by Lucas Flint
Beams gulped. He hoped that the man was exaggerating, but given how serious he sounded, Beams realized that the man might actually be downplaying just how big and powerful this enemy was. Even so, Beams found it hard to imagine how you could mass produce ships of that size on any reasonable scale.
“But what are these creatures?” said Beams. “Why are they here? Where do they come from? What do they want?”
“I can’t answer all of your questions here,” said the man. He walked past Beams, heading toward the other side of the roof. “We need some place safe to talk. The Elastic Cave would probably be a safe place to talk, because your boss is going to need to know this, too.”
“Wait, you know about the Elastic Cave, too?” said Beams, turning to watch the man walk away.
The man came to a stop and looked over his shoulder at Beams. “Of course. We know pretty much everything about you, because we’ve been watching your universe for a while. Granted, we’ve only been paying attention to you in particular since the West Texas incident, but we still have a fairly complete profile of you and your boss.”
“Why have you been watching me since I went to West Texas?” said Beams, eying the man suspiciously.
“For the same reason the Darzens—which are the aliens currently invading your city—are attacking your city,” said the man. “I’m surprised you haven’t made the connection yet, but I suppose it has been six months since then, so—”
“Six months …” Realization struck Beams like a lightning bolt when he realized what the man was talking about. “Those aliens … the Darzens … I’ve met them before, haven’t I?”
The man nodded grimly. “Yep. The Darzens want the Rubber Ball back. And they’re going to destroy your whole world to get it if we can’t stop them.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“The Dread God’s Avatar?” said Bolt, tilting his head in confusion. “Nicknacks, what are you talking about? You sure you’re thinking all right?”
“Apocalypse,” said Nicknacks. “Death. Complete and utter annihilation. Earth won’t survive.”
Nicknacks normally spoke very calmly and rationally, which made his nihilistic ranting extra concerning to Bolt. Nicknacks sounded traumatized, which made Bolt wonder just what Nicknacks had gone through since the last time he saw him.
Over a year ago, Nicknacks—real name N’ckn’ax—had left Earth in search of his fellow Pokacu. During the last Pokacu invasion, Nicknacks had learned of the existence of a group of independent Pokacu who had broken away from the Mother World’s control and went off to form their own colony somewhere in space. Nicknacks had left Earth to find them and let them know that the Mother World was destroyed and that they could come to Earth if they wanted.
Bolt had not heard from Nicknacks since then. Nor had anyone else in the NHA, as far as he knew. That, of course, made sense. Bolt was under the impression that the group of independent Pokacu which Nicknacks had sought out had been very far away from Earth. And without the technology necessary to make intergalactic communication possible, it made sense that no one in the NHA or on Earth in general had heard from the alien since his departure.
That was why Nicknacks’ sudden reappearance here was so alarming to Bolt. He had no idea who this ‘Dread God’s Avatar’ was or, for that matter, what a ‘Dread God’ even was. Yet if Nicknacks was telling the truth, then Earth itself was in danger of being destroyed by this figure, whoever it was.
“Nick, you shouldn’t try to move or anything,” said Bolt. “I’m going to stay by your side until help comes. The janitors sent out a Code A, so we should have help here soon enough.”
Nicknacks raised a hand and grabbed Bolt’s bicep. “N-No … it’s too late. They are already here …”
Bolt was about to ask Nicknacks what he meant by that when he heard a deep growl come from within the darkened escape pod. Bolt looked at the open escape pod, which was completely dark, but then two glowing green eyes flickered open. A clawed hand emerged from within and, grabbing the lip of the hatch, pulled its form into the light.
The alien creature which had emerged from the pod looked nothing like a Pokacu. It was a vaguely humanoid figure covered head-to-toe in thick, metallic armor. Long, mechanical wings extended from its back, while it carried a strange double-bladed sword in its right hand that was almost as long as Bolt’s torso. Two glowing green eyes peered out from the eye holes, which Bolt noticed were covered with glass. It had no mouth hole or any other kind of opening and it didn’t seem to have any sort of oxygen tank, which made Bolt wonder how it was even breathing at all.
“What the heck is that?” said Bolt in shock.
“A Darzen warrior,” said Nicknacks in a heavy voice. “Thought I knocked it out, but it must have just woken up, which is why it hasn’t attacked us yet.”
As soon as the words left Nicknacks’ mouth, the Darzen looked down at Bolt and Nicknacks. It had no human expression for Bolt to read, but when it pointed its blade at them, Nicknacks shouted, “Bolt, move!”
Bolt didn’t even hesitate. He just scooped Nicknacks into his arms and flew into the sky away from the Darzen. He was just in time, because a strange energy beam exploded from the Darzen’s sword and exploded against the ground. When the smoke cleared, there was a crater about a foot deep where Bolt and Nicknacks had been kneeling just moments before.
“Whoa,” said Bolt as he landed near the base of the Justice Statue. “What was that?”
“Energy,” said Nicknacks. He coughed and hacked. “Darzens can take their life energy and convert it into a blast. Very deadly.”
“Yeah, I can tell,” said Bolt. “Anyway, Nick, I’m going to try to distract that thing until help arrives. You stay here and try not to move too much, okay?”
Nicknacks looked at Bolt in alarm. “No, you should run. You can’t beat it. It’s too powerful. And even if you do beat it—”
“Nick, come on,” Bolt interrupted. “I know that thing hurt you, but I guess you don’t know that I graduated from the Young Neos recently and am a full-time adult NHA member now. I can take care of myself. You just worry about yourself, all right?”
Before Nicknacks could respond, Bolt laid him on the ground and flew into the air back toward the Darzen. The Darzen had jumped out of the escape pod by now and was looking up at Bolt as he approached, its unnatural green eyes following his every movement. The Darzen’s eyes reminded Bolt of a robot’s eyes, though he figured that that was just a coincidence.
“Hey, ugly!” Bolt shouted. “Let’s dance!”
Bolt fired a red lightning bolt at the Darzen. The Darzen, however, batted the lightning bolt aside with a single swing of its sword. With a flap of its wings, the Darzen launched itself into the sky toward Bolt. It flew much faster than Bolt expected, forcing him to swerve sharply to the right to avoid getting hit. As Bolt flew by the Darzen, it slashed at him with its sword, though Bolt managed to dodge it at the last second.
Coming to a stop several feet away from the Darzen, Bolt turned around to see the alien. It flapped its wings furiously to remain in place, though now it held its sword in both hands defensively, perhaps expecting Bolt to fire another lightning blast at it again.
He’s about to get disappointed, Bolt thought, punching his fist into his other hand. I don’t make the same mistakes twice.
Activating his super speed, Bolt rushed toward the Darzen. The Darzen raised its blade, but it was too slow. With a single punch, Bolt sent the Darzen flying backwards through the air. But the Darzen regained control of its flight and landed on the ground below as gracefully as if did that sort of thing every day. Bolt was pleased to see a dent shaped like his fist in the Darzen’s chest, though he was less pleased to see that the Darzen was still standing.
“You’re tough!” Bolt shouted. “But I bet you can’t take a few more hits like that!”
Bolt flew in a circle around the Darzen, launching lightning bolt after red lightning bolt at the creature. The Darzen blocked or deflected each bolt with it
s massive sword, but one of the bolts got through and hit the Darzen’s hands, knocking its sword out of its hands and sending it flying several feet away outside of the Darzen’s reach.
Sensing his opening, Bolt landed in front of the Darzen and began pummeling it with several super fast punches. His rapid fire fists struck every inch of the Darzen’s face and chest, sending it staggering backward with each mighty blow. He hit it so hard and so fast that the Darzen didn’t even have time to respond. The only sounds which came from the Darzen were the sounds of his fists as they smashed against its surprisingly tough metal armor, which was getting more and more dented with every punch.
Finally, with a yell of triumph, Bolt punched a hole straight through the Darzen’s chest. He expected to feel some kind of flesh or even mechanics, but to his surprise, it was completely hollow. He yanked his fist out of the Darzen’s chest and watched in disbelief as it immediately collapsed onto the ground at his feet, looking quite dead.
“Huh,” said Bolt. He looked over his shoulder at the Justice Statue, where Nicknacks still lay. “Hey, Nick, look! I killed it.”
Bolt expected Nicknacks to be joyful, but to his surprise, Nicknacks shouted in alarm, “Bolt, get away from that thing! Now, before it gets you!”
Puzzled, Bolt looked back at the dead Darzen at his feet and saw some kind of strange green energy rising from the hole he had punched in its armor, like smoke from a chimney. Before he could react, the energy suddenly twisted and began wrapping itself around him until it entered his mouth. Bolt gagged and struggled against the energy, but he was unable to break free of it. He could only feel the energy entering his body, flooding his whole being, making it almost impossible for him to focus on anything else.
Bolt wanted to scream for help, wanted to scream for aid, but all he could do was gag on the energy. His body felt number and number until soon he couldn’t feel any part of his body at all. And the pain only stopped when the last of the energy exited the armor and went into his body, at which point all of the feeling suddenly returned to Bolt’s body and he gasped for air.
“Holy crap,” said Bolt, panting and sweating. “What … what was …”
A sharp pain shot throughout his body and Bolt screamed. He fell to his hands and knees, but soon began to feel control over his body starting to slip between his fingers. First went his arms, then his legs, and finally his whole body. He tried to get up, but found his body entirely unresponsive to his commands.
What’s going on? Bolt said in his mind, because his mouth didn’t work. Why can’t I control my body?
That was when a voice answered in his head, a voice he had never heard before in his life but which sent chills down his spine nonetheless:
Because I’m in control now, human. And, although flesh-based bodies are normally pathetic, this one seems fitter and stronger than my old suit of armor. It will be useful for helping to bring the Dread God back to life.
No way … said Bolt. You’re not …
But I am, said the voice. I am the very same Darzen you just ‘killed.’ Now I am in your body, in your head, in your very soul. And there’s nothing you can do about it other than watch helplessly as I conquer your world in the name of my god. Rejoice, for few mortals are ever granted such stupendous pleasures.
CHAPTER FIVE
Less than half an hour later, Beams and the mysterious man who claimed to be from another universe appeared in front of the false storefront entrance to the Elastic Cave, which was Rubberman’s hideout and base. By ‘appeared,’ it was more like stepped, because the mysterious man used a strange device he called a ‘dimension hopper’ which allowed him to open a dimensional portal from one location to the next. According to the man, the device could be used for ‘intradimensional’ traveling as well as ‘interdimensional’ traveling, which made no sense to Beams, but when the man actually activated the device, all of Beams’ skepticism vanished immediately.
But they didn’t leave immediately. The man allowed Beams to put on his costume first, which required finding a secluded back alley where he could suit up without fear of being seen. Of course, that was probably unnecessary, given how most of the inhabitants of Golden City were too distracted by the invading alien force to care about Beams’ secret identity, but he did it just to be safe.
Stepping through the portal, Beams could not believe how quickly they had traveled from one point in the city to the other. He looked around and saw that they were definitely at the false storefront entrance to the Elastic Cave. He looked over his shoulder as the man stepped through the portal and closed it behind them, probably to make sure that none of the Kakarr bats followed them through.
“That dimension hopper of yours is absolutely amazing,” said Beams as the man tapped on its touch screen a few times. “I’ve read a lot of science fiction novels that deal with dimension-hopping, but I didn’t think it was even possible in real life.”
The man smiled. “Now are you willing to believe that the multiverse is real? Or am I going to have to take you on a dimension-hopping trip to different universes to prove it?”
Beams shook his head rapidly. “No, no, I believe now. You might have a hard time convincing my boss, though. Rubberman’s a bit more skeptical than me.”
“He’ll believe soon enough,” said the man. “He’ll have to if he wants to save not just Golden City, but the entire planet.”
“Then let’s go in,” said Beams. “I bet Rubberman is already worried about me. Got to make sure he knows I’m safe.”
Beams entered the false storefront, holding the door open for the man. The two of them then stepped over into the center of the empty room, where Beams pressed a button on the control panel and soon they both began descending into the Cave. The man looked a little claustrophobic as they descended, but Beams was too busy figuring out how to explain the situation to Rubberman to care about that.
Finally, there was a small ding and the elevator came to a stop. As soon as the doors opened, Beams walked out of the elevator and said, “Rubberman, Adams, I’m here! And I’ve got someone who knows what those aliens want, too!”
Beams was pleased to see Rubberman and Adams, his butler and assistant, standing in front of Mission Control, which had several monitors displaying many different news channels and websites, which was how Rubberman kept up to date on local crimes. But now, every monitor showed the exact same thing: Footage of the Darzen alien attack on Golden City, with news reporters all trying to explain to viewers what was going on. One of the monitors even showed a news reporter who appeared to be there in real time, talking rapidly into the camera before a Kakarr appeared out of nowhere and smashed its claw into the camera, causing that monitor to go blank before Rubberman switched the channel to another news station that was still active.
As soon as Beams stepped inside, Rubberman looked at him and said, “Beams! You’re safe. Thank God. I thought that the aliens might have gotten you because I couldn’t call you on your phone.”
“No, I’m fine,” said Beams, shaking his head. “My phone is still dead, but—”
“Your phone probably isn’t dead,” said the man as he stepped out of the elevator behind Beams. “The Darzens are likely jamming any and all communication signals within the city. They probably don’t want the city’s inhabitants to organize against them or call for help. Standard Darzen invasion tactic.”
Rubberman rose from his chair in front of Mission Control and turned to face Beams and the man, a frown on his face. “And just who are you and how do you know so much about these, uh, ‘Darzens,’ I think you called them?”
“He’s the guy who saved me from the alien that attacked me,” said Beams. “He’s, um—”
“Space,” said the man. “Jason Space, but you can call me Mr. Space if you want. It’s what everyone else does.”
“Mr. Space,” Rubberman repeated with a frown on his face. “Are you a superhero? I know of a Mr. Star, but I’ve never heard of a Mr. Space. Got a license?”
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��I’m not a superhero, sorry,” said Mr. Space. “I just prefer to go by that name because it’s cool, though it would make a good superhero name, wouldn’t it?”
“If you’re not a superhero, then what are you?” said Rubberman. “And how do you know so much about these aliens?”
“I’m a member of the group known as the Interdimensional Elite Agency, or IEA for short,” said Mr. Space. “We protect the multiverse from all kinds of nasty threats, including the Darzens. Here’s my holo card as proof.”
Mr. Space tapped the touch screen on his arm and a holographic card, not much bigger than Beams’ own sidekick license, flashed out of it. The holographic card featured a smiling Mr. Space who had much longer hair than the one in the room with them, though his face was exactly the same. There were also a whole bunch of numbers and letters on the card, but they were in a language that Beams couldn’t read, one that looked like no Earth language he had ever seen.
“You … protect the multiverse?” said Rubberman. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “But multiverse theory is just a theory. No scientist has ever been able to prove it.”
“He’s the real deal, boss,” Beams said. “We just used a dimension hopper to cross half the city. Mr. Space, want to show it off?”
“Sure,” said Mr. Space. “Watch and be amazed.”
Mr. Space tapped his touch screen a few times and a dimensional portal opened before him. He stepped through the portal and reappeared through another portal on the other side of the room, bowing a couple of times as both portals closed at roughly the same time.
“See?” said Mr. Space. “And I can do a lot more than that. I can cross entire universes with this device, which is how I got here in the first place.”
Rubberman stared at Mr. Space in amazement. “You mean you’re from a universe where technology has advanced to the point where you can open portals to other universes with a device not much bigger than a wrist watch?”