desiderium | m. o'hara

eight

  The giant doors before us slide open, revealing a long, shadowy hallway. I hesitate before it.

"If you're gonna Dexter me, do it quickly," I murmur.

The look Miguel sends back at me is monotonous and dry. "You've got trust issues."

"Gee, wonder why?" I breathe sarcastically.

"Do you want to learn about the multiverse or not?"

Reluctantly, because I do want to learn about it and the Arachno-Humanoid Poly-Multiverse, I let Miguel lead me down the dark and ominous hallway. I blink hard, having difficulty adjusting to the lack of light.

  It opens into an equally dark and ominous room with an elevated platform surrounded by neon-lit screens. In the centre of them stands the silhouette of a woman outlined by the yellow light they emit. Beside the figure Lyla flits about, her small figure a beam of yellow illumination in the darkness, typing on the hovering screens as they both work.

  The stranger turns at our entrance, but her expression is shadowed. Her stance is powerful, imposing, undeniably a woman of immense strength. Chills run down my spine. I subconsciously inch closer to Miguel.

  "What's the problem, Jess?" Miguel's voice bounces within the silent room, rebounding inside its echo chamber.

  "No hi? Hello? How are you doing?" the woman scoffs. She deftly leaps to the floor before us, movements sure and graceful, and plants a hand on her hip. "Didn't your momma raise you better than this?"

  My stomach drops. Miguel smiles tightly. If this Miguel's past is anything like my own Mig's, then bringing up his parents is generally a bad idea.

  "No, she didn't." Miguel gently pushes me forward a step. "Jess, this is Y/n. Y/n, this is Jessica Drew. She was one of the first of us."

  Jess shifts her attention to look at me from behind almond-shaped yellow googles. She smiles warmly, sends Miguel a split-second, knowing smirk, and steps forward with her hand outstretched.

  "So, you're the wife from another dimension," Jessica greets amusedly. "You're notorious around here."

  I cautiously shake her hand. "... I am?"

  "Not an everyday occurrence where someone takes the place of an alternate self. Miguel is a usual topic of gossip," Jess answers, before sending me a sly grin. "But from what I personally hear? It's all in the ass."

  A snort escapes me before I can stop it. "He does have a nice ass."

  "Alright." Miguel's voice booms through the operations station and cuts off the topic of conversation. "Jess, the issue?"

  Jess winks at me before turning serious. She taps on her Gizmo and up pops three weird-looking villains. I step towards her for a closer look.

  "Lyla just recorded that there's a Carnage, a Kraven and a Sandman in their wrong universes," Jess explains. She looks to Miguel. "Who do you think we should send?"

  Miguel exhales thoughtfully as he stares down at the holographic images. "Ben and Peter-67 can handle Kraven. Go with Margo for Sandman, use it for training. Carnage, uh..." he waves his hand in the air as he thinks. "Send Patrick and Widow. They've handled a Carnage before."

  Jess raises a brow. "You don't wanna take down one of these guys yourself? You love a good fight."

  Miguel crosses his arms. "Next time. I've got some theory to teach."

  Jess glances at me and cocks her head in understanding. "She does look pretty confused by all this."

  "Severely understated," I agree. Miguel smiles. Jess drops her chin with a snicker and goes to leave.