“Ah-hem,” Roka said, clearing his throat loudly as he returned from putting out the fires on his ship. “I prefer ‘adventurer’ or ‘entrepreneur,’ if it’s not too much trouble. I’m more of an unconventional businessman, really. I provide a unique and valuable service.”
“Raiding transports?” Jazen asked.
“Raiding Rüstov transports,” Roka replied. “I go in and free host-body prisoners.”
“For a price,” Jazen said.
“A very high price,” Roka agreed. “I do good work and I expect to be compensated for my time. Nothing wrong with that, and there’s nothing illegal about what I do, either.”
“Why were you in jail, then?” Allegra asked.
“That’s a separate issue,” Roka said. “The whole situation was completely unwarranted. Not counting the warrant for my arrest, of course.” He turned to Jack to explain. “I tend to operate without licenses or permits. Apparently, that’s a big no-no in the Calculan sector. After my last job, I was arrested and sentenced to nine hundred and forty-two years in prison by Calculan authorities.”
“That’s a long time,” Jack said.
“I thought so,” Roka agreed. “But I was the only one with the proper experience—and the only one crazy enough—to go in and get you, so the Calculans lifted my sentence in return for bringing you back. And here we are.”
“Here we are, all right.” Jack rubbed his eyes, trying to process everything he’d just seen, heard, and remembered. It was overwhelming.
“For a guy who just got his life back, you don’t seem very happy,” Roka observed.
“That’s the thing,” Jack said. “I’m not so sure I did. I appreciate everything you guys did for me, all of you. And I really am sorry about your ship, Roka, but we’ve got a bigger problem here. It’s not just that I don’t remember sending out a call for help. I don’t even think I could have. I can’t use my powers on anything Rüstov right now. Khalix won’t let me.”
“Who’s Khalix?” Roka asked.
“The Rüstov prince,” Allegra explained.
Jack tapped his temple. “He’s in here with me. All the time now. How could I have taken control of a communications array and sent out an SOS without him knowing? I don’t think those messages came from me.”
“Who did they come from, then?” Jazen asked.
Jack turned up his palms. To him, the answer was obvious. The question was why.
“WHAT THE DEVIL ARE YOU ALL TALKING ABOUT?” Calhoun shouted, startling Jack. “Powers? Space-pirates? Who are the Rüstov? Wait, don’t answer that!” He held up a hand and looked away. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you!” Calhoun rubbed his eyes vigorously and got very upset when he blinked them open to find that Jack and his friends were still there. “No! I’m not seeing this. I’m not! Your insanity is infectious! I’m not going to listen to any more of it.”
“Nobody asked you to listen to anything,” Allegra said.
“I know I didn’t,” Jazen said. “You just invited yourself up here and—”
“I invited myself?” Calhoun asked, failing miserably in his attempts to ignore his visitors from the Imagine Nation. “This is my school! You’re the ones who barged in here and turned it into a war zone!”
“You better get used to it,” Jack said. “This whole planet’s about to become a war zone.”
“Is that a threat?” Calhoun demanded. “Is that a threat?!!”
“Relax, whoever you are,” Allegra said. “You’re not important enough for Jack to threaten.”
Calhoun nearly fell over. “I’m not important enough for him to— He’s nothing but a future toilet brush cleaner!”
“Toilet brush cleaner?” Roka repeated, his lip curling upward in disgust. Allegra scrunched up her face, clearly grossed out and confused.
Jack traded a knowing look with Jazen and allowed himself a slight chuckle. “Right. I almost forgot about that one. Turns out it might have been better for everybody if I stayed here and did that after all, huh, Mr. Calhoun? That’s not the way things went though.”
“Your fault, not mine,” Calhoun replied. “You never did what was expected of you, Jack. Never once.”
Jack shook his head. “You wouldn’t like it if I did what people expect me to do these days. You were wrong about me. Everyone here was. You people don’t know a thing about my potential.”
“I know you’re a bad apple,” Calhoun said. “Rotten to the core. I thought I was rid of you, but it appears that if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. You’ll pay for this. Mark my words, Jack, I won’t forget what you’ve done here today.”
Just then the wind picked up and the clouds began to darken and twist in an unnatural swirl. Lightning crashed, and a giant flying boat burst out from behind the clouds in the skies overhead. “Don’t be so sure about that,” Roka said, pointing up at the Secreteer’s ship. Streams of dark smoke flew down from above, and the storm winds blew with all the strength and fury of a hurricane.
“I’m going home now,” Jack told Calhoun. “Sorry we wrecked your generator again. If it’s any consolation, I’m pretty sure this is the last time you and I will ever see each other.”
Calhoun frowned. “I should be so lucky.”
The smoke grew to fill every inch of the air, and Calhoun’s figure was lost within the murky vapors. “We both should,” Jack agreed.
Jack felt Jazen touch his shoulder as the haze closed in. “Jack, when you say the whole planet’s about to become a war zone . . . do you mean what I think you mean?”
Jack turned to look at Jazen before he vanished from sight. “That wasn’t just a memory that hit me back there, Jazen. It was a vision. A vision of what they’re doing right now. The Rüstov are done with those burned-out Calculan planets. They’re on the move, and they’re coming for us. They’re coming with everything they’ve got.”
CHAPTER
4
Homecoming
When the smoke cleared, both on the marsh and in Jack’s head, he found that he was no longer standing in the swamplands of St. Barnaby’s. He rubbed his eyes and looked around at the deck of the Secreteer’s ship. It was flying through the air, with what was left of the Harbinger in tow. Jack expected to see the New York skyline and the Statue of Liberty off in the distance, but there was nothing on the horizon in any direction. He and his friends had been flying for quite some time.
Jack got on his feet feeling groggy. Up until this point, he’d been passed out on Jazen, with Allegra leaning up against his other side. Jack’s two friends were both still asleep, along with Solomon Roka. Jack was up before them, most likely because of his Rüstov connection. His bond with Khalix always made it harder for the Secreteers to wipe his memory. It was the one situation in which Jack was grateful for his alien parasite.
The Secreteers were the guardians of the Imagine Nation’s secrets and were the first line of defense against people like Calhoun finding out more than they could handle, but that didn’t make Jack feel any more comfortable around them. He understood why the Clandestine Order needed to do what they did, he just didn’t want to have to see them do it. For one thing, he had already had a bad experience with Secreteers creeping into his head, and for another, he didn’t like the feeling of being put under for any reason. He’d had more than enough of that over the last year.
Jack only felt better once he realized whose ship he was on. As far as he knew, there was only one Secreteer with a flying boat, and that Secreteer was a friend. Sure, she also happened to be the same person who had once nosed through his memories without permission, but Jack had forgiven her for that. They had bonded when they stopped the Rüstov spyware virus and exposed the Rogue Secreteer as Glave, the Magus’s master spy. Jack saw a hooded figure at the wheel of the ship and ran to her.
“Hypnova!”
The figure turned and threw back her hood, revealing herself as a tall, statuesque beauty with pale skin, stark white hair, and cold, penetrating eye
s.
Jack stopped short. “What the . . .? You’re not . . . Where’s . . .?”
The Secreteer gave Jack an impatient look. “Try thinking about what you want to say, and then saying it. It usually works better that way.”
“I know you,” Jack said, putting an end to his surprised stammering. “You’re the head Secreteer. Oblivia. I remember you from Gravenmurk Glen. I thought this ship belonged to . . .”
“Hypnova,” Oblivia said, finishing Jack’s sentence. “Yes, I heard you. I’m afraid that she’s no longer with us. She was expelled from our order for violating the vows of secrecy.”
Jack’s face twisted into a mask of outrage and disbelief. “You mean you didn’t take her back? She helped defeat the Rüstov’s spyware virus. She stopped the Rogue Secreteer!”
“Did she? I seem to remember the rogue escaping . . . with you.”
Jack thought for a second. Oblivia was right, of course. Hypnova had told him the only way the Clandestine Order would take her back was if she captured or killed the Rogue Secreteer. Everyone had thought Hypnova killed Glave, the Rüstov spy who had been masquerading as a Secreteer, but he survived. Jack knew that better than anyone.
Oblivia shook her head. “You shouldn’t have come back. Your presence here puts us all in grave danger.”
Jack held out his hands. “What else could I do? The Imagine Nation is my home.”
Oblivia raised an eyebrow. “Do you really still believe that? After everything that’s happened?”
“Leave him alone, Oblivia,” a voice called out before Jack could answer. He turned around to see Solomon Roka standing behind him. “It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure the Secreteers are still the Imagine Nation’s secret keepers, not its gatekeepers.”
Oblivia gave Roka a disgruntled “Hrrmmpph” and turned back to the wheel.
“Roka?” Jack said, looking back and forth between the space-pirate and Oblivia. “You guys know each other?”
Roka nodded. He had a hard look in his eyes. “We’ve met. You’re not the only one going home today, kiddo.”
Oblivia shook her head. “I told you before. This isn’t your home anymore.”
“Not your call to make,” Roka said. “Not for either of us.”
Oblivia gave Roka an icy stare. “Wake your friends,” she said to Jack. “The island is up ahead.” Jack turned back toward Jazen and Allegra, but Oblivia tapped his shoulder before he went to them. “A word of advice before we return . . . Don’t expect a warm welcome. It’s no secret where you’ve been all this time.”
Jack frowned and touched the Rüstov mark around his eye. Oblivia was, of course, correct. A whole new battle was waiting for him once he got home. Winning over the people of Empire City was going to make escaping the Rüstov look easy by comparison.
“Nice,” Roka said to Oblivia as he put his arm on Jack’s shoulder and ushered him toward the others. “Real nice.”
As the Secreteer’s ship made its final approach to Empire City, Jack stood at the front of the ship, leaning out over the railing with Jazen and Allegra, taking in the view in all its glory: the island, impossibly floating over a ring of waterfalls, that roamed all around the ocean. The massive translucent mountain behind it that framed the setting sun’s rays with a rainbow glow. The Imagine Nation’s diverse capital city, like six worlds pushed together, one from every genre of comic book that Jack used to read. What once was just a fantasy was now his reality. It was his home. No homecoming parade would be waiting for Jack when he returned, but the Imagine Nation belonged to him as much as anybody else. He was going to fight for it, and for his place in it.
The flying ship coasted gently past the statue of Legend, who was once the Imagine Nation’s greatest defender. Jack stared at the towering tribute to the fallen hero in solemn silence. One day in the future, or fourteen years ago, depending on how one looked at it, Legend would die at Jack’s hand. Jack had known this for years. He had always refused to believe such a horrible act was in his future. Now he couldn’t be so sure. It all depended on what the Rüstov had done to him. A large crowd had assembled at Hero Square, awaiting Jack’s return. Like Oblivia said, everyone knew he was coming and nobody was happy to see him. The people of Empire City watched the ship approach, pensive and quiet.
“Getting that déjà vu feeling again,” Jazen told Jack. “It’s just like that first time I took you here, isn’t it?”
“It’s worse,” Jack said. “Back then they were just worried about my Rüstov infection and what it might mean. Now they think they know my future for a fact.” Jack shrugged. “Can’t say I blame them. I’m the one who told them all about it.”
Two years ago, Jack had met Revile, a future version of himself who was supposedly the key to the Rüstov’s eventual victory over the Imagine Nation. One year ago, Jack had confessed that fact to his friends and enemies alike. His honesty and candor had failed to put his detractors at ease, and his subsequent abduction by the Rüstov had no doubt added to the problem.
“Oblivia said I’m putting everyone in danger by coming back. She might be right, Jazen. Nobody wants me here.”
An orange-white flash filled the sky, and Jack blinked through blinding lights to find he’d been transported directly below the sphere in Hero Square. “I wouldn’t say that,” a friendly voice told Jack.
“Stendeval!” Jack said, rushing into his old teacher’s arms as Jazen, Allegra, and Roka materialized beside him. A barrier of red energy particles behind them held back the crowd, for the time being at least.
“Jack,” Stendeval said, holding him tight. “Thank the stars.” He separated himself from Jack and knelt down to look him in the eye. Unlike everyone else, he didn’t flinch at the sight of Jack’s scar.
“There he is!” Blue’s booming voice called out. “Welcome home, little man!” Before Jack even had a chance to turn around, he felt himself being snatched up from behind and tossed in the air like a stuffed animal.
Jack came down laughing. “Hey, Blue.”
“C’mere, lemme look at ya!” Blue caught Jack and held him out in the air. His reaction to Jack’s face was the exact opposite of Stendeval’s. One look at Jack’s eye and Blue cringed like he’d just seen a bad car accident. “Yikes.”
Jazen came up alongside him. “Same old Blue . . . Worst poker face ever.”
“What? No!” Blue stammered. “Hey, I’m sure it’s fine,” he said, trying to recover. “I mean, it’s just . . . you know, it’s, uh . . .” Blue swallowed uncomfortably and shook his head. “They gotcha good, huh, kid?”
Jack nodded. “They got me all right.”
“Yeah, they did. That’s gonna go over real big here,” Blue said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Don’t worry, though. Sounds like you’re still you. That’s all I care about. You are, right? Still you, I mean . . .”
Jack shrugged. “So far. It’s been a rough year, Blue.”
Blue set Jack down on the ground. “Just take it one day at a time, partner. You’re safe now. Ol’ Blue’s always got your back, you know that.” The blue giant put up a fist for Jack to bump.
“Thanks,” Jack said. He pushed his knuckles into Blue’s, but he didn’t feel the least bit safe. Blue couldn’t protect him from himself.
“I also bid you welcome, Jack,” Chi said, coming out of nowhere and startling Jack. Falling snow made more noise than the Circleman of Karateka. “Unfortunately, not everyone in Empire City is going to share Blue’s enthusiasm. You must prepare yourself.”
“They’ll share his enthusiasm,” Virtua corrected Chi. “Just not in a positive manner.” The gorgeous Circle-woman of Machina touched a holographic hand to the mark on Jack’s eye. “Not to worry. I’m sure Jack expected nothing less.”
“I kind of figured,” Jack said, looking up at Virtua. The last time he saw her, the Mechas were rioting in Machina, and she was blinking out of existence. The Circlewoman had resigned herself to certain death if the heroes of Empire City couldn’t stop her and he
r people from doing the Rüstov’s bidding.
“I never got to properly thank you for saving Machina from the Rüstov virus.” Jack’s actions a year ago had been vital in stopping the Rüstov plot and saving Virtua’s people.
“I haven’t saved anything yet,” Jack said.
Virtua’s glowing holographic image changed color, turning into a cool, somber blue. “No, perhaps not. Still, my people and I remain in your debt for what you’ve done. I’m sorry your heroics continue to be met with such inadequate rewards.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Jack said. “I got exactly what I had coming to me.”
Jack’s friends all started talking at once, but he waved off their protests.
“I mean it,” Jack said. “I’m going to handle things differently this time around. I’m through lying to everyone. There’s no point anymore. It’s not like I can hide what the Rüstov have done to me.”
“There is nothing you ever need to hide from me,” Virtua told Jack. “As long as I’m in charge of Machina, you will be welcome there, and you will have a home.” Virtua turned to Jazen. “And you . . .”
Jazen bowed his head in respect. “Lady Virtua.”
“I’m glad to see you back in one piece as well, Commander Knight.”
Jack’s head turned at the mention of Jazen’s new title.
“You can thank Jack for that too,” Jazen told Virtua. “I wish I could take credit for busting him out, but he did more than anyone to get us back home.”
Solomon Roka cleared his throat loudly.
“And Roka, too, of course,” Jazen added. “He was the one who actually went in and got Jack.”
“Ah, yes . . . the incomparable Solomon Roka,” Stendeval said. “So good to see you again.”
Roka turned to Stendeval with a confused look.
“You know him, too?” Jack asked Roka.
“Everyone knows who Stendeval is,” Roka said. “Not sure how he knows me, though.”
“Your reputation precedes you,” Chi said. “Our fellow Circleman, Prime, was negotiating an alliance with the Calculan Delegation when Jack’s distress signal came in. It was Stendeval who suggested that we engage your services to free him.”
The End of Infinity Page 4
