by Nolan Fury
“It takes a certain amount of my power to move between the dimensions. Sometimes there is more friction than expected, and sometimes there are unanticipated fluctuations in the dimensional barriers.”
“I know, I know. We could end up in non-space—”
“Or scattered, our atoms spread across multiple dimensions—” Chrome added.
“I know. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“And I took that risk to bring you back here,” Surge said.
“But you’re not willing to take that risk now?” I asked.
“I didn’t say that.” Surge paused. “I just want you to fully realize that you’re not going to be the same when you go back to Earth. You’re not going to be who you are now. You might have some of your power, but it will be very limited.”
I didn’t particularly like the sound of that. “And you’re saying this because…?”
“Because I’m not sure how effective you will be in solving whatever your friend’s problem is. You can get hurt way easier back on Earth than you can here.”
I smiled. “Ah, you care.”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “Don’t be an asshole. Of course I care. That should be abundantly clear by now.” The veins in her neck were starting to bulge, and her cheeks were beginning to flush. She was getting a little upset.
“Okay. Ease up.” I don’t think she liked being told to ease up. I paused a moment. “I’m sure it’s no big deal. He probably needs help with calculus or something stupid like that.”
“I think it’s a little bit more than that,” Surge said.
“I’m sure I can find someone to take me if you don’t want to.”
Now the veins in her neck were really bulging. “You don’t really think we are going to let you go back to Earth without us, do you?”
A sly grin curled on my lips. “No.”
The girls exchanged a glance.
My stat screen displayed two buttons, one for yes, one for no. I didn’t have to think too hard about which one I was going to press.
7
“We’ve got a problem,” Zepha said with a worried look.
We had barely made it in the door of the apartment. I hadn’t had a chance to tell her about the proposed journey to Earth.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Ranger is gone.”
“So?” I got along with Ranger, but it didn’t bother me that he was gone. I couldn’t figure what she was getting so freaked out about. It was a Friday night. Of course he’d be gone.
She looked at me, exasperated that I didn’t share her same level of concern. “He took the tri-stone!”
Now she had my full attention. My eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m positive. It’s not where we agreed to keep it.”
My face twisted, perplexed. “I don’t understand. Why would he take it?”
Of all the sacred gyms in the universe, the tri-stone was perhaps one of the most powerful. It could take away a super’s power. It was a way of keeping things in check. We have agreed only to use it in instances of dire emergency. Ranger didn’t trust me to have sole possession of the stone, so he and Zepha became its caretaker. They hid it in a location undisclosed to me. Together with this tri-tone, and the fragment in my ring, I wielded the potential to become the most powerful super in the universe, and that was unsettling to some. Especially Ranger.
“Maybe he moved it for safekeeping?” I said, trying to maintain my optimism.
“No. I should have picked up on this sooner. He’d been growing increasingly concerned about it. I thought he was just overanalyzing things as usual.”
“You don’t think he’s going to use that for nefarious purposes, do you?” I asked.
Zepha shook her head. “I don’t think that’s in Ranger's nature. But I’ve been wrong before.” She paused for a moment, pondering the situation. “I think he wants to destroy it.”
“It can’t be destroyed,” I said.
“Maybe he found a way. Or maybe he found a way to hide it forever. Who knows?” Zepha said.
“Do you have any idea where he may have gone?” I asked.
Zepha was silent for a long moment as she lost herself in thought. “He asked me about the Never-verse a few weeks ago. Asked me if I knew anything about it. Maybe he thinks he can destroy it there.”
“Doesn’t he understand that without that stone, the universe is extremely vulnerable?” I asked.
“I think he sees it the other way around.” Zepha bit her lip as she thought. “We need to find a ship and go after him. He’s taken the StarHawk.”
I was torn. Ranger running off with the tri-stone was a major concern. But if Curtis really needed my help, I couldn’t abandon him. “Do you think you could go after him?”
She looked at me, incredulous. Her eyes wide. “Excuse me? Is this not important enough for you to waste your time on?”
“No, no. Not at all. I’m just thinking, you have a good relationship with him. He’ll feel less threatened if it’s just you.”
Her eyes narrowed at me, not buying my bullshit. “What’s going on?”
“He wants to go back to Earth,” Chrome said.
“Why would you want to go to that shithole?”
“It’s not a shithole.”
Surge explained the situation to her.
“I think you’re making a mistake,” Zepha said. “This is way more important.”
“Curtis is my best friend. He’d be there for me in a heartbeat.”
Zepha exchanged a glance with Chrome and Surge. “Did you adequately explain to him that he’s lost his mind? He knows he’s going to have very little in the way of superpowers when he returns, right?”
Surge shrugged. “He knows.”
“And you two are encouraging this?”
“Encourage may be a strong word,” Surge said. “But I’m not going to let him go alone.”
“So, I guess I’m the only one who gives a shit about saving the Ultraverse.” Zepha stormed out in a huff. She slammed the door behind her, rattling the walls.
“What’s up her ass?” I muttered.
“Nothing lately,” Chrome said, snidely. “That’s part of the problem. She’d be a lot less tense if she got a good lay.”
“Believe me, I’ve tried. But I always get shot down in flames.”
“She’s afraid of the competition,” Chrome said with a naughty grin.
I sighed, conflicted. “What do you both think?”
“Honestly? I think she’s better off going after Ranger alone. He doesn’t particularly like you. He knows we’re going to be on your side. He feels outnumbered. That’s probably why he took the stone.” Surge paused. “You gotta understand, Professor Zyrco was grooming him to be a powerful super. When you arrived, the focus changed. I’m sure he feels slighted and threatened.”
“I’m with Surge,” Chrome said. “Zepha can handle Ranger. Besides, he’s already got a head start. If he’s off to destroy the stone, there’s nothing we can do to stop him. He’ll beat us to the Never-verse. I say we go see what kind of trouble your friend is in. If it’s nothing major, we can come right back and connect with Zepha.”
“There is a third possibility we haven’t thought of,” Surge said. “What if he intends on using the tri-stone?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“What if his intention is to take away your power?”
“I hadn’t really thought about that.” My brow knitted as I thought about the likelihood of Ranger using the stone to attack me. “I don’t think he’d do that.”
“I don’t think I’d take the chance,” Chrome said.
8
The three of us clasped hands. I felt Surge’s power flow through me. Warmth radiated up my forearms, through my shoulder, across my chest, and down my other arm. The circuit completed with Chrome.
Wind swirled around us. A flash of light filled the room. My body seemed to de-materialize. I was drifting through time an
d space. My body was without form. We drifted to the cosmos, at one with the universe. It was like a strange acid trip. Then, with another flash, I crashed to the ground.
The air was hot and thick. I pushed away from the concrete and staggered to my feet. I blinked my eyes a few times and glanced around, taking in my surroundings. I was back in the same alley on campus where Surge had found me.
It took a second for my vision to focus. An orange mercury vapor light flickered overhead, casting long shadows in the alley. The dumpsters were overflowing, and bits of newspaper fluttered in the breeze.
“Are you okay?” Surge asked.
I nodded.
Chrome looked at me and laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
It didn’t take too long for me to realize what she was laughing at. My clothes were too big. The sleeves dangled over my hands, and my pants bunched up around my ankles. I looked like a little kid in a Halloween costume, wearing a superhero suit that just didn’t fit anymore.
I cringed. Coming back to Earth had made me revert to my original physical form. I was no longer the Greek Adonis that commanded the attention of the opposite sex. I felt small and insecure.
Chrome reached out her hand and tousled my hair, in the way that you would mess up your little brother’s hair.
I brushed her hand away. “Cut it out.”
“No need to get all defensive,” she said. She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “It’s okay. You’re pretty cute for a geek. I still love you.”
I frowned at her.
“As long as your dick’s still huge.” Chrome grabbed my package. She didn’t look impressed. “It will grow, won’t it?” She said with hopeful eyes.
I scowled at her. “It grows. I can assure you. Besides, it’s not the blade, it’s the skill of the swordsman.”
“You can stab me anytime, baby,” Surge said, cozying up to me.
“Good to know someone still appreciates me,” I said.
Chrome rolled her eyes. “Lighten up. You’re too sensitive.”
“Hey, I may have some lingering issues about my former self.”
“It’s what’s inside that counts,” Surge said.
Chrome’s eyes narrowed at her. She didn’t like the fact that Surge was taking the opportunity to make her look like an ass. “Guys, I’m just teasing him. You know I’d still love you, even if you turned into a toad.”
I smiled.
“But we need to get you some new clothes,” she said. “You look ridiculous.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
We left the alley and headed across campus to the dorm room. There was the usual amount of foot traffic out for a Friday night. Students with backpacks roamed the campus like zombies, bleary-eyed from studying for exams.
Shit!
Exams!
Since I left Earth, I hadn’t given exams a second thought. But now that I was back, I suddenly felt the responsibility of my old life. I wasn’t sure how long I had been gone. And I didn’t know how time would translate between Earth and the Ultraverse. I was pretty sure that I had been gone for a few months.
Kingston Hall was not the nicest of dorms on campus. But, there was never a dull moment. Someone was always throwing a party, and the RAs didn’t much seem to care what went on as long as things didn’t get to outrageous.
We strolled through the lobby and took the elevators up to my floor. The common area was in disarray. The furniture had been turned upside down and stacked atop one another. It wasn’t an uncommon prank. Friday nights in the dorm were a little raucous. Drunk college students flitted between dorm rooms with red plastic cups full of trashcan punch. Music spilled into the hallway from the epicenter of the party.
I had grabbed the key to my dorm before I left the Ultraverse. I slid my key into the lock and twisted. Curtis practically jumped out of his chair as the door flew open. The last person in the world he was expecting was me.
His wide eyes stared at me, and his jaw hung slack.
Our room was pretty typical. It was messy, and posters of hot girls and cars lined the walls. We had a stereo and a small TV. There were two single beds and two desks. The room was connected to our neighbors via a bathroom that we shared with our suite-mates Mark and Bill. The walls were paper thin, and you could definitely hear when your neighbors got lucky.
“Hey, what’s up?” I said, casually.
“Where the hell have you been?” Curtis asked. His eyes took in my oversized superhero suit. “And what the hell are you wearing?”
“Uh, long story.”
Curtis’s eyes bulged when he saw Surge and Chrome. I thought he was going to drool all over himself.
“Curtis, I’d like you to meet my girlfriends, Surge and Chrome.”
He could barely speak. He managed to stutter out the word, “Girlfriends? As in plural?”
I chuckled. “Yes, as in plural.”
“Do you have to pay them?” he whispered.
“No. I don’t have to pay them.”
“Only when he wants to fuck my ass,” Chrome added for comedic value. “Then he has to pay.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Don’t listen to her.”
“I can’t believe you’re really here. We thought you were dead. Your mom’s been totally freaked out. The cops are looking for you. You’re this close to being on a milk carton.”
“Sorry. I should have kept in touch.” I paused. “How long have I been gone?”
Curtis shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe two weeks?”
“Two weeks? That’s all?”
“That’s a pretty long time to up and disappear.” He had been standing there frozen, unable to move. Curtis finally stepped to me and gave me a hug. “I’m glad you're back, buddy. Shit’s gotten crazy around here.”
“What’s going on?”
Our suite-mates, Mark and Bill, burst into the room, having heard the commotion.
“Holy shit, he’s back!” Mark said. He was tall and skinny and had curly red hair. He was that cocky dick-head of a nerd that always acted like he knew more than anyone else. “What happened to you? Did you get abducted by aliens? Did you get probed?”
I sneered at him.
“Fuck off, Mark!” Curtis barked. “That kind of shit’s not funny. Especially not now.”
“Sorry, man,” Mark apologized. “I wasn’t thinking.”
Curtis looked upset. His eyes welled on the verge of tears. They were red and puffy. At first I thought it was from cramming for exams then I realized he had been doing a lot of crying over the last few days. Something was seriously wrong.
9
“Madison is missing,” Curtis said with a grim face.
My eyes widened. “How long?”
“A week.”
“Do you think she was kidnapped?”
Curtis shrugged. “Nobody’s made any demands. The cops came and took our statements, but they haven’t done shit. They say they’re working on it, but the investigation is going nowhere.” Curtis was about to break down. “I just know something bad has happened. I think she’s dead. I think some serial killer snatched her while she was jogging. He’s probably got her cut up into little pieces, dissolving in a blue barrel of acid somewhere.”
I tried to assuage his fears. “I’m sure that’s not the case. Maybe she took off on a trip with some of her girlfriends. Maybe she met a guy and she’s been hanging out with him?”
“She’s not answering her phone.”
“Who was the last person to see her?” I asked.
“Her roommate, Kayla. She said Madison was heading out for a jog around campus.”
“Have the police spoken with Kayla?”
“I think so.” Curtis was frazzled.
“Look, I need you to stay positive. You’re not doing yourself any good, freaking out about it. You need to stay focused. You need to keep going to class and pass your exams.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“I’m going to look into th
is and see what I can find,” I said.
“What the hell are you going to be able to do?” Mark said.
“You’d be surprised,” I replied.
“And what the hell are you wearing? This isn’t Halloween.”
I ignored him.
Mark and Bill kept ogling the girls. Their eyes sparkled with testosterone fueled desire. They looked like dogs ready to hump someone’s leg.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friends?” Mark said with a cocksure grin.
“Guys, meet Chrome and Surge. Ladies, meet my suite-mates, Tweedle-dum, and Tweedle-dumer.”
Mark scowled at me. My two suite-mates shook hands with the girls.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Mark said.
“Yeah, likewise,” Bill added, mesmerized.
“What are you doing with this dweeb?” Mark asked.
My face tensed. I started to get mad for a moment, then I let it go. His feeble attempts to be cool made me laugh inside.
The girls put him in his place.
“He may not look like much, but he fucks like a beast. And we both have insatiable desires. He fulfills our needs.”
Mark and Bill’s jaws went slack. Mark attempted to recover. A cocky grin flashed on his face. “I could fulfill your needs.”
Chrome looked him up and down. “I don’t think so.”
Mark looked crushed. His body sagged. He stammered, “But, you you haven’t seen the goods.”
Chrome pondered his statement for a moment. “Okay. Let me see.”
“What? Right now? Here?” Mark asked, shyly.
“Go ahead. Let’s see what you’re packing,” Surge said.
Mark hesitated a moment. His eyes flicked around the room, to me and Curtis. “I’m not gonna pull out my junk in front of them. They might get excited.”
Curtis scowled at him.
“Like I said, you probably don’t have anything to show.” Chrome said.
Mark frowned and his face turned red, embarrassed. He clenched his jaw, then decided to show her what she was asking for. He unbuttoned his pants, pulled down his zipper, then reached into his boxers and pulled out his junk.