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"Alex?" asked Morgan at the seemingly empty apartment.
Something in the air screamed i'm here, in the dark, silently waiting to jump at you, breath held and eyes closed.
Even to the untrained senses, unless he was really hiding, you could tell they were here. Even in the dark, with out the glowing slits of his eyes. You could tell. Power radiated from him like heat from the sun.
"Are you okay dude? this creepy waiting for you in the dark villain is freaking me out"
Morgan flipped the light switch and jumped on their place
"Holy fuck Alex what the... uhhh.. are you okay?"
They were sitting in the couch, perfect posture that would be alluring and beautiful if not for the absolutely wild look on their eyes. They were looking at Morgan with a heartbreaking expression that pulled Morgan to the couch like a bulb pulls a moth.
"What the hell happened? are your parents alright? did you went to look for that thing past existence again? I told you to stay inside our livable universe"
Alex lifted a shaky hand, it hovered near Morgan's cheek for a while before they pulled back with a hiss and suddenly they were on opposite sides of the couch.
"I'm not who you think I am" they whispered.
"Okay? and who are you then?"
The silence stretched even more.
"I'm Alex, but. From another universe"
"Oh. okay. Do you... umm... did you killed my Alex?"
They flinched "No. They are off world"
"Right... Well..what are you doing here? And what happened to you? I don't think i have ever seen you this scared. Like. Ever."
Then they were right in each other's personal spaces. Morgan barely blinked, already used to this kind of behavior. If this Alex was going to hurt them, they've already done it. So, Morgan could only guess they needed help of some kind. Alex might've been the most powerful person ever, and yet found reasons every day to rely on them. It was endlessly endearing. And whatever the multiverse meant, this was their best friend in front of them. So, Morgan did what only came natural for them when Alex was upset. They lifted a hand and pressed it to their shoulder.
"Want me to make you some mac and cheese?"
Well, something really bad might have happened to this Alex, because the look they threw Morgan's way, they might as well offered a serum to make every puppy in the world immortal. Or offered help with a murder. They were multifaceted like that.
"y-yeah. Please"
Morgan tripped on their own feet, caught by surprise.
"Did you just said please?"
"I'm from another universe" they scoffed "I'm fucking polite"
"Okay yeah.. another universe. yeah. Okay, i'll be back"
Alex followed not too far to the kitchen, brooding silently, their eyes never leaving Morgan's back. And they could practically feel the anxiety rolling off Alex in thick waves. The guy was usually so talkative about every thing, Well, they were from another universe, maybe this Alex was much more silent than theirs? They could also just be processing whatever the hell.
The possibilities were ridiculously endlessly and...
Their Alex popped in the middle of the kitchen, wrath filled eyes locked on the new Alex. They charged lifting the Other by the neck and pinning them to the wall.
The Other barely reacted, arms loose at their sides and the calmest Morgan had seen them since they appeared.
"What the hell do you want here?"
"Morgan's Mac n'Cheese"
"Don't fuck with me"
"I'm not though"
"Why did you came here?"
"My universe is gone"
"Gone? what do you mean gone?"
"I know you are not that dense"
Alex slammed them to the wall, it crumbled down as the Other flew across the room. They lifted themselves into the air, with the grace of someone used to been thrown about. Alex stalked forward, predatory, but the Other simply sat cross legged on the floor and looked at Morgan, past the version of himself still clad in space battle regalia.
"I couldn't save them" That stopped Alex in their tracks. Their back was to Morgan, so they could not guess a single emotion from them. But the Other's eyes had filled up with tears and Morgan would've dropped the pot if they had not caught it in the air, a display of telekinesis they hadn't seen so freely before, and it was divided into three servings."I'd say it was my own personal Hell, but i was very alive every version of it. Again and again until i lost my mind and reality faded away into nothingness. I- I just miss them so much."
Alex dropped into the floor, to Morgan's surprise.
"wait, are you saying his death is a fixed point in time?"
"We always did joked that we are a god."
"But if you go beyond what we are now, can't you just build it back?"
Morgan walked to them with the plates of food, sitting in between them. They were close enough that both of his legs were pressed against each version of their partner.
"How did I died?"
The Other cupped the plate between their fingers, as if the warmth from it was the only thing holding them together. They lifted their gaze, dull and rounded pupils, the way they look in the rare occasions that their powers are gone or turned off. They lifted a hand to Morgan, slowly, the way you reach to a potentially dangerous animal that might bite your hand off if they get the wrong vibe.
"Every possible way" they said, finally pressing a feather light touch to Morgan's wrist. He took the offered hand and held it with more force. Trembling, the Other pressed their forehead to Morgan's shoulder.
"That's impossible, I wouldn't let it happen" Alex sounded afronted, horrified and on the verge of tears. Morgan was honestly almost there too. Never have they ever seen Alex this affected before. And they were two of them.
"You have travelled to other universes. You know about our other lives"
"of course"
"What is the one constant? The unmoving point of every single version of us? Even when mom and dad were never there? or when we are heroes? simple powerless mortals? mindless animals? horrible mutant formations? No matter what shape or form we take, the one constant is not our power, not our name, not our eyes or skin"
"What?" Morgan couldn't help themselves, eyes going from one to the Other, like watching a car crash. Horrifying, but impossible to tear your eyes away
"It's Morgan" Breathed Alex, almost reverent. Mostly afraid "Morgan is the one unmoving constant in every version that ever existed or will ever exist"