Chapter 118

RETURNING FIRE

Maximilian’s eye closed again, his attention returning to the chains wrapped around the gateway. “The prophecy has haunted my family for years.”

Alexander waited, sensing there was more.

“My father was obsessed with it,” Maximilian continued. “Believed he was destined to be one of the eight. When the divination specialists finally revealed the names of the divines and everyone started believing I was one instead...” He paused. “He became overbearing. Controlling. Everything I did had to serve the prophecy.”

“How did you get out from under that?”

“I told him that if he didn’t let me go my own way, the family might disrupt the prophecy entirely.” A faint smile crossed Maximilian’s face. “Turns out threatening cosmic destiny is an effective negotiation tactic.”

Alexander almost laughed at that. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The chains shuddered. Light flared through the gaps, brighter than before. Something was pushing hard from the other side.

Maximilian’s expression tightened, the faintest hint of strain showing. The chains held, but Alexander could see the effort it took.

Raelene stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder.

The strain faded from Maximilian’s face. His posture straightened, the chains tightening in response to renewed strength.

Movement drew Alexander’s gaze toward the defensive positions. One of the alien guards stumbled, catching himself against a barrier. Another guard moved to relieve him. The exchange happened smoothly, as if it had been done before.

He didn’t comment on it, but it reinforced the idea he’d formed about what Raelene could do.

“Eight realms,” Alexander said, returning to the prophecy. “Eight worlds colliding. I’m guessing you have thoughts on what that means.”

“I used to think it meant Earth and Mars. The colonies. Perhaps the corporate worlds. But that was before the invasions.”

“The alternate Earths.”

“Yes.” Maximilian shifted. “Each one differs from the others but is still recognizable. And now the beast world with its evolved creatures.”

Alexander counted them off mentally. “That’s only seven. The prophecy says eight.”

“Yes,” Maximilian agreed. “And the beast world only appeared in this invasion. There’s no record of it at AEGIS from the first five invasions.”

Alexander frowned. “Which implies we’ll encounter the eighth in a future invasion.”

“Exactly.”

The gateway pulsed again, chains groaning under pressure. Maximilian didn’t show strain this time, but his focus intensified.

“What do you think it will be?” Alexander asked.

Silence stretched between them. The chains shuddered once more, light leaking through in thin streams before the metal tightened. Maximilian’s jaw worked, and Raelene’s hand remained on his shoulder.

Finally, Maximilian spoke. “I have a theory about how these realities work.”

Alexander waited.

“The alternate realities are tear-aways from ours. Superheroes were the most dominant imagination for powers. Then wizards. Cultivators. Knights and samurai and chivalry and faith. The cultists and their entropy magic are the inverted version of that faith. They mark where our imagination takes a dark turn.”

He paused. “Each represents something that exists in our collective consciousness.”

Alexander nodded slowly. “What about the dinosaurs then?”

“Dinosaurs and mythological creatures were always popular. The saurians are mostly growing bigger and more powerful, or turning into creatures from our myths. The beast world looks like another reality without humans, and the creatures there also appear to be evolving. I imagine we’ll see similarities.”

Alexander processed that. “So what comes last?”

Maximilian turned his head fully, meeting Alexander’s eyes properly for the first time since they’d started talking. “What else is left?”

Alexander thought about it.

“Monsters,” he said quietly. “Things from our nightmares.”

Maximilian nodded once, then returned his attention to the gateway.

The implications settled into Alexander’s mind. If the pattern Maximilian saw was true, if superheroes showed the greatest of people’s dreams, to save people and do good…

Alexander pushed aside thoughts of nightmare realms. It wasn’t something that could be dealt with now, and there were more immediate concerns. “Is Jules okay?”

“She’s fine,” Maximilian said. “She’s at another gateway with the fourth team leader. The Empire of Stars is there.”

Alexander tensed. “The wizards?”

“They’re negotiating with the Galactic Council rather than attacking.”

“They’re negotiating?” Alexander couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice. “Why?”

“Unknown. But it’s bought us time.” Maximilian glanced at him. “Which brings us back to your question about claiming the gates.”

Alexander studied the chains wrapped around the gateway. “You’ve been thinking about it.”

“I have.” Maximilian was quiet for a moment. Then something shifted in his expression. Not quite excitement, but close. Interest, perhaps. Challenge. “I’m in. But we’ll need to bring the other team leaders in on it. And Jules, because she can fly.”

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Alexander raised an eyebrow. “Why does flying matter?”

“The cultivator on the other side can fly,” Maximilian said. “He was standing in the sky on a sword when I saw him. Before I sealed the gate.”

“Standing on a sword.”

“Yes.”

Alexander absorbed that. A cultivator who could fly on a sword. They had no way of gauging his strength beyond knowing he’d killed multiple supers.

“We should coordinate through the System interface,” Alexander said. “Gather everyone who needs to be involved and see if they’re as insane as we are.”

Maximilian cracked his eye open again, the faint hint of a lazy smile crossing his face.

“Agreed.”

***

While Maximilian coordinated with the other superheroes, Alexander pulled up the System interface and contacted his team.

Coordinating everything took half an hour. Shifting heroes from their designated gateways required reinforcing them to keep the Galactic Council happy. Augustus conjured two portals connecting the three gateways, allowing defenders to shift positions.

It worked efficiently. Talia and Felix remained at the beast world gateway with additional support. Annie and Augustus repositioned to the gateway connected to the Empire of Stars, reinforcing the team there. Before leaving, Augustus delivered Alexander’s drones.

Alexander watched them as they formed up with Droney. Seven additional units, each one fragile despite its utility. Useful, but increasingly vulnerable as their enemies grew stronger.

The gateway had given him an idea though. The way the orangutan’s Will flowed through it. If he could extend his own Will into the drones the same way, they might become resistant to enemy powers. It wouldn’t make them like Droney, but it would make them more durable. More resilient.

He just needed to figure out how.

Hjordis joined Alexander and Maximilian first, red braid swinging behind as she swaggered through the portal, her massive sword resting across her shoulders.

Julia arrived second, eyes finding Alexander’s even as Raelene moved to intercept her. Her white combat-suit was clean, hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, but Alexander caught the exhaustion immediately. It lived in her eyes, in the slight tension around her mouth. The kind that came from days without real rest.

She and Raelene spoke quietly for a few minutes, catching up. Julia’s attention kept drifting back to him though, small glances that said she was aware of exactly where he stood.

When Raelene finished, Julia crossed the distance and hugged him.

Alexander froze for half a second before his arms came up, returning it. She was warm despite her ice powers.

Julia stepped back, looking awkward. “Sorry. I’m just glad you’re here. It’s been tense since the gateways opened. It was bad before, but after...”

She gestured vaguely. “The other teams lost so many good people.”

“I’m sorry,” Alexander said quietly.

Her eyes met his, and for a moment they weren’t superhumans on opposite sides of a shifting moral line. They were just two people who’d known each other since they were twelve years old, who’d shared the same dream before the world forced them to walk different paths to reach it.

She’d been there when his parents died. He’d been there when her family’s growing legacy became too heavy. They’d dated for three years before she had to choose, and even now, even with everything that had happened, everything that had changed, neither of them had stopped caring.

The silence stretched, heavy with things neither of them knew how to say. Movement at the portal drew both their attention.

The last team leader stepped through the portal, wearing simple combat gear that looked more tactical than superheroic. He was short, thin, with wire-frame glasses that gave him an almost scholarly appearance. But there was a presence about him, undeniable despite his unassuming frame.

Maximilian opened his eyes and stood in a single smooth motion. The chains around the gateway held without visible strain, responding to his Will even as he moved away from his meditative position.

“Introductions,” Maximilian said, gesturing toward Alexander. “This is Alexander Rooke. The Machine God.”

Hjordis’s expression shifted, surprise flickering across her features before smoothing back to neutrality. The man’s eyes widened slightly then narrowed as he studied Alexander with new interest.

“The Machine God,” Hjordis repeated, her accent adding weight to the title. “Thought Cash was joking. I had heard rumors back home that another of the Eight was now known, but I didn’t believe it.”

“It’s confirmed,” Maximilian said. He gestured. “Guang commands the team at the Empire of Stars gateway.” Then to Hjordis. “You’ve already met, but Hjordis leads the Beastworld gateway team.”

Alexander nodded to each of them.

“Alexander’s proposal is simple,” Maximilian continued. “We tear open the gateway here, and then the one to the Beastworld, go through, and kill whoever owns it on the other side.”

“That’s crazy,” Guang said immediately. His voice was calm and measured. “We don’t know the cultivator’s strength. Don’t know if he has allies. This is suicide. And that’s before we address if it can even be done.”

“We’ve done something similar before,” Maximilian said.

That brought another round of surprised looks.

“During our first invasion defense,” Alexander explained. “The gateway was sealed with a black aperture. With our combined powers, we forced it open so that we could see what was on the other side.”

Hjordis leaned forward. “You opened one of the System’s gateways?”

“Yes.”

“How?” Guang asked.

“What matters is that we can do it,” Maximilian said. “And he’s discovered that the gateways are owned.”

“Owned?” Hjordis frowned.

“Connected to them,” Alexander said. “I can sense it through my powers. Their Will fills the gateway. If we kill the owner, there’s a strong possibility someone else could claim it.”

Silence settled over the group. The implications were clear.

“Claim it,” Julia said slowly. “You mean take control of it?”

“Potentially,” Alexander said. “Or destroy it. Either way, it’s intelligence we need. Understanding how these gateways function could be crucial.”

Guang shook his head. “The risk is too great. It’s an untested theory, but even if you’re right, even if this works, we still need someone strong at the Empire of Stars gateway. Negotiations are ongoing, but they could turn hostile at any moment.”

“You lost people too,” Hjordis said to Guang. Her voice remained controlled, still professional, but something had shifted in her tone. “You saw the bodies. Two of yours. Three of mine. The cultivator killed them.”

“I know.” Guang’s expression was sad, genuine grief showing through. “And I want justice for them. But revenge isn’t worth abandoning strategy. We cannot leave the Empire of Stars unguarded while our strongest fighters invade another reality.”

Hjordis’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t push further.

Maximilian looked at Guang. “Your logic is sound. I won’t argue against it.”

Julia nodded as well. “He’s right about the wizards. Things are very tense even after two days of negotiations. Both sides are one wrong word away from ending talks and going to war.”

Alexander studied the group. Guang’s position was reasonable. They were asking people to risk their lives on a theory, to invade enemy territory and fight an opponent whose strength they could only guess at.

But they were also standing at a gateway that would remain a threat as long as it existed. And if there was even a chance they could claim it or destroy it, that alone should be worth the risk.

“There’s no guarantee it will even work,” Alexander said. “But we need to decide now, before it’s attempted. Who’s in?”

“I am,” Maximilian said immediately.

“Yes,” Hjordis said, anger still simmering beneath the surface.

“I’ll go,” Julia said with a shrug. “No way I’m staying behind if you’re both going.”

All eyes turned to Guang.

He shook his head slowly. “I can’t. I am responsible for the Empire of Stars gateway. And I believe my reasons are stronger than the opportunity here, no matter how tempting revenge might be.”

“That’s fair,” Maximilian said.

No one argued. Guang’s position made strategic sense, and forcing the issue would accomplish nothing.

“Is four enough?” Julia asked, glancing between them.

Alexander considered it. “It’ll have to be.”