by Chad Kunego
About the only good news so far was, it seemed like their target was maintaining a mostly straight line. He checked the time on his wrist-comp again. In just under two hours, he’d only traveled around fifty miles. Setting another waypoint, he looked around, trying to decide if he should keep going or head back.
I’ll give it another half hour. If I haven’t found him by then, I’ll head back, refuel, then jump back here. Should only set me back by around forty-five minutes or so. Just have to hope the trail doesn’t go cold.
Preparing to jump again, something tickled the edge of his awareness. Focusing, he tried locking onto the sensation, but it felt almost insubstantial. It was also approaching at high speed. The sudden realization of what it meant forced him to desperately pulse sideways, narrowly avoiding a huge icicle. At the speed it was moving, it would have impaled him if he’d been any slower. A small trickle of fear slowly edged its way up his spine at the near miss.
Son of a bitch! He almost got the drop on me again!
Shifting his awareness, he spotted the tether attached to the ice projectile he’d just dodged. Following it back to the source, he spotted a faint figure floating in the air approximately two miles away.
There you are!
He quickly tapped his mic, keeping his eyes on his target.
“HellKat, this is Newton. I’ve made contact. I repeat, contact has been made. Proceeding with attempt to talk to target. Over.”
“Newton, this is HellKat. Proceed with caution. Good luck. Out.”
“Newton out.”
He spotted the distortion from another salvo of projectiles heading toward him. Gathering his power, he pulsed forward, almost appearing like he teleported the distance between them. He abruptly stopped ten feet away from his adversary, causing the other man to jump.
“Hi there! I think we got off on the wrong foot last time,” he said with a friendly wave.
His opponent swung something up in a defensive motion. Rick felt his blood pressure spike, causing his face to feel like it was burning up.
Bastard! He stole my staff! And my combat spheres, too!
Reaching his hand out, he mentally yanked at his equipment.
“I believe that stuff belongs to me.”
In shock, only the spheres shot back to him. The staff remained firmly gripped in his opponent’s hand. Try as he might, his mental grip was unable to find anything to lock on to. Frustrated, he almost missed the sudden build up of static on his body. Instinctively, he pulsed several feet to his left, narrowly dodging multiple lightning strikes passing through the area he’d just shifted from. The flash blinded him an instant before an intense wave of heat washed over him. Multiple thunderclaps from the near miss jarred his senses, disorienting him for a moment. A moment later, the overwhelming scent of ozone nearly took his breath away.
Shaking his head to clear it, he trying tugging on the staff again, focusing all of his attention on it. For some reason though, it felt like when he was a kid trying to grab a greased pig. Shifting his awareness, he saw that the staff was surrounded by the energy void the other mutant generated around his projectiles, blocking him from getting a lock on it. Changing tactics, he addressed his opponent again.
“Well that was rather rude. Usually when someone says hi, the proper response would be to say hi back. Let’s try this again. Hi, I’m Newton, what’s your name?”
He dodged to the right again, the sonic boom he purposely generated causing the shards of ice rocketing toward his previous position to shatter.
“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD! I KILLED YOU! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? I MADE HIM SHOW ME HOW TO KILL YOU!”
Rick noticed his opponent was shouting so rabidly that spittle sprayed from his mouth. Pulsing again, he stopped directly in front of the mutant, slightly over arms length away. At this range, Rick could finally make out how young he actually was. Best he could tell, he couldn’t be more than seventeen, with strong Hispanic features. What was most arresting was the inner light flickering behind his eyes, almost like the green flashing glow he’d sometimes seen during severe thunderstorms. The flashes began speeding up moments before he sensed more projectiles being launched at him. Pulsing backward, he dodged several more icicles. Coming to a stop several feet away, he cast a questioning look.
“Can you at least tell me why you want to kill me so badly? I don’t even know you, do I?”
He sensed another projectile hurtling toward him. Instead of pulsing away again, he decided to test his new power. Spinning around, he accelerated his perceptions while whipping his hand up, attempting to extend his power through the void surrounding the block of ice rapidly approaching. He almost managed to grab it, but at the last moment, he deflected it away instead. He noticed it was much easier to redirect this time.
Not quite right. What do I need to tweak?
He almost switched to his violet aura again, but decided against it. Every time he used it, it not only overwhelmed him, it also drained his energy faster, something he couldn’t afford to do right now. Ducking another salvo, he waited for them to pass before trying again, this time chasing after them while dodging others that were being launched at him.
I’m beginning to suspect he can’t steer after he flings them. I’ll still need to be careful, but it’ll definitely make them easier to dodge.
Reaching out, he continued modulating his power, try to get a grip on the chunks of ice. With a flash of inspiration, he tried attacking the tether instead of the projectile directly. Visualizing his aura acting like a knife, he mentally slashed at the cord trailing behind the ice block. When his mental blade passed through it, the tether snapped back toward his adversary, causing the young man to scream out in pain. At the same moment, he noticed the void surrounding the projectile vanish.
That got his attention.
Grabbing the ice with his power, he tried using the same trick, surrounding it with his new power and flinging it back toward its creator. Spinning around, he watched the young man angrily swing his hand up a moment before a look of shock crossed his face as the ice slammed into him. Rick had been careful to aim for his midsection in an effort to limit the damage.
“Are you ready to talk yet?” he asked, watching the other mutant gasping in pain.
“I don’t want to hurt you, but you’re not leaving me much choice.”
“WHY WON’T YOU JUST DIE? HE SAYS WE NEED YOU, BUT HE’S LYING!”
Rick cocked his head in confusion.
“Who’s a liar? Who are you talking about?”
What happened next could only describe as eerie. His opponent’s entire demeanor shifted, almost like he was facing someone entirely different. He felt power surge around his opponent, but for some reason, another attack didn’t occur. Floating in front of him, his opponent slowly stood erect. When he started speaking, instead of the screams of an angsty teenager, what emerged sounded deeper, older. In fact, he’d almost describe it as ancient, reminding him of someone from his grandfather’s generation.
“Avatar of Inanna, my time is short. I am unsure of how long I can keep Juan under control. The pain you caused has temporarily allowed me to wrest control of his form, but his mind is strong. You need to heed what I have to say.”
Rick floated closer. Everything about his opponent now screamed unbridled power, but at the same time, he appeared almost regal. Shifting his vision, his opponent’s aura seemed brighter, but an odd little flicker of light seemed to be floating around him. Every so often, it seemed to swoop down before bouncing off his head. Each time, he noticed his opponent wince slightly.
“Who are you?”
“I am known as Iškur. The young man you have been battling is named Juan Manuel Fernando. I humbly apologize for his actions since I am the unfortunate catalyst for them.”
“Why are you,” he started before he corrected himself.
“I mean, why is Juan so intent on killing me?”
Iškur let out a long sigh.
“I had hoped to seek y
ou out to join forces in the coming war young dumu-dingir, but unfortunately—”
He suddenly gasped in pain. Rick noticed the light sphere seemed more intent on attacking Iškur’s head, swooping in faster and faster. Regaining his composure, he continued.
“I am afraid I will not be able to maintain control for very much longer. Juan is very ill because of the condition I found him in when we merged. You need to determine a way to stop him without killing him. The fate of this worl—”
A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the being in front of him.
“IT’S MY BODY! YOU CAN’T HAVE IT!”
A shockwave of energy blasted out from Iškur/Juan. Rick barely got his void field up before a wash of energy passed over him, forcing him backward several yards. Finally coming to a stop, he noticed a rictus of pain on his opponent’s face.
I guess Juan’s back in control. Let’s see if I can end this fight.
He reversed direction, flying toward the other man. Maybe grabbing his opponent in a bear hug while surrounded by his void field would be enough to weaken him. Just before he reached him, Rick saw him go wispy again, just like their earlier fight. Passing through the now insubstantial form, he felt himself get coated in a damp, clammy mist. An electrical charge began building up around him at the same time multiple objects rocketed toward him from several directions. Without warning, a sudden blast of icy cold air slammed into him from above, driving him downward into the path of more projectiles approaching from below.
I need more power if I’m going to fend off all these attacks.
Extending his senses outward, he tried to draw in more energy, but found the area nearly completely empty.
What the hell?
Twisting and turning violently, he managed to dodge most of the projectiles, but a sudden blast of lightning stunned him, allowing a couple ice shards to slam into him. Several bones snapped before he was suddenly launched higher into the air. Another icy blast shoved him back toward the ground again while arcs of lightning continued slamming into him. The continuous electrical assault forced him into the path of more chunks of ice. Struggling to catch his breath, he fought back the urge to vomit that welled up inside him.
Why can’t I feel any energy! He’s going to kill me for good this time if I don’t do something! Now!
Narrowly avoiding a block of ice that hurtled toward his head, he lurched to the side, trying to find any erg of energy available. He noticed slightly more energy was available now than there was a moment ago. Clawing at it, he started pulling it in when a third blast of frigid air slammed into him. As the numbing cold washed over him, the energy he felt a moment ago suddenly vanishing again. It finally dawned on him what his opponent was doing.
The cold! That’s it. He’s lowering the available energy by cooling the surrounding air! I need to get out of range of these down drafts!
Extending his senses upward, he detected another blast rocketing toward him from above. Gathering all his reserves, he dodged downward at an angle, trying to get out of the column of super-cooled air. He felt the icy column displacing warm air, causing massive upflows of energy to rush past the outer edge of the downflow. Focusing all of his awareness, he reached out, desperately trying to reach enough energy to escape.
A sudden scream from above caught his attention. Looking up, he saw Juan staring at him with an intense look on his face.
“FLEE!”
The voice of Iškur echoed around him before the man screamed again, gripping his head in pain. Rick ignored the blood pouring from his nose and mouth. Instead, he focused on trying to reach the energy outside the column of cold air he was trapped in. He felt another massive column of cold approaching rapidly from above, much larger in diameter than any of the previous ones. Nearly blacking out from the effort, he focused all of his energy into pulsing away. The last thing he heard was a primal scream of rage fading into the distance before the blackness swallowed him up.
Chapter 22
“NEWTON!”
The distant voice shouting in his ear startled him back to consciousness. The sound of wind whipping past confused him. Looking around dazedly, he tried making sense of his surroundings. For some reason, he was flying, but he couldn’t remember why. Looking down, he saw the surface of open water rushing past. With a thought, he came to a stop, the excess energy crackling in the air around him, recharging him slightly. At some point, his aura had shifted to indigo, but he didn’t remember doing it. Groggily, he tried to concentrate on what was happening. The ache of broken bones healing didn’t help.
“NEWTON! DO YOU COPY? COME IN PLEASE! OVER!”
The urgency in the loud voice made him work harder to collect his thoughts. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t remember from where. With a click, his mind shifted into high speed. At the same moment, he started free-falling toward the water below. Quickly overcoming his surprise, he slowed his decent. Coming to a stop several feet above the water, he hovered motionlessly while his mind continued to rapidly process his situation.
I almost got killed again… I got away, but how did I stay airborne while unconscious?
A quick mental flash provided the answer. In his mind, he shifted outside his body, watching it accelerate away from his battle with Juan/Iškur. His aura flared brightly while shifting from white to indigo. In a moment of comprehension, he realized that somehow, after passing out, his unconscious mind had taken over, allowing him to escape to safety. But keeping his indigo aura had cost him, leaving him dead tired and physically broken. Shifting back to white, he felt power start coursing back into him, making him feel more energized and alert. The crackling from his headset caught his attention.
“NEWTON! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? ANSWER, PLEASE!”
Rick keyed up the mic.
“HellKat, this is Newton. Over.”
The coarseness of his voice shocked him. A moment later, the radio crackled again.
“Thank God! Are you okay? What’s your location? Your GPS transponder isn’t making any sense. It’s saying you’re near Africa.”
Rick rubbed the back of his neck, extending his senses to see if he could detect the coastline. Right at the limit of his awareness, he could vaguely make out something that felt like a landmass. Glancing at his GPS only confirmed what he suspected.
“Yeah, uh… about that. It’s not a glitch. I’m probably about fifty miles out or so.”
“Wait, what? How is that even possible?”
Rick noted the tone of confusion in her voice.
“How long was I out for, exactly?”
There was a brief pause before she responded.
“From the time we last heard speaking until now, it’s only been about twenty minutes. That would put your speed well over sixteen thousand miles per hour…”
“Well, that’s not entirely outside the range of possibility at this point.”
“No, you don’t understand. That’s the minimum speed you had to be traveling. After we lost touch with you, you actually dropped off the tracking system, something that should have been impossible. There’s no way you could have accelerated fast enough for the system to lose you. You only showed back up about two minutes ago.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time I outpaced it, but that’s a conversation for another day. I’m heading back now. I should be there within the hour or so. I’m throughly wiped at this point, so it might be slightly longer. Anything I need to know before I go radio silent again?”
“Yeah, fly faster. NOAA is reporting the formation of a storm cell larger and more violent than anything they’ve ever recorded, centered over the spot you two just fought. I think you really pissed him off.”
Shit!
“On my way, Newton out.”
The air froze around him, a globe of ice nearly twenty yards in diameter instantly formed around him. A split-second later, it shattered, leaving behind a cloud of glittering dust as Rick launched himself back toward his teammates, trying to reach them before more people died beca
use of his actions.
§§§§§§§§§§§§
Kaitlyn clicked her mic off, glancing down at Rick’s transponder signal on her wrist-comp. He’d somehow already gone past hypersonic speeds and was continuing to accelerate. A moment later, he dropped off the display again.
We need to determine the upper limits of his abilities. Every time we think he’s hit them, he just digs deeper and slams through them.
“Is he well?”
Kaitlyn noticed the concern in Zarina’s voice.
“From the sound of it, yes. He’s heading back now, but it’s going to take a bit. He was nearly on the opposite side of the globe.”
Kaitlyn watched as Zarina slightly sagged in relief.
“Good. Our chances of survival were very low without him.”
Are you sure that’s the only reason you’re relieved he’s safe?
Kaitlyn looked around their makeshift base of operations. With a critical eye, she looked over their stock of food. After a few seconds, she decided they should have enough to let Rick refuel before discussing their next steps. She glanced over toward Zarina before speaking again.
“So now that we know he survived, what did you make of the conversation he had with, what did he say his name was again? Iškur?”
“Da. There was also mention of Inanna and Juan as well.”
“Right. What are your thoughts on that?”
Zarina paused for a minute, a look of concentration wrinkling her forehead.
“From our previous encounters, I believed our adversary suffered from schizophrenia or multiple personality syndrome. Now, not so sure.”
“I was thinking multiple personalities myself, but why do you suspect otherwise?”
She watched the other woman start pacing back and forth.
“From their talk, it sounded like he knew of Rick, but not personally. Like they shared common acquaintance. Also, Rick sounded like he was close enough to get a good look, but didn’t seem to recognize him, so unlikely they ever met before today.”
