I Spy A Spy

The familiar tingling in the base of his skull made Duncan sigh as he left the soothing waves of unconsciousness and awakened in the conscious world. He turned his phone alarm off and sighed as he quickly left his comfortable bed and headed to the bathroom. He stopped. He searched around his room, darting back and forth. He quickly shut the door to his bathroom then stared in the mirror. 

“What the-”

He searched the empty space again. His curiosity grew as he brushed his teeth, put on his deodorant, clothes, then made it out of his room to barely move out of the way of Yoyo who, against Julian’s pleading, roller-skated down the long hall of the condo in Chicago. She blew a raspberry at Duncan, sending a surge of irritation in him, especially as the invisible voice around him proceeded to continue on with its narration of his day.

He kept turning around, scanning the walls and staring hard into the air as if it were going to open or shimmer to reveal the answer to his question for the day: what was his new superpower? And why was he hearing a voice constantly talking? The question lingered with him as he made it to the spacious marble countertop kitchen whose windows overlooked the morning Chicago horizon. He sat down on a stool munching on Cinnamon Toast Crunch-

Duncan slammed the bowl down and scanned the room. “What the hell?!” grew frustrated. In a streak of singed hair, a figure in orange appeared beside him. A pat on his shoulder and a sweet soothing voice settled his troubles away. Amber. “How’s my favorite bro doing?” Amber crossed the countertop. Her long dark hair shimmered with fire, moments before the heat faded and her pearly smile and dimples sent butterflies in Duncan’s stomach. His flustering love for her disappeared for just a second as he suddenly stood and searched the room again. “What the fu- How do you even know that?” he asked for the empty space. 

“Uhh know what?” the speedster replied. Duncan turned back to her. “That! That voice! You don't hear that?”

Amber shrugged, her gleeful smile fading to awkwardness. “Well...me and Yoyo are going to the Arcade in a few, gotta collect those tickets y’know. I saw this huge blue teddy bear that would just fit the rest of my gaming room at home.”

Duncan put his head in his hands. He jumped back up and stared at the countertop. “Amber,” he grabbed her hands, ignoring the soft tingle in his stomach. My goodness, she was beautiful! The caramel skin, smoother than ivory, her hazel eyes and how they’d illuminate with red fire or icy cold depending on her mood, and the way her hips swayed and magnetized Duncan’s-

“ENOUGH!” he turned and yelled. Amber stared. Maverick and Yoyo appeared and did the same. “Dunkin’ Donuts is having a bad day it seems. Again.” Maverick grinned. He took a seat across from Duncan and slapped a muscular hand on Amber’s shoulder. “Julian wants to see you. New suit designs.” he grinned. Duncan felt his stomach tighten when Maverick touched her. He also felt his stomach blend like a slushie as the voice continued on with its narration. Maverick was fit yes, fit as in, able to bench press three-fifty, do as close as two-hundred pushups, and stained with Samoan tattoos and veins that got him any woman he wanted-

“That is so not true!” Duncan blurted out. “He isn't even that handsome. Have you seen this douchebag?”

Yet Maverick had his sights on the only two women on the team. The twenty-five-year-old Amber peered at Duncan before turning back to the twenty-seven-year-old Maverick before shooting off in a flaming blur. The room was silent for what felt like an eternity. Duncan looked back and forth between Maverick and Yoyo. The two stared at one another, then back at Duncan. A sinister grin appeared on both of their faces. “What shall we name him today?” Maverick asked. “Hmm let's see...has a random outburst. Then again I don't think that has anything to do with his new power.”

“That’s it! Outburst!” Maverick decided, choosing Duncan’s new name for his new power for the day. Duncan slapped his head against the counter, his groans turning into an irritated sigh as the voice continued on.

---

Blood work. Blood pressure. Heart rate. His daily check-up from Julian was extended to an hour and a half as Julian had to rummage through his laboratory for the telepathic detector, his Cognitive Percolator device, and other unnamed inventions he made in order to discover the extensions of Duncan’s new power. The boy just sat his head back on the chair, a sense of defeat swamping him. Every day, for the past two years, Duncan Anantha would wake up, but not as a young adolescent going through the stages of puberty, but as a superhuman with a random new superpower. Sometimes, it would last a week, most of the time a day, but as evening came around, and Julian came to Duncan after his final lab test results, the boy knew this power-whatever it was-was going to last more than a day.

“Remind me again. What are you experiencing?” the immortal scientist asked. Duncan rolled his eyes at the voice. “I keep hearing this goddamn voice! It keeps- I don't know-narrating my life. When I speak, what I do, everything!”

Julian nodded. “Hmm. Interesting,” his notable catchphrase met the air. Duncan rubbed his hands on his scalp vigorously, his frustration growing deep. “Like right now. ‘Hmm. Interesting’ his notable catchphrase met the air. Who talks like that anyway?” Julian looked back at the papers, then back at the boy. He scanned the papers again. Then back at Duncan. He set the papers down and put a consoling hand on Duncan’s shoulder. “It appears you are fine. No power detection whatsoever it seems. No telepathy, or any level of Psychokinesis. No matter manipulation or whatnot. This seems to be something of...how do I say this?”

“You’ve been living for hundreds of thousands of years and you don't know what to say?!” Duncan’s eyes widened. Julian put a hand up. “This seems to be of the cognitive mind. Do you understand?”

---

Crazy. He called me crazy, but I know what I heard. I’ve been hearing that damn voice all week and I’m considered crazy? Yeah, okay. The first day was the hardest, but by day five, I started to get used to it. I mean yes, a mysterious voice, explaining how you have feelings for a superpowered Twitch streamer, how you have brotherly hate for an ex-supervillain turned stuntman-actor and bodybuilder, your growing friendship with a once training to be amateur MMA-fighter now skateboarder who can make things explode, how you sneak and steal lemon cookies from the refrigerator, knowing an ex-assassin now cooking Youtuber is going to blame your skateboarder friend, is now normal.

It was like this for a good while, until day six. Something changed. Not only was I hearing that voice, but...others...let me explain. I was walking in the park the other day, following behind Yoyo as he blabbered about some fight Conor Mcgregor had when I heard it. A jogger was going past us, and perverted Yoyo took a look at the lavender leggings the woman had on. Yoyo’s mouth watered as the redhead jogger passed him, thoughts of intimate pleasure entering his mind. The familiar vocabulary, a different voice, but with the unnecessary description. It was like that for the rest of the day. A narrator for an old man in the park:

He had three days to live. Yet here he sat, in front of the family of pigeons welcoming the elderly man in the park, his only family left now.

Ouch. Then there was a hot dog vendor: Although Curtis loved the job, he still couldn't shake the thought of disappearing to Bora Bora, leaving his wife and children behind for the beautiful blonde he met on Craigslist.

It went on and on and it didn't stop, not even when I and Yoyo entered downtown. It just got worse. One man was having an affair with his neighbor’s wife, another woman was stealing money from her job, another guy was having an affair. A homeless guy was actually a con-man. Even some guy literally walked through a door from an earth where magic was real? And jeez did that guy have a rough one. Family and earth gone, cyborg, a ninja, and a superhuman assassin he was crushing on? I had to ignore it all. I wanted to. Then it hit me. Not only did I have a voice, but it seemed like everyone else did. And I was the only one who could hear them.

I grabbed Yoyo’s hand and we raced off back to the condo. I needed to hear it, needed to know. I shouldn't have, but hey, anything to satisfy your hate for the douchebag who wants a piece of your crush right? 

Maverick was where he always was predictable: the gym. I stopped Yoyo at the edge of the doorway and ignored his stare as I listened in.

One more pump. One more pump. One...more...yes! Maverick slammed the barbell down and stood, victorious over another set done. Steaming sweat ran down his sculpted chest as his phone vibrated. They would have to wait. No matter how many dames he met in the club or on the street, the pump always came first.

I almost gagged. “What’s going on?” Yoyo whispered. I put a hand up and continued on. Maverick’s phone rang again. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at it. A devilish grin spread across his face. He unlocked his phone then eyed the photograph in front of him. Amanda should have been doing whatever an ex-assassin turned chef did, but instead, she was teasing him. Another naked photograph of her, egging the man on to come back for -

“AHHHH!” I screamed before I could stop myself. Him and Amanda? HIM? AMANDA? “ no no no no!” I screamed. I didn't even see Maverick stare at us as the voice stopped in my head. Wait a minute… 

“That’s not right?” Duncan said as Yoyo helped him to his feet. The curious boy looked back up to space, appalled by the sudden news. Maverick approached the two children. “What the hell are you guys doing here. I thought you were out at the park or something.”

“Well Outburst here decided we needed to come back and eavesdrop-I mean watch you-you know…” Yoyo made a pumping motion. 

“Right. Get out.” Maverick pointed a sweaty finger to the door. 

“Or what Macho Man? I actually prefer watching douchebags feed their ego.”

Duncan jumped up and stared into the space. “No no no…” he realized. Duncan was curious. So curious in fact, it caught the wrong attention. He was too curious.

The roof collapsed and behind the dust and debris came monsters. The three superhumans stared in shock before the fight response was activated. Duncan leaped out of the way as Yoyo pulled her signature toy out, ignited it with energy, then sent its trailing arc through a reptilian-like monster. Out from the sky, a dozen more appeared. “Shit! Now I gotta finish up at Planet Fitness!” Maverick yelled and he grabbed a dumbbell, flinging the fifty-pound weight at a nearby monster. The man grabbed a barbell and his skin shifted. From bronze to hard metal, Maverick’s skin was riddled with claws, before the monsters cracked under his wrath.

In the corner, panicking and cursing to himself, Duncan stared up at the hole in the roof to the sky. His eyes widened. The blue sky and fluffy cotton-like clouds parted to enter a dark wormhole. A goliath of a monster slithered through, the Dragon roaring with fire. It was rocketing straight towards them.

---

“What the frick what the frick what the frick!” Duncan muttered as he sprinted for his feeble life as the colossal dragon met the building and ate away through stone, silicate, and other once-solid materials, now in the bowels of the dragon. The boy could feel its thunderous roar shake the building as he raced past Yoyo and Maverick, who were running for their lives as well. It was until a hole appeared and out of the hole, Amanda appeared. She pulled a long heavy rifle out from her back and the explosion rocked the dragon backward. They didn't need any order, as Maverick, Yoyo, and Duncan descended through the hole and down to the next floor below. 

“First and foremost: I don't know how a dragon appeared, but I do know that somehow, someway, this is YOUR FAULT!” Maverick pointed to the two kids. “Most likely Yoyo’s. But I’m feeling it's yours!” Maverick pointed to Duncan. Duncan flipped him the bird and the four raced off the other labs of Julian.

What the hell happened, Duncan thought. How did this happen? He ignored the urging to search the blurring hallways as the four of them raced for sanctuary and for their lives. A large vault door opened and Julian and Amber motioned them inside the snarling of creatures closing in on them. As the rest of the group searched each other’s eyes for answers, Duncan fearfully searched the bunker. He spun in circles, nauseating himself and the others as they looked at him. He ignored their pleas and shouted at him as the question kept in his mind.

Where are you? Where are you? Where…?

It knows. It knows I know, that's why it attacked us. I could hear it as I thought to myself, putting the pieces together in my mind. It sent monsters- a damn dragon. All because I could hear it? Could I hear the other voices? I knew too much. I guess it wasn't wrong about that. 

BAM! The bunker shook and I looked up at the cracking ceiling. Whatever material Julian made the place of, the voice was finding a way through. It wanted me. I just hope it just wanted me...

Duncan thought to himself, as suddenly, another explosion above sounded in the room, and a specter appeared. The wispy glowing figure raised an ax and roared before it was met with a hard fist from Maverick. Maverick turned to Duncan. “You alright kid?”

Duncan...laughed. He laughed? He shook his head back and forth. “That son of a bitch.” he giggled. Maverick and the rest of them looked at the gleeful young man. He paced back and forth across the room as another specter appeared, twin katanas slicing the air where Duncan was supposed to be. Another ghost appeared, the cyborg raising its arc cannon alongside a winged demon shooting its long tendril for a tongue out and wrapping around Duncan. Duncan’s friends raced toward him, too slow and sluggish, falling to their knees, failing the curious boy. The ghosts and monsters entered the bunker through thin air, circling the fallen prey as Duncan looked on in shock. Then he smiled.

“I get it now,” he said. “And I-”

See you.

What?

Come here!

Duncan vanished through an invisible pocket in existence. Tunneling towards...towards...me? He-Ack! Get your hands off of me! Get-ah! Ahh! You cannot do this! This is impossible! Impos-

I choked the bastard’s life out of him, watched as his evil life left his eyes. I stared down at the asshole before I saw it. The rest of them. They were all watching me, most in awe, the rest confused before they realized the truth. If I could get to this one, then that means I could go for them. You hear me? You can read all you want you fuckers. But I’m coming for you. You can laugh. You can cry. You’re going to be doing that all anyway. Speaking of which. I’m going to start with...you!

---

Interdimensional entities, watching and affecting our lives like they were gods. That’s How Julian explained it to me. When I discovered their existence, they panicked and tried to kill us. That was until I got them, well the one responsible face to face. Somehow I got back home, to my dimension and now I went from having to deal with narrating voices to have on rubber gloves as that was the only material I could have on my hands that didn't turn into dairy.

Powers. They are overrated. “Oo! I got a good one,” Yoyo broke my concentration. “How about...Cheese Touch? Get it? Because whatever you touch-”

“Becomes cheese, yay so original.”

“Hey look, you’re lucky I didn't go get Maverick yet. Wherever he is.”

“Probably off screwing some chick. Maybe Amanda or something.”

Yoyo stared blankly at me. “That is literally the last relationship I would expect. You Duncan Ananatha have a dirty mind.”

I scoffed at her and continued on eating my cereal, which was hard since I had to wear stupid thick gloves. “How about Golden Eye?”

“Shut up.”

“Golden Charm?”

“Ugh.”

“The Gouda Maker.”

I had to laugh at that one. At least I wouldn't run out of cheese this time around. The power would only last a day and I would have to deal with another weird one. Same routine, different weekday. Yet I couldn't get last week’s one-off my mind. The things I’d seen. The people I heard. Could it be true? Could we just be in some story, filled with words to describe characters? Nah, couldn't be right?

Right? Don't tell me I scared you. I was just joking when I said that. You can say something. I know you’re there. Please?