Chapter Nineteen: Switching Identities

Russell was fed up. He was sick and tired of Carmen always pulling one over on him when he thought that he was finally going to pull one over on him. It had taken him well over a week in that blasted place to gather enough power to come back to the future.

But there was no way out of it. He knew all too well.

Shortly after Carmen and her now dead mother had escaped for the first time, Russell had tried escaping Mordred. But as soon as he had stepped off the grounds…

Flashback: I'm getting out of here, Russell thought. I've had enough.

It was the dead of night and Mordred was asleep. Russell hoisted himself off the window ledge and landed like a cat on the soft, dewy grass.

Home free! He cheered inwardly as he sprinted to freedom. But he had spoken too soon. As soon as his foot landed on the road, he felt as though the sky had crashed onto his head and he collapsed in agony.

"You dare try to escape me?" an ethereal voice boomed amid clouds crashing thunderously and lightning illuminating the trees, reaching for him. Russell looked up at his livid master in terror.

"I…no, master, I..."

"Do not lie to me!" Mordred bellowed, yanking Russell up roughly by his collar.

End flashback.

Russell still had the scars across his back. He couldn't live through that again.

He had to do something to fulfill his mission. But what?

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A shadow fell across Carmen's book. She looked up into Two-Bit's cheeky grin and couldn't resist smiling herself.

"Hey," she began, but was cut off by Two-Bit kissing her square on the mouth. "What was that for?"

"Can't a guy kiss the girl he loves?" Two-Bit asked, still grinning charmingly. Carmen blushed and Two-Bit grinned even wider.

"So what's the plan for the rest of the afternoon?" he asked.

"See you at debate club," Carmen said as the bell rang, signifying the end of the lunch hour.

"Oh, right," said Two-Bit. "So, where is that exactly?"

Carmen stared at him. "You're kidding, right? Even you aren't that scatterbrained," she said.

"Yeah," Two-Bit laughed. "Just kidding."

Carmen gave him a weird look before walking off. He's in a very odd mood, she thought.

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The greaser laughed at Carmen' retreating back. She was so gullible it wasn't funny.

He slipped into the nearest restroom. Moments later, a golden-haired, golden-eyed boy stepped out, looking around sketchily.

When he had seen that the coast was clear, he sighed in relief. Carmen's skin cells lay on his lips. He had completed his mission. There was possibly no worse torture than having to show affection for your worst enemy, but he had done it.

There wasn't enough time to get the mortal back here for this "debate club." He would have to go through the rest of the day as this mortal idiot, Two-Bit.

He transformed in one liquid motion, with a slight groan as his molecules contracted and diluted.

He grinned wickedly and headed off. This was going to be a breeze.

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Two-Bit writhed and thrashed, struggling in vain to escape the unbreakable invisible magical ties that bound him to the floor of Mordred's dungeon. Mordred had stilled his voice after about five minutes of Two-Bit screaming obscenities at the top of his lungs.

He didn't remember anything, just that one minute he had been heading for Spanish and the next thing he knew he had blacked out and woken up here.

Mordred was kind enough to let him watch the scene as it unfolded. Two-Bit squeezed his eyes shut as Russell, disguised as him, kissed Carmen. He was sure that was being done just to set him off, but it still made his insides feel like lead.

"He'll set you back later," Mordred cackled, "But it'll be too late! We'll have killed her by then! And there's nothing you can do about it, you mortal fool!"

Two-Bit watched helplessly and swore that the next time he saw Russell he would clobber him. Which, by Mordred's epithet, didn't sound too far away. The thought worried him and at the same time gave him a guilty pleasure because it meant that he could beat Russell's face in all the sooner.

For now, though, all he could do was watch and pray, absurdly, that Carmen would realize it wasn't him.

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Admit it. You saw the chapter title and thought it was gonna be Carmen and Two-Bit switching. Lame chapter, but there you have it.