The AT A-Team: Breaking the Fourth Wall
by Emily N. Daniel
"So, what do you think?" Emily asked.
"I don't know...seems kind of strange," Mark told her as he started to hand back her story.
"No, keep it," she replied.
He gave her a slight smile as he folded the papers and put them away. "What I don't understand though is why we all had to die in the end."
"There's a reason," Emily looked down at her watch and gasped. "I have to go. I've got to work early in the morning. I'll see you later, okay?" Mark watched as she left, then got up and headed back towards the stage where he joined his Admiral Twin band mates, Jarrod and John.
"What were you doing over there?" John asked as they prepared to play another set.
"I was just reading one of Emily's AT A-Team stories," Mark said.
"Man, she's still writing those?" Jarrod laughed, "Is she ever going to give those up?"
"Actually, I think this one was the last one, for real this time," Mark paused to adjust his bass strap.
"Why's that?" John inquired, tuning his guitar.
"She's asked that I don't tell anyone who hasn't read it already," Mark explained. "Sorry."
"Well, I'll take the time to read it later," Jarrod sat down behind his drum set, "They're pretty good, if not a bit unusual..."
For some odd reason, later that week, Jarrod found himself pacing around his apartment while suffering from a random attack of insomnia. His wife was out of town visiting friends, so he was very much alone. Bored of pacing, he sat down and turned on his computer. 'I guess I'll go ahead and read that story now,' he thought to himself as he went to the Admiral Twin message board. Emily always posted them there for others to read. However, about a page into it, sleep finally overtook him.
He awoke the next morning feeling horribly groggy with his head pounding something fierce. If he had been drinking the previous night, he would have believe himself to have a massive hangover. As he hadn't, Jarrod thought he was simply coming down with something. He got up and trudged to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.
At his kitchen table, Jarrod stared down at the eggs and toast he'd just cooked and felt a bit sick. Pushing the plate away, he put his head in his hands. 'All I need is a quick boost of caffeine,' he thought. Suddenly, he heard the refrigerator door open and shut. He quickly turned around and saw a bottle of Coke, glass not plastic, floating towards him. Jarrod scrambled up from his seat and stared at the bottle, which had stopped and was hovering in mid-air halfway between him and the refrigerator. Thinking for a moment, he willed the bottle towards him and was amazed to see it following his command, coming to rest in his open hand. Unfortunately, in his shock he forgot to grasp the bottle and it promptly fell to the floor.
As the glass shattered and brown carbonated liquid spread across the tile, Jarrod rushed to his phone. "John!" he exclaimed, "You need to come over straight away! The most peculiar thing's just happened!"
"Now, explain this to me one more time," John was giving him a most confused look.
"Just match up the arrows and pop the lid off," Jarrod told him.
"Ah, here we go!" John swallowed a couple aspirin and sighed. "Man, I have the worst headache this morning! Okay, now tell me about the Coke thing again."
"Well, as I was saying before," Jarrod went on, "I was just thinking about how I needed a caffeine boost and out of nowhere a bottle of Coke came out of the fridge and floated towards me."
"Do you think it was a ghost?" John asked.
Jarrod shook his head. "No, because it stopped halfway and finally came to me only after I willed it to."
"Well, maybe the ghost can read minds,"John suggested, "like some kind of psychic or something."
"Psychic? Hmmm, I wonder..." Jarrod turned and stared at the refrigerator, concentrating with all his might. Once again, it opened and another bottle of Coke, glass not plastic, floated towards him. However, this time Jarrod managed to grasp on and set it down on the table. "Oh, man," he looked up at John, "Do you know what this means?"
"Yeah, I do," John returned the look knowingly. "You selfish pig! You didn't even float one over for me!"
"No, John!" Jarrod snapped, "It means that I've developed psychic powers overnight, but how?"
"I don't know," John said, "Maybe we should get together with Mark and try to figure this out."
"Good idea," Jarrod replied, "but can we take your car? Mine hasn't been wanting to start lately."
John stared down at the floor. "Um, my car isn't here."
"What? Then how did you get here so fast? It only took you ten minutes! Even for driving, especially in Tulsa traffic, that's amazingly good time!" Jarrod exclaimed.
"I don't know. I just got the urge to run over here. Heck, I wasn't even done getting dressed when you called," John said. He took the bottle of Coke and twisted the top off, which flew out of his hand and skidded under the refrigerator. "I'll get that!" He went over, lifted the fridge up with just one hand, grabbed the bottle cap, and set it down with absolutely no effort whatsoever.
"John! I don't believe it!" Jarrod ran over and took the cap from his hand.
"What? It's not like that's a rare bottle cap or anything."
"No, what you just did! You lifted the fridge like it was nothing at all!"
"I did?" John looked over and shrugged, "Well, I have been working out."
"Gawd, don't you get it?! You have the exact same powers as your character does in Emily's stories! Something weird is going on here. We need to call Mark now!" Jarrod picked up the phone and dialed. After a few rings, a familiar voice answered.
"Hello, Pizza Hut," the voice rang.
"Damn, wrong number!" Jarrod hung up and then dialed again. This time Mark answered.
"When did Mark start working at Pizza Hut?" John asked.
"Shhh!" Jarrod hushed him. "Mark, we need to ask you something. Have you noticed something unusual about yourself lately, like perhaps the development of strange new abilities?"
"Well, I did notice that I was more flexible while playing Twister last night...AUGH!!!!!!" Mark screamed and dropped the phone. There was a crackling, then a sound of rushing fluid before Mark finally picked up the phone again. "Sorry, man. The phone caught on fire. That's the second time today!"
"Wow, Mark. Were you talking into it both times?" Jarrod rolled his eyes.
"Now that you mention it, yes...AUGH! It happened again!"
"You know, Mark. Why don't you just try pointing your finger at the fire?"
"Why? What would that do...whoa! Ice just shot out my finger! That's amazing!"
"I knew it!" Jarrod exclaimed, "Mark, we need you to come over here NOW! This is serious business!"
"Dude, it's just pizza delivery...OW!" John rubbed his head, "That hurt!"
"So, what's up?" Mark asked as he entered Jarrod's apartment.
"This is what's up!" Jarrod laughed as he started to levitate towards the ceiling.
"Whoa, no way!" Mark gasped, staring up at him.
"Well, technically, he is up now," John said, also staring up at Jarrod, who was now lazily floating through the air.
"You know, this all seems strangely familiar," Mark mentioned.
"Yeah," Jarrod set foot back on the ground again, "That's because our characters have these abilities in those AT A-Team stories of Emily's. You've read them. You should know."
"I do know, but what I mean is..." The phone rang loudly, interrupting Mark.
"Look, we'll talk about this later," Jarrod picked up the phone, "Yes? Come again? Oh, my gawd...no...that can't be..." Jarrod slammed down the phone and put his head in his hand, sobbing.
"What is it?" John asked, in shock.
"It's Steven," Jarrod's voice wavered, "He's dead."
"How could this have happened!" Jarrod exclaimed, bitter tears flowing once more as they took Steven's body onto the ambulance. It was covered in a blanket to hide just how gruesome of a state the body was in. "He called me just last night! We talked about old times and how weird it was to be alone again since our wives went on vacation together!"
"Who's his daughter with?" John inquired.
"Relatives," Mark told him, "Guys, there's something important you need to know..." But Jarrod was still in such a state of hysterics and John was so busy comforting him that Mark just sighed and let his own tears fall as well.
"Kara! Kara, open up!" Mark knocked on her door. Kara answered, yawning.
"Mark! What are you doing here at two in the morning?" Kara invited him in and they sat down on the couch.
"Steven's dead. They found him in his house. He'd been stabbed, but they found no one on the premises. However, I knew that already."
"How is that?" Kara stared at him, her eyes wide and frightened.
"Because..." Suddenly there was a knock on the door again.
"Let me answer that real quick," Kara said and got up.
"It's just John and Jarrod," Mark told her. Kara looked at him funny and went to open the door. Sure enough, there they were, both red-eyed and crestfallen.
"Steven's..." Jarrod's voice wavered.
"Dead? Yes, I know. Come in," Kara ushered them inside and sat them on the couch next to Mark.
"But that isn't all, Kara!" Mark went on to explain, "All three of us have developed strange abilities! In fact, we all have the same ones as we do in those fan fictions Emily writes!"
"Those things? I've only read two of them and that was nearly two years ago. Didn't I have some kind of weird pocketknife contraption? All I carry around is this cheap old one..." While she said that, Kara had reached into her pocket to pull it out. However, what she pulled out looked anything but cheap. There was dozens of switches and when Kara pushed one of them, a laser shot out of the end, missing John's foot but a mere inch. "Hmmm, so it's true. Each of us has been affected, which means..."
"...we're all in grave danger," Mark finished. The other three just looked at each other, unsure of what was going on.
"Is this really necessary?" Kara asked.
"Yes, it is," Mark replied, "You're going to be locked in this room and we are going to guard it until we can catch the person who is doing this."
"But you act like you know what's going on already!" Kara argued, "Don't you know who it is?"
"Maybe, but I can't be for sure," Mark told her, though he was more sure than he let on. "I just know you are the next target and while you don't have the power to defend yourself, the rest of us do. One of us will guard and the other two will search the grounds. Together, we can stop this, even if..."
"Even if what?" Kara looked at him with fear in her eyes once more. It broke his heart.
"Just trust me, okay?"
John was sitting outside the door. He could hear Kara snoring lightly on the other side. He felt bad for her. It didn't seem right that she had to be locked away like a caged animal even if it was for her own protection. However, Mark had warned him that something terrible could happen. What he didn't understand was why Mark wasn't telling them the whole story. Who was he trying to protect? John sighed and got up to stretch his legs. He was so tired, but he couldn't fall asleep. At least he couldn't until he was grabbed from behind and a chloroformed rag was held over his mouth.
"John! John, are you okay?" Jarrod shook him awake.
"Huh? Wha?" John got up, his head reeling and pounding with pain, "What happened?"
"Just what I was afraid was going to happen," Mark said, opening the door to the room Kara had been hiding in, "She strikes again. Gawd, I was hoping to find her before this happened."
"Find who?!" Jarrod burst out furiously. "You put your friend's life at risk! Now Kara's dead too! You knew this could happen, but you let it happen anyway! WHO IS DOING THIS?"
"Who do you think?" Mark scowled, "Who is the person that writes these stories our lives have suddenly come to adapt? Who is now apparently the one person who has complete control over our fates unless we catch her and put a stop to it?"
"You don't mean...?" John gasped.
"Yes, I do," Mark kneeled down and cradled Kara's lifeless body in his arms, "Emily's killing us off one by one."
"I don't understand," John said as he ran alongside Jarrod, who zoomed through the air. Mark kept up only by creating an icy path that he could glide on. "Why would she do this to us? She's always been so gentle and kind."
"I don't think she even realizes what's going on," Mark explained, "I mean, she probably just thinks it was nothing more than a simple story."
"So, how are we going to stop her then? We don't know where she lives or anything!" Jarrod dodged a pole and kept flying on ahead, not caring who saw him. "And why are we heading downtown anyway?"
"Because the city will soon be in danger and a great battle will ensue," Mark told them, "but I must warn both of you..." Suddenly there was a high-pitched whistling that stopped all three guys in their tracks. They looked up and saw a grand sight. A shower of meteorites was roaring through the sky and within mere seconds dozens of buildings were struck. People were screaming and running around in a panic.
"Oh, man!" John cried, "What are we going to do now?"
"What else? We have to stop the rest from striking!" Jarrod took to the air and was soon high above, waiting for the next batch of meteorites to strike.
"No, Jarrod! Gawd, I couldn't stop him in time!" Mark fell to his knees and stared up at the sky hopelessly.
"What? No, Mark! You can't be serious!" John exclaimed, "You just can't be!"
"Just watch, John. Just watch..."
Jarrod's battered body fell to the ground, his attempt at drawing the meteorites away from the city with his psychic powers having failed miserably. John managed to catch him just before he hit the ground, but it was too late.
"I don't believe this," John stared down at his dead friend, "No, this isn't right! This can't be how it ends! This is just plain sick! How could she have written something this horrible?!"
"I don't know, John, but you have to calm down! This is exactly what happened before..."
But John wasn't listening. He laid Jarrod's body down upon the ground before looking up towards the heavens, tears streaming down his face. "AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"John, don't!" Mark got up to stop him, but once again it came a moment too late.
John took off, running through the streets at top speed. "Emily! Come out! You can't do this! I won't let you!"
"JOHN!" Mark tried to follow him, but even gliding on an icy path wasn't enough to catch up. He had to keep dodging meteorites along the way. One hit his path and Mark stumbled, hitting the ground hard. Half-conscious, he gazed up and saw John. He had stopped and was now glaring at a figure who was masked in the darkness. He began to approach the figure, shouting out threats but this didn't seem to affect her, as she just stood still and listened without a word. However, the moment John got too close, she whipped out something long and pointed. "No...please..." Mark could just watch as John fell to the ground, meeting the same end as both Steven and Kara.
The figure then turned towards Mark and slowly began to approach him. He picked himself up, ready to face the fate which he was so afraid he would have to face. The shadows cleared and there stood Emily, looking stony-faced and determined. "Well, Mark, you knew this had to happen."
"That's just it! No, it didn't!" Mark took her by the shoulders and stared deep into her eyes, "You didn't have to kill us off to end the series."
"But...it was taking over my life...so many ideas...I just wanted to move on..." Emily looked down, unable to look him in the eye any longer. "This was the only way how."
"Emily, look around you! This is happening for real! You have to stop it! You're the only one who can!" Mark exclaimed desperately. "Can't you see?"
"Don't be silly. This is just a story...a story that has to end now!" Tears gleaming in her eyes, she took the weapon which had ultimately taken Steven's, Kara's, John's, and in a way even Jarrod's lives, and held the pen high above her head. "This is the end, Mark. It's over. There is just one final thing I need to ask before I do away with you..."
"So, what do you think?"
"I don't know...seems kind of strange..."