Replica

"Hey Mel, Liz! Rough night, eh?" Robert greeted us in the hallway, locking his door with a click that echoed down the corridor.

"Hey, Rob..." I replied wearily, "The concert went on longer than expected. We had to clean up a lot afterward too..."

"Yeah, I figured as much, judging by your state... And Mel's too, haha!" He chuckled, pointing at Melanie, who was barely standing and leaning heavily on me. "Anyway, I've got to head to work myself. Rest up, girls!" With that, Robert patted my shoulder in his usual, slightly paternal manner before heading out.

With the small talk over, I resumed my mission of getting home safely with my half-asleep, adorable girlfriend. Just a few more meters to navigate before the challenge of finding my keys while supporting Mel.

"Ngggh... water..." came a cute, groggy murmur from Mel, her voice muffled against my shoulder.

"Yes, yes, babe. We’re almost home..." I whispered, fumbling in my purse for the keys. "There we go!"

Finally, with the keys in hand, I unlocked the door to our cozy haven. Our studio apartment, painted with the vibrant hues of our shared passion for music, greeted us warmly.

I guided Mel towards the bed at the back of the spacious room, dropping my purse to the floor. Using all my strength, I managed to lower her onto the bed, though not as gently as I’d hoped.

"Hey babe, you okay?" I whispered. "Still want that glass of water, or do you just want to sleep now?"

"Nggg... Cuddles..." Mel's voice, still groggy, seemed a bit less exhausted, perhaps helped by the brief nap she took on my shoulder during the walk home.

"Alright, alright, you cuddle addict, let me get a bit more comfortable first..." I began, but a sudden force rocked my body, causing me to fall onto the bed with Mel. "C'mon, Mel...!" I laughed as she wrapped her arms around me, nuzzling into my neck.

"Love you, Liz..." she whispered softly.

"I love you too, cu-" My words were cut off as the entire room shook violently.

"What was that?!" Mel cried out, now fully awake and alert.

Another tremor, even stronger. I glanced out the window, expecting the rising sun, but instead, a massive shadow loomed outside.

"What the hell is going on?!" Mel shouted, her fear mirroring mine.

From outside, we could hear the wail of sirens approaching rapidly.

"Ms. Kai! Stop it now, can't you see what you've done to the city?!" A booming voice resonated through the air.

"That's Gravitas?! Wait, Ms. Kai?!" I exclaimed, shocked by the sudden appearance of two supers right next to our apartment.

"Fuck, we need to get out of here-" My words were drowned out by a deafening crash. Not just any crash, but a series of metallic bangs and a monstrous roar. I barely had time to react before the entire structure began to collapse around us.

The walls shook violently, plaster raining down as the ceiling cracked and split. I grabbed Mel's hand, trying to pull her towards the door, but the floor buckled beneath us, sending us sprawling.

"Move, Liz! We have to get out!" Mel screamed, her voice barely audible over the cacophony of destruction.

I stumbled to my feet, dragging Mel with me, but another quake sent us crashing back to the ground. Through the dust and debris, I saw the hulking form of Ms. Kai, her monstrous silhouette illuminated by the flickering street lights outside. Gravitas was battling her, his power taking hold of the debris around him, maintaining them up in the air.

"Mel, we need to find cover!" I shouted, trying to steady myself as the floor heaved once more.

We crawled towards the doorway, dodging falling beams and shards of glass. The air was thick with dust, making it hard to breathe. I could feel Mel's grip on my hand tightening, her fear palpable.

"Almost there, just a little further!" I encouraged, though my own heart was pounding with terror.

Suddenly, the roof gave way entirely, and I saw the night sky above, filled with the eerie glow of fire and chaos. Gravitas and Ms. Kai's battle raged on, oblivious to the destruction they were causing below.

With a final, desperate push, we made it to the door. I kicked it open, and we stumbled out into the hallway, only to be met with more debris and confusion. The entire building seemed to be collapsing in on itself.

"Down the stairs, quickly!" I urged, pulling Mel towards the emergency exit.

We half-ran, half-fell down the stairwell, the building groaning and shuddering with each step. Just as we reached the ground floor, a massive explosion rocked the foundation, throwing us against the wall.

Dazed and disoriented, I looked up to see Gravitas and Ms. Kai fighting. Ms.Kai deflecting the debris Gravitas sent her way with powerful clawed slashes

"Mel, come on! We have to keep moving!" I shouted, trying to lift her to her feet.

But it was too late. The final blow came, and the entire building began to collapse in earnest. The last thing I saw was the twisted wreckage above us, falling in slow motion, before everything went black.

As the world around me faded to darkness, an abhorrent sight emerged from the murky depths of a swamp. A decomposing corpse, its stench overpowering and unmistakable, lay lifeless amidst the muck and mire. My eyes adjusted to the putrid atmosphere, revealing every grotesque detail of the macabre scene.

But just as I began to process this grisly tableau, another image supplanted it – a towering, monstrous form looming overhead. Its countless, glowing eyes seemed to pierce right through me, communicating something incomprehensible yet profound. As its massive bulk swayed eerily, tentacles undulating with a primordial grace, I felt myself drawn into an otherworldly conversation.

Suddenly, the scene shifted again. This time, my own lifeless body was revealed – impaled by a rusted girder, blood pooling around the wound. The camera sped up relentlessly, chronicling my corporeal decay at an accelerated pace. Blackened flesh fell away from bone, revealing the rot that set in with my final breath.

The visions intensified, each more horrifying than the last. I watched helplessly as maggots feasted on my rotting remains, as my bones were picked clean by scavengers, and finally, as nothing remained but piles of ash and rubble slowly eroding back into the swamp.

Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, an excruciating pain tore through me – a searing agony that snapped me back to consciousness. Gasping for air, I found myself staring up at the twisted metal that had impaled me, the girder cold and unforgiving against my chest.

The pain is excruciating, but surprisingly less than I imagined a girder piercing my chest would cause. Over time, it seemed the only sensations left were the warmth and dampness of my blood soaking my shirt. Oddly, my body began moving on its own, slowly extracting the metal rod from my torso. It felt surreal, as if I were an observer watching someone else’s body move. I couldn't even register the texture of the rod in my hand or the pressure in my chest.

Despite my passive role, the girder was finally pulled free, and that’s when the sensations came flooding back. Heat radiated around my chest, while a chilling emptiness settled in my torso. It made sense; there was a gaping hole. A hole? My heart? How was I still conscious without my heart?

Panic set in as I contemplated my imminent death. Suddenly, I felt a surge of something, like an ethereal string extending from the center of my body toward a nearby location. The string felt intangible yet very real, as if I could grasp it at any moment. Unconsciously, I pulled on it, and the chilling sensation vanished instantly. I didn’t need to look at my chest to know—the wound had disappeared.

No time to think about it—Mel! "Mel! Are you alright?!" I shouted, finally able to fully control my body again. I searched frantically for my girlfriend. "She must be nearby; we were right next to each other..." My anxiety spiked.

Despite my efforts, I couldn’t see her anywhere. It made no sense; she should be close. Where was she? Where? Where? My memories afterward are hazy. I remember sifting through the debris, then being guided toward an ambulance by the rescue squad. On the way out, I noticed Robert with a large hole in his torso, similar to the one I had earlier. His shirt was intact, but he was clearly dead.

The sight of Robert’s lifeless body, with an injury identical to mine, brought a new wave of confusion and dread. The rescue team hurried me to the ambulance, their voices a blur in the background as my mind struggled to comprehend what had happened. I was supposed to be dead. Instead, I was here, unscathed, while Robert lay lifeless.

As I sat in the ambulance, the events replayed in my mind. The concert, the return home, the battle between Gravitas and Ms. Kai, and the catastrophic collapse of our apartment. Each moment felt surreal, as if it had happened to someone else. The paramedics’ questions pulled me back to the present, but I had no answers to give them. My thoughts were consumed by Mel. Where was she? Was she safe?

I tried to push aside the growing fear and focus on the present. The paramedics were doing their best to check for injuries, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was profoundly wrong. I kept glancing at Robert’s body, the hole in his torso a grim reminder of my own brush with death. The memory of the intangible string and the way it had healed me felt like a bizarre dream.

Eventually, the rescue team moved Robert's body, covering him with a sheet. The sight of it made my stomach churn. Why had I survived while he hadn’t? What kind of power had I awakened, and what did it mean for me now? I leaned back against the ambulance’s interior, my thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and fear.

The ambulance ride to the hospital was a blur. My mind kept drifting back to Mel. Her voice, her laughter, the way she had held me moments before the collapse. I had to find her. She had to be okay. As soon as the ambulance doors opened at the hospital, I pushed past the paramedics, desperate to get answers.

The hospital was chaos, filled with the injured and the dying. I called out for Mel, my voice hoarse and frantic. The nurses tried to calm me, but I couldn’t be soothed. I needed to know if she was alive. They eventually guided me to a waiting area, where I sat among other anxious faces, all of us united by our fear and uncertainty.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Each second without news of Mel felt like an eternity. I replayed the events over and over, trying to make sense of the surreal sequence of events. The power I had discovered, the way it had healed me, and the inexplicable string that had connected me to Robert's fate. And now those that connected me to the rescue squad, which had... stretched since they dropped me here.

Then, reality set in as the minutes turned to hours. My hope began to wane as I sat in that waiting area, surrounded by the cacophony of beeping machines and murmured conversations. The doctor finally approached me, his expression grave.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "We haven't found anyone else from your apartment. It’s possible they didn’t make it."

The world seemed to tilt on its axis. Mel was gone. The love of my life, lost to the chaos of the battle outside. I felt like I was drowning in sorrow, my heart a heavy weight in my chest. How had everything gone so wrong so quickly?

Damned heroes and villains.