CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

AFTERMATH

Tiger and Wombat sprinted through the cave, each carrying a twin with them. The tunnel that they’d come through earlier had caved in, amidst the chaos of battle, and now, they were forced to find a new way back to where Dang was, but Wombat had gotten tired of looking for a way back and instead just chose through make his own way.

He set fire to his fist and thrust it into one of the cave walls. It crumbled on impact.

“Are you sure that that’s safe?” Tiger asked from behind him. They eyed the ceiling, making sure that it wasn’t coming down on top of them.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’m not actually doing any damage.” Womba replied. He had the twin slung over her shoulder, “And besides, it’s faster this way.”

They walked up to the next wall and Wombat repeated the action, breaking a hole in it.

“I don’t even know how you still have the energy for that. I’m spent.” Tiger fingered the wound on their chest with their free hand to check the progress of their healing. Because of their depleted stamina, their healing factor wasn’t as fast as it normally was, but with a good night’s sleep, they should be back to normal, “And carrying this kid is taking a lot out of me.”

“They’re not that heavy,” Wombat said, grabbing his twin by the belt and lifting his body above his head before tossing him back over his shoulder.

“Well, you’re more active than I am.”

“That makes sense,” Wombat led the way through the hole and across the cave.

“You think Dang would be alright?” They asked.

“He’ll be fine. His resonate power is pretty much broken, and on top of that, he’s a great fighter. I’d be hard-pressed to think of anyone who can beat him right now. Even his doppelgangers.” He answered.

They reached another wall and Wombat lit his fist on fire again.

“I just can’t help but worry about him. He probably had to fight Caden and Kai all by himself, and those murderbots too.”

“On a good day, either of us could take on Kai and win. He just caught us off guard the first time. And I don’t know about Caden but the murderbots are just glorified training dummies. Again, he’ll be fine.”

Wombat threw his fist into the wall and a portion of it gave way. When the smoke cleared, two outlines stood on the other side. Tiger, with a wave of their hand, blew the smoke away with their power of wind, revealing Dang and…

“Daedalus!” Wombat exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Daedalus said, scratching the back of his head with his only arm, “I stayed.”

Dang stared wide-eyed at the hole they’d just come through, “Did you guys just- have you guys been breaking walls to get here?”

Wombat glanced around, “Where’s-”

“Dante?” Daedalus interjected, “He’s over there using his powers to contain a portal that’s being used to bring Bellum and his fleet here to this world.”

“Ah…”

Dang spoke again, still staring past Wombat at the previous holes he’d made, “Guys, there’s no way this cave doesn’t come crashing down in a few minutes.”

“Hey,” Tiger said to Daedalus, “Glad you stayed.”

“It was an easy decision,” he flashed her a smile, “I just chose the option that made me look cooler. Besides, my friends are okay. I’m sure of it.”

They nodded and he nodded in return.

“Uhhh…guys! I’m all for the touching reunion, but I need a little help here!”

All four of them dashed across the cave to his aid.

Daedalus grabbed the device attached to the scav bot that he’d sent to help Dante. At once it returned to his body, merging with this metal skin. “It still needs more time before it’s done!” Now that they were closer to the rift and the capsule, the noise was louder and they needed to shout to be heard.

Dante nodded, “Alright, but I don’t know how much more time I can give you! My hold on the seal is breaking fast!”

“I’ll help!” Wombat chimed in.

“Same!” Tiger added.

Wombat mimicked Dante’s actions, raising his hands to the air and sending his power to Dante’s seal. The fiery hue glowed brighter and stronger. Tiger concentrated and did the same, summoning the last of her strength and pulling the wind together to act as a barrier around the flame seal.

They stayed like that, holding the seal together for a few moments, before a beeping filled the air.

“The device is ready!” Daedalus called out.

“Okay, what do we need to do?” Dang asked.

“We need to destabilize the rift!” he called back.

“How?”

“We need to shut down its power! Do you see a console anywhere? Somewhere that we can use to shut it down?”

They looked around but saw nothing.

“I don’t think there’s an off switch!” Dante added, “That’s what’s supplying the portal’s power!” He nodded towards the direction of the capsule.

“Then what’s powering that?” Dang asked.

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A couple of scavBots emerged from Daedalus and scanned the capsule. “It looks like there’s nothing powering it! My guess is that it’s getting its energy from the air around us anytime someone uses their powers. And Dante’s been feeding it this whole time.”

“Great,” Dante muttered.

“How do we shut it down?”

“We can’t! The portal and the capsule have created some sort of loop. They’re feeding off each other. Even if we were to stop using our powers, it wouldn’t help. It’s too far gone!”

Dang's mind raced as he searched for a solution, but between the headaches and the ringing in his ears, he had way too much trouble focusing. An idea still managed to wiggle its way into his mind.

“What if I used Resonate on it?” He stared down at his calloused hands, “What if I drained its power source?”

Daedalus thought for a moment, “That could work…hold on.”

Tiger gasped “Look!” They pointed up.

They all followed her gaze and saw what she was pointing at. Through the rift in the sky, a couple of ships had started to come through, the entire thing no doubt visible around the country, if not the world.

Bellum was making his advances.

He darted towards the console.

“Dang, wait! According to my sensors, that thing is giving off way too much power…and it's cosmic. The last time you tried to resonate with cosmic power, you got sent to a different world and were unconscious for a week. This one's way more, what if backfires? What if you don't come back?”

“I don't have time to think about ‘what-ifs’. The world's in trouble, I can't afford to stand around and do nothing!”

“Then I'll help.” Daedalus ran forward and stood beside Dang.

They nodded at each other.

Together.

They both outstretched their hands to the capsule and began to siphon off its energy, taking it into their system.

“Resonate.”

Dang glowed a bright white, matching the color of the machine, while Daedalus glowed his signature blue. They roared as more and more energy poured into their bodies. The beam of light shooting into the air started to get thinner and thinner, signifying that their attempts were not futile.

A flicker of something. A vision.

Dang blinked, thinking he was hallucinating, but it happened again. He saw - not saw, more like experienced - another life. He was Dang…but he also wasn't.

Another version? More dimensions?

The vision flickered again, and changed. Now he was a completely different Dang.

Another flicker.

Again.

Dang forced his eyes closed. He needed to concentrate on the task at hand. He'd deal with the visions later. He drew a deep breath and took the energy in, forcing it all inside until there was nothing left and the machine’s hums slowly died down. The beam of light fizzled out and the portal began fluctuating.

Daedalus pulled out the device and turned to Dante, “Let down the seal now!”

Dante nodded and obeyed, withdrawing his power from the dome of fire that he’d been using to keep the portal contained.

Daedalus turned to Tiger next, “Help me! Get this into that portal before it closes!”

He tossed the device into the air and it caught on the wind, riding the gale currents upwards, to the portal. Tiger focused all her might on guiding the device, against the disruptive waves that the destabilized portal was beginning to put out.

They managed to get the device into the portal at the last second, just before it shut, breaking off the part of the ship that had made it through, from the rest of its body. Sparks appeared in the space where the portal had been and a whistling sound filled the air, before…

BOOM

Streaks of light exploded across the sky, shooting beams of bright white light in every direction. The broken-off part of the huge shit exploded sending the smaller ships that surrounded it spiraling out of control and crashing down, and pieces of alien technology began to rain down onto the Earth, forming comets amongst other things.

“That's…not a good thing…is it?” Wombat pointed out, letting his hold on the seal fizzle out.

“Nope,” Tiger answered.

Dante turned his attention to the machine, a triumphant grin spreading across his face, drenched with sweat from the effort and time spent trying to keep the rift contained, “Nothing we can do about that now. Besides, we've just saved the goddamn world. I'd like to think we've done enough for one night. Let the government actually do their jobs for once.”

The group erupted in laughter and cheers, the weight of their victory lifting their spirits. They all turned to Dang and Daedalus, the heroes of the day, who both currently glowed with overwhelming energy coursing through their veins. Dante noticed Dang pulsing a bit too, just like the machine had been doing before it—

There was a sudden, loud whirring sound, and all their attention snapped to the capsule as it opened, shocking them all. Inside lay a naked girl, her skin giving off large amounts of steam.

“Woah…” all the boys said in unison.

Tiger hissed as they tore off their jacket and used it to cover the girl. They shot all the boys a glare, and they all looked away.

“For crying out loud, show some respect,” Tiger muttered under their breath as they draped the jacket over the girl’s exposed form, carefully covering her.

Tiger’s glare was sharp enough to cut through steel as they turned back to the group. The boys immediately looked away, each of them suddenly finding the floor, the ceiling, or their shoes incredibly fascinating. A few of them even started to whistle awkwardly, hoping to diffuse the tension that hung in the air.

“Hey, I would’ve rushed to cover her up with my jacket too but my clothes got burnt off in the fight.” Wombat shrugged.

“Mine too!” Dang claimed.

“Same,” Daedalus added.

They all looked at Dante, who still had his clothes on. Plus, a jacket.

“You’ve got to be kidding, when you look this good, you don’t ruin it.” Dante’s shoulders and hands riposting any pushback.

They all burst into laughter, dispersing the remainder of the tension left behind from the world-ending situation that they found themselves in.

An hour ago, they’d all each been in different situations, unsure about how it was all going to end, but now here they were; together, each having defeated whatever obstacle stood in their way.

Dang glanced at his friends and at the unconscious twins. They’d been the reason for this entire mission, so it’s safe to say that this mission was a success.

Dante scratched the back of his neck, his face turning a light shade of red. “Uh... so, anyone know who she is?” he asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the uncomfortable situation.

“I was going to ask the same thing,” Wombat added, still keeping his gaze firmly fixed on the far wall. “What was she doing in the capsule? I mean, who even put her there?”

“Do you think she’s dangerous?” Dante asked, his tone serious as he glanced at the now-covered girl, his curiosity piqued. “It’s not every day we find naked girls in mysterious machinery.”

Dang stepped closer to the capsule, his eyes narrowing as he studied the girl. “She doesn’t look dangerous,” he said thoughtfully, though there was an edge of uncertainty in his voice. “But we can’t be sure. She could be connected to the rift opening. To Bellum.”

The group exchanged uneasy glances, the initial embarrassment slowly giving way to a sense of unease and confusion. There were too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

Tiger sighed and started rubbing their temples. “We’re not going to figure this out just by staring at her,” they said. “We need to get her back to base, make sure she’s stable, and then try to get some answers. Daedalus, maybe the ScavBots can tell us more about her condition and why she was in that capsule.”

Daedalus nodded, and a couple of ScavBots ejected from his body. The hovered around the girl’s body for a minute, their scanners taking in readings.

“This isn’t normal,” Daedalus muttered, his brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the information.

“What isn’t normal?” Dang asked.

“Whatever she is, she’s not like us. Her energy levels are off the charts, and they’re on the rise. It’s rapidly replenishing itself, like she’s taking it from the air. And there’s some kind of... residual force around her.”

“Residual force?” Wombat repeated, frowning. “Like, something left over from wherever she came from?”

“Possibly,” Daedalus replied. “But it’s hard to say without more data.”

The ground rumbled beneath their feet.

“The cave’s coming down!” Tiger shouted.

“Let’s continue this back at base. Bring her along.” Daedalus said.

Tiger glanced at Wombat, “I told you breaking the walls was a mistake.”

“I think that's our sign to get out of here,” Wombat said, turning to Dang, who nodded and picked the naked girl up from where she lay in the capsule. Wombat and Tiger grabbed their twins and as a group, they sprinted towards the exit, but even that too had caved in.

“Stand back, I got this.” Wombat said, lighting his fist on fire.

“Daniel, no! No more breaking walls!” Tiger tried to stop him, but he wasn’t listening…