Part 4: Smoldering Crust

“Dude, I can’t find the video. I’ve been looking all over for it for half an hour!” Marcus scratched his head, looking at his phone. “I know for a fact it was posted on here.”

“Maybe it got taken down?” Oliver looked at the screen, as Marcus refreshed his browser multiple times, expecting it to magically pop up.

“I seriously can’t believe it. Makes you wonder why.” He shoved his phone into his pocket. “The High Council sometimes gets a little censorship happy when it comes to stuff like this. Probably worried it would ‘corrupt the childrens’ minds’ or whatever.”

Oliver looked surprised. “The High Council?”

“Yeah, they’re kinda like the stuffy bureaucrats that run the city. Think kind of like a senate meets a city council, but not many people actually even know who they are or what they look like. They carry out the will of the Highest, with each one representing a number of districts.”

“I see.” Oliver took mental notes. This was a bizarre setup, for sure. The district heads were directly elected through a ranked choice voting system, which he only knew because he was being bombarded with election adds. It must’ve been that time of year again. However, the high council were a secluded group picked by a figure called the Highest.

“Anyways yeah, dude, you should’ve seen the video. It was blowing up yesterday. Basically Lord Uberkill put out a message, that was all ‘People of Mobi-’, hang on.” He grabbed an empty sauce can and put it over his muzzle. “People of Mobius! The time for action is now!” His booming, muffled voice reverberated through the tin can. The Wing Guy looked over.

“Dude, that’s actually really good.”

“Yeah? What’d I tell you?” Marcus looked over at the human with a cocked smile. He put the can back over his muzzle. “The Infinite City is a place of infinite oppression! Dimension 17S… uh… 41M… something, I don’t remember, demands retribution!” He tossed the can into the recycling. “Ack! I got sauce in my nose.” He blew his snout with a thin napkin.

“I’m sure it was quite good.” Oliver scratched his ear.

“Aw c’mon, stop.” Marcus’ fake humility fooled no one. “Yeah, if you haven’t noticed, the enforcers have been everywhere, on high alert because of it.”

“That would definitely explain it.” Oliver went in the back room, climbed onto the little, wooden step stool that had, by default, become his, and slid the pizzas out of the oven and into the boxes, checking them over and comparing it to the order. Marcus opened the door and looked in at the three perfectly cooked pizzas.

“You’re really improving, dude. I think you’re going to make some customers in Dimension 40U-570η real happy.” Oliver beamed. The wing guy muttered something under his breath. Marcus’ ear shot up.

“What was that?”

“I said who cares if they’re happy? Customers are fricking stupid.”

“I’m just giving credit where credit is due, man.” Marcus let out an annoyed chuckle. “Maybe try it once in a while.”

“Tch.” His tone was that of a petulant child.

“Come on, dude, let’s go.” Marcus went out to the car, as Oliver turned around.

“Er, not to be rude, but I really don’t think we should be saying things like that about our customers. Especially where they can hear us.” The wing guy stared back at Oliver with that dead-eyed, uncaring expression, and Oliver in-turn looked away.

“Sorry, what I meant to say was, customers are fricking stupid and annoying and I hope them and their families literally all choke on their pizza and die. Happy?”

“How d-?!” Oliver opened his mouth to say something, but just bit his tongue in frustration and walked away. Whatever. He couldn’t with this kid.

Marcus pulled the car up, as his ears perked up and his nose started going. Oliver heard a rustling in the dumpster outside, and saw a small, plump, white creature digging through the trash can. It looked over at him, its small, round head and its orange, clown-like nose looking at him. It looked almost like a cross between a baby seal and a possum, minus the ears and tail. Oliver’s heart warmed. It was the cutest thing he’d seen since they got here.

Suddenly, Marcus blared on the horn, causing it to run off.

“Hey!!! Get out of here!!! Get!!!” Oliver got into Marcus’ car, his ears sinking with disappointment.

“What was that?”

“Oh, that thing? They’re called beebos. Super annoying.” They began to drive off. “They’ll dig through your trash and spray ink all over everything if they get agitated. Don’t feed them.” Oliver nodded, but still couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor creature.

As they drove along the road, they saw massive, armored vehicles filled to the brim with enforcers. The antennas on their heads flickered, as they communicated with one another through signals. Despite the circumstances, it seemed a little excessive.

The car pulled up to the line, which was longer than usual. Marcus tapped on the steering wheel impatiently.

“Come on, people…” Oliver checked the time as the cars inched forward into the gate, one by one. They grew ever closer to the glowing portal. Oliver glanced around at the traffic, as Marcus spoke.

“You know, dude, I get why they do this, I really do, but I really wish there was a way for us and our jobs to not just get bottlenecked by-”

BOOM!!!!!!

Before anyone could even react, the car was thrown back by a massive explosion, as the windows shattered from the force of the blast. Debris rained all over as the enforcers scrambled to mobilize. Oliver and Marcus’ sensitive ears rang from the blast as they regained their senses.

“You alright?!” Marcus yelled to Oliver, who ducked down.

“Yeah!” Marcus tried to start the car, but to no avail.

“Dammit!!!” People ran and screamed, as the shots of blaster rifles and explosives rang off and tires squealed. The gate came crashing down onto itself, completely wrecked, as smoke and flames billowed into the air.

“Come on!” Oliver and Marcus tumbled out of the dead car, hiding behind it with pistols drawn. A pair of enforcers saw them with their guns and automatically started firing at them, a blast singing the tuft of fur on Oliver’s ear. Masked men in tattered clothes in turn began firing at the enforcers, shredding the funny-looking robots to bits of scrap. More enforcers emerged from every nook and cranny, and began firing back at them, in what became a deadly and chaotic firefight. Oliver hid behind the car. Marcus pointed to a half-blown apart checkpoint wall.

“On three! One… two… three!” The two got out from behind their cover and made a mad dash for the wall, with Marcus shielding Oliver. A masked figure ran at them with a weapon and fired, but their shots missed the duo, as Marcus rushed them and slammed them onto the ground with his ursine might, knocking them unconscious. Oliver dove for cover, as Marcus rolled behind him, knocking into him. The two quickly regained their footing and got up.

BLAM!!!

A large, energy blast took off the top bricks of the wall they were behind, with chunks of rocks flying above their heads. Oliver covered his head, his breathing quick, heavy, and panicked.

“What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know, but we need to stick together!”

BLAM!!! BLAM!!! BLAM!!!

The masked figures with energy cannons shot out powerful beams of light, which tore through the enforcers’ armored vehicles with ease. Oliver peered over the wall, as a man and woman, seemingly a couple, ran out of their vehicle, screaming. Before he knew it, they were both caught in the crossfire and instantly disintegrated by a storm of stray blasts. Oliver shrieked and ducked down.

“Don’t look! Don’t look!”

An armored vehicle rolled up, not far away from they were amid the chaos, spewing black smoke. A purplish-green glow emanated from the top of the truck. The top device adjusted with a mechanical whir. Marcus’ eyes flashed with pure terror.

“Run!!!” He grabbed Oliver and ran as fast as his fat body could take him, as the jury-rigged mini portal shot out a huge beam of solar heat from a dimension of pure constant, burning heat, melting everything in its path. It just managed to avoid him, the intensity burning his skin underneath his fur, as it severed a communication tower, which fell with a mighty crash.

Two figures gained on them: one, a reptilian bounty hunter, the other, a muscular human with long dreadlocks, flak armor, and cybernetics, with bandanas covering the lower halves of their faces.

“Well, look what we got here!” The reptoid hissed with hunger, as it charged at the duo with a knife the size of his forearm. Marcus threw Oliver to the ground as he fumbled with his pistol, firing several blasts into the reptile’s face and chest, as its smoldering corpse fell onto the ground. The knife simultaneously slashed through Marcus’ shoulder with a sharp, stinging pain.

“Cover me!” Marcus yelled. Oliver provided a spray of cover fire with his pistol as Marcus charged forward, throwing the empty gun aside. The dreadlocked bounty hunter’s rifle blasts grazed the panda’s fur, as he tackled him, tumbling to the ground. He punched Marcus in the face with his bionic fist, stunning him, as he reached for his rifle. Marcus shook it off and returned the favor by sinking his teeth into his shoulder and clawing at his face. The man screamed in agony, as Marcus jumped off of him, kicking his rifle under the truck with the portal device.

At the same time, the shaking, scroungetech portal device glowed red hot and began to melt into the vehicle. The terrorists inside jumped out, as the shoddy truck exploded with a massive shockwave, obliterating anything and anyone in the vicinity with an explosion as hot as a red star, and knocking Oliver and Marcus onto their backs.

The bounty hunter slipped away, clutching his bleeding face in his hands. Marcus, panting, looked over at Oliver. The two briefly checked each other for wounds.

“Marcus, you’re bleeding.”

“I know.”

They looked over at the car, or at least what was left of it. It was completely totaled, as well as everything inside of it, including what were once three pristine veggie lovers’ pizzas. Oliver’s heart was pounding out of his chest. Marcus got up and spoke through heavy breaths.

“Okay… we… hhhgh… we gotta… hhhgh… follow me…” The two turned to run, in the foray of gunfire, smoke, and chaos, as a massive, hulking figure emerged from the smoke, in a chrome mask, somewhat resembling a mechanical skull. His power armor and physique made him a force to be reckoned with- he was at least double Oliver’s size. His flowing cape and spiked shoulders made him even bigger, and his glowing green optics cut through the hazy air. Marcus shoved Oliver behind him, growling. Lord Uberkill the Death Giant spoke.

“Don’t be a hero.” Marcus rushed him, but for what he had in power, he lacked in technique and equipment. Marcus attempted to tackle him, but he decked the bear several times, before grabbing on and sending thousands of volts of lightning through his massive body. At this, Lord Uberkill unsheathed a crackling blade of pure energy and approached the convulsing delivery guy.

“Fine. Burn with your city.” His voice was threatening, as he knelt beside the bear, preparing to finish him off. Marcus flinched, expecting to meet his end, but Uberkill loomed over him, with a brief second of hesitation for reasons unknown.

KRAK!!! KRAK!!!

Oliver fired off two rounds; the first missing entirely, the second bouncing off of his armor like it was a wad of paper. His pistol clicked, as he was out of shots, as he began to back away. The titan quickly moved closer towards him, enveloping him in his shadow. Oliver’s little legs could only go so fast, each step he took dwarfed by the heavily-armored figure. The small marsupial quickly bolted towards a building wall as the energy blade slashed at him, grabbing onto a large, stone wall and clambering up the side of the building in desperation. He followed in hot pursuit, shooting blasts of lightning at him out of his hand. As Oliver reached the top, a perfectly-positioned blast hit the edge of the building, knocking it loose. Oliver dove onto the roof just in time, as the enormous chunk of building crumbled, hurtling below. The masked giant attempted to flee out of the way as the debris fell on top of him with a crash that shook the ground below.

A quiet followed, as the dust eventually cleared. Oliver caught his breath, before cautiously climbing back down, half-expecting to be shot at. Marcus slowly got up, and inched closer, still twitching from the electric shock. The two regrouped, standing by the fallen titan, whose entire lower half was crushed by a massive pile of debris. Oliver’s clothes had been slashed open in the back, and his fur underneath singed by the close call of the giant’s crackling blade. Had he slightly stumbled, there would’ve been two of him. They were both covered in soot, ash, blood, and sweat. Faint gunfire broke out in the distance as the mask of the figure peeled back with a soft, mechanical click, revealing a head of long, white hair.

“G…game over, weirdo. The figure slowly turned his head toward the duo, who stepped back in pure shock. It was a face they had recognized- Marcus’ own! His fur was long and shaggy, unlike Marcus’ short, sleek coat. A trickle of scarlet blood ran down his white muzzle. The other Marcus struggled to talk.

“You… you don’t even know wh…what-” His voice weakened, as the stone and armor pressed down on his body. With a final, staggered breath, Marcus watched speechlessly as the last life drained from his own eyes. A brief period of silence followed.

“…Huh…”

A platoon of enforcers pulled up, jabbering through their antennae. Oliver dropped his empty gun, as they put up their hands. Oliver looked over at Marcus, who turned and looked away.

“I’m not that guy, uh… I’ve got my ID, we’re just delivering a pi-” The enforcers grabbed onto them and moved them to safety, as reinforcements began to descend onto the scene.

“Reports from official sources claim that the death toll from the attack on Sector 7465 has now climbed to 108, with at least 20 more still missing and dozens more injured, bringing this up to a Δ-level disaster. The terrorists, affiliated with the ‘Uberkill Gang,’ as many are calling them, have taken down the Sector 7465 gate, with many of the given convergence points being currently inaccessible. A list of dimensions with alternative convergence points through the Sector 7550 gate can be found on the website below. Enforcers are currently investigating the motivations behind the group.

“Amidst the attacks, eight attackers were apprehended, and eight more were killed, including the group’s leader, who was known by the moniker ‘Lord Uberkill’. His identity has been revealed to be twenty-seven year old Bo Shuo Chang of Dimension 17S-411μ. Security footage shows that the leader of the terrorist organization was stopped not just by enforcers, but by the heroic actions of two pizza delivery drivers of a local business, who happened to be in the area when the attacks occurred. Officials still have yet to release their identities. In other news…”

Oliver watched the report on his phone, as a bandaged Marcus sat at the table, rubbing his temples. A few other customers sat, enjoying their lunches at the tables.

“Wait, your real name is Bo Shuo?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah, everyone just calls me Marcus though.”

“I think it’s a cool name,” Oliver said, trying to break the tension of the situation. Marcus didn’t say anything in response. In fact, he had been unusually quiet all day, deep in thought about the events of three days ago.

After they had been cleared by enforcers and released, Marcus had spent the night in the healing tank at the hospital, recovering from his injuries. Oliver too had been shaken from the events of that day. He reached up and put a gentle hand on Marcus’ shoulder as he winced from the pain.

“Sorry, forgot about your shoulder… You holding up alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He looked down at his hands, still lost in thought after looking back at his own alternate. “I just don’t understand it. What would have pushed him… me… I don’t know, what would have radicalized that version of me to that point. Like yeah, it was just an alternate, but still. How many people did that lunatic kill?” He pounded the table, his body language rigid and defensive. Oliver sat, listening.

“It’s not your fault, Marcus-”

“I know, it’s just… why would he do that? Why did all of these people follow him into battle? I would never… I would never do any of that! I wouldn’t kill innocent civilians, dude!” Oliver looked at the table, before looking at him, stress and pain poking through the dark circles surrounding his eyes.

“I know, Marcus. I believe you.” He snorted a hot breath through his nose, his ears lowered.

“You’re not just saying that?” Oliver shook his head.

“Of course not. Who knows what or where that ‘you’ came from… That wasn’t you, mate. After all, you tried to rush that maniac.”

“Thanks, man. I guess you’re right.” He looked around. “You seem to be the only one around who thinks so.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“I’m serious, dude. They got my picture all over the internet with the word ‘terrorist’. People keep looking at me funny, like I’m some… ticking time bomb. Even Wing Guy and the professor are treating me weird.” Oliver nodded, giving him space to talk. “I dunno. Sorry to ramble. I’m just… trying to process it all.”

“You’re not rambling at all,” Oliver replied. Marcus smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days. The bell rang as a familiar fly buzzed in.

“Hey, I thought I told you two to stay safe. What gives?”

“Hey, Stan.” Marcus waved a paw as Stan plopped himself down at the table, his wings buzzing with excitement.

“Heard you two went n’ put a stop to that uber-lord fella.”

“I mean, it wasn’t like we had much of a choice in the matter.” Oliver bashfully looked down, as Marcus stayed silent.

“Sure ya did. They leaked the footage online, I says ya know, they look just like you. Then I figured it was here once they said ‘pizza guys’.”

“Heh, thanks Stan.” Marcus spoke up, his voice weary.

“Messed up what happened. I feel awful for all those people. Just glad you’re safe and sound, thank God. Ope, one moment.” He walked over to the register. “Afternoon, bud! I’ll take my usual, please.” He placed the cash on the counter as Wing Guy paid no mind, before he walked back to the table. “A lot of folks online are callin’ you heroes, you know that?”

“I don’t know about that.” Oliver really didn’t feel like a hero, by any means. He’d run for his life, and Lord Uberkill happened to be crushed for the same reason he was alive- being in the right place at the perfect moment. As far as he was concerned, it was a matter of dumb luck. Plus, he wasn’t able to save the man and woman he watched die, or any of the over 100 others. He’d simply run like a wild animal trying to survive.

“Well, I sure do.” Stan put a container of tupperware in front of each of them. “Made a hot dish last night. Figured you guys could use some after that ordeal.”

“Thanks, Stan. Jeez, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Oh, stop. I wanted to.” Marcus took his tupperware container, even though he knew he’d have a tough time eating it without bamboo. Oliver looked down at the creamy mixture of cheese, tater tots, meat, carrots, and peas.

“That’s very kind of you, but I can’t. Koala.”

“Ope. Sorry bud, I didn’t know.” He took the tupperware in front of Oliver back. “Welp, looks like I got lunch today.” He went up to the counter, where his money still sat. “You can go ahead and cancel my order, bud. Thank you.” He took the cash on the counter and put it all into the tip jar, before walking back to the table. The wing guy hadn’t even noticed him, or at least acknowledged him. He pulled out his phone. “Heh, I don’t know if either of you saw the picture, but this Bo Schmoe fella looks like he could be your twin, Marcus.” Marcus looked incredibly uncomfortable and tired.

“He’s my al-”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Oliver cut him off with a chuckle, saving him from the conversation he’d been dreading. “Small world out there.”

“Smaller than you’d think.” His bristly, grey mustache curled into a smile. Marcus shot Oliver a surprised look, before regaining his composure.

“NEWCOMER! MARCUS CHANG!” The professor floated towards the table, as Stan waved a quick goodbye, buzzing out with his lunch. “TODAY IS A FORTUITOUS DAY!” The timing of that statement seemed incredibly off to Oliver and Marcus, especially with the footage of the crying families at the wreckage on the TV playing behind them. “THE PEOPLE HAVE SPREAD THIS WORD ON THE INTERNET THAT IT WAS NONE OTHER THAN PROFESSOR PIZZA’S PIZZAS WHO HAVE PUT A STOP TO LORD UBERKILL ONCE AND FOR ALL. FOR PROFESSOR PIZZA’S PIZZAS HIRES THE BEST OF THE BEST, AND FOR ONCE, THE LOGIC OF THE PLEBIANS HAS PREVAILED!” He levitated a tater tot from Marcus’ open hot dish and gestured around at the customers. “LOOK AROUND, DELIVERERS. PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF OUR GREATNESS! REMEMBER, IT IS NOT ABOUT THE PIZZAS SOLD, BUT THE PIZZAS FORETOLD OF! HOWEVER, WITH THE SPOILS OF BATTLE COME THE COSTS.”

Marcus spoke up. “Okay, so if this is so great for business, how are we supposed to deliver pizzas on time if the new gate takes an extra six to eight minutes to get to?”

“I AM GLAD YOU ASKED, MARCUS CHANG. IT TEARS MY MEATY HEART IN TWAIN TO DO SO, BUT FOR THE TIME BEING I HAVE MODIFIED THE STORE POLICY AND MOTTO: ‘IF IT DOESN’T ARRIVE IN EXACTLY THIRTY-SIX MINUTES AND TWENTY-FOUR SECONDS, IT’S FREE!’ AH YES, IT FLOWS RIGHT OFF THE TONGUE!”

“Cool, thanks.” Marcus itched underneath his hat.

“DO NOT MENTION IT, MARCUS CHANG. THAT REMINDS ME, THE ACTIONS OF YOUR ALTERNATE HAVE BROUGHT FORTH THE AGE-OLD QUESTION: IS IT NATURE WHICH MAKES A MAN, OR NURTURE?!” He manifested some sort of device with a myriad of needles and syringes . “COME, MARCUS CHANG. LEND ME YOUR DNA.” Marcus backed up.

“What? No!”

“WORRY NOT, MARCUS CHANG. THINK OF IT AS GETTING A HAIRCUT, EXCEPT YOUR HAIR IS ACTUALLY YOUR FLESH. FOR SCIENCE!!!”

Marcus backed against the counter. “Get that thing away from my face!” he growled.

Oliver stepped between them. “Professor, maybe some other time…” Professor Pizza dropped the tool.

“YOU REALLY ARE NO FUN.”

At the same time, the Wing Guy leaned over the counter. “So would you, like, also go psycho and kill a bunch of people?” Marcus turned around.

“Of course not! I’m not killing anyone. No one’s killing anything!”

“Oh.” He fiddled with the buttons on the cash register. “Be a lot cooler if you did.” He walked into the kitchen. Oliver watched with concern. Okay, red flags flying. Oliver noticed the rigid Marcus fumble with the tin in his pocket, as he popped a lemon-shaped gummy into his mouth. Thinking quickly, Oliver intervened.

“Professor, there are some trash bags in the kitchen I can’t lift. They’re really full-”

“I’ll get it.” Marcus briskly walked outside, as the professor turned 180°.

“VERY WELL. I WILL BE IN HERE, NOT MONITORING YOU THROUGH THE SECURITY SYSTEM TO SEE IF YOU GIVE IN TO YOUR MOST BASE DESTRUCTIVE IMPULSES. NEWCOMER! TO THE PIZZA STATION. AN ORDER AWAITS!!!”

Oliver gave Marcus a healthy amount of space for the rest of his shift. He stayed out there for quite a bit of time, "taking out the trash". Eventually, as the sky grew dark and they closed up shop, Marcus pulled Oliver in.

"Dude, I seriously owe you one for that garbage trick. And for being so cool earlier."

"Don't mention it." Oliver smiled. He'd also partially been unpacking  everything himself as well.

"No dude, I'm serious. It means a lot." He sat down at the table, taking off his baseball cap with a wry smile. "You're pretty cool for someone I could punt across a football field." Oliver snorted, looking under the table.

"Mate hang on... is that chair bending? Under all your weight?" Marcus playfully slugged Oliver, before gripping his injured shoulder. Maybe he wasn't in any condition to be throwing hands just yet. Marcus' chuckle turned into a sigh.

"I have a bad feeling that this is only the beginning of something much bigger." Oliver felt a sense of dread. In the back of his mind, he'd been thinking the same thing.

"Well then, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Marcus smiled at Oliver's faux optimism. Oliver's eyes flashed, as he got an idea. "You know, we still haven't went back to that forest like we said. Dimension 43... uh..."

"Oh yeah! Dimension 44M-470λ!" I forgot about that!" He glanced at the schedule. "We're both off a few days from now. Let's check it out!"

"Bet, alright." Oliver's excitement grew. He couldn't wait to go back to those woods and actually enjoy himself.

On his way out, Oliver sat in his car, as he waved goodbye to Marcus. Their conversation in the restaurant had led him to think back to the attack. About the couple. He opened up his phone to send a text to Iris.

If anything happens, just kn-

Oliver quickly deleted it. He didn't want to worry her, seeing as she likely didn't know about the attack.

I love you.

Oliver hit backspace again. An I-love-you text out of nowhere could be sweet, but it could also be worrying.

Hey.

Hey deleted his message again, before going into his photos. He sent her a meme he had saved of a cat hocking up a hairball. It was dumb, but for some reason it got him at just the right moment and he figured she’d get a kick out of it.

He looked up, only for something by the dumpsters to catch his eye. It was the wing guy, who looked around, seemingly not noticing him. He bent down and placed a pizza crust on the ground, as a small, white figure emerged from the garbage. So that’s where the beebo problem is coming from.

As the timid wild beebo ate, Wing Guy slowly approached it, as it sniffed his hand, before it continued eating. Unbelievable! It was letting him pet it! It was hard to make out in the dark, but Oliver thought he saw a smile creep onto Wing Guy’s face. It was a tender moment, one that he was surely not supposed to see.

Suddenly, a truck pulled up, its engine rumbling in the night.

“Hey!!!” The creature panicked and ran, spraying ink all over his uniform. The obese, red-faced human with silver whiskers leaned out the window.

“I wait out back for you for five minutes, you’re over here dilly-dallying around! Get in!” His tone was aggressive and sharp. The wing guy wordlessly got up and got in the car, slamming the door.

“Don’t slam my door!” He grabbed Wing Guy’s long, greasy hair. “I oughta kick your little punk ass.” He rolled up the tinted window as the truck pulled off. Oliver sat there, concerned and horrified.

That certainly explained a lot.