The remainder of them started firing at the man, who ducked behind the planter and reached into the canvas bag at his feet. He pulled out another weapon, firing it at the closest of her men, and the man immediately froze in a pillar of ice.
More humans suddenly pulled up in a series of vehicles, bringing their weapons to bear.
The man threw a device at the vehicle closest to him, and when it hit the side it somehow propelled the vehicle along on the same trajectory until it smashed into the cover her men were using. The humans inside the wrecked car scrambled free and immediately started to fight with her men, as the vehicle continued to be boosted down the street somehow.
The man stepped out from behind cover, squaring his broad shoulders. “Alright, you big red bitch.” He met her eyes, his face one of strong determination. “Let’s fucking go.”
She smiled in amused respect.
He was a feisty human. Confident in the face of certain defeat. Willing to stand alone against impossible odds and fight for the weaker humans of his horde.
There was something to be said for that. It was the kind of bravery her people tried to instill in their young, and the kind she’d always looked for in the men under her command. But she never saw it.
It was a rare thing in this universe.
The age of heroes had ended, long ago.
She was still going to kill him, obviously, but she was pleased to kill a warrior rather than more of the weak, nameless animals of this planet. Their deaths had brought her no glory. They would all hide in their human burrows while her people burned their world down around them. But this human had chosen to go out to meet the storm. Alone.
And that was a death that any warrior would ask for, no matter their planet.
It was always an honor to kill such a person. Even if he was only a human.
She charged at him, aiming to finish this nonsense with one punch, but as she moved to hit him, her fist traveled through him.
A second later, he appeared from behind the planter, blasting her with his ice beam. She turned to the side at the last moment, avoiding being hit square on. In the same motion, she threw her meteor hammer, crashing the heavy ball end into the man’s weapon and shattering it.
She yanked back on the chain, letting it wrap around her arm several times as she twirled the weapon. “Typical human, using trickery in a fight rather than being honorable.”
He shrugged nonchalantly, flicking his cigarette at her. “Yeah, blow me.”
She charged him again and he moved to avoid her strike, but she threw her weapon so that it cut off his retreat. He ran straight into the chain, which slowed him down, and then she slammed into him.
The man wasn’t small, by any means, but Brutalikus was a warrior and her people were born stronger. She crashed into him at full force, knocking them both to the ground, and immediately hit him in the face. Then she hit him again. And again.
The man’s nose and mouth were injured now, the weakness of humanity making him a bleeder.
She raised both of her fists over her head, preparing to deliver the final blow and crush his skull into the pavement of this cursed planet…
But then she paused.
She wasn’t sure why.
“Do it! Come on!” The human sputtered, looking almost manic. Daring her to kill him, completely unafraid of facing the judgement which came after death. Recognizing that he had fought well and with an honorable purpose, killing many of her men in the process. His final place was assured, and he knew it. “Do it, you fucking space bitch! Do me a fucking favor!” He shouted again, desperate to receive the rewards a warrior like that was due in the afterlife.
Instead, she merely looked at the mangled face of the human beneath her… and slowly lowered her hands.
“Please!” The human screamed at her, voice breaking.
She rose to her feet and opened her mouth to say something, but she wasn’t sure what. Her reaction confused her. She stood there for a breath, feeling… odd. She decided to simply ignore it and started stalking towards the building again. “On me!” She shouted to her remaining men. “We move on Xerzinax! NOW!”
“Sorry, Big Red,” the human called after her, holding up an electronic detonator of some kind. He smirked through bloody lips, “never pick a fight with a suicidal super-genius. You’ll lose.”
“I have never failed, and I never will.” She growled out, regretting her decision not to kill him. That had been a rare moment of weakness on her part, and she had no idea why she’d chosen to spare him.
“S’okay. I do it all the time, I’ll show you how.” He closed his eyes. “Welcome to The Window Seat Tribe, sweetheart.”
She dashed forward in an attempt to stop him, but it was far too late.
The human pressed the button and half the street disappeared in a blinding flash of light, taking them all with it to somewhere else.
****
Thraex stopped on the lower landing, motioning with his hand for her to go on. “Run!” He yelled. “Get the machine!”
She didn’t need to be told twice, racing into the elevator and then disappearing as the doors closed behind her.
Thraex mentally counted down until the clock was due to run out and his father’s powers increased exponentially. It was gonna be close.
Real close.
A second later, Xerzinax materialized in the lobby, somehow tracking them. He stood in front of the elevator doors, looking up at the numbers as they climbed.
“Access denied.” The electronic voice informed him, refusing to open.
“Sorry, Daddy,” Thraex hit him as hard as he could, “It’s Westgates only.”
To his surprise, the man didn’t even stumble from the blow, he simply turned to look at him. “You look thin.” He remarked, eyes scanning him. “I will need to put on more weight when I become you.”
Thraex moved to hit him again, but Xerzinax simply vanished into thin air, undoubtedly teleporting after Sasha.
Thraex swore savagely, recognizing that he’d never be able to beat him there using the stairs. He turned to try it anyway though, hoping that somehow Xerzinax would get lost in the labyrinthine building…
To his surprise, the elevator doors opened as soon as he stepped in front of them.
“Westgate detected.” The electronic eye informed him, like it had always been that way. “Access granted.”
Thraex was so shocked he actually stood still for a heartbeat, trying to come to terms with the idea that the building would finally acknowledge him after years of trying to re-wire it.
But then he pushed the shock from his mind and stepped into the elevator, pressing the button and immediately rocketing up towards Sasha and Xerzinax.
He was already running when the doors opened, racing towards the little model home. He came around the corner and found Xerzinax again, striding forward like there wasn’t a thing in this dimension he needed to be scared of.
Which, to be fair, was probably accurate.
Thraex swung at him, still running forward, but Xerzinax grabbed his arm and threw him down the hall. Thraex hit the carpet hard, swearing to himself.
He rolled to the side to avoid his father’s knee as it impacted the ground where Thraex’s head had been a second before.
“I need to be careful,” his father remarked casually, “if I damage you too badly, I won’t be able to use your body to its full effectiveness.”
His tone was one of complete boredom. Like he was reading instructions on how to install a damn VCR.
Thraex kicked him, but damn near broke his knee in the attempt.
Xerzinax grabbed him under the arms and threw him straight through the doors at the end of the hall, sending him sprawling across the fake lawn in front of the model home.
“Miss Sasha!?” Thraex called in a feigned casual way, trying not to panic her. “If you could please do whatever it is you Westgates do, that would really help me right now, chère.”
There was no reply.
Thraex moved
to stand between his father and the model home.
Xerzinax looked bored to the point of disappointment. “I was really hoping for something more than you.” He confided, as if sharing a personal moment of clarity. “I put so much work into you, I really expected it to payoff.”
“Shit, daddy, does this mean we ain’t gonna sign up for father/son tee-ball?” He snapped his fingers and sent out a flurry of energy, trying to fry the bastard.
Instead, Xerzinax simply watched the energy dance through the air around him, like it was a light show at the damn planetarium.
Thraex formed the energy into a spear and thrusted at him with it, intending to run him through.
The man caught it, effortlessly ripped it from his hands, then brought it down in an attempt to pin Thraex in place with it like a bug in a museum collection.
Thraex dove out of the way at the last second, then kicked him in the nuts as hard as he could.
It had as little effect as anything else he’d tried… but it felt good to do.
Xerzinax grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground. “I’m so disappointed in this fight that I could cry.”
Thraex squinted at him, as the man’s fingers squeezed the life out of him. He seemed almost sincere about that, strangely.
“Got it!” Sasha appeared at the entrance of the model home, pointing the weapon at him. “Get clear!”
But Thraex wasn’t going anywhere, he was stuck.
Xerzinax reached his hand up and fired off a bolt of energy at Sasha before Thraex could stop him. He hit the man a second later and sent the follow-up blast wide, but the first bolt impacted the wall next to Sasha.
Surprisingly… the plastic house took the intense energy without even a dent, not even knocking Sasha off her feet.
Xerzinax’s hand loosened around Thraex’s throat for an instant, and he jabbed his thumbs into the man’s eyes. “Shoot!”
Sasha blasted Xerzinax with the dimension gun, sending him into a void of repeated images, like standing in a hall of mirrors. As he fell, he reached out and grabbed Thraex’s shirt, pulling them both in.
Sasha shouted something, racing down the stairway of the model home and diving in after them.
Different worlds and dimensions zoomed by Thraex as he fell, like shuffling cards. More worlds than could even be counted, more varieties of the universe than had ever been conceived. They eventually formed a swirling whirlpool of colors, disappearing into a glowing vortex in the distance, surrounded by crackling energy.
The blast was propelling Xerzinax through all of them, waiting for a dimension where his demon god powers would lessen and allow his flesh to absorb the brunt of the energy.
After what seemed like forever, the parade of dimensions abruptly stopped dead. Xerzinax crashed into the pavement of a dark world, and let out a shout of agony as the energy burned through his side.
Thraex landed a moment later, wincing in pain from the force of the impact. He wasn’t used to feeling this weak, but he wasn’t going to question it.
Overhead, huge steampunk Zeppelins were shining spotlights down on the city, which looked very much like New York, but twisted. On the wall were plastered what appeared to be Wanted posters featuring the images of some people he recognized…
Something told Thraex he didn’t want to stay here long.
Xerzinax stirred, letting out a moan, then slowly got to his feet.
Thraex grinned at him, recognizing that wherever this dimension was… his daddy wasn’t immortal here. He motioned with his hand. “Let’s settle this…”
Xerzinax charged him, swinging out a fist, but it was slow. He’d gotten too used to relying on his powers, he’d never had to do things for himself before. He’d never trained or fought or struggled to just get by. He’d never been hit by someone stronger than him, or tested himself against impossible odds.
His daddy was a demon god. Which meant his life was soft and easy.
In this dimension… he was easy pickings for a monster like Thraex. His father had unknowingly crafted the very weapon which would destroy him, forging it in a fire of pain and captivity and torture.
Thraex lowered his shoulder and drove it into the man’s stomach, lifting him off the ground and driving him straight into the brick wall behind him.
The man slid to the ground, coughing.
“Sit your bitch ass down, old man.” Thraex advised, kicking him in the head.
Xerzinax spat out a mouthful of blood, wheezing.
Thraex nodded. “That’s called pain.” He hit him again. “Hurts, don’t it?”
Xerzinax weakly pulled himself back to his feet. “Who… who do you think you are, slave?” He demanded.
“He’s a Westgate.” Sasha said, voice hard. “And there’s no reality where I let you take him from me. If you come near my boyfriend again, I’ll send your head to one dimension and your ass to another, do you understand me? You’re going to be the first man to visit every one of the infinite number of dimensions, because I’m gonna send a little piece of you to each of them.”
Thraex spun around to face her, only now just realizing she had followed him into this dimension.
She shrugged, looking unconcerned at his surprised expression. “What? The love of my life throws himself into the dimensional void, you think I’m not going in after him?” She winked at him. “I think we’ve spent enough time running away from one another, don’t you? From now on, we stick together.”
Thraex watched her for a moment longer, his heart swelling. She’d come after him. Without him asking, without knowing what was on the other side of the portal… she’d come in after him anyway.
She’d rescued him. Again.
She really was an amazing woman.
On one hand, he was horrified by the fact that she’d placed herself in danger like that. But on the other… it felt so good to know he was loved that much.
He really loved that woman.
She was the greatness in his life.
“I love you too.” She nodded her head at Thraex, reading his thoughts on the matter. “And you’ve been a Westgate for as long as I’ve known you.” She turned to glare at Xerzinax again. “We’re Westgates.” She reiterated. “We do the science in the multiverse.”
“We’re the ‘first family of inter-dimensional travel.’” Thraex agreed, standing straighter.
Sasha snorted in contempt as she looked at the broken wreckage of Xerzinax. “And who the fuck are you?”
Thraex kicked him backward into the gate. One of the broken bars had been twisted out at an angle, and it impaled Xerzinax straight through the stomach. He looked down at it for a breath, choked out what sounded like a laugh, then slid to the concrete.
Thraex stood over him for a moment, judging whether or not that would do the man in…
But he was in the dust. Thraex had seen enough dying people in his life to know that his daddy wasn’t long for whatever damn world this was.
He sat down on the pavement next to him, as Xerzinax pulled himself into a sitting position.
“Do you…” Xerzinax wheezed, blood flowing from his mouth. “Do you know what true hell is?”
“Life with you?” Thraex guessed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his flask.
“Without me, you never would have been sent to that world.” Xerzinax reminded him, hand pressed against his mortal wound. “Power. Power is hell.”
Thraex took a long drink of his lemonade, thinking that over. “I’m still goin’ with ‘you,’ Daddy, but we can let Mama be the tiebreaker if ya like.”
“The impossibility of failure is the death of the joy we get out of success. If you can do anything, then there’s no point to anything.” Xerzinax grunted in pain, his breathing coming in gasps. “You don’t need anyone. It’s lonely and empty. Nothing scares you. Nothing gives you joy. You don’t want to die, you just want to go back to living.” He stared down the dark street in this dystopian version of the city. “And I realized… I’ve done ev
erything there is to do in the multiverse. Everything except one thing.” He turned to Thraex. “I’ve never failed. That’s the last thing left that I’ve never done. So… so I created you.”
Thraex took another swig of lemonade, then handed the flask to him. The man was far too weak to hold it, so Thraex moved to pour some of the contents into his mouth.
Xerzinax nodded his head in silent thanks, his eyes already glassy and sightless. “You’ve beaten me, Thraex.” A tear traced its way down his cheek, not from pain, but from something else. “And… and it’s everything I always hoped it would be. Thank you… so… much…”
And then Thraex’s father was dead.
He stared at the man who had ruined his life, while at the same time having put Thraex on the path which brought him everything he had ever loved.
He finished off the lemonade, which burned like fire as it went down his throat. “Happy to oblige, old man. Happy to oblige.”
He got to his feet, as Sasha was staring up at the zeppelins overhead. She took a picture of one. “For our next calendar.” She explained quickly, then slid the device back into her pocket. She gestured to Xerzinax. “You okay?”
“Better than him.” He told her sarcastically, pulling her close.
“You know what I mean.” She put her hand against his chest. “You need to take care of yourself. Even if it’s just emotionally.”
“I think you’ve got dibs on all my emotions now, chère.” He teased, leaning down to kiss her.
Her lips were soft and warm and like pure joy.
Thraex had waited a lot of years to have that woman. And now that she was in his arms, he didn’t intend to lose any opportunity to love her.
She responded to him, wrapping her arms around him and deepening the kiss.
She broke it off a second later, gasping for breath. “Okay…” She panted. “I think we should probably stop right there until later.”
Thraex shrugged. “I’m not doin’ anything. Saved the world, figure that’s good for at least second base with you, Darlin’.”
She made a face at him. “I just think that perhaps there are better places to make out than in an unknown dystopian dimension, while your father’s corpse is five feet away.”
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