The Campbell Chronicles

Chapter 26

The opaque sphere shimmered into existence, only to be blasted by a wave of heat that sent it careening toward a wall of red rock.

Curling his hand into a fist, Nicholas manipulated the heat, wrapping it around the sphere and stalling its movement.

As the sphere stopped moving, the group got their first good look at the archive of Brigadoon.

It was a massive octagon-like structure made of black stone positioned around Mars's core. Walls emerged from the eight points of the octagon, connecting to an obelisk in the center.

Four arch-shaped openings sat equally spaced along the outer walls. Waves of silver specs went out and came in and a constant stream.

David stepped forward, his eyes locked on the stream, "What is that?"

"Nanite's, The archive was meant to be a genetic database in case the worst ever happened on earth. It has been gathering DNA since its inception. It was meant to be a fallback point should the worst ever happen, but the exterminator attack was too fast and powerful," Forge answered, his holographic head floating near Nicholas's left shoulder.

With a force of will, Nicholas sent the sphere floating toward one of the arched openings.

"If the exterminators had left Earth, they would have swarmed throughout the entire universe, devouring its energy before moving deeper into this multiverse."

The silver sand parted around them as they drew closer to the arch.

They floated through it. The sphere bled away from them to form a barrier over the arch, protecting them from the heat of the planet's core. White strips blaze to life in the ceiling, revealing walls made of stone and metal.

Nicholas led the way down the corridor, lights clicking on along the path as they entered the building. Reaching an intersection, Nicholas pointed right and then left. "The bedrooms are that way, and the mess hall is that way." He pointed straight ahead, "The main science facility is straight ahead."

"There are other facilities, but they branch off from here."

He glanced back at the group, "We could raise this facility to the surface, but for security reasons, I would suggest keeping it near the core." The group stared at him, and Nicholas shook his head and continued walking straight ahead.

They reached a large circular room with a massive silver diamond in its center. Circuit designs were carved into the floor, and a blue light glowed beneath the diamond.

Nicholas approached the diamond, and a dais rose from the floor. He placed his hand in the center of the dais, lines spreading out from his fingers, and holographic screens flickered into existence in a half-circle around it.

The floating head of Forge disappeared from Nicholas's shoulder and shot into the crystal as a streak of green light.

Three doors shrouded the crystal, each made of a thick metal with dark blue lines running through it.

Everyone besides Nicholas tensed as Forge's head appeared inside the diamond, and beams of light shot out to scan the group's bodies again.

Forge's eyes flashed as his holographic head disappeared, only to be replaced by a full-bodied hologram of the man. He wore a dark blue spandex suit with a yellow triangle trailing down from the neck. One arm and leg were made of what looked to be a silver metal.

He focused on Nicholas, whose eyes never strayed from the holographic screens.

"I found something interesting."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow, "Oh."

"As you know, the archive has gathered DNA from every meta-human, animal, and plant on earth since its completion."

Bailey stepped forward, "Why not humans? Are you guys racist or something?"

Forge looked at her with narrowed eyes, "Humans without powers are the most dominant sentient species on earth, and they tend to attack things they don't understand, so we focused on saving our people." He turned back to Nicholas, "As I ran the group's DNA through the archives systems," a smile spread across his face, "I found a match."

"Really."

Forge turned to Pamela and Gaia, a family tree flickering to life above the crystal, "Apparently, you two are related distantly. Pamela is descended from Gaia's younger brother, William."

Pamela and Gaia turned to stare at each other, tears pooling in Gaia's eyes. They had felt a connection since they first met, but now each had gained something they longed for.

'Gaia, is my family? Could she become someone who understands the struggle of dealing with the elements and keeping them alive?' A gentle smile appeared on Pamela's face as her hand curled into a fist. 'Even if she can understand the struggle, I will keep her from making my mistakes and carrying my regret.'

Gaia stared at Pamela's face, recognizing the features of her mother. Slowly, she stepped forward, "I'm not alone; I have family?"

Pamela opened her arms. "Darling, you were never alone. This information just strengthens our bond."

Without another word, Gaia launched herself into Pamela's arms and wept. She had a hole in her heart, thinking she was alone and the last of her bloodline. Realizing Pamela not only had a connection to the elements but a blood connection to her lightened her heart and allowed it to heal just a little.

The group briefly watched the display with small smiles before Nicholas returned to Forge, "Is terraforming possible?"

"It is," he began, giving Nicholas a meaningful look, "Are you sure you want to do this? It could…"

Nicholas raised a hand, "I'm sure."

Bailey stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she glanced between them. "What was that about?"

"A personal matter," Nicholas replied without turning around, "nothing that will endanger the rest of you."

Wanda stepped forward, "Meaning it will endanger you?"

Nicholas turned to look at her, his gaze firm, "This needs to be done to provide the life element. The only other person I could ask is pregnant, and I will not endanger her child."

Wanda's eyes widened before she nodded slowly while biting her bottom lip, "Are you sure this needs to be done?"

"People need a symbol to gather behind; very few are better than terraforming a planet." Nicholas focused on Forge, "Take us up, please."

Gaia gasped as they floated into the air.

Drake looked around as a small hole appeared in the ceiling, "I would love to study the technology of this place."

Bailey tightened her grip on Yolanda as, one by one, they floated through the hole.

–XX –

One by one, the group members floated through a recessed circle in the center of the tile floor. As they landed on the raised portion of the floor, tanks encircling the walls blazed to life with green, red, opaque, white, gold, black, and luminescent white energy.

Almost instinctually, Pamela moved to the green tank while Yolanda stirred awake and fought to be released until she stood in front of the red tank in a daze. Drake moved in front of the white tank, while Gaia moved to the gold, Mai moved to the opaque, and Jade moved to the black, leaving Nicholas, Bailey, and Wanda standing in the center of the room.

Bailey turned to look at Nicholas, "What now?"

Turning to the recessed section of the floor, Nicholas flicked his hand.

A holographic representation of Mars and its two moons appeared in the circle.

"Now, the elementals will begin designing the world and its ecosystem, but be warned: The more you try to control the terraforming, the more energy it will consume."

Mai, Drake, Pamela, and Gaia moved forward while Yolanda, Bailey, and Jade hung back.

Sticking his hands into his pockets, Nicholas moved toward them, "Why are you all hanging back?"

Yolanda glanced at the rotating planet as it shifted under the influence of the others, "There are no animals in this world, so I can't help."

"The archive collected DNA from every animal that has existed on earth. It may take more energy, but you can use your connection to the red to reconstruct them from the DNA in this facility."

Yolanda looked thoughtful before slowly moving to join the others. A list appeared before her on a whispered command.

"What about you two?"

Bailey shrugged, "My power comes from the moon. Not much I can do to help here."

Nicholas ran a hand down his face; "the moon controls the tides, helps balance the planet's gravity, and shields it from some meteors and stellar radiation. With two of them, you may be one of the most important people here," he gestured to the holograms of the moons, "so please, use what insights you have from the connection to Earth's moon to develop the orbits of Mars two moons in a helpful way for the terraformed world."

Slightly sheepish, Bailey made her way over to Drake and, after a short conversation, began manipulating the two moons of Mars. As she worked, another tank rose from the floor between the tank for the clear and the tank for the vapor. It was filled with a dimly glowing grey energy.

Nicholas turned his attention to Jade, "And you?"

"How can death bring life?" Jade questioned, not meeting Nicholas's eyes.

"You may be the most important person here?"

Jade looked at him.

"As natural things decay, they release energy that nourishes the world; if you work with others, you can accelerate that decay and increase the planet's vitality. However, this will be tricky without a dedicated life element. I suggest talking to Gaia, Pamela, and Yolanda to balance that by interweaving your powers with theirs."

Jade stared at her hands, "Do you think something can be created out of death," she glared at him, "or are you just trying to make me feel better?"

Nicholas glared right back at her, leaning forward. "If I didn't think you could be useful to this endeavor, I wouldn't waste my time coming to collect you. Now quit feeling sorry for yourself because of your past and get over there and help the others."

With a scowl, Jade walked toward the others, her back straight.

Wanda looked at him with a sly smile, "So, what kind of pep talk do you have for me?"

Nicholas moved to stand beside her, "I don't. You already know what your job is."

With a pout, Wanda nodded, "I am to reforge the planet's Ley lines and pull the residual elemental energy released by the others into the Ley lines to reinforce the natural cycle and ensure it doesn't go to waste."

"Can you do it?"

Wanda shrugged, "It's got to be easier than transmuting divine energy into life energy."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow, "So you know."

"It's the only other available option at the moment. Divine energy contains a lot of life energy if you can filter out the other elements. Can you do it?"

"The element X that makes up the elemental metal in my heart can alter reality. The Nth metal that makes up the other half of the elemental metal can channel magical power. With both elements as one inside my body, I should be able to pull the divinity still surrounding the earth inside and filter it into what we need."

"What about the fragments left behind? Without the life force, the fragments of the Djinn's powers could tear you apart."

"Hopefully, I can use my connection to the elements as a buffer," Nicholas smiled, "Who knows, maybe I'll be able to reforge myself again into something closer to my original strength."

Wanda grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her. Worry shone in her eyes as she gestured around her, "Is this really worth it?"

Nicholas grabbed her hands in his. "Yes, while I want to create a beacon of hope for meta-humans, I also want to create a place where we can live in peace." He shook his head, "I don't mind fighting when I have to, but I would like to do something more constructive."

Wanda stared at him for a long moment before determination filled her eyes. Standing on her tiptoes, she grabbed his face and kissed him. Nicholas wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss.

They stayed like that for a long moment, trading their passions back and forth. Finally, they broke apart and stared into each other's eyes.

"Don't die," Wanda whispered.

Nicholas smirked, "I wasn't planning to before, but after that…"

David cleared his throat, "I think we're done over here."

Nicholas and Wanda turned to find the rest of the group watching.

Nicholas straightened, and Wanda slipped her hand into his, a slight dusting of pink to her cheeks. Together, they made their way over to the rest of the group.

The group surrounded the circular section of the sunken floor, and the hologram of the terraformed Mars floated in the center of the circle, looking almost exactly like the green, white, and blue ball that was Earth.

More islands were spread worldwide than on Earth, and nine large landmasses were. Each was either a forest, jungle, mountain range, or coastal landscape.

"If this is what you want to create, we're going to need more mass," Nicholas walked around the hologram, "it may end up being even larger than Earth."

Pamela gestured to the hologram, which showed Mars: "As a smaller planet, we added mass by pulling in meteors from the local asteroid belt. David suggested adding gas from Jupiter to help with the transformation. After his suggestion, we decided to pull what we could from the other planets in the solar system."

Nicholas tapped his chin in thought, "That would require you to pull even more energy from your respective elements. You were going to be changed before, but with this alteration, there's no way you will come out of this process the same way you are now."

Jade stepped forward, "I don't know about the rest of them, but I want to be changed; I want this to signify a fresh start in my life."

Naiad stepped forward, her elegant, watery features full of determination, "I am with Jade; I want a fresh start no matter what that costs."

Nicholas raised his hands in surrender, "I'm not judging. I want to ensure you know what you are getting yourself into."

Bailey snorted, "We've come this far. We're standing on ground no one else has, and we won't back out now."

David nodded, "After gaining my powers, I made choices that isolated me from my family. I hope this is the beginning of a path where they will at least talk to me again."

Pamela shrugged, her arm wrapped around Gaia, whose gaze never left the terraformed Mars, "You know my history. You know what drives me."

Nicholas looked at Wanda as she slipped her hand into his. "I traveled to another multiverse with you and was transformed into a goddess of magic," her lips curled into a smile. "I can't wait to see how this turns out."

Releasing Wanda's hand, holographic screens appeared before Nicholas. As his fingers danced across the screens, he gestured to the tanks encircling the room. "Each of you needs to get into the tank that matches your energy."

Pamela walked toward the green tank, her hand clasped in Gaia's. They separated, with Pamela entering the green and Gaia entering a golden brown. David moved toward a white one, while Jade moved toward a tank full of dark purple, almost black energy.

Yolanda moved toward a tank of blood-colored energy, her feet dragging from mental exhaustion. She fell against it, falling asleep as her body slipped through the glass.

Naiad entered a tank full of opaque energy.

Wanda floated toward one filled with crimson light.

This left Bailey and Nicholas standing in the center of the room.

The tanks shifted into spheres of energy. Silver wires came down from the ceiling and threaded through the energy, sinking into the body of the person inside.

The spheres began changing position, drawing closer to the hologram in the center of the room.

Bailey stepped forward, "What's happening to them?"

"The archive is linking to their bodies."

"How did the archive get the elemental energies needed to terraform the world?"

"It took more than one mutant to terraform Mars the first time. Of course, we had Martian technology back then to help us." Nicholas gestured around him, "This place is designed to calibrate itself if the correct mutants enter."

Bailey narrowed her eyes, "Convenient, so what do I do?" She commented as she moved to the tank between David and Naiad. With one last glance at Nicholas, she stepped through the glass and winced as silver threads entered her skin.

The holographic screens once again appeared before Nicholas's hands. The hologram flashed, revealing the image moving out to show the entirety of Mars, its two moons, and a good amount of space beyond the world.

Taking a deep breath, Nicholas stepped into the hologram of Mars.

Forge's head appeared before him as he shifted into a cross-legged position.

"Are you sure about this? We don't know what remnants will be left behind after you channel the life element from the divinity."

"Just have the Lazarus protocol prepared."

"I will, but without someone here to catch your soul, there's no guarantee it will work."

Nicholas smiled, "Have faith, grandfather. Whatever happens, it was good to talk to you again, even if it was just a copy of your consciousness."

Nicholas closed his eyes, and forges eyes flashed as silver threads entered his body. Unlike the others, Nicholas's threads glowed with elemental energy.

"Good luck, son," Forge whispered as he shimmered out of existence, "and come back; you are the legacy of our people."