Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 4: Worlds Apart

“So let me see if I get this straight,” Courntey sighed, having listened to all of Pam’s story over the last hour, “You’re from another world, you’re dating a version of Beth also from that world, and you were trying to break into an old compound to find a way back to your universe. Does that about sum it up?”

Pam frowned and shrugged, “Ignoring the other major details, yes. Look, I know how it sounds, but-”

“This is fucking nuts,” Courtney cut her off, “Crazier still is the fact that I actually believe you.”

Pam could hardly believe it, but she could sense the trust from Courtney. “Just like that?” she asked.

“After everything I’ve seen over the last two years, nothing surprises me anymore,” Courntey sighed, opening a laptop and pulling up old files, “Plus, you should be dead. According to Jake’s old archives, Pamela Lavely was a former disciple of the Goth Goddess. She was killed by her Goddess after failing to keep Jake contained about four years ago. Beth swooped in for a rescue mission, and Pamela’s remains were found a week afterwards. The police were only able to identify her thanks to dental records.”

Pam grimaced at the thought of dying at the hands of her former mentor and friend. It was something she had always secretly feared when she was younger, but to hear that she’d died here in this world was more shaking than she anticipated. “I assure you, I am who I say I am,” Pam said, “Our worlds run parallel to one another, but I broke away from Goth because of Beth. The woman running around terrorizing this city might share the name and DNA, but she is not my Beth.”

“Oh, I believe it,” Courntey said, turning the laptop around to show Pam a picture of herself, “You’re the spitting image of the woman Jake had on record. So, is that why you hesitated against her back there?”

“What?” Pam asked.

“Before I showed up, you were making pretty heavy waves against the hordes,” Courntey crossed her arms, “The commotion was what drew me to the area, and obviously Beth for that matter. Your powers are enough of a give away without your backstory to tell me you either had involvement with Goth or something else. I might not have seen everything you can do, but you got us miles away from that lunatic while in a wounded state. I’m willing to bet you could have shattered her gun, thrown her bullets back at her, or even popped her head like a grape if you wanted to. Yet you hesitated and flinched once you realized who she was.”

“Don’t presume to understand my motives,” Pam said, not wanting to admit the truth.

“And don’t you try to bullshit me,” Courtney countered, “You sat here for the last hour telling me all about the craziness that you, Jake, and Beth went through back in your world, and I haven’t said one word to argue or refute any of it. You can’t tell me that your feelings aren’t playing some role in all of this. I saw the way your face lit up when you talked about your Beth. It’s the same way that mine does when I talk or think about Jake, or at least what he used to be. There’s no shame in it, Pam, but lying about it isn’t going to help us here.”

Pam closed her eyes and sighed, “I could kill her, yes. It wouldn’t be difficult since she doesn’t have the same powers as my Beth. Without the trip to the underworld, she is little more than a girl running around with a science kit and some guns. She may have an army at her disposal, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle. However, my mind argues that she is still the same woman somewhere deep inside. I know she’s not, I’m not stupid. It’s the voice, the face, and the way she moves that fool my mind. I swore that I would protect her, keep her safe. Now I learn that the very person standing in my way is the same woman that I fell in love with.”

“She’s not the same woman,” Courtney corrected her, “The Beth in this world is a monster wearing the skin of an old friend as a disguise. She’s turned the majority of my home into a battleground for her own sick amusement, and once she’s done here she’s going to move out to neighboring cities. That’s if the government doesn’t decide to bomb Metropolis to stop her before her insanity spreads. Right now, we’re barely a blip on their radar, but once she starts taking out cities and states, it’s only a matter of time. The problem is that I think it’ll be too late. Hell, she’s probably counting on them trying something like that so she can use the Reginator serum again. You want to get back to your world, then you’re going to have to help me take her down.”

“Would you be able to do the same if it were Jake?” Pam asked after a moment of silent contemplation.

“Death is a mercy that he deserves, but one that I can’t give him,” Courtney answered without hesitation, “It hurts me to think about it, but it’s the truth. He needs someone to set him free. He’s little more than a puppet for Beth and a toy for her to play with. You think she would torture you, and she probably would, but it’s nothing compared to the pain she’s caused him. I’ve come so close on more than one occasion, but every time she manages to stop me. More than one of the ruined buildings in town are the result of her setting off a bomb before I could end things. Every single time that I have her cornered, she shows another side of exactly how far she’s fallen and how much she’s changed. Hundreds of innocent lives have been ripped apart so that she can keep going. Tell me, is that something that your Beth would do?”

Pam was silent again as she thought about everything Courtney had said. It was impossible to believe that the sweet, if somewhat brutal, woman she loved could become the woman in this world. She knew Beth inside and out in her world, and she could honestly say that if she were here, she’d do everything she could to put an end to this. It was one of the many things that Pam admired about her beloved girlfriend; that sense of right and wrong that overshadowed everything else. Still, she wondered if Beth would have the same feelings if she were in her position. Would it be so easy to separate right and wrong in the face of love for her? It wasn't about right, though, it was about doing what needed to be done to get home.

“No, no she wouldn’t,” Pam finally said, crossing her arms, “My Beth would do whatever it took to bring someone like this down. I’ve seen her wage war against criminal empires, topple regimes, and fight back against forces that even I could barely comprehend. When Jake was…taken and broken by Goth, she single-handedly brought down and dismantled everything she cared about. Megabutt, myself, her underlings, Aurora, all of us were faced with swift and brutal justice. She barely lost against Goth, but it was that loss that allowed me to return to the world of the living. If it weren’t for her tenacity, none of us would be where we are in our world…”

“Does that include here?” Courtney asked.

“Our predicament here isn’t because of her,” Pam shook her head, “It’s because of one woman’s grudge against Jake’s family.We were trying to stop her and get revenge for Jake when she ambushed us and cast us into separate dimensions. If I can’t find a way back to my universe, then it’ll only be a matter of time before she comes here.”

“You mentioned her,” Courntey said, typing into the laptop, “Jake has a limited file on Voidfoot, but Beth, this Beth, burned what was left of her after she butchered Goth. If she's really as powerful as you're saying, how was Beth able to off her so easily?

“In our world, she was trapped in the space between dimensions,” Pam replied, trying to piece together possibilities, “The same might be true here, but she'd still need a physical body to return to. If Beth somehow figured this out, then she would have known to burn the body and sever the link. It would make sense, but I doubt she's considered the possibility of multiple realities.”

“So then why would she even bother coming here?” Courtney asked.

“Universal domination and conquest,” Pam answered, “Once she's subjugated our world, she'll likely branch out to others. Why settle for one world when you can have them all? That is why I have to stop her.”

“I see, so there's one more elephant in the room I want to talk about,” Courtney nodded, understanding the potential threat hiding behind the curtain, “Do you want to explain why you've been staring at me like I'm going to attack you?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Pam lied, looking away.

“Come off it, Pam,” Courtney sighed, “I'm not an idiot. You've been eyeing me up like I'm a threat since I took off my cowl. What's the deal?”

Pam bit her lip and decided that her new friend deserved to know the truth. She'd saved her earlier, and she hadn't sensed any deceit or malice from the young woman. “The Courtney Tellar in our world,” Pam began, knowing what she was going to say wouldn't be easy, “She's the one who killed Jake.”

“What?!” Courtney exclaimed, “No, there's no way I'd ever do that! I love him.”

“I know, I know, but you're not exactly yourself in our world,” Pam said, holding her hands up to try to calm her down, “Before I started officially working with Beth and Jake outside of Goth, I was charged with issuing the collars. Jake made a deal that he broke with Goth that resulted in the enslavement of Metropolis. The collars were mandated under Goth's rule, and it was months before we moved to stop her. In that time, the you in our world took it upon herself to try to find something that could help. In doing so, you fell into a vat in an old Brunswick warehouse that contained a parasite. Trapped, alone, and left at the mercy of the same parasite that your Beth uses in that serum, you were transformed into a monster. Undead, uncaring, cold, and filled with spite, you eventually broke free and waged war on the city. Jake was your target, at least the primary one, but a lot of people were hurt.”

“I-I'm a villain in your world?” Courtney asked, sitting down and shaking her head in disbelief.

“You're a victim and a puppet of the parasite,” Pam corrected, kneeling in front of Courtney and making her look at her, “Jake blamed himself for what happened to you, and for what you did to the city. You were trying to help, but the parasites have a way of changing someone. They burrow into the minds of their hosts, and they alter their personalities.”

“That doesn't…” Courtney began before shaking her head, “No, it doesn't matter. That's not me, that's not who I am here.”

The conviction she spoke with and the fire that Pam felt radiating off of her put Pam at ease. “I know, I can sense you're telling the truth,” Pam said, “Try to remember that you were trying to help too. The only reason you'd gone down there was to find something to break the collars’ hold over the city.”

Courtney stood up and began to pace. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. “Okay, alright,” she said, “First things first then, we need to figure out how to get you back home.”

“You don't want my help dealing with Beth?” Pam asked.

“Oh, you're on her list of people to capture, so you'll help me with that,” Courtney replied, “She doesn't take kindly to losing an opportunity for her sick games. What were you trying to do at the old storage site?”

“There's artifacts in there that I thought I could use to break down the wall between worlds,” Pam said, getting to her feet, “I can sense the energy radiating from the building. The Brunswicks were researching ways to weaponize magical artifacts and relics before Jake and his company took them over. There's a chance that something in there could help me get home.”

“Okay, so is that the only place you found?” Courntey Asked, continuing when Pam nodded, “Then Beth is going to up her patrols and watch the area for you. She might not know what you're trying to do, but she'll be looking for you. The trick is going to be figuring out how we can get past her without her destroying the place.”

“Leave that part to me,” Pam said, “She might be an insane version of my Beth, but she's still the same person. I know the frequency her charges use, and I can lock them in a stasis field to contain the explosion.”

“Can you fight while doing that?” Courtney asked, “Because she's not going to be there alone. Her zombie soldiers will be there, and my guess is that she'll bring Jake out on his leash since she knows I'm working with you. That bitch never misses a chance to try to hurt me.”

“She knows it's you behind the mask?” Pam asked.

“Yeah, yeah she does,” Courtney nodded, “You didn't answer my question. Can you fight while holding those fields?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Pam shrugged, elaborating when Courtney shot her a quizzical look, “Maintaining the spell will require concentration, but I can divide myself and dispatch my other selves to fight for me.”

“Yourselves, as in plural?” Courtney asked, “What exactly are you?”

“An empathic mage, but I believe most people refer to me as a basket case,” Pam said, trying to lighten the mood, “When Beth and Jake were trapped in Ravenfalls, I discovered an ability to divide myself using my emotions. They can manifest themselves in physical form and operate autonomously. Their abilities differ from one to the next, but they are more formidable than you might think.”

“I'll have to take your word for it,” Courtney said, “Okay, so we know where we're going and have a general plan in place. I can pull up the blueprints for the site, but there's no telling what might be waiting for us down there. Beth has access to all of Jake's information, and we can't rule out the possibility that she might try to do something with the items down there.”

“Beth is a lot of things, but she's never been magically inclined,” Pam pointed out, “She has little to no interest in magic unless it's directly tied to her.”

“Says her magic girlfriend,” Courtney countered, “I'd say she has something of an interest in it.”

“She nearly despised me when we first came together,” Pam said, “Our relationship was born out of necessity and benefits for her. I was the only thing that kept her safe in the walls of the castle, but that didn't mean she enjoyed herself and my company. It took weeks, months even, before she came around to me. Even then, it was never my magic that drew her to me.”

“Alright, but this is a woman that's obsessed with power and control,” Courntey said, “If there's something down there that she can use, she'll be going after it without a doubt. Can you get us in there with your portal trick?”

“No, the walls are lined with a mineral that dampens my magic,” Pam sighed, “I can still cast, but phasing through the walls is impossible for me. Why else do you think I was trying to break through the doors?”

“Will that be a problem once we're inside?” Courtney asked.

“It won't be pleasant, but I can work under pressure,” Pam admitted, “Casting spells in such a place puts a strain on my body and mind. It's like having your head put into a vicegrip and squeezed every time you try to exert yourself. The subsequent tax on the body exhausting. Nonetheless, I can handle it if it means we can get me what I need to get home.”

“Alright, I'd you're sure,” Courtney nodded, “So, we're going to have to go in the old fashioned way then. Give me some time to figure out a plan and we can move out.”

“Don't you need to rest?” Pam asked, “You look like you haven't slept in days.”

Courtney looked away, and Pam felt a hint of hesitation assert itself in her new friend's mind. “Sleep is something I don't get a lot of these days,” Courtney said, “When I close my eyes all I can see is what Beth has done to Jake. I don't need it, I swear.”

“Courtney, I can give you some peace,” Pam said, eyeing the woman tragically, “I can make sure that those images stay away from you for a little while. You need sleep if you're going to be able to stand against Beth and her army of zombies.”

“If this is a come-on, it's pretty weak and goes against your whole one-true-love shtick,” Courtney scoffed, “I'm fine, really.”

“Don't be daft,” Pam rolled her eyes, “No offense, but you're not curvy enough for my liking.”

“Fuck you,” Courtney snorted, “Not everyone can have a fat ass like Beth, okay?”

“Hmph, so that's what a genuine laugh from you sounds like,” Pam smiled, “The you from our world is unhinged thanks to the parasites, so the only laughter I've ever heard from you has been crazed cackles.”

“I don't laugh much anymore,” Courtney admitted, “Hard to find something to smile about when everything and everyone you know is either dying or trapped, you know?”

“Let me take this from you, at least for tonight,” Pam said, “It won't be permanent, but it'll be enough to let you sleep.”

“What about you?” Courtney asked, “You got shot, remember?”

“And I healed myself,” Pam reminded her, “I can meditate to supplement sleep.”

“Will it hurt?” Courtney asked, adding, “I don't want to lose anything either.”

“It won't hurt, and you won't be losing anything, I promise,” Pam assured her, “All you need to do is lie down and trust me.”

Courtney hesitated for a moment before walking over to the couch. She sat down and looked out the glass doors for a moment. “Jake brought me here a couple of times,” she said, smiling at the memory, “The goof actually proposed to me out here. I was saving up for a house for the two of us, but he did this stupid gesture that I'll never forget.”

Pam smiled as she walked over and pulled a chair in front of Courtney, “What did he do?”

“So, the bank called me the morning we were supposed to come out here,” Courtney explained, “They told me my application was denied because someone had already paid cash for the property. Oh, I was so pissed. Jake pulled up to my apartment to pick me up, and I'm venting about it the whole way out here. He just lets me go on and on without saying a word about it. When I finished, he looks at me and says, ‘Court, I'm sure that whoever bought the house is gonna take care of it,’ like that was my fucking problem! Oh, I was so mad.”

“Let me guess,” Pam said, already seeing where this was going, “He bought it as a surprise for you, didn't he?”

Courtney smiled and nodded, “Yeah, he did, the little asshat. He let me be mad for the first hour we were here. I stayed in the bedroom because I was angry, but he went to work down here. I came down to a bouquet of sunflowers, two glasses of champagne, and a little piece of paper on that table over there. Jake was cooking in the kitchen when I came down too, my favorite meal for me: homemade spaghetti and meatballs. So, he comes in carrying the food acting surprised, and he stumbles and dumps the whole thing on the floor. I thought he was hurt, but when I bent down to check on him, he held this up.”

Courtney paused to fish a necklace out of her suit. A silver chain with a white gold band and a brilliant diamond rested in her hands. She ran her thumb along the edges of the ring and smiled longingly at it. Pam eyed it with mild interest. “That about sums Jake up,” she said, “Thoughtful, sentimental, and just a hint of idiocy all together. Out of everyone I've ever met, he's one of the most unique and kind-hearted. I miss him.”

“He was a good man,” Courtney agreed, “He could let his emotions get in the way at times, but his heart was always in the right place. That was one of the happiest days of my life, but I was still mad at him about the house. He told me that he didn't want me taking on more than I could handle, though, and that the smarter play would have been to save my money. I was looking forward to a life together, but then all of this happened.”

“I know this is going to be difficult, but I need you to focus on the memories you want to forget,” Pam said, changing the subject, “Not for very long, mind you, but I need them at the forefront of your mind for this to work. I won't erase them, but I'll take them tonight.”

“Will it hurt?” Courtney asked.

“No, but you may feel exhausted afterwards,” Pam replied, “You can sleep peacefully for a night, but I can't promise anything for the future.”

Courntey nodded and leaned forward, “Okay, do what you have to do.”

Pam waited for a moment to let Courtney summon whatever was troubling. She could feel her anxiety spiking. Pam held her hands out and just away from her temples. A light purple glow began to emanate from her palms as she established a connection with Courtney. It was bound to be an ordeal, but she wanted to help her new friend. This Courtney wasn't like the one she knew, but she wondered how similar they were in the past. Pam closed her eyes as the connection was stabilized and braced herself for what came next. Truthfully, she hated this part, but she'd offered to help.

—---------

Pam’s eyes opened and she saw she was in Blackridge Manor. The spell had worked, and she was seeing things from Courtney's point of view. She didn't have control over anything, though, and all she could do was ride out the experience no matter how painful or traumatic. It was something she didn't do often because of how disorienting it could be. As a novice, she had always hated this spell. Now, though, Pam was confident in her abilities. She just had to remind herself that this wasn't her. It was important to remember that she was merely a passenger witnessing events through someone else's eyes.

“Jake, are you down here?” Courtney called out as she walked through the empty mansion and into the study, “I saw what happened on the news, and I'm worried about you.”

A brief flicker of a newsflash detailing a battle between the Goth Goddess, Birdboy, and Catgirl. The reports involved heavy casualties, and claimed that Birdboy had been fatally wounded only to be carted away by his fellow hero. Knowing his secret, Courtney had come here in hopes of helping Beth with her fiance. The door had been unlocked and slightly open, but there was nobody in the manor. Bruce was seemingly gone, but she couldn't recall him getting the night off. Given what she knew about Jake and Beth, her guess was that he was somewhere down in the infirmary located in the Birdcage. She turned the hands on the grandfather clock and let it open to reveal the stairwell down to the Birdcage.

One difference that Pam noticed immediately were the torches lining the walls of the spiral staircase. They crackled and burned while casting eerie shadows on the walls. It was a little unnerving to see, and she could feel the trepidation from Courtney as she walked down the stairs. It was more than fear, it was the unexplainable dread when something wasn't right. There was a knot forming in the pit of her stomach as she walked down into the bowels of the Birdcage. The silence was deafening and added to the tension mounting in the air. Courtney knew something was amiss, but she kept going. The walk through the darkness was one of the longest she could remember.

“Jake, Beth?” Courtney called out as she stepped into the cavern beneath the manor.

“Don't you die on me, dammit!” Beth's voice came from in the distance, “Goddammit, Jake, stay with me! I'm not losing you!”

There was a hitch in Beth's voice that Courtney had heard; panic mixed with desperate terror. Fearing the worst, Courtney hurried deeper into the cavern. She came to thr infirmary in time to see Beth beating on Jake's chest. His skin was burnt, eyes blackened, and bruised littered his body. He was bleeding profusely, and he looked to be just barely breathing. Beth stood over him with her mask and gloves off. She looked as crazed as she sounded. She could tell from where she was standing that Beth had been crying. Jake's suit was tore open to expose his bruised and beaten chest. There were instruments on the table beside the bed Jake was laying on. One of them Pam recognized, but Courtney didn't know it yet: a syringe with a green gel in it.

“Beth?” Courtney asked, announcing her presence, “Oh my God, is he okay?!”

“Not now,” Beth snapped, “Wait, yes, get over here and give me a hand! Now, Courtney, he's gonna fucking die if we don't do something!”

Beth's tone was shorter and more curt than Courtney had ever heard it. Desperate and afraid, she ignored it in the face of losing her beloved. She ran to the table and waited for instructions. “What's happened to him?” Courtney asked, “Did Goth do this?”

“Stupid holier than thou bitch,” Beth spat, pointimg at Jake's chest, “Put pressure on that wound. Yeah, she lost her fucking shit when he rejected her old ass again. Come on, Jake, come on, stay with me!”

Courtney did as Beth said and held both hands on a bleeding hole in Jake's chest. Pam recognized it as an impact wound from a missile spell. Rebecca had tried to kill him. Jake's eyes were open and his head turned to Courtney. He put a hand on hers and winced. “Hang in there, babe,” Courtney whispered, hating the strained look in his eyes, “You're going to be fine, I swear. Beth, tell me you have something here to help him.”

“He's losing too much blood!” Beth growled, kicking the machine, “Ugh, there's one chance. Hold on, Jake, I'm getting the serum.”

“No…” Jake rasped, his voice breaking Courtney's heart, “Beth…it's too…risky…”

“Shut it, Jake,” Beth snapped, surprising Courtney, “If there's even a slight chance that this will work, then I'm going to take it. Courtney, hold him still.”

“Don't…let her…do this,” Jake wheezed, looking at Courtney, “Serum…untested…too dangerous…”

“Beth, I don't know about this,” Courtney shook her head, the knot in her stomach doubling in size, “He doesn't-”

“Don't you start!” Beth snapped at her, “You want to lose your fucking boyfriend and the hope of this fucking city?! Hold him still or get the hell out of the way!”

Beth grabbed the syringe on the table and moved over to Jake's body. “Beth, don't!” Courtney argued before she was cut off by Beth slapping her across the face.

“You're not stopping me!” Beth practically screamed at her before plunging the needle into Jake's chest, “I'm not letting my best friend die.”

Courtney hit the ground and watched in horror as the serum was emptied into Jake's body. Beth ripped it from his chest after a second and tossed it aside. Courtney looked on as Jake's body began to convulse and twitch. His skin lost all its color and his veins began to turn black. He shouted as he rolled off the table. His body hit the floor with a thud, but he slowly started to crawl towards her. His eyes were still the same shade of brown she loved, but his pupils began to dilate. The bruises and wounds on his body began to heal and disappear. For a moment, Courtney thought it was a miracle. Then he began to scream. His voice filled the chamber and echoed around her. He was in pain, more pain than she'd ever seen him in. Beth rushed around to check on him, but she stopped just behind him. He stretched his hand out to Courtney before coming to a stop.

“Courtney…” he gasped, tears filling his eyes, “Court, I love you…please don't let me…hurt…any-ack!”

His body seized up before he could finish, and Courtney found herself reaching out to him. His head dropped and his screams died down to nothing. He was still and silent, and she feared the worst. She hadn't expected what came next to be somehow worse than his death. Seconds passed before he moved again, but he snarled and growled like a wild animal. His head lifted go look at her, but his irises had become darkened and almost black. The way he looked at her sent chills down her spine. It wasn't love or lust, but hunger deep in his eyes. He snarled again and crawled towards her.

“Haha, yes!” Beth exclaimed, “He's alive! Oh, Jake, I don't know what I'd do without you.”

Courtney wasn't sure what was more terrifying, Jake's slow approach, or Beth's elation at seeing it. “Beth, something is wrong,” Courtney said, scooting away from Jake, “Jake, he's acting like something out of a horror movie.”

Beth walked around Jake and over to Courtney. She roughly grabbed Courtney's hair and pulled her up. What was going on? “Now, Courtney, is that any way to talk about your future husband?” Beth asked, a hint of insanity in her voice, “He's clearly excited to see you. Why don't you give him a kiss? After all, he nearly died tonight.”

Jake got to his feet, mouth hanging open as he growled and stumbled closer to Courtney and Beth. Beth had her in a tight grip holding her hair in her hand. “N-no, this isn't right,” Courtney stuttered as Jake got closer still, “Beth, let me go! What did you do to him?!”

“I saved him, you ungrateful bitch,” Beth scoffed, pulling her hair back further, “This is how you repay someone who risks their life? What is the matter with you? Yes, he's a little different now, but he's still with us. He's just…hungry is all. Luckily, he's got a future wife that's willing to take care of that, right? Come on, Jake, she's right here.”

It was Courtney's turn to panic. Jake lunged at her and Beth, but her instinct and training took over. Courtney threw her elbow into Beth's gut and broke free from her hold. She ducked out of the way as Jake tried to bite where she'd been. As a result, Jake's teeth sank into Beth's shoulder. Beth cried out in surprise before pushing Jake off. Courtney took a step back and waited to see what would happen next. She should have been running, but she was too afraid and too curious. Was Beth going to turn into whatever Jake was now? She watched as Beth shook off the bite and shuddered. To her surprise, Jake didn't move towards her again. Instead, his eyes landed on Courtney.

“Oh, you miserable little shit!” Beth barked, turning on Courtney, “Who the hell do you think you are?! Denying your fiance a meal,trying to sacrifice the woman that saved him, and now what are you doing?!”

Beth marched over to the table to grabbed another syringe filled with the same green liquid. She stuck it in her arm, and Courtney thought for sure she would begin changing like Jake had. “Beth, what is wrong with you?” Courtney asked, her voice shaking.

“Oh, yeah, that's not too bad,” Beth shuddered, “Mm, I could get used to that. Now, there's nothing wrong with me, Courtney.”

“You…you just shot up-” Courtney began.

“A bonding agent,” Beth explained, snapping her fingers and making Jake kneel on the ground, “What, you didn't know about this? Tch, not surprising considering you’re a shitty secretary turned booty-call. Everything needs a master, a controller, and that's all this is. I wasn't going to fuck with it, but then you had to let Jake bite me. Bad boy, by the way, you'll be paying for that later on. But first we need to get you your dinner.”

Courtney took another step back and realized she was near the ravine. It was a twenty foot drop into the water, and she had nowhere to go. “Beth, please, whatever is going on-” Courtney pleaded.

“Nu-uh, shut your whore mouth!” Beth snapped, “For years I played second fiddle to bimbos like you, Footgirl, Goth, and countless others! I should have done this a long time ago. It starts tonight with you, but you're just the beginning. You all want Jake so fucking badly? Well, you're going to get him! You can be together forever in his stomach! Jake, get your fiance!”

Jake lunged at her, and Courtney did the only thing she could think of. She threw herself off the edge of the cliff and into the water. “Jake, I'm sorry!” she screamed as she fell into the unknown.

She'd been prepared to die that night. The fall was likely to kill her, yet somehow she survived. She was washed away by the currents and into the reservoir. What followed was a series of brutal and horrifying flashes. Days passed by, and nobody would believe her about what she'd witnessed until it was too late. People began disappearing one by one, and it was two weeks later when Courtney returned to the manor. She snuck in and stole everything she could carry. Jake's spare suit, his equipment, hideouts, and his laptop before Beth caught up with her. She'd had a shot at killing Jake, but she hesitated before she could take it. A flurry of nightmarish scenes ran back to back. Grisly murders, half eaten bodies, villains begging for their lives, and then everything began to spin.

—--

Pam pulled her hands back and gasped. “Are you okay?” Courtney asked, her voice groggy.

“You…” Pam breathed, “You were there the night he turned; the night Beth injected herself.”

“Yeah, yeah I was,” Courtney frowned, “That was the last time I saw him alive. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is him coming for me and I feel Beth holding me in place.”

Pam shook her head, still reeling from everything Courtney had felt that night. “Do you see it now?” she asked.

Courtney closed her eyes for a moment before frowning, “No, not now.”

“Then it worked,” Pam said, standing up, “Get some sleep, Courtney. I need some air.”

“Are you gonna be okay?” Courtney asked, stifling a yawn.

“I'll be fine, I promise,” Pam assured her, “Get some rest while you can. We'll finish planning in the morning, and we can try to end this madness then.”

“Pam?” Courtney yawned, laying down on the couch, “You're a good person. I can see why your Beth loves you.”

Pam smiled at her, “Get some rest. We can talk in the morning.”

Pam didn't need to look back to know Courtney was nodding and already drifting off to sleep. She stepped out the doors to the overlook and let out a shaky breath. She hadn't imagined that Courtney had witnessed such gruesome and brutal sights. She had felt the malice and insanity from this world's Beth, but to see its genesis was something else entirely. Maybe if she'd been here and on their side she could have stopped this, but she knew there was no sense in wondering about what-ifs. All she knew was that this Beth had to be stopped and she had to get home. Courtney had lost everything, and she'd given more than she had already to fight against Beth. If she could, Pam swore that she'd find a way to help her. After all, they'd told Jake that the only way to help their Courtney was to kill her. Beth had injected herself with the same mother parasite in liquid form, and that meant she was already gone. She couldn't save her, but she could give her the mercy she needed.