Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, but I'm using them to tell a story.
Author Notes: a HUGE thank you for the people who reviewed this, it gives me squishy feelings that you are not only reading it but enjoying it so far. EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
This is How the Story Begins, Part 3
By starched_undergarments
***
Robert Lane was, in his opinion, going insane.
And not your typical diaper wearing, nonsense-spouting, smelly-freak kind of insane either, oh no, he was going insane in the 'my mind is tearing itself a new ass-hole!' kind of way.
It had all started last night, he had been at work, debating weather or not he should throw himself into the deep-fryer rather then continue working at 'Pirate Pete's Lunch Hut' when he had the first tickle of deja-veu.
"Probably nothing," he told himself, chalking it up to lack of sleep, he had in fact, not been sleeping too great lately. His dreams filled with terrible images and noises that made him shiver.
"Maybe I'll have a better night tonight," he thought and poked at the dopey parrot that sat on his, not to mention all the other staffs, shoulder.
And then it hit.
A sudden wave of confusion followed by hot, liquid pain that coursed through his veins, he fell backwards and slammed against the freezer, his back arching and his mind screaming. He heard people yelling, could see co-workers panicking, yet all his mind could do was freeze with pain, his mouth opening and a scream wrenching itself from his throat.
And then it had stopped, all at once and then we was embraced by darkness.
When he awoke he found himself on the floor with paramedics surrounding him, he could feel blood trickling across his face yet couldn't remember cutting himself.
"Are you all right son?" One of the uniformed men asked and Bobby could only stare blankly at him.
They had sent him home obviously, which is where he was now, and at first he thought that the worst had passed, that it had simply been a lump of fat sizzling on his brain.
Then the voices started.
Soft murmurs in the dark regions of his mind, telling him things that he knew weren't true, yet were, having an ongoing argument in the back of his head.
"You knew a girl once, cute, peppy, her name was Roxanne."
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did, you had the hots for her."
"No."
"You wore tights."
"No I've never done ballet thank you."
"You had friends, good ones. They died, you died."
"No I didn't."
"Did."
"Didn't"
"Did."
"Didn't"
.....
"You can fly."
"Oh god." Bobby moaned and rolled over.
***
"Huh," Nate mused fingering his mug of tea, twirling it slowly on the kitchen table.
"So you're saying that after this boy, Ethan, used his gen-power to heal the gap in your mind you left and followed Roxanne's psi-print from New York all the way here? That's one hell of a strong bond."
Caitlin nodded and poured herself another cup of tea from the steaming pot, "Well we are sisters."
"You remember then?"
She nodded and looked up into Nate's contemplative eyes.
"But Roxy doesn't, or half doesn't. Do you have any ideas on how this happened? What do you remember last?"
"I remember everything up until the Gen-Bomb detonation, I remember the fear I felt and then nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Just.well light, a bright blinding light, then I was back."
"Hrmm." Nate's eyes narrowed, "this is quite interesting.perhaps."
"What?" Caitlin probed, leaning forward.
"Perhaps it was you, perhaps while you were the Gen-Active Construct, or God with a little g you still had some sort of collective mind. Perhaps you split apart the Gen-Active Energy back into the original forms."
"Since energy can't be destroyed, it only changes form!" Caitlin interrupted, her face lighting up.
"Exactly! So breaking then Gen-Active Forces back up you must have some how re-created bodies, shells if you will, to holster it."
"But what about the memories? The fact that Roxy seems just the same? What about her soul?" Leslie questioned, entering the kitchen with a glass of water.
Nate snorted, "her soul?" He shook his head and regarded her with cool eyes.
"There is no such thing as a soul."
Leslie stood defensively, her hands on her hips.
"Prove it."
"Oh for the love of.."
"Hey," a voice said softly, and then all turned, Roxy stood in the doorway, holding her head and looking troubled.
"I don't think it's quite over yet."
***
Things had gone from crap-happy, to shitty and now to utter ass fucking horrible, the once soft voices that had whispered to Robert Lane were now yelling back and forth, like the clanging of angry church bells.
DEAD ALIVE NO YES
It went on and on, the only peace he found was when he was either on the toilet or asleep, and at this point he was starting to devise a way in which he could spend all day on the can.
"Maybe if I eat a ton of prunes." he muttered and popped another Aspirin, which didn't silence the voices but at least helped take the edge off the splintering headache he had had for three days now.
"Shut up," he groaned, rolling over onto his other side, "Please just shut up and go away."
NO YES NO DID DIDN'T
He began to cry then, a pitiful whimpering sound as he cradled himself, longing for someone to hold him, or at least put him out of his misery. He didn't know how much more of it he could take, the cheap fabrics of his mind were slowly tearing apart.
And still the voices sounded.
***
"What do you mean Roxy?" Caitlin asked, rushing to her sister's side and steadying her.
"Something's not right," she struggled, her eyes shutting, "I.I think it's Bobby." She winced at the mention of his name, memories igniting within her mind.
"What about him?" Nate asked, setting his cup into the kitchen sink, Leslie looked up, eyes wide and concerned.
"He's back too, and he felt what we did.and I don't think he's handling too well."
Nate nodded and ignored Leslie's worried look, Caitlin grabbed her coat and wallet.
"Of course! He's always been connected to us, all of us. Remember when Baby Luv kidnapped us Roxy? He was able to pin-point where we were and found us by using the psi-link."
Nate leaned against the counter and raised an eyebrow, "Baby Luv?"
"And if we find Bobby," she continued, ignoring Nate, "then we'll be able to find the others!" She grabbed Nate's car keys and tossed them to him.
He smiled and shook his head, "guess we have no choice but to come along. C'mon kids, lets ride."
***
In his current position Robert Lane could see two things, the rim of the bathtub and the shower curtain, normal everyday things, yet today they seemed skewed. The tub was starting to look like a giant white mouth, swallowing him whole, and the curtain had become a long plastic road that lead to heaven.
He knew was insane now, he had to be, no sane person hears voices, or wakes up on fire.
Fire for Christ's Sake!
He shifted in the tub and his squeaked against the sides, he was freezing yet was afraid to get out in fear of lighting on fire again.
It had happened five hours ago, he had fallen asleep on the floor, finally dropping off due to exhaustion. He had dreamed then, horrible and twisted dreams, filled with blood and a booming voice telling him he would be 'judged'. Naturally he awoke with a start, cold sweat covering his body, and then fire.
Foom.
Just like that.
He had screamed and tried to smother the flames, ripping off the nearby blanket that lay on the couch, finally he panicked and ran for the bathroom, scurrying into the shower and cranking it to ice cold. The flames died and Bobby collapsed, sinking to his knees, now naked, shivering with fear.
He now lay in the tub, a small pool of cold water surrounding him; he shivered and wondered absently if he had made a burn hole in the carpet where he had lain.
"My landlady is gonna kill me if I did." he thought and shut his eyes, mentally slapping himself for thinking about something so ridiculous.
"You've spontaneously combusted yet are fine physically and all you can think about is your damage deposit?? How stupid are you?"
He reached over and pulled on the tab once more, allowing the tub to fill up a little more. If the water didn't extinguish the flames then hey, he could always drown himself.
***
Once they were all seated on the plane Caitlin twisted around in her seat and looked at her little sister, her eyes were troubled and clouded with concern. She gave her an encouraging smile and Roxy smiled back and then made herself at home on Tommy's shoulder, trying to use it as a pillow.
They had been able with Roxy's link and Leslie's boosting powers, to pinpoint where Bobby was and were on their way there now.
Chewing on her thumbnail Caitlin hoped he would be all right, she also hoped that her pet theory would be right, that once all the team members were back together the gap in their minds would heal and their full memories would return.
She hadn't let on to anyone how much she had missed her 'family' these past few months, and now that they were almost all back together she didn't know if she could stand the suspense.
A gloved hand gently took her hand away from her mouth; she turned, surprised, and found Nate smiling at her.
"That's a nasty habit." He scolded, and she laughed, resting her hand back on the arm rest.
"I know, I can't help it though. I do it when I'm nervous."
"Don't worry, it'll all work out fine." He said, patting her hand.
She smiled, "You really think so?"
"Sure why not, I mean you guys have already died so fortune's gotta be going your way by law of averages."
"Yeah?" She asked, grinning.
He grinned back at her and held her hand gently.
"Yeah." He replied softly, his eyes looking into hers.
Their hands didn't release until they landed safely in Idaho.
***
The apartment building was small and had a slightly 70's feel to the decorating, the lobby a festive arrangement of quirky patterns that all clashed horribly with one another, Nate held the door open while the others entered, Roxy leading the way.
"He's down the hall and to the right," she muttered, her cute face screwed up into a look of almost painful concentration. They filled down the hall silently, ignoring the weird looks they got from the few old ladies who passed them on their way to the laundry room.
"This one," Roxy pointed and Caitlin tried the door, and to all of their surprise, found it unlocked.
They stepped gingerly inside, the apartment was small and smelled slightly of incense, pot, and dried fruit. Caitlin paused and motioned for them to halt, she cocked her head and the others listened.
Then they heard it, a soft, echo of a voice that was singing to itself, the lyrics tumbling into place with an almost humorous quality.
Roxy stepped forward and gave Caitlin a look that said, 'what the hell?' and then called out.
"Bobby?"
The singing stopped and they heard water slosh, as if someone was sitting up in the tub, "Yeah?" Came the oddly calm and almost comical reply.
"I'm in the tub!" The voice called, almost annoyed. Roxy stifled a giggle and moved towards the bathroom, peering cautiously.
She peered into the bathroom and found him, naked, sitting in a tub full of ice cold water, shivering.
"Hi." He said, his teeth clacking together.
"Hi." She replied and grinned; he smiled back and waved.
"My god," she thought to herself, "how long has he been in there?!"
"About ten hours now," he replied shaking.
"What?"
"What?"
She shook her head and looked at him curiously, "I.I didn't say that out loud."
He frowned, his blue eyes clouded with sudden concern. He held his head and grimaced, "I'm sorry." He said calmly, "I must be even more insane than I thought."
She grabbed a nearby towel and held it out to him, "C'mon, out ya come."
He shook his head and clutched at himself, "I can't. I'll burn." He stated simply.
Roxy kneeled down next to the tub and patted his shoulder gently, "No you won't, Mamma Freefall won't let you."
"Promise?" He asked, his eyes large and almost childlike.
She smiled and gave him a small wink, "I promise."
***
End Part 3
Author Notes: a HUGE thank you for the people who reviewed this, it gives me squishy feelings that you are not only reading it but enjoying it so far. EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
This is How the Story Begins, Part 3
By starched_undergarments
***
Robert Lane was, in his opinion, going insane.
And not your typical diaper wearing, nonsense-spouting, smelly-freak kind of insane either, oh no, he was going insane in the 'my mind is tearing itself a new ass-hole!' kind of way.
It had all started last night, he had been at work, debating weather or not he should throw himself into the deep-fryer rather then continue working at 'Pirate Pete's Lunch Hut' when he had the first tickle of deja-veu.
"Probably nothing," he told himself, chalking it up to lack of sleep, he had in fact, not been sleeping too great lately. His dreams filled with terrible images and noises that made him shiver.
"Maybe I'll have a better night tonight," he thought and poked at the dopey parrot that sat on his, not to mention all the other staffs, shoulder.
And then it hit.
A sudden wave of confusion followed by hot, liquid pain that coursed through his veins, he fell backwards and slammed against the freezer, his back arching and his mind screaming. He heard people yelling, could see co-workers panicking, yet all his mind could do was freeze with pain, his mouth opening and a scream wrenching itself from his throat.
And then it had stopped, all at once and then we was embraced by darkness.
When he awoke he found himself on the floor with paramedics surrounding him, he could feel blood trickling across his face yet couldn't remember cutting himself.
"Are you all right son?" One of the uniformed men asked and Bobby could only stare blankly at him.
They had sent him home obviously, which is where he was now, and at first he thought that the worst had passed, that it had simply been a lump of fat sizzling on his brain.
Then the voices started.
Soft murmurs in the dark regions of his mind, telling him things that he knew weren't true, yet were, having an ongoing argument in the back of his head.
"You knew a girl once, cute, peppy, her name was Roxanne."
"No I didn't."
"Yes you did, you had the hots for her."
"No."
"You wore tights."
"No I've never done ballet thank you."
"You had friends, good ones. They died, you died."
"No I didn't."
"Did."
"Didn't"
"Did."
"Didn't"
.....
"You can fly."
"Oh god." Bobby moaned and rolled over.
***
"Huh," Nate mused fingering his mug of tea, twirling it slowly on the kitchen table.
"So you're saying that after this boy, Ethan, used his gen-power to heal the gap in your mind you left and followed Roxanne's psi-print from New York all the way here? That's one hell of a strong bond."
Caitlin nodded and poured herself another cup of tea from the steaming pot, "Well we are sisters."
"You remember then?"
She nodded and looked up into Nate's contemplative eyes.
"But Roxy doesn't, or half doesn't. Do you have any ideas on how this happened? What do you remember last?"
"I remember everything up until the Gen-Bomb detonation, I remember the fear I felt and then nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Just.well light, a bright blinding light, then I was back."
"Hrmm." Nate's eyes narrowed, "this is quite interesting.perhaps."
"What?" Caitlin probed, leaning forward.
"Perhaps it was you, perhaps while you were the Gen-Active Construct, or God with a little g you still had some sort of collective mind. Perhaps you split apart the Gen-Active Energy back into the original forms."
"Since energy can't be destroyed, it only changes form!" Caitlin interrupted, her face lighting up.
"Exactly! So breaking then Gen-Active Forces back up you must have some how re-created bodies, shells if you will, to holster it."
"But what about the memories? The fact that Roxy seems just the same? What about her soul?" Leslie questioned, entering the kitchen with a glass of water.
Nate snorted, "her soul?" He shook his head and regarded her with cool eyes.
"There is no such thing as a soul."
Leslie stood defensively, her hands on her hips.
"Prove it."
"Oh for the love of.."
"Hey," a voice said softly, and then all turned, Roxy stood in the doorway, holding her head and looking troubled.
"I don't think it's quite over yet."
***
Things had gone from crap-happy, to shitty and now to utter ass fucking horrible, the once soft voices that had whispered to Robert Lane were now yelling back and forth, like the clanging of angry church bells.
DEAD ALIVE NO YES
It went on and on, the only peace he found was when he was either on the toilet or asleep, and at this point he was starting to devise a way in which he could spend all day on the can.
"Maybe if I eat a ton of prunes." he muttered and popped another Aspirin, which didn't silence the voices but at least helped take the edge off the splintering headache he had had for three days now.
"Shut up," he groaned, rolling over onto his other side, "Please just shut up and go away."
NO YES NO DID DIDN'T
He began to cry then, a pitiful whimpering sound as he cradled himself, longing for someone to hold him, or at least put him out of his misery. He didn't know how much more of it he could take, the cheap fabrics of his mind were slowly tearing apart.
And still the voices sounded.
***
"What do you mean Roxy?" Caitlin asked, rushing to her sister's side and steadying her.
"Something's not right," she struggled, her eyes shutting, "I.I think it's Bobby." She winced at the mention of his name, memories igniting within her mind.
"What about him?" Nate asked, setting his cup into the kitchen sink, Leslie looked up, eyes wide and concerned.
"He's back too, and he felt what we did.and I don't think he's handling too well."
Nate nodded and ignored Leslie's worried look, Caitlin grabbed her coat and wallet.
"Of course! He's always been connected to us, all of us. Remember when Baby Luv kidnapped us Roxy? He was able to pin-point where we were and found us by using the psi-link."
Nate leaned against the counter and raised an eyebrow, "Baby Luv?"
"And if we find Bobby," she continued, ignoring Nate, "then we'll be able to find the others!" She grabbed Nate's car keys and tossed them to him.
He smiled and shook his head, "guess we have no choice but to come along. C'mon kids, lets ride."
***
In his current position Robert Lane could see two things, the rim of the bathtub and the shower curtain, normal everyday things, yet today they seemed skewed. The tub was starting to look like a giant white mouth, swallowing him whole, and the curtain had become a long plastic road that lead to heaven.
He knew was insane now, he had to be, no sane person hears voices, or wakes up on fire.
Fire for Christ's Sake!
He shifted in the tub and his squeaked against the sides, he was freezing yet was afraid to get out in fear of lighting on fire again.
It had happened five hours ago, he had fallen asleep on the floor, finally dropping off due to exhaustion. He had dreamed then, horrible and twisted dreams, filled with blood and a booming voice telling him he would be 'judged'. Naturally he awoke with a start, cold sweat covering his body, and then fire.
Foom.
Just like that.
He had screamed and tried to smother the flames, ripping off the nearby blanket that lay on the couch, finally he panicked and ran for the bathroom, scurrying into the shower and cranking it to ice cold. The flames died and Bobby collapsed, sinking to his knees, now naked, shivering with fear.
He now lay in the tub, a small pool of cold water surrounding him; he shivered and wondered absently if he had made a burn hole in the carpet where he had lain.
"My landlady is gonna kill me if I did." he thought and shut his eyes, mentally slapping himself for thinking about something so ridiculous.
"You've spontaneously combusted yet are fine physically and all you can think about is your damage deposit?? How stupid are you?"
He reached over and pulled on the tab once more, allowing the tub to fill up a little more. If the water didn't extinguish the flames then hey, he could always drown himself.
***
Once they were all seated on the plane Caitlin twisted around in her seat and looked at her little sister, her eyes were troubled and clouded with concern. She gave her an encouraging smile and Roxy smiled back and then made herself at home on Tommy's shoulder, trying to use it as a pillow.
They had been able with Roxy's link and Leslie's boosting powers, to pinpoint where Bobby was and were on their way there now.
Chewing on her thumbnail Caitlin hoped he would be all right, she also hoped that her pet theory would be right, that once all the team members were back together the gap in their minds would heal and their full memories would return.
She hadn't let on to anyone how much she had missed her 'family' these past few months, and now that they were almost all back together she didn't know if she could stand the suspense.
A gloved hand gently took her hand away from her mouth; she turned, surprised, and found Nate smiling at her.
"That's a nasty habit." He scolded, and she laughed, resting her hand back on the arm rest.
"I know, I can't help it though. I do it when I'm nervous."
"Don't worry, it'll all work out fine." He said, patting her hand.
She smiled, "You really think so?"
"Sure why not, I mean you guys have already died so fortune's gotta be going your way by law of averages."
"Yeah?" She asked, grinning.
He grinned back at her and held her hand gently.
"Yeah." He replied softly, his eyes looking into hers.
Their hands didn't release until they landed safely in Idaho.
***
The apartment building was small and had a slightly 70's feel to the decorating, the lobby a festive arrangement of quirky patterns that all clashed horribly with one another, Nate held the door open while the others entered, Roxy leading the way.
"He's down the hall and to the right," she muttered, her cute face screwed up into a look of almost painful concentration. They filled down the hall silently, ignoring the weird looks they got from the few old ladies who passed them on their way to the laundry room.
"This one," Roxy pointed and Caitlin tried the door, and to all of their surprise, found it unlocked.
They stepped gingerly inside, the apartment was small and smelled slightly of incense, pot, and dried fruit. Caitlin paused and motioned for them to halt, she cocked her head and the others listened.
Then they heard it, a soft, echo of a voice that was singing to itself, the lyrics tumbling into place with an almost humorous quality.
Roxy stepped forward and gave Caitlin a look that said, 'what the hell?' and then called out.
"Bobby?"
The singing stopped and they heard water slosh, as if someone was sitting up in the tub, "Yeah?" Came the oddly calm and almost comical reply.
"I'm in the tub!" The voice called, almost annoyed. Roxy stifled a giggle and moved towards the bathroom, peering cautiously.
She peered into the bathroom and found him, naked, sitting in a tub full of ice cold water, shivering.
"Hi." He said, his teeth clacking together.
"Hi." She replied and grinned; he smiled back and waved.
"My god," she thought to herself, "how long has he been in there?!"
"About ten hours now," he replied shaking.
"What?"
"What?"
She shook her head and looked at him curiously, "I.I didn't say that out loud."
He frowned, his blue eyes clouded with sudden concern. He held his head and grimaced, "I'm sorry." He said calmly, "I must be even more insane than I thought."
She grabbed a nearby towel and held it out to him, "C'mon, out ya come."
He shook his head and clutched at himself, "I can't. I'll burn." He stated simply.
Roxy kneeled down next to the tub and patted his shoulder gently, "No you won't, Mamma Freefall won't let you."
"Promise?" He asked, his eyes large and almost childlike.
She smiled and gave him a small wink, "I promise."
***
End Part 3