Breaking Time Read online

  In a way, it still was his fault.

  Sure, Mastermind pushed them over the edge. But they were only on that edge because Luke drew them there.

  Maybe he couldn’t forgive himself after all.

  Watching this story play over and over again didn’t help. It didn’t make anything better. It didn’t give him the closure he needed. It didn’t make him understand and forgive himself. It was still his fault. He was still to blame.

  Oh, God, how he wished he could go back in time and stop it all from happening…

  There were so many opportunities to change history.

  He could’ve stayed home. Not begged his dad to go with them.

  Suddenly, everything around Luke shifted to a red hue and blurred into a stream of light. The next instant, he was back in his apartment, watching his younger self eat popcorn.

  But wait. It wasn’t time for the story to reset yet. Just a second ago, he was watching his younger self look out over the ocean with his dad. A beautiful heart-to-heart moment.

  Part of the story was skipped. His younger self hadn’t slipped yet. His parents didn’t try to rescue him yet. Mastermind hadn’t sent them over the edge yet. Luke hadn’t climbed back up yet.

  Why did they skip all that? Why was he here now, back at the beginning of the series of events?

  Younger Luke’s cell phone rang. It was his dad.

  He picked it up. “Hey Dad,” his younger self said. “What? No way! You’re going to Maui?”

  Present-day Luke sighed. If he could go back in time, this would be an opportunity for change. He simply wouldn’t ask to go.

  “Alright,” said younger Luke. “Bring me back a souvenir. Have fun. See you when you get back.” He then said “love you” and hung up.

  What? That didn’t happen before.

  The scene changed, returning to the airplane flying over the Pacific. Now, Luke’s dad and mom sat alone. Younger Luke was not present. Weird. History had changed.

  The scene changed again, to an abandoned warehouse somewhere on the island. It was pitch black out. Luke could see all the stars above. No lights or signs of civilization anywhere around. Just this single old abandoned building in the middle of a large sugar cane field.

  This was different. Why was he seeing this now?

  Just then, a super speed blur arrived on the scene. His dad had appeared out of nowhere, carrying his mom. They must have been running like that from some considerable distance away. Nothing else was around.

  “You sure he said the chemicals were being stored here?” Luke’s dad asked his mom.

  “He said the shipment from Singapore was stashed here, waiting for Mastermind to pick it up.”

  Chemicals? Shipment? What were they talking about? Was Mastermind importing some illegal chemical into the United States? For what purpose?

  “Still no idea who the anonymous tip came from?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “You saw the same e-mail I did.”

  They entered the abandoned warehouse. Three seconds later, an explosion came from inside.

  “What?” Luke exclaimed. “No!”

  Was it booby-trapped? Were the chemicals too volatile? What happened?

  “Mom? Dad?”

  Luke waited. He watched helplessly. They never came out.

  “No…” He began crying again.

  This can’t be right! They died anyway, even if Luke didn’t come along? No! There had to be another way! Maybe Luke still needed to come along, just not stand too close to that ledge. Yeah. That was it. If they just waited a minute longer, but Luke didn’t fall down, they’d all be on sturdy ground and not distracted when Mastermind showed up.

  That was where history needed to be changed.

  Suddenly everything around Luke shifted to a bluish color and streamed into a blur of light. The next instant, he found himself observing the three of them – younger Luke, his dad, and his mom – standing near, but not at, the ledge, gazing out over the vast and beautiful ocean.

  “Well,” said Luke’s dad after taking a deep, relaxing breath, “let’s get moving, shall we?”

  “One more minute,” younger Luke said.

  “Alright,” smiled his dad. “One more minute.”

  Why was he jumping around out of order? Up until now, the entire scenario repeated over and over again, flawlessly and precisely, in chronological order. But now… Luke was zipping around to wherever, and whenever, he felt he needed to change something.

  Had history changed here now?

  Young Luke did not step too close to the ledge.

  “Hey look,” pointed younger Luke. “I think I see a cave or a lava tube or something.”

  “Cool,” said his dead.

  Present-day Luke watched and waited. Was something going to happen?

  “Wanna see what’s up ahead?” asked his mom.

  They continued on their hike.

  No one died.

  The scene changed again. They were back at the abandoned warehouse in the middle of the sugar cane field. His dad super-sped onto the scene, carrying Luke’s mom again. Where was younger Luke? He wasn’t with them.

  “You sure he said the chemicals were being stored here?” asked Luke’s dad.

  No! No! No! It was happening again!

  Where was Luke now?

  Probably back asleep at the hotel. Completely ignorant of everything. He’d wake up and his parents would be missing. Then what?

  No, no, no! It’s not fair!

  Okay, there had to be another way to stop this. What else could he change? Maybe he could tell his parents not to go at all.

  Everything shifted to a red hue and blurred into a stream of light. Present-day Luke suddenly found himself back at the beginning, watching his eight-month-younger self talk on the phone to his dad.

  “I dunno, dad,” said younger Luke. “I have a really bad feeling. Don’t go.”

  His dad said they needed to.

  “Please,” said younger Luke. “What if something bad happens to you guys?”

  His dad reassured him that nothing bad would happen.

  They went – and died – anyway.

  Dammit!

  Could nothing be changed?

  Nothing meaningful, anyway. Sure, the story changed a little bit each time. But the outcome was always the same.

  Okay. No holding back. There was definitely one way to prevent this tragedy.

  The scene shifted to red and blurred into a stream of light. Suddenly Luke was back in the same scene, at his apartment, watching his younger self answer the phone.

  “Hey Dad.” This was it. Would this work? “What? No way! You’re going to Maui?”

  Come on, come on. Work.

  “Actually, Dad,” said younger Luke, “there’s something I need to tell you. I know you and mom have super powers, and I know because I do too. I can time travel. And I know about Mastermind. If you go to Maui, no matter what we do to change history, you both end up dead. Please, dad, I need you to believe me.”

  It worked.

  His parents didn’t go.

  The scene changed to the airplane. Their seats were empty. The scene then changed to show the cliff. No one stood there. And then the abandoned warehouse. No explosion.

  Luke had finally done it.

  He changed history!

  Wow. He couldn’t help but smile. He felt great. And wait – did his younger self say he had the power to time travel? As in, that was his super power now? Was that it? Was this the emotional push Luke needed to manifest a power and escape this infinite loop?

  The answer was yes.

  Suddenly he found himself spit out of the sphere – and into the middle of a battle. He crashed into Venom, right before she was about to bite Ray, who was still trapped in the slime-covered web.

  “Luke, perfect timing!” said Ray.

  Luke sat on top of Venom several feet away. He looked around. He was really confused. Who were all these mutants? And not cool mutants, like the X-Men. Ugly, part
-animal, comic book reject type mutants.

  Venom wiggled out from underneath him.

  “Luke, look out!” shouted Charlie.

  She snapped at him. Her fangs barely missed his neck.

  “Guess what!” said Luke to his uncle. “I can time travel!”

  Shadow pounced on Charlie, knocking him to the floor. Crawling on top of him, she went to slash his face. He grabbed her arms and did all he could to keep those claws away from him.

  “That’s great, Luke,” said his uncle, a little distracted at the moment.

  “Help Dawn!” Ray shouted.

  Luke looked around. “Where?”

  “She’s the snake! The snake!”

  Luke pointed curiously at Venom.

  “No, not her!” Ray exclaimed. “That one!” He motioned towards the boa constrictor currently being squeezed into oblivion. Oh. Sure. Obviously that snake needed help. Well, duh.

  And… he should do exactly what now? Rhino-Man was massive. Kraken was not someone Luke wanted to mess with either. But Luke had a super power now.

  Yeah. Time to use that.

  He had to think fast. Dawn, still mostly a boa constrictor, started shape-shifting randomly and uncontrollably. Either she was dying or… yeah, she was probably dying.

  Time to save the day!

  Luke needed to go back in time. Before this entourage of monster movie rejects showed up. Luke could warn the others the mutants were coming – and they could all escape before it was too late!

  Suddenly, everything around him turned red and blurred into a stream of light. The next instant, he found himself standing in the exact same spot, but none of the mutants were around.

  “So,” said Dawn. “You’re Luke’s uncle?”

  Ray happened to be facing in Luke’s direction. “Luke?” he remarked. “You’re back already?”

  “Yes!” he said excitedly. “I’ve come back… from the future! It’s my new power. Cool, right? Anyway, Mastermind and a bunch of monster baddies are about to show up and we don’t exactly win the fight.”

  “What?” asked Charlie. “Mastermind, here? That’s impossible!”

  “I’m telling you what I saw.”

  “But he’d need a crystal to—”

  “Look, trust me. Ray gets covered in slime and wrapped up in a giant web. Dawn turns into a snake and gets squeezed to death by Rhino Dude. I almost get bit by this crazy snake lady! And you, uncle, there’s this cat girl clawing at you!”

  “Sounds like our waitress,” said Ray. “You mean he turned more people into… into mutants?”

  Dawn looked to Ray. This was not good news.

  “I guess,” said Luke.

  “This is not good,” said Charlie. “Mastermind often talked about building an army of monsters. Said he wanted to turn the whole world into ‘the monsters they truly were’.”

  “What’d he mean by that?” asked Luke.

  Charlie sighed. “If you really did just come from the future, then it means you got your power and survived the sphere. Not everyone does.”

  “What? What do you mean? I could’ve died in there?”

  “No, no, no. Not that I know of, anyway,” said Charlie. “What I mean is, sometimes, people change. And I don’t just mean by getting their powers.”

  “Then what?” asked Dawn.

  “Look, all I know is, some girl really screwed over Mastermind a long time ago. And she didn’t just break his heart – she and a bunch of peers went out of their way to publicly humiliate him. He wouldn’t tell us the details. But I can say, after he came out of the sphere, he was a different man. Colder, harder, angrier. He truly despised people – and had an exceptional hatred toward women. I don’t know what happened in there… but whatever it was, it made things worse. Much worse.”

  “That’s terrible,” said Dawn.

  “I know. He wasn’t exactly an upstanding guy to begin with, either. And now,” said Charlie, “it seems he’s found a way to carry out his plan.”

  “Well,” said Luke, checking his watch, “if we don’t hurry—”

  Just then the chamber door rolled open.

  The villains entered.

  Doctor Troyd tugged on Mastermind’s sleeve, pointing at Ray, Dawn, Charlie, and Luke

  “Yes,” said Mastermind, shrugging off the annoying scientist. “I see them.” He spotted Charlie, smiled, and chuckled. “Could that be—”

  Luke interrupted, “Dammit! Now we took too long!”

  “Mastermind!” shouted Charlie.

  The sinister villain recognized Dawn and Ray. “What are you two doing here?” He turned to Luke. “You seem familiar too. Where do I know you from?”

  “Don’t look in his eyes!” Dawn quickly shouted.

  He smirked deviously. “Smart girl.”

  “Okay Luke,” said Charlie. “Now’s a good time for your plan.”

  “What plan?” Luke remarked.

  “The plan—” Charlie interrupted himself. “Never mind. Just get us out of here!”

  “Right!” said Luke, reaching into his pocket for the crystal.

  Mastermind laughed. “Give up, Chuck. You can’t stop me.”

  Luke drew a large circle on the ground.

  “Oh, this is too precious,” laughed Mastermind. “I’ll turn all four of you into my mutant slaves.” He turned to his mutants. “Get them! Before they escape!”

  Luke drew the first symbol that came to mind.

  A triangle!

  The portal instantly opened. It revealed the open windy desert. Still hot and sunny. “Everybody in!” Luke waved.

  “Don’t have to tell me twice!” said Dawn, jumping into the hole.

  “Right behind ya!” said Ray, after using a quick blast of telekinesis to push back the mutants, to buy them a little more time.

  “After you, Luke,” said Charlie.

  “No, you first,” said Luke.

  “We don’t have time to argue!” Charlie pushed Luke in. And the old man immediately jumped after.

  On the other side of the portal, they suddenly found themselves parallel above the ground. A second later, gravity took over and they all fell on their backs.

  As soon as Charlie was through, Luke scurried up to the stone wall where the portal remained open. He quickly X-ed it out just as Venom and Shadow came into view. The portal vanished. They were safe.

  “That was fun,” said Ray, dusting off the sand.

  “Um, Luke,” said Charlie, “you do realize we’re still on the same planet. Mastermind and his mutants are just over there in that pyramid.”

  “I know,” defended Luke. “I meant to do that.”

  Dawn and Ray weren’t so sure. “Anyway,” said Luke, “where should we go now? Back to Earth?” He started drawing a new portal on the blank stone wall.

  “Actually,” said Charlie. “I have a better idea. Remember that last symbol I taught you, the one that goes into the future?”

  “Yeah,” said Luke. Suddenly his face lit up. “Yeah!”

  Chapter Five

  The Other Crystal

  “Okay,” said Uncle Charlie. “Draw the symbol.”

  Luke drew two parallel vertical lines. Then he made a half circle at the top of the right line, and drew another half circle at the top of the left line. Just like his uncle taught him. It worked.

  The portal suddenly opened.

  “Wow!” said Dawn, looking through. “It’s so beautiful!”

  Indeed it was. Clear blue skies. Lush green trees. A beautiful park landscape. Spectacular water fountains. Exotic birds chirping and singing. An exotic array of stunning multi-colored flowers. Endless green grassy fields littered with vibrant trees.

  “Come on, let’s go,” said Charlie with some urgency.

  They stepped through. And entered—

  “The future,” Luke whispered in awe.

  Abundant nature surrounded them. Peaceful. Beautiful. Alive. Thriving. In a word: amazing.

  And in the distance, toward the horizon, th
ey saw a magnificent white city that towered so high, some of the buildings actually touched the clouds. These buildings appeared to be made out of a pure white material. Some buildings were layered with gardens and waterfalls, trickling down from the clouds above. Others structures magnificently spiraled upwards toward the sky. Domes, towers, architectural wonders, arching bridges, flowing gardens, floating platforms between the interconnected structures. A city of the future.

  Luke smiled when he saw, all the way in the distance, what must be flying cars. Finally, after all these years, they finally did it. Maybe not as early as 2015, like in Back to the Future, but just knowing that someday people would be cruising around in their own flying vehicles made Luke very happy.

  What other marvels of technology did the future hold? Teleporters? Holographic simulation rooms, like the “holodeck” on Star Trek? The cure for the common cold? Maybe even contact with an intelligent alien race?

  “Don’t forget to close the portal,” reminded Uncle Charlie.

  Luke snapped out of it and closed the portal. “You think we’re safe here?” he asked his uncle.

  His uncle hesitated to answer. “We will be.”

  Ray quickly grew concerned. “Can Mastermind follow us here?”

  “I don’t know,” said Charlie. “He knows the symbol. If he’s got a working crystal too…”

  Dawn leaned over to smell some of the multi-colored flowers. “It’s so beautiful here,” she said. Took a deep breath. “And the air is so clean. Not like in LA.”

  Not like LA at all. Ray watched the breeze gently rustle through the leaves of the trees. The trees almost looked familiar. Almost. But different, somehow.

  Just then, someone appeared. A short man, a little over five feet tall, wearing a white robe with silver and blue lining. “Welcome!” he cheerfully greeted them. “Welcome to Eden. I’m Ethos, Visitor Liaison. What brings you here today?”

  He seem very friendly.

  “Um, where did he come from?” asked Dawn.

  Ray shrugged.

  The man just “appeared” in front of them. Out of thin air. Luke smiled. Teleportation technology? Check.

  Uncle Charlie said, “Uh, yes, we’re here to see Simeon. He’s a historian. Tell him it’s Chuck.”