After the light faded Luke looked around Popping his neck in a way that showed off a long scar that ran from one ear to some where under his shirt.
Luke saw Jonny notice and shot him an evil smile. "Big new things happening at home, Everyone waking up and all"
"You make it sound like i'v been gone a long time." Jonny said worried.
"No... I have." Luke replied. "I'll tell you more latter, did your quest pop?"
Jonny blinked and checked his phone. Sure enough the quest for eliminating the virus at all costs was complete, but quest reward was pending.
"Yeah looks like we got it." Jonny muttered.
"Good, keep your wall up around the town take down all the others, we got a clean up squad coming to handle things now." Luke told Jonny pulling up a wrist and typing on his own version of the "phone" screen set up.
"You're just leaving us? Your guy here made one hell of a mess trying to clean things up!" Tonny shouted at Luke, with agreement coming from Jerry and a glare from Ray.
Luke scowled at the group. "Exactly, i'm bringing this fuck up home and some people who are better at cleaning up messes are gonna come fix what he broke. This guy was a bingo announcer, you really want him to stay and try to help put your town back together?"
They looked a little stunned then gave Jonny a slightly disgusted look, lucky for him the portal opened behind Luke.
"That's what I thought." Luke grabbed Jonny by the shoulder pulling him back into the portal with him.
Jonny stumbled but got his footing finally standing back up right nocking Luke's hand off of him. "Let me go! What the hell was that?"
"What? You wanted them to turn on you? Blame you for everything that happened back there? They were looking for a hate sink and buddy you set yourself up big time." Luke scowled looking down at Jonny, Jonny didn't remember Luke being that tall.
Jonny for his part just had to glare at the ground like an angry child, feeling his face get a little hot with all the shame that had been building up from the last few hours.
It wasn't just Luke, it was how Jonny had acted back in the town. From the moment he got there everything had gone from wrong to worse, at least one old lady had died because of him while he just hid in the corner.
"Come on, I'll distract you with business until you get your shit together." Luke gave Jonny a light punch in the arm in a way Jonny was sure Luke thought was friendly.
"Yeah, explain how you got so fucked up." Jonny said trying to banter.
"Oh that'll take a long time." Luke smirked then gestured "Oh you just meant my face? Your so shallow."
"Well your personalty isn't bringing anyone home." Jonny retorted taking a little bit of a breath.
"You'd be surprised." Luke gave a wink and started heading thought the hallway they where in. "It started with the new people waking up. There powers... all fit together, like a big puzzle.
They seam sorta random but when they work at the same time truly powerful things happen."
"Like what?" Jonny followed Luke down the empty hall.
"Well I just spent the last 3 years fighting in different worlds, Video game worlds." Luke let that sink in for a moment. "Started out in one of those zombie games Figured with my powers the week ass zombies and the fact it takes place in a big ass town i'd be able to score some solid loot or at least things to work with.
It worked... mostly. The money was worthless just green paper no details at all, the things I could take out of there worked like in the game.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
It's some sort of crazy ass game that lets you try and use anything as a weapon, but after like 3 hits most shit just busts.
So a chain saw didn't need gas, but if you tried to use it more then twice pop the thing falls apart in your hands."
Jonny frowned "But in those games aren't things like doors or walls indestructible?"
"Yeah, But that's the drawback. Once there set up that's it, no moving them. They are where they are, so useful if you are there but not if you go there.
So we tried a popular fantasy game, lots of crafting running around killing things and all the weapons, armor, hell even apples never get damaged by anything.
Got a lot of good stuff from that, but also a few of these scars." Luke pointed to his face. "Fucking dragons, in that place only the main guy can keep them dead. Guess what? When I dropped in I wasn't that fucken guy, so all the dragons I killed got back up after a little bit to come back after me. Got to the point I couldn't leave a building with out 20 of the fuckers blasting me."
"You said this was some guy's power?" Jonny tried to keep up thinking about what sort of crazy power built whole worlds.
"Nah, like I said it wasn't just one person." Luke saw a door and headed for it. "Perfect look at this."
Jonny looked and what he saw didn't make a whole lot of sense to him. There was a big archway in the room, seemingly make of stone blocks, to one side of the arch was a box about chest high. Flashes where coming from inside the room and piles of goods were being placed into boxes before disappearing.
"This dosen't help me at all..." Jonny looked back to Luke.
Luke frowned but nodded pointing "Ok, so that arch is a big door, lets you into the other world, Yeah?
That little box is where you put the video game or movie or what not, one guy had the power to scan things like that then make a mental world. Like a day dream that was super accurate.
Then another guy had a power to make little worlds, things as big as Africa inside a marble, but he had to have some sort of shape in his head to do it. Guy kept making big things but just one thing in them. Like a never ending field, desert, or snow forever. That kinda thing.
One guy was a portal maker, another could change time in an area, nearly stopping it.
Then this one chick she was the key to making everything work. She has the power to make a little figurines of people, they have all there powers but cant move on there own.
You can use it like a janky magic wand, but it's delicate made of thin crystal.
Thankfully we got a whole bunch of gear to build with, so we take the little figures set them in little stone boxes and make these portals.
Put in a book, it gets scanned, a little world gets made, time moves fast for it, then a portal is opened into it.
Bing bang boom, little worlds ripe for the taking."
Jonny shook his head. "all this in the what? DAY i'v been gone."
"Like I said kid, been a lot longer for us." Luke gave a shrug. "This magic shit makes things move fast. Keep up or get out of the way. Know what I mean?"
"Yeah..." Jonny thought he did know what he meant, and was sure at that moment he would be left behind.
Luke gave him an odd look then shrugged. "Come on, this way."
Jonny was trying to put this new info together from what he thought he knew about the powers, something about this didn't... feel right.
'What would I know' Jonny thought 'I wasn't even under like the rest of them. I only got broken dreams not a full on 4 day drop and remake.'
Luke opened a door and the desert sun blinded Jonny for a moment, when Jonny finally blinked away the light he nearly threw up at what he was seeing.
Drew as laid out on the stone bench or half of him was, the lower half was under the bench a large pool of blood was only growing.
A tall man in a deep blue tux stood holding a hand prying the large golden collage ring off of it. Beside him Harker stood looking a little pale. "I didn't think he would fight you sir..."
Slipping the ring on his finger the man sent a glance to the blood at his feet, witch strangely seamed to be forming a circle as if wanting staying away form him. "He thought I was dying an old man far away with no hope to get better, even after learning about the "upgrades" he mite have known it wouldn't work for me. His victory was assured, perhaps with a slightly quicker hand it would be my body lying on this sand not his."
Jonny was frozen in the spot everything seamed to unreal, the world got dark at the edges and it seamed to tilt a little.
Harker seamed to notice them for the first time and grimaced. "Jonny, I wish you didn't need to see this... Sir, this is Jonny Drew's last living relative."
The Tall man turned and Jonny thought he recognized the face, the curly air, and large nose. "OH... Yes terrible timing really. Your uncle was a fine man, truly he would have made a fine successor... under different circumstances."
When spoke he used his hands Jonny knew who this was, David E. Fitzgerald one of the most famous magicians in the world. Known for all sorts of crazy tricks, escapes, and sudden appearances. Going from one end of the nation to the other in a matter of moments, stumping all attempts to figure out how he did his tricks.
He was one of Jonny's heroes growing up.
"As you can see... Things have changed." The tall man said, waving his murderous hands down his long form. "The boss is back."