Riley: “Eating.”
Jordan: “Well, hurry it up as it won’t take long for the cops to track us to this location.”
Riley: “Us? I am not the one that busted out a mass murderer and killed several prison guards. They are looking for the both of you.”
Jordan: “Riley.”
Broderick: “No, Jordan, it’s quite all right. I can see why you like her. She is not only beautiful but incredibly spirited, which I am sure translates well into the bedroom.”
I began to make dry-heaving sounds.
Riley: “I’d rather never have sex again then sleep with you.”
No one said anything for about ten seconds and then, suddenly, Broderick burst out laughing. That arrogant prick probably thought I was kidding, but little did he know how hard it was to refrain from killing him. Arcadia had taken his powers and therefore Broderick could not only bleed, but die.
Broderick: “You’re fun.”
Do not throw your fork at his head, Riley. Don’t. Just get him out of your face instead.
Riley: “You may want to get changed before we leave.”
Broderick: “She has a point. Jordan, I require a change of clothing.”
Jordan: “I have a set in the backpack that is draped over my shoulder.”
Broderick patted Jordan’s back.
Broderick: “Good man. I will just change now.”
Jordan handed Broderick the bag, which he eagerly took. After Broderick left the room to change, I knew it would only be a few minutes before Jordan tore into me, which was the case. Jordan was angry at how I’d spoken to Broderick.
Jordan: “Seriously, Riley? What the fuck?”
Riley: “You’re lucky he is still breathing. I never had such an urge to use a fork as a projectile weapon until a few minutes ago.”
Jordan: “Broderick wants to make amends for what he did.”
Riley: “He could do just that by serving out his consecutive life sentences in solitary.”
Jordan: “Or we can go back in time and—”
Riley: “And what, be heroes? Newsflash, heroes can’t be killers.”
Jordan: “We’re not—”
Riley: “Yes, we are. My hands will never be clean, thanks to you.”
Jordan: “It may have been my orders to take the warehouse, but it was you that chose to kill them.”
Riley: “You had tricked me into believing those kids were the bad guys, but their only fault was opposing a dictator. The sad part is that I actually thought we were protecting people and making a difference. If I could take it back, I would have never followed you so blindly and maybe then those children—”
Jordan: “Is that why you left?”
Riley: “How can you be so casual about death? I may still kill people, but only those who deserve it.”
Jordan: “Dog eat dog world.”
Riley: “You’re a monster.”
Jordan: “Good to know what you really think of me.”
I knew that what I had said to Jordan had hurt him but at the same time, what would be the point in apologizing when it was true? Jordan was capable of being a decent human being, but the darkness had won him over. To some extent, I was almost relieved that Broderick came strolling into the room, wearing his new clothes and looking like he was on the top of the world. At that moment, my anger turned away from Jordan and was now fixated on Broderick, who I considered enemy number one.
Broderick: “I am back, children. Did you miss me?”
Riley: “Go fuck yourself.”
Broderick: “If you keep talking like that, I am going to put you over my knee.”
I waited for Jordan to say something but the coward would not stand up to his master. Feeling a significant level of disgust, I used time energy to pin Broderick against the wall. How easy it would be to end his miserable life.
Riley: “You may have been a king, but remember that you are nothing now, so you better learn your place.”
Jordan: “Riley, let him go.”
Ignoring Jordan, I allowed for the time energy surrounding Broderick to tighten. A normal individual would panic but that psycho relished in the pain. While I was feeling frustrated at Broderick’s response I tried my best not to wavier from teaching Broderick a lesson.
Broderick: “Oh, Riley, harder. I like it when a girl abuses me.”
Jordan: “Hey, uncalled for.”
Broderick: “Can’t help it. When a girl takes charge—”
Broderick’s words caused something to snap inside of me as the energy that once held him was now draining time from his body. I suppose one would say this ability was similar to Arcadia’s powers, but our powers operated completely differently. Arcadia absorbed people’s life force to heal or steal powers, but I literally could erase people from existence or send them to other places in history. While I was tempted to send Broderick to sixty-eight million years ago so the jackass could get eaten by a T-rex, he honestly just wasn’t worth that much energy to see if I could send him that far back.
Jordan: “He’s gone. He’s really gone.”
Riley: “Who?”
Jordan: “Don’t play dumb. Where did you send him, Riley?”
Riley: “I didn’t send Broderick anywhere. He’s just gone, or as I like to say, one with time.”
Jordan: “Well, bring him back!”
Riley: “I am going to pass.”
Jordan took out his phone.
Jordan: “Don’t make me hurt Alyssa.”
There was almost a desperation in Jordan’s voice that I had never heard before. Jordan had also started to look a bit clammy and pale. Could it be that Jordan valued Broderick, a mass murderer’s, life, over a girl who he thought of as his daughter?
Riley: “You wouldn’t dare.”
Jordan: “I ... don’t want to, but if you leave me no option, then—”
Riley: “Would you really choose that scumbags life over Alyssa and me?”
Jordan: “I have no choice. I will … I will …”
Riley: “Whatever, Jordan. There is always a choice.”
Ignoring my words, Jordan pressed a button on his phone and he put it on loudspeaker so I could hear it ring. I wasn’t sure if Jordan was bluffing but there was a part of me that was disappointed that he would take it so far. Jordan had said wouldn’t that he wouldn’t harm her earlier, but now I wasn’t so sure if he would keep to his promise. Since I did not know where Ego was, and the heroes were slacking, I had play nice and revive Broderick. So, much to my dismay, I opened a time portal to a few minutes’ prior.
Jordan: “Where are you going?”
There was no point in answering Jordan as he had already made up his mind as to whose side he was on. I simply shook my head and stepped through the portal to three minutes prior to Broderick and Jordan’s arrival. This go around, I hustled a bit so that I was already sitting down and eating when the bad guys showed up.
Jordan: “Riley, are you ready to go?”
Riley: “I am going to stop you right there, Jordan, and explain how this will play out. You are going to give Broderick clothes to change and then vacate the room temporarily. Meanwhile, Broderick, you are going to change, no matter how much I enjoy seeing you in prison orange, and you will also keep your sexually inappropriate comments to yourself. As for me, I am going to eat my damn meal in silence as last time this scenario played out, it ended very violently.”
Jordan: “Wait, I am—”
Riley: “Meal in silence. Meal in silence.”
I turned away from both men and began to eat.
Broderick: “Damn, Jordan, your ex is fucking hot when she’s bossy.”
What part did they not understand about me wanting quiet while I ate? Using time energy, I made a nearby clock explode, which caused both Jordan and Broderick to jump
slightly. While it may appear that I was being a bitch because of the food, the main reason was because Jordan didn’t choose me over Broderick and I was pissed.
Riley: “What did I say about
inappropriate comments?”
Chapter 4
22 Years Prior
Broderick: “I can’t believe that we are standing outside the Raz & Berry Show in Fort Myers, Florida.”
Riley: “All it took was kidnapping a child and a teleporter to get you to this very moment. I am sure your parents would be very proud.”
Broderick: “Normally, I would punch anyone who talks ill of my family, but since I am in good mood, I will let it slide.”
Broderick “let it slide” because he didn’t stand a chance against me with no powers. It took all my energy to not call him on his bullshit. I just had to bide my time and play along until Alyssa was rescued.
Riley: “Whatever. Where are these terrorist assholes, so we can get out of here?”
Broderick: “According to the police videos, they should be arriving any sec—shit. Shit. Shit. They are here. The vehicle just pulled up across the street from the theater. Do you guys see it?”
Riley: “Yes, which only begs the question of exactly how many terrorists can you fit into the back of a moving truck?”
Broderick: “Eight. But there are four already in the building.”
Riley: “Is there anything else we need to know?”
Jordan: “It’s nothing we can’t handle.”
Riley: “What is the plan, exactly?”
Jordan changed his skin so it was now scaly and red.
Jordan: “I’m going to pop inside and take care of those guys.”
Riley: “And?”
Jordan: “You keep the men in the truck until I come back.”
Riley: “So let me get this straight; you want me to keep eight men distracted?”
Jordan: “Or just trap them in the truck via a time barrier. I know you can do this on a large scale as that would have been the only way you and your little friend escaped the rocket launcher debris.”
Broderick: “Rocket launcher? Did I miss something?”
Riley: “He pissed me off, so I fired a rocket launcher at him.”
Broderick: “Not only is she hot but also a little crazy, which can only mean one thing.”
Broderick winked at me.
Riley: “Yuck.”
Jordan: “Play nice, you two. I will be back shortly.”
Jordan teleported inside the venue that was hosting the Raz & Berry Show. In the meantime, I surrounded the moving truck with time energy so no one could get in or out of the truck. As I held the criminals immobile and waited for Jordan to return, someone began firing on me. There was a sniper on the roof, which apparently had been overlooked when Broderick and Jordan planned this foolish outing.
Riley: “Broderick, can you take care of the man on the roof? Between traveling back twenty-two years, the time field around the truck, and also shielding us from getting shot, it’s draining me.”
Not to mention, stopping this timeline from becoming permanent was rather taxing, but I wasn’t going to tell Broderick that. I wanted Broderick to assume that whatever happened here was, in fact, real; that strategy might change later on, but the less he knew of what I was capable of, the better. The problem was that Broderick had no interest in assisting me in stopping the sniper’s assault, which could potentially screw with my plan.
Just as I was about to drop the protective barrier around Broderick and let him fend for himself, Jordan came strolling outside of the venue with the four terrorists behind him. The men were obviously under Jordan’s influence as he was singing instructions to them. I almost hesitated to warn Jordan of the sniper, but ultimately I decide to tell him as he could easily die, unlike me; even though I hate to admit it, I wasn’t quite ready to let Jordan go just yet.
Riley: “Sniper!”
Jordan quickly teleported to the top of the roof, where he snapped the neck of the sniper before pushing him off the building. As I watched the lifeless body hit the concrete, I couldn’t help but shake my head at Broderick, who took such pleasure in death. Sure, I killed people, but it was not something I enjoyed, nor should it be. In all honesty, these miserable excuses for human beings deserved to rot in a cell for the rest of their lowly existence rather than to have a quick death.
Much to my chagrin, Jordan’s murderous spree did not end with the sniper as he led the four men to surround the moving truck. It was at this point that Jordan requested I remove the time field around the vehicle. Turning away as I lowered the barrier, I focused on the sign advertising the Raz & Berry show, along with Jordan’s exquisite singing voice that instructed the four terrorists to murder their friends. The eight men inside the truck didn’t stand a chance as they were shot with a spray of bullets that didn’t end until they were all dead. It was at that point that the remaining four ate their own guns, and all the terrorists were dead.
Riley: “We have thirteen dead terrorists that, at one time, changed the course of existence. Before we go back to our time, is there anything I should know about?”
Jordan: “Riley, you worry too much. No one here will remember a thing, thanks to my songs, and I also made sure the guards not only stopped the cameras but damaged them beyond repair. So in other words, there won’t be a trace of us at this venue and even if there was, how would it be explained rationally? There is no such thing as advanced people in this timeline, nor will there be ever now. We saved the future.”
Riley: “So certain.”
Broderick: “You might think us monsters, but you will see that this new world we’ve created is a better one.”
Shaking my head, I knelt down over one of the dead bodies and pulled out his wallet from his pants. Then I took out all the cash he had and put it in my pocket before casually dropping his wallet on the ground. Both Broderick and Jordan looked at me with bewilderment but I didn’t know why as one of the major rules of time travel is having the correct currency. The other rule I followed was to make sure my attire, style in general, and words blended into the time I had traveled back to.
Broderick: “Perhaps we are more alike than you think.”
I bit my tongue so as to not take Broderick’s bait. Then I opened a time portal to take us all to the present world that Broderick and Jordan had created. Call it a hunch, but I didn’t think either of them would be too happy with their new identity. From super-jackasses to average Joes, no, neither would enjoy their boring and drab lives. I really should just get some popcorn and watch their sheer disappointment unfold. Besides, it wasn’t like any of this was real, so why should I stress out?
October 7th, 12:01 a.m.
Jordan: “Where are we?”
Riley: “We are in the exact location we were twenty-two years ago.”
Broderick: “So the theater became one of those big-box twenty-four-hour stores?”
Jordan: “Are you sure it’s the right year, Riley? My phone says it’s October 7th and when we left it was the fourth.”
Riley: “Look, I advised you that going far back has consequences, especially make the changes that we did. We are lucky we returned only a few days later. Trust me, if anyone should be mad, it is me, as this means Alyssa has been stuck with Ego three days longer then needed. They still do not realize there is a time change, correct?”
Jordan: “You need to relax, Riley. I trust Ego with my life and as such, he wouldn’t dare harm Alyssa unless I authorize it.”
Riley: “So how do his powers work, exactly?”
Jordan: “Anyone who is inside of the building that was designed to enhance Ego’s powers will be unaffected by the shift in reality. If Ego leaves the facility, then an individual needs to be within a certain distance from him in order to stay unaffected.”
Riley: “And if someone steps too far away from him?”
Jordan: “If you are asking what will happen to Alyssa; as soon as Broderick and I make sure this is the timeline we want, we will release your niece and, in doing so, her past and future will return. Alyssa’s memories will also be altered as soon as she is far enough away from Ego. In other words, everyone on Earth will assume
this is the only timeline that ever existed, except us and Ego.”
That is where you are wrong, Jordan. Currently, there are two timelines operating consecutively. I had never done anything so reckless; may my actions not have horrific ramifications. But what else was I supposed to do? My niece was the only family I cared about, so I had to at least pretend I was going along with the bad guys’ plan. Maybe my future self had given me the power upgrade so I was able to pull off dual timelines because as it was, I was tired and I could only imagine how things might be without the additional abilities.
As soon as I was able to find a few moments to escape from Broderick and Jordan’s watchful eyes, I would check to see if Arcadia had contacted me. I sincerely hoped that there was some movement in locating Ego, especially since it was October 7th now. Not to mention, the longer this world existed, the more nervous I got because of the higher chance of something going wrong. Arcadia had been right to tell me not to underestimate Broderick and Jordan, which was probably why I was overthinking things.
Broderick: “Can we get back to me?”
Riley: “Hold that thought. I need to go use the bathroom.”
Broderick: “No.”
Riley: “Where do you expect me to go?”
Broderick: “You are trying to trick us. This isn’t our world and as soon as you go inside, bam, you’re gone and we are stuck here.”
Riley: “Newsflash, this isn’t our world. What you see is the result of stopping the terrorist attack twenty-two years ago. Now, I am going to go inside, go pee, and then be back out. You’re both more than welcome to follow, but you have Alyssa, so I am not going anywhere.”
Then There Was New York Page 5