2 XTREME:
Those Who Forget The Past
Are Doomed To Repeat It
By Billy Burrew
Chapter 1 Begins Now...
As the procession of tour buses and trailers
made their way onto the next tour stop in the Pop Odyssey Tour,
the guys of NSYNC, along with their tour manager, relaxed on
the sofas of the one tour bus talking in low, muffled voices.
Spending time together on the bus would usually have been a
relaxing way to pass the time in transit, but this time the
anxiety level of the five perfomers was running very high as
they sat around the prone form of their manager, who was lying
on the sofa. Bill had been suffering from a debilitating migraine-type
headache for several days and had been barely able to make it
through the previous concert.
"You know, I had never imagined the
incredible number of potholes in Pennsylvania's interstate system
before today." Bill said mournfully as he placed a wet
washcloth over his head and face. "You tend not to think
about them unless driving over each of them makes your head
want to crack wide open. You'd think that some part of the tax
money that my parents and every other resident of this wretched
state have to fork out every year would end up going to repaving
these damned pothole-riddled roads."
A chorus of muffled laughter from around
him caused him to wince slightly as he opened one eye. "And
you.....AND YOU! You ungrateful worms...laughing at me when
I'm laying here dying."
"Aww.....c'mon Bill....quit being such
a drama queen!" Joey smiled wanly, his joking tone belaying
his concern at the almost ghostly palor of his friend as he
lay on the sofa of the bus.
"Hey! You There...Goon Squad! Break
it up! Give him some air!" Lance hissed as he emerged from
the kitchen area of the bus, carrying a glass of orange juice
and several extra-strength tylenol for migraines. "Here
Bill....sit up and take these."
Bill sat up and gingerly opened his other
eye as he slowly turned to face Lance. He took the proferred
pills and juice and swallowed them down.
"You do know that I love you and will
gladly have your babies." Bill said with a smile as he
reached out and tousled Lance's spiky blond hair affectionately.
Lance rolled his eyes and frowned. "You're
only saying that coz I'm giving you drugs. You can barely stand
these headaches...I think childbirth is a bit out of your tolerance
for pain.
Bill laughed, then moaned and gripped his
head, "Ahhhh....wwwwooo....That's what c-sections are all
about, Lance. You decide when you want to have a kid and schedule
the appointment with your doctor...and a few hours...and a local
anaesthetic later...voila! You have a baby."
Lance scoffed. "And a huge scar. You
can barely stand a papercut, much less the 20 plus stitches
you'd get from a C-section."
JC coughed. "Ummm...seeing as how you're
both guys....this is somewhat...academic, isn't it?"
Lance chuckled at JC and then looked at Bill.
"C'mon. Let's get you back to the bunks, you need to lay
down for a while."
Lance grabbed Bill's arm and slowly helped
him up, then the two made their way back to the bunks. Lance
steered Bill into his bunk, then layed down beside him, replacing
the wash cloth on his head with a cooler one he had gotten from
the freezer in the kitchen.
"Thanks Lance." Bill said, as the
moist coolness seemed to do wonders for his headache.
Lance frowned. "Feeling any better?"
Bill shook his head slightly. "Not Really.
This headache just won't quit."
Lance sniffed. "Look....if it doesn't
get any better in an hour, we're pulling into whatever town
we're closest to and you're going to a hospital."
Bill nodded. "Probably some drain bamage....or
a too-mer." Bill said offhandedly, trying for humor...and
failing miserably.
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Lance said vehemently,
the worry now plain in his voice.
Bill's smile faded and he cleared his throat.
"Sorry..guess that wasn't funny."
Lance was going to agree wholeheartedly with
Bill when suddenly he grabbed his head and cried out. "JESUS!
ARRGH!"
Lance's eyes widened to the size of plates
and he poked his head out of the bunk and yelled, "GET
OFF THE HIGHWAY NOW! GET US TO A HOSPITAL!"
Lance turned his attention back to Bill,
and pursed his lips as his eyes began to well up and cloud with
his tears.
"Lance......it hurts! Oh, God...it hurts.
Make it stop! Please! Make it stop!"
Lance's heart cracked in half at the sight
of his friend, his lover, laying beside him in so much pain.
He leaned forward and placed his lips on Bill's forehead gently
as his tears fell down his cheeks and onto Bill's face. Lance
felt a cool, almost electric jolt surge through him and out
his lips. Seconds later, Bill's moaning stopped and his breathing
evened out.
"What was that??" Bill said softly,
his hand rubbing down the length of Lance's jaw. "What
just happened?"
Lance pulled away and looked into Bill's
eyes. "I don't know....it....it felt like some kinda shock...or
a surge."
Their musings were cut short as the bus slammed
to a halt and the curtains of the bunk were pulled wide open.
"Lance! Is he OK?!?"
Lance turned quickly and made to stand up
to talk to the other four guys when his vision blurred and his
knees buckled and went out from under him, his momentum carrying
him forward as he fell, limp and unconscious, into the outstretched
arms of his bandmates.
Lance stood on the precipice of a cliff.
He blinked, knowing that he had not been standing there a moment
before. He looked down over the edge and couldn't see the bottom.
About twenty yards away, Lance saw the other side of the chasm,
where the broken rungs of a bridge hung down. Beyond the bridge
stood a white marble gazebo. Inside the gazebo, on a marble
pedestal stood a shining green light. Lance scratched his head
for something was terribly familar about this light, and in
fact, this whole place, though he would have sworn that he'd
never been here before.
"James Lansten Bass"
Lance whirled and saw a familar figure of
a man approaching him.
"B-Bill?" Lance asked quietly.
The man shook his head. "Do you know
where you are or what that chasm represents?"
Lance shook his head. "No."
The mystery man smiled ominously. "We
are inside your mind, Lance. That chasm represents a blockade.
It stands between you and what lies beyond. Do you know what
lies over in the gazebo?"
Lance shook his head. "No. But it seems
so familiar to me."
The man's smile widened. "As well it
should. It is a part of you as much as your hands or your nose."
Lance sniffed. "OK. But how do I get
to it? Someone wrecked the bridge. We'd need to build a new
one."
The man broke into a toothy grin and nodded.
"Until you can get someone to fill that hole in for you...a
bridge would be ideal."
Lance turned and looked out over the chasm.
As he did so, he raised his arms and a wireframe bridge, not
unlike the Golden Gate bridge began to materialize before him,
spanning the chasm.
Lance smiled and walked across the bridge.
As he reached the other side, he turned and saw that the mysterious
man was gone. Lance walked up to the gazebo and stood before
the green light. Lance put his hands around the green light
and felt a piece of his soul click back into place. Lance let
out a deep breath and a white light enveloped him.
"LANCE! LANCE! Can you hear me?!?"
Lance opened his eyes and smiled. "Of
course I can hear you. A deaf person could hear you."
Bill gasped as did the rest of the guys.
"Jesus H. Christ on crutches, Lance! Your Eyes! They're
glowing!"
Lance nodded and placed his hands on both
sides of Bill's head...and the residual headache that had been
nagging Bill disappeared instantaneously.
"Shiiiiit!" Bill said, his eyes
widening. "You can heal by touch!"
Lance nodded again and then smiled widely.
'And I know you can hear me. Your head
was hurting because you're trying to surpress your abilities.
It was causing some negative feedback loop...and it has to stop
or else it could do real lasting damage to your mind. I dilated
the blood vessels in your head to temporarily stop your headache,
but it's up to you to make sure it stays gone.'
Bill's eyes widened even further as he heard
Lance's thoughts clearly in his mind.
Lance reached out and touched JC and Justin,
then Joey and Chris. He stepped back a moment later and shook
his head.
'They all have blocks in their minds....like
the one I had. Can you help them get past their blocks?'
Bill shrugged and turned to JC.
"JC" Bill said, putting his hand
on the young man's shoulder. "I need you to clear your
thoughts.....empty your mind. I need to try something."
JC took a deep breath and nodded, then a
moment later gasped as Bill's hand moved from his shoulder to
touch his forehead.
'Hear me?' came the sound of Bill's
voice in JC's mind.
JC nodded slowly.
'Close your eyes and try to concentrate
on my voice.'
JC closed his eyes and then concentrated
on the sound of Bill's voice in his head.
'OK...without opening your eyes, try to
see me inside your mind. I see you. I'm standing beside you
in the middle of what looks like a barren wasteland.'
JC chuckled. 'Thanks! Now my mind is a
barren wasteland. Great!'
JC felt his eyes open and he saw it just
as Bill had described. 'OK. I was hoping that you were joking.'
JC looked and saw Bill standing next to him.
Just past him was what looked like river of lava. On the other
side of the lava river was an enormous marble cup the size of
a small bathtub and inside was a brilliant shining blue light.
'LAVA!?!? I've got LAVA in my mind!?!
It's no wonder I can't keep a friggin' thought in my head!'
Bill chuckled. 'I don't think it's real
lava. At least..it's not real to me. It's your mind, so it'll
be real enough to you. How do you get past a raging river of
lava?'
'Is that the objective? To get over there?'
Bill nodded. 'I think so. Whatever is
over there...it's part of you....and its waiting for you to
come get it.'
JC nodded solemnly. 'OK......step back
a bit....here comes our solution.'
Bill stepped back and looked around for something...and
then smiled as he saw a giant polar iceberg floating towards
them on the river. As it reached them, it slowed and turned
slowly to a stop, damming the river of lava and causing it to
cool and harden superfast.
'Let's go!' JC said as he ran across
the iceberg. JC stepped up to the marble cup and looked down
into the blue light.
'Hey! It's....' JC said as his hand
fell into the cup and it engulfed him in its brilliant blue
light.
JC opened his eyes and smiled as he realized
he was back on the bus, surrounded by his friends.
"That light was part of me. My telepathic
abilities."
Bill smiled and nodded.
Justin looked at JC for a minute and smiled,
"Um....what are you talking about?"
JC smiled and took Justin's hand into his
own. "Let me show you JuJu."
Justin's eyes snapped shut and the two stood
motionless for a few minutes, then JC opened his eyes.
"Done!"
Justin smiled and opened his eyes. "I
told you I could too jump that high."
Bill smiled. "Can you do Joey. I'll
take care of Chris."
JC smiled and put his hand to Joey's face
as Bill did the same to Chris. Moments later, the four opened
their eyes once more.
Bill shook his head. "Wizard of Oz monkeys,
Chris? You had to beat a gaggle of Wizard of Oz monkeys? Even
your mind is weird."
Chris giggled and shrugged.
JC opened his eyes and moaned, rubbing his
temples. "Joey....it's a good thing you had that chunk
of kryptonite laying around...and what the hell was that you
had to get past...a pornographic Supergirl. That's just...twisted!"
Joey grinned as Chris came over and hi-fived
him.
Bill smirked as he felt the bus pull into
their hotel for the evening.
"OK fellas. We'll talk about all this
later. Let's go get cleaned up and fed...then get some sleep."
The five guys nodded and then headed off
the bus. As the bus driver departed, he failed to notice a lone
figure standing at the back of the bus.
"They have their powers back once more.
But will it be enough?"
The man faded out of existence a second later.
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