The world eased into silence around Asap Ashton. Through the shadowed shell of the wrecked hut, dust floated lazily - lit by a fractured pane up high. He gasped in uneven huffs, still reeling from the clash with the chrome machine - not far off, its smashed skull rested in rubble, cold proof that some hidden force within him had finally sparked awake.
His fingers buzzed like they were asleep. The fabric of his hoodie stuck to his back, soaked through. But even with everything going wild around him, something inside stayed calm - like the world had paused just for him.
He stood up for himself - something new. A shift sparked inside him then.
And won.
Out here, ruins of an old alien town rolled on forever - cracked slabs underfoot, shattered high-rises leaning sideways, thick creepers wrapped around giant frames. Haze rose lazily from far-off openings in the ground. Above, the heavens wore a dull purple shade, slashed with pale green glimmers, sorta like space lights dancing slow. Pretty? Yeah… but like something collapsing feels pretty - sad, risky, yet you can't look away.
Asap came outside, scratching his neck. The hoodie he wore looked rough, ripped near the arms. Dust covered his grey trousers from head to toe. Yet his green eyes - they stayed alert, intense - glowed more than before, different somehow.
He dropped outta nowhere. Yet he walked away from a plunge that oughta kill anyone. Even battled some machine - like he'd done it a thousand times before.
"Who else?" he murmured toward the quiet road.
A moment later, red light zipped through the air.
Then another.
Then dozens.
High above, past broken clouds and hazy purple light, a machine buzzed low. A thing that saw everything. One that figured things out quiet-like. Asap had no clue - but way up there, Ripoff caught every sound.
ON THE UFO - ABOVE THE LOST CITY
"Red Leader… is down."
A machine-like tone bounced off the steel control floor.
"And… Ripoff… will know."
The light in the disc wavered low. Screens glowing faintly lit up the room with a sharp blue tint. Strange beings - small, white-skinned, with four eyes - stared at the playback of Asap's battle without speaking.
In the middle of the space, up on a small stage, was Ripoff.
Little, pale-green figure dressed in ancient cloth shook from anger. His hands gripped the stick hard - splinters popped under pressure.
"He beat Red Leader like it was nothing," a crew alien said nervously.
Ripoff hissed. "Asap Ashton… Asapsss… whatever his strange universe calls him…"
His one big eye jumped now and then.
"He's different. Too different. Too original."
He crashed the staff onto the ground. Right away, sparks flew every which way.
"I wanted to be the special one! The chosen one! The most unique—" Ripoff snarled, shaking with a jealousy that bordered on madness. "But no. He crashes from the heavens, punches a robot so hard its head bounces like a cartoon—and he's suddenly the interesting one?!"
The team pulled away.
Ripoff lifted his hand toward the shimmering image of Asap's bright hands floating above.
"This boy… threatens the balance between originality and imitation. If he exists… I remain a copy."
He moved nearer to the display.
"And I refuse to be a copy."
BACK ON THE SURFACE - A STRANGER IN A RUINED WORLD
Asap drifted without direction down the hushed roads. Everything seemed like home - yet somehow off. Off in the dark corners. Different in how it smelled. Unsettling in the quiet that crept after each footfall.
He got to a rundown tavern - partly caved in, bulbs blinking, its sign shattered yet lopsided on the wall.
One thing stood out - felt like home. Almost cozy, somehow.
He stepped inside.
The inside sat under a hazy glow. Tiny specks floated in shafts of smoke slipping through gaps above. Chairs lay splintered across the floor. Music machine smashed to pieces. Along one wall, a bar stretched out - bottles lined up but split open behind glass.
He plopped onto a stool by the bar, then let out a deep, uneven breath.
The world out there stayed silent when he called.
He waited, but his thoughts stayed quiet.
Everything seemed fake - almost as if he were moving through a story made up by somebody else.
He pulled a wrinkled, partly burned smoke from his coat - picked up by the wreckage earlier. Pausing wasn't about craving; it was about holding onto what felt real. A small shake ran through his fingers while he tucked it into his mouth.
A dim light jumped from one finger to another.
The heat in his chest - that odd power from the fight with the machine - flared up quick. Not something he pushed. Or even aimed for. Fire jumped onto the edge right away.
The cigarette caught fire in a quick flash.
He blinked.
"Alright," he said quietly, nearly chuckling at just how weirdly smooth it felt.
The smoke twisted near his face, rising up like ghostly strands. Inside the room, through the blur, past the quiet - everything seemed unreal. Not just strange. More like sad somehow.
He got up, reaching both arms out wide. Dizziness hit, just a little - fumes were messing with his head - yet he grabbed the table to stay balanced.
Then—
Whoosh.
His vision warped.
The world near him bent, as if shaking like waves.
"What the—?"
Flash.
He teleported.
Just like that.
One second he stood inside the gritty tavern.
The next moment he was flying through the air, dropping straight into -
A red car.
Well… slamming right into it.
He crashed onto the rear seat, smashing the glass when he hit.
"HEY!" a voice shouted up ahead.
Asap hardly reacted when the vehicle veered sideways after a sharp shift in load. It flipped wildly, losing grip fast.
And then—
the ground vanished beneath me.
The vehicle shot up from a cracked edge, tumbling mid-air. For a brief moment, Asap hung still - floating outside time.
Then—
A beam of green power shone his way.
A tractor beam.
The UFO hung in the air, quiet as a steel hunter watching from above.
The car plummeted.
Asap didn't.
He shot up, pulled by the light, carried clear of crashing steel and fire when the craft blew apart way underneath.
The world melted into green instead.
His mind spun.
The beam pulled harder.
Far above the blazing ruins, climbing up toward the ship's core -
Ripoff smiled.
THE ABDUCTION
Asap fought to move - gasping for air, fighting to react however he could.
Yet the tractor beam raised him as if he had no weight at all.
When the UFO door shut behind him, everything went dim. Instead of open air, hard metallic surfaces pressed close. A glow from green bulbs marked where to go, creating a tight passage.
He drifted without control, caught in a silent tug.
He heard voices - cold, hissing things. Not human at all. Footsteps clanked through the dark, ticking like broken clocks.
His heart pounded loud inside his head.
Then—
The beam let him fall.
He slammed into the floor, tumbling over cold steel. With a grunt, he grabbed his side, wincing from the pain.
A round doorway eased apart.
Ripoff stayed put, his cloak waving a bit from the breeze inside the vessel.
His face pulled tight, half smile, half growl.
"Welcome, Asap Ashton," Ripoff said, his voice trembling with excitement. "The universe has been waiting for you."
Asap stumbled up, tugging his green hoodie closer.
You... His voice came out rough. So why'd you grab me instead?
Ripoff's grin widened.
"Because someone like you—someone original—shouldn't exist without permission."
Asap frowned. "Permission from who?"
Ripoff's eye gleamed.
"From me, of course."
The lights blinked on and off. Far inside the hull, warning sounds started echoing around. A huge movement rumbled beyond - almost like the entire craft braced itself for a leap.
Ripoff reached out his arm.
"Your crash awakened something the universe had forgotten. Something dangerous. Something I cannot allow to grow without my… supervision."
Asap tightened his hands into fists.
"Supervision? You kidnapped me."
Ripoff grabbed his staff, gave it a quick tap - twice.
The deck lights burst into brightness.
"You shouldn't worry about the how," Ripoff whispered. "Worry about the what's next."
Asap's breath slowed.
His fingers jerked, filled with that odd energy he'd used to spark the smoke.
Ripoff noticed.
Perfect.
The creature's face changed suddenly - its look turned sharper, almost alert.
"This is where your story truly begins."
The ship rumbled.
The world beyond twisted.
The portal machines shrieked.
And Asap Ashton realized -
It wasn't only a kidnapping.
He was chosen.
Whether he liked it or not.