The Mind

Kai is sitting on the couch. He is clicking through the tv channels.

Kai: There's nothing good on.

Remi walks in the room in front of the TV.

Kai: Remi?

Remi walks up to Kai. She puts her hand on his leg, and kisses him. She disappears and Max walks in.

Max: Is Remi here?

Kai looks shocked.

Max: You look like you've seen a ghost.

Kai: Did I eat shrooms or something. What is going on?

Max: I don't know. I asked if Remi was here because she said she was coming, but apparently she isn't, so back downstairs I go.

Max walks out of the room. Kai looks confused then shrugs.

Kai: I need some fresh air.

Kai walks outside. As he opens the door he sees darkness.

Kai: Nevermind.

Kai closes the door and walks back into the living room. He sits back down on the couch. He starts switching through channels. As he changes through the channels one channel keeps coming up. The channel is completely black. Soon every channel on the TV is the black screen. Kai sighs.

Kai: I'm put into some illusion and they can't even give me good TV.

Kai gets up and walks out of the room. As Kai walks out of the room white eyes show up on the TV that watch him leave. Kai walks over to the alcohol. Kai takes a bottle out. He goes to open it, but looks at his empty sleeve. Then Kai uses his mouth to open the bottle. Kai takes a swing of the drink. A silhouette punches at Kai. Kai dodges the punch, and slams the bottle on the silhouettes head. The bottle breaks and alcohol pours over the silhouette. The black shape slowly fades into the ground. Kai looks at his now smashed bottle.

Kai: I fucking hate this.

Kai walks up the stairs and into his room. He lays on the bed.

Kai: I'm taking a nap! You're wasting my time!

Kai pulls the covers over himself. Then four silhouettes appear around the bed. The barrage of hands come after Kai. Kai throws the bed sheet up bliding all of the silhouettes. Then one by one Kai knocks each silhouette out with one punch. Once all the silhouettes disappear Kai's tv turns on with the same black screen.

Kai: Why would you have the TV turn on if you're just going to show a black screen?!

Nothing changes.

Kai: Fuck this.

Kai lays down in the bed. As Kai struggles to fall asleep he turns to the other side of the bed. Raelynn is laying there asleep. Kai shakes his head and lays back down and turns to the other side. Remi os laying on the other side. Kai gets up from the bed.

Kai: I see what you're doing here.

Kai walks to the door. The eyes come on the TV again watching him. Kai opens the door and walks out of the room. Kai looks down to see he is now in pajama pants without a shirt. He has a toothbrush in his hand. Kai shrugs and starts brushing his teeth. Kai walks to the bathroom. He opens the door, and Max is dead in the bathtub. The bathtub is full of blood. The blood is leaking out from the tub. Kai spits out his toothpaste, and washes out his mouth.

Kai: You just chilling?

Kai doesn't get a response from Max's dead body.

Kai: Fine.

Kai puts down his toothbrush and leaves the bathroom. He walks to the staircase. He sees Fever at the bottom of the staircase. Fever walks to the living room. Kai walks down the stairs and into the living room. There is nothing in the living room. Kai sits back down on the couch, and turns on the tv. As he sits on the couch his clothes change to his hero suit. Then Kai shows up on the TV. Kai starts watching himself train with Slade. Kai falls over when Slade and him are trading blows.

Slade: You lost your footing.

Kai: I'll get it.

Slade: I'm sure you will.

The TV changes to Kai's perspective. Slade puts his hand out, and then something appears in his hand. Kai looks up and he sees old Slade. They are in the cave. Kai takes the staff and then it changes to Kai burying slade. Kai snaps out of looking at the TV. Kai sees the TV is just black. Kai wipes a tear off his cheek. Then Remi lays her head on Kai's shoulder. Kai jumps back from shock.

Remi: Are you frightened of me?

Kai: Not of you.

Kai is tapped on the shoulder. Kai turns around and it's Az. Az pushes Kai to the ground and holds a knife to Kai's neck. Remi walks over and stands above Kai. She cocks her head to the side. Kai looks fine.

Remi: You weren't scared by that.

Kai kicks Az in the stomach. Az is pushed off of Kai and onto the floor.

Remi: Do you just not like me?

Kai: What? We're friends. I don't have a problem with you laying your head on my shoulder.

Remi leans closer to Kai and whispers.

Remi: Then what are you afraid of?

Az gets up and stabs at Kai's back. Kai kicks Az in the head. Az turns into a shadow and fades into the ground.

Kai: What am I afraid of? I'm not afraid of anything.

Remi: Yet you never get close to anyone.

Kai: What are you talking about?

Remi: Max and I don't know anything about you. We know about Cal, but that's about it. Then you go on a date that was just a glorified one night stand. You hide falling apart really well.

Kai picks up the knife and throws it at Remi. The blade goes right through her. She turns black and fades into the ground.

Kai: No more of that.

Kai walks around the house and nothing happens. All the TV's are on in every room and they all are just black. Kai walks up to one of the TV's. He puts his hand on the TV, and his hand phases through it. Kai walks into the TV. He is in a completely black area. Kai turns around. Vision is standing ten feet away from him. Vision's eyes are the same white eyes that were on the TV.

Vision: You got out? That took you awhile.

Kai: I was just kind of going with the flow.

Vision: I thought you were going to be lame and just move along with everything I did, but it clicked inside your head. Whether you want to accept it or not.

Kai: That would be a not. Now, why have you put me inside an illusion that is supposed to "teach me a lesson."

Vision: To kill you, but my powers are based on your mind. So your mind brought you where you wanted to go. The only thing I did was the black on the TV.

Kai: The silhouettes weren't you?

Vision: Those were your demons. Not mine.

Kai: You were waiting for me here to kill me then? That's why you said I took a while.

Vision chuckles. Then she runs at Kai.

Kai: I think you're mistaken. You said this is my mind, and I have seen some pretty fucked up shit.

A green creature with a long tongue grabs Vision by her leg. He has spiked teeth and scales. His jaw is like a snake's when it opens as he looks at Vision with small red beady eyes.

Vision: Inkanyamba!

Vision: No! You were in your mind! Now we're in the gap between!

Kai is pushed backwards. As he falls back the scenery switches. Kai lands on a prison bed.

Kai: Is this Visions head?

A man walks up to the cell.

???: Hello, Nice to meet you. I'm Ivan. I took you out of the Astral Plane. You remember that right? Good. Why don't you meet my wife Jilaya.

Jilaya Springer walks in front of the cell.

Jilaya: I wonder what her powers are. I want her in the lab as soon as possible.

Jilaya walks away.

Ivan: You're going to love it here.

Ivan walks away. The next thing Kai knows he is being dragged into the lab. He is thrown on a medical table and strapped down. Kai looks at Jilaya in the corner of the room in front of a mirror with medical tools. Kai sees himself in the mirror except he looks like a child. He looks like the younger version of Vision. Jilaya walks over with a mask on and a syringe.

Jilaya: This is going to hurt, a lot.

Jilaya sticks the needle into Kai. Kai feels excruciating pain. Then as Kai's body starts to jerk he jerks into the table. Kai opens his eyes to see Vision being dragged into the ground by inkanyamba. Vision is smiling at him.

Vision: That medicine wasn't a one time thing. You get used to it after years. Now you understand.

Vision is dragged under the ground. The beast shows up behind Kai. He puts his hand on Kai's shoulder.

Beast: Why don't we go back to earth?

Kai: Is this real?

Beast laughs.

Beast: Everything is real. It's just whether or not it affects your world.

Beast leads Kai over to a door of light.

Kai: What is this for?

Beast: You will be returned to your body.

Kai: Before I go, how is hell?

Beast: Good, thanks to you.

Kai: I'm glad. I guess we don't have much time to talk about the past. All the good memories.

Beast: We do not.

Kai sighs.

Kai: I wish you luck.

Beast: You need it more than I.

Kai walks through the door of light. Kai starts to snap back to reality. He hears a quiet voice. It's comforting at first. He starts to realize it's Remi's voice. Then as he starts to really wake up he hears that Remi is yelling. Kai wakes up to see himself in Remi's arms. Kai gets up. Vision is laying on the floor knocked out.

Remi: Why did you just collapse?

Kai runs over and puts meta-cuffs on Vision.

Kai: What is going on?!