Endgame (Book 3)

Chapter 1

"Fancy meeting you here," I said, feeling the serrated edge of my copy's blade poking into my skin. "How can I help you?"

His blade collapsed in on itself, and I could breathe. He got off of my bed.

"Zero."

I hadn't expected him to talk- this was his first word to me. But his voice...even though it sounded exactly like mine, his wavered in and out of my range of hearing, fading out and coming back in again with every syllable.

"What?"

"Zero. That's my name."

Zero was a lot better than Anti-Man, I could give him that.  

"Why is your name Zero? What are you doing here?"

I jumped out of bed, letting my lightning rod dissipate.

He turned around, and then he was in front of me- he was faster than I thought. That, or he was getting faster.

"Do you bleed?"

He struck me as a new person entering the world, much like my "dad" had done to "Sage" when I first "met" her (none of it really happened, so it doesn't exactly count).

"Of course I bleed," I said dismissively. I wasn't taken aback by the distance he had crossed and left between us, or the gust of wind that followed.

"Well, I don't," he said coldly.

He grabbed me by the shirt and hurled me across the room.

Flailing my arms, I careened through the window and down a floor to the ground. I was able to slow my descent enough to avoid breaking my ribs, but my flight power wasn't up to par with the standards I usually met within a few days.

I flipped back up onto my feet as Zero hovered in the air just outside my window, grinning. His eyes were enveloped in blue, and the mist drifted off of his body.

I performed a quick look around to make sure no one was here that could be put in danger. But, so early in the morning, the streets were quiet.  The only light came from street lamps that illuminated small portions of our neighborhood, leaving large pockets of darkness between them.

I looked back up at Zero.

He flew down at me at lightning speed, but I began to run just as fast. He gave chase as I streaked down the cold asphalt.

Hairs stood up on the back of my neck as a lightning bolt landed next to me. Even though it didn't touch me, the impact blasted a hole into the street and knocked me over. I rolled on the asphalt four times, flipping over my back and recoiling from the sudden stop.

I ran straight toward him, using my superspeed to launch myself high into the air to collide with my double.

He grabbed me by the arms and dragged me along for the ride. I got a good enough grip to shock him with a little electricity.

He smiled in return. Pulling down low to the ground, he scraped my back against the gravel and held me below him.

"Ow!" I howled.

I bit his arm so he would let me go, but his skin was too thick. It felt like metal, even though it lacked the metallic taste. 

Even still, he dropped me. I grunted as my back hit the ground hard. This time, I landed on hard, packed dirt. 

He landed on his feet without scuffing his shoes on the ground. His back was turned away from me, hands clasped behind his waist, and he looked out over the city. 

He had flown us to a hill just outside the city limits. I would love to take in the view, too, but I didn't appreciate him dragging me around town like that. 

"I've met a few criminally insane people in here," I said, tapping my head. "But you...I don't know who you are, but you better start talking. Now."

I could tell he was still grinning in front of me. I also had no earthly idea why.

"Hey, don't you hear me talking to you?" I grabbed his shoulder.

With his other hand, he quickly grabbed my arm and swung it around him in a 360-degree turn, and then let me go. 

My body flew back at least fifteen feet before I hit my head on the trunk of a tree. I heard it groan in angish- "Why'd you do that?" I could almost hear it say.

Zero took a huge leap at me aided by his flight, and he landed with his legs on either side of me, blocking me from escape. 

"You stole my body. My own body. I want to know who you are and why you're acting like you're supposed to be me." He growled the words, his menacing tone making me want to soil my pants. 

"I'm Jay West, dude. The kid who was abducted by the government, lost his memories, and is now trying to figure out what he's going to eat for breakfast. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I know who I am. You might want to check yourself."

Zero glared at me. He knew I was telling the truth, or at the very least, knew that I believed what I was saying. That was good enough for me. 

In that moment, what had me spooked the most was his countenance. He sounded just like me, looked just like me, even squinted his eyes like me, which he was doing now. Who was this guy? And why was his name Zero?

"I'm watching you," he settled on saying, slowly. "Oh, and by the way: you might want to make it home early. Today's going to be a big day."

 He smiled again, and with two steps back, he rocketed into the air with a flash of blue light behind him. 

I looked out in front of me, where the sun was just starting to peek out over the city. Only a few cars could be seen on the streets, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It looked like any other day cranking up as usual. But, more than anyone, I should've known that looks could be deceiving. 

Today's going to be a big day.