A Caffrey Christmas Carol

Christmas Present Part 1

Chemistry Lab, Derleth Hall, Miskatonic University, Arkham MA. 1975.

When they left Christmas Past, Peter thought he was seeing double. Two Joneses, two Dianas.

Two Mozzies? Peter groaned. El squeezed his hand and gave him a sympathetic look.

They were all standing in a chemistry lab with 1970s era equipment. Peter made a mental note to tell Diana her descriptions were excellent. This place looked exactly like the lab she'd described in her Arkham Files stories.

Their guide to Christmas Past, a younger version of the Neal they knew, handed the Arkham Mozzie a sheet of paper. "We went where and when you expected. No glitches, but they have questions." Neal crossed his arms. "I do, too."

Arkham Mozzie, in his garish attire, nodded approvingly. "An inquiring mind is a good sign. It will certainly aid in your career." He placed the sheet of paper in a folder and then peered through a microscope.

"I want answers," Arkham Neal insisted. "From you."

"And we want them now," Peter added. "What's with this Dickensian approach of yours? Why send us to see a near-perfect match to one of my childhood Christmases?"

Ignoring their questions, New York Mozzie said, "The others were supposed to be here by now. We had a very precise schedule." He sounded worried.

Peter's stomach clenched. "Are Henry and Neal — my Neal — in danger?"

Arkham Mozzie looked up and finally acknowledged Peter. "In danger of upsetting a plan that has been months in the making. They had more stops, but they weren't supposed to linger. I shall instruct the next set of guides to..." he trailed off as a bright flash of light appeared.

This time the scene didn't change, from Peter's perspective, but he found himself gawking at NYC Neal, his cousin Henry, with an Arkham version of El and himself. He'd been too concerned for Neal and curious about Mozzie's plan to consider that he might meet himself. He took a step forward and then paused, unsure what he should say to a parallel self who'd become a professor of archaeology.

Arkham Peter had done the same, and now they stared at each other. Arkham Elizabeth waved, and El waved back. They led their husbands forward, but barely had time to shake hands before NYC Mozzie bustled in. "You're late," he told the new arrivals. "What happened?"

Arkham El said, "They interacted with themselves in the alternate universes, and that added time to each visit."

"You can do that?" Peter asked.

Arkham Peter nodded. "If you touch someone in the alternate universe, they can perceive you but will later remember the encounter as something ephemeral, like a daydream."

"But we don't have to touch you to interact now," El said.

"Different types of universes plus different types of connections between them, means different restrictions," Arkham Mozzie said. "There isn't time to explain. What they've done drains my resources. I'll need to adjust the plan for the Christmas Present phase." He scurried back to a table where he scribbled notes.

Peter turned to his counterpart and said, "I don't believe you agreed to hopping around between universes without knowing the goal of all this. Let's hear it."

Arkham Peter chuckled and it sounded odd, the way hearing a recording of yourself seemed weird. "Universe-hopping has become increasingly common around here, due to the interest that creatures and people of other worlds have in Neal. This sounded like a trip to an amusement park in comparison."

"And I wanted a chance to experience what it's like," Arkham El added.

El nodded, so it seemed that in both universes Elizabeth wasn't satisfied with simply hearing about her husband's adventures. She wanted to be hands-on sometimes. "Why does Mozzie want us to witness this version of ourselves?" she asked.