The Mandela Effect: Part 7
"90's" Aubrey Adkins
Pacific Point, CA
A cool breeze from the Pacific Ocean had brought its refreshing air into Pacific Point, transforming what would have been a sweaty night into a comfortable evening. This made it a perfect day for a visit to the Pacific Point state fair, even for the resident superheroes. Even the people who save the world every Tuesday need some rest and relaxation.
Aubrey and Will were wading through the huge crowds that had surrounded all the star attractions at the fair. Even with the cool breeze, the packed-together crowd still made things a little uncomfortable. Since Aubrey knew this would happen, she dressed accordingly, with a pair of athletic shorts and an Ohio State t-shirt. There, the two young adults kept their eyes out for anything that was not already swarmed by locals and tourists alike. This unfortunately would be a difficult situation, considering the situation the two of them had found themselves in.
“Why don’t we try that house of mirrors? It doesn’t look too busy,” Aubrey suggested once that building had come into her line of sight. Since Will had not found any other alternatives, he readily agreed with his girlfriend’s suggestion. The building bore a sign that said: “The Four Ages of Man.” Aubrey had no idea what this had to do with mirrors, but it was better than staying outside.
Once Aubrey and Will had entered the building, they soon realized that they were almost the only souls inside. They might have seen two, maybe three, others wandering through the glass maze. Not that this was a bad thing, as they were free from the crowded mess just outside the entrance to the house of mirrors.
For the first few minutes, nothing eventful happened, as a superhero’s day off should turn out. However, once Aubrey had stumbled upon one peculiar mirror that had the letters “FE” printed all around the mirror’s rim. Unlike all the other mirrors she and her boyfriend had seen in this attraction, instead of seeing her own reflection warped and distorted, Aubrey saw herself dressed in her Arachne costume, along with her drider physique on display instead of her human form.
“Will, are you seeing this?” Aubrey asked her boyfriend as she turned away from the mirror.
“Should we leave? Someone obviously knows your identity,” Will suggested to his girlfriend.
“It’s probably a better plan to play it cool. If they know who I am, they could find me elsewhere.” Will nodded in agreement, although there was still an expression of concern on his face. However, since she was the superhero amongst the pair, he trusted her judgement and if things happen to go south, she could get them out of danger.
Therefore, the young couple continued through the maze of mirrors, until they found another strange mirror. This one had a bronze rim that had the letters “CU” and “SN” stamped into it in an alternating order. Although Aubrey again saw her superheroine persona looking back at her in this mirror, the reflection was dressed differently from her regular costume.
What Aubrey was seeing was like a warped version of herself, as there were clear similarities between her costume and the Arachne in the mirror, but there were some clear differences, too. This other Arachne had a mask that, although similar in design to hers, exposed her jaw, while also allowing her long, blonde locks billow around her head, unlike her own ponytail. She was also wearing a dark gray bomber jacket, for whatever reason. Plus, she had girted around her waist a belt that seemed to serve no purpose, other than maybe a utility belt, as it was not holding anything up. Furthermore, although this mirror Arachne donned red boats just like those Aubrey wore, she covered the rest of her eight spidery legs with spiderweb patterned fishnet leggings. If any of these differences could not convince someone of this mirror Arachne looking just a little bit stripperish, her flaunting of her even more ridiculous bust through a spider-shaped boob window would have.
Okay, I would never dress like that. What’s even the point of that gaping hole in her shirt? Aubrey thought as she examined the reflection in this mirror.
“Hey, Will. Have you seen this mirror? It kind of like that other mirror, but it’s showing a weird version of me.” Once he heard his girlfriend’s request, he turned away from the mirror he had been peering at and walked back over to his girlfriend. He cocked his head as he examined the mirror in question.
“And I thought I was the one who needed glasses. That just looks like your normal costume.”
“Normal?” Aubrey muttered because she was puzzled from her boyfriend’s response.
Aubrey then glanced back at the bronze-rimmed mirror and examined the reflection again. But this time, even though the image was the same, for some strange reason the Arachne who was staring back looked normal to her, as Will said. It was the only costume she has ever worn. In fact, it annoyed her to no end how people would complain about the lack of modesty of her costume. Why does a girl who can take bullets to the face have to worry about how much spandex is covering her body?
After Aubrey had finished admiring how she looked in her costume, she then pulled down on the bottom of her minidress. She had no idea why she had not changed out of her “working” clothes to the fair. Her stiletto heels were killing her, as she had worn them for several hours by now. She was half tempted to go barefoot.
Then Aubrey continued through the maze, leaving the bronze-rimmed mirror behind her. Her heels echoed with a click after each footstep. But soon, Aubrey stumbled upon yet another mirror like the other two. However, this one had a silver border, with the letters “AG” decorating it. Aubrey rolled her eyes when this mirror came into her sight. She swore the last mirror had shown a strange version of herself, even though somehow it didn’t.
The Arachne in the silver mirror looked like a prude to her. Her entire body was covered in spandex. She did not even display any of her blonde hair, as it was contained underneath her mask. If Aubrey did not know better, she would have thought that some overzealous and knee-jerky censorship board had erased all of her curves. She probably barely needed a bra with that figure.
What about this one? Aubrey asked her boyfriend, again.
“Nope, that’s still you.”
Aubrey scratched her head and glanced at her reflection again. Yet again, the Arachne in the mirror looked normal to her, even though it had not just moments before. In fact, it looked pretty groovy on her. Plus, who won’t want to hide their identity with a full-cover costume? She had a promising modeling career ahead of her. Why would she want to ruin it by revealing that she was a freaky, giant spider below the waist?
“Why does this keep happening!” “You look so cute when you’re flustered,” Will told his girlfriend as he wrapped his arms around her capri-clad waist.
“Laugh it up, funny guy! I know you’re thinking I’m having a blonde moment,” Aubrey responded back.
“What? That would be stereotyping! I would never suggest something as horrible as that!”
“Yah, yah, whatever, lover boy. But we better get out of here. You never know when some villain will try to hold the city ransom or rob some strange mystical relic from the local museum. Honestly, they’re sometimes too predictable.” “Hey, there’s another one of those mirrors. Let’s check it out before we head out,” Will suggested.
“If we have to,” Aubrey sighed as she rolled her eyes. Then, after Aubrey had voiced her half-hearted protests, the two of them approached the mirror. This mirror was surrounded by golden rims that were imprinted with the letters “AU.”
“So, what do you see?” Will asked.
“Just my normal Arachne alter-ego.” “See, I knew you weren’t going crazy,” Will said as he planted a kiss on Aubrey’s cheek.
I love this haircut. I look so cute with those bangs, Aubrey thought after she had peered back at her reflection in the golden mirror. The skirt and the tall, red boots helped complete the look. They even looked cute on her spider legs. Yet she sighed at how her torso contrasted with her “girl next door” look.
Why do these stupid bullet bras have to be all the rage these days? It makes me look like I’m hauling around two nuclear warheads under my shirt. Aubrey shook her head as she recalled the day when that Katherine woman had “blessed” her with these endowments. She was kind of surprised that nobody had realized that both Aubrey Adkins and her alter ego, Arachne, had changed physically in the same way. Well, everyone except for her husband, Will, but one should expect that from one who was so close to the drider heroine.
“Hey, Will. Are you ready to—“ Aubrey began to say, but when she turned around, she found he was no longer there.
Where could he have gone? She wondered as she peered around the mirror maze.
Maybe he already went into the next room. Aubrey then advanced into the next room. This room contained dozens of mirrors, each of them forming a wall. However, what was strange about this room was the mirrors did project a reflection, nor did the room possess an exit. How were people supposed to get out of this maze?
“Remember who you are,” Aubrey heard her own voice echoes in the room, although it did not originate from her mouth. She turned towards the origin of her disembodied voice and she found a reflection of the Arachne from the gray mirror gazing back at her. But unlike Aubrey’s past interactions with these mirrors, this reflection did not mimic her movements. Instead, this modern Arachne was moving independent of her.
“What am I wearing?” Aubrey uttered when she noticed that she had been reverted back into her drider form and she was wearing a scarlet and gray costume that was similar, yet different than her own. She soon realized she was wearing the same costume as the Arachne in the mirror. In fact, she looked like a spitting image of the mirror Arachne, except for maybe her bullet bra look and the length of her hair.
“No, I am your true self,” said her disembodied voice, but this time it came from the other direction. When Aubrey turned around, she saw the Arachne from the silver mirror in one of the mirrors. And just like last time, the real Aubrey’s appearance soon matched the mirrors, although the real Aubrey was far more curvy than the string bean in that mirror.
“Don’t list to her, I’m the real you!” The next mirror contained the Arachne from the bronze mirror. Soon, Aubrey had to hold shut that stupid boob window, as saying that the real Aubrey was nowhere as well endowed as her mirror counterpart would have been the understatement of the year. What had Katherine done to this Arachne? Aubrey just had been lucky that her healing factor had reverted herself to her normal, slender appearance when she had her run-in with Katherine. But that could not be right. She clearly remembered that day when her healing factor went haywire and randomized a new body for her from the various forms Katherine had transformed Aubrey into. Yet this did not match with her slender build. What was happening to her memories?
“Don’t let them fool you. You know we’re one and the same!” the Arachne from the golden mirror claimed.
Ugh, I look like a hooker wearing a catholic schoolgirl outfit! Aubrey thought as she saw her costume change yet again to match the one belonging to the Arachne from the golden mirror. Sure, both of them were curvy, but the real Arachne’s body looked like Katherine had cranked it up to eleven. Even the thought of this mirror Arachne being lucky because she had not cursed been cured like she had been had crossed Aubrey’s mind.
Then, even more Arachnes began to appear, each slightly different from the last. For example, there was one Arachne who looked almost like the gray-mirror Arachne, but her costume was
pink and blue instead of scarlet and gray. Furthermore, other Aubreys, who clearly were still superheroes despite not bearing the Arachne name, also appeared in these mirrors. One even looked like she had Kelly Brown’s powers. Or was it Victoria, who used to be the Silver Sorceress before Kelly and her swapped powers? Aubrey could not remember, as she had too many conflicting memories.
“Stop! Stop! Stop! Aubrey shouted as she crumbled onto the floor. She grasped at her head, as a headache racked her mind, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer and smashed it against her cranium.
Aubrey suddenly sat up in her bed. Her forehead was drenched in sweat and her breathing rapid and irregular. But this seemed to have been all a dream, as Aubrey found herself in her apartment in Pacific Point. She could feel her head spinning, no doubt from all the pop she had consumed before she headed to bed. Although Aubrey’s healing factor would soon make short work of this hangover, it was going to suck until then.
Once Aubrey had realized that what she had experienced was just a dream, she tried to rest her head back onto her pillow and get some more rest. She had not gotten much sleep yet, as it was still the middle of the night. And what little sleep she did get, it was quite a restless one because of the nightmare she had experienced. Considering she was going to spend the rest of the week with her husband, Will, she needed all the beauty rest she could get.
Wait, don’t I live on Nautican Island? Aubrey thought, opening her eyes once this thought passed her mind.
And Will and I aren’t married! Sure, we’ve been together since high school, but we haven’t tied the knot yet. Or has it been only a couple months? Why can’t I remember? Aubrey immediately sat back and threw off her sheets. She then rolled out of bed and landed on all eight of her spidery legs. Maybe all she needed was to splash some water in her face to snap out of whatever this was. This
had to be the worst hangover ever.
She stumbled out of her bedroom, zig-zagging here and there. Once she had entered the bathroom, she turned the nob of the faucet and filled the palms of her hands with water before splashing it against her face. Then, she peered up and gazed at her reflection. She was relieved when she saw that her normal reflection was looking back at her. Aubrey knew she could not endure any more of those stupid mirrors form her nightmare.
“Why are my memories so clouded?” Aubrey muttered as she continued to gaze at her own reflection.
“Maybe I need another drink.” Aubrey then headed out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen. But as she made her way to the refrigerator, she noticed that her living room couch had become vacant. Where could Will have gone? Aubrey would have suited up and gone after him, but she was in no state to go wandering around the city in colorful tights. Since her spider-sense would have warned her if something bad had happened while she was asleep, she guessed someone or something had not kidnapped her boyfriend.
When Aubrey opened the refrigerator door, she was disappointed when she found that the only liter bottle left barely had any liquid left in it. There was barely a drop. Why did she even bother to put the plastic liter bottle back? Maybe she was too drunk off of the caffeine to know what she was doing? She then reached for the self-filtering water pitcher and poured herself a glass. She probably could use some water after drinking all those cokes last night.
After Aubrey had quenched her thirst, she went back to bed. She hoped that some more shuteye would be the perfect medicine for her memory problems. And for the hangover, for a matter of fact. However, before Aubrey crawled into her bed and rested her head on her pillow, she noticed her phone was flashing.
“Athena, what updates do you have that are so important that you have to bother me at this hour?” <Your work called. Whitney has called in sick and they want to know if you would be willing to move up your photoshoot for next month’s edition tomorrow. They would like an answer in the morning.>
“Well, I’ll send a response in the morning, when I can actually think straight. Is that all?” <There is on other thing. The news has reported that there have been sightings of someone dressed like you. Obviously it’s not you, as this person is entirely human looking.>
“And he’s a dude.” Aubrey stated as she looked at the hologram projection of one photograph of the supposed spider-person. She had no idea how anyone could confuse this person with her. Isn't her drider physique distinct enough to ensure that?
Could it be? Aubrey wondered as she examined the picture more closely. Will had been missing when Aubrey had gotten up for a drink. But this hypothesis was impossible; Will did not have any powers. Well, this was a mystery for future Aubrey to figure out. Now, she needed to catch some z’s.
Zombiedude101
