Strike 3: The Returning Sunrise

by Charlie Wood

  A silence passed. Tobin stared at the dirt.

  “How did all that come out?” his father asked. “I’ve been practicing telling you all that for, like, two weeks.”

  Tobin laughed, wiping away his tears. “It came out pretty good. I didn’t know you were so deep.”

  Scott laughed. “I’m not, believe me. If Orion heard me saying all that, he’d probably pass out. But it’s something I learned in my life, and I wanted to make sure I told you. You have no destiny. You choose what and who you are. No one gets to choose that for you.”

  “I’m just...” Tobin stopped. He thought back to seeing the Daybreaker for the first time, looking at himself eye-to-eye. “With the Daybreaker, I just—I don’t know how I’m going to face that. I already did once, and I got destroyed. For so many reasons. It wasn’t just that he was so much more powerful than me, it was that I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t do anything. I literally have no idea what I’m going to do the next time I have to face him.”

  “I understand that,” Scott said, “I totally do. But you know what? As crazy as it sounds, I grew to love times like that. I love having no idea how I’m going to succeed and keep fighting. When life kicks you in the teeth and sends you in a direction you had no idea you were going, and you have no idea how to get out? I love times like that. Because it’s times like that when you find out what human beings are really made of. You find out how strong you can be. Because you know if you don’t get strong and face it, you’ll die. Times like those? You find out you are capable of things you never could have imagined.”

  Tobin looked at the palms of his hands. He could still see the burn marks from the Daybreaker’s flames.

  “Life has thrown you a curveball, Tobin. And now you can get your butt back in the box and take another swing. ‘Cuz there’s no quitting. You have to stand in the box and swing.”

  Soon, after walking out of the garden and back into the castle, Tobin and his father were standing in the Ruffalo Rock airplane hangar. Wakefield had been using this part of the castle as his workshop, and it showed: the wide open, cement-floored hangar was now the home of over a dozen long, black tables, each of which were strewn with various tools, gears, metal springs, motors, circuit boards, and cartons of oil. There were also six large computer monitors on the left hand side of the hangar, each of them filled with lines of code.

  “Are you ready, Scott?” Wakefield asked, looking up from one of his workbenches and removing his welding goggles.

  “Yes,” Tobin’s father replied. “I’ve been gone way too long, and it’s time for me to go back. God only knows what I’m going to find when I get there.” Scott held up the Staff of Titan. “But as long as I have this, everything should be fine.”

  Wakefield stepped down from his elevated workbench, bringing Scott’s Chrono-Key with him.

  “Okay, here you go. All you need to do is take hold of this, think about being back in the past where you came from, and it’ll send you back.”

  Scott grinned. “Are you sure this is the one I came here with, and not Rigel’s Chrono-Key? I know you’re getting old, so…”

  Wakefield waved Scott off and walked back to his workbench. “Yes, I’m sure. Damn, I almost forgot what a pain in the butt you are.”

  Tobin watched as Wakefield walked away, then turned to his dad. They stood in the middle of the open hangar.

  “So,” Tobin said. “This is it.”

  Scott smiled, but tears welled up in his eyes. “There’s so much more I want to say to you, so much more I want—”

  “Don’t,” Tobin said. “It’s okay. I totally understand, believe me. You need to go back to your own timeline. I don’t even want to know what Vincent has been up to since you’ve been gone. You need to go back.”

  “I know. But that doesn’t make this any easier.” Scott reached out and placed a hand on each of Tobin’s arms. He searched for the words. “I know—I know I never got to know you in this timeline, Tobin. And I can never fix that. But I thank God I got to meet you here, like this.”

  Tobin nodded, closing his eyes, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

  Scott smiled. “I’ve only known you for a few minutes, Tobin, and I wish I could get to know you more, but that’s the thing. It’s what I’ve been thinking about since the moment I first met you outside the castle. I get to go back now and watch you grow up. I get to watch you become the man I know you become.”

  Tobin looked to the ground, crying.

  “You are great, Tobin. You’ve done great things. And you will continue to do great things. I know you will. I know who you’ve become, and I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

  Scott squeezed Tobin’s arms and looked him in the eye.

  “Face it. Face it all, everything that life throws at you. Even this. I won’t be here for you, but you won’t need me to be. You have all you need. All you need is right here.” He pointed his finger into Tobin’s chest. “Face it and know deep down who you are. To your core. If you know that, you know everything.”

  Scott wrapped his arms around Tobin and pulled him close. They stood that way in the airplane hangar for a long time. Tobin knew it would be the last time he’d ever hug his dad. But he knew it would be enough, if he could just hold on for a little while longer.

  Finally, they parted. Scott stepped away from Tobin and smiled.

  “So long, pal. I can’t wait to see you again.”

  Tobin nodded, quickly brushing the tears from his cheeks. As Scott clutched the Chrono-Key against his chest, he closed his eyes and tilted his head back, thinking. A blue, swirling energy soon formed around him, twisting around his body like a barber pole, and within seconds, the energy POPPED! in a bright blue flash, sending a wave of light across the floor and over Tobin’s feet. When the light faded away, Tobin looked to the middle of the hangar. His father was gone.

  “Well,” Wakefield said from his elevated workbench, “that must have been something else.”

  “Thank you, Wakefield,” Tobin said, looking where his father once stood. “Thank you for that. Without you, none of that would have happened.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t get all mushy on me. Geez, I’ve had enough of that for one day.” Wakefield pulled down his goggles and began delicately welding a piece of circuit board. “It’s a shame he couldn’t stay. Especially with what’s coming next. We really could have used him.”

  Tobin turned to Wakefield. “What’s coming next? What are we gonna do?”

  “Well, we’re outnumbered by Rigel and his team, for one thing. Damn outnumbered. That doesn’t even begin to describe it. The only way we have a chance in hell of surviving against him is if we even up the numbers a bit.”

  “And how are we gonna do that?”

  “The only way we can. We put out a call and we build an army.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Orion stood in the forest outside of the Fairfield navy base with his hands in the air. Keplar, Scatterbolt, Jennifer, and Chad stood on either side of him, with their arms the same way.

  “Remember when we said we would come with you guys?” Chad whispered. “I think that was a gigantic mistake.”

  The leader of the Rytonian soldiers stepped away from her squadron and stood in front of Chad.

  “Stop moving,” she said. “Stop talking. Do not take your eyes off of me.”

  The leader walked up and down the line, inspecting each person in the group. Finally, when she reached Orion, she stopped in front of him and looked him in the eye.

  “You,” she said. “You’re the leader of this group. Why are you here?”

  “For the scenery, mostly,” Orion replied. “Rhode Island is beautiful this time of year.”

  With his hands still in the air, Keplar looked down at Scatterbolt, shocked.

  “This guy, with the jokes!” the dog whispered. “He chooses now to start making jokes?”

  The leader of the army was not amused. “Oh, really? Sightseeing with these high-tech binoculars?�
�� She flicked at them around Orion’s neck. “Which were pointed right at that navy base?”

  “You know why we’re here,” the old man said angrily. “You know exactly why we’re here.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t,” Scatterbolt suggested. “Let’s just assume she doesn’t and treat the situation that way.”

  The grey-haired woman pointed at Chad and Jennifer. “Who are they? Why are they with you?”

  “They’re friends of mine.”

  “No, they aren’t. These two, I know.” She pointed to Keplar and Scatterbolt. “But who are these two teenagers? I’ve never heard of these two before.”

  Orion stared at her a moment. “Do you know who the Daybreaker is?”

  “Is that a joke?” she replied.

  “They are friends of the Daybreaker,” Orion said. “And if you do so much as breathe on them, he is not going to be happy.”

  The woman spun toward Chad and Jennifer. “What do you mean, they are friends of the Daybreaker? You mean they were his friends, before...before all this?”

  “Yes,” Orion replied. “They are his friends from Earth. Before he found out who he really is.”

  The woman brought a hand to her mouth, her eyebrows raised. “My god,” she whispered. “You—this could—this could change everything.” She stepped in front of Jennifer and Chad. “You two could save the universe.”

  Jennifer and Chad looked at each other, very confused. In fact, the only people more confused were Keplar, Scatterbolt, and Orion.

  “Everyone, put your weapons down,” the leader of the army said.

  Her soldiers listened and lowered their laser rifles. The woman turned to Orion and held out her hand.

  “Looks like we just found ourselves some new allies.”

  ***

  Three miles down the coastline, the leader of the Rytonian army (who the group now knew was named Ida) led everyone into a military campsite deep in the forest. The campsite contained several small tents set up around one large tent, which was more like a temporary building, as it was made out of durable canvass and held up by wooden poles. Even the small tents in the camp were no ordinary sleeping quarters—each one contained two sets of bunk beds and a table in the middle. There were also two dark green humvees parked around the camp, and even four black helicopters.

  “We escaped from the Dark Nebula and came here about a month ago,” Ida explained. “We’re cloaked here so no one can find us. That includes the people of Earth and Rigel’s army. You might not believe it, but not every Rytonian believes in what Rigel and the Daybreaker are doing. Not everyone thinks the city of Harrison is paradise.”

  “So you got out of the dome because you didn’t believe in it, and then came here?” Keplar asked. “With all your guns and helicopters? And you don’t want to invade Earth? Color me skeptical.”

  “Color me ‘I don’t care what you think,’” Ida replied. “We’ve been keeping an eye on Rigel and trying to come up with a plan to take down the Daybreaker since we first came to Boston. What—just because we look like them you think we think like them? You think all Rytonians are the same?”

  Keplar shrugged. “I don’t know. From what I can tell, yeah. Seems like it to me.”

  Ida led the group into the large tent. “Congratulations. You just admitted to the most dangerous way of thinking there is. That’s how mad men are born.”

  “I’m not a mad man,” Keplar replied. “And I’m not a racist, if that’s what you’re implying.”

  “Then don’t think like one. We’re not all the same, just like not all dogs drink out of the toilet bowl. Do you drink out of the toilet bowl?”

  “No,” Keplar replied. “Not for a while, anyway.”

  “Okay, then. So stop being skeptical of us and shut up and listen to us.”

  Orion looked around the inside of the camp’s main tent. It was filled with male and female soldiers, and also elaborate military equipment. There were radar screens and computer stations, and also crates of food rations and ammunition.

  “I’ve heard rumors about a faction of Rytonian Rebels who didn’t agree with Vincent and Rigel’s plans for Earth,” Orion said. “I just never knew how many there were.”

  “I’ll admit we aren’t many,” Ida replied. “But we’re here, and if you want to see what we’ve found, we’re ready to share.”

  Ida led the group toward the rear wall of the tent.

  “What is it you’re doing here exactly?” Orion asked.

  “Mostly?” Ida replied. “Finding a way home. A way back to Capricious. Like I said, we don’t want to live here. We don’t want to start a new home on Earth. We want to go back to our old home, and try to rebuild the real Rytonia. Not to mention we aren’t all that comfortable with enslaving the people who already live here.”

  Chad looked to Scatterbolt. “Well, that’s a relief.”

  “Husky-boy over there may not believe it,” Ida continued, “but there’s always been, for decades, a large group of people who never bought into Vincent’s hysteria and paranoia of the planet Earth. We never wanted to see our country and our people used in such a horrible way. And we want to do something about it.

  “When we first escaped, we were mostly concerned with finding a way out of here. But we quickly realized that was fruitless—even if we did get back to Capricious, Rigel and the others would find out, bring us back to Harrison, and do god-knows-what with us. We decided the only way to truly be free was to take down Rigel, Nova, and whoever else stood with him. That would be the only way we could start rebuilding Rytonia where it should be, back home in Capricious.”

  “Then I assume you’re here,” Orion said, “for the same reasons we are.”

  “I imagine so,” Ida replied. “A very big part of the next phase of Rigel’s invasion of Earth is being cooked up in that navy base. And if we don’t stop them from doing what they’re doing in there, none of us have a shot of ever being free again.”

  “What are they doing in there?” Keplar asked.

  “Growing things,” Ida replied. “Eggs, to be exact.”

  “What kind of eggs?” Orion asked.

  Ida looked toward a computer station against the rear wall of the tent. “Troy, bring him out.”

  A green-skinned soldier stepped out from behind the wall of the computer station, holding a leash. On the other end of the leash there was a small, four-legged creature. It was the size of a large bulldog, with a round body covered in dark green skin, tiny wings under its front legs, and the head of a gargoyle. It also had two horns on its forehead, a horn on its slightly protruding snout, and a short green tail, which was wagging behind it. As it stood on its stubby legs, the creature looked up at Orion with a big smile, its tongue hanging from its mouth.

  “What are they gonna do?” Chad asked. “Adorable us to death?”

  ***

  In the airplane hangar in Ruffalo Rock Castle, Tobin watched as Wakefield climbed to the top of a tall ladder. The white-haired computer whiz was working on something underneath a massive blue tarp; Tobin didn’t know what he was concealing under there, but whatever it was, it was as wide as a soccer field and nearly as high as the hangar’s towering ceiling.

  “I’m confused,” Tobin said. “How are we going to be able to do anything to help Orion and everyone else while we’re way out here?”

  “I told you,” Wakefield said, pulling his goggles down over his face. “There’s no way we have a chance of facing Rigel and making it out alive unless we even out the numbers. He has an entire army of Eradicators and Gores on his side, not to mention at least a dozen super-villains that we know about. They’ve all aligned themselves with him, and they are ready to fight for the prize of Earth. Believe me, these aren’t the type of people who are gonna back down just because we ask them nicely.”

  “So what do we have?” Tobin said, counting on his fingers. “We have me, you, Orion, Keplar, and Scatterbolt. And who else? How else do we even out the numbers?”

  “You have us,
” King Ontombe said from one of Wakefield’s elevated workbenches. “All of us here, all of my animal warriors. We will fight with you. Earth must be freed, for the safety of all of us.”

  “Okay, that’s awesome,” Tobin said. “Will that be enough?”

  “No, unfortunately,” Wakefield replied. “Not even close. But that’s where you come in.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re gonna ask every superhero in Capricious to help us. You’re gonna ask them to help us against Rigel.”

  “And are they gonna listen?” Tobin asked, skeptical. “Why would they? Why would they fight for a world they have nothing to do with?”

  “I don’t know. But you better think of some good reasons. Because in about ten minutes, you’re gonna be sending out a message to every superhero on Capricious, asking them for their help.”

  Tobin cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. That will never work, he thought to himself. Wakefield looked down at him from the top of the ladder with a smile.

  “You might wanna take some time and write some things down. It’s gonna be kind of important.”

  ***

  On the fourth floor of the Trident skyscraper, in the far corner of the Research and Development wing, the Daybreaker was standing against the wall, strapped to the energy extractor by his wrists and ankles. As the blue electricity erupted from his arms, chest, and eyes—snapping out at the doctors in the room like the angry arms of a demon—he screamed in agony.

  “Raaaaarrrrggghhhh!”

  A safe distance away, at the control panel of the energy extractor, Rigel and Nova watched Dr. Brooks as the doctor instructed the other scientists.

  “More,” Dr. Brooks said. “Turn it up more. Turn it up to level fifteen-twelve.”

  As the blue light from the Daybreaker’s energy pulsated and washed over the laboratory, the Daybreaker tossed his head back and bellowed toward the ceiling, his pale skin covered by strands of snapping electricity.

  “Aaaaaaaggghhh!”

  Finally, Dr. Brooks raised his palm. “Okay. Very good. Bring him down. Bring it down.”