Chapter 12: Lost Memories

I should have seen it coming. Lois had just lost her head—literally. Her brain had been obliterated, so it was natural for her to lose memories. But I didn’t expect it to be this severe, especially given the nature of her power.

“What is the last thing you remember?” I asked, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me.

“I… I… I don’t remember anything,” she stammered, her eyes wide and filled with confusion.

Lois had become a blank canvas. I realized I would have to take things step by step, guiding her through this unfamiliar world that had once been her own. But I couldn’t help but feel hurt, knowing she might not remember the love we once shared.

“First… how about an introduction?” I suggested, trying to keep my tone light. “My name is Thomas Clark. I work at a hotdog stand, and I… deeply care about you.” I hesitated, unsure if I should tell her the full truth. Should I reveal that we had been in love? Would that even mean anything to her now?

Ugh… I should stop moping.

I deeply cared about her, and that should be enough.

It felt wrong to tell her about a relationship she could no longer relate to, but in the end, I decided she deserved to know.

“We… we loved each other.”

She blinked at me, her face a mixture of confusion and distress. “Introduction? I… I don’t know who I am…”

Her hands flew to her head as she screamed, the sound piercing and raw. Electric sparks crackled around her, and her skin began to glow red-hot. Panic surged through me—this was bad, really bad. The signs of superpower psychosis were unmistakable. If I didn’t act quickly, she could lose control completely.

I rushed to her side, pressing my palm against her forehead, and summoned every ounce of my power.

“You forgot that this was even happening,” I whispered, willing her mind to erase the chaos threatening to consume her.

Her screams quieted, the sparks faded, and the heat dissipated. Lois’s breathing slowed, her body relaxing as my power took hold. But as I looked at her, I knew this was only the beginning.

Resurrection was supposed to be an act reserved for gods, a divine power that brought life where death had taken its toll. Yet, in this world, resurrection had become an indulgence, something to be taken for granted. As I stood there, the weight of what I had done pressing down on me, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

I bit my lip, a jumble of emotions coursing through me. I had brought Lois back, but at what cost? Was this really her, or just a shadow of who she had once been? I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away as I made my way upstairs, my legs heavy with exhaustion.

In the kitchen, I stumbled around, still trying to grasp the reality of what had happened. The refrigerator hummed softly as I opened it, my eyes scanning the sparse contents. Pancakes, I decided. Pancakes shouldn’t go wrong.

The clock on the wall read four in the morning. I had no idea how much time had passed since I started this twisted journey, but it didn’t matter. I focused on the task at hand, mixing the batter with unsteady hands. I’d never cooked pancakes before, but how hard could it be?

An hour later, I stared at the pile of slightly uneven, slightly burnt pancakes. They weren’t perfect, but they were something. I hesitated, then took a small bite. They weren’t terrible, and that was good enough for now.

“It shouldn’t be that bad,” I muttered to myself. I picked up the plate, feeling a strange sense of determination. “Hopefully, Lois won’t hate it.”

I carried the pancakes back downstairs to the base. The lights flickered dimly as I descended, the atmosphere heavy with a sense of unease. When I entered the room, Lois was already awake, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. She seemed lost in thought, her face blank and devoid of the spark that once defined her.

“Hey there, who wants pancakes?” I called out, trying to inject some normalcy into the situation.

Lois turned her head slowly, her expression blank. “What is a pancake?” she asked, her voice flat and devoid of recognition.

“It’s food!” I replied, forcing a smile.

She blinked at me, her confusion deepening. “What is food?”

I swallowed hard, realizing just how much of her memory had been wiped clean by her death. “You eat it,” I explained, demonstrating by taking a bite of the pancake. “Like this.”

I watched as she mimicked my actions, taking a small, hesitant bite. Her movements were clumsy, and her understanding of the simple task clearly diminished. As I observed her, it became painfully clear that her mental age had severely regressed. She could talk, she could move, but the person she had once been was gone.

This wasn’t Lois. This was someone new, someone I didn’t recognize. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut, the weight of it almost too much to bear. I had resurrected her, but at what cost? The Lois I knew was gone, replaced by this fragile, vulnerable version of herself. And as much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had lost her forever.

But then again, like I kept telling myself—I deeply cared for her, and that was what mattered. I couldn't let doubt or regret cloud my mind. This was Lois, or at least what was left of her, and I had to protect her.

I spent the next hour cleaning up the hideout, stuffing the mineral bottles filled with my piss and other trash into a bag. Meanwhile, Lois was happily munching on her breakfast, her expressions shifting from delight to disgust as she sampled each pancake.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Yum! This one is fluffy!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up like a child’s. Then she took a bite of another pancake and immediately cringed. "This one is crispy! Yuck! This tasted… tasted… bad!"

Watching a grown woman behave like a child was bizarre, to say the least. But I couldn’t help but smile. What was I even doing? Love, huh? I was pretty deep into this, and there was no turning back now.

After gathering all the trash, I walked out of Lois’s apartment to dispose of it properly. The underground door remained open so I could return easily. As I tossed the bag into the dumpster, I realized I should have grabbed something to make her meal a little more appealing. Honey or chocolate syrup, maybe. I rummaged through her kitchen and found a bottle of honey.

Satisfied, I headed back to the entrance to the hideout. But when I reached the spot, I froze. The entrance was gone. Instead of the open passageway, there was just the TV standing there, looking as ordinary as ever.

My heart skipped a beat.

I rushed over, frantically running my hands over the TV, searching for a way to open it. Lois must have accidentally triggered some mechanism, locking herself inside. Panic started to set in as I pried at the edges of the TV, but it wouldn’t budge. I tried kicking it, but it was like hitting solid steel. What in the world was this thing made of?

Worst of all, I’d left the remote inside. How could I have been so careless?

I slumped onto the couch, feeling utterly defeated. “Ah, shit,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. What was I going to do now?

Before I knew it, I was out like a log. The exhaustion must have finally caught up to me after everything that had happened. It felt like only moments later when I was jolted awake by a presence hovering above me. I was lying on the couch, and when I opened my eyes, I found Lois lying right next to me, slotted into the small space adjacent to where I’d been sleeping.

She was wearing the same clothes she’d had on when Ivory had... well, when Ivory had done the unthinkable. The blood still clung to the fabric, a stark reminder of everything that had happened. But then I looked at her face—she looked just like any child, sleeping peacefully, as if none of the horrors she’d been through had touched her.

I couldn’t even think of her as a romantic interest now. It would be an understatement to say that what I was feeling was complicated. A mix of protectiveness, sadness, and a kind of distant love that was more about what we used to have than what was there now.

I glanced over at where the TV should have been, but instead, there was a sizable hole in the wall, just big enough for a single person to push their way through. I had two theories: either Lois had blown the wall apart with some sort of explosive or she’d gone into another episode of superpower psychosis and brute-forced her way out. I sighed. She must have been terrified, being left alone like that.

I checked the clock. It was past 12 o’clock, about time for lunch. I needed something simple, something I couldn’t mess up. So, I decided on hotdogs. I cooked them up, heated some buns, and cleaned a few greens. Soon, I had several hotdog buns slathered with ketchup, mayo, and mustard, all laid out on a plate.

As the aroma filled the room, Lois stirred. "Huh? Smells good…" she mumbled, her voice groggy with sleep.

I smiled, leaning over to nudge her gently. "Wake up, sunshine. It’s lunch."

We ate in relative peace.

Moments later, I found myself helping Lois take a bath, something I never imagined I’d have to do. But with the state she was in, it was necessary. The dried blood clung to her skin, and I had to be there to scrub it off, making sure she didn’t electrocute herself, slip on the wet tiles, or, God forbid, drown.

The entire time, I couldn’t shake the memory of Ivory from my mind. A sudden urge to find her and kill her with finality bubbled up, but it quickly faded. I’ve made the decision already. Lois was too vulnerable, too eye-catching in her current state, and the last thing we needed was more trouble.

After the bath, I tried to get Lois to wear something, anything, but it was proving to be more of a struggle than I anticipated.

"Damn it, Lois, listen to me!" I snapped, frustration boiling over as she resisted.

"I don’t want to!" she shot back, her voice petulant.

Apparently, Lois had decided that being naked was preferable, and no amount of reasoning was getting through to her. I was in the middle of wrestling with her, trying to force clothes onto her, when I heard the doorbell ring. My heart sank. This was going to be a nightmare.

I hurried to the door, leaving Lois half-dressed and still protesting. When I opened it, I was greeted by a middle-aged woman in professional attire. She had an air of authority about her that made me instantly wary.

"Hello!" she said, her voice bright and cheerful. "My name is Nina from Kane News. This is where Eloise Dee lives, right? Just checking in because she hasn’t been at work for a week already!"

I stared at her, my mind racing. The last thing we needed was a journalist poking around, especially with Lois in the state she was in. This was going to be a pain.

This Nina must have been one of Lois’s co-workers, which was even worse than her just being a journalist. I needed to think fast, so I immediately cooked up a lie.

"Eloise no longer lives here," I said, trying to sound casual. "She moved to another City-State. She and her sister had a fight."

Nina raised an eyebrow. "Sister? Miss Dee never mentioned a sister before."

Before I could respond, Lois came running from behind me in her naked glory, making a beeline for the kitchen. "I want to eat more pancakes!" she shouted, completely oblivious to the situation.

I glanced at Lois, then back at Nina, letting her see the naked woman rush past. I felt a pang of guilt for using Lois like this, but for the lie to work, I had to commit to it.

Nina blinked, clearly taken aback. "Well, that’s… bold."

"That’s Eloise’s twin sister," I explained quickly. "She can be very childish."

It was a carefully set-up lie. This Lois had no freckles and acted nothing like the old Lois that Nina would have known. I hoped it was enough to throw her off.

"Such a pity," Nina said, shaking her head. "Miss Dee was such a hardworking person, and it’s a surprise she left without saying a word. The firm will be sadder without her; she was such a breath of fresh air."

I forced a sigh, playing the part. "The Dee twins always had bad blood between them, but they’re still family. This time, Eloise couldn’t take it anymore. I might be at fault… no, I was definitely at fault."

Nina looked at me, her expression shifting to one of curiosity. "How come?"

I hesitated for a moment, then decided to go all in. "Eloise caught me cheating with her twin."

It was a necessary addition to the lie. The old Lois had talked about me with her co-workers, and since I’d been seen dating the freckled Lois, I had to make this deception believable.

"Oh," Nina said, her tone growing cold. She looked at me with judgmental eyes. "Poor girl…" In her mind, I could tell she was labeling me as trash, and the Lois behind me, who was making a mess in the kitchen, as a delinquent.

I couldn’t blame her for thinking that way, but the truth was far more complicated than any lie I could spin. In the end, Nina bought the lie.

We exchanged cordial goodbyes, and I watched as Nina walked away, heading back to where her co-workers were waiting on the other side of the street. It was clear she wasn’t comfortable being in this part of the neighborhood; her hurried pace spoke volumes. I stayed at the door until she was out of sight, a wave of relief washing over me.

Once the coast was clear, I closed the door behind me and turned to Lois, who was already in the kitchen, holding a bottle of chocolate syrup.

Lois looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes. “What?”

I sighed, trying to keep my frustration in check. “Don’t chug the chocolate syrup like it’s water!”

She blinked at me, still not fully understanding the situation, but obediently put the bottle down. As I watched her, the absurdity of everything hit me again. Here I was, scolding a woman who could barely remember who she was, let alone how to act like an adult.

I ran a hand through my hair, “Oh God, please help me…” I needed to keep things together, for both our sakes. “Hey! I saw what you did! Stop sticking your fingers in the bottle!"