RANKED 1st BY VOTERS IN CHARACTER CREATION CONTEST #47!
| Date | Time Share: The Time Phantom Interview | View | Read the... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/20/17 | Part 3 | (Blog) (Forum) | Disclaimer |
This story was inspired by the beautiful paintings of Andreas Englund, shown throughout.
| Rating | Rating Explanation | Last Issue: |
|---|---|---|
| M | Mild cursing, talk about drug use and addiction, violence, death. | Part 2 |
"It was one of those days. First it was ninjas. Then I had to fight some freakishly preserved Nazi fused with his plane- The Luftwaffan, or The Blitzkrieger, or something- who thought he was fighting the same Time Phantom from World War II. Of course he wants to dogfight, so I had to fly. The height was terrifying. The fight was brutal. Between moments, I went back in time and got high as crud, and came back. I only meant to take the edge off, but I overdid it. By the time we were done, I was exhausted and coming down, but still pretty torn up.
"So of course Rollergirl calls me on the CB, and has a list for the grocery store. I was too tired to argue, and figured I could use the time to straighten my head out before I got home. We had taught our daughter not to acknowledge me when she saw me in costume, but my head still wasn't clear when I came out with the two bags in my arms. I grinned my big dumb daddy grin, and called out, 'Hey, pumpkin!' That was all it took for her- she hollered 'Daddy!' and came running across the parking lot. Clementine came running after her, trying to catch her before anyone realized who she was running to." John pauses, chest heaving with the thoughts.
"I was--" he falters, then sobs. "I was so messed up from the pills and blow that I had done during the fight, that this break from our protocol rattled me. One of the sacks slipped from my arms, breaking the eggs, and spilling the containers of milk and ice cream from the bag. I dropped my keys trying to catch it, and the keyfob hit the pavement, causing the chain gun to--" He sobbed again, then bent over the podium shuddering as he cried openly. "It unfolded from the side of the car," he said a bit muffled from not speaking directly into the mic.
He stood up suddenly, trying to regain his composure, and cracked the edge of the podium in his grip. The shock from the surprise of it jolted him from his tears. He was speechless for a few moments as he looked at the broken podium, then looked back at the group. He stood up straight, took a few deep breaths, and then said, "I bent over with the other bag still in my arm, and picked up my keys." He looked at his right hand as if his keys were still there, between his forefinger and thumb. "I reached for the ice cream, and my thumb... mashed the button for the chain gun." A couple of short cries went up from the group.
***
In the room, Time Phantom was doubled over against his legs, face buried in his hands. Breathy sobs were all that broke the silence.
***
"They were cut down in an instant." The room was silent. John rolled his lips between his teeth as he thought of what happened next.
"I lost it. I went back and tried to save them. Over, and over, and over again. I created so many divergent timelines trying to keep them from dying; I screwed up history so bad; that Wartime- frickin' Wartime- had to get a group of heroes together and chase me through time to stop me and fix history. And they did. Which meant that I didn't get to save Rollergirl and my daughter," he said with a hollow stare towards the back of the room.
"With Wartime's help, they held me in one time, and I went to rehab for real. I've been clean ever since, and have dedicated what's left of my life to honoring the memory of my wife and daughter- being the hero I should have been all along." There was brief applause for that, but John waved it down.
"This past Sunday was the anniversary of their deaths, and like always, I traveled back in time to see them. I always go to a time when they're at the playground, so I can see them from afar without them seeing me." He swallowed hard as he remembered them.
"Only this time, something happened. Something interfered. And rather than going to another time, I went to another universe. Maybe one of those I created when I screwed up history- I don't know- maybe Wartime didn't fix everything. But what did I see? A younger, dumber version of me, making all the same mistakes." John shook his head sadly.
"And then I saw her, but not quite her- her hair wasn't dyed, and her muscle car was a different color, doing a wheelie as it flew by on the street. I helped my younger self fight Volcanono- an altered version of Viceroy Volcano- and then we went back to his house to discuss how this happened."
John shrugged kind of helplessly, and said, "I'm old. I needed to go to the bathroom, so I asked if I could use theirs. Younger me, who called himself Sky Phantom- apparently he had no problem with flying- pointed down the hall and stumbled off to the kitchen. I went down the hall, and went into the wrong room." He took a deep breath, and said, "And there she was. Her back to me. Black hair instead of blonde. And naked. My breath caught and I gasped, 'Clementine!' She looked over her shoulder at me, and I was so stunned- so shocked by her being back- being so close to me- that it threw me back across the universal divide. Back home."
***
Time Phantom looked at the interviewer off camera, and just raised his eyebrows, acknowledging the outlandishness of it all with a look.
***
"I have never wanted to get high more than that moment," said John. "So I have been at meetings every day since, just talking my head off like this. I want to go back and see her. I want to help Sky Phantom to not go down the path that I have. But mostly, I really want to get high. So for now, I'm here." His eyes searched the cracked podium for a few moments, and the room was silent. "I'm here," he said again, and then, "Thank you."
The group applauded.
***
"I'm here," he said to the interviewer. "That's all I've got right now." He took a drag on his cigarette, and nodded. "I'm here."
| Please let me know what you think, and thanks! -cb | Originally Presented In: CCC #47. |
Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
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