Remy felt like a fish flapping about on dry land. Breathing required conscious effort, and all his possessions seemed heavier. He squinted through the haze, using his super vision to see the aftermath of numerous intense battles. Fresh corpses, picked apart by vultures, poked out of the grey sand while thick clouds hung low, their underbellies tinged with a sickly yellow.
The Collector was already gone. There was no going back now.
The trio trudged along the wasteland in a vertical row, Remy taking the helm and Jay taking the rear. No words were uttered for the first ten minutes; that was what they had agreed on beforehand. Their priority was to acclimate to the environment as soon as possible. His sister had made that very clear numerous times in her teachings: adapt quickly or die quickly.
Remy turned around and frowned, noticing the state of Lyra. Her face was pale, drenched with sweat, and her breathing was ragged. Jay seemed to be in a similar condition but his eyes still burned with his typical determination. “We’re being followed from behind,” he said.
“How many?” Remy asked.
“Eight. I don’t think they’re human.”
“Are they close?”
“Yes. They’ll be approaching in a few minutes at least. Lyra, how are you feeling?”
There was no response.
“Lyra!” Jay repeated, grabbing her shoulder. “Are you good?”
“Yes,” she said bluntly. Her pupils were unfocused.
The cousins exchanged a concerned look.
We won’t be able to outrun whatever is chasing us,” Jay said telepathically. Let’s face them head-on before advancing to the meeting point.
My thoughts exactly, Remy replied.
They turned and waited. After a short while, a pack of emerald green beasts that resembled mutated tigers converged on them. Their muscles and physique were huge and ominous, almost gorilla-like, and they raced along the grey sand at an alarming pace. The animals abruptly came to a halt and altered into an arc-like formation. Their chests inflated.
“Why are they doing that?” Lyra asked.
“Not sure,” Jay answered.
Wide Awake's words rang in Remy's ears: The Deadzone has an undetermined number of new species, some of them alien. Watch their movements like a hawk. Anticipate the abnormal.
“Stay back!” Remy yelled, his Twin Vigils shifting into their enlarged form.
FWOOSH!
Steaming purple projectiles burst from the mutated beast's mouth, crashing into Remy's gauntlets. As adrenaline flooded his veins, he dashed forward, his gauntlets shifting into brawling mode. Jay appeared on his left, running ahead, while Lyra matched his speed on his right.
Jay bolted into attack range first, swinging his batons swiftly. He crushed the jaw of one beast, then spun sideways to avoid the sharp teeth of another. Evading and striking rhythmically, he fought with precision as the beasts quickly encircled him.
But who were they turning their backs to?
Remy charged in, stopping one tiger in its tracks with a soaring punch. He sent two more flying with heavy hooks, while Lyra shot them multiple times as they tumbled back helplessly.
The two remaining beasts made a desperate dash for Lyra. She shot one of them in the skull though missed the other by inches. Time seemed to slow. Jay was catching up to the beast but wouldn’t get there in time so Remy took out his–
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
BANG!
The beast’s body exploded. Body parts and guts flew high into the air.
Remy jerked towards the sound of the gunshot and spotted a camouflaged, slender figure lying prone in the distance. They gripped a sniper rifle and wore a grey, sleek helmet.
They made a "follow me" gesture with one hand, then casually stood up, waiting.
“What was that?” Lyra shouted.
Remy let out a sigh of relief. “A little help. Come on, let’s go.”
----------------------------------------
Lyra passed out before they got to the sniper wielder, so Remy carried her in his arms.
“Thanks for the assistance, sir,” Jay said.
The sniper grunted and trudged forward, the others following him in silence. Eventually, a base came into view. Its exterior seemed to be constructed from an advanced, adaptive material that blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment. As they got closer, a concealed entrance slid open with a barely audible hiss. Inside, the dimly lit interior was lined with humming high-tech equipment and filled with dozens of soldiers.
Remy’s eyes widened as a display appeared before him in bold letters…
Congratulations! Access granted to the Dark Energy pathway. (Genetic compatibility: 85.2%.)
Notes from Reluctant Man: Hello again. You’ve entered one of the many Flow Sites I created and have been granted the chance to use Dark Energy. But only those with the purest of hearts and the strongest of mental fortitudes are worthy of such an ability. You already have Super Vision, so I must remind you… exceeding five superpowers could potentially lead to adverse effects. Would you still like to enter the pathway?
Yes. No.
Good luck.
Remy smiled; it was hard not to. He had just taken the first step toward acquiring the same superpower Wide Awake had mastered and made a staple of her fighting style. He had witnessed his sister use it to take down many powerful supervillains with devastating and versatile effects.
Super Vision was useful. The Twin Vigils were indispensable. But Dark Energy? He believed they would be monumental.
The text faded away, replaced by a single task:
Stage One: Place the notorious Agony Caterpillar on your arm for 24 hours. (0/24)
“You're Amelia’s little brother, aren’t you? I assume you just entered a Flow Site Pathway,” the sniper said. He had taken off his helmet, revealing a grotesque face with a scar covering more than a third of it. His features were distorted, like something out of an abstract painting. His nose was squashed, his eyes were too close together, and his cheeks were sunken, almost non-existent, creating a ghoulish appearance.
“You’re correct.” Remy was unfazed by the face, having seen a lot of strange things online and through Wide Awake’s private livestreams.
But Jay, on the other hand…
“Dude… What happened to your face?” he asked.
Remy glared at his cousin but the man smiled. “You don’t want to know.”
“You must be Commander Preach,” Remy said. “Wide Awake told me all about you.”
“And she told me all about you,” Preach replied. “Which begs the question, why on earth are you here? I was told you were never interested in being a superhero.”
Remy let a soldier take Lyra off his arms. “Things change.”
“You’re lucky we cleared the area for you,” Preach said. “If you hadn’t given me a heads up on your arrival, the three of you would be dead. I strongly recommend you go home instead of chasing a superpower you’re not ready for yet.”
“No,” Remy said bluntly.
“We’re here to save Gear Prime,” Jay added. “We can’t just leave now.”
Frustration in his eyes, Preach looked between them before yelling, “All divisions, attention!”
The soldiers stopped their actions, rose to their feet and saluted. “Yes, sir!”
“Three civilians have come to the Deadzone to save someone. They are not superheroes. They are not Navy SEALs like us. They are not policemen. They are not doctors. What does that make them?”
Without skipping a beat, the soldiers shouted some answers.
“Delusional!”
“Foolish!”
“Arrogant!”
“Naive!”
“There you have it,” Preach said. “Value my comrade's words. In an environment like this, living is a challenge let alone playing hero. You don’t even have intel.”
“Can’t you assist us?” Jay asked.
“Call me crazy but I’m not a fan of helping people on suicidal missions. Our only duty here is to restrict villains from obtaining superpowers from the Abnormal Flow Site. That’s it.”
“Then allow us to prove ourselves,” Remy said sternly. Their flimsy plan depended on support from the special operations unit. They had to convince him. “Please. What do we need to show you?”
“What do you need to show me?” Preach laughed, then folded his arms, seemingly deep in thought.
“Exponential growth. Nothing less.”