The Campbell Chronicles
Chapter 5
Nicholas sat cross-legged in a dust-covered attic; his eyes closed as red threads swayed around him.
Cobwebs hung in the corner of the room, glistening in the light coming from the window at his back. A cool breeze swirled through the room from the cracks in the curved window, stirring the dust covering the floor.
Wood creaked, breaking the silence as dirt rained down from cracks in the ceiling.
Suddenly, Nicholas's eyes snapped open, revealing black voids filled with countless stars. Information stored from the Exterminator moments before its destruction swam in his vision. Periodically, a red thread would flare around him, and knowledge from and absorbed world would flow into his vision.
Nicholas's hands tightened on his knees, and a bead of blood flowed from his nose as his mind fought to categorize the information. His head and shoulders unraveled as Nicholas battled with the knowledge, revealing a core of black threads.
Slowly, the knowledge flowed into these black threads. With each word that disappeared, Nicholas relaxed, and his mind expanded.
The sun had truly set when Nicholas shifted from his cross-legged position and stood. Wiping the blood from his nose, he glanced around the open space of the attic. He needed to fix up this place, but until his plans were in place, he didn't want to waste the energy. Plus, it would cost him less energy if the materials to fix up the home were here instead of producing them from scratch, but for that, he needed money.
Luckily, after assimilating the knowledge of Falcone's men, he knew how to get some. The US Mint periodically disposed of damaged bills. However, they had to have a sufficient amount before disposing of them.
Turning, he flicked his hand at the window.
The window slowly creaked open, dust falling from the frame.
Maybe after his talk with Pamela tonight, he would take a trip to the Mint and see how much he could collect.
Leaning forward, Nicholas allowed himself to fall through the window. Freezing a foot above the ground, he shot into the air, his mind expanding as he flew over the forest outside Gotham City.
–XX –
Pamela Isley, known as Poison Ivy, moved through the trees in Robinson Park. Grass shifted toward her, and flowers opened and closed in greeting.
She raised a hand, caressing a tree branch as it leaned toward her. She loved nature; nature never hurt you as humans did; nature just fought to survive; there was no alternative motive.
Her eyes panned over the grass and the many flowers she had created here. It was her base of operations, her hideout as a villain.
She grimaced at the word. Even in her mind, it tasted vile. She was not someone who fought for personal gain or glory; she fought for the world, fought for the planet that humans damaged every day with their practices of corporate greed or indifference.
However, some days, she felt like she was losing the battle. No matter what she tried, she was always defeated by Batman. Even when she succeeded, nothing she tried made a lasting difference.
She tilted her head to one side as she sensed a man coming through the trees. While that wasn't unusual, the fact that he was bending plants out of the way was, but he was not connected to the green; he was doing it through sheer force of will.
He emerged from the shadows, 6'2" tall with slick back green hair, yellow eyes with an orange ring around the pupil, and slightly tanned skin. He wore a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a black vest, black slacks, and black shoes. He stopped in front of her.
Pamela Isley? He asked as he took the woman in.
She was 5'8" tall and curvy, with sun-kissed skin, red hair, and vibrant green eyes. She wore hip-hugging dark green jeans and a blouse that's him was tied into a knot that showed off her stomach. Dark green vinelike markings decorated her exposed skin, highlighted by the moon above them.
"That is one of the names I go by," Pamela said as vines slithered along the ground behind him.
The vines rose, drawing back to spring forward and wrap around him.
"Good, my name is Nicholas Campbell; I would like your help."
"With what?" Pamela asked as the vines shot forward.
Nicholas raised his hand; the vines froze inches from his back.
Pamela watched as they rose into the air. She winced as she heard them snap from the tree they were attached to and watched as they formed into a ball in the man's hand.
Nicholas closed his hands around the ball of vines. In his mind, threads blossomed from between his fingers. Grabbing them, he began twisting them to his desire.
Pamela jolted as she watched the vines change in ways she had never thought possible.
"I want you to help me save the world."
"How?" Pamela asked, her voice distant as she focused on the change happening in the man's hand.
"I want you to help me alter the world's plants so they can thrive further on the pollution that humanity produces while not taking away their ability to survive normally.
I also want to create seeds that can absorb sunlight and be converted into electrical power; I would eventually like to be able to convert those seeds into living cities.
Finally, I want to change humanity where they need less food and water.
Pamela tore her gaze away from the man's hand and stared into his eyes, "You don't ask for much, do you? How are we supposed to accomplish all this?"
"With your powers, by manipulating the fruits and vegetables humanity eats, you can slowly introduce a change into their bodies so that they need less food to survive."
Pamela shook her head; "even if your insane plan works, Some company would just monopolize the overabundance of food; I mean, there are over 7 billion people on the planet."
"True," Nicholas opened his hand, revealing three black seeds, each with a different color running through them. "The green seed will make plants more robust; the red seed will set about changing humanity's DNA, and the pale blue seed will create the plant that can convert sunlight into electrical energy."
He tossed them to Pamela, forcing her to lean forward to catch them. Once she had them, he slipped his hand into his pocket.
Pamela stared at the seeds, "Why give them to me?"
"As you saw, I can manipulate plants, but I don't have a connection to the green, so any changes I make to the world's flora would take longer."
Pamela raised an eyebrow, "and you're just doing this out of the goodness of your heart."
Nicholas shook his head, "I'm doing this to show the world that powers like yours are underutilized; I hope to show others with abilities that if they come together, great things can be accomplished."
"Everything you said sounds good, but there's no way you're giving this to me for free. What do you want in return?"
"The seeds are yours to keep. I want to see what you can glean from them, but I would like to look at you and learn more about the green. When I was last on earth, the green did not exist; I want to see if I can tell where it comes from."
"What, are you an alien?"
A smile curled Nicholas's lips, "No, I am a relic of the past; if I had a secret identity, that would be my name. I am from a race of refugees that came to this universe billions of years ago."
"You're crazy."
"Maybe, but not on this," Nicholas stretched out his hand, "I can show you."
Pamela shook her head, "No, I'm not getting pulled into your delusion. I have that happening enough with my friend."
Nicholas withdrew his hand; the way she said friend let Nicholas know they were probably more than friends.
Silence fell between them as Pamela stared at the seeds in her hand.
Finally, she looked up at Nicholas, "How would you look at my connection to the green?" She looked around her, "we don't exactly have a lab here."
Nicholas reached out, and Pamela jolted as a glowing green thread shot from her body. As the thread snaked its way around Nicholas's hand, he spoke, "I see the world as if it is made up of threads, a gift inherited from my mother; by manipulating those threads, I can manipulate reality."
Closing his hand around the thread, green energy flared around his body as his mind was pulled in a direction he could sense but not see, feel, or touch.
–XX –
Opening his eyes, Nicholas found himself standing in a forest before a large Willow tree. Thousands of faces stared out at him from that Willow tree, their eyes glowing with the same green light.
A multitude of voices spoke as one.
"Who are you? Why have you approached our avatar? Why do we sense the power that birthed us within you?"
"My name is Nicholas Campbell, and I seek to help your avatar heal this world."
"As for why you sensed the power that birthed you within me, I suspect the same source changed me."
Thousands of eyes locked onto him, their combined light almost too bright.
"Show us," the voices boomed as one with enough force to ruffle his clothes.
"If I am going to share what I know with you, I want your earliest memory. I want to see the spot where you were born."
For a moment, silence reigned in the clearing; the trees around him rustled. Finally, a vine of the Willow tree stretched toward him.
Releasing a breath through his nose, Nicholas reached toward the vine, hoping he was not making a mistake. As he grabbed the vine, its snaked around his wrist, and his body stiffened as he felt an invading presence flow toward his mental shields.
Nicholas tightened his grip on the vines and pushed his memories of the exterminator forward. As his memories of the exterminator connected with the green, the scene around him changed.
Nicholas floated above a forest in Africa.
A crater overgrown with grass and crooked trees sat in the forest's center.
Touching down in the center of the crater, Nicholas summoned the threads of reality. He felt a pull in his chest as his energy began to drain.
He would need to visit the Maroni family soon. At his current level, he was stretching his power too thin.
Nicholas grabbed hold of the thinnest, dimmest thread; the forest around him spun, loose grass and leaves swirling around him, forming a vortex of green.
Once again, he was in the sky. The exterminator, a 30-story tall giant in black armor, stood in Brigadoon; cracks riddled its body, and beams of energy shot in all directions.
Nicholas tracked the energy through the sky, counting eight streams of energy.
The energy passed through his translucent body, creating the crater he previously stood in. The world around him blurred as time moved forward; he watched the energy influence the world around it and nourished the plants as they became more in tune with the earth.
Time slowed as people in Golden armor descended from the sky, seven orbs, each altered by their environment, floating between them.
Tightening his grip on the thread, Nicholas stared at the orbs. His body shook as he tried to force the world to give him information. Sweat popped out on his brow and ran down his face; his veins stood out against his skin.
Exhaustion began seeping into his body when he finally heard a voice on the edge of hearing.
The red orb was the red that connected all animal life on the planet.
The translucent sphere was the clear that connected all Sealife.
The black orb was the rot that focused on decay.
The white orb is the embodiment of wind.
The orange orb represents fire.
The golden-brown orb represented the melt, the earth itself.
The liquid metal sphere represented the future and technology; then there was the green, a bright translucent sphere of energy, the color of vibrant plants.
Nicholas watched as the sorcerers cast a spell, putting a bit of themselves in the spheres before sending them back to their places of origin.
The whispers started again, telling Nicholas that this was the point at which the green and its brothers gained awareness and would eventually evolve into what they were today. Each of those spheres was connected and meant to help keep balance in the world, but with the development of technology and the explosive growth of humanity, the balance shifted, and it was becoming more challenging to maintain.
With heavy eyes, Nicholas blinked and reappeared before the giant Willow tree.
"Thank you for giving us our beginning ancient one. We will let the others know what we have learned."
"Don't squander this chance; you are the legacy of untold universes. Don't waste it."
Nicholas began to fade until only his yellow eyes with the orange ring around the pupil remained.
"By the way, I know some of you want to eradicate humanity, but descendants of my family live in this world; if you try that, we will be enemies."
–XX –
Returning to his body, Nicholas released Pamela's thread to the green, swaying slightly as exhaustion hit him. Steadying himself, he wiped the sweat from his brow, "So, do you think they will work?"
Pamela looked up from the seeds, "they have potential, but I will need to study them more," she looked around her, "unfortunately, I don't have the equipment to do so."
Nicholas straightened, and his eyes became hard, "Don't play with me. You have an intrinsic connection to plants. Lab equipment would help, but you can learn enough to replicate the seeds over time. Do you want to follow my plan, or should I find someone else to help me?"
Pamela blew out a breath, and the trees around her rattled with her agitation. Vines began to crawl across the ground as tree branches reached toward Nicholas, only to stop. She looked at him, "Fine, I'll help you."
"Good; if you succeed in this endeavor, you can make a name for yourself and have others forget your criminal past."
"What makes you think I want to?"
Shrugging, Nicholas turned and began rising into the air, "That's up to you. I just thought it would be easier for you to prove your point as a respected businesswoman with plant-based technology."
"I've killed people; nothing I can do will erase that."
"So have I, but it's the choices we make after those events that decide who we are."