From the resulting miniature explosion, two burly photons scattered, the nasty looking sort you'd cross the street to avoid. They fled away from the scene, leaving the surviving proton to clutch the husk of its erstwhile partner.
The proton soon realised that something had changed. Its buddy seemed different, no longer a hyped up asshole like itself, and they would get along just fine. But sadly, it was not to be. Holding that brand s******g neutron close, the isotope deuterium had only a few seconds left.
Another lone proton crashed in from the side, sparking an explosion of released atomic binding energy far greater than even the positron had managed with its own destruction. Chris' probing magic sensed helium-3, and he'd officially made a star.
Chris drew his awareness back slowly as
