totally meta

chapter 45

Henry had spent hours agonizing over how he would propose to Dr. Harris. Every scenario played out in his mind, a thousand different ways he could mess it up. But when the moment finally came, everything felt... right.

They were sitting in her living room, the soft glow of the candles illuminating the space between them. Henry's heart pounded in his chest, his palms sweaty as he fidgeted with the small velvet box in his pocket. Dr. Harris, completely oblivious to what was coming, was chatting about their upcoming work week at Seven Labs.

Henry took a deep breath. "So, there's something I need to ask you."

Dr. Harris raised an eyebrow, noticing the shift in his tone. "What is it, Henry?"

With trembling hands, he pulled out the ring box and knelt in front of her. Dr. Harris's eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth in shock.

"Dr. Harris...," Henry began, his voice a little shaky but filled with emotion. "You've been there for me through everything, even when I wasn't sure of myself, when I was scared about what was happening to me. You've supported me, stood by me, and made me feel like I wasn't alone. I... I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Tears welled up in Dr. Harris's eyes as she gazed at Henry, who was now holding out the ring. "Will you marry me?"

For a moment, she was silent, and Henry's heart seemed to stop. But then, with a soft, trembling voice, she whispered, "Yes. Yes, Henry, I will."

Relief washed over him as Dr. Harris pulled him up into a tight embrace, their lips meeting in a tender kiss. The weight of everything—his powers, his secrets, the dangers they faced—melted away in that moment. He felt like he had finally found the stability he'd been craving. They were going to build a future together.

But that peace didn't last long.

The streets were unusually quiet as Henry and Dr. Harris walked hand in hand, talking about their upcoming engagement and how they'd break the news to his mom and her family. But in the back of Henry's mind, something felt... off. It was the subtle prickling of his senses, the same feeling he got when something dangerous was near.

Without warning, a swirling column of sand rose from the street ahead, and in the blink of an eye, the sand coalesced into the form of a tall, menacing man with glowing red eyes. His body rippled like a desert storm.

"Flash," the sand meta growled, his voice echoing unnaturally. "I've been sent to kill you."

Before Henry could react, the meta launched a wave of sand toward him. Henry pushed Dr. Harris out of the way and tried to speed up, but the sand was already forming tendrils that ensnared him, dragging him closer. No matter how fast he ran, the meta's sand twisted and tightened around him.

Then, from the shadows, a beam of intense red light cut through the night air, hitting the sand meta square in the chest. The meta screamed as the heat intensified, his sand-like form turning glassy. Before anyone could react, the meta was pushed backward, and his glass body shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering across the street.

Henry, still dazed from the attack, looked up in confusion as the cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows, holding what looked like a high-tech laser gun.

"Who—" Henry began, but the figure cut him off.

The cloaked figure reached up and lowered their hood, revealing a face that made Henry's heart stop.

It was him. Another Henry. The same features, the same eyes, the same everything. It was like looking into a mirror, but with a different version of himself staring back.

"Hello, me from Earth 1," the other Henry said, a small smile playing on his lips.

Dr. Harris, who had scrambled to her feet, stared in stunned disbelief. "What the hell...?"

Henry blinked, his mind racing. "Earth 1? What... how...?"

The other Henry looked at him calmly, as if this was all completely normal. "It's complicated. I'm from another universe, Earth 2. I came here because You are in danger. Because of you the people in this world are starting to accept the meta-humans. And that threatens Zaron."

Before Henry could ask more, Dr. Harris stepped in, her voice stern. "Hold on. We're not just going to take your word for it. How do we know you're actually Henry from another universe? How do we know you're not just a shapeshifting meta-human pretending to be him?"

The alternate Henry raised his hands in surrender. "Fair point. You don't know for sure. But I can tell you things about yourself no one else would know. Your dad's name is—"

"That's enough," Henry interrupted, not wanting to bring his personal life into the conversation. "We'll figure this out later."

He turned to Dr. Harris. "We should lock him up. At least until we know more."

Dr. Harris nodded, her expression still tense. "Agreed. If you really are from another Earth, we need to be sure before we trust you. And until then, we need to make sure you're not a threat."

The other Henry didn't resist as they took him to Seven Labs, where they secured him in a containment cell designed for meta-humans. The entire time, the alternate Henry remained calm, even offering them more information about the multiverse.

As they left the cell, Dr. Harris turned to Henry, her brow furrowed in worry. "I don't know which is worse... the fact that dangerous meta-humans are specifically targeting you now, or the fact that there's possibly another you from an alternate universe."

Henry rubbed the back of his neck, still processing everything. "Yeah... me neither."

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