Chapter 57 Reagan vs Lincoln II: Where's the Rest of Me?

Lincoln’s axe slammed into Reagan, rocketing her into the arena wall behind her and throwing up a cloud of dust at her point of impact.

Thompson froze in the commentary box, her eyes locked onto Lincoln with disbelief.

“A…Amazing!” she finally exclaimed. “That was an insane burst of speed from Lincoln!”

“That wasn’t speed,” Truman chuckled, “that was genuine teleportation!”

“Teleportation…seriously? But then…” she rubbed at her chin. “Doesn’t that mean Reagan never had a chance to block that titanic strike?”

“That’s right! And seeing how she took that monstrous attack head on…”

Truman gave a slight smirk.

“Well, I think it’s safe to say this match is all but over.”

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause at Lincoln’s success. But Lincoln stayed quiet, lifting his axe and studying it with care. He gave a sigh, looking to the dust cloud with a somber smile.

“Well played,” he shouted. “Now why don’t you come out already?”

The stadium buzzed with confusion, then drew silent as a cackling echo rang out from the arena.

“…how perceptive of you,” Reagan remarked as she stepped from the cloud of dust, her body unscathed.

Lincoln shook his head with a disgruntled smirk.

“I truly thought I’d be able to finish this with a single hit of my Bull Run Strike, and yet you somehow managed to defend against it.” He eyed her carefully, “…almost as if you knew the attack was coming.”

“Indeed I did!” Reagan exclaimed, “You see, by consulting with my astrological charts, I determined—"

Reagan stopped talking as Lincoln teleported in front of her.

“I don’t really understand what all you’re babbling about,” Lincoln remarked, “but I’m certain it’s nothing worth listening to!”

Lincoln swung with everything he had, anticipating Reagan to endure the blow as she had before. However, this time his weapon was met without any resistance as it tore through Reagan’s body. The crowd watched on in horror as Reagan’s severed body hit the ground, then let loose a terrified scream.

“Jesus Christ!” Thompson shouted, “Did…did Lincoln just assassinate Reagan?”

Lincoln blinked, the smile on his face evaporating away.

“No…” he murmured, “no…no I didn’t…I swear, I didn’t mean to…”

Reagan blinked twice, looking to what remained of her torso.

“Where’s…” she spoke, a faint quiver in her voice, “…where’s the rest of me?”

Lincoln stepped back, his face drained of all color.

“I’m…I’m so sorry…I didn’t…”

Reagan stared at Lincoln, a single tear running down her face.

“You know…” she remarked as her body faded into a collection of shimmering lights, “you were spot on about me…”

A second Reagan shot out from the dust cloud beside Lincoln, a vicious grin covering her face as she brought back her arms.

“…I am quite the actor!”

As she spoke, the lights making up Reagan’s clone shot towards her and formed themselves into a pair of starry pincers around her hands with a beaded tail attached to her back.

“Executive Power!” Reagan screeched, clamping her claws onto Lincoln’s arms and piercing her tail into his back, “Star Wars; Scorpio!”

=====================================================================================

=====================================================================================

Bull Run. The (first) battle of Bull Run was the first major battle of the United States Civil War. The North had anticipated an easy win, and a number of northern locals came out to picnic as they watched the battle below. However, the Confederates ultimately trounced the Union forces.

Where’s the Rest of Me? This is a famous line of Ronald Reagan’s from the film “Kings Row” as well as the title of Ronald Reagan’s autobiography. In the film, Ronald’s character says this after waking up to find his legs amputated, with this scene being paralleled in the novel by Ronda Reagan’s clone being cut in half. The scene in the novel is also loosely based on the assassination attempt made against Ronald Reagan during his Presidency.