Isolation

by Kevin Hardman

  “Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about that,” I admitted. “It hadn’t occurred to me to consider what the future Jim might mean in that context.”

  “Good, because you need to approach this as you would any other mission, bearing in mind that the fate of the world is at stake.”

  “No pressure there,” I muttered.

  “You ready?” Mouse asked, chuckling.

  “If I said I wasn’t, would it make a difference?”

  “Not at all,” Mouse assured me with a grin.

  Chapter 62

  I came through a dimensional gate that opened on the helipad, which was the place Mouse had pinpointed as the location of the Construct. Needless to say, the Busuigno had lied to me about moving it to another location. When I appeared, it was sitting in the middle of the helipad, unguarded, as though waiting for me.

  A few minutes before I’d arrived, Mouse had gone to another part of HQ to create a diversion by wreaking general havoc (as he’d done the past few days). It was supposed to send almost everyone scurrying to his location, but common sense said that someone should have remained with the Construct. Thus, the fact that the helipad was deserted was somewhat bizarre.

  All of my instincts screamed Trap! However, when I stretched my empathic and telepathic senses, I didn’t pick up on any other presence nearby. Of course, that didn’t mean anything. Someone like Buzz could cover miles in seconds, as could Alpha Prime. With that thought, I took note of the fact that the retractable roof was open.

  Maybe they threw in the towel, I thought, but found it extremely unlikely. Considering everything they’d done thus far – everything that was at stake for them – I couldn’t see the Busuigno simply chalking this up as a loss. Still, there was no use wasting time. If there was a trap here, I’d find out soon enough.

  I shifted into super speed and raced over to the Construct. Surprisingly, nothing and no one tried to stop me. Once there, I opened up a leather satchel Mouse had given me, which contained the doomsday components. I then began placing them in their appropriate positions on the front of the Construct.

  Triangular doodad in the upper left corner… I said to myself. Black cube goes dead center…

  Keeping in mind Mouse’s instructions, I placed each item from the satchel in its proper spot. Based on what my mentor had said, I’d garnered the impression that some action would begin immediately after the components were in place. That being the case, I stood there, waiting with bated breath.

  Nothing happened.

  Something was wrong. I spent a quick moment glancing around, trying to determine if the Busuigno were somehow interfering in some way. Again, I saw and sensed no one nearby. Turning my attention back to the Construct, I doubled-checked my handiwork and concluded that I had done everything as Mouse had instructed.

  Did Mouse do something wrong? I wondered. Did he make some mistake?

  I quickly dismissed the notion; Mouse didn’t make mistakes. That meant it was something on my end – whatever was wrong sprang from a gaffe I had made. I mentally began retracing my steps, recalling everything I’d done since arriving at the helipad – and then almost laughed as I suddenly realized what the problem was.

  The issue was me! I was still moving at super speed. That’s why nothing seemed to be happening from my perspective.

  I shifted back to normal speed, and immediately began to see action with the Construct. One of the attached components began to glow with an azure light. Another started to hum, while a third crackled with electricity. Basically, each item I’d placed on the Construct began to do something.

  I stood by, watching excitedly, thankful that this particular nightmare was about to be over. Thus, it took me by surprise when I suddenly heard my father’s voice.

  “Jim,” Alpha Prime said. “Don’t do this, son.”

  His voice seemed to come from all around me, and I realized that he was using the League’s PA system. That said, it didn’t sound like he was at HQ; there was a rush of air in the background, giving the impression that he was outside.

  I kept my mouth closed. This was not the time to be distracted. Instead, recognizing that this might be – and probably was – a trap of some kind, I phased and became insubstantial.

  “You never heard me out about my offer,” he continued. “What I’m putting on the table is your father.”

  I frowned. Was the thing on my father trying to say it would kill him if I didn’t stand down? Could it? I didn’t know – my father was practically invulnerable. Still, the thought of the Busuigno threatening him made me clench my fists in anger.

  “Don’t you want dear old Dad back?” he asked.

  “I’m getting him back!” I uttered in fury before I even realized I planned to speak.

  “I’m not talking about the old Alpha Prime – the one who stayed away most of your life – or even the one who’s been taking baby steps in getting to know you. I’m talking about the Alpha Prime of the last few days. The one who’s made constant overtures to bond with you. Going to breakfast, playing board games, eating pizza… You can have the father you always wanted.”

  “None of that was real. It’s you controlling him.”

  “It was real,” Alpha Prime countered. “I have access to his memories; I know his feelings for you and can manifest them, and much more. Plus, he’s not gone – he’s still in here. It’s like he’s asleep, for lack of a better term. Moreover, all of the bonding we’ve done lately are things he wanted to do but didn’t know how to initiate. I took those steps for him, and now you see the kind of relationship the two of you can have.”

  “You mean the three of us,” I shot back.

  “Perhaps. But again, the emotions being reflected are truly your father’s – just like Electra’s emotions were at the fore when you were with her.”

  “What?!” I practically screeched.

  “Think about it. In addition to Alpha Prime, you can also have the ideal girlfriend. One who showers you with affection, willing to wait on you hand and foot.”

  “That’s not Electra,” I said. “It never will be.”

  “Does that matter? Like your father, the Electra you knew is still in there. And again, the affection she feels for you is sincere and that’s what would be broadcast and displayed. Wouldn’t that be worth it?”

  “Not in a million years,” I stated flatly. “Keep talking all you want, but all you’re doing is convincing me that you belong locked up in the Construct.”

  There was silence for a moment, then Alpha Prime said, “All right, you’ve forced my hand. Look up – almost directly above you.”

  My gut instinct was to ignore him, but somehow I found myself doing as he instructed. I looked up, but initially didn’t see anything. Bearing in mind that I still couldn’t detect anyone nearby, I telescoped my vision and then I saw him, maybe half a mile up in the air.

  I also saw what he held: Cat.

  Chapter 63

  My mind blanked for a moment.

  Cat? I thought. How..? Why…?

  I couldn’t form a coherent thought. I had no idea she was involved in this – couldn’t imagine why it had happened or how it had come about.

  Although still trying to get a handle on the situation, I noticed that Alpha Prime was holding her aloft by one wrist, letting the rest of her body dangle. She appeared to be unconscious (which was probably a blessing, because otherwise she’d surely be screaming her head off).

  “I didn’t want it to come to this,” Alpha Prime declared. “We’re not a violent species by nature.”

  “No, you just take over other beings who don’t have the means to resist,” I countered. “You’re like a mugger robbing someone at gunpoint, then claiming you’re nonviolent because your victim didn’t fight back.”

  “Be that as it may, we Busuigno are fighting for our lives.”

  “No you’re not,” I shot back. “Being imprisoned in the Construct isn’t a death sentence. Maybe a life sentence, but not death.”


  “For the Busuigno, there’s no distinction. We can only experience the universe – and life, as you know it – through others. Take that from us, and you may as well kill us. So as far as we’re concerned, this is a fight for survival, and there are trillions of us still imprisoned in the Construct.”

  “And with good reason.”

  Alpha Prime suddenly looked angry. “Enough talk. Stop what you’re doing, or I drop her.”

  He shook Cat by the wrist slightly for emphasis. It would have given his gesture greater effect if she’d been awake and wailing in terror, but the message still came through loud and clear.

  “No comment?” he stated a moment later. “So be it.” He released his grip and Cat dropped like a stone.

  Of course, I’d been expecting this and had kept my eye on her. Within a second or two of Alpha Prime letting go, I got a lock on her with my power and teleported her into my arms. At the same time, I teleported Alpha Prime, sending him back to the middle of the ocean where he’d had his sneezing fit.

  Thankfully, Cat hadn’t fallen far enough to build up a lot of momentum, so catching her was a lot like catching a cheerleader jumping off a pyramid. I then brought my vision back to normal and gave her a once-over, trying to get a sense as to whether she was okay. To my surprise, however, she opened her eyes.

  “Easy,” I said to her. “I’ve got you.”

  “And I’ve got you,” she replied, pressing a hand to my cheek.

  Almost instantly, I began screaming in pain.

  Chapter 64

  It was a lot like when Mouse’s device had knocked all the air from my body, except this time, it felt like far more was wrenched out – and things that went well beyond the physical: vitality, energy, verve… It was all violently wrung from my body. (Later, I would say that it was like a thousand tiny bombs exploded inside me simultaneously, forcing everything out.)

  Wailing in anguish, I dropped to my knees as my bones turned to jelly. My grip on Cat loosened as my arms flopped uselessly to my side; she rolled away for a second before scrambling to her feet.

  “Thanks, cutie,” she said, giving me a wink. “We knew we could count on you to do the right thing.”

  We? I thought as I managed to stop screaming. Of course – Cat was under the control of the Busuigno.

  “Wow,” she murmured, opening and closing her fists as if squeezing a couple of imaginary balls. “This is incredible.”

  Suddenly she vanished, reappearing a few feet away, then returned to her original position. She had either teleported or moved at super speed, I didn’t know which. Then I understood: Cat hadn’t just sapped my vigor and stamina. She had drained my powers.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself,” she said as she floated into the air a few feet and came back down. “It’s a crime not to showcase this array of powers.”

  “They’re…my powers,” I managed to painfully squeak out. “My business…how I…use them.”

  “Well, they’re my powers now,” she declared. “At least temporarily.”

  I tried to move, but only managed to groan in pain. I began trying to tweak my systems to stop the pain, but found limited success.

  “Oh, cheer up,” she admonished. “I didn’t drain you completely. You still have your powers; you’re just too weak to use them – like a bodybuilder laid up with the flu. He’s still got his muscles and physique, but just lacks the stamina to do anything.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered, trying to get to my feet and failing, while at the same time continuing my efforts to stop the pain. “You’re a…real…humanitarian.”

  “That’s actually kind of prophetic,” she retorted. “Anyway, I can’t stand here jawing with you all day. I’ve got work to do.”

  With that, she stepped over to the Construct. I couldn’t see exactly what she was doing, but it appeared as though she was moving the doomsday components around.

  “We really need to thank you and your friend Mouse,” Cat said as she fiddled at the Construct. “It would have taken us quite a while to open this thing up on our own.”

  “Ha,” I groaned weakly. “We’re…closing it. Sending…you back.”

  “You were. But did you know that if you realign some of these articles, the exact opposite happens? It’s kind of like reversing the polarity on a magnet, so that instead of attracting, it pushes away. In this instance, instead of sucking Busuigno in, it’s going to push them out. All of them.”

  I had trouble keeping my mouth from dropping open.

  “Are you shocked?” she asked with a grin, stepping back from the Construct and turning towards me. “Of course we knew what you guys were up to, but what you didn’t know was that we wanted you to take those components – wanted you to reconfigure them to interact with the Construct. I mean, we’re smart, but your friend Mouse is in a league by himself. It might have taken us years to do what he did in days.”

  “You’re lying,” I uttered hotly. “You tried to stop Mouse every step of the way.”

  She shook her head. “No, once we figured out what he was up to and knew we could use him to help us, it was all we could do not to giftwrap those components and hand them over. However, we knew that if we made it too easy, your friend would get suspicious, so we feigned trying to stop him, and–”

  Her words were cut off as I suddenly rocked back on my heels and leaped at her. I hadn’t been able to stop all the pain, but had eliminated enough of it to be somewhat mobile again. More to the point, my lunge seemed to take her by surprise.

  I didn’t make any attempt at truly trying to engage with her. Instead, I simply used my momentum to thrust her aside and sent her sprawling. I then turned my attention to the Construct, and began hastily trying to move the components back to their original positions.

  However, I hadn’t managed to shuffle more than two of them before I felt a hand grip my wrist, and once again I screamed in agony as it felt like my soul was being sucked out of my body. It wasn’t as bad as the first time, due to the fact that I had deadened a lot of nerve endings, but it was impossible to stop altogether because much of the torment I was feeling wasn’t at the physical level.

  It seemed to go on forever, but was probably no more than a few seconds, following which I felt myself forcefully shoved aside – probably telekinetically. I landed in a heap on the floor.

  “You should really be thanking us,” Cat declared as she began reorganizing the components on the Construct. “After the Busuigno take over this planet, there will be no more wars, no more poverty, no more injustice.”

  “No more people,” I added as I struggled up to my hands and knees.

  “There’ll be people,” Cat countered. “They just won’t be quite as you remember them.”

  “What about me?”

  “There are bound to be some like you and your friend Mouse,” she said, turning in my direction. “Those who are immune or whom we can’t control. But don’t worry – we’ll find a place for you.”

  I didn’t respond, as her words seemed to nudge something at the back of my brain. A moment later, it came to the fore, giving me the rudiments of a very basic plan. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it wasn’t like I had a lot of options.

  As quickly as I could, I executed a maneuver similar to what I’d done before, drawing my feet under me with a little hop and then charging at Cat. This time, however, she was ready for me.

  I came at her with hands outstretched. That said, I must have been far weaker than even I thought, because she simply grabbed me by the wrists. Afterwards, she simply held me there, like a petulant child, as I tried yanking my hands back and forth in an effort to break her grip.

  “You must really have a death wish,” Cat noted as I struggled. “You simply aren’t going to be happy until I drain you dry.” She seemed to contemplate for a moment, and then stated, “Fine then – wish granted!”

  As before, I wailed as I suddenly felt my very essence being siphoned out of me. However, I had been expecting it, and at the very mo
ment it began, I opened a telepathic channel and shouted, mentally, as loud as I could into Cat’s brain.

  My telepathic yell appeared to startle her, because she blinked several times as if caught unawares by something. She then appeared to shake her head for a moment, as if trying to clear her thoughts.

  At that point, with my strength almost gone, I flopped to the ground, although Cat still gripped my wrists, holding them up above my head. Somewhere in the background, I heard a woeful wailing and realized it was me. A moment later, I didn’t even have the energy to give voice to my pain as Cat continued draining me. Apparently, my plan had failed. Completely demoralized and exhausted, I let my head droop as my eyelids fluttered and then closed.

  Then, unexpectedly, Cat said, “Stop it.”

  She still held my wrists, and I could feel my power continuing to flow into her, but something seemed off.

  “Stop it!” she repeated, raising her voice. “Stop it!”

  All of a sudden, I felt my arms being yanked back and forth, like the hand levers on an elliptical machine.

  “Let go, you stupid girl!” I heard Cat screech. “Let go!”

  The tug-of-war with my arms became more violent, then all of a sudden Cat screamed, “No! No! No!”

  A moment later, the yanking on my arms ceased, and I felt myself being lowered gently to the ground. Struggling mightily, I opened my eyes and saw Cat standing next to the Construct. I tried to speak, but no words would come out.

  Apparently hearing my efforts, Cat glanced at me for a moment.

  “It’s okay, Jim,” she said with a smile. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Unable to hold it together any longer, I passed out.

  Chapter 65

  I came to in a bed in the League infirmary. Looking around, I was surprised to find that I wasn’t hooked up to anything: no IV drip, no monitor, nothing. That said, there must have been a scanner of some sort in the room, because a few minutes later Mouse came in, carrying his tablet.