THE WOUNDED WORLD
A Story of Mantra
Written 2006 by Aladdin
Revision and Editing by Christopher Leeson
Posted Oct.. 22, 2020
Revised July 24, 2021
Revised July 31, 2021

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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

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CHAPTER 4

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From Internet news I learned that Gus – young August, as they called him – had gone on a destructive rampage on the evening of the 15th. It was hard to find out more. The events of that night across the face of the world were being heavily censored – not by the government, but by Big Tech -- or so said the truth-in-news people. Why international billionaires companies should want to hide the events of the Night of Terror I couldn’t guess. But I suppose there's no understanding people like that.

With my research frustrated in one direction, I switched focus and tried to find out about Gus's earlier – and equally tragic – encounter 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. I learned that August Blake, Jr. had been a normal boy until May 23. Then, inexplicably, he had suffered a spontaneous mutation, one that medical science was at a loss to explain.

Felicia Campbell, who was the wife of Bob Campbell (aka Prototype) and also a specialist in ultra-oriented medicine, was interviewed by FAUX News. The scientist thought that August Jr.'s physical changes generally followed a pattern observed in some new ultras, in which they occasionally underwent disfiguring mutations. In this instance, however, the boy had developed no observable ultra abilities.

Other authorities were passing off the youngster's claims as hallucinations stemming from trauma. The supporting testimony of his younger sister was likewise ignored. The case had swiftly passed out of the news cycle and there were no follow ups. The poor little guy! I could easily believe that events -- even those before the Night of Terror – had been bad enough to have driven Gus half out of his mind.

I checked my watch. Mother wouldn't be arriving in Frisco for hours yet and Lauren would be at school until 4:00 pm. I wasn’t sure what to do in the meantime. Gus’s condition was looming large in my mind, but Aladdin still hadn't called back to brief me on his condition.

The world had been lambasted by some mysterious force and my family had been devastated. I needed advice about what to do, but to whom could I turn? Not Aladdin. It was staffed by professional paranoids whose was to hide information, not circulate it.

What resources did the Mantra of this world have that I could draw upon? Did she and I have the same friends? My best bud was Warstrike, or – as he was called here, Strike. But he was currently a fugitive wanted for mass murder and terrorism. I had a good relationship with some other first-class ultras, including the Strangers, who operated out of San Francisco. I tried their highly-secure phone number but, as expected, it was an unknown number in this world.

Then it came to me. I did know another ultra in the Frisco area and even knew her address. Pinnacle had been the most powerful psionic I'd ever run into, and she was also a multi-discipline genius of science. Only, my memorize phone number for her failed, too.

An Internet search for "Pinnacle" brought nothing but trash listings. Well, I shouldn’t have been surprised; Pinnacle had never gone public as an ultra back on my world. It would probably be the same here. In fact, she could easily be using an entirely different code-name on this planet, like Warstrike/Strike was doing. Or, even worse, she might have become a “forgotten person,” like Contrary.

But the Pinnacle I’d known possessed a fully-equipped lab, using intermediaries and dummy companies to cover her traces. NuWare, the Big Tech company that had infused her with ultra powers, was probably still seeking her in this reality, too. They didn’t think of her as a human being, but as a company asset that they had a right to control absolutely. Penny had broken free of their mind-control and had gone to ground.

If I couldn’t phone her, I’d have to drive over to her address and see what was there.

On the other hand, Pinnacle, like a lot of other psychics, routinely formed enduring psychic links with anyone's mind once she'd read it, and Penny had read my mine more than once. That made me think that I might be able to link with her telepathically.

I braced myself and tried to initiate the psionic contact. "Penny...I need your help..." I mentally shouted, while simultaneously fixating on a thought-picture of her fashion-model face.

After several minutes, my optimism started to wane. I was not feeling her at all. But instead of accepting failure, I stubbornly persevered. Maybe it was that dogged determination 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 the communication that came through. Was Pinnacle in some sort of a spot? If she had a problem, it couldn’t be a small one, considering how individually powerful she was.

But what kind of help could I offer in my condition? Should I call the police to check on her? No. Pinnacle wouldn't appreciate a SWAT team breaking down her laboratory door and laying bare the possibly unethical experiments she might be carrying on. Pinnacle didn’t care much for following the rules and the role of a mad scientist came easy for her.

Any help I could give to my ally had to be delivered face to face. With a sense of urgency, I went to the children's’ section to fetch Evie and drove with her though the early afternoon traffic to Pinnacle's laboratory. When I stopped, I made sure that we were parked near an intersection where Evie would be able to read both names on the street signs, which were South Grand and Venice Blvd.

"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 have to check if she’s home. Watch the clock. If I don't come back in ten minutes, punch 911 on the phone. When someone answers, tell the person where you are and say that you're worried about your mom. Tell them that I’d told you to call for help if I didn't come back real soon. Okay?"

"Is somebody gonna shoot at you, Mommy?" she asked, anxious-eyed.

I gave her a hug. "I don't think so, Precious, but I need you to be my brave sidekick. Okay?"

"Okay," she said anxiously.

I felt the girl's stare like a warm spot on my back as I left the car. She was afraid for me and I had my own doubts, too. What if Pinnacle needed some heavy ultra-style help? Would I be doing her any good showing up as plain old Eden Blake?

Ready for the worst, I took off my treacherous pumps, stuffed them into my large purse, and confronted the building’s security door. Behind its glass pane I could see a camera. If Penny, or anyone else, was watching the monitor they’d 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. 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 everything was stone quiet. I opted to go upstairs to Pinnacle's living quarters.

Wary of ambush, I walked past the elevator and took the stairs. The third floor landing was empty and I advanced to 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 if I had to.

The door pivoted in. Pinnacle, at the threshold, was silhouetted against the large window across the room.

"Are you alone?" I asked in a low tone.

She shrugged. "I'm nothing else but alone. Come on in, if you're not too choosy about the company."

As she stood back, I cautiously stepped inside. The place was a housekeeping disaster, without light except for the window. There was a stale bouquet of assorted liquors in the air, gin being the most powerful. My friend's lounging outfit, I observed, looked slept-in. Her frowziness, her forlorn expression, and lack of makeup added to my sense of wrongness.

"Is it okay for me to bring Evie up?" I asked, observing Pinnacle's troubled face closely.

"Or else she'll call the law?" Pinnacle asked.

“Well, yes.” It still seemed uncanny howshe could easily mind-read, even while drunk.

Penny didn't look physically endangered, but her careless grooming, the general disorder about her, and her inebriation had me on my guard.

"You don't seem yourself, Penny. You look like you need someone to talk to."

She shook her head and went ungracefully to a 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 crystal glass.

"Want some?" she asked. "I’m down to my last bottle, but I’ll just call for another delivery. I can afford to drink myself to death in style."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Penny, you're worrying me. You're incredible in so many ways. What can have gone so wrong that you can't handle it?”

"Sure, I'm like Ludwig Von Drake, the expert on everything. I'm Indiana Jane, the world's greatest seeker after lost knowledge. That last did me in. It's not smart to uncover all the secrets of the universe. Do you know why?"

“No. Why?”

“Because you just might wish you had kept them covered!”

I tried to smile. "I’d be glad to hear about it, but I've got to let Evie know I'm all right."

“Yeah, go get her.”

I excused myself, left the room, and took the lift to street level. I didn't have much time to waste, not if I wanted to spare Pinnacle an official visit.

The little girl bounced excitedly when she saw me returning. I took her hand and led her back to Pinnacle's apartment. "This is my friend Penny," I told Evie. "She's a doctor. You two met before. Penny, do you remember Evie?"

Our hostess nodded distractedly and then swallowed the rest of her drink. Before Pinnacle could refill it, I drew her to an ottoman. "Enough of this bender already, Pen. Sit down and tell me what's eating on you?"

The psionic slumped into the pillows. Then, drawing a deep breath, she said, "Wouldn't you rather talk about your problem? Your brain has been screaming since you walked in here that you've lost your powers. I'm sorry about that, but I’m not good at fixing other people’s problems. I can’t even fix my own.”

I regarded her. "You’re reading my mind, but you haven’t seemed to pick up on the fact that I'm not the Eden you know.”

She blinked. “Then who are you?”

“I'm a person who’s popped into the wrong universe and who wants to go home.”

“Wow!” the psionic said. “No wonder I couldn't make sense of what's rattling around inside your head. You really don’t have a clue about what happened?”

“No. I lost five days from my life. It’s like I’ve time-traveled."

Pinnacle frowned. "Maybe you're just not in your right mind."

I bridled slightly. “Are you sure that you're in yours?”

“Touche,” she said with a sleepy yawn.

"Let me fix 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."

"I’ll settle for having you wide-awake, even if you're still drunk."

Just then, I heard Evie sobbing and wheeled. "Precious, what is it?"

"I-I know where I saw Dr. Penny before," she mewed.

Going to the tyke, I drew her into my arms. Pinnacle had been with us when Evie had seen her mother, Eden, murdered at the hands of Necromantra. The renewed meeting with my friend had brought back that awful memory.

As I comforted the weeping youngster, Pinnacle pushed herself up from the ottoman and crossed over to join us. "May I?" she asked. I nodded and Penny touched Evie's left temples. The latter blinked and her sobbing ceased.

I looked askance at the doctor.

"I've blocked the flow of her emotions into her memory centers," she explained. "She'll feel better while the effect lasts."

I grimaced. If the psionic ultra was able to do something like that, why was she guzzling gin instead of giving herself the same treatment?

"Because," Pinnacle said, replying to my unvoiced thought, "I’ve gone past my denial phase. I have to face the truth, and the truth stinks."

"So boozing yourself red-eyed is the cure?" I asked. "Since when?"

The blonde threw up her hands. "Look at us! We're really three basket cases, aren't we?" And then I saw her tears start to flow. 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. I had a lot of work to do before I'd have to go back to the motel and meet my mother coming in.

To sober up Penny, I had to help her get all the toxins out of her body. She also needed a good shot of self-respect. I took my hostess into the bathroom and stripped her down for a cold shower. She didn't object at first, but the cascade gave her goose pimples in seconds. Shouting, the woman tried to get out, but I held her in place. She couldn't have been too upset, though. Otherwise, as an ultra, she could have slammed me against the wall with a mind-blast.

I drew her out, her teeth chattering, and quickly patted her dry with a thick towel. Then put a larger towel around her for warmth and let her flop down on the bed while I rummaged through her dressers for fresh underwear. This I shoved them into her trembling hands. Afterwards, I assisted Pinnacle in donning a clean blouse and pantsuit.

If she was going to go out, it was absolutely necessary to bring her snarled hair into order. I did my best and, as a finishing touch, applied some makeup, which put back a little of the color she was missing. Through all this, Penny hadn't said much, but her demeanor suggested that she was grateful enough to be with someone trying to be helpful.

Once I had Pinnacle looking like a real lady doctor, I heated some instant coffee in the kitchen microwave. Penny, on the sofa, received the mug into both her hands, as if afraid she might drop it -- as she easily could have done. The effects of alcohol would be a drag on her system for the next few hours.

I left her briefly to fix Evie a snack from the refrigerator. The appliance needed a serious restock, but there still remained a little juice and some cheese and crackers.

Behind me, Penny resumed talking. "I suppose you want to get your lost magic back.”

“Yes? Do you have any ideas?”

“Where were did you last put them?”

"Very funny. By the way, when were you and the Mantra of this world last together?"

She blinked thoughtfully. "In January, after Lukasz and Eden came back from the Godwheel.” Pinnacle paused. “Are you absolutely sure that you're not the same person I know? You talk and act a lot like her!"

"Not so loud,” I said, casting a backward glance toward Evie. “From what you’re saying, your past history here sounds like the one that I know.”

Pinnacle frowned. “Why are you so convinced that you're not from this planet?”

“The history here is different. How much do you know about alternate dimensions?"

"I haven't had any reason to study them. Do you often slip into other realities?"

"Happily, no. The last time was last month.”

The blonde eyed me carefully. "Yes, I can see that in your mind. Did you steal somebody else's body there, too?"

"No, I didn't. I went over to that plane physically. I don't know why it’s different this time.”

“What sort of world was it?”

I shook my head. “It was a gut-wrencher. I met Eden Blake; she's still alive there, still married, and has a happy family. When I realized my being there could only cause her problems, I went home as soon as I could figure out how to do that.”

“Couldn’t you do that again, here?”

“No, I’d need Mantra powers to bring it off.”

“Of course. Sorry.”

I checked the clock. "Around six I'll have to meet with my – with Eden's – mother. You'd better come with us.”

“Why?”

“For your own safety. A little while ago you seemed suicidal."

Pinnacle 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. If she realizes that you’re falling-down drunk, she'll start nagging me about my terrible choice in shrinks."

"And your mother agrees that you need a 'shrink' because you've lost your memory, right?"

"Right. That’s the cover story I gave her this morning. But Barbara’s thought that that I've been off my rocker since last year. I didn’t want to tell her that I’m a totally different person living inside her dead daughter’s body. As things stand, she'll be glad to have me checked out.”

"Mothers are wonderful."

"Yeah! They are!" Evie piped in.

Pinnacle smiled. "It looks like you've made a big hit with at least one member of your family, Lu."

I shook my head. "Not me. I only just got here. By the way, when you meet my Mom, what name are you going to give her?”

"Lammars. Penelope Lammars," the doctor replied.

"Is that for real?"

"Not by a long shot. The last name comes from a movie character I like."

"I guess you'd need to use a false name with Nu-Ware still looking for you."

"Who ever said that I had a real name?"

"Is this something we ought to be discussing in front of Evie?"

Pinnacle glanced away. "I wish I didn't have to discuss it at all. But I'll explode if I don'’t talk to somebody.”

“I'm listening."

“Not yet,” she said. “It's complex, it’s crazy, and I’m way, way too fuzzy-mined. I wouldn't want to make you run away from me screaming."

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

"Well, I feel like screaming. I’d also like to get some rest before we have to go. You can put a DVD on for Evie. I've got a few titles that she’d probably like.”

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 5