Jessie floated.
There was no floor. No ceiling. No hospital bed. Just an endless, smooth expanse of calm, radiant blue. It felt less like being underwater and more like being a single thought drifting through a clear sky.
"Okay," Jessie said, blinking at the nothingness. "Not dead. Weird. Floating. Blue. Kinda relaxing, actually. Do I… do yoga like this? Maybe this is a new hobby."
"WAKE UP."
The voice didn't come from his ears; it vibrated through his very atoms. Jessie jumped—or attempted to—spinning wildly in midair like a cartoon character caught in a tornado.
"AHHHHHH!" he yelled, limbs flailing. "WHO SAID THAT?! WHERE AM I?! WHAT IS HAPPENING?! AM I—"
"Calm down," the voice replied. It was deep, monotone, and carried the weight of a mountain. "I am Prime. You are my host. I have merged with your mind."
Jessie squinted at the empty blue. "Merged… with my mind? Okay. Uh… I need context. Who are you? Where am I? Am I dead? Am I dreaming? Did I… did I finally eat that burrito I wanted?"
Prime ignored the burrito. "You are not dead. You are asleep. Your body is in a state of trauma-induced coma. In your world, six months will pass. I am here to observe, train, and keep you alive."
"Six months?!" Jessie stopped spinning, bobbing upright. "That's… a lot of naptime. And you're inside my head? Great. I'm sharing brain space with a GPS voice."
"I am a mental construct," Prime corrected. "You are safe. Your body is stable under medical supervision. And for the record… the burrito did not survive the impact."
Jessie slumped in the air. "Oh. Thanks. I guess. But wait—what's that?"
A soft, pulsing light glowed in the center of his chest. It was a blue octagon, steady and warm, visible through his shirt like a heartbeat made of neon.
"That," Prime said, "is your core. It is your interface with me. It stores your potential, monitors your biology, and will allow you to do what humans cannot."
Jessie poked the glow lightly. It hummed against his finger. "Cool. I like lights. So… what else can I do?"
The Construct
The blue void suddenly expanded. The space stretched and transformed. Objects began to materialize out of the ether—buildings, mountains, oceans. A tiny floating city spun slowly above a shimmering crystal lake. Colors shifted like liquid glass.
"Welcome to my construct," Prime said. "Inside here, I can create anything you can imagine. And a lot you cannot… yet. This is where you will learn to understand your potential."
Jessie grinned, lying back in midair with his arms behind his head. "So I can do anything? Superhero stuff? Flying? Lasers coming out of my eyes?"
Prime paused. "Or supervillain stuff. The choice is yours."
Jessie laughed. "I like the sound of that. But wait… am I really stuck here for half a year?"
"Six months in human time. But here, time is a variable. You can age, eat, or sleep as you wish. Your mind will perceive the time normally, but we will utilize it to optimize you. I have studied the blueprints of the worlds you love—Marvel, DC, action anime. You are predictable in a useful way."
Jessie's jaw dropped. "Wait… you're using my comic books as a training manual?"
"Your love of heroes gives me a perfect blueprint for your subconscious. I will unlock everything humanly possible within you. Your body, mind, and instincts will be optimized. I merged with you to prepare you."
The Assessment
A floating couch materialized beneath Jessie. He flopped onto it, but immediately scowled.
"Prime," Jessie grumbled, "this thing is tilted. I think your engineering is terrible."
"I assure you, the tilt is intentional. Comfort is subjective. Gravity is irrelevant."
"Right," Jessie muttered. "Sure, gravity is irrelevant, but my back isn't."
A beat of silence followed. Then Prime's tone shifted, becoming more clinical.
"Jessie. I need to know you. Your personality. Habits. History. This is required for optimization."
"Whoa. Hold on. Is this a personality assessment? Are you my therapist now?"
"I am not a therapist. I am Prime. Proceed with life history. Family?"
"My mom," Jessie said, his voice softening. "She's amazing. Scary when she's mad, though. Dad… not in the picture. Siblings? Nope. Just me. Solo act. All-star. MVP."
"Solo survival skills noted," Prime replied. "Social connections?"
"Friends? I trust a few. Leo… yeah, smart guy. Kind of annoying, but good with tech. The rest… depends. But I've got people I care about, definitely."
"Interests?"
Jessie's face lit up. "Video games. Anime. Anything with capes, explosions, or really bad villain plans. Classical guitar, too. Yeah, I know, weird combo. Don't judge."
"Judgment not applied. Information stored."
Prime expanded the void one more time. Now, Jessie's memories began to float around him like bubbles in a stream: glowing images of his mother smiling, holograms of friends cheering, and comic books spinning in zero gravity.
"Fear," Prime said, the voice sharpening. "Have you ever been afraid for your life?"
Jessie's humor faded. He looked at a floating memory of the school hallway collapsing. "…Yeah. The disaster. I almost didn't make it. But hey… I'm still here."
"And if someone you cared about was in danger?"
Jessie clenched a fist midair. "I'd do anything. No questions."
"Rule-breaking for a greater good?"
Jessie shrugged, a smirk returning. "Only if it works. And maybe if it looks cool. Definitely if it looks cool."
The Partnership
Prime made no sound, but the blue light in the room seemed to pulse in a way that felt like a nod.
"Patterns detected. Loyalty. Courage. Curiosity. Intelligence. Humor. You are compatible with optimization and survival protocols."
Jessie blinked at the glow in his chest. "Wait… you actually understand me? Like… fully?"
"As fully as necessary. We are partners. Your decisions, instincts, and morality are variables in my calculations. I will adjust only to preserve and maximize your potential."
Jessie floated a little higher, feeling the weight of the next six months—and the power behind it.
"Huh… guess we're stuck with each other, then. Weird. But… cool. I like weird. Makes things more fun."
"Acknowledged," Prime responded with quiet precision. "Weirdness noted. Processing potential interactions."
Jessie smirked, closing his eyes as the blue light washed over him. "Alright then, Prime. Six months of floating in the blue. Let's see how weird we can get."
And above him, the infinite blue kept on glowing.