Close Nemesis

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Lost Causes

ZIERÉ:

Xalir lounges on a metal chair by the wooden table, which, just like the rest of my furniture, was cobbled together from pieces of junk found on Garbatrak.

After Laiva recruited me to her cause, I asked Laiva to help me construct my home. She then helped me put together my furniture, and I haven't changed a thing about her craftmanship.

This house, while not perfect, is better than the garbage dumps of Garbatrak. I had lived there for the majority of my life, picking off scraps like a feral feline. In all honesty, I was a feral feline, seeing as how my ancestors were once large cats.

Garbatrak once had a different name. It was known as Garzelagar. But everything changed when my people turned the planet into an almost inhospitable wasteland thousands of years ago. Now, the grass has begun to flourish once more upon the surface of Garbatrak. The world, however, will never be the same again.

It's a lost cause. It's distant sun was absorbed by the first superhero. The near extinction of the Garzelagar race followed, and my species only survived because the first so-called "supervillain" obliterated the nearby moon's surface so that only the core remained to provide heat.

I say so-called because I don't think the superpowered being who saved the Garzelagar was a villain. Yes, the villain destroyed the moon's surface, but that was only so that the Garzelagar would survive.

The long-ago actions of this supervillain inspired me to help Oppugnant. Even though many call Oppugnant a villain, I call a hero. They've saved countless of lives in the distant future from the wrath of Rotcetorp's doppelganger, and to me at least, their efforts to stop Rotcetorp were admirable. Sure, Oppugnant's not perfect. They've made mistakes. They've killed innocents. But that isn't what defines a hero. What defines a hero is their will to right their wrongs!

However, following my recent discovery that Rotcetorp is actually Xalir, I am starting to understand Rotcetorp's point of view as well. He thinks that Oppugnant is a monster for taking Laiva away. Before, when Laiva considered returning to Xalir, I told her that she would have to do so at the right time. Now, she's missed her window of opportunity. Upon learning that Rotcetorp is Xalir, along with learning his vengeful desires towards Oppugnant, I do not wish for Laiva to return to Xalir's arms.

Over our bowls of blue mint soup, I have seen the furious flame of vengeance burning within Xalir's silver eyes. Wait, no that's just my nearby candlelight. But, in all seriousness, Xalir's become so bent on killing Oppugnant that I fear the man Laiva loved has transformed into something malevolent.

He is not a lost cause. If he falls in love with me, then he will hopefully forget about his vengeance towards Laiva and be able to let his life as Rotcetorp go.

I know Laiva will still wish to return to Xalir. But Xalir's emotions may be so twisted by his desire for revenge that he might kill Laiva if she reveals herself as Oppugnant. He might consider the Laiva he knew to be dead if he learnt that she was the same person who destroyed his apartment and turned his life upside down.

That's why I need to get together with Xalir. I need to save Laiva.

I need to save Xalir.

Before he does become a lost cause.

But, first, I have an errand to complete. It hasn't been long since Xalir and I telethrusted all the way from the distant world Axblatir to the familiar world of Occos II. It's only been about forty-five or so since I picked him up from the hospital on Axblatir. Time zones in the Aurega are strange. You spend a certain amount of time on one side of the galaxy, and when you return to the hub, barely any time has passed. That's how I was able to leave Xalir at the hospital while I dealt with the people trying to steal the pebble star from the icy world of Fraopéyja.

It's still hard to wrap my head around, even now. I spent most of my life accustomed to one time zone: Garbatrak's. But I am a fast learner.

I can adapt. After all, I'm an amazing superpowered vigilante.

Of course, I'm not perfect. I failed to eliminate all the people in the cave. But that wasn't really my plan. I just wanted to toy with them. Just like I did with Rotcetorp and Oppugnant. I was hoping that by pretending to kill them, I could pose enough of a threat to them that they'd join forces.

Now that I know that their alter egos are actually lovers, I am certain that they'll eventually join forces. There's an unspoken connection between Rotcetorp and Oppugnant. They may seem like rivals, but I've seen footage of their battles. Whenever the two superpowered nemeses fight, their battles are filled with thick tension-tension that seems to stem from each other's strong-willed desire to protect their respective lover.

It's ironic. They want to protect their loved ones, but don't realise at all that by fighting their nemesis, they're actually hurting their loved one.

Xalir seems to have suffered a lot from Oppugnant's injuries. His injuries were quiet until they recently became too much to bear. I had never really met him until that day at the funeral, but I hadn't heard anything from Laiva about Xalir's injuries before she asked me to take Rotcetorp to the hospital. There was a chance that she knew, or at least suspected, the identity of Rotcetorp. Otherwise, I doubt she would've asked me to take him to a hospital.

Even if she did suspect his identity, Laiva likely never knew of Xalir's injuries. She only knew of Rotcetorp's injuries when she had seen how weak he was on that emerald desert planet.

I'm quite perceptive, to be honest. Even if people don't tell me stuff, I can still guess quite accurately what someone's situation is just by inferring information from conversations. That's not how I was able to track Oppugnant and Rotcetorp with ease. Every time they travel at the speed of light, they leave me with a trace for me to follow. I don't fully understand my teleportation abilities, but I do know that they follow mechanics similar to telethrust.

While Xalir had undergone surgery within the future time zone of Axblatir, I had teleported to Fraopéyja, knowing that little time would pass between the moment I first left the hospital to the moment I returned to pick up Xalir.

My mission was simple: retrieve the pebble star and bring it to Parakga. Of course, that wasn't really what I was intending to do. Instead, I was trying to scare the pirate and the two superpowered kids away from the pebble star. I killed one of the Teglyon workers accompanying them in order to show my power, and teleported the girl to Podplanata in order to protect her from the cold. The Islatopian and the Craykello would've been able to survive, however. Craykello are good survivalists, and Islatopians can survive in the cold for long periods of time.

My mission isn't over yet, however. I could've killed them all and stolen the star for safekeeping, but they could prove useful in my mission to save the galaxy. I'm hopeful that my intimidation tactic worked to keep them at bay until I return. But I'm not completely certain.

That's why I'm leaving Xalir at my house while I go to Fraopéyja. I claim that I am going to do some work at the caryard, and once Xalir buys my excuse, I head away from the outskirts of Entrek and run into the blue reeded marshlands.

Once I'm sure that I'm out of sight. I disappear into the night with a flash of light, and by the time I've arrived in the misty husk forests of Podplanata II, my chalk white armour has materialized over my body.

The mist rests on my gold metal mask, leaving behind damp moisture. Neither that nor the mud on the ground bothers me. I have more important things to deal with.

Shenelda stands in front of me with her back turned. When I first saw her in the cave, I noticed that her purple fringe had curled over the side of her face. Barely any hair sits on her scalp. Shenelda's definitely not like Laiva, that's for sure.

Besides being of the same species, Shenelda and Laiva do have one other similarity: they both have powers. Shenelda's powers aren't as strong as Laiva's, but they still radiate from her. That's how I was able to track her here. I can track people who teleport or travel at the speed of light. That's how I was always seemingly one step ahead of Oppugnant and Rotcetorp.

But I can't get distracted by the stench of Shenelda's powers. I need to get down to business.