CHAPTER 58

Luke had been enjoying himself. For once, Emily wasn't talking to him like he was an annoying blowhard (her words). And he'd managed to even hold her hand. It was much firmer than he would have thought but it still felt really nice.

They'd been talking for a little while about nothing in particular, Luke relishing in her presence while she seemed to be just tolerating his out of some sense of pity, not that he was complaining. If he hadn't been stabbed earlier, Luke would have said this was a great day.

So, naturally, it had to be ruined again.

"Luke! Emily!"

They both turned and saw Sumin in the doorway panting a little. "Sumin, what is it?" Emily asked. "What's wrong?"

"We have a problem. A big one. Please tell me you have your phones."

Luke frowned, not expecting that response, but he shook his head. "Sorry buddy, my parents went to get it from my house."

"I have mine," Emily said, pulling hers out. "Why?"

"Contact the others, immediately."

"What's going on?"

"Swarm is not the only threat."

Luke's eyes widened and he heard Emily gasp next to him. "What? How do you know?"

"My grandmother. She somehow knows about all of this. My powers and everything. And she informed me that there is another threat out there called the Sculptor. He is coming to destroy us all. And before you think to ask, no she is not senile."

"Don't worry, we weren't going to say that," Emily said.

Luke wisely just nodding, having been about to ask something close to that. Or exactly that. "So was that it? Did she say anything else?"

Before Sumin could reply, they all heard a buzzing sound and turned to as Emily's phone twitched in her hand. "I just got a message from Travis," she said. "He says he and Madison are checking out a possible threat. He thinks that the dirt monsters weren't Swarm's creations but someone else's."

"Hey, that's right," Luke said, sitting up straight, ignoring the pain. "Swarm never used those in the battle." He hadn't thought about it before but that was strange. "So, is it this Sculptor person? He attacked me last night?"

"Travis doesn't say. Just that he's investigating someone named Eustace."

Sumin gasped and they turned to them. "You know him?" Luke asked.

"Yes. I've sat next to him at lunch for a few years now. I don't know him very well but he is a talented artist. He prefers to keep to himself though." They began tapping their finger to their chin, looking agitated. "It makes sense though. My grandmother informed me that the Sculptor is a parasitic being that finds hosts, takes over them, and uses them to further its own goals. It especially likes artistic minds that it can warp to its own vision."

"Ok, hold up," Luke said, stopping them. "There's a lot to unpack there. Parasitic being? Host? Artistic mind?"

"Why did that last one make the list?" Emily asked him.

"I don't know. Why is it part of this in the first place?"

"My grandmother told me that the Sculptor is an artist at heart, wishing to create a masterpiece out of our world's destruction. It can seek any host out, but prefers artistic ones."

"Ok, fair enough. But that brings up something else, what was it…oh yeah, OUR WORLD'S DESTRUCTION?" Luke cried out. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I believe it means the Sculptor seeks to destroy this world like all the others."

"Others? Hold on, this is officially too much," Luke said, shaking his head.

"Suck it up, buttercup, apparently we have a world to save and we can't have you freaking out on us," Emily said.

"How are you not freaking out?"

"Oh I'm fully freaking out, I'm just pushing it down until I can deal with it later," she said. Luke looked closer at her and saw she was trembling a little and her voice was a bit shaky. He took a breath and nodded. She was right. He couldn't freak out right now. Hosts, other worlds, all that could wait. Right now, there was apparently a threat to stop.

"Ok, so what are we supposed to do about it?" he asked. "I mean, we barely stopped Swarm and he just wanted to steal something. If this world-ending stuff, shouldn't they call in the top dogs or something?"

"It can only be us," Sumin replied softly. "My grandmother told me that it must be the Cloak Guard who stops Sculptor. They did it before, our apparent predecessors. So only the same kind of energy can stop this being now."

"Oh, wonderful, we have to finish the job the last guys didn't."

"They evidently trapped the being on a comet with their powers holding it in check. It should have held but somehow, it has been released."

"So we do the same thing?" Emily asked.

"No. I asked but apparently the comet has already left."

"More good news, great." Luke lay back, completely frustrated. It wasn't just that this new situation had taken the impossibility of their lives and cranked it up several notches, but that he couldn't do anything about it. He was still injured, badly. He couldn't even sit up without feeling a jolt of pain. So how was he supposed to fight? He would have to be sidelined while his teammates went out without him. That seemed to hurt worse than the stab wound.

"So, this Eustace. Any clue where he lives?"

"None."

"I thought you said he was your friend."

"I never said that. We have known each other for several years, but we are more friendly acquaintances than anything else."

"Hey, do Franklin and Gabriela know about any of this?" Luke asked suddenly.

"No," Sumin replied. "At least, not to my knowledge. I rushed straight here. And it seems Travis is only with Madison."

"Travis sent the message on the group chat. Here, I'll send another one explaining about the Sculptor and Eustace."

Before she could hit sent though, another message came in. She looked at it and Luke instantly knew it was bad from her reaction. "What is it?" he asked.

"Eustace is the Sculptor," she confirmed. "He's holding Travis and Madison at 153 Crocus Avenue. Travis pretty much confirms everything your grandma said," she told Sumin. "We need to go and help, now."

"I can't," Luke reminded her, gesturing to himself. "I wish I could, but…"

"No, I'm sorry," Emily apologized. "I…don't worry. We got this."

"You have done enough my friend," Sumin told him. "We will take care of this Sculptor and save the world. And save Eustace!" they added with emphasis, taking Luke a little by surprise.

"Thanks. Now go get them. And see if you can wrangle Gabriela and Franklin on your way."

"You got it."

A few seconds later they were gone and Luke was alone again. He sighed, leaning back with his fists clenched tightly. He hated this, so much. He should be out there, fighting. This was what his power was meant for, wasn't it? Protecting people? Beating the bad guys? Saving the world? This old Cloak Guard had apparently done it, so he should to.

Instead he was stuck here while his comrades threw themselves into harm's way. He was supposed to be a leader and he couldn't do a single thing to help. Even against Swarm last night. He'd been exhausted after that battle with the dirt monsters but he'd still gone to fight Swarm, wanting to protect Gabriela. He'd felt like he had to do it. And even in as bad a shape as he was, he'd still managed to land a few blows on the guy. Still managed to fight him off. But even with all that, he hadn't done any lasting damage, hadn't made much of a difference. Only really made himself a liability. And now it was the same thing. He couldn't do the same thing here, no matter how much he wanted to, as he would only get in the way.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself.

"Now I see. You've Awakened. That's where all this power is coming from."

Luke blinked as that memory flashed over him. Swarm had said that, right after Luke had telekinetically punched him. He'd heard that term before somewhere, maybe from Travis, but he didn't know what it meant. Why was he Awakened? How did that make him powerful? He wished he knew as then maybe he could find a way to be strong enough to help.

He barely had to lift a finger and the chair for guests lifted off the ground. He frowned, realizing he didn't feel the strain. Beforehand, he would have felt a lot of pressure from it but now it came easily.

Curious, he decided to try it with his bed and felt it begin to float in the air a little before he put it back down. There had been the slightest twinge of strain but not really too noticeable. Had he really gotten that much stronger? Was that what Awakened meant?

Before he could think on it further, there was a knock on the door. He turned, tensing a little, but it was only the nurse.

"Just here to check your IV levels, Mr. Decker," she said, walking over.

Luke relaxed, looking out the window as the nurse looked at the IV bag, humming to herself.

Then he tensed. He didn't know why, but he felt something. With his powers, he could subconsciously feel everything in the room and something had just changed.

CRACK!

The nurse stopped. "What was that?" she asked, turning.

"No, wait!" Luke cried but it was too late, the humanoid formation erupting out of the floor to grab her and toss her into the wall. She smacked into it before slumping to the floor while the formation moved towards Luke, hands reached out.

"Nice try," he snarled, grabbing hold of it and sending it flying out the window into the parking lot. But as soon as he did, he heard more cracking sounds around him. A quick look told him everything he needed to know. He leapt from his bed as formations began to emerge from the walls, floors, and everything else. But he didn't make it a single step before he jolted to a stop, the metal handles of the bed now snaking around his arm.

"I thought this Sculptor guy was all the way on Crocus!" Luke growled, bending the metal apart with his mind and ignoring the stabbing pain in his abdomen. "So why the hell am I…"

The old Cloak Guard defeated him. So only the new ones could do it again. Which meant…

"We're being targeted. And tracked, apparently," Luke muttered. "Damn it. Well, looks like I'll be joining the fight after all."

The humanoids were beginning to surround him. But that wasn't too much of a problem since he just floated up in the air. What was a problem was that he couldn't stay here. There were too many patients and innocent people here. If the Sculptor could track him, then he needed to take this away from all that.

"Right," he said and zoomed out the open window. He looked back and was relieved to see the humanoids follow, jumping right out the window after him though of course they fell.

Luke felt another jolt of pain but ignored it. This would likely be hell on his recovery but he couldn't think about it right now. He could only focus on surviving. Fortunately, none of them seemed to be able to fly but that could soon change. He didn't feel any strain on his flying just yet, so that was also good news. As long as nothing big happened, he could keep this up.

CRACK!

Luke stared down at the large crack forming below him, stretching across the entire parking lot. Then more appeared, growing larger. Car alarms began going off left and right as the ground shifted, something big below rising up.

The arms came first, a massive claw made up of solid asphalt and rock breaking out of the ground and gouging it followed swiftly by the other. Then, the rest of the body rose, the entire whole parking lot reforming into one long spine, spikes shaping up all the way down. A serpentine form rose up as a tail, whipping around wildly. If that wasn't bad enough, the areas next to the formation broke apart as well in two wide circles, shaping into massive wings as the back legs helped lift the rest of the body upwards.

The head was last. What was left of the parking lot finally collapsed as the head formed, a snout shaping up with long stone teeth that looked like they could bite through a skyscraper. The thing's hollow eyes opened and they seemed to instantly locate Luke, looking right up at him. Its mouth opened and Luke was able to see right down the earthen throat as it let out a massive roar that echoed across the entire city.

"Of course he has a dragon."

Franklin couldn't help but smile as he wrapped up the latest order at the Deli. He hadn't felt like himself for weeks. But now he was more comfortable with his powers as well as what he wanted to do with them. Sure, he still had to be extra careful with everything he did. He'd almost snapped another spoon in half during breakfast. But he was making progress and no longer felt as scared as he once did. Now he just wanted to contact Travis and see if they could meet up later after his shift.

"Hey bro," Angie said, walking up to him. "Your phone's been buzzing like crazy."

"It has," Franklin glanced back at the kitchen counter where he'd left it. "Huh, didn't notice."

It was probably nothing serious, likely just everyone wishing Luke and Sumin luck on their recoveries or something similar. Still, he started walking over to check.

He nearly fell over as the ground suddenly shook rapidly.

"Earthquake!" he heard someone shout.

"Under the tables!"

Franklin didn't need to worry about that so he instantly looked around for anyone in trouble. Almost everyone had managed to duck under a table except for his Uncle Pete who had tripped and fallen. Franklin rushed over, grabbing his uncle's shoulder's carefully. "Come on, Uncle Pete. We need to get under-"

"Look out!"

Franklin's eyes snapped next him to as the large, metal fridge began to fall down. He raised one hand, stopping it easily in its tracks, and pushed it back to the wall.

"Franklin?" his uncle questioned. "That…the fridge weighs over…"

"Don't worry about that uncle, we just need to get to…" he trailed off as the rumbling stopped, everything going calm. A few seconds later, everyone started coming out from underneath the tables.

"I told you we needed to anchor that damn fridge!" his Aunt Janice yelled at Uncle Pete. "But did you listen? No! You said it was fine! That it would never fall! Now look what happened. You almost got yourself and your nephew killed."

"Franklin?" his mom said, looking at him in amazement. "That fridge is almost ten times your weight. How did you catch it?"

"Uh…momentum," he said, thinking on the fly. "I just moved faster than it was and had enough momentum to push it back before it…could…" he found himself trailing off again as he looked outside. The streets were crammed with people, running away from something, screaming.

"What the hell?" he heard Angie say but he didn't hear her, already moving. He pushed open the door, ignoring his mother's calls behind him, and found himself in the middle of the screaming mob. He was about to ask what was wrong but one look to his right answered it.

There was a massive spire in the middle of the city, rivaling the skyscrapers. As Franklin watched, what seemed to be spikes grew out of it and on top of it, making it resemble a tree of some sorts. Except, even from this distance, it looked like it was made out of rocks and dirt.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

"Franklin, come back inside!" He turned and saw his mother gesturing frantically to him. He was about to walk towards her when he felt something shift below him.

"Uh oh," he mumbled right before a dozen asphalt tentacles formed from the ground and wrapped around him tightly.

"Franklin!" he heard his mom shriek but he didn't pay attention. He could feel the tentacles squeeze but barely felt a thing. He just pushed back, flexing his whole body until the tentacles shattered into pieces.

But he didn't have time to celebrate his victory as his feet began to sink. One look down and he saw the entire street had somehow liquefied. People were still shrieking around him, trying to avoid the sudden death trap, but fortunately for them it seemed to be centered on Franklin.

"Hold on Franklin!" his mom cried as she rushed to him. "I'm coming!"

"No mom, stay back!" he barked, doing his best to stay afloat. He grunted, trying to figure out some way out of this. He tried moving himself to the side, but the liquid street was sticky and held him back. He could only make a few inches at a time.

"Franklin, here!" He looked up as his sister tossed him a rope. "Grab hold!"

"You know you can't pull me up!"

"I know that," she said, gesturing behind her to where the end of the rope was tied around a lamppost.

"That might work," Franklin muttered, taking the rope and using it to try and yank himself free. But he'd only made it a few more inches when the lamppost made a loud groaning sound and he saw the screws bolted in at the bottom start to pop out. "Or not," he grumbled. "You'll have to find something stronger."

"Like what?" Angie cried, panicking.

"What…how did you…" his mom said, staring at the lamppost.

"Mom, not now!" Angie shrieked at her.

"Right!"

Franklin tried using his strength to try pushing the asphalt away but the liquid still didn't move. It was like swimming in syrup, except ten times worse. He was already almost up to his shoulders and he was sinking fast. He gave himself another minute or so if he was lucky. He scanned the area, looking for anything that might be able to help him.

"Can't you just make yourself weaker?" Angie asked, scrambling around.

"It doesn't work like that!" Franklin snapped.

"What about the fence?" his mom asked.

"Too weak," Franklin said, shaking his head. "I'll rip it right out."

"How can you-"

"Mom, not the time," Angie said. She looked around desperately and Franklin did too but he couldn't see anything that could help him. Even if they tied the rope around a car and drove off, he would probably just stop the car or even rip off the back. Nothing would be able to hold his strength.

Wait.

That was it. He was thinking about this all wrong. Yes, he was strong, but he wasn't heavy. His body was dense, sure, but if he was as heavy as he was strong, he would have sunk already. Which meant that…

"Angie, the car!" he yelled, the liquid reaching his neck now.

"What?"

The car! Wrap the rope around the car and drive!"

"But won't you-"

"JUST DO IT!" he yelled.

She ran towards their car, swiftly tying the rope tightly around the back. Franklin watched, trying to avoid panicking and failing as the liquid bubbled its way up his throat. He could see a crowd of people watching but none of them able to help him, just shouting words of encouragement which really weren't that helpful.

Franklin's mom practically ripped the car door off as she climbed into the driver's seat. "Ok, we're all good."

"Franklin, catch!" Angie yelled, throwing the rope towards him. Unfortunately, she missed, the rope landing a foot from his hand and he couldn't move to grab it, the liquid stopping him.

"Angie!" he cried out. "Throw it into my han-BLUB." He wasn't able to finish as the liquid rose above his mouth. He could barely see now, doing his best to keep his head up but he couldn't gain any momentum. He saw Angie throw the rope again and again she missed, this time only by a few inches.

"Franklin hang on!" he heard her yell but his ears were now submerged as well, swiftly followed by his nose after just managing to take one last breath. His vision was getting blurry, his whole head now vanishing beneath the surface. He got one last look up at the sky before it all went dark, only his hands remaining above the surface. He wondered if this was it. Was this how he was going to die? Trapped beneath the surface of a street, drowning on liquid asphalt?

Then he felt something lightly brush his finger and he reacted, lunging forward as much as he could and grabbing hold of the rope tightly.

Ok, don't pull, he reminded himself. If he pulled, he would just stop the car. Instead, he held on just enough so that the rope wouldn't slip through his fingers. He felt himself begin to move. It was slow, too slow for his liking, but he resisted the urge to hold on tighter. He was still able to hold his breath, though he was beginning to feel the chest pangs.

He kept moving though, bit by bit. He could feel the liquid move around him as he was pulled through it. More of his arm had breached through the surface and then suddenly his head was free and he was able to breathe again, letting out a long, drawn-out breath.

"Franklin! Oh thank god!" he heard Angie scream out.

He still had to resist the urge to pull on the rope, forcing himself to be patient as his mom dragged him through the muck. He could hear the tires screeching from the force but she was making progress. The edge of the liquid was just a few feet away.

Until it wasn't.

He blinked, thinking he was imagining it, but no. The solid asphalt in front of him was melting away, becoming part of the liquid as well.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," he muttered. "Angie, tell mom to go faster!"

"What? Why?"

"The ground is melting faster!" he barked. If this kept up, his mom would be constantly driving him through the muck. He briefly wondered what was causing this but didn't have time to think about it now.

Angie ran over to the car and the next second it picked up speed. Franklin had to tighten his hold on the rope a bit to make sure it didn't fly out of his hand. He was moving a bit faster now but not fast enough, the ground melting away faster.

He felt a tug beneath the surface before something grabbed hold of his leg, holding him back. The car jerked to a stop in front of him and he swore, the rope nearly slipping away. He tried kicking away but still couldn't get any momentum. He needed something for leverage or else he would just be stuck in the middle of a pulling contest. And while he'd survive that, he was pretty sure the loser would be his mom's car. And then he would drown.

"Here goes nothing," he mumbled and thrust his free arm back down into the depths. He grimaced, feeling the liquid try to suck it down, but this time he didn't stop it. He actively pushed it forward right up his leg, getting as good a grip on it as he could. "Guess this is as good a leverage as I'm going to get," he said to himself before heaving with all his strength. He felt whatever was pulling on him fight back, but he refused to give up. It was hard, making sure not to put any strength into the hand holding the rope while simultaneously putting everything he had into yanking his leg free. He hadn't felt a strain like this in weeks but he kept going, not relenting for a single second, until he heard a slight pop and the grip on his leg was gone. The car thrust forward and he was suddenly dragged almost a foot through the muck.

Unfortunately, that still wasn't nearly enough as while he'd been stuck even more of the ground had melted away, practically creating a lake of the stuff in the middle of the street. There was no way he'd be able to make any headway like this.

"Ok, I'm officially done," Franklin growled and with a massive pull, ripped his back out of the muck. He slammed it back down in front of him and made a wave motion, pushing as much of the liquid in front of him to the side as possible. For a second, nothing happened, but he refused to stop, putting everything he had into it. The liquid gave a little before, with one final heave, he thrust a large portion of it to the side and making a slight opening for him. The liquid went flying everywhere while his mom was able to pull him through a bit faster. But he didn't stop there, already sending the next batch hurtling aside and the next, never stopping. He was starting to get a little out of breath but he kept going, his mom able to pull him through faster now. The edge of the growing asphalt lake got closer and closer until it was suddenly there within reach.

He thrust forward and grabbed hold of it, digging his fingers into the hard rock and using it to pull himself forward even more. Now his upper half was free and he kept pulling himself upwards while his mom did the same with the car. He could feel more of the ground turning soft beneath his fingers but he kept going, doing his best to stay ahead of the affected areas.

With one large POP behind him, he yanked his legs free and scrambled upwards, finally standing on his feet again.

"Franklin!" Angie cried, running to him. "Oh thank god! I thought…well…"

"It's fine," he said, smiling and panting at the same time. "Thank you. Whoa," he suddenly stopped her as she moved to hug him. "You sure you want to do that? I mean, I am covered in…this." He gestured to all the muck over him.

Angie wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, good point. I'll hug you later."

"Franklin!" He turned and saw his mom running to him. "Oh than-"

Suddenly, people started screaming behind him. He turned and swore loudly as the lake of liquid street suddenly began to rise up, like there was something beneath the surface. The liquid formed large, long fingers and limbs that stretched out, reaching for whatever they could grab. A massive head grew from the top with a large gaping mouth. It stepped out of the lake, moving right for Franklin with his liquid tentacle limbs flopping wildly around it.

"I really can't catch a break, can I?" he said to himself.

"Franklin!"

"Yeah, I see it!" he snapped.

"No, look! Behind!"

He turned and swore again, watching as his mom's car began to writhe around. For a second, he thought it was turning into a Transformer or something, but no. Its transformation was way smoother. It's like all the parts were twisting on each other and then molding together until a large figure stood above them. The car material was still there, but all the parts had been morphed into something else.

"Not a single, freaking break!"

"Franklin, look out!" he heard his mom cry out as both formations charged him.

"Mom, there's something I've been meaning to tell you," he said, taking two steps towards the car formation.

"What?" she yelled back, confused.

"I'm really, really strong," he told her right as the car formation launched haymaker his way. He dodged around, grabbed hold of its arm, and hurled it right into the muck formation, letting it sink it for a second before charging towards both of them, throwing his hands back as far as he could and then clapping them together with all his might.

The sonic boom was way stronger than before. The muck, taking the shockwave at full blast, was instantly blown apart, its liquid form erupting and raining down everywhere. The car formation fared better but still had pieces of it crumble slightly. Franklin finished the job by rushed forward, grabbing hold of it, and tearing it down the middle. He then tore it apart again and again until it was nothing but scrap metal. He took a breath and nodded before turning to face his family.

"Sorry about the car mom," he said as he reached them. "But it was kind of ruined already."

"Franklin," she whispered, staring at him with wide, unblinking eyes. "How…what…how did you do…you just…how?"

"I have superpowers," he told her. "I know it sounds crazy and you might think I'm insane, but it's true. I've had them for a few weeks now. I'm really strong."

She stared at him for a full minute before giving him a slight nod. "Huh."

"Right. You and Angie and Uncle Peter and Aunt Janice need to get out of here as fast as possible. I may have stopped those two but I'm sure more are coming and they'll probably be after me so you guys need to get out of here."

"What? No!" his mom shouted, snapping out of her daze. "We're not leaving you to-"

"Mom, this is what I meant before," he interrupted. "The thing I wanted to do to help people. To be like dad."

She stopped when he said that, mouth opening and closing.

"I know this is crazy dangerous and you don't understand what's happening. But right now, I think everyone here is in danger because of that thing," he pointed at the growing tree in the distance. "I've got to find my friends and stop that thing. Trust me mom, I've got this. You told me that if I want to go out there and help people, then I should do it. Well…" he held up his hands to all the damage around them, "people are in danger. And I know I can help them. This…this is what I was meant to do."

His mom stared for another few seconds before slowly nodding. "Ok. I don't fully understand any of this, but I do trust you. I always have." She leaned in close and pulled him into what would have a been a backbreaking hug if he didn't have super strength. "You just come back, you understand me?"

"Loud and clear," Franklin replied, hugging her back more carefully. "There's no way I'd leave you guys behind."

They ended the hug and Franklin stepped back.

"Franklin…" Angie began, tears in her eyes. "I…I…I swear if you die, I'll…"

"Angie, don't worry," he told her. "I'm not going to die." He then smirked and winked at her. "I'm Unstoppable, remember?"

She laughed once, shaking her head, before Franklin turned towards the still growing earth tree and started running as fast as he could.