by R. L. Ullman
I grab him by the shoulders. “Yes!” I say. “Yes! Do it now!”
“Well, okay,” says Makeshift. Then I watch as he stretches out his hands, and a familiar yellow circle appears. It expands like a giant rubber band, moving faster and faster, and then, with a loud WHOOSH, it disappears. In its place, stands seven surprised figures.
My family!
They’re all there: Mom, Dad, Grace, Shadow Hawk, Master Mime, Blue Bolt and TechnocRat. The Freedom Force is back!
I run into my parent’s arms.
“Elliott,” Mom says. “Where have you been?”
But I’m so overwhelmed, I can’t answer. It feels so great to have them back.
“Um, forget about him,” says Grace. “What the heck’s going on out there?”
They turn towards the war, and their eyes pop out of their sockets.
“Holy guacamole,” TechnocRat whispers.
“There’s no time for details,” I say. “We need to help the bad guys beat the aliens. All of you know how to lead a team into battle. Mom, you take the Psychics. Dad, you’ve got the Strongmen. Grace, take the Flyers. Shadow Hawk, the Energy Manipulators. TechnocRat’s got the Intellects, Master Mime the Magicians, and Blue Bolt the Speedsters. I’ll take the Meta-morphs. Now let’s go!”
I start into the fray, but the Freedom Force is glued to their spots.
“I said, let’s go!”
“But, Elliott,” Dad says, “these guys are dangerous. What makes you think they’ll listen to us?”
“You’re right,” I say, flashing the Orb. “They won’t listen to you. But I know they’ll listen to me.”
I focus on the Orb and it starts to pulsate. I use the Orb’s power to access my knowledge of each and every Meta profile and then push this knowledge out, planting this information into the minds of each villain. Then, I command them to stop fighting independently, and to reorganize into their respective Meta power classifications. Suddenly, the villains start to re-form, fighting no longer as individuals, but as teams.
“There, now they’re ready for you.” I turn to the Freedom Force, but they’re just standing there with their jaws hanging open.
“Oh, and see that big one over there?” I say, pointing to the High Commander.
They nod.
“That one’s mine. Got it?”
They nod again.
“Okay then,” I say. “Let’s go!”
“Well, you heard the man,” Dad says. “Freedom Force—it’s Fight Time!”
I lead the way, and they follow me into battle.
I DOOM THE ENTIRE FREAKING UNIVERSE
With the Freedom Force’s leadership, the tide turns quickly.
Dad and Blue Bolt join the Strongmen and Speedsters together and strike at the heart of the Blood Brigade army. Mom and Shadow Hawk spread out the Psychics and Energy Manipulators and start picking off victims one by one. Grace takes her Flyers airborne to stop the flow of incoming spaceships, while Master Mime and his Magicians provide ground cover. TechnocRat collects his Intellects and disappears inside the prison for reasons I can’t begin to fathom.
But, I don’t have time to sit around gawking.
I have to save the world.
My Meta-morphs are fighting on the far side of the courtyard, and I’m struggling to make my way over without getting dismembered, or worse, losing hold of all the Meta villains under my control. I dodge the metal leg of Retractable Man, vault over Tumbler, and use Ripcord as a slingshot. After avoiding a barrage of crossfire, I finally make it.
The Meta-morphs are more than holding their own. Flameout has a group of Blood Bringers pinned behind a giant wall of fire. Black Cloud is storming over packs of victims. The Berserker is doing his best impression of King Kong, swatting any ships that manage to break through the blockade that Grace and the Flyers have setup. But, the Meta-morph I need is engaged in an epic battle with the High Commander.
Meta-Taker.
To my surprise, the High Commander is matching him blow for blow. Clearly, the High Commander is no ordinary Skelton. And if he can hang with a powerhouse like Meta-Taker, then just how strong is this guy?
I decide to find out.
I tap into the Orb and send a command into Meta-Taker’s brain. Power up! Power up until you can’t power up anymore!
Meta-Taker stops, and then stretches out his arms. I feel a strange sensation radiating from his mind. Then the orange energy from his eyes spills out in every direction. It’s as if his whole being is unlocking—like every cell in his body is opening up, drawing in all of the Meta powers around him. Through his mind, I can feel the energy building up in his veins. It feels incredible. It feels like he’s on a completely different level.
It feels like he’s at Meta 4.
Now let’s see what this bad boy can do.
I send the command to attack and Meta-Taker charges the High Commander at ridiculous speed, plowing the alien into the building behind him with such force the entire structure collapses on top of them. Then Meta-Taker emerges from the rubble and bombards the High Commander with a flurry of pulsar beams, concussion blasts, and lightning strikes, resulting in a gigantic explosion that sends debris flying everywhere.
I order Meta-Taker to pull back. The air is so thick with smoke it’s impossible to see anything. For any normal foe, that probably would be the end of the story, but I know the High Commander isn’t any normal foe.
That’s when I feel the ground trembling beneath my feet. And then, as the smoke starts to clear, I see humungous chunks of concrete being tossed aside like throw pillows. The next thing I know, something very large shoots up into the air and lands with a earth-shattering thud. But, that “something” isn’t the High Commander at all.
The creature stands over two stories tall. At first, it appears almost ape-like, but with deep, red eyes and matted green fur covering every inch of its immense, muscled body. It pounds its chest and lets out a deafening roar from between razor-sharp teeth. And then, out of nowhere, it unfolds a giant pair of bat-like wings and makes an unbelievable fifty-foot leap straight into the chest of Meta-Taker. Meta-Taker crashes through a wall.
Now I can see why the Blood Bringers are an unstoppable killing force. And from what K’ami told me, I’m guessing this is just one of the horrific forms the High Commander can adopt. Even at Meta 4, I can’t imagine how Meta-Taker will possibly win this fight.
But Meta-Taker brushes himself off, and squares up to his enemy. Then the villain activates his orange flames again, reaching out to draw in even more Meta power. What is he doing? Is he trying to reach Meta 5?
The creature doesn’t wait to find out. Instead, it extends its giant wings and takes to the air again.
Before Meta-Taker can strike, his body starts to swell, his muscles inflating to grotesque proportions. It looks like he may have drawn in too much power. More power than he can possibly contain.
I frantically try to reverse my instructions. Power down! Power down! But, it’s too late. Meta-Taker is frozen in place. He looks like a giant balloon.
Then, the creature drops in front of Meta-Taker, opens its jaws and snaps down.
The explosion is massive.
I’m instantly blown off my feet. All I can think about is holding on to the Orb. My body smashes into something hard and unforgiving, knocking the wind out of me.
I find myself lying on the ground, covered in rubble. I’m still alive, except, in addition to a broken hand, I now have incredibly sore ribs. I draw the Orb close to my chest. Somehow, I managed to hang on to it.
The explosion was so blinding it takes a few seconds for my eyes to readjust. But when they do, I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Everything within a twenty-yard radius of Meta-Taker has been completely vaporized. Flameout. Black Cloud. The Berserker. Everything and everyone is gone. Except for—
“No more games, earthling,” says The High Commander, “Give me the Orb and I will let the girl live.” The High Commander stands no more than ten feet away.
Somehow he survived the blast and is now back to his original form. I notice immediately that most of his armor is shredded. And, more importantly, he’s missing his helmet. He must have ditched it when he turned into that monster. That means I can use the Orb on him! But then I realize what he said, and who he’s holding.
Grace is hanging face-up beneath one of his massive arms. His other hand is wrapped firmly around her neck. Meta-Taker’s blast must have been so powerful that it knocked Grace right out of the sky. And the High Commander is gripping her so tightly she’s struggling to breathe. The terror in her eyes says all I need to know. I can’t risk using the Orb on him when simply closing his hand would instantly crush her throat.
But, I can’t just turn over the Orb either.
“If I give you the Orb, you’ll kill us all,” I say.
“Perhaps,” he says. “But, I was not sent to your world to destroy it. My mission was to achieve two objectives. I have accomplished the first, and I will not leave until I complete the second.”
My blood starts boiling. “So I take it murdering a girl was one of your objectives.”
“K’ami Sollarr was a traitor,” he says. “She killed five guards during her escape. She was a dangerous criminal.”
“She was my friend!” I shout. “My best friend! Better than you, or your stinking Emperor or your whole freaking planet!”
He smiles. It’s strange to see his face so clearly. He looks just like K’ami’s father, but with a squarer jaw and a large diagonal scar that runs from his forehead, across his left eye and down his cheek. “My hand is getting tired,” he says. “So, I suggest we discuss my original bargain. Give me the Orb and I will give you the girl.”
By now, I realize that all the fighting has stopped. Everyone is watching us, waiting for my response. The fate of the whole universe is hanging on my word.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the worried looks of my parents. I need more time to think, but I don’t have it. I need to stall.
“What assurances will you offer me?” I ask.
“I offer you my word,” The High Commander says. “On my world, our word is our currency. I give you my word that if you give me the Orb of Oblivion, I will leave you in peace.”
If I’ve learned anything in this mess it’s two things. One, my track record trusting Skeltons is not a good one. Two, if I don’t give him the Orb then Grace is a goner. I don’t have time to think this through. But then, I realize I’m not alone in this either.
I reach out in my mind.
“Orb?” I say. “Who is your one true master?”
“You, Elliott Harkness,” the Orb answers. “You are my one true master.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I say. “Once, a very good friend told me a story about how you convinced a star to explode. Was that story true?”
“Yes,” says the Orb. “I was weak—waning and insignificant. I convinced the star to give up its life for me so that I could become significant again.”
“Yes,” I say. “And you did become significant again. Very significant. That was selfless of the star, wasn’t it? Sacrificing its life for such a great cause.”
“Yes,” says the Orb. “Yes, it was.”
“What have you decided, earthling?” The High Commander demands.
I look at Grace’s terrified face. “Order your men back to your warship. All of them. Now.”
“Very well,” the High Commander says, raising an eyebrow. “Pull back! All of you!”
We watch as the Blood Bringers follow his orders, filing back into their spaceships and heading up to the larger warship in the sky. Only the High Commander and one ship remain.
“Well?” The High Commander asks. “Will you complete the bargain and grant me safe passage to my ship?”
“First,” I say, “release the girl.”
The High Commander laughs. “Do you take me for a fool? As soon as I give you the girl you will attack me with the Orb. Instead we will do the exchange simultaneously. And then, you will allow me to go back to my ship unharmed. Agreed?”
I hesitate for a moment. What choice do I have?
“I’ll give you safe passage to your ship. When you reach your ship, you’ll turn around immediately and head back to your planet. You’ll leave mine unharmed. Deal?”
“Agreed,” he says.
“On the count of three then. One ... two ... three ...”
He throws Grace to me, and I flip him the Orb.
Grace crumples in my arms. “Thank you,” she says crying. “Thank you, Elliott.”
The High Commander catches the Orb in his bare hands. “The Orb of Oblivion,” he whispers.
“Now, go!” I command. “And never return!”
The High Commander looks up like he’s startled. Like he forgot I’m even here. “Yes, I gave you my word.”
“As did I,” I respond. I throw him the Sheeld Box.
He catches it and hesitates before putting the Orb inside. Then he snaps it shut.
The High Commander nods and then returns to his spaceship. We watch it lift off and then reconnect with the warship above.
Makeshift peers around a corner, “Um, did you just doom all of humanity?”
“Possibly,” I say. “But I don’t think so.”
Just then, TechnocRat comes scampering out of Lockdown. “Elliott, the Intellects and I fixed all the Meta 3 cells. I thought I should put all that brain power to good use. Now we need to get these villains locked up again. I already secured my bunch.”
So that’s where he went! Man, I love that rat.
I look up at the sky. The warship starts turning away from Earth. I still don’t trust that some giant laser beam isn’t going to come firing down on us, blasting us all to smithereens.
“Dad,” I say. “Can you and the Freedom Force make sure you get all these villains back in their cells? And I suggest you do it as quickly as possible.”
“Sure, Elliott,” Dad says. “Team, let’s move!” Then he stops and looks at Makeshift. “What about this guy?”
“He’s okay. Leave him with me.”
Makeshift and I stand for a while, watching the warship maneuver.
“Wait a minute,” Makeshift says. “Are you still controlling the Meta 3’s?”
“Yep,” I say.
“But you’re not holding the Orb,” Makeshift says.
“Nope. I realized I didn’t have to.”
Just then, the ship kicks on its jets and enters hyper-speed, disappearing into the night sky. The High Commander kept his word. And so had I.
I close my eyes and reach out to the orb. I can still feel our connection.
“Orb,” I say. “It’s time.”
“Yes,” the Orb says. “I am ready.”
“Thank you,” I say. “You will shine as the brightest star in the universe for all eternity.”
“Never show weakness,” says the Orb.
“Yes,” I say. “Never show weakness.”
And then, somewhere in the distant galaxy, the Orb of Oblivion sacrifices its life and a Blood Brigade warship explodes into a brilliant flash of nothingness.
THREE VERY LONG MONTHS LATER...
I hop into the command chair and set the Meta Monitor on manual control. It’s Friday night, the busiest night of the week, and I’m hoping to get lucky. It’s been months since I could use my right hand, but now that my cast is off, I’m itching for some action.
I brought popcorn with me, so I set the cameras to cycle through The Waystation to spot any furry predators. Not that I can find Dog-Gone anyway—especially if he’s in stealth mode. Note to self: get TechnocRat to install heat-seeking cameras.
My Dad is in the lab, analyzing my powers. Ever since Lockdown, he and TechnocRat have run me through a whole battery of tests. Apparently, my powers are similar to only one other Meta they’ve seen before. Meta-Taker. They realized in testing me that perhaps they misclassified him. Our powers are so unique, they don’t fit within any of the eight standard Meta c
lassifications. So, they created a new one.
They’re calling it Meta Manipulation.
We’re still trying to make sense of it, but while Meta-Taker could absorb and use the powers of others, I can manipulate, and even nullify, the Meta powers of others. I found this surprising at first, but then, I thought back to all the stuff that’s happened to me. Like when the Worm tried to kill me, but couldn’t use his powers. Or when Taser tried to fry me, but his electricity bounced off my chest. Or, how I cancelled Meta-Taker’s powers when he tried to take mine.
Or, how I was the only one that could control the Orb of Oblivion.
The strange thing is that my powers seem to be reactive in nature. So, they could have been there all along. I was just never in a dangerous enough situation with Metas to bring them out. Which also made me wonder if Mom could really read my mind in the first place?
It’s funny how life can kick you in the teeth.
I keep cycling through the Waystation cameras.
Speaking of Mom, I find her in the Bulk Transporter Room, unloading boxes from the Prop House. We decided to put the Prop House up for sale. After those Meta 1 morons broke in, we just didn’t feel safe using it anymore. I mean, who knows how many of their friends they talked to? So, we packed everything up. Of course, we removed the Transporter and all signs of our Meta existence. In the meantime, Grace and I are being homeschooled by the Freedom Force. Shadow Hawk is my favorite teacher, he likes to ditch the books and take us to the Combat Room for a real education.
And, not surprisingly, it’s in the Combat Room where I find him. He and Blue Bolt are working on a few new moves together. It looks like they pulled up a robot assault scenario and are competing on who can disable them faster. I know Blue Bolt’s a Meta 3 Speedster, but I’d never bet against Shadow Hawk.
TechnocRat and Master Mime are in the Hangar. TechnocRat refuses to let Master Mime pilot anything until he completes at least 1,000 hours in the flight simulator. I can’t blame him. He’s just spent months building the Freedom Flyer III. He keeps saying this one is the best version ever. And he’s right, because it’s made with Skelton technology.