Linda went around the room, her smile growing as she gave a fake look of seriousness by touching her forehead. She laughed and said, "Oh, Melton, you're really making this difficult."
Nadia, her voice trembling, called out from her tube, "Melton, please. I don't want to die. Help me."
Melton's heart hurt at how desperate Nadia's request was. His mind raced, searching for a method to help his pals from Linda's clutches. Nexus gave him a chime in that very instant.
"Melton, I've found an alternate escape route," Nexus said, the synthetic voice calm and precise. "The room is saturated with energy particles and electrons. If you release all your innate power into the nearest particle accelerator, it will create a temporal distortion capable of rewinding time."
"Rewind time?" Melton whispered, hardly daring to believe it. "Are you sure?"
"Highly probable," Nexus confirmed. "However, the energy required will be immense, and you will need to focus all your power."
Melton quickly glanced around the space and noticed the particle accelerator set into the wall. It was a risk, but there was nothing else to be done.
Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the task ahead. "All right, Nexus. Come on, let's do this."
Using all of his strength, he closed his eyes. He felt the energy rising within of him, a burning heat coursing through his body. He unleashed that energy on the particle accelerator with a shout of determination. With its mechanics churning and crackling with electricity, the accelerator hummed to life.
Linda pivoted, her shocked eyes expanding. She rushed to him and asked, "What are you doing?"
"It's over, Linda," Melton said through gritted teeth. "Time to set things right."
Melton's strength was absorbed by the particle accelerator, causing a dazzling flash of light to fill the chamber. The electricity in the air crackled, engulfing everyone in a swirling maelstrom of color and light. It was confusing, like being dragged at impossibly fast speeds down a tube.
Melton's sudden action sent Linda into a frenzy, and she threw her hand down on the control panel, pressing every button at once. Melton let out a frightened gasp at witnessing the neurotoxic overflow the tubes holding Nadia, Zara, and Maya.
"Nadia! Maya, Zara!" Desperation cracked in Melton's voice, but it was too late. As the poison took effect, their eyes widened in astonishment and agony as their bodies convulsed.
"No!" Melton let out a scream that echoed across the chamber, a raw, terrible sound.
Now that his attempt to turn back time had failed, he was trapped in the act of expending all of his energy and had no choice but to watch as his companions perished in front of him. The particle accelerator began to buzz louder, using up the rest of his energy, but not quickly enough to keep them alive.
Melton felt a searing pain as the energy shot through him, an ache that came from the terrible anguish and guilt tearing at his heart in addition to the physical effort. They were gone, even though he had pledged to protect them and provide a way out. The realization struck him like a ton of bricks, shattering his determination.
With a final, deafening scream, Melton let out all his energy, the particle accelerator glowing with an intense, blinding light. The room seemed to warp and bend, the temporal distortion reaching its peak.
But the damage was done.
Melton experienced a weird sensation of weightlessness, as if he were floating in a wide, ethereal place, as the room around him twisted and distorted. The chamber's walls vanished, to be replaced by a massive, celestial construction that appeared to be constructed of interlocking gears and circuits.
He felt as though he was a small, inconsequential part of a massive system, and he was within its heart.
He observed what appeared to be brilliant strands of energy emerging from his body and entering different openings in the building. The scene was both hypnotic and incredibly frightening. Melton experienced a conflicting sense of immense power and insignificance.
A scornful, icy voice resounded through the emptiness.
"You fool, you think you can spoil what I have so long been building?"
Melton's heart raced in his chest as he searched for the voice's origin, but it seems to appear out of nowhere at once. The voice went on, with a tone full of chilling confidence, "No one can turn back the hands of time as long as I am here." Melton felt the ground beneath him give way, and he started to fall.
The sensation was dizzying, the vast system structure spinning around him as he plummeted through the void. He braced himself for impact, expecting to land back in the facility where he had been trapped.
However, he did not land in the facility's chilly, sterile chamber when he did. Rather, he awoke to the harsh surface of a busy metropolitan street. His senses were assailed by the dazzling lights of the city, the murmur of voices, and the sounds of vehicles.
For a brief while, he lay there, confused and unable to make sense of what had happened. Melton pulled himself up slowly, adjusting to his new environment. Buildings loomed over him, neon signs glowed in the distance, and passersby passed by, as if oblivious to his abrupt arrival. The city, which combined cutting-edge technology with urban deterioration, was unlike any he had ever seen.
"Nexus," Melton whispered, hoping his system was still functional. "Where are we?"
There was a brief pause before Nexus responded, its voice sounding slightly distorted. "Scanning... This appears to be Central City, but the readings are inconsistent. It is as if the city exists in multiple timelines at once."
Melton frowned, trying to make sense of Nexus's words. "Multiple timelines? How is that possible?"
"Unknown," Nexus replied. "However, it seems we have been displaced from our original timeline. The energy you released must have interacted with the temporal distortion in an unforeseen way."
Melton sighed, his thoughts whirling.
"Fantastic. I now need to find a way to return to our previous timeframe in addition to stopping Project Erebus."
Searching for his bearings, he cast a glance about. He needed a strategy, a means to get his bearings and learn more about this peculiar place. More than everything, he wanted to cloak himself in the illusion that his buddies were still alive, therefore he needed to find out if any of them had also been uprooted.
As he started walking, he noticed a flyer on the ground with the words "Central City Tactical Division" printed on it. The name struck a chord, and he remembered Linda's earlier taunts. Maybe, just maybe, this city held the key to unraveling the mysteries of Project Erebus and finding a way back home.
Determined, Melton set off down the street, blending into the crowd. He had lost so much, but he still had a mission. And he would see it through, no matter where—or when—it took him.