November 2006, Sentinel’s Lair Conference Room
Linda cursed the screen.
“Selina, I can’t begin to understand this stuff. What’s a partial differential equation?”
Selina Kyle looked at Linda’s screen.
“How the Hell did that pop up on your screen? That’s pretty advanced mathematics.”
“I was trying to do some research into what the Shantar know about the Starheart legends. I’m trying to understand how Starhearts tie to their champions. I’ve already dug through everything Kent Nelson has.”
“According to what I can understand, this” Linda held up her left hand and let it glow “exists only because Dad doesn’t wear a ring. Because his body was a mix of his body from the other universe and the mystic flame, the rules changed just a little. He is more than just a chosen champion. He is actually part of his Starheart. That peculiarity allowed him to help my Starheart bond with a second champion. I’m not its chosen champion, but Dad could choose me to carry it.” (Elf note: The Guardian Gambit – Chapter 5).
Selina scanned the document on the screen.
“Linda, I have to admit I’m confused. What does this mean?”
Linda scowled.
“Not really anything. It’s just that I have a feeling it’s going to be important.” She looked up at her friend. “It’s hard for me to understand stuff sometimes, so I have to go with my instincts. My instincts are just blaring right now. Wish I knew why.”
The Rock of Eternity
Kent Nelson poured through his books. If Linda’s interested in Starhearts, she’s going to get all the research I can find for her.
The Shadow poured into the room. Kent Nelson heard it take a step. He heard the sound of a rope behind him. He turned around.
“Kannet, I’d like you to meet Diana, the light of my life. She’s a little protective. I sleep very well.” Kent grinned.
“Diana,” Kannet tried to appear cordial, “I am Kannet of the Seltan.” He nodded to her. “I am of the race that spawned the Shade. We are in serious trouble.” (Elf note: Terra’s Revenge – Chapter 5 to meet Kannet and his people.)
Diana released the rope.
“I am Diana of Themyscira. You are from the Kayzik’s original home universe?”
“Yes, unfortunately so. Kent and Diana, until now we have been battling the Kayzik in one Continuum of universes. That was bad enough, but something has happened. We need help. I need to talk to every Mystic powered hero you can find.”
Sentinel’s Lair
Alan stood over Garja Jenna’s shoulder.
“Diana, tell Kent that I’ll bring Mary and the kids. We’ll back brief Dr. Fate when we see him next.”
“Okay, Alan, I’m headed back through the Portal.” Her comms silenced.
“Cousin,” Captain Marvel scowled, “anything that could scare the Seltan isn’t going to brighten my day.”
“Agreed. On the whole I’d rather be discussing philosophy with Bruce Wayne.”
Mary giggled. “That bad?”
He nodded.
The Rock of Eternity
Kannet stood in the library. He heard footfalls.
“Ah! Captain Marvel! You do seem to have a healthier glow about you!”
“Thank you!” She smiled.
“And the Shade. I’ve always wanted to meet you. Didn’t realize how attractive our coloring was on Terrans!”
Alanna grinned.
“Flatterer!”
“Alan! Thank you for coming.”
“Kannet, I wish I could say I was looking forward to the visit.”
“Believe me, Alan, I wish I were.” He smiled down to the second pair of eyes peeking out of the Sentinel’s cloak. “And who might you be?”
She held out her hands to touch his.
“Call me Jade. I’m pleased to meet you.”
Kannet stared at her. He seemed to lose his balance momentarily. He regained it.
“The trip must have taken more out of me than I thought.” He looked down at her hands. “Are those what I think they are?”
Jade’s left hand glowed with mystic flame. Her right glowed with a charged power ring.
“Kannet,” Alan grinned, “if you’ve got a few minutes, I’ll tell you one Hell of a story!”
Mary and Alanna giggled. Jade smiled shyly.
Thirty minutes later
“Coffee’s up, folks.” Kent brought the tray into the library. He put it down around a conference table. They assembled around it.
“Does your universe have a Starheart?” Jade asked Kannet.
“A Starheart? We believe so, but we have had no champion.” He felt ill again. “Whew. I must really have had a rough trip.”
Alanna glared at Linda.
“I feel a lot better now.” Kannet sipped his coffee. “Amazing taste! Wow!” He leaned back in his chair. “Let me start from the beginning. Let me know if this seems confusing. It is.” He leaned forward again.
“Okay, here are the basics. My home universe is completely mystical. Any laws of science are rudimentary. What you term as atomic power, Alan, would not exist. Jade, that little ring wouldn’t work there, either. Actually, that’s not quite true. It can do whatever it wants to itself, but it can’t act on anything else.” Kannet scowled.
“The Kayzik are mystic creatures. In our universe, they use no science. In fact, to leave our universe they and we use only mystic means. There is a mystic Portal that opens a door to all of the other nearby universes. They use the Portal to eject a queen into another universe with enough life force to survive until it can put out Necromancers. The queen will adapt to the universe she arrives in. If it is a low technology universe, they stay low tech. If it’s high tech, they adapt to it. If it’s a primarily scientific universe, they adapt to science. Some Hives are almost unrecognizable unless you realize what they are. They always act to consume the resources of the universe.” Kannet breathed out slowly.
“The Kayzik have only bred queens in our universe. That requires a universe of almost total magic. I’ve never heard of a daughter queen breeding. Of course, we are not omnipotent – it could happen. We just haven’t seen it.” Kannet looked tired.
“Now, the rules have changed on us – and not to our advantage. Let me give you some background. A Continuum is an infinite series of universes that are somehow linked. You might say that they share similar addresses. Our home universe Portal connects to all other universes in our Continuum. Through that Portal, you can reach any other universe in the Continuum. As you know, there are natural mystic barriers to the Kayzik hive. They must be ‘invited in’. What that means is that a Necromancer in another universe must unleash the forces the Kayzik hatchling needs to survive. It’s a one time opportunity – the environment can’t be recreated. Both we and the Kayzik can track when that’s happening in another universe. So, they get one shot to go in and we get one shot to stop them. We’ve been somewhat successful, but our percentages have never been good.”
Jade held up her left hand.
“I see your point.”
He nodded in understanding.
“Something nasty has happened. We have been removed from our original Continuum. Your universe, our universe, Alan’s other universe, and some others are still in their same relative positions to each other. Unfortunately, those are the exceptions. Most of the universes we now find ourselves connected to are brand new to us. They follow different rules. There have been some rather ugly side effects.”
He scowled.
“We are not in sync with the timelines of many of these other universes. There are chronal disruptions as well as space-time displacements popping up across many of the universes. You can expect to see these types of disruptions until the Continuum settles.”
“The universes really don’t have the same level of maturity. Some universes are very old. Some are just now beginning to exist. At least one arose out of the debris of other probabilities. It has a full past and future, but it’s only seventeen years old.”
Alan looked thoughtful.
“1985 in my other universe. Around 1990 or 1991 in this one.” And just before Jade was conceived. Odd coincidence.
“Yes, Alan.” Kannet continued. “And because time is not stable in some of the other regions of the new Continuum, we can’t tell where or when queens are being sent. What’s even worse is the other problem. The restrictions on the Kayzik have been removed. They no longer have to be ‘invited in’. The hive simply has to randomly eject into the universes that did not come from our original Continuum. We’re not even sure they are limited to one queen in any of those universes. The only chance we have is to block the Portal. ”
“We’re shadow creatures.” He smiled weakly. “We can act, but we can’t come out of shadow near the hive without exposing ourselves to the glamour – not a good thing.”
“Gee,” Alanna frowned, “sounds like our next move has to be to do reconnaissance on the original Kayzik swarm.”
“Take me with you.” Jade implored her sister. “I’m little enough you can carry me. If you take me, my power won’t be visible to the Kayzik.”
Alanna smiled.
“Alright, little one. I’d be grateful for the company.”
Alan drew in a breath.
“Sounds like we have a plan. Let’s sleep on it. We’ll come back tomorrow morning and launch from here.”
The next morning
“Are you ready little one?” Alanna smiled at Jade.
“Let’s do it!” Jade nodded slowly. She walked up to Alan and Mary. “Thank you for everything you’ve taught me. I’m so glad we can make a difference, especially today.”
Mary hugged Jade. Something is very wrong. Something is very, very wrong. I just don’t know what it is.
Jade smiled at Alanna. The shadow disappeared.
The Seltan/Kayzik home universe
Alanna Scott moved through Hyperspace. She arrived at the Kayzik home galaxy with her sister.
“This is so different from our universe. There’s no technology and no super dense metals.” Alanna slid among the Kayzik worlds. “The Kayzik worlds are physically open. Look down there. I think that’s one of their home worlds.” They spotted the Portal. The Portal was the size of a large asteroid, but it hung freely in space.
“That’s what we have to disable.” Alanna landed on a planetoid. “All we have to do is to figure out how.”
Jade stepped out of her shadow.
“No. I love you, Alanna. You have to go home now. Kannet lied to us.”
The Rock of Eternity
Kent Nelson walked past a pile of books. These are the books Jade was looking at yesterday. He looked at the open book under two others. This is her Starheart research. Oh, no! Damn you, Kannet! You lied to us!
He ran. The verse chilled him. A Starheart in a completely mystical universe may or may not have a champion. If one has not arisen, the Starheart may be called by a champion of the Green Flame who is not a chosen champion. These are the most powerful of all Starhearts: the power of the Starheart increases with the magic level of the home universe.
“God Damn you Kannet! You knew!” He ran into the conference room. He grabbed Kannet. “You lying bastard!”
The Seltan/Kayzik home universe
“Yes, Alanna, I read his mind. That was why he staggered.”
“And that’s why you covered your eyes.”
“Alanna if I had not chosen to come with you now, he would have found another way to get me here.” She looked up at her taller sister. “I was created for what I am about to do.”
Alanna watched her glow. Jade looked away.
“The universes will have a chance to live. That’s what matters. All those people will have their chance.” She smiled.
Alanna trembled.
Jade’s words were bittersweet.
“I never dreamed I would have such a wonderful home. I never expected to belong to a family like ours.” She smiled peacefully. “Alanna, I remember the first day you carried me into the Command Center.” (Elf note: The Guardian Gambit – Chapter 2). “You barely knew me, but you were so kind to me.” She nodded. “I dreamed we would grow old together. Two old biddies traipsing across the universe.”
“Linda, come home! This isn’t yours to do!”
Jade looked up to her. Her eyes narrowed.
“But it is. The only thing that will stop the Kayzik from spreading into those other universes is to take them out in this one. There is no way to block the Portal while they exist. Kannet knew that. We have to kill the Kayzik Queen and all of her daughters in this universe at the same time. Any queen hatchling can resume the breeding. The only thing that can kill the Kayzik Queen and all of its daughters at the same time is the Starheart of this universe. The Starheart of this universe can only be called by a Champion of the Green Flame who is not a chosen champion.”
Jade held up her hand.
“That’s me, Sweetheart. It’s coming for me. I can feel it. Tell Kilowog I’m sorry I couldn’t have been more careful.” She smiled for just a second. “Remember, I was created to do this. You and the rest of our family just gave me the reason.” She kissed Alanna. She waved her hand. Linda stood alone.
The Rock of Eternity
Alanna reappeared. She found Kannet.
“You lying son of a bitch! How dare you!” Dark Force knocked him across the room. “Tricking children for your own gain!” Dark Force struck him again. “You could have told us!”
He picked himself up from the floor.
“I am responsible for all the lives across all the universes. You may hate me for it, but I don’t think she will. Do you think she would have made a different decision if she had known?”
Alanna’s voice dripped with ice.
“Kannet, she’s smarter than you are. She knows it’s going to kill her. She knew yesterday. You didn’t take away her right to make a choice. You took away our chance to say ‘Good bye’.” She hit him again.
The Seltan/Kayzik home universe
I am going to be a murderess more times than I could ever count. I wonder if there is any chance of redemption this time.
The Starheart assembled around her. She began to lose her physical form. The flaming ball of mystic fire rose from the planetoid.
The Starheart drove her telepathic powers. She found the queen’s mind. The flaming ball burned itself onto the Kayzik home world. Her fire spilled down the corridors. They filled with the smell of burning flesh. Finally, the living ball of mystic flame floated before the queen. The queen called its defenders. She fried them with a thought.
You? You’re the one responsible for all of this? You caused all those deaths? You stole so many lives? All those people! She remembered what had been her left hand. All those universes! All those lives! So much gone. No more! I won’t allow it!
She reached out with her mind. Jade touched all of the Seltan. She forced them to the far side of their universe. Gently and without injury, she moved them. She felt their confusion and their resolve.
It’s not your battle any more. It’s mine. If there is a God in this universe, I hope he will have mercy on my soul.
In Brightest Day,
She consumed the Kayzik home world.
In Blackest Night,
The mystic fireball grew. The Kayzik home solar system was no more.
No Evil Shall Escape My Sight,
The Kayzik home galaxy screamed as it disintegrated.
Let Those Who Worship Evil’s Might,
Thousands of the surrounding galaxies ceased to exist. Green Flame burned across three quarters of the universe.
Beware My Power
The firestorm ended. The Seltan knew they were alone in their universe. Entirely alone.
-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2002 by Eldric,
-- and may not be reprinted without permission.
-- Alterverse, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,
-- is an original creations of Eldric
-- Some characters in Continuum Worlds stories are original
--creations of Dylan Clearbrook, Michael Liebhart,
-- Jake H., Jason Froikin, Eldric, Jason G, or Andrew Shields and may not
-- be used without express permission of the respective author
-- Supergirl, Mary Marvel, and other DC characters are property of D.C. Comics
-- Rogue, Jennifer Walters and other Marvel characters are property of Marvel Comics