Genesis *UHF* Chapter 6
By Mufasa
Gomurr spread his arms wide. A flash of red light and his skin turned dark. The mark of the Crmison Dawn flashed across his eye. He pulled his hands back and thrust them toward the dimensional tear. A dark red sphere surrounded the tear, containing the light. As Gomurr expected, they were clashing and badly. Unless something was done soon, he wouldn’t be able to hold it for long.
That was Grover’s cue. He concentrated on his telekinetic field to alter its properties so that rather than screen out the photons as he had done before, he would be converting whatever photons struck his field into raw electricity. Once he allowed the change to settle in, he extended his field around Hotwire and flew the two of them up to Khalid in the center of the dimensional tear. As he figured, Khalid was in agony. He nodded to Hotwire to start absorbing the electricity and then phased his hand through Khalid’s head to disrupt his nervous system and to short-circuit his protection spell. Khalid lashed back by grabbing Grover around the throat. Although it hurt, neither of them yielded. His grip slackened once Hotwire grabbed him by the sides of the head and started electrically reassembling his mind.
Daemon drew Anubis. A slight stimulation on his apart and he could feel the hum of the dimensional vibrations through the hilt. He barely pushed it into the dimensional tear. At first, he was afraid it was going to burst like a bubble, but then he saw that it was deflating. As the rate of deflation increased, Daemon would get away with using more of the sword, but he would have to take his time.
They’re wasting their time. It is only a matter of time before Khalid attunes to Grover’s energy field and lashes back. Then, the dominos start falling.
“Shut up, Shaman,” Gene said to the glass ball in his hand. “You were the one who set it all in motion. As far as I’m concerned, you’re no better than the Illuminati.”
Don’t insult me, Gene. I’m much better than the Illuminati could ever hope to be. If it were done my way…
“Shut the fuck up,” he said. “I’ve had enough of you doing things your way.”
Ahhhh… yes… I remember when I said the same thing. Gene blinked. No… Inside the glass ball, Shaman sneered. With this being a rerun, I can enjoy certain things that I never got to appreciate back when I was you.
“You aren’t me. You’ll never be me.”
I remember saying that, too. Gene’s teeth clenched. Shaman just laughed. Five… four… three… two…
From the center of the dimensional tear, Grover screamed. Gene looked up in horror to see that Khalid’s and Grover’s energy fields were scrambling. Khalid was overtaking Grover’s and Excalibur was rebelling against both of them. Grover maintained his hand inside of Khalid’s head, but the dimensional tear was destabilizing.
Damn, Shaman said. I was a second off.
“HURRY UP! I can’t hold it in much longer!” Gomurr shouted. “MICHAEL?!”
“Hotwire! Tighten it up!” Daemon said.
“His mind’s lashing out… big time. If I don’t free him from Grover, it might end up killing both of them. There is…”
“Quit talking and do it!”
“I’m not sure I can and Gabe…”
“Try…”
Wow, I can hardly wait. Shaman said. If you thought the first set of fireworks were something, you are in for a treat.
Gene took in the situation. Grover was losing. Hotwire was losing. Gomurr was losing. Daemon had to back off. Gene suddenly had an idea. He looked down at the glass ball and his hands started to glow and heat up. “You know what they say, Shaman. What goes around comes around.”
You can’t free me, Gene. Only Khalid can…
“FREE you?! Come on. You know me better than that. GOMURR!” he snapped. “Open up the sphere. Let the light go straight up.”
“What are you up to?”
“Just DO it before it goes up.”
Once Gomurr parted the sphere, Gene threw the glass ball inward. If Shaman was surprised, he didn’t let it on. All that Gene heard was a laugh. NOT a good sign. Once the orb passed through the dimensional tear, another flare of light passed upward. Daemon turned his head to shield his eyes. Shortly afterward, Grover hit the ground beside him, with Excalibur halfway dripping off of him. The tear started to collapse on its own, first slowly and then speeding up. Before it could collapse completely, Gomurr’s hands moved in a sign and a hexbolt knocked Hotwire and Khalid away from the center.
Then, it was dark except for the fires burning around them.
“J…?” Daemon said.
“I’m fine…” she said, her voice cracking.
“J?!”
Grover stumbled over to Khalid who lay across the ground. “K… Come on…”
“Let me…” Gene said.
“You’ve done enough!”
“I can HEAL him, damn it!” he said, shoving Grover out of his way. A flash of his eyes and Khalid’s bones shifted back into place. He screamed when they knitted back together and sat up. When he saw Gene, he leapt for him. Grover caught him from behind.
“Stop, K… He saved you.”
Khalid blinked. “K?”
“Outstanding! What did you do?” Gomurr asked.
“I altered the glass ball so that it absorbed dimensional energy. I figured that would shock Khalid enough for Hotwire to be able to finish rewiring his brain. Shaman’s not coming out of that dimension until Khalid’s good and ready for him to.”
“It worked,” Hotwire said. “Too well.”
“What do you mean?”
Grover took off his cape and handed it to Khalid. “Here, K… Wrap it…”
“K? Me?” Khalid asked.
“Khalid?!”
“Me?”
Grover stumbled back. “Fuck…”
“I was able to rebuild the neural pathways once I got him to collapse the tear and release the spirits. While the pathways are fine, I couldn’t do anything about the memory.”
“But he can talk… he can stand…”
“Yes. That is fine, kind of… but any memory of what Khalid – or this ‘Mufasa’ – was and what he could do. It’s gone. Forever. Shaman destroyed it.”
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Two Days Later; Aboard the Oasis
“The only reason I’m even considering this, Daemon, is because Gomurr seems to have faith in your word,” Grover said, staring out into the observation deck. “I’d rather take care of him myself, but I can’t. It would be nearly impossible to keep him away from Hellfire life.”
“Agreed. I know about your Hellfire Club and the people in it,” Daemon said. “And I know about your agenda and that you have the resources to achieve it.”
“Khalid has an adult mind and an adult body right now, but not the adult memories or experience to make decisions. Phantom said he’s a clean slate. His mind is clear. No natural barrier. No resistance. He’s… impressionable.”
“Maybe so, but he’s sharp. Very sharp. In two days, he’s relearned enough English to be able to function. He can ask where the bathroom is and how to get there. He’s beginning to understand concepts like languages and why you shouldn’t mix them. He can learn a lot of things quickly.”
“It takes experience to understand wrong from right, life from death, or even emotions. It won’t matter how much he learns, he can’t regain an understanding of twenty-five years of life.”
“No, he can’t. None of us can undo what’s been done. Hotwire doesn’t even think its possible. For the meantime, all we can do is get him started again and keep him away from anyone who would use…” Daemon stopped. The lights flickered.
“What’s going on?” Grover asked.
“We have company.” The door to the observation deck slid open, revealing a man who was the spitting image of Daemon. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before he stepped through. “Hashad… Ra.”
“Your brother?”
“And more,” Daemon said. “Meet the Lord Protector of Pharaoh.”
Out in training room, Daemon could hear Khalid telling the instructor how hot it was and asking if she heard something between her ears. She looked up at Daemon, but he seemed to be distracted.
“Nice to meet you,” Grover said. He offered his hand and Hashad-Ra shook it, much to his surprise. With the way the man acted, Grover wasn’t sure if he knew manners or not.
“Daemon, Mufasa needs to come with me.”
“His name is Khalid,” Grover said. “And he’s not going anywhere.”
“If you have any hope of keeping him alive long enough to recover his identity, you will help him over to the Horus right now.”
“Hashad, we need more of an explanation than this,” Daemon said. “And how did you know about Khalid anyway?”
“Because two days ago, when the explosion happened, YOU told me rather painfully and I recognized the dimensional energy.”
“What?!” Grover snapped.
“When Khalid fucked with my energy field. How did you recognize the dimensional energy?”
“Five thousands years ago, Kailon-Ra ripped Mufasa away from the then-King of Kemet. He raised the child. That’s how I would know. I’m taking him home. Between myself, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandpa Tekon, we’ll straighten him out.”
“Forget it,” Grover said. “He stays here. Where I can keep an eye on him.”
“I’m not giving you a choice and I’m not arguing with you.”
Excalibur started to form on Grover’s wrists. Daemon stepped in between them and pushed Grover back. “You aren’t coming on my ship and ordering me around, Hashad.”
“Intelligence from Scythra says the Majestrix has found out about him. She wants him dead. What Sekhset has in mind is much, much worse.”
“He’s on his way?”
“He’ll back off when he sees I have him. He’ll face me here, but not on Pharaoh.”
“Grover, let him go.”
“What?!”
“He’s right.”
“That’s my cousin! I am NOT…”
“If you want your cousin – and your world – to survive, you will let him go.”
“Why should I?”
“Remember what Khalid did to Westchester in two seconds?” Daemon asked. “My brother could do that to all of New York state. So could Sekhset. Imagine both of them going at each other full blast on Earth.”
“Shit…”
“Sekhset plays much dirtier. He’s not afraid to use pawns.”
Grover closed his eyes and thought about everything he was hearing. Constantly in his life, he had found himself making sacrifices to keep order. He gave his life to save a woman he cared for. He came back from death to save the child he didn’t know he had. Khalid was the little brother he never had who chose to do things his own way rather than seek help. He was the one family member who could at least give him a decent fistfight. Now, he was faced with choosing what was best not only for him, but for the rest of the world.
He phased through the window of the observation deck and floated down to where Khalid was solving puzzles. Each time the instructor laid a maze in front of him, Khalid just passively glanced at it and traced the solution in virtually no time. It almost reminded Grover of working with an autistic child, except that this was his cousin. A cousin who until two days ago, was a grown man. “Khalid?”
Khalid blinked and then nodded. “Me.”
“Yes, you. I…”
“Come. Say good-bye?”
“How did you know?”
“I hear. Through the… um… the…” he pointed toward the window to the observation deck. “I hear.”
“You heard that?”
Khalid nodded and solved yet another maze. It was the last one in the stack. He looked up at Grover. “Yes. You mad?”
“Not at you. At the situation.”
“Sit… chu…”
“Mad at things. You’re getting better, you know.”
Khalid nodded. “I go long?”
“Yes.”
“I come back?”
“Yes. I hope. Christian’s going to miss you.”
“Chr… is…”
“Be good, K.” Grover walked away toward the door where Daemon and Hashad-Ra were standing.
“Bye, Michael…” Khalid said. Once he saw Hashad-Ra, he started drawing on the table. “R…” A moment later, a complete replica of the Ra symbol was done. Khalid pointed to the loop. “Eye…” he pushed his hand over his eye. “Face.”
“I didn’t know how bad it was.” Hashad-Ra said.
“You never do until you live it,” Grover said. “My family may never forgive me for this one.”
“They will,” Daemon said. “If they are worth anything, they will. I just hope my family knows what they are getting themselves into.”
“Hello, Khalid.”
“Hello.”
“Nice symbol you’ve drawn there.”
“Sym…bol…?”
Daemon and Grover stepped out of the training room and watched the door shut behind them. “It’s not easy. I know.”
“If anything happens to him…”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
The End
Mufasa
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