Tear in the Megaverse WATTPAD VERSION [Inter-Universal Protectors Series: 5]

PROLOGUE 2 - Horus' Base, Nox --> Deep Space

Things were fairly simple today. No sudden outbreaks. No signs of a fight. There weren't even protests about Tes-Pyroc joining the U.F.W. Hopefully that was a good sign that the people had finally accepted it, not that they had to be happy about it. All in all, considering all the shit that went down a year ago, things were pretty good. For the first time in ages, Horus had allowed himself a nice long sleep-in. The Suns had long since risen over the System by the time he rolled out of bed.

He scavenged the kitchen for any sign of caffeine, finding an almost-empty pot in its usual spot on the bench. Hmm. Perhaps it was time for a shopping run after all. They could draw straws for that later. There was enough left for everyone who wanted it this morning. No doubt there was an emergency stash somewhere.

"Morning, fearless leader," Mel teased, holding a cup of lava tea.

"Yeah," Brayden agreed, raising a piece of toast in salute. "Nice to see you alive."

"Fuck both of you," Horus said, sitting across from them.

Mel and Brayden looked at each other.

"I'm down for a threesome if you are," Brayden said.

Mel shrugged. "Why not." They turned to Horus. "You in?"

"I was joking! Gods!" He shook his head. "Why I let both of you be in the same room, I don't know."

The pair grinned.

Selina yawned as she came into the room. "It's too early for your bad sex jokes."

Brayden looked outraged. "It's never too early!"

She sighed, bringing a cup of star juice and what she called "light cookies" over. "Can't we go one day without them? Please?"

This was mornings with his friends, Horus thought fondly. When they weren't taking care of the U.F.W. or doing favours for beings from other worlds—not naming any names—they spent the time bickering in the way only families could bicker. That and keeping an eye on things throughout the System via monitor.

The calm was making Horus uneasy, if he was totally honest with himself. He never had liked it when things were calm for long periods of time. It made him jumpy, like he knew something very bad would happen any moment now. Everyone knew it. They tried to convince him that a bit of a vacation was good for everyone, but even that wasn't enough to get rid of the edge. The sixth sense. Or maybe it was sheer paranoia from spending so long dealing with vastly large amounts of shit on a regular basis. There was no way of knowing.

The morning passed fairly easily. Iridia and Jax were placed on shopping duty, coming back within the hour. Jinx, unsurprisingly, hauled up in the garage. Sol and Selina worked on one of Selina's many secret projects. Mel made a spot at their computer and only moved when necessary. Valria relaxed on the lounge with a book as Kindra and Horus went head-to-head on battle video games.

Kindra was readying to make her final move, the one that would beat Horus for the third time that morning, but he was ready this time. His hands were on the console, readying for a counterstrike—

All screens went blank. The lights went out. There was silence.

"The fuck was that?" Brayden asked.

Selina snapped her fingers. Small faelights flickered to life around, providing light for all.

Mel connected their computer to an off-grid power source, immediately looking concerned as they read the screen. "Anyone up for a mission?"

"What is it?" Horus asked. Mel turned the screen to him. "Okay, that's bad."

* * * * * * * *

Ten minutes later, Horus, Selina, Jax and Jinx were floating in space. Selina, being a Star-Weaver, had the power to survive without a shield. Her power currently covered the other three, keeping them safe from the vacuum. They were flying outside the U.F.W. System, heading toward another nearby one about five light-years away. Thank the Gods for teleportation crystals! Otherwise it would've taken years to reach this far.

"It should be up here," Jinx said, looking up from their scanner. "Stop!"

The four stopped, hovering in open space, looking around for any sign of what Mel had discovered. All things considered, it should've been pretty obvious, but there was nothing in sight.

"Strange," Jinx said, hitting the side of the scanner. "Whatever it is, it should be right in front of us."

"You mean right behind us." Horus said, grimacing.

The other three turned, following his line of sight, but still couldn't see anything. Horus, on the other hand, could. His heritage let him.

Racing straight toward the group was a wave of strange-looking matter spilling from what looked like a tear in the fabric of space itself. The matter moved through space, devouring planets, pulling their matter into itself. The destruction could be seen by everyone.

The matter paused and turned toward them.

"Oh shit!" Horus waved a hand at Selina. "We have to get out of here. Right now!"

"But what is it?" she asked, searching her pockets for another teleportation crystal.

The matter was coming closer. It was too fast. There was no way they could outrun it, and Selina seemed to be out of crystals. There was nowhere to go.

The matter came together, forming a smooth body, a head covered in eyes, a large mouth with pointed teeth, and a several tentacles. The thing was almost clear, as though it was struggling to take on a true physical form on this plane.

"Void Beast!" Horus yelled. "Brace yourselves!"

The Void Beast pounced.

* * * * * * * *

Back at the base, Brayden yelled into the communication network. "Are you guys there? Hello?" He was answered by only static.

Mel looked over her computer readings. "Whatever it is, its overtaken where they were."

The six exchanged glances. This was not good. And Horus was the only one with access to the God Worlds! There was no way to call for help. They were on their own.

Where could their friends have gone?