How the Televator was Born

This idea had been gnawing at his brain for a while now. He had written them all down… but something was missing. He wasn’t sure what, but until he found it, he refused to submit it to any comic company.

Mikey was asleep in Gerard’s bed. He had arrived a few hours earlier from giving a bass clinic at the Guitar Center a few blocks away, and since it was pretty fucking late when he arrived and he was pretty fucking tired, Mikey crashed in Gerard’s room, since it was closer. And Gerard let him, because it was highly unlikely that he’d get any sleep anyway.

After sketching until his hands began to cramp (around eight-twenty-one) and he had gone through his entire sketchbook, Gerard decided enough was enough and closed it. Maybe taking a walk or something would help clear his mind.

“Mikey. Up.” He tossed one of the many issues of Batman he had for inspiration at his little brother.

Mikey groaned. “Don’t wanna.”

“Not even for Starbucks?”

“I’m up! I’m fucking up!”

…

Mikey was contently drinking his coffee, Frank was complaining that it was fucking early, Ray was still half asleep, and Bob looked more pissed off than a cat that’s been poked at with a stick when Gerard finally gets everyone up.

“Gerard, it’s nine in the fucking morning-”

“-seriously, man, I’m in no mood for this shit-”

“-I don’t want to go to practice, mommy…”

“We have shit to do, anyway,” Gerard said, “If I hadn’t gotten you up, we’d probably be fucking late. Stop complaining.”

There was a storm raging outside, so the last thing anyone wanted to do was go out there, even with things to do. But Gerard didn’t care- he hated having too much to do.

The guys set foot into the elevator. Gerard pressed one of the buttons as the door closed.

Then everything went dark.

…

When the lights came back on, the guys were all on the floor. Everyone, save for Gerard, was unconscious.

Gerard’s first instinct was to make sure Mikey was okay. “Mikey? Mikey, wake the fuck up!”

Mikey regained consciousness after about a minute or so of not-so-gentle shaking from his older brother. He looked around the elevator and his eyes widened.

“MY COFFEE!”

Mikey’s scream woke Bob and Frank, and Gerard was laughing so hard, he was sure he was gonna cry.

“This is not funny Gerard! My fuckin’ coffee-”

Gerard took the fallen cup of coffee and poured what remained of it onto Ray. This caused a very comical shriek of dismay and anger from Mikey and a scream of pain from Ray.

“Gerard! What the hell, man?”

“You wouldn’t get up.”

“But did you have to pour coffee on me?”

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t even that hot.”

Ray rolled his eyes and stood up before switching to the topic that really mattered. “So… what just happened?”

“I think the elevator broke down,” Gerard said, “I don’t know if the cable snapped or anything, though…”

“Well, at least we have light, right?” Frank said, as he pushed himself up off the ground.

Gerard pressed the button that was supposed to open the elevator doors. Bob sighed, “Gerard, I don’t think-”

The doors opened and Bob stopped talking.

The guys walked out of the elevator, but they weren’t in their hotel…

“Uh, guys… I don’t think we’re in Jersey anymore,” Mikey said, forgetting all about his coffee.

Mikey was right. In front of the members of My Chemical Romance were cobblestone roads and old buildings. It was dark outside, and nobody was out and about, save for what Gerard assumed to be a policeman.

“Frank, does the elevator say what floor we’re on?”

Frank gave Gerard a confused look and checked the digital reading on the elevator. “Yes, actually… it does.”

“What does it say?”

“1888… you don’t think..?”

“That we’ve traveled through time? Yeah. That, or we’re all having the same nightmare.”

“Uhm… guys?”

The guys turned their attention to Mikey, who had a newspaper in his hand.

“I don’t think you’re going to like this…”

Mikey showed them the paper. The headline read, in all capital letters, “THE RIPPER STRIKES AGAIN.”

“You’re right Mikey,” Gerard said, “I… I don’t like this…”

Bob gave an exasperated sigh, “How are we gonna get back?”

“I dunno… but until we find a solution… we’re stuck here.”

There wasn’t much hope for the guys… but Frank remembered something.

“Ray, you’re good with electronics, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You take a look at the… er… time machine, see if there’s anything wrong with it,” Frank said, “If you can, find a way to reset it. Bob can help you, if you need him. Mikey, Gerard, and I will keep our eyes open… you-know-who is prowlin’ around, and I don’t feel like being mutilated, thank you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He means that we look weird, Gee. He might mistake us as prostitutes… or women… or female prostitutes,” Mikey said, “Now… let’s just hope our service covers time travel.”

“It better. I’ve paid way too much for this piece of crap,” Bob said.

…

Since the Ripper’s victims were typically women, Gerard felt that Mikey was safe enough to go alone (but that didn’t stop him from trying to send him a text every five minutes, even though it wouldn’t go through).

Mikey was only a block away when he heard something from a nearby alley. Being the curious being he was, he stuck his head around the corner…

…it was a horrifying sight. And, too make it even worse, one of the two looked over his shoulder. It was the face of a middle-aged man, covered in blood.

Oh shit.

Mikey ran towards Gerard’s direction. The sounds of the Ripper’s footsteps were not far behind.

…

When Gerard felt something collide into him, he feared the worse. But, to his relief, it was only Mikey.

But something was wrong. Mikey was trembling, his skin was paler than it usually was, and he could swear he could feel an anxiety attack coming along.

“Mikey, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Gerard said. He hadn’t seen his younger brother this afraid since their stay at the Paramour.

“I… I saw him… and he… he saw me… and I…”

“Who, Mikey?”

“J-Jack.”

As if on cue, a figure behind Mikey started laughing.

“C’mon, Mikey,” Gerard said, pulling his brother to his feet, “We need to run, now!”

Frank, Gerard, and Mikey ran as fast as they possibly would to the time machine.

…

Ray saw the trio running towards them, and he began to explain what he did. “Well, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong-”

“Get in! Getingetingetin!!!”

Ray was about to ask, but a glint of silver gave him the answer.

“Holy crap.”

“Gogogogogo!!!”

Once everyone was inside, Frank shut the door while Gerard punched in the year they were currently on.

As it did before, everything went black.

…

When light returned to the elevator, Gerard didn’t waste any time in opening the doors. The familiar-ish hallway of the hotel was there instead of a cobblestone road.

“Ohmigod, we’re back,” Gerard said, relief shining though his voice.

“Oh thank god,” Frank said.

“No more sharp knives or creepy faces… no more… can’t even watch any schlock horror movies without… without…” Mikey was on the floor, knees tucked against his chest. Gerard went to go calm him down.

“Would someone please shut him up?”

“Oh, shut up, Bob.”

“Well, something came out of this,” Gerard said.

“And what is that?” Ray asked.

“I now have that missing peace for my comic… I call it the ‘Televator.’”