My head…fucking hurts. Feels like its splitting open. What the hell happened last night?
Wait, where the hell is this? Looks like hospital stuff, all the tubes and machines. The heart monitor isn’t working. Neither is anything else. Dim in here, looks like the florescent light on the ceiling is fucked up. Looks like the door on the right is too, window even broken apart.
Okay, so I was at Jim’s bar, doing my night shift, telling Jordan’s old man off, talked to Swiss, dealt with those fucking annoying twins…and nothing.
Door fell apart pretty easily, hate to see what did that. Hall is just as trashed, like Jim’s bar at Christmas when Swiss had that flashback. Crazy bastard. Don’t see anyone or hear anyone. Only sound I hear is a bunch of lights shorting out. Walls smashed open, ceiling on the floor, blood in a few places. No bodies though. I’m alive and my room was in better shape than this mess…guess they passed me up. Doesn’t look like any of the other rooms were being used. There’s one with some equipment, but whoever was in it is long gone. Maybe the lunatic who did this?
Shit, I think I got caught up in super villain business. Well, this room is pretty well lit, has a nice sofa. TV seems to be working, damn miracle. My legs feel a bit weak, might as well sit for a moment and catch up on the news, get the date. Turning it to channel four. The date in the little scroller thing is five days off from my last memory.
Great, five days missing from my memory. Looks like someone kidnapped me. Not sure why they would bother doing that. I mean, it’s not like I’m anywhere close to important. Guess they picked some poor sob for some sort of illegal experiment. I’d fit that bill.
…huh. That’s weird. The shadows in this room…they look different. Completely black. Almost solid looking. My shadow is going over the table, makes it pure black. I can see the remote’s shape, but the color is just gone. Guess I better turn that TV off and get moving, find something to eat and ge-HOLY SHIT!
…what the fuck!? My…my hand just went in my shadow! How the…it felt cold…did I do that?
…I wonder. If I stuck my head in, what would I see? I could use the shadow of the TV dangling from the ceiling, if it works that way. So, let’s see what’s in here…and this is fucked up. Looks like the room in a negative of an old photo. There’s even shadows here, but they’re pure white, kind of weird. And it feels…good. I don’t feel tired in here.
This is like one of those old comic books I read as a kid. I think that’s another plain, like it’s this world but not. I bet if I touched the white shadows there, I’d appear in that spot here. Or I’m on something really fucking powerful. Still, I felt better there. If I go in there, I could get out faster.
Wait. The fucked up rooms and hall, missing for five days, in a hospital. This sounds like a bad sci-fi flick. Shit, I think I was experimented on. I have super powers…I have to tell Sammy. This could open some doors for us; finally start really paying some bills. I mean, it’s a stealthy power, so I’d be hard to find…
“THIS JUST IN! A fight between Shining Eagle and the villain Hawk has broken out! The Jaspers Group skyscraper has been horribly damaged…”
…oh yeah. I’d have to fight super heroes. Jim’s old stories always lead to some sort of huge medical bill after fighting those guys.
…I just got a kid’s fantasy and it’s ultimately going to bring me misery. Fucking fantastic. Well, no reason to worry about that right now. Sammy is going to have my head; she always gets pissed when I’m late. I doubt she thinks I was kidnapped after how I knocked in Iron’s jaw. “Oh, I done got super strong skin” and you also had soft teeth. Well, enough with this place better check a map and get out.
_____________________________________
Weird, that hospital is right next to the neighborhood. Some powerful people must have pulled some strings. Something tells me they were vaporized for it, what with the missing bodies. Maybe I was spared because I was on that other plain when that attack happened? Like, I fell into that shadow and then the lights went off, no more shadows, back to the real world. Ehh, fuck it. I need a drink. Hope Jim doesn’t cut my pay.
Did manage to find my hoodie, though. Keeps my face hidden well, don’t like gathering attention from the bastards I throw out. There was a lot of other stuff too, guess I wasn’t the only one there. Looks like the bar hasn’t changed while I was gone, just hope those twins aren’t there. Wade and Howard, the two most annoying fuckers in the planet. They’d be all over me for information if they saw a glimpse of that shadow trick.
Well, might as well go in. First thing I see if my boss, ready to greet me with a cold beer.
“Looks like you’re finally back, Nate.”
“Yeah. Came back different, I’ll tell you that.”
Jim used to be a super villain in the 70s and 80s, called himself Heart Breaker. Dumbest name on the planet; used the name because he used to get all the ladies, or he says. He’s really damn strong and pulled off some robberies but reformed in the 90s, never told me why. He’s seen so much weird shit that nothing fazes him, plus Swiss keeps bringing me along for side jobs that keep me away for awhile. Guy’s pretty damn black and says everything like an old jazz musician, mellow and deep. Gained some belly over the years, but pretty well built, has a nasty scar across his face. He’s pretty damn cool and pays me well for simple work.
“Hey Jim, you see Sammy around?” I take a swig of that beer, goes down right.
“She actually came around here looking for you, first time for everything. You forgot to call her?”
I finished off my beer. I drink pretty fast when I’m worn out.
“Wasn’t on a job. Think I was kidnapped. Woke up in a fucked up hospital. Oh, and that’s not even the best part.”
I put my hand into my shadow. Jim just shrugged.
“That’s how I got my super strength. Small world.”
Jim has a weird past. I’m pretty sure he helped a bunch of super powered guys fight off a robotic invasion once. I think the only way I could surprise him was if I had a gender change and grew giant horns on my head with blade hands. Or I’m just not creative enough to think of something that would freak him out.
“Well, I’m going to go see Sammy now. She’s going to be pissed and then in shock…”
“Good luck with that. Oh, and if you see that crazy bastard Swiss, remind him to pay his tab.”
I walked just around the corner. My apartment is pretty close by. Noticed Jordan jumping across the building tops like normal, have no idea how he manages to do that. No super powers or anything, just fucking crazy. Taking the elevator to the second floor…and just my luck. Wade and Howard. The two are dressed as usual, dark red suits with black pants and neatly combed hair. White gloves too, always creeped me out a bit. They’re information brokers and know about most everything in the city. They also think everyone’s a fictional character and keep acting like they’re self aware parodies. It gets really old, really fast.
Think I’ll just bypass them. Jumped into my own shadow when no one was looking, entered the other side. They’re still there, but they seem oblivious that I’m around. Looks like my theory was right. I’ll just take the stairs and avoid anyone, meet with Sammy. She should be in.
Reach my door, 204. Door is scratched up, bullet hole in the corner, bad wallpaper everywhere. Home sweet home. Does look different in this other plain though.
…did I just hear something? Sounded like a whisper, lots of them. Must be my he-oh shit, I did not just imagine that. I saw something, pure black with swirling purple marks. Whispering is getting louder and I’m not crazy enough to stick around to learn more about those fucking things. Better jump back in.
…and back to the real world. I do not want to meet those things again. Guess they live on that side, so I can’t stay in there too long or they arrive. Well, it’s a better weakness than a glowing rock. Fuck it, better just get inside. We don’t lock the door because no one has the balls to mess with my Sammy. Girl has one nasty gun collection.
Open the door and there she is, strait blonde hair in her black coat and pants combo, barefoot because that’s just how she hangs out at home. She also has a rifle pointed at me, but that’s nothing new.
“Hello Nate. So, what’s with the missing for five days thing?”
“Liste-”
And she shoves the rifle in my face. She won’t fire, finger isn’t on the trigger. She’s pissed though, so she may hit me with the bottom.
“What the fuck did Swiss have you do this time!? What the fuck takes five days!? And not a single call!?”
She’s not going to let me get a word in edgewise, so I think I’ll just speed this up. I put my hand into my shadow on the door and she begins to realize I probably wasn’t gone for nearly a week of my own will.
“…Jesus Christ, Nate…how the fuck are you doing that?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but I’ll try explaining it if you would get the gun out of my face.”
I spent the rest of the night talking, explaining everything. She listens intently to every word; holds my hand the whole time. The whole gun thing makes it look like she beats me, but we’re actually pretty close. I’ve never been gone this long, so I can’t blame her for being so pissed since I’m usually missing to extort cash from scam artists for whoever the hell Swiss works for. Seeing her face again feels right. Her brown eyes are familiar and comforting, even if they’re filled with paranoia. We’re two train wrecks hopelessly in love, kind of depressing and uplifting at the same time, huh?
“Nate, is anyone after you?”
“I doubt it; I think the guys who kidnapped me are all dead. Or forgot me. Came back just fine. Besides, Jim was pretty mellow about it all.”
“Jim is bat-shit crazy, even compared to us. His brain had to have been scrambled, what, three times?”
“Well no one is breaking down our door. Even if they did, I could just take you with me and sneak away.”
“So, what are you supposed to do with this?”
At this point, I just realized my life had changed for good. I mean, I have this weird and kind of horrific power, someone kidnapped me and may still be out there…it’s like god wants me to be a superhero.
I’d do that if I wanted a bunch of lunatics in masks trying to kill everyone I know. So that’s out of the question.
“…I could always scare the crap out of Jordan’s pa.”
Battle God
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