A Tale from the Dark Dimension

Chapter 23: Justin

Justin had an idea to destroy the machine. He explained it briefly to Xavier and Gale.

"Alright, here's the plan," he said at the base of the machine, "Gale is going to melt a large hole into the side of the machine. Xavier is gonna use her telekinesis to pull the core out and crush it. I'll defend you both if anything comes our way."

"Oh so you're gonna make us do all the work? Real heroic," Gale said, flames enveloping his body. He climbed on the side of the machine and began to burn a hole into the side. The machine wasn't made out of Everstone. It was similar to steel, but Gale wouldn't complain. He burned the hole easily into the side and revealed the core. To them, the power source looked like a miniature star in the middle of a bunch of machinery.

The black glow formed around Xavier's hands as she tried to pull the core out. It was able to move freely but it was held down by the wires, so she could barely pull it out of the machine. She tried to crush it but it didn't make a dent. Justin's heart sank. That was their best bet, and it wouldn't work. He figured that it had to be something with that star.

"I can't do this. It's not working," Xavier said, panting. She already looked exhausted but she still kept the machine up.

"What if you hit it at your fastest? Maybe the shock could break it?" Gale suggested.

"No that wouldn't work. Maybe we need Cade's axe," Xavier said, trying to avoid him using his powers much. But he knew. That would work.

"We have to try,": he said, looking at Xavier. She let the machine go, it hung out of the side by its wires. "No. Justin that could kill you," she tried to plead with him.

"Look," he said, taking her hands. His helmet retracted back, revealing his face to her, "If you really don't think it would work, if you don't want me to do this...I won't do it."

She wanted to say no so badly, to be selfish and and say screw the world so she could have those last moments with the one she wanted to be with. But she knew, in her heart, that the right thing to do was to let him go. After a minute, she looked up at him with sadness and told him, "Ok. You can do this." At that moment he thought about kissing her before he left, in case it proved to be too much on his body. But he resisted the urge to, letting his feelings follow him to the grave. He nodded, his helmet forming around his face as he raced off, running around the base of the machine to build up speed. He could already start to feel it, the burning in his lungs. The oxygen mask feature immediately appeared, and he took it with his mouth, the assisted breathing letting him gain more speed. It didn't, however, get rid of the pain,so he could still feel the lightning in his system.

Justin had to ignore it and continue to gain speed. "Warning, speed exceeding recommended levels," a voice in his helmet said. He ignored it, running faster and faster. He couldn't see it, but from Xavier and Gale's perspectives it looked as though a small tornado was forming around the machine. This wasn't enough. He had to keep going. And he knew just what to do. His speed built up and he ran to the top of the machine and jumped, raising his hands in the air causing the warhammer feature to kick in. He raised it high, and activated its coils. The hammer glowed as the lightning was summoned down to it. The massive bolt enveloped not just the hammer but his whole body. He brought his arms down, slamming the hammer down on the core of the machine, the lightning striking the center combining with the force from how fast he was going. The core cracked and exploded, the star being snuffed out by the much hotter lightning that Justin brought down.

The hammer shattered on impact, and just as fast as his run began, it was over. The core released a shockwave and broke into several pieces. Justin fell to the ground, exhausted and in pain from the lightning and his running. His legs ached and his lungs burned, and it almost got to a point where the assisted breathing couldn't help him. He took deep breaths and tried to move his arms, signalling that he was still alive to the others. Xavier ran over to him and gave him time to breathe, opening the helmet and revealing his face. He said nothing as she hugged him on the ground, and he returned it.

"You know, she told me about your little lung problem," Gale said, helping him up, "You're fuckin' crazy, you know that?"

"Yeah...that was a lot faster than mach 8," was all Justin could say, letting Gale help keep him upright as they walked to Cade's position, hoping he and the others took care of their parts.