LET THE WORLD MOVE AGAIN

WARNING: This story has a slightly darker tone, and implies, but does not show, domestic violence. It also references gun use, but nothing graphic is depicted.



John stared at the bullet that seemingly floated in mid-air. He had tried to get there before the gun went off, but he simply wasn’t fast enough.

That’s funny, John berated himself. A man who could control time itself not being fast enough?

Of course, that’s not really what John was doing at all. Time was a human concept that had nothing to do with how the universe actually worked. No one could really stop it, or start it up again. No, what John was doing was stopping the stars themselves.

The stars, the planets, and all the life contained within them.

A power of that magnitude understandably took its toll, especially on whoever was unfortunate enough to wield it. John knew this. He could feel it, the strain on his muscles, and on his mind.

His soul…

John also knew what could happen if he held everything in place for too long. It wasn’t something he liked to think about.

John looked up at Edie. She stood there, completely frozen, her face mere inches from the bullet in front of her.

God, she was beautiful, John thought…

And then he thought about what was going to happen the second he let go of everything, and he let life move normally again. That bullet would smash right through Edie’s skull and kill her instantly. 

Did she know? Had she even realized what had happened in the split second before John brought everything to a standstill?

John looked at the gun, and at the man who was holding it.

Peter. His friend.

Edie’s friend.

Or, at least, he had been.

How could someone do something like this? How could Peter do something like this? On any other day of the week, if someone had even suggested that Peter were capable of the whole “if I can’t have her, no one can” course of action, he’d have called them insane.

And yet, here they all were. Two men in love with a woman that only loved one of them in return.

John looked into Peter’s eyes and tried to find something, anything, that would make any of this make sense. But instead of logic, instead of the intelligence or the compassion that had become so familiar to John whenever he and Peter spoke, all that he saw now was – well, there was no other word for it, was there?

Hate. Abject hate.

Damn you, Peter, John thought.

His head was starting to throb. The headaches were coming on sooner. Stronger. He didn’t have much time.

John looked back at Edie and wished that this worked the way it always did in the movies. Whatever character it was that had the ability to stop time would simply move the person out of harm’s way. Or, they would just reach out and pluck the bullet from the air and toss it out the window.

John’s ability didn’t work that way. Once he froze everything in place, it stayed frozen until he let it all go again. He didn’t get to pick and choose, and he had about as much of a chance of moving Edie, or anything else in this room, as he did an entire mountain range. All his ability was really good for was for invasive observation. He was able to walk freely in and out of any space, around any person, and gather whatever information, whatever secrets, he could find. It was great for John’s employers, and it definitely paid well, but it didn’t help at all in situations like this.

So, was that it then? Was that the only choice John had? He had to stand there and watch Edie die right in front of him?

In front of him…

John looked at the space between Edie and the bullet, and then right at Edie. It was a foolhardy idea, to be sure. But, that’s what love sometimes did to a man, and she was most definitely worth it.

If John could manage to squeeze himself in between the bullet and Edie, he might be able to protect her once he unfroze everything.

He might be able to save her. 

All he had to do was contract all of the muscles in his chest as tightly as he possibly could and it might be enough to stop the bullet from hitting her. At that close of a range though, and because John was a foot and a half taller than Edie, there was a very real chance that the bullet would hit John’s heart, or his lung, or a major artery. There was even a chance that it would still go through him and into Edie.

But still, it could work.

John’s sudden appearance, from Edie’s point of view, would most certainly surprise the hell out of her. Peter too, for that matter. On instinct, Edie would probably jump back, away from John, away from the bullet, putting herself out of harm’s way. Even if she didn’t, John himself would fall forward after taking the impact of the bullet. He might actually knock her to safety.

Peter wouldn’t even be a concern at that point. Right on the other side of the door to the room, was Harvey. John knew that he already had his weapon in hand. Harvey had drawn it as they stepped out of their car after pulling up to Edie’s apartment building. As soon as John unfroze everything, Harvey would come bursting through that door, and he wouldn’t hesitate to take out Peter. He had been with John when Edie had called in a panic. They had both heard Peter in the background, pounding on Edie’s door and screaming at the top of his lungs. Edie had been so terrified.

John knew that Harvey would not let him down. As soon as Peter was taken care of, Harvey would fight like hell to save John’s life. Edie’s too, if the situation called for it.

He rubbed the side of his head, and it felt like fire. He could feel himself weakening.

It was time. 

Without another thought, John stepped forward, turned, and slid sideways in front of Edie. Her head rested perfectly against his chest, just like it always had when they held each other. Like they were meant to be, she had told him.

John could feel the bullet digging into his back. He exhaled and forced all of the air from his body, giving himself just a little bit of wiggle room so he could reposition how he was standing. As he breathed in, he was immediately compressed by the bullet and Edie herself.

Had the bullet moved forward? It felt like he was in a vice.

He exhaled again and wrapped his arms around Edie, kissing the top of her head. 

“I was going to say it,” John said softly. Then he chuckled. “I just needed more time.” He kissed her again. “But I do love you, and I know you know that.”

He hugged her, and it was like hugging a beautiful marble statue.

“If we survive this, I’m going to take you to the coast, and we’re going to spend a week watching the waves roll in.”

John closed his eyes and took the biggest breath the space would allow, and flexed every muscle in his chest.

Then, he let the world move again.