Divona continued driving westward where the land became overly dry and arid as they entered deeper into rural Arizona. Besides the lone highway, there wasn’t much to look at except for sand and dust and the plain cloudless sky above as well as the occasional outhouse and the one lone gas station they passed by earlier. It was almost like they had arrived on a completely different planet.
Divona wasn’t even from this time and yet she appeared to know exactly where she was going, or so it seemed. After driving at the speed limit for almost a half an hour, Divona turned an exit onto a smaller dirt ridden road and drove along it until the view of the giant nuclear they had been heading towards could finally be seen in the distance.
They passed by a sign that read ‘Palo Verde Generating Station’, which Michael remembered hearing about in the news years ago. It had been shown all over tv screens during the disaster that happened in Fukushima with their own nuclear meltdown. Everyone thought it was too dangerous to be kept around but Michael never thought that way about it. Being a scientist, the idea of new forms of energy always brought more of a sense of excitement rather than dread.
Audrea had mentioned that gaining entry to the facility wasn’t going to be as easy as simply driving up to it. In all likelihood, there would be plenty of security to stop them. Ordinary folk without clearance wouldn’t be allowed to enter.
“So do you have a plan, alien girl?” Audrea said.
“She’s got one, right Divona?” Michael said.
Divona said nothing.
They stopped at a vehicle checkpoint where one of the security personnel with an automatic weapon approached the car and tapped on the drivers side window. Divona pressed the button to wind down the window to talk him.
“Identification please.” The guard demanded through his thick black sunglasses while looking suspiciously inside the car.
Michael wasn’t sure how Divona planned to respond, and by the look on Audrea, neither did she. They both expected Divona to say something clever but the way she stared at the guard blankly made it clear she had nothing much to sat at all.
“Excuse me, ma’am, do you have identification?” The guard said again, this time less patiently.
“No.” Divona said.
“I suggest you turn around and leave, now. Go on, this is for employees only.”
The other guards became agitated as they all began to stare at them, with some even preparing their weapons as if ready to use them. Audrea nervously addressed the guards since Divona clearly had no clue what she was doing.
“We’re sorry sir, we took a wrong turn. We’re leaving…” Audrea said nervously tapping against Divona’s shoulder.
After staring awkwardly at the guards for a moment longer, Divona finally appeared to have understood they were not wanted. She looked forward at the facility one last time before finally putting the car in reverse and driving away. There was a bit of an awkward silence between them afterwards until Audrea lost her patience in the back seat.
“That was your grand plan? Seriously? I told you they wouldn’t just let us in! Aren’t you slow on the uptake?” Audrea said.
Michael was wondering the same thing but he didn’t want to say it to Divona. She drove the drove the car down the road until they were far enough for the guards not to see them and then suddenly swerved the car a sharp ninety degrees and went off the smooth road and drove upon the bumpy ground instead.
“Where are you going?” Michael said.
“Alien girl…cars go on the road…not off it…” Audrea said.
Divona didn’t say anything. She merely continued driving the car perpendicular to the road, not caring for the fact that the car’s suspension wasn’t designed to be driven on such a bumpy, uneven surface. After driving for about a hundred meters or so, Divona then stopped the car in between two large bushes that somewhat hiding them from view, then turned off the power, opened the door, then got out.
Michael and Audrea looked at each other in confusion. Divona had her ways of making them do this more often than not. Neither had any clue what was on her mind if anything at all. Then, in another act of oddness, the girl from the future placed both her hands across the car and kept it there for a full ten seconds or so, looking like she was praying or in some kind of a trance.
“Uh, Divona? Is everything…alright?” Michael said.
Divona then lifted her head and looked right at him.
“Yes. Please stay in the car.” She said.
Of course Audrea didn’t listen, and got out right away, and the moment she did, her face lit up with surprise as though she was looking at something incredible. Ever curious, Michael got out of the car himself and immediately noticed what Audrea did. Somehow, the once shiny red car was now completely invisible, including the wheels, the glass and everything. The doors were half open but only the outer side proved to be invisible while the inside was completely normal. It was like the whole card had been sprayed with some kind of magical invisibility paint.
“I really shouldn’t be surprised, but…how?” Audrea said.
“Alright, now this is damn cool.” Michael said.
“I manipulated the chemical property of the matter that makes up the car. The camouflage will prevent all electromagnetic radiation from leaving while still allowing the visibly light spectrum to enter so you can see outside events. If you stay inside, you should be completely undetectable, even from drones.”
She then looked over at the tyre marks in the dirt the car had made, and as if by magic, made them disappear as if a strong wind blew them away using her mysterious pseudo Psychic powers.
“Please wait for my return.” Divona said casually to them. She then began to take off the clothes Michael had gotten her, leaving both her human friends to look away awkwardly.
They thought she would be naked, but from the corner of their eyes they noticed a thin white suit begin to materialise around her skin. It looked like a diving swimsuit, except it was far thinner, stretchier and more comfortable looking, covering every contour and every curve of her body seemingly perfectly; her entire torso including the neck, her whole ams up to her wrists and the entirety of her legs all the way to the ankles. Her feet were covered in a different fabric that resembled shoes but looked more like more like a pair of socks if anything.
Divona then became completely invisible just like the car, with the only trace of her being the sand shifting beneath her feet as she walked forward towards the facility leaving, Michael and Audrea behind with their jaws almost touching the ground.
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Unlike an ordinary human that was limited to seeing a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, Divona had access to the full thing. Through a mix of the x-ray and gamma spectrum, she could see through the entirety of the facility with superb clarity especially since each one of the three reactors leaked radiation like a sieve. Aside from this, she had also released thousands of her microscopic nanites outward to scout and infiltrate all areas of the building as well as the general area around it. They acted as her ‘eyes’, with each one providing a unique point of view that coalesced together to map and entire layout of the structure, keeping track of every human and every point of interest. They also helped to provide her with three hundred and sixty degree vision, which made it impossible to ever catch her off guard, or at least that’s how it was supposed to work in theory.
Divona casually walked up to the chain linked fence on the outer perimeter of the station, avoiding the interest of three guards at a nearby watchtower. Since she was invisible, the guards were completely oblivious to her presence, which allowed her to walk up to the fence and simply phase through it without any problems. The facility ahead was composed of multiple structures, with the three separate nuclear reactors spread apart evenly within their own section. Divona decided to head for the closest one. She phased through the concrete wall just as easily as the fence beforehand to get access inside. The concepts of doors were a relative hilarity to her as in her time there was no such thing.
Once inside, Divona casually walked towards the center, to the place that reeked of delicious energy. The reactor itself was in the middle of a giant pit of water which was accessible only through walkways which led to it. Below, the water acted to both cool the outer portion of the reactor while also providing it the necessary hydrogen for the reaction process. Divona headed across the walkway, towards the reaction chamber which itself was a giant cylindrical shaped pod halfway submerged in the water. It was only accessible with ladder below deck. She went down the ladder until she reached the front blast door which was made from thick metal that was tightly sealed so to contain the powerful forces inside.
Divona scanned the interior of it and saw that it was filled with highly pressurised steam which was hundreds of degrees hot, as well as a storm of high energy neutrons. Even outside the chamber, the radiation was too high for any biological being to safely handle, but for her, it was no big deal. She phased through the metal and entered the interior, exposing herself to the boiling hot conditions that would have instantly killed any form of life. It boiling sensation only tickled her slightly. She used the opportunity to absorb all forms of energy which included electromagnetic, high energy neutrons and thermal energy.
For Divona, it felt like a warm bath that was overly pleasant and relaxing. It recharged her faster than anything else thus far, with each passing second providing as much energy as a lightning bolt from a thunderstorm. After basking in the soup of neutrons for a good ten minutes, Divona felt like she had absorbed more than enough energy. Even though this reactor was simply one out of three, its energy output was sufficient. The other two were in different locations and she hoped that central command wouldn’t have noticed that the facility was running at at two-thirds of its usual capacity for the last ten minutes.
Satisfied, she phased out of the reactor until she came out the other end, then climbed the ladder back up to the top platform. She heated her body to dry herself off, and then proceeded to return from where she came, but right as she was about to phase through the final wall to exit the facility, Divona was startled to see something she did not expect, or see coming. Out of the wall before her emerged a grey face that was completely unlike anything she had ever seen. It had a pair of eyes like a human except twice as large and black like the darkest region of space. Below was a nose so thin it barely even came out of its head. There was a mouth too but it was small with the lips almost nonexistent. The humanoid phased out of the wall just like she could and revealed the rest of itself. It was taller and thinner than her, with a body that was perfectly smooth and suit-like but it could have been a form of exotic skin instead. His giant black eyes focused on her like lasers
Divona deactivated her invisibility knowing she had already been discovered.
It did not speak verbally, but instead she heard its eerie voice in her head psychically through a universal quantum channel.
“I cannot access your open profile,” The eerie voice said. “Why are you denying me access?”
Divona could think at the speed of light, but not even that saved her from being lost for a response. The grey being tilted his head in confusion as he patiently awaited her response.
“…I am not denying you anything. It would seem this is the only language common between us.” Divona replied in the same psychic manner.
“Who are you? Why do you take the form of these ancient humans?”
“I am not taking any form…This is my true self. I am human.” Divona replied.
The grey being opened his mouth and for the first time spoke verbally in a sharp monotone; “Is that so? well, if that’s the case, we may as well communicate the old fashioned way, since you consider yourself ‘human’.”
“Are you human?”
“Such a term is meaningless to me. I am a surveyor in this time stream. The beings of this era are my ancestors. What time stream are you from?” The grey man said.
“…This one.”
“…That is not a valid response..You do not belong here. You must be purged.”
Divona let her guard down for only a split second, but it was enough for the grey being to take advantage of. In a flash, he shoved her back with such force she broke the sound barrier and was sent flying through the roof which she smashed completely through, and continued onwards hundreds of meters up into the sky.
Divona didn’t even have time to recover as the grey being suddenly appeared before her and struck her with a titanic punch that sent her slamming into the empty desert ground a fair ways away from the power station. Shaken but unharmed, Divona quickly got to feet and was prepared for the next front on attack, but that did not happen. Her attacker simply levitated through the air at a casual pace and touched down before her with an arrogant, sleazy smile that was almost human-like.
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“I have finished my preliminary scanning of you and have discovered an anomaly in your composition. You are made of a strange type of matter of which I cannot identify. It has a different quantum spin to that of anything from this universe. It is a violation of the ghost effect. Energy from different realms cannot cross.…What are you?”
Divona smiled arrogantly. “It would take too long to explain it to you using this primitive language two dimensional language. I will send you the details once I am finished decrypting your source code.”
The grey being tilted his head again, looking slightly spooked as his already wide eyes widened even further. “Decrypting…my source code? Impossible. You cannot decrypt a language you do not understand…”
“I am a quick learner.”
The grey being remained quiet for a few seconds. Divona couldn’t be certain, but judging from the look on his alien face, it would seem the being was uncertain if not fearful. And like all things afraid, they tended to lash out blindly.
The grey being attacked her again with supernatural speed, but it was a speed Divona could easily match now that she had powered up. Their fists slammed directly into each other, sending shockwaves through the land like loud thunderclaps that threatened to rip a hole in the air itself. With each passing strike they increased their power output ever so slightly to test the resolve of the other, until it reached a point where only one would emerge victorious.
In the end, Divona managed to outplay her opponent. She closed the distance between him, smiled in his face, and then smash her knee into his gut. Right at the moment of impact, she increased her mass a thousand fold to strike him with unprecedented force, slamming him violently back through the air until he landed across the dirt, rolling many times over until finally coming to a rest far, far away.
Divona levitated off the ground with antigravity and followed the whole way. She knew she had inflicted a decent amount of damage to him, knowing that unlike her, he was not composed of billions of self repairing nanites, but instead of a type of carbon fibre that, while still strong, couldn’t hold a candle to her. The grey being quickly returned to his feet, hurt but not out. He held out his hands and from his fingers emerged streams of white hot plasma that collected into a condensed ball that gained in size. He then accelerated it at her at such a speed Divona barely had the time to avoid it, but she did, only just, and as she looked behind herself she noticed the plasma had melted the sand and the rock where it had hit, creating crystallised glass and magma in its wake.
Seeing his attack fail, the grey being tried for another, charging up yet another plasma ball before firing it again at her. Instead of avoiding it, Divona had other plans. She simply stood where she was, raised a single hand in front of herself and absorbed its entirely within herself.
“…How…How did you do that?” The grey being said, utterly stunned.
“It appears the difference between us is simply too great. You may as well give up. Tell me what is your purpose on this planet?” Divona said.
“Why should I tell you?”
“Because I am already close to decrypting your full source code. I will find out eventually.”
The grey being began to laugh in a manner that made it seem like he was no longer afraid. Divona was a little confused. Her simulations did not account for such a sudden change in behaviour.
“You don’t know the forces you’re dealing with. I am but a surveyor, there are others who will come for you, that is, if you can survive this…”
Without warning, a powerful force shot out from the sky and blasted Divona into the ground with the weight of a mountain, forming a large crater around her as she was forced her off her feet. It was not an energy based attack, but instead had the pressure and virility of gravity that was concentrated into a cylindrical beam, flattening her deep into the earth. She tried to get up afterwards, but right as she did so, she was knocked down by yet another strike that forced her back down, again and again like a jackhammer that hammered her deeper into the earth with every successive wave.
In her head she heard his voice communicate to her. “Can you save your human friends before I get to them? yes, that’s right, I know all about them. Did you really think you could hide them from me? You better hurry…”
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“What’s going on out there? I thought she was supposed to do this quietly…” Audrea said as she and Michael watched from the windows within the invisible car. They heard sounds of explosions being emitted in the distance, and neither was completely sure exactly where it came from or what it even meant.
“I don’t know…do you think its a nuclear meltdown?” Michael said.
“No, it’s not that. Something isn’t right.”
“I’m gonna go check. Divona could be in trouble.” Michael said as he grabbed the door handle hastily, but was stopped by a Audrea.
“No, there’s nothing you can do. You heard her. She said to stay in the car.”
“I won’t stay back and do nothing! Maybe she needs our help.”
“What are we supposed to do Michael? We can’t help her. The best thing to do is to stay out of her way.”
Michael knew Audrea was right. There was nothing he could do to help. The last thing he wanted was to be a burden, so he reluctantly removed his hand off the handle and sat back against his seat. They continued to listened to the loud bangs for a while longer, madly looking around for any signs of Divona until eventually they saw a small blue object heading towards them which they identified as her. None of them had seen it before, but they weren’t particularly surprised to see her flying through the air like a plane, slowing down sharply until she touched down in front of the car.
Michael and Audrea immediately exited the car to greet her.
“Divona! are you alright? There were explosions, what happened back there?” Michael said out of concern.
Divona stood still and said absolutely nothing. She seemed colder looking than her usual self, and did not look at them the same way, almost like she was someone else.
“Divona? what’s the matter?” Michael said as he walked closer towards her.
“Hold on Michael, something isn’t right with her” Audrea said.
Michael stopped in his tracks and looked back oddly at Audrea. “What are you talking about? It’s her.”
Michael felt confused as Audrea and Divona began to stare at each other like two characters in an old western cowboy film. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife, and in that moment he suddenly began to think that Audrea may have been on to something. And then, out of nowhere, he felt Audrea reach into his pocket and pull out the tiny device Divona gave him earlier in the day, the one when activated, would ensure her destruction-the kill switch. Michael had no idea how Audrea even knew about it, or how she managed to take it from him even before he could react.
“Audrea! what are you doing? Give it back!” Michael yelled.
Audrea held the small metallic device in front of her, holding it across both ends with her index finger and thumb.
“Who are you?” Audrea said, threateningly, threatening to push down to activate the device.
Michael tried to grab it off Audrea but she pulled out her handgun and threatened him to back off. Michael raised his hands and did so, completely bewildered as to what was going on.
Audrea then looked back to Divona and pointed the gun at her instead.
“Why aren’t you answering us?” Audrea said.
Divona continued to stare at them for a few seconds, until finally there seemed to be some reaction to her. A smile drew across her lips, one that was completely unlike her, almost dark looking and spiteful, evil even.
“What is that device?” Divona said.
“Who are you?” Audrea said.
Divona tilted her head. “I am Divona.”
“Fuck off, no you’re not! Who are you?”
Michael lost his patience. “Audrea! Are you insane? You’re being completely delusional!”
“Stay out of this Michael.”
“Do you know what that device does? It’s dangerous. You don’t know what you’re doing!”
Divona began to laugh. It was a laugh that even made Michael think twice. He began to realise that perhaps he was angry at the wrong person.
“You have sharp instincts, woman.”
In a flash, both Michael and Audrea were shellshocked when Divona suddenly appeared before them and snatched the device off Audrea. They were then knocked against the side of the invisible car by a shockwave that appeared to come out of nowhere, knocking the gun out of Audrea’s hands. When they recovered, they were horrified to see who they thought was Divona transform into a seven foot tall grey humanoid who inspected closely the small metal device in its hands.
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Divona found it difficult to overpower the gravity shocks that continued to mercilessly hammer her down. She possessed superhuman strength, could absorb energy strikes at will, and phase through solid matter, but when it came to gravity, she, like all things, was at its mercy. Nothing could escape the force of gravity, and she could not generate enough antigravity in her current form to counter it. But with determination and grit, she slowly managed to overpower the gravity waves and stand on her own two feet. Her body felt like it weighed a million tonnes, and every small step she took to escape the field put great strain on her. After finally escaping it, Divona felt relieved to feel the 1g force of the earth once more, but there was no time to celebrate. She she had to help her friends, so she soared in the sky and travelled as fast as she could back to them.
When she arrived, she noticed both Michael and Audrea standing hopelessly before the grey being with a look of horror to them, and it wasn’t simply because of its looks. In its hand was a small metallic object, and when Divona identified what it was, she instantly froze.
“Divona! He has the device!” Michael yelled, his face white with horror.
Audrea seemed just as petrified too but she had no words to say. Across both of them was a look of miserable defeat and dread.
The grey being laughed mockingly, and spoke so all could understand. “Yes, Divona, they’re sorry. What a foolish thing it was to give two simple humans the key to your destruction. Make one small move and i’ll activate this thing. I already know how to do so because of the woman. She’s an easy read.”
“Please forgive me, Divona. I made a mistake.” Audrea said, her voice shaky.
The grey being continued: “I can feel you’re close to accessing my systems, but not close enough. You need at least a minute to get full access, but all I need is a moment to send you to hell, as the saying goes. Now, if you want these humans alive, I want you to transfer your source code on a separate external system. Do that, and I’ll spare them.”
“Divona don’t do it! You can’t trust this guy!” Michael yelled.
“It is okay Michael…”
“What are you talking about?! No it’s not!”
“Be quiet human!” The grey being said, scolding Michael before returning his attention back to Divona. “And you! Hurry it up!”
Divona nodded, and out from her hand came another small device which floated towards the grey being which he grabbed with his other free hand.
The grey being laughed triumphantly. “You were right to call yourself human after all. You love this man and woman don’t you?”
Divona bowed her head, and responded. “…I do.”
Michael and Audrea became pale in the face as the seriousness of the situation began to sink in. Divona always appeared rather emotionless and detached, almost like a lifeless doll at times but this time they could see and feel the sadness and love that was at the very core of her. She looked at them and sent a half smile at them, one that bordered on misery and relief. It was a sight that cut at them real deep.
“And now you shall die. Goodbye.” The grey being said.
Michael felt his heart skip a beat when the grey being suddenly squeezed the device across both ends to activate it. Michael felt tears run down his face as he knew the girl from the future he met and grew to love, the one who admitted to love him back, was about to leave forever. A great sadness swept through him the likes of which he couldn’t even begin to describe. His gut tightened and twisted painfully as time itself appeared to slow down.
“Wait! Please, Divona, no!” Michael yelled as he held back the tears. He didn’t care about anything except for her and he wished more than anything that some miracle would come to save her. He prepared himself for her death but he wasn’t sure if he could handle it. His hands began to shake. Their journey ended as soon as it began and it made him feel as empty as ever.
But nothing seemed to happen. The grey being had clearly pushed down across both ends of the device for at least a few seconds and yet Divona was still standing, still clearly alive. Michael was bewildered. He wasn’t sure what was going on. Divona had told him earlier that all it took was one and half seconds to activate the device but it was long passed that.
“How long is this things supposed to take?” The grey being said, continuing to press down, trying to do it harder out of agitation.
Soon, the fear that manifested through Michael was replaced with confusion. He began to wonder if the device was indeed a dud or if there was some other plausible explanation.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t it working?” The grey being said, stressing even further, blinking rapidly with its large black eyes.
Divona began to walk casualty towards the grey being confidently. “The device has multiple safety checks which includes DNA recognition. It will not work for you. I have programmed it to work only for Michael and Audrea. ”
The grey being suddenly raced for Michael. He placed the device in Michael’s hands, and with his own hands forced Michael to press against the device, but even so, it still did not activate. Michael tried to stop him but he was easily overpowered. Audrea could not help but, and Divona remained where she was, merely watching as if she wasn’t even concerned. Seconds went by, and yet, still nothing seemed to happen.
“What? Why is it still not working?”
Divona smiled. “No, It will not work like that. I did say it has multiple safety checks after all.” She then began to walk forward confidently.
“As well as a DNA check, the device also measures intent. It only activates when Michael or Audrea truly intend to activate it. Forcing them to press down will not work. And now, you are out of time. I now have access to your source code.”
In a panic, the grey being tried to kill Michael but right as it did so he, he was stopped by a semi transparent force field that protected him. Divona’s eyes glowed brighter than usual and the look on her face made it apparent she would not let it happen. Seeing that fail, the grey being then tried to escape but the shield then coalesced around it in a sphere that acted as a prison.
“I was going to let you live, but since you tried to kill Michael, I will not forgive you.” Divona said, visibly angry.
The sphere then began to shrink in size like a deflating balloon, so much so that it completely disappeared from view, seemingly crushing the grey being into nothingness. And just like that, it was over. Michael and Audrea were shocked beyond belief, but Divona the whole time never appeared to even break a sweat. In a way it frightened them to know exactly what she was capable of, but the instant sense of relief made sweep these thoughts away for now.
Divona smiled at them for real.
Audrea blushed and tried to hide away her tears of joy but Michael didn’t. He wasn’t afraid to run towards Divona and wrap his hands around her tightly.
“Why are you two so sad? There is no reason to be sad.” Divona said.
Michael pulled away as she looked oddly at him. He wiped away his tears and assembled himself, clearing his throat.
“I’m so glad you’re okay…I really thought I was going to lose you, again. You really should stop scaring me like that.”
“Sorry, Michael. I will try to do better.”
“What was that creature?” Audrea said.
“I do not know for sure. But I know there are others.”
“It looked like some sort of alien from another planet…being with you is kinda crazy…in a good way…and by the way,” Michael said, passing Divona a suspicious stare. “Were you lying about the security measures of the device? Was it a dud the whole time?”
Devona held out her hand, and out from her palm appeared two other devices. She held it out for them to both grab.
“No. I have no reason to lie. When I said only you two have the power to stop me, I was telling the truth. Please take it.”
Reluctantly, Michael grabbed one of them and tucked it away. Divona then headed over to Audrea and gestured for her to grab the other,
“Alien girl…why would you trust me with such a thing?” Audrea said, her face a little red. “You said you love us…Michael I can understand, but me? How can you say that? You don’t even really know me…”
“All good things have humble beginnings. I will place my trust in you the same way you place your trust in me.” Divona said.
Audrea felt humbled by those words and grabbed the device without causing a fuss. She smiled at her.
“Are you recharged enough, Divona? Do you have what you need?” Michael said.
“Yes. I have a new destination in mind.” Divona said.
“Oh really? Where we headed?”
“New York City.”