"...Huh."
You turned the strange device over in your hand, examining it from all angles like there was some hidden facet of its appearance that would explain everything about it. You'd found it on your nightstand earlier that morning just as you'd woken up, but after reading the card that had also magically appeared with it, you felt like you were still dreaming.
The "Identity Absorption and Manipulation Unit"...those same initials were imprinted on the side of the sleek remote in shiny chrome. You absentmindedly ran a thumb over the engravings before turning the remote to fiddle with the four buttons on its face.
What had the notecard said? Something about the remote being able to mess with people's identities, and these four buttons being how you did it. It all sounded crazy--man, was this some weird prank by Kat or something...?
"Morning! Oh, whatcha got there?"
A cheery voice shook you out of your pondering--you looked up to see your mom walking into the kitchen, a bright smile on her face as always. "Oh, uh--j-just something I ordered online," you answered as you slipped the remote into your pocket. "A, uh, toy."
Your mom gave you a smirk before turning away to fetch a bowl and some cereal from the cabinets. "Aren't you a little old for toys?" she teased with a laugh. "Oh, I get it--it's something you used to like as a kid! Getting that nostalgia kick?"
"Y-yeah, something like that," you lied, hoping she would drop the topic so you wouldn't have to explain how some weirdo alien device had ended up in your room. With a yawn, your sister entered the kitchen as well, thankfully providing your mother with a new conversation partner. "Morning, sweetie!" she called to her.
"Morning." she answered, as she began to fiddle with the coffee machine. Kat was always pretty grumpy in the morning before her first cup of coffee. With her bowl of cereal made, Megan began to speak to both of her children between bites of Cheerios.
"So," she asked. "What's on the agenda for you two today?"
"Not much," Kat said curtly. "Just a nice quiet day for me--some gaming, maybe a call with Josh..."
"Oh? Seems like you've been spending a lot more time with him...guess things are going well??"
"Ugh, Mom, can we wait to talk about my love life until I've had some coffee?"
As the two continued to chatter and bicker, your thoughts returned to the device in your pocket. Keeping it below the counter and out of view of your family, you studied it with a wary look. The IAMU...curiosity was gnawing at you--as silly as it sounded, you had to know if it worked. While your mom and sister were preoccupied with their conversation, you raised the remote up over the counter as covertly as you could, leveling it at your mother.
The note had said none of the other buttons would work on their own, so that left the first--"Assign." With a moment of hesitation, your thumb closed over the button.
There were no sounds. No beam of light coming from out of the remote. Nothing to signal that the device had done anything, save for the most noticeable change to the room. In the millisecond after you had pressed the button, your mother vanished, seemingly popping out of existence with the blink of an eye. Her spoon of Cheerios, raised to her mouth for another bite, dropped unceremoniously back into the bowl, a bit of milk splashing onto the countertop.
You blinked, failing to comprehend at all what had just happened. Had you just DELETED your mother!? In shock, you stood up from your seat at the counter, the chair squeaking against the tile floor as you pushed it aside.
Kat looked at you oddly from over the lip of her coffee mug. "...What's with you?" she asked. "Not sleep great?"
You looked at her, mouth struggling to form words as your currently blue-screening brain attempted to parse your rising panic over what you'd supposedly done with your sister's alarmingly muted reaction. It was like...like she hadn't just watched her mom get vaporized in front of her!
"Th-the...mom..she.." you managed to force out, pointing weakly at the bowl your mother had been standing over just moments prior. Kat looked lazily at the bowl and clicked her teeth.
"Geez, again? I get she's in a hurry, but she can't take a minute to clean her bowl out? That's just gross."
Once again, your mind was at a loss. Why wasn't Kat reacting at all to your mother's disappearance? More than that--why was she pretending like everything was normal?
"Wh-what are you talking about...?" You hesitantly asked. Kat glanced at you oddly again.
"Weren't you listening like, two minutes ago? Mom got called into the office all of a sudden. She said it right to your face--are you feeling okay?"
H-huh?? Your sister believed your mom just...left? But...but she'd been talking to mom when you made her disappear! Mom wasn't even dressed for work!
...Did the IAMU do this? Right now, it was the only thing that made sense. You looked down at the remote in your hands, the screen just above the button you'd pressed now lit up with a message:
[IDENTITIES ARCHIVED]
- MEGAN ROGERS (44 F)
...Holy shit--it really did work.
What do you do now?
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