Chapter 6: Faulty Interrogations

Silence, a sound all too familiar to both Hanks as one sits at the kitchen table while fixing his arm. The other has a gun, ready to end the seated one's life.

Henry sews the last stitch into his right arm and gets up from his seat as Hank keeps his gun pointed to him. Walking to the sink, Henry grabs a glass and holds it under the faucet. With a trembling hand, he turns the knob on the sink and has his glass full.

"Why do you want to meet Dan?" Hank asks.

"Give me a minute." Henry drinks his cold, soothing beverage. Once the glass becomes empty, he puts it in the sink and wipes his lips with his torn coat sleeve.

"Are you ready to talk now?"

Henry sits back down, resting his right foot over his left thigh. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Why exactly are you so interested in seeing Dan?"

"Heard you and Sanford bring him up like he's some kind of Nexus planner. Made me wonder if he might've known about this."

"I see. And you think you can just waltz on over to him and expect him to give you direct answers?"

Henry shrugs as he slouches over. "No. Not really."

"Are the AAHW murders at all familiar to you?"

Henry looks up to the barrel of the gun pointed at him. "Yes, they are. Things seem to be stirring up and will likely end up like that dream we had."

"What dream?"

"Sanford, Deimos, Vicky, all dead. House burning down. Your hands on my throat."

Hank lowers his pistol slightly.

What the fuck is he talking about? Wait, does he mean-

His eyes widen at the thought. "How do you-?"

Henry rolls his eyes. "We're both Hanks. We're bound to have some similar events happen."

As the last word escapes Henry's mouth, the front door barges open. Both Hanks turn to the noise to see Sanford sprinting right towards Henry. Henry tries to get up, but it is too little, too late, as Sanford tackles him onto the floor and immediately pulls out his handcuffs. While the two are wrestling each other, Hank lowers his pistol and rubs his eyes.

"Sanford, we're going to see Dan again. This time we're bringing Henry."

Sanford turns to Hank while keeping Henry down. "What?"

"Remember when you said that Henry might just be me from some other reality? Well, he's got me convinced now."

"No, no, no." Sanford shakes his head. "I said might. I meant it more as a joke rather than a theory."

"Sanford, he knows things only I would know."

"Like what?"

"Like things only I should know."

Henry, handcuffed, pushes himself up with Sanford on top of him. Sanford quickly gets a syringe out of his uniform pocket. He removes the plastic from the needle and punctures the side of Henry's neck and injects the contents.

Sanford sighs as he mumbles. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Hank holsters his pistol. "Is that TC-453?"

"Yeah."

"And you're injecting it directly into his neck?"

"Yes, I am. Did you grow a soft spot for him in the three minutes it took me to sprint to your house?"

"I figured you wouldn't want a repeat of what we did to that mob boss years ago when I plugged one of those things in his head."

"You guys brought a mob boss alive? You really are idio..." Henry slurs as he loses his strength and falls back on the ground.

"I am so glad I brought these."

Hank looks around the kitchen. "Where's Deimos?"

"He had to run to his company. Something about making body armor?"

"Okay? And he took the police car?"

"No, he's not that stupid. He called a cab."

"Great." Hank meets Henry's closed eyes. "Let's get this little date of theirs over with."

Sanford repositions Henry so that his handcuffed hands are behind his back. "Why?"

"He might know a few things about what's going on with the AAHW murders, as well as that 'Ab Ipso Ferro' shit you've been talking about."

Sanford gives a wistful smile. "He might, but he's run away from captivity too many times for me to try this."

"He also promised to not run away anymore if we let him see Dan."

"And you believe him?"

"Not really, as you can see..." Hank pauses as he pats his unclipped gun holster.

Sanford rolls his eyes as he feels Henry about to get up, forcing him to sigh again in defeat.

The lukewarm dusk wind blows on Sanford's face through the open driver window of his highway patrol car as he drives down the familiar desert road with Hank and Henry in the back seat.

Hank takes a bandana and ties it over Henry's eyes. "I know you might be me, but it's probably for the best."

Henry scoffs. "Yeah, not at all like I know exactly where the headquarters are and the other routes that lead to it."

"If you knew where the place is, why'd you go to Dead Nevada instead?"

Henry turns to Hank, blindfold still on. "Needed to blow off some steam."

Hank blinks. "That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"I don't think I'll ever understand you."

Henry chuckles. "I don't think you've ever understood yourself to begin with."

Hank slouches on his seat, letting the view of dried brush and desert sand invade his vision once again. "Moving on, what exactly were you doing in Dead Nevada?"

"I already told you, I was blowing off some steam."

"What I mean is..." Hank pauses as he clenches his fists. "What happened to my car?"

Henry cowers slightly. "Right, about that."

"What happened?"

"Yeah," Henry stops as he inches away from Hank. "Your car's totalled."

Hank lets out a gruff sigh, holding his temples with his left hand.

"I was drunk and I was driving really fast," Henry adds.

"Told you leaving this guy alone was a bad idea." Sanford says as the car passes by a group of cacti that have been cut and stripped.

Hank turns to Sanford. "You stay out of this."

Sanford smirks as the sunlight dims even further along the ride. "I'm just sayin'."

Hank turns back to Henry. "Anyway, what exactly happened in Dead Nevada?"

Henry holds his limp arm. "Well, I crashed the car there, got into a bar fight, got run over-"

"You crashed my car and then got ran over?"

"Well, yeah. Anyway, then I got on the road again and then walked back to the city."

"And you were able to do that in a day?"

"I don't see why that would surprise you."

"So that's why your arm became like that?"

Henry holds his broken arm out. "Yeah, the car ran right over it."

"I can see that."

"Well, can you at least brief me on this Dan guy?"

Hank shrugs. "Yeah, why not."

Henry raises an eyebrow behind the blindfold. "Really?"

"No," Hank says matter-of-factly.

"Aww, what the hell?" Henry juts out his lower lip before returning his expression back to neutral. "Can't even give you puppy-eyes because you're too paranoid to get this blindfold off of my face, goddamnit."

"That's one of the actual reasons why I put it on."

"Oh, fuck you." Henry's tone goes sour. "I'm going out of my way to get you answers from some guy who killed you-"

"How'd you know about that?" Hank interrupts.

"Call it an educated guess. But that's besides the point," Henry says. "If this guy is giving you so much trouble, what makes you think that sending me in blind with him is gonna give you any answers you want?"

"The blindfold's coming off before you talk, don't worry," Hank reassures.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Hank," Sanford calls as he looks through the rearview mirror. "You were the one who wanted to drag us all the way out to HQ, again. Maybe it wouldn't kill you to tell him a thing or two so that he's prepared."

"You growing a soft spot for him, San?"

"No. I figured you wouldn't want a repeat of what happened between us and Dan."

An awkward silence distances everyone in the car from each other.

Henry breaks the silence. "Who is this Dan guy, anyway?"

"Fine." The word stumbles out of Hank's mouth in a frustrated grunt. "He's someone you don't want to talk to for more than five minutes. And I'm not saying that just because he's a pretentious asshole. He just… has a way with words that'll fuck with your head."

"Ah." Henry nods. "So you slept with him before?"

"Do you want this information or not?"

"Alright, alright. I'll stop."

Hank looks back to the passenger's seat in front of him, spacing out to distant memories. "Couple of years back, he tried overrunning Nevada. Took me, Sanford, and Deimos to take him down before he could completely flip the country over."

"He was that tough?"

"'Insane' would be a more apt term."

"And yet he gave you that much trouble?"

Hank pauses before giving his next answer. "He wouldn't die. Not without Improbable Energy."

"Oh, nice to hear him and I have something in common!"

Hank grimaces. "Just don't pick up that 'insane' part while you're at it. Or rather, if you haven't already..."

"I'm just as insane as you are, pal." Henry gives him a blind, toothy grin. "Anything else that you're not telling me that's worth knowing?"

"My wife is his sister."

Henry's grin melts. "You told me that already."

"Oh…" Hank looks back to the arid desert and keeps his focus on the metal windmill. "Right."

"Are we at the Boulder yet?" Henry asks as the desert that surrounds the trio turns to concrete and cement.

Sanford turns to Hank. "I told you it was pointless to hide anything."

Hank shakes his head. "Let's just get this over with."

The familiar entranceway of HQ greets them in all its glory. A large collection of boulders lines the outer wall of a giant cliff, leading off of a massive rocky structure stretching behind it for miles. Hank takes point, feeling the orange wall. A few moments later, he finds a slit and places an old keycard inside. The large boulder in front of them immediately splits in half horizontally, the top half raising itself up the cliff and the bottom half forming into makeshift stairs.

Henry's face lights up as the blindfold comes off. "Can't wait to see the termites again!"

Hank pockets his keycard. "Termites?"

"Didn't you guys call yourselves that during the war?"

Sanford turns to the alternate Hank. "How long has it been since you were in headquarters?"

"At least ten years now."

"What did you do to get kicked out?" Sanford asks as the car goes down the stairs.

"A few things."

Sanford parks the highway patrol car to the garage right beside the stairs.

"What were these things that got you out of here?" Hank asks as all three get out of the car.

Henry holds his broken arm as they descend down the stairs. "Eh, I'll tell you them some other time."

Sanford grabs Henry's working arm. "We're first taking you to sick bay."

Henry shakes his head in bewilderment. "You're actually giving me medical attention?"

"Keep talking, and we're not."

"Fine," Henry pouts as Sanford tugs at his broken arm. They go down the western wing steps and eventually… going past the dark, cracked, mortar walls, they make it to the medical area. A light comes to view. Approaching the light, it illuminates the sign reading: Med Hall. Behind it is a white building that is built into the wall.

"Come on, Henry," Sanford orders as he pulls at Henry's arm.

As Henry, Hank, and Sanford approach the building, the front door slides open on its own and they each enter. Uncomfortably sterile air fills Henry's nostrils as he sets foot into the area.

"Can we please get this over with as soon as possible?" He asks as the white walls grow brighter.

"What's wrong?" Hank asks, slight smile on his face while they pass a line of gurnies.

Henry's face contorts in disgust. "I'm just not that great with hospitals."

Hank chuckles. "Got it, let's go."

Sanford waves at a physician. "Doc! We got a situation."

The doctor turns to the trio and immediately sees Henry. Just the sight of that man makes her run to him.

"What happened to him?" She asks as she lets Henry lean on her.

"A few things," Henry answers as he gets led to another set of self-opening doors. Entering the new room, a grey operating table sits in the center with a stool and a folding chair right beside it.

A black filing cabinet sits on the west wall, a thick layer of dust rests on the top of it. On the northern wall, there is a polished, beige, medicine cabinet made of some plastic imitating mahogany.

Once the group gets to the table, Henry is helped to lie on it and get his overcoat taken off. With his working hand, he gets his torn, black medical mask off, revealing the bullet hole on his left cheek.

The doctor winces as she looks at all his other former injuries and scars. "Who is he?"

"The name's Henry. Good to see you again, Brandi."

Her eyes widen. "How did you know my name?"

"You're that whore in the barracks back when you were a recruit, right?" Henry asks with a crooked smile.

"Excuse me?" Brandi backs away, blushing furiously with a glare. "I'm the head surgeon of the Western Division!"

Henry looks to the ceiling, wide eyed grin covering his face. "Yeah, well you were certainly giving a lot of head back then. I can tell you that."

"Henry, can you please shut up for a few minutes?" Sanford asks.

"Sure, why not?" Henry responds as he relaxes on the table and lets the doctor look at his broken arm.

Brandi huffs the earlier remarks off as she gets a sling. "Why did you sew your arm like this?" she asks, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Nevermind that." Hank waves the sentiment off. "I need you to get a blood sample."

She turns to Hank, head tilted slightly. "Why?"

"Just do it."

Her brow furrows as she gets a rubber band and wraps it around Henry's left arm. With the "tourniquet" set, she walks to the false wood cabinet and pulls out a needle attached to a microtainer tube.

"Flex your arm for me."

Henry does as he is told and Brandi inserts the needle into one of his veins in his left bicep and lets the blood fill the plastic tube. Once the microtainer is full, she immediately takes the needle out and puts some gauze on the area that was bleeding.

Hank rolls up his left sleeve. "Do you still have my blood work in your files?"

She turns to him. "I believe so, hold on."

Brandi detaches the tube from the needle. She then opens the bottom medicine cabinet door then throws the used needle in the bin inside it. Once she gets to the dusty filing cabinet, a few minutes of scurrowing through the yellow folders ensues until she pulls one out.

"We still do."

"I want you to test if the DNA's still match."

"Uh… alright then," Brandi answers as she leaves the room.

"How do you know her?" Sanford asks Henry as the doctor exits.

"She was the recruit who did 'favors' for rations and getting some time off."

"Were you part of this?" Hank asks.

"Nah, had other problems to deal with."

"Uh huh," Hank says sarcastically.

"Anyway, she was doing this almost as soon as she joined the Anti-AAHW."

"And she just had the other recruits do her work for her."

"Well, more than them and other veterans. She was also sleeping with the drill sergeant as well as other faculty for their drugs. It's amazing how desperate a fourteen year old can get for a fix."

"Jesus Christ." Sanford looks down. "You people are fucked."

Henry winks. "We manage."

"All these stories," Hank pauses as he looks to the filing cabinet. "I would like to know the one about those monsters you were fighting before you appeared in my house."

Henry's face turns even more pale than it usually is. "I would rather-"

"You're telling us, whether you like it or not."

"I don't see why-"

"Spill it." Sanford interjects.

Henry looks to both Sanford and Hank, then takes a deep breath. "They were these strange creatures created in man's image. One of them was a succubus, who had knives for fingers and a figure to enchant any man who laid eyes on her."

He stops a bit as he scratches his hair. "The other had the stature of a short, fat man. He could eat anything. Steel, wood, flesh, it wouldn't matter."

"And you were fighting these monsters and somehow got thrown here?" Sanford asks as he takes out his flask and takes a sip.

"Yeah, well," Henry stammers as he sits up. "With the way things worked over there, they were able to make a dimensional gate with their form of alchemy. I didn't think it was going to work yet."

"What are you saying?" Hank asks as he takes Sanford's flask away from him.

"I'm saying I wound up deserting my Sanford and Deimos."

Sanford takes his flask back after Hank had a couple of drinks out of it. "If that's the case, you don't seem to really be in a hurry to get back to them."

Henry glares at Sanford as he gnashes his teeth. "You think The Higher Powers'll send me back? They didn't even bother to aid in the rise of the White Lion Society. What makes you think they'll help us now? Fact of the matter is, I'm stuck here."

"White Lion Society?" Sanford mulls.

"It's what's happening right now and I can bet this Dan guy knows a lot about it."

Sanford tightens his grip on his flask. "You mean you could've told me everything about the AAHW murders going on?"

Henry sighs. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Cause I didn't feel like it. Anyway-"

Sanford rests his right hand on Henry's broken arm. With pressure being added, Henry was ready to push Sanford off, but Hank grabbed hold of his doppleganger's working arm.

"You're telling us everything you know. Right now," Sanford says as he puts even more weight on the broken arm.

Henry winces. "If you get off, I'll gladly tell you."

"Alright," Sanford says as he takes his hand off and Hank lets go.

Henry sits up, glaring at both his interrogators while holding his broken arm. "First, tell me what you already know."

"All I know is that there's been a string of murders going on and they've been committed by multiple people." Sanford pauses as he finishes his flask. "The only suspect we had that could've told us anything burned alive in black flames."

"Then I won't need to tell you about the failsafe used for their scouts and assassins."

"Good to know. Moving on, the man who burned alive would usually leave a painting of a white lion with the phrase 'Ab Ipso Ferro' underneath."

"From the same iron of the AAHW."

"That's what that phrase means?" Sanford asks as he takes a seat on the folding chair nearby.

"Kind of. Where I'm from, the White Lion Society were a small organization built from the ashes of the AAHW and eliminated any former personnel who gave up on the vision."

"I see."

"They were being led by The Auditor's right hand man. I never got his name. All I know is that this guy is one who works in the shadows and behind the scenes. Bastard even tried to get me to join him, just like his former boss."

Hank leans over to Henry. "Get to the point."

Henry looks to his twin with squinted, disappointed eyes. "They worked from the underground. Taking control of every cartel and gang in the country. MS-13, oil cartel, gay mafia, you name it. They very much had a mission similar to AAHW, but they cared more about keeping power over global matters, as well as making sure people like us weren't in the way this time."

"How'd you take them down?" Sanford asks.

Henry's brow unfurrows as he looks down. "Victoria."

"What about her?" Hank asks.

Henry slides off the medical table. "I'm done talking."

Hank grabs Henry's shoulder from behind. "You're not done."

Henry retaliates by turning towards his duplicate and uses his left hand to grab him by the throat. Hank can feel his feet dangle off the ground as Henry lifts him up.

"I said, I'm done talking."

Sanford gets off his seat. "Henry, stand down."

Henry turns his head to Sanford while Hank tries to pull himself out of his twin's tight grip. Failing, he makes due by punching Henry in the face.

Feeling the blows strike against his temple, eyes, and cheekbone, Henry raises Hank even higher, all the while tightening his grip. With Hank now struggling to get a breath in, Henry slams him onto the medical table, causing it to collapse.

Sanford, who is now right behind Henry, places the business end of his pistol against the back of the interdimensional visitor's skull. "That's enough."

Henry slowly turns to Sanford until the pistol is only centimeters away from his forehead. "You put a bullet in my brain, I'll still live long enough to kill you."

"Good." Sanford's grip tenses. "Because a bullet in your head wouldn't be enough for what you've done."

"Sanford. Stop." Hank spits.

Sanford puts the safety back on and holsters his pistol. He gets to Hank and helps him back up. Hank sits on a stool nearby and massages his left shoulder.

"We still need him to interrogate Daniel," Hank answers before Sanford could ask, while glaring at Henry. "The last thing I'd want is for us to wait around his corpse until he gets back up."

As the minutes pass by, Brandi finally gets back into the room and immediately pauses to see the broken medical table.

"What happened?"

Henry shrugs. "Couldn't take my weight."

"Okay. That costs money, you know." She shakes her head. "Anyway, the test results came back in."

Hank looks at her with half squinted eyes. "And?"

"Henry's DNA matches yours. However, there is something weird about his blood."

Hank's eyes open up. "What do you mean?"

She hands him the folder. "The DNA matches, despite there being no Entropite in his system."

"Entropite?" Henry asked.

"The crystallized form of Improbable Energy." Brandi explains for all three of them. "Every person who is a Host has detectable levels in their bloodstream."

"A Host? What…" Henry shakes his head. "Screw it. Just keep going with your pseudoscience."

Hank raises an eyebrow. "How is that possible?"

Brandi shrugs. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Considering, you know, you dragged him here."

"Is it possible he's just a clone?"

"Not likely," she starts as she points to one of the charts on the folder. "His bloodstream doesn't have any irregularities for that to really be possible."

"What do you mean 'irregularities?'" Sanford asks as he takes a peek at the folder in question.

"Simply put, with the process cloning has, it often causes defects on the body. Most clones often have a condition similar to haemophilia if they didn't have any physical mutations."

"Interesting," Hank says as he closes the folder.

She walks to the medicine cabinet and pulls out a sling alongside a couple of pills and a bottle of water. "Now hold still."

Brandi gets the sling to hold Henry's broken arm and gives him the pills and water.

Henry puts them into his mouth and takes a couple sips. "Thanks for the tylenol."

Hank gets up. "Looks like we're done here. Thanks, Brandi."

"You can pay me by explaining to the Powers why my equipment is broken. Just don't come back, I'm not your personal physician." Brandi glares at Henry. "You especially."

Henry grins as he gets his torn overcoat back on.

Henry takes a long, deep breath. "Finally, we're out of there."

Sanford taps Henry's shoulder. "That will be the last time you ever pull a stunt like that."

Henry nods. "Alright, fair enough."

"With all that out of the way," Hank starts. "Let's just get this shit over with."

"I doubt Dan's going to be that bad."

"Wait until you talk to him, Henry." Hank says he rolls his left shoulder. "Wait until you talk to him."

An Absurdly Lengthy Walk Later

Hank, Sanford, and Henry reach the interrogation center. As they each enter, Henry gets his sling off and has his fingers move ever so slightly.

Hank looks at the spectacle. "Your arm's already healing?"

Henry keeps his focus on his fingers. "Eh, still got a day or two before the bone's set."

"How'd you get it healing like that?"

"Same way I'm able to walk after I ported to your house." Henry pauses as he rolls up his pant leg, revealing a bite that was on his calf, now filled in with scar tissue. "My body seems to have gotten a new system, due to frequently turning off and on throughout my adventures."

They enter through one of the office doors and see Dan through the one way mirror.

Henry rolls the pant leg back down. "My Deimos somehow found a way to amplify this weird kind of healing. And now, I can regrow flesh if it comes off."

"If that's the case," Sanford starts. "They why do you still have that bullet hole on your left cheek?"

"To be honest, I really don't know. Nor do I really care at this point."

"Okay," Hank pauses. "Anyway, we've got Daniel in here and it might be best to have you prepped with what to ask."

"I think I have an idea over what questions..."

Henry stops as he gets a look of Dan's face. He blinks once for confirmation. His throat runs dry as he continues staring at Dan's piercing blue eyes, his jet black hair starkly contrasting the grayish-brown getup he wears. Henry's fingers tremble slightly.

"Hey." Sanford snaps his fingers over Henry's eyes. "You there?"

Henry blinks again. "Yeah. S-something just popped up."

"Are you okay?" Hank asks. "You only have one shot."

"I know. And I'm fine, don't worry about it." Henry gets ready to open the door. "Besides, you guys are just dying to get out of here, right?"

"You sure you're ready to talk to him?" Sanford gets closer to the one way mirror. "You know what to ask him?"

"Yeah. Let's do this."

Henry opens the door and enters the room. The walls are devoid of color, naturally directing all attention to the table at the center. Right across where Henry stands, Dan sits. Their eyes meet as Henry takes a seat at the opposite end of the table.

"Hey Dan," Henry crosses his legs. "How's that bitch sister of yours doing?"

"Oh my God," Sanford whispers.

Dan tilts his head as Henry looks down, a smile creeping up on the newcomer's face. Hank's hand shoots straight for the door handle into the room.

"Wait." Sanford grabs at Hank's arm. "Not yet."

"You're joking, right?"

"I know what you're thinking, but you go in there and we all come out of this with nothing." Sanford lets go as he looks back into the room. "At the very least, we have some sort of chance right now."

Hank stares at Sanford momentarily before refocusing on the two prisoners. Dan and Henry are locked in a staring contest of the ages, with Henry still grinning and Dan frozen in place.

Dan blinks first.

"I win," Henry says.

Dan leans forward. "Who are you supposed to be?"

Henry smiles ever greater. "I'm Hank."

"Are you now?"

Henry points to the bullet hole through his left cheek. "Don't these scars prove it?"

A few seconds of deadpan staring pass. Then, Dan laughs and Henry follows suit.

"Oh, you poor fools." Dan wipes a tear from his eye. "You tampered with the Drives, didn't you?"

Henry stops laughing. "Excuse me?"

"The Improbability Drives." Dan's expression melts into a frown. "The cause of your existence here?"

Henry forces a nod. "I wouldn't doubt them coming back."

Dan pops his neck. "Good answer."

"Anyways, that's not important." Henry waves off the earlier topic. "How long have you been in contact with the White Lion Society?"

Dan slightly draws himself back. "Who?"

"I know that you've met the Auditor's right hand man sometime in the last year."

Dan tilts his head. "Oh, really?"

"I also know you've rejected joining him."

"And how do you know that?"

"Cause I've seen it all before." Henry pushes himself forward, making his figure loom over Dan. "My question is, why did you reject the offer? I've met you before, and she didn't tell me."

Dan smirks. "She?"

"Your equivalent from my realm."

"And what was her name?"

"If you answer my questions, I'll be more than happy to answer yours," Henry immediately answers.

"A fair offer," Dan responds as he slouches on his seat. "However, my question has a simpler answer than yours."

"And my question has a little more significance than someone's name."

"You never know." Dan shrugs. "A name could lead you to an answer you wouldn't expect."

"An occurrence like that happens much less often than someone like you would expect."

Dan chuckles. "Is that so?"

"I know so."

"Because you've 'seen this all before?'"

"That's right."

Dan straightens his back, rapping his fingers against the iron table with gentle, but rhythmic taps. His eyes scan Henry from his blood-red irises down to his deteriorating combat boots.

"What is it that you want?" Dan finally asks.

"I want you to answer-"

"No. Not what those two hiding behind that glass want." Dan leaves only a few centimeters apart from their faces, as he too closes in. "What do you want?"

"Your sister."

"That's very cute." Dan narrows his eyes. "The realm where you're from must certainly be dreadful if you constantly need to joke your way out of reality."

"Your point?"

"It bites, doesn't it? Seeing how much better this realm's Hank is faring compared to you?"

"Maybe. But to be fair, my Powers didn't really care about our shithole."

"And what makes you think the Powers in this realm would care either?"

Henry taps the iron table three times, once with his index finger, the second with his middle, and the third with his ring. All three times with more power than Dan used.

Dan crosses his arms. "Tell me. What was that girl's name? You know, 'She?'"

Henry gets up. "Quiet."

"You wanted my sister, Catherine, didn't you? Does her incompetence and naivety remind you of 'She?'"

"Quiet." Henry's voice grows a shade deeper as he grabs his chair.

Dan smiles.

"You loved her, didn't you?"

Henry jams the chair on the door handle. Hank turns to Sanford before quickly turning back to the scene in front of them.

"Sanford, what the hell is he doing?"

Sanford brushes past Hank. He pushes at the door to no luck, before smacking at the door and calling Henry's name.

Henry grips the table's metal, his fingers leaving small indents as he stares at his hands. He glares back into Dan's eyes. Shrill grating hangs in the air as Henry tears the table from the ground. The table gets flipped onto Dan, forcing him to fall over. As he tries to get out, Henry presses his left foot against the debris and promptly leans down to be face to face once again.

"Maybe if you didn't resort to mind games, I could've told you a lot more."

The door slams open; the chair that was barricading it slides across the floor. Henry turns to the sound and sees Hank sprinting right towards him. Three solid strides later, Hank fires his fist at cannonball speed towards Henry's face.

CRUNCH!

Henry's body smashes into the ground with one blow. Despite his unconscious state, the doppelganger groans.

Sanford enters the room, pistol in hand. He walks to the now broken table and gets the slab of iron off of Dan.

"So it is true." Dan chuckles, an unsettling fire rekindling in his eyes. "You opened a portal."

Hank hoists Henry over one shoulder, avoiding Dan's eyes. "Keep your mouth shut until Sanford drags you back into your cell."

Sanford exits first as Hank follows him.

"Beware for what the future brings, Wimbleton." Dan nods to the unconscious Henry. "That applies to you too, if you can hear me."

The door slams shut. Dan sits back onto his seat, his legs crossed.

"I'll be waiting."