Rain poured down in thick sheets, transforming the busy freeway into a mess of honking horns and screaming pedestrians. It came out of nowhere, as if the clear sky had just opened up and decided to dump an entire day's worth of water on the hot city. Steam rising from the asphalt further obscured the view.
No one noticed the jagged rift appear outside the mouth of the alley. Space rippled, then tore, sizzling edges burning with neon-aquamarine light. Finally, the portal stabilized, providing a hazy view of the chamber on the other side.
It was a long, narrow room, constructed in an architectural style unlike anything on Earth. Sharp planes and hard angles were entirely absent, the gleaming silver walls gently curving inward to meet the floor and ceiling. The only source of illumination was a faint green glow that emerged from the gaps between the rounded panels. Cylindrical tanks full of bubbling, murky liquid lined the sides of the space, a few containing dimly-visible recumbent human forms floating within.
The sound of bare feet slapping on metal echoed from further down the corridor, announcing the approach of a tall, powerfully-built man who came careening around the corner moments later. He was completely naked, save for a segmented belt cinched around one arm, and running at a dead sprint toward the crackling hole in reality.
At the sight of the occupied tanks, he skidded to a halt. After a moment of hesitation, he turned away from the open portal and instead approached the first of the cylinders.
"Is that you, Keira?" he asked, peering at the suspended figure in an effort to confirm its identity. "Hang on, I'm getting you out of there!"
He searched his surroundings with frenzied haste, attempting to locate the controls. All of the nearby panels were locked out.
A solution to his problem presented itself in the form of an equipment shelf running along the nearby wall. On it, a collection of mountaineering gear had been carefully staged: hostile-climate suits, rappelling lines, belaying devices, pitons in several sizes... and hiking poles.
Hefting one of the poles, he gave it a quick test swing, then slammed it against the side of the tank with all his might. The transparent material chimed like a bell, and a few thin cracks appeared.
From further down the hall came a warbling, multi-tonal screech. The source of the noise, a waist-high, translucent slug, oozed out from behind another tank. Slowly, the creature's amorphous body churned its ways across the floor, pushing it towards the man as it continued to shriek.
A beat later, his Implant's translation feature automatically engaged, converting the alien sounds and gestures into recognizable speech.
"Forward-Commander-Two? Your presence in this area is not authorized! Return to your quarters at once."
The man blinked owlishly, then staggered as the command sunk into his consciousness. Return to my quarters at once. He leaned on the tank for support, fighting against the deeply-conditioned response to immediately follow his superior's orders.
"Why was the portal generator activated? Forward-Commander-Two, you are familiar with the regulations concerning portal use! Your antics have cost us a window!" The longer he failed to respond, the more agitated the creature became. "You will return to your quarters and await punishment! Acknowledge!"
He shook his head groggily, then mumbled something. His words were slurred and indistinct, his voice barely audible over the background hum of machinery.
"Speak up, Forward-Commander-Two, the translator software can barely parse your primitive language as it is."
The creature's eyes swiveled on their long stalks. Finally, it seemed to notice the damaged tank, and the pole still clutched in the man's hand. It contracted in on itself fearfully, then began backing away. A gooey tendril snapped out from its central mass to slap against a switch on the wall.
"Alert! Emergency in Staging-Room-Six! Send help! Forward-Commander-Two has rejected his conditioning –"
"My... name... is Ryan," the man growled.
Taking two quick steps, he drove the pole into the center of the blob. The metal tip sank into the blue-green flesh. When it was all the way through, he dragged it from side to side, stirring the alien's gelatinous internals. A few seconds later, the slug simply burst apart, dissolving in a shower of multicolored fluids.
"That's another one down."
Nodding grimly to himself, he turned back to the transparent cylinder and resumed his attack. The cracks spread further with every strike, until finally the material splintered, cloudy liquid pouring out in streams to pool around his feet. He reached into the tank, grabbing the woman's shoulder and shaking her.
"Wake up, we've got to go!"
She gasped, eyes snapping open.
"Ryan?"
"Keira," he said with a relieved grin. "I almost didn't recognize you. Come on, let's get you out."
"...what the hell is going on, Ryan?" Her voice still sounded hoarse and faint after the long immersion, far different from the fiery woman he remembered. "You're not supposed to be here. Where's Director Vuuguul?"
"Vuuguul isn't going to be hurting anyone else. It doesn't matter. We have to leave, now!"
Reaching in with his other arm, he scrambled to widen the opening so he could pull her free. His hands slid over her bare, wet skin, finally catching on the metallic belt fastened around her waist. Fluid splashed as she shook her head. The motion plastered her red hair across her face, momentarily concealing it from view. With a cry, Keira began to thrash, attempting to break his hold on her.
Ignoring her fury, the man pulled harder, desperate to free her from the transparent prison. More of the cylinder shattered.
"Leave? After everything we went through? Idiot! The Zorvax are going to take over the planet, whether we help them or not. And when they do, we'll be the ones to rule it!"
He jerked back as if she'd slapped him, dismay apparent on his features.
"Keira, I –"
Whatever he was about to say next was cut off by the sudden ringing of alarm klaxons, filling the room with their strident blare.
"CAUTION. UNAUTHORIZED ENFORCER ACTIVITY HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED IN STAGING-ROOM-SIX. ACTIVATING PACIFICATION SYSTEM."
As the announcement concluded, the hatch at the far end of the compartment slammed shut, followed by a sharp hissing sound.
He glanced at the vents, then at the portal, before returning his attention to the woman in the tank. His expression hardened as he reached a decision, and he tore the belt away from her. Lines of text began scrolling across his vision, listing the properties of the Changer he'd just grabbed, but he blinked them away.
She clawed ineffectually at his retreating arm, desperately attempting to prevent him from escaping.
"Give me my fucking Changer, Ryan!" Keira snarled at him savagely.
Without looking back, the man took a running start and threw himself through the portal.
The woman watched him go, her face twisted in a rictus of hate.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
* * *
Ryan fell hard, barely managing a roll sufficient to keep the wet pavement from peeling off a layer of his skin. Above him, the portal gradually shrunk, then disappeared with a pop. Disoriented by the aftereffects of the sedative gas and the hard landing, he lay still for a moment, basking in the din of people and traffic, the welcome sounds of everyday human life that he'd missed for so long.
They'll send someone after me, he thought. As soon as the portal generator has recharged, they're going to drop a heavy hitter right on top of my location.
Dazedly, he called up his Implant and set to work.
Greetings, Forward-Commander-Two! You have [37] pending notifications.
View notifications now?
He waved the screen away with a grimace. Later, he thought, navigating to the device's advanced settings menu. His eyes flicked swiftly back and forth as he made a rapid sequence of selections that had never been covered in his training.
Disable Long Distance Communication Receiver?
CAUTION: This action will prevent your Change Interface Implant from being located by friendly forces!
CAUTION: This action is not in accordance with standard procedures! Ensure you have obtained permission from your superior before proceeding.
Confirmed. Disabling Long Distance Communication Receiver...
Long Distance Communication Receiver disabled.
So far, so good.
Next, unclasping the metallic band that had been wrapped around his arm, he focused his attention on it.
Establishing direct connection with Change Matrix... connection established.
Change Matrix is Attuned to user Forward-Commander-Two.
Change Matrix is not Bonded.
Type: Change Matrix Mark-II (Gold)
Class: Juggernaut
Effective Level: 1
Combat Data Collected: 0%
Access granted to Change Matrix systems at Forward-Commander level. View available functions?
Again, he pushed through the stream of text.
Disable Change Matrix Transponder?
ERROR: Insufficient user permissions. Station-Captain level permissions are required to perform this action.
Damn. He briefly contemplated abandoning the two devices before shaking his head. The Changers were invaluable. If he wanted to have any chance at striking back against the Zorvax, he was certainly going to need them. But with the transponders still active... they're going to know exactly where I am.
I need to get moving.
"Hey, pal," a woman's voice called from nearby. "I'm talking to you!"
In his condition it took him a long second to realize that there were actually a lot of people shouting at him. Woozily, Ryan pushed himself up off the ground and looked around.
He'd exited the portal in a back alley, just as he'd intended. The problem was, the portal had opened a little higher off the ground than expected, and he'd been moving pretty fast when he emerged. As a result, he'd rolled nearly twenty feet after landing, finally coming to a halt right in the middle of a crowded intersection.
Stunned pedestrians stood and stared, blinking away the rain as if trying to make sense of what they were seeing. Drivers honked, shouted, or leaned out of their windows to gawk as they swerved to avoid his prone form. One of them whistled at him as she passed by.
A gorgeous blonde woman in a police uniform was standing over him, hands on her hips, soaking wet, wearing an expression livid with frustration.
"What do you think you're doing? You can't just... just... lie around naked in the middle of the street! You're blocking traffic!"
Analyzing... analysis complete.
Target Identification: Human, adult female
Commencing Standard Attribute Evaluation...
Effective Level: 0
Strength: 7
Agility: 6
Toughness: 9
Endurance: 8
Abilities:
None
Threat Rating: MINIMAL
Tall and fit, a part of Ryan's mind noted clinically. Attributes are actually pretty good for a baseline human. And a police officer, too, so she's probably already gone through some combat training. She'd be a suitable candidate for...
"No!" Ryan snarled, pushing the intruding thoughts away.
That's Forward-Commander-Two talking, not me. I'll keep all the skills you taught me, and the technology you gave me... but my mind is my own. In the face of his resolve, the last, lingering vestiges of the alien conditioning broke. Relief, like a cool wind on a hot day, washed through him.
"Whoa, easy there, buddy. Calm down."
The police officer had taken a wary step backwards at his sudden outburst. Her cold grey eyes narrowed as her hand slid down her waist, moving towards the holstered taser waiting there.
"Everyone here is in danger," Ryan blearily informed her. Must have breathed in more of that gas than I thought. He yawned, then shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "I've got to get out of here."
"Uh-huh, sure, we're going to get you out of here. I'm going to cuff you now, okay?"
She took hold of his forearm, trying and failing to pull it behind his back. Ryan had been a big man even before he was taken into captivity, and now... she wasn't going to be able to budge him, unless he decided to let her. Rain trickled down into his eyes as he considered his options.
He was naked, and still trying to fight off the effects of the pacification gas. Invaluable though they might be, the Changers in his possession were entirely useless to him. If she shot him, he'd be just as dead as anybody else.
Right from one captivity into another, he thought bitterly. Maybe it would be for the best. At least this way would keep any civilians from being endangered. With a mental shrug, he turned and put his wrists together, allowing her to click the handcuffs shut, then stood at her direction. She placed one hand on his shoulder and began pushing him in the direction of her patrol car, which was parked beneath an awning in an adjacent alley.
"You don't understand," Ryan said to her as they walked. "The Zorvax are going to come after me." He held up the pair of bands, as high as the cuffs would allow. "They'll want the Changers I took back."
"Right. Well, the Zorvax can come down to the station to pick them up."
He let the woman, whose nametag read "A. REID", lead him off the street. Opening the back door of the car, she guided his head down and with a single practiced motion shoved him none-too-gently inside.
Before closing it after him, she took the Changers out of his hands. Once again, Ryan debated whether it was worth fighting the officer, eventually deciding that it wasn't yet necessary. Now that he'd Attuned them, the devices would be no use to anyone other than him, and they were close enough that he could keep an eye on them.
No door handles on the inside, he observed as he examined his new surroundings. And there's a barrier between the back and front seats.
Ryan had never actually been inside a police car before. Today, it seemed, was a day of firsts.
Through the narrow slot in the barrier, he saw that there was another passenger already waiting in the car: a petite girl, with her booted feet kicked up on the dashboard, playing on her phone. She looked like trouble in her black leather jacket and tight leather pants, but he couldn't get a good view of her face, hidden as it was behind a curly mass of dark, blue-streaked hair.
"Amyyyyy," the other girl whined without looking up, "you said you were going to give me a ride downtown! Why are we still sitting here?"
The front door slammed with perhaps a touch more force than necessary, and the policewoman settled into the driver's seat, her attention fixed firmly ahead. She pulled the car out of the alley, merging into the congested traffic.
"I'm on duty, Syd. Technically, you're not even supposed to be here. Anyway, something came up." She glanced back at Ryan. "We've got to swing by the precinct first so I can drop this guy off."
"Something always comes up," Syd petulantly huffed, dropping her phone into the center console cupholder and turning around in her seat. "Whoa, holy shit, who's the naked beefcake?"
"You don't have to swear, Syd. And he's not a naked beefcake, I think he might be a junkie or a pervert or something."
Syd pressed her face against the reinforced glass slot. She's really pretty, he thought hazily, stifling another yawn.
"He looks like a naked beefcake to me."
Amy sighed.
"Hey, what are these?" Syd had pulled one of the Changers out of the center console, and was admiring the blinking lights within the gem-like power unit at its center. "Some kind of new fitness watch or something?"
"They're stolen property, Syd. Don't touch."
The two women continued bickering, but he didn't hear. Slumped against the well-worn leather of the back seat, Ryan let the gentle sound of rain tapping against the squad car's roof soothe him. Gradually, the tension of the last few days started to recede.
I'm home again. Free. Sort of. Now, I just need to figure out how to stop an alien invasion…
His thoughts dimmed, fading as he sagged into a fitful sleep.