Never - Prologue Teaser

Things had not gone according to plan.  There was a good deal of blood streaming down his right arm – the wound was healing, albeit a little slower than usual.  Something… something damaging had been in that blade.  He could still feel it to an extent.  It burned like ice.  The plans he had meticulously set up had fallen apart so easily.  Years wasted. Again.  It was time to move on again.  He had really been doing this for far too long.  He needed time to recover, time to reevaluate his goals.  He simply needed time.
He looked back at the world he had been hiding in.  Burnt orange sky – a world destroyed.  He had been here for years.  Of course, to one like himself, years passed like hours.  Unless, of course, there was someone or something interesting.  It really made everything so much easier.  Would he miss this world? No.  He rarely did.  That would imply that he had gotten attached to something, or even less likely, someone.  People were tools that allowed him to achieve his goals.

A flash in the sky caused him to jump.  They were getting closer.  He didn't have much time left.  He looked around closely – he could feel the energy pulsing.  Different energy.  The kind that would allow him to leave.  He reached out with his mind and felt that delightfully familiar spark.

This was it.

He stepped into what he liked to call the portal.  Crushing darkness enveloped him. He let himself relax, knowing that the darkness was so thick, so intense, that it took his breath away.  He continued to reach out with his mind, reaching for a small glimmer of light. A new world.  A new toy.

It always felt like he was in that darkness for ages.  Maybe he was, not like it mattered.  There was the light e was looking for – that tiny ounce of hope in crushing darkness.  And in that instant, he could breathe again.  As he emerged from the void, he was assaulted by memories that were lifetimes old.  His mind reeled from those old wisps of nightmares as he slammed face first into concrete.  The new pain started writing over old pain, awareness of his surroundings starting to creep into the recesses of his mind.
He winced as he first pushed himself to his knees, then his feet.  There were some cracked bones in his face, maybe a broken rib or four – nothing that would slow him down.  They were already numbing and starting to heal.  He glanced up to the sky – blue, untarnished.  It was simply beautiful – when was the last time he had wound up in a universe that was so…pure?  Uncorrupted.  He just couldn't remember.

He was surrounded by an urban jungle.  Skyscrapers towering above him, people bustling around him - none of them noticed.  That was the void's fault.  He would be near-invisible for a few hours.  It was just better that way.

"Where am I…" he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"You're in New York City," a soft, female voice said from behind him. "D-do you need help?"

He whirled around to face the voice.  It belonged to a young woman.  She was quite pretty, but looked a little nervous.  She had blonde hair and large blue eyes – her skin looked like she didn't go into direct sunlight very often.  She couldn't be more than twenty-years-old – of course, everyone looked young to him. Had she seen him arrive? She shouldn't be able to see him – the void should still be protecting him.  He let his air out slowly, there were always exceptions to the rule – but it still seemed weird.  But New York…it had been years since he had managed to get to New York, especially with it being called New York.

"My name is Quentin," she added on a second later.

"You said New York?" he glanced around. The tech didn't seem as far ahead as where he had last been. "Could you tell me when in New York I am?" Where in time he popped out was fluid.  The portals were weird that way.

The girl's face registered confusion. It was a bizarre question and he wouldn't blame her in the slightest if she turned and ran.  It's what a normal person would do.

"2012," she said with a slight frown.

It seemed Little Miss Quentin was a bit abnormal.  That would make her much easier to use.  He adjusted his black long coat and tried to regain some of his composure.  At this point all he wanted to do was eat and rest.  Manipulating the blonde girl would come at a later date, if he could find her again.  Though if she had managed to see him when the void was supposed to be shielding him… perhaps there was a reason for that.

"What was your name? I don't believe you mentioned it yet."

His attention snapped back to Quentin, "You may call me Never." If she found his chosen name weird she didn't show it.  Never rarely gave his given name out.

"It's nice to meet you, Never."

Yes… this girl was different, he could practically taste it.  The void worked in strange ways.  If it gave him this girl immediately upon arriving on a new world, there had to be a reason.