The Wounded World, a story of Mantra, Chapter 4

By Aladdin 

Edited by Christopher Leeson

Originally written 2006

Revised and posted Dec. 22, 2018

PINNACLE 

And thine is a face of sweet love in despair

And thine is a face of mild sorrow and care

And thine is a face of wild terror and fear

That shall never be quiet till laid on its bier.

William Blake

Going from Internet link to Internet link, I learned that Gus – young August, as they called him – had gone on a destructive rampage on the 15th, which was only cut short by the sudden arrival of an unknown ultra creature. This entity was described as a female-appearing humanoid protected by armor and possessing a tail. The two aberrations fought like Godzilla and King Kong, until both were knocked flat. A special police unit belatedly burst in and August Blake was taken into custody. The police unit and its insignias could not be identified by observers.
 
That was about all I could find out about the Night of Terror, even though there were hints that it had affected the whole world. Some of the alt-right sites were complaining about a multi-government clamp-down on information.
 
Switching my focus, I searched for references to Gus's earlier – and equally tragic – encounter, the one with the so-called fairies. A keyword search for “August Blake,” “Canoga Park,” and “fairies” drew in a scattering of stories – most of them frustratingly brief. They were mainly located on “strange world” websites. The August Blake Jr. it described had been a normal boy, a boy very much like the one I remembered, until May 23. Then, inexplicably, he had suffered a spontaneous mutation, one that medical science found itself at a loss to explain.
 
Felicia Campbell, the wife of Prototype and a noted specialist in ultra-oriented medicine, was interviewed about the case on FLOX News, a corporate network, but the best of a bad lot. According to reports, the scientist said, August Jr.'s physical changes generally followed a pattern observed in extreme ultra transformations, those involving disfiguring mutations. This time, however, no observable ultra abilities had developed in the boy. 

The only other useful information I could glean was that the boy's claim to have been captured by fairies was being passed off as merely a fantasy of his trauma. Moreover, the supporting assertions by his younger sister were similarly ignored. With annoying quickness, I could see, Gus's problem passed out of the news, and the devastated child was left to a miserable and reclusive existence in the family home.
 
The poor little guy! I could easily believe that events -- even before the Night of Terror -- had left him half out of his mind. Nothing more useful was recorded concerning the tailed creature in armor, though I was willing to believe that what Evie had told me was true. As for the the "special police unit" mentioned, Evie's testimony had likewise convinced me that it had been Aladdin. Like a bad penny, it kept turning up wherever there was trouble -- and almost always managed to make the trouble worse.
 
Then I had to imagine what it had been like for the local Mantra. Everything taken together must have been hideous for her. I, fortunately, hadn't seen these things happen, but just learning about them was choking me up worse than anything I had experienced since the mid-fifth century!
 
Glancing at my watch, I saw it was a little after noon. Mother wouldn't be arriving in Frisco for another six hours and Lauren would be out of touch for almost that long. I continued to worry about Gus, but since Aladdin hadn't called back, I supposed that he was still sleeping. Frustrated, I tried to make sense of all these disparate bits. Though I could tell myself that this wasn't my world to worry about, I had to do the best I could for both of the Blake kids. But what, really, could I do?
 
I needed advice, and not just the ordinary kind. But to whom could I turn? Aladdin probably knew a lot, but it was staffed by professional paranoids whose business had always been to hide information, not to circulate it. If I were caught tapping into their data bases without authorization, I could disappear and never be seen again.
 
Taken all together, the situation was making me antsy. I needed to do something positive and do it immediately. Did the Mantra of this world have ultra allies whom she could call on? Was there anyone of them that I could locate? Not Warstrike or – as he was called here, Strike. He was currently in hiding as a fugitive. The Strangers were, apparently, still in San Francisco, but government hostility and the vengeance-mentality of organized crime had made most of the ultras do their best to make themselves undetectable. Finding what amounted to missing persons would take a long time.
 
Wait a minute! I did know an ultra in this city, and I also knew her address. Or, at least, I knew the address that she had used on my home planet.
Pinnacle had been the most powerful psionic I'd ever run into. She had told me little about herself, but I knew she had been worked on by the bio-tech company, NuWare, to endow her with abilities. One of the company's biggest money-making schemes was inducing ultra powers into ordinary people – for high fees, of course. When NuWare got done with her, she had been able to give a supercomputer a run for its money.
 
What made my and Pinnacle's friendship harder than it should have been was that from the start she liked me in a way that I didn't want to be liked. Her beauty should have made that palatable for me, but that degree of kinkiness had instead made me uncomfortable.
 


Now, as things stood, any such issue had become secondary. She was my best bet for finding out what had happened to me, and to the rest of the world. I had to find her, but an Internet search for "Pinnacle" brought up hundreds of trash listings that had absolutely nothing to do with the woman I was looking for. That was probably because“Pinnacle” had never gone public as an ultra; there had been no mention of her in The Ultramate Source. In fact, she could easily be using another codename, like Warstrike/Strike. Or, even worse, she might have become a “missing person,” like Contrary had.
 
But Pinnacle had, I knew, built up a fully-equipped lab, using intermediaries and dummy companies to cover her traces, while paying her way through the use of her abilities, such as breaking the banks of Las Vegas casinos. J.D. Hunt, meanwhile, was seeking to find her, determined to reassert his control over his pet, something that Penny wanted no part of. 

I still remembered the lab's address. I could only hope that Pinnacle would be found there in this world. I needed to make a drive across the sprawling city and check the place out.
 
Or did I?
 


Pinnacle, I belatedly realized, could form enduring psychic links with anyone whose mind she had read, and she certainly had read mine more than once. A brain like hers could pick up a telepathic shout directed her way. Was there a Pinnacle on this world, and had she made contact with its Mantra? If so, had the imprint she had made on Mantra work for me now? I had her body and her physical brain, after all.
 
Resolved to try, I braced myself on the library chair and tried to initiate the contact. "Penny...I need your help..." I mentally shouted, while simultaneously fixating on an image of her fashion-model face in my mind's eye.
 
After several minutes, my optimism started to wane. I'm not good at meditation and it wasn't long before it was making me feel like a burned out matchstick. But instead of accepting failure, I grew even more driven and determined. Maybe it was this never-say-die push that finally put my call through.
 
"Lukasz," spoke a ghost in my mind.
 
“Penny!” I psychically exclaimed. “I need your help!” 

"And I need yours,” the voice answered.
 
“What, Pinnacle?”
 
"You can save my life." 
 

#

That was all I could get. I didn't know what was going on, but if Pinnacle was in a spot, it had to be a lulu, considering how powerful she was. The surest way to help her in time would have been for me to phone the police about my concerns. But I didn't dare. Pinnacle wouldn't appreciate a SWAT team breaking down her laboratory door and discovering whatever questionable experiments she was conducting. Pinnacle acted like a mad scientist lots of times.
 
If I were to help her, I needed to do it face to face. Leaving my seat at the terminal, I went to fetch Evie. Once I had the tyke buckled into our car's safety seat, I drove though the early afternoon traffic to Pinnacle's address. When I stopped, I made sure that we parked at a vantage point from which Evie would be able to read both names on the street signs, Johnson and Rowe.
 
"Pumpkin," I said, handing Evie my cell phone, "there's a doctor in that building who might be able to fix Gus and me. But I think she could be in trouble and in need our help. Watch the clock. If I don't come back in ten minutes, punch 911 on the phone. When someone answers, tell the person exactly where you are and say that you're worried about your mom. Say that I told you to call if I didn't come back. Okay?"
 
"Is somebody gonna shoot at you, Mommy?" she asked, her eyes large and anxious.
 
I gave my daughter's doppelganger a hug. "I don't think so, Precious, but you have to be ready to help me, just in case. I need you to be my brave sidekick. Okay?"
 
"Okay," she said with a nervous swallow.
 
I felt the girl's hot stare on my back as I left the car. She was afraid for me. I had my own doubts, too. What if Pinnacle had sent out her plea expecting Mantra to come ghosting in through a solid wall, impervious to bludgeons and bullets? Would it do her any good to have plain old Eden Blake rapping-tapping at her chamber door?
 
Ready for the worst, I took off my treacherous pumps, stuffed them into my large purse, and stepped into the building. The front door opened into an entryway. I tried the inner door and found it locked. Beyond its glass pane was mounted a security camera. If Penny, or any enemies who might be holding her prisoner, were watching the monitor they would know that I was here. I pushed the intercom buzzer with resignation.
 
"Penny, are you in there?" I spoke into the grid.
After a tense silence, the door buzzed, releasing the mechanism. I thought about asking the speaker box whether everything was all right, but what would be the use? If Penny was under coercion, she couldn't answer truthfully. Short of receiving a new telepathic message to warn me off, I didn't seem to have any choice except to go inside.
 
The front hall looked deserted. Several doors opened off it, but they were all closed. I'd have felt a tad more reassured had there been a few of Penny's lab assistants milling about. I opted to go upstairs to Pinnacle's living quarters.
 
But how to make the approach? Experience has taught me to avoid elevators in dangerous situations; they render an encapsulated person too vulnerable to ambush. I instead took the stairs to the third floor, reaching Penny's apartment door without mishap. It had a push-button doorbell and this I jabbed with my thumb. Then I waited, primed to dodge back to the stairwell if I had to. 
 
The door pivoted in. Pinnacle, at the threshold, was a silhouette against the day-lighted window behind her.
 
"Are you alone?" I asked softly, at the same time stealing a glance through the door crack, just in case.
She shrugged. "I'm nothing else but alone. Come on in, if you're not too choosy about the company."
 
She stood back and I cautiously advanced into the living room. The place was messy and meagerly lighted, except for the the light entering from outside.
 
"Is it okay for me to bring Evie up?" I asked, watching Pinnacle's face closely. My friend's blouse, I observed, was untucked and her whole outfit needed freshening. Her blond hair was frowzy, her expression forlorn, and she wore no makeup. Adding to this disheveled impression was the stale bouquet of assorted liquors in the air, the scent of gin being the strongest.
 
Penny didn't look physically endangered, but her careless grooming, negligent housekeeping, and inebriation told me that something had thrown her into a demoralized funk.
 
"You don't look yourself, Penny. I'm glad you asked me over; you look like you need someone to talk to."
She shook her head and went ungracefully to the liquor cabinet.
 
I stepped up behind her. "What's the problem? Is someone threatening you?" I asked. She still made no reply, but poured a good measure of Holland gin into a pricey-looking piece of crystal.
 
"Want some?" she asked. "I can always call for another delivery. I can afford to drink myself to death on the best."
 
I put a hand on her shoulder; she reacted by bringing her head up. "Penny, you're worrying me. You're a specialist on every science I know, including psychology. What can be wrong that you can't handle it?”
 
She paused the vessel before her bow-shaped lips. "Sure, I'm like Ludwig Von Drake, the expert on everything. I'm Indiana Jane, the world's greatest seeker after lost knowledge. Well, I found out that it's not smart to look for all the secrets of the universe. And do you know why?"
 
“No. Why?”
 
“Because you just might find them!”
 
I tried to smile. "I want to hear about everything, but Evie's down in the car. I can't leave her there for more than ten minutes or else --"
 
"Or she'll call the law," Pinnacle interrupted with a nod.
 
It still seemed uncanny how she could do that, especially when drunk. Here, at least, was one ultra who hadn't suffered the loss of her powers. I excused myself, left the room, and took the lift to street level. I didn't have much time to waste. For the police to come asking questions would not serve any good purpose, since I'd ascertained that Pinnacle wasn't in the clutch of her enemies.
 
The little girl bounced excitedly when she saw me returning. I soon had her beside me in Pinnacle's apartment. "This is my friend Penny," I told Evie. "She's the doctor I told you about. You two met before -- I think. Penny, you remember Evie. You never forget anything."

Our hostess gave the youngster a distracted nod and then finished her glass. Rather than permit Pinnacle to refill it, I drew her to an ottoman. "You're too smart to drink yourself into oblivion, Pen. Sit down and tell me what's eating on you?"
 
The psionic slumped into the pillows at the head of her couch. She was silent for a moment, but then, drawing in a deep breath, said, "Wouldn't you rather talk about your problem? Mind-reading and gin don't go together so well. Your thoughts are coming to me all garbled. One thing that you're brain is fairly screaming my way is that you've lost your powers. I'm sorry. I wish I was in better shape to find you a fix."
 
I said, keeping my voice low. "Before we go any farther, I'm not the Eden you know. I'm in the wrong universe; I got dumped here by some means I don't understand.”
 
“Wow!” the psionic said. “No wonder I couldn't make sense of all that's rattling around inside your head. Don't you have a clue what happened?”
 
“No. I lost five days from my life."
 
Pinnacle frowned. "How can I be sure you're in your right mind?"
 
I bridled slightly. “Are you sure you're in yours?”
 
“Touche,” she said with a sigh. Her eyelids were looking very heavy.
 
"Let me fix you some black coffee while you gather your thoughts," I suggested.
 
Pinnacle shook her head. "Caffeine just turns a sleepy drink into a wide-awake drunk."
 
"If I have a say, I want you wide-awake."
 
Just then, I heard Evie sobbing.
 
I wheeled. "Precious, what is it?"
 
"I-I just remembered where I saw Dr. Penny before," she mewed tearfully.
 
I went to her and drew her into my arms. What a fool I'd been! Pinnacle had been with us when Evie saw her mother, Eden, murdered at the hands of Necromantra. The mere sight of my friend was sure to bring that awful memory back.
 
As I comforted the youngster, Pinnacle pushed herself up from the ottoman and joined us. "May I?" she asked and then touched Evie's left temple with her fingertips. The latter blinked and her sobbing ceased.
 
I looked at Penny with askance.
 
"I've blocked the flow of her emotions into her memory centers," she explained. "She'll feel better as long as the effect lasts."
 
I frowned incredulously. If the psionic ultra could do that, why was she guzzling gin instead of giving herself the same treatment?

"Because," Pinnacle said, replying to my unvoiced thought, "my denial phase has gone bye-bye. I have to face the truth, no matter how painful. And the truth stinks."
 
"So boozing yourself red-eyed is better than fooling yourself?" I asked. "Since when?"
 
The physician threw up her hands. "We're really three basket cases, aren't we?" And then I saw her eyes starting to flood with tear. At the same time, however, Evie's own were starting to dry.

# 

Bringing Pinnacle out of her funk was going to be a major undertaking. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time before Mother was due in.
 
While I was there, I had to help Penny.  She needed to get the toxin out of her body, and she needed to regain her self-respect. I took my friend into the bathroom and stripped her down for a cold shower. She didn't object until the cascade I released covered her over with goose pimples. She made a lot of noise, but couldn't have been all that upset. Otherwise she could have slammed me against the wall with a mind-blast.
 
I drew her out rather soon and patted her dry with a thick towel. Her teeth were chattering, so I wrapped her in another, larger, towel for warmth. Then, rummaging through her dressers, I found some fresh underwear and shoved it into her trembling hands. Finally, I helped Pinnacle don a clean blouse and pantsuit. 

On to the next task. Making anything out of her hair took effort, so snarled had it become. As a finishing touch, I applied a minimal application of makeup to her face, which put back a little of the color she was missing. Through this, Penny hadn't said much, but her patient display suggested that she was grateful to be with someone who cared enough to help.
 
Once I had Pinnacle looking something like a lady doctor, I heated some instant coffee in the kitchen microwave. Penny received into both hands, as if afraid she might drop it -- as well she could have. Alcohol would be dragging down her system for the next few hours.
 
I left her briefly to fix Evie a snack from our hostess' refrigerator. The contents were depleted, but there remained a little juice and some cheese and crackers.
 
Behind me, Penny started talking again. "I suppose you want your lost magic back.”
 
“Yes? Do you have any ideas?”
 
“What do I know about magic? If I were you, I'd search under the couch pillows"
 
"Very funny," I tossed back. "By the way, when was the last time you were with the Mantra of this world?"
 
She blinked thoughtfully. "Last winter, after Lukasz and Eden came back from the Godwheel.” Pinnacle paused. “Are you absolutely sure you're not the person I know? You talk and act a lot like her!"
 
"Not so loud,” I said, casting a glance toward Evie.
Pinnacle, nodded. “Sorry. But why are you so convinced that you're not from this planet?”
 
“The history here is different. What do you know about alternate dimensions?"
 
"I haven't studied them much. Do you often slip into other realities?"
 
"Happily, no. It happened accidentally last April. I got into a world where I – Lukasz – never became Mantra.”
 
The blonde frowned. "Did you steal somebody else's body there, like you say you've done here?"
 
"No, I didn't. I went in with my own body. I don't know what's different this time.”
 
“What sort of place was it?”
 
“I met Eden Blake; she's still married and living in her own home. In that world I never became her. I also met the Lukasz of that world. He'd been sent by Archimage into the body of a psychotic criminal. I had to kill him."
 
“How did you feel about doing that?”
 
“Like it was a job well done.” Despite my flippancy, it was a memory that still bothered me and I changed the subject. "At six I'll have to meet with my – with Eden's – mother back at our motel. You'd better come with us.”
 
“Why?”
 
“For your own safety. You honestly looked suicidal a little while ago."

Pinnacle just shrugged.  I took that to mean that she was willing to go along with my suggestion.

"Just be careful not to say too much when I introduce you to Barbara. You're not stone-cold sober and if you start talking unguardedly she'll know it.  She'll start nagging me about my terrible choice of shrinks."
 
"But your mother is all right with you seeing a 'shrink' because you've lost your memory? That's only a cover story, right?"
 
"Right.  The problem with Barbara is that she's been convinced that I've been off my rocker since last year. She'll use any excuse to get me checked out. I can't blame her.”
 
"Mothers are wonderful."
 
"Yeah! They are!" Evie piped in, having just come up from behind me.
 
Pinnacle smiled slyly. "It looks like you've made a big hit with somebody, Lu."
 
I shook my head. "It was the other Mantra who carried that off. By the way, when you meet my Mom, what name to you want me to give her?"

"Lammars. Penelope Lammars," the doctor replied.
"Is that for real?"
 
"Not by a long shot. I picked a last name out of a novel I liked."
 
"I guess you couldn't use your real handle, not with J.D. Hunt still looking for you."
 
"Who says I ever had a real name?"
 
"Is this something we can discuss in front of Evie?"
 
Pinnacle glanced away. "I wish I didn't have to discuss it with anyone at all. But I'm going to explode if I don''t. It's not like I dare to carry a bomb like the one inside my skull to a psychiatrist."
 
“I'm listening." 

“Not yet,” she said. “It's complex and I don't want to say it wrong. I especially don't want you to run away screaming."


"It's not easy to make me scream," I assured her.

"Let's just say I need a rest. Put a DVD on for Evie. I've got some good ones.”


TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 5