Dead? Perhaps, I am!

I hadn't noticed!

Lieutenant Carter Blake sat at his desk finishing up some of the paperwork for the origami killer case. A thought rushed through his head, it would be better if there were someone else helping him.

An image flashed by and his face turns into a frown, Norman Jayden the FBI agent who he had worked with. Of course, he'd think of him, but he was declared dead, so unless the annoying kid could come back from the dead, he'd never have to see his face again and he would have to finish the paperwork on his own.

Blake's eyes moved back to the screen, back to his paperwork, but not before he glances at those stupid glasses lying on the table. His eyes narrowed at the thought, they would be useless now that Jayden wasn't around.

A set of heavy footsteps snapped Blake out of his internal monologue as he looked up at the cough he received, to see Chief Perry.

"He's been buried in two days in some godforsaken hole in the back-end of beyond near Washington." Perry muttered, dusting off his suit coat. He didn't mention a name, but it was obvious who he was talking about, Blake had been thinking about the guy moments ago and he hadn't been dead long, so it fit.

"I have to attend as a matter of protocol." He drawled, almost as if he was bored with the whole thing and didn't care that a man had died. Although of course, Blake didn't care for the guy either, but he had died to catch the killer and he'd earned his respect for that.

"I'll pass." Blake replied bluntly, leaning back and pausing for a moment. "Jayden and I didn't see eye to eye on much." That was true they really hadn't, they almost fought non-stop, but he had to admit that Jayden had been right about almost everything.

"No problem, I understand..." Perry mumbled, seeming disappointed with having to go alone. Of course, he'd want someone to go with and who better than Blake, who had been working with the guy and would surely know him better.

"Hey, sir? I still have his glasses. What should I do with them?" Blake inquired, holding the glasses in his palm in the direction of Perry, almost urging him to take the bloody things away so he could get his work finished.

"Well, he won't be needing them again. Do whatever you want with them." Perry remarked before stalking off to his office.

Blake squinted at the glasses, turning them around in his hands and examining them thoroughly, nothing out of the ordinary, he would think they were normal glasses if he hadn't seen Jayden wearing them, a blue light reflecting his face as always.

He took one last look at them, he opened them and looked without putting them on, maybe it was sequenced to Norman's DNA because nothing happened, and really he didn't understand why Jayden had been so interested in them.

Blake's eyes flicked back to his screen and he typed maybe a word or two before looking at the glasses again. Back to the computer, to the glasses, computer, glasses and back to the computer before surveying the station discreetly to check no one was watching him.

Back to the god damn glasses. Honestly, why was he so fascinated by them? He didn't like the brat... Did he? No! Of course not that's nonsense, he wasn't even attracted to guys like that, although he hadn't been attracted to women either.

Ahh, fuck it! His hand brushed the glasses, rubbing them in between his fingers as if trying to memorise them before he placed them on, his eyes closed for a moment, the noise of the station gone, the peaceful falling of water, birds singing taking over makes him finally open his eyes, surveying the surroundings, some kind of cliff, with a waterfall nearby.

He finds his eyes closing again as he relaxed at the chair and table, to the sound of the birds tweeting and the falling of water and the pleasant wind that blows on his face, cooling him down and he stays like this until footsteps disrupt him. His eyes shoot open and he jolts back as none other then Norman Jayden stands before him with a grimace.

"What the fuck?" Blake exclaims, confused as to how Jayden is in front of him, looking very much alive dressed in his normal attire. "You're dead!" Blake shouts after gaining his ability to speak back.

"Hmm, I hadn't noticed!" Jayden replies with a serious expression. Did he seriously not know he was dead?

"How did you get here? You're dead! They're going to bury you in two days! They found your body!" Blake screams, stumbling away from the man who advances.

"Ohhh no, I'm very much alive. They only found an arm, nothing else or at least that's what the database says... And I'm here because Norman used ARI way too often and since we are experimental, we took data from him to better improve ourselves, we are him now." Jayden replies in a strange voice, he should really call him Norman.

"What the fuck? Speak English!" Blake growls at the agent, glaring daggers at his form, which earns a sigh from the copycat Norman because surely this isn't him.

"You'd correct in that assumption. We are not Norman Jayden, we are ARI! Norman Jayden is probably dead, but with only an arm found we can't be certain. The possibility of him being killed by the crusher is 99%, a very slim margin of him not being killed, though the rest of his body was probably just crushed." He replied in that weird voice again.

"So the kid is dead?" Blake mumbles, only this time it's not the copycat Jayden that answers, the one without glasses is stood on the edge glowing green and another one is stood closer to Blake.

"I'm not a kid you asshole! I'm 34! That's only 14 years younger than you, so I'm not a kid! And for the record, no I'm not dead. Don't let him mess with you." The Jayden with glasses growls, pointing at the other Jayden whose eyes are glowing green.

Honestly glowing green eyes and Blake doesn't even suspect the copycat. His eyes aren't even green, they're an icy blue almost grey colour, which he proves by pulling down the shades and leaning down so he's in Blake's face.

"Blue is me. Green is ARI... And why exactly are you here Blake? You didn't exactly like me." The real Norman Jayden states, moving to sit on the desk and facing Blake.

"Your damn glasses... They drew me into this pretend shit, it's confusing. I honestly don't know why you had such a fascination with them... And for the record, I didn't hate you in fact I kinda liked you, but anyway that doesn't mean shit now, you're already dead Jayden and I can't do anything now." Blake sighs, placing his head in his hands.

"How about going to my funeral? And if you really liked me, you wouldn't have fought with me every single opportunity you had. You nearly shot me for christ sakes, Blake! I tried to be nice to you." Norman snorts, leaning back on the desk.

"I was bluffing! Did you honestly think I was gonna shoot you Norman?" Blake deadpans, laying back in the chair almost closing his eyes again, but he doesn't miss the surprise on Jayden's face... Wait, I called him Norman instead of Jayden.

"Yes, actually I did because as I've said before you're an unstable, psychopathic asshole! You had the fucking thing loaded and off the safety, pointed in my face! If that doesn't scream 'I will actually shoot you!' then I don't know what does." Norman shouts, slamming his hands down on the table, startling Blake.

"Look I didn't mean to, so get off my back... And I don't like funerals, that's the main reason I'm not going." Blake sighs, looking between the two Norman's, his gaze settling on the blue-eyed one. "I'm sorry!"

"If you're sorry, say it to me in person." Norman says, grabbing hold of Blake's hands, causing the surroundings to change to a familiar place for both, it fades as quickly as it appeared and both Norman's disappear leaving Blake alone.

Releasing a sigh, Blake slips the glasses off his face and places back where they'd been sat previously. Now he had more questions than answers, this whole situation made even less sense than before, but perhaps he'd be able to figure it.