47 - Face the Ages//Lea

It lasted a mere second, but it felt like a universe spanning event. The whole world rushed past Lea's ears and reformed itself around her. She hadn't even had time to close her eyes.

Instead, the world itself had blinked.

She was back in Paradox City, about a hundred feet higher than normal. The black Noiz finally stopped absorbing the whole of Paradox Park, only to split it out all over again.

This time it created a dark circle above them, raining a black ash that down on the city, which was paused in time. Using her newly regained super-sight, Lea could see Paxton and Nora, faces frozen in worry at what was previously a dark, spinning vortex.

Now they stared at nothing.

"Eyes up here, young lady," Mr. Foley said, unconcerned with what was going on around them. "Give me the song."

"Why?" Lea asked. "Why would I ever give my song to you?"

Her song, the song that Mr. Foley had stolen and manipulated to his own ends. There was no way she was going to give it to the man taking advice from notes left behind by the Witch Maiden.

"Because you too have a wish," Mr. Foley said said, smiling like he had no care in the world, though his honest eyes betrayed him. "And I can make it come true."

"The Seal will only grant one wish," Lea said. Now that the dark Noiz had been given form, talking about the Seal seemed far more real.

And there was something sinister in it. Something that told Lea that wishing on it would truly result in the Very Bad Thing from happening, even if the Witch Maiden had left.

"Knowledgeable, and a songwriter," Mr. Foley said. "Quite the combination."

"You're correct," he continued. "The Seal only grants one wish, but once the seal is broken my magic will be at full power. You've seen what I can do with mere illusory magic with half a day's practice. Right now I could glamour the entire city into forgetting this little incident without breaking a sweat."

"Imagine what I can do without limits?"

"You'll take over the world," Lea said.

"The world? Too cliche," Mr. Foley corrected. "Do you even know what my wish is, Ms. Alis?"

"No," Lea said.

"This," he said, gesturing to his own body. "It's simple, really."

"A muscle man disco?" Lea asked, genuinely confused.

"No!" Mr. Foley roared. "Youth, young lady. A body in top form."

"What?" Lea gasped, thrown aback. "A... body?"

"Can't you just work out?" Lea wondered aloud.

"No!" Mr. Foley said. "It's not that easy, young lady."

"In every respect, I'm older now," Mr. Foley said. "I didn't take care of my body as I grew up, I was too focused on my work, and that's caught up with me. I can't as much as lift a weight without pulling every muscle in my arm out of whack, and..."

For a moment, Mr. Foley looked entirely vulnerable. Lea even felt sorry for him before his self-serving anger came back full force.

"My ticker's on a time limit," Mr. Foley said, pointing at his chest.

"When I took on this body, all of that disappeared," he explained. "I had forgotten what it felt like to breathe without wheezing just a little bit, just enough to know your lungs aren't as good as they used to be."

"You can still exercise and get all of that!" Lea said.

"That's just the start, young lady," he countered. "If I have this body, I can lead Paradox into the future."

"Indefinitely."

"That's insane!" Lea said honestly. "I'm not sure you should even be the Mayor right now, let alone in the future!"

"And why not?" he said. "I'm the only one willing to go to every length to secure my wish. Tell me, Ms. Alis. Are you willing to go the distance?"

"Using the Seal will destroy the city!" Lea said, unsure of how she knew it, but sure of her words all the same. She pointed to the black ash covering the city and remembered the crater that Alejandra had mentioned. "We need to stop before something bad happens."

"I am the mayor of this city, little girl," Mr. Foley explained. "I know what's best for it and all that is in it is mine to wield!"

"If it results in a few casualties, I'm sure it will all be worth it."

"That's not true! Paradox City is for everyone!" Lea said.

"No!" Mr. Foley shouted.

"They said we were just an aside. The weird place with a few holes for fossil hunters to rob," he said. "I just want to make our city the most powerful in all of the country! Have my greatness finally be recognized!"

"Who cares how many insolent tramps I have to electrocute to get there?" Mr. Foley asked.

"Those insolent tramps are were my friends!" Lea said.

"I've been working hard all of my life, trying to get us recognized as the wonderful place we are, trying not to kill myself when I see blood red budget reports," Mr. Foley said said. "In the end, nothing was stronger than a wish."

"And this case, I'll make sure it's mine."

"That's not true," Lea said vigilantly.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Foley asked.

"There's a power stronger than a wish," Lea said. "A strength in humanity that's even stronger than the selfish power to wish."

"And what would that be?" Mr. Foley asked haughtily.

"A dream," Lea said.