Excelsior (13 page)

Several feet away, a helmet with two long points on the side lay out of reach. The helmet had several cracks in it, with only part of the visor still attached. The rest of the visor lay beside it in pieces. Matthew looked at his arms and saw he wore a durable but thin silver and gold suit of armor that allowed him to move freely without restriction. The traces of it that he could see looked very similar to the armor that he had Excelsior wearing when he drew him.

As Matthew struggled to get to his feet, he looked over his shoulder and saw a trace of the larger figure in the room standing over him triumphantly. He couldn’t properly identify the figure that wore a long black cloak, a hood covering its face. Its eyes narrowed and glowed, crackling with fierce energy.

As this menacing figure spoke, his deep voice filled the cold and dark room.
“So... this is the best they could do! The best possible choice to hold the sword of their fallen hero!”

Matthew felt a chill go up his spine as he heard this monster of a man continue to taunt him.
“We really must have sucked this planet dry of anyone who had a chance to stop us!”

He had never heard this voice before, but just by looking at him and feeling his dominant presence, Matthew reached the only possible conclusion. When he spoke, he let out a voice he didn't recognize as his own.

“Nocterar!”

The leader of the Krunation Empire reached down and grabbed Matthew, pulling him up to his feet.
“Come on, Excelsior! Where is that power you flaunted in front of our master for all those eons?! Where is the protective spirit that had sworn to watch over the people of this planet?!”
As Nocterar pulled him closer, his eyes burned with hatred.
“You're nothing! You're not a god! You're not even a man!”

Matthew reached out at Nocterar and grabbed him by the throat. Adrenaline flowed through his body and his strength slowly returned to him. When he spoke to his tormentor, he spoke with confidence.

“I! Am! Excelsior!”

Excelsior pulled back his arm and threw a punch that connected hard with Nocterar's jaw, causing him to lose his grip on the Denab IV savior. He quickly followed with another punch, and another, forcing Nocterar to take a step back.

Nocterar wiped a trace of his own blood from his mouth and, with the cloak still covering his face and body, punched Excelsior in his stomach, dropping him to one knee. “Excelsior has been dead for over a generation!” he yelled. “Whoever you are, prepare to join him!”

Before Excelsior could defend himself, he felt a large scaly fist connecting with the side of his head and knocking him to the floor. He pushed himself to his knees, but Nocterar delivered a hard kick to his gut, making him double over in pain. As he rolled on the ground writhing, he asked himself, what’s happening? Why can’t I fight back? This was nothing like what he was used to drawing about in his online comic.

Nocterar shoved Excelsior over so his back was on the ground and stood over him, ready to deliver the killer blow. The savior of Denab IV tried to reach for his sword, but Nocterar kicked it away toward the cracked helmet. “You have been a danger to the Krunation Empire for too long already. It is time for the great legend to be nothing more than a memory.”

Nocterar moved his right hand toward his chest and both his hand and his chest began to glow. Excelsior started breathing heavier. He could barely decipher the outlines of a device implanted in Nocterar’s chest that transferred energy to his hand. The longer he held his hand close to it, the brighter the energy surrounding his hand became. Nocterar smiled with anticipation. His moment had arrived.

As Excelsior tried to sit up, Nocterar dropped to one knee and grabbed him by the front of his armor. “Farewell, Excelsior,” he hissed as he pulled his arm back.

With all of his might, Excelsior lunged and grabbed Nocterar by his right arm, forcing it up as he brought it forward. The energy blast fired from his hand, but instead of striking Excelsior, it fired directly above the two of them. It struck the ceiling and large pieces of rock came tumbling down. Excelsior rolled out of the way and Nocterar held up his hands in a feeble attempt to shield himself.

The rocks slammed into Nocterar’s body one by one, breaking bones and smashing into his skull. He felt his lungs crush as his ribs caved in and the Krunation Emperor tried desperately to breathe. He opened his mouth and it filled with dust.

Finally, as the stone fragments buried him, Nocterar's body went limp. Excelsior coughed up dust as he struggled to get to his feet. He bent down to pick up his sword, and slowly made his way around the pile that now made the final resting place for his enemy. He could see one lifeless scaled hand pinned between the rocks.

Excelsior turned from the pile covering his vanquished enemy and began walking down a long stone corridor. A sharp pain forced him to walk with a limp. He looked down at his hands and saw his torn black gloves. He felt so disoriented from the fight he had with Nocterar and he kept asking himself, why was this so difficult? Shouldn’t I have been able to withstand his punishment and then just level him without a second thought? What’s wrong with me?

The closer he got to the end of the corridor, the louder he could hear the murmuring of concerned voices. As he reached the doorway, he saw a mob of men and women standing there. Every single one of them erupted into a cry of unbridled joy as they saw Excelsior. He started to smile as they held up their fists, ecstatic over seeing him alive.

One of the men, Radifen, ran up to him, and he could see Grannik among the crowd. Both men had wide eyes and wider smiles. Radifen put his hand on Excelsior's shoulder. “You made it. What happened to Nocterar?”

“He’s buried in there. The ceiling came down on him. He’s dead.”

Radifen started to laugh and quickly wrapped his arms around Excelsior in a warm embrace. “You did it! And now the rest of the planet can be told this news by Excelsior himself.” He then pointed to the mountain top that was beside the tip of Nocterar’s castle. “You know what to do.”

Excelsior smiled as he held up the sword and felt a bright wave of energy cascade through his body, and then he started to levitate. The freed men and women cheered as Excelsior floated higher and higher, reaching the very tip of the mountaintop.

Denab IV’s savior looked down at his people standing so far away from him; then he looked up at the sky and saw clouds forming over him. More clouds quickly combined to form one larger one. Excelsior held up his sword, and as he did, he heard a voice whisper in his ear.
“Matthew… Matthew…”

He lowered his sword in confusion as the cheering subsided and the clouds began to dissipate. Where could that voice be coming from? He tried raising the sword again, and now the voice grew louder.
“Matthew… Matthew, wake up…”

*   *   *

Matthew’s body still felt like lead as he struggled to open his eyes. The memories of what he had just dreamt stayed vivid in his mind, and he felt a tinge of disappointment when he had looked around his room and realized that he had dreamt everything.

He flexed his fingers to relieve himself of their numbness, then ran his fingers through his hair as he sat up in bed.

Klierra stood beside the bed, a hot cup of coffee in hand. She wore the same outfit as yesterday, her hair slightly disheveled. “Good morning,” she said. “Welcome back.” She handed Matthew the cup of coffee, who took it and inhaled. His mouth watered as he took a healthy sip.

“Ahhh, thanks,” he said. “You stayed here last night?"

"I slept on one of the chairs downstairs. It was very comfortable."

"What time is it?”

Klierra checked her watch. “
9:00am.
Did you sleep well?”

Matthew nodded, and suddenly his eyes widened. "
9:00
? I'm late for school!"

He pushed himself up, but Klierra placed a warm hand on his chest. "Don't worry about school. Your uncle is taking care of that. Just drink your coffee." Matthew nodded and took another sip. “You dreamt of him, didn’t you?”

Matthew swallowed and then asked, “How do you know?”

“Watching you get so exhausted so quickly, it reminded me of when Excelsior’s lifeforce went through Semminex’s body. He's moving through your subconscious, but in order for him to move and grow in strength, you have to be asleep.”

“So he puts me right out, no matter where I am?”

“He’s still inside you, so if something happens to you, it would happen to him as well. He wouldn’t do anything to endanger you.”

Matthew took another sip and told her, “I've dreamt of some moments before, whenever I've finished a comic, but I don’t think I’ve had as vivid a dream as that. I was... fighting Nocterar.”

“You were fighting him as yourself or as Excelsior?”

“As Excelsior. I saw the fight through his eyes, and at the last moment, I blocked an energy blast that brought down the ceiling of his throne room…”

“And the rocks buried him alive,” Klierra finished. “That was a great day in Denab IV’s history. Grannik and Radifen couldn’t stop talking about what you did after you emerged from the castle.”

“I flew to the mountaintop beside Nocterar’s castle, right?”

“Well, not YOU, but Excelsior. This was obviously well before you were given the gift.”

“I’m aware of the technicalities,” Matthew responded.

“When Excelsior reached the top of the mountain, it became known as
Semminex
Peak
, named after the host of his lifeforce,” Klierra said. “When you return to Denab IV, the name will be changed to
Matthew
Peak
.”

Matthew cringed when he heard that. “Sounds a little weak. But since I have his memories, it’s as if I was there on
Semminex
Peak
holding my sword up to catch the lightning. But just before I could see what happened, you woke me up.”

“Sorry about that. But just keep in mind that when we accomplish our mission, the man you can be will be fully realized, then…” She stopped herself and then smiled at Matthew. “…you’ll just have to see it for yourself.”

“Well, I can't wait to see it happen, whatever it is.”

“You will see it. And you won't have to borrow someone else's memories. How do you feel this morning? Any different?”

Matthew turned red and pulled the covers higher. “What do you mean?”

“Look at your arms.” Matthew looked down and immediately noticed that his shirt was now much tighter than it was the night before. His arms were much larger as well, much more muscular. The young man spent a moment flexing his arms in disbelief. “What the hell?” he asked. “Who am I? Peter Parker?”

“No, you’re Matthew Peters,” Klierra answered. “And you’re also the next heir to the life force of Excelsior. Your body is simply preparing itself. Now you should get downstairs and have some breakfast. You and Jason have a busy day.” She walked to the bedroom door and pointed at his computer monitor as she passed it. "It looks like someone is trying to contact you."

Matthew got out of bed, stretched, and walked over to his computer. He saw a notification pop-up on the screen. and clicked the box with his mouse. A larger pop-up opened, filling the screen with an e-mail message:

From: Thomas ([email protected])

To: Matthew

Subject: Where are you?

Dude, where are you? Word's already gotten around about yesterday and everyone's asking about you. Rachel wants me to give you her number! If you're still sleeping, you better wake up and get your ass over here.

Matthew smiled and put on his sneakers, the image of Rachel's beautiful face filling his head. With her tan skin, her short black hair and slim figure, Matthew always assumed that she spent her days at school looking right through him and not paying him a second thought. Only now, because of the very thing he believed made him an outcast to the rest of the school, he became someone worth noticing and, of course, he could not take advantage of this situation. He had to be elsewhere. He shook his head and reveled in the irony.

As he walked down the stairs and into the living room, he almost tripped over the blankets and pillows sprawled on the floor, each blanket covering one of the four male Denarian guests. He continued walking into the kitchen, where he could hear Jason talking on the telephone.

“Yes, he has an appointment with the doctor later today, and if it's anything like what I had when I was his age, he's going to be out for at least several days.” Matthew walked up to the kitchen and caught Jason's eye. His uncle nodded at him, then finished his conversation. “Yes, I'll make sure he'll bring in a doctor's note when he comes back. And I'll pass on your sentiments. Yes, thank you.”

Jason hung up the phone and pointed at Matthew. “Dr…” He stopped. “Did you just get taller?”

Matthew looked at the floor, and then back up at Jason. He gave his shoulders a slight shrug. Jason finished his initial thought. “Dr. Sierra says you have bronchitis. You'll be out of school for a few days.”

“I do?”