The Council of Mark’s

The only word to describe the space he was now in was beautiful. Entering the portal, Mark sees a complex or ornate marble, tasteful architecture, and statues, or himself.

“What is this place?” he asks his counterpart.

“The hall of Marks, meeting place for the council of Marks. Come on, let me show you around.”

Entering the building, it appears to be a coliseum of some sort, with an outer ring, where various booths were set up. Some things you would expect, like snacks, drinks, merchandise (was this self centered?) but what he didn’t expect was dozens of frozen women for sale.

“Is that what I think it is?” Mark asked his alternate self.

“Uh, yes. Some of the Mark’s have taken to sell some members of their collections to other Marks who might have missed out on them.”

“So if I wanted... say Haley Bailey, I could come here and get her?”

The other Mark laughed. “Probably anyone but her, since every Mark in every time line it seems has frozen her. She’s probably the most frozen person across the multiverse, followed by the Mission twins.”

“Oh,” Mark said, trying to hide his embarrassment. He hadn’t frozen his universe Haley yet, though it at least gave him an idea who to go after next.

“Come on, you can check out the booths after the meeting. You can sit with me.”

Entering the main area of the colosseum, they see row after row of sheeting, and in the middle, an elevated platform where a judge sat, and right below that, where the accused would be, a spot that was occupied by him in prison garb.

“What did he do?” Mark asked his duplicate.

“He tried to take over another timeline. He’s the one who spot you took.”

“Order, order,” sounded the head Mark.

The murmuring of the hall died down, as all eyes settled on the guilty Mark.

“Mark 704….” The judge started to say.

“Mark prime,” The imprisoned Mark spat out.

“Whatever. Mark 704, having been found guilty of incursion by this court, you have been sentenced to disintegration, to be carried out immediately. Do you have any last words?”

“Fuck you.”

“Odd choice of last words. Executioner?”

A figure in a black hood who stood off to the side pulled a lever of some sort, and with a scream, the imprisoned Mark disappeared.

“With that done, the business of this council is complete. Please feel free to shop for additions to you collections before returning to your universes.”

With that, the hall began to empty out. Make followed the Mark who had brought him here.

“So….how long does this council meet?” Mark asked.

“Not often, four times a year in intra-time.”

“And that is?”

“Doesn’t mater.”

“Gee, how helpful.”

“You're welcome.” Mark forgot how clueless he could be.

The two of them soon entered the outer ring, where the women for sale were located, several of whom Mark recognized. There were a few Mary and Helen Wangs, Some members of the Vargas family, some Abby Greene’s, a lot of Haley Bailey’s, some of the Mission Twins, even a Katie or two.

Mark didn’t know how he felt about that last one, as he was starting to see Katie as more than a friend. Then again, Stephen had been pressuring him to let loose and have fun. Katie just wanted to do it in her own way. He had a major decision to make soon.

“So you haven’t been here long enough to afford any girls from the market yet. You need cash, which you convert to intra-tokens to exchange for a frozen woman. The more experience you have, the better the exchange rate.”

“I mean I don’t exactly have any cash to begin with. But this does give me ideas.”

“Good,” the other Mark said as they left the market and approached a portal. “Now it’s time for you to head home. You can’t tell anyone about this, though I did leave you a present.”

“Wha….” Was all Mark could say before being shoved in the machine. There was a blinding flash of light, and soon Mark awoke in his bed, only to find himself buried in the snatch of his Gabriella Doll. The Latina had a blank look on her face now, her mouth slightly agape.

What a strange dream, Mark thought as he pulled out of the frozen girl. Looking around his room. Looking around his room, he see’s the Emily, Rae, and Phoebe dolls, along with his borrowed Dawn doll, standing nude and at attention his wall. However what made him briefly jump was a 5th doll he was sure he didn’t own. It was a frozen Isabella Chun, dressed in her PJ’s.

“Oh crap”, was all Mark could say.