Chapter 12: That’s not how jeopardy works.

Returning home, I organized my memories for the first time since I got here.

The stimulation of Rick's downloaded brain had cleared stuff up for me, boosting my mind, almost as if I was seeing the world from a whole new perspective.

There were pros to this of course. The increased intelligence, ability to violate the laws of physics with my tech at a moment's notice, and an unearthly calm about death which mixed well with my naturally selfish and calculating personality.

But what worried me were the cons. The incident with the future clone had alerted me of as much. The way I reacted, what I said to him, even my guttural reaction to perpetuate the time loop in retaliation. That was ... so unlike me. If anything, I would have apologized and assured that such a thing wouldn't happen in the future, before genuinely attempting to change my plans for it, breaking the loop. Not out of humility or kindness, but more out of an instinct for self preservation.

And that is exactly what I fear I've lost, if not all, then at least in great part.

My callous disregard for life and Rick's nihilism had birthed in me a new sentiment.

And I am not a fan.

If I am to travel the multiverse, and I will no doubt, I must make sure I do it as myself, not some sentient meat puppet for Rick's personality.

After all, if I lose myself while conquering the world, what is the point in all of that?

A voice within me screamed just then.

None. There is no point. Never was one.

"There we go." I chuckled, finding Rick's influence, as I mentally grabbed it, tearing it out of my conscious and incinerating it.

I will not be controlled!

Not now. Not ever.

Reality dissolved into nothingness, and the dark took over.

I awoke in cold sweat, waking up in my room, and felt for the helmet, unclasping it's belt, and pulling it off.

Atop the helmet, was a glowing bulb made of unnatural, ethereal blue crystal, glowing bright with a flame of sparks, dancing within, caging a helpless visage.

Rick. Or what was left of him in my mind.

"You don't need to do this!" It burped, "We can be friends. I can show you the world. No... That sounded stupid.... I can ... No you are nothing without me!

A loser. I gave you that intelligence! It's mine! Mine you little dipshit!"

"No." I said, "It's mine by conquest. I stole it off your corpse. And you are now just a belligerent house guest. One I'm kicking out today!" I smiled, flipping a switch on the side of the helmet, as the bulb sparked hot and red, Rick's screams emanating from within, before he disappeared for good.

"There we go." I said, whistling happily, "All of the benefits, none of the mind control."

And all it cost me were a couple trips to other dimensions to gather materials for the mind extractor, a design I got by combining two of Rick's inventions still in my memory - Morty's Mind Blowers and the Dream Inception Earpiece.

This though meant that the trips had also cost me dearly on the portal fluid front. I was down to just three portals worth, if that. Which meant now I'd have to take the damn bus everywhere.

I sighed. You win some, you lose some.

"Maybe I'll even enjoy the cross country road trip!" I said optimistically, as I began to pack my bags for the long journey, before disassembling my tools and storing them away in a rental storage unit, with a generous bribe for the staff of course, as a hush fee, along with an immigrant sob story about needing a place to keep what little I had.

And with that I began my long journey, to New York.

New York was ...more of a metropolis than I had imagined.

Walking among it's streets, I gawked at the skyscrapers towering above the city streets, casting their shadows upon the streets, like giants standing in formation upon a godly battlefield.

Some people snickered, passing me by, with snide remarks, calling me a country bumpkin, and such. But I didn't mind. I quite liked it, this city.

Surfing the waves of people commuting to work, enjoying the world famous dollar pizza, even climbing up the empire state building.

But that wasn't why I was here.

I was here to forge a new life for me, both literally and figuratively.

And that could only happen under certain circumstances.

With Claire's father dead, she was likely to have gotten here earlier, searching for her bio-dad, and finding comfort in her uncle, Peter Petrelli.

But that was not all his death did. It gave me an alternate path to the serum, one I could pave myself.

In the original story, the Genetic Modification Formula Serum was made up of two parts - the chemical formula and the catalyst.

I had half of the formula in my hands, while the other was in Hiro's father's office, hidden away in the safe.

The catalyst, however, was up in the air.

In the show it was supposed to go to Claire, residing in her blood, but due to the timely intervention of Hiro Nakamura, it was given to him and ultimately stolen by Arther Petrelli, the big bad of the story, who then created the serum with help of Dr. Mohinder Suresh, who was in a desperate spot due to his own illicit experimentation with powers.

But now, I could change that.

If I stole the serum formula, I could make it on my own, with Claire's blood as catalyst. And for that, I needed Hiro Nakamura dead at just the right time, 4 months from now when he opens the safe, but before he goes back to the past and steals the catalyst from the much more impressionable Claire.

Now then for the final confrontation, it's ti-

"What are you doing here?" A voice called out to me from behind and I felt my body lurch from the force of someone pulling my collar.

I turned around, to see a familiar face before me.

"Agent Hansen, hey! Uh...nice to meet you..again?" I said, awkwardly, as the rage in her eyes bubbled over.

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"You! I told you stay in the vicinity. And who even are you? What was tha-"

I put a finger to her lips, stunning her, and asked.

"Coffee?" 

"What!?" She exclaimed in confusion.

"How about we talk about this over some coffee?" I said, pointing at the cafe nearby.

"Alright. But I want answers. Real ones. Or I'll cuff you right here." She warned.

"Certainly.." I replied, dragging her to the cafe.

Placing our orders, we sat by the window, as she began.

"Who are you? And don't say Jay Walker. That's a stupid alias and you know it. I'm amazed anyone fell for it. "

"You'd be surprised what people will believe when they're engaged in pleasant conversation, Agent Hansen. Humans are creatures of convenience. They'll believe whatever requires the least amount of effort from them.

Fat people like to believe they are just big boned, men like to believe they are great at sex and women like to believe that the good days will never end.

Unfortunately, none of that comes true and the wisdom of our ancestors rings hollow in their ears anyway.  That is how it was, is and will always be. No point worrying about it." I said, sidestepping her questions.

"Enough truisms! Just answer the question." Hansen, said, glaring at me, not falling for my bullshit, "Who are you? And what is your game here?"

"Fine. If you really want to know. I'll tell you, but don't say I didn't warn you.

I'm Jay Walker, Category 2 scientist and amateur time travel enthusiast.....and I'm here to save the world."

"Somehow I don't believ-" she said sarcastically when I pulled put my laser pistol, handing it to her.

"Go on. Take a shot." I said, coolly.

"With this toy? This is your proof?" She asked, unbelievably.

"That is a laser pistol. From the future. Don't believe me? Take a shot. Shoot anything." I said.

Stunned by my confidence, she hesitated.

"This is absurd! Even if I believed you, this is cafe. Where am I supposed to shoot?"

"At me." I said, flipping on the forcefield generator on my hip, "If it's just a toy nothing will come out. If it's not, well ..."

"I'm not shooting you!" She said.

"Nothing satisfies you does it? Fine." I said, picking up my coffee, "Follow me."

I led her outside and into an alley beside the cafe, gesturing at a dumpster.

"Shoot the dumpster." I said, nonchalantly.

"And what will that do?" She asked.

"Why don't you find out?" I said with a smug smile.

Irritated, she lifted the gun, aimed it at the dumpster and fired a shot.

A beam of plasma ripped from the nozzle and hit the dumpster, melting it's exterior, before a loud popping sound emerged from within, as the trash heap exploded and caught fire.

Agent Hansen, stood there watching it, mouth agape and arms limp, while I snatched the gun from her hands, tucking it back into my pants.

"Don't have many laser pistols in 2006, do you now?" I teased.

"You weren't lying?" She muttered in shock.

I clapped mockingly at her conclusion.

"That's jeopardy!"

"That's not how jeopardy works." She shot back annoyed.

"Well, I wouldn't know. We don't have jeopardy back in my time." I replied.

"Sounds like a bad time." She said, giggling.

"Nah. It's a fine place, really. Except for deadly virus that killed 95 percent of all humans of course. That was a bummer."

"Excuse me, what?!" She spat, her eyes nearly popping from her face.

"The virus. It comes out a year from now. Devastates the globe. Near extinction event for humans. That's why I came back in time. To stop it from coming out." I said, when a cafe employee came out to drop some trash and spotted the fire.

" Fire!" He screamed, before spotting us, "Stay right there! I'm calling the police!"

"Umm... Agent Hansen..." I said, as she nodded.

"I'll handle this. You need to get away. Go."

I nodded, and escaped as she pulled put her badge, stopping the employee in his tracks.

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