“Oh, it’s simple…,” Dr. Mundo chuckled to herself. “From your perspective, he has been replaced,” she gestured at Mrs. Meadows. Then, the green-haired psychiatrist turned her attention to Mr. Meadows. “And from your perspective, she’s been replaced. The jovial doctor giggled again. “If only all my cases could be this easy.”
“Are you even a real doctor?” Mr. Meadows asked. He tried to comfort his wife by putting an arm around her; but, she shrugged it off and scooted further away on the couch.
“Of Course!” Dr. Mundo grinned. “But, I don’t need any of that training for this situation. You were in an accident recently, right?” she asked Mrs. Meadows. The young wife nodded. Dr. Mundo looked her up and down.
“As far as I can tell, you, and your Zero, were both in an accident at the exact same moment. Somehow your wires got crossed and you ended up in this body and universe; the mind of Mrs. Meadows from this universe is probably in yours. Likely going through some of the same experiences you’re going through.
“Is there any way to fix it?” Mrs. Meadows asked. Before Mundo could answer, Mr. Meadows spoke up.
“Fix it?” he turned to growl at Dr. Mundo. “I really don’t appreciate you making up stories that play up my wife’s delusions. She’s sick and needs help; she doesn’t need make-believe fairy tales about alternate universes. She needs a dose of reality.”
“My Clark was never that negative,” Mrs. Meadows spoke to Dr. Mundo. She nodded in understanding.
“We’ve been over this, dear. My name’s Clarence, not Clark.” Mr. Meadows said to his wife. She shook her head with a sigh.
“As I said earlier,” Dr. Mundo spoke up when she had the chance. “If only all my cases could be this easy,” she turned and nodded at Mrs. Meadows.
“Fixing it is easy,” Dr. Mundo stood from her leather seat and gestured at Mrs. Meadows to do the same. The young woman stood; Mr. Meadows stood with her.
“Not so close,” Dr. Mundo pushed Mr. Meadows away from his wife.
“Full disclosure,” Dr. Mundo said. “I’m going to slap you,” she raised her hand to a ready position. Mrs. Meadows nodded, but Mr. Meadows interrupted.
“And then what?” he asked.
“And then you have your wife back,” Dr. Mundo replied.
“Wait, that’s it!? You’re going to slap her!? If that fixes her, I can do it!” Mr. Meadows whined.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Can you attune Zero frequencies too?” Dr. Mundo asked; her tone dripped with sarcasm. Mr. Meadows shook his head. “Then, stand back.” He took two steps to the side.
Dr. Mundo held her hand up and it began to glow with a soft golden light.
“On three,” she said. “One…,” she raised her glowing hand a bit higher. “Two…,” she swung and impacted Mrs. Meadow’s cheek with a sharp smack. The glow seemed to transfer from Dr. Mundo’s hand to Mrs. Meadows’ face; then, it washed over the rest of her.
“OwwwwWhat the hel-,” Mrs. Meadows rubbed her cheek as she looked around the room with a confused look. Her eyes settled on Mr. Meadows.
“Clarence?” she asked. Mr. Meadows was surprised, but he nodded. Despite not believing much of what Dr. Mundo was talking about, he had to admit he was wrong. This was the first time since the accident that she didn’t call him Clark.
“Welcome home, Anna,” Clarence Meadows stepped froward to wrap his arms around his wife. She sidestepped the hug and glared at him.
“Anna?” she sneered. “My name’s Emma, but I guess it doesn’t matter to you as much as I hoped.”
“Uh oh,” Dr. Mundo said.
“What do you mean uh oh?” Mr. Meadows asked. Dr. Mundo chuckled again and raised her hand.
“It’s not an exact science, but we can try again,” her hand began to glow. “As many times as we need to.”