"Oh… my mum's stupid dog," Abby said, picking up the pint-sized dog and putting him in the next room, shutting the door. "I can't believe she's making us watch him while she's out of town." She laughed. When she turned back to look at Connor, her face got serious and worried. "Connor… what's wrong with you? You look like you're having a heart attack or something. Maybe you should lie down."
"No… I'm fine…" he lied, unable to clear his face of the confused and terrified expression. His heart was thudding fast against his ribs. Things like this just don't happen… Helen had to of done something, but what and how? He took a deep breath and got up out of the bed. Walking a little ways, he immediately stopped in front of a large stand-up mirror; his skin was a little more tanned, his hair was still short but it was parted off to the side, giving him a more proper look. Aside from that, and being a little more muscular, not much about him was changed; he was even still wearing his fingerless gloves.
He threw his hands about his hair, making it mad like it normally was, before turning to Abby. "You said I was a doctor?"
She laughed with little humour. "Yes… Connor, if you can't remember who you are then I think there's something wrong with you. Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, yeah… I'm fine, Abs. I'm just having a really weird morning, that's all. What, uh… what happened to my paleontology degree I was going for?" He had become a doctor… this world had to be some sort of other reality. Either that… or Helen changed his reality completely.
"You changed your major after we got engaged… don't you remember? You were in your third year of college when you met me. And I didn't like you at first, but after about a month of knowing you, we went out. I hadn't planned on making much of it, but… well you know as well as I do that's where Jackson came from." She smiled and scoffed at herself.
"Jackson?"
Her face turned serious again. "Connor Temple! If you can't even remember your own child!" she started but he cut her off.
"No, I… I do. I was just… mucking around. I remember. I do. Uh, I've got to go to work," he lied again; he needed an excuse to leave and figure out what was going on.
"Connor, I need you to stay home today. I don't think you're well."
"I swear, I'm fine, Abs… I just need to get to work, sort some things out."
"Why do you keep calling me that? You haven't called me 'Abs' since we got married…"
"Uh…" He started walking to the door, trying not to trip over the kids toys that were scattered across the floor. "I'm sorry, Abby… I've got to go." Connor walked into a large living room with hard-wood flooring and wood-paneled walls. It was a beautiful house, no doubt… but he certainly didn't feel at home.
Running outside, he expected to see the Mini Cooper in the driveway, but instead there was a Van and… "No… way," he exclaimed upon seeing what was parked next to the van. "A Lamborghini Reventon… the batmobile's little brother," he said with a smile spread wide across his face. He took the obvious choice and jumped into the Lamborghini.
Connor drove along the familiar roads. At least they were still in London… and he knew exactly where he had to go. With the speed of the amazing, $1.6 million, car, he was able to reach the ARC in no time; even though the outside of the building still looked the exact same, this was definitely not the ARC. When he opened the doors of the building, it was completely empty; deserted, and it looked like it had been that way for a very long time.
He ran his fingers through his hair and spun in a circle, looking at the mess the building had become. "Wha-what happened? What happened, Cutter? What have I done?" He hung his head and dropped to his knees. Then he let out an angry growl. "Ahh! How could I have done this? I let Helen pull me in… and I failed you, Professor. First the artifact was destroyed, and now I've let her destroy the fabric of reality; twist it into something it's not. Without the ARC… anomalies will cause so many people to die. I've failed…"
"Not quite, Connor."
He jerked his head up and saw Helen standing in front of him. Anger swelled deep in his chest; he wanted, more than anything, for her to be dead and out of his life. But, he had to put things back and he couldn't do that without her... however much that sickened him. "What the hell have you done, Helen?"
She put her hand under his chin. "Aw… have I upset you?" He jerked away from her and the smile left her face. "I did what I said I was going to do, Connor. I put the world back the way it was supposed to be. The ARC is gone… the future of the world should no longer be doomed, and everyone's lives can go on as normal. Don't you see? This is just the beginning of a brand new world! This is the way life should have been. Here in this new world, you never showed Cutter that newspaper. You never convinced him to go look at that creature sighting in the Forest of Dean… don't you see? It all started with you, Connor.
You were the one who caused Nick to get involved, and in doing that, he got James Lester involved, and that's how everything started. But now… none of that happened. You and Abby are living a normal and amazing life, the ARC no longer exists- and trust me; that is a very good thing, whether you believe it or not- and Nick…" she trailed off, realising.
Connor understood. "Cutter's still alive," he finished. "But none of that matters, Helen! It didn't need to be changed! The ARC was not the one who destroyed the Earth's future… it was you! You! You psychotic bitch!" Connor lost it. He'd never once in his life felt this part of him… he'd always been the calm one. He was always the geek, the one who went to Comic-Con, and the one who never got the girl. He wasn't an angry person, and he hardly ever cursed… but this wasn't him anymore; he felt like a completely different person. His anger was out of control and no words could describe how he felt at this moment.
Helen was about to speak but Connor jumped up off the floor and stood in front of her, his face inches from hers, brooding; the heat of his anger could literally be felt. For the first time, he actually saw Helen Cutter genuinely flinch in fear. But he didn't care. All he wanted was to make her understand what she'd done, and what she had to do. "Your mind is warped out of control, Helen! Why can't you see that it has been you all along? Your other self, from that other reality; the one who died? She started the anomalies! Area 51 and all that! You've made it so much worse! Why don't you just die? Die and leave us all the hell alone! You killed your own husband, for heaven's sake! How do you even think you're still doing the right thing?" He looked into her eyes, seeing nothing but pure evil. He thought that maybe… just maybe he'd gotten her to understand.
It took her a few moments of thinking before she responded, and her response was not what Connor wanted to hear. "I think you're wrong, Connor."
He threw his arms in the air and walked away in anger, running his hands through his thick hair again. "Just go on with your life, Connor. You've got the girl you always wanted, Nick's alive, and I'll be gone out of your life forever… it's so very simple."
"No! Nothing is ever simple, Helen! This is not the world that it started out to be! You put things back right now, or so help me… I will kill you, Helen. Like someone should have done so very long ago."
"That's a nice sentiment, Connor, but I don't think you're capable of that. Besides, if you really want to go back then you would need me."
He laughed with only a bit of humour. "I don't need you. No, because you see… I've got Cutter." He wasn't thinking. All he knew was that if he didn't do something, then Helen would screw up the world even more than she already had. He still had the gun from before, and this time he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, aiming straight at her head. It was the only thing that was ever simple to Connor… bang! And she was lying on the floor, dead. He froze, his face a mask of emotionless torture. Slowly, he lowered his arm and sat down on the floor in front of Helen's lifeless body. But this time… he wasn't going to take any chances.
Connor grabbed a pack of matches and quickly lit the place on fire, watching as Helen burned, like she should have long ago in the fire at the ARC… the fire she had caused. Cutter never should have gone back to save her. Now she got what she deserved.
After he was sure the job was done, Connor left to find Cutter. Maybe he could help put things back… just maybe. But, how was he going to find out where Cutter was in this warped world? This is a new world… a brand new world; and some part of Connor admired that- wanted to figure out how Helen had done it. But, there was no way to do that now. All he needed to do, was put everything back to normal.
So he set out to find Nick Cutter; searching the phone books, calling each Nick Cutter there was until he heard the familiar Scottish accent on the other line. It was a recording because he hadn't picked up the phone, but at least Connor knew where to find him now. He ripped the page from the book and headed for the address listed.
He arrived at a small house near the Forest of Dean- why Cutter would have ever chosen to live here was a mystery to Connor. He knocked on the door, but didn't get a response until the third knock. Cutter appeared in the doorway, his hair long and messy, a beard and mustache growing on his face, and his clothes raggedy. He looked very un-kept. "Professor Nick Cutter?" Connor inquired, warily.
Cutter eyed him for a few seconds. "No one's called me Professor for years now… what do you, kid?" his Scottish accent was just as familiar as always, but his voice seemed dead inside, like he had nothing to live for. He reeked of alcohol, too.
"Uh… what happened to you, professor? You look terrible."
"…Are you flirting with me? 'Cause if ya are, I'm gonna be shutting the door now… and I might even get my gun and shoot at ya."
"No! No… I'm just… I need your help, Cutter. But, first I've got to know what happened to you. Are you not a professor anymore?"
Cutter eyed him again but eventually stepped outside, shutting the door behind him and sat down on the pathetic excuse for a porch railing. Connor was surprised it didn't break under the weight. "No, I'm not, kid. I got fired when I had a "nervous breakdown", or whatever they wanted to call it. Bottom line, I was a bit unstable for a while after my wife disappeared, and one day it all just… exploded out of me. Cost me my job and my friends… and my life. Alright? So, what did you want?"
Connor thought about how do approach this, but he figured it might just be better to lay it all out there in truth to him. He took a deep breath. "My name is Connor Temple, and in another life we knew each other. I worked with you, fighting and closing anomalies; links to the past, doorways in time to worlds we can barely imagine.
We were a team; you, me, Abby, Stephen, and then Danny, Sarah and Becker. But your wife, Helen Cutter killed you, and then she was killed, but it turned out she wasn't really dead; it was her from an alternate reality, so she came back and coaxed me into her plots. She changed the world into this world so the Anomaly Research Centre never existed and that you, me and the others were never a team, never met. Then I killed Helen Cutter and came looking for you and now here I am," he finished, sucking in air from the long explanation. "Wow, I'm really thirsty now… got any water?"
Cutter looked like he was honestly about to call the police on Connor and have him thrown into a little white room with a box of Crayolas. But the only thing he said was, "And why do you need me?"
"I need you to help me find out how to put the world back the way it was," he explained, smacking his dry mouth.
Cutter nodded, pondering the thought. "Either I've had too much to drink, or you're completely insane." He walked to his door and opened it, heading inside.
Connor shut the door quickly. "No, Professor! Please, you have to believe me. You're my only hope; I'll never make it back home if you don't help me," he pleaded.
"Actually… I might have something you'd be interested in. Come inside, kid." He opened the door and Connor hesitated before entering the small house. This new world… Connor had everything he ever wanted; he was married to Abby, had a kid, had a brilliant house, made great money, and lived a great life... did he actually want to leave it? But, then he looked at Cutter. This wasn't right… he had to put things back the way they were… didn't he? A New World, he thought…
TBC in Chapter- can't you count? I don't need to say it. :P
So tell me what you think! Review, review! Helen is FINALLY FINALLY dead! HUZZAH!(that is such a great word; huzzah) :D
Thank ya for readin'!