Asap slammed down - hard enough to make the metal deck shudder like a gong. His sight flickered on in hazy chunks, air stuck in his chest. Just seconds before, he wasn't just dropping - he was smashing through broken glass inside a twisting crimson vehicle. Outta nowhere, a blazing pillar of emerald energy grabbed him, yanking him skyward like prey on a line.
And now—
Cold metal.
Dim white lights.
A humming vibration under the floor like the heartbeat of some colossal creature.
Asap shoved himself upright, skull throbbing, palms flat on the floor. His eyes snapped open again. Everything wobbled less now - enough to show four barriers around him, heavy, fused tight, weirdly slick. Locked in. Cold color, like ash mixed with light. Zero glass panels. Not even a crack where an entrance might split. Only strange metal, dead still. He dragged fingers over his brow, letting out a low grunt.
"Where... am I?" he said softly, but the hollow space soaked up his voice.
A soft hum trembled through the air - cold, sharp. Lenses hidden from sight. A weight pressing on his neck. Not alone - one way or another, eyes were on him.
Then came the hum deep in his chest. This fresh force - energy odd and foggy - itched beneath his skin, sort of like sparks skimming a windowpane. He let breath slip out, hand flat on the stone.
It wasn't chilly. More like... buzzing with energy. Almost as though the vessel was taking slow breaths.
A flash of green zapped through the air - sparking near his fingers. Every muscle froze. He stopped breathing. Then -
Ph-wmp.
Asap tripped straight into the barrier.
He hit the wall hard, just as cold and shiny as the one before.
He nearly fell down one more time.
"What… was that?" he panted, turning around. His fingers swept empty space where stone ought to be. Yet when he shoved forward - it held firm. Cold steel once more. Just moments before, it'd flickered like a ghost.
His heart jumped up his throat.
Teleportation. Not some accident left over from the crash. Nope - it made sense.
It was real.
Then it stirred within, starting to come alive.
"Alright," he said softly, slowing his breathing, yet that was different
Alarms blared through the vessel.
Red lights flashed above, turning the hallway into a deep red glow. From somewhere down the passage came a voice - he knew it well - smug, sharp, full of itself, bouncing off the walls.
Ripoff.
"Attention crew," Ripoff announced theatrically. "Our special little guest has escaped his cell. How adorable! Try not to let him trip on anything. He's fragile."
Asap clenched his jaw tight. Just hearing that voice sparked a hot mix - rage, shame, pure irritation - in his gut. He sprinted through the hall, heels banging against cold metal plates underfoot. Everything around him wobbled, walls bending oddly, shaped like a puzzle drawn by someone blind to right angles.
Behind him, a metallic click got sharper - not quite steps, maybe talons, or worse.
He just left - no time to see what happened next.
Asap sprinted.
He rounded a bend, then came upon a wide glass panel showing the globe down beneath - rich shades of blue twisting with misty streaks. He just stood there briefly, lungs freezing mid-breath. Down there lay the sea he'd plunged into once before, maybe in some past version of things. Maybe not exactly, but close enough.
He couldn't just stop to enjoy the scenery.
The roof door flew apart.
A shiny metal figure landed - its glowing red pupils lit up.
"Got the target," it said flatly.
Asap jerked back - yet something deep inside reacted before panic hit. He spun, shifted like a shadow, then... vanished into motion
Flash.
He blinked right up close to the thing. Hands flew - no warning, no pause - as he rammed it backward. The metal body slammed sideways into stone, electric flares popping loud and wild.
A jolt shook the vessel again. Right after, alarms got louder.
You've gotta be joking," Asap mumbled, then sprinted off once more.
He slid round a bend - then another pane - the sight of Earth once more. Yet now, clouds loomed nearer. The vessel dropped. Fast.
Could be he's climbing up instead.
His chest tightened.
"If there's an exit," he told himself, "I need to jump."
He didn't pause. Yet he moved right away.
Asap bolted for the repair door, ripped it wide, then wriggled into the tunnel that felt like a duct. He zipped through a tilted pipe, jacket grinding on steel. Warmth rose up as he fell further - till whooshing air smacked his eardrums.
A launch bay.
He caught Ripoff's tone once more - sharper this time, laced with a smirk
"Oh, he made it to the eject point! This will be great. Watch carefully, crew. He thinks he's clever."
Asap ignored him.
He ran fast through the wide-open hangar entrance.
Wind hit his face hard. Down below, everything was blue - just endless water reaching all the way around.
The vessel's pull faded.
Right away, he threw himself toward the wide-open air.
The wind ripped against his face. Spinning wildly, he dropped, tears streaming from the force pushing on his eyes. Everything flashed - blinding fast, like light could knock him out cold. His limbs jerked without warning while something unseen crushed his chest, making it hard to breathe.
After that, he reached the sea.
The world exploded.
Cold hit hard, like ice pressed tight. Around him, bubbles screamed. Down he spun - foam everywhere, mind racing. Water didn't open up; it swallowed whole.
He gave swimming a go.
His arms and legs were weighed down.
The weight felt crushing.
Ripoff's laugh popped softly in the breeze overhead - could've been inside his mind, or perhaps bouncing off the vessel.
"Escaped like that? Pathetic!"
Then it faded.
Blackness crept up - icy, total.
The sea pulled him down farther.
His lungs felt on fire, desperate for a breath.
The world slowed.
The water near him turned darker.
That's when memories showed up.
Flash.
A cramped space, lit by a shaky bulb. Flyers stuck to the wall - one showed boxers, another had champions, folks who kept going no matter what. A kid named Asap, around twelve or so, wrestling with oversized gloves. He tugged them tight using his mouth, eyes locked ahead like he meant business.
A heavy bag dangled sideways in front of him. But he kept swinging - fists unsteady, jaw tight each time skin met thick hide. Drops rolled down from his brow, stinging at the corners of his eyes. Still, he brushed them off, lifted the padded gloves again, then drove through with more force.
"Once more," he muttered under his breath. "One more time."
He didn't work out to impress anyone.
He wasn't getting ready to brawl.
He trained just to mean something - maybe even stand out. Not fade away.
Flash.
The world split apart - a jagged green tear slashing across the heavens. Young Asap stared, mouth half-open. The floor trembled beneath him. Walls wobbled like jelly. Something dragged him skyward - sudden, violent.
He screamed.
"Mom! Dad!"
No answer.
The walls burst apart, turning into flashes of brightness.
He got yanked upward, higher, then even farther -
Flash.
The present returned.
Asap sinking deeper.
His hand shook as he stretched it forward. All around, the sea stayed still - only his pulse broke the quiet. Everything started getting blurry. That spark within barely glowed, close to vanishing.
Yet deep down - distant yet near - he heard a quiet voice from his past:
"Get up."
Asap's fingers curled.
His eyes cracked open just a bit.
A red glow pulsed under the water.
Then—
Boom.
The ocean surged.
Asap shot up through a rush of bubbles, breaking the surface and gulping air fast. Then he crawled onto the closest patch of sand - some quiet beach under skies lit weird, like colors from another world.
He dropped on the sand, gasping - air ripped through him, ribs shaking. While water dripped from his hair, each breath hit like fire. Though weak, he pushed up slightly, limbs trembling under wet clothes.
Alive.
Barely—but alive.
The breeze moved across his skin. Yet the ocean murmured as it touched the shore.
Asap dropped his head low, air hitching. Yet he stayed still.
He had no idea what place this was.
He couldn't figure out where his abilities came from.
He had no clue what the green alien Ripoff's real deal was, yet it seemed obsessed with Asap sticking around.
Yet there was just one fact he understood:
He wasn't done.
Not yet.
He flipped over, lying on his back while looking up at the clouds.
The sky carried slow clouds, tinted odd colors - soft orange, deep purple, faint electric blue. Yet this place seemed unfamiliar, really old, but somehow breathing.
Out there somewhere -
Ripoff kept staring.
Asap shut his eyes while the wind soothed his sore spots.
"This isn't over," he whispered.
The waves replied in a calm, constant beat - almost like they were nodding along.
The cosmos tossed him aside like yesterday's news.
Yet Asap Ashton wouldn't remain hidden.
He would rise.
Yet a part - a quiet push within - seemed ready to guide him through.
He hadn't figured it out just then…