The Uplift Protocol: Rebirth
Copyright © 2023 by K..M. Able
All
rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be
reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express
written permission of the author except for the use of brief
quotations in a book review. All
the characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any
resemblance to those living or dead is coincidental.
Dedication:
I’ll think of something! I always do!
Prologue: Redux. Reuse. Recycle!
All the magic demis cleared everyone out. Half the city is on lockdown. A whole 5 mile radius around the Banner museum is pulsing with an otherworldly light. –Inet Update
Renenutet limbs slowed. She tried to turn.
Snake Charmer said, “Watch that first step my dear….”
His voice was all wrong. No. It wasn’t possible!
The Devourer poured into every last neuron within her mind. Her mouth opened in a soundless scream as Chronos forced her to gather the slumbering heroes into a Black Scrawl net. Hilary reclined on the benches nearby. Her brow furrowed. Blood leaked from her ears as she made a sweeping motion towards Renenutet.
∞
I groaned as I rose to my feet.
The light above shifted from a golden sunrise to midday. Proceeded by a twinkling dusk. Lensflair kept staring at the far horizon. His scowl deepened with every passing second. Maiden kept scanning the treeline. Paxon and the Puzzler were etching symbols into the grass that shifted hues just as much as the sky did.
Mr. Red pawed at my cape. “Even now he draws the Scrawl about us.”
“Did Chronos trap us in a pocket dimension?”
The rat’s whiskers twitched. <<Not quite. We are within a prism. Of the mummy’s making.>>
“Magically intrusive. Got it!”
Red blinked. The Highest’s tiny paws batted against my neck. Just where my golden pauldron touched the skin. <Yes. Let Red distract. Two way connection. Help Maiden with her mission.>
He stressed Mom’s callsign. No slip ups here.
I tested the air. The faint whiff of perfume surprised me. It was Doc’s favorite. But that didn’t make much sense. My back went rigid as a figure burst through the trees. Every aspect of her was a complete copy of Lorain. Except for the eyes. Those green orbs held no warmth.
Renenutet’s sorceress attire hadn’t changed much. I stepped in front of Paxton and The Puzzler to protect them. Lensflair spat on the ground, “Foul wretch!” Perfect white teeth glinted as she smiled, “You assume much dear boy.”
Maiden withdrew a curved dagger from her armor.
The mark of the Golden City. Ta’mathon’s crane seal blazed with White Scrawl.
Quicker than my eye could follow she made a cutting motion in the air.
Renenutet snarled. Her left hand went to her face.
“Clever. But how long can you stay functional here even with his protection!”
Maiden forced me back with a gentle push.
Paxon lit a cigar. He kept his lighter ready. I knew magical basics but this wasn't my main rodeo. So to speak. Emerald K-9 bristled. His eyes never wavered from Lorain’s crazed doppelganger. Ren pressed her hands to her hips.
“I wasn’t supposed to be here.”
Mom replied, “That low on the totem pole?”
She shook her head. Pouring on the false sympathy. “Not worth much to him are you? Just a broken copy from a failed universe.”
Ren laughed. A light and musical refrain. Lensflair shrouded us in a beam of blazing light.
As my vision cleared we were at the base of a blackened Ziggurat. The winds swept through my bones. N-Energy danced between my nodes. Ren giggled. “Think you can handle what’s in my mind dearies?!”
I squeezed my left hand into a ball. Then relaxed it.
I channeled the thinnest thread of N-energy into it. I could feel the tiles of the museum floor.
It was a start.
∞
Chronos crouched over the Banner. Her left hand twitched repeatedly.
“Clever but that won’t save you from the Prism of the Mind. I had hoped Judgment would make a showing instead but I’ll take what I can get.”
“Let’s go grab that item shall we?”
Snake Charmer and Medusa fanned out. An item that Thoth had intended to use on Chronos. Stolen from Area 51 in the previous cycle. Now? It would be the only thing that would allow for a proper transfer. They all were so certain he wanted the Banner’s Twin. A master stroke really.
Chronos would allow Thoth to fall into that trap.
Parents were often blinded by the love for their children. Mother doted on him so. His Father wished to redeem him.
He would consume them both.
All of reality would be his to shape.
∞
Lucifer glared at the crumbling edifice of the Mummy’s mind.
Even with a rejuvenated physical form she still reeked of short sighted power grabs. Her gold and white dress fluttered in the breeze. The commissioner had taken the lead. Careful to keep his lighter at the ready. It was an astonishing magical artifact. From before Convergence. What had he been in another life?
Lucifer had already given these people enough clues about his powers. Many thought his light abilities were purely demi origin. It was a mix. This body could channel magic but his specific demi ability let him manipulate light. Along all spectrum. Even able to tap into light from the multiverse at large.
This was a trap but to reveal what?
What was Chronos actual after?
Lensflair formed a string of lights that circled Ren.
She winced. Her Black Scrawl tattoos crawled up her back. Around her shoulders.
“Keep walking demon!”
He made sure to add a slight quiver to his voice. He was supposed to be young after all. Let the Banner wonder. Feed just enough to distract her. He had to know. Chronos had a goal none suspected.
The cow colored rat paused. His whiskers twitched, <<Broken mind! Mirrored thoughts. Watch for the knives!>>
∞
I watched as Lensflair glared at the Ziggurat.
So he had magical based ability. The light cubes circled Ren. Firing small sparks to keep the Black Scrawl at bay. Unease rose in my gut. His eyes had become two hardened points. Far too bitter for such a young face. Had he been a former soul slave to the Eternal Empire?
Mr. Red exclaimed, <<The man between all worlds governs all!>>
A way to describe Omu’sol. Mom’s mission.
The doors creaked open. The faint drip of water resonated.
I tested the air again. I had none of my enhanced senses.
My nodes pulsed.
My fingers curled into a fist once more. Then relaxed. The tiled surface.
The foyer. I inhaled again.
Snake Charmer was moving away. Medusa’s footsteps were lighter. She had taken off her boots. The prism had closed off my powers within its boarders but my physical body could still detect the real world. But if I unleashed my nodes? That would reveal a new skill. This was just as much a intel run for Chronos as anything else.
What was hidden within the building he desired?
Interlude Witchlights: Here
Issue 1: Here
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