Chapter 2: All Hell Breaks Loose
Carrying a bottle of water, Beth downed another couple of aspirin, hoping that they'd work better than the last ones she took. It wasn't as if the headache was overly painful, but it was niggling at her and had been since the previous night.
She couldn't help but wonder what the dizzy spell was. She'd had headaches before, but they'd never brought that on before. The only time she really got as dizzy as she had, was when she overused her powers. It worried her. First she developed new powers, and now she was getting headaches and dizzy spells. The next thing would be nosebleeds.
"Just what is happening to me?" she wondered, staring at her hands as she walked along.
"Beth!" she jolted, looking up in surprise as Larry walked towards her. "You're late," he commented.
"Oh, sorry," she apologised. Larry sighed, shaking his head.
"No, I'm sorry, just a little on edge here," he apologised. Beth smiled softly at him.
"It's fine, it's a big night for everyone. You ready?" she asked him. The man exhaled softly.
"Oh I'm ready. It's everyone else I'm worried about," Larry admitted. Beth couldn't help but laugh at his words and agree. The exhibits were very easily distracted. Even with something as big as this, they were still running around enjoying themselves.
"I'm not surprised. I think I saw the Miniatures headed to the computer," she grinned, and Larry groaned, walking past to find them.
"I blame you for introducing them to YouTube!" he shouted over his shoulder. Beth laughed, unapologetic. She then turned, continuing on the way to the Egyptian exhibit.
"Ahk?" she called in, seeing him by his tomb, staring at the Tablet. He whirled around in surprise, having been caught deep in thought. "Hey, what's up?" Beth smiled at him, unable to deny the butterflies she got every time she looked at him.
"Bet, I..." he blinked multiple times, staring at her. "You look amazing," he told her, turning his head away as his cheeks turned pink. Beth smiled, her own face burning as she walked over.
"Thanks. What's wrong? You were staring pretty intently at-" she stopped abruptly, her eyes going wide as she looked at the Tablet.
The normally shining gold Tablet had a strange green patch in one corner. "What is that?" Beth moved over to the Tablet hanging from the wall.
"I don't know," Ahkmenrah admitted. "I noticed it this evening. I've never seen such a thing before." Beth reached up and brushed her fingers along it, only to yelp and pull away.
"Stupid static...I thought I had that under control," Beth complained, nursing her hand before touching it again. "It feels like...like rust," she frowned. "But that's not possible, gold doesn't rust," she looked around to see the Pharaoh looking just as baffled as she felt. "And nothing rusts that much in one day," Beth shook her head.
"Hey Beth! We're starting soon, come on!" Larry's voice echoed down, and Beth sighed.
"Right," she shook her head, before managing a small smile. "We'll sort it after this," she told Ahkmenrah, who nodded, his eyes not moving from the Tablet. "Come on," Beth's hand slipped into his, and pulled him away, as worry now filled her mind as well.
The grand ballroom was bustling as people talked amongst themselves, excited for what the museum might offer first for the demonstration. The Night Program had been a massive hit with the crowds, and they couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of introduction they would have to the new Planetarium.
Leaning against a wall, Beth's stomach churned with nerves. She watched the crowd – none of them seeming to notice her standing behind the pillar peering out at them. She'd never used her powers in front of anyone, other than Larry, Marie, her family, and the exhibits. She just hoped that it would go okay.
The walkie-talkie by her side suddenly crackled to life, and she looked down.
'Cue the music...' Larry's soft instruction was followed by the music starting. 'And the fog...' Beth took a breath, and her eyes turned silver. Mist began to form around the main doors, spreading throughout the floor. Everyone fell quiet, anticipation building. 'And Teddy in 3...2...' the doors opened, and Teddy trotted in through the mist as everyone applauded.
"Since 1869, when I was a mere boy of 11," Teddy began as Beth lowered the mist around him. Her headache was a dull pain now, ignored as she focused on controlling the new power. "This museum has been a shining beacon to our great city. Tonight, we expand our horizons even further, to the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars!" he declared. "From our very beginning, mankind has looked to the heavens, and given names to what he saw. The Constellations," he said, before leaning forwards with a secretive smile. "I thought you might like to meet them," Teddy smiled.
'Cue the constellations,' Larry spoke quietly. The lights dimmed, and the blue lights of the stars flew down. The mist faded to let them shine brightly, and they flew overhead, forming to reveal their true forms. From her seat between Ray and her father, Marie gazed up at the stars with wide eyes, awestruck.
"Orion, the Hunter!" Teddy gestured to the man with a bow who formed. He pulled back, nocking an arrow, and below, more stars formed to create an apple on Doctor McPhee's head. He released the arrow, and it shot straight through the apple, earning a squeal of surprise from the man. Everyone applauded, and Orion fired another arrow up into the air. It exploded at the roof, showering everyone in stars.
'Good, good good, going great guys, going great,' Larry encouraged. 'Let's drop the silks, and go the monkey,' Beth watched as two spotlights came on, and Dexter flipped through the air. Her headache was growing worse, and she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes, unable to watch Dexter's performance.
"Maybe I should have sat out," she murmured as everyone applauded again. Her vision began to swim again, and she swayed. "Larry..." she managed to grab her radio. "We have a problem..." she murmured, but before he could react to her words, Teddy began to act up. First talking gibberish, then yelling loudly, Larry's attention was drawn to him, and Beth felt heat rise through her. She could slightly hear the yelling around her, before the heat spread to her hands. "No!" she cried, before fire exploded around her. The large flaming torches around the room exploded as well, growing massive and making people veer away from them with terrified screams.
"Beth!" Marie spotted the woman sinking to the ground, and ran towards her.
"Marie!" the tall young man beside her yelled, seeing her run towards the chaos.
"Marie, get back here!" Doctor. James ordered, but she ignored them both. More of the stars suddenly shot down in front of her, and she was forced to stop as Pegasus formed, pushing up onto his back legs with a squeal, his wings and forelegs lashing out. Before he could hit her, she was tackled out of the way by Ray.
"Come on, we need to leave, now!" the man hauled her up and away from the Constellation, who was flapping his wings and creating a gust of wind that only made the flames around worse.
"But Beth!" Marie cried, but her voice was lost in the chaos, and Ray dragged her away. On her hands and knees, Beth struggled to breathe, her vision still spinning as the flames circled her. She could feel the intense heat around her, but it didn't come close enough to burn her.
"What...what's happening?" she managed to whimper, clamping her eyes shut to try and stop her vision spinning. The ground began to quake nearby, and she managed to look up and see Rexy stomp by, roaring loudly.
"Come on," she gasped, and the fire burned even bigger and brighter, as Beth found herself being lifted into strong arms and carried away from the chaos.
After a minute, she was set down gently on a seat, steadied by hands, and she opened her eyes, looking up weakly. The dizziness was fading, leaving her shaky and feeling nauseas. She frowned slightly, confused as she stared up at the young man in glasses, watching her with a curious look.
"You?" she recognised him from outside. With curly brown hair and glasses, he didn't look much older than her.
"I knew tonight would be very informative, but not that much," he mused, more to himself than her. "Seems I've been held out on," he murmured.
"Who are you?" he blinked, as if only realising Beth was there.
"You can call me Todd," he grinned easily at her.
"Todd?" Beth repeated, drained and barely able to keep up.
"Hang in there, Bet'anya. They'll need your strength," Todd told her with another easy smile. After making sure she was able to sit by herself, he backed away. "We'll meet again soon enough," he then turned and walked off.
"Wait!" Beth called, but he was already gone.
"Beth!" she looked around as Larry jogged over to her. "What happened?" he asked her, and Beth looked down.
"I don't know..." before she'd realised it, tears were running down her face. "I got dizzy...and my powers got a mind of their own...I'm sorry," Beth put her hands to her face, and Larry put a hand on her shoulder awkwardly.
"So your powers started acting weird at the same time as everyone else," he murmured as the exhibits trailed in slowly, looking tired and confused. They all sat down on the steps, and Beth and Larry walked over as Beth wiped her eyes quickly. "Guys, what was going on out there?" Larry asked as Rexy stomped in, his head hanging low and his tail dragging behind him.
The Neanderthal behind Larry began trying to repeat him, and Beth couldn't even find it in her to laugh at him. Designed to look like Larry, he seemed to have imprinted on the night guard. "Seriously, what were you thinking?" Larry asked, before sighing as the caveman continued. "Okay, Laa?" he turned to him, and Beth raised an eyebrow at the name. "I got this, alright? Just, just go over there," he instructed, pointing away from the group. Laa pointed and walked towards him. "No, go over there," Larry gestured, and Laa ran over to the wall with a grunt. "Atilla..." Larry turned back and the Hun looked up. "What were you doing to that dolphin man? It's a dolphin! It's one of the most peaceful creatures on earth, and you're hacking into it like...like it was the Cove or something!" Larry exclaimed. Atilla shrugged. "Did you see the look on Regis Philbin's face?" Atilla's eyes widened.
"Reju?" he gasped, looking devastated.
"Yeah man, Reju," Atilla shook his head in horror. "And Teddy? What were you doing, pointing that gun at me?" Larry turned to the President.
"Forgive me Lawrence...I don't know what came over me," he apologised.
"Do you even remember that?" Larry asked him.
"Not at all..." Teddy admitted in a quiet voice. Hearing a high pitched noise, they looked around just in time to hear Laa shriek.
"Laa, put that down!" Larry yelled at the caveman, who had taken the emergency defibrillator from the case, and was using it on himself. "It's a defibrillator, put it down, it's dangerous!" Larry shouted at him. Instead of putting them down, Laa put them to his ears. "That's electricity, those aren't headphones! Stop it! What-" Larry cut himself off, taking a breath, before letting out a disgusted shout. He leapt away from liquid that arched over at him, and glared up at Dexter.
"Dexter! What are you doing?" he demanded. Dexter stuck his tongue out at the angry man. "Honestly, if you're gonna act like a baby, then I'll get you some diapers, you want diapers again?" Larry challenged. Dexter's cheeky look faded, and he backed down.
"Whoa, ease up on the reins there! Can't you see, it feels terrible! Hell, we all do!" Jedidiah exclaimed.
"He's right, none of us know what happened back there," Claudia agreed, her helmet in her hands. She looked as tired as the rest of them.
"I don't know what happened to you guys, but tonight was weird. Really weird," Larry shook his head.
"We feel awful Larry, something took hold of us like an evil spell," Octavius explained.
"Yeah, like we just weren't ourselves," Jedidiah agreed. Everyone else nodded when Larry looked at them.
"Something's going on Larry," he glanced around to Beth as she stood up. Still shaky, she moved slowly down the steps. "It's not their fault, don't hold it against them," she told him.
"I know..." Larry sighed, looking away. "It's getting late guys, we better get sorted," he instructed, and everyone nodded, getting to their feet slowly. "And you need to get home and sleep," he said to Beth.
"Larry..." she spoke quietly as the exhibits moved off, quietly talking amongst themselves. "First the Tablet gets that weird green corrosion, now the exhibits are acting weird? It's got to be connected," Beth insisted, and Larry sighed.
"I know. It's too big a coincidence. But your powers?" he asked, not understanding.
"At the Smithsonian, Kahmunrah connected me to the Tablet. That's what we figured, since I was able to use all my powers afterwards, right?" Beth reminded him. The man nodded. "It makes sense then, that if the exhibits are acting up, then my powers will too," she pointed out.
"You're right," Larry agreed.
"I'm going to check on the Tablet. I'll be back in a minute," she told him, turning and walking towards the exhibit.
"Alright, but not too long. You're getting a cab back home," Larry called after her.
"Yes dad," Beth rolled her eyes.
"Don't call me that, it's bad enough I got Laa!" Larry groaned, which, despite the situation, made Beth smile as she disappeared down the corridor. Larry shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, wondering just how he'd talk his way out of this one.
Peering into the Egyptian exhibit, Beth was greeted by the two wary Jackal statues, who stared at her, silent as ever. She rolled her eyes, never being fond of them, and walked past. They let her, aware that she wouldn't bring harm to their king.
"Hey Ahk?" she called, looking around for the Pharaoh curiously.
"It happened again," his voice came from behind her, making her jump.
"Oh Ahk, don't do that," she turned to scold him, but stopped as she saw his expression. "Ahk?" Beth blinked, tilting her head slightly.
"The corrosion grew again," Ahkmenrah's voice was low as he walked towards her, watching the Tablet. Beth followed his gaze, and saw he was right. The corner of green was now bigger.
"It affected you too, didn't it?" Beth asked him softly, taking his hand. He nodded, silent, and when Beth looked to him, she found his expression how she felt. Scared and confused. "It made everyone else go crazy...and I lost control over my power of Fire," he started, finally looking at her properly.
"Are you alright?" he asked, letting go of her hand to touch her face, studying her for damage.
"I'm fine," Beth couldn't help but laugh quietly at his fussing. "I wasn't hurt. I'm more worried about if I hurt someone else," she shrugged.
"You're exhausted. You need to go home and sleep," he told her firmly. Beth sighed, knowing he was right. She was tired and her headache, while less painful now, was still picking at her, and she still felt sick.
"I will. Are you okay?" Beth asked, ignoring how she felt. Ahkmenrah gave a small smile in response.
"As long as you are okay, I'm okay," he told her. Beth's face warmed at his words, and she pushed up to kiss him. He dropped his hands to her waist, pulling her closer as he returned the soft kiss.
"Hey Beth!" Larry's voice echoed down. "You said you were only going to be a minute! Come on, I'm getting you a cab," he told her. Beth pulled away, sighing.
"He really is like my dad," she muttered, making Ahkmenrah smile. He pulled her into another quick kiss, before letting her go.
"I'll see you tomorrow night," he murmured, and she nodded.
"Yeah. And we'll figure out what's going on," Beth determined, squeezing his hand before brushing past him. As she left the exhibit, Ahkmenrah watched her, worried. If her powers were connected to the Tablet, as they expected, then she was going to be as affected as the rest of them.
He sighed, shaking his head and turning back to the Tablet. He couldn't lose her again. At first, his feelings had been entirely for Safiya, with Beth like a ghost who looked and acted like her. Then he found himself falling in love with her, as quickly as he'd fallen in love with Safiya. While she was Safiya in every way, she had different mannerisms and an attitude that only came from the modern world. And he loved her all the more for it.
"I hope so," he finally murmured.
Yawning widely, Beth looked out the window of her taxi, struggling to keep her eyes open as she watched the city go by, covered in snow and silent as most of the city slept.
"Sounds like tonight was rather eventful," the driver interrupted the silence after a few minutes.
"You could say that," Beth sighed, rubbing her eyes. Her exhaustion was catching up with her, and it was all she could do to stay awake.
"I'm amazed nobody was really hurt. All those exhibits..." the man shook his head. "Wonder what caused them to go all weird? I never heard of it happening since the Night Program started," he mused. Beth yawned so widely that tears came to her eyes.
"Me neither," she admitted. "At least no-one was hurt," Beth murmured, her eyes growing heavier with each passing moment.
"And the fire too, I heard it just suddenly burst out of control, like someone dumped gas all over it," the driver continued. Beth's head dropped forwards and jerked back up as she blinked rapidly. "Definitely sounds like an eventful night," he mused, before coming to a stop. "Miss, we're here," the man looked around, his dark eyes landing on Beth's sleeping form in the back. He sighed, and gave a small smile. "Perhaps a little too eventful, huh, my girl?" he asked as the light of another car drove past, illuminating his green hair and almost black eyes.
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