Travis did not like the look on Eustace's face. It seemed…unnatural. Like, he didn't really know to even smile or something. He could also feel something coming off of him that was making Travis's hair stand on end. His power maybe?
"What have you done?"
"Done?' Eustace asked innocently. "Oh, you mean this?" He kicked his father's body and Travis winced. "Nothing much. Just a little experiment. And some entertainment."
"You're sick, man."
"You say like that I should care."
"Eustace," Madison interjected. "What happened to you? Why did you do this?"
"Oh, I'm sorry little girl, but there's been a misunderstanding here," Eustace told her. "I'm not Eustace. I'm just inhabiting his body for…well however long it takes."
"Inhabiting his body?" Travis asked, growing more and more horrified. "What the hell are you? And however long what takes?"
"Oh just the destruction of your world," Eustace, or the thing inhabiting Eustace, said simply. "As for myself, well I'm a bit of an artist as you could see there," he gestured to the body on the floor, making Travis want to gag and punch him. "I've gone by a few names over the years, but the one that stuck out the most was the Sculptor."
Travis needed to get out of here, now. Whoever this guy was, he was giving off serious bad vibes. Way more than Swarm did. He entered speed mode, planning on getting Madison out of there and then…well, he didn't know, come up with a better plan. But when he tried to move, he found he couldn't. He looked down and sucked in his breath as he saw the ground had risen up around his feet, trapping him. The same thing with Madison.
"Ah, yes, you've noticed," the Sculptor said as Travis tried to break free. "While I'm sure you'll eventually break out, it won't be in nearly enough time."
"What did you do to Eustace?" Madison shouted.
"I'm right here, you know. And he's still here too. But he's just a viewer now. Like one of those…things," he pointed at the TV. "He can watch but not really interact. He's currently screaming in my head to spare you both but if he thinks that'll help your cause, he's sadly mistaken. Not that being silent will help either. The two of you were dead the second you came."
Travis tried to focus on the positive here. It sounded like Eustace truly wasn't the bad guy, just his body with whatever this thing was being the true villain. "So, you're the one who sent those things after me and Luke last night then."
"Well, Eustace still had some control there. He just wanted to scare some bullies. But I did hope you both would be taken out. Still, you survived. I guess I shouldn't have expected less of members of the new Cloak Guard."
As the man…thing talked, Travis kept zipping in and out of speed mode. He knew he couldn't text while that thing was looking at him and he definitely couldn't text without looking, he had to come up with a new method. His phone didn't work in speed mode so constantly entered speed mode, found the right button, put his thumb just over it before hiding it again, and then pressing down after exiting speed mode before restarting the whole process.
"Everyone keeps saying that? What is the Cloak Guard?" Madison interjected.
"You mean you don't know? You have their powers after all. Powers that ultimately defeated and imprisoned me." Travis tensed up, sensing rage begin to grow in the creature. "I was trapped for decades on that miserable piece of rock because of the Cloak Guard. If not for them, this planet would have been made a masterpiece already."
"A masterpiece?" Madison questioned. "You said we were going to destroy the world."
"Silly girl. It is my sacred destiny to use my power, the power to reshape to reality, on worlds such as yours and remake them into one last glorious masterpiece that will shine across the heavens before disappearing forever."
"You're insane," Travis muttered.
"I've moved beyond such things," the Sculptor replied.
"We'll stop you," Madison promised. "We stopped Swarm and we'll do the same to you."
"Who?" the Sculptor asked. "I'm sorry, I'm not big on current events. I was trapped for the past few decades. Is Swarm someone I should know?"
Travis sent off the text, hoping the others would respond quickly. Until that happened, he would just have to stall.
"So…worlds. Plural." Travis bobbed his head. "Does that mean you're an alien or something? Or like from another dimension or…"
"Oh I'm from another dimension," the Sculptor confirmed. "I destroyed my home world and then moved on to the next from there."
Travis continued to bob his head as he tried to wrap his head around that. Inside, he was completely freaking out. Other dimensions, oh my god, that is so cool!
"So why'd you do it? Destroy your home I mean? Did someone…mix up your decaf for regular? Or did a girl turn down your promposal in front of the whole school? Oh, I got it. There was a spider in your home and you killed it but you didn't realize it had babies which instantly started running around so just to be safe you blew up your whole world." Travis grinned. "That's it, right?"
The Sculptor gave him an odd look. "I destroyed my world because everyone seemed content living out their meaningless lives without achieving anything. I sought to do what no one else had done before, give them the purpose of becoming part of something truly breathtakingly beautiful before the end."
"And here I thought Swarm was a psychopath," Travis muttered.
"You killed so many innocent lives…because of some misguided attempt to give their lives meaning just to…I don't know, improve your art?" Madison asked incredulously.
"It was a sight to behold," the Sculptor said, leaning back on the couch. "I have made some spectacular cataclysms since then but none of them have ever truly been as magnificent as the first."
"You're just like the old ladies in Arsenic and Old Lace, except on a much more apocalyptic scale and with none of their charming and lovely personalities," Travis said. "You know, I kind of did wonder if I got these powers, would I get to fight a Galactus level threat. But you're no Galactus cause he destroys worlds to feed himself. He needs to in order to survive. You do it, because you're completely insane. You think you're…actually, I still don't understand what you think, that's kind of the point I'm making here. But make no mistake, we will stop you."
"Oh?" the Sculptor asked in an amused voice. "And how will you do that? The last Cloak Guard needed all their power and that was at the height of their strength. Your power is like that of a baby's."
"That…cannot be accurate."
"Eustace." They both turned to Madison who was staring hard at the Sculptor. "I know you're in there. You can hear me, right? So listen. You need to fight whatever this thing is. I know you can do it. Just push it out."
"Oh he can hear you, but there's no hope of him beating me. I've been invading his mind for weeks now, slowly taking over and growing in power. Even right now, I know he's fighting back. But it's like a soft wind against my cheek. A minor annoyance."
"A soft wind against your cheek is an annoyance? I always enjoyed that fee- not important right now," Travis amended, seeing Madison's expression towards him. "Look Eustace, I don't know you that well and that's on me. But I do know that you can do this."
"No he can't," the Sculptor said in a bored tone. "He is just a puny human. Not even pre-Awakened. No special skills or talents. Utterly meaningless in the grand scheme."
Travis felt his electricity crackle around his body as he became enraged. "What gives you the right to say that about him? You don't know-"
"What? His life? I lived inside his body, saw inside his mind," the Sculptor replied. "It's how he views himself. A waste of space, plodding along life with no true purpose who's life will ultimately amount…to nothing."
"That's it," Travis raised his hand. "You just crossed the line."
Five bolts of lightning shot out from his fingers, arcing through the air at super speed right at the Sculptor. But before they could hit, a wall of dust formed around him, blocking the bolts and absorbing their impact.
"Ooh, so close," the Sculptor grinned. "You do know that if you hit me, you'll be hurting your friend's body, right?"
Travis hadn't thought of that and cursed himself for getting so riled up that he had forgotten.
"Eustace, you have to fight!" Madison cried.
"Oh do be quiet little girl. The last Cloak Guard tried the same thing you know? Help the host break free of my hold. But, they failed and were forced to kill him." The Sculptor shook his head in disappointment. "And I had such big abs too. Now I'm stuck with this…bag of bones. Well, it will suffice for now, but I will definitely be looking for a better host next time around."
They had to kill…No. Travis shook his head, refusing the possibility. They wouldn't kill Eustace for this. They'd find another way. No matter what.
"Well now, I think that should just about do it anyway."
"What should just about do it?" Travis asked. He needed to keep this guy here for a bit longer until backup hopefully arrived.
"Why do you think I was prattling on with you two for so long? Because I enjoy your company?" the Sculptor asked sarcastically. "No. I just needed a little bit of time to connect with your powers there."
Travis felt his blood go cold. "Connect?"
"Yes. You see, your powers and mine are quite entangled with one another due to the fact that they kept me imprisoned on that blasted comet for so long. So I came to know them quite well in fact. So well that I know that your powers are all connected to one another and just with your powers here, it takes little effort for me to track that connection and locate all your little friends." The Sculptor gave them a fierce, evil grin. "And now, I believe I will end this new Cloak Guard."
Travis seriously hoped the others got his message in time. He struggled against the ground holding his feet in place, trying to shake it off, but it was like he had sunk into solid rock.
"What about Lord Kane?"
Travis whipped his head to look at Madison as she talked, her head held up high and her voice firm without a trace of fear in it.
"Isn't he like the big boss around here. I think he would have a problem with you messing up the world that he lives on."
The Sculptor tilted his head as he looked at her. "Lord Kane? Yes, he would be a problem. But I can deal with it, when he arrives. It will be a hindrance to my work as the devastation of our battle will be quite…extensive. But, I will make do. I've learned from last time and won't make the same mistakes. Now, I will be far more powerful than before."
"And how will you accomplish that?"
"Oh it's quite simple really. If you die, your power will leave you to seek out a new host. But, at the moment of your death, I can grab your power, reshape it to my desire and bond with it, and then…" he held out his hands with a smile, "I've won."
It was at that moment that Travis knew their time was up. He reentered speed mode, needing as much extra time as he could get, before focusing on his lightning. Last night, just from absorbing all the microbots' power, he had become nigh unstoppable. Well, he didn't have an army of microbots here but there were still plenty of electronics. He just needed to get to them. Which meant, he needed to break free of this stupid rock.
He'd seen Gabriela do it with her power, but hadn't really thought about doing it with his. Still, first time for everything. Like lightning lasers except more indirect and explosive.
"Lightning bombs," he muttered, sending out as much electrical power into his feet as he could. He felt them light up and saw the rocks glow brightly right before they blew up, shrapnel flying around. "Cool. Didn't know if that would work or not."
He took a step and nearly fell to his knees, a wave of fatigue hitting him. Unleashing so much electricity at once had drained him worse than he thought. He was still in speed mode, so he wasn't at the Sculptor's mercy just yet. He was tempted to rush over and punch the guy in the face, but he couldn't because that was still Eustace's face and also he still didn't fully understand the guy's power, so he didn't want to get close until he did.
Instead, he rushed around the room to all the electronic devices he could, touching each one and draining them of as much power as he could. The TV, the microwave, the fridge, the toaster, every lightbulb he could find. The strange thing was that there always seemed to be more electricity, like they were connected to…
"Oh," he said while touching another lamp, looking at the cord stretching to a wall socket. "Yeah, that makes sense."
He ran into the kitchen and pulled out a fork, finding an open wall socket. "Safety warnings, prepare to be ignored agai-AH!" he cried out as he stuck the fork inside, feeling a massive jolt of electricity rush through him. He remembered as a kid, he'd one time accidentally touched a socket like that and gotten a nasty shock that had made him feel both numbed and in pain at the same time.
This time, it was like a hundred times more powerful. And it felt amazing.
It was like he was connected to every electronic appliance in the house and even beyond that. He latched onto them, drawing on their power. Electricity ran through him quickly, filling him up so fast that he soon had bolts shooting out of him randomly.
"Alright, that should be enough," he said, dropping the fork. "Now…let's get to work."
First thing he had to do was free Madison. But as soon as he went to do that, he saw the rocks holding her feet were already coming off. It was in slow motion, but he could just make out a shimmering blue shell beneath pushing the rocks off. "Nice force field," he grinned. "Alright, then we move on to step two."
"And what would that be?"
Travis froze again. That couldn't be possible. No one else could enter speed mode. But when he turned around, he saw the Sculptor looking down on him, a smirk on his face. "What?" he asked. "I told you, I reshape reality. And I connected with your power, so while you use it, I can use my power the same way. Shame my body isn't the same," he started waving his hand very slowly for emphasis, "but no matter. If you think you have the advantage, well…I don't really think I need to spell it out, do I?"
The ground suddenly erupted beneath Travis's feet, a dozen tendrils of rock shooting up for him. He managed to dodge past them all but then felt himself slowing down. He looked down and saw the floor had turned soft, melting away.
"I always hated 'the floor is lava' as a kid," he muttered. A look back saw that Madison was sinking too. "Just great."
"Really?" the Sculptor commented. "I don't think it is for you."
"I was being sarcastic!"
"Oh. Ok."
Travis exited speed mode. The Sculptor had told him that as long as Travis used it, he could tap into it as well. So while it wouldn't make a difference to him either way, at least this way Madison had a fighting chance.
"What?" she stared down at the melting floor before gasping and trying to get away. A second later, a force field bubble appeared underneath her feet, propping her up.
"Clever," the Sculptor nodded. "It's too bad I can't reshape those things. But I'll get it after you're dead. Should be fun. I can already think of how I'll remake a country with them. I could twist the entirety of England into one of those bubbles."
Travis did think that would make a cool picture but the reality made him feel sick. They needed to stop this guy, fast. He managed to reach the kitchen island, clambering onto it to escape the sinking floor. But as soon as he did, the marble surface wrapped around him, holding him tight.
"Don't you get it?" the Sculptor asked him. "Everything here is under my command. There is nowhere for you to go where I can't reach. And that's only the start. Here, I believe you're already familiar with my early creations."
With a snap of a finger, over a dozen areas on the floor and wall cracked apart, monstrous beings like before forming from them, each one different from the others in some ways. One looked like it was entirely made of tentacles while one was a giant with massive wings. A third had spikes all over its body and another had elongated limbs with sharp points.
"Simplistic, I know," the Sculptor sighed. "Still, they were good practice for honing my craft again through this body. But now, here's something a little new."
With a wave of his hand, the entire kitchen disassembled. To Travis, it looked like something out of Transformers, except way smoother. It was like everything in there was being moved around, the fridge being separated into dozens of pieces while all the cabinets shifted like a Rubik's cube. Soon, a humanoid shape emerged from it, towering over them all. Its entire body was a jumbled mess and yet it was smooth, as if you could run your hand down it and not find any gaps between, all the different materials fitting together seamlessly. Its head seemed to be the top part of the fridge with the bottom part of the oven and several cabinets in between.
"Ah. A little rudimentary but at least it worked," the Sculptor said.
The giant opened its oven door, which was apparently serving at its mouth, and let out a loud roar that had Travis clapping his hands over his ears.
"Oh good, its vocal cords work as well. Now, let's get on to the main show."
The Sculptor reached down and touched the ground. Almost instantly, it began to shake and then they were shooting up, the ground erupting like a volcano. Travis watched as the entire house crumbled away, becoming part of the ground and forming something new. He felt his stomach flop around as they kept going up until they came to an abrupt stop.
He pushed against the marble cocoon he was wrapped in but his powers didn't work so well. He was just about to try his electricity when a blue shield formed around him and expanded, pushing the cocoon aside and letting him escape.
"Travis, here!" He turned and saw another force field appear as a stepping stone towards where Madison was. He quickly hopped onto it and then next to Madison.
"Thanks," he told her.
"No problem. Now please tell me you have a plan."
"Uh…" He looked around and any plans he might have had vanished at the sight. They were towering above the city now on a spire of earth. Except it wasn't really a spire. He looked over the side and giant spikes and tendrils growing from the side, all formed of some earthen material and growing bigger with each passing second. One particularly giant one suddenly split in two at the end, the points growing out of it.
There was another rumbling and he looked back, watching as all around the edges of the spire to, more tendrils suddenly sprouted, small at first but rapidly growing upwards. That was when he realized they weren't tendrils or spikes. And this wasn't a spire.
"It's a tree," he breathed.
"Correct," the Sculptor said, still kneeling down. "I've always loved trees. They are the oldest living organisms on any world and can both grow to reach the heavens or hell itself."
Travis's eyes widened and he rushed to the edge, looking down at the ground far below. It took a few seconds but he finally spotted one, a large outcropping next to the earthen trunk that seemed to lead down. "There are roots too."
"Indeed. This is always my masterpiece. A true World Tree, one that will stretch so high it will soar past the atmosphere and so low to touch the core of the planet."
"But…that much matter…" Travis said, trying to wrap his brain around it.
"Would leave practically nothing left," the Sculptor finished. "Yes. A hollow world that self-destructs mere seconds after I complete my work. But still, it leaves a mark. And that's what matters in the end. For me anyway."
A tree like that…Travis could hardly even picture it. He looked down again and saw already that the area around the trunk were being absorbed into it, all matter becoming part of Sculptor's masterpiece. He saw people screaming and running away and felt his heart clench. He had to do something.
He turned and ran right for Sculptor at full speed. But, just like with Swarm, as soon as his fist made impact, his fist was blocked by a wall of dust. He attacked again and again but no matter what he did, he couldn't make any headway, the Sculptor remaining untouchable.
"If you're so willing to hit me, I presume that means you've given up on rescuing your friend then. A little faster than I expected."
"Nah. I just think he'd be ok if I knocked his body out," Travis replied, ready to try again. But before he could, a shimmering blue dome surrounded the Sculptor. Madison stepped up, hands raised as the dome suddenly contracted, squeezing Sculptor down.
"This is your big plan?" he asked, watching unconcernedly as the dome grew smaller around him. "Well at least it's a little different. But…" He raised his own hands and the ground below him shot up, striking the dome all over at full impact. Madison grunted and stumbled but made the dome even smaller, trying to hold on.
Travis grimaced, wishing he could help in some way. There was a flash of movement in the corner of his eye and he turned just to see the ground behind Madison forming into some giant blade.
"Look out!" he cried just as the blade came down, running forward and dragging her to the side before she could get chopped in half. Unfortunately, as soon as he did, her field dropped and the Sculptor was free again.
"Well, this has been somewhat entertaining, but I've got a tree to grow, so let's get on with the killing you bit," he said. The ground suddenly became soft and before Travis could react, he had sunk up to his knees in the stuff. He tried to get out but this stuff held on tight, stopping him from going up. He could only slow his descent a little. He looked over at Madison to see her in the exact same situation, a terrified look on her face. He wished he hadn't gone to her. It should just be him in this quicksand-like trap. She would be safe and sound while he…well, actually she had been the one to tell him about Eustace so he would never have thought to come here. Still, he wished he had…
Stop regretting the past, he chided himself. Focus on the present. They had to find a way out of this. But how…
The ground was suddenly shoved apart as a massive force field appeared around Madison. Travis cried out as it came right for him but instead of hitting and pushing him away too, he was absorbed into it, the field passing right over him and still pushing all the earth away until he was next to Madison in a very large shimmering ball.
"Ho-how'd you do that?" he asked. "How'd you bring me in here?"
"I don't know," she replied. "I just…I just thought of it and then you were."
"So cool," he mumbled.
"Well, it seems we'll have a bit of a delay," the Sculptor said, walking over to them. "But don't worry, this will only take a second."
The earth rose above him into giant blocks ready to hammer down on Madison's force field. Travis glanced at his friend and saw how pale she was. There was no way she could hold out against that onslaught.
The Sculptor suddenly winced and Travis blinked in surprised. That was the first sign of pain or discomfort he'd really shown.
"Well, it seems that your friends are a bit more troublesome than I had hoped. I'll have to go deal with them now. I'll come back to you later. Here." The ground rose up, completely swallowing them until the only light was the small amount from Madison's force field. Travis didn't really have claustrophobia but he figure this would be the start, his throat already closing up. "Let's see how you long you can last," the Sculptor told them. After that, there was silence so Travis assumed he'd left.
Madison grunted and Travis saw the force field glitch a little.
"Travis?" she mumbled quietly. "What do we do?"
Travis wished he had an answer for her.
"That damn tree," Darian muttered, looking at it. The Sculptor had officially begun his plan, it seemed. He remembered that tree from before. This one was smaller but he knew it would grow. It had taken over almost an entire country before they'd stopped it. How far would it go this time?
"Sir." He looked over and saw Stormcloud walk up to him. "The evacuations are proceeding smoothly. Dreamwalker and Ringer report that they're 50% there."
"Tell them to do better," Darian replied, eyes never leaving the tree.
"Sir, are you sure we shouldn't-"
"Unfortunately, yes," Darian said. "Our hope rests in a bunch of rookies. Just get the warhead ready and prepare for the worst."
As she left, he felt his insides flop as he thought about what was to come.