Hodera moved closer so she could look into his face. “Master?”
Lokris’ body began to tremble. The shaking grew more intense, then there a sharp intake of breath and the frail old woman collapsed to the ground.
“AAAAAAARRRGHH!” Nocterar immediately stood up from the chair. He focused on Hodera with an intensity that thrilled and terrified her. “I was right there! I had him. Your Denarian failed me. She lost my connection.” Nocterar swung around to see Lokris in a heap on the floor.
“Dead?” asked Hodera.
“If she’s fortunate,” said Nocterar.
Hodera signaled for a guard, then simply pointed to the old woman lying still.
Nocterar then placed his hand back on the Leap of Faith sphere. “Still, she did well enough to get us this far. Now I know on which planet Danaak is hiding,” he said as the image on the doorway was now of a blue-green planet. He closed his eyes and concentrated. “You are close,” he whispered. “Unleash your power so we may be united once more.”
From a distance, Nocterar could hear a faint whisper, “It will be a pleasure, my Lord.”
* * *
It took terrible effort for Danaak to wrench himself back into his body. The gem could barely guard him from the onslaught of power that had poured from the mind of Nocterar. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see the semi-automatic weapons of four policemen.
“Davis, special forces will be here any minute,” said a tall, lanky officer. “We don’t know what we’re up against.”
“We need to do whatever we can to contain this, Klein,” replied a shorter officer with thick shoulders. “You! Hands up!” he barked at Danaak.
Danaak looked down at his right hand and was delighted to see that it was still glowing. He looked back up at the officers and smiled with twisted glee, then slowly lifted his hands.
“Why is his hand glowing?” asked Davis a second before a blast smashed into the heavyset female officer standing to his right. “Rodriguez!” he screamed as he watched her body disintegrate into ash before she could let out a sound.
A volley of gunfire rang out and the room filled with the stench of burning flesh again as a blast caught Corcoran, directly behind Danaak, full in the face. “Damnit, Davis, I told you we should have waited for special forces,” yelled Klein as he and Davis fled for their lives.
* * *
Klierra pulled up across the street from Tollund Laboratories, making sure that they were hidden from the view of police officers, emergency personnel, the media and fleeing scientists and students. Matthew sat quietly in the car, looking at his armor. He still felt uncomfortable putting on the helmet, but he had to make sure that he at least looked prepared when Jason, Zorribis and Grannik arrived with Excelsior's sword.
He looked around, curious about what was going on and wondering how foolish he’d look and how much attention he would draw in his armor. Would Rachel see him like this? No, there's no chance she could be around here at this moment.
Matthew heard a car door opening and turned around. Klierra stepped out of the car, followed by Karini and Radifen. “Are we going in?” Matthew asked, opening his door. Karini laid a hand on Matthew’s chest.
“Not you,” Karini said, his blue eyes growing dark.
Klierra agreed. “Last thing we need is for you to get hit by a stray projectile before the sword arrives and the transformation is complete.”
Matthew climbed back into the car and watched while Klierra, Karini and Radifen moved in closer to look at what was going on. The thought occurred to him that they looked like a family of bikers with Klierra in her combat gear.
They slipped up the side of the building, taking advantage of the pandemonium that was going on in front, when a door 30 feet away burst open.
“Get back!” yelled Officer Klein as he and Davis burst through the door.
“It’s got some sort of weapon,” screamed Davis as they threw their bodies over a parked car and ducked behind it. Attention immediately shifted from the front of the building and news crews ran up the sidewalk. Janet Chu from the local CBS affiliate was pointing out Klein and David even as they motioned for them to get away. Then the door banged open again and Danaak stepped outside. For a moment, he seemed overwhelmed and stared up at the sky, then the surrounding buildings. Slowly, he turned to the stunned camera crews shining lights in his direction, the pointing and gawking spectators behind the barriers, the hiding policemen and the SWAT team creeping up in commando position – and he smiled.
Matthew saw the scaled body of Danaak turning toward where he sat in Klierra’s car. There was a sharp intake of breath, then New York disappeared.
* * *
Excelsior stood dressed in a simple woven tunic, worn leather pants and scuffed boots of thick hide – the clothes given him by the Elders. He gripped his sword with a tight fist, and stepped out on to the surface of Denab IV. Almost immediately, a squadron of fully armed Krunation soldiers walked up to him, their rifles pointed at their enemy. Danaak, stood in front of them, the jewel half burned into his body.
“Well, well, well,” Danaak said. “Excelsior. At last.”
“Surely you recall having met before, Danaak,” Excelsior answered. “You were so close that you were able to drive a knife into my side.”
Danaak smiled. “Ah, yes. That was so long ago. You'll forgive me if my memory is less than perfect. And how is your memory, Excelsior? Has it been affected by your lifeforce being imprisoned within that husk, unable to heal or gain the sweet release of death?” His face twisted into a malevolent smile.
Excelsior studied his foe, his face calm and unfathomable. Then slowly, he dropped his left leg back and raised his sword into a fighting stance. “It ends here,” Excelsior said.
Danaak laughed and motioned his soldiers back, one hand pressed against the jewel, soaking up energy. Suddenly, he wheeled on his adversary and unleashed an explosion of light and heat. Excelsior dove out of the way. Danaak aimed again and Excelsior felt his sword blasted out of his hand. Overcome with excitement, Danaak leapt after the sword but Excelsior was quicker. He rolled toward the sword, seized it in his left hand then rose to his feet with an explosive roundhouse to Danaak’s jaw. The Krunation commander staggered to one knee.
A laser weapon whined to life. “No! Do not interfere!” Danaak spat, dark blood spilling down his chin. The soldier lowered his weapon and took a step back. Danaak wiped his mouth. “I shall enjoy being rid of you once and for all, Excelsior.”
“I had the same thought about you,” Excelsior responded.
Danaak struggled to his feet and, with a feral scream, launched himself at Excelsior. For a moment they resembled a lovers’ dance as they stood face-to-face, each grasping the other’s wrist, Danaak struggling to control the arm with the sword. The mesmerized soldiers murmured as arcs of energy leapt from their bodies when the jewels drew close. The muscles in Excelsior’s arms swelled as he summoned the strength to throw off Danaak and plunged forward to deliver a killing blow with his sword.
Danaak twisted away at the last moment as a soldier slid a staff across the floor to him. He lifted the weapon and, with a click of a hidden switch, made two fans of tooth-like blades spring from either end. The weapon screamed as it sliced through the air toward Excelsior. He blocked with his blade and as the duel between the reptilian commander and the Denarian savior drove them all the way to the Leap of Faith. Parrying another swing with his blade, Excelsior laid a hand on a low railing then swung himself over and onto the ramp to the Leap of Faith. He ran up to the chamber and placed his hand on the control sphere, closing his eyes as the panel covering the doorway flashed to life.
Excelsior kept his hand pressed onto the metallic sphere, but his concentration was suddenly shattered when the whir of the blades opened a gash in the back of his left shoulder. He felt a warm sensation as his dark blood started to run down his arm and slowly drip to the ground. Danaak seized the opportunity and smashed his fist into the wounded shoulder. Excelsior
was driven to his knees in searing pain.
Danaak lifted his blood-smeared hand and studied it. “Did you ever notice how Denarian blood glows so wonderfully when it’s up against a source of light?” He placed his bloody hand on his chest and watched as it emitted a faint orange glow.
His attention shifted as he saw Excelsior attempt to stagger to his feet, as clumsy as a new calf. “Danaak… as long as my blood… flows through these veins… you will never succeed.”
Danaak placed his hand over the jewel to recharge for a blast when with an unexpected surge; Excelsior thrust the gleaming sword deep into his stomach. Danaak let out a howl of pain and wrenched his body away from Excelsior, who pulled the sword free.
Danaak saw the once-bright sword darken with his blood and laughed: “If you are trying to destroy me, Excelsior, you will have to do much better.” He moved the hand that had been sitting on top of the gem and pressed it against his wound, sealing it up. A hiss of something akin to pleasure escaped him and he closed his eyes savoring the release: “Ahh!”
Seizing the moment, Excelsior slipped inside the Leap of Faith. “Seal, door,” he told the computer.
The whisper of the closing door made Danaak’s eyes fly open. “Where are you, Excelsior?” he demanded. He could see on the skin of the unit a hologram of galaxies flashing by. “Are you running from me like the coward you are?” He studied the hologram. “You do not even have coordinates. You are running in fear. Coward!”
He studied the control panel and tried to institute an override, but it was beyond his ability. Enraged that he didn’t dare blast the sensitive equipment, he unleashed a blast against a small stool. For a moment Danaak considered the melted metal and acrid smoke, then he turned toward the chamber door. “Did you see what I have done to this tiny piece of furniture, Excelsior? It is nothing, NOTHING, compared to what I will do to the people after you disappear. They will be at my mercy!”
There was a whisper as the Leap of Faith doorway opened, an enormous blue jewel of a planet shimmering. Excelsior stood before him, his sword sheathed. “You do not know mercy… because you are less than a Krunation. There is no longer any purpose for your existence.”
“What do you know of Krunations?” demanded Danaak advancing on him.
“I know that they would do far better without the like of you,” Excelsior replied and he charged Danaak, catching him around the waist and driving his fist into the scaly face. Without breaking contact Danaak returned the blow to the side of Excelsior’s head. The two wrestled as they rained blows onto one another, Excelsior struggling to breathe through the blood and the pain even as Danaak seemed to gain energy.
Glancing over his shoulder, Excelsior drove a left hook into Danaak’s temple and rolled them both toward the opening of the Leap of Faith, even as he felt a vicious knee snap something in his midsection. Krunation and Denarian blood sprayed the air, mingling against the gleaming steel floor.
Seeing where they were, Danaak struggled to get up. Excelsior summoned the last of his strength and grabbed him in a tackle that threw their bodies into the shimmering gateway of the Leap of Faith.
“What are you doing?!” Danaak screamed as the curtain of galactic matter rushed up to meet them.
The last thing he heard before the universe consumed them was Excelsior’s voice: “Let’s find out together!”
A mingled trail of blood pointing to the Leap of Faith was the only evidence they were ever there at all.
* * *
Matthew flashed back to the present and took a deep breath as he realized the magnitude of the situation. He felt every blow that Danaak had delivered, they were like swinging sledgehammers, multiplied in force by the jewel in Danaak’s chest. And that jewel was still there; Matthew could see Danaak’s hand glowing with energy.
An expression of near glee spread across Danaak’s face as he lifted his hand and began to blast the humans closest to him. Officers screamed in fear and agony as they were hit and their bodies dissolved into ash; others took cover behind their cars. Danaak paused as he noticed this obstacle.
“Hmm, I wonder,” he mused as he placed his hand against the jewel and hidden officers opened fire. He opened his palm against the nearest police cruiser. Instead of dissolving, it exploded, knocking everyone in the vicinity to the street.
Danaak put both hands on his head as he watched the fireworks, ignoring incoming bullets and fleeing humans. “I LIKE IT!” he exalted unharmed.
Unnoticed, Radifen grabbed his communicator. Things were not exactly going according to plan. “Grannik, where are you? We need you here now!”
* * *
As Zorribis watched with morbid fascination, he realized that humans expressed their frustration when they were stuck by making as much noise as possible. That could only explain the consistent honking of horns and yelling of colorful epithets that had been going on for the past twenty minutes.
Grannik and Zorribis seemed entirely relaxed, despite the circumstances and being completely locked in by surrounding cars. Grannik absently fingered the transfer device and Zorribis kept looking out the window, watching the surrounding frenzy. Jason, on the other hand, was practically hyperventilating. He did all he could to keep from crawling out of the car and fleeing by running on top of the car roofs. The situation made his skin crawl and threatened to drag him down into the sucking black wound of the past.
Suddenly, Grannik’s communicator lit up and the booming voice of Radifen filled the car. “Grannik, where are you?! We need you here now!”
Much to Jason’s surprise, the Denarians didn’t relate their position. Instead, Grannik slapped the transfer device he was playing with onto the outside of the car door. Zorribis produced a small controller.
“Ready?!”
“NOW!” Grannik yelled.
Zorribis pressed the button.
CHAPTER 12
The chaos around Tollund Laboratories increased into full-blown pandemonium as an explosion of light signaled the disappearance of a police car. When the brilliance dimmed, in its place was Jason's car – and a nearly hysterical Jason.
“Calm yourself,” ordered Radifen watching Jason’s bulging eyes.
“What the...” was all Jason could force out of his mouth.
“I promise you,” Grannik said as he opened the car door. “When all this is over, I will tell you all about Denarian technology.” He quickly pulled out his pistol, took aim at Danaak and fired. The laser blast struck the Krunation in the shoulder, and left a dark burn mark. His eyes narrowed as he recognized who had just shot him. “You,” he hissed. Another burst of energy shot from Danaak's hand that just barely missed Grannik’s head. Everyone else behind him was smart enough – and agile enough – to get out of the way.
Grannik, Radifen, Zorribis and Karini crouched down behind Klierra's car and checked their pistols. “So what do we do now?” Karini asked.
Radifen spoke like the born leader he was. “We have to destroy Danaak so that Matthew won't have anything stopping him from becoming Excelsior. Ready?”
The other three nodded and cocked their guns, then stood up as one. “Will all innocent bystanders please get out of the way?!” Zorribis announced to every human in the vicinity, who conveniently started stampeding down Broadway and out of reach. Oddly fascinated, Zorribis shrugged and shouted again. “Klierra, Jason has the sword with him! Get Matthew over there, and be careful!”
Klierra quickly grabbed Matthew and pulled him out of the car. “Ready?” Matthew nodded, his mind a total blank.
While the Denarians opened fire on Danaak, they created the ideal cover for Klierra and Matthew to duck into Jason's car. Jason kept looking at his hands and the rest of his body, making sure everything was in its proper place. “So that’s what it’s like to be transported?”
Klierra responded with, “That’s right. Where is the sword?”
Jason pointed to the back seat of the car, where the sword was safely tucked away. He was so preoccupied with what was g
oing on, he nearly failed to notice what Matthew was wearing. He still wasn't wearing the helmet, but he had it in his hand, and Jason could feel the electricity of seeing a character that he had helped nurture come to life.
“Remember when we talked about how you thought Excelsior would look like a cheap costume party reject if you were to ever see him in a live-action story?” Jason asked Matthew.
Matthew hesitantly responded. “Yeah?”
Jason nodded. “That's not the way you look. You look like a real superhero.” Matthew smiled when he heard that. The last thing he needed to hear right now was someone telling him that he looked like a goofball with the Excelsior outfit on.
“I leave you alone for, what, one day and you got yourself muscles all of a sudden. You look great, kid.”
“Thanks. You too,” Matthew responded. “You finally lost that gut.”
Jason ran his hand over his newly formed abs. “Ain’t it great? Didn’t even have to give up eating pizza.”
Matthew looked at Klierra, who was standing by and watching the family bonding. “So I guess I'm supposed to pick up this sword now and get the rest of Excelsior's lifeforce?” Klierra nodded. “And you promise me everything’s going to be fine?” Matthew asked one last time.
The Denarian Elder placed a motherly hand on his shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. “Everything about you is going to join hand-in-hand with the lifeforce of Excelsior. I promise you, you are going to be better than fine.”
Matthew took a deep breath and looked at Jason. “You sure I'm the right guy for this?”
Jason answered. “You're the only guy for this. But I want to tell you something and I know this may not be the right time under the current circumstances, but I don't know what's going to happen to you after you take that sword. So I need to get this out now.”
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