Chapter 25
Liz and Isaac walked back to Marcus and Dem. They were wrestling in the courtyard they were left in. Marcus had the upper hand, but he let Dem get in a few strong blows for the sake of keeping the match interesting. Isaac and Liz waited on the sidelines for Marcus to finish playing. When he was finally bored, he ended the match in half a second by leaping onto Dem and pinning him to the ground. Isaac and Liz walked over and Marcus said, “Have you told her everything?”
“I told her what I could. The rest she will learn on her own over time.”
Marcus held a long pause before saying, “Very well. Little one, do you have the strength to run as fast as he? To strike your blade as hard as he?”
Liz answered, “I had the strength since the day I became a titanicus. What I lacked, however, was the willpower.”
“And that is what I will give you.”
Marcus leapt into the air and covered Liz in flames. She jumped out and ran. Liz did not have a choice, seeing that her blade was in the oven of Marcus’s maw. She jumped from building to building, using the financial district’s towering pillars as a method of keeping Marcus grounded. All of her efforts were for nothing; Marcus was not slowed down by her movements and he quickly caught up with her. His jaws were feet behind her and his tongue lashed out to grab her out of the air. She focused too much on what was behind her and flew perpendicular to a glass facing.
Suddenly, time slowed down. Liz placed her feet upon the glass structure and she saw the ripples on the surface flow away from where she landed. Gravity seemed to be nonexistent; she stood looking strait at the ground and Marcus appeared to be directly above her. Liz focused all of her attention on him as his body slowly inched its way to her. His teeth were directly over her and his mouth slowly closed when Liz saw her opening.
She jumped downward and a crater on the earth appeared where she landed. Marcus was still moving at a very slow pace. Liz jumped upward with all her might and she landed at his chest. Almost instantly, all of her will was drained into a single punch. Marcus, despite being twenty thousand times her weight, was thrown backwards in slow motion. It only looked slow, as Liz realized, because he was massive beyond belief. In reality Marcus was thrown at over a hundred miles per hour and flew a full mile before he hit the ground and skidded the rest of the way. Liz barely had the will to walk at the sight of her downed brother, but she still ran to him. She reached his corpse after a five minute jog and he still had not moved.
Isaac jumped down from Marcus’s head and said, “Congratulations, you just paralyzed him.”
Like magic, Marcus sprung back to life and moved fast as Isaac and Liz moved before. Both of them were caught by a single claw and they were pressed excessively close together. Marcus said, “Neither of you are to use your abilities on the walk home. Yes, I wish for both of you to walk the long path to the docks and hitch a ride back to the island.”
He dropped both of them at the courtyard, where Dem was carving his initials into the side of a building. Liz and Isaac started to walk back to the dock, where they could make their way back to the island. As they walked, Isaac taught Liz of some of the moves she could do to outmaneuver and outwit Marcus. Also, how he could counter her moves. It was a two hour walk to the docks and Liz enjoyed every second of it. Their conversation changed to their pasts.
Isaac opened up a little and his neutrality changed to happiness and anger as he told the story of his past. He told Liz about how his parents died as a child, how he was given to an authoritarian foster parent, how he ran away and found and watched die his first love. He ended the tail with, “So I found a job at a place called the covenant and the rest was history.”
“Why can’t my past be filled as yours is? I’m like every other college grad.”
“Trust me; you do not want to hold my past.”
“Oh yes I do! You became a major tool in shaping the world as we know it.”
“Look in a mirror, Liz! You and I are the same, even though we came from different pasts, we will share the same present and futures. The past is done with and so are our old selves. Forget your past; never speak of it in my presence again. You can muse over old glories with your family, but never around me. I would give all but my sanity to rid myself of my past. Let it be forgotten. Please.”
“I would only ask you this. I can never sit and watch as a person tries to hide their feelings. What would it take to make you happy? And I don’t mean looking happy, I mean being happy.”
Isaac stopped and turned to her. He leaned his head toward her, and she did the same. He embraced her and moved a little faster than Liz expected. She kept saying, “Ok, ok, I understand. Now get off, get off.”
When it was clear he would not let go so easily, Liz grabbed his arm, spun him around in the air, and threw him into the side of a derelict dump truck. The massive piece of metal fell to the side, and Isaac was imbedded in the center. When he pulled himself out of the trash, Liz was nowhere to be seen. He smashed his fist into the steel plating of the truck and screamed his anger in a slur of curses aimed at his own stupidity.
“I told her what I could. The rest she will learn on her own over time.”
Marcus held a long pause before saying, “Very well. Little one, do you have the strength to run as fast as he? To strike your blade as hard as he?”
Liz answered, “I had the strength since the day I became a titanicus. What I lacked, however, was the willpower.”
“And that is what I will give you.”
Marcus leapt into the air and covered Liz in flames. She jumped out and ran. Liz did not have a choice, seeing that her blade was in the oven of Marcus’s maw. She jumped from building to building, using the financial district’s towering pillars as a method of keeping Marcus grounded. All of her efforts were for nothing; Marcus was not slowed down by her movements and he quickly caught up with her. His jaws were feet behind her and his tongue lashed out to grab her out of the air. She focused too much on what was behind her and flew perpendicular to a glass facing.
Suddenly, time slowed down. Liz placed her feet upon the glass structure and she saw the ripples on the surface flow away from where she landed. Gravity seemed to be nonexistent; she stood looking strait at the ground and Marcus appeared to be directly above her. Liz focused all of her attention on him as his body slowly inched its way to her. His teeth were directly over her and his mouth slowly closed when Liz saw her opening.
She jumped downward and a crater on the earth appeared where she landed. Marcus was still moving at a very slow pace. Liz jumped upward with all her might and she landed at his chest. Almost instantly, all of her will was drained into a single punch. Marcus, despite being twenty thousand times her weight, was thrown backwards in slow motion. It only looked slow, as Liz realized, because he was massive beyond belief. In reality Marcus was thrown at over a hundred miles per hour and flew a full mile before he hit the ground and skidded the rest of the way. Liz barely had the will to walk at the sight of her downed brother, but she still ran to him. She reached his corpse after a five minute jog and he still had not moved.
Isaac jumped down from Marcus’s head and said, “Congratulations, you just paralyzed him.”
Like magic, Marcus sprung back to life and moved fast as Isaac and Liz moved before. Both of them were caught by a single claw and they were pressed excessively close together. Marcus said, “Neither of you are to use your abilities on the walk home. Yes, I wish for both of you to walk the long path to the docks and hitch a ride back to the island.”
He dropped both of them at the courtyard, where Dem was carving his initials into the side of a building. Liz and Isaac started to walk back to the dock, where they could make their way back to the island. As they walked, Isaac taught Liz of some of the moves she could do to outmaneuver and outwit Marcus. Also, how he could counter her moves. It was a two hour walk to the docks and Liz enjoyed every second of it. Their conversation changed to their pasts.
Isaac opened up a little and his neutrality changed to happiness and anger as he told the story of his past. He told Liz about how his parents died as a child, how he was given to an authoritarian foster parent, how he ran away and found and watched die his first love. He ended the tail with, “So I found a job at a place called the covenant and the rest was history.”
“Why can’t my past be filled as yours is? I’m like every other college grad.”
“Trust me; you do not want to hold my past.”
“Oh yes I do! You became a major tool in shaping the world as we know it.”
“Look in a mirror, Liz! You and I are the same, even though we came from different pasts, we will share the same present and futures. The past is done with and so are our old selves. Forget your past; never speak of it in my presence again. You can muse over old glories with your family, but never around me. I would give all but my sanity to rid myself of my past. Let it be forgotten. Please.”
“I would only ask you this. I can never sit and watch as a person tries to hide their feelings. What would it take to make you happy? And I don’t mean looking happy, I mean being happy.”
Isaac stopped and turned to her. He leaned his head toward her, and she did the same. He embraced her and moved a little faster than Liz expected. She kept saying, “Ok, ok, I understand. Now get off, get off.”
When it was clear he would not let go so easily, Liz grabbed his arm, spun him around in the air, and threw him into the side of a derelict dump truck. The massive piece of metal fell to the side, and Isaac was imbedded in the center. When he pulled himself out of the trash, Liz was nowhere to be seen. He smashed his fist into the steel plating of the truck and screamed his anger in a slur of curses aimed at his own stupidity.