CHAPTER 64

Eustace watched as the seven people confronted him, or the Sculptor, and felt a swell of fear. He desperately wanted them to stop him and the Sculptor, but he'd seen them fight, seen what they could do. He didn't think they'd last very long against the Sculptor.

He suddenly felt a slight pang in his chest. A stroke of fear.

But, that wasn't him.

If he could breathe on his own, he would have inhaled sharply. The Sculptor was afraid. Of them. But why? What about them…

The past few battles flashed across Eustace's mind. He had seen the Sculptor send powerful forces against all seven of them but he'd never really entered the fray himself. Eustace had thought it was because he hadn't needed to, that he thought his formations were enough. But…was it possible that…

He felt it again. The fear, along with something else. It was like part of him was slipping away. He'd felt it before, whenever Travis had shot his body with lightning or when Gabriela had struck with that bomb blast. That some part of him was vanishing. And now he knew what it was.

His power. The Sculptor's power was draining away. He'd said that he wanted to take these guys' power for himself but it wasn't to make him stronger, but to make him strong enough. For some reason, these guys were his weakness.

Which meant they were the only ones who could beat him.

"So you figured it out," he heard the Sculptor say. "Too bad. It's over now. There's nothing they can do to stop me. They'll never be able to finish the job."

Eustace would have flinched if he could. To finish the job…was to kill him. It was the only way. And Eustace felt he deserved it. He'd unleashed this monster on the world, letting him kill who knew how many down there as well as his own father. If he had to die to beat him, so be it.

Please guys, he thought desperately. I don't have anything to live for anyway. So just end it.

"Alright, so how do we do this?" Franklin asked.

"As a team," Travis replied, already prepping himself. The instant the others arrived, he'd felt their connection, his power reaching out for theirs. Now, he let it out and six bolts of yellow light shot from him, striking each one of them in turn. Once they did, light bloomed from their chests and reached out to the others as well until they were all connected by a spider-web of light. An instant later, they were back in their uniforms from the school battle. Travis in yellow with his own insignia of a cloud and lightning bolt in the shape of a T on it, Franklin in green, Madison in blue, Gabriela in orange, Sumin in indigo, Emily in violet, and Luke in red.

"Really Travis?" Franklin asked, giving him a look.

"What? You have to admit, it completes the moment."

"What moment?"

"This moment. Right here."

"These things are really comfortable," Emily said, stretching her costume out. "Flexible too."

"Little too flashy for my taste."

"We're gonna die," Luke said dryly.

"If we don't focus up, we will die so let's please do that," Gabriela said. "The focus bit, not the die bit, obviously."

"Take down the Sculptor, save Eustace, save the world," Sumin said.

"Cloak Guard," the Sculptor said, snapping them out of their musings. He was snarling at them though Travis thought for a second that he heard something else when he spoke. And judging by Sumin and Gabriela's expressions, he wasn't the only one. "You think some silly costumes will change your fate. All it does is makes me want to kill you more. You think just because you dress the same as your predecessors makes you like them? They were some of the greatest warriors this world and many others had ever seen. You are pack of children with no clue as to what you're facing." He raised his hands and the wind began billowing around him, forming a funnel cloud. Lightning flashed and rain came down, except the water seemed to be steaming. The diamond tentacles rose up and the balls of nitrogen coalesced in more monstrous forms. "I was trapped by them for decades upon decades, lost in the endless expanse of space with no hope to return! I have waited so long for my destiny, to fulfill my purpose. And you will not stop me! I will destroy you all, no matter what it takes!"

There it was again. Travis for sure heard it this time. Fear. Plain and simple.

At a single wave of his hands, the diamond tentacles rushed forward and Franklin and Luke rushed to meet them. Franklin grabbed hold of one and held it down though he had to keep tensing his muscles to keep from being tossed around. Luke did his best to hold the others off but was too busy dodging their claws to make any progress.

Gabriela rose up to help him, her entire body lighting up with orange energy. At the same time, the ground rumbled and metallic formations appeared in front of the rest of them. Madison quickly raised a force field around them while Sumin conjured up their own formations to fight.

And Travis? He took the fight right to the Sculptor.

"Really? Again?" the Sculptor asked as Travis zipped around him, blasting him with more lightning. "You do realize this does nothing, right?"

"Sure, whatever you say man." Travis knew his bolts weren't making much of a difference. But he also knew that the Sculptor was wrong. They weren't doing nothing. He had been thinking about it ever since he'd taken on those dirt formations at his house, the way his lightning had sliced through them and broken the connection. Every time one of his bolts struck, he saw it making a dent in the Sculptor's armor. Not a big dent. A very small one. But still, it was a dent.

So he'd attacked relentlessly, firing bolt after bolt at the Sculptor, hoping to wear him down. But that clearly wasn't working. It would take too long and Travis was running out of juice. Besides that, the Sculptor was bringing in a cloud of nitrogen to surround him, slowing Travis down and forcing him to stay back. There was no way he could do this alone.

He glanced back at his friends and teammates. The diamond tentacles had merged together to form some diamond monster that was now trying to bash Franklin into the ground while he was trying to break it. Luke was tearing across the sky, clouds of nitrogen and other nasty-colored gases chasing after him. Gabriela was facing off against a storm of fire raging around her. Emily was hopping around, trying to avoid getting stabbed by a forest of spikes chasing after her. Sumin was forming their own army to face off against the Sculptor's metallic one but was losing ground fast. And Madison was attempting to hold off an acid monster trying to dissolve her force field while sinking into the ground.

They were going to lose. Travis could see that, clear as a day. He was the only one who had gotten close to the Sculptor and he wasn't making any headway there. They were all scattered across the battlefield now, separated by…

Separated.

"Oh my god," Travis muttered. That was it. That was what the Sculptor wanted. Their powers had to be weakening him. Now that he was thinking about it, Travis realized that's what the Sculptor had been doing since the beginning. When the others had arrived, they had all looked worn out, almost certainly fighting separate battles on their way up the tree because the Sculptor wanted to keep them away. And when Sumin had arrived, even though the Sculptor had said he wanted to fight them, he had still let them go off with Swarm and one of his own formations. Every move he'd made was to divide them all up. And he still hadn't gone toe-to-toe with them himself.

"Our power," Travis muttered under his breath. The Sculptor had said he had been trapped for years by the previous Cloak Guard. By their power. Which was now Travis and the others' power.

So, if they had done so much separated, what could they do to the Sculptor together?

A plan formed in his mind. A crazy, wild, insane plan that probably wouldn't work but would be totally awesome if it did. Still, he knew at the end of the day that nothing they did would make a difference if they couldn't break through to Eustace. There was no way Travis could let him die so he had to somehow reach him and get him to break through. But…he barely knew anything about Eustace. Whenever Travis sat at the table, Eustace just kept to himself and drew. So how was Travis going to reach him? He just hoped he would have a plan when the time came.

"Guys! Huddle!" he cried out, rushing over to Madison's force field, avoiding the acid beast.

"What?" he heard Gabriela shout back.

"We're a little busy man!"

"Just trust me!" he yelled. "I know what to do!"

"Oh do you now?" the Sculptor snorted. "How amusing."

"Guys!"

"Alright." Luke flew over alongside Gabriela while Franklin shoved off the diamond monster to run up to them, the others following suit.

"Madison, bubble," Travis said and she responded instantly, a force field bubble covering them all up. "Ok, now everyone hold on to each other."

"Dude, wha-"

"Please, just trust me on this."

They hesitated for another second before all joining hands. The second they did, Travis grabbed hold of Madison and Sumin's shoulders and expanded his power, grabbing hold of all of them as he entered speed mode, bringing them with him.

He knew the Sculptor had borrowed his power and could enter speed mode as well, but he hoped his theory about powers was right and that the Sculptor couldn't do anything to them while inside Madison's field. And he hoped the reverse was true as well.

"Whoa, what is this?" Luke asked.

"It's speed mode, a state I enter with my power but that's not important right now. I have a plan. We need to attack him all at once. His body I mean."

"Ok, how?" Gabriela asked. "We can't get close to him. All of his things are in the way."

"You got close when you attacked before," Travis reminded her. "Listen, he may not be showing it, but he's vulnerable to us. Our power. I think…he keeps separating us on the battlefield and not engaging personally because he's afraid."

"Of us?" Emily questioned. "That doesn't make sense. Look at what he's doing."

"Then why isn't he fighting us himself?" Travis asked. "He keeps saying how powerful he is, how he can take on the greatest warriors, but he goes easy on us? I don't think that's because he's underestimating us. It's our power. The previous Cloak Guard defeated him with this power and imprisoned him. It must be weakening him somehow. If we attack him with everything we got, we can break through his armor. And then, I have a plan to make sure he doesn't build another."

They all stared at him and he was worried they wouldn't listen, that they would all just go back to what they were doing before. He wasn't entirely sure if his plan would work either. He'd always wanted to be a superhero but he'd never really thought about the plans to take down the bad guys. He was never a thinking kind of guy. He preferred just doing it. But, somehow, he knew this would work.

"Ok," Sumin nodded. "My grandmother also mentioned the Sculptor's weakness to me. Besides, we don't have any more time. Swarm informed me the reason the higher ups won't intervene is because they are planning on using a warhead to stop Sculptor, taking the city with him."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Gabriela snapped. "Idiots."

"Makes sense from their perspective I guess, but jeez. Can't they just wait?" Luke said.

Travis felt a little woozy knowing that a missile could be coming right at them at any moment. Somehow, that scared him more than the actual supervillain right outside the force field.

"So what is your plan?" Sumin asked.

Travis nodded, pulling himself together, and started talking. It took a little longer than he wanted, feeling himself getting drained from sharing his power with so many people at once, but soon they were all on board.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Emily shrugged.

"What about Eustace?" Sumin asked.

"I have a plan for him too," Travis said. I hope, he silently added.

"Here," Luke put his hand in the middle of them. "Can't do this without a proper cheer, right?"

Franklin chuckled. "Yeah, right." He put his hand down too.

"Whatever," Emily said, putting her hand down as well. Sumin put theirs next followed by Gabriela. Madison looked confused by it but also put hers down.

Travis grinned at them all. Looking at them now, huddled up in their costumes, they really did look like a superhero team. It was taking everything he had not to squeal like a toddler right now. "Cloak Guard on three?" he asked and they all nodded. "One…two…three…"

"CLOAK GUARD!" they all cried out.

"That was corny," Franklin muttered but Travis saw a slight smile there too.

"Alright team," Luke looked at them all. "Our friends, our families, and the entire world are counting on us. So let's go win this thing." He looked right at Travis. "Drop it."

Travis took a breath and dropped them out of speed mode. A second later, Madison dropped the field and they were back in the fight.

"So, what devious plan have you concocted to-" the Sculptor began.

"Madison!" Travis said.

A new bubble appeared right around the Sculptor, blocking him off. He snorted in response. "Do you really think this will stop me?" he asked, his fist hardening with his diamond armor as he began to strike the field wall.

Not from the outside, Travis noted, smiling. It was just like he thought. The Sculptor couldn't control matter outside the barrier. Only the ones already inside.

Before the Sculptor could throw another punch, dozens of indigo hands appeared all over him, gripping him tight and holding him back.

Travis did his best not to look at them but he felt the wind change as Luke suddenly rose up with Franklin and Emily. He could also feel Gabriela begin to glow hotter behind him, her power heating up rapidly, and started to call on his own power as well, feeling the lightning surging through his entire body.

"ENOUGH!" the Sculptor roared, the wind in the field bursting out in solidified spears that destroyed Madison's bubble completely, causing her to stumble. "You are all beneath me. This world will be my canvas. I am your destroyer, and there is nothing you can-"

Now, Travis thought and they responded like magic.

He could just make out Emily and Franklin up above, Emily pressing her feet against Franklin to stretch her body out and shove him down as fast as possible, his fist raised high and somehow glowing an even brighter green than his costume. Just as he was about to hit the Sculptor, both Travis and Gabriela raced forward, both their fists lit up with their own powers.

They all struck the Sculptor's armor at once, Gabriela's energy, Travis's lightning, and Franklin's raw strength mixing together and smashing through whatever connection the Sculptor had on the diamonds, nitrogen, fire, and acid to keep them all together. The diamonds shattered on impact, a massive shockwave going out from it, and the nitrogen and acid fell away. The Sculptor gasped and gaped, stumbling and tripping over himself while Franklin, Gabriela, and Travis all stepped back, thoroughly exhausted from the attack.

"What have you done?" the Sculptor muttered and already a new armor began to form around him. But he was too late, Luke's telekinetic force ripping everything away from him while Sumin blasted his exposed body with a beam of pure indigo light, knocking him flat.

Before he could even think about recovering, Emily's inflated foot came rushing down, flattening him even more, leaving him groaning there.

"Madison!" Travis cried out and a new field surrounded the Sculptor, cutting him off from everything. But Travis knew that that wasn't enough. It was all up to him now. He moved forward and touched the field. Madison had said she could let people in if she wanted to and he felt it now, moving through it like it was a wall of buzzing cotton.

"You…you think…this will be enough," the Sculptor asked as he stepped in. "You made a grave mistake coming in here. I still have power." To demonstrate, Travis felt the wind coalesce around him, ready to impale him. "So what will you do t-"

Travis grabbed hold of him and entered speed mode again. He felt more drained and tired than he'd ever felt before, but he could do this.

"What do you hope achieve with this?" the Sculptor asked, looking out at the slowed down world around them.

"You told me you couldn't use your powers in speed mode, remember?" Travis told him, flashing a grin as the Sculptor grimaced. "Now shut up. I want to talk to Eustace."

"Ha! That's your plan? I told you, Eustace is gone. Once I take over a host, there is no escape. But please, go ahead and waste your energy. I have time."

"Eustace," Travis said softly, really hoping the boy could hear him somehow. "Look, we don't know each other well. And I'm sorry about that. I…I didn't see you as much as I should have. I guess I was so focused on being friends with Madison and you just didn't seem interested that I sort of forgot about you. And that's on me. But look, you can beat this guy. Don't let him win."

"This is the best you've got? What a joke."

"I did notice you though man. I'm guessing the reason the Sculptor chose you as a host was because of your love for art. Your drawings are amazing. Even I can tell that, and I don't like art that much. And this guy right here, he's corrupting that. Turning it into something horrible and twisted."

"How dare you!" the Sculptor shouted. "My artwork is magnificent. It pictures life from the death of a world. How is that not beautiful?"

"No, seriously. Shut up," Travis snapped. "Eustace, I don't think it was just the artwork that drove the Sculptor to you. It was because you were alone. I saw what happened to your dad and I can make a guess as to how he treated you. But none of that is on you. I know you might blame yourself for the school and attacking people and for your dad, but that wasn't you. It was the Sculptor. Don't for a second think it was you."

"Oh, is that what you think? I didn't have control of him then. I just guided him to his own choices. He did all by himself."

"Same difference. Eustace, please…" Travis began before shaking a little, the strain of holding speed mode this long getting to him.

"Uh oh. Performance issues? Just no, the second you let go, I will flay you alive. And then-"

"Eustace," Travis continued, ignoring the Sculptor. "Look, I think you've been alone for a long time. Even with Madison or Sumin. Perhaps your whole life. And I'm sorry. I should have reached out to you, should have done more. I'm sorry I didn't notice you too much. But the truth is, I think it was because I was as alone as you were."

Travis saw his life flash before his eyes. Him going to the movies alone, reading comics alone, playing by himself. Whenever he asked his brother, he just got pushed out of the way. When he asked his sister, he was called lame and was ignored. With his mom, he was just barely tolerated as she always had something more important to do. And his dad. He didn't even bother with his dad.

His friends became the characters in the stories he loved. He saw himself in those stories, creating whole new characters to fight alongside his heroes, coming up with new pieces of dialogue just to feel included in something. His whole life became wrapped around them because he had nothing else in his life. After some time, he felt like these fictional characters were his real family.

"And when you're alone, you just become so used to it that you don't really see the other people around you, even if they're feeling the exact same thing you are. At some point, we just become so used to the loneliness that we don't know how to live any other way. Even when I met Madison, it didn't change anything. I was just a guy who had a crush on a girl. So I didn't see you right there next to me, and I guess part of me didn't want to. And I am so sorry about that."

"But still, I didn't change you know. All I want to do is talk about my interests. Do what I want to do. Because…I think part of me knows that other people aren't interested. I know they'll reject me and I just want to get it over with so I can be alone again. So I don't even bother trying with others. Even when I got my powers and the other did too, all I wanted was to be a hero but the others didn't. So I just pushed them all away and focused on myself. I just wanted to be alone again, even though I desperately wanted them there with me."

"But…we don't have to be like that, Eustace. I'm not saying my life is the same as yours. I don't know your life. That's the point. But the real truth is that everyone is broken. Everyone has something in their life that makes them feel less. That's why we need other people, why we need to be around them. Because together, we become less broken and more whole. And I know that because when I'm around those guys back there, I don't feel so broken anymore. And I think the reason that you kept going to lunch with Madison and Sumin and even me, was because you felt the same. When you're around them, you feel more like you. You were always drawing in the cafeteria because you felt better there, more yourself."

"I think I really understand why people have a hard time beating the Sculptor. It's not because he's an omnipotent being or a god or whatever. It's because no one can free his host. Not because of his power, but because his hosts are people who don't have anyone to fight for them and who have nothing to fight for themselves."

Travis had felt the Sculptor go still a while ago and hadn't heard a peep from him. He hoped he was right about all this or else it would go poorly.

"But that's where he's wrong. Because you do have someone fighting for you. All of us are here. Maybe we don't know you as well as we should, but we're still giving everything we've got to free you and save this world. We could let you die, that's true. But we won't. You have so much to live for, don't you dare think that you don't. My life was a mess before but then it got turned around and now it's so much better. Even given our current situation, I wouldn't change it one bit. And if that could happen to me, it can happen to you too. So I need you to fight. Fight with everything you have. Fight for your friends here for you. Fight for your life full of your amazing drawings. And fight to kick this jackass out of your body and stop him from decimating the world."

Travis stopped, unable to keep going. He was panting hard now, doing everything he could to not pass out or let go of speed mode. He really hoped that all worked because he had nothing left. He was maybe a minute away from total collapse, if he was lucky.

"Did…did you…"

Travis looked down, hoping that it had worked. That Eustace had broken through.

"Did you…really think…that would work?" the Sculptor asked and the hope died. Travis sank back. He had failed. They were doomed. "I will not…fall to…no…no you won't…stop it…no, I refuse…"

Travis blinked, looking back at the Sculptor.

"I won't…no…stay back…that's…not…POSSIBLE!" he roared, spittle flying from his mouth. Then, suddenly, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, falling flat on the ground.

Travis stared at him in shock, not sure what just happened. He leaned in a little closer, moving his fingers to check the pulse, when the Sculptor suddenly gasped out, sending Travis scuffling back in shock. "Tr…Tra…Trav…Travis…" he said after a few second. "Travis…is…that you?"

Travis started to smile, relief spreading through him. "Yeah. It's me Eustace. You did it."

"Oh. Good. I…heard what you said man. Thank you."

When Eustace was born, there had been complications during the labor. As a result his mom died right after he came out, a fact his father never failed to remind him of every single day afterwards. According to him, Eustace should have died instead and that he was a plague that had ruined their lives. Eustace had learned early on to just avoid his father as much as possible to avoid the beatings. He had hoped his school life would be better but it was just an endless parade of bullies and assholes made to make his life miserable.

His only solace was his artwork. When he drew, he could imagine different worlds much different than the one he lived in. He created hundreds of pictures depicting the various ways his life might have turned out had he been born elsewhere, even in a cyberpunk dystopia or a dragon-filled dungeon. It was a nice escape.

In high school, he really only had two friends who weren't really friends, more like fellow companions in solitude. Madison and Sumin filled those roles nicely for him. He didn't really care about school or friends or anything else. He just wanted to draw. So he applied for an internship at a nearby art studio, hoping his work would be enough to get in. But it wasn't, as kids with better connections cut before him. So he was stuck in a mediocre school with a mediocre life, doing his best to avoid everyone around him, especially his dad.

That was why when the voice came into his head, he basically let it take control of him. He wanted the power, to feel like he actually had control of his life for once. But, of course, it was all a lie and he walked himself into it. He was about to destroy the world because of it. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

That was, until, he heard Travis's voice.

Eustace had been struggling against the Sculptor the entire time, doing his best to break free, but he could make no headway. It was like there was a wall around his mind, blocking him off, and he couldn't tear through.

But when he heard Travis talking about him, about how alone he was, and about how he could be whole, Eustace felt a gap forming in the wall. And he pushed against it, giving it everything he had. He had thought that the only way to end this was to let him die, and when the others had broken through the armor and Travis had gotten in close, Eustace had thought that was the end. And he accepted that. After what he'd done, he felt like he deserved it. But now, he didn't want to die anymore. He wanted to live.

So he pushed, refusing to relent. Travis was right. This…thing had taken the one thing he truly loved in this world, his artwork, and corrupted it, turned it into something horrible. That was something he could never forgive. So he refused to back down, pushing and pushing and pushing, feeling that gap widen until it finally broke open.

"What?" he heard the Sculptor ask just as he pushed with everything he had, trying to force the monster out. He felt the Sculptor arguing, felt him push back, felt like he was lifting up a mountain, but he never stopped. Everyone was counting on him and after what he'd done, he couldn't let them down. He thought about Sumin and Madison and Travis, the only people ever to be nice to him, who were fighting with everything they had to save him right now.

And he pushed.

He didn't know when it happened, but one instant the Sculptor was there, and the next he wasn't. Eustace blinked and then realized he could blink, gasping at being in control of his own body again. He could feel things again. When he'd just been there, seeing what the Sculptor could through his eyes, he hadn't really felt anything. It was surreal to be able to even feel things again.

He glanced over and saw Travis looking at him. It took a few tries but he finally was able to speak fully, his mouth feeling like it was made of cardboard.

"Thank you," he said.

"No problem," Travis said, even though he looked like he was about to collapse.

At that moment, the world went back into normal speed. All the formations the Sculptor had made fell apart, going back to normal. The others all looked exhausted, but they were still standing. Eustace felt a swell of gratitude for them. They had managed to do the impossible.

Now it was his turn.

He was still connected to it all through the Sculptor's power. The great tree was still there, having stopped growing but not falling apart. And he could sense all the damage he'd caused across the city. He took a breath and took hold of the power, letting it waft through him.

Turn it back, he thought. Make it as it was.

It was slow at first. All that power at once, washing over him, threatening to drown him. But he had helped cause all this. The least he could do was fix it.

The tree was first, sinking back down while the roots came back up, the earth that made it returning to where it had come from. As he did that Eustace also focused on all the damage in the city. The places where the streets had turned liquid, where the dragons had rampaged through, where the hills had come alive. He turned them back to their original state. Buildings reformed until it looked like no damage had been done. Houses remade themselves so it was like they had never been burned. Streets smoothed out, hills straightened up, and everything went back to normal.

The tree still shrank, all its vines and branches dropping down first and tunneling back into the earth. Pretty soon it was bare, with only the trunk left and that was vanishing fast. Within a minute, it was also gone and they were back in Eustace's house. He gritted his teeth, the effort of using all this power like this getting to him, but he needed to finish this. He focused, rebuilding his house, finding the remnants of the kitchen formation Sumin destroyed and using them to put his kitchen back together.

Finally, he was done and he sighed in relief. At last, he could relax and he lay down, letting the darkness claim him. At least everything was made right again.

I hope they can forgive me, he thought before his mind finally let go.

Travis sat there, astonished. He wasn't quite sure how it had happened but the tree had shrunk down until it no longer existed. It had to be Eustace. He must have connected with the Sculptor's power or maybe when he beat the Sculptor, all the work he'd done was just…undone.

Whatever the case, Travis was grateful. They were all back in Eustace's house, though the dead body in the middle of it did put a damper on any celebrations.

"We…we did it," Gabriela said slowly, as if waiting for someone to dispute her.

"We did it," Sumin affirmed, a smile spreading across their face.

"Hell yeah we did!" Luke cheered though he was leaning heavily against a chair. "Let's never do it again."

"Seconded," Emily muttered.

"Thirded," Franklin added, stretching his arms.

Madison didn't say anything, just walked over to where Eustace was lying. "Is…is he…did he…"

"He's still alive," Travis told her. "He beat the Sculptor. Don't worry. It's all ov-"

The ground erupted under their feet and they were all flung up into the air. Travis tried to gasp but the wind was sucked from his lungs, leaving him gaping.

"I WILL NOT GO DOWN LIKE THIS!"

He heard the voice echo through his mind as well as across the ruins of the house. He just managed to look up and saw a gaseous shape take form into some human-like figure.

"You have taken my masterpiece from me. My beautiful canvas will remain as ugly as ever. But make no mistake. This much power may kill me, but I will make sure that I take you all with me."

Travis tried to move, tried to do anything to help, but he couldn't move a muscle. Lightning sparked in his fingers but that was it. He was out of power. He saw some of the others out of the corner of his eyes but they were just as helpless as he was. This was it. This was the end for them.

At least the world was safe. They could die knowing that.

"Now DIE!"

The roof burst open and a dark figure slammed down into the Sculptor's form, knocking it flat into the ground. The air returned to normal and Travis suddenly found himself falling as well. He gasped, inhaling deeply as he could breathe again. As soon as he caught a few breaths, he looked up to see that figure pushing the gas into a large, dark ball of some sort of black material.

"And that's that," the figure said as soon as it was done, standing up straight to look at them.

Travis blinked, taking him in. He was at least twice Travis's height, his entire body covered in dark armor, like some sort of knight except it looked high tech. He had a large helmet with a red visor, like the Mandalorian's except it was shaped like a Y instead of a T. A dark red cape trailed behind him. But none of that was the most intimidating thing about him.

Travis could feel goosebumps spreading across his whole body and all his hair was standing on end. This man radiated power. Being this close to him made Travis feel like he was looking into the sun. It was just too much for him to take in.

"Wh-who…who are…you?" Gabriela managed next to him, clearly struggling as well.

"I am Lord Kane," the knight replied and Travis hissed through his teeth. His voice seemed to reverberate around the room, shaking it a little. "You seven have been causing a lot of trouble these past few weeks. But you did put an end to the Sculptor." He held up the dark ball. "As well as Swarm over there."

Travis followed his finger and blinked when he saw that Swarm was indeed nestled in the corner, unconscious.

"So…what happens now?" Franklin asked.

"A good question. Normally, I would take you in. Probably hand you into the SRC for proper handling. But like I said, you've done me a service today. So I will make you a deal. First though, something you need to know. You are all very clearly new to our world. Powers like ours can change everything. You've seen what the Sculptor can do, and he is but one of many with that level of power."

Travis heard gasps all around but he was gaspless at this point. One of many? How many were there? What kind of powers? His mind went into overdrive with the possibilities.

"That is why we need order. People like you, running wild with your powers and doing what you want, are unacceptable. So, here is my proposal. I will officially claim you as part of my Faction. That way, I can aid you all in controlling your powers and ensure that no officials come in the middle of the night to take you away."

"I'm guessing that's what will happen if we refuse," Sumin said.

"Yes," Kane replied directly. "This is your only good option."

"One thing first," Gabriela interrupted him. "Were you all really going to use a nuclear warhead to stop the Sculptor?"

"Nuclear? No. It was much more powerful than that."

"How can you possibly justify killing so many people in the name of-"

"The only people in danger were the ones in this room," Kane said. "Why do you think the city is empty. I began evacuations once the Sculptor made his move."

"Oh…" Gabriela trailed off.

"And I had placed my faith in you all. I knew your powers were the only thing that could weaken the Sculptor enough for him to leave his host. Once that was done, I could handle him in this form very easily. If he had remained in his host body, our battle would have been destructive. Though I am surprised to see you managed to save the host. And that he in turn was able to fix all the damage."

"Oh, good. Great work team," Luke said.

"Hmm," Kane regarded them all. Travis tried not to flinch when the visor landed in him. It was like the man, if he even was one, wasn't just looking at him but everything about him, as if he could just open him up with one look and unlock all his secrets. "I require an answer."

They all glanced at each other but they knew what their answer was. "Not like you give us much choice," Gabriela said. "Fine. We'll join your Faction."

"Good. You are now under my protection. No one would dare harm you now, not even the SRC. Now, about him," he said, looking down at Eustace's still form.

"You can't blame him!" Travis said hurriedly. "It was the Sculptor."

"He is correct," Sumin stepped in. "Eustace is innocent in al-"

"No one is truly innocent," Kane said, his voice quieting them all. "He made his choices. Still, more powerful than he have fallen under the Sculptor's spell and he managed to break free and try to undo his mess. That speaks volumes to me. So I will give him a gift." He raised his hand up to Eustace's head and for a second Travis thought he was going to snap his friend's neck and was already moving to stop it. But then he suddenly stopped, a massive force holding him back. He could only watch as a beam of light engulfed Eustace.

"There," Kane said, stepping back. "He has no memory of the past few weeks now."

"Wha-what?" Travis muttered.

"You can do that?" Franklin questioned.

"That is…so freaky."

"It is a kindness. The memory of his own body slaying his father, of destroying so much, of being manipulated, would have haunted him his entire life. Now, he can live free of that burden. I will ensure he is sent to a good foster home. Until we meet again then." He turned suddenly, walking off. As he passed Swarm, he grabbed hold of the man and hefted him up easily.

"Wait." Travis said, feeling like he was missing something. "What about training us? You said-"

"I know what I said," Kane replied. "I will train you. One day. When I feel like it. Until then, live your lives. Cultivate your powers. And live up to the example of your predecessors."

There was a loud booming sound and a flash of light and then he was gone. Travis let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and collapsed on a chair.

"That was way too close," Franklin muttered.

"You said it buddy."

Travis suddenly felt his stomach growl. "Anyone up for some falafel?"