Beams opened his mouth to say no, but then paused. There was something in the Avatar’s words that spoke to him, despite his best efforts to ignore him. He had a horrifying realization: Although he and the Avatar were as physically different as beings could possibly be, they were really kindred spirits. They both had connections to the Dread God, even if they didn’t react the same way to these connections. It was an unsettling thought, that Beams and the Avatar were almost brothers, united in their connection to the Dread God. It made Beams wonder if there was something to the Prophecy after all.

  The Avatar held out a hand toward Beams. “Join me, human, and together, we can bring back the Dread God. You know it’s your destiny. You know it is what you were born to do.”

  Beams hesitated.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It had been a long time since Bolt had last seen Graalix. The Pokacu alien had been the commander of the Pokacu army which had invaded Earth about a year ago now. Even before then, Graalix had been the only survivor of the first Pokacu invasion which happened sixteen years ago now, having survived by hiding underneath the Atlantic Ocean where no one could find him.

  The last time Bolt had seen him, Graalix had looked quite dead. But the Pokacu who now stood in the doorway of the conference room looked more alive than ever. He wore thick steel armor which shone in the light, while his red eyes glowed from within a spiked helmet that covered his head. He was slightly taller by about a foot or so, with two long blades at his side. His muscles rippled underneath his armor and he looked like a warlord leading his army into battle. Blood dripped from the tips of his fingers, blood that no doubt belonged to the Facility workers who had tried to stop him.

  “Graalix,” said Nicknacks softly. “It’s been a while. You look much better than the last time I saw you.”

  Graalix snarled. “I won’t even say your name, you traitor. You aided the humans in the murder of the Mother World, resulting in the deaths of our entire species. In a just world, you would be put to death for your crime, but you’ve managed to evade punishment by siding with the humans. Disgusting rat.”

  “Call me what you like, Graalix, but at least I didn’t sell out to the Dread God like you have,” said Nicknacks.

  “Sell out?” Graalix repeated. “I have sold out to no one. I have simply accepted the Dread God’s help and, in exchange, I am helping him.”

  “How did you escape from your room?” said Bolt. He looked at Peter. “Did your scientists actually repair him?”

  Peter did not meet Bolt’s gaze. “He wouldn’t talk when he was injured—he said he was in too much pain—so I ordered the scientists and engineers to heal his body and get rid of as much of the pain as I could. But I know they didn’t make that many modifications to him.”

  Graalix flexed his arms. “Not all of these modifications are from your men. Many of them come from the Dread God, or I should say, the Dread God’s Avatar, who reached across the dimensions to speak to me and grant me a new and improved body, one much better than my old one.”

  “The Dread God’s Avatar?” said Bolt. “Who is that?”

  “A being chosen by the Dread God himself to represent his presence in the physical realm,” said Graalix. “But it doesn’t matter. I came here to slaughter the enemies of the Dread God and retrieve the Soul Crown, not talk.”

  “Why are you working for the Dread God?” said Captain Galaxy in alarm. “I thought that the Mother World hated the Dread God.”

  Graalix’s hands fell to his sides. “The Mother World is dead, murdered by humans and a traitor. For over a year now, I’ve been deep in what you humans would call ‘grief’ and ‘mourning.’ I even considered killing myself many, many times, because I didn’t think there was any point to living a life without the Mother World, one in which I would just remain an experiment for humans to ruthlessly dissect for their own purposes.”

  Bolt glanced at Peter. Based on Peter’s surprised expression, it was obvious that he hadn’t even realized that Graalix had been considering suicide during his imprisonment. Perhaps Graalix was good at hiding his angst.

  Then Graalix put a finger on his head. “But then the Dread God’s Avatar reached out to me. I was afraid at first, because I remembered the Mother World’s stories about the Dread God and his followers, but the Dread God’s Avatar offered me a new life purpose, a new reason to live. He promised to me that the Dread God would use his dark power to bring back the Mother World and restore the Pokacu people to their former glory as long as I served him.”

  “The Avatar sold you on a lie, then,” said Nicknacks. “The Mother World is gone, Graalix. So are our people. You and I are the only two Pokacu left in the universe. I know this, because I saw the last of our people slaughtered before my own eyes by the Darzens themselves not too long ago.”

  “You are a liar as well as a traitor,” said Graalix. “In his heyday, the Dread God was powerful enough to terrify even the Mother World. Why would such an entity lack the ability to bring back the dead? You are simply a traitor who wishes for the Mother World to remain in the grave, where she is unable to punish you as you deserve.”

  “The Avatar is taking advantage of your desperation,” said Nicknacks. “He knows you want the Mother World back more than anything, so he’s sold you on an evil lie, one that will never come true.”

  “And?” said Graalix, his voice suddenly more emotional. “Is it any better than remaining a guinea pig for the humans? I don’t care whether he is lying or not. I have been given a new lease on life, and I intend to use it to kill you to avenge the Mother World.”

  Graalix drew one of his swords and launched through the air toward Nicknacks. Bolt, however, tackled Nicknacks out of the way just in the nick of time. Graalix’s sword slammed into the floor hard enough to crack it, while Bolt and Nicknacks rose to their feet and moved away from Graalix.

  “Are you okay?” said Bolt to Nicknacks as the two of them walked backwards.

  “Yes, thank you for saving me,” said Nicknacks. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I would have been a goner if you hadn’t moved so quickly.”

  A deep growl from Graalix made Bolt look at him. The Pokacu warrior held out his sword and it flew back into his hand. He turned to face Bolt, anger etched on his alien features.

  “You,” said Graalix, his voice distorted by anger. “The human who murdered the Mother World. The one I should have killed. That is a mistake I intend to correct today.”

  Graalix raised his sword, but then three black tendrils rose from the floor around him. Two of them wrapped around his arms, pulling them back, while the third wrapped around his neck and cut off his air, making him gasp in surprise.

  Surprised, Bolt looked over his shoulder and saw Shade standing behind him, holding out her hands with an amused grin on her face.

  “You took us by surprise, ugly, but you didn’t honestly think we’d just let you do whatever you wanted, did you?” said Shade. “You can talk all you want about avenging the Mother World and all that, but you’re still our prisoner, which is something I’m going to remind you of.”

  Bolt had to admit he was glad Shade had stepped in. Shade was very powerful, possibly one of the most powerful superhumans in the world, so he figured that if she was here, then Graalix was going to go down.

  Indeed, for a moment, Graalix’s eyes grew wide with fear, as if he was afraid that he was about to die. But then anger flashed in his eyes and a deep, rumbling growl emitted from his throat like thunder.

  To Bolt’s astonishment, Graalix slowly but surely began to pull the shadow tendrils back. At first, his movements were slow and awkward, but as his growls grew deeper and deeper, his movements became faster and faster, until he soon snapped the tendrils off the ground entirely. The tendrils vanished, save for the one around his neck, which Graalix quickly slashed with his sword, making it vanish as well.

  “What?” said Shade in shock. “How did you do that? Only Bolt’s ever been able to break free of my tendrils and you’re definitely not Bolt.”

  Graalix’s Pokacu face twisted in what was supposed to be a bizarre mimic of a smile. “It was not of my own power that I did that, female human, but through the power of the Dread God. I told you I was better and stronger than before. And now, there’s not a single thing you can do to stop me.”

  Graalix rushed forward, swinging his sword, but Bolt also rushed forward. Graalix slashed at him, but Bolt dodged the sword and threw a punch aimed at his chest. But Graalix caught Bolt’s fist and actually managed to hold it back, looking down at Bolt with an amused expression on his face.

  “You are quite strong for a human, I’ll give you that,” said Graalix, whose voice was slightly strained, “but the Dread God has granted me strength beyond what I could ever imagine. We are much closer to equals now, human, and soon I will be your superior.”

  Bolt realized Graalix had a point. Bolt had faced very few enemies who could catch one of his punches, much less hold it back with little effort. Whatever the Dread God did to Graalix really did make him strong. And for the first time since the fight started, Bolt wasn’t sure he would win.

  Bolt glanced over his shoulder and snapped, “Nick, get the Soul Crown and everyone else out of here! I’ll try to keep Graalix busy.”

  Nicknacks nodded and immediately went over to the conference table where Cadmus, Peter, and Galaxy stood around the Soul Crown. Bolt turned his attention away from them, but he figured they would get out of here. He had to focus all of his attention on making sure Graalix didn’t go after them.

  “What a simple tactic,” said Graalix. “Distract me in order for the weaker ones to escape … but I’m not surprised. Humans are very simpleminded creatures. That is why I am going to kill you today.”

  Graalix brought his sword down on Bolt, but then a shadow tendril appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Graalix’s wrist, stopping it several inches above Bolt’s head. Bolt looked over his shoulder again and saw Shade still standing there, a look of determination on her face. Behind her, he saw Nick, Cadmus, Galaxy, and Peter running out of the conference room with the Soul Crown box in Peter’s arms.

  “Shade, what are you still doing here?” said Bolt, his voice straining now. “I told Nick to get everyone out of here.”

  “And leave you to fight this ugly old alien all by yourself?” said Shade. She smirked. “Come on. I’d hate to see a guy as handsome as you get beaten up by an alien as ugly as this guy. Plus, this is really a G-Men matter and Cadmus would tear me a new one if I ran away, so it’s not like I have much choice in the matter.”

  “Whether one or two, I’ll kill you regardless,” said Graalix. “Die!”

  Graalix’s sword hand ripped through the tendril, but Bolt yanked his hand out of Graalix’s fist and jumped back. He landed next to Shade, who formed two shadow blades on her hands and took a fighting stance as Graalix yanked his sword out of the floor again and glared at them both.

  “I still think you should have run,” said Bolt without looking at Shade.

  “Is it because you care so much about me?” said Shade, also without looking at him.

  “No, because you’d just get in the way,” said Bolt. “And I hate the G-Men, so—”

  “But I’m not like the other G-Men,” said Shade. “I’m prettier than most of them, for one.”

  Before Bolt could respond to that, Graalix roared and rushed toward them. Bolt flew into the air, while Shade rushed forward. Though Shade wasn’t as fast as Bolt, she moved surprisingly quick, slashing at Graalix’s armor and quickly jumping back out of the reach of his sword. Graalix kept growling as he swung his sword this way and that, but he was unable to land any hits on Shade.

  While Shade distracted Graalix, Bolt landed in front of the conference table and, lifting it over his head, whirled around and threw it at Graalix. The table flew toward Graalix, but then the alien turned around and slashed it straight down the middle with a single swing of his sword, sending both halves flying into the wall behind him.

  “Foolish human,” said Graalix. “There’s not a thing you can do to—Argh!”

  Shade had stabbed Graalix in the back while he wasn’t looking. But as soon as Graalix swung his sword behind himself, Shade pulled her shadow blade out of his back and jumped backward out of his reach.

  Sensing an opportunity, Bolt rushed forward and punched Graalix in the face so hard that Graalix went flying into the wall. Not only did Graalix fly into the wall, but he also flew through it, smashing into the next room beyond, which was quite dark.

  Lowering onto the floor, Bolt dusted off his costume, while Shade looked over at him and grinned again. “See? I told you I would be helpful.”

  “I could have distracted him on my own,” Bolt replied. He shook his fist. “Anyway, I punched him out as hard as I could. There’s no way he could have survived that, and if he did, it won’t take much more to take him down for good.”

  A deep chuckle suddenly came from the next room, followed by a sudden flare of light, which made Bolt and Shade cover their eyes to avoid being blinded. The light within the room was growing brighter and brighter, to the point where Bolt thought he was going to go blind even if he covered his eyes completely.

  “Ha!” came Graalix’s voice from within the light. “If that was as hard as you could punch me, then you are weaker than I thought. Behold the true power which the Dread God gave me, the power that dwarfs that of any human being on this wretched planet!”

  The light suddenly faded, allowing Bolt and Shade to lower their hands to see what had happened.

  At first, Bolt could not see anything due to the pitch blackness of the next room. But then he noticed movement within the darkness and Graalix jumped out of the room and landed in the floor in front of Bolt and Shade, but he looked different now.

  He was no longer as bulky as before. Instead, Graalix’s form was athletic and sleek, like a sports car. His face had even become more human, with an actual mouth and nose. He didn’t have his swords anymore and only carried his fists, which he held before him like guns.

  “Whoa,” said Shade, staring at Graalix with her jaw dropped. “He’s hot now.”

  Graalix smirked.

  The next second, Shade went flying into the wall on the other side of the room as if she had been hit by a car. She slammed into the wall hard enough to leave an imprint shaped like herself in it and fell to the floor where she lay either dead or unconscious.

  “Shade!” said Bolt, looking over his shoulder at her. “No!”

  “Foolish human,” said Graalix. “First rule of war: Never turn your back on your enemy.”

  Bolt turned back to face Graalix, but somehow Graalix had gotten in front of him without him noticing. Graalix immediately punched Bolt in the gut and the blow was hard enough that Bolt actually doubled over with pain. The blow was followed up by an uppercut that sent Bolt falling backwards onto the floor, where he lay, his senses dazed and shaken.

  Then Graalix slammed a foot down on his chest, making Bolt gasp for air. He looked up at Graalix, who was smiling down at him with the scariest smile Bolt had ever seen in his life.

  “Oh, how I’ve waited for this moment to end your sorry little life,” said Graalix. “Once I am done with you, justice will finally be served and the Mother World will at last be avenged.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “Well?” said the Avatar, tilting his head to the side. “What say you, human? Will you fulfill your destiny and aid me in resurrecting the Dread God or will you continue to stand against fate and prophecy pointlessly?”

  Beams wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to say no, but he couldn’t forget how drawn he was to the Dread God’s brain. He didn’t want to help the Dread God or his followers, but if the Avatar was telling the truth, then perhaps Beams would have no choice in the matter.

  “Your silence is telling,” said the Avatar. “If you had been against this, you would have said so already. Could it be that you sense the truth of the matter? I believe you do. You are an honorable, truthful human, so you no doubt sense the truth in my words.”

  “I …” said Beams. “I …”

  All of a sudden, loud alarms began blaring in the hold. Beams and the Avatar started, as did the remaining two Darzens, but then an automated voice over the speakers blared, “ATTENTION! CARGO HOLD IS SET TO OPEN. ALL PERSONNEL EVACUATE CARGO HOLD IMMEDIATELY!”

  “What?” said the Avatar, looking around. “What is going on here?”

  Beams didn’t know any more than the Avatar, but before he could say that, he felt a hand wrap around his forearm and looked over his shoulder to see Mr. Space standing behind him. Mr. Space wore an urgent look on his face, ignoring his still-smoking shoulder.

  “Come on, kid,” said Mr. Space. “We’ve got to get out of here now!”

  Before Beams could say anything, Mr. Space dragged him off toward the exit. Beams looked back toward the Avatar, who seemed to have recovered from his shock by now. He drew his sword and rushed after them, but he didn’t get very far before an energy barrier appeared between the Avatar and Beams and Mr. Space. The Avatar struck the barrier with his sword, which caused the barrier to flicker briefly, but it held against his repeated strikes.

  “What is that barrier?” said Beams, looking at Mr. Space.

  “The safety barrier,” Mr. Space replied. “It’s supposed to activate only when the cargo hold is breached in order to keep all the air from being sucked out into space.”

  “But the cargo hold hasn’t been breached at all,” said Beams.

  Mr. Space smiled. “It can also be activated manually if the cargo hold is opened during flight.”