Chapter 16

When the blackness recessed I realized it was just the back of my eyelids. What brought me to this astonishing revelation? My alarm clock started going off. I opened my eyes, and rolled over to hit it. I just wanted a few more minutes ... then I realized, I was back. I sat up and looked at my hands. The slight scar from the nanobots repairing me was still on my arm. I looked around the room. Zeta’s sword was on a display rack that hadn’t been there before. The gun I had grabbed from the Taconians was on the desk. My traveling clothing was folded neatly on my dresser, with the boots on the ground next to the dresser.

“Alright, you’re home.” A voice said.

I looked over at my closet to see the Force Guardian standing there, leaning against the door.

“What exactly was all that?” I asked.

“You just changed your timeline.” He said. “It’s a few weeks before you left. This should give you some time to ... adjust.” He added.

“Adjust?” I asked.

“The timeline is rewritten, but you weren’t, not completely. The timeline will give you new memories as you go. You’ll still remember the original timeline, but you’re in the new one now.” He explained.

“What do you mean, I wasn’t rewritten? Is there more to it?” I asked.

“Your physical appearance is the same as we met, but the others won’t see that ... for them, it’s a sudden change.” He explained. “And that’s as far as I know. Unfortunately, I don’t have temporal powers, so I can’t tell you everything.” He added. “Oh, and you don’t have temporal flux energy anymore. So no super strength, and no invulnerability.” He added, sighing at the end.

“Did she survive?” I asked.

“Who?” He asked.

“The little girl in the car.” I asked.

“RE ... RN...” A voice hissed, like a whisper in my ear.

The Force Guardian didn’t seem to hear it.

“Car?” He asked. “You mean the one that was backing out of the driveway down the street?”

“Yeah.” I said.

“Well yeah. You smashed that guy’s car, and then scared him shitless.” He said.

“Good.” I said.

“Joshua. I expect you to keep your word. No more traveling beyond your own space-time. You get the opportunity and I want you to shut it down.” He said.

“Yeah. I will.” I said.

“And if you need me ... just holler. I’ll hear you.” He said.

He waved his hand and a funny looking gateway opened, which he stepped into before it closed. I sat in silence for a moment. A few weeks. I had a few extra weeks to enjoy ... if I didn’t want to speed things up. Without knocking, my door swung open and Becky rushed in my room, She was wearing a spaghetti strap t-shirt, and a pair of pink shorts. She had a tape in her hand.

“Sorry, can’t stop to chat, just returning the porn.” She said quickly. “I couldn’t get off with it, but considering the time...”

She headed for my tape stack as I stood up. The sheet that had been covering me fell away as she turned, and I realized from the slight breeze in the room that I was naked. Not that I cared, but she obviously did. Her eyes went wide as she spotted my morning wood.

“Wow.” Becky said, not taking her eyes off my dick.

She slowly moved towards me. Finally taking her eyes off me, and looking me all over.

“What the hell happened to you?” Becky asked.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re buff.” Becky said as she touched my chest. “And sexy.”

“Science experiment that went ... right.” I said. “I don’t think I could do it again, if I even wanted to.”

She grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into a passionate kiss. My hands went on her hips as her body melted against mine.

“LE ... RE...” the voice hissed again, but like last time, no one else heard it.

I tried not to let it interrupt me, not to dissuade me. I was probably hearing things due to lack of sleep.

“I like it.” She whispered after we broke the kiss. “Happy Birthday, little brother. You’ll have to wait until later for a gift.” She cooed. “I have to head out.”

She gave me a quick peck on the lips before pulling away from me and heading out of the room. Birthday? Wait. That meant I was at the beginning of August. It wasn’t just a few weeks, it was nearly a month. I sighed as I headed to my dresser and grabbed a towel from the top. I wrapped it around my waist and headed to the bathroom. I locked the door behind me and stopped at the sink to look at myself in the mirror. I wouldn’t need to shave. I reached into the cabinet over the sink to grab a fresh toothbrush. I brushed my teeth before starting the shower and shedding my towel. I got in the shower, and began cleaning my body. It felt good to be back in my own shower. I washed my hair, wondering what would happen next, and which girlfriend would be the first to fall into bed with me again. Becky seemed like she was the forerunner for that, but the day was young. I hadn’t been told anything about Leiara yet, but if I didn’t hear anything I’d ask the Force Guardian later. He did say I could call for him, if I needed him. After finishing my hair, I turned off the shower and got out. I heard a knock at the door.

“I’m glad you’re taking a shower, I’d rather you not smell like ass during the party!” Heather shouted from the other side of the door. “And you have a visitor at the front door. Might wanna hurry up and get out there.”

I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around me without drying off. I opened the door to Heather standing there in a pink t-shirt and a cute black skirt. Her hair was up in pigtails.

“Thanks.” I said. “Wanna tell me who it is though?” I asked.

She looked gob smacked. I chuckled to myself as I moved past her, through the living room and to the front door. I opened it to see my tiny little girlfriend. She was looking down. Her hair wasn’t cut yet. This was a surprise. The first time around, she had been away from me for the entire summer. She was wearing one of her baggy t-shirts and a pair of tight shorts that showed off her legs.

“Hey there.” I said softly.

She didn’t look up. She took a deep breath.

“I’msorrytointrudelikethisbutIjustwantedtocomebyandwishyouahappybirthday.YouprobablyknowIdon’thaveagift, givenmysituationbut...” She quickly spoke.

“Happy birthday yourself, considering yours is ... what? Tomorrow?” I said with a smile. “As for your gift, I could use a date for the party we’re having here for Heather and I.” I said.

She looked up, first at quick but when her eyes reached my abs, she slowed way down until she saw my face.

“Holy shit.” She whispered. “You’re sexy now. I mean, you know I was in love with you before, but now...”

I smirked.

“Glad you approve. So how about it? Wanna be the date for the party?” I asked.

“Date? You?” She asked. “What happened to you? You’re super different! You’ve got actual confidence.”

I sighed.

“SUR ... ER...” the voice hissed.

I continued to ignore that voice.

“It’s a long story, Amber.” I said. “And I’m not sure you’d believe me.”

She sighed.

“Well at least you’re not being totally oblivious now.” She said.

I pulled her into a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“What’s this?” She asked.

“Me ... not being oblivious.” I said softly. “I know you’re in love with me, and have been since we met.” I added. “So, please, be my date, and let’s see how we work together.”

She pulled back and forced me into a passionate kiss.

“Yes.” She said after the kiss. “So what do I need? Do I need to go home and find a dress? Maybe make-up?”

“No no, it’s just a party, you don’t need any of that.” I laughed.

“Stupid boy, yes, I need to look good for you, but I want you to tell me all about this transformation of yours.” She said.

“Okay, so go home, gather some makeup and hurry back here.” I said.

“Yeah, that won’t work. It takes me about an hour and a half of walking to get here.” Amber said.

“Okay, so come inside, and chill with me. We’ll talk everything over, and...” I started only to find a multitude of new memories hitting my mind.

The memories stopped me from suggesting that we could ask Heather to borrow some make up. Apparently, in this new timeline, both Heather and Tabi had joined with the cheerleaders, and had made many people’s lives a living hell, mine included. My original self from this timeline had been a total geek, but was proud of it. The only difference was that he didn’t have a workout schedule and had gotten overweight do to that. He also spent his free time doing science experiments. All of which were kept in the garage when he did them. He had been working on various things and had sold a few patents off already. So he had cash, some of which was stashed. No car this time around, but I could deal with that. And to top it all off, he never saw himself worthy of any woman after Tabi had turned him down flat when they were kids. He’d try again and again going thru the years, but she’d tell him she wasn’t ready for a boyfriend then go off and date some other guy.

“Are you alright?” Amber asked.

“Sorry. Let’s go to my room and we’ll talk.” I said.

“Your room?” She said.

“Yeah I need to get dressed. You can wait here if you want.” I said with a smile.

“No, I’ll come.” Amber said with a smirk.

We headed inside, and to my room. Once inside I locked the door and she took a seat on the bed. I began going thru my dresser as I told her the whole story. Inside the dresser, I found a wad of cash along with some banking information and some recordings of how the money was made. Apparently, I had a number of patents that I had sold off. Meanwhile I told her of the open web relationship, traveling to get Tabitha, Aisha, and then as I was about to tell her about the jumps there was a knock at my bedroom door. I walked over to the door.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Can I come in?” Heather asked.

I unlocked the door as Amber shot me a look. I opened it, and Heather pushed her way in. I closed the door behind her.

“So what the hell is up? How the hell are you buff and sexy now? Last night you were the same slob you always were.” Heather said.

“I was just getting to that part with Amber.” I said before sighing. “So, as I was saying, as I was not feeling the sensation that I expected so far, I thought it might be time for a little cross universe travel on my own.” I said.

“Cross what?” Heather asked, joining Amber on the bed.

Amber shushed her, as I turned back to my dresser.

“The first couple of universes weren’t all that different from this one, but as I was leaving the second, something attacked me.” I said. “And I wasn’t healed until I got to the third universe.” I added as I held out my arm to show the scars.

“But you said you were invincible for the most part.” Amber said.

“Apparently, the thing that attacked me fed on what was making me invincible.” I said. “The third dimension was being attacked by aliens. And that’s where I got healed in this military base with advanced technology ... well advanced for the year 2020.”

“Wait, you never mentioned a time jump.” Amber said.

“No, this was the first time it happened.” I said. “That’s where I met...” I stopped.

I pulled out some shorts that looked like they’d fit.

“You can either look away, watch, or step out of the room, but I’m putting these on.” I said.

Neither of them looked away. I dropped my towel, and they both went wide eyed as I pulled on my shorts.

“You said you met someone?” Amber said after I got on my shorts.

“Right.” I said. “Force Guardian! A word please!” I shouted.

As if on cue, he appeared in the doorway.

“Yeah?” He asked.

“Leiara? What happened to her?” I asked.

“I’ve integrated her into this timeline. She remembers the fight, and knows where you are.” He said.

The girls looked shocked.

“Oh I almost forgot. Heather, Amber, this is the Force Guardian. Joshua, this is Heather and Amber.” I said.

“He just ... appeared.” Heather said. “This has to be a trick. One of your experiments.”

“If you can accept that all of this was some sort of experiment, is it too far-fetched to state that I went to other universes?” I asked.

Heather thought about that for a moment.

“I suppose not.” Heather said.

“So as I was saying. I met Leiara there, and she brought me into a room where I spent 3 years inside but only a couple minutes passed outside. That’s why my hair is long and I have facial hair.” I said. “The part about me being buff? Well, I did regularly work out in the original timeline. I don’t think I’m all that different from then.” I said.

“Well this is wonderfully entertaining, but if there’s nothing else.” The Force Guardian said.

“One last thing.” I said.

“Oh?” He said.

“You said that trip would use the temporal flux energy, right?” I asked.

“Yeah. We stripped it off you to make those changes in space-time. Why do you ask?” He said.

“Does that mean those beasts won’t show up and attack me again? And what about their queen?” I asked.

“Without being able to use you as a conduit, she won’t come back.” He said. “That reminds me.”

He stepped over to me, and pulled a small device from his pocket.

“Use this when you get near a gateway.” He said handing it to me.

It was about the size and shape of a pair of nail clippers, with a single red button on it.

“It’ll permanently shut down the gateway and transmit a computer virus to anything attached to it, to wipe all the data on the gateway.” He explained. “Your timeline is far from using them, especially since you can’t make them without tearing the fabric of space-time.”

“Got it.” I said, before setting the device on my dresser.

“Ladies.” He said before giving a little wave and opening another gateway and stepping thru before it closed.

“The Force Guardian saved me from a battle in that dimension. That’s where the sword came from, and the gun.” I said, pointing them out. “So from there, I apparently did some more jumping, though I don’t remember it. Something wiped my mind of those events. Then I ended up in the Force Guardian’s universe again, where he took all the temporal flux energy I had to help me save Leiara, and then stop Tabi from dying.” I added.

“Tabi was dead?” Heather asked.

“Yeah.” I said. “I guess you missed that part.” I added.

“So, you basically had a harem of women, myself included, and gave it all up so you could resurrect a woman who doesn’t give two shits about you now?” Amber asked.

“Yup.” I said as I walked over to my desk and leaned against it.

“Harem?” Heather asked. “Hard to believe you had a girlfriend, none the less a harem...” She scoffed.

“I’m betting that’s because you’re comparing him to the old version of him.” Amber said. “Are you telling me that if he looked like this, you wouldn’t be interested?”

“Oh, she was.” I said with a smile. “She was actually the one who came up with the term ‘Open Web Relationship’ that we went by.”

Heather’s face went red. She went to get up and leave the room, but my next phrasing stopped her.

“If you’re worried that this is all some ploy to try and get you into bed with me, it’s not.” I said.

As I said; She stopped in her tracks. She turned to look at me.

“I have no intention of resurrecting the open web.” I explained.

“Then why tell us?” Heather asked.

“You wanted to know why I looked like this.” I answered. “And though you are my twin sister, and you are absolutely stunning ... And were positively glowing when you found out you were pregnant, I’m not going to stop you from finding happiness with someone.” I added. “I wouldn’t then, and I won’t now.”

She walked up to me and put a finger to my chest.

“I don’t believe that for a second!” She scoffed.

“I won’t.” I said.

“Prove it!” Heather said.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked.

Heather thought about this for a moment.

“The you that I know wouldn’t want to give something up once he’s had it.” She said.

“Oh? And you don’t think I’d willingly give you up if I had you?” I asked.

I had to hold back from smiling. I thought I knew where this was going.

“I want you to get me off, and then find me a boyfriend to finish the job.” Heather said.

“Easily done.” I said.

Her eyes went wide.

“No way.” She said.

“Yeah.” I said smuggly.

“Okay, and then...” She said, quickly looking over at Amber.

She looked back at me, and smirked.

“You have to do the same for Amber.” Heather said.

“If that’s what she wants.” I said.

“The getting off part, sure, but I don’t want another boyfriend! I want your brother!” Amber exclaimed. “I always have!”

Heather turned to Amber again.

“Listen, I know we’re not friends, and you’d rather not do this, but I’m asking for your help. You’re taking everything my brother says at face value, but...” Heather started.

Amber sighed.

“But you can’t. I have to ask though, why me?” Amber asked.

“Because you’re already devoted. And if it’s so easy to fuck us and hand us off to people he doesn’t know from a hole in the wall, or even his friends, I don’t think he’ll do it. He’d rather die first. I’m not saying you can’t get back with him later, I’m asking that you just do this for now.” Heather said.

“Again, I’m in LOVE with Joshua.” Amber said, emphasizing the word love.

“Heather, you doubt me that much?” I asked.

Heather turned back to face me.

“Mom, Becky, Rachel, You, Amber, Jessi, Caitlin, Sarah, Tabitha, Nathan, Kimmy, Donny, Deb, Holly, Aisha and Lauren.” I said counting off each person.

“Those are all the names of the Harem?” Amber asked.

“The open web.” I corrected her, “Ji Kim was poised to join after the orgy he had with You, Mom, Becky and Rachel.”

Heather’s eyes went wide.

“Cute Ji?” Heather asked.

“Oh yeah.” I said enthusiastically. “He secretly has a thing for you.”

“Really?” Heather asked, a little more excited.

“Yeah. Although, you had a tough time with him.” I said.

“Why?” Heather said.

“Ever heard the term hung like a horse?” I asked.

Heather’s eyes went wide.

“Yeah, not an exaggeration for Ji.” I said. “I only could dream of being that hung.”

“DIE...” The voice hissed at me.

I’d say its message was getting clearer. I still brushed it off, not knowing what to make of it just yet.

“Why are you telling me this?” Heather asked.

“Because I’ve seen you enjoying them all. Sure I was your first, and the father of your unborn child, but the others loved you just as much and you loved them.” I explained. “If you want me to pair you off with someone, I’d pair you off with Ji. I know how much you like him.”

Heather hung her head. She started sobbing.

“The old Josh never noticed stuff like that.” Heather sobbed.

“Well, after I got my head out of my ass and started paying attention, I noticed stuff like that.” I said.

She darted over to me and threw me into a hug. I returned the embrace as she cried on my shoulder.

“Heather, I love you, no matter what. Those times we spent making love, and having sex, I’ll cherish them, even if it never happens again.” I said. “And I’ll do everything in my power to make you and everyone else that was in the open web happy.”

“Really?” She asked as she pulled back from me.

“Really.” I said. “I can’t say that y’all didn’t do the same when you let me go hopping through space and time to try and bring Tabi back.” I added.

“You know, Tabi isn’t into you.” Heather said.

I sighed as the voice hissed at me again. This time it wasn’t understandable at all. There were other voices this time, but they were too muffled to make out.

“Yes, the memories for this timeline made that quite clear. But as long as she’s happy, I’ll be happy.” I said.

Heather leaned in and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

“Thank you.” Heather said. “I believe you.” She added.

“You’re welcome, but seriously, you’re going to need a lot of prep for Ji.” I said with a smirk.

She turned back towards Amber.

“So are you two an item yet?” Heather asked.

“Not yet, though I wouldn’t mind the web thing as long as I got some time with him.” Amber said.

“Oh you will, but you’re going to wait until your birthday.” I said with a smirk.

Amber gave a little pout.

“Fine!” Amber huffed. “I guess I can wait a few more hours to have you all to myself.”

Heather pulled away from me and moved to the bed. She took Amber by the hand.

“Josh, try not to get in trouble. I’m taking Amber. We’ll see you when the party begins.” Heather said.

Amber got off the bed, and Heather led her out of my room. I took my time searching thru my dresser, trying to find what I would wear. The problem was that a lot of the shorts and pants were meant for a heavier man. I made a mental note that I’d have to go clothing shopping soon, as the only things that would fit me were oversized shirts, the pair of shorts that I was wearing and a pair of swim trunks. I decided to keep with the normal shorts, which were white with a light blue trim when I found a good shirt to wear. A suit shirt, and with its oversize and leaving it open, I found it would work for the party. As I pulled on the shirt, I heard the doorbell ring. The first guests were arriving. I heard Heather loudly welcome them and guide them to the backyard. A few moments later, Heather came in the room, and looked me up and down.

“Wow.” She said.

“Um, thanks.” I said.

“Listen, I want you to stay in here until all the guests arrive. I’ll send in Amber to get you.” Heather said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, I happened to get the best Birthday gift I could.” She said with a wink. “And I want everyone to see the new you.”

I gave her a smirk. She headed out, closing the door behind her. I decided to go thru the dresser again, trying to find anything I could, then I hit up my desk. Inside the desk, I found plenty of paperwork, which detailed the assets my prior-self had left behind when he turned into me. I had memories of all of this. As I stated before, I had left some cash, and what I found in the dresser, combined with what I found in the desk put over a thousand cash in hand. The statements and records left behind showed several hundred thousand in various separate stocks, bonds and bank accounts, which I would have to go over later to confirm the numbers, since the old me didn’t keep real track of these things. As I put the cash all in one place, I got a knock at the door.

“Josh? Can I come in?” Amber said thru the door meekly.

Another hiss of voices.

“Of course...” I stopped.

I hadn’t come up with a nickname for her yet. She was my ... My train of thought was interrupted as she entered the room. She was dressed in one of Heather’s old sundresses. It was blue and green in color, and fit her very nicely enough that for the first time, I could make out her curves. The colors were swirled about as if it were tie-dyed and not manufactured that way. I could make out the straps of her bikini top. Her hair was in a long ponytail that had been doubled over. Her makeup wasn’t to heavy and accented her looks nicely. She was, for lack of a better phrasing, breath taking.

“Wow.” I said.

“Wow yourself.” She said with a grin. “I hope you like it. Your sister helped with my make up and let me borrow some clothing.”

“Remind me later to thank her for that.” I said.

I slipped some sandals on that were next to the bed, and walked up to her. Amber led me to the back patio door and had me wait while she stepped out and signaled Heather. Amber then motioned for me to come out and join her. I walked out to many gasps, then complete silence.

“What just happened?” I whispered to Amber.

“Heather’s been filling everyone in on your story. Everyone knows.” Amber said. “But she didn’t tell them that you’re appearance changed.” She added. “Guess they were shocked.”

“You weren’t shocked then?” I asked.

“Oh, I was.” Amber said as the silence ended. “But in a good way.”

A few moments later, we were approached by Chris, and Tabi. I was surprised to see Tabi with him, as I was sure that she hated me from my memories. Let me explain. According to the memories left over by the old Josh, every time he’d ask her out and she’d say no, she went out to find another boyfriend, but after breaking up with that guy, she’d be seething, especially towards Josh. He learned to avoid her after some time, realizing or at least thinking that it was the bad relationship breakups that made her more hostile. After a while, even though she remained single, she seemed to glare daggers at him and just stopped talking to him overall.

“Man, you’re looking ripped.” Chris said. “You thinking of joining the football team with that body?”

“No. I was on swim team in the original timeline.” I said.

Chris laughed at this.

“That’s funny, man.” He laughed. “I don’t think the old Josh would go near water. He had a literal phobia of it.”

“Oh?” I said. “Guess I better prove once and for all that I’m not him then.”

I took off my shirt and handed it to Amber, before leading the group to the pool. The pool, in this timeline was a smallish in ground pool with a hot tub on one end, and was perfect for doing laps. Forgetting that I was wearing shorts, and not swim trunks, I dove in and did a few laps before stopping and swimming to the edge of the deep end where the three of them were waiting. The pool was now surrounded by teens, looking at me in disbelief.

“What, did my shorts come off?” I asked.

“No. It’s just ... Like I said, you had a phobia. People used to mess with the other Josh using water balloons, or just cups of water.” Chris said.

I pulled myself out of the pool. I wasn’t quite thinking about what the water was doing to my shorts until after I heard a gasp from Tabi. I looked at her and followed her eyes. I felt my cheeks burn.

“Looks like I need a towel.” I said.

I started towards the house.

“What is this?” Tabi said from behind me as I walked.

She, Amber and Chris were still following me.

“You come from a timeline that this one apparently replaced, gave up a harem of women where you got laid every day, and we’re supposed to believe you?” Tabi asked.

“Nope.” I said. “Wouldn’t expect you to.”

“Then why tell us at all?” Tabi asked.

“I didn’t.” I said. “I told Amber, and Heather. That’s it.” I said.

“And they told us.” Tabi said.

“JOSHUA!” I heard a squeal as I almost reached the patio.

I turned and looked in the direction, only for Leiara to tackle me to the ground. It was obvious she was wearing a bikini, orange in color, with a see thru white top over it, a pair of black shorts, and a pair of sneakers.

“He told me, but I kind of didn’t believe it!” Leiara said as she sat on my wet waist.

“Hey, Leiara.” I said with a grin.

She got off me and helped me up.

“I see you got settled in.” I said.

“Yeah. Sure, mom and dad look older, but it’s all fine.” Leiara said.

“Older?” Tabi asked. “What does she mean by that?”

“Who’re these people?” Leiara asked.

“Leiara meet Amber, Tabi, and Chris.” I said pointing them out.

Leiara looked at each of them, then quickly moved over to Tabi.

“You’re the one?” Leiara asked.

“The one?” Tabi asked.

“The one he ... here this might be easier if I do this.” Leiara said.

She touched Tabi on the shoulder and closed her eyes.

“Leiara? What’re you doing?” I asked.

“Sorry.” Leiara said as she pulled back. “The mind reading ability takes physical contact now. I was reading Tabi’s mind to see if the event was there.”

“Event?” Tabi asked.

“Oh.” I said.

“Just the reading. It doesn’t take as much effort, but unless I block out others thoughts, it gets a little overwhelming.” Leiara said.

“What event?” Tabi asked, a little flustered.

“You know I could’ve just said, yes, this is her.” I said as I rubbed my head.

“What event?!?” Tabi asked, even more flustered now.

“The car accident.” I said.

“What car accident?” Tabi asked.

I led the group inside, heading to my room with them all following. I grabbed the towel from my shower and began drying off again.

“When we were kids, the day that I asked you out for the first time, and confessed my feelings.” I said. “In the original timeline, you died before I could tell you.” I said.

“I remember a car ... but I thought it was a dream, no one could be strong enough to smash a car like that.” Tabi said.

“Smash?” Chris asked.

“A man...” I started pointed to myself. “dressed in black clothing...” I said pointing to the clothing. “With a sword...” I pointed to the sword. “And a strange looking gun...” I said pointing to the gun. “Smashed the hood of a car to stop a drunk driver, then scared a man half to death for drunk driving.” I explained.