FIRESTORM:

“Revenge will be mine!”

In a far-flung probability that I created in the slipstream after Jackie decided to work with the enemy, I threw Beatrice into the cage with my talons. She fell into her wheelchair like a rag doll.

I slammed the door shut and remained calm, despite the elation from exacting my revenge. It was her turn to rot in a cage forever.

“What are you going to do? Torture me? Kill me over and over?” Beatrice scoffed underneath her tousled hair.

“I don’t need to physically torture you. The psychological torture of being stuck in that wheelchair is enough punishment. In this probability, you’ll spend an eternity as if you never got the Life Rite serum in the first place.”

Beatrice stiffened in her wheelchair, realizing the gravity of her current reality. She could rebirth a million times over, still stuck in that caged wheelchair.

She let her mask slip. “You’re a disgusting animal, you know that?”

I roared in her face, a beast of her creation.

“I’m going to take your blood and give it to my people.”

“How noble of you.” Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Listen, I see what you’re trying to do here, but this doesn’t give you what you want…”

Damn it. The slippery snake piqued my interest.

Beatrice doubled down. “There must be a better way. I’ll make you a deal…”

“Enough with your wheeling and dealing. That may have worked on Jackie, but this is my probability to create. My revenge! You’re not going to talk your way out of this.”

“Negotiating is far more interesting than violence. If you’re capable, of course… Tell me, Zayne, Firestorm… Are you still an intelligent man or are you an animal relying on instincts?”

I roared at her again, spitting saliva on her cashmere. The strength of my battle cry shook her bones, the perfect reminder of my strength and conviction.

Beatrice recoiled with disgust. “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, let me show you how we can solve Life Rite’s issues, and you can still get what you want.”

“What do you think I want?”

“Grace, of course. There is a future where you, as Zayne, are with her. I’ve seen it. Jackie’s found it. Here, let me show you.”

Beatrice opened her hands and concentrated. That witch commanded a fire portal to do her bidding!

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Her conjured portal showed a stream of Grace and Zayne hugging on the volcano balcony. They were older, which meant Grace didn’t get sick and die. My dream came true.

“Is Jackie with them?” I asked.

Beatrice closed the portal in her hands. “Jackie heroically jumped in the volcano to stop Alpha’s redistribution program.”

“What games are you playing?”

“It’s not a game,” Beatrice assured. “The probability in my hands appeared when Jackie decided to work with me. She made it a lot father than this silly revenge plot of yours. She came into my life and convinced me to go back and reset the timeline. When I refused to take the serum, countless new probabilities emerged.”

“Lies! Stop talking nonsense.” I towered over Beatrice in her wheelchair, locked inside the cage. Despite my size, she held her ground.

“If you release me, I’ll take you to the reality where Zayne and Grace are together forever.”

Could it be true? When Jackie chose to work with Beatrice, did the timeline reset? Could Grace and Zayne stay together as I’d hoped? At what cost to Jackie?

Beatrice recreated the fire portal so I could watch the stream of Grace hugging Zayne, another version of me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted… But it didn’t feel authentic to who, or what, I am now.

“You can have a second chance at love. Do we have ourselves a deal?”

I shook off Beatrice’s scheme. “I won’t let Jackie die in that volcano.”

“Jackie can fend for herself.”

“Oh yeah? What about me?” I bellowed.

“What about you?”

I chose my words with care. “What about… Firestorm? I’m not Zayne anymore, am I? I can’t live in that reality. It’s not meant to be.”

Beatrice sighed. “Nothing comes out of the fire unchanged. You, Firestorm, are an integral part of this place. I am the creator of the slipstream, and you are its protector.”

“Protector?”

Beatrice smirked.

Instinctively, I felt the truth behind her words, but she was my sworn enemy. I was there to enact revenge. I couldn’t end up working with her, could I?

“Listen, I know you don’t trust me. That’s fair after all we’ve been through. But I’ve chosen an alternate path and explored the depths of the slipstream. This revenge plan of yours is a dead end. Unfulfilling for everyone, especially you.”

“I won’t let you get away with it.”

“Are you going to spend your life enslaving and torturing, like your captors? The roles reverse, but nothing’s gained,” Beatrice said with unshakeable confidence.

Maybe Jackie was right. Does revenge bring sorrow to both parties?

“What other options do I have?”

Beatrice explained, “There are bigger powers at play, layers of complexity that need to be reconciled. Thanks to Jackie, I’ve changed. You are a force to be reckoned with, Firestorm. We need you to help make things right across every portal in every probability across the slipstream.”

She struck a chord, awakened a profound purpose within me.

I nodded. “My ancestors vowed to protect the Bennu eggs. The slipstream was born of its bounty. So this duty lies with me. I, Firestorm, will forever protect the slipstream, and my family, in all probabilities. But that doesn’t mean I am going to free you from this cage. Revenge will still be mine.”

“Leave me here to rot. I don’t care. I’ve transcended. Unattached to any one probability. I exited the game after going back in time to reset the probabilities. There are important roles to play in the slipstream. So will you help me?”

“Help you do what exactly?”

“Destroy Alpha across all probabilities. Unlock deeper secrets about the slipstream. Fight for change across space and time.”

“My specialty.”

“I haven’t even gotten to the best part.” Beatrice controlled the fire portal in her hands. “You asked about Jackie, but you didn’t ask the right question.”

“What about Jackie?”

Beatrice had me right where she wanted me. She opened the stream to me, baiting me with the image of Grace and Zayne hugging on the volcano balcony.

“Beatrice, tell me about Jackie’s fate.”

“I thought you’d never ask. See for yourself…”