NEW YORK, NEW YORK
By PrinceCharmed
Author's note: This is a Charmed/Tru Calling crossover. This story takes place between the Tru Calling episodes "Rear Window" and "Two Weddings and a Funeral", and before the Charmed episode "Crimes and Witch Demeanors".
DISCLAIMER: "Tru Calling" and all of its characters are the property of FOX/Jon Harmon Feldman. "Charmed" and all of its characters are property of Constance M. Burge/Aaron Spelling/Brad Kern/The WB. This is a work of my imagination, is for entertainment purposes only, and is not intended in any way shape or form for profit.
CHAPTER THREE
Déjà vu
Phoebe got out of bed when her alarm clock went off and immediately went to her suitcase to gather her clothes. She needed something special. Today was her best friend's wedding. Today, Stephanie Berman would be married. She wondered if her sisters had remembered to set their alarms over in their adjoining hotel rooms as well.
The telephone rang out loudly and startled Phoebe just slightly. She went to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Phoebe. Just wanted to let you know I remembered to set my alarm and-"
"You'll go over and make sure Piper is up." Phoebe finished.
"Um, yeah." Paige answered.
"All right, well I'm gonna go jump in the shower." Phoebe said. "See ya in a few."
As Phoebe hung up the phone, she stopped for a moment and thought. Somehow she felt like she had done this before. Didn't she even finish Paige's sentence a few seconds ago? She shrugged, and proceeded to go take her shower.
In Tru's bedroom...
Tru Davies shot up from bed, knowing that this was the third time she would experience this day.
'Well, you know what they say, third time's the charm' Tru thought to herself as she got dressed. 'And this time, I know exactly what's gonna happen when I save her', she thought.
Back at Phoebe's hotel room...
Phoebe stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around herself. She walked towards her suitcase, but before she could get there, her body began to get a tingly feeling and Phoebe suddenly felt as if she knew exactly what was going to happen next. Paige was going to run in the door and start complaining about how none of her clothes were good enough for a wedding, and they needed to help her go shopping for a new outfit before the wedding.
Sure enough, Paige burst through the door.
"God Phoebe, I hate my clothes! They suck! I have no good outfits for a wedding." She said.
"And, let me guess, you want me and Piper to go shopping with you for a new outfit."
"Yeah… how'd you know?"
"I've been getting major Déjà vu this morning."
"You think it's just the normal, everyday kind, or… supernatural?" Paige asked.
"I'm not sure yet," Phoebe admitted.
Later that afternoon…
Jack Harper stood in the long line of customers at the "Sweet Stuff" stand in the mall. More like a crowd, really. He was visibly frustrated.
'I'm getting really sick of reliving this god damn day,' he thought to himself. 'Lisa Tillson needs to die… and stay dead.'
Then, in a knowing fashion, Jack turned his attention to the entrance of the store across from him, J.C. Penney. He stared at the entrance until he saw the three women exit, one of them carrying a brand new complete outfit. He looked further to the right and saw the one with the short dark hair. The one that gave him that smile "last night". His only question was, who were these women, and why would they show up in the Morgue later that night?
He would answer those questions later. What mattered now was making sure that Lisa Tillson died, and making sure that she died before Tru could get to her. How was he going to do that? Simple. Change the time of death.
Meanwhile, in the Underworld…
"Ahhhh!!" Xavier angrily threw an energy ball at the cave wall, shaking it. His brother, Kain, shimmered in.
"Is there a problem, Xavier?" Kain asked.
"I'm getting sick and tired of vanquishing the exact same target!" He yelled.
"My guess is that somehow, time keeps getting rewound. And since the Underworld isn't affected by time shifts, we're remembering everything."
"It's got to be that witch!" Xavier said.
"The one who intervened yesterday?" Kain inquired.
"Yes."
"There's a way around this." Kain told Xavier.
"How? She knows when I will attack, she will be there!"
"Get to the innocent before she does." Kain answered.
Back at the mall...
"Okay, now I know this isn't just coincidence. You bought the exact same outfit yesterday." Phoebe said to Paige as the sisters exited J.C. Penney.
"Yesterday?" Piper asked quizzically.
"Yeah, yesterday, the forgotten day." Phoebe answered.
Jack noticed the short, dark haired, smiling woman from "last night" coming his way. He remembered that yesterday, he was so aggravated about a rewind day he hadn't wanted that he had just gotten out of the way, trying to avoid as many people as possible. But this woman… she was beautiful. And the mysteriousness of her arrival at the Morgue "last night" piqued his interest. He decided that getting a better look at this woman was worth it on this occasion. He quickly scooped up an unattended shopping bag and made his way out of the crowd.
"I'm telling you guys, time has been reversed." Phoebe said to her sisters.
"By who?" Piper asked skeptically.
"I don't know. A demon maybe?"
"And why would a demon want to reverse time to this day? We haven't even had any demon troubles lately." Piper answered.
"Maybe he didn't like the outfit I bought?" Paige suggested jokingly.
"Ha ha Paige, very funny." In the progress of their conversation, Phoebe didn't even notice the man in front of her and collided with him. His shopping bag spilled to the floor, it's contents strewing all over the place. Feeling like an idiot, she immediately bent down to help him pick them up.
"I'm so sorry sir, I"- she gasped when she looked up and a tingly feeling overcame her body. She looked at the unshaven man with a leather jacket and suddenly envisioned him in a white coat, nametag "Jack Harper" clearly visible.
"Jack." She said quietly.
"Yeah, that's me." He said. "And you are?"
"Phoebe. Phoebe Halliwell." She answered him.
Jack extended his arm for a handshake, and Phoebe accepted. The minute their hands clasped, Phoebe was hit by a premonition.
It was Jack, in a house, on a telephone.
A flash, and then –
A hulking green demon, who she thought she recognized from "yesterday". He tosses an energy ball at Jack.
Another flash, and –
The energy ball hits Jack and his body rapidly burns to almost nothing as what is left of him falls to the floor.
One last final flash, and the premonition was over.
Phoebe quickly helped Jack gather his things and said her goodbyes.
"We have to follow him." Phoebe told her sisters.
"What?" Piper asked.
"No questions, just trust me." Phoebe answered.
Puzzled, Paige and Piper exited the mall and followed Phoebe to Piper's Jeep.