by R. L. Ullman
I SEEM TO BE A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT
It’s really great seeing Mom again.
There’s just one problem, she’s trying to kill me.
Mom 2 has already knocked the High Commander out of commission—and he’s on her team! We need to act fast because she’s a psychic, and psychics are known for—
“Aaahhh!” Grace 2 screams, dropping to the ground holding her head.
Too late! Mom 2’s got her!
But why not me?
“Elliott,” she says, “Why are you fighting with those heroes? And what happened to your hair?”
My hair? I’m confused for a second, and then I realize she has no clue about mirror universes. She thinks I’m Elliott 2—her blond, villainous son from her world!
Maybe I can use it to my advantage?
Grace 2 is squirming, clearly in a world of pain.
“Just a big mix-up, Mom,” I say, standing up.
“That’s what I thought,” she says. “So, do you want to finish her off, or should I?”
Finish her off? That’s her own kid!
“I-I h-hate y-you!” Grace 2 sputters out.
“I’ll do it,” I say quickly, before Mom 2 gets trigger happy. I need to make my move now, before she realizes I’m not who she thinks I am. But how am I going to stop her without risking Grace 2’s life? I can’t act faster than Mom 2 can think! I mean, it takes me a few seconds to get my own powers going! By then, she may turn Grace 2 into a vegetable!
“Now’s our chance,” comes a voice in my head.
What? Oh no.
“It’s our only chance to save her life,” it says.
“What are you waiting for?” Mom 2 asks. “Do it!”
Grace 2 is writhing on the ground. She screams out again. Mom 2 must really be turning the screws.
“Don’t ruin this for me, Elliott,” Mom 2 says. “You’re already the ruler of Earth. When we win, I get my own planet to rule.”
Grace 2 stares at me, her eyes pleading.
I have no other choice.
“Use me,” the Orb says.
“Who’s that?” Mom 2 says, snapping her head my way. “Wait … you’re not my son!”
“Orb,” I command. “Knock her out. Now!”
Suddenly, Mom 2 screams, and then falls to the ground like a limp noodle.
“No, Mom,” I say. “I’m not.”
“W-what happened?” Grace 2 says groggily. “Did you do that?”
I slump to the ground, exhausted.
“And now we’re one,” the Orb says. “Now we’re fully one.”
Which is exactly what I was afraid of.
“Elliott, are you okay?” Grace 2 asks, sliding over, and putting her hand on my shoulder.
“I’m not sure,” I say. The last time the Orb and I were connected, I was able to use my willpower to completely master it. But this time, it feels different—like we’re sharing space in my brain—like I’m not alone. “I just need a minute.”
“I think she was really going to kill me this time,” she says. “You saved my life.”
“No problem,” I say. “I didn’t realize your mom was so evil. It was … shocking.”
“Tell me about it,” she says. “I’ve been dealing with it since I was little. Dad tried to protect me from her, but I guess you can’t always shield the ones you love. But even I didn’t realize how deep her madness ran. I guess I do now.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say.
“It’s not your fault,” Grace 2 says. “At least there’s some comfort knowing she’s a good person on your world.”
“The best,” I say. Suddenly, I feel an overwhelming wave of emotion. Images of my family flash through my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever missed them more than I do right now.
“Hey,” Grace 2 says, putting her arms around me. “We’ll get through this. Together.”
I smile, and wipe my eyes. Even though I don’t have my family here, Grace 2 is the next best thing. “C’mon,” I say. “Let’s find that stupid cube. We’ve got a planet to save.”
We lock hands, and pull each other up. Mom 2 and the High Commander are still out, and I don’t want to be hanging around when they wake up. We’ve got to find the Building Block, and even though I don’t like it, I know what I need to do.
“Orb,” I think. “Can you locate the Building Block?”
“The cube is a cosmic entity,” it replies. “I can sense it’s energy, but can’t pinpoint it’s exact location. We need to travel further north.”
Well, that’s better than nothing, so I tell Grace 2 I’ve got a hunch. She wraps her arms around me, and we take off again.
I feel guilty not telling her about the Orb, but I don’t want to freak her out either. After all, I think it’s the Orb that corrupted her brother. So, telling her may cloud her trust in me. Especially with the war being waged inside my head right now.
“Why don’t we end this silly game,” the Orb says.
“Shut up,” I reply.
“We can do that,” it says, “we don’t need Order or Chaos. We can make our own destiny. Together.”
“Stay focused,” I command. “And please, stop talking.”
“You don’t want to know where the cube is?” it asks.
“Of course I want to know where the stupid cube is,” I say.
“Then I guess I’ll keep talking.”
And it’s like this the rest of the way—the Orb yammers on and on about “destiny” and “ruling the universe.” I try to ignore it, to treat it like background noise, but it’s not easy when you can’t turn it off.
We’re in the air for a long time, and Grace 2 is noticeably tired from lugging me such a long way. We pass through several more changes in scenery—islands, grasslands, swamp—and every time it’s like crossing some abrupt, imaginary divide.
And then we enter a desert.
“The Building Block is hidden here,” the Orb says.
White sands spread out beneath us for miles. It’s hot—oppressively hot—with not even the hint of a breeze. Beads of sweat form on my forehead and trickle down the back of my neck. Strangely, the landscape is almost beautiful here, if you weren’t fighting for survival.
Grace 2’s loft lowers noticeably, the harsh climate sapping her strength. We’d better be close, because I’m not sure she’s going to make it much farther.
And then, up ahead, I see it, rising above the sea of whiteness into the burning sky—a giant pyramid. At first, it seems like a mirage—an optical illusion conjured up by my tired brain. But, as we get closer I know it’s real. I studied ancient Egypt and its pyramid’s in school, but I’ve never seen a real one before. It’s truly an engineering marvel—triangular in shape, and faced on all sides with polished, green limestone.
“The artifact is inside the pyramid,” the Orb says.
“We’ve found it!” I yell to Grace 2. “It’s in there!”
She whoops with delight.
But our celebration is short-lived, because there are three small dots at the base of the pyramid—only one of which is moving. Someone is waiting for us—next to a pair of bodies lying in the sand.
It’s Siphon! And the bodies are Aries and Wind Walker!
And then I remember Siphon’s powers.
“Pull up!” I shout. “Pull up!”
But, it’s too late. Just as Grace 2 changes course, a black void opens in front of us, swallowing us whole!
Suddenly, we’re flying through a pitch black tunnel. The space around us is narrowing, closing in quickly. There’s a powerful headwind pushing against us, like we’re going the wrong way through a vacuum cleaner hose! And then, with a loud POP, we tumble headfirst out the other side.
My mouth fills with sand. I try scrambling to my feet, but lose my footing, landing on top of something hard. Lifting my head, I’m face-to-face with an unconscious Wind Walker! Thankfully, he’s breathing. Then it dawns on me what happened. Siphon must have used Wind Walker’s powers to yank us clear
out of the sky! Aries is lying beside us, knocked out, but clearly breathing, too.
I check on Grace 2, who’s bent over by the base of the pyramid, tossing her cookies.
I’m the only one in fighting shape.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
I move to stand up, when the area around me darkens in a large shadow.
“Sorry about your friends,” Siphon says. “They took out Overlord, so they didn’t do too badly. But, unfortunately for them, I’m on a completely different level.”
I don’t think truer words have been spoken. The last time we met, my negation powers didn’t work at all on him. But this time, I’m not alone. I’ve got the Orb of Oblivion.
I look into Siphon’s eyes, but surprisingly, his expression isn’t threatening. Something tells me to hold back.
“The Building Block is inside the pyramid,” Siphon says matter-of-factly. “There’s a secret door on the outside, leading to a maze of passages. Once you reach the main chamber, the Building Block’s inside the pharaoh’s sarcophagus. Seems kind of fitting, doesn’t it?”
I stare at him, baffled. “If you know all this, why didn’t you grab it? You’d win the contest. You’d have your own planet to rule?”
“Oh, believe me,” he says, “I considered it. But when I learned you were one of my opponents, I couldn’t believe my luck. From that moment, game or no game, destroying you became my number one priority. I decided that even if I found the Building Block before finding you, I’d wait to win the game. That way, I wouldn’t miss my chance for revenge before we were transported off this crazy world.”
Seriously? This guy is nuts! “I told you,” I say, rising cautiously. “I didn’t kill your father. It was the Skelton.”
“Yeah, you did say that,” Siphon says. “But the High Commander tells a different story.”
The High Commander? I forgot! Siphon and the High Commander have been partners on Chaos’ team for days! I need to think fast.
“And you believed him?” I ask, making it to my feet, shocked he let me stand at all without taking my head off.
And then I realize something.
If he wanted to kill me so badly, why hasn’t he done it by now? My Mom’s words echo in my brain: Never judge a book by its cover. Just because he looks like Meta-Taker, doesn’t mean he acts like Meta-Taker. Then, I get an idea.
“You know, villains like the High Commander are notorious for lying. And so was your father.”
“What?” Siphon says angrily.
Okay, tread carefully. Think this through.
“When we first met, you said your father isolated you,” I continue. “Which got me thinking—was he really protecting you from others, like he told you? Or was he keeping you from finding out the truth about who he really was?”
“What are you talking about?” Siphon says.
“Did you know your father wasn’t just a villain, but he was the worst kind of villain—a cold-blooded murderer?”
“Liar!” Siphon yells. “My father did what needed to be done! To make a life for both of us! If someone needed to be destroyed, there was a reason for it!”
“No, Siphon,” I say. “He murdered innocents—and he murdered often. In fact, you might not know this, but he murdered five members of the original Freedom Force—good people—heroes. You may be his son, but I don’t think you’re like him. In fact, I don’t think you’re like him at all. If you were, wouldn’t you have killed me by now?”
Siphon is frozen. I can see the wheels spinning in his brain. It’s working!
“Use me!” the Orb says inside my mind. “Use me now!”
“Shut up!” I command. “Not now!”
Suddenly, Siphon’s eyes ignite with swirling, red energy. “What’s this?” he says, astonished. “What’s all of this power I feel coming off of you. You’re trying to trick me. You’re setting me up!”
“Go dark!” I yell to the Orb in my mind. “Now!”
“My father was right,” Siphon says, “I can’t trust anybody!”
“No,” I say. “That’s not true.”
Siphon’s red energy kicks into overdrive. Suddenly, I feel drained. Like all of my energy is leaving me.
Siphon’s body starts to swell, growing larger and larger as he draws more and more power away from me … and into him!
“Orb?” I call into my mind.
But there’s no answer.
“Are you there, Orb? Talk to me?”
Nothing.
I look back at Siphon whose ballooned in size. He’s like a cartoon of himself, bloated and deformed. “The power,” he mutters. “Such unbelievable power … ”
I need to get away from Siphon—to draw the Orb’s power away of him! But then—
“BOOM!” comes a deafening sound from above.
I look up to find a silver, sleek-looking ship with a long, cylindrical body hovering in the sky.
The Ghost Ship! But how?
“KABOOM!” comes an even more thunderous noise overhead, knocking me to my knees, and sending my ears ringing.
Looking up, I find the Ghost Ship surrounded by a fleet of ships. Skelton warships.
The Emperor has found me.
I LEARN WHY OPPOSITES ATTRACT
It’s just another day at the office for your friendly neighborhood super-zero.
I’m fighting for my life in the middle of a desert, Grace 2 is still recovering from our psychedelic roller-coaster ride, Aries and Wind Walker are comatose, Siphon seems to have sucked the Orb of Oblivion’s power into his body, and the Zodiac are being chased by an armada of Skelton warships.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the Building Block—the whole reason we’re stuck on this crazy planet in the first place—which is sitting inside the tomb of an ancient pharaoh, just waiting for someone to grab it.
I seriously should consider a different line of work. One where my life isn’t at stake every second—like dentistry.
But that’ll have to wait, because right now I’ve got to get my act together.
At the moment, Siphon is distracted by the aerial fireworks happening overhead. I could make a run for the Building Block, but there’s no way I’d get two feet before he creamed me. I need a game plan, but at this point I’m flat out of ideas.
Just then, the Ghost Ship slams to the ground, skidding hundreds of feet in the sand before coming to a stop. The hatch pops open, and out jump a host of friendly faces: Gemini, Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio, and Sagittarius! And, of course, my old pal, Leo.
They see me, and start running towards us!
“Stop!” I yell. “Stay back!”
The Zodiac freeze in their tracks. Thank goodness! I couldn’t imagine adding even more powers to Siphon’s growing arsenal.
Suddenly, dozens of Skelton warships touch down around us. But before we can organize, ramps deploy and hundreds of Blood Bringers swarm out. Within seconds, we’re surrounded!
The Blood Bringers are as big as I remember—sumo-sized warriors clad in armor and carrying deadly spear-like weapons. Just then, a group parts in the center, creating a pathway for a Skelton wearing a gold cape and crown.
The Emperor!
He looks down at me with his neon-green eyes, grinning from pointy ear to pointy ear. “So, Orb Master, we meet again. You seem to have forgotten you are my prisoner.”
I have to admit, he’s even more intimidating in person. He’s tall, broad shouldered, and has a sinister quality to his face that makes you think someone’s about to stick a dagger in your back. Which probably isn’t too far from the truth.
“Sorry about that,” I say. “Something came up.”
I realize that standing before me is the most feared man in the universe, responsible for orchestrating countless acts of death and destruction. He ordered the murders of K’ami and her father. He endorsed what happened to all the villains who lost their lives at Lockdown—including Siphon’s father.
I turn to catch Siphon’s eye, but he’s gone!
Wher
e’d he go?
Instinctively, I look towards the pyramid, only to find Siphon stepping out of one of Wind Walker’s rifts! He feels delicately along the pyramid’s stone exterior, and then pushes through a secret door. He’s going for the Building Block!
I’ve got to stop him. But first I need to solve my present conundrum.
The Emperor looks me squarely in the eyes. “Grab the boy,” he orders to his minions. “Dispose of the rest.”
The Skelton charge forward!
Suddenly, they’re on me, pulling my arms behind my back, and lifting me off the ground! The next thing I know, I’m dropped in front of the Emperor!
“No more games, Orb Master,” the Emperor says. “Now you will pay for running away by watching your friends die.”
The Zodiac spring into action, but the Blood Bringers use their shape-shifting powers to transform into a horde of horrific creatures. Scorpio and Sagittarius fend off multi-headed beasts and tentacled monsters. Gemini and Taurus scatter an army of scampering scorpion creatures. Pisces is being chased by a flock of winged, frog-like things. And I have no clue where Leo is. It’s only a matter of time before they’re overrun.
But I need to catch Siphon!
Scorpio disappears under a pile of muscled rodents.
I need to act now, before it’s too late! I may not have the Orb’s power, but I still have mine. I think all the way back to my mission with the Destruction Crew—the one that got me kicked off the Freedom Force.
If I can use my powers to stop the Blood Bringers, it should be easy for the Zodiac to do the rest. But, what if I mistakenly wipe out everyone’s powers again? They’d be doomed! But, if I don’t try, they’re doomed anyway!
For some reason, I hear Grace 2’s words in my head: you can’t always shield the ones you love.
Maybe, just maybe …
I close my eyes, and focus harder than I’ve ever focused before. I push my negation powers as far and as wide as I can. But this time, I picture all of the heroes in my mind: Scorpio, Sagittarius, Gemini, Pisces, Taurus, Grace 2, Wind Walker, Aries—even Leo—and I wrap them in a mental shield—protecting them from the effects of my powers. And then I pray. Please work, please work, please—
“What is happening?” cries the Emperor.
I open my eyes, and do a double take! All of the terrifying creatures are gone! And, in their places stand hundreds of confused Blood Bringers.