Head Games part 3

“You seem to be putting some… lighter memories at the forefront of your mind, Bennings. Even while you’re unconscious.”

“A little mental trick Rex taught me years ago. That’s what you get for bouncing around in my head while I sleep.”

Ryan was younger and on stage with Adam Sandler in front of a Saturday Night Live audience. Sandler was wearing a ridiculous beanie and had his shirt tucked into his underwear while Ryan awkwardly looked toward a camera and read from a cue card, “I guess I was wrong about you Dumbest Boy In The World. Maybe you have a lot to offer.” Sandler crossed his eyes and in a high-pitched voice squeaked, “Ooooh, you betcha,” which elicited a laugh from the audience. Phil Hartman’s character approached the stage to address the audience as a narrator, “And with the world’s smartest boy and the world’s dumbest boy putting aside their differences, there’s hope for us all.” Then Chris Farley broke through the fake wall behind them shouting, “Not so fast! I’m the Fattest Boy in the World!” The skit ended, the band played, and the audience clapped.

“I remember this episode.”

“I was a terrible host but that was a good cast.”

“It’s interesting you’re sharing this memory. There’s not much I can do with it. I’ll have to dig deeper and see what I can find.”

“Be my guest, Cady.”

At the SNL after party, Ryan sat alone on the couch while Craig Levison and his parents chatted with various celebrities. He was clearly bored and he had little to do. Mackenzie Fellows plopped down on the couch next to him. She was close to Ryan’s age and, as a child actor, was famous for her role in various movies and TV shows playing precocious children.

“Hey, you look bored,” she said cheerfully.

“I am bored,” he responded glumly.

“Do you know me?,” her question was more inquisitive than one borne of ego.

“Yeah, Mackenzie Fellows. Why?”

“I dunno. People always act like ‘whoa’ when they see me but you’re not.”

“I’ve met famous people before. I don’t really care. I don’t even care that I’m famous.”

“Wow.”

“What?”

“You sound depressing.”

“I don’t care.”

“Good,” she continued sitting next to him.

A few seconds passed, then Ryan turned to her, “I saw Princess Lilly. It was kinda lame.”

“Your cartoon’s lame,” she snapped defensively.

“Yeah, I know. Don’t care,” he shrugged.

“Do you care about anything?”

“I dunno. Why are you here anyway?”

“My mom wants me to come to these parties sometimes. I hate `em.”

“I hate them too.”

“Do your parents make you go?”

“Yeah, them and the guy producing my cartoon.”

“I hate producers,” she said quietly.

“This is how you met Mackenzie Fellows?”

“It is. Just a couple of child stars exploited by media moguls.”

“As long as this is on your mind, let’s explore.”

It was Ryan’s eighteenth birthday and he was on a boat in Ibiza with hundreds of guests. He stood on the bow, facing the coast, then promptly pulled down his pants to moon the beach. “Behold,” he shouted drunkenly, “The world’s smartest ass!” This received a roar of laughter from his guests. He pulled his pants back up and turned around to see Mackenzie Fellows approaching with a drink in her hand. The two young adults smiled at one another.

“Holy shit, is that Mackenzie Fellows?,” Ryan slurred.

“Never miss a party,” she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

“Is this when the two of you started dating?”

“Nah, it was just the first time we hooked up. Say, aren’t you hungry? What time is it there in the Himalayans? It’s lunchtime, right?”

“I’m fine, thanks… Now, this is an interesting memory.”

Ryan and Mackenzie were now in their mid-twenties and it was their first date. They sat at a five-star restaurant with dilated pupils.

“I hate these places,” Mackenzie admitted, “This is the kinda place boring rich guys take me.”

“I’ll he honest, I just took you here because I thought this was where boring rich girls go,” Ryan joked.

“It’s pretentious.”

“So pretentious,” he agreed, “These snobby chefs treat their staff like shit, did you know that? They think they’re making art.”

“Their art sucks.”

“Is it the Pietá here on this plate? Is it representing some human ideal? No, it’s food.”

“It’s just food, man,” she giggled.

“It’s gonna go through our digestive system just like anything else.”

“And it’s shit… Like literal shit when it’s all over but it costs hundreds of dollars and it all ends up in the crapper eventually.”

“Fried bologna is totally cheap and it still comes out the same end. Ever eat fried bologna as a kid?”

“Hell yeah, I miss that.”

“Hey, waiter!,” Ryan turned and shouted across the restaurant, getting everyone’s attention, “We’re gonna need some friend bologna over here!”

“Don’t,” she giggled, “You’re gonna get us kicked out!”

“It’s good to know you never matured… Let’s go deeper, shall we?”

Ryan was in a bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. Mackenzie was likewise in a partially-undressed state but less conscious. In a cold sweat, Ryan shook Mackenzie, “Mac, wake up!”. He lightly slapped her cheeks, “C’mon, you gotta wake up, baby! Let’s go!” Sometime later, an Italian ambulance waited as paramedics brought her out of the luxury hotel they had been staying in. Some nosey paparazzis took the opportunity to snap photos as they put her in the back. Ryan watched the ambulance pull away and as one of the paparazzis got closer, he angrily snatched the camera from his grip and smashed it on the ground.

“I’m sure the press had a field-day with that one, OD’ing in an expensive hotel in Italy. It’s interesting that two people in your life ended up succumbing to drug addiction: Levison and Mackenzie.”

“… She survived. She went to rehab and these days, she has a nice career as a director, thanks.”

“Yes, but you still blame yourself for this one.”

“She was using before we met.”

“Ah, but you never stopped her. In fact, you used with her. I can read you in ways you will never be honest about. You were an enabler, Ryan. It was fun for you and you weren’t interested in the consequences. The jaded boy genius just needed a thrill now that he had a taste of adulthood.”

“Didn’t we establish a long time ago I was a shitty romantic partner? Wanna bring up my divorce with Sade next?”

“No, I’m interested in this one at the moment.”

Mackenzie Fellows held Ryan’s hand and sadly told him, “Sooner or later we’ll find a way to fail. I’m sorry, Ryan, but we’re way too much of a mess to make it work.”

“Why the break up?”

“You know me. Usual break up stuff.”

“What are you hiding, Bennings?”

“Did you see the time my ex-wife decided to divorce me?”

Sade Sterling paced around a bedroom, “I just can’t do this with you anymore, Ryan. I can’t.”

“What can I do to make it right?,” Ryan asked.

“You can’t fix everything, Ryan,” she wiped away a tear, “You’re the smartest man I’ve ever met but it’s profound just how clueless you are with people.”

“You’re masking something, but I’ll reach the real you eventually.”

“Hey, you wanted the painful stuff. None of this was a picnic. Hell, even my good memories are pretty bittersweet in light of recent events…”

Ryan was 19 and had just completed his first in-person mission alongside Rex Robinson. Police were placing scientists in squad cars and carting illegal machinery away. “First time on the field and you brought down the Power Grid,” Rex gave Ryan a pat on the back, “That’s a helluva start, son.”

“Hm, if we’re going to explore your superhero career, perhaps, we should start from the beginning.”

Ryan was a child, looking over a map alongside police officers. “The robbers gotta be in this radius,” he drew a circle on the map while the officers took a closer look.

Next, Ryan was a bit older and sitting in a lab showing FBI agents a pair of goggles, “These will help you see heat signatures through walls. That way, if there’s a bad guy in the next room, you’re gonna know.”

Ryan was now a graduate of Harvard and hitting puberty. He sat in an office, showing blueprints of a canon to men in casual attire. “I made sure this game’s gonna be as realistic as possible,” he told them, “These guns can work in real life if someone built them… Just like you asked.” The men nodded to each other and packed up the blueprints. Craig Levison began leading Ryan out the door, “It’s gonna be the most popular game this Christmas… Now let’s get going. We got a Boy’s Life interview to get to.”

“You weren’t developing a video game were you?”

“Those were CIA agents, I’m sure. They tricked me into building weapons for a coup in Costa Triste. Never did find out how much Levison knew about it. He likely didn’t know what the organization was or what the weapons were for but he had to know they were in that line of work.”

“He was just as much of a mark for American Imperialism as you were. Even as a child, you were wreckless.”

“Yeah, but he was the adult in that equation. I can put a bit more blame on him.”

“How many innocent lives do you think were lost in Costa Triste because of the weapons you developed?”

“A lot. And yes, it weighs on my conscience. Is that what you wanna know?”

“I already knew that but it’s nice to hear you admit your failings. I like seeing that egomaniacal facade dissolve. I am going to take your mind apart, Bennings, piece by piece. You can use any technique you want but you only delay the inevitable.”

Brain Boy…

Brain Boy…

Totally radical…

Brain Boy…

Brain Boy…

It’s fight’n crime, then pizza time…

It’s Brain Booooooy!

“The theme song? I can make this interesting.”

Brain Boy waddled into his lab cartoonishly, accompanied by obnoxious sound effects. “Labrat, you gotta lot of explain’n to do!,” his voice was equally cartoonish, befitting his animated visage.

Labrat soon entered the room, wearing a backwards cap and shades, “What’s up, dude?”.

“You’ve been in my lab. I know it!”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because it’s filled with popcorn,” the camera pulled back to reveal a lab filled to the ceiling with popcorn.

“I only used the microwave, dude.”

“That wasn’t a microwave, you idiot. It was the Duplicator!”

“Oh, that’s no bueno!”

A machine in the back bounced and wiggle, generating even more popcorn. The mountain of snacks overflowed, carrying Brain Boy and Labrat out the door. “Whoooooaaaah,” they chorused as they rode the avalanche of buttery goodness.

We’ll be right back after this commercial break…

“Hey kids, ready for the hottest arsenal from Ryan Bennings and the CIA? Check out the Turbo-Maxer 100!”

“Way cool!,” two boys shouted as they held twin plasma canons. They began firing the canons, sending beams of energy into a Costa Triste hospital.

“Now you too can topple governments for Uncle Sam! Super-genius intellect may be required.”

And now, back to Brain Boy…

Labrat and Brain Boy poked their heads out of the popcorn mound. “Labrat, this time you’ve really baked my biscuits!,” Brain Boy shouted. A cartoonish general zipped into frame and poked Labrat’s shoulder with a needle before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

“Ow, what was that?,” Labrat asked.

Brain Boy pushed his way out of the popcorn, “Super soldier bullshit. That’s what that was. Can this day get any worse?” On cue, cartoon versions of his parents arrived.

“Brain Boy, can we borrow some money?,” Lisa Bennings asked.

“No, it’ my money!,” Brain Boy protested, “And really, it’d be nice if you did something about the military stealing my tech!”

“Eh, it’s probably your imagination,” Jack Bennings brushed him off, “And let’s face it, some of these countries kinda ask for it anyway.”

Brain Boy began to sob with twin fountains escaping his eyes, “I saw photos! Soldiers had my guns and… and there were bodies!”

“That’s no bueno,” Labrat exclaimed.

Craig Levison snatched Brain Boy by the collar and smooshed their cartoon noses together, “What were you telling your parents just now? Listen, we got a spot on Good Morning America so I don’t need your shit today. Please, get over whatever hormonal thing you’re experiencing and get out there!”

Ryan went on stage and the hosts clapped enthusiastically, “Hey, it’s the smartest monkey in the world! Can you dance for us monkey?” Ryan began dancing, his limbs flailing on their own. “Oh, look at ‘im dance, America,” the host announced gleefully, “Don’t we just love him?,” an angry sneer crossed the hist’s face, “Well, until he hits adulthood anyway.”

Ryan peered out at the audience who returned disdainful gazes, arms folded in judgement. “I heard he cheated on his wife,” one woman could be heard. “Not surprised,” a man answered back, “You see how he partied when he was younger? Child celebrities are all the same. Remember that Mackenzie girl?”

Ryan hung his head in defeat, “I try to make up for it and fight bad guys. I got a team now. I try to do good.”

“You sure about that?,” Dante Greer appeared next to him, “You do good?,” he pointed to something over Ryan’s shoulder, “Is that what you call doing good?” Against his better judgement, he turned and noticed the Upstarts – all dead and stacked on top of one another.

Ryan shot out of bed and caught his breath. He checked the time and rubbed his eyes tiredly. In the darkness of his bedroom, he saw a figure moving toward him with a weapon in hand. “Lights!,” he called out and when they came on, he found Miles Cady charging at him with a socket wrench in his hand. He wasn’t sure how Cady got in his house and it would be a question to ask later. At that moment, he had to defend himself. Ryan leapt out of bed and had no problem wrestling the weapon out of the older man’s hands.

In a rage, Ryan brought the wrench down across Cady’s cheek, sending him to the floor. He brought his hands up in defense and Ryan swung again, breaking the right ulna. There was another blow to the ribs and Ryan stopped long enough to question what he was doing. As angry as he was, this was not something he would normally condone.

And why was it morning all of a sudden?

And why was he in Labrat’s bedroom?

Labrat was on his bed, his fur and sheet stained with red streaks. He raised his hand pleadingly and asked in a weak voice, “Ryan… Why did you do that?”

Continued…