The Campbell Chronicles

Chapter 13

Nicholas and Wanda descended through a star-filled void, touching down on the cracked expanse of the moon. Wanda moved forward, her gaze locked on the planet before them.

The world before them was a strange place. Half of it was green and blue, swirling with white clouds like they were used to. The other half was made of black metal, and amber-colored clouds swirled around it.

Sometimes, clouds from the two halves would drift together, creating a dark cloud that released purple lightning down on a silver-coated chasm separating the planet's two halves.

Wanda turned to Nicholas. It had been 16 months since he was given his diagnosis, and in that time, his condition had worsened. His form had become emaciated, little more than skin and bones.

Bandages now wrapped around every part of his body, leaving only his eyes, nose, and mouth exposed. Sigils inked onto the paper glowed with a blue-orange light.

Clearing her throat, the Auburn-haired woman focused on his eyes, "What am I looking at here?"

Nicholas glanced around him, "As you know, Trinity's tower is outside of time and space in the realm of the gods. Its position gives us the ability to access planets within the multiverse."

Nicholas moved up beside her, swaying with each step.

Wanda curled her hand into a fist, fighting the urge to help him. She knew he wouldn't say anything, but it would make him feel weak, and if they were to succeed with his plan, he needed to be in the right mindset.

"You may not know that below the multiverse is the shadow of another, where worlds are born from the fears of the people from the multiverse above it. We are looking at two such worlds."

"Two?"

Nicholas nodded, "Yes, two worlds. Typically, the worlds break apart in this dark multiverse and are constantly born anew. Still, sometimes, the inhabitants of those worlds can stop the worlds from breaking apart, causing it to rise higher, closer to the multiverse above.

These are two such worlds that have merged to become one, and in doing so, rose to a higher state, above the constant destruction of its fellows." Nicholas pointed to the black metal half of the planet, "On that earth, Batman, known to the world as Bruce Wayne, had his back broken by an adversary."

"Unable to recover, he passed on his mantle to another, only to watch his successor destroy his legacy. To stop him, resistance fighters injected Bruce with nanobots. They consumed his body but repaired the damage done to him."

"Bruce stopped his predecessor, but watching his legacy be destroyed broke him. Bruce absorbed everything on the planet to bring order to his world, recording their souls inside the nanobots. He then released them as living machines that he can control at a moment's notice."

Nicholas's fingers shifted to the lush half of the planet. "In this world, a hero known as Wonder Woman, daughter of Zeus and ambassador to the world of men from an island called Themyscira."

Wanda raised her hand, "I know what Themyscira is."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow in challenge.

Rolling her eyes, Wanda turned back to stare at the planet. "Themyscira is an island created by the Greek gods, supposedly as penance for Aries massacring a tribe of warrior women. The tribe's women were reborn as immortal enhanced beings and given an island where they could live in peace while guarding the gate of Tartarus."

Wanda's eyes shifted to the planet's oceans, noticing that both sides contained clear blue water with a slight green tinge, "Once every couple of decades, the Amazons would leave the island and mate with men aboard ships to continue their race. The women are raised on the island in comfort and love, while the men are given to Hephaestus to work in his forges."

Nicholas clapped slowly, the sound loud in the small atmosphere bubble around them. "You really do know your stuff. I'm impressed."

"You're not the only one who likes to read in Trinity's library," Wanda replied, her gaze still locked on the world. Now, how does the history of this world differ from ours?"

"At some point in her past, Wonder Woman, or Diana if you are a friend, fought the goddess Hecate, who marked her as a child and tried to take over her body. In the history of our world, Wonder Woman defeated Hecate and passed her powers onto the demigod Circe."

"The lush half of the world is what is left of the world created from Diana's fear of losing herself to Hecate. In that world, Hecate took over her body and killed Earth's mightiest heroes, only to be imprisoned by the planet's magic users. However, when the world began to fall apart, the remaining heroes of that Earth freed Hecate in a desperate bid to save their universe."

"Hecate used her magic to hold the planet together, but it was a strain for her, and she knew it was only a temporary fix, so she began looking throughout the multiverse for a way to save her world. Eventually, she came across Nanite Batman…"

"Nanite Batman."

Nicholas shrugged, "He calls himself the broken. I think mine is better."

Nicholas swallowed. "Since Batman was in the same situation, he agreed to work with Hecate, and together, they used Hecate's magic and Batman's technology to merge the worlds into one stable planet."

"It doesn't look like they're on friendly terms."

"Neither one wants to give up control, so there is a sort of stalemate. At the moment, they need each other to keep the world stable."

"So, why are we here, and why is there a green tinge to the water."

"The merger of two worlds created some unique elements; I need one of those elements to help reforge my soul and body. As for why there is a green tinge to the water, during the forging of the planet, Lazarus pits were emptied into the ocean, transforming the world's water and giving it regenerative properties."

Wanda turned to face him, "So how are we getting what you need?" She gestured to him, "You can't exactly continue using your powers; that's how you ended up in your current situation."

Nicholas looked down at himself. Over the past few months, Using his decaying powers had strained his body and shortened the time he had left. These sigil bandages are the only thing holding him together at the moment, and according to Trinity's latest exam, he only had a few days left.

Nicholas pointed to the silver strip running through the world, "We need that. It's a unique substance called Element Metal."

"It's a combination of Nth metal and a substance called Element X."

"I've heard of Nth metal before; it's a metal discovered by the Thanagarians, and it has anti-magic properties along with quite a few others, but what is Element X."

"Element X is a unique substance found in the realm of the gods. It's a metal and an energy. With it, one can alter reality. It is usually extremely rare outside the realm of the gods, but I'm assuming that the merger of these two worlds released some multiversal energy that created this unique substance."

Wanda turned back to the world, "I don't think they're just going to let you go down there and take it."

Nicholas shook his head, "You're probably right, but I have to try anyway."

"Then let's get going," Wanda said, spreading her arms wide. Red energy flowed from her fingertips and curled around them in a sphere of power.

The sphere lifted into the air, creating a puff of grey dust with its departure from the moon, and slowly drifted toward the planet, "Let me do all the heavy lifting; I don't want to drag your corpse back to Trinity."

"At this point, I don't think there would be a corpse left," Nicholas muttered.

–XX –

Nicholas and Wanda descended through the clouds. Electricity danced around Wanda's sphere as the nanites in the clouds were destroyed.

"We're going to have to hurry; Batman probably sensed the destruction of those things."

He glanced down at the elemental metal cavern that split the planet in half, "When you get close, disperse the bubble; the chasm can absorb magical energy."

"Are you sure?"

"The Nth metal could negate magic and absorb energy. I assume it will have the same properties since it comprises half of the elemental metal. Besides," Nicholas gestured at himself. "Right now, we're not in any position to test it," he glanced at Wanda, "unless you want to try taking on Batman."

Wanda set them down on soft, short grass just before the chasm began.

Nicholas took a deep breath, feeling a small amount of magic rush into his body. "I don't know how she's doing it, but the air here is charged with magic."

Kneeling, Wanda placed her hand on the ground. Red chaos energy surrounded her form before she shifted it into the earth. The red power sank into the ground and spread out in a spiral-like pattern.

"If Hecate didn't know we were here before, she does now."

Wanda ignored him, "I think Batman and Hecate are working together to pull elements from the worlds that collapse into this world."

"Meaning, they are taking away other world's chances to rise."

Wanda rose, "As long as they do it for their people's survival…"

"We can't blame them," Nicholas finished.

Nicholas turned and began walking toward the chasm.

Wanda moved beside him, "Are you going to be okay since that chasm can absorb magic."

Nicholas glanced at her as he stopped at the edge, "My powers have almost completely turned into pure potential; I don't think the chasm can absorb that."

With a slight push, Nicholas jumped into the cavern. Bending his knees on impact, he turned to catch Wanda as she jumped.

"Thanks," Wanda said as Nicholas lowered her to the ground, her slender hand running across his bandaged chest.

"You're welcome."

"Say, will the chasm affect you if you use chaos magic to enhance your physical abilities?"

Wanda closed her eyes.

Nicholas watched her veins light up with crimson power.

As she opened her eyes, Nicholas found her green irises had become the color of Rubies.

"I don't think so."

"Good, because I would prefer to find the spot we're looking for before Hecate or Batman show up."

Pushing pure potential into his legs, Nicholas grimaced as smoke rose from the veins beneath his bandages.

"What are you doing? You have only a few days left and are shortening your time even more."

"We don't have time to waste, and I doubt the world's rulers will give me what I need to survive."

In a blur of motion, Nicholas disappeared, speeding further down the cavern.

With a sigh, Wanda followed him, her crimson energy glowing as she moved, flashing across the silver walls.

–XX –

Wanda watched Nicholas's body tremble with fatigue as they ran along the chasm.

Sweat dark in the bandages that wrapped his body even as the Sigils etched onto them burned with light, causing it to evaporate, leaving Nicholas trailing streams of vapor as they ran.

Shadows began to elongate as the sun moved across the sky.

The sun began to set as they finally reached their destination, painting half of the sky orange and the other half the color of blood. While the clouds of Hecate's realm turned a light purple, the clouds of Batman's realm turned a dark black.

Wanda moved up beside Nicholas as the bandaged man put his hands on his knees, breathing deeply.

A section of the chasm was in front of them. Thin ribbons of color ran down the chasm walls to join the floor in front of them, creating a small strip of white metal.

"What am I looking at here?"

Nicholas pointed to the streams of colored energy making its way through the stone of the chasm.

"Each stream represents a different aspect of nature and its connection throughout the multiverse. The red connects animal life, the black connects decay, the green connects plant life, the darker grey stream connects metal, and the almost invisible clear connects Sealife.

Usually, these energies come together near the planet's core to produce life.

This world is unique in that, in its fractured state, elemental energies are closer to the planet's surface. This spot, in particular, amplifies what I will call the parliament of nature's power, holding the planet together. It's what is making life possible on this world."

Nicholas pointed to the small portion of metal that glowed where all the parliament energy came together. "We are here for that; the natural energy plus the unique properties of elemental metal should allow me to use it to reforge my body."

Wanda knelt to stare at the small amount of metal, "There's not much of it."

"Which means I only get one shot."

Green eyes met gold, "How will you get it out?"

Nicholas's hands glowed with blue-white light speckled with flecks of orange. Pointing his hands at the metal, beams of light shot from his fingertips.

Sweat ran down his face as he moved his fingers, carving runes between each stream of energy until he completed a circle around his target.

Cutting off the energy, Nicholas swayed as his vision blurred. He fell to his knees, smoke rising from his mangled fingers.

Wanda moved beside him, "Are you all right?"

"Pure potential energy sucks," Nicholas panted, reaching forward. His skin cracked, dripping blood into the runic circle as he pressed down upon it.

The runes flared.

Wanda watched as the white metal rose from the ground. Multicolored specks decorated its surface as it became a 3-foot-long spike with golden striations running across it.

Nicholas grabbed it and relaxed as the metal's energy healed his hands.

Slinging Nicholas' arm over her shoulder, Wanda helped him stand to his feet, saying, "So, what now?"

"Now, you both will explain what you are doing in our world," a gruff voice behind them said.

Nicholas and Wanda raised their heads, finding a man in dark armor standing on the left side of the cavern while a pale-skinned woman with red eyes stood on the right.

Straightening as much as he could, Nicholas blinked to clear his vision, "Hecate and Batman, I presume."