Protectors- Consequence

Chapter Nine: Rise of the New World

Jones twisted the gun from Zavant's hand, blood spurting from the gunshot wound on his neck, before firing all of the rounds, Zavant pushing the barrel away from him as Jones fired the weapon. He lashed out at Jones, but none of the attacks landed, Jones vibrating his body to avoid them, the timing of the defence growing more and more accurate as Jones adjusted to the use of his new superhuman abilities. Zavant utilised his teleporter to get away, reappearing next to Shaine and Spirit, a blue portal shimmering between them,

"Our teleporters don't leave behind portals in the future," Wraith stated, "that's a glaring weakness that he's going to exploit,"

"I do not require assistance to defeat this man," Zavant shot back, "even if he comes through the portal, I will deal with him, just as I killed him in my own timeline,"

"The fact that he did not follow immediately means that he is doing something currently," Spirit noted, "so stop being cocky and realise that there are bigger things out there than your damn ego,"

Zavant was shocked by the harsh words, although only the slightest flicker crossed his face as he turned to silently watch the portal, the first signs of day breaking over the beautiful city skyline, the buildings tarnished by Kinetic's wrath giving it the appearance of a post-apocalyptic town. Dark clouds pushed the pink sunset away, and for a moment, its mesmerising beauty put the thought of the combat out of the mind of Zavant, causing him to feel emotions he had long since tried to hide. He would never feel anything but for righteous anger and remorse again, he had told himself, but even now, Zavant was stricken with a joyful peace. Forcing the peace from his mind, his pulse began to race with adrenaline, the familiar sensation of an impending kill taking over his mind and body. Then he realised something, something he could not comprehend in his current state. He was not on earth, not on any other world. He was in purgatory, and the beautiful sunset was that of the Goddess' glory,

"You are finally here to rest, Zavant," She whispered, and despite the warmth that echoed from her body, she appeared to be more of a shell than anything else,

"Why do you seem so hollow?" He asked instinctively, "it is as if you have lost something dear to you,"

"There is a world at the centre of the multiverse," She spoke softly, as if to an old friend on their deathbed, which was true, in this case, "the one those two came from, one that has defied all odds,"

"You are deflecting the answer," Zavant interrupted, the tension in his body fading as he began to let go of his will, to move on to eternal paradise, "please, just this one last explanation,"

The Goddess sighed, her features turning grey with the weight of her knowledge,

"Something is wrong with the universe, no, the multiverse. It is as if the entirety of existence is melting, cracking and breaking with some unknown weight," She explained, "I can not know what is wrong, but organisms are being pulled from different dimensions and universes. I have stopped some, however, others are becoming much more difficult to deal with, the paladin being one of them,"

"Aren't you the most powerful being?" Zavant asked, "strike him down, strike them all down!"

"I can move with an infinite amount of speed for short periods of time," The Goddess answered, "that is how I can be in more than one place at once, but there is no way to know which universe he is in, due to his jumping ability. The other dimensional breachers have abilities beyond the normal, with one being strong enough to rewrite reality, something I could defeat, but would be nigh-impossible to fully kill,"

Zavant felt himself slipping away and smiled to himself, knowing that he was finally going to rest, for all eternity. He prayed for a dreamless slumber, one where he could just cease, where he could be content and free. He knew the Paladin had struck the killing blow on him, but did not care what happened to the world he was leaving, all that mattered was that he would never be back, and that he didn't want to be back.