2XTREME: Chapter 1
Disclaimer: NSYNC is non-fictional. This story, however, is completely fictional. NSYNC does not have super-powers (just a really talented PR engine that has an almost preternatural ability to plaster their faces everywhere and on everything. As was said by Yogurt The Great in Spaceballs..."MERCHANDISING! THAT'S WHERE THE REAL MONEY IS MADE...IN MERCHANDISING!"
Now, having said that and fulfilled my obligation to warn you away from my story (which isn't a really good selling practice, in theory) I hope you sit back and enjoy this sequel to XTREME NSYNC. If this story makes absolutely NO sense to you whatsoever...I suggest that you go back and read that story first. Thanks to everyone that has emailed me so far about this series. I hope you continue to enjoy (or hate) this one as you did the last one. Thanks to my fabulous hosted authors for allowing me to host their stories on billyburrew.com: Writerboy, FramptonLover and the ever-so-cute couple, David and Salty! If I missed anyone, feel free to email me and let me know....there will be more chapters of this story that I can use to thank anyone I missed.
**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."
Both JC and Justin's eyes closed 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. White boys can jump!"
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 again? 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.