Shed Some Light
Ten minutes after receiving that text, I stand in the alleyway behind Old Saint Mary’s Cathedral, looking around.
I told Marley and the rest of the squad to stay put at the local Foundation branch while I handle this.
Clearly, whoever sent me the letter accusing me of killing Oliver has run out of patience.
But I can’t see them anywhere.
Are they late?
Wait, hold on.
That white door on one wall wasn’t there when I got here.
A white door that appeared out of nowhere? Huh. That isn’t the door to the afterlife, is it?
No, Vic said I won’t see that door again unless I want to, which would mean that I want to die.
Which I don’t.
Cal… I think I know where that door leads. Or, to be more specific, who is on the other side.
Who, Niv?
It should be obvious. Who do we know that has an obsession with the color white, and the ability to pull all kinds of powers out of their ass?
I can check my files on the ChaotiX’s enemies to see who falls under those parameters.
That won’t be necessary, MIKA. I already see what Niv is getting at.
Oh God, please tell me this isn’t what it is.
Welp, only one way to find out.
We should probably keep quiet again.
Thanks, Niv.
I walk up to the door, opening the handle.
When I open the door, there’s nothing but a white void on the other side.
And when I step through the door, I’m greeted by none other than Father Lucian Pax, leader of the Peacemakers and secret puppet of the Light of Peace.
I glance behind me, seeing that the door has vanished, and then I look back at Pax.
He looks the same as our last meeting, white robe, long white hair and beard. Grey eyes, not currently glowing pure white.
He beams at me, spreading his arms wide and speaking with his deep, calm voice.
“Mr. Korkea. Good to see you in person again.”
When I reach for the Sword of Kings on my back, he chuckles.
“You know what will happen if you strike me down, Calvin. You know that it will accomplish nothing. Do not make things worse for yourself. You have enough crimes on your conscience.”
I glare at him, not pleased to see him at all.
“So you’re the one who sent that letter, Pax?”
He nods unashamedly.
“Yes, I am. I know what you did, Calvin. Don’t bother denying it, and don’t bother asking me how I know. I have my ways.”
“No, actually, I think I’d like to know what those ways are.”
He smiles at me, but it’s the kind of smile where he only uses his mouth, and the look in his eyes suggests that he’s getting irritated by my persistence.
“You are well aware that I have powers beyond your ken, Calvin. I am always watching you, and I watched you strike Oliver Dinopolous down in his office. You stopped his heart with your telekinesis and let the world believe that a heart attack killed him. That’s not usually your style, to be blunt. I’d expect such a move from your scruffy immortal friend, but not from you. So do not insult my intelligence by playing dumb, either.”
“Let’s just get to the damn point: what do you want from me, Pax?”
He clasps his hands together.
“Many things, Calvin, many things. But right now, what I want is for you and your ChaotiX, with the exception of Tom, also known as Venom, to leave San Francisco immediately, and to stay away from San Francisco until further notice.”
“Why.”
“You don’t need to know why. I want you to leave, and I am holding all of the cards. You will do as I say, or you will face the consequences.”
I smirk at him.
“I think I can guess why you want us to am-scray. Michelle is back in town, isn’t she? And you don’t want us helping Venom when she goes after them. We know she has a Klyntar of her own now, and we know that you gave it to her.”
Pax nods again, this time reluctantly.
“I suppose it wasn’t very hard to figure out. Here’s the deal I am offering, Calvin: no one has to know that you murdered Oliver Dinopolous, if you’re willing to follow my instructions and withdraw the ChaotiX from San Francisco. Interfere with Michelle as she carries out the duty I have given her, however, and… well, you can guess what’ll happen then, can’t you?”
“So you are blackmailing me.”
He sighs in such a regretful manner that it can’t possibly be sincere.
“I did not want to resort to such methods, Calvin, but your refusal to cooperate has forced my hand. I have nothing but good intentions here.”
I laugh humorlessly at his audacity.
“Good intentions? Good intentions? You’re asking me to stand aside and abandon two of my friends in their hour of need. What the fuck do you even get out of Venom’s death?”
“It is not merely the death of the Venom Klyntar that I desire. The entire Klyntar race are a plague upon the universe, and their numbers just keep rising. They do not belong here, Calvin. They are an invasive species, and if they are left unchecked, if they are allowed to thrive and keep ensnaring hosts, the universe will fall to darkness. You should understand that I cannot allow that to happen.”
“Only because you want the universe to fall to light instead. Why can’t you see that the universe needs both, Pax? Light and darkness need to be balanced.”
He smiles at me in a condescending way.
“You simply do not understand. It’s not your fault, though. You humans are basically children, barely developed as a species, struggling to make sense of the world around you, but even the first humans knew that darkness is something to be feared, that the darkness had to be driven away if they hoped to survive. As do fluffies, despite being even more infantile than you humans are. So stop throwing a tantrum, stand aside, and let me and my Peacemakers work to banish the darkness. Cease meddling in affairs that are beyond the limitations of your feeble mortal mind’s capacity to comprehend. Know your place, child.”
“Don’t talk down to me, asshole. Letting you win will doom the universe, just like letting the Devourer win would, so fuck both of you. If you genuinely believe that I’m just going to abandon Venom to their fate, you’re the one who doesn’t understand. I don’t take orders from you, you holier-than-thou fuck.”
I smirk as hard as I can.
“Here’s my counteroffer: if you expose me, I’ll expose you. You tell everyone how Dinopolous really died, and I’ll tell everyone who Father Lucian Pax really is, and what your Peacemakers’ real goal is. We’ll see how many people want to join your so-called charity after they’ve been branded as a doomsday cult. If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me. And don’t forget, you have no actual proof that I killed Oliver. You have nothing that would hold up in court. You can’t expose me without exposing yourself. So you call Michelle off and tell her to stay away from San Francisco, or I’ll make sure you never get the chance to brainwash anyone ever again. Who do you think the public will trust more? You, or the guy who makes a living saving the universe from assholes like you?”
Pax folds his arms, clearly trying to project an aura of calmness, but I can tell that I’ve struck a nerve.
“I knew you would try something like this. Why do you always insist on doing things the hard way, Calvin? Why can’t you just work with me, why do you have to interfere with my plans? Can you not just go bother Dehak instead? Perhaps if we were to join forces, we could bring him down together. Or do you truly want to wage war against him and me?”
“Your plans are no better for the universe than Dehak’s are. Neither of you give a fuck what the rest of us have to say. You both want to silence everyone.”
“I just want to make everyone happy. To bring about peace. And unfortunately, the only way to accomplish that is for the Light of Peace to shine upon all, to burn away all of the flaws that keep people from being happy.”
“Along with their free will. It’s not right to force people to be happy, Pax. That’s no better than forcing them to be miserable.”
He glares at me, trying to rattle me and failing.
“Is it right to murder them, Calvin? You murdered Oliver Dinopolous, you murdered Captain Duncan and his men, you murdered Jacob Hova and his associates, you murdered Vanessa Valentine, you murder everyone who you deem a threat to your own greater good. How many more people will you have to kill to make a better world, my boy? How much bigger does the pile of corpses need to be?”
I point at him, starting to get pretty pissed off myself.
“I’m just trying to protect innocent people from bastards like you! To make sure that some asshole supervillain doesn’t destroy everything that makes this world beautiful so he can force everything to be about him!”
“Because you’d rather have everything be about you. You are a child, Calvin, and you see your world as your own personal playground. That’s why you haven’t told people about what you did to Dinopolous: because you’re scared that they won’t love you anymore, and you won’t get to keep playing superhero.”
He beams at me again.
“Of course, if you were to work with me, all of your crimes would be forgiven in the new world of light. You still have time to join the winning side, Calvin. And I’ve done so much for you. I granted you new powers, I allowed you to command the power of light as I do.”
“You weren’t planning to let me keep those light powers. And you can’t take them back, can you?”
I take my hair tie out, letting my messy, long brown hair hang loose, and I clench my fists.
SHWEEEE
And in an instant, I power up to Luminary Form Level Two, my hair turning white as it grows even longer, my eyes glowing blue on blue, the black of my battle suit turning white.
“Look at how much I’ve done with the power you’ve given me, Pax. You’ll regret giving me this power.”
He smiles, entirely unafraid.
“And yet, your power still pales in comparison to my own.”
“But you don’t have access to all of your power in that body, do you? That’s why you plotted to hijack Vincal. Without a body in this world, you can’t do anything, and without you puppeteering that old man’s body, he's just an old man. So who was he before you turned him into Lucian Pax?”
“Just another lost soul who needed enlightenment. Not unlike yourself, frankly. But I must admit that I am impressed by how powerful you’ve become thanks to me. You should be grateful, Calvin.”
“You’re trying to use me, just like Vulcanus did. I don’t like being used.”
He holds up a hand.
“Enough, Calvin. It is clear as day that you have no intention to cooperate. I will give you some time to change your mind. You have until Carnage and his spawn have both entered the city of San Francisco to withdraw your ChaotiX, and allow Michelle to settle her grudge with Venom. Who knows, perhaps Venom can still find a way to beat her without help. If any other ChaotiX members or allies are present in San Francisco and interfere with that conflict, the world will know the truth about Dinopoulos’ death. And do keep one thing in mind: you are not the only member of the ChaotiX who is hiding a dark secret. I know all of the secrets that the ChaotiX hides from the public. So I won’t stop at exposing you if I have to.”
He smiles one more time.
“Besides, I have reason to believe that something else will come to your attention soon enough. Even you can’t be everywhere, my boy. I hope that you’re feeling more cooperative the next time we meet.”
“We’re not done here, Pax. Explain yourself--”
He points at me, everything blurs, and just like that, I’m back in the alleyway behind the cathedral.
He… he didn’t even need the door… it was just a formality…
Is this… is this how Jeff feels when he’s dealing with Chaos?
I power down to base form, tying my hair back into its usual ponytail.
So… what are we gonna do about this?
First, we’re heading back to the Foundation. The squad, the whole team needs to know what just happened.
Now we know who sent the letter, and what they want. That’s that mystery solved.
But as the saying goes, we’re out of the frying pan and into the fire.
It’s not over yet. We’re nowhere close to done.
Pax thinks he has you cornered, Cal. But you’re not going to give up so easily, are you?
No.
I know what I have to do.
And I have to do it soon.
Michelle is waiting to strike, Carnage and his spawn are coming, and there’s that something else Pax mentioned.
And it’s not just my ass on the line, here.
Pax said that someone in the ChaotiX besides me has a dark secret, and I think I know who he was alluding to.
It’s pretty obvious when I think about it.
Think you can figure it out, dear readers?
Miles up in the sky, inside a certain plane, a flight attendant pushes a trolley to the front of the plane, not noticing a small, red, slimy blob attached to the underside of the trolley.
As she reaches the front, she starts talking to another flight attendant, still not noticing the blob detach itself and slither under the door to the cockpit.
Inside the cockpit, the blob slithers up the wall, to the ceiling, getting closer to the pilot and copilot.
Once it’s right above them, it stops, apparently waiting for something as the pilots are chatting.
“Shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours until we’re in San Francisco. Ohio to California isn’t so bad.”
“Yeah, remember Frank? He was the pilot on that flight from Sydney to Cetteville, the one that freaky spider mask stowed away in. Poor Frank didn’t deserve to get fired for that. And you heard that the plane’s gonna be searched when we land, what if another monster is hiding in here? Maybe we should send some people down to the cargo hold to check.”
“And do what, exactly? If we find a monster in the cargo hold, it’ll probably kill everyone on board. No, let that monster think it’s safe until we land, and let the ChaotiX handle it.”
“Shouldn’t we tell the passengers that--”
“There might potentially be a monster stowed away? It’ll just make them panic. Besides, if there is a monster on board, it hasn’t hurt anyone yet.”
“Yeah, good point. I mean, there’s a couple of vampires in first class, and we stock NuBlood for vampire passengers, so they aren’t draining everyone else dry.”
“And hey, the monster can’t hear us all the way from the cargo hold.”
Actually, the monster can hear the pilots.
So Carnage already knows what to expect when the plane lands.
Down on the ground, the host of Carnage’s spawn keeps waddling by the side of the freeway, not much closer to San Francisco.
The Klyntar has retracted into its host’s body, revealing the nameless stallion’s true appears: navy fluff, darker navy mane and tail, and bright blue eyes. He’s an earthie, like most toughies are.
He thinks that it’ll be easier to hitch a ride looking like this. He ducked behind a convenient rock to “change clothes”.
For now, he feels as if it’s better to hide his dual identity. Neither identity even has a name yet.
When he hears a vehicle coming up from behind, the stallion turns, seeing the strangest vehicle he’s ever seen in his life.
It looks like a school bus, painted in tie-dye, with flowers. And there’s at least a dozen hippies inside, apparently born a few decades late like the notorious Tommy Fonda.
The school bus pulls over, the door opening, a cloud of smoke that smells like weed billowing out, the hippie at the wheel smiling at the stallion.
“Hey, man! You look like you need a ride!”
He’s got prominent mutton chops, and a tie-dye headband, a flower in the headband. He’s holding a joint in one hand.
The stallion sniffs, deciding not to ask what that smell is, because he and his other have a more important question on their minds.
“Am yu guin tu San Fwan-siss-koh?”
The hippie nods, pointing at the flower in his headband.
“That’s why we’re wearin’ flowers in our hair! San Francisco is more our kinda scene than the boring little town we’re from.”
“Den yus, we-- uh, fwuffy wud wike a wide, pwease. Can wunna yu gib fwuffy a handsie gittin in?”
He could get inside by himself, but that would require a “wardrobe change”, and would reveal his secret.
A female hippie steps out of the bus, helping the stallion get in.
“Fanks.”
And as the door slides closed, the driver hits the gas.
“Next stop, San Francisco!”
The stallion looks around at the inside of the bus curiously. The hippies have torn out the bus seats and remodeled it into a mobile home. It’s like stepping back in time to the 1960s.
Not that fluffykind was around back then. Most fluffies don’t know a lot about pre-fluffy history.
Most of the hippies are sitting on the couch, armchairs, or bean bag chairs, and the stench of weed is dominant.
The stallion struggles to find something to say about the bus.
“Yu, uh… gutta nice pwace hewe.”
One hippie man is munching on a pot brownie in a bean bag chair, and he points at the driver.
“Leo’s grandfather used to own this baby. Drove it all the way to Woodstock.”
Leo, as the driver is apparently called, laughs.
“Yeah, with his friends. You know that Tommy Fonda dude in the ChaotiX? His grandpa and my grandpa go way back. My grandpa was there when old Richie met that scarred guy and his future selves… though I’m still not sure that Grandpa and Richie didn’t just hallucinate that part.”
The stallion shrugs, having no idea what Leo is talking about.
“Fwuffy hate tu change da sub-jekt, but du yu haf anee nummies in hewe? Sumfin wif chokko-wat wud be nice.”
The other hippie offers the stallion a brownie.
“These have chocolate in ‘em.”
The stallion sniffs the brownie, and after a couple of seconds, he shrugs again and takes a bite.
“Eh, fwuffy nu can be pick-ee wite nao.”
In New Jersey, the burning entity sits in his cave, seeing another black and white portal opening up.
The Rider steps out of the portal again.
“Pax has made his move. He’s had a little chat with Korkea, apparently.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because Korkea just fell off the grid for a bit. He was behind a cathedral in San Francisco, then he vanished, and then he was behind the cathedral again. And while he was gone, even Big D couldn’t scry on him, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out where he went. We don’t know what Pax talked about with Korkea, but we need to act while Korkea’s eyes are still on San Francisco. So you know what to do.”
The entity gets up and stretches.
“It’s about time. I should be in Atlantic City before long.”
He stomps out of the cave, unfurling his gargoyle-like wings.
WOOSH
And he takes flight, on a direct course to Atlantic City.