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Author Note: Set back in 2012, another take on how Delirious could have been freed from the control of the Eye of Tyr.
THE LIGHTS ARE ON (AND SOMEBODY'S HOME)
UltraMantis Black was not nervous, he was just making sure that he was completely out of range. Delirious was tied to a chair but he was still infinitely capable of serious bodily harm. It was only common sense to stay back. And UltraMantis also had Crossbones within earshot as back-up; he was standing guard on the other side of the door. Unfortunately, Hallowicked and Frightmare were also present – they'd refused to leave.
Speaking of which, Frightmare chose that moment to let loose a stream of sceptical babble. UltraMantis gave him a deeply affronted look.
"Of course I know what I'm doing! It worked last time, didn't it?"
Hallowicked and Frightmare looked at each other, then told UltraMantis exactly what they thought of his previous hypnotising encounter with Delirious.
"Fine, there were….unexpected consequences. But the hypnotism worked. And it will work again."
Of course it would. And this time there would be no disastrous aftermath. UltraMantis had given away the Eye of Tyr, hadn't he? Not the real one naturally, but an Eye of Tyr nonetheless. So technically he was free of the curse. Even ancient legends had loopholes. He knew what he was doing.
UltraMantis smiled. Of course, if he wasn't a man of his word, he might use this opportunity to reprogramme Delirious to be loyal to him once more. That would be extremely useful. But he had made a promise and he would keep it - he would undo his mistakes, starting with what he'd done to Delirious. Anyway, should the opportunity ever arise to regain control of Delirious at a later date, it would be easier to begin with a clean slate.
So UltraMantis drew the Eye of Tyr out of the folds of his coat. Delirious's gaze immediately zeroed in on it. Hallowicked and Frightmare kept their friend still.
UltraMantis held the jewel up by its chain, bringing it closer to Delirious's face. The jewel moved gently. Perfect. UltraMantis began the incantation.
Delirious struggled against his bonds and his captors. He shook his head from side to side, clearly trying to resist. As UltraMantis reached the crux of the words, Delirious howled. It was an extremely unpleasant sound. Then he went silent and his head drooped to his chest.
UltraMantis pocketed the Eye of Tyr. He was going to see to its security personally this time. It had been far too useful. He wasn't going to lose it again.
Hallowicked and Frightmare were babbling enquiringly and untying Delirious who still hadn't moved. Then suddenly he jerked back into consciousness. He looked around wide-eyed and his voice sounded rusty when he replied to his friends' questions. UltraMantis smirked. Excellent.
"You see? I know exactly what I'm doing."
At the sound of UltraMantis' voice, Delirious focused on him immediately. Unfortunately, this coincided with the moment that Hallowicked and Frightmare finished freeing Delirious. UltraMantis noticed this a second too late. Delirious was already leaping unstoppably towards him, snarling extremely offensive lies and comments on UltraMantis' character.
"How dare you! I just..."
UltraMantis' outraged response was cut short by Delirious landing heavily and pinning him to the floor. At UltraMantis' shout, Crossbones charged into the room but he was held back by both Hallowicked and Frightmare. UltraMantis gurgled; Delirious had wrapped his hands around UltraMantis' throat and was beginning to squeeze.
The last thought UltraMantis had before he blacked out was that it was patently obvious just how well he'd succeeded - Delirious was clearly no longer under the BDK's hypnotic control. He'd remembered exactly who he was and had remembered everything that UltraMantis Black had done to him. Who was the loser now?
-the end