by Lucas Flint
“You two can talk more about your alternate universe adventures later,” said Aster, drawing everyone’s attention to himself. He ran a hand through his hair. “Right now, we need to talk about our next moves. Or your next moves, really, because the IEA won’t be able to do much more than offer you guys support.”
Beams frowned. “Why? Doesn’t the IEA have a lot of resources and men?”
Aster rubbed the back of his neck without meeting Beams’ eyes. “Yeah, we do, but the Dread God is heads and shoulders above us and even his army is not a force to be reckoned with. Plus, it looks like Nova did a lot more than just try to open the airlocks. Some of my agents report finding fuel cans opened and emptied close to the hyperdrive engines, which we figure was probably Nova’s Plan B if this one failed.”
“Are you saying he would have blown up the entire base if this plan failed and we didn’t knock him out?” said Bolt in horror.
“Probably,” said Aster. “Luckily, the cleanup crew has already thoroughly wiped it all up, but it still wasted a lot of fuel, so until we replenish our supplies, I’m not going to send out as many agents as I normally would. But I can still offer you guys help if you need it.”
“And what about Galaxy?” said Bolt, leaning forward with a concerned look on her face. “I know she was taken to your medical wing, but I haven’t heard any reports about her since.”
“She’ll probably be okay, but I don’t think she’ll be able to fight and go on missions for some time,” said Aster. “That laser blast to the chest just barely—and by barely, I mean less than an inch—missed her heart. We’ve got some of the best medical equipment and doctors in the multiverse, so she should be okay, but like I said, she also won’t be able to go anywhere or fight for a while.”
Beams nodded. He didn’t expect help from Space, either, because Mr. Space and Sparky had gone to visit Captain Galaxy in her ward in the medical wing. That was why they were not present for this meeting because Mr. Space had wanted to see Captain Galaxy and make sure she was okay. “I see. Then what help can you offer us?”
Aster leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face as he considered all their options. “About two dozen available agents, more or less, along with six ships. Plus, I can send out a message to all field agents to report back to HQ any information they find on the Dread God and the Darzens, which might help us anticipate their next move.”
“That’s nice and all,” said Bolt, “but it’s also kind of useless because we don’t know what to do next.”
“We could search for the Dread God,” Hypno suggested. “Find out where he has disappeared to.”
“If that means going back to Jinkopa, forget it,” said Shade, folding her arms in front of her chest. “I played slave once already and I absolutely hated it. Plus, if I never have to see the Dread God’s god ugly face again, I’ll be very happy with myself.”
“If we don’t find the Dread God, though, then he’ll destroy the multiverse,” said Bolt. “Or at least take it over. Maybe we should just go back to our own universes and try to prepare everyone there. The Dread God will probably begin invading the multiverse soon, so the least we can do is get our universes ready for whatever happens next.”
Beams shook his head. “No, that will be useless. The Dread God is too powerful for us to defeat or even resist effectively right now. Even if we had the full force of the IEA on our side and the assembled might of every superhero from our universes, the Dread God would still win. We have only one real way to beat him.”
“One real way, huh?” said Bolt, looking at Beams. “And what, may I ask, would that be and how do you know it?”
Beams shifted in his seat. “I can’t tell you how I know it, but I do know that we need to go back to my universe to find the God Slayer. It is supposedly in the same place where the Dread God’s first body was buried, which is somewhere in Antarctica. If we can find the God Slayer, and use it, then we stand a good chance at killing him again, maybe for good.”
“The God Slayer, huh?” said Shade. She smiled. “I like it.”
“Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the God Slayer supposed to be millions of years old now?” said Bolt, tilting his head to the side. “How do we know it will even still work, especially against the Dread God’s new, fresh body?”
Beams shrugged. “I don’t know if it still works or not, but I do know that the Dread God fears the God Slayer—might be the only thing he really fears—and that if we want to have any chance of killing him, then we need to go to that ancient city and find it.”
“The IEA will provide you with whatever help you need in order to find this God Slayer,” said Aster, giving Beams the thumbs up. “If you need transportation back to your universe, then you can count on us. We’ll provide you with whatever backup or help you guys need.”
“Thanks,” said Beams with a smile. “It might make sense for you guys to send spies to Jinkopa and try to figure out what is going on there. That way, we can at least be aware of what the Darzens are doing, if nothing else.”
“Excellent idea,” said Aster. “I’ll call our top spies and send them there right away. I assume you guys will be going back to your universe to find the God Slayer?”
“Of course,” said Beams. “We have no time to lose if we’re going to save the multiverse from the Dread God. Right, guys?”
Shade and Hypno nodded, but Bolt actually shook his head and said, “Sorry, but I’m not sure I will go with you guys.”
“What?” said Beams, staring at Bolt in shock. “But the God Slayer is our best hope of killing the Dread God. Don’t you want to kill him?”
“Yeah, but this mission seems too dangerous to me,” said Bolt. “The risks are too great. What if the God Slayer doesn’t work? What if it doesn’t even exist anymore? And even if it does, who is to say that the Dread God hasn’t come up with some way to counteract its effects since then? I’m normally a risk taker, but when the multiverse itself is at stake, I’m not sure I’m willing to bet the house on this one thing which may not even work.”
“Then what do you think we should do?” said Beams, barely able to hide his irritation. “Run up to the Dread God and punch him really, really hard again? That worked well last time.”
“No, not that,” said Bolt, shaking his head. “We need our own gods to fight the Dread God. At the very least, we’ll need backup if the God Slayer fails.”
“And where do you suggest we find our own gods, Bolt?” said Shade, leaning down close to his ear. “Think we’ll be able to just order some from Amazon and expect it to get here with two-day free shipping?”
Bolt rolled his eyes. “Of course not. What I’m saying is that we need to find the Starborn and ask them to help us.”
“The Starborn?” said Beams with a frown. “Who are they?”
“People you don’t want nothing to do with, kid,” said Aster with a shudder. “Or their Servants, for that matter. They’re not just the kind of people you can ask for help.”
“But I know them,” said Bolt, putting a hand on his chest. “My friends and I helped save them once from this crazy guy who tried to control them. The Starborn might be willing to listen to me, especially if I explain the threat the Dread God poses to the multiverse. If I tell them that the Dread God will come after them eventually, they might be willing to help us take them down.”
“I never met the Starborn, myself, but I’m pretty sure they’ve gone missing since the last time you saw them,” said Shade. “Right? They didn’t tell you where they’re going or anything. They could be anywhere in the multiverse.”
Aster bit his lower lip. “Well … it’s actually not as crazy as it sounds. I know someone who is in regular contact with the Starborn. She might be able to help us.”
“Really?” said Bolt. He clapped his hands together. “Great. You can take me to her and we can see if she will tell us where they are.”
Aster smiled somewhat grimly. “I guess so, but it’s been a while since I las
t spoke to her and I am not entirely sure she even wants to talk to me. Or anyone else from the IEA for that matter.”
“Why not?” said Bolt.
“Let’s just say that the IEA really dropped the ball the last time we saw her and leave it at that,” said Aster. “I normally wouldn’t even suggest visiting her, but given the circumstances, a visit to her is probably worth the risk, especially since you aren’t even an IEA agent.”
“Then it’s settled,” said Bolt. He looked at everyone. “Half of us will go back to Beams’ universe to get the God Slayer, while the other half will search for the Starborn. How does that sound?”
To Beams, it didn’t sound good at all, because that meant they’d be divided and he felt that they should be united as one in their fight against the Dread God. On the other hand, he could tell that Shade, Hypno, and Aster were all for Bolt’s idea, perhaps because they thought it was less risky than placing their bets strictly on the God Slayer. Beams had to admit, even without knowing much about these Starborn, that there was some logic to not having your eggs all in one basket.
So Beams nodded and said, “Fine. We’ll split up and go our separate ways, but let’s try to get back together as soon as possible. The longer we’re divided, the more time the Dread God has to take over the multiverse. And I don’t need to explain what will happen if the Dread God successfully conquers the multiverse.”
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Read on for more titles by Lucas Flint and a preview chapter of Amalgamation, the next and final book in the series!
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Amalgamation
Chapter One
The howling Antarctic wind cut through Beams’ body like a knife, causing him to instinctively pull his thick fur coat more tightly around his body. The visor of his helmet was battling against the cold, its automatic heater keeping the icy wind from frosting over it, though even then, Beams had to shoot very slight beams of hot energy every now and then to keep it from frosting over entirely.
I always knew that Antarctica was freezing, but I didn’t even know it could get this cold, Beams thought, fastening the chin strap of his helmet to keep his chin warm. This Texas boy is used to winters where it gets to forty degrees, not seventy degrees below zero. Glad I took that warm coat Space offered me. Otherwise, I would have frozen to death the second I stepped out of that portal.
Shivering slightly, Beams raised his head to look ahead. Mr. Space was ahead of him, trudging through the thick snow. Like Beams, he wore a thick fur coat of his own, which was apparently a special kind of coat designed for IEA agents who went to cold areas. According to Mr. Space, the coats—affectionately called oven coats—could not only keep a person warm in the heart of an iceberg but also radiated just enough heat to prevent excess frost from forming on the tips of the furs.
Mr. Space himself looked like an Eskimo in his big parka, his face covered by an expressionless mask which looked kind of like a gas mask. The touchscreen on his arm was active, showing their progress through the snow to the city known as the Lost City, according to the IEA’s records. Beams would have asked how much longer they would need to walk until they got there, but deep down, Beams knew that he would know well before Mr. Space’s GPS would, because the Dread God’s touch was still upon him and the Dread God would never forget the place where he died.
Looking over his shoulder, Beams was pleased to see that Shade was managing to keep up with them. The G-Man agent was, like Beams and Mr. Space, wearing a full-sized fur coat and parka, complete with protective mask. Hers was smaller than theirs owing to her thinner physique, but it didn’t seem to slow her down at all. It helped that she used her powers to shove aside vast amounts of snow in her path, which seemed like a rather ordinary use of such an extraordinary power to him.
Only problem is that her mask hides her cute face, Beams thought, turning his attention back to Mr. Space ahead of him. Not sure why Bolt seems to treat her like an annoying fly. If I had a girl that cute constantly flirting with me, I’d feel lucky as hell.
Beams shook his head. He vaguely recalled Bolt mentioning having a girlfriend of his own, which might explain it, but Beams still thought Bolt should be more appreciative of the attention Shade paid to him.
But Shade’s attractiveness doesn’t matter, Beams thought. What matters is how helpful she will be here on this mission.
Prior to leaving the headquarters of the Interdimensional Elite Agency, Mr. Space had insisted on taking Shade with them to the Lost City because he thought her powers might be useful out here, especially if they ran into any Darzens that might be lurking around or near the city. Hypno had gone with Bolt, Captain Galaxy, and Aster to find the Starborn, which meant that only Mr. Space, Beams, and Shade were heading to the Lost City to find the God Slayer that they could use to defeat the Dread God.
Well, Sparky is helping, too, Beams thought, although he’s actually still on the Adventure to provide backup in case anything happens down here.
Beams wasn’t quite sure what to expect as they drew closer to the Lost City. The IEA didn’t know very much about the place, other than it had been built by the Dread God and his worshipers millions of years ago and had once had many human inhabitants, who were mostly slaves for the Darzens. Beyond that, details on the Lost City were sparse because the IEA hadn’t seen any reason to investigate what the files on the Lost City called ‘empty ruins in the middle of a wasteland,’ especially with more pressing issues to deal with.
It was unlikely that the Dread God or any of his minions were here because Beams knew that the Dread God had bad memories of the place and wanted to avoid it as much as possible. But no one knew exactly what to expect once they got to the city, so all three of them were ready to fight any Darzens that might be lurking around the ruins.
I suppose the Dread God could have sent his minions here ahead of time to set up a trap for us, Beams thought as he trudged through the heavy snow, wincing slightly at a particularly cold gust of wind. But it seems to me that any Darzen who got here would probably be frozen into statues. Besides, that’s even assuming the God Slayer is still around. If the God Slayer is broken or has decayed from a lack of use, then the Dread God would have no reason to send anyone here.
But Beams pushed that thought out of his mind. He had to keep positive because their situation was tough enough as it was and the last thing he needed was to let despair overwhelm him. Besides, even if the God Slayer was not around anymore, Bolt and the others might be able to find the Starborn on their own quest, who could hopefully help them fight the Dread God.
The Starborn sound pretty powerful, based on what Bolt told me about them, Beams thought, but are they strong enough to defeat the Dread God? That’s the question I don’t know the answer to.
“Space!” Beams shouted into the microphone attached to the inside of his helmet. “How much farther until we reach the Lost City?”
“Not much farther,” Mr. Space replied, his voice resounding through Beams’ helmet. “According to my GPS, we should be there within five minutes, if not sooner.”
“Five minutes?” Shade repeated in despair. “In five minutes, we’ll be popsicles. Why didn’t we just dimension-hop directly into the City? Can’t your advanced dimension-hopping tech do that?”
“Yeah, but the IEA hasn’t mapped out the Lost City aside from its general shape, so if we teleported directly into the center, we could end up anywhere,” said Mr. Space. “As a general rule, you shouldn’t attempt to dimension-hop to anywhere you’re not familiar with. Heard lots of stories about agents ending up in horrible situations because they tried to take a shortcut. Better to dimension-hop a mile or so outside the City and make the rest of the trek by foot. Safer that way.”
“What’s so safe about walking th
rough an Antarctic blizzard?” said Shade. She shivered. “Man, I feel so sorry for the G-Men agents Cadmus sends out to the government base in Antarctica back in my universe. Makes me glad I don’t have to go there.”
“Enough talking,” said Beams. “Regardless of how we get there, we need to keep our wits about ourselves. Knowing the Dread God, he’s probably anticipated we’d try this thing and sent some of his minions ahead of time to set up a trap to ensnare us.”
“Darzens don’t do the cold very well, though,” said Mr. Space. “Their energy forms are more or less unaffected by it, but their armored bodies can suffer from frozen joints if exposed to intense cold like this. But that doesn’t mean the Darzens can’t survive out here at all, of course, because I’m sure they have some way of dealing with the cold.”
“They would have to, considering how they used to rule this place,” said Beams.
“Not necessarily,” said Mr. Space. “Evidence the IEA has collected suggests that Antarctica was a lot warmer back there, more tropical. The Lost City was abandoned partially due to the change in climate from tropical to freezing, which forced the original fans to abandon it in search of warmer climates. Of course, there’s also the fact that they were all slaves there and didn’t want to stay in the city where they were enslaved, but still, climate change was also a big factor in their migration.”
“You sure know a lot about this place despite claiming that you guys don’t have a whole lot of information about it,” said Beams.
Mr. Space glanced over his shoulder. “I didn’t say we had no information on the Lost City. We know some things, but just not enough to tell us what the city was like back in its heyday. Even if the Darzens aren’t here, we should keep our guard up just in case the ruins are unstable or there are traps left over by the previous inhabitants from before the time they left.”
Beams nodded but said nothing in response. He just glanced around at the swirling snow around them, imagining Darzen warriors lying underneath the snow, just waiting to jump him and the others when they least expected it.