Excelsior (18 page)

A moment later, Theodore walked past the door and suddenly stopped short as the burnt stench hit his nostrils. “You guys, I'm going to tell Dr. Ritgen that you were smoking in the lab again!”

CHAPTER 9

“Why did we have to park so far away from the museum?” Zorribis asked as he, Grannik and Jason stepped out of the sky blue 2010 Ford Focus. Grannik could swear he saw a beam of sunlight shining down on the Metropolitan Museum of Art fifteen city blocks away.

“Because there's no parking space close to the museum,” Jason answered. “And we're not going to steal a priceless artifact and then run down to
Lexington Avenue
to get on the 4 train.”

“The what?” Grannik asked.

“Never mind. So tell me the plan again?” As Jason asked, he kept looking back at his arms – now much more muscular than they were a mere 24 hours ago – and smiling. He moved his hands over to his chest and relished that a wall of pectoral muscle replaced his formerly sunken chest.

Zorribis pulled a small flat silver square out of his pocket and held it up. Jason remained so occupied with himself that he barely gave the Denarian any notice. “This gets attached to the sword. Matthew made some modifications to it so I don't have to use my gun to fire it.”

Jason kept his head down, looking at his chest and moving his hands down to his brand new six-pack abs. “Good, because security guards don't like to see guns in...”

“I know. Matthew told me,” Zorribis responded impatiently. “So when we get inside, I'm going to need you to distract the guards while I get myself in a position to throw the transporting device onto the sword. Once it's on there, I'll give the signal to Grannik and he'll...”

Jason's head cocked toward a lovely young blonde woman wearing shorts and a sports bra jogging past him. She let in a breath of air and then suddenly looked at him. The girl flashed a flirtatious smile at him.

Jason gave the girl a light wave, then felt a punch on his shoulder. He snapped to attention. Zorribis glared at him.

“OW! What was that?”

“Did you listen to a single word I was saying? Or were you too busy trying to establish potential copulation with a complete stranger?!”

Grannik's large hand quickly set itself on his Denarian comrade's shoulder. “Be. Calm.”

Zorribis quickly turned back toward Grannik and his voice went up several levels. “Be calm? How can I be calm? You realize how close we are to bringing Excelsior back to Denab IV and finally stopping Nocterar and Hodera and...”

“I do, and soon everyone around us will realize it too if you don't keep quiet.”

Zorribis took a deep breath then nodded. “Fine.” He turned back toward Jason. “You've been to this place we're going, yes?”

Jason shook his head. “Well, no.”

Zorribis felt his Denarian blood boil with impatience. “NO?! WHAT DO...” Grannik squeezed Zorribis' shoulder again. The young Denarian turned down his volume. “What do you mean, no?”

Jason shifted uncomfortably. “I've never been a big fan of museums. I mean, I was there for a field trip in grade school, but that was so long ago. I was supposed to be there for the sword presentation to the media, but I overslept...” His words started to trail off as he rubbed his brand new abs. “I had a habit of oversleeping and doing other things that weren’t so good for me.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I guess I was just...” Jason shook his head. His face held a faraway look. “When you upgrade a guy you don’t stop with the biceps, do you?”

Zorribis stepped forward and looked into Jason's eyes. “You know what we're going to have to do today, right?”

Jason nodded.

“If anything goes wrong with this...” there was something like a growl in Zorribis’ voice.

“Relax,” Jason spoke back softly. “I know what I'm doing and the guards won't be a problem.” He flexed his brand new arms in front of the Denarians and smiled confidently. “I'll give them two tickets to 'The Gun Show.'”

Grannik cocked his head in bewilderment. “I thought guns weren't allowed...”

“Never mind,” Jason responded. “Let's just start walking. Grannik, you wait here with the car and be ready when Zorribis gives you the signal.”

Jason began walking toward the museum. Grannik reached back inside the car and pulled out a black drawstring pouch. He emptied the contents into his hand, two transmitters the size of raisins. One fit perfectly into Zorribis' ear, the other fit in Grannik's. Once they were properly installed, Zorribis nodded to his partner and walked after Jason.

“Can you hear me?” Grannik asked quietly as he watched Zorribis walking away. He could hear the younger Denarian reply, “Perfectly clear” as if Zorribis was still standing next to him.

Grannik sat back in the car and opened up a larger black bag that was beside him in the back seat. He removed a pair of thin cloth gloves and put them on, then slowly pulled out a sword worthy of Excalibur that gleamed in the sunlight. Grannik smiled, impressed by the detail put into every millimeter of the blade, the gold handle and the jewel in the middle of the crossguard. He looked closely at the cerulean flame that glittered in the gem’s crystal blue depths. Not a single fingerprint could be seen on the blade, and Grannik ran his gloved fingers up and down it, admiring the Denarian handiwork. “Looks just like it,” he said to himself.

Suddenly, he heard Zorribis' voice in his ear. “Talking to yourself?”

“Just admiring the sword. You have not lost your skill. You are already a master artisan.”

“Thanks. Have you noticed the buildings around here?”

Grannik looked out his window and glanced at the tall apartment buildings along
Fifth Avenue
and the soaring office buildings in the distance reaching to choke out the sky. “Yes. It reminds me of back home.”

“Exactly,” Zorribis answered. “And not in a good way.”

*   *   *

Matthew sat quietly on the toilet. His ripped pajama pants lay on the ground, ready to take their farewell tour into the closest garbage can. Beside the pants, a large jeweled box sat wide open.

He held in his hands a metallic fabric that felt as durable as titanium, yet as soft as a cotton T-shirt. He slowly put on the long-sleeved pull-over shirt and once he had it on all the way, the fabric immediately sealed against him, binding the material to his chest and arms. Once it secured itself to his body, Matthew looked down at his left-hand side near his rib cage, feeling a hole in the fabric.

His mind drifted back to yesterday's race with Jason, when he experienced an unexpected flashback to when Semminex was stabbed. Something had to be strong enough to penetrate this fabric, he just knew it. But what could be that strong? And how was it made?

Matthew reached back into the box and pulled out the rest of Excelsior's armor. The smaller pieces consisted of harder material – it felt like plastic, but he knew it wasn't – that felt so lightweight that he might as well have been holding pieces of paper. Despite this being his first time seeing the armor, Matthew knew exactly where every piece went and attached them to his shirt like a life-size jigsaw puzzle.

The metallic-colored pants were just as easy to put on as the shirt, with identical material that attached itself to Matthew's legs. The black boots fit very comfortably as well, and the matching gloves didn't impede his grip. Once he was fully dressed and the smaller pieces of armor were attached, Matthew bent down and picked up the centerpiece, the breastplate that easily snapped onto his shoulders.

Matthew stood up straight in the middle of the bathroom and moved his arms around to test the armor. Nothing felt restrained; his arms and legs moved as fluidly as if he weren't wearing anything. “Wow,” he said quietly. He turned toward the bathroom mirror above the sink and leaned closely, absorbing how he looked and searching for a trace of the out-of-shape teenage loner he saw in the mirror only two days ago. He couldn't find him.

Taking a step back from the mirror, Matthew looked at the helmet sitting on the sink, staring back at him. He still couldn’t believe his eyes after all these years of designing and redesigning this helmet. He held it in his hands, studying it. The triangular eyeholes were just as he drew them seven years ago, but instead of the simple hexagon-like shape that made up the original design, the real thing was a round helmet that he felt echoed the style of a gladiator from Ancient Rome.

Two curved prongs protruded from the side of the helmet that pointed up, with an opening at the bottom for Matthew's mouth and chin. Matthew slowly placed it on his head. Was this really the look of a hero that could stand up to the likes of Danaak and Nocterar? Or was this just the average extreme fanboy dressed to impress at last year's Comic-Con? Obviously, the new body took some getting used to. The scrawny, out of shape kid from a few days ago was long gone, at least physically.

He looked into the mirror and said out loud, “I am Excelsior!”

He kept looking at himself for a moment before removing the helmet. “I am Excelsior?”

Taking a deep breath, Matthew opened the bathroom door...

...and suddenly felt the blunt force of a laser blast almost knocking him off his feet.

Matthew stumbled back, but planted his feet before he completely lost his balance. Radifen stood in front of him, his handheld blaster smoking and a satisfied grin on his face.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Matthew demanded to know.

“Testing the armor. And it seems to be working great after all this time,” Radifen said.

Matthew looked down at his chest and saw a small mark where the laser blast was supposed to burn a hole in the armor. Only an ashy stain remained, and Matthew quickly wiped that away.

“Keep in mind that this is just one of our blasts,” Radifen reminded him. “The weapon Danaak has is a lot more powerful, but the armor should help you out while we take care of him.”

“What do you mean, 'we?'” Matthew asked. “Aren't I supposed to be able to take him out when I get the sword?”

Radifen beckoned Matthew down the stairs. As they walked, the older Denarian answered. “We're not just going to sit there and watch. We want to get involved in the fight just as much as anyone. It’s our home that Danaak and Nocterar and Hodera are destroying.”

His voice trailed off as they walked into the living room. All of the furniture was pushed aside, and the rug was rolled up. Matthew could hear the sounds of Klierra's cooking in the kitchen. It smelled like grilled chicken, a welcome relief since the young man felt burned out on pizza.

Karini stood attentively, ready to tend to Matthew's and Radifen's wounds. “Let me ask you something,” Matthew said as he handed Karini the helmet. “If this armor can take a blast like what you have, why is there a hole in the side?”

Radifen nodded knowingly. “Back when Semminex was Excelsior, he stopped a Krunation uprising led by Danaak. They started attacking Denarians and Excelsior arrived and stopped them. It was a great moment.”

Matthew continued. “When I was jogging with Jason, I had a vision that started right after that happened. I kept hearing strange voices saying not to kill him and that they need him alive.”

Klierra walked into the living room, having overheard the conversation. She wore an apron with blue lillies on it, just like the teacups. Nana always liked to coordinate her belongings. “That must have been when Excelsior was in a coma.”

“A coma?” Matthew asked.

The Denarian Elder nodded. “Danaak assumed control over the Krunations, and he realized that if he were to try to kill Excelsior, he would just kill Semminex’s body and Excelsior’s lifeforce would go back into the sword. But if he was put out of commission and not fatally wounded, then the lifeforce would be trapped in the body.”

“The plan worked perfectly,” Radifen added. “While he was in a coma, the Krunations resumed power under Danaak's rule. It was only after Excelsior was revived that he was able to lure Danaak off Denab IV.”

Matthew knew how this story ended. “And crash landed here.”

“And the rest, as it is said on every inhabited planet, is history,” Klierra said. “But don’t forget that it wasn’t only Danaak and the sword that came here. There was also the jewel.”

Radifen fell silent, and Matthew’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute, you mean the jewel that Nocterar had? The one that can turn people into ash?!” His heart started beating faster as he looked at Klierra.

“It’s here?! And you choose now to tell me about this?”

“Relax, Matthew!” Radifen said. “With Nocterar awake and Danaak reviving, you would have dealt with this jewel one way or another.”

“That’s very reassuring,” Matthew replied with a sarcastic tone.

“Just remember, it feeds on fear. If you are afraid of its power, it will use that against you and destroy you. After the training, I will help you concentrate on purging yourself of fear.”

“Speaking of the training, Radifen, you and Karini better start testing Matthew. We'll have some food ready afterwards and by the time you're finished, the other group should be back with the sword.”

Radifen turned to Matthew and crouched down into a fighting stance. “Ready to see what you got, kid?”