Apocalypse: Clash of worlds

A Secret Place

Dugan, still starstruck by Dr. Haris' explanation, glued his eyes to the faintly beeping monitor as though he could fathom all the jargons he saw.

"So...I've got powers because of some weird compound you formulated the vaccine with?"

With all his attention still fixed upon the same screen Dugan's eyes were feasted on, Harris blurted, "Affirmative"

He averted his gaze from the monitor, widening his deep-blue eyes at Harris' response;

"Whoa! so...I'm a mutant?"

"What other powers do I have? Maybe flight, or superspeed, or invisibility?"

"Will the government send secret agents to hunt and take me to an abandoned warehouse or something, to turn me into their lab rat?"

"What will--"

Harris sighed, shooting a blank gaze at him for almost a minute, before he spat, "No"

His furrowed brow revealed his lingering confusion as his sight fell upon the test-tube containing a green luminiscent liquid, which Harris had just begun stirring.

"But will you run more tests on me?...because, it's already established that I'm not a fan of needles and--"

Harris' face scrunched into a deep frown as he impatiently munched his words:
"Will you just leave me to concentrate on my work please?"

Dugan scoffed and turned away, but hadn't taken two steps back towards his bed when suddenly....

There was an abrupt quake and a brilliant, blinding burst of purple light appeared from nowhere, materializing into a portal that filled much of the room. The lightbulbs shone with great intensity, followed by violent flickers, yellow sparks and earsplitting crackling sounds.

The duo's eyebrows shot up, and their mouths hung open as they stumbled backwards, their eyes fixed on the portal in anticipation of what would happen next...

"Guys....", they chorused.

Ryan and Ayla, both bruised and clad in their blood-dripping clothes, emerged from the portal before it vanished with with a loud whooshing sound; his arm rested upon her shoulder for support as they both took a few steps forward. The atmosphere soon became engulfed in the stench of blood and dirt.

With his eyes still glued upon them, Dugan asked, "Guys, what happened?"

Ryan, with sunken eyes, let go of Ayla and briefly gazed at him before collapsing onto the white bed, drenching it in his blood.

Harris strode towards Ayla who was perched beside Ryan, squinting as he peered at her for a few seconds;

"Is he...are you okay?"

"Yeah...but he'll be needing some rest", she responded.

"Same goes for you...and maybe a bath and change of outfit", he responded, scanning her blood-bathed hair and body.

She sighed.

"Yeah, and maybe I'll have a drink too..."

"You should do that too....", Harris hollered as she exited the room.

"I—I think I'll be needing that drink too," Dugan added before sauntering out the door.

**********************

~ Damien ~

I just finished taking my night bath, slid into a furry black robe and sauntered into the balcony.

My mind was occupied with a lot of things at the moment, but more than anything, I couldn't stop thinking about Ryan, who hadn't fully recovered from the near death experience Ayla had explained to me.

I ruffled my hair and collapsed upon one of the long black chairs, alternating my gaze between the silver night sky and city skyline.

Shutting my eyes, I allowed myself to relish the cold breeze that brushed gently against my skin, the fabric of my robe swaddling me like a comforting embrace, as I surrendered to the moment and let my thoughts fade away.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound pierced through the ambient silence, followed by a glinting blue light which struck my eyes as I averted my gaze to its source. I sprang up, my heart pounding, as a figure donned in a hooded leather jacket appeared from behind the light.

I gulped, following the shot of adrenaline that zipped down my whole body. My lips quivered as I munched the words:

"Who are you?"

However, seconds passed and nothing but silence echoed into the atmosphere, as the stranger's seemingly familiar eyes peered at me.

Mustering a little courage, I stepped forward, thrusting my fist forward in an attempt to deliver a punch;
"Tell me who you are, or I'll--"

But things went sideways when this mystery person grabbed my fist, everything happened in a matter of seconds and...Thud!

Severe pangs of pain surged through my entire body as I was hurled to the ground, the stranger's arm still wrapped around my neck.

"Wh..o are y-you?", I gasped out, my voice strained as I fought for breath.

I struggled with the stranger's impossibly strong grip, but then the same blue light flashed again, surrounding us in its blinding glow.

The light enveloped us, and for a second, everything froze. The stranger's grip loosened just enough for me to break free and I stumbled backward, fluttering my eyes as the brightness subsided. My vision cleared, revealing the stranger still standing there, but without the concealing hood.

"Chloe?"

My jaws dropped as I gawked at her, a thousand thoughts zipping through my mind, as my heart raced even faster. My last encounter with her almost cost my life, owing to the fact that she seemed like a lunatic.

I frowned.

"Wait...are you even Chloe or Razor?"
"Where are we?"
"Why did you kidnap me?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes before offering me an outstretched hand.

"Quit whining like a princess and get up, wouldya?"

An abrupt silence loomed between us for a couple of seconds, as a deep frown crawled upon my face while I stared at her palms, clad in black leather gloves.

Then finally, I heaved a sigh, placing my right palm in hers and allowed her to spring me up.

Still wearing a frown, I straightened up, wiping the dust off my robe.

"So, princess, do you wanna tell me why you appeared at my place, abducted me in my sleeping robe and brought me to...where are we again?"

She heaved a sigh, shooting at me with a raised brow.

"Are you always this whinny?"

"Fuck you!", I spat.
"Give me just one reason why I shouldn't call for backup this instant?"
"And how do you even know where I live?"

She pouted, stalking back and forth while speaking;

"Remember the last time we met? I bugged your phone...so, that's one"
"And no one knows where we are...they can't track us either, it's a secret place"
"Also, yeah...you need to get dressed for what's about to happen"

My eyes shot wide open and I yelled, "WHAT?!"

Reaching into one of the pockets in her jacket, she took out a silver ring whose lustre caught the moonlight and sparkled brightly.

"Look, prince charming...I need your help"