Dimensional Warrior
Chapter 15
Kevin a.k.a. Brain Cell tensed as he heard another one of his brethren lose the chase to their pursuer. He squeezed his eyes shut as a red flash cut off their screams. Sweat ran down his face as he ran. His feet pounded along the asphalt as the buildings flickered by. He fought against the urge to look behind him to see just how close his end was.
Reaching out with his mind, he connected with Calisto.
'We lost another one.'
Anger tends the response along with heavy breathing.
'Link my mind to Harry's.'
Kevin's eyes flared. He only half-listened as Calisto explained the situation to the man who changed his life, a tiny spark of hope blossomed within him as he heard the words. 'I am on my way.'
Turning the corner, they found themselves in the parking lot of a large department store.
"Spread out," Calisto ordered.
Closing the distance between them, both Calisto and Kevin turned to face their pursuer.
Calisto's lone blue eye locked on Kevin. Since taking the shaper his features had changed, he now had normal pale skin instead of his bright yellow.
His missing teeth had regrown, and his bone structure had narrowed to give him an aristocratic look. His pale-yellow eyes locked on Calisto; his large hands clenched into fists.
"How do you want to handle this?"
"What can you tell me about it?"
Kevin faced the creature before him, yellow energy filling his eyes.
Red leathers decorated a black skeleton that seemed to absorb light. Green flames danced around its skull and skeletal hands. Red energy faded from its eye sockets, leaving behind two empty pits
"it's hungry, and it has a strong desire to be something more once again."
Black combat boots skidded back across the asphalt as it stopped three feet away from them.
Calisto glanced around her, cursing as she realized her people were creating a ring around this thing that left them less than a foot away from it.
The creature turned its eyeless skull towards each individual, before finally focusing on Kevin and Calisto again, "So, you have finally stopped running. Have you accepted your death?"
"Screw you," one of the Morlocks shouted, sprinting forward.
"Madin, no!"
The purple-skinned woman ignored her, sprinting forward blood splattering the ground as her skin tore open and curved pink light blades emerged just behind her wrist
With laughable ease, the creature ducked the blades. Coming up within Madin's guard, his skeletal hand wrapped around her throat. The green flames flared.
Her brown eyes widened as streamers of red energy flowed from them and her mouth. Her purple skin grade, while her hair took on a silver color. The muscles of her body began to shrink.
The creature opened its mouth, the energy from her body sliding into its eyes and mouth.
The rest of the Morlocks backed away as Madin's red energy flickered out.
The creature dropped her body.
It collapsed into ash-covered clothes as the body hit the ground.
The creature eyed each person, causing them to take a step back.
Red energy once again filled its eye sockets, "Whose next?"
A green flash lit the sky, "Me!"
Harry descended from the sky, his fingers moving in intricate patterns as he touched the ground.
Glowing green curved Sigils appeared in a circle around the creature. Pillars of light burst from specific Sigils, creating a barrier around it.
Keeping his eyes locked on the creature, he spoke towards Calisto, "What can you tell me?"
Reaching behind her back, she pulled out two dagger handles, "Don't stab it with normal weapons or you'll lose them. It also seems to feed off of mutant energy."
Harry inclined his head, "I didn't expect you to run from a fight given your..." he glanced at her, "abilities."
Calisto's hands clenched into fists and her teeth ground together in anger, "I can't very well fight while trying to keep my people alive."
"Fair enough, it's time for you to go." With a wave of his hand, spell circles appeared beneath each one of the mutants that survived this far. In a beam of green energy, they disappeared.
The sound of shattering glass brought his attention back to the creature as it finally shattered his spell circle. It inhaled, pulling Gail force wins towards it as it tried to absorb the energy.
Stretching forth his hand, Harry froze the shards of energy as they made their way towards the creature's mouth. Rotating his right hand, the energy elongated, changing into sea green spectral daggers.
"I have to say Star Heart, I thought your consciousness would have dispersed by now."
Moving one finger forward, one of the daggers shot towards Star Heart, stabbing him where his heart would be.
Black skeletal fingers wreathed in green flames wrapped around the hilt of the dagger, only for it to explode.
Fire, as well as smoke, filled the air and a shockwave ruffled Harry's clothes as Star Heart flew backward.
Willing the remaining daggers to disappear, Harry shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way forward.
He watched as the hole in Star Heart's red leather jacket grew shut and its skeletal hand regenerated, becoming wreathed in green flames once more the second it was whole. Slowly, it rose to its feet, its flaming hand leaving its skeletal imprint in melted asphalt as it pushed itself upright.
The moment Star Heart was on its feet, it lunged forward, its arms outstretched, it's mouth open in a scream that never came.
Gripping its wrist, Harry allowed its momentum to curve around his body before he threw it away.
It stumbled backward, fighting to keep its balance.
"How did you gain this form?"
Ignoring his question, Star Heart thrust its skeletal hand forward.
The flames dancing around its hand flowed towards its palm, coalescing into a chain that shot forward a pyramid on its end poised to pierce his heart.
"Come here!"
Sidestepping the chain, Harry's eyes flashed a wave of telekinetic force throwing Star Heart away.
Bending his legs, he shot forward, the world around him blurs. Stretching his right arm out, he concentrated focusing his telekinetic power inward.
He grimaced as he psychically moved the cells in his body into a new shape.
Sharp black claws now gleamed at the end of his fingers on his right hand.
Focusing telekinetic energy around his new claws, he swiped downward, sending four Crescent-shaped blades out of his fingers.
The flames dancing around Star Heart's skeleton flickered out as he forced flames downward flipping himself out of the way of Harry's attack. Landing on his feet, he spun on his heel, aiming a roundhouse kick at Harry's head.
Blocking the kick with his forearm, Harry pushed the leg away, throwing Star Heart off balance.
Focusing more telekinetic energy into his hand, Harry jabbed forward, releasing the energy a mere inch away from Star Heart's body. Leather, bone, and flames disintegrated as a hole appeared in Star Heart's chest.
Rolling along the ground from the force of the explosion, Star Heart came up in a crouch. Bone and leather regenerated before Harry's eyes. Within moments, he was whole.
Harry cocked his head to the side, this wasn't working, he now saw how Calisto had so much trouble with him. While his fighting skills were marginal at best, his regeneration was something else entirely.
Bringing his hands together, symbols began to appear with the ease of long practice.
Rising to his feet, Star Heart closed the distance between them.
Taking a step back, Harry pushed himself off the ground, soaring backward through the air, his eyes still locked on Star Heart.
Star Heart leaped after him, wings made of Emerald flames extending from his back.
Finishing the last symbol, Harry thrust his hands forward, his thumbs pressed together to form a diamond shape.
Green threads of power swirled around his fingers before shooting out to form a sphere of Sigils around the charging Star Heart.
In a moment, he froze, an outline of sea-green energy tracing his body within the sphere of symbols.
Floating forward, Harry placed his hand on the sphere, his eyelids fluttering as knowledge flowed into his brain. With eyes still closed, he spoke.
"Your essence is been infused with hellfire, mixing with your residual energy to create something new. Your skeleton is made of brimstone," he cocked his head to the side, "your outfit is made of demon skin."
He opened his eyes, staring into Star Heart's empty sockets, "Now that I know how you have been changed," his eyes dropped down to stare at the spot just below the center of Star Heart's chest, "who was the demon that changed you and why?"
Star Heart's fist flew forward, slamming into the symbols that spun around him. Power flared from the contact, but nothing happened.
Harry floated there, his mind going over his options.
He really didn't have the time or inclination to fight a Demon Lord, they seem to have invested some time in Star Heart, giving him a body and minimal power, but that was it, so he concluded this to be an experiment.
"Last chance."
Star Heart belched green flames at him only for them to splash against the barrier.
"Fine," plunging his arm forward, the Sigils that made up the sphere covered his arm like a second skin. Bringing his fingers together, he plunged them in a spot just below the divot in Star Heart's chest.
Star Heart froze as Harry's fingers wrapped around the point that bound his consciousness to this body.
At the same moment, Harry lashed out with his mind connecting to Star Heart's and slithering through it like a snake.
–XX –
Star Heart stood on a plateau of cooled lava, magma flowed around its base, screaming faces peering up at him from within.
The air was thick and hot, each breath felt like taking in a bowling ball. Black smoke swirled around him, burning his eyes, and making it impossible to see even with the glow of the magma beneath him.
He raised a skeletal hand, curling each one of his spindly fingers.
Emerald flames wreathed his bones.
Suddenly, the smoke dispersed letting him see the thousands of demons around him.
Some were just smoke.
While others were thin with Ebony colored skin. Curled horns rose out of their foreheads curling into an L at the end. Red eyes burned with anger and hatred.
Red behemoths ten feet tall and three feet wide strode across the land, smacking the less cunning into the lava. Souls rose up grabbing a hold of the demon and dragging it deep beneath the flames, so it too could experience their agony.
There was a flash of heat and a red hand-tipped with black talons landed on his shoulder, the talons curled, piercing the leather of his jacket, sending green flames spurting out the holes.
Yellow eyes burned in the periphery of his vision and serrated teeth gnashed in his ear.
"Return to earth, your old enemy has made a place for the mutants. That means less desperate souls for me to collect. Go, remind them of fear, leave them no place to hide but with me."
There was a light shove on Star Heart shoulder, and the lava below him swirled up words, screaming faces within howled at him as he shot upwards. Glowing orange hands reached out as the specters trapped within the lava tried to grasp him and be free of their torment.
–XX –
Harry jerked as his mind returned to the present.
He stared into the empty sockets of Star Heart skull, "Why?"
Star Heart raised its shoulders, "why not," his teeth slammed together in the facsimile of a grin, "Mephisto told me if I absorbed enough mutant energy, I may regain what I lost."
"Mephisto lied, you were originally composed of the magic of an entire planet. There are not enough mutants in the world for you to gain that type of energy."
Star Heart raised his shoulders again, "It was fun trying," a tongue made of green flames licked his teeth, "their fear was delicious."
Twisting his wrist, Harry pulled severing the connection Star Heart had with his body. It dispersed in ash and fire. He stared at the wriggling black mass in his hand.
"I was wondering when you were going to get around to that, I thought you had forgotten about the request I made to take care of the threat to mutants."
Harry glanced over his shoulder as Gaia close the distance between them, her feet pointed towards the ground. Her long brown hair fluttered in the breeze as she crossed her arms over her chest, drawing attention to her bosom as she pushed it upwards.
Green silk covered her curvaceous frame.
Rich brown eyes stared at the wriggling mass in his hand with disdain. Her plum-colored lips twisted in disgust.
"You could've just told me."
"Just like you don't like to hold the hands of the mutants on the planet we're creating. I will not hold yours. I want to see what you are truly capable of growing into."
They floated in silence for a moment before Gaia asked, "What are you planning to do with that?" She gestured to the squirming mass in Harry's hand.
"I have an idea, but I'm going to need your help."
An eyebrow rose, and curiosity shown in her eyes, "Oh"
"Follow me."
In a flash of green, both vanished.
–XX –
Both appeared deep beneath the British branch of alchemical solutions. The jump gate behind them shown with rainbow-colored light, elongating their shadows and hiding part of their faces in its majesty.
Gaia looked around her, finding thousands of suits of armor made of bronze and what look like silver.
Each of them had the same rectangular head with only a T-shaped opening in the center. The two metals overlapped in an alternating pattern to form, a broad chest, thick arms, and powerful legs.
"You have been busy."
"These," Harry gestured around at the suits of armor, "are meant to be guardians against invasion. I had planned to bargain with the Valkyrie to choose heroic and worthy souls that deserved a second chance to inhabit these vessels."
"But," he looked down at the squirming darkness in his hand, "I have a new idea."
Gaia put one finger to her lips while running the other one down the curve of her hip, "How do I fit into your little plan?"
Harry stared into her brown eyes, his own glowing with power, "You are an Elder of the universe, a primordial being with the ability to offer rebirth."
He raised his hand, offering the consciousness of the Star Heart to Gaia, "Purify this, make sure it cannot be used as a weapon to harm the innocent."
"I gained the life energy of the people of this planet regardless of how they live, why should I care if they suffer?"
Harry narrowed his eyes, "I am not a fool, I can sense your connection to each being that is birthed on your world, you do not like to feel their pain and suffering, even though it is a part of life."
He glanced down at the squirming consciousness of the Star Heart. "Besides, this will offer you more energy in the long run. Once these a thousand grow and have children of their own."
"They can do that?"
"The techno-organic virus taught me much."
"Fine," Gaia stretched forth her hand. Placing it over Harry's, white light shone from her palm like a small sun.
At that same moment, a spell circle made of curved Sigils appeared around the Star Heart consciousness. Then another appeared around that one, this one was made up of blocky runic letters. Another curved runic circle appeared around that one before a circle of Kanji appeared on top of that one.
Gaia stared at the spinning spell circles as specific symbols aligned. 'I wonder when he'll realize the skills, he's using is just his way of imprinting his mental powers on reality?'
The Star Heart and energy Gaia released began to flow into specific symbols.
Both were forced to close their eyes as light exploded between them.
–XX –
Gaia and Harry appeared in a lush world under a clear blue sky.
Trees stretched as far as the eye could see.
Colorful reptilian-like birds flew through the sky.
A city made of white stone stretched out before them, tall circular towers reached towards the sky. Other buildings curved, leading beneath the ground.
Blue skinned humanoids with brown eyes, and white, black, or red hair flew through the air, an aura of green energy shrouding their bodies.
"Where are we?"
Gaia stretched forth her hand towards the flying individuals, her eyes widening after a moment of concentration, "Their souls."
"Souls?"
Gaia lifted into the air, her eyes scanning the horizon.
Rivers or lakes broke up the expense of trees around them.
In the distance, she could make out more buildings and more flying figures.
"Everyone here is a soul," Gaia continued as Harry closed the distance between them. "the world around us was created by their collective memories of their lives."
"All that is fascinating, but that does not explain how they became merged? Buried? In the minds of the Star Heart."
"I think I can answer that."
A blue-skinned man emerged from the forest.
Standing 6'2" tall with a narrow face and high cheekbones. Long white hair flowed in a ponytail down his back. Brown robes were draped over his lean frame. His golden-brown eyes never left the two before him.
Harry floated downward, moving slightly in front of Gaia, "Who are you?"
"I am Galahad, a Malthusian and Guardian of the universe, you are on the memory of the planet Oa."
Harry's eyes widened.
'A Malthusian, how is this possible, they were all said to have died when they sealed the Phoenix inside the Star Heart.'
"How? Your people were have said to have disappeared when they sealed the Phoenix in the Star Heart."
A smile spread across Galahad's face, revealing straight white teeth, "You are well informed."
"Doctor Fate found what he named, the Phoenix heart after you sealed the Phoenix and Star Heart together. My mother was his successor, so I had access to the information."
Galahad inclined his head, his smile falling away, he turned his gaze to the city, "We guardians, fell victim to our own arrogance. With our success of containing our planets magic in a single entity, we foolishly thought we could do the same with the Phoenix force, which we viewed as a threat, not understanding that it was the physical representation of planetary rebirth in our universe."
"We succeeded in sealing the Phoenix force away, but at a cost. At the moment of its sealing, the Phoenix grabbed our life forces, pulling it into the prison with it. At the time we did not realize the magic of Oa had become sentient. We became buried here, beneath its burgeoning mind."
"How is that possible? The legends called you demigods of incredible psychic power."
Galahad held up two fingers, "Two things. Number one, we were reduced to a spiritual form, something we had no experience in, and two, we guardians had sealed away our emotions viewing them as inconsequential and an obstruction to universal peace."
"The Star Heart's mind was so powerful and raw with new emotions that it didn't understand that we became overwhelmed for centuries. The psychic blocks we had created in life not having transferred over to our spiritual forms."
He dropped his hand, "Now, I have answered your questions. Will you answer mine?"
Harry inclined his head.
"What happened to our universe? Even here, we sensed the upheaval, the pain, fear, the death."
"It is easier if I show you," Harry's eyes filled with sea-green light that was seen shining from Galahad's eyes as their minds connected.
Moments passed before the glow faded from Galahad's eyes and he turned away.
"So much death and destruction, we have failed in our self-imposed duty to be guardians of the universe."
Harry opened his mouth, but before he could speak Galahad turned back to him.
"You are here to offer us another chance, to free us from this," he gestured around him, "dream."
Harry closed his mouth and nodded.
"What would that entail?"
"You would enter new bodies based around a techno-organic virus. You would be machine given the abilities of flesh, I had originally designed these bodies to be guardians for the earth against universal threats, but with the discovery of your people here that can change. Although to be honest, I would want some of you to stay on earth to fulfill your original purpose."
"Rebirth is never free; what would it cost my people?"
Harry turned to Gaia, and the woman in question raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed over her chest, "Finally, remembered I am, here have you?"
"I didn't forget."
Releasing a breath, Gaia uncrossed her arms and approached Galahad. Stretching her hand forward, she placed her hand on the top of his head and closed her eyes.
'Such an advanced race, such potential,' her lips twisted, 'such arrogance, a need for control.'
She opened her eyes, "You would keep your inquisitive minds, and your psychic powers, but no more would you be allowed to alter another species evolutionary path to such a degree as you did the Martians. From now on you will allow natural selection to take its course, or you will ask those you wish to alter."
Galahad looked down, "Fair enough, we failed in our duty to guard the universe, we fell victim to our own arrogance, we no longer have a right to govern other species."
Gaia allowed her hand to drop from Galahad's head, "One more thing, this time your emotions will not be cast away you will learn to deal with them as any other self-aware race does." She took a step back, "Now gather those who want rebirth."
Half an hour later, over a thousand Malthusians stood before the two of them. Clasping Gaia's hand, Harry and the Earth mother raised their palms towards the crowd. Green and white light exploded forward, twisting together to wash over the crowd.
–XX –
Harry and Gaia opened their eyes.
Around them the suits of armor had changed, they now had a humanoid shape with black, silver, or diamond colored hair emerging from the tops of their heads. Bronze colored skin glowed in the light of the jump gate, and blue eyes shone with an inner light.
Men, women, and even a few children, all of them with high cheekbones and lean features looked around curiously.
Gaia took a step forward, regal power billowing off her body, "Who are you?"
As one the six-foot-tall lean humanoids dropped to a knee.
"We are the Metal Born!"