Power Struggle

Chapter 4
The Transition

Chapter Description: Frank finds himself in a hospital bed, but has no memory of how he got there.

Frank stirred. He could hear the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor. A hand clasped his shoulder as he bolted upright, “You are in St. Anthony’s Hospital, you are safe.” a female voice reassured him.

As he lowered his head back to the pillow, Frank massaged his temples. “How long have I been here?”

“You have been under our care for a couple of days,” the nurse replied, “Your vitals are stable and it looks like you’re going to make a full recovery.”

Frank breathed a sigh of relief, “Whatever happened to the Twilight Terror?”

“Excuse me?” the nurse gave a quizzical look.

“Twilight Terror...the villain the force was assisting Majestic Light in capturing?”

The nurse gave a concerned look, “Majestic Light retired years ago. Our records don’t indicate you’re on the force…”

“Oh, thank god you’re alright,” Frank did not recognize the blonde woman who stepped in front of the nurse, “I’ve been worried.”

“This is your cousin, Samantha, she’s the one who brought you in after the accident.”

“Accident?”

“You were in a hit and run,” the nurse replied, “Samantha found you and was able to get you the help you needed before it was too late.”

Frank was even more confused. They had been chasing a villain, but he’d been shot…

“I’ll let you and your cousin figure out the details. Can I see you outside for a minute?” the nurse turned to Samantha.

Frank watched Samantha and the nurse walk outside and exchange words, Samantha reentered shortly.

“Well, the good news is that the damage isn’t permanent, but I’d imagine you’re pretty eager to get home.”

“What happened, really?” Frank looked into her blue eyes.

Samantha lowered her voice, “The doctors think you might have sustained amnesia from the accident. You’ve recently been evicted from your apartment, so you can just stay with me while you get everything figured out.”

The nurse returned with a wheelchair, “Samantha, if you’ll just wait outside while Frank gets dressed…”

Samantha nodded. She grabbed an infant’s car seat on her way out.

After exchanging a hospital gown for a new set of clothes, Frank was helped into the wheelchair. “I’m pretty confident that I could walk out by myself,” he remarked.

“It’s just standard procedure,” the nurse explained as she wheeled Frank out the room. “I hear you’re looking for work...we could always use more hands here if you’re interested.”

Frank wanted to explain that he was already a police officer, but held his peace. The nurse and Samantha chatted about her son, Carter, as they continued to the entrance, where Frank signed his discharge form. Samantha brought her car around and Frank got into the passenger side front seat.

“That job at the hospital sounds promising,” Samantha broke the silence as they exited the parking lot, “Hospitals pay pretty well too.”

Frank shook his head, “Look lady-”

“Sam,” she corrected him.

“Sam...I don’t know you. I don’t know who you are and I’d like to get back to my own apartment-”

“Sure,” Sam replied, “just give me the address.”

As Frank recited the address, Sam entered it into her phone, which Frank stared at, dumbfounded.

“What is that?”

“My phone?” Sam asked, “I couldn’t tell you what brand it is, I’m really not a tech person…”

As they pulled up to a shopping block, Sam’s car came to a stop. “This is it,” she said, “I don’t think you’d want to get out here, but it’s up to you.”

Frank stared, bewildered, his whole apartment complex was gone!

The car changed direction as Sam continued to her apartment, “You can stay with me for a while, it’ll just be temporary, of course, but you can stay as long as you need.”

Frank sat in silence as Sam pulled into her apartment complex. Nothing made sense. He’d just been on a raid to catch a notorious villain the other day, but now it felt as though nothing was as he’d remembered. Sam parked the car.

“It’s not a big apartment, but you can have the couch. My boyfriend and I broke up a few months ago, so it’ll at least be quiet for once, assuming this little guy stays asleep.” Sam retrieved the sleeping Carter from the back seat.

Frank followed Sam into her apartment. “I know we’ll need to go shopping later on to get you some clothes, but if you want to chill out and watch some TV, electronics are truly the current opiate of the masses,” she grabbed a remote control and turned on the widescreen in the living room. Any requests?”

“Turn on the news,” Frank replied, “Maybe there will be mention of the raid…” As Sam changed to a news channel Frank noticed the day and time on the television screen. “It isn’t really 2022, is it?” Frank breathed.

“Yes, it is,” Sam replied, “What year did you think it was?”

“1988?” Frank asked quizzically, “How long was I out from the raid? I took a bullet, that was it.”

“Frank, it’s 2022, you got hit by a car a few days ago. Do you not remember any of that?”

“No...this is all wrong,” Frank replied. He looked at himself in the mirror as his 23 year old face looked back. “If it’s 2022, then I’m supposed to be 57.”

“Well, I think maybe the accident might have done some lasting damage...when we were kids you often talked about becoming a police officer, but that’s not what you ended up doing.”

“I don’t remember you, Sam,” Frank blurted, “It feels like I’m a foreigner talking to a stranger.”

Carter began to stir, prompting Sam to scoop him up from his car seat. “Give me a few minutes to take care of Carter and we can chat, here’s the remote, watch whatever you want.” Frank watched as Sam disappeared into the nursery, cooing and placating Carter as she went.

The news was depressing, apparently some local hero named Gusto had gone missing, but he wasn’t the only one. A lot of heroes were missing. Apparently the force was going to call in some bigshot named The Black Rose to help investigate the disappearances, but the news team was skeptic as to whether he’d be able to crack the case.

Sam returned holding Carter in one arm and a bottle in her free hand, “Who’s gone missing this time?” she asked.

“Gusto...whoever that is, also The Black Rose is going to help lead the investigation...I don’t know who any of these people are!” Frank exclaimed.

“Sh, shh!!!” Sam jiggled Carter, trying to get him to calm down, “He doesn’t handle noise very well, if you can avoid that in the future.”

“Who’s the father?” Frank changed the subject, “Is he around?”

“We broke up,” Sam replied, “we’re getting by. I do have a side hustle or two...”

Frank couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It felt like the world had gone to shit in the last 30 years. “I need a few minutes,” Frank breathed. After Sam disappeared into the nursery again, Frank spread out on the couch and closed his eyes.

***

When Frank’s eyes opened, he found himself in a dimly lit room. “Mmm!!!” he tried to speak through his gag.

“Looks like he’s awake,” a sneering, scratchy voice announced. “What did you say his power was?”

“It’s a phasing ability,” a female voice answered, “he can shift planes at will and pull people and objects in with him. His regression may have impacted his current capabilities.”

“Interesting…” Frank squinted and could barely make out a big figure circling him, “how does this contribute to our cause?”

“He’d be good for stealth missions, I believe with his help we can topple the Hero Industry and reform society.”

“Is he sympathetic towards our cause?”

“The older version of him seemed like he could have been, but I did erase 34 years of his life, so he may be a risk. As expected, he still thinks he’s on the police force, even though he’s been dishonorably discharged 32 years ago for using his power on duty in public space.”

“I see...so he’s at odds with the system…”

“He doesn’t think so.”

“When will he remember?”

“That’s not how my power works,” the female voice answered, “from his current perspective it never happened. Present Frank has been permanently deleted. Past Frank is the only Frank reality recognizes.”

“Then why regress him?”

The female voice laughed, “Entrust missions to a 57 year old? The man was almost old enough to retire.”

“Do you feel like 34 years might have been too far?”

“Might not have been far enough, but I’ve already got one kid on my plate and don’t need a moody teen.”

“Ah, yes, I’ve been meaning to ask about that. The deal was that I get the heroes and they’re raised at my facility. Are your goals still in line with our organization?”

“My child wasn’t a hero,” she replied, “he was just an abandoned child that I rescued, which I should be able to do, and even if you have objections to that, it’s weird that I keep baby supplies in my residence when I don’t even have kids.”

“I hear Gusto’s gone missing…”

“As if I’d be a match for Gusto-”

“MMMMmmmm!!!!” Frank started struggling.

The dark outlines turned toward Frank, “We’ll table that discussion,” he looked at Frank, “how about it, will you join us?”

The female put her hand on the man’s shoulder and shook her head, “He needs more time.”

“Very well,” Frank watched as the man produced a small object and winced as a needle penetrated his arm, “another time.”

Frank bolted upright. He was on the couch where he had fallen asleep and noticed Sam had been kind enough to leave him a blanket.  Had it been a dream? After checking his 360 and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Frank drifted back to sleep.

***

“Morning sleepy-head.” A cheery, energetic voice greeted Frank with a strong aroma of coffee. “Sleep well?”

Frank grunted, reaching out for the coffee. Of course it had been a dream. He took a sip, “Mmm, thanks.”

“I have to go into work today, but here’s my number and you can call if you need anything,” she handed him a piece of paper and a laptop, “be sure to look for work and an apartment, and I’ll see you this evening.” Sam carried Carter with her on her way out.

Heaving a sigh, Frank opened the laptop and used the login Sam provided. It was going to be a long day.