Nemesis

by Christian Kallias

  “Oh, come on!” shouted Argos, to no one in particular.

  Smoke erupted from each of the head’s nostrils as all the pairs of eyes glowed red.

  I stand corrected; doesn’t look like it’s going to be an easy fight. We need a plan B, and fast, Argos said with a vicious edge to his tone.

  The Iron Fire swooped between them and the creature and unleashed a barrage of laser fire. All laser cannons opened fire on the creature, and quantum torpedoes blazed from every tube. But unleashing the full firepower from the Earth Alliance destroyer had little to no effect against the scaly armor of the giant space-faring beast.

  The hydra retaliated in kind by sending a salvo of plasma bolts that illuminated and swiftly drained the Iron Fire’s shields. The lights across the ship flickered madly and then suddenly died out. The engines shut down, and the Iron Fire drifted in space like a giant piece of metal junk.

  That’s not good, said Argos.

  No shit.

  Chris’ eyes flew open.

  What…what happened?

  Chase released his son. Long story, one we can talk about later. Can you fight?

  Chris grabbed his neck and cracked it. Yeah, I think so.

  Sorry to interrupt, said Argos, but the creature is going after the Iron Fire.

  They’re sitting ducks, said Chase. We can’t let it get to them.

  Chase exited Chris’ force field after refilling it with oxygen. Then all three of them turned into Ultra Furies and flew at max velocity after the hydra.

  Asrak’Vor scanned the data crystal with a device embedded in his palm and sent the gathered information back to his orbiting ship. He opened a holo-transmission.

  “Yes, Master,” said his second in command.

  “I’ve sent you a set of coordinates and a DNA profile. Have a scout ship go to these coordinates, and make sure it takes out the Olympian destroyer. Destroy it from within by sending someone inside to deal with the crew and take control of the ship. The Olympian destroyer is no match for a scout ship, and it should take all necessary precautions not to reveal its presence.

  “Once the operative is aboard, have him either destroy the ship or at the very least disable it so that we can retrofit it later. As for the DNA profile, you already know what to do with it. This is a top priority. I want this done right and done fast.”

  “Absolutely, Master. Thy will be done. Should we beam you back to the ship?”

  “Not just yet. I’d like to observe this place a little. We may have to fight these people in the near future, and observing their architecture and their art could provide me with insights on how to defeat them on the battlefield.”

  “Understood. We’ll be waiting for your beam out signal. Gorak’Shen out.”

  Asrak’Vor walked to the nearest window and gazed at the city. It looked different from anything he had ever seen. Many of the buildings shimmered in the starlit sky. They looked like giant amethyst crystals as if the city itself had been carved inside a natural formation but then perfected itself. Green was clearly a predominant color for Asgardians, who seemed to break the architectural rules with such grace that nothing appeared incommensurate. The symmetry and creativity danced together to form a balanced tune in all their details.

  Observing the intricate details for a little longer gave Asrak’Vor some food for thought about how to fight these people.

  Inside the throne room, parts of the design were mirrored in how the walls were carved with angular shapes and attention to triangular geometry. From that, Asrak’Vor deduced that the Asgardians were a focused people who had mastered an impressive level of technology compared to other races the Spectres had fought, eradicated, or assimilated into their souls pool. They would make a fine addition when the time came.

  “Who the hell are you? Who let you in here?” boomed a deep voice behind Asrak’Vor.

  The Spectre turned and saw an elderly Asgardian standing a few feet away. The man wore very intricate armor that gave the Spectre additional insight into their culture. Asrak’Vor could tell they were proud and strong warriors who believed in duty, sacrifice, and honor.

  “Don’t mind me, I’m just passing through.”

  “You’re in my throne room. Nobody gets in here without my authorization or at the very least without my knowledge.”

  Asrak’Vor smiled. “All evidence to the contrary.”

  “Guards!” shouted Odin.

  Armed warriors, thrusting long, glowing green lances, filled the room.

  “This isn’t necessary, I was just leaving. I gave my word I wouldn’t harm your people. Please don’t make me break that promise.”

  “I don’t care who you are or who you gave your word to. I would; however, appreciate it if you told me who the hell you are,” demanded Odin.

  “No one you need to concern yourself with.”

  At least for the time being.

  “I’ve had it with your cryptic answers. No one sneaks into my throne room and lives. Guards! Take him out.”

  All six guards pointed their weapons at the Spectre and opened fire. The concentrated beams of green plasma resembled lasers in their shape, but they packed a punch, energy wise.

  Each of the streaks stopped a few centimeters from Asrak’Vor’s face, and they vanished into nothingness.

  “That was a mistake,” said Asrak’Vor calmly.

  A black aura engulfed the Spectre, and chaotic whirlwinds of dark smoke danced around him, sending both Odin’s and the guards’ hair swirling around as if they were in the middle of a storm. The aura increased and was so dark it made everything behind it disappear as if swallowed by an invisible void.

  Asrak’Vor’s eyes glowed for a fraction of a second, and what happened next defied belief. Green astral projections exited from each of the guards, and in a heartbeat, their souls were snatched from their bodies. Pain was etched on their faces as they traveled and entered the Spectre, whose eyes flashed green briefly as Odin watched in horror.

  All six physical bodies, now only empty shells, collapsed on the ground, dead. Asrak’Vor snapped his fingers, and they disintegrated as if they never existed.

  Odin adopted a fighting stance as his aura radiated around the throne room with radiant green tones.

  15

  Nyx was running as fast as she could.

  “Where the hell are you going?” asked Ares.

  “To the cargo bay, we need to steal a shuttle and get the hell out of here.”

  “No! We can’t go yet, I need to gather more intel.”

  “Then be my guest and stay here for as long as you want, I won’t stop you.”

  “I just saved your life!” protested Ares.

  “You most certainly did not. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, though I will admit that your intervention might have sped up the timetable of my ineluctable escape.”

  “Be that as it may, you owe me, and you know it.”

  Nyx stopped short in the middle of the dark, cold corridor.

  “Show yourself, Olympian.”

  Ares materialized in his golden energy form.

  She wasted no time pointing a finger at him.

  “Let’s make one thing clear, Olympian, I owe you and your kind nothing, except maybe a swift execution. You’re the reason I’m trapped in this dimension in the first place, so the way I see it, if anything, you owe me my freedom.”

  “We don’t have time for this.”

  “Finally, something we can agree on. Now, since there’s no love lost here, I suggest we go our separate ways. I’m the last Fury in existence, and I don’t intend to die here for whatever fool’s quest you’re cooking up. Is that clear?”

  “You’re not the last Fury.”

  Nyx studied him with piercing scrutiny. “What did you just say?”

  “I said you’re not the last Fury. There are others, in the other dimension. As a matter of fact, they’re the ones I’m trying to get this information for.”

  “Why would you care about helpin
g Furies? You’re not making any sense.”

  “Look, I understand how you feel about me and my kind. If it makes any difference, I’m sorry for whatever part my race played in trapping you here. However, I’m glad we found each other, and it seems to me like we can use each other’s help. As for helping Furies, it’s best you meet them directly and decide for yourself. How does that sound?”

  Ares had chosen his words carefully, the last thing he needed was to reveal to Nyx that these Furies weren’t pure-blooded. Worse still, if she knew they had Olympian blood, she would probably lose interest altogether in their existence.

  “What are you saying, Olympian?”

  “Let’s start with my name…please.”

  Nyx sighed deeply. “Very well. Ares.”

  “That’s better.”

  “Are you telling me that if we team up, not only will I meet other Furies, but that we could return to my dimension?”

  “Our dimension, yes. That’s the plan, at least.”

  “Alright then,” conceded Nyx. “For the time being, let’s see where this leads us. Just don’t expect us to become friends.”

  Ares smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “What have you done to my guards?” said Odin.

  “I’ve ate their souls; though I suppose technically assimilated would be a more accurate description. They are part of me now and will live forever inside my body.”

  “Return them to their bodies at once!”

  “That’s not how this works. Even if I had the ability to do so, I wouldn’t. They’ve granted me their life’s essence, prolonging my own, and I can also access their powers.

  Asrak’Vor smirked. “In this case, that power wasn’t very big to start with, but I suppose every little bit helps, and I appreciate their sacrifice.”

  “Sacrifice? You’ve executed them!”

  “I could have killed both their bodies and souls, but I chose not to, at least part of them will live forever, through me.”

  “You’re insane!”

  “I’ve been called worse, but never by anyone who survived to tell the tale.”

  Odin growled. “I’m going to kill you!”

  Asrak’Vor laughed aloud. “Not going to happen, old man. You can’t kill me. You can try, and even though I can sense your powerful aura, you’re no match for me.”

  “You’re correct about being no match, but I think you’ve got things mixed up. I am the King of Asgard, the most powerful warrior on this planet.”

  “I have no doubt that among your people you’re considered as such. However, against a high Spectre like myself, you don’t stand a shadow of a chance. Maybe if you arduously trained for thousands of years. But as it stands, your soul is about to join the hundreds of thousands of souls that animate me and grant me near-limitless powers.”

  “We’ll see about that. I haven’t met an enemy I couldn’t defeat,” spat Odin between clenched teeth.

  Asrak’Vor smirked. “You have now.”

  “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

  Odin pushed his aura to its absolute limits and raised a hand to the heavens. “I summon thee, Gungnir!”

  A green energy-based lance materialized into Odin’s hand. He swiveled it so fast between his fingers that it unleashed a typhoon shockwave that darted toward the Spectre. Upon slamming into Asrak’Vor, the strong concentrated winds split and died out.

  Odin’s eyes widened, and his face turned ashen with fear. “That. . .That’s not possible!”

  “Your puny powers are a fun diversion, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut our meeting short. I would love to stay and chat, but I have an entire dimension to conquer.”

  “I’m not done with you yet!” exclaimed Odin.

  “But I am done with you.”

  Odin growled and concentrated his aura into his right hand, transferring a massive amount of energy into his weapon and threw Gungnir toward Asrak’Vor. The lance pulsated with crackling green energy, enough of it to take out a large starship.

  The lance impaled the Spectre’s abdomen, and exploded. The resulting shockwave knocked Odin himself to the floor while green flames engulfed the Spectre. Odin rolled several meters, his throne room rocking as if hit by a massive earthquake. The walls and ceiling cracked like eggshells, and large stones fell from the ceiling.

  Odin struggled to get back to his feet, panting heavily as the billowing clouds of smoke from the explosion dissipated.

  “To think I had that room redecorated not that long ago...That will teach you to invade Asgard and insult its king. How puny are my powers now?”

  “Pretty pathetic, really,” said Asrak’Vor.

  Odin couldn’t believe his ears and what he heard, and his eyes grew wide. “What?”

  As the smoke cleared, it revealed a still standing Asrak’Vor where the legendary Asgardian weapon had hit him and incinerated half of the room. The area around the Spectre was fully scorched, with parts of the ground obliterated. The Spectre hovered above the resultant crater. A small hole in his stomach mended itself as a viscous dark matter regenerated the missing tissues.

  “Goodbye, old man.”

  “Not so fast!” protested Odin. The Asgardian king’s aura exploded back into existence, and new lances came to life in both his hands.

  Asrak’Vor smiled, and his eyes sparkled for a split second as a high-pitched sound resounded within the room.

  Both of Odin’s hands exploded, and the energy lances vanished. He fell to his knees as he looked toward the ends of his arms—but his trusty hands were no longer there.

  “What the hell are you?” he said, his face deformed from the pain.

  “The future. Which means your end.”

  Asrak’Vor moved so fast it was impossible to see. To Odin, it looked as if he teleported. The Spectre ripped through the Asgardian’s chest, and in one sweeping motion grabbed and extracted Odin’s green translucent soul, which struggled to remain inside his body, but Asrak’Vor’s pull on the Asgardian soul was too strong.

  Asrak’Vor’s eyes flashed green for a fleeting moment after devouring Odin’s soul. The king’s hollow body collapsed to the ground, his skin color quickly morphing into ash-like tones.

  “You fought well, King of Asgard. Your life’s essence is now mine, for all eternity.”

  Asrak’Vor pressed a holo-control on his wrist armor and beamed out of the throne room.

  Athena walked into the hydroponics garden of her ship, the Olympian flagship and supercarrier Prometheus. She stopped in front of a purple-flowered tree. The psychotropic-inducing flowers weren’t fully matured yet, but that didn’t stop her. She used telekinesis to rip one from the tree and bring it in front of her nose.

  With a single thought, she ignited the flower and inhaled a deep breath of the highly pleasurable and intoxicating smoke.

  “I thought I’d find you here,” a familiar voice said behind her.

  She turned around. “Hello, Uncle. What can I do for you?”

  Poseidon smiled.

  “Just checking on you. You’ve been keeping to yourself lately.”

  “Looks like I haven’t been doing such a good job of it. But really, what is there to talk about?”

  “A lot, actually. We haven’t talked in weeks.”

  Once she took a second whiff of the smoke, there was nothing left of the flower but scattered dust. She released her telekinetic hold, and the ashes fell to the blue-colored grass below. She turned around.

  “I understand you feel like you have to keep an eye on me, but I’m a big girl, Poseidon. I don’t need your pity nor do I need anyone’s company.”

  “Who said anything about pity?”

  “Then why don’t we drop the act and you tell me what’s really on your mind.”

  “Look, Athena, you’ve been coming here often and losing yourself in this…activity. I think you need to talk about Menelas.”

  A single tear slid down her cheek. “There’s nothing to talk about. Menelas is dead
.”

  “We don’t know that for sure.”

  She wiped away the tear with the back of her hand. “Don’t we now?”

  “Chase said he disappeared into a man-sized wormhole.”

  “And that’s supposed to make me feel better? You may want to work on your pep talks.”

  Poseidon sighed. “I can only imagine how you’re feeling, but we all lost loved ones during the Fury War. In your case, there is still hope.”

  Athena also sighed. “Look, Uncle, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, but it’s unnecessary. Instead, why don’t you tell me why you needed my ship?”

  “I didn’t need it, per se. I was hoping we could spend some time together, the resupply run was more an excuse to do just that.”

  “Typical. I have half a mind to turn around and go back to New Olympus right this second.”

  “And it would be your right. But in this instance, we can’t do that, and you know it. I’ve already agreed to help the Asgardians, and we’re almost there. You know how much I hate breaking my word.”

  “Very well, but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy your presence. And if you really want to know: Yes, Uncle, I’m hurting. But talking about it won’t help.”

  “As long as you’re sure that’s all that’s bothering you.”

  She shook her head. “What else would there be?”

  “You tell me. I don’t think grief is the only emotion eating at you. Hence my worry.”

  Fire burst inside Athena’s beautiful blue eyes.

  “Very well, I’m angry at him, furious even! It took ten thousand years for Menelas to get back to me, and after all this time, he used my blind love for him to take me out of the equation just before the last battle against the Spectre. So, yeah, I’m mad at him. Wouldn’t you be?”

  “He didn’t use your love. All Menelas wanted was to protect the one he loved more than anything in this world. How could you not see that?”

  “That was not his choice to make!” screamed Athena. “I—I had chosen to…”