Necessity is the Mother of Invention

The same accident that caused the loss of his leg at age six also stimulated the latent genetics that ran in his family to trigger a mutation. Although becoming one of the ‘exo-humans’ the government monitored would prove to be the least of his worries once he stumbled upon his family’s secret.

Brought to you by the warped mind of Nuuan

Chapter 6

The strange portal shrank and closed faster than it had opened once Apocalypse stepped through and dropped the coyote. The first thing David noticed was the air, it felt like David had stepped through the strange portal into a heavy fog, the moisture in the air so thick even breathing was difficult. It was also warmer than where they had been a lot warmer. Then there were the trees, David had seen trees like this once when they visited the Ringling museum while they were in Florida on vacation. He seemed to remember they were called Banyan trees, although the trees here were so much larger and the branches were covered in a heavy green moss that hung down giving the place an overall eerie look.

“Where are we?” The DEHA agent was getting up from where he had landed.

“I don’t know,” Apocalypse spat.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” The agent began to sound angry, “You brought us here, how can you not know?”

“I wasn’t planning on using this crossing. The only information I have on this realm is the location of another place we may cross that will take us closer to our realm.” Apocalypse reached around to his rear and retrieved the strange green disc, which went straight up through the foliage once released.

“What do you mean realm?” David asked while still gawking at their surroundings.

“This is not Earth, or at least the earth you know.”

Clenching his fists at his sides, the agent sounded like he was getting even angrier, “Are you saying you teleported us to another planet?”

“I’ll explain while we walk,” Apocalypse stated, “We need to get to our next crossing, while it is still there.”

“What do you mean, while it's still there?” The DEHA agent spat.

“It’s difficult to put this in English, but I will do my best,” Apocalypse tried explaining, “What you think of as the universe is only a very small part of the whole universe. Or you could say that your universe is only one of a plethora of universes that exist.”

“Some scientist have theorized that there are multiple universes,” David smiled to himself for being able to join in the conversation.

“Well they’re right,” Apocalypse continued, “Where I’m originally from we called them realms. Long ago we learned how to detect where realms touched, places where they were only separated by the boundaries of their own existence. At these locations my people were able to develop a way that allowed us to open a hole in those boundaries allowing us to cross between the realms.”

“OK,” The agent interrupted, “So why not open another back home?”

“As I am trying to explain, I can only open a crossing where the two realms are touching. Crossing back would take us back to the same place we just left, which does us no good. We have to go to a place where we may open another crossing to another location. Attempting to open a crossing where the two realms do not touch would at best not work. It can be done, but the crossing is unstable and leads only to the void and death.”

“How far is this crossing we need?” The agent asked.

“We should be able to reach it by midday tomorrow.” They continued walking in silence across the soft spongy ground for several hours before Apocalypse spoke again, “We can rest here for a bit. I believe we are about half way out of this swamp and there are no other life forms around to bother us at this time.”

Agent Ayers took a few steps and sat down on the root of a nearby large tree, while David dropped straight down on the spongy moist ground. “So Agent, what should I call you?” Apocalypse looked at the DEHA agent.

“What?”

“You have a name, or do I continue to call you agent?”

“Ayers, my name is Greg Ayers.”

“You been working under Scythe long?”

“If this is some attempt to interrogate me…”

“No, no interrogation,” Apocalypse laughed, “I know more about Agent Scythe than he knows about himself. Only trying to make polite conversation, get to know you a bit since we are stuck together for the time being.”

“I know who you are and what you have done!” Ayers stood to face Apocalypse, “You destroyed Stone Mountain and would have destroyed the earth if not for those supers who stopped you!”

“You know NOTHING!” Apocalypse glared at the armored man, “You do not know that the syndicate had built an underground base below that mountain, or of that insane devisor that built an unstable singularity reactor in that base.”

“A what?”

“A singularity reactor, the moron was trying to harness the power of a black hole, using a devise. My fa, I reached it right before the devise lost containment.”

“But the whole mountain and half the park, gone!”

“As would have the whole planet had it not been shoved through a crossing. An entire solar system was sacrificed to save yours.”

“You did what?”

“The core of his singularity reactor was sent into another realm to save your planet,” Apocalypse lowered his head.

“Why?”

“Because the continuance of your world is necessary.”

“Does it have to do with the boy?” Gesturing toward David who was now lying on the ground asleep.

“Rescuing David was personal,” Apocalypse stated, “Before our journey is over you may learn why. You can also ask Scythe after we return, He can tell you if I am telling you the truth or not.”

“How well does Scythe know you?”

“You are the enemy of my enemy,” Apocalypse changed the subject, “Do you understand what that means to you and me?”

“That’s Sun Tzu,” Ayers thought out loud, “according to that, we are allies.”

“We both have the same goals at this time,” Apocalypse stated, “Protect the boy and get back home.”

“So we work together,” Agent Ayers looked toward Apocalypse.”

“Yes, a truce. Work together, attain our goals, then we allow each other to go our separate ways.”

“Agreed.”

“I will do my best to return you to your home, I ask only one thing in return. Whatever you may learn of my identity while we are in these realms, remain a secret.”

~o~O~o~

“David wake up, DAVID! DAVID WAKE UP!” The coyote shouted.

Turning their attention to the noise both men saw the coyote shaking David while pulling at small thin plant tendrils that had begun to cover the boy. Apocalypse reached David first and tried to pick the boy up, but the tiny plant tendrils were strongly attached to his body. Ayers pulled a knife and began cutting the tendrils away from David while Apocalypse pulled the boy as far as he could.

“What the hell?” Ayers burst, “Blood!”

Looking down Apocalypse saw what the agent was talking about, the cut plant fibers were bleeding. Reaching around with one hand to the small of his back, Apocalypse reached back around and gave Ayers the small device that he had manifested from his armor. “Plasma torch, heat the knife blade with it, cauterize the fibers as you cut.”

Looking at the small device, Ayers saw the design was simple and quickly heated the blade to a glowing cherry red color and went back to work cutting the boy free. In the hour it took to completely free David, he never woke. Once free Ayers began checking the boy as best he could. “I think those damn tendrils were sucking his blood out!” Ayers stated, “Look at how pale his is, and his pulse is weak.”

“Take him,” Apocalypse handed the unconscious boy to Ayers, “I have something that will help, reaching down to his thigh as his armor pushed out against his hand forming the silvery blue arm band he had taken from the workbench. Spreading the band open with his hands, Apocalypse put it around David’s wrist.

Ayers stood there holding David for a few moments with nothing happening before asking, “What’s it supposed to do?”

“God dammit!” Apocalypse cursed while removing the arm band and allowing his armor to absorb it, “It isn’t working! We have to get him out of this swamp now!”

“Roger!” Ayers replied.

“Try to keep up!” Apocalypse grabbed the boy from Ayers and took off running in the direction they had been traveling before taking the break. Ayers was able to keep up, but just barely, after twenty minutes of the ground eating speed Ayers began to fall slightly behind. Another ten minutes and Ayers had fallen back much further, only catching glimpses of the shiny blue clad figure racing away through the trees. Focusing on running as hard as he could Ayers almost ran over Apocalypse before he knew the man had stopped.

Just ahead of Apocalypse stood a man, Ayers would have mistaken him for a native American boy if not for the age lines in his face. Not more than five feet tall and dressed in tanned leather pants the stranger was speaking to Apocalypse in a language Ayers had never heard.

Quickly the man raised the spear he had been leaning on when he saw Ayers come running up behind Apocalypse. ‘Stop Hull Brute!’ The man shouted.

‘Wait!’ Apocalypse gestured with his hands for the man to calm down while speaking in the same language, ‘He is with me.’

Bowing at Apocalypse the man lowered his spear, ‘Apologies D’pakja, I see it is colored similar to that of the D’pakja, not that of the Brutes.’ Taking a step forward, the man carefully touched the plant tendrils clinging to the boy in Apocalypse’s arms, ‘He has been bitten by the Moras, We must take him to our healers.’ Waving for the men to follow, the short man turned and began walking.

“You can understand him?” Ayers asked as he followed behind Apocalypse.

“Yes, their language is similar to that of my realm.”

After several minutes of the fast walking pace the stranger had set, the vines and tendrils that made up the spongy swamp floor started thinning, Also large grayish black rocks of various sizes between two feet to over six feet across were scattered around the clearer area among the giant trees. Ayers could not help but notice that although the rocks were various sizes, they all seemed to have the same uniform oblong shape. He then noticed one of the large rocks was moving on four thick stumpy legs, “Holy Shit!”

The stranger stopped and turned. ‘Kinsharha,’ the stranger waved his hand in a wide arc at the tortoise like creatures he saw Ayers looking around at.

“He said they are tame,” Apocalypse translated enough of the word to settle Ayers down.

Ahead of them the swamp ended in a reddish rock wall of a cliff that had to tower over them at least three hundred feet into the sky. A wide earthen ramp lead upward into the cliff face where they could see multiple levels of what reminded Ayers of the Manitou cliff dwellings he once visited in Colorado. Following the stranger up the wide ramp that ended at a level of the cliff structures roughly one hundred feet above the valley below, only to proceed up another ramp near the one they had come up. Close to halfway up the cliff side this ramp ended in another area that had been carved out of the cliff face, not more than 30 yards deep but close to 200 yards wide.

Near the ramp they had come up on a large fire pit with several men sitting around it dressed similar to the one that led them up into the cliff dwellings. Across the fire they had something roasting on a spit. Ayers could hear several of the men talking excitedly when they saw Apocalypse and he walk up with the stranger. Not able to understand them Ayers did notice one word they kept repeating, the same word the stranger seemed to have called Apocalypse, D’pakja, and the way they were saying it was almost in reverence.

Looking to Apocalypse, “What is a D’pakja?”

“Me,” Apocalypse replied, “But I have no idea how they know this as I have never been to this world.”

“You?”

“I am the only one left,” Apocalypse explained, “There were three of us left, but one died and the other has retired.”

“Could it have been one of them that came here?”

“No, he had not left your realm in over one hundred years and if he had come here, he would have logged the realm and its position.”

“He? You said there were two others?”

“D’pakja is male, females are known as D’pakna. They were my parents.”

“So what does the D’pak part mean?” Ayers asked.

“It is a type of warrior, a protector,” Apocalypse apparently did not wish to explain further, although Ayer’s continued trying to get some answers.

While Apocalypse and Ayers talked, the stranger hurried to the fire and was talking to the other strange short men around it. One got up and jogged away and into one of the many archways carved into the cliff, while another trotted up to Apocalypse and began examining the unconscious David. The rest seemed to be discussing the small coyote that stood behind Apocalypse and Ayers from the way they were pointing and gesturing.

‘Our healer has already begun the journey to our dark home. I am Zek, She has been teaching me the way of healing for five homes now,’ The new man said in the strange language, ‘Bring him this way so that we may begin removing the Moras.’ He led them through a nearby archway in a room that had a very large shell from one of the tortoise creatures turned upside down. ‘Place the young one in this, others have been sent to bring the Shell water.’

Laying David down inside the overturned Tortoise creature shell, Apocalypse stood to the side as the healer mulled over David’s unconscious form, using a bone knife to cut away what portions of David’s clothing that could be separated from the boy and tendrils. Soon the man that had run off came in carrying a large leather bladder that appeared to contain around ten gallons of some liquid. As the two men began pouring the liquid from the bladder, the smell reached Ayers and Apocalypse. Ayers began coughing and gagging when the rancid odor reached his nose. Racing out of the room, Ayers managed to get his helmet off before he began emptying the contents of his stomach on the stone floor.

Agent Ayers had moved back closer to the room they had taken David into after regaining control of his stomach, but far enough away so he could not smell that foul liquid they were bathing David in. Sitting against the wall with his Helmet on ground between his legs, his arms crossed on his knees, Ayers dared not get near that room to find out how things were going.

Over an hour had passed when Apocalypse walked over and sat beside Ayers, “You alright now?”

“Yeah,” Ayers replied, “What was that damn stuff?”

“Apparently those turtle creatures have adapted so that the Moras, as these people call that swamp, finds them indigestible. The urine of those creatures from what I gathered from the local healer is something of a natural defoliant.”

“That was turtle piss they were pouring over the kid!”

“Without putting you through the lengthy explanation of how and why that I was given, yes.” Apocalypse looked at Ayers, “I hope you will abide by our agreement?”

“Agreement?”

“Yes that what you learn about me here, is not told to others?”

“I believe that won’t be a problem,” Ayers frowned, “But if they use a psychic during my debrief…”

“That I cannot hold you accountable for, and Agent Scythe will not bring one in.”

“How can you be sure of that?” Ayers asked, then saw the shiny liquid metal armor on Apocalypse begin to fade away in a way that looked like a puddle of water drying up rather quickly. “I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Ayers spoke as he searched his memories trying to place a name to the face he now saw.

“So do you go by Apocalypse all the time?”

“No.”

Ayers frowned, “So what should I call you when you don’t have that suit on?”

“Guess you would hear it soon as David wakes up from this anyway,” Apocalypse said, “It’s Ryan Scythe.”

“Holy shit!” Ayer’s eyes went wide, “You’re the Reaper’s brother?”

“Don’t ever call him that to his face, that movie really pissed him off.”

“But I though his brother was older?” Ryan puzzled over his thoughts, “If you are brothers, why isn’t he staying young?”

“My parents adopted him and our sister Teri,” Ryan explained, “Wesley wasn’t even a year old when his real parents died. So my parents are the only ones he knew.”

“If he didn’t, he would have figured it out after the genetic screening your guys gave him. Wesley is the poster child for norms, no trace of the exo gene complex in his system at all.”

“I thought everyone had some trace of that?”

“No only a minority have the exo gene complex.” While Ryan explained one of the men tending the fire brought two small bowls made out of tortoise shells filled with meat from the spit that rested over the fire to Ryan and Ayers. “In our realm we went through a period where the exo gene began appearing and slowly transforming our entire population. Although our scientists quickly found out what was causing it and learned how to manage it to improve ourselves in certain aspects.”

“So what causes the exo gene complex?”

“Our star, or rather how the unique radiation it produced interacted with our atmosphere,” Ryan answered as he ate.

“So our sun is causing the mutations on earth?”

“No, out of all the planets my people have visited, ours had been the only one to have this occur.”

“So how is it happening on earth?”

“Long before we discovered how to journey between realms, we were space travelers and sent many ships in exploration and colonization. The genetic mutation, the exo gene, would have been brought to your world through them.”

“You’re saying earth was colonized?”

“I could be wrong,” Ryan continued, “But it makes perfect sense, some explorers come and for whatever their reasons stay and breed with the local population. The exo gene is passed on to the children, and since the conditions do not occur in your world to cause further mutation it lays dormant, unable to further mutate until just the right conditions were met.”

“There is not any mention of mutants until a couple hundred years ago,” Ayers stated, “How could aliens breeding with humans thousands of years ago not show up until now?”

“Have you ever read the Prudhomme Report?”

“No?”

“While the media made him out to be a fool, he was actually a brilliant man. His facts were correct as were his theories,” Ryan began, “Had these explorers that I believe are the cause, left our world before the exo gene complex had undergone its full mutation it would have been passed down through generations lying dormant. Generations later two people with different aspects of that trait pass both traits to their children and those pieces of that genetic sequence combine in the children. This continues until the genetic trait has combined itself into what you now call the exo gene complex. Everyone on earth probably has some undetectable trace of the gene, but in a small percentage of the population it has combined into what you call the exo gene complex. This would also explain other things your science has yet to explain.”

“Such as?”

“Some of the gods in some cultures, legends of monsters. What about legends of super strong heroes like Hercules, and why have they never found that missing link in your evolutionary ladder?”

“Are you saying your people are the missing link?” Ayer’s jaw dropped at the realization of what he was hearing.

“I’m only saying it’s a possible explanation.” Ryan closed his eyes for a moment, “My mother was convinced that it was the case.”

It wasn’t long after they ate, both fell asleep sitting there against the wall while the small coyote perched along the edge of the giant tortoise shell kept vigil over the boy while everyone slept.