“I’m not sure yet. I must acquire more data before concluding whether my hypothesis is correct.”
“What hypothesis? Tell me professor!” asked James. The agent had not found the answers he was hoping for when he set out to Argentina to confront Lucius and was eager to know what the professor may have learned.
Professor Milton smiled. “All in good time my boy. I cannot make bricks without clay. You shall be the first to know.”
James rolled his eyes. Tell me Dammit! The professor had always kept his cards close to his chest and now was no different. James wiped the sweat from his forehead. He seemed to be sweating a great deal more than the older man. His mobile phone began to ring. The agent reached into the pocket inside his suit and picked out his phone. On the other end of the line was a distraught Stacey. Recognising the voice on the other end of the phone, James took a few steps away from the professor. Professor Milton had no idea of Chad and Stacey’s relationship as well as anyone else. James intended to keep it that way; although the old man was so smart it wouldn’t have surprised him if he already knew. The professor had an incredible ability to figure things out, and no doubt if he had learnt that Sergeant Coopers daughter was ringing his phone, he would eventually deduct the reason why.
“Stacey, what’s the matter?” he whispered. The girl struggled to get her words out; she sniffed and cried on the other end of the phone.
“It’s Chad. He’s gone…”
#
A week had passed since the funeral. Chad walked around James’ apartment in New York. It was set up on the edge of a large cliff on the coastline. Chad couldn’t help but think that James had hit the jackpot by being selected to have New York as the city he would watch over. Chad preferred it here far more compared to Paris. James even had a large balcony that overlooked the coastline, giving a great view of the ocean. The view is perfect, Chad thought. He could even see the statue of liberty in the distance. Chad made his way down to James’ basement, the place where his agent devices were kept. He had travelled from Miami to New York to see James in private, planning to wait until James eventually came home from agent duties in order to discuss the mysterious and increasingly chaotic events that both of them were somehow connected.
Chad had turned his back on the World Order and had no plans to return. He knew he was a danger to them and thought it best to track down Lucius on his own. He wished to figure out what was going on without the aid of the other agents. He knew James was connected to this just as much as him and he planned on asking his friend to come along with him on his quest.
The former agent walked down the stairs and broke the electronic lock that protected the door. There was a numeric keypad and Chad considered entering the pin number combination to unlock it. However, he knew that this might alert the World Order to his presence inside James’ apartment. He had already disabled all of the cameras on the property and he intended to sit tight inside the basement. He sat down in the chair at the head of the agent’s communication system James would use to report back to Professor Milton. He waited…and waited…and waited.
Three days passed and still there was no sign of James. Little did he know that, upon his disappearance, Sergeant Copper had ordered a worldwide search. He knew that Chad posed a potential problem and he wanted to section him off, at least until they could figure out exactly how Lucius was able to manipulate him. Chad suspected they might begin to search for him and it was, for this reason, he chose James’ apartment to hideout in. He knew that this was the last place they would ever look.
His thoughts dwelled on Stacey a lot over the past few days. He had disposed of his mobile phone when he left Miami due to the tracking system within it; therefore he had no contact with Stacey since he left her at Rachel’s funeral. He wanted to talk to her, more than anything. He knew he couldn’t though. He did not wish to endanger her and he knew she would be at risk to even be around him. He knew only James would be able to handle himself if he was to lose control again.
Chad heard the sound of a door open upstairs. Finally, he thought. He made his way up the stairs, taking care to move as silent as a shadow just in case it wasn’t James that had entered the apartment. Chad moved into the living room and carefully surveyed the area. There was no sign of anyone.
“I thought I might find you here,” said an all too familiar female voice. Chad turned around, and just as he thought, Stacey stood behind him. The girl didn’t look pleased either. She had been less than thrilled at the way Chad had just taken off without telling anyone. Like the others, she too had been looking for him. However, she was much smarter than Chad gave her credit for. She knew him all too well.
They both began to walk to each other at a gentle pace. Then Stacey slapped him suddenly, taking Chad totally by surprise. She was upset at the way he had left her. Besides, after all the secrecy and sneaking around they had done together for the past two years, she thought they were stronger than that. Chad looked up at her after the sting of the girl’s slap wore off. Her eyes were filled with tears. The pair embraced in a hug. How could I have ever left her?
“I’m so sorry,” he said, immediately feeling a deep sense of regret about having left her without giving a reason.
“Were in this together Chad. Do you understand?” she said, still hugging him tightly. They looked into each others eyes and a soothing feeling filled the pair. They both felt better just being around each other.
Suddenly, Chad felt ashamed. He could trust her, no matter what. “You’re something special, you know that?”
Stacey smiled at Chad’s comment. “You only just figured that out now?” The pair hugged once more. “Everyone’s out looking for you.”
“Thought as much,” Replied Chad.
“So what are you doing here?”
“Waiting for James to come back. I need his help if I’m going to figure any of this out.” It’s time to tell her everything.
They sat down in the huge living room in the apartment and Chad went on to explain as much as he knew about his childhood and also about his strange gifts. He wanted to tell her everything and no longer have any secrets between them.
As he told his story, Chad could tell from the bemused look on Stacey’s face that she had a hard time believing him. She thinks I’m lying. He didn’t blame her. If the girl had suddenly told him she possessed amazing abilities he would have probably thought her crazy. So he decided to give her a demonstration. He walked over to the corner of the room to where James had set up a mini gym. Despite his impressive strength, James still had to work out like a regular person in order to maintain his high fitness levels. Chad began to place the heavier steel weights onto a weight’s bar.
Stacey stood nearby, her arms crossed in anticipation. After placing the last weight onto the metal bar, Chad turned to Stacey once more. “Professor Milton says that James and I possess roughly around the strength of ten men. But he has no idea of our true strength,” said Chad. He picked up the packed weights bar with one arm. Stacey was a little impressed, but she didn’t think this was sufficient enough for the superman-like abilities that Chad had been bragging about. The latter began walking around the room with the metal bar in hand. “That’s because we always hold back. We had too. We couldn’t risk being found out.” Chad launched the weight’s bar into the air. He hadn’t secured the weights onto the bar properly and they all began to come loose, falling off the bar. Stacey gasped, thinking they were about to fall on top of him, crushing his skull, however, he was never in any real danger. Chad quickly began to smash the loose weights with his fists. The weights, which were composed of strong steel, crumbled as his fists pummelled through them. Chad head-butted the remaining piece as it fell, which shattered upon impact.
A small plume of dust had formed around Chad after crushing all of the weights. Stacey struggled to see him and had to wait a few moments for it to clear. As the dust settled, Chad stood completely unmoved in front of her. Stacey’s look was that of total bewilderment.
She could not believe what she had just witnessed. However, she now knew that Chad had been telling the truth.
“A very modest show of strength,” said a voice from inside of Chad’s head. It was the voice of his most recent tormentor, Lucius. Chad began to look around quickly in all directions, thinking that at the white haired man could be nearby.
“What’s the matter?” asked Stacey, who did not hear Lucius’ words as Chad had.
“Stay close to me Stacey, he’s here!” said Chad. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close.
“To think that he said such a pathetic creature is superior to me! It is insulting that such a weak being is held in such high esteem,” said Lucius. Again, the words were spoken inside of Chad’s mind alone, and Stacey was oblivious.
Chad’s anger began to build. He wanted to settle the score with his mysterious foe. He wanted vengeance for the death of Rachel, as well as an end to the nightmares he now thought Lucius was responsible for. “Show yourself bastard!”
Stacey could not see nor hear anything and she was becoming afraid of Chad’s behaviour. “Chad, you’re starting to scare me!”
“Can’t you hear him?” asked Chad.
“Hear who?”
“It’s him, Lucius! He’s here!”
“Look at you, cowering like one of them,” said Lucius, who began mocking Chad.
“What the hell are you talking about?” chad shouted.
“I may as well tell you now. How ironic it is, that only in your final moments will you learn the truth. Finally, father will accept me as the superior son!”
Chad brought his frantic search for his enemy to an abrupt end. It seemed some of Lucius’ words were starting to sink in.
“Ah, so you are finally beginning to understand…brother.”
There was truth in his words for indeed Chad and Lucius were brothers. The latter was the younger brother of the two, both sons of Kanto and both heir to the throne of Underworld. It was for this reason that Lucius held a bitter hatred for his brother. Since the banishment of Chad, or as Lucius knew him, ‘Shadow,’ Kanto had always ridiculed Lucius claiming he was the inferior son. During his brutal upbringing, Kanto would often berate the white-haired man, claiming he wished that it was he who had been banished to the realm of Earth rather than his elder son Shadow. Lucius was determined to prove his father wrong and he worked night and day to hone his fighting skills in order to prove his worth.
He accomplished his goal somewhat by becoming the most feared warrior in all of Underworld. Kanto had recognised his youngest son’s abilities to an extent and appointed him the General of the armies of Underworld. However, despite the fame he achieved within the realm of Underworld, his burning desire to be known as the superior son by his father had never truly been accomplished. Before the banishment of Shadow, Kanto’s close aid, the Sorcerous known as Harriet had sensed a fierce power within the boy. Kanto had planned to use the young Shadow to bring the realm of Alexandria to it’s knees, finally giving the king control over a realm he had been trying to concur for almost all of eternity.
Lucius had never possessed that great power, and despite his impressive fighting ability, he had never been able to bring down the Alexandrian world for his father. For this, Kanto had always deemed the younger brother inferior. It only served to infuriate Lucius further when his father finally sent him on a mission to Earth, to not only break the will of the people in order for them to be bent to the kings will, but also to bring him back his prized possession, Shadow.
Whilst Lucius had been carrying out his father’s wishes with elegant detail, he had no intention of bringing Shadow back to Underworld. In fact, he planned to bury the ghost of his older brother once and for all. He wished to prove to his father that he was the superior one. He would bring chaos and then order to the world of Earth, enabling his father to rule the confused and demoralised souls, but he would also kill his brother with his own hand.
“Brother?” said Chad. He was finally beginning to accept Lucius’ words.
“So, you have accepted the truth,” said Lucius. He wished his brother to know his true identity before he ended his life.
“What do you want?” Chad shouted.
“It’s not what I want, It’s what our father’s wishes. Your destruction, then your Alexandrian friend, and then this entire pathetic realm will fall.”
Lucius stood on a small rock formation several hundred yards away from the cliff embankment which James’ apartment was stood on. “Any last words brother?” said the white-haired man. The words were spoken directly from the man’s mouth but still had the ability to reach Chad from within the apartment.
Chad looked towards Stacey. “Run,” he said as quietly as he could. Stacey couldn’t understand what the problem was. “Lucius is here, run!” he shouted.
“I’m not leaving you Chad,” Stacey said, determined to try and help. She should have heeded Chad’s warning and she may have avoided what happened next.
From on top of the rock, Lucius held out his hand and began to focus on the area of the cliff directly below the apartment. Inside the apartment, the ground below them began to shake as tremors similar to that you would feel during an earthquake began to form. Chad and Stacey fell to the ground, the latter screaming as she hit the floor.
Lucius now revealed the golden axe, which Chad had willingly handed over to him at the pyramid in Argentina. He pointed the axe directly at the part of the cliff that was beginning to crumble. “How ironic that this weapon, the very thing that was destined for you, shall be the very thing that will be your undoing!” A strange blue like flare fired from the axe and headed towards the cliff.
Inside the apartment, Chad and Stacey could see the strange blue object hurling towards them at great speed. “Stacey, get out of here!” shouted Chad, but it was too late. The blue flare crashed into the cliff, causing it to break up entirely. The whole immediate area, including James’ apartment, began to plummet downwards towards the ocean below. Other New York locals who were nearby also fell as the cliff began to break beneath their feet. The sound of screams could be heard in all directions as numerous people fell to their deaths.
Chad held onto Stacey with one arm and gripped the wall with his other as he fought to keep them from falling off the cliff and inside the half-collapsed apartment that was now in falling. “Hold on Stacey, I’ll get us out of this…” Another blue flare crashed against the cliff below and what was left of the apartment. Chad and Stacey began to fall; rubble and debris fell all around them.
The remains of the apartment hit the water below, along with the pair of them. As the rubble sunk down, it crashed into both Chad and Stacey, the latter, being struck on the head by a piece of debris. The blow knocked the girl unconscious and blood began to trickle from her forehead. Chad spotted this and began to swim towards her as fast as he could. He got to within touching distance and held out his hand to her. Then a large piece of debris flew past him and attached to it was a large metal wire. In passing, it caught around Chad’s neck. Chad tried to get loose, but the strain only tightened the grip of the wire. Chad began to be pulled beneath the water and sunk into the depths of the sea by the weight of the large debris.
He reached out to Stacey in one last-ditch attempt to reach her, however, she was becoming smaller and smaller in the distance as he was dragged into the depths of the ocean below. After around a minute, Chad hit the ocean’s bed and a large casing of debris crashed on top of him. He was trapped…
Stacey floated aimlessly beneath the water. She was still unconscious and water had begun to make its way into her lungs. A hand suddenly grabbed the girl and began to pull her to the surface. As she rose above the waves, James, who had arrived not a moment too soon held her motionless body.
He desperately tried to keep the girls head above the water. She looked in a bad way, but there was nothing he could do for her at the moment. As he held her, he thought about what had become of Chad. He wanted to dive back beneath the water and
search for him, but he knew he couldn’t leave Stacey. She would not survive without him. After swimming ashore with the girl, James placed Stacey down on the beach. He listened closely to her month to see if she was breathing, but this was not the case.
James began performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation on the girl in a desperate attempt to revive her. He frantically pumped her breastplate to try and restart her heart and blew air into her month, but still nothing happened. The agent began to panic. He had never been in a situation like this before. His extraordinary skills meant that there was usually nothing that was beyond him, however here and now he felt completely helpless. People who had gathered on the beach after James’ apartment had been sent plummeting from the cliff top, noticed James and Stacey on the beach and a small crowd of people began to gather around them.
An older man, probably in his fifties came forward out of the crowd. “I’m a doctor. Let me help,” he said. James moved back slightly and the man knelt down beside her. He checked her forehead, and then her pulse and began to perform some medical procedure that James did not know. After a few moments, Stacey coughed water up through her month. James smiled; the look on his face was a mixture of joy and relief. Thank god for that.
“She’s not out of the woods yet, she will have to go to the hospital,” said the doctor.
Chad…“Right,” said James. The agent quickly realised his work wasn’t done either. He looked behind him at the sea and knew that Chad was still out there somewhere. “Alright old man, take her to the hospital. I’ll be along later.” With that, James ran back across the beach and into the sea, diving beneath the waves when it was deep enough.
“Hey Wait. Son!” shouted the doctor, but it was too late, James had disappeared into the waves.
The agent swam as fast as he could beneath the sea, swimming unnaturally quickly due to the extra strength in his muscles. He could also hold his breath at least six times longer than a regular person, giving him extra time to aid his search. That time would be vital if he had any chance of finding Chad alive he knew.
Clash Of Worlds Page 35
