"Oh Archie." Pierce laughed as he settled back in his easy chair. Abed had gotten him the first three seasons of All in the Family for his birthday and he was halfway through the second season. Of course, he was well aware that birthdays were now kind of meaningless. But he wasn't going to say anything about it until he had to.

He tried keeping his eyes on the screen, even though he kept glancing at the grandfather clock by the fireplace. Annie usually called at ten sharp to check in when she was patrolling. It was now well past eleven and she hadn't called yet. He hoped it was just because she was busy protecting the city. Or because she was with Jeff and forgot to call to tell him she was turning in. But he couldn't help being worried. Every time she went out patrolling he was anxious until he knew she was done for the night. He supposed it was how parents of cops felt when they were on duty.

Just then he froze and listened carefully as he heard a slight creak from the floorboards. Slowly he got up and pulled out the crowbar he had hidden under his chair. He listened as the creaking became more prominent. "Come on out!"

He looked at the foyer as El Tigre walked into the den. "Hello Bernard. I figured I'd be seeing you eventually."

El Tigre sneered as he looked at Pierce. "Oh, big man with your itty bitty weapon there. You're looking paunchy old man. You really think you can take me."

"Only one way to find out."

El Tigre waved a finger in front of his face. "You know this is all a lie right. This whole Zen martial arts master thing. It's not really you. It's just how you are in this realm."

"Well you're not even real. You don't exist outside of this reality. So what does that say about you?"

Yelling in anger El Tigre retracted the medal claws in his gloves and charged at Pierce. Pierce blocked him and hid El Tigre in his leg with the crowbar. As El Tigre fell to the ground Pierce swung his crowbar at him. El Tigre rolled out of the way and jumped in the air, kicking Pierce in the face with a spinning kick. Pierce fell back, his crowbar slipping from his hand. Regaining his footing before he fell down Pierce blocked El Tigre's blows as the mad man slashed at him, trying desperately to slash him with those medal claws. Pierce managed to punch El Tigre in the chest a few times before he cracked him full force in the jaw. El Tigre fell back and landed on his ass, shaking his head dazedly as he rubbed his jaw.

Just then Pierce cried out as he was hit from behind by a stun gun. As he dropped to the floor someone pulled his arms behind him and tied his wrists together with duct tape. He gasped as he was turned over and saw who his attacker was. "You. I know you."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Pierce. Of course, I've met a few versions of you already. But this is the first time I've met this version of you."

"Where, where do I…?"

"Don't feel that bad for not placing me. After all, we only once had a brief yet memorable encounter. However, I believe you're quite familiar with my son, young Jeffery."

William Winger snapped his fingers at El Tigre. "Bernard. Bring him in." As El Tigre left the room William knelt down beside Pierce. "See, here's the thing. I need your assistance on a few matters. And while you may not want to help me, I'm going to get the information I need."

"If you take me then others will come looking for me."

"This is true. Luckily I've taken that into consideration." As William stood up Bernard brought in a bound man with a burlap sack on his head. As he tore the sack off Pierce gasped in shock as he saw that the bound man was himself.

Before the other Pierce could speak El Tigre pulled a knife out and slit his throat. Pierce looked away as the other him literally died in front of him. William looked at the dead man with indifference. "Take the body somewhere visible, where others will find it." He paused as a nasty smile crept on his face. "Wait. On second thought make sure Bright Eyes is the one who finds him. Wait until she gets to him and then attack her."

"If you hurt her-"

"Shut up." William said as he kicked Pierce.

"So you want her dead boss?" El Tigre said with glee.

"Her survival will all depend on how well of a student she is. But yes, fight her and we'll see which one of you wins." As El Tigre left will the other Pierce's body William grabbed Pierce and dragged him to the basement.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Abed opened the front door, waving them inside. "Come in." As Jeff and Annie rushed in they followed Abed to the spare bedroom Chang used to live in before he moved out. "He's in here. He's stable, but he's weak. He said he was held captive for the last two years."

"Who did this?" Annie said.

"He wouldn't say. He said there were things he needed to tell all of us and he wouldn't say anything until everyone was here."

As they walked into the bedroom Jeff quietly acknowledged Britta, Troy and Shirley. But Annie's eyes were just on the man lying in the bed. She rushed forward and knelt next to him. "Pierce." She tried to control her tears as he took hold of her hand. "Oh, Pierce."

"Annie." He smiled up at her. "How's things? "

Everyone nervously laughed at how seemingly normal a question it was. Pierce looked at Annie's hand and spotted the gold band on her finger. "Is that…"

Annie nervously gasped as she glanced at her ring. "Yea. We got married a few months ago."

"That's great Annie. Though Jeff, I hope this isn't just a further ploy to cover up your gayness."

Jeff simply chuckled at that, glad to see that after everything Pierce hadn't changed all that much. "I'm glad you're here Pierce."

"He's stable for now." Jeff and Annie looked over at Pierce's personal doctor, noticing him for the first time. "As I told you Mr. Hawthorne, you seem to be doing well under the circumstances. Though I myself thought I was going crazy when I was told you were alive. You're malnourished, so I'm going to keep you on a glucose IV drip overnight and I've left you some Spirulina tablets to take for the next few days. I also recommend you start exercising within the next few days to build up your strength, say using light hand weights to start. I'll come by tomorrow to check up on you. Mr. and Mrs. Nadir, call me if there's any problem."

Pierce waited until the doctor left before he scoffed. "What does that quack know? I feel fine. I told him I wanted a steak dinner and he said 'you need to go slow on your food intake'. Like he knows anything. Well, since you'll all here I might as well tell you what happened. I'm sure you're first wondering why I'm here if you saw me dead. Well-."

"You had a evil twin, right?" Troy slumped as everyone looked at him. "What? You guys told me Chang had one."

"It's not an evil twin Troy. It's much more complicated than that. You see, the reason you thought I was dead was-."

"The you that was killed was a Pierce from another dimension." Abed said.

Pierce stammered in disbelief. "You know about that?"

"Yes Pierce, we know all about that. We met some of them last month." Britta said.

"We were attacked by evil versions of Abed, Annie and myself. And then we met other versions of Abed and Annie from another dimension." Shirley said.

"That's what led to Annie getting super powers." Troy said in wonder.

Pierce looked at Annie in shock. "You have super powers?"

She slunk into herself a little before nodding her head. "The evil version of me tried to kill me. And to save me the other not evil Annie forced me to kill her while I was barely conscious and now…"

"Jeeze. You're gone for a couple years and suddenly everything goes topsy turby. Are computers still around or has that fad finally run its course?"

"Pierce, focus. Who did this to you?" Britta said.

Pierce sighed deeply before he looked over at Jeff. "The person that did this to me was your father Jeff."

Everyone nervously looked at Jeff as he looked at Pierce with an expressionless face. "Pierce, if this is some kind of joke. If this is another sick game like when you gave us bequeathals…" He said in a low dangerous voice.

"Jeff, I swear this time I'm not making it up. Your father, William Winger, was the one who kidnapped me and had a me from another dimension killed so no one would look for me. He's also the one behind your evil versions hunting down and killing each of your other dimensional selves. He's at least recruited the evil versions of Annie, Jeff, A-bed and Troy. And from what I heard he forced a version of Britta to kill a few versions of herself. "

Jeff leaned against the wall in shock, trying to absorb what he just heard. Annie got up and went over to him. "Jeff…" Jeff held up a hand, silently asking her to give him a moment. She went back over to Pierce and sat down in a chair next to the bed. "Why did he want you?"

"He wanted me because of what I knew about different dimensions. That and this book he wanted."

"Osbourne's book." Abed said.

"You know about that too?" Pierce said.

"Wait, YOU knew about it! About all of it!" Jeff angrily said as he pushed himself off the wall.

"My family and the Osbourne family collaborated together on studying the occult. I was told that at some point a object would be used that would split reality into several different dimensions, creating several different versions of us. I had no idea when it would be used, for all I knew it wouldn't even be in my lifetime. I just knew at some point it would be used."

Shirley shook her head in frustration. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Shirley, my family stopped associating with the Osbourne's when I was still a kid. And I never personally participated in their discussions and practices. I had pretty much put all of that behind me. And Jeff, I had no idea your father was involved in any of this."

"So why did he want you?" Abed asked.

"It seems I knew more then I realized. When I was a boy I often overheard meetings that were held at my home. I had forgotten most of what I heard. But, it seems William had ways of extracting the information from me, even if it was buried deep in my memory. The main thing he wanted from me was how to get the book, because no matter what he tried he couldn't find it."

"I thought Starburns knew where the book was?" Shirley said.

"He did Shirley. But William didn't know that. Through me he found out that a powerful spell had been put on the book so only a Osbourne could disclose the location of the book. And that the information on the location could only be given over freely. I'm guessing it was a security plan in case someone else tried to get that book."

"I um, I went to see Starburns last month and he told me where the book was located." Shirley said.

"Yes. But William manipulated things so you would go to Starburns and ask for it. He left evidence of the book's existence for the other A-bed to find so he would tell you. And knowing your history with Starburns, William knew you would be able to guilt him into revealing the location of the book."

Shirley shook her head in shock as the realization on how she had been manipulated to help Jeff's father hit her. "I feel so used. How could…"

"It's what he does." Jeff slowly said. "He's skilled at getting exactly what he wants. Most of the time anyway…"

"Well, what does he want?" Troy asked Pierce.

"He already has the book. So right now he wants all six dimensional powers. To have super strength, super speed, be able to create fire and ice, read minds, move objects with his mind, and be invulnerable to physical harm. I figured out that he helped to create the dimensional conduit, which means he has no other selves and can't get the powers that way. The only thing he can do is have someone else get all of them. Then he can extract them for himself."

"That's why our evil selves have been gaining the powers. So he can take them for himself." Annie said as the realization hit her.

"If he gets all those abilities along with the knowledge of that book, nothing will be able to stop him."

Jeff took a deep breath as he resigned himself to the confrontation that now had to occur. "Then we have to make sure he's stopped before that happens. Pierce, where is he?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

William screamed as he threw another bottle of liquor at the wall. He didn't even care that he was wasting the good stuff. He was furious.

"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!"

"I don't know." Evil Annie said as she nervously swayed, inching back to stay out of his way.

"He was chained up in the basement. Even if he got out of his restraints there's no way he could have gotten out of the mansion."

"It is his mansion. Maybe he knew something you didn't.

William shrieked in rage as he pulled at his hair. By now Pierce must have told his band of annoying heroes that he was behind all of this. Soon they would come storming here. He couldn't afford to face anyone. Even if he could take them there were still so many uncertainties. He wasn't going to chance anything until he got the dimensional powers and was truly untouchable.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He wasn't used to feeling nervous. He always took everything into consideration. Something unexpected happening wasn't something he had had to deal with in a while.

You're fine, he thought. This doesn't have to change anything. You just need to move up your timetable.

Just then a flash of light appeared in the room, followed with Evil Jeff appearing. He smiled as he pocketed the device that allowed him to jump between dimensions. "It's done. I killed him and obtained the power to read minds. I now just need to kill this realm's Jeff and I'll have all six."

William frowned as he saw that Evil Jeff was staring intently at him. After a moment he chuckled as he realized what was happening. "You really thought I wouldn't take precautions knowing you would be in my presence with the power to read minds." He tapped his temple a few times. "Mental cloaking spell. Now, it's time to put operation hero take down into action. Go get the orange potion on the third shelf in the library."

Evil Jeff glared at William before he begrudgingly left the room. "Annie, go change into your outfit."

"OK." Evil Annie started walking when she suddenly turned around. "Sir, do we really need him? He's just going to try and kill you once he has all six powers. I'm more then capable of killing this dimensions Annie and getting every power. You don't need him."

"Are you talking back to me?" The smile left her face as he stared down at her. "You seem to forget your place girl. Maybe you feel you've grown too comfortable because I share a bit more information with you. Maybe you need to be reminded of where you came from."

"Sir, I didn't mean-."

"SILENCE!" Evil Annie squeaked as he advanced towards her. "When I found you you were locked in an insane asylum, barely able to crawl out of your bed. You were so 'upset' because your gun accidently killed that stupid old man that you could hardly form a coherent thought. I gave you your mind and freedom back. But I'm starting to think you don't deserve it."

"NO PLEASE. I'M SORRY! I'LL-."

"Revertere!" Instantly Evil Annie dropped to the floor, twitching like a wounded insect. William watched her for several moments before he snapped his fingers. "Recro!" Slowly Evil Annie pulled herself to her feet, breathing heavily. "You see. I gave you your sanity back. And I can take it away just as easily if I choose to. Do NOT question me again. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now go change."

William shook his head as she left the room. Insubordination was running rapid. And the idea that he would have just one person obtain all six powers was absurd. He wasn't about to put all of his eggs in one basket again. He already did that once and it didn't work out.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

William waited outside the hospital for Richard Stephenson to step out. The good doctor was currently attending a meeting on improved surgical techniques. He may come off as a selfless do-gooder, but William knew the truth. He had demons inside of him that just needed to be nudged out. El Tigre had already done most of the work for him. Now he just had to finish it.

He had observed the Rich's from all seven dimensions before he decided on the one that would work best. At first he figured he'd go with the one from the 'evil' dimension. But that one was currently on death row for the convicted rape and murder of eight women. This one would be easier to both use and manipulate.

Just then the lobby door open and Rich stepped out. He let him walk for a few moments before approaching him. "Mr. Stephenson."

"Yes. Can I help you?"

"More importantly, I can help you."

"I'm not sure what help you can offer me. I'm doing fine right now."

"Really? You're happy walking around all the happy regular people, when you know you're nothing like them." He smiled as Rich stopped and looked at him. "I'm well aware on your feelings on humanity and on yourself. You hide it well, but I'm well aware of it."

"Look sir. I don't know who you are-."

"No you don't, Mr. Stephenson. But you do know my associate Bernard Chang. Oh yes, I know all about what you two have been trying to accomplish. Making people into mindless savages." He put his arm around Rich as he pulled him closer. "I can help you. If I understand you two have already figured out how to make people into savages. But you haven't figured out a way to get people to willingly want to take the drug. I can help you with that."

Rich looked at William as some of the darkness he struggled to keep in check surfaced. "So, you would make people want to be animals."

"I can make them want to take the drug. The rest will happen on its own." He waited as Rich thought about what he said. "You'll be the only one with sight in the land of the blind. The only sane one of a mass of mindless Cretans. What's more I can make you better. You already believe you are special and better then people. Well, I know how to make you a genuine god. I know how to make you be able to punch through steel, run as fast as a bullet. That and much more."

Rich looked at him, amazed at what he was hearing. It sounded crazy. And yet…" Ok, what do I have to do?"

"Am I to take it you're willing to accept my help?"

Rich held out his hand as they shook on their arrangement. "Yes, I am."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"I'm sorry. You're what?"

"I'm ending our partnership William."

William tried to control his anger as he looked at Rich's smug face. After all he had done the little shit was just abandoning him. Clearly he had underestimated his Messiah complex.

"Look, I appreciate all you've done for me. But the truth is I don't need you anymore. The sunshine pulls are ready to be distributed to the public. That's all I was interested in."

"You can't be serious. I'm offering you the chance to do incredible things."

Rich picked up a medal bar and easily bent it in half. "I already can."

"You've only acquired two powers. With a little more effort you'll be able to move things with your mind, read thoughts, become invincible."

"Listen, that's well and good. But I can already kill anyone I'd need to. I joined you to turn people into mindless zombies. Not kill versions of myself for some reason you've failed to tell me. So thank you. But this is goodbye."

William kept his rage in check as he looked into the doctor's eyes. He longed to pull a gun out and shoot him right between the eyes. But even if Rich was abandoning his plan, he realized the guy could still be useful. By turning the people of Greendale into zombies it would keep everyone distracted while he formulated how to find the book.

"Ok Richard. It's been a pleasure working with you. Take care."

He waited until Rich left before he turned to the closet. "Ok, you can come out now." The door opened and El Tigre stepped out. "You are to continue working with him. If he decides to reveal anything about me or other dimensions do whatever you have to do to silence him. Otherwise let him do whatever plan he has to create chaos."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Here it is." Evil Jeff said as he came in holding the orange potion."

"Drink it."

Evil Jeff looked at the potion, and then at his father as if he was crazy.

"I'm not asking you twice. It's necessary for the plan to work."

With a sigh of reluctance Evil Jeff unscrewed the top and drank it in one gulp. Instantly he gripped his body as he felt himself begin to change. His already muscled physique grew more bulky as his face shifted like liquid wax. Just as suddenly as the changes started they stopped as the pain subsided. Slowly he made his way over to a mirror, where he gasped in shock. He now had the body of Lou Ferrigno, with a face that resembled Paul Giamatti's.

"This isn't permanent, is it?" He said as he looked at his robotic arm, which was the only part of him that remained intact.

"It will ware off in about twelve hours. Your precious looks won't be sullied forever." William smiled as Evil Annie walked into room, wearing a replica Bright Eyes leather outfit. "Perfect. You look exactly like her. Now remember, he's not to die until the news crews are there. His death needs to be plastered on the nightly news for this to work."

As they left William grabbed several potion ingredients and started mixing them together in a large glass. Once he was done he pricked his finger and added a few drops of blood as the final ingredient.

"Let this space become sealed to all but the worthy. Let this household be barred to all but the chosen. May none except for those of the house of Winger be able to enter. Let it be protected from strangers and outsiders. Let it be a stronghold to those who matter!"

He smashed the glass on the floor, shuttering as he felt a rush of energy spread out all around him. While nothing appeared different, the manor was now magically barred to anyone that wasn't part of the Winger family. This now meant that even if Pierce and his superhero friends came storming here, they would be unable to enter.