Chapter 443: Chapter 443: The Line.
[Edward POV]
{Inside out, but for teenager}
As Barbara lowered her head around my waist and her fingers were sliding on top of my jeans.
Time slowed down for me.
My mind went incredibly fast, everything else seemed frozen.
Inside my brain, two parallel thoughts began to debate with each other, sitting on chairs. Another one sat on the judge’s podium, waiting to make a decision.
Let’s name the two arguing thoughts, ’Horny’, and ’Morality’.
Horny wore a leather jacket, chains, and sunglasses. He has a cross necklace, and looks like a ’Fuckboi’.
Morality wore glasses, suit, and tie, acting like a lawyer.
Just for fun, there were a few more personalities sitting around, providing audience reaction.
"I’d say, we let it happen." Horny said with a grin.
"No. We’re in the midst of a public space. There’s kids around." Morality argued.
"But we deserve this." Horny was pissed. "And we didn’t initiate, she did. She wanted this." He threw his hands around to emphasise his points.
"But have we guessed why she wanted to do something like this?" Morality took out a piece of paper.
"She couldn’t help herself around us–" Horny tried to interject, but Morality continued.
"No. It’s because she’s forced too. We have too many experiences. She wanted to be memorable."
Morality showed everyone the pictures of all the girls we have slept with. Everyone gasped.
’Shame’ shouted from the audience, "No shame. No shame at all."
Horny ignored Shame and said, "So? Let her. The point is, she’s the one who initiates. We didn’t do anything. We are consequences free in this."
The judge jeered, "Oh-ho, there’ll be a lot of consequences alright."
The main command center chimed in, "SIR! We’re at DEFCON 1. She had lubricated it with her–"
The judge shut down the intercom quickly.
Horny tapped his fingers, feeling quite restless. "So, I won, right? Let me take over."
Morality slammed his briefcase again, and said, "Objection. Leading."
"We’re not leading. We’re just enjoying it." Horny argued.
"Not that," The judge retorted. "He said you’re leading the case. May I remind you both, that we’re not a true court house. So... chop chop bitches. We don’t have much time left."
"Throwing that aside, we have no protection against this." Morality argued.
"We don’t need protection, we wouldn’t get her pregnant–" Horny said, frustrated.
"Not that kind of protection." Morality pushed his glasses up. "We have no backup plans in place. We’re exposed. We didn’t have any ability to hide the fact that she giving us a sloppy from everyone else."
"But. That is also... a turn on." Horny said cheekily.
"I agree. That is a turn on." Morality also nodded. Everyone else nodded, except for Shame. "You guys are all degenerates!" Shame shouted.
Morality added, "But it’s not morally right."
Horny sighed and said, "Why do we care so much about morality? We saved the world. Can’t we do one selfish thing and let morality screw itself at this moment?"
"Hey! Mind your words. I couldn’t bend that way. Maybe I can use my hand–" Morality was pissed, and he was interjected by the judge before he could finish speaking.
"No one wants to know that. Come on. Her lips are already touching it."
Horny slammed his fist at the podium, shocking everyone. "Let. It. Happen."
Morality was frozen for a few seconds. He managed to regain his confidence once we sensed the people’s gazes.
"We’re screwed." Morality said nervously. "We need to get out of this situation now."
–Real World–
A portal opened underneath us. Barbara and I both fell into the portal, and we disappeared from the cabin. I had casted a cleaning spell inside the cabin to erase all of our traces there.
"What the–" Barbara turned around frantically, her mind struggling to comprehend what just happened.
"We were at the cabin... Now, we’re at the warehouse?" Barbara took a few steps away from me. Her eyes kept turning for her to see where we were.
"Oh my god." She exclaimed, her voice shaky, her eyes teary.
"Calm down Barb." I said comfortingly.
"No! Eddy! We were kidnapped, yet again!" Barbara turned to me, tears falling down to her cheek.
"What? No Barb. We weren’t kidnapped." I hurriedly went to her and comforted her.
"I don’t remember getting here. Just like at that time. We– were drugged again."
"Barbara. Look at me." I said looking into her eyes. She calmed down slightly as her eyes met mine, but her fingers were shivering.
"You’re okay. We’re okay. Nothing bad happened to us." I said calmly.
"But– How did we get here?" She asked again, almost crying.
"That will be my cue to enter."
We turned to the sound of the voice. I was calm, Barbara was fearful. She held the edge of my shirt, gripping it tight.
My duplicate, who has disguised himself into a random Cuban man– the one who’s responsible for opening portals in the warehouse to smuggle the food into the festival, has both of his hands behind his back as he walks calmly towards us.
"I saw you were in trouble. So I opened a portal to remove you from the cabin." He said casually.
"Trouble?" Barbara calmed down a bit. "Portal?" She asked again, extremely confused.
The duplicate sighed and exchanged glances with me.
"I can open portals." He said as he swirled his hand and opened a portal to my mansion in Palisades.
Barbara widened her eyes, and she slowly moved towards the pierce in the fabric of reality. She stepped one foot through the portal, and peeked her head through it.
"Meow?" Vader greeted her with confusion as she only saw her head and legs.
"Vadie? Oh, I’m really in the house huh?"
She retreated, and the duplicate closed off the portal.
Her eyes glittered and her mood lifted. "That’s very cool. Are you like the troublemakers– I mean, espers that Edward hired. Like the guy who can erase ability?"
"Yeah." The duplicate replied with a sigh. He looked quite disappointed with me.
"Don’t do it in public. That’s criminal. You can get arrested." He said and left the space.
Barbara blushed, and she turned towards me. "That’s embarrassing." She tried to play it off by acting meek.
I pinched her cheek to punish her and asked with concern. "Is the memory gap still bothering you?"
She lowered her eyes, and her smile vanished. "Sometimes. Yeah."
I sighed, pulling her in closer and gave her a hug.
She added, "I think, the act of messing with someone’s free will. That’s the most disgusting thing you can do as a human being."
My hand froze. My heart felt clenched.
Barbara was almost auctioned off after being kidnapped. The drug she was on created a gap in her memory. She couldn’t remember anything that happened while she was on it.
It was a type of date rape drug, but it worked for a long period of time. She has nightmares about it sometimes.
"What if, it was for a good reason?" I asked wryly.
"There’s no reason that justifies it." She added firmly. "Only monsters do that."
"I see."
My heart sank. There was a knot in my stomach.
Barbara wiped her eyes and forced herself to smile. "Let’s go back to the festival, Eddy."
"No. I think, I’m done for the day."
Barbara was taken aback, but she accepted it and went back to our place together.
"Barb. What if I tell you, you can remember what happened at the time when you were under the drug’s influence?" I asked.
She widened her eyes in shock. "You can do that?"
I nodded slightly. Barbara’s eyes shook. Her mind raced.
Would it be better for her to remember, or not remember?
She didn’t know the answer.
"I... think I need time to think about it." She said, holding her body fearfully.
"I understand. You can decide about it anytime." I said and held her close. Her fear diminished, and she nuzzled her head close to my chest.
We just stayed like that for a while. Then, Frankie burst into the room.
"Eddy." She said with gritted teeth. "We need to talk about your behavior. Your idiotic... irresponsible... extremely risky behavior."
"Uh-oh. Sounds like she knows." Barbara said cheekily.
"You’re in trouble too young lady." Frankie pointed her finger at Barbara angrily. Barbara was taken aback by it.
...
Near the outskirts of the festival. The military was moving to the venue.
Robin, Woo-Jin, Ban, and Red Menace– my duplicate, stood in line in front of the caravan.
It forced them to stop. The military used their speaker to speak to us.
"Move out of the way. You’re standing in the path of the US military force."
Robin said calmly, "I know what I’m doing. Why are you here?"
One of the soldiers stepped down off the humvee and walked towards her.
"I don’t think we have to answer the question of a tech CEO. Move. Now." He said sternly.
Robin got pissed and reached her hand out at high speed.
The man couldn’t even react as Robin choked him and slowly brought him up. His feet flailed in the air, and he looked at her fearfully.
The other soldiers rushed from the truck and pointed their rifles at all of us.
"Why are you here? You have 3 seconds to answer before I snap your neck." Robin said calmly.
The soldier heaved heavily, and sweat beads on his forehead. Even with all of his military gear, he didn’t weigh anything to Robin.
"One." Robin counted menacingly.
"Two."
"Three–"
"Wait. We’re sent here to round out all of the people with special powers and bring them to camp." The soldier said hurriedly.
"Damn it Markson!" One soldier in the back shouted.
"Knock them out!" The military commander ordered. The soldier used the neurotoxin bullet I created for the police department to take us down in a non-lethal way.
They shot us a couple of times with the bullets. We just let it happen.
"What’s wrong? Why aren’t they going down?!" The commander asked frantically.
"I don’t know. All of the shots hit the target." The soldier replied.
"I’ll give you a chance to turn back, one more time." Robin threatened.
"Shoot them! SHOOT!" The commander shouted.
The soldiers began using real bullets for the next round. Since they have decided to go for the kill shot, I made a move.
With a blast of conquerer haki, everyone lost their consciousness.
They fell to the ground. Even the driver fell unconscious, and pressed the pedals accidentally.
Woo-Jin stood in front of the truck and stopped it with one hand. The tyres were moving, but the truck couldn’t move forward. In the end, the engine gave up.
"Aww. I want to rip apart a few." Robin pouted.
"Find out if the military is creating a division to study the serum and esper ability. See if they have kidnapped people. Save them." I muttered and left.
Robin, Woo-Jin and Ban smirked. Ban was especially excited about it. "Leave it all to me. Just go and enjoy your make out session with the Pink hero."
I turned to him, my face was slightly cold.
The androids were taken aback as it was the first time they saw it.
"Edward, what’s wrong?" Robin asked urgently.
I didn’t reply and just left silently.
...
Before the concert. Sage came to visit me. She appeared in the waiting room as I was getting ready.
"Feeling down there big boy?" She said teasingly.
"Big boy?" I turned to her with confusion.
She shrugged and said, "It feels like a big boy moment."
I chuckled a bit as I heard that.
Sage smiled and said, "It’s fine to feel down about stuff like this. It’s actually quite normal. Since your world is normal."
I nodded slightly and said, "She thought I’m disgusting."
"She thought the kidnappers were disgusting. Not you." Sage said comfortingly. "Even if you tell her you’re controlling the whole world, she’d probably be fine with it. Since she knows you’re a good man."
She patted my shoulder, raising her arms high to reach it.
"By the way, there’s someone that can really understand you if you’d like to meet him." She said suddenly.
My interest was piqued. "Really? Who?"
"You’ll know when you see him. Do you... want to see him?" She asked carefully.
" I do–" I realized something and said, "Wait. Do I need to travel again?"
"Yeah." Sage grinned mischievously. "Of course, it’s your decision. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to."
"I thought I had to get a world ticket to travel?" I was confused.
Sage nodded and said, "You got one. You passed the audit. With flying colors by the way."
"Oh." I muttered flatly.
I remembered the two guys told me the result would come out later. I didn’t know there would be a bonus check when I passed the examination.
...
[General POV]
On stage. Everyone cheered as Edward performed the songs on the second day of the concert.
Edward brought some new artists, sang with them, and curated a wonderful performance for everyone.
"For the final performance, I decided to sing a new song." He said, which made the crowd cheer enthusiastically.
He held his index finger up, which made everyone stop.
"It’s a little sad. So, I’ve been wondering if I should do it or not."
"DO IT! DEFINITELY DO IT!" The crowd shouted. They kept shouting for over a minute, begging him to do it.
"Alright then. Don’t say I didn’t warn you."
He sat on the piano. His slender fingers pressed on the piano keys skillfully.
[The Line- Twenty One Pilots]
The soft piano intro immediately caught people’s attention.
The slow build up made people’s anticipation grow.
Edward sang with a deep, slightly depressed tone.
"♫♪ My body’s on the line now ♫♪"
"♫♪ I can’t fight this time now ♫♪"
"♫♪ I can feel the light shine on my face ♫♪"
The fans’ eyes were glued on him. The words were tugging at their heartstring.
"♫♪ Did I disappoint you? ♫♪"
"♫♪ Will they still let me over♫♪"
"♫♪ If I cross the line? ♫♪"
The fear of people seeing him for who he really was. The cracks that happened on his secrets, that appeared there as he desired to share it with someone–who he didn’t have to hide who he was.
"♫♪Take a seat♫♪"
"♫♪But I’d rather you not be here for...
What could be my final form ♫♪"
"♫♪Stay your pretty eyes on course♫♪"
To want someone to listen, but at the same time, wanting to protect them from the truth.
"♫♪Keep the memories of who I was before... So stay with me because♫♪"
Images flashed in Edward’s mind. From the Dunphys. His family. His friends. And then, his dad.
"♫♪My body’s on the line now♫♪"
"♫♪I can’t fight this time now♫♪"
"♫♪I can feel the light shine on my face♫♪"
The cracks were spreading.
"♫♪Did I disappoint you?♫♪"
"♫♪Will they still let me over♫♪"
"♫♪If I cross the line?♫♪"
The soft piano music, the heartbreaking vocals, and the ding vibe of the concert made a lot of the fans cry. Sobbing. Choking on their own spit as they sobbed.
"♫♪Honestly♫♪"
"♫♪I thought I~~ was fully prepared for♫♪"
"♫♪The threshold in store♫♪"
The expectations he has, were all surpassed.
"♫♪Stay your pretty eyes on course♫♪"
He retreated a second time, and couldn’t be honest about his true self.
"♫♪I guess I never really faced my fears before♫♪"
"♫♪So stay with me because♫♪"
Edward crooned, his eyes were looking at the stars.
"♫♪My body’s on the line now♫♪"
"♫♪Pull the blanket tight now♫♪"
To hide themselves from the monster.
"♫♪I can feel the light shine on my face!!!♫♪" He screamed as hard as he could.
"♫♪Did I disappoint you?♫♪"
"♫♪Will they still let me over♫♪"
"♫♪If I cross the line?♫♪"
The melody was at its peak. The fans were quivering with excitement and overwhelming emotions.
"♫♪Please don’t let them see me~♫♪"
"♫♪Sure there’s nothing left to try~♫♪"
"♫♪I can feel the light shine on my face~~♫♪"
The breaking point. The piano and Edward began to float in the sky. Everyone was shocked and curious to figure out how he did that.
"Edward, stop floating! How are you doing this?!" Pepper scolded through the earpiece.
Frankie bit her lips till they almost bleed. She knew the deeper meaning behind the song. And she sensed Edward’s peculiarity when she scolded him before.
"What happened to him?" She muttered.
"♫♪Did I disappoint you?♫♪"
"♫♪Will they still let me over♫♪"
"♫♪If I cross the line?♫♪"
The soft outro music transported the audience. It made them relax and feel at ease. Like the monster was now gone.
"♫♪If I cross the line♫♪" Edward crooned sadly.
"♫♪If I cross the line♫♪"
He ended the song abruptly. It took a few seconds before the audience applauded for the great performance.
Edward floated back down to the floor, and took a deep bow.
The crowd cheered. People were calling his name!
However, he couldn’t enjoy it. Not today.
...
Sage and Gong Shin sat together in the VIP section, watching Edward’s performance.
"You’re going to introduce him to the pink haired kid?" Gong Shin asked casually.
"Yeah. The kid’s weird. But they are like, 80% similar. Maybe 90% similar."
"But, there’s a huge difference between them." Gong Shin said seriously. "One of them is born with these powers. So he has a warped concept of it. Edward gained all of his abilities."
Sage nodded and said, "Yeah. But they are really similar. Both of them had saved the world. Both of them were around the same age. Both of them craved being normal. They are like, the perfect people for each other."
Gong Shin was finally convinced. "Alright. Let’s give it a shot then. After the concert."
