“Who is this?” she muttered, stepping forward and cupping my face in both of her hands, “Is this the real you besides the color of your skin?”
“Is this really me, Rewan?” I asked, “Is this the face of Steine?”
“Yes, I gave her the real you,” Rewan replied.
“Yes, Evie, this is what I look like. I, and all our people, have no hair along the ridgeline at the top of our heads. And my skin should be almost a translucent violet and a lot smoother in texture.”
“What’s your real name there?” she asked.
“Steine, though the pronunciation would sound a little different coming from the mouth and vocal chords of the real me,” I said.
“Steine,” she repeated, running her fingers across the false bone structure of my face, then up along the ridges at the top of my head, “Would you think I was weird if I asked for a kiss from the real you?”
“I would love nothing more than that right now,” I said, taking her into my embrace.
I kissed her hungrily; free-floating in a world that I wished was my own. I kissed her as though nothing else in the world existed and in my mind, it was completely and utterly true.
CtynMech
Biologic I
The robotic anomaly doesn’t appear to be an enemy of this species as initially believed. If the quantum fluctuations were intentional as would definitely seem to be the case, then it is believed that the anomaly may not be involved in this. CtynMech questions if his purpose may be to prevent a fatal convergence of the multiverse.
CtynMech will scan the frequencies and broadcast at full power until the anomaly is reached and responding.
Braxton
I watched the scene from my high perch almost three blocks away. After further consideration, I’ve come to believe Evelyn and this intruder are more than just recent acquaintances. I’m not sure why he came here or what his fascination has been with protecting the very woman on my list, but it appears to me that every bit of it was strangely choreographed.
Perhaps he comes from an era far in the future such as I, except his mission is one that is the exact opposite of mine. Perhaps he is really is a super strong human as he appears and his mission is to ensure their domination of Legacy. Maybe he is here on a mission to ensure causality while mine is a mission to destroy it.
I noticed suddenly that there was a commotion of some sort happening in front of the last building that Evelyn had escaped from. I couldn’t tell what exactly had caused it, but from where I knelt above the fire station, it looked like a fight. I wondered for a moment if Evelyn and the intruder been inside that building all along.
I shot a cable at the corner of the library and swung across to a perch on the brownstone directly across the street. I could now see that the person causing the scene was a larger man who seemed intent on entering the building. The police were adamant that he stay out. I wondered why this man wasn’t allowed inside a vacant building, especially after the criminals have already left. I looked closer and noticed movement suddenly in the upstairs window.
Maybe it was a trick of light. Maybe it was a reflection, I thought, but then I saw it again. There were two people in that upstairs room and I could almost swear they were holding each other in an embrace. I wanted to scream, I was so furious. There was only one explanation for this and that meant that I was played for a fool yet again.
I turned and ran to the back of the building. Just before I leapt to the back alley behind this brownstone, I fired two cables downward into the edge of the building. I twisted in mid-flight to face the building as I reached the apogee of my leap, ceasing my outward momentum and transferring the energy to a swing inward. I planted my feet on the building above the back door, then retracted my cables and dropped to the ground.
I would now have to find a way to enter that home on the other street without raising any questions from the surrounding officers or media. I was still lucky enough to be wearing the uniform of a SWAT officer, but I didn’t have the security of a hat or gas mask to conceal my features. The only mask I had at my disposal was the invisibility cloak that we often referred as “confidence”. I had discovered oftentimes in my youth that walking with confidence, even walking through a crowd of enemies, somehow makes you invisible to everyone. It’s the ones who slither about with shifty eyes that catch the attention of those around them.
I brushed the dirt off my sleeves and proceeded down the alley and along the sidewalk around the building. The street in front of all the brownstones on Evelyn’s block was alive with activity. I decided that I was set on one final attack that could very well fail miserably. For all I knew, those were two police officers making out in that building while Evelyn and her suitor were long gone. For all I knew, I would be recognized as I plowed my way past the police and the large angry man near the front door.
“Do you have any idea who I am?” the large man growled, jabbing his finger into the chest of the officer who was still blocking the front stairs, “I don’t care whatcho got goin’ down the way and I don’t care what you’re investigatin’. This here is my house and I paid for it in full.”
“I know this is your place, Don Gino, and I’m sure you paid for it in a suitcase loaded with cash,” the officer replied, “But what I’m-”
“What was that? What’re you implyin’?” the man shouted, pushing the officer with every jab of his finger.
These two were drawing plenty of attention, which offered me the perfect chance to slip up the stairs right past them. The officer reached out a hand to stop me, but saw my uniform and waved me onward.
“You!” the large man hollered, “Take one step into my home and I’ll make sure you never take a step again!”
“You are going to force me to cuff you, Don Gino!” the officer growled.
I turned just in time to see the large man draw a weapon from his suit jacket. I raised my hand quickly, drawing whatever electricity I could manifest, but I wasn’t quick enough. His weapon fired twice before two of the police officers collided into the man and brought him to the ground.
I fell back into the doorway as the two rounds ripped into the right side of my chest. There were so many screams and shouts coming from all directions that it was easy to lose track of what was going on. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and for a moment, I had that weird “overlap” feeling. I heard another gunshot come from the direction of my assailant. I turned to see one of the police officers cry out and fall away from the large man clutching his abdomen.
I was suddenly underwater and the world was moving in slow motion around me. I’d seen all of this once before and it was just replaying frame by frame before me. I turned and entered the building, clutching my chest and shoulder. I realized that only one bullet truly entered my chest and the other tore through my upper shoulder.
“Evelyn!” I cried, “You owe me this! You owe Legacy!”
My words were coming out slowly and drawn out. In a moment of frustration, I found the strength I needed to rush up the stairs. Unfortunately, it was impossible to run fast underwater.
“What is this, Evelyn? What are you doing to me?” I asked, “What is this crazy repeating feeling your race has caused my people?”
I paused halfway up the stairs to see a man and Evelyn standing at the top. They were watching me with what appeared to be pity. Pity?
“Yes, it hurts!” I spat, “And I blame you, Evelyn! I blame you for my planet. I blame you for the continual invasion and the destruction… and the rape and the killings and… and my father and Diana…”
I took another step toward them and collapsed on the stairs. I looked down and saw the blood dripping onto the brown carpet. Evelyn was at my side, much to my surprise.
“I never killed anyone and I never raped anyone,” she said, “Whatever causes your hatred – it wasn’t me.”
“No!” I cried when I noticed a man was also at my side.
They assisted me to my feet and led me painfully up the stairs. I
coughed as something started irritating my lungs.
“I can kill you with just a small bolt of electricity,” I said, allowing them to lead me into the bedroom and through the hole in the wall.
“What would that accomplish?” the man asked.
“Legacy,” I muttered with a cough, “My home.”
“And after seeing all these things… your powers, the space ship, my superhuman strength… do you think the people of Earth would have any doubt that there’s life out there?” he asked, leading me through another bedroom and into a hall, “And knowing this for a fact, don’t you think they would focus all their resources on advancing their space faring technologies? If you ask me, I think you sped things up a bit.”
“Who are you? You’re that intruder from earlier, but with a different face!” I coughed, pushing him into a wall, “You lie!”
“Stick around for a hundred years and tell me that,” he said, pushing me toward the bathroom door, “I’ll bet they’re already visiting the local stars by 2049 and I can guarantee you this didn’t happen the first time around.”
I coughed, spitting a little blood on the doorframe. I leaned into the bathroom where I found Evelyn knelt at the sink with the cabinet door open.
“Why?” I asked?
“Why what?” the intruder asked behind me.
“Why haven’t you killed me?”
“We could probably ask you the same thing.”
Evelyn rose from the floor, holding several items that I could only assume were meant for packing wounds.
“We need to get to the roof if we’re going to have any time on our hands,” Evelyn said, nodding to a square in the ceiling.
The intruder reached up and pulled on a small cord, which to my surprise brought a folding ladder down from the ceiling. Evelyn climbed up first. I did my best to follow, though I only had one strong arm to hold on with. The intruder followed behind me, then pulled the ladder up, shutting out much of the light.
“I won’t turn on the light because I don’t want to draw any attention to where we are at,” Evelyn said, pointing toward a ladder that was bolted to the wall, “These attics all have a door that leads to the roof, but usually it’s locked from the inside. When I say locked, I mean padlocked.”
She offered a curious glance to the intruder. I clutched at my chest, wondering for a moment if it was time for me to lie down and succumb to my injuries. I was getting a little tired and the pain was almost intolerable.
He rushed quickly to the ladder and climbed it, snapping the padlock off with merely a punch. He lifted the metal door that was angled in such a way to probably flow the rainwater down onto the roof itself. The room was immediately filled with enough light that I wondered if Evelyn’s worries about a light bulb were unfounded.
“Come on,” he suggested, gesturing us onward.
Evelyn cocked an eyebrow as she motioned for me to lead the way. I groaned, then shook my head.
“Go on!” she said, “We don’t have much time.”
“I’m a villain,” I coughed, “And you’re the hero’s girlfriend. This isn’t how it plays out.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, shaking her head.
“The comics only have room for super villains, superheroes, the girlfriend, and a bunch of nobodies that pretty much want all of the ‘supers’ out of their town,” I replied, kneeling to the floor.
The underwater feeling finally went away, but it was replaced by a dizziness that I assumed came from a significant loss of blood. I was really starting to wonder if my time had really come.
“You might be right since everyone seems bent on killing you and Cyan, but what if you’re misunderstood? Haven’t there ever been good villains?” she asked, rushing to my side and reaching her arm under my good arm, “I’ve seen plenty of movies that made me root for the misunderstood ‘bad guys’.”
“No, I’m not misunderstood,” I muttered, attempting to pull away from her.
“Up!” she shouted, lifting me forcefully, “I’ll let you die on the roof if that’s what you want, but at least do me the honor of making it that far.”
This was a woman who had an unusual heart. This was a woman who loved in ways that made no sense to me. This was a woman who could lead. This was a woman who could make a huge difference and now I suddenly realized why she was so important. Now I understood why her descendants were never supposed to come into existence.
Cyan
I propped the door open on the roof and waited for Evie to coerce the Mystic up the ladder. I did a quick spin-around to verify that the roof was free of potential attackers, then peeked down into the attic again.
“P-p-please acknowledge with a response along the same fr-fr-fr-frequency. A convergence is occurring at your lo-lo-locale and the repercussions could be such that all causality is lost infinitely.”
The metallic voice screamed clearly in my mind. Before Rewan could even explain, I responded along the same frequency.
“Who are you and why are you forcing yourself into my mind?” I asked.
“Relieved. Please listen as the channel is cleaned up. We are CtynMech. We are a race of machines created with one dominant program that surpasses many others and that program is one we call ‘curiosity’. Before we continue, are you receiving this information clearly?”
“Yes,” I replied, feeling probably a bit more curious now than even they were.
“Thank you for acknowledging. We are of the belief that a multitude of attacks occurred on this planet in the past several days and these attacks were focused on violating innumerable laws of causality. These laws may not be readily understood on your planet, but it is still a universal law and it exists for a reason. While some laws are invented by beings, others are written into the very fabric of the universe. Some universal laws can be broken – the law of gravity for instance – but it is not done without causing a distortion or tear in the fabric of the universe. A ‘Rion Incident’ is about to occur on this planet and we are here to stop it.”
“Are you kidding?” I blurted, “Where do you come from? How do you just happen to appear at the same time this Mystic appears?”
“That ‘Mystic’ is one of the people violating these laws and he seems intent on bringing about the Rion Incident. He arrived with a large group of people who has now left him behind. If you are looking for allies, CtynMech may be your last resort.”
“I can’t even see you or be sure whose side you’re on,” I said, “And I still don’t know what a Rion Incident is.”
I saw a hand reach up over the raised access to the roof. I reached down and took a hold of the Mystic’s hand, pulling him the rest of the way up. Evelyn followed immediately behind, then closed the access door behind her.
“Who is CtynMech?” I asked the Mystic.
“What?” he asked.
“I’m being contacted by someone who calls himself CtynMech,” I said, “And he claims to be an enemy of yours.”
“Stin Mech? I never heard that name before and my only enemies are pretty much all right here on Earth,” he replied with raspy cough.
Evelyn put her arm around the Mystic and helped him down near one of the ventilation pipes. The Mystic appeared completely resigned to her direction, even to the point where he allowed her to help him out of his blood-soaked shirt.
“We have to get the bleeding to stop,” she whispered, “So I’m going to have to pack your wounds until we can get you somewhere more sanitary to clean up the wounds.”
“You are running out of time and more biologics are heading your way,” the metallic voice returned in my head, “We cannot afford for more convergences of the multiverse and if they retrieve the three of you, there is a good chance of more violations.”
“What do you propose I do?” I screamed aloud at the sky above me.
Evelyn turned to me suddenly with a confused expression on her face. I was getting frustrated and started to worry that I was very close to losing control. I wondered for a
moment if an IX unit was able to suffer from emotion shutdown.
“We can retrieve you instead, but only if you’re willing,” the voice said, “You only have about fifteen more seconds to decide.”
“Where will you take us?” I quickly asked.
“In orbit for now,” the voice said, “Biologics are in the room beneath you.”
“Okay, please get us out of here,” I insisted.
I didn’t so much as blink before I found myself standing in a tunnel woven of cables, wires, pipes, and hazy red lights. Even the floor beneath me had no specific foundation beyond that of woven metal cables, wires, pipes, and lights.
“What just happened?” Evelyn blurted, rising from where she still knelt next to the Mystic.
The Mystic’s expression changed to one of absolute fear as he stared at Evelyn. He was scooting away from her along the woven floor as though it were Evelyn who had caused this magical abduction.
“Whatever just happened, it was instantaneous, Steine,” Rewan said, “Our clocks coincide with what we believe we just witnessed.”
“Who is this?” CtynMech asked.
“My name is Rewan,” she replied.
“How did you also get into the robotic anomaly?” the voice asked.
“Hey, while we’re doing introductions, I’m Drexil,” he said, “Nice to meet you.”
“How many identities are you hosting and what should we call you as a whole?” CtynMech asked.
“Only three identities. We have been going by the name of Cyan,” I replied, “How did you retrieve us? What kind of technology was that?”
“The technology is protected since it has the potential to be used in adverse ways. Suffice to say, we created a quantum fold in a small portion of spacetime that permitted us to drop down and retrieve you from the roof while time essentially remained paused for anyone outside of the fold.”
The Mystic Saga Omnibus (Books 1 - 5) Page 41
