The Campbell Chronicles
Chapter 15
Nicholas stood, shivering as the wind curled around his naked form.
Trees stood all around him, there branches intersecting to create a space of shadow. Dried brown leaves covered the ground, and damp earth cooled his feet.
Reaching out with his power, he attempted to press on the world like he did when he had his old abilities, but this time, instead of seeing strings, the ground beneath him rippled.
Glancing down at the ground, Nicholas focused on the grass. Images of what it could be flashed through his mind. A tightness appeared in his chest as he pushed. The grass shot up and turned yellow, stopping just past his naval.
Nicholas swayed as the tightness in his chest vanished, a sudden weakness filling his body. He fell to his knees, dried earth crunching under the impact.
His left hand impacted the ground to keep him from falling forward. Knowledge flowed into his mind as his fingers curled in the dirt.
He had sped up the grass growth, but in doing so, he drained the ground of its nutrients.
Swallowing to moisten his throat, Nicholas watched a bead of sweat fall to the earth.
The earth reacted to the water, drinking it up.
Nicholas slowly stood, "So, my connection to quantum energy is gone, replaced with something else."
Closing his eyes, Nicholas searched his body, "There is earth," the ground rippled, "fire," smoke began to rise beneath his feet, "air," the wind curled around his body, "and water." Moisture from the plants began to float through the air.
Nicholas began walking forward. The grass around him leaned toward his body, weaving together to form a toga that covered his form. Pushing off the ground, Nicholas floated into the air, a tornado of wind spiraling around his waist. He ran a hand down his grass toga, "I guess I can add plant manipulation to my list."
He shook his head, "I can worry about this later; right now, I need to find Wanda." Reaching out with his mind, he tried to search with his new senses, only for his eyes to widen as he sensed consciousnesses nearby. "I still have telepathy!"
Ignoring the minds around him, he searched for Wanda's thoughts. Slowly, one by one, the other minds faded away until he sensed Wanda's mind; he grimaced as he felt the minds around her; though they were machines, he could hear their thoughts, feel the electrical impulses running through their bodies, and experience their pain.
"Why is Wanda in Gotham?"
He pushed toward her mind, only for a red veil to appear before him. A static charge rushed over his thoughts, and Nicholas drew back, "I guess if I want to know, I'll have to go there in person."
Keeping his eyes closed, Nicholas shot forward, an oval of wind blossoming around his body as tornadoes spun away from his feet.
–XX –
Wanda floated near the cavern's roof underneath Gotham, bright green light bathed her body as she finished carving the three concentric runic rings into the top of the cavern. Lines bisected each of the three runic rings, connecting to form a star-like pattern in the center.
Sweat dripped from her brow, muscles burning with exertion. Raising her left hand, she slammed the elemental metal into the star. The runes flashed crimson light, shrinking and spiraling around the elemental metal. As the runes spin, the green minerals within the cavern's roof are pulled into the elemental metal.
Under Wanda's magic, the elemental metal shifted into an upside-down pyramid with three concentric rings of Japanese kanji spiraling over its surface and growing smaller toward the top.
Wanda stared at the small silver pyramid, the glow of its tip briefly mesmerizing her and her exhaustion.
Suddenly, the pyramid sank into the cavern's roof, and a wave of force rippled out from the hole left behind.
–XX –
A ripple of force exploded out of the fountain in the center of Gotham.
Robots turned toward the explosion, their bodies sparking as the force washed over them.
The sparks turned bright green.
A deep red glow blossomed from within the robots. Bits of black fall away from the robots, revealing human skin.
Others fall into piles of inert nanites.
–XX –
Far away from Gotham, Bruce Wayne turns toward the city, his inhuman eyes seeing the sparks exploding around the city like fireworks.
"Something's happening in Gotham."
"I see that," Hecate said with a small smile, "would you like my help?"
"I will handle this on my own." Without another word, the dark Knight disperses into a cloud of black specks and shot toward the city.
As Batman slowly disappeared, Hecate turns to her left, staring into the distance.
–XX –
Nicholas shot into the sky, the heat of the sun warming his skin through his field of air.
Breathing in, Nicholas pulled in the heat of the sun. Strength flooded through him as his veins briefly glowed with a myriad of colors.
Nicholas's eyes narrowed at the explosions in the distance. Force washed over him, tinged with Wanda's magic and something else.
"What have you gotten up to, Wanda?"
–XX –
With her mind's eye, Wanda watched the last of the citizens in Gotham crumble into inert Nanites.
Wanda released a breath, severing her connection as she allowed her shoulders to sag. While she couldn't save everyone in Gotham, she saved those who clung to their sense of self and fought through the pain.
Suddenly, rock exploded, raining down into the basin below.
Wanda crossed her arms, tightening her core as the force of the explosion pushed her back.
In his Batman armor, Bruce Wayne descended through the hole, the skintight reflective metal rippling in agitation. "You have released chaos upon my city!"
Wanda lowered her arms, glaring at the armored man, "I have freed the tortured and enslaved."
"And all it cost you was your life," Bruce extended his left hand, his fingers bending backward into his wrist to become a cylindrical cannon.
Orange yellow energy built within the canon, and Wanda tensed.
Sweat ran down Wanda's temple as wisps of crimson energy gathered around her, but she knew it wouldn't be enough.
Wanda closed her eyes against the flash of light as the canon went off. She flinched back as dust and heat washed across her skin.
"So, you survived."
Wanda opened her eyes, blinking at the dust in them.
Tears ran down her face as her vision cleared.
Nicholas floated before her, head-sized rocks circuiting his body.
"It worked?"
"Yes, it did, and we're going to talk about you stabbing me later."
Wanda shrugged, "At least now you can help me."
"You didn't know if I would make it back in time when you stabbed me."
Nicholas's gaze moved toward the hole in the ceiling. "Hecate is coming. Are you good to fight?"
Wanda drifted past him, "I have to be."
Batman fires again as Wanda approaches the hole.
A rock zips across the distance, intercepting the blast and bathing Wanda in dust and heat.
"Go!" Electricity danced around Nicholas; "I can handle this."
A bolt of jagged blue lightning arced from the field around Nicholas and slammed into Bruce, turning a small portion of his armor orange as the force pushed him backward.
Wanda glanced back as she drifted through the hole. Her green eyes met gold for a brief moment before she disappeared.
–XX –
As Wanda emerged from the hole, she finds Hecate waiting for her.
The goddess crossed her arms, tapping a finger on a gloved elbow as she watched the people below wander around the metal city.
"That was an impressive bit of magic you did." She turned to look at the Auburn-haired woman. "I would thank you for giving me more subjects, but somehow, I doubt you and your friend will leave our world alone."
Red light washed over Wanda, restoring her torn clothes. Power washed out from her body, forming a long red leather jacket that hung past her knees, "From what I've seen, your world is better than Batman's, and I would leave it alone if you didn't call the people that live on your half of the planet subjects."
"I saved their world and brought the survivors to a haven. I protect them from Batman's cruelty. Doesn't that give me a right to govern their lives?"
"No."
Hecate snorted, brushing a strand of wavy black hair from her pale face, "What's the alternative, elected officials drunk on their own power?"
Power flared from Wanda's hands, twisting into the air. "Honestly, I don't know the answer, but I can sense your and Batman's hunger now that you know it's possible to join the multiverse above. We can't just leave you here as a threat to the other worlds."
A purple aura blossomed around Hecate, clinging to her pale body like a second skin. "We don't have to fight; you have talent. We could have your friend and Bruce kill each other and then take out the survivor. You could rule this world with me."
"It's an offer like that which lets me know that you could never be trusted and need to be taken out."
Hecate's face twisted, "I am beyond the gods, girl, older than civilization. Do you really think you stand a chance against me?"
Wanda's eyes flared red.
With a scream, she thrust her hands forward.
Twisters of red energy spiraled toward Hecate.
Hecate backhanded the energy, forcing it to curve around her.
The pale goddess cradled her right arm as the crimson beams slammed into a building behind Hecate.
Smoke rose from blackened flesh.
"I can't believe I didn't notice before."
Her eyes narrowed, "How is it a mortal like you has access to chaos magic and remains uncorrupted?"
Ignoring the question, Wanda flew forward, a crimson blade of energy coalescing around her right fist.
"Fine then, I'll learn your secrets from your corpse."
–XX –
Batman shot forward, his form nothing more than a black blur.
Appearing before Nicholas, he threw a jab.
Nicholas knocked it away, sending a pulse of electricity through his hand on impact.
The dark Knight's hand crumbled into black sand.
Capitalizing on the distraction, Nicholas slammed his foot into the armored man.
Electricity arced from the point of impact, and more Nanites crumbled to dust, revealing the hollow inside of the Dark Knight.
Going with the impact, Bruce spun, his leg elongating as he kicked Nicholas in the ribs.
Nicholas grunted, feeling his bones bending with the impact. Air burst from his lungs, the impact driving him forward as he closed the distance. Nicholas fired two quick jabs, but the dark Knight leaned his head out of the way.
Catching movement from the corner of his eye, Nicholas formed a cushion of air beneath his feet and leaped back. A trail of blood ran down his cheek from a thin slash.
Nanite swirled around, filling in the hole in the dark Knight's chest.
Wiping the blood away, Nicholas eyed the dark Knight, finding that his hand had reformed into a triangular blade.
"You have some skill," the Dark Knight commented, "but I don't have time to play with you. This fight is over; my nanites are now in your system."
The world around Nicholas began to darken, "You don't want to do this."
"I've done many things I didn't want to do."
–XX –
Wanda swerved to the side as Hecate tried to punch her in the back. Air exploded past her from the force behind the blow, whipping her Auburn hair around her.
Twisting in the air, Wanda moved her hand in a claw-like motion. Crimson energy encased her fingers, morphing into sharp points.
Hecate threw herself backward while bringing her legs forward.
Wanda grunted as two high-heeled boots slammed into her sternum. She flew toward the earth, her body folded in half from the impact. She slammed into the ground, dried earth and bits of metal shooting into the sky.
Blood flew past her lips as she coughed.
'I should've taken Batman.'
With a groan, Wanda rolled over.
Her arms shook as she climbed to her feet.
Hecate slammed into the earth a foot away from her, shaking the ground with her impact, a broad smile on her face as her chest heaved. "This is so exciting. It's been a long time since someone has pushed this body so hard, but it looks like you're reaching your limit."
Wanda wiped her mouth, staring at Hecate through heavy eyes.
She had initially planned to trap Hecate in a runic circle and drain her magic, but restoring Black Gotham's humans took much more power than anticipated. Hecate was also far more skilled with the demigod body than she thought she would be.
In short, she was overconfident and was now paying the price.
Straightening, she winced at the pain in the center of her back.
Hecate's footsteps clicked on the metal ground as she closed the distance, "This has been fun, but with you reaching your limits, it's time to end this. Hopefully, your friend has managed to weaken Batman, and I can take him out once and for all."
There was still one way for her to accomplish her goal. Unfortunately, Hecate's vessel would be a casualty.
'I'm sorry, Diana.'
Pushing the last of her magic through her feet, the ground rippled.
Hecate paused, her body dropping into a Crouch as she raised her arms in a defensive stance, "What are you planning?"
Wanda ignored her, dropping to the ground, her magic spent.
Hecate jumped up and back, a large spike bursting from the ground to scrape against armor. Sparks danced off her armor as she leaned her head backward, barely dodging the tip of the spike as it grazed her chin.
Landing on the other side of the spike, Hecate wiped the blood from her chin, "That was a good attack, and it may have worked if you weren't so weak," the goddess commented as the spike withdrew into the earth.
"But it did work."
Hecate cocked her head to the side as a second spike shot up from the ground and pierced Wanda's hand.
A bit of power jolted through Wanda like a shot of caffeine.
Grabbing hold of it, she began working it into a thin thread.
'Diana, I don't know if you can hear me, but I know you've been fighting in there. This is your one chance to take her down, but it will cost you everything.'
Climbing shakily to her feet, Wanda stared at her palm as black energy rose from her skin and formed a tattoo of a snake eating its tail.
A small smile curled Wanda's lips, 'Thank you.'
A sword appeared in Hecate's hand, and her lips pressed together into a thin line.
"I grow bored with this," she sprinted forward.
"Blood magic, serpents' vengeance," Wanda intoned, staring at the charging Hecate.
Hecate froze, her veins glowing red beneath her pale skin.
"What did you do?"
"I gave Diana a fighting chance."
Hecate's right eye turned blue as her grip tightened on the sword.
Hecate spoke, but the cadence and tone of the voice were different now, "This is my body, and it's time you paid for what you did with it."
Spinning the sword in her grip, Diana pointed it toward her heart. Locking eyes with Wanda, half her mouth quirked up in a smile, "Thank you for giving me this chance."
"I'm just sorry I couldn't save you."
"You did save me. I've been trapped for years, but now I'm free."
The Princess of the Amazons drove the sword into her heart without another word.
Hecate gasped as she regained control of the body, just as the blade exploded from her back. She fell to her knees before falling on her side. Blood began to pool beneath her as the world shook.
"Damn! I was hoping the planet was not tied to her life force."
Hobbling forward, Wanda dropped to her knees beside Hecate.
"Blood magic," she burbled, bubbled blood coating her lips, "that I didn't expect, girl, but I won in the end."
Sticking her hand in the blood, Wanda inhaled sharply. The blood bubbled as steam rose from it. Within an instant, it dried and began flaking to dust.
At the same time, Wanda's wounds began to heal visibly.
"No, you didn't."
Hecate cried out as Wanda ripped out the sword and ran her fingers along the blade.
With the blood from the blade, she drew a symbol on Hecate's forehead. Placing her hand over the emblem, Wanda closed her eyes.
Serpent's Vengeance was a blood spell that returned temporary control to someone possessed. However, it also severed the link the person possessing the body had to their powers if they died while the magic was in effect. Though Hecate wasn't dead, Wanda hoped the blood magic still worked.
"By right of a battle won, I claim the remaining power of the goddess Hecate."
The symbol beneath Wanda's palm burned bright.
The goddess's body began to wither in upon itself as a flash of blue power shot from Hecate's chest into Wanda.
Wanda stiffened.
Her head snapped back, crimson energy exploding from her eyes and mouth.
This would not give her the power of Hecate, but it would break her mortal limits and give her the potential to grow that far. More importantly, it gave her a connection to this world.
Wanda's head fell forward, and crimson light burned around her body before sinking into the earth.
Her power expanded from her body, sweeping into the distance.
Wanda followed her power as it encircled Hecate's half of the planet, grappling with the energy as she tried to hold the land together.
–XX –
Nicholas opened his eyes to a void of expanding darkness, "This again, maybe I should see a psychiatrist."
Suddenly, a flash of green lit the darkness as a wireframe representation of the world began to appear around him. As the frame solidified, ones and zeros began to appear inside.
Nicholas scanned the forming world, memories coming back to him. "That's right, I was fighting nanite Batman." At this Revelation, Nicholas could feel something moving through his body.
The world shimmered, and Nicholas stood on the sidewalk in Gotham. The city was unlike any he had ever seen. The streets were clean, and the sun hung in a clear, bright blue sky.
Concrete buildings stretched into the blue expanse, their upper floors reflecting the sun's light.
People appeared around him, laughing and smiling as they went about their day.
Nicholas began moving, his eyes constantly searching for threats as he probed the nanites within his body. The metal element gave Nicholas the ability to manipulate said element and a connection with technology, which he expected not to use so soon.
Wind began caressing Nicholas's face as the scents of flowers and baked goods filled the air.
"Is this what Batman sees or what he hopes to build one day?"
Nicholas sat down on a park bench, realizing for the first time his grass toga had been replaced with jeans and a red T-shirt. Leaning back onto the bench, he was surprised at how real it felt as he allowed his eyes to drift closed.
"If he can do all this, why not just kill me?"
A frown twisted his features as his brow drooped down, "He's either trying to get something from me or convert me. He doesn't have the emotional connection to want to convert me, so he's most likely trying to figure out how Wanda and I got here."
In his mind's eye, Nicholas could see his circulatory system. Within it, he saw black specks running through his veins. At his back, a silvery representation of his heart pumped elemental energy with the cadence of a war drum.
Nicholas reached out with his hand, and small bolts of electricity shot from his fingers, hitting the nanobots spreading through his body. As the first one was hit, he felt the will of Batman within it, but it was spread so thin it was the easiest thing in the world to crush it.
The nanite stilled as Batman's will vanished.
Nicholas was about to crush them when multicolored energy exploded from his heart and flowed through his body. The nanites changed within an instant, becoming something more, something alive but machine at the same time.
"Is this what happens when the elements work together?"
His eyes snapped open, and the idyllic world around him shattered like glass.
It was replaced with the void, and in the center of it floated Bruce Wayne's face made of thousands of miniature red bats.
"I was hoping to keep you distracted while I found what I needed," his voice boomed in the void, "but it appears your will is too strong."
Swords made up of the same red bats that formed the face appeared around Nicholas, pointing at all his vitals.
"There was a time I would have admired that, but now I see it as a waste."
Nicholas opened his left hand, keeping it close to his body to avoid the edge of the swords. A pulse of blue light exploded from his palm, shattering the swords.
Batman's face drew back in a wince.
"If you're the man you once were, I wouldn't be able to do this, but you've gotten complacent, and your will has been spread too thin because of the nanites." The blue light around Nicholas spun, gathering up the remains of the swords.
Inside the light, the remains of the swords transformed into blood, which Nicholas drew into his body with a sharp inhale. Batman's form flickered while Nicholas's form grew and expanded.
"Your body," The Dark Knight exclaimed, "somehow transformed my nanites into flesh and blood."
Nicholas shrugged the shoulders of his 30-story tall form, "I don't get it either. Something to look into, I guess. All I know is that I won't fall into your same weaknesses because these things are not separate entities that make up my body; they are me."
Reaching down, Nicholas wrapped his hand around Batman's head. With a sharp squeeze, the head shattered, transforming into specks of blood that were absorbed by his palm.
–XX –
Nicholas opened his eyes to the world-shaking. Large rocks fell around him as he floated in the air, a sphere of wind encasing his body. Reaching out with his connection to the earth, Nicholas saw the world falling apart in his mind's eye; Batman's half of the planet was slowly losing cohesion, transforming into bits of black dust that floated away in the void.
Hecate's half of the planet was littered with cracks, but familiar red energy held the half sphere together like glue patching glass. It wouldn't last long; Nicholas could feel Wanda's magic weakening.
Releasing a breath, Nicholas shot out of the underground cavern. He couldn't hold Batman's half of the planet together as Wanda did. His powers were too new, and his unique organic nanites would take too long to spread across half the planet.
Hopefully, Wanda would know how they could save a few people.
Tears opened as he journeyed through the blood-red sky, giving a view of space. Wind whipped around him as the brown clouds that hung around the city were sucked into the void.