Sunday, December 20, 2020

PROMPT Fiction Contest Entry -- TheCloser "Second Chances"

 This non-placing entry was posted by TheCloser (ID 10910). It included a number of images to compliment the story he submitted, so please enjoy his efforts below.


Thanksgiving Night in New Amsterdam, and a 5th Precinct shuttle lazily circles an unassuming neighborhood. If you could see beyond the visible spectrum, you'd notice that its sensors were focused on the contents of one picket fence in particular.

The chain of events that bring us 1000 feet above this family home, extend beyond the confines of existence itself…

There are a group of beings residing in this universe that we'll refer to as The Elders. They have different personalities, pursuits, and powers, but in some form or another, they existed before this universe. We follow the movements of one of those beings tonight.

Those familiar with TheCloser's origins, know that he observed the death and birth of universes from outside of time, within a self-constructed cocoon.


If he bothered to dwell on it, he would regret those helpless that were too small to see in the blur of movement, and the actions of giants, in those early days.

He eventually rejoined the time stream, for a couple reasons…

The first had great weight in the grand scheme of things. The power levels he was monitoring, began to show the potential to reach familiar levels. Much faster than he expected, there was power he could use. A time had come, when heroes would be great, threats greater still, and he would be needed.



The second was more personal, his own increasing interest in what he could perceive of peoples and events. If you found yourself existing In a foreign "All that is" and had the necessary instrumentality to begin such an endeavor, you would look for the same thing The Closer looked for. This phenomenon that he found and would keep to himself, were instances of duplicate cosmogenesis. Repeating probabilities, events, even people, from that other universe.

The Closer, current leader of the 5th Precinct has claimed publicly, to share no cellular data or chemical components with the biological constructs of this universe. While this is essentially a true statement, it left out a few key details. It is these details, that brings us here.



A young man by the name of John Samuels had been working with a demolition crew, clearing out an abandoned laboratory. He might have thought it was odd that his favorite sledge hammer seemed a lot lighter at the end of the day than the beginning, but he could never have guessed the reason.

The laboratory had been the home temporarily for the infamous Dr. Fulcrum. He had been working on merging nanites, with the technology that evolved into the 5th Precincts advanced Artificial Intelligence System E.A.R.P. It's hard to say what exactly he was up to, only that his plans had been upset, when some other super-villain attacked his lab, revealing his position explosively to the authorities.



Finally TheCloser see's the movement he's been waiting for. Mr. Samuels was leaving his home, presumably headed for some holiday gathering.

When suddenly a behemoth of a human being, visibly exhibiting the effects of morphon transformation, came barreling through homes, vehicles, and finally Mr. Samuels own picket fence, and was headed straight for him!



With no time to think, he somehow managed an 8' vertical leap at an impossible speed, completely clearing the head of the rampaging monster. Then a swift spin and a well-placed kick would put the creature's lights out, morphon, and otherwise.



Mr. Samuels had, without his knowledge or consent, become a home to Fulcrum's nanites. So far they have increased his strength and speed, to inhuman levels. Now they'll analyze this assailants morphon particles and will incorporate those energies into their arsenal. They will never stop learning, never stop adapting, or adapting him.



There's a new super being in town, for now, he's calling himself Solo. He'll be high on the 5th Precinct watch list, and not just for his own protection. He's an unknown quantity. with great potential, both as a hero, and for TheCloser, exploitable weakness…

You can currently read more about TheCloser's activities in the newest chapters of Dan Peyton's Chase the Mythics lore, available now on These City Streets. Thank you, TheCloser for your efforts in the contest.
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