JFK woke up Saturday morning feeling a little different than what he's used to.
Joan of Arc was all he could think about during the times he's not with her. Now the only thing occupying his mind is the uncertain future of his home town.
He picked up his phone from his nightstand and opened up YouTube. If this was 2003, he'd been doing some morning workout, but technology has a way of giving people an alternative.
The world hadn't changed that much since he'd been frozen. It's much easier to look at a naked woman online today than 20 years ago. But people acted mostly the same.
The idea of good and evil hasn't changed and he's not willing to agree on whatever's popular if it's something he doesn't agree with.
He was in the middle of watching what was known as a 'meme compilation' when his phone began to receive a call. It was from Joan of Arc, the girl of his life. Or at the very least, this part of it.
He stopped what he was doing and answered the call. "Good morning, Joanie. What's up?"
From the other end of the line, he heard a voice that didn't share his attitude.
"Oh, so now I have to CALL to hear a good morning from you!? Is that what I have to do now!?"
JFK wanted to hit himself. He let himself get distracted again. Not sending Joan a good morning text will earn him a half-hour lecture, whether it's over the phone or in person. She wouldn't mind waiting either. He can't name one person he's ever met who's more patient than her.
She needs somebody to have her on their mind or she just loses it. It's just one of those things that come from having an actual girlfriend and not a 'no strings attached' relationship. Right now, there are a lot of strings between the two of them. If he says anything that makes her mad, she's going to start cutting.
This is all getting too much for his less than perfect mind, but there's no way he's telling Joan that. She can already smell his fear.
"Okay Joan. You got me. I made a mistake. Is there-"
"Damn right you made a mistake! Now let me guess: You're going to try to make it up to me!"
JFK forces a smile. Even though this isn't one of those 'facetime' calls and Joan can't see it. "Yes! Exactly! You know me so well, Joanie! I'd do anything for you!"
He's begging God in his mind that Joan would soften up. Thankfully, she did.
"Okay, I can't stay mad at you. When you come over to my place later today, be sure to pick up some cronuts, okay? My foster mom left for work without feeding me again."
"Cronuts! Got it! I'll be on my way, Joanie! Now the question now is which one of us is going to hang up first!"
Joan didn't say anything back. Instead she ended the call.
"And she hung up on me." Said JFK. "It saves me some time, at least. Now I gotta pick up some… Wait, what the hell is a cronut!?"
It turns out a cronut is a donut shaped croissant-like pastry. So that's one mystery solved.
The donut shop that he normally just passes by on a morning jog does carry what he was looking for but the guy behind the counter was heavily insistent on him getting the assorted package. Probably because he was taking too long to decide.
It took quite a bit of convincing but in the end, he left the store with a box with half a dozen pastries in one hand and almost thirty dollars no longer in his wallet.
Joanie's got an expensive taste, but it's all stuff he could afford. He's not MrBeast. Or whoever the heck that rich guy's name is.
Walking down the street, he decided to take one out of the box and munch on it as he makes his way to Joan's house.
All it took was one bite of the Boston Cream filled pastry and he could already hear her complaining. Why didn't he start eating when he made it to her house? Out of all the cronuts, why did he eat the Boston Cream one? Boston Cream was her favorite and she was planning to save it for last.
As delicious as the cronut is, it's expensive and almost not worth making a second trip.
He's still deep in thought when a voice from his left calls out to him. "JFK!"
To his left is an alleyway. This guy, whoever he is, is dressed in attire that he could only describe as 'weird.'
On one hand he could see that the stranger is trying to pass himself off as 'patriotic.' But at the same time, there's this weird twist to it. Something that's telling him that despite their shared love for the country they live in, they don't share the same opinion for the people living in it.
There's a word that describes people like these. Nationalist? He knew for sure that it started with an 'n.'
After taking a moment to finish the rest of his cronut, he spoke up.
"Mark my words, stranger. I have no business with you and you shouldn't start any business with me!"
The stranger only smiled as he moved closer. "My business began the moment you walked out of that freezer. Allow me to introduce myself… I am Amerigo Vespucci. I am a clone… just like you."
JFK squinted his eyes as he looked over Amerigo a second time, if this guy was wearing regular clothing, he'd look just like any person his age just passing by, but there's no reason to not believe him.
"You're cloned from the guy they named the country after? How did you know where to, er uh, find me?"
Amerigo laughs. "The people I associate myself with. They're everywhere. They act like my own eyes and ears. All it takes is one text. The reason as to why I wish to speak with you, JFK: I wish to extend to you… An opportunity."
JFK set the box of cronuts he was holding to the side. Making a note to himself that they need to be as clean as possible once he made it to Joan's house. He is a man and a man never runs away from his problems.
"You don't need to say anymore." He says to Amerigo. "You're from that group… I don't remember what it's called, but I won't forget your chant: You will not replace us?
It's as if you think killing people justifies anything. You wanna know what happens what people like me wanna do to people like you?"
JFK cracks his neck as he moves closer to Amerigo. Meanwhile Amerigo sighs as he begins closing the distance. He had wanted to recruit JFK to RR's causebut sadly, he's already been indoctrinated by the far left.
"You can't deny what's happening. You just can't." Amerigo notices that JFK isn't interested in listening. Still he speaks.
"I thought you, someone from '03, would understand the desire for everything to go back to the way it was before. The solution is right in front of you, you're just not grasping it."
Now it's JFK's turn to sigh.
"I learned a lot of things since I had thawed out, but more importantly… There were things that I decided to… UNlearn too!"
He then threw the first punch. Amerigo however, anticipated it and dodged it with fast reflexes, surprising JFK. "What the?"
This is not the time or place to wonder. As Amerigo began hitting back. JFK, now on the receiving end, couldn't block his opponent's attacks as quickly.
Usually when he fights somebody, they wouldn't last as long and they wouldn't have hit him as much as Amerigo has.
To simplify: He can dish it out, but he can't take it.
Since Amerigo had completely closed the distance between them, JFK switched tactics. The moment Amerigo focused on his midsection, he took the opportunity and hit him twice in the head, stopping his attacks and making him fall to the ground.
JFK spat, now free of the assault. He hadn't been running before, and he sure as hell isn't going to start now. There's only one way to end this fight and he's determined to see it through.
"America needs you to stop hating people just for existing!"
Amerigo looks down at the ground. The look of anger hadn't faded away. "America… America…"
He looks up at JFK, this time more angry than before. "I AM AMERICA!"
He stood up and rushed towards him. As much as JFK tried to anticipate where he's hitting him, he couldn't.
Amerigo's just too fast.
"When on December 12, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped Florida's recount, I no longer saw the United States as a democracy.
Man, I was so out of it back then, too."
Abe Lincoln was walking around town going nowhere in particular. Being more invested in his new book of antiracist ideas than what's moving all around him.
He had bumped into a few things, but it wasn't all that different from him being on his phone. He was about to read further into the book when he heard groaning from the nearby alleyway.
Curious, he closed the book and looked to his right. He was glad he did as he saw JFK's beaten and bruised body curled up in the fetal position right in front of him.
"Damn it all! I knew this would happen!" Abe swears to himself. He then walks over to him. "You're gonna be alright, JFK! I'm here to help!"
As Abe lifted JFK off the ground and helped him get on his feet, JFK pointed to a crushed box on the ground. "Cro-cronuts…"
Abe shook his head. "Who cares about a bunch of pastries? Come on. Let's get you to urgent care."