What If? Ch. 03

Escaping from the clutches of a Parallel security force with her duplicate in tow, Mariah flees to relative safety, trying desperately to get back to her world before everything comes crashing down around her slim shoulders.

...

"She took the first test, as she told us she would, and returned from it. The second test she took, she did not survive. Mariah died experimenting with the portal. Her body is in a state of constant flux now, she is trapped in what is known as a Causal loop and the only way to break free, is for her to make a change in her own timeline to interrupt the Moment where she caused the initial break. Nobody else can effect her timeline, so there is no way for her to break free."

"The portal developed is now in use in labs around the world as it allows us to experiment with temporal energy and wavicles in a way never before imagined. As a Time Travel device, it is a bust. You can only use it to effect your own timeline, and only effect your timeline in such a way that does not change anything that has become fixed in your timestream. Otherwise, you get stuck in the same Causal loop as Mariah did."

"So Mariah Douglas is not actually dead then?" Came the question from one of the students.

Doctor Scott sighed. "No, her body is frozen in a kind of stasis – radiating Cerenkov radiation and at a stable temperature of -198 centigrade. She has been this way for more than ten years now, and we have no way of effecting her timeline to break the loop."

...

Kitty was laid on a small bed to sleep off the medicine as Mariah, Trisha and Ian took delivery of the three truckloads of parts that JJ had arranged for them. The warehouse was full of large boxes and a few pallets of equipment that would soon become a replacement cannon to get Mariah home, with a passenger.

Mariah helped as much as possible, with Trisha keeping an eye on their sleeping patient while Ian began to assemble the components. The Cyclotrons he had gotten were not anywhere near as strong as the ones back home, but with the added enhancements Mariah knew how to do, they could still generate the cascade to make this work.

She was busy filling up the plastic torus with deionized water as he unpacked and rolled each cyclotron into position, hooking each one up to power and running it through some self-tests to ensure it was ready. They had fourteen cyclotrons, but only needed twelve to make this work. The other two were spares.

By the time she had filled the torus with water and had carefully hauled it into position, held in place by steel struts to hold it in the air at the required height, all twelve cyclotrons were active and in standby.

The final part was to wrap the silver conductive mesh around the torus, which would take hours of carefully weaving the thin silver wire around the entire mesh, and then setting up the computer to process the Cyclotron pulses into the correct pattern to make the Cerenkov flash a reality and generate the portal.

Ian brought them all some dinner once the sun set, and then he and Trisha vanished for about a half-hour as Mariah began to slowly bring up the ancient computer and begin programming it with the required sequence. She knew that he was off fucking Trisha, possibly being quite rough with her, and Mariah felt the same need to be taken and used. Now was not the time though, she had to finish this so she could get home. From what Ian had said, it would take less than a day for FedSec to figure out what had happened and then track the shipments down.

She looked up as Trisha came back into her field of vision, walking slightly wobbly, with a satisfied smile on her face, then began to work on the final calibrations of the computer alongside Mariah. Ian came in a few minutes later, carrying the wetsuit and a length of silver piping that would have to be sewn onto it so that Kitty could survive transit without adverse effects.

She sat down with the wetsuit, bolt of nylon thread, and the silver piping, then began to work, carefully sewing the matrix onto the suit as she watched her duplicate sleep.

...

Kitty woke up with a start, and sat up. She was on a small cot, in a large dark area, lit only by some dim lights. There was some sort of big machine close to her,but this was not FedSec. She was naked, bandaged up where FedSec had cut her, and she was not hurting anywhere nearly as much as she remembered.

She got to her feet, mindful of the other her sitting on a chair not too far away, fast asleep. Nearby were two other people, a naked dark woman and a clothed white man, sleeping in each others' arms. She didn't know them. Kitty had to get home.

She looked around and then grabbed a trench coat which she slipped over her shoulders and tied closed, to hide her nudity. She made her way quietly to the door, but was stopped by her own voice.

"Where are you going, Kitty?"

She turned to see her duplicate standing a few feet away, as quiet towards her as she had been to them.

"I have to get back to JJ, and my children." She said.

Her duplicate shook her head. "JJ is gone, Kitty. He helped us to get you out of the FedSec building, but to do so he had to make a big distraction. He made sure your children are safe, they will grow up with Miss Lorena. You remember her?"

Kitty nodded, feeling the weight of the world settling on her shoulders, which began to slump.

"They will be safe, nothing directly links Lorena to JJ. So FedSec will not find them. JJ is gone, Kitty. He is dead. He gave his life so I could save you. You need to be here so we can get out of here and keep you safe." Mariah explained as she walked forward and took Kitty into her arms as her duplicate began to cry.

...

Kitty stood with Trisha as both Mariah and Ian finished calibrations on a power train that was cobbled together in an effort to supply enough voltage to fuel everything. He pulled a switch down and the twelve big machines began to pulse and glow as they began to howl with the sound of massive fans blowing air. After she had recovered from the shock of the news, she had taken over the task of sewing the silver piping onto the bodysuit, doing a much better job than Mariah had done. Years of living with JJ had taught her sewing as a means of putting torn clothing back together, and Kitty was a good seamstress.

She was now dressed in that bodysuit, just like Mariah was. Kitty's was more sky blue where Mariah's was purple, but as she had been explained to, this suit would allow her to survive the trip. Whatever the trip was. She had no real idea what was going on, but she slipped back into basic obedience training from years of being chattel. She did as she was told, submissiveness was part of the natural thought process whipped into her by years of subjugation, and she had little in the way of free will.

"One hundred thousand." Ian reported, Mariah made adjustments and the twelve units began to pulse faster.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Ian asked.

"Same building, same location. One cannon brought me here, another cannon can bring us back." Mariah replied, then checked the readouts. "Cascade is beginning, step back to green, everybody."

She and Ian stepped back where Kitty and Trisha stood behind the green taped line as the cyclotrons opened up to begin load balancing and pouring energy into the central torus.

The roar began to build as the Cyclotrons peaked at five MeV, then the cascade began to radiate muons and quarks and the energy level began to build onto itself.

"Twenty MeV and climbing." Ian said, amazed at the glowing column of blue light that should not be visible but was very much real and growing brighter in the middle of the torus.

"Fifty MeV. Get ready for transit." Mariah said and took Kitty's hand.

"Seventy-five MeV." Ian reported, then got both girls to sit on a wheeled dolly platform that would roll into the interface and through the portal as it hit a hundred MeV. They would only have one shot at this. The Cyclotrons were all showing red line strain already.

"Eighty MeV." He said, a loud noise made them all turn as the doors were pulled open and a whole squad of FedSec officers marched into the room. Ian stood in front of the girls on the dolly, Trisha behind him, kneeling down and ready to push as soon as the mark hit 95.

"Shut it down, Professor." The lead officer ordered.

"It will destroy this entire building if we just cut the power, Captain." Ian said. Mariah noted that he slipped a small pill under his tongue before turning to face the security detail as the counter hit 90

"Then cycle it back off. This experiment is over." Came the order as the detail fanned out, weapons drawn.

"Trust me, Captain. You will want to see this through. This is remarkable." Ian said as he walked over to the officer. He then fell to the ground, stunned by the butt of the Captain's pistol as he was struck to the floor. Trisha yelled and pushed the dolly, propelling both girls through the one safe passage into the interface. As they wheeled away from her, Mariah covered Kitty's eyes as Trisha's face and torso erupted in blood from the bullets fired, she also noticed that Ian was foaming at the mouth, then there was an almighty flash of blue light.

...

Professor Emiratus Ian Scott sat in his chair, watching the news but not paying much attention, it was a tiring day. Fifteen years today she had vanished from his life, to leave behind a statue of herself that was not possible, and yet, there it was, still in his living room, a living sculpture of a woman he loved, who had played with time, and had been trapped by it.

He noticed it flicker, then the statue seemed to dissolve into a burst of coloured light, and everything changed.

...

Test 9 – Mariah and another woman tumbled from the platform as the Cyclotrons scaled down, the energy blowing upwards and outwards as the Cerenkov flash discharged safely.

"What in blazes?" Ian said as he ran over, sliding under the torus to help Mariah to her feet and then the other woman, who he was shocked to see, was also Mariah. The outfits were different, the other woman had a blue conductive suit, while Mariah was still in the purple one.

"It looks like we're back. God, Ian I was gone for weeks." Mariah said, hugging him, almost clutching to him, then she turned to pull Kitty to her, and hugged her as well.

"According to the transition beacon, 2.4 seconds of displacement." Ramon reported from one of the sensor suites.

"This is Kitty, my parallel. I couldn't leave her there, the place she was in was horrific." Mariah explained as she escorted her duplicate, holding on to her hand firmly, out of the torus and beyond the ring of Cyclotrons.

"21 Cyclotrons, twelve students, Ian, do you love me?" Mariah asked him as she looked around.

"Yes, Mariah. I don't think I am going to get used to this, however. I do love you." He replied, then her lips covered his and Mariah kissed him with a passion.

They all sat in a circle as Kitty described her world, and then Mariah described how they had managed to jump back, and the destruction of the device.

"So you don't think we can get back there?" Tom asked.

"I can't see how. It was some type of sideslip. Same time, just a different reality. I didn't travel back in time, except when we came here, we jumped back to the entry point, and then progressed from there."

"So then this was your moment? Not saving your parents, but bringing a duplicate home?" Kathleen asked her.

"I have no idea, but unless and until I get more messages, I have to assume this is right. I had no way to get home until Kitty was with me, and although it cost us your life in that parallel, Ian. We came back." Mariah replied.

...

"I don't know what to do." Kitty said as Ian drove them back to his house. "This is the same, yet so very different. I am very afraid." Mariah hugged her. "I'm here, and nobody here is going to hurt you."

Mariah helped Kitty out of the car and walked her into the house, where after a quick conversion with Ian, she then escorted her duplicate into the back bedroom and then into the bathroom where she turned on the shower.

Mariah deftly undid the clasps and peeled the neoprene suit off Kitty's body, then stripped herself as well, and indicated for Kitty to get into the shower. Kitty obeyed, unsure what else to do, and as Mariah got in with her, they both had a very unusual experience.

Showering with yourself is an experience that can only be described as ... different. Perhaps identical twins can experience something similar, but this was a full body duplicate, not a twin. Kitty and Mariah had the same DNA, right down to the same genetic code and markers.

Kitty would reach out to touch Mariah in the exact spot she needed it, they could wash and clean each other without any need for exploration, they both knew exactly what to do because it was themselves they were touching, just outside of their own bodies.

Once they had both washed each other, Mariah helped Kitty out of the shower, turned off the cascading water, and towelled her duplicate off then patted her dry. As she did, she noticed a few differences that Mariah thought might have to change. Kitty was not shaved, her fleece was natural, somewhat trimmed, but it was definitely there, unlike Mariah who normally waxed clean every week.

Mariah kept her hair in a short bob, while Kitty's was shoulder length and generally tied back. Her hair colour was the same, just different styles. Kitty also had a lot of old bruises and some scars that in some ways matched what Mariah had, but they were from different causes.

Once dried, Mariah led her duplicate to the spare bedroom and had her sit on the bed while she pulled out a chair and sat down, facing her.

"Hungry?" Mariah finally asked her.

"Exhausted." Came the reply from her own voice, just in a different body. "Mariah, what am I going to do? You've taken me away from everything I've ever known. I'm chattel, that is all I've known for twelve years. Who will own me now, or don't you do that here?"

"We don't have real slavery. Not like what you had. I'm going to take care of you, nothing is going to prevent me from doing that, Kitty. I just couldn't leave you there, not with JJ, and then that godawful FedSec group." Mariah said.

"My JJ was good to me. He took care of me, and my children. Yes, he owned me, but he wasn't cruel, or mean to me. He cared, in his own way. He is the one who arranged for you to get me out of the security building. I am your duplicate. If they had gotten hold of me again, they would have taken me apart to find out how you got here." Kitty said, then got to her feet, shakily, and walked over to grab both of Mariah's hands.

"Thank you. Because of you I can take another breath. Because of you I can wake to a new sunrise. Because of you, I don't have to worry about being sold off to anybody else." Kitty said, then leaned over and kissed Mariah. "Thank you for my life, it is yours now." She said as she stood back up, Mariah sitting there in a little shock.

"I-I don't want to own you, Kitty. Your life is your own, not mine to choose or make those kind of decisions for. You are your own woman now." Mariah stammered.

Kitty smiled, then went back to the bed and lay down. "I am yours now, Mariah. If you choose to let me be free, then I am free. What is freedom? I have no idea."

Mariah looked at the woman lying naked on the bed in front of her. Identical in almost every way, but different in small but subtle ways as well, Kitty had a visible stomach from childbirth and some light stretchmarks that belied her young 21 years, and which did nothing to reduce her attractiveness. Her hair was longer than Mariah's, but Kitty kept it swept back from her face, and her shoulder-length hair framed her face in a manner that worked well. Mariah knew that if she let her hair grow, it would do the same thing.

Mariah rose and went over to the bed, almost in a daze, and sat down beside her duplicate. She could only hear the rushing sound of her blood racing through her veins as she looked at herself lying on the bed, fully on display to her gaze, this was just like an out-of-body experience. Kitty shifted on the bed to make room for Mariah to get comfortable, and before Mariah really knew what was going on, Kitty had pulled her into an embrace.

"One thing I do know, Mariah. Is how to make somebody else feel good. I am going to make you feel good, as the first reward for saving me." Kitty said against Mariah's warm and wet lips, then she shifted and began to kiss her duplicate's neck, just below her ear, which made Mariah shiver.

Kissing yourself could be a very neutral experience. It probably should have been, because this was Mariah's duplicate, not her lover, or in any way her partner. However, Kitty's mouth was like live fire when it touched Mariah's lips, and her own body sprung to life when their lips touched. Mariah could feel her nipples crinkle then stiffen, and she was sure she just gushed a little down below as her body instantly responded to the touch from the perfect plaything.

Kitty broke the kiss and looked into the face of her duplicate, her heroine, who had saved her from a decidedly brutal fate, and made the decision to fully seduce her. In Kitty's defence, it was the least she could do for the woman who had risked everything to bring her to safety. She pulled Mariah down and gently kissed her behind the ear, then nibbled on her earlobe. Kitty had realized long before Mariah did, that whatever she knew would feel good, to Mariah would be ten times better, so she focused on serving her heroine.

Mariah gasped as her ear was lightly kissed, then captured between two warm lips and gently rolled and lightly nibbled on, her body squirmed with desire as it began to respond without conscious control. She was partially on top of Kitty, not quite kneeling, but leaning over her, she could feel her breath coming in ragged gasps as Kitty ministered to her ears and neck, giving her very intense pleasure as her lips nipped, kissed and gently dragged along her very sensitive flesh and brought Mariah to a peak of desire.

Kitty kissed her way down Mariah's neck, then her upper chest and then gently caressed her breasts as her lips sought and locked onto one of Mariah's nipples. She smiled at Mariah's startled gasp and capturing the nipple gently in her teeth, nibbled and rolled it back and forth, pulling it and very gently gnawing on it as the nipple grew even stiffer.

Kitty's other hand was busy massaging and kneading Mariah's other breast, finger and thumb holding onto the nipple and gently pulling and squeezing it until her mouth traded one wet nipple for the other and made it wet and very stiff as well, while her fingers and thumb worked their magic on the left breast as well.

Kitty slid her hands up to Mariah's shoulders and deftly flipped her duplicate over, so that Mariah was lying on her back and Kitty was on top, then sensuously lay on her, letting full body contact rule the day as she gently slid up, down and sideways on her duplicate, building Mariah's sensitivities and drawing more desire out of her than Mariah thought possible.

Kitty slid her hands down Mariah's belly and hips, then one hand slid between her legs and Mariah arched her back as delicate fingers brushed across her excited clit, bringing a fresh rush of fluid and a rush of pleasure to her. Kitty gently suckled and nipped both breasts and nipples in turn as her fingers caressed Mariah's clit and then slipped down between the folds to slide into her vagina, letting her fingers do what always felt good to her, which meant they were working magic on her highly aroused duplicate.

Her other hand was cupping and squeezing a bottom cheek and working it's own magic as Mariah built towards an orgasm like no other she had ever experienced. Kitty slid up and kissed her duplicate passionately, letting her tongue swirl against Mariah's as she got a hard kiss in return, Mariah's hands holding onto her hips and then gently touching and caressing the sides of her breasts.