Sep
As Billy Kaplan stared up at the behemoth of a man before him, he uttered the whisper of a prayer in Hebrew. He had no idea who or what a Tempus Fuginaut was but having a golden-skinned being appear before you shouting your name was clearly a sign for the worst, especially in his line of work. His mind rushed back over everything the giant had said. Careless Actions. The comment stung. It was clear that what he had done to the Terror Twins was even worse than either he or Teddy had even imagined if it had put him on this guy’s radar.
“What do you want?” Billy nearly stuttered as he spoke. It had taken a lot of willpower to open his mouth, let alone ask a question.
Tempus Fuginaut, as he referred to himself, simply looked down at him for a moment, as if questioning why someone so clearly beneath him had dare talk back. Billy expected the worse, yet no untimely death seemed to come his way. Instead, Tempus Fuginaut opened their mouth to speak once more.
“I will show you.”
Before Billy could even utter any form of protest, the world around him lurched violently.
The skyline darkened, quickly filling with the twinkle of stars. New York was gone none, leaving a void of space below him. Billy panicked, flailing his arms around him as he prepared to fall, yet by some miracle found himself floating in place. He gasped in amazement, his eyes taking all of the beautiful emptiness around him in. The stars were like scattered moondust in the sky. He’d never expected it to look so peaceful. He knew in an instant that this sight would never escape Billy’s memory.
He found a dazed smile escaping across his lips. If only Teddy was here to witness this with him.
Tempus Fuginaut simply looked down at the teenager, a smile of bemusement crossing his face at the sight of Billy’s adjustment to his new surroundings. It was odd to see such a regal looking being smile like that. It almost humanized them. Billy almost felt at ease for the first time since this whole ordeal had begun. Almost.
Billy nearly vocalized this thought, until the being began to talk again, with the booming tone of Tempus’ voice merely adding a god-like atmosphere to the space around them.
“The world is forever a place of wonder, but with that wonder comes chaos.” As he spoke, Tempus gave a wave of his hand, and Billy watched as the vastness around them shifted, as if a movie projector were casting an image against the darkness. Billy recognized a great deal of the projections before them; he had watched the events in a state of terror long ago on his TV screen. The great beast Starro rising from the depths of the ocean. The alien attack on New York City. A green giant rampaging through a city. Other images he did not recognize quite so much. Parents rushing to save their infant child as their planet crumbles around them. Great battles of the Gods. A crazed scientist left for years on a barren wasteland by his team.
And then finally an image of Billy himself from earlier that day, the bodies of Tommy and Tuppence Terror lying unconscious below him. Billy shuddered to think of the other clips of himself misusing his abilities that could have appeared.
“Where the Monitor’s and Watcher’s jobs are to watch and observe all of reality, I must preserve it.” Tempus Fuginaut continued, unfazed by the images beyond him. “Sure, other beings help…”
At this, the images shifted. The clip of Starro moved to show the might of the Justice League facing the tentacled creature down. The Avengers arriving to fight off the invasion above Manhattan. A young metahuman feeling the vibrations of the world himself. No, not just one world. The vibrations of all worlds. There were more like him too, all throughout the multiverse. Even an anthropomorphic duck wearing a 3-piece suit. It was a big universe. Filled with heroes.
Billy found himself spinning on the spot in order to take it all in before they shifted into nothingness once more.
“But I heal the tears in space-time and prevent them from happening.” Tempus stood tall and bold, radiating power as he spoke of his part in the world. “I seek to keep the universe in complete harmony until the Demiurge is born and can recreate it in his image.”
It was a lot to take in. Superheroes he understood. He had been watching caped crusaders fighting criminals for years, and even been doing some of the fighting himself. It was second nature now. This on the other hand? This was different. This was otherworldly.
“What.. What’s the Demiurge?” The first of a great number of questions on his mind.
A smile formed upon the golden man’s face once more.
“Take a look for yourself.” He said, gesturing upwards towards the vastness of space before them.
Billy did not see it at first. He just found himself staring at the twinkle of the starlight, expecting another image to appear like before. Then he really began to see the stars, and how they were aligned in the darkness. The shining speckles twirled and danced along the sky in various patterns, forming lines. The lines of a face. The curls of hair. It was soon clear whose face it was bejewelled into the universe itself. It was Billy’s.
Why was it his face?
He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. It was if they had gotten lost in this starry reflection before him.
“Yes Billy Kaplan. You are the Demiurge.” Tempus’s words snapped Billy back to reality slightly. “The sentient life force of the Universe itself.”
“No… No I’m fucking not.” Billy declared loudly, turning to Tempus. He was shaking now. “I’m barely 18. I’m still a kid. You’ve got this all wrong sir, I-“
Tempus raised a hand, cutting him off, further adding to Billy exasperation.
“You may be young now boy, but it is your destiny. You only have a glimpse of your truth power currently, but it is growing by the day. I shudder to think of the damage possible by such power in the hands of someone so young and inexperienced.”
“Then what on earth do you expect me to do?” Billy exclaimed, waving his arms out in front of him in confusion. If what he could now was only a snippet of what was to come, then he wanted out.
“Train. Stay here with me and I will teach you all there is I know.”
Billy scoffed loudly at the thought.
“I can’t stay here… I have a life. I have Teddy.”
“You think that this Teddy is more important than the universe itself?”
“Teddy is my whole universe.” Billy stated adamantly, clenching his fists. He knew it was selfish. He obviously knew what the right decision was here. But he couldn’t stay. He wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t a God. “I want to go home. Now.”
Tempus pursed his lips, glaring down at the teenager. Billy held his own and glared back. But it was not strength that fueled him. It was fear.
At last Tempus Fuginaut gave up.
“Fine. But in time Billy Kaplan, you will accept your fate.”
“Good fucking luck with that.”
With a wave of the giant’s hand, the world around Billy shifted once more. Gone was the beautiful background of stars. Now Billy was back on the rooftop from before, the wind rushing around him.
He stood silently, his eyes gazing over the city absentmindedly. The ring of his phone soon brought back into focus. He rushed to pull it from his pocket. It was Teddy, worrying where he had gotten to. He sighed a breath of relief.
Whatever it was that was happening, at least everything with Teddy was ok.
