by Lucas Flint
“Hey, Beams?” said Mr. Space. He gestured at the Vault door. “The guards are unlocking the door. Can I have the box back?”
Beams looked up suddenly. He hadn’t realized it, but the two guards were indeed undoing all of the locks. They seemed to be inputting a series of passwords into a small computer near the base of the door. As they did so, Beams heard a series of soft but audible clicks emit from the door as the various locks became unlocked, which meant that the door was going to open soon.
Once it does, the Rubber Ball will go back there, where it will be safe from all harm, Beams thought. And, more importantly, from the Darzens themselves.
“Beams?” said Mr. Space, frowning. “Beams, buddy, can you hear me? Hello?”
Beams looked at Mr. Space … and then fired lasers at his chest, directly striking him head on and knocking him down on the floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Half an hour later, Bolt, Captain Galaxy, and Nicknacks still stood in Hopper’s cell. Bolt had his arms folded in front of his chest, tapping one foot on the ground while glancing at the door frequently. Captain Galaxy was scrolling through her touch screen, apparently trying to reconnect with Mr. Space or the IEA. To Bolt, however, it looked more like she was playing a game, albeit one that didn’t look like any game he had ever played.
Only Nicknacks showed any degree of patience. He stood near Hopper’s bed, his arms hanging from his sides, his eyes seeming to stare off into endlessness. Bolt envied Nick’s patience, if only because it would make it easier to wait.
They were waiting for Cadmus Smith, who had yet to return with the G-Men agents he said he was going to send along with them. Bolt wondered how many G-Men agents Cadmus was going to bring, exactly. There couldn’t have been many available on such short notice in the Facility, unless there were more people here than Bolt supposed. Even if there were, it seemed strange that Cadmus would take so long to find any who would be willing to go on such an important mission.
Maybe Cadmus is just messing with us, Bolt thought with a scowl. Would fit his character. He likes to act like he’s more mature than Shade, but frankly he’s every bit as much a troll as she is, if a lot less flirty.
His thoughts were interrupted by the door to the room opening. Cadmus Smith entered, looking no more hurried or stressed than he usually did, and he was followed by Shade and another G-Men agent who Bolt had never seen before. The G-Men agent was an Asian man who seemed to be in his thirties, completely bald and with strangely sleepy-looking brown eyes. He didn’t look like much of a fighter to Bolt, though he knew that appearances could be very deceiving, especially with G-Men agents.
“Hello all,” said Cadmus, coming to a stop before Bolt and Captain Galaxy. “Sorry for the delay. It took me slightly longer than expected to find available agents within the Facility.”
Bolt glanced at Shade. “Wasn’t she knocked out by Graalix? I thought she was getting medical treatment for her injuries.”
“Aw, I didn’t know you cared so much about me, Bolt,” said Shade. She flicked back some of her hair. “The injuries weren’t that bad. Besides, I’m a strong independent woman. It would take a lot more than that to take me down for good.”
“Okay,” said Bolt. He looked at the Asian man. “And who is this guy?”
“Meet Hypno,” said Cadmus, gesturing at the G-Men agent. “He’s a senior G-Men agent who is normally stationed here at the Facility due to his … special gifts being quite useful for making prisoners tell us what we need to know.”
Bolt was about to ask what Hypno’s ‘special gifts’ were, but then heard a whimpering sound behind and looked over his shoulder. Hopper was staring at Hypno as if his worst nightmares had just come to life. Hypno smiled in an amused way.
“What, exactly, can his powers do?” said Bolt, looking at Cadmus again.
“Hypno can hypnotize anyone he makes eye contact with,” said Cadmus. “In a word, suggestibility. Often, the target doesn’t even know they’ve been manipulated by his powers and are under the impression that they are behaving of their own free will right up until the effect wears off. Very useful, as you might imagine, for making prisoners tell us things they don’t want to tell us.”
Bolt immediately averted his eyes from Hypno. He doubted that Hypno would use his powers on him, but at the same time, he had had enough bad experiences with the G-Men to know that it wasn’t worth the risk. “I’m not sure how helpful such a superpower will be on a planet full of hostile aliens.”
“The mission isn’t about fighting,” said Cadmus. “You are only going to the Darzen home world in order to retrieve something they stole from us. Therefore, stealth and cunning are more important than brute strength and overwhelming power.”
“Being able to make your enemies help you is a very useful power,” said Hypno quietly. “I’ve never used my power on alien creatures like these Darzens before, but I am willing to serve my country in whatever capacity that Director Smith sees fit.”
“Good,” said Cadmus. He looked over at Captain Galaxy. “Tell us more about the Darzen home world. Is it fit for human habitation?”
Captain Galaxy shook her head. “No, not really. It does have breathable air, but—”
“Why does it have breathable air?” said Bolt. “If it’s an alien world where humans have never been before, then why would the air be breathable?”
“Because the Darzens used to bring slaves over from other worlds onto their planet a long time ago,” Captain Galaxy replied. “So the Dread God made the air breathable for all living creatures, humans included. Even when the Dread God died, the air remained breathable and has continued to remain that way as far as I am aware.”
“Convenient,” said Cadmus. “I thought we might need to break out the environ suits, but it appears that they will be unnecessary. You can all travel to the Darzen home world in your current gear, then.”
“Good,” said Shade. “Those environs are so ugly and awkward. I was not looking forward to having to wear those.”
“But what is the name of the Darzen home world?” said Bolt. “I’m getting sick of just calling it the Darzen home world. It has to have a shorter name than that.”
“It does,” Captain Galaxy said. “The Darzen home world is called Jinkopa, though that’s just the name the Darzens gave us. Supposedly, it has another, secret name which the Darzens only use among themselves, though what it is, I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Bolt. “What does matter is making sure we get there before the Darzens resurrect the Dread God. And now that we’re all here, I assume we’re going to leave now, right?”
“Right,” said Cadmus. He looked at Hopper. “Hopper, are you ready to open the portal to Jinkopa?”
Hopper bit his lower lip. “I-I don’t know. I don’t open portals for bigots like you, because unlike some people, I—”
Cadmus’ eyes narrowed and Hopper suddenly cried out in pain.
“Okay, okay, I’ll open the portal,” said Hopper, tears streaming down his eyes. “Just make the mental pain stop, please, I beg of you.”
Cadmus’ eyes returned to normal and he looked at Bolt. “Hopper has agreed to open the portal. Are you ready to go?”
Bolt punched his fist into his other hand. “Of course I am.” He looked at Captain Galaxy and Nicknacks. “What about you two? Are you guys ready as well?”
Nicknacks shook his head. “Sorry, Bolt, but I am afraid I will have to sit this one out.”
“What?” said Bolt. “Why?”
“Because I’m not well enough to go,” said Nicknacks. He rubbed his arm. “I’ve recovered well since I’ve returned to Earth, but I think I would be more of a liability than a help, especially because I’ve never been to Jinkopa before. I’ll stay back here on Earth and go back to the Leadership Council and inform them of what happened and where you are going.”
Bolt frowned. He had hoped Nicknacks would come along on this mission due to his knowledge of the Darzens, but he supposed
someone had to stay behind to let the NHA know about where he was going. “All right. It doesn’t really matter anyway, because we’re going to be back faster than you can say that Hopper is a crybaby.”
“Hey, I am not a—”
“No one cares,” Cadmus interrupted Hopper. “Anyway, we don’t have much time. Open the portal. Now.”
Hopper cringed under Cadmus’ harsh tone, but then he closed his eyes and seemed to be focusing hard on opening a portal. Veins pulsed in his forehead and a low grunt came from under his breath. He even started to shake slightly, which worried Bolt that Hopper might kill himself from the exertion of opening a portal to another universe.
Finally, after several tense seconds of waiting, a portal exploded open in front of everyone. The portal was about as tall and wide as the door to Hopper’s cell. The other side was surprisingly dark, but Bolt thought he saw the outline of a mountain range on the other side under a blood red moon, though due to the wavy nature of the portal, it was hard to say for sure what awaited them on the other side.
“There,” said Hopper, opening his eyes. He was sweating profusely now. “I opened the portal, but I’m not sure how much longer I can hold it open. Go through it now before I lose concentration.”
Bolt nodded, but before he went through the portal, he looked over at Cadmus. “And what about you?”
“I’m staying behind as well,” said Cadmus simply. “If you do not return within twenty-four hours, I will alert the President and assemble a team of G-Men agents to rescue you, as well as inform the NHA. Other than that, I trust that you will succeed in this mission and be back with the Soul Crown shortly.”
Bolt narrowed his eyes. He had no intention of returning the Soul Crown back to Cadmus, and he could tell that Cadmus knew that. But he nodded and then, after Captain Galaxy, Shade, and Hypno crossed the portal, he went inside as well and found himself in an entirely new world unlike anything he had experienced before.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Beams was barely aware of what he just did. He just knew that one moment he was looking at Mr. Space, who was asking him to hand the Rubber Ball back to him, and then in the next instant Mr. Space was lying on the floor, clutching his chest and moaning in pain. His chest was smoking from where Beams’ lasers had struck him. Beams’ lasers did not seem to go through Mr. Space, thankfully, but Beams figured he had probably left a mark that would not heal for a long time.
Why did I do that? Beams thought in alarm. I didn’t even think about it.
But then Beams heard that heartbeat in his ears again and looked down at the Rubber Ball. He still couldn’t see it through the box, but he could sense that the Rubber Ball within was pleased with what he did.
Oh, no, Beams thought in horror. The Rubber Ball made me do that. Which means that our connection isn’t one way. If I can feel it, then it can feel me … and control me, too, by the look of things.
“Deputy Space!” a voice suddenly shouted. “Wait there, you little brat!”
Beams whipped his head toward the two guards who had been unlocking the Vault doors. They had drawn their rifles and were aiming them at Beams, looks of alarm and warning on their faces.
“Put the box down and raise your hands over your head,” said the first guard in a no-nonsense voice. “If you disobey our orders, we will shoot you.”
Beams’ first instinct was to obey the first guard’s commands, but instead, he just fired another laser at them, forcing the guards to jump out of the way to avoid being shot. While the guards dodged the blast, Beams turned and ran back up the hallway, the Rubber Ball still held securely in his grasp. He could hear the guards shouting at him to get back, but Beams didn’t pay them any attention. At this point, he was barely in control of his own body, only aware enough to realize just how screwed he was going to be once he was captured.
I’m not going to be captured, Beams thought. The Rubber Ball wouldn’t allow it.
Beams held that thought with as much certainty as if stating that the sun was going to rise in the morning. That was when he realized that the power of the Dread God was no exaggeration. Even in its most vulnerable form, the Dread God was confident in its ability to escape its pursuers. Why that was, Beams could not say, but there were a lot of things that didn’t make sense to Beams and he was not in the position to understand the Dread God’s alien mind.
He turned the corner up ahead, but came to a stop when a green, translucent energy barrier suddenly appeared in front of him. He could see through the other side, but when he tried to touch it, the barrier burned his finger and he jerked his hand away. He fired his lasers at it, but his lasers didn’t even crack the barrier. They were simply absorbed into it, making the barrier glow slightly before it returned to its normal light.
Damn it, Beams thought, unsure if this was his own anger or the Rubber Ball’s anger at being stopped. Stupid IEA agents. Should have seen this coming.
A couple of shouts behind him made Beams look over his shoulder just in time to see the guards rounding the corner. The guards stopped several feet away from Beams, keeping their rifles trained on him with the handling of trained marksmen, which they might very well be, given how professionally they held their weapons.
“Stop running, intruder,” said the second guard. “We have you cornered. There is no escape now. We’re still willing to take you in peacefully, but if you continue to resist, we will use the minimum force necessary to take you down. And if you keep resisting even after that, then we’ll use lethal force. Understood?”
Beams took a step back before he remembered the barrier behind him. He stopped and stared at the guards. Frustration mounted inside Beams and once again he couldn’t tell if it was his own frustration or the Rubber Ball’s. The two seemed nearly indistinguishable now, which would have alarmed him under other circumstances, but now it seemed like a minor annoyance he would have to deal with later, once he got away from these guards.
“Not going to give it up?” said the second guard. “Very well. Fire!”
Beams closed his eyes, not wanting to see the rifle blasts come his way. But then he heard a soft pop sound, followed by what sounded like metal tearing into flesh and someone screaming in horrible agony. Beams opened his eyes again and looked at the guards, only to wish he hadn’t.
The Dread God’s Avatar stood behind the guards, towering over them like the giant he was. He had stabbed his sword into the back of the first guard, which went straight through the first guard’s stomach, the sharp point glistening with his blood. The first guard wore an expression of mingled alarm and pain on his face before he dropped his gun. His head lolled useless onto his chest before the Avatar drew his sword out of his chest, causing the now-dead guard to fall to the floor.
“What the hell?” said the second guard, looking up at the Avatar in horror. “Who are you? What are you?”
The Avatar smirked. “Your reckoning.”
The Avatar brought his sword down on the second guard’s head and cleaved his skull in two. The second guard collapsed onto the floor of the hallway, blood rapidly leaking out of his head, creating a shallow pool of his own crimson blood whose stink even managed to reach Beams’ nostrils.
Despite how horrific the deaths of the guards were, a part of Beams—which he knew had to be the Rubber Ball—felt a vicious sense of satisfaction at seeing the guards dead. A part of him wished that the Avatar had been even more brutal in his killing of the guards, but he supposed that all that mattered was that the guards were dead.
The Avatar wiped the blood off his sword with a cloth before looking at Beams. “Hello, Beams. I came as soon as I heard the Dread God’s cry for help. I was worried that he might not have finished converting you, but that just goes to show you that one should never doubt the power of the Dread God, which is above all other powers in the multiverse.”
Beams blinked several times. “Wait, you mean the Rubber Ball called for help?”
“Of course,” said the Avatar. “This was part of t
he plan it created as soon as I was thrown out of the airlock of the Adventure. The Dread God was waiting patiently for the right moment to summon help. As soon as it became clear what the IEA planned to do with the Rubber Ball, the Dread God sent out a distress signal that I caught.”
“But … you were thrown out into the void between dimensions,” said Beams. “You should be dead.”
The Avatar chuckled. “Anyone else would have died under those circumstances. But I am not anyone else. I am the Dread God’s Avatar, the incarnation of his will and his servant in the mortal realm. Just as the Dread God could travel the void between dimensions without harm, so can I. It is just a little less convenient for me than using a ship, though not by much.”
“You mean you were waiting out in the void all this time?” said Beams in shock.
“Right,” said the Avatar. “And it was well worth the effort. The Dread God is ready to go home and return to this mortal realm. After so many eons without him, it is hard to believe that his resurrection is just around the corner, but it is.”
Beams wanted to step back, but he was frozen where he stood. “What if I don’t give you the Rubber Ball?”
“You don’t need to,” said the Avatar, “because you are going to bring it with you to Jinkopa. That is, the Darzen home world, in case you are unfamiliar with the name.” The Avatar held out his hand. “Come. We have no time to lose.”
Despite his best efforts, Beams began to take steps toward the Avatar. Step by step, he drew closer to the Avatar. He felt a confused mixture of his own emotions—fear, worry, anxiety—and the Rubber Ball’s—excitement, happiness, and anticipation—the closer he drew toward the Avatar, who stood there with a patient, knowing look on his alien features.
“Come on,” said the Avatar. “Closer and closer, now.”
