Jeff fought to catch his breath as he sank further into the bed. He stared up at the ceiling as he tried to make sense as to what just happened. He had always wondered after all these years what sex with Annie Edison would be like. And now that it had finally happened, it wasn't how he would have pictured it. True it was fantastic in and of itself. But the whole time she had been cold and indifferent. Essentially it had been like sleeping with a skilled hooker.
He leaned in to kiss her but she turned her head away. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing."
He tried to stroke her face, but grew frustrated when she violently slapped his hand away. "OW! What's your deal? I don't get you. You disappeared months ago without a trace. Then out of the blue you return tonight and say you're finally ready to be with me, without even mentioning that you apparently ending things with that architect you were seeing until I brought him up. But you've barely let me touch you."
"I thought we just did plenty of touching."
"I'm not talking about the sex. I'm talking about any intimacy or affection."
Before he could continue she grabbed his head and forcefully kissed him, almost taking his breath away. He tried pulling away from her, but she had a vice strength grip on him. After a few moments he stopped fighting and gave into it.
He didn't notice as she signaled to someone in the distance. As he slid his hands down her sides she pulled away, smiling evilly. He gasped as he was grabbed from behind and yanked to his feet. He looked over his shoulder in shock as he saw another Jeff holding onto him. The Jeff that held him had a robotic arm, like a more advanced version of the terminator metal skeletal arm. But as frightening as that metal arm was, it was nothing compared to the sinister look in his eyes.
Evil Jeff raised his robotic arm, joining his fingers together to form a blade before stabbing the other Jeff through the throat. He twisted the blade and decapitated the head clean from the body. The head spun in the air for a moment before it turned to yellow light, along with the rest of the body. Evil Jeff gasped as the light flowed into his body, illuminating him throughout. After a few moments his body stopped glowing as he fully absorbed the power.
"What the hell took you? You were supposed to kill him once we got back here." Evil Annie snarled as she slipped on her flowing black dress.
"I figured I'd give that Jeff a bit of pleasure before he was killed." Evil Jeff said as he glanced at the bed.
Evil Annie finished dressing and sauntered over to him. "Are you jealous you watched him touch me?" She mockingly said.
"Hardly. You have venom coursing through your veins. My dick would burn off if I stuck it inside of you."
He held up his human hand and ignited his fingers like a lighter as she hissed in rage. "Do not test me Jeff. I will tear that prized flesh right off your body bit by bit."
"Don't make threats you have no intention of fulfilling. We've come too far to throw it all away now on petty hatred." With that he extinguished his fingers and marched out of the room.
She waited until he was gone before pulling out her cell phone. "Sir, it's me. Evil Jeff just killed the second dimensional Jeff. That means he just has one more to take care of before we confront the coveted superhero version…all right, we'll be at the dimensional jump point in twenty minutes. "
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Jeff's eyes opened as he looked over at the bedside clock. 5:30am. It was still fifteen minutes before the alarm would go off. But he didn't mind. Over the last month he had found himself waking up earlier then necessary. It seemed he had willed his body to rise early so he could perform the ritual he had taken to doing each morning.
He turned over and looked at Annie as she slept. She seemed so serene, so at peace with herself. Like everything she had been going through for the last month was just a dream. He longed to take her in his arms and hold her. Just simply hold onto his wife for endless hours. He thickly swallowed as the realization of how far apart they had grown hit him.
He continued to watch her sleeping form for the next fifteen minutes. Just before the clock turned 5:45am he lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, pretending to be jerked awake as the alarm buzzed.
He looked at her back as she sat up in bed, pulling herself as far over to the edge as she could get. "Morning Sweetie." It was a few moments before she made a noise that indicated that she heard him. "Do you want to run or spar together today?"
"I told you, I like training by myself now." She harshly said, irritated that she had to remind Jeff of this every morning. Although Jeff could guess what would happen he reached over and lightly touched her back. As he sadly predicted she stiffened for a moment before rising off the bed. "Please don't touch me." she softly said. Fighting back tears she grabbed her workout clothes and left the bedroom, not closing the door for fear of breaking it off its hinges again.
Jeff sat up in bed as he tried to control his emotions. Ever since Annie had gained super strength she had distanced herself from everyone. She kept to herself and she always turned down the group's offers (Abed and Shirley inviting them over for dinner, Troy wanting to take her to a movie, Britta wanting to go out for coffee or have the two of them volunteer at the animal rescue shelter) for her to spend time with them. But that was nothing compared to how she was around him. She could hardly be in the same room with him anymore. And at this point no sex was the least of their problems; there hadn't been any physical intimacy between them at all. If his fingers even grazed her skin she flinched as if she had been struck.
It killed Jeff to see her so broken, so damaged. He had asked Troy if this was how she was when they were in high school and Troy said that while she was skittish back them, it was nowhere near as extreme as it was now.
He knew she was still adjusting to her new powers and he would give her all the time she needed. But this total distance between them was killing him. He sighed deeply as he got out of bed and put on his running shoes, hoping he could run away from his problems for at least a little while.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Britta opened her eyes and then quickly shut them as sunlight bathed her face. After a few moments she rubbed her face and got up from the couch. She made her way into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Even though she and Troy had at first agreed that whoever was up first would make it she quickly insisted that she be in charge of the coffee after tasting his 'improved' version.
Britta had been crashing at Troy's place for the past month. After only a few days of seeing how horribly awkward things were between Jeff and Annie she decided it would be best if she moved out so they could work things out in private. At first she wasn't sure how living with Troy would go, given their brief time as a couple years ago. But so far it had worked out relatively well.
As she walked into the kitchen she saw Troy standing there, looking intently at himself in the mirror over the sink like he did every morning. "For someone who says he's not vain you seem to like looking at yourself."
"I'm just shocked that I look the same." He pointed to a picture of himself from Greendale he had recently taped next to the mirror. "Each morning I look at myself and I look exactly like I did when we were at Greendale."
Britta made a noise with her throat as she started making the coffee. Ever since they had been told they were essentially ageless she'd tried not to give it much thought. If she did her head swam with questions. Was it permanent? Since it had to do with superheroes did it only apply to those who were superheroes or to everyone in this dimension? If you were made aware of it did that somehow affect it? Did it really just affect them or were other versions of themselves also ageless? Did it only apply to people or would her cat Captain Whiskers also never age? She found it was better to just try and live her life as normally as possible then to dwell on it.
"I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks about it." Troy said. "I mean, Annie always hated it when people pointed out how young she was. So I'm sure she's thought about how she's basically twenty now forever."
"I think right now Annie's dealing with bigger issues then how old she is." Britta said as she poured herself a cup and sat at the table, looking off into space as she drank it. She glanced over as Troy joined her.
"Do you ever think about us Britta?"
Britta groaned as she put her cup down. She really didn't want to have this conversation right now. "Troy, we've been over this. It's better if we don't go down that road again."
"I wasn't talking about us specifically. I meant the other versions of us. Remember? That other Abed said in one dimension we were together. Do you ever wonder why it worked out for them and not us?"
"Troy, I have no idea. To me it all seems so weird. That somewhere there are other versions of us living completely different lives. I just try to think about what makes sense to me. I mean, to me it seems weird that somewhere out there Shirley and Abed aren't married with a kid, or that me and Jeff are together like that, or that Jeff and Annie didn't realize how much they love each other. I'm just focused on how we are here in this world."
Troy was about to respond when he looked over at the TV in the kitchen, which had been turned on but was on mute. He quickly unmuted it as he saw whose face was on the screen. Britta and Troy watched in anticipation as Robert Laybourne's face filled the screen. ::It's time we took back Greendale and stopped relying on individuals in costumes to protect us. The death of Lieutenant Marshall Kane last month was a terrible tragedy. But it's just as much our fault for allowing vigilantes to run wild. If our mayor hadn't sanctioned them our police could have done their job properly and this tragedy could have been avoided. If I am elected mayor next election I vow to not only reverse the current legal status of vigilantes but to arrest those who have taken the law into their hands for far too long!::
Britta grabbed the remote and pressed mute to drown out the cheers from Laybourne's speech. "Who the hell does he think he is? If it wasn't for us Rich and his drug ring would still be active. And we were the ones who stopped Evil Abed."
"Maybe he has a point." Troy pressed on as Britta looked at him in shock. "It's just, after seeing those evil versions of ourselves. Maybe we're not completely helping people with what we're doing."
"One doesn't have anything to do with the other Troy. Those evil versions of us aren't tied to us exclusively. Apparently anyone could have killed their other selves and gotten those powers. We just had versions who figured it out." She sat there in thought for a moment. "It does seem weird though that we were the only ones who have versions of us that figured out all of this. Different dimensions, obtaining power through killing your other selves. You'd think someone would have figured it out besides ourselves."
"Evil Abed probably figured it all out."
"I don't think so. The way Evil Annie killed him like that; it was almost like she didn't want him to reveal anything. I think more people are involved in whatever her plans are."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"What the hell are we doing in this dimension? I thought we weren't going after the superhero Jeff until the rest were killed." Evil Jeff angrily exclaimed.
"We're not here to kill him." Evil Annie said. "We're here because our boss feels it's time for you to meet him. "
Evil Jeff's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. After months of searching for and killing his other dimensional selves he was finally going to meet the one who was having them do it. Before their employer had kept his identity a secret. As far as Evil Jeff knew Evil Annie was the only one who knew who he was. But now it seems he himself was about to be privy to that information.
The two of them drove in tense silence until Evil Annie pulled up to Hawthorne manor. Evil Jeff scoffed as they got out of the car. "You're telling me this dimension's Pierce is the one responsible for all of this?"
"Of course not. Our boss is just living here. Come on." They walked up to the front door where Annie pushed on the intercom. "We're here." A moment later a buzz was heard and the door opened. Evil Annie pushed Evil Jeff out of the way as they marched into the mansion.
They walked through the mansion until they got to a large sitting room. Evil Jeff looked around impatiently. "Where is he?"
"Right here." They turned around as William Winger stepped into view. "Hello Jeffrey."
"YOU!" Evil Jeff screamed. He leapt at his father like a tiger, ready to slash his throat with his robot hand. But instead Evil Jeff moved right through him, as if the man were a ghost. He tumbled to the ground as his robotic arm left deep claw marks in the floor.
As the holographic image disappeared the real William Winger stepped into the room, waving a finger at Evil Jeff as he held Osbourne's book. "I figured you'd react rashly to seeing me, so I took precautions in case I was right. Now, if you will liste_"
Before he could finish Evil Jeff jumped up and charged forward, swinging at his father. William jumped back and tripped over his feet, the book falling out of his hands. Both men made a mad dash for the book. Just as Evil Jeff reached it Evil Annie pounced on him, throwing him across the room as she grabbed the book and handed it back to William.
"If you will just LISTEN!" William yelled. "And stop being a horse's ass."
"Why should I listen to you?" Evil Jeff spat as he pulled himself up. "After everything you did, why should I listen to ANYTHING you have to say?"
"Just listen Jeff!" Evil Annie yelled. "Listen to what he has to-."
"Know your place girl!" William yelled. He smiled as Evil Annie hung her head before focusing back on Evil Jeff. "Yes, my actions to you as a boy affected you. But I'm not here because of your past; I'm here because of your future. It was because of me that you and Ms. Edison have powers beyond that of mortal man. I found out how to obtain them and I shared it with you two, along with the late Mr. Nadir and the late Mr. Barnes of your dimension. Now you two are close to obtaining all six powers. Once that is done we will be able to rule this and all other dimensions."
"And why would we need you once we have all of the dimensional powers?" Evil Jeff said.
William held up the Osbourne's book. "This book is full of spells and power. Your powers are great. But even at their full capacity they wouldn't be a match to someone using the secrets of this book."
"Well why don't I just take that book for myself then." Evil Jeff tried jumping, but he suddenly couldn't move his feet. He tried lifting his legs, but they were stuck to the floor as if they were glued in place. Suddenly he grabbed his throat as he was unable to breath. He gasped for air as he looked up at his father. William Winger calmly looked at Evil Jeff as his face turned purple and then blue as he struggled for air. He made a complicated figure eight motion and Evil Jeff's throat reopened. Evil Jeff gulped in air as he fell to the floor, his legs now also unstuck.
"You're good son. I'll give you that. But I am better. I have been working towards this endgame for over fifty years. I've taken every scenario into consideration. Try to understand that you cannot beat me. Now, I don't care if you hate me; you can continue doing that if it makes you feel better. But at least have enough common sense to know that if you join me you will go further then you could ever dream of doing. I hold the keys to the kingdom. All you have to do is stand by me, and you will rule alongside me."
William walked over to Evil Jeff as he stood up. William smiled as he held out his hand. Evil Jeff glared at it for several moments before he begrudgingly stuck out his human hand and shook his father's hand. "Fine. You have a deal."
"Good. First things first. You will wait here with Ms. Edison while I go out for a few supplies. Once I return there is a little ritual that will need to be performed."
William walked across the sitting room. As he got to the alcove he turned and looked back at Evil Jeff. "You made the right decision here Jeffrey."
Evil Jeff smiled as he looked at his father. That's it, think I'm fine with everything, he thought. And then as soon as I'm invincible I'm going to beat your skull in until you're decapitated by my fists.
While William couldn't read minds, he correctly guessed that Evil Jeff was just going along until he obtained all of the dimensional powers before he tried to kill him. But this didn't bother him in the slightest. Because as soon as all of the powers were collected, the boy was as good as dead.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"Yes Ted. I'll let you know when I'll be coming back. But for now I'm going to keep working from home. I'll call you tomorrow about the Wisniewski case. Good night."
Jeff sighed deeply as he hung up the phone, thinking about how the course of his life had gone. He was sure he would have gone back to being a lawyer as soon as he graduated Greendale. But instead he had ended up doing consulting work full time as a freelance agent. The pay rate was good and he was able to set his own hours (which was a big advantage when you spent most nights fighting crime.) While he worked with a few law firms he mostly spent his time at Hamish, Hamish and Hamlin, to the point where he even had his own office there. But he had severely cut back to be there for Annie (or more accurately try his best to be there for her while she avoided him) after she had gained super strength. Any work he did was now done strictly from home.
He heard the front doorknob turn, followed a moment later by Annie walking into the apartment. "Hey Sweetie. How was your day?"
"Fine." she said without tone or infliction.
"I made chicken cacciatore, with green beans and those seasoned potatoes you like"
"I'm not hungry." She started walking when Jeff stepped in front of her. "Jeff-."
"Annie."
"Get out of my way." She said in a low dangerous voice.
"I just want to talk to you, like when two people love each other and one is deeply concerned for the other."
"I can't do this right now." She pushed past him and walked towards the bedroom.
"Then when Annie?" She stopped and tightly closed her eyes as Jeff came up behind her. "You won't talk to me, you keep pushing everyone away. You can't keep shutting yourself out like this. I know this is hard for you-."
"You don't know anything!" She turned around in anger, causing Jeff to take a step back. "You have no idea what I'm going through. "
"Then talk to me Annie. Tell me what I obviously can't see."
"What you can't see Jeff." she angrily spat back at him. "Is that I'm losing myself. Every moment that passes I feel like I'm contaminated and wrong. Everyone keeps trying to have me focus on the positive, telling me how lucky I am to have this 'gift'. But all I feel is inhuman. Every time I do anything I'm terrified I'll break or hurt something or someone. I'm constantly on edge trying to relearn how to do everything normally. And the worst part of it is that this is me now. This is who I am. Even at the worst of my Adderal addiction I knew I could crawl back and feel human again. I can't do that here. This is how I am now, and I hate it!"
Jeff desperately blinked back tears as he tried to think of something to say. But he couldn't think of anything. He didn't have a stellar 'Jeff Winger speech' to make everything all better. This time he had no idea how to respond to how she was feeling.
Annie quickly marched across the room and threw the front door open, letting out a shriek of anger from accidently ripping the doorknob off. "I can't be here right now. I have to-." She threw the doorknob on the floor (ignoring that it was now imbedded in the wooden boards) and ran down the stairs.
"Wait! Annie wait!" Jeff yelled as he ran after her, not even stopping to put his shoes on. He tore down the stairwell and pushed open the lobby door, stopping in the doorway as he watched her race down the street.
He considered following her. He wasn't sure she should be alone in the state she was in. And it wouldn't be hard for him to track her. But he decided to let her be on her own and work out what she was going through. He walked back up to their apartment, hoping he had made the right decision.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Annie ran as fast as she could down the streets of Greendale, covering several miles before finally slowing down to a brisk walk. She was already in great shape from her vigorous training, and after gaining super strength her stamina and endurance had improved even more so. By the time she finally stopped to catch her breath she realized she was in a completely unfamiliar part of town.
As she looked around she saw that she was standing next to a pharmacy. As soon as she saw the building she realized what was inside, and practically started salivating at the thought of all the pills that were in there. She walked to the darkened building and gently turned the locked doorknob, proving that it was closed for the night.
It wouldn't be that hard to break in here, she thought. I can easily break the door open and any further locks. And I know exactly what I'm looking for. I could be in and out in a few minutes.
Suddenly coming to her senses she backed away, trying to get over the shock of what she had just been thinking. She had been clean for the past twelve years. And while there had been times she had been severely tempted to find some Adderall and use again (when Pierce was killed by El Tigre, when Troy was beaten into a coma and then Jeff subsequently broke up with her to protect her) she had always fought back against the urges and temptation.
But this was worse than the other times she had come close to relapsing. Like she had earlier yelled at Jeff, how she felt right now was who she now was. Because of what she had gained she might never feel human again, and that sickened her. She wanted to forget about how she felt and focus on something, anything, else. And she knew that Adderall would accomplish that.
Just then she heard a cry off in the distance. She looked over and saw someone standing on the bridge that went over the harbor (it didn't matter if Abed Five said it had formed only since the dimensional splitting. To her it still seemed natural that Greendale was on the water). The person had stepped over the guardrail and was holding onto it with both hands as they leaned down. Annie ran over to the bridge, but stopped abruptly when she saw who the person hanging over the edge was.
It was Britta.
Or more accurately, it was Britta if she was a crazy homeless woman. She looked like she hadn't bathed or changed her clothes in weeks. She was dirty, her hair was a tangled mess and her clothes were tattered. But more alarming then her appearance was how she was acting. She was muttering to herself and kept involuntarily switching and shaking.
"Britta?"
"No no no no no. I won't, that can't. They hold me down and make me…I won't. I won't kill myself. I'll kill myself before I kill myself again."
"Britta!"
"No don't. They put it in me, made me put it in. The blood and the death, then the light. Now they…they are wolf and I am prey."
Britta continued shaking her head as Annie tried to figure out what to do. She was standing on the opposite side of the bridge, and even if she ran she wouldn't be fast enough to make it to Britta before she let go. Instead she took a careful step forward, hoping she could calmly talk to Britta before she reached her. "Britta, look at me. It's me, Annie. It's going to be all right."
Britta turned her head and looked behind her. As soon as she saw Annie she let out a scream that was filled with terror. As she started to let go of the railing Annie stared deep into Britta's eyes, reacting purely on instinct to try and save her. Even though she hadn't used the Hawthorne stare in months she remembered exactly how to do it. She just prayed she could hold eye contact long enough for it to take hold.
Almost instantly Britta's eyes glazed over as the stare took effect on her. Before Annie could process on how it had worked must faster than usual her spine bent backwards as she glowed with the same kind of yellow light that formed when someone killed their other dimensional self. As the light left her she straightened her back, breathing hard as she tried to make sense of what just happened. Annie looked up and saw Britta shake her head in confusion before she let go of the guardrail.
Instinctively Annie ran towards Britta. As soon as she started running everything around her moved as if it were in super slow motion, even though she herself was moving normally. Despite knowing it was physically impossible she managed to make it to the other side of the bridge and grab hold of Britta's hand.
"NO! I WON'T!" Britta screamed. She thrashed around, showing the same amount of strength that Annie possessed. Annie just had time to notice that Britta didn't have a burn mark on either of her hands before Britta broke away from Annie's grasp. Annie tried to grab hold of Britta, but couldn't as she slipped out of reach. She could only watch in shock as the Britta before her fell into the icy waters below.
Annie placed her hands on the back of her neck, trying desperately to make sense of what just happened. The Britta that just fell in the water was not the Britta from this dimension. But why did she went to kill herself, and what was she talking about before she jumped? Had she been afraid of me because she thought I was the evil version of me, Annie thought. And what happened before when I used the Hawthorne stare on her? I glowed with yellow light and then I was able to run over and catch her in the blink of an eye.
Unable and unwilling to process it all Annie started running again. As soon as her legs started pumping everything around her became a blur, with the world seeming to move in slow motion. Images passed by her at lightning speed, although she was able to notice everything that was flying by her. She kept on moving, despite feeling like she was on a drug trip. When she finally stopped she gasped when she saw her surroundings. She was standing on a road with unfamiliar mountain ranges around her. A little ways in front of her she spotted a sign. She walked towards it, but then stopped in shock when she saw what the sign said.
It read "Welcome to Montana"
Annie started breathing rapidly, doubling over as she threw up on the side of the road. Somehow she had now gained super speed (though she should have realized it sooner somehow she hadn't fully processed it until just now) in addition to increased strength, and had just run across two states as if it was nothing. While she knew it had to do with using the Hawthorne stare on the other Britta she had no idea how that caused her to gain super speed. She had used the stare hundreds of times and this had never happened before. So why did it happen now?
As she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand she forced herself to take deep breaths to try and calm down. But she couldn't stop thinking about how she now had another thing that would keep her from feeling human, and would have to relearn even more to try and act normally. Finally she straightened up as she knew what she had to do to make herself feel better.
At the nearest town she purposely searched the shops on Main Street until she found a pharmacy. Although it was locked she was easily able to break the door off its hinges. She went inside and was able to swipe a big bottle of pills and get out in only a few seconds. She jogged (which looked like a full on Olympic sprint to a normal person) until she found an abandoned ally.
Trying to control her shaking hands she opened the large Adderall container and tipped it over as a number of small white pills fell into her open palm. She looked at the pills, feeling a sense of comfort and familiarity about to return to her.
Although she couldn't stop shaking and a voice in her head screamed for her to stop she slowly brought her hand up towards her face. Closer and closer her hand came up towards her. Saliva dripped down her chin as her mouth opened, her tongue extended as the pills were millimeters from entering her body.
Just before they entered her mouth she stopped, and slowly brought her hand down. Yes, the pills had brought her a release. But they also brought her pain and misery. They had made her crazy, and were the cause of her losing everything she had worked for. As amazing as the benefits of using them were, the risks and pitfalls were even greater.
Annie screamed and threw the handful of pills at the brick wall of one of the buildings, where they flew into the brick as if they were bullets shot from a gun. She punched the wall in rage, cracking the brick and hardened cement. She punched the wall with rapid ferociously, bellowing loudly as her fists turned the brick to red powder. When she finally stopped she had punched completely through the wall, to the point where it was almost completely destroyed.
Breathing hard she ran her hands through her hair as she tried to calm down. As she regained her composer she looked at her knuckles, seeing that the skin was split and ripped open. Annie wiped the blood away before she started running back to Greendale.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Jeff pulled his shirt off as he climbed into bed. It was 2 in the morning and he was exhausted. While he originally wasn't going to he decided to go out searching for Annie. But after an hour of looking he went back and decided it would be better to give her space and wait until she returned on her own. Wanting to wait up for her he tried to keep himself occupied, despite feeling like a kid with ADD. He fixed the front doorknob, did some paperwork for the Wisniewski case, watched TV, attempted to play solitaire and then bejeweled on his phone. But he eventually became too tired to stay up anymore and decided to turn in.
As Jeff lay down he hoped Annie was better when she returned, or at least wasn't doing any worse. He closed his eyes as sleep took hold of him.
He gripped his dinosaur bed sheets in terror as he heard the yelling in the hallway. He was five years old and his parents were fighting again. He heard his father screaming at his mother, then that horrible soft thud sound of fists hitting flesh. It was the same sound he heard when kids fought in kindergarten. He heard the thud again, followed by his mother screaming and pledging for his father to stop. All that followed was more yelling and crying.
Jeff slowly got out of bed and walked on tiptoes to his closed bedroom door. He was terrified of his father and knew he should stay in bed. But he couldn't stand being in here while all this was going on outside. Carefully he turned the doorknob and slipped out into the hallway. Instantly he regretted it as he saw the terrible sight before him.
His father was standing over his mother, bellowing at her while she moaned in pain. Blood poured down her face as she placed her hand over her broken nose and split lip. She weakly cried for him to stop but he wouldn't listen to her. Instead he kicked her hard in her ribs, causing her to scream a horrible cry of pain.
Just then another cry filled the hallway. It took Jeff a moment to realize it had involuntarily come from himself. His father turned around and saw Jeff staring at him in fear. He bellowed as he charged towards him. Jeff tightly closed his eyes as his father advanced towards him.
As Jeff opened his eyes he saw that he was standing in a different part of the hallway. He was no longer a child but a grown man. He looked down and saw a woman lying on the ground at his feet. While at first he thought it was his mother he quickly realized she wasn't her. Jeff let out a gasp as he realized who she was.
The woman at his feet was Annie.
She rolled over onto her back and pushed herself up, holding herself up with her arms. Unlike his mother she didn't have a bruise or a mark on her. Although there was fear in her eyes, somehow Jeff was able to sense that he wasn't the one she was afraid of.
Jeff reached down and pulled Annie to her feet. As they silently looked at each other Jeff felt someone approach them. Without even turning around he was able to sense that his father was the one standing right behind him. "Do it son. Show her who's in charge. She's nothing. Remind her of where she stands."
Jeff tried to control the panic and rage that took hold of him as his father continued to whisper in his ear. "She's talked back to you and made you feel insignificant. Show her that Wingers are to be respected, not belittled. Be a man Jeffrey!"
"OK." Jeff said. He raised his fist and punched his father square in the jaw, causing him to stumble back several feel before he fell to the ground. Years of anger and resentment came flooding out of Jeff as he marched towards his father. He punched at him again, but before he could make contact his father grabbed his fist and held Jeff as if he were a rag doll.
"Fine then. Have it your way. Goodbye Jeffrey." Jeff felt himself glow red hot as his father grabbed onto him with both hands. Jeff cried out as he exploded into a thousand pieces.
Jeff sat straight up in bed, feeling himself to make sure he was still there. His heart was pounding wildly against his ribcage and he was covered in sweat. It was just a dream, he thought. A terrible nightmare.
He tried to process what he had just experienced in his dream. Although sadly the first part of the dream wasn't really a dream at all, but rather a memory. Everything that had happened in the dream when he was a child, from him terrified in bed to his father advancing on him, had really happened. It was one of several horrendous memories regarding his father, memories he had only fully shared with one other person.
Trying to ignore the pain of remembering his childhood Jeff instead focused on the later aspects of the dream as he tried to decipher what they meant. He had been standing over Annie as she lay on the floor. She was in the same position his mother had been in, but unlike his mother she hadn't been beaten.
While a physiatrist might interpret that it meant Jeff had fears that he would hurt Annie he knew that wasn't the case. Yes, there had once been a very real time he was afraid he might hurt her someday like his father hurt his mother. But he knew now that would never happen. He had been tested and he had passed.
It was one night not long after they started living together. He couldn't remember what exactly had started that fight. But he clearly remembered the intensity that it escalated into. He was screaming at her, angrier then he could ever remember being. She in turn screamed back at him, matching him in rage as they both brought up every issue that had ever stood between them. He finally grabbed his coat and marched towards the door, wanting to get away. Before he could reach it Annie stepped in front of the door and blocked it, refusing to let him walk away until they worked this out.
What happened next would forever be burned into his memory.
"Get out of the way Annie!"
"I'm not letting you leave until we've worked this out!"
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
"NO!"
"Get out of my way right now or I'll-"
"YOU'LL WHAT! YOU'LL HIT ME JEFF!"
The impact of Annie's words caused Jeff to step back, as if he himself had been slugged in the gut. What she had just said was something he had feared would happen if he was pushed enough. And now that she had essentially challenged him he truly asked himself, "could I ever hit her?" As he looked into her rage twisted face, furious at her and even hating her at that moment, he realized quite simply that he couldn't. As angry as he was at that moment, he couldn't lay a finger on her.
Instead of leaving he stayed and they talked. There was more yelling, more arguing as they worked through every issue they had. Tears were shed by both of them as everything came pouring out of them. Jeff told her about his father and how he beat him and his mother and terrorized them both when Jeff was a boy. How he grew to hate all three of them; his father for everything that he did, his mother for defending and staying with the man that abused her, and himself for not being able to do anything to stop it. He told her how he feared that whatever evil drove his father to do what he did was inside of Jeff, and how because of that fear he kept people from getting too close to him for fear of hurting them. In turn Annie told Jeff about her own dysfunctional childhood and how her parents fought all the time. How she was afraid she would someday become like her mother; someone who was cold and turned her back on others when they needed her the most. She went into great detail about high school and her Adderall addiction and how she still feared that even after everything she was just a weak girl who would let her past consume her. They ended up staying up all night talking and working things out. And while it was an extremely painful experience for both of them, when it was over they knew they were better off for it.
Not only did they become closer after that night, but afterwards their fights changed also. It wasn't that they argued or fought more then they usually did. If anything they fought less. But rather now when they fought they didn't hold anything back. Instead of keeping it all in they clearly let the other know when something bothered them. This allowed them to be more open and honest with one another.
Jeff rubbed his temples as he tried to remember the rest of the dream. His father had been urging him to hit Annie. And instead Jeff punched him. But what did it mean? He understood why Jeff would attack his father. But why in the dream would his father have urged him to hit Annie? What was the meaning behind it? And what about the end, when his father destroyed him. What did that signify?
Just then he heard a key scrape in the front door lock. He got out of bed and walked into the living room just as the door opened and Annie slunk in. "Annie. Are you all right…I was so worried about you." He went over to her but stopped just short from hugging her at the last moment, knowing how she felt right now about being touched. He smiled a little half smile when he saw how her head was hanging in shame and her hands were deep in her pockets. "I know we once said that we'd never walk out on a fight. But since this was more you just yelling at me I don't think this counts as a actual two person fight."
Annie glanced up at Jeff's lame attempt at joking about the situation. There were many things about tonight (another Britta being here and killing herself, her gaining super speed) that she knew she should tell him. But right now there was only one thing she truly needed to get out. "I almost used tonight."
Her eyes filled with shame as Jeff's jaw tensed up and his eyes filled with shock and sadness. When he didn't say anything she continued. "I broke into a pharmacy and stole some Adderall. I, I was standing in an ally ready to shove handfuls of pills down my throat, until I didn't care about anything. Until I had some relief, however temporary, from how I feel every moment of every day. I didn't. I threw the pills away. But Jeff, I was THIS close." She held her hand right up to her open mouth to illustrate how close she had been to actually swallowing the pills.
They stood there for several moments, neither of them saying anything. Finally Jeff took a deep breath as he looked into her eyes. "Well, the important thing is you didn't use. When it counted you were able to stop yourself." He said in a calm rational voice.
"DON'T!" Annie screamed at Jeff. "Can you just not."
"Can I not what?"
"Stop being so calm and understanding about all of this. I've been treating you like shit. I almost downed a handful of Adderall tonight. Tell me I'm weak or pathetic or something!"
"NO." Jeff said as he looked at Annie. While his voice was calm she could see real annoyance etched on his face. "Annie, I may not be able to understand exactly what you're going through. But I know this is hard for you. And I'm doing everything I can think of to help you through this." He paused for a moment as anger flowed into his words. "But I will not play the part of the asshole husband who berates his wife that you've seemed to cast me in. For some reason you seem to want me to, I don't know, scream and blame you for what you're going through. Well, I'm not doing that. I'm not being the insensitive jerk who doesn't care about what you're going through. So get that notion out of your head!"
Annie balled her hands into fists, swaying where she stood as she seethed in anger. She was about to start screaming when the anger suddenly left her as she was overtaken by complete sadness and defeat. She fell to the floor like a marionette whose strings had just been cut. While tears fell down her cheeks she didn't make a sound.
Jeff went over to Annie and sat down next to her, taking her in his arms. She struggled but he didn't let go, and after a moment she relaxed and leaned back into him.
They sat there all night, neither of them saying anything as Jeff held onto her. Annie trembled as she rested against his bare chest, trying to absorb some of Jeff's strength. Because while she could physically juggle cars with ease, emotionally she was completely drained and empty.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The internet is a wondrous thing, William Winger thought as he printed out the registration form. While before he would have had to kidnap a priest to do this he could now become ordained himself. This made things all the more easier.
He walked into the sitting room, where Evil Jeff and Evil Annie were standing a few feet away from each other, barely looking at one another. A tied up and gagged homeless man was also in the room, looking at everyone in horror.
"Why did we have to get a homeless man to be a witness? Why couldn't we have just used-."
Evil Annie's question was drowned out by a loud moan. "SHUT THE BASEMENT DOOR!" William yelled. She raised her hand and the door closed and locked on its own accord. He glared at Evil Annie. "I refuse to be in the company of our guest anymore then I have to be. Now, let's get on with it. If you two will stand next to each other."
He waited until the two of them begrudgingly stood next to each other before he began. "We're here tonight to join Jeffrey Winger and Annie Edison in the bound of marriage. I'll skip to the part that matters. Annie, do you take this man in matrimony?"
"Sure."
"Say 'I do.'"
"Yes, I do." She said through gritted teeth.
"Good girl. Now Jeffrey, do you take this woman in matrimony?"
"I do." Evil Jeff said, as if it pained him to do so.
"Now, exchange the rings."
Glaring at each other, Evil Annie took Evil Jeff's human hand and forcefully put a gold band on his finger. He then grabbed her hand and roughly put her ring on her finger.
"As it may, you two are now bound by matrimony. You may kiss the bride. Kiss!" William pointedly said. "This shouldn't be that hard. You once were physically attracted to each other."
"That was a long time ago." Evil Jeff said. Rolling his eyes he gave Evil Annie a quick peck on her lips. "There."
"It is done then." William smiled as he turned to the terrified homeless man. "Thank you for being witness to this union. Your services will no longer be needed." With that he raised his hands and a ball of energy flew out of his palms, disintegrating the homeless man. "I always wanted to try out that spell."
"Why again was it so important that we were married?" Evil Jeff asked.
"All in good time. For now, I'd time for you two to jump dimensions. You have one more Jeff to kill before you finally face the superhero version."