Fenris Perrywinkle: The Great Galactic Duel
Chapter 10: Catflight

My teeth start to chatter as my ex and I climb higher and higher into the sky. I don’t think she cares. The way she’s got me under the arms reminds me how my relatives used to manhandle me as a small child at family reunions. I still wish she’d just drop me.

Oh my gosh! She dropped me!

…five feet onto the top of a mountain top. I land with a thud and get the wind knocked out of me. It doesn’t take much. Just stand in your kitchen and fall backward onto the floor. Your mother will think you’ve had a stroke or something. You might give yourself a concussion. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Jenn floats above me with her hands on her glorious hips. I’d comment on the view except… judging from the look on her face, she’d incinerate me if I tried making any wisecracks.

We stare at each other for what seems like an eternity. Kind of like when you corner a spider and are afraid to look away because you’re sure it will attack if you do.

My teeth start to chatter again. I guess mountain tops are covered in snow for a reason.

“I should just leave you up here,” she mutters.

“Jenn!” my voice is shrill. I’m hoping it’s because of the cold. “I swear to you… I couldn’t remember anything!”

She floats down to the ground in front of me and looks me square in the eye. I get a feeling like I’ve been in this situation with her before. Her eyes narrow a little. I think she can see my soul right now.

“Well, you remember me now, don’t you?”

My body begins to shiver. I wrap my arms around myself and give Jenn my best sad puppy face.

She wrinkles her nose. “Oh not the puppy face again. If there was anything that I really hoped you did forget, it’s that face.”

I guess I’ve used it on her before?

She moves closer to me. I can feel the power radiating from her. I struggle a little in the snow to try and back up, but my limbs are going numb.

Her eyes lock onto mine. I see tiny bolts of energy spidering in the dark of her pupils. I lean back into the snow as she crawls in between my frozen legs.

“Fenris…” Her lips begin to tremble. She must be close to losing it now. In a few moments, she’ll unleash her power and I’ll be exploded into a thousand frozen pieces.

She collapses on top of me, buries her face in my chest and wraps her powerful arms around my neck. I freeze. I’m not sure it it’s from shock, or if I really am frozen.

“What did I do wrong?” she whispers.

I’m confused. Is it my imagination, or is my ex hugging me and sobbing a little? Maybe I’m experiencing hypothermia.

She lifts her head up, tears streaming down her face. “Fenris, please answer me. We used to mean everything to each other. Am I wrong? Was it all in my head?”

I try to answer her, but now I think I really am hypothermic.

Jenn stares at me for a moment before my reality sets in. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she mutters and places her hand on my chest. My body starts to vibrate as I’m filled with star energy again. I don’t know why, but it feels very different from the energy Amanda infused me with. It’s not comfortable at all – in fact, it kind of burns!

“You’re not attuned to Deepdarc energy – we draw from a different star than the Everbrights. Your body will still process it, but it probably isn’t pleasant.”

Yeah, not at all. I feel like my innards are being been microwaved. At least I’m warm again though.

I cough and sputter a couple of times. I think smoke actually comes out of my mouth, but that might be an exaggeration.

Jenn lifts herself off me and sits back on her heals with an expectant look. “Well?”

“Jenn… I… I…”

She continues to stare. This is really uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry I was angry when I approached you and the other one a couple days ago. I’m sorry. I was jealous and hurt that you seemed to have forgotten me.”

I manage to nod. “Okay, sure, I get that. I’m… I’m sorry too.”

She reaches over and cups my cheek in her hand. “You know how I get when other women take an interest. Or do you?” She leans in closer and I can see her pupils expand a little. “Just how much do you remember anyway? Be honest.”

I take a slow, deep breath. This was starting to have a familiar feeling to it. We’ve had conversations like this before. I’m sure of it.

“We met in college, you liked to stand around naked, I fell in love with you, I couldn’t replace work, we lived together for a couple of years, we were going to get married.”

Jenn smiles at that. I suddenly remember that amazing smile of hers. It fades quickly though, and is replaced by a look of sadness.

“You remember all that, and you still choose to be with… what’s her name? Amanda?”

I squirm a little in the snow. How on earth do I answer that? Do I tell her that every time I see her I feel the old emotions starting to awaken inside of me? Do I tell her that those old feelings are now starting to go to war with my new feelings?

She studies my face a little. “You’re confused…” she whispers. “Do you even know what… or who you want?”

I let out a heavy sigh. I just remembered how easily she always managed to read me. Those old feelings are really starting to inflate.

“Fenris… talk to me.”

I feel my emotions start to turn on me. I’m not sure if I’m happy or scared right now.

“Jennifer…”

“Yes?”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Does that mean you don’t want me anymore?”

“No, that isn’t what it means, actually. Every time I’m around you… I don’t know… it’s like I remember more and more.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I mean… I developed feelings for another woman. Real feelings. She helped me all those months while I was imprisoned. We went through some hard things together. And it was easy to fall for her… because I couldn’t remember anything. I couldn’t remember you.”

“Do you love her, Fenris?”

I start to blubber like a teenage girl. This is embarrassing.

“I thought I did. I thought I did until I started remembering you and everything we’ve been through together. Is your brother still seeing that male model?”

Jenn winces at the mention of her bisexual brother. The look on her face tells me the family still isn’t comfortable with it.

I do my best to stifle a chuckle. “Sorry, I swear to you that I just remembered that right this second.”

She takes my hand in hers. “I’m glad your memories are coming back.”

I squeeze her hand as hard as I can. Her muscles feel like they’re made of iron. Maybe I’ve just got a thing for strong women, but damn I replace that sexy.

“What else do you remember?”

I look up at the sky and let my mind wander. It’s a gorgeous, sunny day on what I can only assume is Wheeler Peak. Fluffy white clouds fill the air. I’m sure Jennifer and I have spent many quiet moments like this together. This feels very familiar.

A tiny dot appears in one of the clouds. What is that? A bird? No, it’s moving too fast. Must be a plane. No, it’s too small.

Oh no.

Amanda spears Jennifer and they both rocket into the side of the mountain. The impact causes a small avalanche. I spring to my feet and desperately begin looking for a tree to climb or something.

Several powerful blows echo through the valley as muffled screams fade in and out of the destruction.

Amanda’s body is launched out of the dust and debris. She skids to a stop not far from me.

“Lucky hit!” she screams into the dust cloud in front of us.

“Lucky this!” Jennifer screams back as she fires out of the turmoil and measures the brunette for another strike.

“Girls! Stop it!” I shout to no avail.

Amanda manages to narrowly dodge the blonde’s attack – her fist exploding the ground beside the brunette’s head.

The women’s veins glow brightly as they entangle and try to crush the life from one another.

“Stop it!” I shout again. “This isn’t what I want!”

“Not everything is about you, Fenris!” Amanda shouts as she wrestles with the other super powered woman.

“This is between us, sweetie!” Jennifer whispers. “You know what’s at stake here, don’t you?”

“Oh yes,” Amanda whispers back. “And you can’t have him.”

“You barely even know him!”

“I know what’s real when I feel it, and we’ve got something real together!”

“Oh and we don’t? We lived together for three years! We are still engaged to be married!”

“Too bad. I hope you haven’t sent out the invitations yet. That’s always embarrassing!”

“Shut up! Let’s finish this!”

“Power duel me?”

“Fine! Anytime you’re ready!”

I strain to see the two loves of my life through the dust cloud that’s settled all around us. I think I see them untangle themselves and stand.

“Amanda? Jennifer? We can work this out! Come on, don’t do this! The duel isn’t for another few weeks!”

The women reach for each other and raise their interlocked fingers high above their heads. They stand chest to chest and use their legs to press into each other.

Suddenly the dust clears as the mountainside is bathed in a blinding white light and a loud crackling sound. I shield my eyes as best I can, but become disoriented and stumble backward into the dirt and snow. A long minute passes before the light and sound starts to fade.

I manage to look over in time to see my Amanda’s knees buckle and fall before my Jennifer. The blonde hunches over and places her hands on her knees while breathing heavily.

“Amanda!” I shriek. “Jennifer… what have you done?”

I crawl forward toward the star powered women. Amanda lies on the ground unconscious, the veins of her alien powered bodysuit still pulsing ever so slightly.

“She’ll be alright,” Jenn says as she tries to catch her breath. “She’s tough. Very impressive for someone that’s only had access to star power for a day or two.”

“You two didn’t have to do this!” I say and I cradle Amanda’s head in my lap.

Jenn tries her best to straighten up. “You’re probably right, but we both wanted it.”

My eyes start to moisten a little as I brush the dirt from the brunette’s face. “What did you do to her?”

“Be calm, she’ll recover in a few minutes. We engaged in a power duel. She tried to overwhelm me with Everbright star energy, and I did the same to her with Deepdarc energy. She probably knew she couldn’t win – after all, I’ve been practicing for months now.”

Tears make tracks down my dirty cheeks as I gently brush her cheek. “Is this what you two will do during the galactic duel as well?” I’m hopeful, but I already know the answer.

Jenn shakes her head slowly. “No. You know that fight has to be to the death.”

A few of my tears drop onto Amanda’s cheek. I don’t try to smear them away. “This isn’t right. This isn’t what I want.”

Jenn kneels beside me and gently brushes the hair from Amanda’s face. “I see why you like her now. Hell, if things were different, I think I might like her too.”

The brunette moans a little and starts to squirm in my arms.

“There, you see? She’s coming out of it already. Like I said, she’s tough.”

Jenn stands and looks down at Amanda and me for a moment. “I want to see you again, Fenris. I’m not willing to just let you slip away again. I thought I lost you forever the night I was abducted. If you choose her instead of me in the end, I don’t want it to be because I rolled over and gave up on us.”

I watch as Jennifer floats up into the air. A few moments later, she streaks away.