A Hopeless War: Chapter 9 - Out of Time

12-23-2017

105 Days Until Invasion

     Edit sat in the Playhouse, waiting. He'd trained for weeks and fine tuned his armor to perfection for this day. His day. The only day that mattered. He let out a sigh, going over every detail of what's to come. Had he missed something? Is there anything else that he could do to give his allies the edge that they'll need? Eventually he decided that there is no more that he can do to help, and he had no more time to spare thinking about it.

    He prepped his armor and was in the middle of suiting up when Lucille entered the room. "Ah. Captain. Just the person I wanted to see." Edit said seriously as he picked up his helmet.

    "Of course it's me.", Lucille stated plainly, "You called. What is it?" Edit motioned her to take a seat as he does the same.

     "I've done all I can to help you in recent weeks. Training, intel, and suggestions on how to prevent this whole war. I've called you here to ask for a favor. A last request if you will." Edit seemed somber and the thought concerned Lucille

     "Last request? Of course, what do you need?" Lucille asked, still trying to figure out his angle.

     "When the new year rolls around," Edit began, "I would ask you to travel to Singapore. There's a ship there, called The Sovereignty, and it's very important that you board it before it leaves. Do not ask me further questions as it would only put you in danger." Lucille was confused and even a little frustrated at the request. She had so many questions, but Edit is her friend, so she simply nodded her head in understanding. Before Lucille could turn to leave, Her mother entered the room.

    "Just stopped by to grab a few pieces of-Edit? Why are ya all dressed for combat?" Turt asked, quite intriguing. Edit let out a sigh in response. Today was his day after all, it's only fair that he share the occasion.

    "Do you know where my abilities come from?", Edit asked quite hastily, wanting to get this out of the way as soon as possible.

    "The Speedforce?", Lucille answered, ing having to charge the battery on his suit.

    "Correct." He responded, nodding. "The Speedforce tends to become...unhappy when someone such as myself attempts to manipulate the timeline so significantly. I cannot help you further, not by my choosing, but for your own safety. By the end of today, The Speedforce will attempt to 'correct' the timeline, and by extension...me." Turt seemed confused, but Lucille appeared to get the picture.

    The three waited for what seemed like hours in almost absolute silence when all of a sudden, Edit stands. "It's time." He placed his helmet on his head and walked over to his workshop corner of the room. He picked up an advanced shotgun and what appeared to be some sort of high-tech rifle. Edit readied the rifle at the center of the room and stood there without saying a word. Several more seconds ed before the room began to shake. A rift of some sort opened in the center of the room and from it, a strange black ghost pulled itself through. "Time wraith...", Lucille muttered.

     Edit fired the rifle at it, trapping it with some sort of energy bubble. It didn't stay stuck for long before phasing its way through and charging right at him. Edit rolled out of the way just in time and opened the door, sprinting into the hall. The wraith followed close behind him and the turtles, close behind it. Edit leapt into the air over the stairs and disappeared into a time rift, appearing just in front of the kitchen a moment later. The wraith appeared right behind him as he frantically jumped from rift to rift, staying behind him by mere milliseconds. In a desperate attempt at evasion, Edit traveled back in time by just a moment and ends up creating time remnant clones.

     The turtles watched from the top of the stairs in horror as one by one, the remnants were caught and turned to dust in the wraith's clutches. Turt made a move to assist, but Lucille pulled her back, indicating that it was a horrible idea to attack a time wraith. The original Edit was all that remained. He tried his best to open a rift, but the suit that amplifies his powers had overheated. Unable to escape, the wraith gripped him by the neck and hoisted him into the air. The turtles watched with dismay as the wraith rapidly aged Edit to the point where he turned completely to dust. Without any warning, it vanishes, leaving both reptiles staring in disbelief.

    "He's gone." Turt muttered. "Our only chance at saving this world is gone."

    "We'll think of something. We always do, right?" Lucille responded in a comforting tone.

    "Wake up, Lucille. It's just us...JUST...us against Trigon and whatever else he decides to bring with him. It's over." Turt said and began to sulk, heading back to her room.

     "That's why we can't give up.", Lucille stated, causing her mother to pause. "If we give up, nobody survives. We'd doom them all to death." Turt thought for a moment before nodding.

    "You're right, but we aren't gonna find help here. Pack up, we're moving."

    "What do you mean? We have plenty of allies that would be willing to help."

    "No. Nobody from the asylum. I refuse to let any harm come to them. A few have proven untrustworthy when promised power and such anyway. They'd only become threats."

    "I have a lead to follow outside Gotham anyway. I can look for there.", Lucille pointed out.

    "You're leaving the city?" Turt asked, surprised.

    "Yeah. I made a promise to investigate something come next year. I intend to keep it."

    "Alright then. You follow your lead, and I'll ask around with some connections here. For now, we need to leave." The two pack up only the most essential tools and items before walking out the door and leaving The Playhouse behind for good.