[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/iyJuAe0.png
[/img][/center][center][h2][b]The Mandela Effect: Part 2[/b][/h2][/center]
[center][b][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4820020]Previously On Create-A-Hero[/url][/b][/center]
[center][b]"90's" Aubrey Adkins???[/b][/center]
[center][b]Pacific Point, CA[/b][/center]
	The sun had just risen when Athena had teleported into Aubrey’s bedroom. For months now, the goddess of wisdom had been aware that a great danger was nigh. Yet, she had not yet figured out a way for her people to intervene without breaking the prime directive that had been established long ago by the godheads of the Athanatoi pantheons.

	But when Athena gazed upon her pupil, she immediately knew that something was wrong. She knew that this was not [i]her[/i] pupil, or at least her pupil from this plane of existence. Although Athena did not know what was wrong or who had caused it, she nonetheless wanted to get to the bottom of this. Her first suspect was her half-sister, Aphrodite. Even though this sort of trick was a little too intricate for her half-sister, Athena wanted to cross her off as a suspect first. Aphrodite was of course the sort of goddess who would mess with the favorites of the other gods and goddesses.

	Right after Athena had blinked out of this plane of existence, Aubrey started to rouse from her sleep. As she sat up and stretched out her arms, her phone dropped from beneath her shirt and landed in the lap of her spidery cephalothorax.

	[color=b22222][i]Why were you in there?[/i][/color] Aubrey pondered to herself as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. However, when she finally got her bearings, she had an even bigger question than why she had her phone stuffed in her shirt.

	[color=b22222]“Where am I?”[/color] Aubrey mused aloud, scanning the room as she thought. There was an uncanny familiarity to the bedroom, as the furnishings of the bedroom were reminiscent of what she would have preferred in her own abode, albeit them being a little retro for her own tastes. 

	[i]<We appear to be located in Pacific Point, California and this apartment is leased under your name.>[/i] The AI in Aubrey’s phone, Athena, reported this information to the drider heroine.

	[color=b22222]“Hmm, so now that we know [i]where[/i] we are, the better question is [i]how[/i] did we get here?”[/color] Aubrey posited as she rolled over and crawled out of bed. Her eight arachnid legs lightly touched the carpeted floor as Aubrey stood up.

	[i]<There are a variety of possibilities that could explain our situation. First, the Game Genie could have trapped us in a virtual reality.>[/i]

	[color=b22222]“I haven’t been noticing any weird physics, so unless the Game Genie has upped his game, that’s likely not what happened.”[/color]

	[i]<Or someone might have trapped you in another alternate universe. Remember, Vigilante said that he was kicked out of his native reality and dumped in ours.>[/i] 

	[i]<This could all be a hallucination, but considering that I’m being affected, this option is unlikely. Another possibility is that, mattering on how the laws of time travel work, someone might have travelled back in time and screwed up the past. Because of your healing factor, you might have resisted the change in the time stream.>[/i] 

	[color=b22222]“But how would that explain you still persisting? Also, might shirt doesn’t benefit from my healing factor, either.”[/color]

	[i]<True, indeed. I’ll continue searching for other possible answers.>[/i] 

	[color=b22222]“Just out of curiosity, are there any changes or similarities I should be aware of, at least from what you can find from searching the internet?”[/color]

	[i]<It appears you’re still in a relationship with that William boy.>[/i] 

	[color=b22222]“Well, that’s a relief. Would have been awkward if I would have had to romance some other dude I don’t even know.”[/color]

	[i]<From the text messages that I am now receiving from his phone, it appears you were supposed to pick him up from the airport.>[/i] 

	[color=b22222]“I probably can still swing by and pick him up. What time was I supposed to do that?”[/color]

	[i]<One o’clock in the morning.>[/i]

	[color=b22222]“What!? Shit!”[/color] Aubrey exclaimed as she quickly glanced over at the clock, which at that moment read 10:30 A.M. She then scrambled over towards the dresser and pulled open the first drawer. Her eyes squinted as she saw what was inside.

	[color=b22222]“How am I supposed to fit into any of these?”[/color] Aubrey gasped. After she had shuffled through the drawer, she finally found the largest bra in the dresser, which was still too small, and put it on. She felt as if she was suffocating herself, but since she was about ready to dash cross town to the airport, she needed [i]something[/i]

	[color=b22222]“Athena, what’s the fastest way out of here?[/color]

	[i]<There’s a skylight in the next room. Should provide enough space to get your drider half outside.>[/i]

	After Aubrey heard this from her phone, she exited her bedroom and entered the main living space of the apartment. As Athena said it would be, there was a skylight on the ceiling that could be opened. She started to approach the center of the room, right behind the couch when she gave her phone’s AI another command.

	[color=b22222]“Could you send Will a text saying that I’m so sorry and I’m on my way?”[/color]

	As soon as Athena had completed that task, Aubrey suddenly heard a phone buzz in the living room where she was standing it. She then wheeled around the couch and found a cell phone, that did not belong to her, sitting on an ottoman in front of the couch. A hand from underneath a blanket reached over and attempt to find the phone.

	[color=b22222]“Oh, thank God!”[/color] Aubrey gasped as she realized that Will was sleeping on her couch, meaning that he had somehow made it to this apartment. At the same time, she had freed herself from the torture device that was the undersized bra she had put and draped it over the back of the couch.

	[color=b22222]“You know you could have crawled into bed with me instead of sleeping on this couch, right?”[/color]

	“The couch is fine,” Will honestly replied. He was still groggy, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep from them. But when he felt Aubrey’s chitinous spider half gently rest up against him, he finally was jolted away. After Will had gotten a clear look of his girlfriend, he squinted his eyes. It did not take a super-genius to realize that something was wrong.

	[color=b22222]“You’re so cute when you look dumbfounded,”[/color] Aubrey admitted to Will. She took her index and middle fingers and tilted his head up, raising his eyes so that they finally met hers. [color=b22222]“What do you think about grabbing some brunch before we begin our day?”[/color]

	“Sounds fine to me,” Will responded while he tried to avert his gaze. “Since you’re already up, want to take the first shower?”

	[color=b22222]“Sure,”[/color] Aubrey answered before hopping over the back of the couch as she headed to the bathroom. [color=b22222]“Although you’re welcome to join me.”[/color]

	“I’m fine—” Will said before getting hit in the face with something soft. When he pulled whatever had struck him, he realized it was his girlfriend’s shirt. But when he looked up, he noticed she had already shut the door.

	“What has gotten into her—” Will pondered aloud. She had never been this forward. He then flipped the shirt over, so the printed design was facing up.

	“I knew I wasn’t crazy!” The t-shirt claimed that the Arizona Cardinals had beaten the Pittsburg Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. But that was impossible! The Cardinals lost that game. Will would know, as he was the biggest Cardinals fan he knew. This just confirmed that something was wrong.

[hr][center][b]Earlier That Day[/b][/center]

	It was thirty minutes after one A.M. and Will was still standing in the arrivals section. He had seen a couple dozen people get rides to their destinations, either by someone they know picking them up, ordering an Uber, or hailing a local taxi. But his girlfriend had failed to show up.

	Will peered down at his phone again, checking his text messages. He had already sent ten texts to Aubrey, nine of which were asking where she was. He would have sent an eleventh one, but since none of the prior ten had been read, there was not any point to it. If she had not seen them yet, another pestering message was not going to get her to come any faster.

	Therefore, Will needed to find another way to his girlfriend’s apartment. He could use one of the on-demand taxi services, like Uber, but considering the time of day and being in Pacific Point in general, that was going to be an expensive ride. Plus, why pay for something when you have a free option available?

	By this time, the arrival section was all but deserted. Therefore, it did not take Will long to find a place out of eyeshot of any bystanders. Once he was sure that nobody was around and that he was in the blind spot of any nearby security cameras, he lightly tapped on his wristband, causing a scarlet and gray superhero costume to appear on his body. It was similar to Arachne, except it was made for a male human instead of a female drider. The mask lenses also lacked the golden eyelashes that Arachne had.

	Will pulled out his cellphone and used the Maps app to plot a course to Aubrey’s apartment. After seeing the route, he started on his twilight journey.

	“This shouldn’t be too bad.”