Chapter Forty-Two

"Computer, increase gravity to 15g." Travis gritted his teeth and took one step. Then another. And another. 

He broke into a run, then flipped in the air. A wave of flames rose under him, and he rode it out, then flipped back into the air. As his feet hit the ground, he called the flames to him and whipped them like a lasso. 

 Pausing, soaking in sweat, chest heaving, he sprinted forward. Shaping the flames into blades, he cut the air. Every atom of his body ached, yet he continued.

He brought his hands up to his chest, then pushed them outward, sending a wave of flames forth. Popping in front of the flames, he stretched out his right hand, and a torrent of water blasted the flames back as he pushed all his will into the stream. 

His eyelids felt like a ton of lead, and his knees shook as he strained to hold the conflagration at bay. Normally, this wouldn't have been a challenge, but he was running on fumes. His legs threatened to give out, knees wobbling and feet slipping as the wave of fire advanced on him. 

The scent of singed flesh filled his nostrils, thighs, and upper body seconds from being engulfed in flames. But Travis refused to give up. He dug his feet deeper into the red dirt and fought through the pain, determined to succeed this time. Centimeter by centimeter, he battled back the blaze. 

Closing his eyes, he dug deep, finding nothing. The fire advanced on him, burning his arms. No. I can't give up, won't give up! Pushing past his pain and exhaustion, Travis pictured the well opening, and new strength poured forth. At last, the water overcame the flames.

"Congratulations, young one. You've mastered me," Body whispered to him.

  He smirked and laughed, limping to the Star Chamber. He got halfway there before he collapsed. Luscinia shook her head while Co'laf did a slow clap. Together they helped him the rest of the way. 

After healing, he practiced the mental side of his powers: expanding the reach of his telepathy. In his mind's eye, he saw thousands of strings, but he ignored those, pushing past Earth to the farthest reaches of space when a voice popped into his head.

 "Help me."

He saw a vivid image, and it was as though he were standing there.

 In the next instance, Travis was on a new world. The creature before him was a humanoid lizard, and leopard-men were attacking her. Nekoshins? 

 There were only five of them, but if he didn't act soon, the lizard-woman would die. 

He called forth energy whips and attacked, incapacitating the first and sweeping the legs out of the second.

 With the element of surprise gone, the others attacked him at once, surrounding him. He tried accessing more energy, but it wouldn't come. Then ten more Nekoshins appeared. Travis fought as hard as he could, but they deflected his attacks as if they were nothing. 

Through blurred vision, he crawled toward them, impotent as they took turns with the lizard-woman, her screams forever etched into his brain. 

"I swear, you will pay!" he screamed.

They blasted him and laughed. The final insult came when, after breaking all his bones, they pissed on him, chanting, "Delbon (|del| |bhan|)."  

He later learned this meant `weakling' in Gatonese (|gah| |toh| |knees|), the primary language of the Nekoshin Empire.

Right before they delivered the death blow, Travis gathered enough power and Popped back to the Magova. 

Luscinia gasped at his wounds and rushed him to the Star Chamber. 

***

Travis opened his eyes and groaned, but the throbbing in his head wouldn't let up. Sirens sounded. The Star Chamber opened, and he crawled out. The rancid scent of the Nekoshins' urine still clung to him, and he retched. Luscinia and Co'laf tried taking him back to the Star Chamber, but he refused their help.

"Computer, priority code Alpha 173. Password: Necro Paladin." The computer acknowledged his request, and the gravity increased to 100g. Veins popped out from his skin, throbbing with each beat of his heart. As he inched forward, his skin fell off in places, but he didn't care. 

He had to be stronger, whatever it took, to defeat those creatures. He took a few steps, and an explosive pain in his chest shot through him. Travis fell to the ground, shaking, and light poured from his chest. He vomited black bile, electricity arcing off of him. 

 The pain in his chest soared to new limits, each breath sending a million stabs of pain through his lungs. The world spun, and all Travis could hear was the blood swishing in his ears.

Then nothing.

Travis exploded, wiping out the Magova and everything in it. 

However, since he'd depleted most of his energy in his fight with the Nekoshins, the explosion wasn't as powerful as Luscinia predicted, killing only Travis.

***

Travis woke in a golden room, feeling better than he ever had. "Where am I?" 

"You are in the void between life and death," several voices said in unison.

Turning, he saw the personifications of his emotions, Prometheus, Mind Body and Spirit, and to his horror, Oblivion.

He took a defensive stance, one hand raised while the other protected his chest. "Why am I here? Am I dead?"

"That depends. You may choose to move on and become one with the cosmic Godhead, and in doing so, learn the secrets of the multiverse. Or you may go back," Spirit said.

"No!" Travis screamed, and the room shook.

Oblivion put up his hand. "Calm yourself, child, and listen. Have I not been helping you these past weeks?"

"Yeah," Travis said, taking a few calming breaths.

"Don't you trust me?"

"I guess."

Oblivion chuckled. "You're as cautious as ever. I wish to discuss Joshua."

"Don't listen to him," Prometheus and the others yelled. 

Travis Ignored them, his head feeling funny. "What of him?" 

"I want to make a deal. Join me, and I'll heal you."

Travis looked up at him, meeting his dead eyes. "What type of deal?"

Spirit cut in, "You can't trust him." 

"Fulfill the prophecy, and you can have Joshua to yourself."

Could it be that easy? Against his better judgment, Travis pressed onward. "What happens to everyone else?"

Oblivion shrugged. "Them? They die. But what's a few billion lives weighed against enteral happiness?"

"No!"

Prometheus got in Travis's face. "I swear to God, if you listen to him, Imma rip ya a new one." 

"Pay him no heed. We can workshop the terms of this deal later. Say yes, and we can get Armageddon started within the hour."

Vision blurring, Travis shook his head. "My answer now and always will be no."

Steepling his hands, Oblivion groaned.  "This is how you repay my kindness?"

He roared, transforming into a giant, seven-headed red dragon. Oblivion pummeled him repeatedly, but Travis refused to stay down. He was broken, yet the others shouted at him, "You got this. Keep fighting. When things seem their darkest, there's always hope."

Oblivion advanced him, murder in his eyes. "You can't defeat me. I am evil given flesh. I existed before creation and will exist long after your universe draws its last breath. Yield." 

He sank his tentacles sinking into Travis. The familiar cold sensation washed over him, and he was tired: tired of fighting, tired of life, tired of everything.

"Help me," he pleaded to them.

"Tell us, who are you?" 

"Now's not the time for twenty questions."

The coldness spread further, and he struggled to keep his eyes open. Where am I again, and why are they yelling at me? 

"Kid," Prometheus began, "this is serious. What's your name? 

He struggled to find the words. "Travis Turner, son of Sampson and Sarah Tuner."

"No," they shouted, "that is your name. Who are you? Say it now!" 

Travis tried to think, but his mind was fuzzy. 

 He wanted to give in, but Mind, Body, and the others wouldn't let him. And they were right. Travis had come too far, been through too much to give up now.  "Think boy. All your life, what have you done?"

"I've stood out, always been different. I've tried to be better than everyone else, so their picking on me wouldn't get to me."

"No. Go deeper. Why haven't you killed yourself, even though you've thought about it more times than you can count?"

Travis shook off the mental fog. "Because they would win, and my pride won't allow that."

"Why?"  they said, urgency seeping into their tone.

"I'm better than that, better than them. I've been fighting all my life to make a place for myself. And I'll be damned if anyone takes that away from me."

"Who are you? Speak it now before all is lost."

"I'm thirteen years old. How the hell am I supposed to know who I am?"

"Think, Boss," Body said.  "Forget everything that's happened. Who are you when no one's looking?"

"I don't know. Why does this matter?"

Pain shot through Travis, and his arms disappeared.

"Time's almost up," they shouted. "Who are you? Say it now, or all is lost!"

"I am the sum of all those who've come before me. All their sacrifices, all their hopes, led to my being born. And I won't let their sacrifices be in vain."

Oblivion chuckled. "What are you prattling on about? "You can't win. Surrender."

Travis rose on shaky legs, his toes having disappeared. "I will fight you with everything I am. All my hate. All my doubt. All my pain. Everything!

"Not because it's easy, not because it'll win me glory or accolades, but because it's the right thing to do."

Travis remembered Jenny's, Josh's, and Grams' words about being a hero and doing right, and Luscinia's telling him what his name meant in Na'iva. In that moment, he knew the answer to their question.

"I am a warrior, champion of the innocent, punisher of evil. My name is . . . Phoenix!"

Golden light washed over him, and before him, Mind punched him in the arm. "Took you long enough. Now let's kick his ass." 

He, Body, and the rest of the rainbow-colored birds surrounded Travis, and energy beams shot into Travis. He raised his hand, issuing forth a golden flame. 

Oblivion screamed. "You'll pay for this!"  He disappeared in a cloud of white flames, and one by one, the others congratulated Travis on completing the vidashi.

"What now?" he asked.

"You absorb us and awaken your true power," Mind said. And he did, saving Spirit for last. 

"Farewell, old friend."

"You've done well. Yet, great tribulations lie ahead. When things seem hopeless, remember you are the power that endures, the strength that overcomes all obstacles. Remember who you are, and we'll never fail you. Farewell, Prince Phoenix." 

Travis nodded, smiling. I like the sound of that.

 

***

In the instant Travis absorbed Spirit, he connected with countless people throughout the multiverse, his strength becoming theirs and theirs his. All across the world, the ground trembled and cracked, long-dormant volcanoes erupted, and tidal waves inundated cities. The heavens themselves broke open as the Magova and everything in it reformed. 

Travis's tomb became the womb of his rebirth, his palingenesis. His wounds instantly healed, and untold power radiated from him. Luscinia and Co'laf looked on, shock and awe all over their faces.

"Tanna, are you okay?" Luscinia asked him. 

"Ahi," he said, nodding at her. "I've completed vidashi."

Co'laf gave him the once over and did a slow clap. Luscinia's scans confirmed his core was not only stable but three times its previous size. 

Travis felt a million times better, but his ego was still bruised from his defeat at the hands of the Nekoshins, and he would rectify that matter immediately.

Cracking his knuckles, he Popped back to the Nekoshins.

 May God have mercy on their souls because he wouldn't. 

***

Riding high on the power coursing through him, Travis paid the Nekoshins a visit. The soldiers burst into laughter when they saw him. His hatred boiled over, and when he struck, white tentacles bursting from him, and he tore apart two of the ten.

 The rest fled, but he wouldn't allow that. He gave in to the hunger for blood, and at once, he heard Oblivion whisper in his ears to let go. He did. 

His hands turned into disfigured claws, and his teeth became like daggers. Sprouting more tentacles, he decimated his enemies. Their limbs strewn around him, Travis wallowed in the carnage. His spine tingled as their blood met his tongue. Enthralled, he ripped out their hearts, devouring them whole.  

"More!" he said as his hunger mounted. He ripped another in half, laughing as its blood washed over him. It felt divine and tasted even better. 

However, he hungered for something more. 

For what, he didn't know. 

As if waking from a dream, Travis saw what was left of the Nekoshins and vomited. Images of what he'd done flooded him, and he retched until there was nothing left.

 How could I have done this? No. It wasn't me. It was Prometheus. This is all his fault. Damn him and his alien abilities. I never asked for this. Get out of my body! 

 Unspeakable pain coursed through him, body ripping asunder atom-by-atom. He looked down and saw he now had four arms and legs where two had been. A jolt of pain shot through him. When it passed, Prometheus stood before him, identical to Travis save for his red hair, green eyes, and lack of burn scars.

 They glowered at each other. Then Travis dashed forward. He landed a kick to the head and followed up with a left jab to the gut. Prometheus Popped behind Travis, blasting him with a wall of flames. 

Travis didn't even feel it, and they squared off again, the wind blowing hair in their eyes. Blow-for-blow, they were evenly matched until Travis gave in to his blood lust again. He sprouted fangs and talons, then came the tentacles, thick as tree trunks. 

Prometheus dodged, but he was now no match for Travis. He covered his face when a battle-axe appeared on the ground; taking hold, he swung it as Travis charged him.

 When it connected with Travis's tentacles, an explosion hurtled them through the air. 

Travis laughed and sent more tentacles, skewering Prometheus in place. His body went limp. 

Travis formed an energy blade and struck, but before he made contact, a portal opened, and two green monsters stepped through and captured him in a net of purple energy. He fought, but in the end, they dragged him through the portal. 

***

"Hey," JJ said to Cody as he signed in for the youth drop-in. He could hardly believe two months had passed since Travis had vanished without a word. At first, he'd cried himself to sleep, and his grades tanked. Then he frequented Affirmations more often and found being around other LGBTQ+ teens like himself helped take the edge off things.

They'd play games, watch movies, and once a week, he presented his poems at their writing group. He'd learned a lot about writing and expressing himself from them.

Tonight, they were making stained-glass pride flags. He laughed at Nicky as they tried to spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. They were big on Marry Poppins ever since Cody screened the movie a week back.

Slowly, JJ was learning to live without Travis, and though he missed him at times, he was starting to like himself more with each day. Dr. Dull had told him to use this time to find himself and explore. And that's what he's doing.

"Hey, JJ. A group of us are going to Leo's Coney Island. Wanna come with?" Cody asked, showing off his flawless teeth.

"Yeah," JJ said without hesitation, shocking Cody. Over these past weeks, JJ was slowly learning he didn't need Travis or anyone else to be happy. So wherever Travis had gone off to, it wasn't JJ's problem. He'd continue focusing on himself. Because, to paraphrase the words of Gloria Gaynor, "He will survive."    

They clowned around as they ate, laughing and telling inside jokes. And when Cody asked for his number, JJ gave it to him without second thoughts. They made plans to hang, and JJ was excited for the first time since Travis bailed on him.          

 

Author's Note: Next time, the final chapter and epilogue. I'm still looking for beta readers for the next book, so hit me up if you're interested (phenix39@yahoo.com).

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