“I’m starting to think the professor made up mitosis; this isn’t making any sense” Jeff admitted at the study group table. “He didn’t make it up; it’s a part of the cell cycle when replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei” Annie explained. “I think you mean nucleus haha…nuclei, that’s silly” Troy laughed. “Nuclei is the plural of nucleus” Shirley corrected. “Yeah, Troy, duh” Jeff teased as if he already understood it all. “Says the man who thought a beaker was a part of a bird” Britta pointed out. “I did not! But it could easily be the name of a bird’s mouth” Jeff replied. “That’s a beak…” Annie added. “Close enough” Jeff concluded to save face. “Abed and I thought about getting a bird; we’re gonna name it Bruce. I already started on a little Batman cowl” Troy explained with a big smile toward his roommate. “Abed…Abed!” Troy nudged but Abed was too consumed with the handheld game in front of his face. “Abed, the table’s on fire” Jeff tried to distract. “Oh no, my shirt just burst open” Britta chimed in but Abed’s attention never left the small screen.

“Nice try, you guys but I’m busy” he added without even looking away. “It’s the X-Box Infinity; it’s only the coolest mini console ever and he won’t even let me try it” Troy explained with a concerned look about his best friend. “I don’t even think he’s blinking” Shirley pointed out. “Our Biology exam is in two days; Abed’s gonna fail if he doesn’t put that thing down and study” Annie added. “I tried to remind him about the exam when he was in the shower but he got the waterproof version…” Troy explained. “We can’t let Abed fail” Britta warned. “Nobody’s failing” Jeff assured with his usual confidence. “Just making your planning face doesn’t help, dude” Troy added. “Maybe you could stay with Troy and Abed tonight; you could have a guy’s movie night or something like that to maybe wean him off the game” Annie suggested. “I actually have a date with this girl from my history class later…” Jeff replied. “Jeff! I can’t do this mission alone – I need you!” Troy dramatically explained as he grabbed Jeff’s shirt. “Fine, fine…but I’m picking the movie” “Great…but no you’re not.” Troy happily corrected.

By 7:30 Jeff, Troy, and Abed sat around the TV of the younger guys’ apartment while Iron Man played on the screen. “Wow, that Tony Smart is really something” Jeff commented, only half-interested. “It’s Stark and yeah he is, right Abed?” Troy added with extra enthusiasm to bait Abed into chiming in but he didn’t look away from the game, pushing button after button like a mindless robot. “Man, I can’t wait for Batman to show up” Jeff read aloud from a note Troy wrote for him, thinking the outlandishly wrong comment would be enough to enrage Abed’s nerdy nature. “Batman doesn’t show up until the sequel” Abed thoughtlessly replied but his attention still didn’t divert from the Infinity Console. Troy’s eyes grew wide in disbelief at how unbothered his roommate was and that he didn’t even know what movie was on; he was ready to lunge at him when the small X-Box suddenly died. “Oh man, did the battery die? I guess you can watch the movie with us while it charges” Troy suggested with strained patience all over his face. “Don’t worry, I got the extra-long charger so I can keep playing” Abed casually explained before putting the Infinity on the arm of his chair and heading to his room to retrieve the charger.

Jeff and Troy’s eyes darted to the Abed-less console and looked back at the each other with similar scheming looks. “Grab it” Jeff instructed, prompting Troy to snag the powerful device and quickly hide it in the apartment. Abed returned to see them still watching the movie, neither of them looking back at him. “Hey, where’s my Infinity?” “What do you mean? Didn’t you take it with you?” Jeff asked. “No, I left it right here” “Maybe it fell between the cushion” Troy offered as he struggled to remain cool. “It’s not in the cushions…did one of you take it?” Abed asked as his calmness began to fade. “What? No way; we were watching the movie” Jeff replied. “Yeah, can you believe Jeff’s never seen this?” Troy added while trying to hide his nervous expression. “Yeah…maybe I misplaced it; I guess I’ll just watch the movie” Abed gave in, his usual demeanor returning while Troy and Jeff subtly exchanged looks of success. Their sense of achievement clouded any reason to question Abed’s sudden acceptance of his lost console, neither Troy nor Jeff thinking to look back at him to realize he was anything but content with his missing device…not even close.

“NOT THE BEES!” Troy shouted as he woke up from the nightmare but he quickly realized he didn’t jump out of the chair like he usually did. “What the hell…What’s going on?? Jeff! JEFF!” Troy exclaimed to wake up the unofficial group leader who was also tied up on the couch. “…I don’t care about Iron Man…” Jeff dismissed half-asleep as he tried to shift around but the lack of immobility told his body something wasn’t right. “Why am I tied up?? Why are you tied up??” Jeff asked with panicked confusion. “I don’t know! Somebody must’ve broken in” Troy assumed as he struggled in the chair. Jeff’s wrists were tied to the back legs of the couch so his arms were raised away from his body while his ankles and legs sat tied to the coffee table in front of him. Troy’s wrists were tied to the arms of the chair with his legs at an angle under the chair so his naked soles were upturned just behind the seat. “Where’s Abed? If somebody broke in then why didn’t they get him too?” Jeff questioned. “Because there was no break-in; it was an inside job” Abed announced as he re-entered from the bedroom with a villainous look. “What’s going on??” Troy asked. “You did this?!” Jeff added with frustration upon realizing he couldn’t free himself. “Yes I did; I waited until you fell asleep to strike. I never thought I’d have to execute this particular plan but you two have left me no choice” Abed explained. “What are you talking about??” Jeff asked. “I know somebody took my Infinity. I know I left it on the chair when I went to get my charger and I also know one of you are going to tell me where it is” Abed elaborated with a scary sense of determination.

“Abed, just untie us and we’ll explain” Jeff tried to reason. “I can hear you just as well right now” “Come on, man this is crazy! Do you think Batman would ever restrain Robin?” Troy attempted to point out. “On several occasions Batman has used what method he saw fit to accomplish his mission and like Batman I can recognize an extreme circumstance which requires extreme measures” Abed assured as the fellow college students grew more anxious. “You’re addicted to that thing; we had to get you away from it!” Jeff explained. “Yeah, it was taking over your life” Troy added. “That wasn’t really your call to make was it? So now I’m going to give you both one chance to tell me where my Infinity is” Abed announced. Troy and Jeff looked at each other with a shared fear but they knew they couldn’t let Abed flunk out of Biology for some game console. “We’re not telling you anything” Jeff replied with a forced toughness. “…Jeff, are you aware of any ancient Japanese or Roman torture techniques?” Abed asked as he got closer to the blonde’s vulnerable body. “Oh no…” Troy added upon realizing what his best friend was planning. “What is he talking about, Troy?” “Don’t give in! Fight it, Jeff! You’re the strongest of the group!” Troy warned before Abed took a spot on the cushion next to Jeff and plunged into his toned stomach. “AohooAhoawWWHhaatTTahoahoAAAA?? AhoaHaohaTTTIiICCkKllLiiInNNGG!??!” “We watched a documentary about ancient torture techniques last semester but I never thought he’d used it for evil” Troy informed as he watched Jeff squirm and laugh on the couch. “aaHohSSTTOOoOooOPPPiiIITTTAHOAHOHAAAOhOhAOAHA AABbBBEEdddSSTTOoOoPPP!!” Jeff tried to persuade through the wild laughter. “Tell me where the Infinity is” Abed instructed. “AAHohaoAHIiIIcCAANnNNNTTtT!!” “Then I can’t stop” Abed assured. Jeff had forgotten but he was crazy ticklish, something he wouldn’t freely admit but the unconventional interrogation was already getting the better of him. “You can’t do this! It’s too cruel!” Troy tried to convince. “I’m only doing what I have to, Troy” Abed replied while digging into the sides of Jeff’s abs through the shirt. “AAHoAHAOHAGGgEETTooOoFFFF!! AHoahaohaOAHAAHOAAHAoahaohaEEENnNoOOUUUGggGHHH!!” Jeff howled as his arms pulled at the ropes.

Abed's stiff fingers daggered into Jeff's stomach with precision, finding a good spot and staying their for minutes on end to make Jeff squeal. One spot that produced a particularly loud reaction was the area just below his ribs, prompting Abed to use his thumbs and knead into both sides like a tireless machine. "AAHAOhOAAIIILlLlnnNNEEEVVVEERRRAHOAHAAHOHAATTTEELlLLLL!! AHoAHoAHAOhAOAHAOhOAhAAAAHOHAOAHAAAAA"  the college stud swore through his booming laughter. “You’re stronger than I thought, Jeff but this isn’t over” Abed promised after several minutes of tickling, getting up from the couch and looking toward Troy. “No…NO! Abed, not that! I’m your best friend!” Troy pleaded while trying to jerk out of the chair. “I’m sorry, Troy but you’ve pushed me to this. I won’t stop until somebody tells me where my Infinity is” Abed refused. “Abed, no!! Don’t tickle meEEAAhHoHOAohAoAHOAHaAoAHoaAoAOAhaoAHhAAHoAHOAAAA” roared out of the athletic geek even louder than Jeff while Abed’s ruthless fingers spidered up and down Troy’s rich brown soles. “OAHoAOHAaNnNoOoTTThHHEEAHOAHaaFFEEEETTAhaohaOHAOhAAAHoAHAPPPlLllEEAASSEEE!!” “I’m not your friend right now, Troy; I’m a gamer, a gamer who’s lost his console” Abed reminded while his short nails grazed all over the perfectly helpless feet. “Abed, we took the Infinity for your own good. We’re trying to help you” Jeff tried to explain over Troy’s desperate laughter. “I’m an adult and I know what’s best for me” Abed retorted with his attention still on teasing his roommate’s smooth soles. “Just tell me where it is, Troy” Abed encouraged. “AAHoahoAAIIIiWWooOnNnTTTAAALlkKkK!!” Troy refused as his head thrashed back and forth and his muscles fought the ropes. “Fine, but just remember I know all your tickle spots” Abed added to a horrified Troy before focusing on the base of the silky toes. “AAAHAoHAOAHAHOANNNNOOO!!!”

Jeff tried to loosen the knot around his wrist but it was proving too stubborn to beat. However, while Abed was busy wrecking Troy, the former lawyer noticed his phone was on the nightstand by the couch, possibly close enough to reach if he could maneuver his arm. “AAOHohAOAOAAohHAoaHAOHAACCOOoMMMEEOooONN!! AHoAHOAAAMMMmEERrRCccCYYYY!!” “I don’t have mercy for thieves” Abed replied with a stoic concentration on breaking Troy and his super ticklish feet. “Almost got it…” Jeff said to himself with his arm stretching to reach the phone, inches away when Troy suddenly stopped laughing but Jeff was too focused to notice. “Jeff…watch out!” Troy announced but just as Jeff looked back toward him, Abed was sitting across his shins. “Abed, waiAAAaiahIAHTTTHOHAOHAOHAoHAOAHAOhaoaAAOHAOAH!! AOhOAHAOHAaHohAOhaaHAaoHaASSSTToOoOPpPiIIIITT!! AHoAHAOHAOhAOhaoahaohaOAAAOOoaOahoahaSSSTTOooAOoAAHhpPPP!!!” “I’ve never heard you so desperate Jeff; there’s a simple way to make it stop” Abed reminded as he raked along the length of both size 13s. “AHohaohaAIIiIIWWOooONNNTTTEeEeLLLL!!” Jeff refused despite desperately wanting to. 

“I know you, Jeff, you won’t endure torture just to keep me from my Infinity; it’s not worth it to you” Abed taunted while zeroing in on the supple balls, scratching across them with short, swift back and forths that really spiked Jeff's laughter. “AAHoAhOAOhaoaoahOHAOHAOHAahoahaAAHoahAJJJUUUSSTtSSTTOoOPpPPpP AHOAHAOHTTTiIiICCkKkLLLIIInNngGGHoHAOHAMMMMEEEEE!! IIICCAaanNnNTTTAOAHOAHAOHAGGGIiIVVVEeeiiIINnnN!!” Jeff tried to hold out, knowing Abed was right; his instincts were telling him to spill where the console was to spare himself. “Don’t tell him, Jeff! Don’t let him wreck your surprisingly beautiful feet!” Troy tried to encourage but he could tell Jeff was about to crack. The cocky blonde tried to wiggle his feet out of reach but Abed’s position was perfect for tickling the shit out of Jeff’s gorgeous soles, pushing him closer to telling exactly where the Infinity was. “AhoAHoahaaohaohaCcooOMMMEEoOoOOnNN!!!” “You should know, I can do this all night. All you have to do is tell me where the console is and this is over" Abed assured while stroking along both creamy arches over and over. “AAHoAHoAHAOHAOAOAOOhhHHoOMmMMYyYGGGOoOODD!! AHOAHoAAHHhHAOhaohOAAHOAOHAOAHAAOAhoahoAHOAHA IIiIiIIWwwoOOonNNNTTAhaTTEeElLLLyYYyOOoOUUuUU!!!” Jeff forced out as his body thrashed on the couch at the insanely ticklish attack. “Fine…” Abed replied without an ounce of emotion on his face, getting off Jeff’s legs and moving back toward Troy. “Not again! No! Tickle Jeff!!” Troy tried to persuade with wide eyes of anticipation but it didn’t stop Abed from delivering a dual attack; digging into Troy’s inner left thigh with one hand and squeezing his right knee with the other.

“AAAAOAHaOHAOHAOAHAOHAAAYyYyOOOooUuUUMMMOOONnNSSSTTEeErRRRR!!!!” exploded out of Troy as he tried to close his legs but the ropes kept them wide open. “I know how bad your legs are, Troy and I’m only at a 5 right now; it can get much worse” Abed warned while his best friend raged in the chair. “AAHoAHoAHAYYyyoOOouUUWWOuOOulLlDDnnNNNnTTT!!” “Oh I would” Abed replied before sinking into both inner thighs with calculated aggression, targeting one of Troy’s absolutely worst spots that only Abed knew about. “AAAHoAHoAHAOHAOHAOAHOAAABBBEEEDDD!!! AahoHOAHAOHANNOOONNNNOOOO!!! AHAOHAOAHOHHOAOHAOHAAAHOAHAAPPpLlllLEEEAASSEEE!!” Troy floundered and laughed like a madman in the chair, his mouth wide open and his eyes full of ticklish desperation. “I can’t believe you’d use your friends’ weakness against them; I thought you were better than that, Abed” Jeff interjected with the hope he could manipulate him into abandoning his mission. “Good try, Jeff. I know you think you can talk your way out of anything but not this time. I reserve tickle torture for only the most serious situations and I consider this very serious” Abed explained while taking full advantage of Troy’s vulnerable position, digging into his thighs until Troy was begging him to stop.

“AhAOhOHaohoHAAAABbBEEdDDD AHoahohoAHAOHAAAAHoaaIiiICcAANnnTTTtAAAKKkkEEEIiIITTT!!” “Fine, then tell me where my Infinity is” Abed replied as he pulled away. “…you were gonna fail the Biology test…and then fail everything else. The Infinity was too powerful…” Troy tried to explain while catching his breath. “I understand your concern and you’re a good friend but I want the Infinity back and I won’t stop until I get it” Abed replied, bypassing Troy’s reasoning and moving around to the back of the chair. “Dude, NO! Not my FEEeAOhaohaoahaoaoAAOAohaohaohoHOAAAOhOHAoaAAOhAOHAAOOAHAAAHAOAHAOHAHOAHAHAA!!” Jeff thought Troy’s hysteric laughter would register as a small earthquake, filling the apartment with proof of how stupid ticklish he was and how secretly vicious Abed could be. The slender lad had broken out the big guns, using two spare electric toothbrushes he kept on hand to focus on the undersides of Troy’s caramel toes. Hundreds of tiny buzzing bristles devoted to dominating all ten juicy toes was a hellish scenario for Troy and Jeff but the younger student was the one trying to resist surrendering to it and he could only take so much. After a few minutes Abed turned things up even more, concentrating the vibrating heads of both brushes on Troy's plump big toes,following them any way they tried to wiggle. “AHOAHAohoAHANNNOOOO!!! AHOAHOHOAHOOKKKOOOKK!! AHoAHOAHAIIILLlTTTEEELlLlYYYOoOUOU!!!” “Troy, no!” Jeff exclaimed as the toothbrushes turned off. “Alright, I’m listening; where is the Infinity console?” Abed asked with zero guilt on his face. “…the loose floorboard…it’s under the floorboard by the fridge” Troy admitted. “What happened to what’s best for Abed?” Jeff asked with frustration. “You didn’t have toothbrushes on your toes…it was like somebody pulled a nightmare right out of my head” Troy explained as Abed returned with the Infinity in hand.

“Abed, you can’t let that thing consume you again; it’s not healthy” Jeff warned. “I know you two were looking out for me and I appreciate that but if you were really my friend you’d know not to come between me and my games. But since Troy told me where it was, I’m untying him” Abed explained while undoing Troy’s ropes until he was free. “What about me?? Let me go!” Jeff demanded. “This isn't even fair; you tickled me way worse than Jeff” Troy complained. “What?! No he didn’t!” “You may be right; I got caught up in using the toothbrushes” Abed agreed, both boys looking toward Jeff still barefoot and tied to the couch. “Let’s tickle him…” Troy suggested. “No! Guys, untie me!! No more tickling!!” a panicked Jeff protested as he tried to escape. “I want his feet” Troy called. “Cool, cool cool cool; I’ll take his armpits” Abed obliged while Troy sat across Jeff’s shins with one of the electric brushes and Abed sat next to the older man. “Guys, I’m serious!! Don’t tickle meEEEAHOAHoAHaohaAAHAHAOHAAA!!!” “Does this mean I can play the Infinity now?” Troy asked while scrubbing the brush on Jeff’s pink heel. “As long as you don’t tell the rest of the group what I did” Abed replied. “Deal, now let’s see if we can make him pee his pants!” Troy suggested with a devious smile while the study group’s cool guy learned just how incredibly ticklish he was.