Universe Archives: Hero #4

  

Astral Kings #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arriving back in their time period, Dante and the others were able to make it to school on time. However, they didn’t have long before everything went south.

“Alright, students, follow me to the basement in a single file.  Try not to wonder off.” The female teacher said as she opened the door. The students got up and walked towards the front door and back doors, leaving their belongings.

“Psst, Dante, shouldn’t you be leaving now? And saving the world.” Gwen whispered to Dante, who was taking his time.

“I can be saying the same about you. Do you have a way of getting away without being noticed? Cause, I don’t. Besides, I don’t even know how to transform.” Dante whispered back as he walked towards the door.

“Right, that would be a hard thing to do. I’ll cover for you while you go and save the day.” She answered.

“Thanks. I’ll try to end this quickly,” Dante said as he snuck away and hid behind a wall. Then, he started playing with his gauntlet, trying to get it to work. After pressing random buttons for three minutes, Dante activates the gauntlet selector function. “Finally! The selector function. Let’s see one, two, three. That’s it huh. Well, let’s try this one.” Dante said as he pressed the third option. He, then, transformed into the blue alien his older counterpart transformed into. “Woah, this is so cool.” He said, admiring his transformation. “Right, I need to get out of here before anyone sees me.” He said before rushing off to the exit.

Once outside, he looked up and saw the reason for the alarm. A meteor was headed right for the planet and people were rioting in the streets.

“Okay, my debut as the first superhero of the world.” Dante said before jumping off the roof. However, he didn’t rise up into the sky. He crashed into the ground, leaving a crater. “Okay, let’s try this again.” He said. Gathering flames in his hands, Dante thrusted his hands downward, shooting flames beneath him and slowly lifting him off the ground Ike a rocket. Increasing his fire power, he launches himself into the sky towards the meteor. “Wooooohooooo!” He screams as he files further and further into the sky, not caring about who’s watching him from the ground. As he reached the lower atmosphere, Dante stopped and assessed the situation. He looked at the size of the meteor and knew he couldn’t smash it into pieces. As it draws closer, the meteor began to speed up. “Okay, I need help. Too bad I can’t call Gwen.”

“Calling Gwen,” his gauntlet said.

“What?” Dante said.

“Hello, Dante?” Gwen said.

“Woah, that’s convenient.”

“Dante?”

“Yes, Gwen, I need your help. The meteor is too big for me to smash it, and I don’t have any clue on how to use my gravity manipulation powers. I’m barely flying using my fire powers.” Dante said.

“Don’t worry, I might have an idea.  I need you to do exactly as I say.”

“Okay, I’ll follow your lead.” Dante said as he flew towards the meteor. He, then, started blasting the meteor with fire blasts, shaving piece off the meteor. Then, he pushed the meteor as hard as he could towards the nearest ocean, minimizing the  damage.

Slightly struggling, Dante managed to push the meteor to the ocean with the expense of him falling in too, unconscious.

“Dante! Dante! Answer me!” Gwen said on the phone.

“What’s wrong, Gwen?” Eric asked as he walked up and sat down beside her. “Where’s Dante?” He asked.

“Uh, he went to the bathroom before coming down here. But I’m worried. He should’ve been back by now.” Gwen answered.

“Ok, don’t worry. I’m sure Dante is probably taking his time. Why don’t we just tell the teacher?”

“No! We can’t tell them!” Gwen said excitedly.

“Why?”

“Because… because… Dante had an extreme case of diarrhea. He made me promise not to tell anyone.”

“Oh…O-kay. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. Man, I hope he’s feeling better. That’s sounds horrible. But, that makes it easier to say this. Gwen, let’s go out on a date.”

“What? A date? Why?” Gwen asked.

“Well, we have known each other since we were seven playing on the playground. And it took me all these years to realize that you’re the girl of my dreams. Everything from your long, jet black hair to your feet, I love with a passion that burns hells into nothing. So, what do you sa…

“Really, do you really think I’m going to say yes just because you say a little poetry?”

“Uh No, I expected you to say yes because I opened my heart out to you,”

Gwen sighed. “Okay, Eric. I’m going to be truthful. I don’t think you and I will be good for each other. I mean you’re a jock and I’m a person that doesn’t follow the status quo. The abnormality in a healthy body. I can either be good for you or horrible for you. And, us dating, it would be the latter. I’m sorry to break it to you.” She explained.

“Oh, are you sure you believe that? Or, are you just hoping that Dante would finally come to his senses and choose you? News flash! That’s never going to happen! So, stop playing yourself.” Eric said angrily as he got up and walked away. Meanwhile, Dante wakes up in a unfamiliar bed.

“Call Gwen,” he said as he got up quickly, and walked to the door.

“Calling Gwen,” the gauntlet said as it called Gwen. However, she didn’t answer.

“Well, that’s great… No idea where I am. And the only person who knows what I’m doing, won’t answer her phone.” The door opens revealing a group of four teenagers and one adult.

“Well, would you look at that? Mr. hero has finally wakened up.” One of the teenage boys said.

“Stop teasing him, Jacob. We all owe him our gratitude. He saved many lives today. Welcome to our headquarters.” The adult woman said as she walked closer to Dante.

“Headquarters? What’s going on here?” Dante asked?

“Calm down, I would be glad to explain.” She said as she grabbed Dante’s hand. “Millions of years ago, the dinosaurs went extinct. But, it wasn’t caused by a meteor shower like everyone believes. But, by an ancient alien race called Maiju.”

“Maiju?” Dante thought to himself.

“The Maiju we’re beings that traveled around the universe, collecting a mysterious source of life energy they called Soul essence.”

“What!” Dante shouted. Everyone looked at him, confused.

“I mean. What? Soul essence… I love that band.” Dante said, trying to play it off.

“Anyways, storing this energy source, the Maiju made sure they if anything too catastrophic happens to a planet’s inhabitants such as mass genocide, they could be restored good as new. Or least that was what supposed to be. But that’s never the case. An overlord, known throughout galaxy as Galgamatix, tried to steal the soul essences, resulting both the Maiju and his ship crash on earth, changing its composition.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the earth was infused with the Soul essence that the Maiju stored on their ship, making it one of the most flourishing planets in the universe. However, when something flourishes, there’s always a negative force to balance it out. We call this force, Nega, the incarnation of Galgamatix’s soul.”

“You still haven’t told me what you people are?” Dante said.

“We are the Guardians, the protectors of the Soul essences. And we brought you here because you have something that belongs to us.” Adam, Jacob’s stepbrother, said as he transformed into a T-Rex like alien.

“What the?” Dante yelled as he tried to escape.

One of the girls sighed. “Guessed we’re doing this.” She said before transforming into a humanoid bird alien.

“Ugh, do I have too?” The other girl said before transforming into a big-catlike creature.

“Yes, it’s our duty as Guardians.” Jacob said as he transformed into a giant snake.

Dante activated his gauntlet and randomly selected an option. This time, he transformed into Panthera and ran.

“After him!” Jacob yelled as he slithers out of the room after Dante. Following him, the others rushed out of the room.

The adult woman sighed. “I didn’t bring him here for you all to kill him.” She said as she walked out of the room.

Dante ran down the halls, looking for a way out. Unfortunately, it seems like the halls went on forever. “What kind of place is this? It’s moving with every step I take.” Dante thought to himself.

“Foolish human, you have no idea on what you’re doing. You’re not even using five percent of your speed.” A voice said inside Dante’s mind.

“Who? What?” Dante thought to himself, as he stopped.

“Don’t stop, Keep going. They’re behind you.” The voice said.

Suddenly, Jacob strikes at Dante. Luckily, Dante moved out of the way as Jacob was inches away.

“Woah, that was close.” Dante thought to himself.

“Too close for an Accerascian. You need to concentrate more on increasing your speed energy.” The voice said.

“What do you mean by that?” Dante said.

“We, Accerascians, has a connection to a special power we call Accel. We use that connection to move at speeds impossible for humans to comprehend. Hell, I don’t think we know our top speeds.”

“Huh,” Dante said as he dodged Jacob again. Then, the big cat and T-Rex attacked Dante.  While they pinned him to the ground, the bird humanoid spreads its wings and flaps them down hard, shooting arrow-like feathers at Dante.

“Enough! I did not bring him here for you to attack him. He’s here because I wanted to invite him as one of us.” The adult woman said.

“What!” The all said as they stopped and transformed back to normal.

“Yeah, I agree with them. What do you mean by that?” Dante asked.

“Exactly, as I said. I want you to join us guardians and help us keep the soul essence away from Nega and any other person who would want to misuse it.”

“I have a feeling that I can’t say no.” Dante said.

“Of course, you can say no. But, keep in mind, that you won’t be able to escape this place without our help.”

“Soul analysis complete. The user can transform into Sabretooth tigerlike Felinigan, Algrerian, Falconian, and Titanoboa.  Also, the gauntlet has fully bonded to the user’s soul and bond. Power restrictions have been lifted. Each transformation can use its ability to their full capabilities. However, the user’s stamina is connected to limiter.” The gauntlet said as it transformed into a high-tech gauntlet like his future self’s gauntlet.

“Cool, an upgrade.” Dante thought to himself.

“Dante?” The adult woman said.

“Oh sorry, I was thinking about your proposal.” He said.

“Really, what do you think? Do you accept?”

“Truthfully, it sounds like a good proposal.  But, it feels like I won’t be truly accepted into your group. Heck, the four of them already attacked me. Who knows what will happen if I join.”

“Really? Do you think we would attack one of our own?” Jacob said.

“Yeah, but do you see me as one of you. Something tells me y’all were raised in this life. While I was thrown into it.” Dante said.

“That’s not true. The only ones who grew up like this were those two. We were thrown into this just like you. And, yet we choose to fight every day.” One of the girls said.

“Daisy,” the other girl said.

“No, Ariel, he needs to hear this!  Because I know what he truly feels. He’s a coward who think of nothing other than himself.”

“Coward! You think I’m a coward. Tell me where you were when a massive meteor was falling out of the sky. Right, you were probably having a meeting here while I was up there redirecting it into the ocean. So, don’t ever call me a coward who doesn’t care about anyone. As a matter of fact, I care about everyone else so much I’m going to leave right now.” Dante said as he activates his gauntlet. Selecting Novex, Dante looks at them one last time before transforming. Gathering flames into hands, Dante swung his arms downward, launching himself upward like a rocket. Breaking through the ceiling, Dante finds himself on an air carrier. “Huh, that didn’t seem like the inside of a boat.” Dante said as he hovered over the ship before taking off towards school.

“Dante! Thank goodness I got through. Where have you been?” Gwen said, worried over the phone.

“I’ll explain everything later. What period we’re in?” Dante answered.

“Luckily, we’re still in first. They just released us from the makeshift bunkers. Hurry up and get back here. Oh and… sorry.” Gwen said as she hung up the phone.

“Sorry? Sorry for what? Gwen!” Dante shouted as he increased his fire power.

Meanwhile, back in the carrier, Daisy and the others are gathered around, being reprimanded by the woman.

“I don’t know what the hell you all was thinking but you messed up a good opportunity for us to gain a new powerful ally on our side. Do you have any idea how much this could affect things? No, of course you don’t. Cause if you did, you wouldn’t had done what you did. I mean seriously. Attacking him for no reason. Calling him a coward when he stopped that meteor. A feat that none of y’all could’ve done even if you worked together. Yet, you failed to realize that, even though he was new to this, Dante was able to fend all four of you off by himself. And, he was only running away.” She said.

“But, Mrs. A, he didn’t seem like the right fit for our group.” Ariel said.

“Yeah, there was something definitely off about his transformation. His felt real like it wasn’t made from soul essence.” Daisy said.

“Is it possible for something like that to happen? To transform without soul essence?” Adam asked.

“Only in the history of our ancestors. They bounded their own souls to the soul essence using artifacts they discovered on the ship. This allowed them to transform without wasting unnecessary time and power. Unlike us, who project the soul around our bodies.” Jacob said.

“How long did you know?” Mrs. Argon asked.

“Since I started. I have been researching about this topic all my life. So, I was bound to stumble across a big secret like this. But, I don’t understand one thing. Why don’t they do it anymore?” Adam said.

Later that day, Dante and Gwen are sitting in his room, talking about what happened.

“How could you?” Dante said.

“Hey, I said I was sorry. I panicked. And, I was under a lot of stressed after Eric asked me out.”

“What! Eric, a jock, asked you, a goth, out on a date.” Dante said with shock.

“Right… isn’t that like against high-school law or something. I mean he’s basically destroying his social credibility before he even gets to his junior year.” Gwen said before eating a chip.

“Why would that destroy his social credibility? I mean you’re easily one of the hottest girls in our class.” Dante said.

“Oh, I think someone gotten confident after seeing his future.”

“No, it’s not that made me confident. It was me changing a meteor’s trajectory to make land in the ocean is what made me confident. I mean I felt so powerful doing it. It made me believe that anything is possible.” Dante said as he looked at his gauntlet.

“Well, as long as you don’t forget who gave you the idea of changing its trajectory.”

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t forget my beautiful, goth, sorceress wife.” Dante said as he hugs Gwen.

Gwen laughs while slightly pushing him off. “That’s future wife to you. Besides, what’s gotten into you?” She asked.

“I don’t know. It’s like a big burden was lifted off my shoulders. And I feel so relaxed and confident. And…

Dante stops and looks at Gwen, who was sitting there. He, then, began to notice the smallest details about her. From how she smelled to how the sweat radiated the light off of her skin.

“Dante, are you okay?” Gwen asked as she noticed something was off.

“I don’t know. I feel hotter than normal. And, there’s a strange desire overwhelming me. I’m burning up.” Dante struggles to say while breathing hard. Gwen feels his head and notices his temperature has risen very high.

“Oh my god, Dante, you’re burning up. Let me get your mom.” Gwen said as she tries to leave the room. However, Dante grabbed her and forced her on the bed. “Dante?” She said as she looked in his eyes. Then, her body started to react like him.

“I need you,” Dante said.

“You have me.” Gwen said as she brought him in closer.

An hour and thirty minutes later, everything was back to normal except the awkward silence in the room.

“Uh, Gwen.” Dante said, nervously.

“Hm,”

“I wanted to say sorry. I didn’t know that was going to happen.” Dante said, sincerely.

“Oh, it’s fine, Dante. Neither of us knew this was going to happen. Besides, I’m just as responsible as you are. Since I was enjoying it a bit too much.” Gwen said.

They both laughed.

“Trust me you weren’t the only one. I enjoyed myself too.” Dante said as he blushed.

“Really,” Gwen said as she blushed.

“Yeah. I loved every second of it. I think it was the first time I seen the real you.”

Gwen blushed even harder. “So, does that mean? You want to start dating?” Gwen said, so nervously, she almost passed out.

“If only you’ll accept me.” Dante said, just as nervously.

They turned around and looked into each other’s eyes. Both knowing what the other wanted, they moved closer. Just as their lips were about to touch, Sarah interrupts. “Oooooh, you’re in so much trouble. I’m telling mom.” Sarah, then, runs towards the kitchen at full speed.

“Come back here you, you little brat!” Dante yells as he and Gwen chase after Sarah.

“Mom! Mom! Dante and Gwen were being nasty in his room.” Sarah yells as she runs into the living room, which was connected to the kitchen.

“No, we weren’t. She has no idea what we were doing.” Dante said as he and Gwen arrive in the living room.

“Oh, and what we’re you two doing in your room.” His mom said.

“Uh, confirming our love for each other.”

“Oh, so you finally come to your senses, Huh. Well, good for you. But, how were you exactly confirming your love for one another.”

“Uh,” Dante said, nervously while Gwen blushed beet red. “A little help,”

“Oh right. Esare nrecnoc, enorp encatpecca!” Gwen chanted. Instantly, Dante’s mother and sister had a dazed look on their faces.

“Woah, what did you do?” Dante asked.

“Oh, I just did a subjective spell on them. They should be more susceptible to suggestions now. For example, me and Dante were having sex in his room. That’s fine, right. “

“Of course, dear, as long as his father is not here, you do whatever you two would like. I don’t mind.” Dante’s mother said.

“Woah,”

“What’s wrong? You don’t like me bewitching right. I’m sorry. I’ll stop. This was a bad idea.” Gwen said as she tried to snap her fingers, but Dante stopped her. Then, he noticed tears in her eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Dante asked as he wiped the tears in her eyes.

“Nothing’s wrong,”

“Hey, you know you can tell me anything right now. There’s no need to hide anything from me.”

“Okay, remember that time when you invited me to go camping with you and your family?”

“Of course, why?”

“Well, originally, my parents were against it and forbade me from seeing you again. Upset, I cast this same spell on them. And, for a while, it worked. Until my grandfather came for a visit and revealed it to my parents. And, for a month, they punished me using psychological spells. Making me relive my worst nightmares for hours. I guess even now I still suffer from the experience.” Gwen said.

Left speechless, All Dante could do was hug Gwen as tightly as he could… to show his true support for her ordeal. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He said.

After a few minutes, Dante’s dad arrived, and everyone was sitting at the dinner table waiting for him.

“Welcome home, dear. We got some great news for you.” Dante’s mom said as she kissed him on the cheek.

“Oh, so do I. It has something to do with you Dante.” His dad said.

“Huh…really?”

Dante’s dad nods. “But, that can wait. What’s your big news?” He said.

“Well, dad, Dante and Gwen finally got together.” Sarah said.

“Woah, that’s amazing news. They finally got together. Too bad.” Dante’s dad said.

“Too bad? Dad, what do you mean?” Dante asked.

“Well, Dante, my boss called me into his office today and told me that he got you enrolled into the world’s best private school. You start the day after tomorrow.”

“And you just agreed without conversing with me. Who the hell told him he could do that in the first place?”

“Hey, I know you’re upset, but doesn’t give you an excuse to use that kind of language in my house.” Dante’s dad said.

“You don’t know anything, Dad.” Dante before storming out of the house.

“Gwen, I truly am sorry. It was just bad timing.” Dante’s dad said.

“Mr. Moore, I’m sure you didn’t mean what you did. And, I’m sure your boss’ intentions were good, but I don’t think it’s right for him to interfere with your family and their lives.” Gwen said as she went after Dante.

“Was i in the wrong?” Dante’s dad asked.

“No, dear. I’m sure they’ll see your way once they get some air.” Dante’s mother said.

“Are we going to wait for them?” Sarah asked.

“No, sweetie, go ahead and eat.” Dante’s mother answered.

“Okay,”

Flying over the city, Dante, in his new Falconian form, looks down at the city while wondering about many things. One of those things were how did the earth got that way in the future, so full of alien life and technology. This question made him think of how his influence might affect the future. Anything to get his dad off his mind.

“Hey, are you okay?” Gwen asked as she rode up behind him with a hoverboard.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about things.” He answered.

“Don’t tell me. The future.”

“That too. I just want to forget about what my dad said.”

“Understandable… but flying out in the open sky. Isn’t that a bit dangerous?” Gwen said.

“I could say the same thing about you, riding future technology. What if someone sees you, and asked to buy it?”

“I’ll say no. Besides, I don’t know any flight spells, and I needed to check on you.”

“Alright, you have a good point. Let’s find an abandoned rooftop to land on.” Dante said as he dived down.

“Okay,” Gwen said as she followed him.

Landing on top of a building close on the outskirts of the city, Dante transformed back. “Oh, using new forms make me feel weird every time.” He said as he stretched upward. A minute later, Gwen jumped down from her hoverboard and landed on the roof. She, then, called it by holding out her hand. Once she caught it, the board shrunk down to the size of a card.

“Wow, did I ever mention how much I love future technology? It’s so convenient to carry around.” Gwen said. She turned around and saw Dante feeling the roof. “Hey, what’s wrong?” She asked.

“I feel a strange force coming from this building.” Dante said as he closed his eyes. Suddenly, Dante felt a rush of energy radiate from the roof. His gauntlet, then, reacted.

“Maiju temple located below. Unknown energy source detected.” It said.

“What?”  Gwen said as she walked closer to Dante. Suddenly, the energy rushed Gwen, causing her to faint.

“Gwen! Gwen! Are you okay?” Dante said, worriedly. Feeling her neck, Dante relieved she still had a pulse. She was just unconscious. “Thank goodness,” Dante said.

 Forty minutes later, Gwen wakes up, cuddled up with Dante inside the building. Blushing, she tried to get up without waking him up. But he only gripped tighter as she moved. She sighs. “Fine, we can stay like this a little longer.” She thought to herself.

“Aw, isn’t that sweet. You and hubby are having a nice time.” A person said as they appeared in front of them.

“Dante! Dante! Wake up!” Gwen said as she tries to wake up Dante. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t wake up.

“Don’t bother, I’m keeping him sleep using magic I created. That way we can have a nice chat with each other without interruption.” He said as he sat down.

“Okay, you have my attention. Who are you?”  Gwen said.

“My name is Naabu. And I’m the last of my people, the Maiju.”

“Maiju?”

“Yes, Maiju. We were a race of peaceful beings that took the essence of life and stored it away to preserve it in case of disasters. However, we were hunted for this very same essence by a dangerous overlord.”

“Then, you should be talking to Dante too. He’s a…

“Yes, I know of his situation. And, one day, he too will be useful in collecting the essences, but he will need help. Hence the reason, I’m contacting you. He will need the help of a sorcerer in order to fight the most dangerous threats to this planet.”

“And you think it should be me.”

“Well, of course? You saw it didn’t you. You became the most powerful Sorceress in the universe. Hell, even now, you’re as strong as me and you haven’t even unleashed ten percent of your power. You are the perfect candidate.”

“Candidate? For what?”

“To inherent my knowledge of everything I ever learned. You’ll need it if you’re going to help the Maiju Legacy.” The man said as he looked at Dante with a nostalgic expression. “Alright, it’s time.” He said as he stood up.

“Time? Time for what?”

“Time for me to pass on. Oh right, here.” The man said as he held out his hand. Suddenly, a light shined, and two objects were summoned. “This is the charm of Naabu. It will increase your magic ten times as fast as you grow. A very handy tool for beginners like yourself. And this is the bracelet of soul. It will allow you to track down souls that were lost in the crash. Its range should be anywhere in the world. So, be careful.”

Gwen grabbed the charm, and it immediately fused to the back of her right hand, forming a glove. “Huh, at least its black.” She thought to herself. She then grabbed the bracelet and put it on her left wrist. It shrunk to fit around her wrist.

“Hmph, looks like they easily bonded to you. Good… now you can stand beside him without worry.” He thought to himself as he slowly disappeared. Then, a rush of magical energy flowed into Gwen, releasing another portion of her powers. However, with this power increase, Gwen experienced a massive headache.

“What are these words? Spells? He’s implanting spells into my memory.” She thought to herself as she held her head. Luckily, it subsided very quickly.

“Wow, that’s intense.” She says as she tries to get up. This time she was able to get up from Dante’s grip. But he woke up in the process.

“Gwen! Thank goodness, I was so worried.  What happened?”  He asked as he got up and hugged her.

“I’m fine, Dante. I just had a crazy experience with my magic.”

“Oh really… what kind of experience?”

“Hard to explain, but I got something to tell you.” Gwen said as they let go of each other.

“Okay,”

Gwen explains everything she learned from Naabu. And, oddly, Dante started to laugh. “Dante, why are you laughing?” she asked.

“Really, you haven’t realized it yet. We’re getting closer to the future we seen.”

“I guess you’re right. The only thing missing is the giant skyscraper headquarters in the middle of the city.”

“Yeah, but why not start here?”

“What? You want to turn this place into are super hideout.”

“No, not here. Below us. I don’t know what it is, but the gauntlet said something about a Maiju temple was below. And remember what your future self said.”

“The Maiju temple was the storage for all kinds of soul essences.”

“Yeah, and if what you said is true, we’ll need a place to store all the soul essences we collected beside from keeping it in gauntlet. At least the ones too dangerous to use.”

“You’re right, but do you have any idea on how to get down there?” Gwen said as she crossed her arms.

“I might.” Dante said as he activated his gauntlet.  Transforming into Novex, Dante looked at the ground and held out his arm.

“Pathetic, watching you trying to use gravity manipulation is sad.” A voice said.

“You know, you can teach me how to, instead of bashing me.” Dante thought to himself.

The voice sighs. “Alright, I’ll help you. First off, when flying and manipulating gravity, we don’t use our flames. Instead, we heat our cores, in which activates our gravitational powers. Which we focus them through our hands, Simple.”

“Hmph,” Dante said as he closed his eyes and focused on heating up his core. Sadly, he couldn’t heat up his core. “Alright, Plan B. Stand back.” Dante said as he gathered flames to his hands.

“That won’t work. You can’t use your flame like that. Who knows what you might do before actually get through the ground. You could start a fire and kill your precious girlfriend. Your only option is your gravitational powers.” The voice said.

“Fine,” Dante said. Gwen looked at Dante, confused. Dante closed his eyes again and focused on locating his core. Once found, he focused on raising its temperature. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and break apart. Dante, then, raised his hand, causing the ground to rise. However, the ground formed a doorway.

“Wow, Dante. You made a doorway.”

“That wasn’t me. I mean I was trying to make a hole. I guess they had a door ready for us.” Dante said.

“All the same, we should still be safe.” Gwen said.

Dante and Gwen, cautiously, walked into the doorway. However, the doorway immediately shut close, and reformed into the ground.

“Huh, even though I was expecting that, that’s still unsettling.” Gwen said as Dante made a ball of fire, creating enough light to see in front of them.

“Well, if I have to be in a scary movie situation, I’m glad I’m with you.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet.  But you should pay attention to your status. Are you sure you can keep that form?”

“Yeah, I should be good for another twenty minutes.”

“Okay, just be careful.” Gwen said as they walked down the hall.

Meanwhile back at Dante’s house, Dante’s mother got ready to go looking for Dante and Gwen. However, before she got to the door, her husband stopped her.

“Janice, where are you going?”

“Do you really need to ask that question, Alan? I’m going to search for our son and his girlfriend. Who knows what has happened to them?” she said angrily.

“I think you’re spoiling the boy. Hell, did you see how he acted when I told him about the school. Yelling like that is unbecoming, unprofessional, and extremely childish. Not to mention, ungrateful. My boss had to pull a lot of exclusive strings to get him in that school.”

“Really, Alan? Your son is out there. And he didn’t look like he was coming back at any time soon.  But all you care about is a school you want our son to attend. I hope you enjoy sleeping on that couch tonight. “Janice said as she left out the door.

Alan sighed. He got up and walked to their hall closet. Once there, He grabbed a blanket and a pillow while mumbling to himself.  Not noticing Sarah was peeping, Alan went back to the living room.

Silently closing her door, Sarah put on her hoodie and her backpack. She then opened her window and climbed out of it. “No other sister in the world, has to go this extreme for their good for nothing older brother.” She thought to herself before jumping from the second floor. Grabbing her bike, she quietly rode away.

Back in the Maiju temple, Dante and Gwen reached a large room with a large computer in it. Walking closer to it, the computer activates and scans both Dante and Gwen.

“Recognize Dante Lucrada, Gwen Lucrada. Starting Holographic recording.” It spoke.

“Ahem, welcome Dante, Gwen. My name is Ard, the current leader of the Maiju. And, this temple was made for our people to reside in if every one of our people was marooned on your planet. However, since my people are extinct, I’m formally passing this temple and all the others throughout the galaxies to you two. Feel free to use it however you feel fit. I know you’ll use it for good. Oh, the temple is self-automated and repairing.  So, no need to worry about cleaning and repairs. Just enjoy yourselves.” A hologram said as it appeared in front of them.

“Lucrada? Wait, how did you know?”

“The soul is more powerful than you think. Speaking of, here’s another present for you Dante. It’s the soul of one of the most powerful beings in the universe, Martix. They’re capable of amazing feats, but difficult to control. I’m sure he will be a big help to you.” It said as a soul cartridge rose from the ground.

“Uh, thanks,” Dante said as he powered down and grabbed the cartridge. “Gauntlet, Absorb Soul essence.”

“Detecting soul essence, Martix soul, do you wish to bond with this soul?” The gauntlet said.

“Yes,”

“Confirmed, bonding the user soul and the Martix soul. Complete… user can now transform into Martix. Please give a designation.”

“Comix,”

“Why?” Gwen asked.

“I don’t know. I had a strange feeling.” Dante answered.

“Another strange feeling? You must be getting in tune with your transformations.  Or better yet your gauntlet is becoming one with you. Unlocking the abilities your future self was talking about.” Gwen said.

“Maybe,”

“Martix soul have been registered as Comix. User is now able to transform into Comix. User also has four more souls that need designation. Would you like to give them one now?”

“Show me.” Dante replied.

The gauntlet showed small 3d holographic images of the four transformations he got from Jacob and the others.

“When did you get those?” Gwen asked.

“Remember when I told you I had to deal with people lying to themselves. the Guardians.”

“Right, those people who attacked you. You had them scanned?”

“No, I guess the gauntlet scanned them automatically while I was fighting them.”

“Hmph, we should really study your gauntlet more to see what it can do?”

“How about we start tomorrow? We don’t have school tomorrow.”

“Sure. Tomorrow, but tell me. You’re not planning on going back home tonight. Are you?”

Dante remained silent and Gwen immediately knew what Dante was planning. She sighs as she pulls out her phone and dials a number. “Mom, I’m going to stay over at a friend’s tonight. Don’t wait up.” She said before hanging up. “Now, what shall we do?”

Dante’s stomach rumbled.

“Food, huh. I think there’s a burger place still open.” Gwen said as she walked towards the exit.

Dante transformed into Panthera and rushed up behind Gwen. “I have an idea. Let’s have a delicious breakfast in Paris.” He said as he picked her up and ran out.