Chapter 50 Nice and Easy

I teleported to Sania first, swept her off her feet and kissed her long and passionately. When I pulled back, recovering from the surprise with impressive speed, her eyes went wide.

“920,” she breathed more than said as we stood in the main hall of her temple.

“920,” I agreed. “Not far now.”

“You’re officially the strongest Mortal Core on the planet now, Clive. I somehow don’t think Danivra will mind.”

“She’s screaming in my mind right now with uncharacteristic excitement. It will be Natom’s face that I really want to see.”

A moment later, a portal opened right next to us. Through it strode Danivra and Grigor. Both were smiling so wide that I worried they’d do themselves an injury.

“Congratulations, my lord,” Grigor said, bowing low. “Remarkable progress.”

“It certainly is,” Danivra said and moved in to give me another hug. The hardy Dokalfar Queen had changed a lot in a few years. “I can’t describe how happy I am for you, Clive. And how relieved I am for all of us that you are so close.”

“Couldn’t have done any of it without you three. We’ve come a long way, huh?”

We’re not there yet,” Grigor said in his usual taciturn style. “You are close, but I won't be truly happy until you have your Divine Core.”

“Thanks, Grigor. I won’t be happy until Hakan turns up and says, ‘Clive, I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick. I’m just going to disappear into the great unknown again.”

“Or rip his head off,” Grigor suggested.

“After the heartache he’s caused,” Danivra said slowly. “I would be inclined to agree with Grigor. What is your plan to level the last eighty levels?”

“Convert more EN when we’ve built it back up again. Also, possibly some good news, Hakan has stopped moving.”

The excitement from that statement was uplifting, and I saw the news in a different light from their reactions.

“He’s really stopped? What do you think he’s doing?” Danivra asked.

“Dying, hopefully,” Sania suggested.

“Or preparing something,” Grigor said, coming in with the sucker punch. We all glowered at him. He shrugged. “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”

“And we were in the middle of hoping,” Sania said. “We prepare for the worst daily.”

“Grigor is right, though. I need to get to Earth and put my skills to good use. My Intelligence is maxed now, and I can see a lot of things I could have been doing better.”

We spoke for a good while longer before I finally set off back to Earth, and it seemed part of my plan was already in action: go and see the leaders and smooth out what I’d been doing and loosely tell them why. They couldn’t fight Hakan, nor would I want them to, but they needed to be able to protect themselves against him. To do that, I mulled over creating undersea or underground domes with impenetrable shields.

The only problem with that was that Hakan would be able to pick them apart easier than I could.

I put those thoughts on hold as Joel tromped and Sophie glided across the field toward me.

“Thank god you’re back. They’re not happy, Clive,” he said, throwing a thumb over his shoulder at the army camp surrounding our farm. “They’ve already fired at the shield to no avail. They’ve tried to cut their way in, and tomorrow the mad bastards are threatening missile strikes! And what in all the sweet fucks has happened to your level? Is it broken or is that real?”

“What level?” Sophie asked, eyes wide.

“It’s real, and 920,” I replied, giving the two of them my full attention. “Some leveling, most from the other gods. Life is now part of the Pantheon.”

Sophie didn’t really follow, but cheered the news anyway.

Joel nodded stoically. “That’ll help man. Good for her for seeing sense.”

“It was unexpected, but yeah. It had to happen. If Hakan comes back angry at everyone, she won’t last long alone. But, moving on. When did they get here?” I pointed with my eyes behind him.

“Yesterday afternoon. They told us to leave. We refused. They fired their guns, it failed. They pulled back, set up camp, and this morning, came and told me if we don’t drop the shield they were calling in airstrikes.”

“They wouldn’t, would they? In a built-up environment like this?”

“It’s not that built up,” Lucas said, coming out from the farmhouse. “And if they’re pissed enough, they’ll definitely do it.”

“Right then. I think it’s time I go and have a word. Lucas, get your shield ready and let’s go pay the commander a visit.”

With those words, I set off walking down the field with an even unhurried stride.

Lucas fell in alongside me. “So what’s the plan here?”

“Just a chat. I doubt the people who ordered all of this are here. It’s them we need to speak with, so we’ll need to impress upon the commanding officer here the importance of passing our message on.”

“If you say so, Lord Clive.”

The soldiers lining the camp watched us, guns trained as we approached the shield perimeter. They clearly expected us to stop, and when we didn’t, the whole place erupted into a cacophony of shouting and pointing.

“Time to go high,” I said to Lucas, gesturing to the sky.

Together, we shot up into the air and made a hasty beeline for the command tent. As soon as we dropped down in front of it, we were circled by soldiers aggressively pointing guns. A few seconds later and the commander walked out of the tent.

“What’s all this fuss abou…oh, you’re here.”

“You know me?” I asked, throwing up a completely invisible shield and weaving it around myself, Lucas, and the commander, keeping the soldiers that surrounded us out. No one noticed, and the commander kept talking.

“Clive Sutherland. Yes. We’ve done extensive research on you, and by we, I mean the MI5.”

“Sadly, there’s not much about my old life that’s gonna help them deal with what I am now.”

“And what are you now?”

“Powerful, and wanting to use that power for good. I need to speak with the people in charge.”

“And I need to know how people appear to be flying around that farm of yours.” He planted his hands on his hips. “I need you to drop whatever that barrier is. But most of all, I need youarrested.” He gestured for his men to move in on us. As one, they all clanked straight into the shield.

“Oops,” I said, giving the commander a smile. “So, where were we?”

“Shall I shoot, sir?” one of the soldiers shouted outside as they all panicked.

The commander now had his back against my shield, looking like a trapped rabbit as he flapped at his hip for his pistol.

“I thought you’d already tried shooting one of my shields,” I said to the commander rather than the soldier. “You should tell them to be careful. Some of them cause nasty ricochets and end up hurting the ones you love.”

The soldier looked frustrated and confused. The commander, after a small eternity, held up his hand to stop him. “No, soldier. Clive seems reasonable right now, so we’ll let him talk.”

“That’s right! I am reasonable. But it’s hard to talk when I don’t know your name, sir.”

His bushy, gray eyebrows rose a little at the attempt at respect. “Major Cartwright, and it’s hard to talk when I don’t know what you are.”

“Me?” I said, maintaining a smile and trying to keep everything calm. “I’m just a man with a lot of power. This universe holds a lot of things you don’t understand, and I’m going to help with that.”

“I’ve watched enough superhero movies to know what might be possible. Is that what you think you are? A superhero?”

“Eh, yeah, I suppose that’s not too far from the truth. But to understand a superhero, you need their back story!”

“Maybe. But you’re not telling people you’re a superhero, are you, Clive? You’re telling people you’re a god.”

I laughed. “I’m definitely not doing that, but it happens because of the set up I’m working under. But that’s all a little further down the story line, major.”

“Sir,” Lucas snapped in a very soldier-like manner. “Despite what he says, he is a god and that is no exaggeration. But he is not like a god in the way you understand it. Give him a chance to prove it to you.”

“Why?” the major asked, seeming to regain full confidence again and even taking a step forward toward us.

“Because Earth is about to… and I know this is going to sound cliched as hell when I say it, but Earth is about to face a huge threat. A being capable of destroying life as we know it on Earth. Someone even more powerful than me.”

“And how powerful are you supposed to be? I’ve seen these shields you’ve got, and I’ve seen others fly around that there farm.”

I pointed at the gun he still held in his hand. “Shoot me and find out.”

“Superman then, is it?” he snorted. “If it’s all the same to you, I’m not going to shoot you, because while you obviously have some neat tricks, I still think you’re a delusional fuck and I really don’t need the paperwork involved in mowing you down.”

“Fair enough, but I don’t think I’m Superman. Because Superman can’t do this,” I said, quickly opening a portal between us to my favorite and only hilltop spot in Haiti.

I then pushed the portal at him, causing him to stumble and land on the Caribbean island. I followed through after him while Lucas held his position within our little shield.

The major’s head was twisting from side to side, trying to take in his surroundings and make sense of them. His eyes landed on me, and he raised the gun. “What have you done?”

I gestured to our surroundings. “I figured a little trip to a Caribbean island might relax you for our conversation. Your wife is going to be very jealous when you tell her what you’ve been doing today.”

“Is it drugs?” he snarled.

“No. Grab some of the plants if you want. Have them tested. Oh and by the way, if you shoot me and kill me, the portal will close, and you’ll be stranded here.”

He suddenly looked less sure about aiming his gun at me, and pointed it to the ground at my feet instead.

“I’m joking. Your gun won’t hurt me at all.”

He brought it back up again, looking irritated. “I want to go back to the camp, Doctor Strange.”

I shook my head. “You watch too many films, major. But you’re right about one thing.”

“Huh?”

“We should get you back. You haven’t got your suncream on.”

I stepped back through the portal to find shouting and the groans of injured soldiers as they were dragged away from the shield.

“They opened fire when you went through,” he said, wincing. “Sorry, I couldn’t stop them.”

I shrugged and they were warned. When Lucas and the major were inside the shield, I stepped out among the shoulders.

I was shot immediately. Only a short burst from a few different soldiers. I stepped toward a fallen soldier and dropped down to him, placing a hand on his leg and letting healing flow into him. The attacking soldiers must have thought I’d gone down and stopped firing to dive on me.

Having already healed the first soldier and not wanting to risk hurting those grabbing at my arms, I teleported to the next injured soldier and healed him.

“Was anyone else injured?” I shouted above their heads. “I’m not here to hurt anyone nor have anyone hurt through their own stupidity acting against us.”

Guns trained on me again. I ignored them to speak again. “Anyone injured?”

“Stop!” one of the shoulders shouted. “He healed me!”

That caused a commotion, and the soldier pushed towards me, he was soon joined by the second soldier. Both of them wide-eyed.

“How?” the first of them asked. “I feel so much better.”

“Sorry to say, mate, you had cancer. It’s gone now, though, so you can rest easy.”

“Where?” he asked wide-eyed.

“Lung,” I said, tapping the left of my chest.

“I knew it,” he snapped, rubbing the spot I’d taken it from, then more calmly, “Thank you.”

“Thank yourself for being an idiot and shooting the shield,” I replied casually. My chiding response seemed to wake the soldiers up to try and arrest me again.

I teleported back into the shield, facing the major. “I really hope what I’ve shown you today proves that you can’t contain me. You can’t move me, and I am absolutely not out to hurt you or anyone else. And that despite people following me, it’s not some kind of crazy cult. They’re just people who want to help me prepare for the ancient being heading this way to fuck up everybody’s day. When he turns up, you’re going to be very fucking glad I’m here.”

The major fish-mouthed, but I held up a finger to stop him. “I’m going to go back up to the farm, but think about what you’ve seen, and when you report to your bosses, let them know I’m not here to fight them.”

“I still don’t know anything about what you are.”

“I’m a Clive!” I grinned, then took pity. “I’ve lived in the northeast of England all of my life until I was kidnapped by a demon a few years ago and was taken to a different planet. That is where I got the powers.

“I mainly live there now, but I had to come back here a few months ago to do a job. While I was here, I had a drink in a bar. Everyone freaked when they realized I looked a little different,” I said, morphing into my Alo-im form as a demonstration. “And I accidentally hurt somebody and then healed them. But my healing isn’t targeted. It just heals everything. When the other people in the bar saw that I could heal, they all came up and asked for me to heal them. As I’m not a total wanker, I did.

“The whole thing with me being back on Earth kind of spiraled from there. I only came back because of the threat I mentioned. I wanted to make sure there was some kind of defense here for when the original God of Creation comes here, and he is on his way.”

“If I was to believe you, then it sounds to me like he’s coming here because you are here.” The major prodded angrily at my chest.

I grabbed his hand and met his eyes. “We’re not friends enough yet for you to be poking me in the chest. And while I’m guilty of a great many things, his coming here is not my fault.” I pushed healing into him as I spoke, letting go of his hand as I finished, leaving his various ailments healed.

As usual, he spat out fillings, horrified but unable to stop himself from checking his teeth with his tongue.

“He’ll come here first because this is on his way back to the higher planes. He’ll come here because this is where I’m from and he’ll seek to use it against me. That does not make it my fault, but I’m currently doing what I can to defend the place. Now, let whoever you need to know the situation. Hopefully, we can move on with this stand-off.”

He seemed to be barely listening as he rubbed his hip, making slight twisting movements to check it out without it looking obvious. “I’m intrigued, I’ll admit that. I’ll also pass on all of the information you’ve given me to my superiors. But I’ll warn you, Clive, they don’t fucking listen to anything anyone says. They’ve got an idea in their head that you’re a national threat, and they’ll push you all the way. They may just attack. The air strikes weren’t an idle threat. You’ve got important people worried.”

“They’re really not that important, and the missiles won’t do anything.”

“We’ll evacuate the whole area and nuke it if we have to.”

“The nuke won’t get through either. The only thing you’ll achieve is to kill everything around my shield and seriously piss me off. Hell, I might even turn into a giant dragon and eat you all.”

He frowned, as if he was trying to work out some kind of complex mathematical equation. “You’re joking, right?” he asked.

“I am. But not about the giant dragon.”

He grunted unenthusiastically as Lucas and I took off from the camp. And then, as much for fun as for the warning, I morphed into a large golden dragon, pushing at the size until I was around two-thousand feet long. I stopped as that was plenty big enough for my demonstration, and then I sent a jet of fire out into the air above before circling around the camp and heading back into the farm. I reverted back to my normal size as I entered.

Joel, Sophie, Lucas, and Mal all eyed me.

“You enjoy yourself?” Joel asked accusingly.

“Sure,” I replied easily. “I went to provide a reason for them to deal with us with a bit of respect and I think I achieved that.”

“You think they’ll listen?”

“They don’t have any choice.”

As we stood and watched the army camp recovering from my visit, I contacted Aly. “Has Hakan started moving again yet?”

He hasn’t, Clive.

“What the hell is he up to?”

I do not know.