by Zack Archer
The man’s hands moved faster than an orchestra conductor’s as he shaped and spun the tesseracts into different shapes and objects. I’d been to the beach once in Delaware as a kid and watched workers on a boardwalk pull and stretch taffy, and it reminded me of what the man was doing.
Aware of our presence, the man turned, and I caught sight of the Polymath.
It was impossible to tell how old he was, but his long, shovel-like face was weathered like a baseball mitt, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of hi-tech, dark wraparounds.
The tesseracts remained spinning in the air as the Polymath’s hands came down.
“Enter,” he said, with a solemn voice. “There isn’t much time.”
23
I was the last one into the inner sanctum, and the Polymath’s expression changed as he shot me a look.
“Hey, asshat,” the Polymath said, pointing to me.
I looked at the others, then pointing at myself. “You mean…me?”
“You see any other asshats around?”
I shook my head, and the Polymath pointed at the rock entrance door. “How ‘bout you do us all a favor and close the fucking door.”
The language was a shocker. I guess I expected a little more of a dignified response from one of the dudes who’d helped design and build not only that world but the friggin’ galaxy.
“Now I’m starting to see why he lives by himself,” Liberty whispered to me, helping me to close the door.
Lyric nodded. “He seems like kind of a dick.”
“I hear he’s got multiple personalities,” Liberty added.
“Yeah,” I said. “And all of them are probably assholes.”
The Polymath gestured for everyone to follow him as he moved incredibly slowly, clutching a silver cane that glowed, gimping down to a sunken space that resembled the living room in my mom’s old house.
There were strange multi-colored, holographic images swirling in the air (like the insides of an old school lava lamp) before the far wall that was made entirely of what looked like thick glass. It provided a panoramic view of the valley and surrounding grounds.
The Polymath slumped in an ergonomic lounge chair formed out of solid rock that shaped and shifted to fit the outline of his body. He sighed, his eyes locked on the glass wall. “The bastards finally got to Greylock didn’t they?”
Atlas nodded. “You know?”
“I know everything,” the Polymath said.
For some reason, I blurted out: “Seriously?”
The Polymath gaped back at me. “It was a figure of speech, kid. Nobody can literally know everything. Who the fuck are you by the way?”
“Quincy,” I said.
Atlas engineered a half-smile. “He’s new, sir.”
“From Earth,” Splinter added.
“Figures,” the Polymath said, shaking his head. “Nothing good ever came from Earth. Except for porn. Porn is the Earth’s lone contribution to the galaxy’s shared heritage.”
The others shared nervous looks because not only was the Polymath salty, he seemed a little kray-kray, nuttier than a fucking bedbug in a straitjacket. He tapped his cane on the ground. “I assume the Morningstars were involved some way in his assassination?”
“They did it,” Aurora said, some steel in her voice. “They murdered him.”
“Was the Harbinger part of it?”
“Absolutely,” Splinter said.
Atlas waved him off. “That’s unclear, sir. We’ve got no direct evidence of his involvement.”
“Sometimes you don’t need direct evidence,” the Polymath grumbled. “Sometimes you just get a feeling in your belly.”
“What does your gut tell you?” Splinter asked.
“That the Harbinger’s morality is as insubstantial as mist,” the Polymath said. “He sits in his multi-level armored headquarters and pulls strings when the others aren’t looking.”
“We should take the bastard out,” the Kaptain said.
The Polymath smiled. “Defeating a villain is one thing. Taking out an Elemental is something else entirely.”
Nobody responded, and the Polymath looked at each of us. “Let’s assume that there was some grand conspiracy to kill Greylock. So…you think…what? That those who were involved will be coming for the one thing that none of us are permitted to possess?”
Aurora nodded. “The Morningstars want to use the Light Breaker to destroy the Caul.”
The Polymath chuckled, a deep guttural laugh as if his lungs were filled with fluid. “My time grows very short, Atlas.”
“We know that,” Atlas replied.
“I have very little left to offer.”
“We know that too…”
“Then why are you bothering me?” the Polymath asked. “I don’t enforce the laws, and I don’t get involved in personal disputes.”
“We came because there’s no other way,” Atlas said. “The fate of the universe may be hanging in the balance.”
The Polymath held up his silver cane, and the glass began changing colors, showing images, a POV shot of what looked like someone tunneling through rock and sand.
“Assuming I was in a position to help, you have no idea what awaits the seeker of the Light Breaker,” the Polymath said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“We know the path forward is a treacherous one,” Liberty said.
“Intentionally so,” the Polymath said. “When the decision was made to place the object down at this level, at the far end of the Empty Quarter, six of us, six of the most powerful remaining Elementals, agreed to remain behind, to live here and guard the entire area from those who might seek to undo what we had done. I’m the last one left.”
The images on the glass flickered to show what appeared to be a metal bridge spanning a roiling, blood-red river.
The Polymath pointed at the images with his cane.
There was something visible on the other side of the bridge.
Nothing was entirely clear, but the outline of whatever was there was immense.
“Even if I showed you the way, it’s unlikely that you’d be able to reach it.”
“We have to try,” I said. “There’s no other way.”
With much effort, the Polymath stood and removed his dark wraparounds. His eyes were grayish-white, piercing (sniper’s eyes, my mother used to say), and hooded. The kind of eyes you see on combat veterans, people who’ve witnessed things that once seen, cannot be unseen.
The Polymath took several steps toward me.
His face contorted to a collection of lines and sharp angles, like an old digital map.
He placed the tip of his cane on my chest. “What the fuck do you know about the abominations that await in the Empty Quarter, man of Earth?”
“I don’t know anything about them, sir. But I do know that Madcap, The Showstopper, and all the others want whatever it is you’ve hidden down here.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because they tried to kill me,” I said.
“Tell me something that’s true, that almost nobody agrees with you on.”
“I’m the best chance you’ve got to save this planet,” I answered him.
The Polymath paused, and then threw back his head and laughed his ass off. He laughed so hard that he began coughing…coughing up blood.
“I like this sonofabitch,” he said, stabbing the cane in my direction. “He’s green and a few bubbles off plumb, but I like him. What the fuck is your name? Quality?”
“Quincy, sir.”
Aurora moved to the Polymath and held up the trap bottle for him to see. It looked different, as if a layer of dark material had been added around it. “We’ve got a new containment and transportation device that we’ve coated with Akash.”
She handed the bottle to the Polymath who perused it, then handed the bottle back. “Do you know what you’re asking me to do?”
Aurora nodded. “We are willing to sacrifice our lives, just as you are. Will you help us?”
The Pol
ymath pondered this. “There’s an old proverb, Atlas, that says ‘a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in.’”
“That’s deep, sir,” Atlas replied.
“Fuck that,” the Polymath said. “I’m not planting any trees and I don’t give a shit about letting you sit in my shade. Bottom line is, what do I get out of the deal?”
Yeah, some great Elemental he was, I thought to myself.
“We assumed you would do it out of honor and obligation,” Atlas said.
The Polymath waved his cane. “Honor and obligation are seriously overrated. I’ll do the deed for a few moments alone with the ladies.”
The ladies’ faces screwed up in disgust and Atlas shook his head. “We really don’t have time for this, sir…”
“Oh, but you’ve got time to hound an old man and ask him to give up all that he has left.”
“Greylock was your friend,” Atlas replied.
This caused the Polymath to stop and consider the words. Slowly he nodded. “He was like a brother to me once.”
“His blood cries out for vengeance,” Aurora said. “This is a way to pay back his killers and have your name etched amongst the stars.”
The Polymath leaned on his cane. Then he pointed the cane at Aurora. “How ‘bout you, sweetheart? Just five minutes with the ole Polymath. Just a quickie.”
“There’s no time,” Aurora said, firmer this time.
The Polymath sighed. “Fine, whatever. Let’s get this over with.”
Before the Polymath could do anything, a sound built in the room.
A high-pitched whining, a deafening crash of electronic sound that blew out the glass windows in a glittering rain of crystal shards.
Covering my head, I looked up to see the Polymath peering down at me.
“IT’S YOU!” he shrieked, pointing his cane at me like a pistol. “YOU’VE DONE IT!”
“Done what?!” I asked in response.
“YOU’VE BROUGHT THEM DOWN ON US!”
He lurched over and grabbed something out of my pocket that fell and hit the ground.
It was the metallic Mr. Chops.
The tiny rabbit was vibrating and casting off a sound that was louder than a jet engine.
24
It took me several seconds to realize what Madcap had done. Not only had he coated Mr. Chops in metal, he’d also hidden some kind of tracking device inside.
The Polymath brought his cane down like a sword.
He chopped the rabbit where it lay on the floor, and commenced battering it to pieces until the sound stopped.
“What the hell is going on?!” Aurora shouted.
“The kid led them right to us!” the Polymath shouted, pointing at the pieces of Mr. Chops.
“Madcap did it!” I replied. “He coated my psych totem in metal!”
“You should never have brought it,” Splinter said.
“Everybody knows that he leaves taggants in everything he coats, Q,” Kaptain Khaos continued.
“Everybody but me,” I said, taking in the others’ stares. “Nobody told me.”
For a moment, it looked like they were ready to pounce on me, and then Atlas threw up his hands.
“He didn’t know,” the big man said. “He made an honest mistake.”
“An honest mistake that’s gonna get us all killed,” the Polymath growled, gesturing to the holographic images in the air which had changed to representations of the outside valley. I could see things moving across the plain of pumice. What looked like machines…mechanized fighting machines.
“Gods alive, they’ve brought Infinity!” the Polymath said.
I looked around. “What?!”
“Another Morningstar,” Splinter said. “Infinity’s a villain that specializes in creation and replication.”
“The replication of what?”
“Nothing good,” Splinter answered.
“Go!” The Polymath shouted, pointing toward a red door at the other end of his lair. “Go down the rear entrance and look for the green door!”
“What’s behind the door?!” I asked.
“The other fucking side, asshat! Along with some gear, weapons, and some transport! Get what you can and escape while you’re still able to!”
“Where will we go?!” Aurora asked.
“I’ll be your guide!” the old superhero screamed. He grabbed Aurora and touched his forehead to hers. There was a flash of light and something passed between the two. “You have the map now,” the Polymath said to Aurora. “I’ll carve a path and show you the way to the Light Breaker!”
“Gods be with you!” Atlas screamed.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just don’t fuck it up!” the Polymath shouted.
Aurora grabbed my arm, and we hauled ass toward the red door as the Polymath began babbling unintelligibly. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him hovering off the ground, staring through the broken window.
There was a halo of golden light around the Elemental’s head that soon encased the entirety of his body. His face was frozen in an expression of wonderment, and then his body jerked violently, a beam of light issuing from his eyes. The skin on his face became as tight as the head on a drum, sucked in over his cheekbones, his face growing older with every second, his body little more than a husk, as his life essence drained away.
He was literally giving everything he had to help us.
Aurora pulled me back through the red door before I could see what happened next.
I found myself following her and the others down a tight spiral staircase that dropped to a landing where we spotted a green door.
Atlas swung his arm as his mighty fist distended and smashed the door in.
On the other side was a featureless stone cell that was overflowing with a stockpile of Akash, huge vats filled with iridescent liquids, several stacks of weapons and gear, and one or more bulky items concealed by an oversized tarp.
Atlas gestured to a small pile of large, black boots. “Everyone put a pair on.”
“What are they?” I asked.
“‘MEM Boots,’” Kaptain Khaos said. “They’ve got micromechanical engines implanted in the heel along with ion thrusters—”
“Basically, jetpacks that you can strap on your feet,” Splinter finished, tossing me a pair.
I pushed my feet down into the boots and strapped them on, noting a green button on the side while watching Splinter snag a bazooka-shaped weapon fitted to a ponderous metal backpack which contained a coil that appeared to hold hundreds of small rockets.
“I think I’m in love,” Splinter said, wrapping his arms around the death-dealing contraption.
Kaptain Khaos hoisted what looked like a flamethrower as Aurora pulled back the tarp to reveal a pair of primer-splotched wave sleds.
“Well, hot damn and alright!” the Kaptain said, smacking his hands together. “We’re in business, baby!”
“The only issue is getting them out of here,” Lyric said, gesturing at the roof which was made entirely of a clear, plastic-like substance.
We clambered into the wave sleds.
Aurora would be flying one of the sleds, with me, Liberty, and Lyric aboard, while Atlas would be handling the duties for the other sled with Splinter and the Kaptain.
Aurora and Atlas struggled to power the machines up, the motors coughing, sputtering, but eventually coming to life.
I sat at the back, clutching a handhold as the machine trembled and lifted up off the ground.
Something hit the floor at my feet.
I looked down to see it was my open rucksack. The singlet and mask I’d been given before had spilled out.
“You need to put those on now!” Aurora said.
“Where the hell’s the changing room?” I replied.
“This is the changing room,” she snapped.
“Seriously?”
Liberty cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “Seriously.”
Well, hell, if they wanted a show, then that’s
what they were going to get, I thought to myself. Fuck it. I shucked my clothes and stood there, bare-assed, tensing my muscles before slowly climbing into the singlet which fit like a glove.
“Aren’t we gonna get capes at some point?”
“What’s with you and the capes?” Liberty asked. “Capes are for sissies.”
“I’m gonna put that on a T-shirt,” I replied.
She smiled and playfully smacked me on the ass. “How does it feel?”
“Like a second skin,” I said.
“It’s a breathable nanomesh suit that can stretch to sixty percent of its original length. In addition to also being nearly impervious, it has built-in electro-sensors that record information like an echocardiogram.”
“I don’t know what most of that means,” I replied.
“It protects your body and reacts to conditions to help you maximize effort.” She reached over and pulled the mask down over my eyes as I turned to face the others.
“How do I look?”
“Like a motherfucking superhero,” Splinter said.
He reached over and pressed the side of my eye-mask and—
WONK!
A digital screen appeared in the air in front of me, almost like a heads-up display from an old video game.
“It augments your vision with multispectral sensors,” Splinter said.
“In English.”
“It helps you see and fight better.”
“Why didn’t anybody tell me about this before?!” I asked.
He shrugged. “You never asked.”
I squinted to see a targeting reticle in the middle of the display and what looked like numbers for distances and wind-speed, and when I pressed my finger against the side of the mask, there were windows, sub-windows, and then a split screen that provided the following information: Name/Moniker; Status; Feats; Notes.
I quickly panned toward Liberty, and the display information filled out:
Name/Moniker: Liberty
Status: Superhero
Feats: Solar Wind Manipulator
Notes: Would love to bang her all night long!
I looked over at Splinter who smiled sheepishly. “I forgot to erase some personal notes I saved on it.”
Before I could respond, Atlas shouted: “Let’s go, people!”