“I’m beginning to think it’s just not meant to be, Kev-o.” Mel patted Kevin on the back in an unnaturally gentle gesture. “Looks like your lessons worked though! More or less.”
“Less.” Kevin looked around sullenly. Just when it seemed like they’d all be back on track together everything blew up. Just hearing from Derrick and Elaine, albeit through a scrap of paper, had renewed his energy. Now, sitting at a cafe in Paris on Earth-53, Kevin thought the whole thing was probably hopeless again.
“Alright get up, you mopy shit. I’ve been stuck with you for a while now so we’re going to make the most of it.” Mel tugged Kevin along as he looked back over his shoulder.
“Mel, we didn’t pay… Oh what’s the point.” Kevin let Mel pull him for half the walk before she finally jabbed him in the side and made him carry his own weight. They made their way to the Eiffel Tower and took in the view. Kevin’s glasses chimed in his ear and a series of facts about the structure passed across his vision. The words projected on reality made him a little dizzy so he tucked the glasses into their case, he’d been wearing them sparingly since they helped him bust a man’s hand into fragments.
“Pretty fucking cool actually. Last time we came this way I wasn’t exactly taking in the scenery.” Mel gestured around them. “You may not have meant to bring us here but I think you did damn good under stress.”
“Mel, the last thing I saw was blood spraying out the front of Cassia’s face! I don’t know how her little trick works, she could be dead for real this time.” Mel pulled a face and waved his concern away.
“That psycho has recovered from everything we’ve seen her get hit with. The little guy poofed away with her anyways, I’m sure they’re ok somewhere.” Mel looked aside awkwardly but Kevin could see that she was just as unsure as he was.
When the IPF had arrived, Kevin and Mel had fought back alongside Cassia. Mel had been a fiend with the Cryo-XL until it very suddenly ran out of whatever caused it to fire freezing blasts at which point Cassia got shot in the face and everything rapidly fell apart. Literally, the whole house began caving in on itself once Eli disappeared with Cassia. It was either a calculated abandonment or a gesture of great faith in Kevin’s newly learned ability that he didn’t take Kevin and Mel with them.
“So why Paris again?” Mel began to walk and steered Kevin along next to her. Truthfully, he didn’t really know. In the panic, he hadn’t been aiming for anywhere in particular, he was just trying to get somewhere else.
“I just love the culture, felt like a baguette.” Kevin deflected sarcastically before stopping with a confused look. Mel had steered them away from crowds and down a dingy alley before bringing them to a stop on a darkened stoop.
“Do it again. Let’s go somewhere else.” Mel smiled. “We just about died back there. I’ve been jumping from near death experience to near death experience for a long time. It may be irresponsible but before we go chasing after our friends into certain peril for the hundredth fucking time, I’d like to jump for fun, for once.”
“You thinking of anywhere, in particular?” Kevin swallowed and his pulse raced. Mel was standing awfully close.
“I’ve got a few places in mind.”
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“Really? This is your first choice?” Kevin stood with his arms crossed trying to force a scowl, but the sight of Mel leaning over a railing to catch a glimpse of Minnie Mouse made it difficult not to smile. Kevin hadn’t really chosen a particular Earth on purpose when he’d jumped them to Tokyo Disneyland but from what he could gather they’d ended up on Earth-56 which put his childhood memories of Disneyworld in Florida to shame.
“Shut the fuck up.” Mel hissed at Kevin as a passing tourist covered their child’s ears. Then, playfully, she added, “If you can’t appreciate this then you’re too far gone. The life of a fugitive has made you jaded, Kev.”
“I’m appreciating that under all that bravado you are apparently an eight-year old girl.” Kevin laughed and dodged under Mel’s halfhearted swat.
“If you tell the others about this I will cut out your snitch tongue.” Mel narrowed her eyes and mimed a snipping motion before continuing, “But one ride before we go.”
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The next stop on Mel’s wishlist was more in line with what Kevin had been expecting. He squinted against the rising sun and realized he no longer had any idea how many days it had been since he was wrongly arrested outside Striker Lanes after his last shift of work. An explosion shook Kevin from his reverie and he returned his attention to Mel.
“Did you see that one?” She shouted over the noise cancelling ear covers they both wore. Mel was laying fully horizontal sighting through the scope of the largest sniper rifle Kevin had ever seen. Including movies. In fact, he was sure it was bigger than in movies. Despite that, Kevin’s eyes repeatedly flicked to Mel’s backside. He shook his head, blinking his eyes back to where her head leaned in towards the scope instead. “That was dead center, a perfect shot! You’d know if you could keep your damn eyes off my ass!”
Stolen novel; please report.
“I, uh…” Kevin’s stammering was interrupted by Mel’s sharp laughter. To Kevin’s relief she decided to finally stand back up. Still laughing, Mel pressed the rifle into his hands.
“Give it a go, this is the best range in the multiverse. Aside from IPF HQ but obviously I don’t want to go there.” Mel quirked an eyebrow as Kevin awkwardly held the rifle out from his body. “Unless you’re ready to grant my third wish?”
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“This is not what I expected.” Kevin looked across the suburban street at a typical craftsman-style home. It was a cookie cutter of the houses that lined the street with only slight variations and a street number to differentiate it.
“Came all this way, might as well check in.” Mel crossed the street with Kevin cautiously tagging behind.
“It’s such a nice neighborhood.” Kevin struggled to keep the confusion from his tone as he looked around.
“What, I’m too rough to have grown up in the suburbs?” Mel’s tone was friendly enough but her expression remained tight.
“No, I just mean. What happened I guess?” Kevin winced at his own tactlessness.
“Life just happens sometimes Kevin. Same as it happened to you.” Mel spared him a meaningful glance then knocked three times at the door of her childhood home. After a moment the lock slid and Kevin forced his face into something close to a smile as a woman who looked no older than 50 opened the door.
“Melissa, my love! It’s been such a long time since your last visit!” Mel’s mother immediately swept her into a hug and despite her small stature nearly pulled her over. Kevin’s confusion doubled at the warm reception. He’d always assumed Mel didn’t have a home or at the very least that she was not welcome at home. “And who is this gentleman, mija?”
“Oh, Kevin, ma’am.” Kevin cleared his throat awkwardly and held his hand out.
“Listen to him! So refined with the ma’am! I’m not an old grandmother yet, call me Valentina.” Mel’s mother ignored his outstretched arm and smashed him into a rib-crushing hug as well before gesturing for them both to come inside.
“Mom, we can’t stay too long. Work just has us passing through.” Valentina’s face fell a barely noticeable fraction and she looked from one to the other.
“Oh, a coworker of Melissa’s but it’s still lovely to meet you. I have some cookies somewhere, just stay for one or two.” She moved into the house and Mel followed. Kevin felt fully off kilter as he stepped into the house and tried to reconcile the aggressively middle class home around him with the tornado that he knew as Mel.
Inside, Kevin sat mechanically at Valentina’s behest and ate a wonderful snickerdoodle cookie while Mel spoke to her mother with little to no warmth. Valentina, on the other hand, was glowing and exuded pure joy over just a few minutes of conversation. Kevin didn’t know what to say so he said nothing, listening with a furrowed brow as Mel answered her mother’s questions about her life with a series of lies.
“I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since you were home last.” Valentina set a glass of milk in front of Kevin and put a hand on Mel’s cheek. He noticed her tense up at the contact.
“Well, you know how the US government is. Really keep us busy. Lot of travel. We were just in Paris actually. Right, Kevin?” Mel nudged him and he nearly choked on his milk.
“Right, yes. It’s beautiful there.” Kevin trailed off uncomfortably, unsure of himself as he was being dropped into the middle of what felt like a well constructed scaffold of lies. He didn’t want to topple them so he left it at that.
“I’m sure, I’m sure. Little old me has never left California. One of these days maybe we can go on that trip we used to talk about.” Valentina patted Mel’s hand and Mel interjected abruptly.
“Right, we probably need to get on the road. Right, Kevin? Out of country again.” Mel stood suddenly, gripping Kevin’s bicep.
“Uh, yes, government’s got a timeline to keep.” Kevin followed Mel and waited in the entryway as Valentina gave her a strongly one sided hug.
“Take care, love!” Valentina called from the door as they walked down the sidewalk and around the corner out of sight. Mel exhaled a deep breath.
“Now, take us anywhere else please.” Kevin opened his mouth, searching for the right way to word his question but what came out was a little less than stellar.
“What the hell was that?” Mel gripped him by both wrists and closed her eyes.
“Please, jump and then talk.” Kevin nodded slowly and focused his mind. The familiar ripping sensation, his stomach tumbled, and before he knew it they were back on solid ground outside an apartment building. Mel’s breathing was beginning to normalize and color returned to her cheeks.
“That was Melissa Alfaro’s mother and it was Melissa Alfaro’s house.” She took another steadying breath. “But my mother is dead and that isn’t the house I grew up in. That Valentina’s daughter is dead.”
Kevin’s head spun as he wrapped his mind around it. Mel was filling in for a dead version of herself for a different version of her mother, presumably from a different Earth. It wasn’t the most confusing thing he’d learned since this whole thing started.
“Why?” Kevin tilted his head curiously and searched Mel’s face. Her expression was pained, as if this charade was extremely difficult to keep up. Before she could answer her eyes widened and Kevin turned to see why.
“Do not move, you are under arrest.” The IPF agents were moving slowly towards them from the apartment building across the street. Kevin sighed and screwed up his face in frustration. Why did he jump to his own home? Of course they were monitoring it.
“How did they…” Mel began but trailed off as Kevin grabbed her arm and pulled. A burst of gunfire sprayed around them and Kevin pulled Mel into a tackle as he focused his mind and reached out for any other Earth.