Fast Track: Jump the Fast Lane

Two weeks after Tom was forced to kill Penny, he and Emma began to experience simultaneously extreme shifts in the time stream which often left them suffering from pain known to no man. While the majority of these shifts initially only lasted a few minutes, they eventually grew to last for hours at a time.

And these longer attacks were becoming more and more common as time bore on.

Neither of them went to school anymore, preferring to stay at home 24/7 in order to be in a familiar environment during the attacks; however, on this occasion, the attack pulled them out of their comfort zone and straight into the time stream itself, where they slowly began to move towards the Creation Vortex. Not that that registered with either of them.

As they approached the beginning of everything, their minds began to clear and the attack appeared to cease, almost as if it was scared of the glowing white sphere that represented the beginning of time.

            “Why are we coming here?” Tom moaned while the pain continued to dissipate. “What is so special about the beginning of time?”

            “Quite a lot when you consider Geoff’s ability to control time differs greatly from our,” Emma shrugged. “He could very easily destroy the Universe by some very small manipulation of the Vortex.”

            “That would explain the attacks,” Tom agreed as their platform sped forwards suddenly, into the bright, white ball of light before hitting the beginning of the floor and launching the two of them across the inside of the sphere.

Once their eyes adjusted to the blinding light of the Creation Vortex, the two of them quickly realised that they were no alone. Stood about ten metres from where they landed was Tom’s father, Geoff. His instincts kicking in, Tom stood quickly and readied his sword of temporal energy. Emma was still in a daze from the sudden alteration of the lighting level, as such she was slightly slower to the draw.

Geoff, who was much more aware, alert and definitely in his element, simply waved his hand from right to left, sending a wave of energy across the room and straight into Tom and Emma, knocking them across the room and into the wall opposite from where they landed. He began advancing slowly towards them, his hand ready to send another wave of energy straight at them.

Tom looked up, the pain in his head rebuilding itself, trying to incapacitate him, but before it could, Tom pointed his palm at his father and produced a small wave of temporal energy (akin to what his father had used on him) to send his father flying backwards.

Emma used her powers of the wind and air to form a mini-tornado that picked Geoff up and pinned him against the ceiling, giving Tom enough time to stand and jump into the air where he quickly knocked father down to the ground. Hard.

While Emma de-formed a mini-tornado, Tom allowed Geoff to stand. It was now that they stood, facing each other for the first time since that fateful day that had decided the fate of both humanity and the Protectors.

            “Last time this ended with me in a prison cell,” Geoff noted.

            “This time it’ll end with you in a casket,” Tom snarled, reforming his sword in his hand ready to kill his father.

            “Except that you need me to save the Universe,” Geoff warned. “Kill me and you’ll never fix that which broke.”

            “What do you mean?” Tom quizzed while he decided upon the best way to murder his father.

            “The pain in your head is the Universe and time stream colloapsing in on itself,” Geoff described. “We have about a month before the entire thing just collapses and everyone inside is either killed as it collapses or it spreads its inhabitants out across any number of alternative realities.”

            “And why can’t I fix it alone?” Tom asked. “Neither of us can work together.”

            “Neither of us have a choice,” Geoff retorted. “We have to put aside our differences or the everything we know dies: And the world will unravel backwards, first Connie, then Maddi, then Emma, then your generation, then mine and so on. Everything we know and care about will be ripped from us.”