The Campbell Chronicles Part Two

Chapter 8

Amanda watched the men shift before Thomas Oscar Morrow took a breath and stepped forward.

"Thanks to the power of whatever is on that ice, you appear to have bonded with the android."

Amanda looked down, eyeing the black spandex covering her stout form. "But I feel fine," she ran a hand through her black hair. Are you sure?"

Dabney Donovan stepped forward, an insane smile stretched across his face, "We watched your body turn into bloody meat," madness shown in his dark eyes, "it was fascinating."

Anthony Ivo stepped forward, but his words faded into nothing as something else caught Amanda's eye.

Luminescent white smoke gathered in a corner, slowly taking on a humanoid shape.

Amanda hopped down from the table, and the scientists she had worked with for years backed away from her, fear shining in their eyes, but she paid them no mind. They had fear in their eyes before when she held the remote to the bombs in their brains; this was just something else she could use to keep them in line.

She watched as the smoke began to develop familiar features.

Slowly, her eyes widened, and she began to shake her head, saying, "No, no, no."

Within moments, a dark-skinned man with close-cropped black hair and a thin mustache that trailed down the corners of his mouth stood before her; looking as he had the night, he went out to take the Candyman down.

His white T-shirt was stretched taut over his broad frame, and his large hands were tucked into well-worn jeans, "Hello, Amanda."

A tear trailed down Amanda's cheek, "This can't be happening, you can't be here, it's got to be some trick of the mind."

"You and I both know it's not." he gestured to the tank. "That woman, that creature, Jinks, gave you what you wanted: a weapon that could take out the metahumans, but she also used my ashes as an anchor to pull me back from the beyond."

Joseph Waller Senior, Amanda Waller's former husband, shook his head. "I think she hoped I could guide you to a better fate, but you stepped on your path long before our family was broken."

Amanda shook her head. "Oh, don't start this again. Sacrifices have to be made to get ahead in this world."

Joseph stared into her eyes, the disappointment she saw carved into her like a dull knife into her heart. "Well, you've certainly gotten ahead," he said, spreading his arms wide. "How have you changed the world for the better?"

Amanda's teeth ground together as memories of previous arguments when she supported a candidate who wanted to eliminate the money their family needed flashed through her mind. It didn't matter if getting ahead in her career would've given them more money.

Her knuckles popped as her hands curled into fists. Her nails bit into her palms, and droplets of red blood dripped onto the floor.

The sound of it impacting the tiles echoed in her brain, and with a scream, she blurred across the lab. Her fists slammed into the tank, sending ice, electronics, and glass flying throughout the lab and revealing an empty interior.

Seeing the empty interior, Amanda threw back her head and screamed so loud that it shook the foundations of the alien city.

Joseph Waller Senior watched with sad eyes as his wife screamed, and the scientists she had blackmailed into working for her backed into the edges of the room.

–XX –

Penelope Marlene Campbell moved around the stone slab where her descendant, Nicholas Campbell, lay. Lines etched into the stones glowed with pale-yellow energy, feeding the green-haired man energy. Red energy flared from his body as she touched his chest.

Slowly, it shifted, revealing how it flowed through Nicholas's body to produce his power.

"How is he?"

Penelope looked away from Nicholas into Wanda and Alexi's worried eyes. Straightening up, she waved her hand dismissively, "He is fine. He just drained his energy, and he will need to recharge."

Wanda moved over to Nicholas, running her hand through his green hair, "How long will that take?"

Penelope turned away from Nicholas, holographic screens appearing around her in a half-circle. "With the way we're doing it now, about a month, maybe a month and a half."

Alexi's pale blue eyes scanned her son's prone form. "Is there any way to speed that up?"

Penelope tapped her chin, running a finger down over a scar that split it down the middle, "We could throw him into the sun, but," she glanced at Nicholas, remembering how the mutant energy flowed through his body. "His power seemed in flux, so I don't know what would happen."

Red threads blossomed around Alexi as her pale blue eyes flicked from thread to thread, losing focus momentarily as she focused on each one.

Wanda looked at Penelope with a raised eyebrow, her hand pausing in Nicholas's hair, "What is she doing?"

Penelope moved away from the screen, showing half of Cradle covered in what looked like tree branches, and focused on Alexi: "She's using her quantum string manipulation to look at what would happen if we threw Nicholas into the sun. It's a new facet of her power she discovered when we worked on the updated Phoenix's rebirth serum. It saved us a lot of trial and error."

Suddenly, Alexi's head snapped forward, grabbing a particular thread.

Nicholas vanished beneath Wanda's hand, and Penelope glanced at the empty stone slab, "I guess Nicholas will survive a trip to the sun."

Wanda glanced back and forth between the two women, her mouth hanging open. "You just dropped your son into a big ball of fire."

Alexi looked at her, "While Nicholas doesn't view himself as the leader of these people, the people of cradle do, and we can't have him showing weakness."

"Couldn't you have just had your husband recharge him? He has the same living power plant mutation as Nicholas."

Alexi nodded, her gaze turning thoughtful, "I could've done that, but right now, Samuel is working with Forge to figure out a way to provide energy to the people of Cradle without having to be here all the time."

Wanda threw her hands up in the air, "how long will it take for Nicholas to recharge now?"

"Five or ten minutes," Penelope answered without looking away from the screen.

After a moment of silence, Penelope glanced up from the screen. "The power issue should solve itself soon. It looks like Pamela's plant network is coming along…"

A gaseous pink cloud of energy speckled with gold appeared in the lab, cutting Penelope off.

The three women tensed.

Wanda stood to her feet, her hair rising as crimson energy spiraled around her arms.

Alexi took a step forward, her left hand tucked into the pocket of her jeans as her right hand extended forward.

The clouds shifted, taking on a feminine form, and Penelope threw her arm out, "Stop! Hang on a minute, don't attack!"

The woman dropped to the floor, and the energy that made up her form began to flake away, revealing the green skin beneath.

The woman before them was 6'2" tall and curvy, with a moderate bust, long black hair, and narrow features that highlighted her cheekbones and chin. She wore a dark purple business suit with a black blouse highlighting her long legs and wide hips.

Eyes opened to reveal red irises that glowed as they locked onto Penelope, and a soft smile spread across the woman's features. "Hi, Mom."

"Jinks!" Penelope exclaimed, lunging forward and wrapping her daughter in a hug.

Pulling back from her daughter, Penelope left one arm wrapped around her daughter's waist as she focused on Wanda and Alexi.

Alexi stepped forward, a soft smile on her face. "Hello, Jinks. It's good to see you again; we were all worried when you didn't appear in the afterlife."

Penelope turned to look at Jinks, "What happened to my daughter? You seemed different."

"Well, a lot has happened in the billions of years since we left Earth, but the most important thing is that I got married to Tell, the Kryptonian God of knowledge, and after a series of events, I evolved past my previous limits."

A smile spread across her face as her red eyes glowed with an inner light, "Congratulations, you're a grandmother again."

Suddenly, the world spun, and when it stopped, the four women were standing in a gazebo in a park in the city of foliage.

Alexi gestured at the table in the center of the gazebo. A teapot and porcelain cups appeared on the table as the crisp, clean wind caressed their skin. "Sit down and explain everything."

Jinks leaned back in the white wooden chair and crossed one leg over the other, "After leaving Earth, we traveled to Krypton since it was the only planet we knew was there. Once close enough, we landed on the planet's moon."

"Hector Campbell…"

"The demigod son of Hephaestus?" Alexi asked.

"Yes."

"Met Yuna, the Kryptonian goddess of the moon."

"Through her, we met Telle, the Kryptonian god of knowledge, Rao, the Kryptonian god of the sun, and Voch, The Builder, Nightwing, the Hunter of darkness. Troilus, the ancient Lord of air; Cythonna, goddess of ice, magic, and monsters; and Mordo, the Kryptonian god of strength."

"The people of Brigadoon grew close with the gods of Krypton as they helped us fashion the moon into a ship. Time passed, and they began gathering the outcasts of Krypton, the telepaths, the telekinetic, the wizards of Juru, and many more."

"There were some growing pains at first, but eventually, a ritual was performed using the blood of mutants, Kryptonians, and the power of the gods. The Kryptonians had their potential unlocked, and the people of Brigadoon became more like the Kryptonians, the mutations strengthened by solar energy."

"Over time, factions developed between the people. Those with physical mutations gravitated towards the Kryptonians, their patrons being Mordo, the Kryptonian god of strength, and Rao, the son god. As their abilities expanded, this group began calling themselves the Star Forged."

"Those with mental abilities, including Jean Campbell and Jean Grey Campbell, gravitated towards my husband Telle, the Kryptonian god of knowledge, and Troilus, the ancient Lord of the sky. This group called themselves The Walkers."

"Those that didn't fit into the other two categories were the Nomads. Their patron was Cythonna, the mother of monsters, the goddess of ice and magic."

"Every couple of months, the Walkers left the moon's base and traveled the stars, collecting knowledge and technology from destroyed worlds that they brought back to the moon to help our people continue growing.

Over time, it was discovered that the Star Forged could assimilate positive traits from other races. The Walkers had vast mental powers and shapeshifting abilities. They developed dominant genes, meaning that children would inherit their traits no matter what.

Finally, the Nomads were the most versatile and could adapt to almost anything.

Though there were some arguments, things were mostly peaceful until a scientist named Jax Ur launched a rocket toward the moon. Hector and the other gods intervened to save their people, revealing themselves to Krypton and the Science Council.

The Science Council rejected their gods and tried to attack, forcing the people of the moon to flee."

"We traveled for four years, and our population grew. I married Telle and had my first child, Jody Campbell."

"Eventually, we landed in the Vega system."

"Shortly after we arrived in the Vega system, Yuda gave birth to Adam Campbell, son of Hector, and her first child."

"Adam eventually grew and decided to explore the stars. While studying the Vega system, he ran into a race called the dominators, experimenting on a woman named X Hal; he defeated the dominators, but a few escaped."

"Over time, Adam and X Hal developed a relationship and eventually married. Their union would birth two new races: the Tamaraneans and the Okaara."

"The Tamaraneans have powers similar to those of the Kryptonians, but they can draw strength from any ultraviolet radiation."

"The Okaara are skilled warriors with enhanced physical abilities. For centuries, Adam and X Hal watched over their children and descendants. When X Hal became pregnant with her third child, they decided to travel to Avalon, the planet founded by the Star-Forged Nomads and Walkers, to introduce their children."

"During their visit to Avalon, the Malthusians, also known as the guardians of the galaxy, attacked with their Man Hunters, killing many and causing X Hal to miscarry her third child. She and Adam attacked the Malthusians in a rage.

During the battle, Jean Grey Campbell and Jean Campbell used their powers to strip the life force from the Malthusians and revive the dead. This caused the Walkers to evolve, and after the battle, they left Avalon and traveled to the astral plane. There, they would create a city called Dreams."

"No longer feeling safe, The Nomads, led by my son Jody Campbell and his wife Cythonna, decided to leave Avalon."

"The nomads would eventually become some of the greatest ship pilots in the galaxy; if you want something delivered to a planet safely, ask a Nomad."

"With all that happening in space, what are you doing here?" Wanda asked.

Jinks turned her gaze to the stars. "Around fifty years ago, I came to earth to tell Trinity that Brigadoon had survived," she raised her hand to her head and closed her eyes as she thought back to the memories. "Something happened, and I was captured by a government organization called Cadmus."

They took DNA samples from me and mostly left me in storage until a woman named Amanda Waller took me to a Kryptonian city called Wizard City in the Amazon jungle.

Scientists named Dabney Donovan, Thomas Oscar Morrow, Anthony Ivo, and Matthew Thorne created an android using alien DNA and technology. Once completed, Amanda tried to use a machine to force me to use my powers to write a history for the android, where Amanda was a maternal figure for the android, and it experienced things in life that drove it to hate mutants. Instead, I merged her with the android body, turning her into the thing she hated."

Alexi's eyes widened, "Why on earth would you think a government agent with an android body would be a good idea?"

"I thought turning her into the very thing she hated and forcing her to deal with her deceased husband who disapproved of her actions would force her to take a deeper look at herself and change, but I underestimated her desire for control."

Wanda interlaced her fingers, "We need to get that city away from the scientists before they make anything else that endangers the world."

Alexi scratched her chin, "Do we destroy it or try to bring it here to help the people of Cradle?"

Wanda, Alexi, and Penelope looked at each other, "We need to call the Council."