No. It can't be.
I retracted my helmet just to make sure my eyes didn't decieve me. I blinked twice but the face in front of me stayed the same. I'd know if it was an illusion or mental projection but what I was seeing was real...very real.
She smiled at me - a smile I'd grown accustomed to seeing almost everyday since we were kids. She stood in front of me, in what looked like a cross between a royal wear and a super suit - white - just like the sisters had seen but with a symbol on her chest. . However, they hadn't seen her face at the time. Now, we did.
Harbinger was Kara. It was her - no mistake about it.
"It...can't be", those were the only words my mouth could form. I stagggered backwards.
Wait, I thought.
I hurriedly took out my almost totally damaged phone and dialed my sister - it was waterproof and it had managed to not get pulverised in all the fighting. Lucky me.
The call rang for a couple of seconds and someone picked up the phone. It was Kara. My eyes widened and I felt light-headed for a second.
"Hey, big brother. It's okay. It really is me...", my sister's voice said softly over the phone, then she and the other her in front of me started to speak in sync. "I know you have questions...so, ask". I lost my grip on the phone and it fell out of my hand. Before it hit the ground, it stopped mid-air and started to float to the Kara in front of me - telekinesis. When it floated in front of her, she made it disappear somehow. After a couple of seconds, it reappeared good as new and floated back to me. I held it and looked it over in disbelief. Oyiza was still supporting Nene's weakened frame. They were visibly shaken by what had just happened.
"You're...his sister? His younger sister - Kara?", Oyiza asked wide-eyed, visibly panicked. In a split second I realized why.
"Yes, I am. Don't worry, your son is safe as long you behave yourself", she said smirking at both sisters. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak to my brother... privately.", she said as she snapped her fingers, her eyes glowing yellow and her figure exhuding a bright light.
Immediately, I was elsewhere. The rays from the sun hit my face and I squinted, quickly covering my eyes with my hand. Teleportation?
When I looked around, however, I got quite the shock. We hadn't teleported somewhere else...it was the same exact spot we were just at, but it was sunny and there were no littered dead or unconscious bodies, damaged vehicles or signs of any form of battle. Here, it was just the entrance to hotel not far from the parking lot and people strolled by. From the corner of my eyes I saw Kara step up beside me. I was first worried people would look at us funny because of how Kara was dressed and how rough and dirty I looked, but the most we got was a glance. I looked at Kara and I saw why - she wasn't in a white gown anymore. Right now she looked the way she'd normally look at home - hair packed above her head in a bun, a white T-shirt and a pair of dark crazy jeans over pink sneakers. I looked myself over and saw I was now wearing a blue T-shirt over white shorts and casual slippers. What the hell?
"What did you just do?", I asked her. "What the actual fuck is going on?"
"Come on. No cuss words in front of your younger sister; remember, John, what dad said?", she said, rolling her eyes.
"How do you know about that?", I asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Dude! Is your brain experiencing a glitch right now?", she said, sounding exasperated. She looked a tad tired for a moment but right now that wasn't what I was paying attention to. "It's me. Or do I need to write 'Hey, it's Kara' on my knuckles and punch you with it?", she finished.
Damn. It WAS her.
"Kara, what's going on?", I said gently. My sister was Harbinger. THE Sigma Zero. My own little sister. I took a step towards her, looking into her eyes as if searching for answers.
"Come. Let's go to the beach", she said softly.
Before I could respond, she snapped her fingers again and in the blink of an eye, I wasn't looking at the Landmark hotel building anymore, I was looking at the ocean. I looked to my side and saw my sister lounging on a beach chair under a big beach umbrella. She was wearing a black bikini and large circular shades. I looked down at myself and I was topless with beach shorts and my feet dug into the sand. Grinning, she motioned for me to sit on the beach chair next to her. I warily did as she asked. Just as I sat down, a couple of girls in bikinis walking past said hey in a flirtatious way to me. I instinctively waved and smiled, albeit warily. I saw my sister glaring at them till they had moved off a good distance. She was always overly protective and jealous over me. I smirked in spite of myself - it really was her.
"Where are we? Is this some kind of teleportation?", I asked.
"Not exactly", she said as she took a sip out of a chilled glass of juice that appeared out of thin air. I was a bit startled and I looked around to be sure if anyone had seen that. I suddenly felt a chill in my palm only to find I was holding the same kind of glass of juice.
Just what kind of Sigma was she? Whatever she was, I had lived with her for twenty years and in that time I'd never suspected a thing. It was nothing, if not scary.
"Where did all these people come from, Kara? How is it so sunny? Where are my friends? What's going on?", I asked her rapidly.
"Well, to put it simply; I left your friends in that particular reality, which I call 'Reality Prime' and I transported us to a neighbouring reality where Sigmas don't exist yet and we were standing in that same spot at the hotel as Reality Prime. Then in that same reality, I flipped us to a next door reality where we're at the beach. I pulled our drinks out of another reality - it didn't magically come out of thin air. That's kinda what I did with your phone. I just needed somewhere quiet away from all the action where we can talk without interruptions from your 'new friends' ", she said with a gleam in her eyes. "By the way, don't think I don't see the chemistry between you and that Oyiza. It's a little annoying, to be honest", she sipped from her juice again.
I warily sipped from mine to be sure it wasn't an illusion of some kind. It tasted very real.
"So, this is another reality...", I said slowly.
"Yup", she said, nodding the way I'd seen her do for years.
"...not an illusion", I said.
"Nope", she shook her head.
"And you can travel between realities...", I cocked my eyebrow.
"Basically. It does take some power to do though...but yes I can", she replied as adjusted her sunglasses.
"Can you create or control them?", I asked tentatively.
"I wish, but no. It's more like, I can influence them...like I did with Reality Prime", she shrugged.
"So how's this possible?", I inquired.
"There's one Prime Reality. However, other realities are created by the choices people in Prime make...or don't make. It's there, it's not exactly real in the terms that Reality Prime is, but it's there. Of course it's inaccessible to them. I just surf the channels to a reality I want and that's it", she said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Only Reality Prime is what I'd call a concretised reality. The rest are accessible to me, but I can't exactly stay for long. It'll keep changing, shifting unless I concretise one myself which will take incredibly immense power to do. Doing so, means there'd be two concretised realities. Crazy stuff", she finished the remaining juice in her glass and it disappeared into thin air - or she threw the glass into another reality?
"So all this right now- this reality - is a result of someone's choice?", I looked around me once again.
"Well, it's more like a culmination of about one billion, three hundred million, five hundred thousand and fifty-five people's choices at once...not that anybody's counting...", she smirked, rolling her eyes, as if proud of herself.
"Wow...", I was blown away.
"...but in the end, human beings end this reality permanently too. All roads lead there, no matter the choices they make or the realities they create. I want to stop it by saving the world even though I'd have to destroy it first and restarting it with a chosen few. So, with the powers I gave people, I was basically influencing how Reality Prime ends, which will in turn bring all other realities to a close", she said.
I was hearing her, but she had lost me after the first few mentions of 'Reality Prime'.
"I'm not even going to pretend I understood anything you just said but..how did I never know about...this?", I asked, gesticulating wildly.
"Well, the point of influence is working in the background. I regained all my power as a human when I turned eighteen. That was when I split...literally. Had work to do but I also wanted to stay close to you - so I did both", she smiled warmly.
I made mental calculations and realized that was around when the abilities had begun popping up in people. My eyes widened.
"So the myth about Sigma Zero was true and it WAS you...", I said, wide-eyed. "...and...what do you mean, 'I REGAINED' ?", I asked. At the back of my mind, I was worried about everyone in the bunker with that other Kara. However, what calmed me down was, if she wanted them dead, they'd be dead already. So I maintained my cool.
Wait, the Bunker. I thought to myself for a second then I realized something. I chuckled softly, shaking my head.
"The bunker under our house...", I said, looking at my sister. "...it was never really there was it? It wasn't a part of our 'original' reality".
She glanced at me and rolled her eyes beneath her sunglasses.
"Of course not. I mean, who the heck builds a bunker underground in LAGOS? It's absurd. I just pulled it in from another reality. Took some doing though, making it a concretised part of an already concretised reality. But I pulled it off", she said proudly.
"Wow...", I exhaled. Kara was unnatural.
"I know, right?", she grinned.
"But all that doesn't matter, brother", she waved it off and her grin disappeared. "What matters is purpose - my purpose...OUR purpose", she said, emphasizing on 'our'.
"And what's that? To end the world?", I scoffed.
"Well, when you put it like that...", she said, thoughtfully. She took of her shades as she leaned towards me.
"Look, I had always known how flawed the world was - our reality. You, dad and mom saw it that way too. You just didn't know the problem spanned across realities. Reality Prime is terribly damaged, John. You know this. All the pain and betrayal mom, dad and the both of us have gone through, taught us this again and again. The only answer is Re-Genesis. But in order to start over, we must first end it all", she said, her eyes narrowed. "Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs", she finished with a smirk.
"You seem excited about mass genocide, Kara. That's so many levels of wrong...this isn't you", I said, with a pleading tone.
"Of course it is, John. This is important work we're about to do. We're saving the world", she smiled warmly.
"When you talk like that, you don't sound like my Kara", I said pointedly.
"I am your sister. The girl you grew up with", she said, frowning.
"Alright. Look, Kara, these are actual lives you're talking about. Families. Friends. People. Human beings. You can't wipe them all out just because you can...", I said calmly, dropping my glass of juice on the lid of a cooler that had also appeared out of thin air the moment I needed it. The extent of her ability was scary - the power to manipulate reality and travel between alternate realities. If she hadn't been my sister and it came down to a fight, none of us across board really stood a chance.
"Right. So, all the people you've killed since I gifted you your abilities...aren't they people too?", she scoffed and crossed her arms.
"Don't do that. It's not the same; you know they had it coming. Not everyone on the planet deserves that kind of end. Besides, these powers came with a kind of urge to kill. I can imagine what being the originator and carrier of such power would do to you, sis. But I overcame the urge, so can you...", I said pleadingly.
"Oh, don't get all righteous with me now, brother. Your urge to kill - along with the other Sigmas - is born of your very own desires. The power merely amplified it", she rolled her eyes at me.
I was speechless. I'd blamed my powers for so long. Knowing I enjoyed killing, not because my powers twisted me, but because deep down it was something I desired...it shook me to my core. She saw the look on my face, then reached out to me and stroked the side of my face with her fingers.
"Don't feel sad, brother. It's a perfectly normal human trait. But I can take it all away from you as the Re-Genesis occurs. There will be order, peace and prosperity. The few remaining will replenish the earth but this time under the right rule - ours".
"No, it's not right. There's good in the world, no matter how messed up the majority are. There are people who work for the good of others; the sisters, the GLS...", I gently held the hand that stroked my face, looking into her eyes.
I actually saw her look turn to one of pity before she answered.
"...oh Lēohtan, our world is a lie; a lie filled with lies. Your so-called league of heroes - GLS - their director literally worships me. I control him. I've used his league to keep tabs on every Sigma who needed to be watched. Why do you think they had no file on you? Because I hid you from them. I am the folder that was 'out of bounds'. I've been at the helm of everything from start till now", she stood up and stared into the ocean. "And now the climax is finally here. We start with Lagos, sink it. Then we ride the wave all over the country. Meanwhile, my Sigmas will bring the rest of the world to its knees. The world governments don't stand a chance. By the time we've destroyed every major city around the world, they'll have seen what we can do, so they'll give up their power to us. From the darkness, a light will emerge and we will rebuild this world together, as was intended", she spoke with a feverish excitement, gesticulating wildly.
I stood up and gently held her by both her arms. She chuckled and took off her sunglasses.
"I'm doing it again - talking too much - aren't I?", she asked as she stared into my eyes. I smiled sadly as I pulled her closer.
"Kara...it's not right, what you're about to do. The world is flawed - yes - but it's not our place to end it before its time", I coaxed gently. She first softened, then I saw her eyes steel with determination. I swore mentally as she pulled away from me and her eyes started to glow again.
"No, Lēohtan. This is how it's going to be. It's my purpose to set things right. I've already begun. I thought you'd stand by me, your little sister. I thought we would rule the world side by side. But you're blinded by your ties to this flawed world. Guess I'll have to take the wheel and tie you to the passenger seat, brother", she gritted her teeth as she spoke.
I clenched my fists at my sides. This wasn't just regular-stubborn-Kara, this was world-ender-stubborn-Kara. I recalled all the times we'd spent together growing up, everything that led up to the fight that went down before we got here. How was I going to explain it all to dad and mom? I smiled bitterly.
"Well, I hate to break it to you, sis, but I can't let you do that. We'll stop you, just like we decimated your precious Inevitables"
"Barely", she scoffed. "They were special to me, but you forget, John - I'm ZERO. I can always make more", she said as she raised her hand to snap her fingers.
Wide-eyed, I lunged at her at superspeed to stop her but I was too late. She snapped her fingers, sending us back to our original reality, in the same spot we'd left, in the same clothes we'd had on. I noticed it wasn't quite as dark as we'd left it - the effects of Reign's abilities were steadily wearing off.
Obeten was standing on his two feet, even though he still looked winded. Voilet stood next to him, looking at Kara, uncertainty in her purple eyes. Kaycee was now being supported on his feet by his fiancée.
"John, you're back!", Oyiza called out, running to me. Kara glared at her so I held Oyiza and moved her behind me, as if shielding her from Kara. Kara looked at me, hurt and wide-eyed as if I'd just betrayed her. She narrowed her eyes as she began to glow with white light. Even as a human, when she got angry, things got ugly.
"Kara...", I called to her warily. She ignored me and started to float in the air.
"John, what is she doing?", Oyiza asked, her voice shaky.
"What she's planned to do all along - ReGenesis", I said, as we all looked up at Kara's glowing frame in the air not far from us. I knew what she was about to do and right now, I was the only one who could stop her. I stepped forward and lunged at my sister in the air with the intention to subdue her. Something caught me in the air and I suddenly couldn't move. I saw Kara's palm opened towards me - Telekinesis. She hurtled me to the ground with a massive force creating a crater thrice the size of my body. Oyiza screamed. I still couldn't move. And it was becoming hard to even think.
"Kara!", I yelled. Heavy winds started to pick up and it began raining again.
Just then, I saw a fiery figure hurl a flurry of fireballs at my sister. It didn't seem to bother her. Oyiza sped to a nearby vehicle, lifting it and yelling, hurled it at Kara. It was torn in two equal halves by an unseen force before it reached her.
Obeten prepared to shoot a bolt at Kara when Voilet stopped him. She was right, the last thing we needed was Kara fully entering rage mode. Just then, Nene, in her fiery form flew at Kara launching a punch at her face. Shit. Kara snapped her fingers and Nene's flames were out just like that. Nene still managed to make the hit - but her fist passed through my sister's glowing form - my sister had phased after negating Nene's abilities. Without being told, I knew Nene's phasing was affected too. Nene started to freefall and let out a cry but luckily, Kaycee managed to speed over and catch her before she hit the ground. Nene regained her composure and her abilities but this time she did nothing.
My sister couldn't be beaten. I found that I could now move. I staggered out of the small crater. Oyiza ran to me and held on to me - the poise of team leader overcome by duress. I squeezed her hand gently.
When Kara spoke this time, it sounded like a hundred voices were speaking at once in almost perfect sync.
"All your resistance is futile, I'm sure you've realised that by now. I see you all need to learn your place and mine. I'm going to bring this world to its knees, but I'll start with you", at this point the ground began to rumble, the skies got darker as clouds gathered once again, the rain became worse and thunder rolled loudly.
Her voice came again as she looked directly at me. "I'm going to fix this world, Lēohtan - with or without you! I'll end your friends and their families if I have to. If it'll make you listen to me. You have one last chance to join me, brother or you can watch your friends die just as I watched you kill Atlas, Reign and Mercury!", she roared as she thrust out her hands towards the sky. The blast of wind from the energy she released hit us all at the same time sending us, the lifeless/unconscious bodies and the debris backwards some meters.
The end had begun.