Chapter 127

  Alexander woke gradually, awareness returning slowly. The warmth beside him registered first, then the gentle dip in the mattress. The soft hum of the ship systems filled the silence.

  Julia was there, asleep next to him.

  She lay on her side facing him, one arm draped across his chest. Her face tucked against his right shoulder, breathing slow and even. Her dark hair spilled across the pillow and onto his arm. Completely relaxed in sleep.

  The overhead lights had brightened automatically when he woke. He reached out with Technopathy and dimmed them back down to near darkness.

  A memory surfaced unbidden, of waking up like this before in his original reality. His Julia beside him, peaceful in the early morning. The similarity made his chest tighten.

  He studied what he could see of her face, the peace there. Same and not the same. Familiar in ways that cut deeper than he wanted to examine.

  Either way, he needed to start working. The arm design wouldn’t finish itself, and he couldn’t assault the Beastworld gateway one-handed. But waking her felt wrong somehow.

  Alexander moved carefully, testing each shift of weight. He needed to extract himself from beneath her arm without disturbing her. The mattress gave beneath him as he eased sideways. Her arm slid from his chest to the mattress. She didn’t stir. He continued the slow movement until he cleared the edge entirely, feet finding the floor.

  He stood beside the bed looking down at her. Her arm remained where it had fallen, fingers curled slightly against the sheets where he’d laid.

  Complex emotions moved through him. Relief that she’d stayed. Fear of the conversation they needed to have. Want mixed with guilt. He turned away before he could think about it too much and crossed to the workshop door.

  The door slid open silently. He stepped through and it closed behind him, leaving Julia to sleep.

  The room stretched out before him, easily four times the size of the bedroom. Workbenches and equipment lined two walls, machines bolted directly to the bulkheads. The long central table dominated the space, its surface marked with the evidence of recent work. Display screens covered the far wall, currently flickering through blueprints.

  Droney floated in front of the monitors, visor flickering with a soft blue glow. The little drone had been processing the stolen blueprints all night, compiling a list of suitable options based on some initial basic requirements.

  Alexander moved to his primary station and gestured, pulling up the holographic design interface.

  But first he needed to contact the galley.

  The ship’s internal comm responded to his thoughts. “Galley. Coffee and breakfast for two. Deliver to the workshop in one hour.”

  A confirmation chime answered him.

  He opened the R&D files set aside by Droney. A base prosthetic arm model appeared, rotating slowly in holographic space. It was a high-end civilian model with an elegant design, and completely inadequate for his needs.

  His fault. He hadn’t been all there mentally when he’d provided instructions to Droney.

  Alexander quickly flicked through the options, eliminating over half in minutes.

  He needed to integrate the gauntlet’s full functionality. That meant the supercapacitor banks, ionization pathway generator, conductive channels, and the multi-layered armor designed to absorb kinetic impacts. Everything that made the gauntlet effective.

  If his ambitions ended there, he could have built an arm with at least twelve times the capacity of the gauntlet and called it a day. A full cybernetic arm had far more space to work with than his gauntlet.

  But he envisioned more. Superior armor with layered enchantments. A shield emitter, once he got his hands on the tech and figured out how to miniaturize it. It wouldn’t be too difficult, given he wouldn’t need anywhere near the output of the ones he’d seen. Not to mention, he was his own power source.

  And he needed temporary housing for the alien cube. The cube had repaired Droney once, replacing damaged components with something far superior to anything Alexander could manufacture. If his theory was correct, strategic damage might trigger the same response.

  To accomplish that, he’d be manufacturing the arm with intentional hairline fractures throughout. Spiraled layers upon layers of them, pushing the arm to the brink of structural failure without quite crossing over the edge. The cube would either repair the deliberate weaknesses with its superior material, or it wouldn’t and he’d manufacture another arm without the flaws.

  The engineering challenge would be substantial.

  His fingers danced across the holographic display with familiarity. This was comfortable territory. Technical problems had solutions. Variables and constraints gave way to knowledge and imagination. The familiar rhythm of engineering work.

  Easier than thinking about Julia sleeping in his bed. Easier than thinking about what he needed to tell her when she woke.

  One design caught his attention among the military-purposed options. A spec-ops prototype with a modular architecture and swappable subsystems. A lightweight composite frame capable of supporting heavy armaments or layered armor plating depending on mission parameters. The neural interface was overbuilt for the civilian model it had evolved from, designed to handle combat stress and rapid switching between configurations.

  It was perfect. Not because it was complete, but because it gave him the foundation he needed.

  The holographic schematics rotated before him as he worked. He pulled up his gauntlet designs first. The familiar architecture he’d initially designed and built in days had been refined over months of tinkering.

  Expanding them to fill an entire arm should have been straightforward.

  It wasn’t.

  Larger capacitor banks competed with space for future shield emitters. The alien cube housing demanded its own compartment. All of it fighting for internal volume while the core cybernetics needed room just to function. Every optimization in one area created compromises elsewhere.

  Droney assisted silently, pulling reference files when Alexander’s attention shifted, running calculations in parallel, highlighting potential issues before they became problems. The little drone had learned his work patterns over months of collaboration.

  Time passed unnoticed as Alexander lost himself in the work. The familiar comfort of it steadied him, made sense in ways emotions didn’t. There were clear problems balanced against methodical solutions and measurable progress.

  A sound from the bedroom door pulled his attention up. The door slid open and Julia appeared, backlit from the bedroom. She stood there in one of his shirts, too large on her, and underwear. Her hair was mussed from sleep, face still soft with it.

  She stood in the doorway for a moment, taking in the workshop. Her gaze moved across the equipment and general chaos, stark in contrast with the bedroom’s simpler aesthetic. Then her eyes found him at the workbench.

  “Morning.” Her voice carried a slight roughness of sleep. “Had to steal one of your shirts. I was in my armor and costume.”

  “It’s fine.” Alexander kept his response measured, watching for her reaction. She’d stayed the night but the morning brought its own uncertainties.

  Julia moved into the space, approaching slowly. She seemed comfortable, no self-consciousness about her state of undress. Her attention caught on the holographic arm design rotating between them in blue-white light.

  “Your new arm?”

  “Yeah. Just the basics so far.”

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  She circled the display, studying it with interest. Her hand reached out, fingers passing through the holographic components. The light played across her skin.

  “This attaches at the shoulder.”

  “Yes.”

  She studied him for a moment. “You’re going to remove what’s left?”

  “No reason to keep it. The stump limits internal volume and creates an awkward transition point. Full shoulder mounting gives better stability and a cleaner neural interface with more room for systems.”

  She considered this, not objecting but understanding the implications.

  “That’s very you. You always said you wanted a cool cybernetic arm one day.”

  Alexander chuckled. “I ordered breakfast. It should be here soon.”

  She nodded and moved to the sofa, settling into the corner. Her legs curled under her as she watched him work. Present but not demanding attention.

  Comfortable silence filled the workshop. Him making adjustments and running calculations, her watching. It was familiar. How many mornings had passed like this years ago? Him absorbed in some project while she kept him company, working on her own assignments.

  A chime from the bedroom pulled his attention. Alexander reached out with his senses, detecting the automated cart beyond the door. Metallokinesis lifted the metal tray from the cart, covered dishes and thermal carafe rising together. He opened the bedroom door with a thought, floated the tray through into the workshop, then closed the door and sent the cart on its way.

  He brought the tray to the central table. Julia uncurled from the sofa and joined him there. They arranged the food together without speaking. Bacon, eggs, tomatoes, toast, fruit, and two mugs waiting beside the carafe.

  Steam rose as he poured coffee. She took hers black. He knew that, both sets of memories agreed on it. One of the little consistencies across both realities.

  They settled on the sofa and began eating.

  He teased her about the Mediterranean island lair they’d claimed, reminding her she’d spent their entire senior year talking about visiting the Greek islands someday. She retaliated by sharing that she had been part of a superhero exchange program to Japan a year ago, knowing that had been his own dream vacation spot.

  Eventually the conversation turned to both teams’ reasons for being on The Nexus. Alexander told her about the aliens but kept the details of what they’d gone through vague, explaining they were victims kidnapped by Santiago Systems that Grimnir rescued and that they were helping them return home.

  Julia shared that the United Earth Government had contracted several prominent groups of superheroes to spearhead an initiative aimed at introducing the Galactic Council to powers to build trust. She shared her belief that it was also meant to engender envy and greed, to further support superpowered integration.

  The conversation wound down naturally as they finished eating. Comfortable silence settled between them, the kind that didn’t demand filling. Alexander gathered the empty plates and set them aside on the table.

  He stood and moved to the carafe, refilling both mugs. His mind turned over the weight of what he’d been avoiding since she’d walked through the door. He couldn’t keep avoiding it. She deserved to know the truth before this became anything. The question was how to begin.

  He returned to the sofa and handed her the mug. She took it with a small smile, wrapping both hands around the warmth.

  Alexander sat beside her, closer than before. The weight of what he needed to say pressed against his thoughts.

  “Can I ask you something?” He kept his voice even. “About AEGIS knowledge?”

  Julia caught the shift in his tone. She straightened slightly. “Sure. What is it?”

  Alexander chose his words carefully. “Do you know anything about soul reinforcement during power awakening?”

  “Some. It happens to almost everyone who awakens powers.” She considered it for a moment. “AEGIS doesn’t know exactly why, but the theory is that the soul is enhanced during the awakening process.”

  “They’re not wrong,” Alexander said. “But what’s really happening is that their counterparts from Earth_0 are dying, and their souls are being used to strengthen the souls of people undergoing power awakening here.”

  Julia went still. Her coffee mug lowered slowly to her lap. “Earth_0? And how do you know that?”

  The question hung in the air between them. This was the edge he’d been circling since she walked through the door.

  “I have an achievement that provides information about the process.”

  Confusion crossed her face. “An achievement? For soul reinforcement?” She shook her head. “I’ve never heard of anyone having one.”

  Alexander looked away.

  “One day when I was heading to work, I slipped and died.” The words came out flat. “I’m from Earth_0.”

  He could feel her attention, but he kept his eyes on the hologram.

  “And instead of my soul reinforcing his, my soul...”

  He stopped. Then forced himself to continue.

  “Consumed his instead. I woke up in my own body, in a different reality where superpowers and aliens were real, with two sets of memories. Memories of my life. And his.”

  Alexander pulled up his System interface, and with a thought he shared the Origin 0 Soul achievement. He still didn’t look at her.

  She stared at the holographic text of the achievement, reading it. Her hands gripped the mug tight enough that it cracked.

  “That’s why you seemed so different in little ways.” The words came out quiet, almost to herself. “I thought it was just... because of what you went through.”

  Then she turned to him, staring. He made himself meet her eyes. She deserved that much. She studied him, her gaze shifting between his eyes, searching for something there.

  “So he’s... dead?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you have his memories? All of them?”

  “Yes. Everything he experienced. But they’re jumbled up. Mixed with my own. Even I don’t know anymore which ones are mine and which are his, except where there are aliens or superheroes or some obvious differences.”

  Her breathing had quickened. “How long have you known?”

  “Since I woke up in a prison cell.”

  The finality of it hit her then. The realization settled in. Her Alexander had been gone for months. Nearly a year. And she’d never known.

  Anger flashed across her face. “You should have told me. Before... Or... I don’t know, but you could have told me!”

  “I know.”

  “Do you?” There was an edge in her voice now.

  “I do. Obviously there was no time when we first saw each other on the rooftop. I could have on Astra Omnia, but...” He trailed off. “I was still dealing with it myself, but the truth is I was afraid to explain it. So I avoided it.”

  He paused.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She put the mug down carefully and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it back from her face.

  Alexander waited. He didn’t speak, didn’t try to fill the silence. Just let her work through it at her own pace.

  Her expression shifted. Horror mixed with realization as something clicked into place.

  “When I awakened... your Julia. She died, didn’t she?”

  “I think so. But I didn’t know. Not until I learned about the awakening process in this reality.”

  Julia stared at him. “How could you not know?”

  Alexander looked away briefly, then back. “We’d broken up. Around the same time you and... he did, but for different reasons.” He tried to make his tone lighter. “She got tired of me pointing every little thing out. My need to fix everything. Can’t really blame her for that.”

  He expected understanding. Maybe a rueful acknowledgment that yes, he was annoying like that.

  Instead, Julia frowned.

  “That is one of the things I loved about...” She hesitated, the words catching. “About him. My Alexander.”

  Alexander absorbed that. She’d loved something about her Alexander that his Julia had grown to find unbearable. The same behavior, the same habit, valued by one and rejected by the other. Thinking about it, the difference was obvious.

  In his original reality, they had different ideas about what they really wanted out of life. Where the future was taking them. But here, they’d shared a dream.

  To become superheroes.

  She took a breath. “Tell me about her. Your Julia. And you. Your life.”

  And so he did.

  Alexander told her about his mundane world. A place without powers or aliens, just a normal Earth where people lived ordinary lives.

  He told her about his Julia. The similarities that cut deep and the small differences that reminded him she wasn’t the same person. How they’d met as kids. Started dating during high school. Fallen in love.

  How it had slowly fallen apart as their lives pulled them in different directions.

  He held nothing back. Not the embarrassing moments or the regrets. Not even the parts that made him look foolish or young or naive.

  Sometime into the conversation, he started asking her questions about her life. Clarifying things he had memories of but lacked context for. Filling in the gaps of where the two realities diverged.

  The coffee went cold. Neither of them noticed.

  Hours later, Julia got that familiar faraway look of someone accessing their System interface. A moment later, her attention returned to him.

  “I need to get back. We have a meeting with the Ambassador.”

  Alexander nodded.

  She stood but didn’t immediately move toward the door. “I need time to process all of this. To figure out… things.”

  “That’s fair.”

  “But I’m not upset with you. Anymore, I mean. Just... confused.”

  “I understand.”

  Julia crossed to the door, then paused with her hand on the frame. She looked back at him. “After we deal with the Beastworld gateway, we’ll talk again?”

  “I’d like that.”

  She held his gaze for a moment longer. “Thank you.”

  He tilted his head, confused.

  “For telling me,” she said. Then paused. “He was always honest with me, too.”

  Then she left. The door slid closed behind her.

  Alexander sat alone in the workshop, staring at where she’d stood. Droney hovered nearby, a quiet presence in the silence.

  She hadn’t just walked away. That was more than he’d hoped for.

  The holographic display still showed the arm design, rotating in place. Waiting for him.

  He took a deep breath. There was work to do.

  He had to keep moving forward.

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