Archive of Our Own

Work Text

Emily and Adam had just left a benefit concert in the park, the former was lost in thought as she walked alongside her husband in a comfortable silence. The concert had several local bands playing, and they did a great job of electrifying the audience. The whole time, the air was filled with a high energy vibe that left both of them reeling, as if they have just spent the afternoon smoking pot instead.Said concert was to raise money for the homeless, the aspect that had Emily lost in her mind. It was great that they were able to raise a lot of money, no doubt about that, but she wondered if maybe Adam could give some extra help, so to speak. The guy had magic! Cool, reality warping magic. Therefore, he can easily solve a world problem or two, right?Not all of them at once, of course, that’ll get overwhelming fast. But perhaps, they can start small. Like at the local level, perhaps he can get rid of homelessness in L.A. first.It wasn’t until they were in the car that Emily decided it would be the perfect time to ask. The doors were shut when Emily broke the silence.“Adam, I was thinking...” Emily began with an optimistically hopeful voice as she faced him from the passenger seat.She was careful to mentally filter and check what she wanted to say. She didn’t want him to think she was using him or anything like that. Not that he was gonna automatically think that, he knew her well enough, but it’d be awkward if what came out was taken the wrong way.“...I know the concert has already raised a lot of money, and the organization already has done a lot to help the homeless in this area-” She paused, that could’ve come out just a little bit less obvious, “-but I was wondering…”Adam casually exhaled as he started the car up and grabbed the steering wheel. He had a good feeling where Emily was going.“...Maybe you can give some extra help, since you have something the rest of us don’t?”And there it was. It was something that Rhea had also asked years back, and the answer was still the same as it was before. He can’t really blame either one for asking. At face value, wouldn’t someone want to utilize the kind of power he has to solve the problems in the world once and for all?The reality is, it would just cause some notable and unintended problems. Plus, he didn’t want to interfere with humanity’s progress.“Emily,” Adam said calmly, but understanding, “I know it sounds bad, but it’ll just cause more problems than you think.”“How? I mean, I’m not asking you to blatantly zap away every big problem out there. Just...I dunno, something small like, zap some homes for the homeless people in this area?”Adam decided to leave the car in neutral in order to face her with apt attention. He briefly wondered how to go about explaining this as gently as he could to her. he didn’t want to come off as abrasive as when they first met.He settled on challenging her.“Alright, let’s say I hypothetically snapped my fingers and every person living on the street in L.A. suddenly has a home. And all those homes are stocked with food and everything they need to last a while, plus a job so they’ll be able to keep their homes.”“Ok.”“What are they going to do with said job?”Emily was left speechless for only a second or two, she felt a tad taken aback, “Well, I-I assume you’ll give them jobs they actually want.”“Sure, that may work for some, presuming they are good at what they do. But what about for those who aren’t skilled in their dream job for one reason or another? They may have the knowledge, but they won’t have aptitude to do the job well.”Emily’s face started to fall as she processed what she was just told, she was starting to doubt her bright idea.“Oh…”“And unemployment is not the only reason someone may be homeless, other times, it’s mental illness or straight up bad luck.”“Well, what if you cured them of…..” Emily stopped as she realized the troubling implication associated with that suggestion.Adam knowingly looked at her, not saying a word, letting her come to the answer herself. She was grateful he was doing that. She was feeling bad enough already for even half suggesting it.Emily conceded with a little, dejected sigh, “...wait, you’ll be doing it without their consent.”“Exactly. That’ll be the same deal if I were to suddenly give them knowledge on things via magic.”“Now I feel bad for asking in the first place,” Emily admitted as she leaned back in her seat.“Don’t feel bad, Em. I can understand why someone would ask that question,” Adam replied with loving reassurance. “On the surface, it doesn’t sound ethically wrong, but actually...it is.”There was a moment of pause as Adam let his words sink in further.“And this isn’t the only problem with snapping away the world’s problems.”Emily wasn’t sure whether or not to go deeper with this, the old pre-in a relationship with Adam self probably would’ve let it be, but things obviously do change. She was inquisitive enough. She looked at Adam after a half a minute of silence passed between them“What other problems are there, Adam?”Adam was about to speak, but instead, sported a grin as he got a idea and raise his hand, ready to snap his fingers.“Here, why don’t I show you?”He snapped his fingers, and suddenly they appeared to be a vortex. A vortex made up of a few different shades of dark green. Emily immediately glanced out her window before she looked back at Adam, confused. Adam, meanwhile, put the car in drive.“Adam, where are we going!?”“A timeline where all the world’s problems are fixed,” Adam said with a bombastic grin before he sped through the tunnel.Soon, they arrived at what looked like Los Angeles, only it looked noticeably different. There were skyscrapers and all in the original L.A, of course, but here, there seemed to be more of them among the other, smaller-sized buildings. Yet, in comparison, they all looked much sleeker and more modern. No, actually, more than modern, they looked like something from the future, or a superhero movie.While Emily looked at the scenery with a sort of awe look in her eyes, Adam drove around until he was in one of the less congested parts of downtown. He eventually parked, and the two got out.Adam walked around to the sidewalk before he poofed the car away into thin air.“Cars like that aren’t efficient enough for the road in this timeline. It’s actually illegal to drive cars that aren’t approved.”Emily looked at him in disbelief, “Wait, illegal!?”Adam faced her and nodded, “Yep.”As the two started to walk down the sidewalk, she noticed not a lot of people around. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the revelation Adam just told her. For some reason, it just felt like there is a more sinister aspect of this timeline, a weird gut feeling. Something she knew she probably wasn’t gonna like hearing.“It feels like we’re in some futuristic version of L.A.,” She commented as she walked close alongside Adam.“It does, but it's the same year as our native timeline.”Might as well rip the bandaid off sooner than later.“What kinda cars are approved here, then?” Emily asked casually after a minute of silence underneath the warm summer sun.“Electric cars, pretty much any cars that don’t add a harmful amount to the carbon footprint.”It also sounded like Adam had been here before.“In fact, anything that isn’t a betterment to humanity overall in some way is a punishable crime here,” Adam finished with an addendum.As per the norm sometimes, the matter of fact, informative tone of Adam’s contrasted to how sober/grave Emily sounded when she spoke. From what she was told already, she started to feel a sense of wrongness about this place.“What kind of...punishment?”“Anywhere between a fine to…” Adam paused, it was hard having to say the next part, pained him even as it went against his morals, “...getting mindwiped.”Emily stopped and stared at him with a horrified expression on her face, momentarily speechless.“What!? Mindwiped? As in getting your memories removed?”Adam nodded sadly, “The person behind all this is a corrupted version of me.” And there it was, the something she knew she wouldn’t like hearing.Meanwhile, people walked past them without giving them a second thought. That part was good at least, though it did beg the question why didn’t seem to mistake Adam for the corrupted version.“It’s weird since you said that, nobody around here seems to be thinking you’re the evil version,” She pointed out.“Oh, that’s cause I changed my appearance, to the people here I looked more like Alton Brown with dark hair. To you, I look the same obviously.”That made sense enough, then, Emily figured.About two minutes passed of observing the scene around them before they resumed strolling along, past the shops and small stores. Emily still felt a sense of wrongness lingering in the air; she couldn’t explain it, but something was there. Something that made this alternative Earth very much different than theirs.Five minutes passed before Adam jostled her out of her thoughts.“I came here once, years ago. I already knew I wouldn’t pull any unethical crap with my magic, but I wanted to get a visual. I wanted to see the awful reality with my own eyes. What would happen if...everything was solved by magic.” Adam began as he kept his gaze forward.His demeanor wasn’t the usual cheery, bombastic way he gets when he reveals an awful truth this time. Instead, his face was harder and laced with melancholy.“This is the result, Emily, a stagnated world. Doesn’t look like it at first, but humanity has stopped progressing and became too reliant on magic. Became too dependant on him.”The last word was said an emphasis that sends a mild, but chilling, sense of dread. He must be referring to his counterpart. It was gonna get confusing, and old, if she referred to him as “the other Adam” fast, and “evil twin” sounded too hokey already. Still, ‘evil twin’ would work well enough, even if it also felt a little too black and white a descriptor.“Your evil twin?” Emily clarified, Adam confirmed with a silent nod.She stopped, which in turn, brought Adam to a halt in front of her. She didn’t really want to stay here any longer. She was feeling bad enough already, and it was clear to her that this place wasn’t exactly a first choice for Adam to go to.Emily gently held both of his hands in hers.“Look, let’s just go back to our own timeline Adam, you don’t really have to show me the consequences if you don’t want to. I’m really, really sorry I even asked-”And just at that moment, her thoughts gave away to great worry as Adam suddenly closed his eyes and groaned as if in pain. She felt her body tense up with a surge of adrenaline. What was going on?“Adam!? Adam are you ok!? What’s going on?”Adam gripped Emily’s shoulders, his face clearly panicked by now. What just happened was that some dormant magical sense became active. It was a sudden surge of ‘shit is coming’ that unexpectedly filled his entire being.“He’s coming! You have to get out of here Emily, it’s not safe and I don’t want my corrupted counterpart to do anything to you.” Adam exclaimed, distressed than what had Emily remembered in the past.The anxious, scared voice did nothing to put her at ease.“Wait, what do you mean he’s coming?”“I don’t know...I just...I just got this overwhelming feeling that someone else with magic is coming,” Adam explained as he finally opened his eyes.His voice was shaky, filled with emotion, but somehow he was able to get out a coherent answer. He never felt this sort of sixth sense before. Probably made sense, given he was the only one with magic in their universe.His eyes were filled with sadness and, well, overall anxiety. The sight made Emily feel her heart skip a beat or two. She was about to say something when Adam cut her off.“Just listen to me, Em, I know it is a lot to take in, believe me. I don’t know what the hell going on...I don’t what’s going to happen. All I know is I don’t want anything to happen to you...I’m gonna send you somewhere where you can meet Rhea’s counterpart. I met her the last time I was here. She’ll fill you in.”With that, Adam gave her a deep, passionate kiss, which cut off any attempts to make a rebuttal. She wanted to stay with Adam, protect him just as much as he wanted to protect her. Emily relished the kiss all the same, but it didn’t last too long as, the next second, she felt a sudden rush of air before her.Adam wasn’t there anymore.A quick look around told her she wasn’t outside, either. Instead, it looked like she was in a sewage corridor underneath the ground. The ripe stench in the air served to drive that home for her. The corridor seemed to go on forever on both sides, but she opted to stay for the time being to assess the situation.The turn of events didn’t quell the sudden amount of renewed guilt. This indeed felt like it was her fault. Why did she have to go and bring up the stupid question, she silently groaned to herself as she leaned up against the cold, hard wall, crossing her arms. She wouldn’t be lying if she admitted she started to feel remorse over the whole thing.She was sorely confused about what to do now. Adam said something about a counterpart of his sister’s, but other than that, she had no clue where to even begin searching for her. And since this is a different world, would she even look similar enough to the Rhea she remembers? She could have long blond hair and be shorter, for all she knew.And what's going to happen to Adam? It didn’t sound too good. From how he reacted, it seemed like he was afraid of meeting the corrupted Adam face to face.Emily sighed, what a shit-filled mess this was shaping up to be.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Right now, he was busy looking at the various security screens he had set up on the computer. There were quite a few, almost paranoiac amount, of security cams set up in this part of the L.A. underground system. One can never be too careful when you’re co-leader of a resistant group, even more so when one of the leaders is related to the man they’re fighting against.

It was also a good reason to be in favor of code names. Which every member of the group was required to have.

Hence for one Galen Peri Jr., he was only known by Eutope, whereas, his wife has taken to using her married name.

He glanced up at the computer screen every so often, deep conversation with a few other members via encrypted texting. This debate between various chat programs cannot be ignored! At least, in his opinion, anyway.

About ten minutes in, however, something caught him from the corner of his eye. A flash of light blue light suddenly appeared out of thin air in one of the screens. The sight was enough to shift his focus entirely. He leaned in for a closer look and noticed a woman standing there. That understandably got him into alert mode. Did this mean his wife’s brother had somehow found them?

Were they about to be infiltrated? Eutope ran through what-ifs in his head. He stood up from his chair while he kept his eyes on the screen.

“Holy shit...Peri! Peri, come over here and come see this! We got someone on camera two!” Eutope exclaimed, not moving an inch from his spot.

His alertness mingled with confusion as he observed the brunette woman. She seemed to stay in one spot. A minute later a tall woman with braided hair came rushing over into the room. He got out of the way as he pointed to the woman on the screen.

“Right there, she just materialized out of nowhere,” He supplied as Peri, - aka Rhea - sat in front of the computer.

She looked closely for a second before she rewound the feed. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw the blue flash of light. It took her a few seconds, but it dawned on her. She had met a more morally abiding and ethical version of her brother once before. Specifically, a year before she met Eutope.

She shot out of the chair as if she just discovered a cure for cancer - well, in this world there was no cancer, thank to her brother. In fact, there wasn’t any disease left on Earth ‘cause of him.

“I think I might know where she came from!” Peri looked away from the computer and towards the shorter man, “Eutope, do you remember how I told you I met a man from another universe?”

Eutope gave it a thought. Some things he can’t remember anymore, but this one, thankfully, he does.

He nodded, “Yeah, so you think she ain’t an undercover spy?”

Peri shook her head, “No, it wouldn’t make sense. Blue light appeared about 20-30 minutes away from here, plus the fact that my Adam don’t even know where our hideout is,” She replied casually.

“Oh, wait. Peri the dude has magic, he could probably find us eventually...and then we’re screwed.”

Eutope looked a little nervous, but Peri wasn’t fazed. It still heavily broke her heart every day knowing her husband had to live with memory issues. Some new memories of his don’t tend to stick too well in the long term. She faced him with a warm, but knowing expression.

“No he won’t because you created an anti-magic forcefield around this place, do you remember?” She asked gently.

He felt confused, what else is new these days,  “No, but that was smart of me, I suppose.”

Eutope always felt apologetic whenever he couldn’t remember anything significant.

“It was. Come on, let’s go get her, I have a feeling if she is here, then her Adam is too.”

“And you’re thinking he could be in trouble?”

“Very much a possibility,” Peri said as she motioned to follow her.

They hurried out the door and through the main area of the hideout. They were determined in their stride, so no one else really, gratefully, bothered them on the way. The longer she is out in the open, the longer she is in the danger zone, so to speak.

The two jogged down the dank, dimly lit corridor. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any signs of any other people down here. There wasn’t a huge chance of a sudden ambush, but they were trained to always be on guard when venturing out. Especially since they didn’t bother to bring their usual weapons.

Which was for the best, in this case, Peri didn’t want to scare the hell out of the newcomer.

She rounded a corner just before Eutope and stopped. They found her pretty quickly.

“Hey,” Peri started off as casually as a semi-shout can be, “Did your Adam tell you he met me years ago?”

There could’ve been a better way to start off when you’re meeting someone from another world, but cutting to the chase is a good choice as any.

Emily stopped in her tracks. She had been determined to search for this counterpart of Rhea’s. She looked up, momentarily confused when she remembered the last thing Adam had said to her.

“Yeah,” Emily started to walk and close the large gap between her and the other woman.

She noticed there was another person with the woman, a slightly shorter, goateed man with dark hair almost down to his butt.

“So, you’re this world’s version of Rhea?” She questioned as she gave her a glance over.

She certainly didn’t deviate much to how her Rhea looked. Tall, sturdy, a more masculine build. This one just had longer hair, apparently, and had more of a militaristic apparel. The man next to her, on closer inspection, looked about averagely built and had a youthful look to him.

“Yes, but just so you know, I don’t go by that name anymore. In fact, I can’t afford to be called by my old name. I go by Peri, that’s my married name,” Peri stated as she gestured to the man next to her.

“And this is my husband, Eutope… Which to be upfront, that’s his alias.” Peri stated, looking back at Emily.

“Hello,” Eutope greeted with a semi-nervous smile.

“My name’s Emily.”

“Nice to meet you. Why don’t you follow us? Our hideout is not too far,” Eutope said.

The three started to walk, and Emily felt more at ease than she was a minute ago. In a strange way, Emily felt more secure of things being around a version of her friend.

“So, um, may I ask why you don’t want to be called Rhea anymore?”

Peri looked at her as the sounds of the water below acted as background noise.

“When your brother is literally “Our Most Benevolent Ruler of Earth”, and you’re the leader of a chapter of the Independence Rebellion, you probably want to keep yourself on the down low,” Peri began to explain as she moved her eyes forward, “He know about the rebellion, but he has no idea I help run this chapter.”

Emily nodded. The idea of a rebellion sounded badass to her, to be frank. Course, she never actually been in a situation where she came across an actual one. She kinda felt it would be insensitive to mention as such. Still, the idea of there being some version of Rhea being a badass rebellion leader is cool. She totally had to bring that up sometime with the one she knew.

“Our goal is to bring the world back to the way it was before her brother ‘fixed’ everything,” Eutope added with air quotes.

“We have no problem against magic in general, it’s just the way that it’s being used,” Peri finished.

The rest of the walk was in neutral enough silence. Emily didn’t really know if they both prefer filling her in more once safe, but considering everything, that would make sense. She decided to wait until then to ask more questions.

Once they arrived, Emily was led towards the back to the more private area, obviously squared off for the two of them. It was more of a workstation, Peri had explained. They didn’t want to feel like they were getting special treatment just because they were the leaders. Thus, they had a room just like everyone else down here and abided by the same set of rules.

Emily looked around in a bit of amazement; this place was pretty damn big. They walked through the main area, which she noticed had areas sanctioned off: an exercise area, a tv area, and a reading area if anyone wanted to sit down and read in relative quiet.

Eutope was pointing to various rooms as they walked through the main hall, “...and this is the mess hall, and that room up there is the training area. We also have a separate room if you want to practice shooting.”

Emily’s interested pique up a bit at the sound of a training room, “In my world, I would go to a gym to do some boxing.”

“That’s cool,” Eutope turned his head to face her with an enthusiastic smile, “We have a couple of rings. We also have a couple guys here that do most of the martial arts training for the rest of us. We’ve taken part of that.”

“Cool, I take jiu jitsu. I’m a brown belt, almost black.”

“Oh nice! You’ll fit right in,” He teased with a smile and Emily laughed lightly.

They soon turned left into another corridor, same soft lightening and cement walls as the others. Eventually, they entered a room that looked like it doubled as a security/lounging area. A couch on one side and a desk that took up the length of the adjacent side.

Peri sat down as Eutope closed the door behind her. There was another couch across from the one Peri sat on. Both couches looked like they had seen better days, but it did the job. Emily sat and got comfortable while Eutope went over to the large desktop computer.

“This isn’t the main security room, even though it does sorta look like it. It’s more like a little research room.”

“To keep tabs on your brother?” Emily guessed and Peri nodded.

“Yeah, figure out our next move and whatnot. Which, speaking of, your Adam didn’t come with you?” Peri leaned forward inquisitively as she put her hands together over her lap.

“No, actually, I was going to ask you…” Emily began, she paused when images of her asking back in the car flooded the forefront of her memory.

God, this was her fault wasn’t it? All her damn stupid fault. Ugh. Still, Emily had to give herself credit for keeping her composure.

“....Adam - err, my Adam, told me right before I was teleported that he felt some...I don’t know. Some magical sixth sense that someone with powers was coming. He wanted me to be somewhere safe and go find you.”

Peri tensed up a bit, and Emily connected the dots right then and there.

“Oh god, it was your brother, wasn’t it?” She asked with a horrified realization.

“Did your Adam do any magic of his own while in this world?” Peri asked gravely.

This didn’t sound too good, “Yeah he did. He poofed our car away ‘cause it wasn’t legal here.”

Peri nodded softly, then she was lost in thought for a second. There was a good theory as to what might’ve happened just based on the information alone. She didn’t obviously know all the capabilities of her brother’s powers, but she had a damn good hunch what else he can do. She turned her head towards Eutope and suddenly called out.

“Honey, give me an update on what Olmstead is up to,” She turned back to Emily and explained more of an aside, “I’ll refer to my Adam as Olmstead to alleviate any confusion.”

“You got it, darling!” Eutope called back happily, not looking up from the screen.

Emily nodded. She liked this idea and gave a small but grateful smile, “That sounds good, thanks.”

A good part of her was also happy that this version of Rhea, and her husband, appeared to be nice.

“Anyways, back on track. I have a good feeling it was Olmstead that Adam was sensing. I don’t know for sure, but… it’s the most logical guess.”

“Oh my god, what do you think Olmstead would want with Adam!?”

“That, I’m not sure,” Peri was apologetic, but honest.

There was a silence that passed between them, the only sound being the keyboard. Emily was anxious to hear what Eutope would find. Her mind ran though possibilities, namely kidnapping or mortally harming him, but both just served to distress her. If it was the former, at least she would know he is alive. And her overthinking this didn’t help in keeping the guilt down.

She wanted a distraction. Fast.

“Does everyone here use an alias?” Emily asked after three minutes of silence had passed.

“They can use their given names down here if they want but when we go in public, then yes.”

“Oh, well, I hate to compromise anything so...maybe I should have one while I’m here?” She suggested, a little unsure of things.

“Hmm, that would be a good idea, actually. Got any in mind?”

Emily paused then shook her head, feeling a tad awkward, “Sorry, I’m coming up blank.”

“That’s alright, we can come up with something for when the time inevitably comes.”

Meanwhile, Eutope was busy searching away for anything that’d tell them what’s going on. None of the news sites had anything new, nor did Olmstead’s social media alluded to any new development. No threats, no new warnings to keep in line, nothing. Nothing that would give them an idea of what happened to Adam.

And then he had to go check Olmstead’s YouTube channel. A sense of cold dread flooded his body. There was a new video smack dab at the top of the profile page, posted just a few minutes ago. He froze when he saw the video, hesitant to click the title right next to it.

This can’t be good. Really can’t be good. Still, there was a need to watch it if they were gonna stand one iota of a chance of fixing this mess.

Eutope still felt apprehensive in watching, but he sounded the alert, nonetheless. He drew in a hesitated breath as he kept his eyes on the screen.

“Girls? I think I found something.”

Both Emily and Peri looked his way. They paused for a moment before the latter got up. She walked up behind the chair while Emily stood next to Eutope. Emily knew they would have to watch it, but at the same time, she really didn’t want to. She just knows it was going to end badly in one way or another.

Eutope clicked the video to start. Right off the bat, it wasn’t looking too good. The person speaking was Olmstead himself, clad in a black suit and sitting behind a dark mahogany desk. There was a disingenuous vibe about him right off the bat. The wall was, somehow ominously, dark behind him.

“Hello all you wonderful folks of Earth out there! Such lovely weather today, isn’t it? ‘Course that’s rhetorical, heh, since every day is a nice day. Not too warm, not too cold...just right for whatever season we happen to be in. No national or worldwide disasters of any kind, either. In fact, next week will mark 15 years since we all entered a period of peace, prosperity; a worldwide Utopia void of diseases and conflict. All thanks to me, of course.”

“Now why, you may be asking, would I be bringing up something that is common knowledge? Well, actually, did you know there are worlds out there that have problems? Parallel universes where war is common and disease runs rampant across all of humankind? That doesn’t sound like a fun world, at least, to me, but surely you can all agree on that. Reminds me too much of the dark times here on this very planet before I came along and righted everything for the sake of our wonderful planet.”

“I thought to myself, these poor souls need help. They need...they need guidance. Help from someone who has the means to make their world as perfect as ours. Who wouldn’t want that folks? Who wouldn’t want to live in a world where there are no hardships? No poverty? No crime? No food shortage?”

The implications of this did not bode well for all three of them, especially for Emily.

“That’s why I’m proud to say that I’m going to be traveling to these uncivilized versions of Earth. Planets in dire need of the wonderful gift that is magic, and I want to share this all with all of you.”

“I will go into my first parallel universe starting tomorrow and it’ll be broadcast live. I strongly encourage every one of you to watch.”

The video ended with Olmstead snapping his finger. The screen abruptly changed to black, leaving dead air in its wake. Eutope gritted his teeth as he closed out about a half a minute later. For Emily, this just ripped the bandaid clean open, her gut wretched with guilt. It was more intense than before.

Adam is in trouble, her world is in danger, and it was her fault.

Her mind was in a haze of memories and emotions. She didn’t know what to say as she reeled back from what she’d seen. She felt lightheaded, her legs threatening to buckle out from under her. She needed to sit down. That, or crawl under a hole for all eternity.

How is she going live with herself after all this?

Peri was the first to speak after a tense few seconds.“Unfortunately, just from this, my theory is correct...”

“Adam’s been kidnapped?” Eutope solemnly asked for clarification.

Emily suddenly cried out as she backed a few steps, “This is all my fault! I should’ve never asked him in the first place….”

Peri moved over and put her in a supportive hold, “Hey, it’s not your fault Emily. I can guarantee that,” She gently reassured her as she led her over to the couch.

She continued as they sat down. She kept a comforting arm around Emily.

“What question did you ask him?”

Emily didn’t really care too much right now that her voice sounded too broken up, “I asked him if. perhaps, he can subtly help out the local homeless people with his magic,” She confessed. “I didn’t know there would be cons to that and...well...Adam wanted to show me what would happen, so he brought me to this world.”

Peri took a couple of seconds to take all this in, comfortingly rubbing Emily’s back, “It’s nobody’s fault. It just sounded like you asked an innocent question.”

“An innocent question that got my husband and my world in great danger….ugh, I’m a grade-A idiot!” Emily sure didn’t feel convinced.

“I’m sure he’ll understand. Your Adam is completely the opposite of my brother where it counts so I’m sure of that.”

“Well, I’m not too sure, to tell you the truth,” Emily revealed.

There was still anxiety and guilt to be had over the whole thing. She rubbed her eyes clean of any tears that threaten to fall before she spoke up again. Eutope, meanwhile, got up from his seat and casually made his way over. He sat down on Emily’s other side.

“Is it really that bad here?” Emily glanced up at Peri, then down at her feet, “Adam already told me how things that aren’t for the good of society are illegal.”

Peri nodded sadly. Eutope simply didn’t say anything, merely just looking ahead absentmindedly.

“I honestly think he’d probably zap you out of existence, at the absolute worst. However, the worst I’ve seen him do is...he’ll completely remove your memories, plant fake ones in, and rearrange your personality.”

“He’d basically put you under mind control in order to fit his basic image of how people should be. He’s created nothing but a worldwide society full of mindless sheep!” Eutope spat out bitterly as he shot up to his feet.

“The majority of people are all too damn happy to be fed everything by him and his ‘oh so wonderful magic’. Did you know it’s also because of him people don’t even fucking bother learning shit on their own? He thought it would be beneficial just to zap all the knowledge of everything into everyone’s head! Gone are the days when people worked hard and did shit for themselves!”

Emily was stunned speechless. She couldn’t think of a reply as Eutope stormed out of the room. The bitterness that dripped through his voice helped sell the point that Olmstead was one bad apple. She and Peri sat in silence in the aftermath. After two minutes, Peri got up and shut the door before she turned back to Emily.

Peri began, “Shutting the door for privacy before I share something about Eutope, not everyone here knows about it.”

“Did something happen to him?” Emily wondered as Peri sat back down.

“Yeah,” Peri’s voice was low but sober and laced with sadness, “It was about a year after we met, five years after my brother turned the world into an Utopia. My brother, yet again, tried to persuade us to believe his idyllic worldview bullshit. We weren’t backing down, we both fought back with well-researched facts.”

Peri took a moment in order to make sure she was composed enough. It was still painful in a way to recount the whole incident.

“We got into an intense argument. Now, the thing you gotta know is Eutope an immigrant from Greece. Born and raised in Athens, came over to America to study abroad and stayed ever since. Came from a loving family, raised by wonderful parents. Makes sense he’d cherished those memories, right? Well….guess what part of his life Olmstead erased?”

Emily’s eyes widen in shock as she softly gasped, ” Oh my god...his childhood?”

Peri didn’t say anything, there was only an unspoken confirmation.

“The only reason I came out unscathed was because I was his sister,” Peri explained pretty matter of factly.

“Holy crud.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Peri was off working out the kinks in Operation Save Adam and Stop her Brother. She wanted to make sure it wouldn’t fall apart within ten minutes of making the announcement. It was going to be short notice, yeah, but it wasn’t anything they weren’t used too. Plus, the fact Olmstead made L.A. his base of operations made things easier.Emily, meanwhile, was told she can mingle around with the other members of the Rebellion. She decided to head towards the gym, perhaps go a few rounds with a punching bag or in the ring with someone. She wanted a bit of a distraction, if only temporary, from all the chaos that was going on right now. Something to clear her mind.She opened the door and walked inside, for an underground room, this certainly looked like a gym. There was mats covering the floors with a couple boxing rings on one side and an area for martial arts training on the other. ‘Course, it was smaller, probably, compared to where she goes for BJJ. In the back to the right, there was punching bags. There was only one person there, punching the crap out of one of the bags: the one she suddenly felt a surge of pity and sympathy for right now.She leisurely walked past the one or two others on the room for the more secluded back area. Eutope was focused on the bag, throwing punch after punch as hard as he can. She watched at first. She felt awkward and didn’t know what to say. Nothing hokey, however, that won’t do anyone good in the long run.Plus, what do you say beyond “I’m sorry that happened” to someone that’s been mindwiped? This was her first time dealing with something like this. It also made her feel a renewed sense of great idiocy for almost fully suggesting Adam zap knowledge into people’s minds. Sure, she caught herself midway, but chastised herself anyways for not realizing the major problem against that.She crossed her arms and watched for a couple minutes before she tried to initiate conversation. Eutope had seemed to notice her, but he didn’t break concentration.“Hey, umm, I’m...uhh...I’m really sorry about…” Emily’s voice faltered, still unsure of what to say.“She told you?” Eutope asked casually. It wasn’t accusatory, but more like he can guess what happened..There wasn’t any problem, or specifically in this case, there wasn’t. Emily was from a world where they didn’t live in fear of being mindwiped. And even here, it was more like an open secret than not. He just preferred not to bring it up if he didn’t need too. Much too painful to bring up no more than everyonce in a while.“Yeah, she did.”Another punch and a left jab thrown on the bag, Eutope finally exhaled and turned his full attention into Emily.“It’s because of that bastard that I have a spotty memory. I can’t remember much of anything for very long. Been that way for ten years,” Eutope shared, voice strong, but low enough so no one else can overhear.“He took away all of the wonderful times I had with my dad, my friends, school. I’m sure there was some low times too but...I can’t remember, can I?” Eutope sighed and took a moment.“It was thanks to my lovely wife that I know the basics. I didn’t forget my real name or anything like that, but I know my dad owned a restaurant and I was studying to be a chef.”A few seconds passed in silence as Eutope looked down aimlessly before he proceeded to walk back in front of the bag. He threw a couple more hits to let out the anger he felt towards the man responsible.“He also robbed me of the ability to speak Greek,” He solemnly added as another thwack can be heard, “He can give knowledge and take it away.”Emily was rendered speechless, but not really surprised based on what she was told. All of this was horrible. This guy took away probably the only way he could speak to his family back home. Unless his dad knew how to speak English, but still, just the same.His identity was forcibly robbed.She quietly walked over to the other side and held the bag in place for him. Eutope didn’t seem to mind, she just wanted to do something other than stand around like some onlooker who didn’t know what to do.She can’t imagine losing a set of memories just like that.“Does your….family know?” Emily quietly asked as she felt Eutope hitting the bag.“My dad does. Mom doesn’t only cause I ain’t seen her much since they got divorced when I was 10. According to Peri anyways.”“Oh...”“My dad came straight over afterward when he heard the news. Peri helped him get better at English. He likes our Adam about as much as Willie Nelson hates smoking pot.”Emily made a small, but friendly chuckle._________________________ This was an interesting, interesting choice for a lair or a dungeon area for an arrogant madman. A madman who looked just like him, sans glasses. Said madman had him held in a prison compound underneath his large mansion on an island off the coast of Los Angeles. Or well, actually it wasn’t much of an island since it was connected to the mainland via a land bridge. It was actually more like a peninsula.Still, it was enough to remind Adam of Alcatraz. He’d been there on a family trip once when he was a boy.“Did you know Alcatraz was named for birds-” Adam stated as cheerfully as he can muster.The guard outside his cell seemed likehe couldn’t care less. He didn’t move an inch, just stood stoic as he did an hour ago when Adam was brought in. That didn’t deter him, though. Anything to keep himself as collected as he can in this grim situation.Which, to anyone who knew him, it would be blatant that he was actually nervous and scared as hell.The cell door separating him and guard was made up of magic bars of energy. He was told it was a specialty cell just for him, since the bars neutralize his magic while inside.Clever fucking bastard.“-It was named in 1775 by Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de-”A sudden location change cut off Adam’s train of thought. He immediately glanced around. He was facing a wall in what appeared to be a large office. He turned around and got startled with an embarrassing, high pitched yelp when he noticed another man. This other man leaned up against the desk with a smug grin on his face.Unlike Adam and his tweed suit, the other him had a black suit, as well as a more menacing vibe around him. Another difference he noted earlier was the other one’s magic was a light purple instead of blue. Maybe magic is denoted by a different color in some other universes. The idea interested him momentarilyOlmstead gave a calculated grin, even chuckling lowly as he slowly walked up to Adam. Even the hairstyle was the same - although, given the chance, Adam would point out that his was more stylish. The other man had his hands behind his back.“This is quite an interesting event, isn’t it? Meeting a goody two shoe version of myself. Heh. I have to say it was very easy to determine exactly where you came from. And how much of a socially inept nerd you are.”Adam wasn’t aware it was possible to feel condescended to by someone who sounded exactly like him.Olmstead continued, his arrogance showing.“In fact, I should thank you for giving me this wonderful idea.”Adam felt his face drained of color at the implication.“You did not have any permission to go through my head like that!” He shouted, pointed his finger at his double.He had every right to be pissed off.Olmstead reacted by laughing, a cold and dismissive laugh that made Adam ball up his fists.“You think I care?!” He replied incredulously, narrowing his eyes at the other man. If he was more reactive, like his sister can be, he would’ve punched the guy by now.“Besides, it’s for the greater good isn’t it? Because of this discovery, we can go to different universes and save them! You and I have been given a great gift, something no one else has. Something that the masses can greatly benefit from. So shouldn’t we… oh I don’t know, use it to help the poor souls of every chaotic world that needs it?”“Actually...” Adam began as he glared at the other man.As opposed to other times where he said the word, his tone was void of any brightness or abrasive cheeriness. Instead it was sharp, even, and full of ire.“...you have a very twisted idea of the greater good! Our magic isn’t meant to be used to plunge the planet into some dictatorial Utopia! It’s meant to protect the balance between chaos and order.”“Oh, really?! Really?! Come on now, I’ve been inside your mind. Don’t get all hypocritical on me! You use your magic to bother people around with facts nobody cares about cause you think that is the ticket to gaining friends!”“Alright, I can’t deny that, but unlike you, I don’t go zapping knowledge into people’s minds! That’s straight up non-consensual! Plus, where’s the fun in actually learning and researching things for yourself if you’ve suddenly gained knowledge just like that?!” Adam made a normal snap of the fingers for emphasis.Olmstead stared at him for a second before a round of giggles overtook him for a second. Adam kept up his steely glare directed at him.“You’re telling me that you actually find reading books and researching shit fun ? It is a waste of time when you got magic. Something I realized years ago, why not cut out the middleman? Why not gain skills in a split second that would take years and years otherwise. Time that I could be doing things that mattered.” Olmstead gestured and paced around as he explained, Adam remained where he was.“Like what?”He turned back around to face Adam, “Oh, like the finer things in life. Gambling, traveling, high society, and - of course - the women.”Adam felt more aware of the power coursing through him right about now.  “I swear if you tell me you use magic-” He spat before he was cut off.“Oh no, no, don’t worry about that. That’s all my natural charisma and good looks at work. No magic needed,” Olmstead gave a sly smile, “However, for you, I wouldn’t really blame you if-”Adam returned the favor and cut Olmstead off with a powered-up punch. The latter was surprised and staggered a bit as he rubbed his cheek.“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” He warned him with a bite. ”Besides, I have a wife.”Olmstead laughed out loud.“Oh man, a wife? Now, I have to admit that is rich! Forgive me for going slightly off-tangent. It’s just humorous, this little fact regarding you. At least, according to what I discovered about you from mentally swimming around in your stupid little mind. How’d someone like you managed to get a date, let alone go all the way to husband without any magic involved?”Olmstead was in his face now, a bemused grin. His hands were on his hips. Meanwhile, Adam couldn’t believe how messed up this version was. Sometime after all of this, he - and Emily if she wants - have to go traveling across worlds to see if there were any other nicer versions of him.“Want to know the harsh truth?” Olmstead smugly grinned, “Somehow, I doubt you haven’t used magic on little miss Emily to make her fall madly in love with a clown like you.” He let out an amused chuckle. It was obvious to Adam he didn’t think much of him.Adam growled angrily and sent Olmstead flying back into the wall with a well-delivered force beam to the stomach. As the latter groaned and rubbed his head from the impact, the former slowly walked up to him, giving him a hard glare. How dare this version implied he put Emily under some sort sinister mind control? How dare this completely twisted asshole imply he would abuse his powers in such a way?He could go more on the topic, but he felt like his point was made. Instead, Adam decided to repay the favor. Olmstead slowly got up to his feet and quickly shook his head. Thank god there was magic to instantly heal you up after something like that.Adam began after a few tense seconds passed, “I know how it actually is here. I met your sister three years after you’d taken the liberty of turning this place into a worldwide Utopia. Everyone has to follow your rigid rules for worldwide prosperity, don’t they? People have become so complacent to magic that humanity has stagnated as a whole.”“It’s how things should be run!” Olmstead shouted defensively. “The people are happy to be provided with magic to help their day-to-day lives. If there has to be rigid rules for the sake of everyone’s happiness and wellbeing, then so be it. And this, actually, brings me to the main reason you’re here,” Olmstead straightened his suit before he gave Adam his full attention.‘This should be interesting,’ Adam thought.“This world is a model, an example of which other worlds, like yours, should follow. Allow me to show you.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Olmstead teleported them to a mall. People were walking about, talking and shopping. Adam was led to a nearby game store, he peered in and immediately picked on what was wrong. There was no cash register! Hell, there wasn’t even anyone behind it. Instead, there was a circular pad just humming with magical purple energy. He watched, shocked, as a game came out of thin air and a customer grabbed it.

Adam was led up to the counter by a hand on his back as Olmstead explained with a happy, prideful smile.

“Magic is used in lieu of money. People can just automatically get what they want, when they want, without any financial burden. Tell me that’s something the people of your world would want.”

Adam looked at the pad, then at the other man with great disbelief.

“No it’s….no! This is not something I would even want. You’ll just end up forcing people, whether they like it or not, to be 100 percent depending on just one person. What if that one person one day decided to take it all away?”

There was a silence, a heavy tension between the two magic users. Olmstead broke it with a casual breath.

“Well, the pros outweigh the cons, I say. You know, with this system in place, people will never be able to go hungry. Foods will always stay stocked up at the grocery stores, and they’ll never go bad. Plus, whatever they need for their...bodily or medical issues will never run out.”

“Why do I feel there’s a catch somewhere, in general?”

Another incredulous laugh.“Oh there is no catch at all! Believe me.”

Another location change, this time to what looked like the inside of a medical facility.

If Adam was honest, this place appeared to be your average everyday hospital, waiting area, a front desk, people around and about. Like, if the building was in his world instead of one run by an arrogant, know it all, corrupted version of himself.

“Take this, for example. This isn’t just a hospital of days gone by, this is an improved hospital! Gone are the days of great sickness and deformities, gone are the days of long recovery periods! If someone breaks a leg or gets some kind of pain, they can simply come in here and get healed, good as new, within three minutes.”

“Thus, eliminating the need for doctors, which can also be a pain in the ass, depending.”

Adam swirled around and did a teleportation of his own simultaneously, this time they were in a quiet area in a nearby park. He didn’t want to disturb everyone back at the hospital, so he reckoned a change would be apt.

“All this is….all you’re doing is creating a society full of people too lazy to do anything with the skills or knowledge they have to do anything worthwhile in their life! Something to make them feel wholly productive. I don’t need to have an expert to tell you that you that most people are going to end up thinking there is no purpose in life!”

“It’s infuriating how much you sound like my sister!” Olmstead spat out vitriolically before he continued on his, failing, attempt to persuade Adam.

“News flash, I gave them more of a purpose! By eliminating the needs for doctors, nurses, teachers, police force….the people have more time to do whatever the hell they want to do in their free time! More time to play sports, go to the movies, go to concerts and the like.”

“So the only ones that are still working are the ones in the entertainment industry?”

“Well, you certainly can if you want to. But why, when they can simply sent in a request to moi. Or, they can go to one of the many, many centers around the world and have their wish fulfilled there.”

Olmstead walked up a few paces closer to Adam, a smug, pretentious grin on his face.

“Now tell me, why wouldn’t you want this for your world? Think how much happier humankind would be without having to worry about war, strife, poverty. Everyone is at peak human health, no ozone problem, no megastorms of any kind. So, Conover, are you really going to be that selfish to deny the planet of your universe the wonderful benefits of your magical gift?”

“You’re insane!”

“Still not convinced, huh? Here, why don’t you go and see for yourself? I implore you,” Olmstead gestured to the rest of the park. He had that same smug, over confident grin, “I’ll be teleporting you back in my office in about an hour.”

With that, Olmstead teleported out in a beam of purple, leaving Adam alone. The latter was determined to figure out just what that catch was. The guy had to be hiding the truth somewhere. His gut was telling him so, and as most people would know, it’s always good to trust your gut. He replayed what he was told once over in his mind as he started walking towards the sidewalk.

Other things ran through his mind, mostly Emily. He worried about her, hoped that she is with Rhea’s counterpart by now. He knew she could keep her safe and away from his corrupted counterpart. He didn’t want to think how he’d react if his counterpart did anything to hurt Emily. Or anyone else he cared about, for that matter.

Something out of his peripheral vision caught his eye. Something interesting. There appeared to be someone here and there in uniform around in this area. So that was it, he theorized. The other him had lied about having a police force. Even with that guess, he still felt like there was something more to it.

He made a left and steadily walked down the sidewalk, making sure to change his appearance just enough so he doesn’t run into any kind of mistaken identity problems. His magical perception trick had been disrupted earlier when he was kidnapped and thrown into that prison cell.

He made sure he wasn’t close enough to be noticed, but close enough to observe the one on the corner more clearly. They were wearing a uniform, but it was more of the practical type. More for someone in the military, or for police work. Military grade vest, helmet, only thing missing was some kind of gun. Probably made up for it with the menacing looking glove the troop member had on.

The most striking, however, was the haunted, yet aware look in this person’s eyes. A faraway look that would make the casual onlooker wonder if they weren’t under the influence. Combine that with a creepy smile to make an unnerving expression. Adam could sense there was something else going on. He felt his magical sixth sense flare up again.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, in his mind’s eye he can feel traces of magic surrounding the person. And he had a good feeling who was the originator of said magic. He opened his eyes, only a couple or so seconds had passed.

The other thing he noticed that disgusted him to the core, was the fact this person looked young. He had a boyish look to him, like a teen either in high school, or just fresh outta high school. Apparently, his corrupted version wasn’t above using magic on minors. What’s to say he isn’t above using them on the elderly, or just anyone innocent really. This was despicable on so many levels.

A quick snap later, and he’s back in the office. Olmstead was at his desk behind his laptop. He stared at him, then smiled, as if he was expecting Adam right this second. He closed the laptop before he stood up.

“Back so soon? After only ten, fifteen minutes?”

“You don’t mind me asking something do you?” Adam asked with a set glare on him.

“Oh sure, go ahead,” Olmstead put his hands in his pockets as he smiled casually.

He must’ve thought Adam was coming around, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

“You said there wasn’t any police force, yet I saw a few around that can be described as such. If there isn’t any, then, what are they?”

“Ah yes, well I suppose I would have to tell you, wouldn’t I? It’s a necessary evil in running an Utopian world. You and I, we’re not all seeing, so how’d you make sure all the needs of the world are comfortably met? How do you make sure to keep the peace? You plant eyes around the world. And how do you achieve that? Via mind control,” Olmstead grinned satisfactory, “Best alternative there is. I call them the World Harmony Force.”

Adam narrowed his eyes. He’d do anything to protect his world, or any other for that matter, from the likes of him. His voice was collected, yet full of despise for what the other man has done.

“We’ll be here all day if I tell you how wrong mind control is! How can you justify using powers on defenseless people without consent?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there…I don’t go around using it on every random person out there. I only use it on those who break the laws I’ve set in place, and even then, they aren’t even aware they are being controlled. I’m not some monstrous leader.”

“Funny, I thought otherwise,” Adam replied sarcastically, he can feel more and more power in his veins as his anger increased.

“So, let me get this straight….anyone who doesn’t adhere to your idea of a lifestyle regimen gets put under mind control?! Anyone who indulges in junk foods, drives a gas guzzling car or does something because marketing campaigns told them it’s tradition or how you should do it?”

“Yes. Those people, unfortunately, are very set in the old ways. They’ve been given the knowledge and skills to better their life, their health….and what do they do with it? They squander it! It should be clear that they don’t really care. So what else to do but to serve a fitting punishment!”

“Even on minors!?”

Olmstead simply gave a nonchalant shrug, “It is what it is.”

Adam charged right at him, grabbed the labels of his suit, and rammed him hard up against the wall.

“If you’re hoping I’m convinced of your, quite frankly, awful ideas, then you got another thing coming. There is no way in hell I’m gonna let you turn other versions of Earth into a carbon copy of your twisted worldview!”

This time, it was Adam that was flown straight into the wall behind him. A flash of purple and suddenly he felt himself thrown harshly off his feet. He hit his back and head hard before he fell in a heap on the floor. He wasn’t knocked out, but he groaned from the pain. His vision, as a result, had gotten all fuzzy and blurry. However, it was still enough to make out the general shape of the other man above him as he walked closer.

His voice came out low and dangerous.

“Why was I a fool to think someone else with the gift would readily agree with me?! Hmm, I suppose it doesn’t really matter,” Olmstead bend down on one knee, words dripping with thick condescension and smugness.

“Either way, I’m going to help other worlds in need of someone like me...”.

Adam needed to do something fast, there’s no telling what this man could do to him. He had the same amount of power as him, therefore, he could zap him back to his prison cell, powerless to do anything. Or under mind control, or worse, out of existence. Can he steal his powers? There was an unsettling question. Why would he want to, logically speaking? Their powers are at the same level. ‘Course, for someone like him, it wouldn’t surprise him if he was that greedy.

He thought back to Emily, his family, and his entire world. He didn’t want this megalomaniac, who thinks he can play god with his reality warping powers, fucking with the fabric of society. Or any society in any alternative Earth for that matter. Adam wanted to stop him by any means. Bring him down for the sake of this world as well.

There was a last resort agreement he made with Rhea long ago. If Adam was in any kind of magical based trouble, he’ll transform and, only on a technicality, possess her. At the time, they both agreed something like that would never happen. Adam wanted to cover his bases, and while Rhea had thought he was being too over cautious, she can still see his point.

Even though, at the time, both of them believed they would never run into anyone else with magic.

First time for everything, right? Thank god his other version saw fit to drone on about his plan in detail. Pompous idiot. This was more than enough time to take advantage.

Adam snapped his fingers.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Rhea was ecstatic. Today was a rare day for her and her girlfriend. Today was the day they were able to have a date night. The last couple of times they tried to schedule one, they ended up postponing it for one reason or another. Mostly had to do with work, as Rhea was a public defender, and Maria owned a small boutique downtown. They’’d been dating for around five months at that point.

So tonight was the day they settled on to try out Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant. They’ve heard mixed reviews about it, but they always wanted a chance to go and see for themselves. They just wanted a day to leave early enough to account for the hellish traffic.

Everything so far was going perfect. They were enting about their jobs and joking about their respective families. Right now, they were discussing any possible ramification should Maria end up on a jury in a case where Rhea is a part of.

“....Babe, I’m just worried that by me being there is going to affect the decision. We’re dating, right? So how can it not be biased? I might subconsciously want you to win, even if the guy you’re defending deserves to be in jail.”

Rhea reassured her gently, “Those are fair points, but you may be overreacting just a tad. All you really have to do is to just pretend we aren’t dating. And remember to be as objective as you can be.”

“But Rhea, I’ve seen that episode your brother did. It’s impossible to be 100 percent objective when you’re part of a jury,” Maria replied, and Rhea, annoyingly, sighed under her breath.

Sometimes his show brought on unneeded annoyance for her in someway. This was one of those times, but it wasn’t a deal breaker or anything. Who cares if she dating someone who’ve seen it.

“And what if we break up? Then it would be awkward, ‘cause then...I could be subconsciously trying to make you lose the case.”

Rhea would’ve tilted her head back and make a slight groan, but at that moment, she felt something odd instead. She suddenly felt a surge of warm, energy shot up her spine. It wasn’t painful, but it certainly surprised her enough with a jolt to forget about the current conversation.

Thankfully, in a way, Maria forgot about it too. Instead, she looked concerned about what just happened. To her, Rhea had just involuntarily jumped up a little with a short gasp. Her voice was filled with warmth mixed with mild alarm.

She clearly wanted to be sure Rhea was ok.

“Oh my god Rhea! are you alright?”

Rhea took a moment to assess what happened. She wasn’t feeling any unexpected stomach issues, or bathroom related issues for that matter. That’ll be pretty awkward if this night was derailed because of either one. She hoped that, whatever it was, it was just a damn fluke. She was dead set on having this night go smoothly.

But, alas, it was not to be. She developed a subtle gut feeling that something was wrong. Also, why was there a mental voice - that suspiciously sounded like Adam - telling her to go to the bathroom? That was definitely odd, more odd even, cause she didn’t actually need to go. So why get up?

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just thought I made a mistake at work, but I don’t think I did,” Rhea dismissed it, and it was only slightly true, she had been stressed trying to finish up a recent case.

Maria’s worried smile turned into relief, “You do fine, you have been working hard. Try to relax and forget about work.”

“Yeah, well some jobs are easier to forget,” Rhea commented with a light chuckle.

They continued on. Five minutes later, Maria was sharing a funny story involving her dad, uncle during hunting season in Tennessee. Rhea listened with rapt attention. Maria’s family stories tended to be actually funnier than some of the ones from her other previous dates.

“Rhea, could you please get to somewhere more private? It’s a matter of the world’s fate being at stake!”

There was that voice again, why was she having that persistence mental voice in her head. And the Adam-like voice sounded almost desperate. Probably just her mind playing tricks, but that can’t be. She knew she didn’t have anything going on inside where she heard voices or anything.

“Please tell you haven’t forgotten? The agreement from 13 years ago?” The voice weirdly sounded a little disappointed.

Oh shit!

Shit, shit, shit!

At that moment, she froze in place as she remembered. The pact! Damn it, she had forgotten, if only for a minute. Adam had came over one night to her place with a written up document. It was to give him consent to enter Rhea’s mind via magic. After an hour and a half of discussion, she finally agreed in case of such an improbable event. Doesn’t seem too improbable now, obviously.

Fuck, ugh, why did Adam choose this very night of all the nights in the world?

She would have to leave the table as soon as possible. She returned to reality, and honestly, it put her at a bit of ease to see Maria was too lost in her story to notice anything. Didn’t really make this any less awkward. The abrupt leave was probably gonna look weird. Don’t get her wrong, she certainly didn’t want to bring upon the end of days.

But, on the other hand, she was on a date! A date that she had been looking forwards to for days. Can’t this wait until afterward if he really needed her help? Plus she has complete trust in her brother to handle whatever it was. What can she really do, realistically speaking, beyond punching and any martial art type moves?

Feeling annoyed at her brother, Rhea excused herself and headed into the bathroom. Gratefully, she had a patient enough girlfriend. Emergencies happen, it was life. Probably helped, in her favor, that something like this occurred once or twice before. Some foods just weirdly don’t agree with either of them.

She barged through the door into the women's room, and looked in the mirror. Instead of seeing herself in a button down shirt, vest and dress pants, it was Adam who stood in place. Thank god no one else was in here.

“Adam what the hell!? I mean, granted, you didn’t know I was on a date, but what the actual hell?!” Rhea yelled, she prayed no one entered the room.

She would, admittedly, looked like someone off her meds, but at the moment she didn’t really give a shit.

“Oh, I’m sorry Rhea,” Adam was very much apologetic, “If I could, I would deal with this by myself-”

“Then why the fuck couldn’t you!?”

“Cause there were other risk factors I had to account for! I ran into a twisted version of me in another world!” Adam explained with just an equally calm, but loud, voice as Rhea’s.

Nothing like a Conover argument.

“Like what factors Adam?! Can’t this fate of the world shit wait until after?! I have been fucking dreaming of this day for a damn while!”

She also didn’t really care, at the moment, if she sounded, embarrassingly, like a petulant child.

“And I’m sorry, Rhea. I really am! Sometimes shit comes at the most inopportune times-”

“No fucking kidding!” Rhea dryly quipped, “Look, I just wanted to spend this night having a relaxing date without any shit of some kind coming down on me. I love Maria and I don’t want to mess that up Adam.”

“Neither do I! It’s not like I wanted shit to happen Rhea. Me and Emily could be at home, watching tv or playing video games, but we’re obviously not! We’re in another world dealing with an arrogant, twisted asshole with magic who turned his world into a Utopia! If I don’t stop him, he gonna do the same to ours! And every other world like it!”

Rhea groaned, “Ugh, Adam you’re the one that has magic, I don’t! So you should be able to take him down without having to possess me! So please get out my head for right now and come back later if you have too!”

“Yes, but remember those factors I mentioned? He could steal my magic, possess me, or worse!”

Rhea was about to make another rebuttal when she suddenly heard muffled screams from behind the door. She froze in position for a second before she slowly peaked out the door. The sounds became more pronounced in the air as she saw various customers fleeing and panicking. It was all chaos all of a sudden. The cause, the blond man in the middle of the room, had sent her reeling back into the view of the mirror. The argument was forgotten as both siblings were frozen with speechless terror.

“Holy fuck…holy….who was that?! Adam, there’s another--there’s another you out there!” Rhea exclaimed frightfully.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt a cold wave up her spine.

“That’s who I was talking about,” Adam gravely stated, “That’s the madman who thinks plunging the world into a rigid, purposeless Utopia is a great idea. He must’ve followed me over,” He finished with a grim realization.

Rhea’s can feel her heart beating faster from the adrenaline, this night was definitely screwed now. No going back to her dinner. She turned her head towards the mirror, time to take care of this problem. Whether she wanted to right now or not.

“We can still talk mentally right?”

“Yep. And you have access to my powers as long as I’m in here.”

Rhea nodded and turned back towards the door. She took a calming breath before she stormed out of the door. She looked around, half of the people left, while the other half took refuge in the kitchen or one of the corners. Various overturned tables and chairs littered the room, not to mention the food. It was like a tornado suddenly came through here.

She looked over where she was sitting with Maria only about five minutes prior, it was empty. Maria was in one of the corners when some of the other people. Rhea was determined not to let anything happened to these bystanders, especially her girlfriend.

Olmstead stood in the middle of the room, effectively blocking the entrance. She didn’t stopped until she was right in front of him. She glared at him, and he menacingly gave her a smile. He then chuckled and clapped his hand softly for a second. Apparently, he had sensed where Adam was currently.

“Oh this is interesting, simply fascinating I must say. Magically going inside your sister, truly a clever move I must admit.”

Rhea just stood in silence. Yeah, she may not have a clue on where to start with her brother’s magic, but she’ll damn sure use it to defend everyone from this...doppelganger. She stood her ground, not one to back down from any sort of threat. A few seconds passed before she was about to open her mouth, but instead, a familiar British accent got to it first before she did.

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing!?”

Rhea turned around to see the source of the loud, brash voice. Of fucking course, Gordon Ramsay just had to be in this restaurant at this moment. He stomped out with a scowl on his face.

Another mental groan of annoyance was to be had. She swore she mentally heard Adam do the same. And, unknowingly of what the other Adam was capable off, Gordon just stormed right up into Olmstead’s face with no fucks given. Rhea, on the other hand, could only watch with horror. She froze up. She didn’t know what the hell was going to happen, and what the hell should she do that would be best? A millisecond later and she decided she oughta teleport him to safety as quickly as possible.

Gordon kept yelling, “Scaring the hell out of my customers! Tearing up this place, food all over! Get the fucking hell out of my restaurant before I call the cops you wanker!”

Rhea jostled herself out of her speechless daze and readied her hand to teleport Gordon to safety. Alas, Olmstead was too quick. The next, harrowing, thing she knew, a blob of purple suddenly encased Olmstead and went straight into the man in front of him. She now had a famous TV British chef looking at her with glowing purple eyes.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Oh no..…”

“Oh god! Oh my god Adam I was too fucking slow, I’m sorry...I’m fucking sorry. I’m not used to this as you are! And there are people in here, I don’t want to cause them harm in any way!”
Rhea was understandably hesitant to use her brother’s power in an area with a good amount of people. She would go up and do the old punch but, obviously, that won’t go so well. She needed to stay calm and stand her ground. Deep down, she felt nervous about how to best handle this with magic. She dare didn’t show any of this to Olmstead, however. He’ll definitely take advantage of her, painfully, rookie status compared to Adam.“Hey! Get the hell out of Gordon, he’s just an innocent! He doesn’t have anything to do with this magic shit!” Rhea demanded.“Oh why ever not? This is too much fun,” Olmstead, via Gordon, replied with a gleeful laugh, “The accent suits me don’t you think?”Rhea thought it was unsettling to hear him talk with Gordon’s voice and all. She had seen a good amount of Gordon’s various shows, so she wasn’t sure if she would be able to watch them for a while after this ordeal.
“It’s ok Rhea, it’s alright, just listen to me very carefully. First things first, teleport you and him back to his world.”
Rhea was about to do it, but at the same time, she noticed the possessed arm of Gordon move back. She saw the formation of a purple energy ball forming, so instead, she moved her arms in front of her. A light blue shield formed in front of her just as a beam of energy collided with it. The force sent Rhea off her feet and rolling on the floor towards the kitchen.Rhea groaned softly, but she was able to get up. She can see Olmstead getting closer. Thankfully she was able to jump out of the way when he threw an energy ball aimed for her. Now there was a good sized hole in the wall. Rhea can see some of the terrified chefs in the kitchen.The people in the corners were too frozen in fear to move.“Man I should’ve tried this sooner!” Another loud laugh, “This body will serve me well, fit, accent...might have to fix the hair...““You have no right to take over someone else’s body!” Rhea defiantly shouted.Olmstead turned his gaze directly onto Rhea. It sent a chill right through her bones. He looked at her incredulously.“You really are the no fun police aren’t you? You and, quite possibly, every other counterpart of yours! It’s maddening, really. Simply maddening!”“It’s definitely nice to know most other versions of me have their morals intact then. Get the hell out of Gordon!”Rhea even tried snapping her fingers to send Olmstead out of the chef to no avail. All it did was sent him into another fit of condescending laughter. Damn it.
“Yeah, um, unfortunately not everything with magic can’t be enacted by a snap.”

“Oh, now you tell me?…”

“Sorry.”
This magic stuff was a little easier to wield when she used it on an episode of Adam’s show. Then again, that had been a different situation, she was dispensing knowledge on Adam. It was relatively calmer then. Plus, she wasn’t going up against someone with powers. Ok, scratch that, she technically was. The difference was, it was someone she had grown up with. She knew damn well Adam was a good-hearted person, he’d never use his powers in any evil way.“You obviously have no idea what you’re doing. Why don’t you let Adam fully take over your body?”“Because he’s not an asshole and he actually respects people! He knows when and when not to use his powers. Unlike you!”“Ah yes, that would fit him. He is the more….boring version of me.”Rhea narrowed her eyes, “Didn’t know having morals and being a decent person wasn’t fun.” She shot back with a roll of her eyes.Olmstead started to walk towards her and, by proxy, the people behind her too. He had a sick, satisfying smile on Gordon’s face. She was never gonna unsee that for the next few days. As he walked forward, Rhea moved backwards. The people behind her were too frozen in fear to move.This guy was dangerously close to other people, she didn’t want them to get hurt by any collateral damage. And there wasn’t just the people behind her, there was the ones behind him and in the kitchen. She wanted to get him away, but at the same time not hurt anyone. She looked around and there was a big open space to the right of her.As soon as she saw his hand flare up with purple energy, she had no time to think. She immediately swung her arm horizontally, which sent the other man flying across the room. Olmstead crashed into a table that wasn’t overturned from before, breaking it completely. She suddenly felt awkward the moment after as she remembered a crucial element. She tensed up while she felt her stomach drop.“Oh crap!” Rhea said out loud as she ran her hands through her hair.Yeah, he was currently inside Gordon’s body wasn’t he? This meant she would have to be extra careful. The chef would be feeling it more than the guy inside. She would have to make sure not to inflict anything permanent in the process of stopping the one inside. She regretted her impulsive decision like that, but at the least, the people around her are further away relatively speaking.
“Rhea careful! Gordon is likely gonna be feeling all of this when my counterpart leaves his body!”

“Shit, I’m sorry Adam. You know I was just thinking about the people around me.”

“I know and I applaud you very much for that, but you gotta take into account the person being possessed too.”
“Right, yeah. You make this look so much easier.” Rhea admitted, casually. “Oh, I know. I practiced a lot in my spare time in college.” A small proud chuckle echoed in her mind before it faded out.
“Tell you what, if you want, you can let me have temporary full control over you. I can get us to his world with minimal collateral damage. Once we’re there I’ll dial it back. Promise.”
A second or two only passed before Rhea exhaled calmly and agreed. She had no doubt Adam would keep his word, it was just she had never done this before. She didn’t know what to expect. After a second of thinking, she agreed.
“So what do I do Adam?”

“Just relax your body completely. Don’t fight back, take a deep breath and clear your mind.”
Rhea nodded to herself and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and dropped her shoulders in an effort to get as relaxed as she can. Her throw had seemed to have knock Olmstead out for the time being so that was good.Just then she felt her mind receding deeper and deeper as she felt herself losing control of her limbs, and other important muscles. She couldn’t really sense her surroundings anymore, fading from consciousness. This was a weird feeling in a way, but if there was one person she would trust her body while possessed like this, it was Adam. She opened her eyes and found herself in a little, mentally constructed, living room.There was a plain off white couch, and a big screen tv on the wall across. That must be how Adam was able to see out earlier, the window to the outside world. The screen flickered to life the next second, showing the outside world. Adam must be in full control now.
“Rhea are you ok?”
“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Is this what Gordon seeing too?” Rhea asked, she noticed there was even a glass of water on the table in front of her.There was a slight, almost uncomfortable pause.
“I’m honestly not sure. I was the one that made that room Rhea, so knowing my counterpart...probably not.”
Rhea felt her gut drop a few levels. She felt bad for him. She sat down on the couch and grabbed the glass.Meanwhile, Adam began to make his way over to Olmstead. The latter had just stood up and walked over to meet him in the middle.“Oh I see your sister has taken my advice huh? You’re in full possession now Adam, see how much fun that is! This is only just a little taste of what using your powers to its full potential is like!” Olmstead bombastically declared.“Actually, unlike you, I am a gentleman and asked Rhea for permission first.”It was a little odd hearing Adam using her own voice she supposed, but that was only a minor thing if anything. It’s something she can handle in this situation. If this had been Olmstead, then that would be a different story entirely.“Of course hahaha, you’re such a goody two shoes so of course you would! I’m not gonna let you hinder progress on your sad state of a planet.”“To you maybe, but I think this planet doing just fine without the interference of magic. Humanity has been fine without it since the dawn of time,” Adam pointed out.“Maybe, but that just means they don’t know magic exists, and the benefits that come from it. Trust me, once you see the results, you’ll come around.”“I highly doubt it,” Adam replied. Olmstead wasn’t fazed, he slyly continued.“See, while you were in your prison earlier, I’ve taken the liberty to draw out a plan to show everyone back home the start of my plan. Tomorrow would be the official start of my….Give World Peace Campaign, starting with this world. How about I give you a little taste? I really don’t want to have to resort to manipulating the mind of someone of our...godlike stature.”Adam really didn’t like how he implied having magic made him above humanity. Rhea didn’t either.“Punch that fucker’s head off Adam!”  Rhea got up to her feet, she did not like being belittled to like that.If she was any less stressed out, she would’ve just ignored such a pretentious and snobby remark. No one can blame her little impulsive outburst with the way the night is going.
“Rhea, he’s just riling you and me up. Just ignore him.”
“Fine, sorry,” Rhea sat back down.Olmstead lifted his arm, - actually Gordon’s arm really -, and Adam lifted his for a retaliation shot.“Oh I wish you would relax Adam,” He sighed reproachfully.He snapped and a big hole appeared in the roof, “I was just making us a way out.”Olmstead suddenly jumped and suddenly flew straight up into the air. Amidst the gasps and screams from the people behind him, Adam followed suit into the air. He concentrated to catch up, that idiot was a good several feet above him still.“Holy shit! Holy shit I’m flying-we’re flying,” Rhea exclaimed in amazement.It had to make sense that Adam can fly if he can do all sorts of other things, so logically she knew he can probably do so. It was another thing to actually see it be confirmed. Rhea can see the other man high up in the air, slowly getting closer. She can also see the clear night sky, full of bright stars.If they weren’t immersed in a shitty situation, she would take this moment to fully enjoy the sight. Also, right now, she was happy Adam was taking the reins at this moment. She’ll probably royally mess up an attempt or two fly otherwise. It was a just a plain, objective fact. Adam had more experience with magic than she ever had so it would stand to reason she would have a harder time.Olmstead seemed to have noticed Adam, so he picked up speed until. He was getting smaller and smaller in his vision. Luckily though, he seemed to have stopped at a point, but a new problem arised. He held up an arm with a magical sphere in his hand.He started to bombastically shout, “Behold! This will be only an illusion, but you shall see first hand how-”Olmstead was cut off abruptly by Adam slamming into his chest. Adam kept up his speed as he flew horizontally towards the Pacific Ocean. For Rhea, she was now able to get a glismp of the city lights below. All the little buildings and cars. It was very pretty. She just felt it may be a bit of an inappropriate situation to comment on it. It would be awkward if anything. Plus, if she didn’t feel that way, she was too focused on what was happening at the moment.After several seconds, Adam managed to snap his - Rhea’s - fingers. Suddenly the scenery changed to day just like that. And there was no signs of the city below either, in fact they were over a body of water. A large body of water that was getting closer and closer at alarmingly high speeds. It appeared Adam was almost diving straight down.Rhea felt herself tensed up as she realized what was about to happen.Just...what was her brother doing?Oh fuck.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was very nice of Peri to let her sleep on one of the several spare rooms. It wasn’t like Emily had any other choice, but it was nice all the same. The bed was surprisingly comfy enough for an underground bunker. Maybe they stole some better mattresses or something she guessed. Wasn’t relevant at all, but it did help contributed to the rest she got.Well, strictly speaking, it was about four hours of rest. But it could’ve been worse, she could’ve stayed up all night worrying about Adam instead of just most of it. Anyone would understand otherwise, but she wanted to get some sleep, and Adam wouldn’t want her to worry herself sick.That didn’t stop her though. The time on her phone said 5:16 am, she slightly groaned. She’d been up since three am, just focused on Adam and what could be happening to him. Was he being tortured? No, Adam can take care of himself. He is a, how he puts it, big boy with reality warping magic. Then again, this is the same man who still cries out for his mommy sometimes.“No stop it, you’re underestimating your own damn husband! He has grown a lot since you’ve met him and has done tons better at being a functional human being.” Emily’s inner voice chastised her.Her inner voice was right, still she can’t help but let what if scenarios play out in her mind. What if the worst happened and she was stuck here? Won’t be the worst place to be stuck in, she could be in a world where she was completely on her own. It’s just she’ll quickly miss her own world, and her friends over. She’ll miss Adam.No, she can’t let herself think like that either. No use in dwelling on shit that, very much, probably won’t become a reality. They were going to head to the mansion as early as possible, break Adam out, stop Olmstead, and they’ll be back home before they knew it.Meeting Peri and Eutope had also helped her be more at ease here. Sure, she still felt out of place somewhat, threatening to make her more aware that this wasn’t her native world. On the other hand, without them, that feeling would probably be increased ten-fold. She’ll feel awkward navigating a world that was very much different than hers in all the wrong way. She’d feel like she was in some young adult dystopian novel.After a few minutes of doing much the same for the past two hours, - that is staring at the bottom of the empty bed above her -, she decided to get up. She wasn’t gonna get any more rest anyways, too late for that. So she got dressed and headed towards the gym. Practicing some boxing moves would probably help clear her mind anyways. She wanted to be sharp and focused when they go out to save Adam.Just as Adam would do anything to protect her, she would do anything to protect him.She leisurely walked down the hallway and around a corner. When she entered the room, she noticed it was empty save for a familiar face gearing up to punch one of the bags. Only now he had his hair in one long braid.“Hey Eutope,” She greeted casually with a smile, “Couldn’t sleep either?”“Not really, you probably couldn’t for a different reason than mine I’m guessing.”She couldn’t argue with that, “Yeah, came here to clear my mind.”“Ah so our reasons for coming here are the same then,” Eutope teased in a mock conspiratorial voice.Emily softly laughed that faded into a smile, “I’m just really worried about Adam. That’s my reason for having trouble sleeping.”“Well, mine is more heart wrenching. That video from yesterday triggered a nightmare.”“Oh crud, I’m sorry,” Emily said concerned and apologetic.Eutope dismissed it with a wave, “It’s alright, I use to have a lot more of ‘em. That was more early on, nowadays I only get them once in a blue moon.”“Oh, that’s good then.”“Hmm, not getting enough sleep ‘cause of it, is pretty damn annoying though.Emily agreed and sympathized, “Yeah, I would agree.”Eutope picked up the last glove he needed to put on when he glanced at the ring behind them, then back to Emily.“Hey since you’re here, do you wanna spar? Try and knock each other out in the ring. Wait...you said you box right?”Emily nodded, she felt her day already brighten up a bit.“Yeah, I actually wouldn’t mind sparring right now.”A little bit of a fun distraction would do her good before shit hits the fan so to speak. Eutope pointed her over to where the extra boxing gear was. A half a minute of friendly silence passed between the two before Eutope spoke up again.“You wanna know the worst part about having spotty memory?”Emily paused and faced him, “What?”“I’m a genius when it comes to technology and computers, I can put together something just from some gadgets laying around. Well, to be truthful, It’s more of a hobby ‘cause I like cooking more. Anyways, Peri keeps telling me all these anti magic tech that I’ve created over the ten years we’ve been fighting against Olmstead, I don’t remember a single one. If I did, I would be more damn emotive about it.”Emily replied while she resumed gearing up.“Oh, so you end up being more confused/not caring enough about it?”“Pretty much. I mean, I’m always nervous it’s going to come off like that. But I can’t help it! Someone tell me how they liked some device of mine, I just stand there all confused as hell. I wish I can remember so I can act like I’m proud of whatever achievements I did! I want to look back and say hey yeah I fucking did that!”“I get it, you want to hold onto those memories.”“Exactly. And it’s much worse when you factor in the fact Olmstead took away my childhood memories too. Fuck that guy….I mean I can tell you stories from them, but that’s only because my dad told me those stories again. Like I’m just some friend of his hearing some cool tales instead of actually living through those times.”“I can imagine that might feel a little awkward too. You know you’re his son, you know he raised you, yet you’re hearing everything second hand.”“It can yeah. Losing your identity, or even part of it, just leaves one big gaping hole of confusion. Even when I logically know otherwise, deep down I still feel some sorta doubt. Who am I? Where did I come from? Was I really born in the original Athens and not the one in Georgia? Sometimes I even forget the dad part and call him Galen or Mr. Peri.”“I’m sure your dad understands,” Emily reassured him with a warm smile.“He does, but I can’t blame him for feeling hurt by this just as much as I have. Wouldn’t you if you had some hypothetical kid and this happened to them?”Emily took a second or two to think, “Yeah...I think I would, I would be sad at the loss of a connection between me and my hypothetical kid, but I know I would always love my child no matter what.”Eutope smiled, “Yeah, a parent’s love never goes away. You know, my dad thought it would help bring back the memories if he took me back to Greece, but it would’ve been too painful a reminder of what happened. So we decided to do the next best thing, we went to Athens Georgia.”Emily chuckled, “I never been there.”“And then on the same trip he said ‘son, I’m gonna take you to see the Parthenon. Guess where? The one in Nashville.”Emily laughed a little louder, “Ok, I’ve seen that for sure, I’ve been to Nashville once or twice back in my world.”“Yeah, great city. My dad loves country music so he thought he was in heaven.”“Haha, my husband likes it too.”“Though he would say the same thing about the country music scene in Texas, haha.”The two shared a bit of friendly laughter, then faded into comfortable silence as they made their way over to the ring.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was an unceremonious landing, or at least, just not what Adam was going for. Clearly, he meant to drag Olmstead along into the water. However, at the very last minute that bastard had teleported out of Adam’s arms, which led to him making more of a crash landing into the water.Once he slowed down underneath, Adam held in his breath while he immediately flew back out of the water. He saw Olmstead looking back at him with an amused grin.“It’s gonna take more than that to stop me!” He boastfully yelled.It was still a damn juxtaposition hearing those types of words coming out of someone who would never say anything like that. She wondered if Gordon was trying to fight back from his mental prison. Just based on what Adam said earlier, he might not be aware his body is currently up in the air. He could be surrounded by a void, trapped in his own consciousness.They both also hoped Olmstead didn’t decide to abandon the body right then and there.
“Hey Adam….what do you exactly have to do to get the other guy out of Gordon?”

“I would have to make physical contact. Which is, admittedly, going to be hard.”

“No kidding.”
“I’m gonna do everything I can to stop you!” Adam was very determined about that.“Even when I’m possessing this body?! After all, you must know in this case any hits won’t necessarily affect me but-”Adam rolled his eyes, “The original person inhabiting it, I do know contrary to what you may think.”Olmstead began forming what appeared to be fireballs, he smiled gleefully as he taunted Adam, “And would I be right to say you’re not going to dare throw any direct hits? I mean, not while I’m in this body. You wouldn’t want to hurt an innocent, do you? Fortunately for me, I have no qualms about roughing up your sister.”Olmstead threw a fireball towards him at the moment he finished, Adam was able to put up a shield just in time. Damn it, the bad guy had to be right with that one. He hesitated to throw anything at him simply because he was inside Gordon Ramsay’s body. And it wasn't just Gordon, he had to watch out for his sister too.However, he figured there was one thing he could do. Just as he was about to have another fireball thrown at him, Adam teleported behind Olmstead and hurled a great gust of wind right at him. Olmstead was blown off into the distance a good 20 feet, but he was able to teleport to the side out of the wind.Next thing Adam knew, Olmstead looked like he was flying towards him, so he hightailed it then and there. He flew straight ahead and picked up speed as he didn’t want that twisted version of him to overtake him. Rhea, meanwhile, had gotten up and closer to the screen. She wanted to see where Adam may be heading towards. Or if he is just flying aimlessly in an attempt to shake him off enough.So far, all she sees is clear blue skies ahead, and the ocean below." Adam, please tell me you have some sort of a plan figured out already to stop him.”
“Oh, sorry Rhea. I’m still thinking.”
An annoyed sigh followed, “Well you should do it quickly before that asshole makes another move Adam.” “I know, I know….the problem is, I haven’t dealt with any of this before, so I don’t have any frame of reference to go on. There’s nothing about this type of situations to research, and I can’t exactly ask an expert.” Adam pointed out, unsure of things.
“No you can’t, but sometimes you don’t need a frame of reference or knowledge on whatever to make a move you feel is right. I trust you Adam, I trust you completely when it comes to magic related shit.”

“Aww thanks Rhea.”
“Just, you know, cool it a bit when it comes to your show,” Rhea good naturedly suggested.
“And next time you decided to dive head first into the water, warn me first.”

“Oh right yeah, sorry about that sis.”
About a second later, Adam had spotted land in the distance in the corner of his eye. There was a mansion connected to the mainland by a strip of land. And a little further up, was a small ground of people. He used his magic to zoom in, Emily was down there! So was Peri and her husband - along with a couple of extra reinforcements -. He thought for a second, then suddenly, a brilliant idea formed. His smile grew bigger as he looked ahead.Adam swerved to the right before he made himself invisible. That should throw Olmstead off long enough he figured. He slowed down his speed before he teleported himself close to land. He became visible as he landed in front of the crowd.
“Rhea I’m going to need you to get ready. I’m gonna leave your body.”

“Alright.”
Rhea relaxed and closed her eyes, a few seconds later she began to feel the physical world. She felt herself lean back into strong arms before she reopened them. Adam, apparently, had materialized behind her.“You’re alright?”“Yeah, thanks. That was quite the experience,” Rhea commented as she steadied herself on her feet.“It was a first for me too.”“Adam!” A familiar voice joyously rang through the air.Adam looked up and his face brightens up when he saw Emily running towards him.“Emily!” Adam exclaimed as he brought her into a big, warm embrace.“I’m so happy to see you here, I was so worried! He still didn’t hurt did he?”Adam gave her a reassured smile. He was just more happy that Emily was alright. “No, although he did went through my mind right after he kidnapped me at some point. I’m not happy about, but I’m more happy that you’re ok.”“I’ll definitely kill him for that. No one goes through my husband’s mind without permission,” Emily declared.“Oh how touching, so touching to see a lovely reunion of this scale,” Olmstead broke the moment with his faux sincerity.Adam turned around, Olmstead had landed several feet away, at the beginning of the driveway to his mansion.“Holy crow, wait your evil twin looks like Gordon Ramsay?” Emily said perplexed.“He’s possessing him,” Adam explained, never taking his eyes off of him.Emily quickly glanced at him before back to the evil twin in question. He looked scarily like Adam now, minus the glasses.“Possessing him? Oh boy...”“Adam did the same with me, only he asked me first unlike the asshole over there,” Rhea explained, “As for Gordon Ramsay, I can explain that later.”Olmstead, by now, decided to magically leave Gordon’s body. Unlike Rhea whom Adam caught, Gordon just fell to the ground. Rhea immediately ran over to help him. Thankfully, Adam’s counterpart didn’t pay her any heed. Instead, he just focused his attention on Adam and Emily, and the small crowd behind them.Meanwhile, Rhea focused on making sure Gordon was alright. He was still breathing, that was good. He groaned softly as he put a hand onto his forehead. Rhea leaned close enough for him to hear, but not enough to be awkward. She just didn’t want to bring attention to them. That would be bad.“Are you alright? Can you get up? I want us to get out of his way,” Rhea explained as she gestured to the purple magic wielding madman a, worryingly, few feet away.Gordon softly groaned as a mild, but throbbing headache formed. He was helped up into a sitting position by Rhea.“Where the bloody hell am I?!”Rhea had to give him credit for not loudly freaking out. A lot of it in fact, considering Olmstead was right ahead in his line of view. She had a good feeling most people would probably do the opposite.“Another world sir,” Rhea replied in the same low voice.No way to dance around that. And even if there were, she wasn’t one to sugarcoat it. Another low groan came from the back of Gordon’s throat.She helped Gordon up to his feet and supported him via one arm around her. She wasn’t sure where would be safest overall, at least here directly behind him, Olmstead can’t see them. On the other hand, he does know they are here, just doesn’t seem to care too much that they were.“My name’s Rhea by the way,” She could mention that she already knew who he was, but then would it be a little weird considering?“Gordon. Ah blimey, I don’t know how the hell I got here,” He admitted, befuddled.That cinched the theory for Rhea that he wasn’t aware of things like she was.“I can explain, let’s just put a little more distance between us and him,” Rhea said as she began to lead them more into the little peninsula.“Yeah, I reckon that’ll be good,” Gordon agreed.“What was the last thing you remember?” She asked concerned.She wanted to be sure Olmstead hadn’t done anything else to his head. By her logic, he should remember up to when he, rightfully, yelled at him.“Confronting that bloke back there at the restaurant,” Gordon faced her and noticed her attire, it was definitely more fitting for dining out.By now, Gordon got himself steady on his feet. He added, “I was in the kitchen when I heard the bloody commotion...come to think of it, I think I passed you by.”“Yeah I think you did, I was at your restaurant on a date when shit happened,” Rhea still felt somewhat annoyed about that.Somehow, one way or another, the universe can’t give her a break in the relationship department lately.“So how the hell did I end up here?”“Magic to put it bluntly sir,” She realized there was no way cover that sort of truth up with a neat white lie in this moment, “You were possessed.”Especially when going into an alternative world is involved. As expected, Gordon gave her a dumbfounded look. He needed more than a moment to process all of this.“Hold on, you’re telling me that magic exists? Honest to god magic?” Gordon wasn’t opposed to it, just merely surprised of the fact.Like if this was Rhea Ruins Everything, and she just ruined reality for him. Honestly, she probably would’ve reacted in much the same way. Then, most likely, slightly jealous that she didn’t have any magic. If only just to make some minor, non-consequential, things easier for her.Before Rhea could go any further, a horrified cry from Adam shot out into the air. Unbeknownst to the two, Olmstead had insulted Adam and Emily walked up towards him, intending to punch him.“Emily! No, don’t!”Rhea and Gordon abruptly turned around, they couldn’t really see what was going on to much, much of the view still blocked by Olmstead. Whatever it was, however, it wasn’t good and it reminded them they should do something.“Oh my god, Emily!” Rhea tensed up, what was he doing to her friend?She really wanted to run up and start punching the guy out, but she realized that might be more of a bad idea. Meanwhile, Gordon noticed the man was glowing purple.“Holy hell! He’s glowing!” He exclaimed in shocked awe.“That’s the bad guy, the good guy is my brother, Adam. His magic is light blue so you can tell difference there,” Rhea quickly said in an informative voice.“Got it. We got to do something Rhea,” Gordon looked back at her.His adrenaline was flowing just as much as Rhea’s, this situation is getting tenser by the second. He looked back then noticed some rocks by the side of the road.“I know, I just don’t know what-”“Hold on, I think I’ve got something,” Gordon said as he sprinted over to the side of the road and picked up a good sized rock.He stared at it for a second before facing Rhea, “Assuming those with magic are still human, then a rock can beat magic.”Rhea looked at him for a split second before she caught on. She smiled. It was brilliant really, and Olmstead probably wouldn’t see it coming. Those with magic are still human to the core. Same needs and same weaknesses as everyone else. Such as a rock to the head.Rhea backed up to give him space as he got into position. They weren’t so far back that this wasn’t feasible, but it was definitely enough to give it a good momentum to the rock.“I should be a little closer,” Gordon said absentmindedly.Luckily, Olmstead was too busy taunting and going back and forth with Adam. The little she got told her enough what happened. Apparently, he decided to give Adam a demo of the benefits of having all the knowledge there is in the world. And he was infuriatingly all too happy about it.Gordon snuck up closer a few feet before he lobbied the rock towards him. It hit Olmstead square on the back of the head, and down for the count. Hard like a - no pun intended - rock. Just what that twisted idiot deserved, yes! It wouldn’t be a lie to say Rhea did a happy cheer, full of relief. Finally, the main part of this mess was over.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Adam was on the couch cradling Emily with one arm, his other hand on her forehead. A soft blue glow of energy emitted, gently illuminating the area. They had just arrived back to the comfort of their world - specifically Adam and Emily’s house - some minutes prior. Gordon was leaning back into the couch next to him, obviously at a relief after the sudden crazy shit he’d been thrown in.

“What happened to her?” Gordon asked casually, but concerned, as he looked over.

“Information overload basically. He’d put way too much knowledge into her mind all at once. It’s more than what a human mind can handle. I had to put put a temporary mental block on her mind back there.”

“Oh, I hope she’ll be alright.”

“She will, thanks.”

A slight awkward silence passed between the two. Well, truthfully, more so on Gordon part than Adam’s. Simply because he wasn’t sure how Adam wanted to proceed with the fact that he knew what felt like a family secret.

“That was uh, really nice what you did for that guy back there too,” Gordon commented.

He looked over Gordon, Adam had not only had trusted Peri with the magic he extracted from Olmstead, but he had also restored Eutope’s stolen memories upon request. Eutope was so happy he was thanking him in Greek while hugging him. It made him smile. Made him feel like he truly used his powers in a more beneficial way. Instead of just...using it to help illustrate a fact in his show.

“Yeah, it was the right thing to do. Plus I trust any counterpart of Rhea with magic.”

Another minute or two passed, the only sound for right now was the faint voice of Rhea on the phone.

“Are there other people with magic?” Gordon asked, curious.

Adam shook his head, the two can hear Rhea in the background talking pretty fast. Sounded like she was in an intense conversation.

“No, just me.”

“Ah well, I understand if you want to….wipe out my memories of the...event.”

“Nah I can’t do that, that’ll be ethically wrong. Plus there’ll be side effects and you definitely don’t want that. ”

“I see, what kind of side effects?”

“Well um, spotty memory for one thing, and long term memory issues.”

“Oh, yeah nobody would want that I reckon. Especially if they are a chef.”

“There is an alternative, I could repress them, put them under a mental block but….I rather just have your word you won’t tell anyone.”

Gordon nodded, an unspoken agreement between the two. Just then, Rhea came up and stood in front of them with a weary look on her face. She had just hung up a second earlier. It wasn’t anything good.

“My girlfriend broke up with me. Said she couldn’t deal with what was happening back at the restaurant. She accused me of being some alien in disguise. I did my best to play dumb and say it was just some elaborate show, but no dice.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Rhea. Tell you what, you can kill me after I finish healing Emily,” Adam suggested.

Rhea softly chuckled and gave a slight smile. It was tempting to lay it into him, admittedly, in a way only a sibling could. However, she’d much rather move on from the whole ordeal. It was done, they saved the day, her alternative self and her husband are going to rebuild their world. Mission accomplished right? So now it was just time to move on.

“May I be honest Rhea?” Gordon started as he stood up, “Perhaps it was for the best. If she can’t handle something as crazy as what just happened, then she might’ve not been able to handle the kitchen all the same in the future.”

Rhea took a moment before she gave a slight nod, “I suppose you’re right. You’re handling it much better in comparison.” Rhea pointed out, mildly surprised.

Gordon, admittedly, was a little surprised at that too. He was taking this new reality better than the next person might. Probably good that way for everyone involved anyways.

“Yeah...still surreal to think about to be honest.”

“You can come and crash at my place for the night,” Rhea offered, she figured he might want to take it easy to fully process everything that happened before going back to his life.

“You can even stay for as long as you need to tomorrow if you want. I mean, it is a lot to take in, the whole magic shit. So I won’t blame you for taking some time off from life. Hell even I want one, and I knew about magic all my life,” She finished with a light laugh.

“That actually sounds nice, and I’ll cook you a nice breakfast in return.”

“Alright, thanks,” Rhea crossed her arms as she looked at Adam, “Do you mind if you…”

“Oh sure, of course,” Adam teleported the two away.

Now it was just him and Emily, the time was nearing midnight as the moonlight shone through the window. Adam held her in his arms as he got up and walked to their bedroom. In the meantime, Emily woke up and noticed she was back home, things must be over now she figured. Thank god that seemed to be the case.

Adam closed the bedroom door with his foot before he helped Emily down. They both proceeded to get ready and Emily was the first to get under the covers. As she watched Adam brushing his teeth in the bathroom, she couldn’t help but felt a renewed sense of guilt. A sense that gnawed at her gut stronger than before, probably because there was time now to address it. Made reasonable sense.

She can feel the tears threatening to come out, but she managed to hold them back. Oh, she knew it was definitely ok to let loose when feeling sad. It was just she wanted to sound coherent enough when she makes her apology. She didn’t want to completely lose it.

At least Adam didn’t seem to be mad about it she supposed. That was a relief in some way. Still though, on the other hand, she wondered why he wasn’t mad. Shouldn’t he be? After all, wasn’t she was the one that led to Adam being in danger and the whole overall shitstorm that happened?

She watched Adam as he came out of the bathroom. She didn’t say anything until he got in under the covers next to her. Emily moved to her side as she snuggled up close to Adam. It felt comforting to be back in their own bed and be in Adam’s warm embrace. It put everything at end and gave off a peaceful, contented vibe in the air.

“I’m...I’m really sorry Adam, it’s all my fault. I should’ve not asked in the first place,” She said apologetically.

Adam looked at her with warmth in his bright, but concerned blue eyes. Her gaze locked with his. She felt a weight had been lifted. Thank god her irrational fears were seemingly rendered unfounded.

“Em, everything is fine. you don’t have to apologize for anything,” Adam said softly as he gently grasped her chin, “If anything it should be

my

fault, I was the one that took us there.”

“But Adam if I hadn’t then you wouldn’t been kidnapped!” Emily pointed out, a little more alarmed.

“It still wasn’t your fault, in fact, it was a perfectly reasonable question and I understand why you asked it.”

Adam moved in to give her a gentle kiss before he gave her a loving smile, “Besides, if we hadn’t gone then that version of me would still be in charge.”

“That’s true. I just never want to put you in any danger.”

Adam smiled flattered, cheeks colored a shade of red, “I was more worried about you. I’ll do anything to protect you,” There was a strong determination in his soft voice.

Emily smiled lovingly back, a few seconds of pleasant silence passed between them.

“It was still a dumb question to ask in hindsight.”

“I didn’t think so. I believe there’s hardly any dumb questions out there.”

“Eh I can think of a few dumb questions,” Emily teased with a light chuckle.

Adam mirrored the laugh, “Well, I like to think otherwise. Questions lead to research, which leads to knowledge. You know, Rhea also asked the same kinda question years ago.”

“She did?”

“Yep. She was just thinking along the same vein you were. You both wanted to make some people lives easier just like that. Unfortunately, the truth is, it's more complicated and the cons outweigh the pros. Best to help one another in this world naturally.”

Adam brought Emily closer to him and the latter buried her head into his chest. She melted in the warmth from his body and was on the verge of sleep when she heard his voice again. Soft and low in her ear.

“Hey before I forget, I had to repress everything mentally to just a few seconds before you went after him. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good.”

“Oh, thanks...I imagine I probably would’ve had quite the headache huh?”

Adam softly chuckled as he confirmed in a soft, whispery tone.

“Yep.”