The League Wars Orbital Arena was active with the lights aglow, but there were no spectators or hovering holo screens. A few people dotted the perimeter of the field while Chase stood in the center, holding a large watch in her hands.
From here, the large fractures in time could be seen all over the earth. The chaos was unimaginable, time was imploding with no sense of past or present anywhere. The rifts would soon expand beyond Earth and the station would be overtaken by them.
Chase wasn’t thinking about time breaking or the danger to the world. She was thinking about the next person she would speak to. It was possible he wouldn’t answer their call, and that could spell doom for the world. Yet, she felt a tight knot in her stomach at the thought of meeting her grandfather.
Holding up the clock, she did as her father, Santa, told her and used her power. She moved with it backward in time through its existence. She slowed the process down when she arrived at the last time it was in the hands of Father Time. Normally, she could only observe the past through this process, but by the power of this clock, she could interact, but only with those who had the power to hear her.
“Father Time, we need your help. Time is breaking and will soon cause a catastrophic destruction that will consume the entire solar system. You have the power to control this device and, with it, undo the damage to time. Follow this time stream back to the present and meet me in the Orbital...”
“Angela, I am here.” His old voice surprised her.
She let go of her power and found Father Time standing in front of her in the middle of the field. The other people around her were equally shocked at the sudden appearance of this foe. “Father Time, where did you come from?”
He smiled with his aged face. “Time moves instantaneously. I heard you and I came. I wondered if BADGE would ask for my help. Time is splintering so terribly.”
Chase gulped back the tightness in her throat and focused herself. “You caused this problem. You need to help fix it.”
“I did not cause this. The sudden cessation of my time compression caused time to fracture. If I had been allowed to complete my goal, then this would not have happened.”
Chase said, “no one could live in such a world. Time must move.”
“I see you have been led to the same lies as your adopted father and all the others. Fools. My goals are for the good of all, yet no one can see it.”
“Please, we don’t have time for this. Will you help?” She held up the clock.
Father Time smiled and looked at her. “You are a beautiful woman. I am proud to be your grandfather. It is a shame that you had to be taken from me. I could have made you immortal, just like me.”
“I don’t want your immortality, stealing lives of other simply to live as a parasite.”
He laughed, “parasite. I take only the bodies of those near their own end. With my power, I can live in this old body for decades, when the original owner had mere days.”
“You aren’t doing them any favors.” Chase spat out.
He shook his head, “how you fail to understand me. Oh, well. I suppose that is my fault. I should have taken you three centuries ago and not let you be raised by hopeless fools.” He reached out, “I will take the clock and fix time.”
Chase hesitated to give him the clock.
Nova called out, “Give it to him, Chase. It’s our only hope.”
“Yes, Angela, I am your only hope.”
She thrust it into his hands. “don’t call me Angela. My name is Chase for you. Get this over with.” She stepped back and crossed her arms.
He caressed the clock and smiled. “I see Santa has unsealed its powers for me. How nice. I will need this level of control to accomplish what is needed. Ah, the feel of pure time power, how wonderful. Yes, this will suffice.” He produced a strange wooden staff in the air and attached the clock to the end.
Santa called out, “what is that?”
“Just a tool. Don’t get your beard in a twist. Now, watch a master of time work.” He held up the clock and his body crackled with energy. All at once, the energy filled the clock and a powerful wave exploded out of it. It rang like a perfectly tuned gong. It rang again, and then again, each time the sound and vibrations growing with intensity.
Everyone watched with bated breath at the fractures in time. The holes slowly sealed themselves. One by one, they closed. Where people and objects had emerged from them, the items out of time vanished as their fracture closed. Soon, the world had no more fractures, and all was back to normal.
With the last gonging sound, Father Time lowered the staff with the clock on the end. He beamed with pride at his work.
“There, all repaired, and with time to spare...if you don’t mind the pun.”
Chase held out her hand. “Thank you. Now, return the clock.”
He lowered the staff and pet the clock for a moment. “It is such a shame to hand this over to people who don’t respect the incredible power that is time itself.”
“Now!” she insisted.
Father Time smiled, “to think, with this I now have the power to compress time and achieve my centuries-old dream. I would be the savior of all humanity. The end of death and suffering.”
Chase produced a blade with her free hand. “Give it back, now.”
“I don’t think so.” He held it up and another gong sound came and she was thrown aside by the power. “Time is at my mercy!” He stabbed the staff against the ground and a brilliant light shone from the clock.
“PLAN B!” Nova called out.
Santa, EB, Nova, Rutkowski, and Peyton all held out their hands. A barrier formed around the field. The power emanating from Father Time met this barrier and stopped.
“Clever, Nova, as always. Your collective time powers can stall me, but you cannot fight me and keep it active.” He held the staff higher and the power from it grew. The barrier rippled hard while those crafting it strained to keep it active.
Chase threw her blade, but Father Time simply avoided it by shifting in time. She clicked her comm. “Gar, Plan B!”
Gar, in the Operations center on the station, pressed the all-call button on the computer station.
“Heroes, Father Time has betrayed us. Get to the League Wars Arena! All heroes! FIGHT!”
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