An hour later, Revive was scoping out a specific establishment and when he was satisfied with what he saw, The Speedster made his way inside.

The clothing store was ordinary enough but as soon as he entered, a gun was pressed to the back of his head.

“I am a customer…” Revive announced.

“Customers know you never enter through the illusion at the front,” A rough voice spoke.

“I hope what’s in my back pocket will take care of the offense,” The Speedster hinted.

A rough hand reached into Revive’s back pocket and the ten thousand dollars was withdrawn and quickly stashed.

“Is that all?” The voice inquired.

“Don’t push your luck,” The Speedster’s voice became solid and threatening. “I need a meeting with The Big Boss. I have something he can get for me.”

“Think anyone can come in and just meet The Big Boss?” The voice was playful, clearly not threatened at all.

“That’s what this place is for, no?”

The gun kissing the back of Revive’s head was removed and he felt the world spin three times before his butt landed in a bamboo chair that threatened to break from his weight alone.

Luckily, he was the best at keeping his balance.

The chair lifted and Revive balanced on the legs for a couple of seconds before allowing the chair to fall back on all four legs.

The room was completely white.

A door opened and a large man glowing with incredible power entered the room.

“YOU ASKED AND YOU GOT ME…” He stated.

Revive was a bit surprised – usually, The Big Man was a rather small woman.

“Sorry, I was expecting to see a small woman?” He probed.

The Big Man froze for a couple of seconds and then, Revive felt something rise from his shadow, coiling around his neck.

His body tensed, almost activating his last resort but he managed to quell the activation quickly.

“Now, we are going to have to kill you if you can’t explain how you know that.”

A soft body pressed the back of The Speedster’s head and as The Big Man disappeared into inky shadows, the figure of a short woman was raised in his place.

“The Big Woman, right?” Revive questioned.

“One of my many names,” She commented. “You can call me, Tara. And Tara would like to know how you know our secret.”

“Dimension Traveler…” The Speedster revealed.

The white room turned dark for an instant.

“You didn’t lie but you didn’t tell the truth either,” The Big Woman voiced. “Speak complete truth before we decide to kill.”

“I was not lying when I said Dimension Traveler… we have met before, in The Shadow Dimensions. Those are the only Dimensions in which you exist,” Revive clarified.

The flickering room became completely white once more.

They were pleased with the answer.

“Why have you come to us?”

The Speedster withdrew the remaining forty thousand from his pockets and placed the money on the white table.

It flickered in the darkness and disappeared.

“We suspect such meager funds is not enough for your request…” The Big Woman chortled.

“That is simply the cost paid for the bargain,” Revive clarified. “So, what I may owe may be what I may owe with no extended control… be my eyes, ears, or my touch of my skin. You have authority over none of it.”

A metaphysical string of shadow snapped.

There was a small murmur of displeasure amongst many voices.

“We now have no way to guarantee you will pay so this deal has become meaningless…” The Big Woman voiced.

“I will pay… The bargain was always a formality and I wouldn’t have minded keeping the connection but I have secrets to keep of my own.”

“And the trade you propose?”

“I know you have a son…”

The darkness flared and Revive felt a strand of shadow wrapping around his throat.

“I have met the kid many times and he is a wonderful person, dreams of being a hero and I have never met anyone who deserved power more but he always ends in tragedy as long as he connected to The Shadow Realms…” The Speedster felt the strands of shadow loosen slightly around his throat. “What I offer is a way to sever his connection to the shadow, freeing him from your curse. This one will not be meant to be many. As long as he puts in the work, he will be a great hero. I offer him the legacy of someone greater than Utopia.”

“Your words are true and heavy,” The Big Woman faded into shadows and the room became darkness.

Now, Revive was negotiating with the real thing – The Shadows, themselves.

“What price do you demand?” The voices asked.

“You were working on a metal that could tether your son to a reality variant, right?”

The shadows curled and that was good enough for Revive.

“I need you to integrate that metal into my ring…”

“What ring?”

“Don’t play with me,” Revive rolled his eyes. “You couldn’t drag me here if you hadn’t taken off my ring first. So, integrate the metal into my ring so I can be anchored to this reality.”

A couple of seconds passed and then…

“Done,” The shadows reported.

“And I want the three legacy crystals you have…” The Speedster demanded, clenching his teeth since he knew it would be asking too much.

But to his surprise, The Shadows agreed.

“Why agree so quickly?”

“Because I am currently bargaining with another. You seem the lesser of two evils,” The Shadows reported. “Someone may come to find you if you can’t hide the signature of the Legacy Crystals.”

Revive solemnly nodded.

Anyone capable of striking a deal with The Shadows had to be a grade ten mystic or possess an ability that attuned them to other dimensions.

With concentration, they could find him.

“I need to be sent back home when this deal is done,” The Speedster asked.

“Done…” The Shadows reported and then inquired. “And for my payment.”

Revive pressed both hands to the side of his forehead and when he moved his hands forward, a clump of memories separated from his head.

It was a copy of the memories of all the variants of a certain Super Soldier.

The bundle included how to create the Super Soldier Serum and The Speedster made sure to include the memories for the user parameters.

This was a serum that could only work for one person – the variant of Captain America in this Universe.

There was no such variant.

However, Revive’s descent had created a leak of the information and now a slot was available and he was going to fill it with The Shadow’s son.

“I am satisfied…” The Shadow curled ominously.

Revive gritted his teeth and waited for the backlash… and sure enough, a thin shadow jotted out of the ground and smashed into Revive’s back, leaving a dark wound.

“The price paid for negotiations…”

The Speedster didn’t like it but he nodded regardless.

Better to pay the price with the next scar than with five years of bad luck.

He hoped whoever was doing the negotiations elsewhere was unaware of this final detail.

The Shadows swirled around Revive and he felt the ring slide back onto his finger.

Suddenly, he was two stairs down from Chloe’s apartment.

It was nighttime.

---------------

The apartment door was open.

At least the scent of sex was missing from the air.

The sweet smell of creamy vegan lemon asparagus pasta filled the room.

It was the dish Revive prepared before he departed the apartment earlier.

And now that he was back and hungry, he was a bit disappointed to find Chloe eating with someone else.

“You’re back…” She smiled challengingly. “I thought you had bailed like everyone else in my life.”

“Who is this guy?” The gruff, dark-skinned guy inquired.

“The name is Revive,” The Speedster rolled his eyes and marched to Chloe’s side, pulling a seat from under the table to sit next to her.

She was a bit surprised.

“Don’t you want to ask what he’s doing here?” The Amazonian gestured to the other man in the room.

“I admit to being jealous but this is your apartment and I am a guest here,” Revive sighed, clearly not taking the bait. “And he hasn’t taken off his shoes, that means he is leaving soon.”

“And if I don’t want him to leave?” Chloe challenged.

She was trying to get a rise out of Revive – see what made him tick.

“Then, I will…” He replied curtly.

The answer upset Chloe more than she wanted to show it and instead of lashing out in anger as she usually did, The Amazonian slid her plate between herself and Revive.

Her intent was clear.

Since the guest was eating the plate of pasta meant for Revive, Chloe was gonna share her plate with him.

The duo ate slowly and happily.

It was almost as if the third guest didn’t exist.

Revive had limited his sense of awareness to one person, and Chloe had done the same.

They were in a world of their own.

A click brought them out of it.

The Speedster’s eyes focused on the camera in the gruff man’s hands and his eyes narrowed.

“Chad, not now…” Chloe frowned.

“The mood is right, the lighting is right and we need to get more of you at home… we can edit the guy out later if he isn’t gonna be around for much longer,” Chad replied, continuing to take pictures with his camera.

Chloe unconsciously posed for each picture.

And Revive was a bit mesmerized by her sudden shift to work attitude.

“This guy is?”

“He’s a Junior photographer and an old friend. He needed someone to shadow for twenty-four hours and I couldn’t say no… so, here we are…”

“These photos are good,” Chad commented, staring at his camera with pride. “Will this guy be around for long enough? I want to post him in the photos as well.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Well, he is supposed to be my husband so pretty long,” Chloe semi-joked, waiting to see what expression Revive would make. “And as the wife, I give you permission to use as many photos as you want.”

“Come,” She rose from the table and floated to the couch, extending a hand toward Revive. “Take pictures with me.”

The Speedster sighed and did as he was asked.

As he walked to the couch, his casual clothing slowly morphed into a pajama with his lightning symbol on the chest.

“What is that?” Chloe blurred to his side, grabbing him by the arm. “That is so cool. What is it?”

“You don’t know?”

“Why would I know?” Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Because you used it this morning… the Klyntar in your braces,” Revive voiced.

The Amazonian was confused.

“Think about this morning… you were about to leave with the same clothes from the night before but I bet you arrived at your shoot and didn’t have to change anything.”

Chloe sunk into thought and slowly nodded.

“Look at my pajamas and imagine yourself wearing the same thing,” The Speedster instructed.

The Amazonian did as she was instructed and slowly, her clothing was replaced by a pajama similar to the one Revive wore.

Only, her one had a star as the symbol.

“Okay, that’s cool. Can I video that as well?” Chad inquired, already adjusting his camera.

“No, Klyntars are camera shy…”

An obvious lie.

“You’re saying this thing is alive?” Chloe chilled.

“No… just think of them as instant change clothes.”

An impromptu photoshoot commenced and Revive and Chloe shifted between twenty different styles.

He even requested a couple in the Amazonian and Asgardian Styles.

The Speedster had seen some of Chloe’s old photoshoots and the amount of clothing she wore and the guys she would take a picture with concerned him.

He was jealous but more concerned.

Just because she was the daughter of the world’s best heroes didn’t mean she was invulnerable to bad decisions.

Revive posed…

He did his best to follow Chloe’s instructions and it made her smile even brighter when Chad would show them the photos.

The Speedster even showed the model how to take some cool shots using her power – something she had never done before.

…

Chloe stood on the ceiling and Revive hung down from her arms, swinging back and forth.

They both had smiles on their faces.

CLICK

…

Revive played hand-strength with Chloe and lost.

CLICK

…

Revive was cooking pancakes and he flipped one out of the pan and Chloe floated in the air, catching the pancake in her mouth.

CLICK

…

The pictures were fun.

Hearing Chad squeal every time they struck a pose was fun.

And all the physical contact was fun.

Chloe’s face leaned toward Revive and he inched forward for a moment before realizing the look in Chloe’s eyes was different from his.

She wanted sex…

He wanted to make love to her…

Their emotions clashed for a split second.

The moment The Speedster was aware he failed to build a connection, his head retreated a couple of inches.

Many emotions flashed through Chloe’s eyes.

And she settled on rage.

A hand pushed against Revive’s chest and rammed into the side of the couch.

“I think it’s time for me to leave,” Chad quickly withdrew his camera.

“Yeah,” Chloe’s eyes never left Revive and the rage building inside of them was palpable. “It seems I need to discuss with this husband of mine.”

The Photographer was out the door before The Speedster could recover and straighten himself on the couch.

The Amazonian blurred and appeared in front of Revive – her legs locked his waist to the couch and her eyes captured his soul.

“You’re angry…” He stated.

“What gave you the hint,” Chloe’s legs tightened but Revive didn’t react – he didn’t want to give her the pleasure of knowing that she was indeed hurting him.

“I know because the glow in your eyes becomes a deeper yellow when you’re angry,” He revealed.

This detail caused Chloe’s legs to unconsciously untighten – it always made her giddy inside, whenever Revive would reveal a tightly kept secret with no judgment, or he would state things that she never noticed about herself.

Her weakness had always been someone who paid attention and no one paid attention more than The Speedster.

“You didn’t kiss,” She went from angry to sad and then stoic to hide the tears threatening to be shed. “Why?”

“I wanna kiss you. I want to kiss you so bad that you can’t understand it, but—” Revive sighed and caressed the side of Chloe’s face. “I also want to make love to you but you just want to have sex with me… I can’t give you love if you aren’t ready to be loved. That will ruin us completely.”

“So, you care about me too much to fuck me?”

“If that’s the way you want to understand it.”

Chloe chuckled mockingly, floated to her feet, and spun around, shifting her pajamas into a skanky short skirt and tube top as she did.

“At the very least, you gave me a good suit to go to a club and score someone who will actually fuck me tonight,” She announced.

“Hey, wait a—”

Chloe blurred and Revive found himself buried in the couch once more.

The Klyntar reinforced his body, providing a slight boost in strength – any other human would have had cracked ribs from the strength Chloe just used.

“Your room is at the end of the left corridor,” She announced, and then the door slammed shut and The Amazonian was gone.

…

Revive had had an exhausting day.

He spent two hours waiting for Chloe and when she didn’t return, he found the guest bedroom and sunk into sleep before making it onto the bed.

…

The sound of moaning woke him up at midnight.

The grunts of a male and the squeal of a female.

The Speedster sighed – a feeling of emptiness hammering into his chest.

It wouldn’t be the first time Chloe had pulled something like this.

In five thousand different Chloes, there were bound to be some Revive couldn’t reconcile himself to loving, and even in those realities, they were best friends.

…

The Speedster opened his door and walked down the corridor, across the empty hall, and into the living room.

Chloe could hear every step The Speedster was making and she made a point to moan just loud enough to wake him from his sleep.

The random guy she brought home tonight had been staring at her since she arrived at the club and though she wasn’t really interested, he did look similar to Revive.

Light brown…

Tall and slightly muscular…

Blonde-brownish dreads neatly bundled…

When Revive entered the living room, Chloe forced the stranger’s head from her chest to her legs, allowing him to kiss her legs but denying him from going deeper.

This was to prove a point, not push Revive to the point of no return.

“Okay, that’s enough…” Chloe pushed the stranger from between her legs. “You can go now,” She gestured to the door with a shew-shew motion.

“Bitch, you better—”

The stranger’s berating was cut short when Revive kicked one of his knees in, folded an arm behind the man’s back, and placed a kitchen fork at his throat.

“Just leave quietly,” He warned.

The stranger slowly nodded his head and Revive guided the guy to the door.

His final words to the stranger were a whisper made when Chloe wasn’t paying attention – trust me, you rather let me kick you out than her… she would have crushed at least one ball.

The man shuddered and the door was shut.

By the time Revive turned around again, Chloe's nose was pressed to the glass table, snorting a line of cocaine.

She shivered with each snort.

“I take it, you’ve learned your lesson?” She inquired, giggling to herself as the high hit and made her high-mindedness almost eclipse her common sense.

Not that she had plenty of that remaining, being born able to crush people’s hands simply by shaking them.

“You didn’t have to do that!”

Revive was trying to hide just how irritated he was.

“But my husband wouldn’t sleep with me…” She made puppy eyes and snorted another carefully-lined layer of the powder on the table.

The Speedster was already seeing the pattern of Chloe Sampson – and it was beginning to look like a girl so obsessed with finding love that she’d do anything to find and keep it.

Still, he couldn’t help but be amazed by every vulnerability.

‘It just makes her better when she rises above it…’

The Speedster frowned, glanced at the amount of cocaine, and mentally calculated how much her body could process at one time.

He wouldn’t let her go above the limit her body could repair, and of course, The Speedster was very familiar with her body.

“I can’t talk to you right now,” Revive tried to make his way to his room, but Chloe seemed intent on making bad decisions.

The Amazonian blurred to The Speedster’s side and he used the opportunity to tab her wrist, activating the power-dampening ability of her braces.

The high hit Chloe all at once.

Revive lifted the girl into a bridal carry and carried her to her room, tucking her in, and disabling the power-dampening of her braces.

Chloe’s eyes remained shut though her hurried breathing became gentler.

The Speedster departed down the corridor and into his room – the wind brushed past his face as soon as he opened the door.

Chloe was in his bed.

Revive smiled slightly since The Amazonian was wearing her pajamas.

He crawled onto the bed and pulled Chloe’s face onto his chest – his heart beat as fast as it always did though there was no power to it.

“Your heart beats really fast…” She noted.

“I know…” He replied. “And it can beat for you as well.”

Slowly, Revive calmed his breathing to match Chloe’s and his heart followed suit, soon mirroring her heartbeat to perfection.

The Amazonian was startled.

“That is just—” She giggled. “Some fucking freaky movie shit.”

A moment of silence passed.

The conversation had finally progressed deep enough for a few serious sentences to break through.

“We should just start as friends…” Chloe voiced with post-high euphoria. “You can stay here and we can figure shit out. Your rent will be stories and you cook and clean too… especially cook. I am shit at cooking.”

“Couldn’t make a better arrangement myself,” Revive commented, gently brushing his fingers through Chloe’s hair. “—and you should grow your hair out. I have a feeling you’d like it better that way.”

“Well… that’s the first thing you have got wrong,” She muttered in a half-daze.

The Amazonian’s voice quieted – it was her first time feeling safe in a long time.

The Speedster’s sleepy mind drifted back to rest.

The duo were contended.

Ω

The morning came…

And Revive was greeted by a complicated scenario.

“Do you always float in the mornings or is this a special case?” Revive tried to rotate his body but he did so a bit too late.

Chloe yelped, realizing she was no longer on the bed.

The force keeping them afloat shattered and the duo dropped from mid-air.

Chloe was able to catch herself at the last moment, hovering just a bit above the ground.

But Revive.

His face met the ground and The Speedster could only clench his jaw and rotated his head in hopes of mitigating some of the force.

A bloody nose was all he got for the trouble.

“I am so sorry…” Chloe reached him in an instant, lifting him to his feet. “I didn’t even know I could float while I slept… my powers are usually so linear.”

“It’s fine…” Revive wiped the blood from his nose and suppressed the pain. “I have been dropped from higher after an entire night of snuggling.”

Chloe chuckled.

Then she got a whiff of her unwashed body and mock vomited. “Ugh, I need a bath. I still have that guy's breathy smell on me.”

Revive tried not to wince when he heard that he had snuggled with a woman who smelt of another man.

It was something new.

There weren’t many things he had not accomplished in the Multiverse and this was one of them.

Chloe rushed to the bathroom to take a shower, and Revive worked his magic in the kitchen.

There were more ingredients in the fridge since The Speedster had tipped the Landlord enough to get one of the errand boys to do the job of re-stocking.

‘I guess a part of the reason Chloe isn’t so welcomed here is because she never engaged with anyone… even her neighbors call this place The Strange Apartment…’

“Guess I have to get friendly with them,” The Speedster shrugged. “Good sources of information and all.”

“Bread…”

“Meat slices – bacon, salami…”

“Milk and cheese…”

“Spices…”

As Revive read through the ingredients, he was mentally preparing a dish he knew Chloe would like, and at the same time, he was constrained by time.

The Amazonian only had around thirty minutes left in the bath.

“So, that dish is best.”

The Speedster popped open a pack of bread slices and began to lay the foundation of his work.

The crust was cut from all sides.

Thin meat slices and mozzarella cheese were layered on top of each other before another slice of bread covered everything.

Revive ensured the bread slices were the same size and proceeded to mash the sides gently with his fingers, trying to trap the slices between the bread.

A splash of milk, spices, and five eggs in a bowl.

The Speedster mixed everything very quickly and soon, he was left with a thick, white liquid perfect for soaking the bread.

The bread was soaked.

Coconut oil was minimally added to a pan until it sizzled and the soaked bread was fried.

The process was repeated a dozen more times.

The aroma of the perfect breakfast filled the room and the bathroom opening a couple of seconds later was an indication that Chloe had smelled the aroma too.

Revive diced the bread, stacked the pieces in a neat star pattern, and slid the plate to Chloe’s side.

Then another plate to his side.

Then a final dish of four slices to the center of the table.

“That smells amazing but it looks even more amazing,” Chloe announced, marching to her seat as she shed her towel.

Luckily, the Klyntar filled in the detail where her towel left skin and soon, The Amazonian wore a large t-shirt with Revive’s symbol splayed across the chest.

“Set the mood, right?” She announced.

Revive shrugged and smiled, clearly liking the display.

A hearty breakfast.

Then a conversation naturally followed.

“So, there are some things you’re not telling me,” Chloe announced. “Like that song you hummed during the night, and how to take these bracers off.”

“You can take the bracers off at any time – just think off.”

The Amazonian did as Revive said and true to his word, the bracelets snapped off her wrist, floating in the air in front of Chloe until she gave the mental command for them to return.

“I felt a bit unstable just now.”

“Yeah, an Amazonian tends to feel that way without the bracers to contain their energies,” Revive voiced lazily as if he were saying something completely ordinary. “You should feel more stable, mentally. Growing up with a father like yours is difficult for an Amazon.”

“Yeah, my dad was messed up,” Chloe rolled her eyes. “But you made it sound like it wasn’t his fault.”

“It was kind of your fault as well,” The Speedster mentioned, causing Chloe’s eyes to widen. “You should have felt something different about yourself a long time ago. You were resentful of your father from a very young age. It is because he was stronger than you and an Amazon woman could never reconcile being near a man who is stronger than them. You’re either an equal or an enemy.”

“What does that mean for us?” Chloe commented. “You’re weaker than me right now, right?”

Revive hesitated to answer for a couple of seconds – Chloe’s more primal Amazonian instincts were still inert so there should be a little risk with the truth.

“I am powerless, almost.”

Chloe nodded as if she had known all along.

“I have a modeling gig,” The Amazonian announced. “Want to come with?”

Revive shook his head. “You go ahead, I want to get to know the neighbors a bit…” He decided.

Chloe twirled and her large t-shirt became a mini skirt and leather punk rock jacket.

The next moment, she rose into the air and shot out through the skylight.

-------------

Revive knocked on the door in front of him.

“Hello! Hello!”

There were fumbling, low whispers that The Speedster couldn’t make out, and then the door opened.

“Hi…”

It was a disheveled couple.

“My name is Revive and I am staying across the hall,” He mentioned.

“You’re the new one?” The man blurted and the woman hammered him with her elbow.

“We meant, nice to meet you,” She corrected.

“It’s fine…” Revive chuckled. “I just wanted to meet the neighbors and invite you over sometime. Something tells me you have interesting stories to share.”

“Would you like to come in?”

Revive accepted the invitation and spent the rest of the day at the neighbor’s house, gathering information.

There was something he found out.

Something of utmost importance.

Ω

A field on the outskirts of the city.

Revive could tell that Chloe had just arrived home via her bracers.

There were some things she had to learn.

The Speedster stared out at the swaying tree, enjoying the atmosphere of a world untouched by the devastation.

He hoped to keep it that way.

A boom came from the skies,

The ground shook as Chloe landed.

“Why did you call me here?” She immediately questioned, shifting her clothing into combat attire.

Revive waved a hand and Chloe’s clothing shifted once more to a Wonder Woman-styled armor.

Though she lacked the golden tiara, the shield, and the god-killing sword, The Speedster knew Chloe was just as lethal as The Amazonian Princess.

They were based on the same character after all.

“I need to walk you through some things since some difficult decisions are coming soon…” He explained.

“You want to teach me how to be a hero?”

“Do you think I am a hero?” Revive asked in turn.

Chloe shrugged. “You do go from Universe to Universe, trying to stop a war that is going to destroy everything so… what do you call that instead of a hero?”

“A survivor…” Revive spoke with solemnity in his voice. “Just a survivor who is always put into a place where he must choose to be better or worse, and no choice is the correct one – just the one you can live with.”

Chloe was stunned.

Sheldon and Brandon always said something about righteousness and her mom would only echo the statements – it was the first time she met someone like Revive.

He was just trying to survive the shit hand he had been dealt.

As someone who inherited most of her mother’s gifts, Chloe could tell when someone was lying to her.

Revive meant every word.

“Survival?”

“The greatest sin of humanity,” Revive continued and spread his legs to enter a combat stance. “—has always been survival. But not knowing how to survive is a greater sin… I am here to teach how to do both.”

“Can this wait until morning?” Chloe sighed. “I have two more shoots in the morning…”

Revive paid the whining girl no mind.

“First, you’re going to have to learn how to use the ground – that will give you mastery over your momentum as long as your feet are on the ground…”

“Second, you’re going to have to learn how to fight and fly. I watched videos of your family – none of you guys know how to fight while flying. Your strategy is punching things harder.”

“Lastly, you need to learn how to use your Divine Energy…”

“Wait, Divine?” Chloe licked at the words. “You mean, like a God?”

“Small g…” Revive corrected. “But yes, like a God. An Amazonian Princess created by Zeus, himself… though I am not sure that’s what you are in this universe.”

Chloe grew more interested.

The Speedster guided the girl on all the techniques, locking her abilities away one at a time.

The following two days were met with Photoshoots, training, and the best-homecooked meals.