The Campbell Chronicles
Chapter 17
Nicholas stood in Trinity's antechamber, the portals to thousands of universes burning at his back. A white flash lit the room in the periphery of his vision as the last survivor of his adventure in the dark multiverse traveled to their new home.
It'd been two weeks since they returned from the dark multiverse. In that time, the Barbaras and the Richards were the ones to discuss things with Trinity in finding a new home. Every inhabitant, their faces etched with fear and uncertainty, stayed away from Nicholas and Wanda, fearful of the power they had displayed.
This was fine with the duo since it took them three days to recover from their ordeal. After the recovery, they experimented with their abilities; Wanda now had finer control over her magic and more strength to draw on.
Nicholas was still discovering the extent of his new powers, but he had learned that he wouldn't be manipulating people's fate anytime soon. However, along with telekinesis and telepathy, the four elements of biological manipulation seem to be within his range, thanks to his connection to the Divide, the embodiment of microscopic life.
Running a hand through his hair, he looked at Trinity. The woman in question wore a long, sleeveless white gown with golden trim. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun, and two strands framed her face.
She looked at the two of them, her blue eyes burning with an inner power, "I take it you two will be returning to earth now."
Wanda nodded, one hand on her hip, the other tucked into her long red coat pocket. "Things are happening on earth that need to be addressed. One of them is Lilith Steppenwolf's actions in Metropolis."
Trinity's gaze went distant, "it's more than that. There are a lot of moving pieces coming together."
"Care to give us a hint?"
Trinity stepped forward, adjusting the collar of Nicholas's dark blazer and smoothing down the wrinkles of his lavender button-down shirt. "You are big kids now; you can figure it out. Plus, it would change how you react, which could change the outcome."
Nicholas raised an eyebrow; "You do realize I'm technically older than you, right?"
"Maybe, but between the two of us, I have more life experience."
Trinity raised a slender tan hand; her clear nails reflected in the light as the portals in the antechamber spun before a particular archway stopped before them.
On the other side of the portal were the blackened remains of a three-story house. Charred wood reached toward the sky, and ash littered the remains of the interior.
Nicholas's eyes widened, "is my house?"
"Yes, around a year ago, an individual and his sister found your doppelgänger and attacked him."
"Why?"
"That's for you to figure out; I've said enough."
"It looks like things aren't going to be easy for me," he said, turning to Wanda. "Are you sure you want to come?"
Wanda snorted, "The last place you took me, I fought an ancient goddess; compared to that, whatever we face on earth will be easy."
Nicholas winced, "I hope you didn't jinx us."
"Speaking of Jinx," Trinity cut in, "I will start searching for the other members of our family."
"Grandma Penelope did say that Jinks Campbell was not in the afterlife."
"I know. That gives me hope to start looking for our family again," Trinity glanced up, tapping her chin. "I may also experiment with that elemental metal you brought back."
"Be careful; its properties aren't truly known," Nicholas said, stepping forward, and disappearing into the portal in a flash of light.
Trinity looked at Wanda, "Good luck, young godling; I look forward to watching your rise."
Giving Tiffany a quick hug, Wanda followed Nicholas.
–XX –
Nicholas touched down in his front yard.
Wanda appeared beside him a moment later.
Together, they walked toward the three-story burned-out structure. Wood creaked beneath their steps as they stepped onto the porch, and ashes shifted beneath their feet.
Stepping through the doorway, Nicholas glanced to his right, examining the skeletal remains of his furniture. His gaze trailed up the staircase as he eyed the burned-out upper floor.
Burned joists and a partial railing were all that remained.
Wanda sniffed, "Despite this happening almost a year ago, you can still smell a trace of smoke."
Moving past Wanda, Nicholas looked into the kitchen, finding warped appliances.
"If they were trying to kill me, why burn down my home when I could escape."
"I can explain that," Suddenly, blue threads appeared wrapped around the remains of the walls, spiraling into a spectral version of Nicholas.
"Well, this is odd."
Wanda moved beside him, eyeing the ghost of his quantum duplicate, "I would say creepy."
The spirit glanced at his living counterpart, "I could see that."
"So, what happened?"
"I can show you, or," he stretched out a hand, "we could merge again."
Nicholas's lips pressed into a thin line, "I'm not sure we can; my powers aren't the same anymore."
The spirit shrugged, "I could feel my powers waning; it's one of the reasons they were able to kill me so easily. I bound myself to our home because I was not done living yet."
"If it fails, you could fade to nothing or go on to the afterlife."
"Better than remaining here."
Nicholas, the living, turned to Wanda and asked, "Would you mind watching over my body while we do this?"
"No, but are you sure you want to do this? We don't know how it will affect your body."
"I need to know who's after me. Besides," Nicholas glanced at the spirit; "he's a part of me; it's time he came home."
Turning back to the ghost, Nicholas watched blue threads unravel from the house. As one, they rose into the air and angled forward, their tips becoming like needles as they shot toward him.
Nicholas's world went white, and his back arched.
–XX –
Nicholas exited Steel Works, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans as the chill morning wind ruffled his green hair. It had been eight months since his split from the original Nicholas and departure from Trinity Campbell's Citadel.
During that time, he created the recyclers that John Henry Irons commissioned. He also cleaned up their home and put the money they had restored from the US Mint into an underground vault.
Tilting his head to the side, he entered an alley. Well-worn red threads appeared around him as he wove a portal to teleport home. Exiting the portal, he turned to face it as it disappeared.
He could feel his powers fading, feel himself dying a little more each day. Luckily, his job was done; all he had to do was enjoy life until the original returned, and they merged back together.
He would be lucky to make it another two months in his current state.
A smirk curled his lips.
Spinning, Nicholas caught a spinal column spear, wincing as the sharpened ridges of the vertebrae cut into his hand.
With a flick of his wrist, a man came soaring toward him. He was 6'2" tall, wearing an all-black bodysuit and a hood with three red claw marks in the center.
Dropping the spear, Nicholas drew back his hand. His fingers shifted, transforming into long claws. Shifting 1 foot back, he prepared to impale the man once he came into range.
The wind picked up between him and his assailant, curling around the man and halting his progress to Nicholas. At the same time, the grass sharpened and shot toward Nicholas's vitals.
Nicholas jumped up and back, settling 10 feet above the man. Lowering his hand, he released his pull on the man. Bringing both hands together, he created a telekinetic barrier around himself as he surveyed his surroundings.
He sensed someone following him in Metropolis, but he had gotten overconfident. He thought he could lose them through a portal, and if he didn't, he assumed they would have to take the same path he did.
The man in black leaped at the sphere, three bone spikes protruding from between the knuckles on each hand.
He slammed them into the sphere.
Sparks flew from the points of impact as gravity pulled the man down.
Nicholas winced, feeling a sharp pain in his mind as the man attacked his barrier. He could feel his energy draining and cursed whatever was causing him to grow weaker.
Spinning around, Nicholas swept his right arm upward.
Earth rumbled before shooting into the air like a miniature mountain. Bits of earth rained to the ground, dust wafted through the air, and a feminine scream cut through the silence.
"Rebecca!" The masked man screamed.
Clenching his hand into a fist, Nicholas's earth mountain broke apart, transforming into long poles of sharpened rocks that sped toward the airborne woman.
Nicholas's eyes narrowed, wondering if his hunch would be correct.
The woman slammed her forearms together, and pale green energy burst from the point of impact, transforming into a shield.
His earth Spears slammed into the shield, pushing the woman back with its force but not penetrating.
The woman's hand shot out, wrapping around one of his earth Spears as it flew past. Spinning midair, she hurled it back at Nicholas, pale green and white symbols burning along the shaft.
Nicholas dodged to the side, only for the man to slam into him with a roar.
He cried out as the three bone spikes on the man's hands stabbed into him repeatedly.
Blood flew through the air as the man wrote him to the ground.
'Damn,' Nicholas thought as he impacted the earth, 'I didn't even realize my telekinetic barrier had faded.'
Trying to roll away from the man, Nicholas's good arm brushed his wrist. Using the point of contact as an anchor from the pain, he lashed out with his mind.
Images filled his head; the man appearing in a dark-skinned woman's home, the woman hiring him to hunt down Nicholas.
The man was walking through the halls of Cadmus, sniffing the ashes of the colonel Nicholas had killed. His attacker followed his sent across the city but lost it once he reached the shipyard.
His killer on the phone, a name in the forefront of his mind, Rebecca Force.
Meeting the woman at the airport.
She was 5'6" tall, with long red hair tied back into a ponytail, blue eyes, sun-kissed skin, and a moderate bust. She wore tight-fitting jeans, comfortable work boots, and a gray tank top underneath a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and tied into a knot at the waist.
The man, James Logan Wayne, led the woman out of the airport.
'They think I'm a vampire.'
Dispersing into threads, he shot toward the house.
Knowing he was dying and the original needed to learn of the danger in the shadows, he merged his threads with the house.
Logan and Rebecca came storming in moments later.
Together, they searched the house. Logan curses when they find nothing but stops when Rebecca does something and says he is still here.
Emerald green fire blossoms between her hands before she drops it onto the floor.
Nicholas screams as he starts to burn.
–XX –
Nicholas blinked, the screams of his double still ringing in his ears.
Wanda touched his shoulder, and Nicholas felt damp clothes press into his skin.
"Are you all right? You were sweating an awful lot, and you were twitchy."
"Fine," Nicholas replied, staring straight ahead, "I saw myself die."
Wanda's grip tightened on his shoulder, "you know who did it?"
"Do you know a James Logan Wayne or a Rebecca Force?"
"The Force family is based out of Canada and hunts supernatural that are dangerous to humanity."
Nicholas bobbed his head, "What can you tell me about Amanda Waller?"
Wanda raised an eyebrow, "All I know for sure is that she works for the government, but there are rumors that she has her own black ops team."
"Well, I think I can confirm she at least has some connection to the darker side of the government; she hired the Force family to hunt me down."
"How would a woman from the government even know you existed? You are like a billion years old. More importantly, why would she want to kill you?"
"A facility called Cadmus had the piece of exterminator armor I was encased in. When I woke, I may have accidentally killed a colonel of the facility."
"How do you accidentally kill someone?"
"I'd just woken up from a long sleep and was hungry for life force."
"I can see why the Force family thought you were a vampire," Wanda said as they turned and began leaving the home.
"I'm surprised they could take out your double, though."
"He was deteriorating faster than I was and thought it was better to appraise me of the situation when I returned rather than kill them outright."
Stepping off the porch, Nicholas focused on his home, pushing his hands toward the earth. He watched the burned-out building decay before his eyes and sink into the ground to feed the plant life. Within moments, the only thing that remained was a stone door leading into the earth.
Flicking his hand, vines and leaves grew to cover the door.
"What will you do now?"
"I want to have a chat with Logan Wayne."
"You do realize he's probably going to try and kill you, right?"
"I do want to see how my new abilities work in combat; nanite Batman had lost his edge and depended too much on consuming his prey," Nicholas rubbed his side, "I'm going to pay him back for stabbing me."
"Men," Wanda muttered with a shake of her head.
"Hey, there's something in this for you, too. Rebecca Force uses natural energy to create magical effects."
Saying nothing, Wanda opened a crimson portal with a flick of her wrist.