Kevin's fingers danced across the control panel of his sleek jet, the cockpit bathed in the eerie glow of distant stars. Beside him, Gwen monitored the sensors, her eyes flicking between the readouts and the vast expanse of space outside the canopy.
"We've got company," she said, her voice taut with worry and fear.
Kevin glanced at the display, where a massive, menacing ship loomed behind them. "Vilgax," he muttered, jaw clenched. "He's not giving up, is he?"
"He's gaining on us," Gwen warned as the systems told about an approaching attack. "And he's charging weapons."
A shudder ran through the jet as it surged forward, Kevin pushing the engines to their limit. "Hang on, Gwen. This is gonna be rough."
Before she could respond, a bright flash lit up the cockpit. The jet lurched violently, alarms blaring as a stray blast from Vilgax's ship struck them. Gwen was thrown against her harness, gritting her teeth against the impact.
"We've been hit!" she shouted, her hands flying over the controls to stabilize the ship. "Dimensional drive is critical!"
Kevin's eyes widened as he saw a swirling vortex appear ahead of them, a wormhole dragging them inexorably toward it. "Brace yourself!" he yelled, gripping the controls with white-knuckled intensity.
The jet spiraled out of control, drawn into the maw of the wormhole. The fabric of space twisted around them, stars and galaxies warping into a chaotic whirlpool. Gwen's screen flickered, showing error messages and system failures.
"We're losing power!" she cried, her voice barely audible over the roar of the collapsing wormhole.
Kevin's teeth were set in a grim line. "Hold on! We're not going down without a fight!"
Another blast rocked the jet, and the cockpit lights flickered. The ship shuddered violently as it was torn from normal space, plummeting into the void. The fabric of reality seemed to fray at the edges, and an oppressive silence fell over them as the last of the alarms died out.
Gwen's hands trembled as she struggled to reroute power to the failing systems. "Dimensional drive is offline! We're losing control!"
Suddenly, the jet twisted violently. The cockpit breaking and snapping. The force wrenched Gwen from her damaged seat, her harness snapping. She was hurled into the darkness from the huge tear in the ship, a cry escaping her lips before everything went black.
Kevin watched in horror as Gwen disappeared into the void. He fought to keep his eyes open, but the overwhelming force of the wormhole and the strain on his body were too much, immediately his body turned to steel, underneath the plumber's suit. Darkness crept into the edges of his vision until he too succumbed to unconsciousness, still strapped into his pilot seat.
The jet, now a ghostly vessel in the wormhole's grip, tumbled into the abyss, carrying its unconscious passenger toward an uncertain fate in an unknown dimension.
Kevin's jet reappeared with a whirl in the void of space, surrounded by a chaotic field of rocks and asteroids. The once-sleek ship was battered and scarred, pieces of its hull rent and scorched from the battle and its turbulent journey through the wormhole. Inside, Kevin lay slumped over his controls, unconscious and oblivious to the peril around him. A huge tear in his suit leaked precious oxygen, making each passing second a step closer to death.
Unbeknownst to Kevin, something ancient and powerful drifted nearby, hidden among the asteroids. The All Spark, a container holding immense energy, floated aimlessly. It sensed the osmosian's desperate need for energy, a call for help it could not ignore. The All Spark could feel the unique potential within Kevin, an entity capable of controlling and manipulating energy—a perfect recipient for its revitalizing force.
With an almost sentient urgency, the All Spark released a tendril of pure energy. The tendril snaked through the void, weaving around asteroids and debris until it found its mark. It struck Kevin and his ship simultaneously, a pulse of bright blue energy that spread like wildfire.
The transformation was immediate. The tear in Kevin's suit sealed itself, oxygen levels normalized, and Kevin's steel chest rose with a deep, revitalized breath. His eyes fluttered open, dazed but alive. He blinked, trying to make sense of what had happened, feeling an unexpected surge of vitality coursing through his veins. He looked at himself, he could feel the steel body of his own. He was confused on how he ended up in this state, considering he hadn't desired to absorb it. Maybe, it was subconsciously done by him to survive, he thought inwardly.
Meanwhile, the ship itself responded to the All Spark's energy. The twisted and damaged hull began to mend, metal plates reshaping and reattaching as if guided by an unseen hand. Circuits sparked to life, screens flickered on, and the engines hummed with renewed power. The jet transformed from a wreck into a pristine, fully functional vessel once more.
Kevin groaned, shaking off the disorientation. He glanced at the controls, now showing systems green across the board. "What the...?" he muttered, his mind struggling to catch up with the reality around him. He could feel the raw energy humming within him, as if he had been plugged into a limitless power source.
Before he could ponder further, the jet's automated systems kicked in, charting a course away from the asteroid field. The ship maneuvered smoothly, avoiding collisions with practiced ease, steering Kevin out of the dangerous system of Theta Scorpii.
As the ship accelerated away from the asteroid belt, Kevin took a deep breath, steadying himself. He had no idea what had just happened or where he was headed, but one thing was clear: Gwen was not here. And his ship seemed to be in autopilot for some reason.
Gwen floated in the void of space, her consciousness slowly returning. As she regained awareness, she realized she was not in her human form. Her ethereal anodite body glowed faintly, the tendrils of energy that made up her form flickering softly in the darkness.
"What the—" she muttered, shock evident in her voice. She swore under her breath, trying to make sense of her situation. Looking around, the vast expanse of space stretched endlessly in every direction, with no sign of Kevin or their jet.
Gwen's initial panic subsided as she assessed her form. "Okay, think," she told herself. "Maybe...maybe my body switched to anodite form to keep me alive. After all, a human can't survive in the void of space, but an anodite can."
The realization brought a measure of relief, but it also raised more questions. She needed to find Kevin and figure out where they were. Concentrating, she tried to recall the last moments before everything went dark. The wormhole, the ship twisting, and then...nothing.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden movement in the distance. A small pod-like object was hurtling toward her at a rapid speed. Instinctively, Gwen's hand glowed with a bright, pulsing energy. As the pod drew closer, she didn't hesitate. With a swift motion, she unleashed a Mana blast.
The energy shot through the void, striking the pod with precision. The blast sent the object spiraling off course, its trajectory altered by the impact. Gwen watched as it hurtled towards a nearby dwarf planet, disappearing from her immediate view.
She exhaled, though she had no real need to breathe in this form. "Great. Now what?" she muttered. She felt a strange mixture of vulnerability and power in her anodite state. It was as if the universe itself was a bit more tangible, a bit more within her grasp.
Gwen focused inward, trying to sense any nearby energy signatures. If Kevin was out here somewhere, she had to find him. Drawing upon the vast reserves of her anodite energy, she extended her senses outward, searching for any trace of her friend and their ship.
None. The answer surprised her. She couldn't find Kevin's energy anywhere around her. It was as if he wasn't even in the entire galaxy.
She bit her lip in anticipation. If there was ever a lip in her anodite form. She looked at the smoking trail of the pod which she had hit.
Answers was what she needed. And she was going to get it. She couldn't lose Kevin. Not after everything that had happened to them.