The Indestructibles (Book 4): Like A Comet (42 page)

Chapter
82:

Once,
on a farm

With the Tower now gone, the Labyrinth
too public, the options for holding one of the most important and strange meetings
in the history of Earth became pretty slim. They needed somewhere private, and
out of the way, with room. Lots of room.

      Jane said she knew such a place.

      Billy laughed when he heard her
suggestion. And yet here he stood, in the middle of a field, unfolding tables
and setting them up in the mid-day sun. Jane's parents prepared coffee, lemonade,
pies and cookies. Of course they did, Billy thought. Everything he knew about
Jane—and if he admitted it, most of what he liked about her—came from the fact
that she was raised here, by the Hawkins, who would, without batting an eye, host
a gathering of aliens to discuss the future of the planet.

      And they would put out desserts
and other refreshments.

     
You're nervous,
Dude said
in Billy's head.

      What gave you that impression,
Billy thought, pacing back and forth, waiting for the last few arrivals.

      What a group, Billy noted, while taking
stock of everyone in attendance. Emily helped Mrs. Hawkins carry food from the
house and talked her ear off about flying a giant robot. She used bubbles of
float to carry items that wouldn't spill if her attention happened to waver.
Doc stood to one side with Sam chatting quietly. Valerie Snow, today the color
of white clouds on a spring afternoon, hovered near Doc shyly. Billy felt bad
for her. The sentient storm was overwhelmed by everything, and he'd overheard
her talking with Jane. Val stepped up during the invasion, but he knew what it
was like during those days following your first real battle. Terrifying,
confusing, guilt-ridden.

      Korthos—where did we dig that guy
up? Billy thought—sat at one of the folding tables, devouring desserts.

      "These round delights are
ambrosia!" he said, using a chocolate chip cookie to scoop up a mouthful
of apple pie. "I did not know mere mortals were capable of such culinary
magicks! Tell me, is this thine superhuman power, Lady Hawkins?"

      Doris Hawkins blushed when he
spoke to her. A few feet away, big John Hopkins folded his arms across his
chest in mock jealousy.

      "Flattery will get you
everywhere, Mr. Korthos," Doris said.

      Bedlam sat at one of the other tables,
laughing at the whole event. Billy headed over to join her.

      "I feel like I'm in a cartoon,"
she said.

      "Welcome to our lives,"
he said. "Any word from your boss?"

      "Black?" Bedlam said. "He's
safe. I tried to explain that he built up a lot of good will for all that he
did the past few days, but he'd rather keep a low profile for now."

      "He's not a bad guy, is he?"
Billy said.

      "He can be," Bedlam
said. "Or could be. The job required it. But he's also one of the best
people I've ever known."

      Billy laughed.

      "What?" Bedlam asked,
and simultaneously, Dude asked the same question in Billy's mind.

      Billy answered both of them. "I
was just thinking that the world isn't black and white, but… the name . . . Agent
Black? That can't be his real name."

      "It is now," Bedlam
said. "Just like mine's Bedlam. Sometimes old names fall away. Are you ever
going to be Straylight first and Billy second?"

      "I dunno," Billy said. "I'm
pretty self-absorbed."

     
Truer words were never spoken,
Dude said.

      Hey, Billy said. I'm getting
better.

     
You are,
Dude said.
You've
come a long way, Billy Case
.

     
We've
come a long way,
Dude, Billy thought. You and me.

     
Yes we have
, Dude said.

      So what's next? Billy asked Dude.
I mean, this is why you've existed for all these centuries, right? To fight the
Nemesis fleet?

     
This is what we're here to talk
about
, Dude said.
Look up.

      Thirteen bright white streaks
lanced across the sky, led by one bright ball of fire, Jane, who guided the
other Luminae to this place. We didn't lose a man, Billy realized. All these
centuries, all these worlds the Luminae had tried to save and failed, and a
baker's dozen traveled here to help us and we all made it home. That's a
miracle in and of itself, Billy thought.

      A wave of emotion flickered
through Billy's mind. Not his emotion, he realized. Dude's.

      You okay, Dude? Billy thought.

     
My brothers and sisters,
Dude said.
I never thought I'd see so many of us in one place ever again. It's
been so long.

      It never occurred to Billy that
Dude might be lonely here. Trapped in a host body, unable to live on his own,
his partner and friend abandoning him to fight for a world that was not his all
alone.

      Emily plopped down in the seat
next to him, wedging Billy between her and Bedlam.

      "Will you look at that,"
Emily said. "It's like an airshow. What do you think, Billy? You feel any
less special now that you know there's a bunch of aliens just like you?"

      "You have to ruin my moment,
don't you?" Billy said.

      Emily punched him on the shoulder.

      "What would you do without
me, Billy Case?" she said.

      "From what I've seen of your
friendship, he'd probably either have an incredibly swelled head or a lot more
self-confidence," Bedlam said.

      "See, I serve a dual purpose.
I build you up, I keep you humble," Emily said.

      "Story of my life,"
Billy said, hopping up to his feet. The others joined him, and together they
met the delegation of Luminae as Jane landed.

      Do you know these guys, Dude?
Billy asked.

     
I do,
he said.
Some
better than others. But I do.

      The other hosts came in all shapes
and sizes, some more human than others. Suresh wore a gleeful look on his face.
A blue-skinned creature looked almost like a classic "gray" alien
from the movies, aside from its coloring. Something that appeared to be a sentient
mass of clay, changed shape as it touched the ground. A reddish centaur-like creature
joined them; its body and head were like a rhinoceros instead of man and horse.
Two or three resembled some of the aliens they'd seen controlled by Nemesis
parasites, clearly stolen from the worlds these Luminae had tried to protect.
Seng took the lead, now clearly the most at home with the Earthlings waiting
for them.

      In the center of the group stood what
Billy could only describe as a flying elephant.

      Dude, is that…? he asked.

     
One of the first of our hosts,
Dude said.
I thought they were all dead.

      Billy remembered Dude's tale of
the first host world of the Luminae and the elephant-like creatures they had
joined up with, who sacrificed their lives in an effort to stop the Nemesis
fleet. There shouldn't be any left, he thought. Right?

      The big creature stepped forward
and inspected each member of the gathering.

      "I am called Daybreak,"
the flying elephant said. Hearing it speak at all, let alone in English, caused
Billy to nearly freak out. Emily's eyes grew enormous. Bedlam's mouth hung
open. Doc smirked a little bit like he was privy to some secret no one else on
the team was. And Jane simply offered her hand in welcome.

      "I don't, how are… you're…"
Billy tried to say. He could hear Dude's amusement in his head, but even Dude
seemed confused by this turn of events.

      Daybreak looked him over. "You
are Straylight," Daybreak said.

      "That's me. Billy.
Straylight. Case. Me," Billy said.

      "I thought all the flying
elephants were gone," Emily said.

      Billy's stomach filled with acid as
he realized what just escaped his friend's lips. He'd said it himself before,
but somehow, Emily's tone made it sound so much more flippant.

      "Your world is filled with
wonders," Daybreak said. "Do you think yours is the only planet with
miracles? I am the last of my kind, little one, but I, like you, was no
ordinary person when this war started. I am cursed with a longer life than most,
longer still than even the Luminae who can extend our lives."

      "You've been here since the
beginning," Jane said.

      "And now at the end,"
the big creature said. "But we haven't gathered to talk about me."

      "Whatever your next move is,
we'll help," Doc said. "Anything you need."

      Suresh stepped forward and placed
a hand on Daybreak's massive shoulder.

      "Aside from Straylight and I,
all of us are from dead worlds," Suresh said. "They're all Lost Ones.
And they aren't the only Luminae out there without an adopted world. There are
others wandering the galaxy."

      "You need a home base,"
Emily said. She turned to Doc. "What about Rhode Island?"

      Doc laughed and shook his head.

      "You already have an idea,
don't you, my old friend," Doc said. "You've been busy all those
years you were gone."

      Billy'd forgotten that Suresh and
Doc knew each other, that they, along with Dude's partner before Billy, had
worked together years before. Suresh looked so much older than Doc and this
surprised him. It was easy to forget, with Doc acting as mentor and father figure,
that he'd been one of the younger heroes on his team in the old days.

      "There's a moon," Suresh
said.

      "Titan!" Emily yelled.

      Everyone turned to look at her.

      "What? Everybody knows Titan's
the best moon," Emily said.

      Suresh roared with laughter,
strode over to Emily, and picked her up in a huge hug.

      "This one would've fit in so
well in the old days," he said, winking at Doc. "And you're right, my
little friend. Titan. With your blessing, we'd like to build a base there.
Somewhere to call home while we search for our lost friends."

      "I knew you weren't just hanging
out near Saturn by accident," Billy said.

      "Titan does have a hell of a
view, kid," Suresh said.

      Jane raised her hand politely.

      Suresh chuckled at the gesture.

      "Go on," he said.

      "Is it really over?"
Jane said. "The fleet was a living organism. Was it unique? Are there
others?"

      Suresh and Daybreak exchanged a
look.

      "We don't know,"
Daybreak said. "Another reason why we need your help."

      "We'll have to keep watch on
the worlds the fleet destroyed before," Seng said. "Just in case…"

      "If you say anything about
eggs or something I'm going to be sick," Emily said.

      "Then we shall leave it
implied," he said.

      "Speaking of 'are there more
out there,' one of the seed ships is floating away," Billy said.

      "Some of us should go finish
that off," Suresh said. "I imagine it will be easy without the brain
ship protecting it, but just to be sure I'd like you to help us, Korthos, you
big lug."

      The barbarian stopped mid mouthful,
a mess of Boston cream on his plate. He slammed a fist on the table.    

      "My axe is yours, Horizon!"
Korthos yelled, his mouth still full of food.

      Suresh whispered conspiratorially
to Doc. "Might help keep the big guy busy," he said.

      Doc nodded his gratitude.

      Sam, a hand on Jane's shoulder,
spoke for the first time. He looked tired. More so than usual.

      "We just discovered a bunch
of alien tech, some of which we don't even know how to use yet," Sam said.
"You're welcome to anything you need."

      "Good to see you again, Sam,"
Suresh said.

      The aging Barren nodded. "You
as well, you old lunatic," Sam said.

      So what about us? Billy asked
Dude. If we're not here to guard against the Nemesis fleet, do we… go with
them? Must we leave Earth?

      Dude remained quiet for a few
seconds.

      Billy didn't really want to hear
what he'd say next.

     
This is my home, Billy Case, as
much as it is yours,
Dude said.
My brothers can protect the stars. This
is our world to guard.

      "I know what your friend is
saying in there, Straylight," Suresh said.

      Billy's eyes widened.