Mike sat at his desk, staring at his hands. They were clean after he spent an hour washing them. He could still feel the weight of the gun in his hand. He could still hear the gunshot and see Anton's head snap back.
He killed someone.
The gun sat in his drawer again. Mike pulled up the news on his laptop, the story everywhere. 'Sophist murders The Fadeaway Man in prison cell.'
He closed his laptop. Anton had proven himself irredeemable. He was so focused on beauty he didn't care about taking a life to get it. So why was his hands still shaking?
He crossed a line. There was no walking back now. He made his choice.
"You look terrible," a voice said behind him.
Mike spun around and he saw the being standing in the middle of his apartment.
"That's not a good sign," it said, looking down at the crack in space-form behind it.
Space was tearing, a fissure in reality spreading across Mike's apartment. A light bleeding through. The being stepped aside.
"It seems the plausibility I used to give you mental immunity caused a crack to rip between universes," the being said.
"What! Do something! Can you fix it?" Mike yelled.
"I can stabilise it but closing it completely, would require plausibility I do not have." The Being replied, pressing his hand against the fissure.
The crack stopped expanding, shrinking to the size of a doorway. Light still poured through from the other side.
"There. You're welcome," the Being said, satisfied.
"I didn't ask for this," Mike replied, staring at the dimensional crack in his apartment.
"Well, you could have this dimensional portal or watch the entire universe get swallowed whole and get erased from existence," it replied.
"Fine!"
"It could be worse."
"That's not comforting."
"It's not supposed to be. It's just a dimensional crack to another universe," it said.
"Do you know where it even goes to?" asked Mike
"Somewhere fun. Consider it another gift." It looked at him, and Mike could almost see what he thought was a smile.
"Other gift?"
The being snapped his fingers, and black wings materialised out of Mike's back. They were large in size and pure black, similar in structure to Hawkgirl's.
"Are these..." Mike stared.
"Functional wings. Yes. You can now officially fly. Beautiful work, really. I'm quite proud of it," it replied, examining its work.
"You made me wings."
"You're always watching Hawkgirl fly, so I thought you would enjoy flying with her," the Being replied.
"I don't need wings. I can teleport," Mike responded.
"They make a statement. They give you a... certain aesthetic. It suits Sophist," it replied.
Mike looked at the wings again. They were indeed beautiful. Each feather was perfect, and it was obviously made with skill. Though completely impractical.
"I'm not a fighter. I chose teleportation for a reason. Wings just give me another weak point," Mike said.
"They retract. I'm not an amateur." It gestured at the wings.
"This is insane."
"This...is a gift. A gift from a cosmic entity. Accept it graciously or I'll eradicate you," it replied.
"Fine! What about the portal?"
"That's a real gift. Go through and see for yourself," it said, grinning.
"You're not going to tell me where it goes?" Mike asked.
"Where's the fun in that? It's an adventure, Mike! Enjoy it," it answered.
"What if it's dangerous?" Mike asked, looking at the crack in reality with light bleeding through.
"I promise you it's not dangerous... probably," the being said, walking towards the portal.
"What happened to you? You used to be so serious. Are you the same being?" Mike asked.
"Would you have taken me seriously if I hadn't been serious at first?" it replied. Mike waved his hands in motion, giving up on questioning it. "I should at least see if the wings work first, though, right?"
Mike was now standing in front of his bathroom mirror, a being wrapped in smoke seen in the reflection staring at him.
"Flex your shoulders. Think about extending them," it instructed
Mike tried, and the wings unfolded, spreading to their full span, knocking over all his bathroom objects to the ground. They moved with ease, like it was natural to them. Like they were always a part of him.
"Now retract."
He thought about them retracting back, and soon they folded against his back, disappearing. It was like they were never there.
"You're a natural. You should put your shirt back on though," the being said, looking satisfied.
"This is ridiculous," he said, putting on a shirt.
"It's dramatic. It fits Sophist."
"Fine. Thank you for the wings."
The being vanished, leaving Mike alone with the dimensional crack in his apartment. Mike stood in front of the portal for ten minutes, hyping himself up before stepping through.
Mike emerged in another apartment, identical to his one in the other dimension. He went up to the window, and it looked like... New York City. He teleported to a nearby alley and started to look around. He saw a newspaper stand and walked over.
The Daily Bugle. A standard New York tabloid. The headline read: "SPIDER-MAN STOPS ROBBERY – MENACE OR HERO?"
Mike's breath caught. Spider-man. Real. Spider-Man in real life. He grabbed the paper, scanning through the article. It was actually happening.
Mike looked up at the skyline, Stark Tower visible in the distance. The Marvel Universe. The Being opened a portal to Marvel. Mike started to laugh. He couldn't help it.
"You magnificent cosmic asshole," he said to himself.
THE OTHER UNIVERSE
Derek Dick stood over Calender Man's corpse, breathing hard. The fight was harder than he expected. He had been prepared for him, setting up traps. But that didn't matter.
Derek was growing stronger.
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +2,250]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 10]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: Combat Prediction II]
[QUEST COMPLETE: "Find and Eliminate Calendar Man"]
[REWARD: +1,500 XP, Skill Point x3, Rare Item: "Day's Planner" - Provides 24-hour advance warning of major threats]
Derek grinned and accepted his rewards, allocating his stat points immediately. He pulled out the planner from his inventory and flipped through the pages. 'Potential Joker Appearance in East End' written for tomorrow. He pocketed it and looked at Calander Man's body.
"I wonder if killing this prick will make catwomen interested. How I would love to play with that kitty," he chuckled to himself, checking his stats.
LEVEL: 10
STRENGTH: 12
AGILITY: 9
CHARISMA: 10
INTELLIGENCE: 6
POWERS UNLOCKED: 7
Derek was growing stronger every day, unknown to Mike. He activated his stealth ability and vanished in the shadows.