SSV: Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 1

Chapter 10

Jake's eyes fluttered open and his head was pounding. Where was he? He was on the floor somewhere, but where? The last thing he remembered was…what was it again? He had a bad feeling as he sat up to look around. Something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Why couldn't he remember what he'd been doing before? Maybe the better question was where was he now? He stood up to try to look around, but it was incredibly dark wherever he was. He checked himself to see if he had any of his equipment, and felt slightly relieved when he felt his suit and gadgets where he'd left them.

His cowl was missing, though, and that felt somehow strange and familiar. A single orb of light appeared and broke through the shadows. He heard an ethereal voice call his name, "Jake….Jake….come to me, Jake…."

The ball of light did little to illuminate his surroundings, but he could just barely make out the dusty floors and crates stacked to create a pathway. Jake narrowed his eyes and stepped towards the light. It moved away from him the second he moved, and Jake did his best to follow after it. He couldn't see any other option, literally and figuratively. The shadows around him seemed to grow longer, and he had an uneasy feeling as he chased after the orb. Something about that voice sounded hauntingly familiar, but he couldn't place it. The room was silent, outside of his hurried footfalls, but he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. What was going on?

The sound of something scraping along the floor behind him caught his attention. It was like something was being drug across the floor, but Jake tried his best to ignore it. He needed to find a way out of here. The sound of a loud thud behind him nearly made him jump. This didn't feel right, so he picked up his pace and began running. His nerves were getting the better of him, despite his best efforts, and he desperately wanted to get out of wherever he was. Jake had never been one to fear the dark, but something about this wasn't adding up. If he could just remember what had been happening before then maybe he wouldn't feel so anxious. His confusion was adding another layer to his growing terror.

That strange, familiar, and ethereal voice came again, louder this time, "Jake! Hurry up, Jake! Run, my little Raven, run!"

It couldn't be, could it? Jake's first thought was that this was some other vision or game from Lilith, but this felt somehow different than the other night. If there was even the slightest chance that Rebecca was here, he had to try to find her. He could see a door in the distance, at least he was fairly certain it was a door. The orb of light crashed into outline and dissipated in a luminescent explosion. Jake didn't slow down as the darkness grew heavier in the absence of the light. He barreled through the doorway with his shoulder. He didn't care what was on the other side of it, as long as he managed to escape.

Jake threw the door open and stepped outside into the city streets. A large crowd of citizens gathered not far from where he stood. They carried burning torches of all things and various guns as they moved around in an uproar. Afraid to draw more attention to himself, Jake grabbed his grappling gun and fired it at a nearby rooftop. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have cared, but without his cowl he was risking unnecessary exposure. He landed on the ledge and peered down at the mob of people funneling through the streets. What was happening? He furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out where everyone was going.

From his vantage point, he could faintly make out picketed signs and posters in some of their hands. They were funneling down the street, but he couldn't see what they were heading toward. Then he heard someone shout, "Burn the witch! Make her suffer the way we did!"

Jake narrowed his eyes as he tried to comprehend what the people were talking about. Were they after Pam? Surely not after everything she had done for the city. Deciding to get closer, he fired his grappling gun once again. He flew through the air towards the front of the growing mob. This wasn't like the people of Metropolis. Calling for blood and vengeance had never seemed to be in their nature. He landed in a roll before breaking back into a run without missing a step. He ran to the ledge and froze. A large platform had been constructed in the distance. A single post rose up from the center of it, and tied to it was Rebecca. Her face was beaten and bruised, and she had a collar fastened around her neck. She was bound, but she wore a confident smirk in spite of her injuries.

A woman with bleach blonde hair, a white scarf around her neck, and a black and white pantsuit stood at a podium off to the side. Meg Myers, the very woman who'd tried to kill Jake not long ago. She grabbed the microphone and addressed the angry mob, "Ladies and gentleman, good people of Metropolis, I think we all know why we're here. We were led to believe that this monster masquerading as a woman was dead, but the so-called heroes have been lying to us! The battle may have been real, my good people, but this villain is clearly alive! What's worse, though, is that the same three you all put your faith in aided this monster during her first conquest! They are the reason that she inflicted so much pain and suffering on all of us!"

"Kill the liars!" a woman screamed.

"No more heroes!" another man shouted.

"Yes!" Meg cheered, stepping out from behind the podium, "The MPD has been working tirelessly to find and bring these pretenders to justice for their crimes! All of you are already aware that The Raven is none other than Jake Blackridge himself, the self-proclaimed savior of this city! His company assets have been frozen, and it is in the process of being transferred to more capable and caring hands!"

Jake took a step back as the mob cheered their agreements and outrage. His head hurt as he suddenly remembered a broadcast being sent out that revealed his identity, but who had sent it? Why couldn't he remember? His heart sunk into the pit of his stomach as he realized that the entire city now knew who he was, but more than that, they blamed him for everything Rebecca had done. He swallowed as he stared down at the woman tied to the post. There was no mistaking her hair and face, but how was she here? Lilith had personally come to him and shown him what she was doing to her! Was he dreaming?

When he heard her speak, he knew that she had to be real. He'd never met anyone with her accent before, and Jake knew her voice better than anyone. "Has your society truly devolved this much?" Rebecca asked in an all too familiar and condescending tone, "This is your idea of justice? Burning a woman at the stake like in times of old, what a joke! People of Metropolis, hear me well! The woman before you is a charlatan, a hypocrite, and is far more dangerous than I! Do you all truly think me so incapable that mere rope could stop me?! The device she's placed around my neck is a dampener developed by a woman thought lost to the annals of your city!"

"Gag the witch!" a man shouted, throwing spoiled fruit at her.

"Your incompetence will lead to your undoing," Rebecca scoffed as she turned her head to Meg, "Go ahead, dear girl, do your worst. You have no idea the extent of the wrath you will unleash by killing me a second time."

"With pleasure," Meg said with a grin as she grabbed a burning torches from someone in the crowd and threw it at Rebecca's feet, "This is the fate of all who would threaten Metropolis! Let this be a lesson to all villains!"

Jake broke free of his stupor and dove down into the crowd with a furious, "No!"

He was too slow. The fires began to spread at an incredible and unreal rate. The flames burned brightly and furiously as they rose up to engulf Rebecca. The crowd gasped when Jake touched down, but Meg Myers didn't flinch. "Ah, the Bird himself," she said as she approached with a wicked grin, "Come to save your overgrown lover, or have you come to face justice for your lies?"

Jake ignored her and tried to make it to Rebecca, but the flames suddenly surged as he got close. "My Raven," Rebecca said longly as she looked at him through the fire, "Too slow yet again, my love."

"Rebecca," Jake said as he tried to fight through the wall of flame, "Just hold on, I'll get you out of there!"

The face of Lilith appeared amidst the fire. She stared at him with a confident and smug look of satisfaction etched onto her demonic features. A sudden burst knocked Jake back and onto his back. "How many times will you let me die, Jake?" Rebecca asked as Lilith's face began to laugh and sink into Rebecca's body, "How many times will you fail?"

"What an utterly pathetic display," Meg scoffed from behind him, "Too slow to save her, too weak to save this city, and too stupid to save yourself. This city will burn you in effigy for everything you've done. You should have killed yourself, or better yet, you should have let us kill you months ago!"

"No," Jake whispered as the weight of his failures became almost too much for him to bear, "Everything I've done, I did because I love this city!"

"More lies to help you sleep at night," Meg chided, "You're just a rich boy who wanted to play dress-up. You never cared about the destruction you left in your wake, the lives you ruined! These people trusted you! You're a disgrace to your family name, and you're no better than the monster we've burned tonight!"

Something inside of Jake snapped at Meg's hurtful speech. He could feel himself slipping, but he'd only ever felt this feeling once before. The rage gave way to a thirst that he couldn't quench, and he could feel himself falling out of his own mind. He got to his knees as the feelings of failure, outrage, and hurt grew more and more difficult and intense. "No!" he screamed as he was evicted from his own psyche.

What happened next was a blur to him. Brief glimpses of his body acting without him flashed before his eyes. He sprung to his feet, turned to Meg, and tackled her to the ground. He sunk his teeth into her throat, and he could briefly remember an almost copper taste in his mouth. Meg Myers fell to the ground and the mob began screaming in terror. Jake dug his fingers into her stomach, and he could recall the warm feeling of her innards in his hands. He came back to himself just as he pulled away from Meg's dying body. She stared up at him with victory in her eyes as she uttered her last words, "The…monster…is real…Jake Blackridge…"

Jake stood up and stepped back from Meg's dying body. He could see the scar on her neck now that he'd ripped the scarf from it. Blood dripped down from his mouth and hands, and he could feel the shock and terror radiating from the crowd. He turned back to Rebecca to watch as she drew her dying breath in the flames. Her eyes locked with his as she asked, "How many times will you let me die, Jake? How long will you make me suffer?"

Jake's head began to pound and ache behind his eyes. He slammed them shut, and covered his face with his hands. What was happening to him? He stumbled backward as the crowd began to recover from their shock and horror. Some of them fled, but the majority moved to attack him. "He's a murderer!" a woman screamed.

"Throw him into the fire with the witch!" another man shouted.

"Just kill the bastard one way or another!" someone else shouted as they began ascending the stage.

"Get back!" Jake shouted as the world started to spin.

A deafening and demonic laugh filled the air, or maybe it was just in his head. Regardless, it was all Jake could hear as the angry mob got closer. His body was hit with an overwhelming burning sensation that started in his back. It moved through his body like a bolt of lightning that crackled and surged through every fiber of his being. His vision became blurry as the heat grew more intense, and sweat started to pour off of him. He screamed he felt like he was catching flame. The pain was too much, and Jake blacked out before he could figure out what was happening.

Darkness, emptiness, and the general unknown surrounded Jake. Unsure how long he'd been out, Jake's eyes slowly fluttered open. He remembered the pain, and watching himself end Meg shortly after Rebecca died once again, but beyond that there was nothing. Where was he now? Blood red skies above him were the first thing he saw as his eyes opened, and strange constellations, rolling red clouds, and fires stared back down at him. The air was dry, but there was an unusual heat that felt somehow familiar. He'd seen this sky before, but where? His eyes widened as he shot up and looked around.

"This can't be real," he whispered to himself as he looked around to see an all too familiar marble structure surrounded by the wastes of Hell.

He got to his feet and looked down when he realized that he was missing his armor. The top half of his suit was gone, and his chest was exposed. A haunting scream sounded in the distance, and a menacing laugh followed it. Jake turned around to see Lilith standing at her full height a short distance away from him. "My little plaything has finally arrived," she said with a wicked grin as she took a step forward, "You're just in time, my adorable little toy. I was beginning to grow bored of torturing that whore. Oh, who am I fooling? I just wanted someone to watch while I have my fun! Come here, boy!"

Jake ducked under Lilith as she lunged at him, "There's no way this is real! I'm still alive!"

"Your body may be up above, but your soul is here with me, little boy," Lilith growled as she held up her hand and grabbed him with her magic, "Now, do not make your new owner chase you! You'll learn your place here, Jake, even if it takes a few centuries beneath my feet and ass!"

Jake's body was seized by unseen forces, and his limbs were suddenly bound at his sides. He struggled and squirmed against the invisible restraints, but he couldn't break free from whatever was holding him. "What do you mean my body is still up there?!" he demanded as he continued struggling.

"Save your struggles for when you're beneath me, boy," Lilith chided as she crooked her finger and forced him to follow as she walked, "I do love the feeling of a pathetic mortal squirming beneath my feet, under my lovely backside, or even while trapped in my pussy!"

"Answer my question, damnit!" Jake yelled.

Lilith growled as she stopped without warning and backhanded him across the face, "Insignificant little worms like you don't get to make demands! I own you, you sorry excuse for a man, and you would do well to get that through your thick skull!"

Jake's jaw stung from the force of her strike, and any thoughts of this being another nightmare were quickly abolished. The pain was all too real, but how was he here? What did she mean by his body still being on Earth? He clenched his jaw tight to suppress the urge to speak again, and Lilith grinned at his obedience. She turned around once more, and the two of them resumed their walk. She led him towards the edge of her Sanctuary until they reached a swirling vortex. She looked over her shoulder and flashed him a fanged smile as she stepped through the portal. Jake entered right behind her, and his stomach rolled as waves of inertia slammed into him. Shades of purple, red, and black spun around him as they passed through whatever this was.

They stepped out in front of a large pit. The smoldering ground was broken and jagged, and a bridge of bones had been constructed over the enormous chasm. A totem of sorts could be seen jutting out on a small piece of land beyond the infernal pit. Smoke and steam rolled up from the darkness, and Jake could see the outline of spirits racing up and around while screaming in agony. The whole area made him uneasy, but Lilith seemed to delight in the sight before them. Jake could only watch in fearful silence Lilith led him over the bridge. She hummed a strange and eerie tune to herself as they walked. Jake looked over the edge to see bubbling pools of sulfur and magma down below. The stench was almost enough to make him sick.

Jake's eyes turned to saucers as they neared the strange floating island with the colossal column of bone in the center. The small island was suspended by massive chains that stretched from the four corners of the chasm's ledge, and several shadowy demons swarmed and lurked around it. What caught Jake's attention, though, was Rebecca chained to the column. Her hands were above her head, and they were held in place with two large nails in her wrists. Her hair was matted and covered in the blood that ran down from her open wounds, and her skin was more pale than usual. Dark circles covered her eyes from exhaustion and abuse.

"How is my favorite traitor today, hmm?" Lilith asked as she and Jake approached, "I've brought you a gift, Rebecca, I wanted your beloved to see for himself the sort of agony he's given you over to. Come now, don't be rude, say hello to our guest!"

"Ngh," was all Rebecca could muster as she struggled to lift her head up.

"What have you done to her?!" Jake demanded, his spirit renewed as he fought against the restraints.

Lilith ignored him and got close to Rebecca. A succubus approached and brought her fanged mouth close to Rebecca's neck. "Leave us!" Lilith barked at the demon who quickly dispersed before she grabbed a fistful of Rebecca's hair and pulled her forward, "Come, dear, where is that indomitable spirit you once had?! All those bold claims of being a God, what happened to that?! Show a little spine, dear girl!"

Lilith cackled as she held out her hand and a dagger appeared. She ripped Rebecca from her chains, blood sprayed from her wrists as she screamed in pain. Without warning, Lilith plunged the dagger into the top of Rebecca's back, and she dragged it downward along her spine. She released Rebecca and kicked her along the open wound. Rebecca whimpered as she fell on her face in front of Jake. "Stop this!" Jake ordered.

"Keep silent, little worm!" Lilith growled as she stepped forward and grabbed Rebecca's hair to force her to look up at Jake, "See the boy you craved, Rebecca? He belongs to me now, and there is nothing you can do about it! Nobody is coming to save you, you sniveling little whore. Jake is mine, Beth hates your guts, and your own pupil has forgotten you! You're going to spend eternity as my personal plaything, and the only reprieve you'll get is watching while I play with the love of your life! He's going to worship every inch of my body, and you'll have no choice but to watch while I use him for whatever my heart desires!"

"Let go of her!" Jake snapped, trying in vain to break free of Liliths magic, "Rebecca, she's lying! Pam hasn't forgotten about you, and Beth doesn't hate you! Please, don't give up on me!"

"So says the boy who sent her to me," Lilith mocked as she slammed Rebecca's face into the dirt and stood up to address the demons that circled around them, "Take her, and tear her limb from limb! Pull her apart slowly for you queen! Make her death as agonizing as possible, and try to make it entertaining for me and my new toy!"

A symphony of hissing filled the air as swarms of bloodthirsty demons swirled around the island. Lilith chuckled to herself as she raised a hand to summon a throne from the ground. Bones and stone rose from the ground, and Jake began to worry that she might use him as a cushion. He wasn't sure which would he worse; being trapped beneath her ass, or having to watch Rebecca get ripped to shreds. Lilith took a seat, crossed her legs, and propped her chin up with her fist while Jake remained frozen in place. The demons circled around Rebecca for just a few seconds before they dove at her. Jake could only watch in horror as the lifted her broken body into the air.

Horrific didn't even begin to describe what Jake was forced to witness. A winged beast sunk its teeth into Rebecca's arm, and a succubus latched onto her mouth. Jake watched in disgust as a chunk was taken out of her arm and her tongue was ripped from her mouth. A sea of fangs and claws overwhelmed her as more of Lilith's demons closed in around her. They pulled open her stomach and chest, and they began rifling through her innards and devouring them. He'd never heard someone scream without a tongue, but the sound would forever haunt his nightmares. He could see the pain and betrayl etched into her eyes as she stared down at him. That was, perhaps, the worst part of it all; she never broke eye contact with him as she was torn to bits.

Her legs and arms were chewed off, and they fell at Lilith's feet. She clapped and let out a dark chuckle as Jake tried to close his eyes, "Marvelous, simply marvelous! Oh, I do love a good dismemberment, don't you, Jake?! The only sorrow is that it never lasts quite as long as I'd like. Now, what shall I do with you?"

"You're a monster," Jake breathed I'm shock and disbelief.

"You don't know the half of it, little man," Lilith said darkly as she stood up, "This realm belongs to me, and I am the embodiment of all evil! What I've done to that pathetic little fool is child's play, and that was tame compared to some of the other games I've played. You seem to be having difficulty grasping your place, though. Hmm, I think I have an excellent way to indoctrinate you into your new life. Please, feel free to struggle and scream while I have my fun. You'll be all the more delicious on the way down!"

Jake didn't know what she meant, but he didn't like the sound of it. She held up her right hand and it emitted a dark red smoke. The smoke swirled around him, and Jake suddenly felt like his world was spinning. He felt weaker than normal, and he swore that Lilith was growing. Then it hit him. She wasn't growing, he was shrinking! He shrunk more and more until he couldn't have been more than a couple of inches in height. He'd experienced this sort of terror only a handful of times, but he hated the sensation more than anything. He dropped to the ground, and was surprised to find that he could move. He turned to try to run away, but Lilith laughed as she stopped him with a painful stomp. The sound of bones snapping filled his ears as the pain of broken bones overtook his senses.

Lilith plucked his battered body from the ground and held him in front of her face. Jake cried out as she closed her fist around him, and he could only stare at her sharp teeth and dripping mouth. "How utterly pathetic and stupid," she chided, "Trying to run away at your size, how idiotic can you be?! Oh, it would be nice to feel that little body squirming between my toes, but that will come in due time. I'll settle for feeling you slide down the back of my throat and passing you through my digestive system!"

No, surely she wouldn't! Jake screamed bloody murder as Lilith wordlessly brought him to her open and smiling mouth. She tossed his body in, and he landed on her slimy forked tongue. He couldn't stand after being stepped on, not that it would have done much good. Panic and terror seized him as she tossed his body to the right side of her mouth. He landed on a row of her sharp teeth; his body was already coated in a thick layer of saliva that burned his skin. Jake could only watch and scream as the top row of her fanged teeth came crashing down. He'd never once considered being eaten alive, and the experience was something he hoped to never have again. Her teeth crushed and sliced through his body, but it wasn't enough to kill him. All he could do was scream and thrash in pain. Lilith chomped down on him again and again until he was no longer recognizable. Somehow, he could still feel every ounce of pain as she chewed him up. Thankfully, he blacked out as what was left of his body slid down the back of her throat, but the sound of her laughter still rang out in his head.

Jake awoke sometime later, but he hadn't the faintest idea how long it had been. Where was he? What had happened to him? He was surrounded on all sides by flesh, heat, and a foul odor. His face hurt, his limbs felt heavy, and his mind felt like it was scrambled. There was a pressure on his face that felt familiar yet foreign. The weight lifted for the briefest of seconds only for a gust of hot wind, a sickening ripping sound, and a wave of sulfur to bombard his senses. Someone was sitting on his face, and whoever it was had just farted on him! He bucked as best he could to try to knock them off, but his body was too weak to do anything. All he managed to do was drive his face deeper into the flesh that surrounded him. In response, whoever it was began grinding their ass on his face.

After what felt like a painful eternity, the weight was lifted from his face. Unfortunately, Jake's face was so far wedged in their crack that he followed for a moment. He fell free with a sickening pop, but his vision was blurry. A dark laugh reached his ears, and the sight of Lilith's bulbous ass and wicked grin told him exactly where he was. "Oh, Jake, I'm glad you're so eager to stay close to my ass!" she teased, "I'd have thought after the last year that you'd begin to get sick of it, but it makes your queen feel good to know you still love it so much. Breathing in my fumes, cleaning my delicious ass, and providing comfort to me is a full-time job, after all!"

Did she say a year? Had it really been that long?! Jake coughed and gagged as he tried to find the will to crawl away from her, "You're lying. I haven't been here that long."

"Oh, but you have," Lilith said, grinning down at him and snatching his ankle and pulling him back to her, "How quickly time flies when you're having fun, right?! Have you forgotten all our fun, Jake? Sucking my cock, eating my pussy, riding through my intestines, watching your beloved whore get tortured!"

"I'm not dead!" Jake screamed at her, but he was silenced as the sole of her foot slammed down on his face, "How many times must we go over this, Jake? Your body is no longer your own, and your soul was sent to me to uphold our deal! Now, stick out your tongue and clean the dirt from my foot!"

Jake summoned every ounce of energy he had left to push her foot off of his face and get to his feet. "Show me!" he demanded, stepping away from her, "Prove to me that you haven't cheated your way to get what you want!"

"Tch, insufferable little insect," Lilith grumbled as she snapped her fingers and conjured a portal, "Very well, but you're going to pay for your insolence. Maybe some time with my sweet daughter will remind you how fortunate you are to be in my service! Step forward, boy, and behold what your body has become! Surely, you remember you dear sweet vampiric parasite. Have a look and see what she's been up in your absence!"

Jake swallowed as he stepped toward the portal. It was smokey, but it eventually started to clear up and turn to a familiar picture of his home. The city streets were littered with crashed cars, ruins, trash, and bodies strewn throughout them. Jake frowned as he saw someone running and stepping over several of the dead. He recognized the pink hair, leather jacket, and the way she ran. Beth was running from something, but what? Then he saw it. A blur of flesh that flew by the portal. What was that? All he could do was watch with bated breath and intrigue at whatever was unfolding before him.

Jake's eyes widened as he saw himself suddenly appear in front of Beth. His hair was longer, but his face was cleanly shaven. His eyes were like two burning coals staring down at his best friend. "Ashley, stop!" Beth shouted, drawing her pistol and aiming at his body, "Whatever you've done with Jake, you need to bring him back! He wouldn't stand for all of this, and you know it!"

"Jake is gone because you and Pam failed him," Ashley replied, her voice a strange overlay of her own and his, "You two left him at the hands of a dead woman, and you abandoned him to save yourselves! Seeing the witch die a second time pushed him over the edge, but it never would have happened if you had been the friend you claim to be! It wasn't enough for you to leave him, you had to bring that whore back to life!"

"We had nothing to do with that!" Beth screamed at her, "We would never put him through that, Ashley! Nevermind the fact that it would devastate him, Pam couldn't perform that kind of spell! I don't know how she came back, but we had nothing to do with it!"

"Liar!" Ashley roared as she rushed at Beth and dodged several bullets before reaching and snatching Beth's throat and lifted her up, "Because of you two, I lost the love of my life! I suffered and waited in Hell just to see him, and I sacrificed everything for his sake! If I can't have him, then I will see this world burn! Metropolis never deserved him, and this city will serve as a permanent reminder of what happens when you cross me!"

"Let her go!" Pam's voice broke through as a bolt of lightning crashed down beside Ashley and Beth.

Ashley turned to face Pam and glowered at her, "Ah, the better half of two traitors. You're just in time to watch while I rip the throat from your lover!"

"Ashley, stop this!" Pam cried out as she channeled her power into her palms, "It's not too late, there's still a chance we can save Jake! Let Beth go, and I will do everything in my power to help the both of you!"

"Groveling for the sake of your little pet, how quaint," Ashley scoffed as she tightened her grip on Beth's throat, "Why should I believe you?! It's because of your own negligence that he's gone! Because of your meddling and devotion to that filthy witch, he's been gone for over a year! Where were you when he first disappeared?! Where were you when this city sought to crucify him?! No, Pamela, I think it better that you watch the love of your life die like I had to with mine! You two can be together in Hell, but not before I make you suffer!"

"Don't-" was all Pam could get out before Ashley sank her fangs into Beth's neck and ripped out her jugular.

She didn't even bother to drink her blood, simply letting Beth's body fall to the ground and lay in a growing puddle. Pam screamed and the air visibly crackled and shook with her rage. Jake could do nothing to stop the events unfolding before him, and the portal closed before he could witness the battle to come. "I don't understand," he whispered, stepping back, "How is this possible? We were bound, at least that's what I thought."

"No magic can undo mine, boy," Lilith said, turning to face him with a wide smile, "Your witchy little friend couldn't, and that foolish vampire queen couldn't. All I had to do was release Rebecca for a short time, and ensure that her death was witnessed by you. The schism in your mind gave me the opportunity I needed to steal you away. After all, why have one toy when I can have two?! Soon, I'll have both your pink headed friend and that witch as well! I'll take turns with each of you, using and abusing you to my heart's content! Victoria could do with a new plaything as well, so maybe I'll give one of them to her!"

Jake shook his head as he tried to wrap his head around everything that had happened and he'd seen. "Meg Myers is dead, though," he argued, his head starting to hurt as he fought through a strange fog, "How could she have been there? How could so much time have passed without me realizing it?"

"Don't overthink it, dear boy," Lilith cackled as she raised a hand and summoned Rebecca's broken form, "Why don't you say hello to the love of your life, hmm?"

Jake was trying to piece together what had happened when Rebecca appeared and fell to her knees in front of him. She looked up at him with lifeless eyes and asked, "How could you let this happen to me? Was I truly so terrible that I deserve this?"

"You see it now, don't you, Rebecca?" Lilith asked, leaning down and whispering, "He's not a hero, not a savior, he's nothing more than a selfish little worm. He gave you to me, he swore himself to me, and all because he wanted to make you suffer! Jake Blackridge isn't a savior, he's a sniveling cockroach waiting to be squashed!"

Jake shook his head as it continued to pound. "That's not-I didn't," he fumbled as he slammed his eyes shut and shouted, "None of that is true! I did what had to be done, but I never wanted any of this!"

"More lies from the mouth of a betrayer," Lilith scoffed, "You've been with me for some time, Rebecca. Here's an idea, why don't you take your revenge on him? Stab him, pummel him, remove him from your heart once and for all!"

Jake ground his teeth in frustration as everything began to distort around him. What was going on? "Rebecca, you know that I never wanted this!" he shouted before another familiar and spiteful voice screamed.

"You doomed all of Metropolis!" Beth's shrill and furious voice boomed as a ghostly apparition of her rose from the ground, "You took that monster in, you led Goth on, and everything that's happened is because of your shit choices! I died because of you, and Pam was forced to watch!"

Jake covered his ears as they began to ring. "Beth, I never thought-"

"Exactly!" Pam's furious scream echoed as her body drifted down, "You never think! All you do is bring pain and misery into everyone's lives! Yours a failure as a hero, as a man, and you deserve to be nothing more than a toy for this monster!"

Jake dropped to his knees and covered his ears. This couldn't be real, it couldn't! Beth and Pam continued screaming at him, "Failure, liar, murderer!"

Jake couldn't take it. His head felt like it was going to explode, and his heart was pounding in his chest. Were they right? Was this all because of him. He felt a strong hand clasp onto his shoulder, and he opened his eyes to look up at Rebecca. She stared down at him with dead eyes before driving her hand through his chest. "I loved you, Jake," she said before ripping his heart from his chest.

Jake stated at his still beating heart in her hand. How was he still alive? He heard Beth, Pam, and another voice practically screaming his name, "Jake, Jake, Jake!"

His eyes shot open, and he sat up in a panic. A scream bubbled out of his lips. He was terrified, and he couldn't move. Where was he now? Where was Lilith? He was on something soft, but he was tied down. He thrashed, struggled, and screamed as he tried to brak free. "Jake!" Beth shouted and he stopped screaming and started panting, "Oh my God, you're alive. Alexis, he's alive!"

"Beth?" he asked, his body still tremoring violently, "Where the hell am I? Are you…are you real?"

"Shit, I hope so," Beth replied with a sigh, "Lay back and relax. We need to examine you, but I'll fill you in on everything while we do. It's a long story."