The Campbell Chronicles

Chapter 20

Amanda Waller strode through the Department of Meta-human Affairs in Walton, Pennsylvania, her heels clicking on the floor. The fluorescent lights above her highlighted the dark circles beneath her eyes, and her clenched fists shook at her sides.

Stopping before the door, she glanced at the nameplate, reading the embossed Martin Stein in its center.

She opened the door without knocking and strode inside, "Stein, I need your help."

Martin Stein looked up from behind his desk, his Brown eyes hard behind his round silver-framed glasses, "You know that's not how this works, Waller."

"The hell it isn't," she strode forward, placing her hands on the desk to loom over him. "I provide you with funding and the technology needed to continue your little experiment, and you find me the right people to condition to protect American soil."

Ignoring her looming over him, Martin reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of scotch and a glass. Filling it up, he brought it to his lips before staring her in the eye, "What happened?"

Amanda stared at him, taking in his heavily lined face and slick-back grey hair. He was so confident, and she wanted to reach across the desk and squeeze the life out of him, but at the moment, he was needed.

"I sent some of my agents to capture Harbinger…"

"And they failed," Martin cut her off.

"Yes," Amanda ground out, her teeth scraping together past her lips.

"So, you not only went into another country unsanctioned, you also attacked an assassin that our records show has been active for more than a hundred years."

Martin took a drink of scotch, enjoying the burn down his throat, "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Amanda threw her hands up in the air. "You have meta-humans here; I want them for my team."

Martin set his glass down, the remaining liquid sloshing as he stood to his feet, "No, the mortality for your little black ops is too high, and I've invested too much time in this project for you to waste them trying to cover up your mess."

"If you don't…" Waller was cut off as the room shook. Dust rained down from the ceiling, and red lights flashed throughout the room, "What was that?"

Martin glanced at the computer screen on the corner of his desk. "The sensors I have placed around town have picked up supernatural energy," Stein narrowed his eyes at Waller, "Where did you tell your men to bring Harbinger?"

"Cadmus has been compromised since the creature's escape over a year ago; it said that the harbinger can survive anything. I wanted to study his ability to see if it could be used for my soldiers."

Martin ran a hand down his face. "And, of course, you wanted him brought here." With a sigh, he pressed a weathered finger into the intercom on his desk. "Typhoon, Moons Bow, our sensors have picked up strange energy readings in the city. Patrol and see what you can find."

Releasing the button, Martin glared at Waller, wishing he had the power to put the arrogant woman in her place.

With a glare, Waller turned around and walked toward the door. "I will have your pets eventually, one way or another." Pausing in the doorway, she turned to look back at him. "I'll find myself an office to occupy until your team returns with information; I take it you have some way to keep in touch with them?"

–XX –

In a space between two buildings, Nicholas and Wanda appeared in a flash of red light, only to be thrown to the side as a wave of power washed over the area. They slowly picked themselves up, their eyes locked on the sky.

Strips of gold sprinkled with silver stars and pale luminescent smoke danced across the sky like the aurora borealis.

Wanda's eyes glowed a pale red, "That was a massive release of divine energy."

Nicholas moved to the mouth of the alley, glancing both ways before his eyes locked onto a streetlamp with a camera attached to it. His gaze went distant as he spoke to Wanda. "I take it that's not a good thing?"

"For that much energy to be released, something major must've happened in the realm of the gods."

Images flooded Nicholas's mind as he used his Organites to access the city's systems.

"Do you want to check it out? I can probably handle this alone."

Wanda shook her head, "Even if I wanted to, I haven't fully established myself as a deity yet, so I can't enter the realm of the gods." She moved up behind Nicholas, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Besides, with the amount of power that was released, it's way above my pay grade."

Nicholas nodded, "Well, I've got good and bad news. The good news is I've accessed the city's security, and someone put a backdoor into the system so they can access it. That leads to the Department of Meta-human Affairs, so I'm in the system."

"What's the bad news?"

"That release of energy tripped sensors and most likely put the people were after on high alert."

Wanda slipped her hand into his and pulled him out of the alley, "It's not like they're looking for us specifically, so we'll act natural and do some reconnaissance for a while."

"I suppose we haven't had a chance to talk since we returned from our venture to the dark multiverse. It would probably be best to try to access the facility once the sun goes down."

Wanda led them to a café and sat at one of the outdoor tables. "So, what did you think about our meeting with Roslyn and Logan?"

"I think the child will have an interesting life with a powerful psionic for their mother and an assassin for their father. I'm curious about the child's powers and how they will use them."

A waiter stopped beside the table, "Hello, my name is Jay, and I'll be your server today."

Nicholas glanced at Jay; he was a man of average height with curly black hair, a dark complexion, and Hazel eyes.

"Yes," Wanda began, "I would like a coffee, black with two sugars and heavy on the cream, and one of your chocolate scones, please."

He glanced at Nicholas.

"Coffee, heavy on the sugar, and one of your banana muffins."

After Jay walked away, Wanda turned her attention back to Nicholas. "So, what do you want to do once this mess is done?" she gestured around her.

"Well, I would like to be able to use my abilities to create something. Back in Brigadoon, I didn't have the chance; by the time I grew up and could choose my path, the exterminators arrived, and a battle ensued."

Wanda leaned back as Jay brought the orders. She picked up her cup and stared at him over the rim, "What would you create?"

"It was Brigadoon's dream to help mutants reach their full potential and teach them how to use their abilities in everyday life. I've seen this world and heard its thoughts; those with useful powers are accepted and praised as heroes; the government approaches those with dangerous abilities, and if they refuse their offer, they are called villains. Any other power is ignored as useless, but one of the main teachings of Brigadoon was that any power could be of use if applied correctly."

"I fought some who were just out for themselves. They use their powers to hurt people or think their powers make them better than others."

"That's just human nature and doesn't represent our species. Are there no human murderers? Do people with money not believe they are better than those who don't have it?"

"Some, but not all."

Nicholas pointed at her, "Exactly."

"I believe meta-humans can work together; they could change the future of this world, so I want to create a place where they could come together."

"How would you convince them?" Wanda asked as she closed her eyes in delight over the taste of her scone.

Nicholas picked up his muffin and began peeling the paper from around it, his gaze drifting toward the sky. "I have some ideas."

"What about you? What will you do once this is settled?"

Wanda wiped her mouth on a cloth napkin, "Well, I need to find out what Lilith Steppenwolf was doing in Metropolis, but right now, I'm not strong enough to journey to Apocalypse, so I have to wait until she returns."

"Until that happens, I would like to stick around with you and see how your plans unfold. I have a feeling it won't be boring."

Nicholas sipped his coffee, "I would like that, like that a lot."

–XX –

Bailey Brandon sighed as she knelt atop the Department of Meta-human Affairs building. She had spent the day searching for the release of energy throughout the city. She could have told Dr. Stein that it had originated from space and was affecting everything. She was grateful to the man, but he was so assured of his intelligence that he wouldn't believe her. Now, she was guarding against a threat that probably wouldn't appear.

"There is strange energy flowing through the air currents; I can feel it changing me."

David Drake was 6'2" tall, with snow-white hair, pale blue skin, a square jaw, and red eyes. His body was lean and well-muscled after spending a lifetime at sea with his experiments. Her heart went out to the man. After the accident that gave him his powers over the elements of the sky, he started working with Dr. Stein.

Dr. Stein helped him gain control of his abilities and assigned him to become a supervillain to watch those who use their powers against the world. Unfortunately, this worsened his already strained relationship with his family, and now he was forbidden from seeing his children by law.

"Changing you how, do you need to see the doctor?"

"No, I can feel my powers expanding. I can feel through the wind, see through the moisture in the air, and sense the electricity that flows through the body."

He turned to look at her, his eyes glassy, his attention far away, "Can't you feel it? You're connected to the moon. Do you not feel the energy intertwining with the Celestial light."

Closing her eyes, Bailey reached out to the moonlight and gasped as a jolt of power ran through her body; the moonlight she stored in her muscles and bones skyrocketed, and her body glowed from within, highlighting her bones, muscles, and nerves.

Her eyes snapped open as her muscles bulged, and pale moonlight crackled around her form.

"What could cause this? What could change natural phenomena?"

Drake's gaze drifted down from the sky to stare at their road just outside of Walton leading to the facility, "I don't know, but someone's coming."

Bailey's gaze snapped to him, her blonde ponytail wrapping around her neck with the sudden movement, "What!"

"I can sense two people coming up the road. Light bends around their bodies, hiding them from view, but you cannot hide the electricity in your body."

David's brow wrinkled in concentration, "They are strange; the energy that bends light around them is not a force of nature; it's something from the stars."

Bailey stared at David. Whatever was happening to him had given him a strange insight. They would need to look into that later, but they had a job to do right now. Staring toward the road, she pressed the com in her ear, "Yolanda, we've got company coming; guard the doctor and his guest."

She said the last word with a hint of distaste. While she worked for the National Guard and loved her country, she did not like Amanda Waller. The woman claimed to protect America's interests, but her actions caused a lot of strife and increased her influence. The more Amanda works, the more the nation seems divided.

Amanda's actions and Martin Stein's association with her increased Bailey's suspicion of the man. She was grateful for his help, but the fact that he found them all when they were young. She glanced at David, or after tragedies had struck, their lives seemed suspicious.

"How far out are they?"

"They are walking at a sedated pace, but they'll be here within 30 minutes."

–XX –

Nicholas walked beside Wanda as they made their way to the meta-human affairs facility. With each step he took, life energy rushed into his veins, and his heart of metal element thrummed with power.

Nicholas closed his eyes while continuing to move. In his mind, he could see the tree carved into the center of his heart, glowing with pale white energy as the ventricles shined with the light of the elements.

While a normal heart has two ventricles, his has four. In addition to pumping blood, they pulled in elemental energy and transformed it into blood to fuel his body.

Orange represented fire; blue represented water, which was represented by clear. Gold represented melt, which represented earth, and white represented vapor, which showcased air. These four of the seven central parliaments infused the elemental metal that made up his heart during its formation.

The metal, the aspect of technology, was linked to his brain and nervous system.

The green, the embodiment of plant life, was connected to his note system that spread throughout his body, and the black.

The embodiment of the rot that made up the leaves of the tree was etched into his heart as a symbol of how life and death were intertwined.

Wanda laid a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Wanda raised an eyebrow and stopped, crossing her arms over her chest, "Try again."

Releasing a breath, Nicholas turned to face her. "My body began to change when I absorbed the remnants of my other. I gained the ability to see and absorb life force." He ran a hand through his green hair. "Luckily, it didn't come with the exterminator's hunger this time."

"The energy that washed over the planet accelerated these changes."

"What are the changes doing?"

"Right now, they are wild and uncontrolled but want to create life. They want to change what is into something more."

"Why is it only affecting specific individuals?"

Nicholas looked up, "if I had to guess, it's because those with mutant genes are more susceptible to outside energy."

Wanda glanced up at the sky. "What happened in the sphere of the gods?" she looked at Nicholas. "Do we need to abort the mission?"

Nicholas turned his gaze up the road. "No, even from here, I can sense the life forces in the building. There are not many of them, but they are all empowered, and more importantly, Amanda Waller is there."

"How can you tell?"

Nicholas tapped his temple. "Amanda's mind is shielded, but Martin Stein's is not. I'm in Martin Stein's mind. I can sense Amanda's desire for power and control even in his memories."

"Who is Martin Stein?"

"The director of meta-human affairs currently has at least three meta-humans in the facility, which he has manipulated for years to push the bounds of human evolution."

"Why is he doing this?"

"His son died, and he believes if there were more meta-humans in the world than his son would've died."

"So, what exactly do you want to do here?"

Nicholas's hand curled into a fist. "We will expose the mutants and the facility to Martin Stein's manipulation., They will be willing to work with me afterward. As for Amanda Waller, I told you earlier today that I wanted to be a creator but was forced by circumstance to become a guardian. To guard meta-humans in the world, Amanda Waller must die."