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Everything Jake. #705 and #706. (707 and 708 to come on Tuesday) SuperHero U Finale By Mike Rosenzweig  MEANWHILE: Megoth and Kelly walked up the steps of Gorney Hall and into Megoth's room. Megoth went over to his computer and Kelly went over to where Megoth keeps his comics. Megoth typed a couple of things and cursed under his breath. Kelly looked over, it was apparent that Megoth was trying to shield the screen from Kelly's line of sight. Interesting, Kelly thought, and tried to look around the love handles of Megoth. Megoth didn't budge. "Hey, fattie, whatcha doing over there?" "I'm… I'm in the middle of an important download, I will be with you in a minute for your fitting." "My what?" "You'll see." "So whatcha downloading? A gig of porn?" "You wit continues to demuse me, Kelly Rose." "Is demuse a word?" "Yes." "Ah. So whatcha downloading?" "I told you…It's… It's nothing." "You never told me, and bullshit it's nothing, let me see." "No, I… I cannot." Kelly put his hands on Megoth's shoulders and tried to move the big fella. Megoth struggled and they did a weird little dance in front of the monitor until Kelly was finally able to get Megoth away from the screen. Megoth landed on his bed with a high pitched chirp. Kelly smiled, and looked at the screen. "No fucking way…Megoth…! You, of all people, how could you? How could you…" "I… I couldn't help it, Kelly! It was there, and… and… and I had to have it!!!!" "But you couldn't wait another three or four days? And aren't we going to Manhattan anyway with Joe to wait on line?" "Me and Jake are, you are not, Kelly. So, in a way, I got it for you." "Gee, thanks, Megoth. A bootleg Episode Two. How…. Thoughtful. Prick." "It's theater quality." "I don't care." "It'll play on a DvD player." "I don't care. I'm not the kind of guy who wanted to ruin the experience of seeing it on the big screen. Some of this super crap shit here is keeping me from seeing it with you guys in the city, but I'll see it eventually. I don't want this copy." "Okay, whatever you say… Kelly. It'll be here if you want it. Now, come sit on the bed and we'll see if what I created fits. You sure you're ready for this?" "No, I think the whole thing is gay and a waste of time. There's no proof that someone is after Jake (this time). I think the stress of finals and shit got to us, and that's why we were all getting pissy with each other. You yourself told me your ray gun was just a flash bulb and sound effects from Talking Elmo. What makes you think-" "Joe. Joe's the only thing I have going. He totally changed his hair and was acting-" "Maybe he did it to get chicks, The whole long hair thing made him look like an ugly girl, and he knew it." "Maybe Mercy asked him to do it." "Fuck you, Megoth. Anyway, it looks like Jake likes her now. That stupid fighting class they're in. Good for him. Whatever." "That's nether there nor here, Kelly. You're staying behind with… this on to see if anything happens. You can take care of yourself better than Jake could, you know that." "Yeah, and I could always run upstairs so I could borrow Faith's light saber." "Fuck… that's… that's where that is? She still has that?" "You forgot she has that, I'm surprised. Wait a second… you like her, don't you?" "Wha… what's not to like? But… but… my heart belongs now to the enigma named Melinda. Oh, wherever you are, sweet Melinda…" Kelly points over to the thing Megoth is holding. Kelly doesn't look too happy. "Is… is that… the thing?" "Yes. Hold still. Let me see if it fits." "This is so fucking wrong, man. You owe me so much it's not even funny." "Hold still, let's get a mirror to see how it looks." NOW: "Jake… let him down…" Mercy was standing on the side of them. Jake was holding in each fist part of Artie's shirt with some of Artie still attached. Everytime Jake thought he couldn't hold on harder, he held on harder. It was like there was some endless pool of strength he had suddenly tapped into. He liked it. A lot. "Jake, please let him go! There's blood everywhere!" Jake only heard half of what she was saying, and didn't comprehend it then. This wasn't about a mother joke, he decided. That was just the ignition. The fuel. This was more about getting picked on by someone bigger. This was about Jenkins. This was about high school, and Peter. This was definitely about Peter. This was about Kelly. How Kelly is always better. Mercy, and her little games, Faith, the one that got away. This was about Mecca, who blamed him for something he didn't do. Mecca, who he said I love you too. This was about everyone. This was about everytime he was made fun of, laughed at, and tormented. This was about putting away feelings in a locked box deep down somewhere, somewhere you would hope to never, never find it. That it would go away forever. But Artie found the key, and he had opened it. Jake squeezed tighter, tighter than he ever thought he could. Artie was tearing, the pain the most intense he had ever felt his entire life. Jake had managed, when he had grabbed his shirt, to grab a piece of flesh along with it. It wasn't a big piece, just the size of a quarter or one of those silver Susan B. Anthony dollars, but the pain coming from it touched every nerve ending in Artie's body. It's as though Jake had picked the most painful spot to grab onto and not let go. Salt flavored tears were streaming down his face, Artie was reaching the brink. All he did was make a little mother joke because Mercy went to Jake who he had just pummeled repeatedly. "PleaseletgoofmeJakePlease!!!" "That's it, Jake, I'm going to get Jenkins!!" Mercy ran off, and Jake still didn't hear her. He was focused on making Artie cry like he had never cried before. Like a little girl whose parents never listened. He squeezed tighter. WANTAGH, NEW YORK: LIGHTHOUSE DINER: Becky Bruno put her hand on the old fashioned counter and would have spilled the tray of water she was carrying if it wasn't for her experience and reflexes. "You okay there, Beck?" "Yeah, Dom, just… just another one of those headaches…" "I swear, Becky, you need to see a doctor about those." "Just a sinus headache… Ach, it's not going away…" "Why don't you go in the back, Becky, take five and have a smoke or something, I'll bring your water over, okay?" Usually, she would smile and say she's a tough chick and could handle it, but this one was bad. Almost as bad as the one she had for two days about a year or two ago. Not as bad as that one, but close. Nor was it as bad as the one she had over the summer. "Thanks, Dom, you're a life saver." She walked in the back, took out a Capri Light from her Trident smelling leather pocket book, and walked to the back of the Diner. She leaned against the building, smoking. The pain in her temples seemed to come in waves, for a second loosening up, and then getting tighter. Pulsating, almost. She whimpered and then rubbed the back of her ears and her neck. She then missed Selina, very, very much. If only she was here, Becky thought. If only she were mine still. NOW: Jake tightened his grip, looking deep, very deep in Artie's tear filled eyes, and let go. Artie flew into the far wall (the same wall he had tossed Jake into numerous times just a few minutes ago) and broke it. Artie's body fell to the ground, a hump of loose flesh, cracked bones and ruined organs. In the wall, there was an Arite shaped dent that was evident even with the thick padding. It was almost comical. Artie wasn't moving. Jenkins came out of his office and looked over to them. "Jake, let him go. Think of you sister." Jake seemed then to snap out of something, the trance he was in. He gasped for air, it seemed, and fell to his knees. All the emotions that had rushed into Jake while he was holding Artie flooded his mind again, this time much, much worse. It was too much, Jake rolled over onto his side and crumpled himself into a ball. He started apologizing then to his sister. Mercy was confused as hell. When Jake had fallen over Artie started to twitch and scream. Jenkins told him to shut up and he did. "Go take a shower and go to your next class, Mercedes. Both of your boyfriends will be all right. Wait, one question before you go. You live in Gorney Hall, right, the co-ed?" "Yeah, why?" "See anyone or anything strange there? I know from the nature of this clas-please stop blubbering, Arthur, you're mending, don't make me give you something to really make you cry. So have you Mercy?" "Listen, Jenkins, I see a lot of weird shit in this class, and that's it. The only I see that's weird in my dorm is that two of my roommates hate each other over Jake here." "I can see how that is weird. Like I said, he may not look okay, but he'll be okay. Now get, I have to talk to these two, alone." "Gotcha, boss. Seeya later, Jake, bye." Mercy leaned over Jake, who was still in a ball crying and shaking and apologizing, and gave him a kiss through some of his tears. She wiped her mouth off and walked out of the room. Jenkins shook his head as she left. Damn girl got a nice ass, he thought, and she's going to be trouble. Good. He walked over to Jake, and sat down next to him. "What you're feeling, Jake, is called psychic backlash. More like a huge dose of mental feedback, brought upon yourself by the healing device enclosed in this room. See, it's supposed to dampen your so-called power, but sometimes one as powerful as yourself can slip up and get over the machines safety levels. It then hits you with a mind blast that should scramble your noggin real good like. You'll be okay in a little bit, don't worry. I bet you feel pretty crappy now, however. You especially. Don't mind me if I seem amused by your pain. "There's a reason, Jake, that I don't like it when student's do things that are out of their control too soon. I also don't like when I'm told that you are not to use your power no matter what, and not given an explanation. Yes, I know about the bond you have with your sister. I found that on my own, your 'uncle' left that part out. If you really want to know, I think there's something fishy there. But it's not for me to say, I'm just your teacher. Yo, Artie, how you feeling?" "I… I think I… one of my lungs, I tasted one of my lungs…" "That's disgusting, you know that? Do me a favor, don't make fun of Mr. Bruno's mother anymore, okay? She died when he was a kid, and it's not cool." "O… Okay." "My.. .Becky…. how is she?" "Welcome back, Bruno. I have no idea, I ain't no telepath or any shit like that. Go call her or someshit." Jake lifted himself up, and felt a little dizzy. He would never, ever want to get his mind scrambled like that again, it's up there as the single most unenjoyable experience, like, ever. He wobbled over to the door, looked back at Jenkins laughing at Artie, whose shoulder was floating along his back somewhere, and walked out of the room. Jenkins wasn't such a bad guy after all, Jake thought. WANTAGH, NEW YORK: LIGHTHOUSE DINER: Dom, the counter waiter and part time line cook, wiped his greasy hands on an even greasier apron and poked his nose outside. There was a smell of garbage mixed with the smell of the fryer. "Becky… hey darling, it's pas--- BECKY?" EPILOGUE: Jake Bruno slowly walked up the steps of Gorney Hall, turned the corner in the flight between the first floor and second, and almost knocked over Faith Robbins. His mind was still a little scrambled. "Jake! What a surprise!" "Hiya Faith, how are you?" "I'm good, damn, Jake, you look like shit. You okay?" "Yeah, just a tough week. Wow. I really haven't spoken to you this whole semester… how're you?" "I'm okay, surprisingly. It was easy to get back into it and I liked drowning myself in work." "Good for you. Listen, I'm going to go take a nap now, maybe we could catch up a bit another time?" "Um, okay, maybe Monday or Tuesday? Hey, are you going to see that new Star Wars movie?" "I'm all about that new Star Wars movie, Faith. As a matter of fact, me and Kelly and Megoth are going to go with Joe to wait on the ticket line tomorrow. You should some with us." "Where are you going to wait? There's not too many people doing that this year…" "But it's still fun, remember I did it in high school?" "No." "Maybe I didn't. I don't remember. But we're driving down to Manhattan; you're welcome to come." "No thanks Jake, it sounds like fun, but I'm still… have a good time, okay? Tell me how it is when you get back, or call me when ya get home. I think you still owe me a cup of coffee at a Diner." "I do? Oh, yeah. The time we ran into you at 7-11, and you--- I'll call you." "And I what?" "Uh, nothing. I'll call ya, okay?" "Okay, Jake, take care and be safe." She leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, he kind of half hugged her and said good-bye. There was an adrenaline spike in his stomach when he smelled her hair. It smelled really good. How the hell does she make it smell so good? Jake walked and went to Megoth's room. He knocked on the door, and said who he was. It was locked, weird. There was some moving around and he heard a loud bang and a curse. Megoth unlatched the door and Jake spilled in. "You would never believe the day I had. We going to the city tomorrow, guys, for S W?" "Kelly's not." "I'm not." "Why, Kell, who else am I gonna smoke with?" "Sorry, Jake, I can't go. Laffer threw me a huge ass assignment and if I want to stay out of a summer session, I have to get it done and make it phat." "You just said phat three days before Episode Two." "Shut up. But have fun, tell me how it is." "Gotcha. We leave early, Megoth… heeeeey, what are you downloading over there?" Both Kelly and Megoth: "Nothing!"    
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EVERYTHING JAKE is TM & (C) 2000-2011 by Mike Rosenzweig. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
