I placed both hands on his foot and tried to shove it off. It didn’t budge. With his strength, he probably didn’t even notice that I was making an effort. Moreover, his foot had me pinned down as effectively as the solar panels had.
An odd noise off to the side drew his attention, causing Jack to jerk his head in that direction just as Jim-2 leaped at him, with the syringe poised to inject the neural blocker.
*****
It wasn’t the most original plan. While Jack was busy manhandling the Jim-1 version of me, as Jim-2 I had rushed forward with the intention of catching him unawares. It worked to some extent, as I was almost on him by the time he heard my approach, and had already sprang at him when his head snapped in my direction.
Unfortunately, that was about as much success as I could claim in this instance. With cat-like reflexes, Jack reached out while I was still in the air and caught me around the neck with one hand, while his other hand closed over the fist in which I held the syringe.
He sniffed the air and then muttered, “Well, I’ll be damned! Two of you!” He shook his head in disbelief. “I mean, I saw it in my future, but it seemed improbable, and clairvoyance can be hard to rely on.”
My eyes went wide. Jack had plainly foreseen my attempt to inject him as Jim-2. It explained a lot, including how – without eyes – he’d caught me in mid-air. But from what I understood of his powers, it shouldn’t have been possible.
“How…multiple…threats…?” I croaked as Jim-2, barely able to get the words out with my throat in Jack’s vise-like grip.
“Oh, so you know something about my precognition,” Jack said with a laugh, clearly understanding my confusion. “Well, you’ll be pleased to know that I still only see one threat at a time. However, I get images of the future more often now. This scene we’re playing out now only came to me since we’ve been on the roof.”
I felt despondent. We had severely underestimated Jack, and it looked like the price for doing so was going to be pretty steep (not to mention paid in blood).
“Anyway,” Jack continued, “what’s this you’ve been playing keep-away with?” He shook my fist – the one he held in his own grip – blatantly indicating the syringe.
“Vitamin…supplement,” I managed to mutter.
“Really?” Jack chuckled. “In that case, let’s make sure you get the recommended daily allowance.”
With that, he began slowly moving the syringe towards my neck.
“NO!!!” I roared as both Jim-1 and Jim-2. Immediately thereafter, both versions of me began desperately trying to get away. As Jim-1, I squirmed violently under Jack’s foot like a worm on a fishing hook, pounding fiercely on his leg at the same time. As Jim-2, I beat furiously on the arm that held me in the air with my free hand, while also bucking wildly in an effort to break his grip.
None of it worked. Jack was simply too strong, and he smiled with malignant glee as he continued guiding the syringe towards the Jim-2 version of me. Because of the angle at which he gripped my fist, it appeared that it was easiest for him to inject me behind the ear. Of course, he could have just taken the syringe from me (or broken my arm) in order to inject me in a preferred spot, but that obviously wouldn’t be as much fun as making me do it myself.
My mind raced as I tried to think of what to do in the few seconds remaining before I was injected. Jack’s grip around my fist made dropping the syringe impossible. There was a little wiggle room around the plunger which allowed me to take my thumb off it, but once the needle was inserted, Jack could press it himself. Still, wanting to delay the inevitable as long as possible, I moved my thumb off it anyway – just to make sure I didn’t accidentally squirt any of the fluid out…
I blinked as understanding suddenly dawned on me. Throwing my thumb back on the plunger, I pressed down as hard as I could. The syringe’s contents squirted out in a powerful jet, striking my ear and the side of my face, and then running down to my neck. And onto Jack’s hand, which was still locked around my throat.
Without eyes, Jack couldn’t see what I’d done, but he undoubtedly felt the neural blocker running over his hands. Plainly surprised, he stopped his efforts at trying to inject me with the syringe. Then he must have had some sort of revelation, because he simultaneously let go of my fist and throat like he’d just touched a red-hot poker.
The Jim-2 version of me dropped to the rooftop, but I managed to stay on my feet. As Jim-1, I put one hand on the heel of the foot Jack had on my chest and the other on its toe, and then I twisted. My action had the combined effect of getting his foot off me as well as throwing him off-balance, and he went sprawling.
As Jim-2, I let the syringe fall from my aching fingers before wiping its dripping contents from my face, then reached out my other hand to help my Jim-1 self to my feet. Nothing seemed to be permanently broken in either body, so I turned the attention of both Jims to my evil twin.
Jack had gone down on his stomach, and he lay there for a moment, making harsh breathing noises, as if he couldn’t catch his breath. Slowly, he rolled over and sat up. As I suspected, his eyes were back. I interpreted that as meaning
