liaison appeared. “Welcome to Eden,” she said. A pretty dark-haired girl. “I’m Tristina, Visitor Liaison. What brings you gentlemen here today?”

  “Uh, we’re here for the museum,” said Uncle Charlie. “Is Simeon still available?”

  The three of them – Simeon, Charlie, and Luke – teleported into the history museum. The same one as before, with Eden’s inactive Astaria crystal.

  “It’s this way,” said Simeon, leading them.

  They walked past the tall pillars, ancient artifacts, enclosed exhibits, enormous alien statues and heroic figures of the past, video information walls, and other curious things on display. Finally, they arrived at it.

  “This the one you mean?” asked Simeon, stopping at the battle suit on display.

  Luke stepped up to it, staring at it with awe. This looked like it had potential. A fully-enclosed mechanical battle suit. Probably from the era of Eden’s civil or interplanetary wars. It had a helmet, opaque visor, and face shield – with what looked like a filtered air breathing apparatus. The rest of the “suit” had armored plating, especially across the torso and down the sides of the arms and legs. Sturdy mechanical metal boots and gloves. A large power pack on the back. And, no doubt, a bunch of various weapons and defensive technologies hidden and integrated into the whole thing.

  Maybe it was a little overkill for Luke’s purposes, but when dealing with someone like Mastermind and his mutants, being over-powered was the way to go.

  “Yeah. That’s the one I saw. What all can it do?” Luke continued admiring the high-tech battle suit the Edenites had created.

  The video screen behind it instantly activated. A pre-recorded voice began talking. “One thousand years ago,” the video announced, “citizens of Eden began exploring the stars. But as you know, space is a very dangerous place. The icy cold vacuum, deadly solar radiation, tiny meteoroids traveling at over 200,000 miles per hour, and countless other hazards both known and unknown. So early explorers wore suits like this to protect themselves and explore other worlds both safely and effectively.”

  Wait. What?

  This wasn’t a battle suit at all. It was just a really cool-looking space suit.

  “Explorers never knew what they’d encounter in the depths of deep space or across the uncharted territory of new worlds,” continued the educational video, “so these suits were fitted with several tools, defensive technologies, and scanning equipment for negotiating all possible environments.”

  Defensive technologies? Hmm. Maybe it’d still be useful after all.

  “For example,” said the video, showing an animated graphic as it explained, “suits like these were designed to withstand a direct head-on collision of a large meteor impact. Ouch, that’s gotta hurt! But hopefully the explorer would use the defensive cutting laser to break apart a meteor like that long before then.”

  Ooh. Cutting lasers. That sounded good.

  “Later models were also equipped with protective energy fields that not only deflected projectiles, but also shielded explorers from dangerous radiation, toxic gases, and even deadly wild alien creature attacks.”

  Force fields? Heck yes!

  “The built-in heads up display, or ‘HUD’ for short, allowed explorers to view the entire electromagnetic spectrum and range of bio-signs from within the comfort and safety of their suits, helping them to avoid dangerous radiation while finding rare precious metals and food sources. Life was tough on the frontier, but these special suits made earlier explorer’s jobs much, much easier.”

  Okay, Luke had heard enough. Not exactly the battle suit he was expecting, but it would still do the job. Cutting lasers, force fields, and an electromagnetic/bio-sign scanner… He could spot mutants in hiding, much like his uncle could with his heat vision. He’d protect himself and his friends with the force fields. And then counter-attack with the cutting lasers.

  It would work.

  “Simeon, can I borrow this?”

  “You want that?” he asked, surprised. “It’s really old.”

  “Does it still work?”

  “As long as it has power, yes.”

  “What’s it run on? Double-As?” He laughed to himself.

  Simeon had no idea what AA batteries were.

  But he checked the display info. “Looks like this model uses hybrid technology. Runs on both solar and heavy radioactive elements.”

/>   “Wait,” said Luke, realizing what that meant. “You mean this thing can be nuclear powered?”

  “Fission, yes,” said Simeon. “By the time portable cold fusion technology became available, we stopped using these things.”

  Luke couldn’t believe it. “You have cold fusion? And it’s portable?!”

  “Doesn’t your world?”

  “Um, no.”

  “Oh.”

  “Anyway, can I borrow it?”

  Simeon paused. “You’re going to defeat the man who killed Ethos?”

  Luke nodded. “That’s the plan.”

  “You can keep it.”

  Chapter Two

  Rising

  “Alex Alvarado reporting live from NBS News. Reports are now coming from all over – mutants have begun appearing in Japan, India, Russia, Greece, and the Middle East. I’m reporting live from downtown Los Angeles, where another mutant – some kind of human-rhinoceros is terrorizing citizens.”

  The camera pointed toward Rhino-Man, right as he slammed his foot onto the ground, sending another earthquake shockwave in all directions. Then Rhino-Man pounded his fist into the wall of a towering skyscraper – and it began crumbling down.

  “Local buildings are being evacuated. All freeways have been re-routed to direct traffic out of the downtown Los Angeles area. Police are urging citizens to stay inside and off the roads.”

  In the background, behind Alex Alvarado, Rhino-Man charged across the screen. The camera immediately turned to follow. Several police officers opened fire. Bullets pierced the gray thick-skinned mutant. It slowed him down a little. But then Rhino-Man stomped his foot again, sending another earthquake out. Everyone – including the news reporter and cameraman – fell down. The camera laid on its side, watching as Rhino-Man pounded his fist into a nearby officer’s chest. Powerful tremors tore the officer’s body apart.

  And that was just Los Angeles.

  Mastermind’s mutants were all over the planet, drawing lots of media attention to themselves.

  Simeon helped take the ancient space suit down from its display. He handed Luke the helmet, chest piece, and armored gloves.

  “So how do I activate this thing?” Luke asked. “Does it read my thoughts? Voice-activated commands? What?”

  “Yes,” said Simeon, removing the leg casing and armored boots from the display.

  “Yes?” Luke asked.

  “Any of those will work. Just give it a few minutes to sync with our database, to learn your language.”

  “Wow. Cool.” Luke looked at the helmet and other gear in his arms. “How long will the batteries last? I don’t want this thing running out of power on me in the middle of a fight.”

  “That all depends on your usage,” Simeon said. “Shields drain faster while taking impact, but in standby mode, they can be sustained for a very long time. The cutter lasers will vary based on the yield you need. But basic life support can last for days, if nothing else is draining the power.”

  The entire suit was off the display, in several pieces. All Luke needed to do now was put them on.

  He got a funny look in his face. “Hey, I don’t understand something.”

  “Yes?” Simeon inquired.

  “How come my power – my super power, my ability to travel through time – how come it runs out of power so quickly?”

  “It takes a lot of power,” said Simeon.

  “Right. But, Ray’s powers never seemed to weaken or run out. Mastermind’s powers seem unlimited. Uncle Charlie never gets tired and needs to recharge his super power. Why mine?”

  “Different powers require different energy.”

  “Right, but I’m not tired,” explained Luke. “What ‘energy’ is it drawing from?”

  “The Temple’s,” said Simeon. “All powers get their energy from the Temple.”

  “That sphere thingy I went into?”

  “Yes. We believe so,” said Simeon, helping Luke to put on the torso part of the space suit. “As far as we understand it, the Temples draw their power from deep within the planet, convert that energy into some kind of alternative quantum state, and use that to activate the special abilities it gives people. Your time traveling ability is a massive energy drain on the Temple. It takes time to recharge its reserves.”

  “Wait…” said Luke. “Does that mean, if I drain all the pyramid’s energy, no one will be able to use their powers?”

  Simeon shook his head. “No. Don’t be ridiculous. The Temple is far more advanced than that. Every user is independently allocated. Your energy usage has no effect on anyone else’s.”

  Luke nodded. “I see.” He was still thinking about it. “But what if, hypothetically, the pyramid was destroyed, or something? What if the temple couldn’t draw any power from a planet?”

  Simeon wasn’t sure. “I suppose,” he said, figuring it out for the first time just now, “everyone who received a power from that temple would suddenly… be powerless.”

  Luke smiled.

  Uncle Charlie noticed. “Nephew… whatcha thinkin’?”

  “Uncle, I think I know how we can beat Mastermind.”

  Mastermind entered the heart of the pyramid on Sekhmet.

  He stood in the center of the innermost room. Glowing alien language encircled him around the floor. Multicolored lights filled the room. He saw his own reflection in the floating sphere.

  He grinned.

  Where would it take him this time? To his early childhood, with his abusive, alcoholic mother? To his awkward teens, where he was constantly ridiculed and belittled by others? To his loser boss who treated him like worthless garbage all those years?

  It didn’t matter. He knew how it worked. Some traumatic event would play over and over again – until he summoned the strength to manifest a new power.

  What would it be?

  Mastermind touched the sphere.

  Doctor Troyd stepped outside the meeting room. That went really well. Fortunately the president had already watched Mastermind’s video. Things would’ve been a lot more difficult otherwise.

  He and Luke stood in one of the many hallways at the United Nations building. People ran back and forth in a panic, rushing from one room to another. News of Mastermind’s planet-wide takeover, the appearance of violent mutants around the world, and the erupting public chaos had government officials and their staffs in a total frenzy.

  By now, Doctor Troyd assumed, most of the developed world had seen Mastermind’s broadcast. Anyone watching and listening to that recording were now under his mind control. It was probably going viral on the world wide web at this very moment.

  Some people, on the other side of the world, might still be sleeping. But as soon as they turned on their morning news, they too would be one of Mastermind’s loyal servants.

  As for everyone else – all the people who for whatever reason don’t catch the video – will undoubtedly get the news from secondary sources and word of mouth.

  Friends. Family. Co-workers. Facebook. News like this wouldn’t stay quiet for long.

  Friends would call each other to see if anyone had mutated near them. Religious leaders would declare Mastermind a false god. Tech-savvy teenagers were probably uploading the video to YouTube right at this very moment.

  Of course, not everyone would be enslaved. Not right away, anyway. But the world was rapidly spinning into a state of chaos and disruption.

  And when people panic, they don’t think.

  They’re driven by their fears.

  In a few minutes, the president would go live on every channel on TV – “we interrupt this program to bring you an important announcement from the President of the United States” – and tell everyone about the so-called “cure.” Anyone not already under Mastermind’s spell would soon voluntarily inject themselves with the very thing they were trying to avoid.

  But Doctor Troyd knew there was one small problem with Mastermind’s plan.

  This chemical only activated people’s cells for transformation.
It opened up their DNA and prepared it for integration with new genetic material. But to actually change someone, to actually create a mutant, there needed to be a second injection. People needed to receive donor DNA.

  How did Mastermind plan to do that?

  Or was he simply leaving that up to random chance? A bee sting here, a mosquito bite there… inhaling a little dog or cat hair from their own pets. What about food? Doctor Troyd wondered… would eating the meat from a hamburger be enough genetic material to turn someone into a mutant cow?

  Doctor Troyd was the expert scientist. He should know. He quickly did some calculations in his head. Maybe. It was possible. People could mutate that way. Or mutate from a bite or scratch from another mutant, even.

  On the other hand, if they didn’t receive any new genetic material, it could, in fact, destabilize the person’s entire genetic makeup. Their cells might start to deteriorate and break down. That would leave an awful ugly mess in the end, too.

  Maybe Mastermind didn’t care. Some people would mutate. The rest would die. Mastermind would still be their god. After all, what more defining trait could there be for a god than choosing who would live and who would die?

  Doctor Troyd still held the vial of glowing green chemical in his hand. Mastermind was smart. Mastermind was powerful. But it was this – BioGen X – that Doctor Troyd developed, that really made him godlike. So who was really the god? Mastermind – or the doctor?

  Luke stared at the chemical. “How come you didn’t give that to the president?”

  “This?” Doctor Troyd asked. “I gave them the formula. That’s all they need to mass produce it. This,” he said, “is for you.”

  “Me?” asked Luke.

  Doctor Troyd nodded.

  “Mastermind’s orders?”

  The scientist nodded.

  Luke swallowed hard. He was still under Mastermind’s control. There was only one thing he could say. “I… I will obey.”

  “Good boy.”

  Luke – the other one, back on Eden, with Uncle Charlie and Simeon at the history museum – put on the last component of the space suit. He was covered head to toe, fully encased, protected with a high-tech, super cool-looking, advanced space suit.