by C. J. Lloyd
A screen flicked on in front of him. There were multiple plasma screens all around him. He was on the news as reporters spoke in multiple languages on one side of the room. Before him were people sitting in front of different national flags.
A man with a heavy accent spoke bitterly. “We told you, you wouldn’t get away with this, and your friends will be next. How dare you threaten human life, something so precious? May God have mercy on your soul, Elric Blake.”
More voices chastised and threatened. Some looked as if they had the ability to spit on him, they would. He could hear crowds yelling to fry him, people screaming and cursing him. So much noise.
But he understood why. Their pain, their loss. Once the voices calmed down, one person spoke. A woman with a British accent. He could see her clearly on the television screen; thin, light-green eyes and red hair. She looked him over, looked down at the papers, and finally spoke. “Elric Blake, seventeen years old. You with the power to destroy cities, and much worse, have been sentenced to death. You are responsible for the countless lives lost in London, Boston, and areas across the globe, not to mention countless bodily harm and damages that will be unrepairable. Do you have any last words?”
He cleared his throat. “I know it will never fix anything, but I beg you for your forgiveness. I’m so sorry for the things I’ve done and for this thing inside me.”
She gave a terse nod. “May you rest in peace.”
A sudden surge came quickly. It snapped the back of his neck and rolled down his body. His insides were on fire, and the pain hit his chest, neck, and eyes. Every muscle, every cell, felt like it was being ripped out of him. It was like his skin was being ripped away from his muscle and bone. He wailed as he seized in the chair. Then everything went black.
His face smacked a cold, smooth surface. His body jolted and twitched like crazy, but he was alive. Deep burns ran down his arms, but they were healing. Happy to see I’ve still got something, he thought.
He looked up and realized he was at the feet of a man who was jotting something down in a thick folder as he leaned hard on a wooden desk. “Mr. Blake, please take a seat.”
Mr. Blake? Elric couldn’t believe the man was talking to him. He couldn’t be. Maybe I’m really dead?
“Please, Mr. Blake, take a seat,” the man repeated cordially.
Elric looked down to see his shackles, the metal bracelets around his wrists gone. He just had the gray jumpsuit on. He did as the man asked and wobbled to the small chair across from the man. “What happened? Did my powers keep you guys from killing me?”
“No.”
Elric swallowed hard. “Was there some kind of malfunction?”
“Nope, none of that either.” He continued to scribble.
Elric leaned over the desk studying the man’s face, his glasses hanging over a red nose on an even redder face. “Then what happened?”
He jotted a few notes, slapped the pen on the table and looked up at Elric. He wasn’t a large man, but he was older, about average build, glasses, confident in his speech, graying, but balding.
“My name is Kurt Berrington. I work directly for the secretary of defense, and I have direct communication with the president. Back in my glory days, I was part of Project Titan, so I know a lot about you and your friends.”
Elric nodded, understanding why they wanted to keep him alive. “I see. So that’s it then? This is another Area Zero, and you plan on taking Erebus out of me?”
“No. A strong no, in fact. The world is a much safer place with that thing locked away in you, believe it or not. You see, we went about this all wrong. Project Titan was a failure for many reasons, but first of all, it failed because we no longer saw the Titans as humans, but as weapons.”
Elric straightened. “So, what are you trying to say? You’re going to treat us like people, then? After everything that’s happened?”
Berrington bobbed his head a bit. “Not quite. You and your friends have changed the world from a tactical, weaponry, and defense standpoint. You destroyed a nuclear bomb without any damage sustained. You took out warships, aerial attacks .… You see where I’m going?”
“Yeah, right back to the reason why we were seen as weapons and why everyone wants us.”
Berrington nodded. “Elric, I’ve studied your profile. I know your past, and I know what you’ve been through. I know you saved the world and stopped the portals during those initial attacks, you and your friends. But it was you who took out the lead mastermind.”
Elric held his tongue about Calamity. It would’ve added more confusion than anything else. “What do you want, Mr. Berrington?”
He pushed a folder toward Elric that read Project Olympus. “To put it simply, we want to bring you on as our US asset. Only a handful of people will know.”
Elric chuckled. “I don’t understand.”
“First the portals, then the Titans. What’s next? Something big is coming, Mr. Blake. The Titans were created for some reason, and I don’t think it was to destroy.” Berrington leaned in. His eyes softened. “What you did, Elric, is unforgivable, but you have your entire life to make things right. Don’t waste your gifts and powers rotting in prison.”
Elric thought about what the light advised. This was it. This was his opportunity, his second chance. Project Olympus. “What do you need me to do?”
Chapter 34
Ebon
Three months had passed since the battle that changed the world. And Sam was right. Two months in, China, Russia, and Iran broke away from the alliance. Politics became a lot more ingrained in Violet’s world as the Titans became a regular discussion.
But nothing shook her world more than the televised execution of Elric. She watched it. So did Alfred and Sam. The others refused to—even Eden. She couldn’t believe that it was real, and she wondered how Jennifer felt or if she’d seen it.
Violet sat in the dim light under a burning candle in the Chamber of Knowledge, searching for anything on Legion. But there was nothing. Most things about the knowledge of the Allverse were so limited. It was as if it were restricted to this world and this world alone.
“Sage, I wish you were here,” she cried; the warm trickle of tears rolled down her cheeks.
After the battle with Calamity she couldn’t stop thinking about how weak she was. All she could do was watch from the side, supporting Eden and the others. She felt brittle, and so, so inadequate.
She flipped through a few more pages and laid her head against the book. A wave of energy pulsed from behind. It made the hair on her neck stand on end as the immense pressure took over the room. She swung around, her hands glowing with purple, reaching for the neck of the man standing behind her.
He was lean, his hair cut low, and had a chiseled chin. He looked to be about in his late thirties. His dark-brown skin was smooth with only a few wrinkles here and there, but it was the dusting of gray in his hair that gave his age away.
“An Anomaly.” He raised his hands. “A good one at that. I guess you’d have to be really good in order to be here.”
Violet studied the man, keeping her glowing hands ready to cut through him, sidestepping him to keep the upper hand just to be safe. “And who the hell are you?”
His gaze rolled around the room. “The name’s Ebon.” He slowly lowered his hand to shake hers. “I’m kinda the reason why people know about the Chamber of Knowledge. How do you know about this place? Because I certainly don’t know you.”
Violet’s eyes softened, thinking of the one Sage told her about. The one she loved. Sage was right. He looked so much younger than Violet expected. Her heart sunk with both joy and sadness, wishing that Sage could’ve seen him one last time.
The light around her hands faded as she shook his hand. “My name’s Violet. I know this place because my mentor, Sage, told me about it.”
“Mentor? My Sage mentors now?” He hacked out a laugh. “She’s a busy bee, alright. Is she downstairs somewhere? Wait, don’t tell her I’m here. She might t
ry to kill me. How long has it been? I mean, what year is it?” He became frantic as he paced around. “Oh damn, if she looks too old, she gonna blast me into whatever next day it is,” he mumbled in a southern accent similar to Terra’s.
Violet swallowed hard. “Sage is gone.”
He wiped a few beads of sweat from his face and sighed. “Thank goodness. At least I can get my thoughts together before she comes back. Lord knows she hates excuses. I remember when we were about your age, she—”
“She died.”
His eyes sharpened. He licked his lips. “She … about your age … She …” He swallowed hard. “What did you just say?”
“Sage died trying to save me and the others from Calamity.”
He nearly fell into the bookshelf as he tried to keep his balance. In the light, she realized his tall torso was thinner and more awkward-looking than anything else, nothing like the powerful being she was expecting.
“I–I–I should’ve been there .… I should’ve been here.” He cupped his mouth as tears rolled down his cheeks. “I shouldn’t have left her. I should’ve stayed right here.”
Violet didn’t know how to comfort the man. It still beat her up inside as well. Sometimes the slightest smell of a flower, a sentence, or a thought sent Violet to her room in tears. But she remained strong because of Sage. Because that’s what she would’ve wanted.
“She knew you had a job to do. You couldn’t have stayed here, Ebon. Your responsibility isn’t to one world; it’s to the Allverse, right?”
He wiped his face; his nose was running. He gave a hard sniff. “You sound just like her, you know that?”
Violet smiled. “She told me a lot about you.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Really?” He made his way to an old cushioned chair and slumped into it. “Please, Violet is it? Can you tell me what happened?”
Violet sat down in her chair and told him everything. She told him about Zaroule and the underground cities. She told him about everything that happened with Elric, about the other Titans, and all she knew about Calamity. She didn’t stop. It just flowed out of her like she had unclogged a drain of emotions that she had bottled up inside.
Ebon was a sensitive man. Violet had never met anyone like him. He cried when she told him the sad parts, laughed until he cried at the funny parts, and grew angry at others, which also resulted in tears. By the time she got to where they were now, his face and eyes were swollen.
“Calamity caused a lot of trouble for so long. I can’t believe she’s really gone. You and your friends have been through a lot. And you already know about Legion.”
“Ebon, what are we talking about when it comes to Legion?”
“Whatever you’ve heard, it’s nothing compared to the real thing. I’ve faced one in particular who still gives me the creeps,” he said, bristling. “They are some of the most powerful, frightening beings in existence, Violet. One member can turn people into horrific monsters, while others have the ability to shatter worlds with their bare hands. To even become a member at a higher level, you have to have destroyed entire worlds filled with civilizations. And they’re the reason why I’m the last Traveler.”
“The last?”
He nodded. “Maybe another will be born soon. I don’t know. Maybe one already has. All I know is that to defeat Legion, we need the help of every universe.”
She shrugged. “What can be done?”
“All these years, decades, whatever time I’ve been gone from here, it’s been spent researching, bouncing around from one universe to the next, building relationships and telling people about Legion. We need an army of powerful beings to oppose them. Beings like you, the Titans, people with abilities.”
She nodded. “An army huh?”
“Sage trained you, and she did a great job, Violet, but I’m the one who trained her.”
As harsh and hardened as she was, was this man really the one who trained Sage?
“Violet, come with me.” She looked up at Ebon, her eyes widening in disbelief and impossibility. “Without Sage, we can’t afford for you to not take your abilities to the next level. For you to be here means Sage trusted you, but for you to get here means you have untapped potential. Every living being, and countless soul in the Allverse needs that potential.”
Violet’s face cracked in distress. She couldn’t see herself leaving the others. Leaving Eden. She shook her head. “I can’t do that. I can’t leave my friends. They’re my family. They need me.”
“The Light Titan is here. I don’t see members of Legion coming to initiate anything yet. I’m sure they’re watching, though. So cocky and high on their horses that they don’t think anything can touch them. But that’s our advantage. They don’t know what I’m doing. They think I’m running, hiding. Please, Violet. The lives of trillions upon trillions of civilizations depends on what we do next.”
“Why now? Why me?”
“Because it’s what I should’ve asked of Sage. But I was selfish. I-I wanted to protect her from what lurked in the crevices of the Allverse, but I failed. Look, Violet, if you’re here that means you can teleport. That’s a one-in-a-million gift. I need others like you in the oncoming battle. Please, for Sage?”
Violet rose from the chair. She squeezed her eyes tightly as more tears fell. The weight of the request, her emotions, her life. It didn’t seem fair to ask this of her. No, it wasn’t fair. What about her life? What about the others? What about Eden? She swallowed hard, thinking about the others. She thought of Zaroule, of Sage. What would they do? She wiped her face and nose, then looked up at Ebon. The only reason why she trusted him was because Sage loved him and if he was that important to Sage, and Sage saw him as such a powerful person …
Violet knew her answer. “I’ll go on one condition.”
Chapter 35
I’ll Be Back
Ebon and Violet appeared outside of Samantha’s home. Eden was on the front porch and jumped up to see her. His eyes fell on Ebon, and he tucked his hands in his pockets.
Eden lifted his chin towards Ebon. “Everything alright, V?”
Ebon waved goofily.
Violet nodded, and her lips shivered as they spread across her face. “For the most part. Can you get everyone together in the living room?”
Eden’s eyes narrowed on Ebon before he turned and walked into the house.
“That’s the boyfriend, right?” Ebon asked as Eden left.
She ran her fingers through her scalp and exhaled. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this, so please don’t piss anybody off.”
“I understand.”
They both walked into the house, the fresh scent of wood and this mornings breakfast left a welcoming fragrance in the air. Alfred lounged on the couch, Sasha was on the love seat, and Eden leaned in the doorway which led to the kitchen. Eden kept his arms folded, glaring at Ebon.
Alfred pulled his hands behind his head. “So, who’s the old dude?”
Ebon shrugged. “If I weren’t a few hundred years old, I would be offended. But I take what I can get.”
Sasha gave him a shrewd look. “How old?”
“Guys, this is Ebon. He was someone who meant a lot to Sage.”
Sasha gave a devilish smile. “A lot? Like you mean, a love interest?” She rose, up checking Ebon out.
“Grandma Sage was robbing the cradle something fierce,” Alfred cackled.
“Guys, this is serious. I need—”
Ebon threw his hand out to her and walked into the living room. His comical goofy attitude shifted, becoming colder and sterner. “Eden, right?”
“Yeah,” Eden said sharply.
“The Wind Titan. Nice. Look, I get you guys think you’re riding high right now. You’re all quite powerful, and by my standards, the Titans are among the top powerful beings in the Allverse. But let me tell you that if you think Calamity was the scariest being you faced, then you have no idea what you’re in store for.”
“Who is this guy?” Alfred asked mo
ckingly.
“I’m the guy who has traveled through all twenty-six universes. I’m the guy who spent a week in Limbo and lived to tell about it. I’m the guy who knows everything there is to know about Legion.”
Eden asked, “How many members?”
“Seven, and the group is organized by echelons. Top, middle, lower.”
Sasha leaned over. “Was Calamity one of their top leaders?”
“She wasn’t even in the middle-echelon. She only had a leg in the group because she killed a member, and they had an opening. They’re going to want to replace Calamity now, so I wonder what they’ll do.”
Violet bit her bottom lip. “How strong is the leader?”
“Macabre of the Damned is what he goes by. If ever there was a devil, he’s it. His very presence causes chaos and internal corruption of anyone around him. He feeds on the darkness of people’s hearts and lives off the fear, anger, hatred, and jealousy of all living things. But that’s not what makes him so frightening.”
Manie came into the room from the kitchen. “What else is there?”
“He’s considered a god and worshiped by civilizations around multiple worlds and universes, as such because he can turn humans into powerful monsters through something called lusus naturae. If you thought Calamity was bad, then he’s the thing of nightmares.”
Eden chuckled. “No way. There’s no way all of this is true.” He turned to Violet. “V, you can’t really believe this guy.”
She took a deep breath and then released it. “I do, and that’s why you’re all here right now. I’m leaving to go with Ebon.”
“What are you talking about?” Eden’s face broke as his eyes softened. She could feel the instant desperation.
“Ebon was the one who trained Sage. I’ll be going with him, traveling through the Allverse to recruit more people to help us prepare for a war against Legion. I’ll get the training I need to become strong enough to fight alongside you and the other Titans.”
Eden shook his head in disbelief. “No, V, that’s insane! We need you here. You can’t just leave. That’s crazy. This world needs you. We need you. I …” He patted his chest, shaking his head. “I need you. Okay? You can’t just leave.”