by Ryan Dalton
Malcolm stepped between the jabs and kicks as if he were dodging falling leaves. Lucius redoubled his efforts, shouting in frustration.
Then it was Malcolm’s turn.
His elbow connected under Lucius’s chin with a boom and lifted him from the ground. With a swift kick, Lucius burst through the back wall.
Malcolm dashed to the hole and watched his enemy plow into the ground, carving a divot in the mud with his body and breaking through the wrought-iron fence. He stumbled to his feet, scraping the filth from his clothes.
Malcolm jumped the thirty feet to the ground, landing as if he’d stepped off a curb. Self-doubt had burned away, and he waited while Lucius regained his senses.
Now is when he pays.
Lucius caught sight of Malcolm and took a half-step back, his face a mask of uncertainty. They stared at each other for a long moment, like two figures of stone in the howling storm.
Stubborn determination clouded Lucius’s face. Snarling, he sprinted to the broken fence and ripped the bars from their welds. Black metal filled the air as he hurled them like spears. They cut through the wind, driving straight at Malcolm.
He slipped between them without breaking his stride, and they sailed past to punch through the side of the house. Stalking close, Malcolm batted away the last spear and grabbed Lucius in a vise-like grip.
Lifting the scientist off his feet, Malcolm spun and flung him back toward the house. Lucius embedded into the wall with an earsplitting crash.
Closing the distance between them, Malcolm locked molten eyes on his prey. “This is for my sister!”
He shoved upward. Lucius flew up like a bullet, carving a furrow in the thick planks as wood and circuitry blasted away. His body broke through the roof overhang and soared high above the house.
Malcolm crouched low and then launched into the sky like a guided missile. Slicing through the rain and buffeting winds, he slammed an outstretched knee into Lucius’s middle with a devastating boom. The scientist crumpled around his knee, moaning, the air crushed from his body.
“Would you have hurt her?” Malcolm smacked Lucius across the face.
Their ascent slowed, then turned back toward the ground. The house hurtled up at them with deadly speed.
“Would you have KILLED her?”
Locked together, they rocketed into a nosedive. Flipping them over until Lucius fell back-first, Malcolm drove his enemy down.
“WOULD YOOOUUU?!”
They smashed through the roof with impossible force, tore through the third level like paper, blew through the second, and blasted a crater into the bottom floor. The ground shook and the house shuddered under the assault.
Malcolm leapt up, towering over his enemy. “You’ll never threaten anyone again. You understand? It’s over, Lucius!”
Lying at the bottom of the crater, Lucius hacked and spluttered. The metal plate sparked against his chest, half of its knobs and buttons broken off.
“I’ll give you this, Malcolm,” Lucius rasped, chuckling. “You’ve got vengeance down cold.”
Malcolm drew in a slow breath and forced his fists open. Though it still burned like acid, he pushed the anger aside. Deep down he knew he didn’t want a man’s life on his conscience—even a man like Lucius. Back to the plan, then.
Plucking Lucius from the crater, Malcolm leapt high and sailed up through the house. Landing on the third level, he tossed Lucius to the floor and regarded him without sympathy.
“You were so arrogant. Now look at you.” He reached out a hand. “I’ll take the watch now, if you don’t mind.”
With a wistful smile, Lucius drew the silver watch from his pocket and gazed at it with affection. “I first built this as a multitool. After every jump, I gave it new abilities. You would be surprised at everything it can do.”
Malcolm shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me.”
“It should.” Lucius’s expression sharpened. “Because this is far from over.”
With a double-tap on the chest plate, thunder cracked overhead and lightning arced down in a blinding flash. The bolt struck against the plate. Its sizzling energy channeled down the steel cables, collected at the bracers, and fed straight into the watch. A massive beam exploded from the jewel and hurled Malcolm across the room.
He bashed against the north wall and stumbled to his knees, momentarily stunned. Stupid stupid stupid! You did just what he did—assumed you’d already won.
When the room stopped spinning, Lucius was back on his feet. He tapped the chest plate again, and a hail of lightning streamed from the sky to feed him its power. He fired again.
Malcolm moved to dodge, but the brilliant beam crushed him back against the wall. What remained of his jacket and shirt burned away. Skin and hair scorched under the assault, and he could feel the power he’d absorbed begin to leech away.
Doubt regrew in his mind. Did I waste my one chance to—NO! Malcolm stomped on his fear. He’s not going to win. I won’t let him!
Summoning his remaining power, Malcolm leaned into the beam and took one step forward. The searing energy exploded harder against him. He willed himself to ignore the pain and take another step. Another step and his nemesis drew nearer. He drove forward with abandon, forgetting his body, forgetting the consequences, focusing on Lucius and the desperation on his battered face.
Ten steps away now. Malcolm felt muscles tear from the strain. Nine steps, then eight. A rib cracked, then another. Seven steps. Six. Hot agony filled his senses. Five. He forgot what the absence of pain felt like. Every moment except this one disappeared. There was only the next step. Four. He marched forward. I am a weapon. I am unstoppable. Lucius bellowed in rage. I am your reckoning. The beam split apart as he advanced through it. Three steps. Two. ONE.
Malcolm clamped his hands over the watch, trapping the stream of energy under his grip. Lucius yanked back but failed to break his hold. Malcolm squeezed tighter and dazzling light streamed from the cracks between his fingers. For an instant, it looked as if he’d trapped the sun in his fists.
Seeking an escape, the power backfired and surged through Lucius’s devices. The bracers overloaded and shredded to pieces, the cables burst, and the chest piece vaporized in a flash.
The blast wave of raw energy blew a massive hole in the house, flinging the opponents in opposite directions. Malcolm tumbled head over heels and bounced to a stop under the north window. Sometime during their fight, it had shattered, too.
He lay among debris, the strange power completely spent. Thick rain fell through the window, dropping onto him in slow motion. He turned onto his side, dazed and utterly drained, and a welcome glimmer caught his eye.
The pocket watch rested face-down in his hand. He breathed a sigh of relief. We just might have a shot.
Malcolm drew up to his knees and peered across the twenty-foot gash in the side of the house.
Limping and stumbling with every step, Lucius dragged himself to the computers and tapped out commands.
“Eight minutes to shield failure. Nine minutes to final jump.”
Malcolm’s attention returned to the watch. Need to fix the settings now, so I’m ready. Flipping it over, he froze in shock. NO!
The jewel had shattered.
All that remained was a small round hole where the gem had once rested. Those blasts must’ve finally broken it. He sagged, deflating as the implications sank in.
There was only one way to do this now. The watch would have to be carried into the machine and activated there. Then at the last second, it would have to be tossed away to ensure that no technology traveled back with Lucius.
A task like that would leave no time to get out of the machine. He would be banished along with Lucius. So this is really it, then.
Hanging his head, Malcolm allowed himself a moment of grief. Today was the last day he would see his family, his friends, and h
is home. Silently he said goodbye to them all, wishing them every happiness.
With that, Malcolm shook away his sorrow. Time to go to work. The accelerator rings slid from his fingers and clinked to the floor. No tech at all—not even these.
As he began to rise, a shadow fell across the floor next to him. He looked up in alarm. Walter Crane stood there with a faint smile, offering a hand.
Shaking his head, Malcolm accepted it. “You never left, did you?”
“You needed backup,” Walter said.
He glanced down at the watch and frowned. His eyes locked with Malcolm’s, and it felt like a whole conversation passed between them. He understood.
“How long?”
“Maybe six minutes.” Malcolm hesitated, pushing down a swell of emotion. “And I do need something. Once it’s done, promise to look after my family.”
Walter’s expression tightened, but finally he nodded. “Of course. But I can help you now, too.” He beckoned for the watch. “I know a setting that may buy you time.”
Malcolm held out the watch. As Walter grasped it with his left hand, his right balled into a fist and slammed into Malcolm’s stomach. He teetered on shaky legs, gasping up at Walter in shock.
The old soldier socked him again, and he collapsed to the floor in a breathless heap. He clutched at his middle, assaulted by a wave of nausea. Fiery accusation shot from his eyes.
“Wha—?” He couldn’t finish. Please, not another double cross. Not Walter.
Walter confirmed that the settings were in place, then clicked the lid shut. His attention returned to his Malcolm and he gave a wistful smile. “You were right, Mal. I would have done the same.”
The horrible realization slammed into Malcolm. Walter intended to take his place in the machine.
“No!” he cried. “Walter, don’t! I’ve got to do this!”
“You’re going to be there for Valentine,” Walter replied. “You’re going to live a real life, free from all this.”
“No!” Malcolm reached for the watch. “I can finish it!”
“You can barely move. You’re spent.” Crouching next to Malcolm, Walter regarded him with tender eyes. “And you make me proud to be your friend.”
Malcolm stopped, taken aback by the honest moment. Walter’s face was the softest he’d ever seen it. Sad, yet somehow satisfied.
“The way you watch over your friends, you remind me of everything I wanted to be.” Walter stared into the distance. “I tried, all those years ago. Tried so hard to protect them. But I wasn’t strong enough.”
“Three minutes to shield failure. Four minutes to final jump.”
Walter cocked his head toward the voice, then looked back at Malcolm. “I’ve spent my life trying to make up for that. Every day, I wonder if I could’ve done more.” Rising, Walter twisted his fingers and the ring dropped to the floor. “Today, I’ll find out.”
Malcolm stared in stunned silence as Walter turned toward the center of the room. Steps away from the machine, he looked over his shoulder.
“Goodbye, Malcolm.”
Marching with the strong gait of a soldier, Walter circled around the time machine and strode into Lucius’s work area. The scientist faced a computer with rapt attention.
He turned at the sound of footsteps and recoiled. “What are you—?”
Walter smashed him in the face with a battle-hardened fist. Lucius rocked back against his table with a gasp. Leaping on him, Walter squeezed the smaller man in an iron bear hug and turned toward the machine.
“What are you doing?” Lucius demanded. “This jump must be carefully controlled! I need to make adjustments!”
“One minute to shield failure. Two minutes to final jump.”
He struggled against Walter’s grip. “Release me!”
Then Lucius saw the watch in Walter’s hand, its lid open and displaying the new destination. He froze, then exploded in a frenzy of desperate rage, screaming and cursing their names and tearing futilely at his bonds. Walter pressed EXECUTE and a sphere of energy emitted from the watch.
“Thirty seconds to shield failure. One minute to final jump.”
Walter broke into a sprint and hurled them both into the center of the machine. Malcolm’s insides leaped with them as they disappeared into the red vortex. The shimmering light of the time shield faded away, and the vortex shifted. Its blood-red color changed into a crystal blue.
“Shield assault aborted. New destination locked.”
Clambering to his feet, Malcolm peered into the machine. He could hear Lucius threatening and screaming and begging to go home. Walter cut him off with a sharp growl.
“You’re never going home! We’re going for a ride together.”
“NooooooOOOOOOO!”
A metallic glimmer flashed at the edge of the vortex, and the watch slid to a stop at Malcolm’s feet.
“Jump initiated.”
Everything went white and silence filled every corner of the house. The world hung in suspended animation. An instant later, a deep THRUM vibrated through Malcolm and he was blown off his feet by the backwashing shockwave.
Vibrations rattled the house and passed into the earth far below. Malcolm’s mind traveled with the wall of energy as it raced through the tunnels and burst from twelve crater mouths, lancing high into the sky once again.
The shockwave passed, leaving the tunnels silent and dark. Outside, thunder and lightning disappeared and the heavy rain slowed to a drizzle.
Alone in the quiet, Malcolm breathed a heavy sigh. Walter had changed the machine just in time. We won.
He lifted his head and studied the machine to confirm what he already felt. Walter and the vortex were gone. So was Lucius.
And the town was safe.
Chapter 31
The house twisted with an ear-splitting crack.
Malcolm roused himself from the floor. Something far beneath shuddered and the house lurched to the side. It’s going down!
Scooping up the rings and the watch, he dashed to the front window and hurled himself through. In mid-flight, he clicked a ring onto his finger. A glimmer of strength supported him as he tumbled to the mud and rolled away. Flipping to his feet, Malcolm sprinted across the street and skidded to a halt in his own front yard.
As he turned back, the towering structure imploded and sank into the collapsing ground. Rending to pieces, it buckled and folded into the deepening crater. With a creaking death moan, the fragments of Lucius’s lair disappeared under mounds of churning earth.
The last echoes of destruction faded, and silence settled over everything like a blanket.
Malcolm slipped the ring from his finger. For now, he’d had enough of being strong. Staring at the crater, he fell to his knees as burning tears streamed down his face.
I’ll never see him again.
Silently, he cursed Walter for leaving and thanked him for saving their lives. Wherever—and whenever—his friend was, Malcolm hoped he knew what he’d done for them all.
A profound weariness sank into Malcolm’s bones, as if he could sleep for a year. The surrounding quiet cradled and comforted him, promising peace. Allowing himself a moment to rest, he sprawled on the wet grass and closed his eyes.
“Mal!”
He startled awake, fists coming up as his eyes darted everywhere in search of Lucius. Overhead, the sky had cleared to a crystal blue. Valentine gazed down at him with relief.
“Oh, thank God!” She fell against him.
Malcolm wrapped his arms around her, tears flowing with gratitude that she was alive and safe. Somewhere, a bird chirped in the morning breeze.
“Walter’s gone,” he said through the tears.
“He made us go without him.” Valentine examined him with a grimace, her fingers tracing the scar on his chest. “What happened, Mal?”
Malcolm sat up
and noticed the Power Wagon idling on the curb. John waited inside, giving them a moment of privacy. He reached for Valentine’s hands and she helped him stand.
“Let’s find the others. I’ll tell you everything on the way.”
They would learn later that Lucius’s machine had overloaded the nuclear power plant, causing an emergency shutdown. With public power and cell service down, the twins couldn’t know which town to search. So they determined to try every hospital until they found their friends. During the drive, Malcolm and Valentine each laid out the events of the day from their point of view. They sat in the backseat while John drove the steel behemoth.
“I can’t believe this.” Valentine shook her head.
“I know. It just happened and already it doesn’t feel real.” Malcolm hung his head. “I miss Walter.”
She took his hand and leaned against his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mal. He was a good man.”
“He was the best.”
Peering to the front, Malcolm saw John glance at them through the rearview mirror. Tears brimmed in his eyes, too.
“Was it . . . did it end well for him?” he asked.
Malcolm flashed back to the look on Walter’s face. “He went out protecting his friends. It’s what he wanted.”
John’s shoulders relaxed. Though tears still fell, he looked comforted. Studying him, it occurred to Malcolm that he still didn’t understand part of the story.
“You look pretty good for your age, John.”
John’s expression grew uncomfortable. “Technically, I’m still only fifteen. Lucius’s machine pulled me in, and I just missed a blast that should have killed me. It threw me forward in time.”
“But you’ve been here longer than Lucius.”
“A little. I’ve been here just over a year.”
“We think that since he jumped first, his path split from theirs,” Valentine said to Malcolm.
“I’m sorry for concealing the truth,” John said. “I thought people would lock me in an institution. So I pretended not to remember anything except the name I adopted.”