The Doctor's Prize (Version 2)
I have always wanted her. From that day seven years ago, the day we two first met face to face in one of my temporary labs, I knew she would fall to me eventually. I remember her golden hair shining from the artificial light cast by the lamp panels above us. She walked with a purpose, her all black and silver ensemble hugging her body nicely, accentuating every curvature and muscle with succulent detail. In her hands she wielded an obsidian staff, which had no doubt brought about the end of many of my henchmen and robots. Yet these features were not what drew me to desire her. No, it was the pure unadulterated rage that filled those cerulean eyes of hers that drove me madder than I already am. I'll admit, I was absolutely giddy with anticipation and impatience as she entered the lab. The simple thought of cutting open that luscious hourglass form; of seeing her porcelain skin with nary an imperfection marred by my knife and stained by her own life force made me long for her to strike.
Oh how her eyes burned with fury when she cast her piercing glance upon me. It was so incredibly thrilling. I felt my body shiver slightly, despite my heavy white lab coat. The body of her former lover lay between us, limbs splayed across the steel operating table and his own eyes staring straight ahead, his mouth trapped in a perpetual silent scream. I had taken great pleasure in dissecting him; treating him as a seventh grader would a frog in science class. I had taken particular caution in removing his organs and placing them in various jars, the thick scent of ammonia mixing with the preservatives I had used. He had been a fun toy, yet so easily broken. Perhaps that was the cause of her ire, or maybe it was the fact I had recently attacked her home base of operations with my new robo-squirrel army, and she had—by wondrous fortune mind you—simply stumbled upon me in the midst of my experiment. Either way, it didn't matter to me.
You could only imagine the pleasure I felt, pulling out his eyes in her presence. My gloves were already stained with the dead fool's blood, and as she ran towards me, screaming out in anger and grief, I swore to have her as I had him. I heard the black staff whistle as she swung at my head, but I didn't care, so intoxicated was I with the idea of slicing and dicing this dangerous femme fatale, this bloodthirsty beauty. The connecting blow sent me flying into one of the many wooden cabinets, breaking my patented goggles and forcing me to shatter many of my precious vials. It was so incredibly infuriating to see my hard work sitting in pools of multi-color around my fallen body. The crunching of shattered glass under her boots alerted me to her presence, granting me time to find an intact syringe among the glass. Before she could strike me again, I jammed the syringe into her exposed ankle, injecting her with a poison of my own design. Her cry of shock echoed like music in my ears. She recoiled from me, hatred burning like dying embers of a long forgotten fire in her eyes.
I grinned at her as she growled furiously. "You'll pay for this Insano. I swear I will destroy your world…" As she limped out, her eyes never leaving mine, I could not help but indulge in laughter concerning her threat. She thought she would escape me, but I never have taken loss well. Indeed, she would be the perfect prize for me to claim. I stood after she left, cleaned up the mess from our confrontation, and began to think of the torments I would bring upon her.
Since that day in my now-abandoned laboratory, I strived to always keep that golden haired angel of vengeance in my sights. I hunted her relentlessly, sending wave after wave of robots at her for two years after our little introduction. No city could ever serve as her refuge; I controlled most civilization after all. For some time, she eluded me, but unlike me she had baggage: two small children. The day my robots finally caught her, they brought her children to me, two little boys. Once more I had her family in my grip, and oh the bliss and joy I felt hearing the boys scream for their mother before they vanished into red mists. My pleasure could only be escalated further, having my prey at my mercy. Yet I wasn't ready for the game to end. I had the woman placed in a cell, alone and unarmed in the dark. What a fool I was to believe this would hold her. Or maybe I knew it wouldn't, and simply wanted the chase to continue.
I learned of her escape through the destruction of my prison construct. Never had such anger filled me before that moment. I had lost my trophy, and so a henchman would pay the price. He begged me for forgiveness, but I have no pity for an idiot who leaves a prisoner's weapons in easy access. As I crushed the fool's throat, I swore to find her again. Her and the one who had freed her from the prison. After much research, I discovered the rescuer was a pirate collector, one who had been stealing from my stores of equipment for years. Now he had stolen yet another possession of mine, but I had no intention to allow him to keep her. Luckily for the rest of my henchmen, the pirate's ship was very well known and would be docked in a local port known as Plastic Harbor.
It was not an easy feat sneaking aboard the pirate's vessel, but it was something I felt necessary for my aims. I refused to let an idiot do my work. While the pirate and my prize were in port, I dispensed my electronic bugs from my pocket. I had spent weeks meticulously programming the little creatures, and they would grant me insight to the thief's plans. Leaving the ship was just as difficult, as the pair were returning as I was exiting. My disguise must have worked however, as neither seemed to recognize me as we passed. It had infuriated and caused great sorrow for me when I had to cut my beautiful, silky black hair. I still hold it against those two, more than the pirate helping her escape. Either way, I accomplished my goal for the time. I resigned myself to watch the two, tracking them constantly over weeks and months.
To my pleasant surprise, the pirate and my prize fell in love. It gave me great joy to see her fall for another man. It meant I had even more opportunities to torment her before using her as my experiment. From the moment I watched the two kiss on a far away monitor, I began to develop plans. Though honestly, I never did understand what drew her to the pirate. He did possess a sort of rugged attraction I suppose, but he was a simple pirate. What kind of hussy simply falls for that type? Seriously, the guy was not as suave as one would expect for this stunning beauty to chose. The pirate resembled more of a lumbering gorilla than a man, almost double her height. His unkempt beard, his ragged clothes…oh he was imposing sure, but he simply didn't strike me as one to catch her eye. But I digress.
Once the two fell in love, my observations got particularly boring. It felt like I was watching some crummy soap opera or ridiculous love story. It almost caused me to lose my desire to use the woman, seeing the spark of rage fade from her eyes. That is until the OTHER one showed up.
On a whim, I had sent my army of robot squirrels to attack the free city of Memphis. How was I to know that the pirate's family ruled the city? Well okay, I suppose I did, but that's beside the point. My two regular soap opera characters arrived in the city in time with several other crew members they had picked up along the way and preceded to fight. It was rather interesting to see my guinea pigs fighting upon the great fields, and despite the loss of hundreds of robots, I felt giddy once more open seeing the familiar spark of fury in her eyes through the eyes of a robot. I decided that the time had come for me to play with my prey a bit more actively, and ordered one of my robots to fire a dart into her throat. The dart of course was the result of my genius engineering, designed to limit my prizes muscle strength and cause her intense pain.
When the dart hit its mark on that creamy white neck of hers, I became overwhelmed with delight. Her screams were so exquisite, I could taste the pain she was suffering on my tongue, could smell the sweat and fear on her body. It was ambrosia I had not tasted in months, and this was only through the video feed of a robot. I couldn't help but grin at the sheer panic in the pirate's eyes as he fought to reach her. It was so exhilarating to see the robots encroach upon them, the sense of disaster and terror apparent on both their faces. Of course someone had to come in and ruin my fun.
He dropped down from a helicarrier, leading an army of soldiers to combat my poor robots. This disrupter at first enraged me, his confident smile and concern for the two leading him to rescue my victims. Yet there was something in his eyes that did not escape my notice, a desire and admiration for my prize. My anger turned to interest as the blond haired rescuer examined her wounds and tried to treat my specialized poison. This man was familiar to me, yet his identity remained unknown to me. When he and the pirate locked eyes with each other, I could sense a spark of something…wonderful. Something malevolent.
I let the three survive, perhaps against my better judgment, but I was curious of the developments that might build between these self-proclaimed "heroes". It was several months before the first signs of discontent began to arise among the crew of fools. Just as I had with the pirate; I researched the blonde man, read into his past as it were. What a surprise it was to discover he had once been a subject of my experimentation years prior. He had long ago broken into my labs, stealing a prototypal machine designed for manipulating the time stream. Observing him led me to the conclusion that he had indeed been utilizing my device and even had the gall to upgrade it. I began to refer to him simply as the Time Traveler. I cared not for the true names of these insignificant gnats. They did not deserve that honor.
Over the months I continued to watch the three upon the pirate's ship, noticing a quiet stirring of anger and aggression building within the eyes of the time traveler whenever he and the pirate locked eyes. By this time my prize and the pirate had become married and even had a little brat of their own. Of course I intended to take the boy away as I had with her other children. The time traveler acted friendly towards my other guinea pigs, but they must have either had to be blind or stupid to not see the bubbling rage underneath that calm disposition. The pirate wasn't exactly the most welcoming host might I add. Observing through the bugs, there were times I feared the pirate would kill the time traveler before I even got the opportunity to torture either. If there was anything the two idiots possibly had in common, it was the infatuation with the woman.
Every joyous smile, every distant happy gaze that my prey had upon her face frustrated me. I wanted her in a state of constant rage. I wanted to gore her, run her through with that accursed staff of hers, and burn her face off with chemicals-all while listening to her screams of death and rage. Killing a happy and content woman simply would not sate my thirst. I needed to rile her up, and hopefully by doing so drag her two suitors to their ultimate fates. I would need to face them myself to gain the proper reaction. After all, the common bond the three shared besides their incessant love was their complete and utter hatred of me and the utopia I had created.
After some planning, I set the bait for the fools. The tension between time traveler and pirate had become even thicker as they began to fear my inactivity. I can remember the day they entered the port of Baltimore, the salty air causing my cravings to increase. I watched from the shadows as the Time traveler and Pirate disembarked from the ship, their voices terse and angry. Something must have set them off again, and the woman had probably thrown them out for some peace. I can only wonder if they ever understood the danger their woman was in, leaving her and the brat unguarded. As they fought through port, I slunk aboard the ship. I had no need for a map; my constant surveillance over the years had left the imprint of every detail in my genius brain. Skillfully I navigated through the ship, the wooden flooring and peeling walls greatly left much to be desired. The scent of cooking meats came down from one hallway, the dining room being through the second to last door on the right, but this would not deter me. Not when my prey was so close.
Oh what wonderful providence! Upon entering their shared quarters, I found the woman asleep on the queen sized bed they always shared, the bright green and blue comforter she had personally made drawn to her chin. Oh how that golden hair spilled upon the pillows, a halo around her snow white face. Of course, she'd be much more beautiful if the bright crimson of her blood would only mingle with the gold. It took every ounce of control I had not to slit her throat right there and then, but no, I had a purpose. I went to the cradle beside her, sticking the sleeping babe with a syringe filled with a minor tranquilizer. It was such an easy feat, stealing the child away from his crib. Of course for my plan to work, they would have to follow. And so I did what any sensible evil mastermind would do: I left a complete address for them to find me. Perhaps it was a bit unnecessary, but I felt the only way for me to properly enjoy the capture of my greatest prize would be to reenact that scene from years ago.
Leaving the ship was just as easy for me as boarding it; leaving the port however was a different story. No sooner had I had disembarked with the child in my grip then the pirate and time traveler came around the corner, still glaring at each other until they saw me. Oh, the shock in the pirate's eyes when he saw his boy in my arms, how wonderful. They tried to reclaim the boy, but I would not be denied my prize and victory. The pirate bellowed with such rage as he bull rushed me while the time traveler tried to distract me, but their efforts were for not. Pulling a black vial from my lab coat pocket, I threw it to the cobbled stone of the street, a noxious billowing cloud surrounding us. I could hear the fools choking as I ran, the baby slowly waking in my arms. He began to squirm as I climbed into my ship, wailing at the top of his pathetic little lungs. Ah, but what was this on my radar screen? Dear papa pirate and his time traveling rival hot on my tail. I'll admit, at first I feared for my mission, but then I contemplated the possibilities. I could use these two protective fools for my own means.
It was not long before the tall and snow-capped mountains of the Roanoke Valley appeared in my vision. I had long kept a base here, perfect for the capture of my prize, so close to her former home. The pirate fired at me as I went to land my ship. I wondered briefly if in his rage he had forgotten I held his son in my grip. I jumped out with the boy in my grip as the rebel men encroached upon me. I held the child out in front of me as a shield, forcing the men to stop. "One step closer and I'll rip his arms out of their sockets."
The wind of the valley whipped around us three, the horrible chill of winter biting deep into our bones, yet my grin never wavered. As I stepped back slowly, they followed me with cautious steps, terror in their eyes. Perhaps they were thinking about what would become of them if they were to return to their precious woman without her child, or maybe they understood that they had fallen into my trap. Either way, the looks of terror on these proud men would serve to please me until the woman arrived. Each step back I took led them further into my trap. A final step, and then a loud cracking mechanical sound as a spring released blades from the false earth up into their bodies. Now the winds carried the copper taste of blood upon their invisible wings, the bitter taste driving me mad with ecstasy, even as the two squirmed and yelled out in agony. Oh, they weren't dead, far from it in fact. I needed to only incapacitate them for the real fun to begin. I took the boy inside before returning for the father and rival. They swore at me viciously, but I ignored their useless words, dragging them away with the blades still piercing the arms, legs and non-vital organs.
Hours later, my gloves were once again stained with the blood of former lovers to my prize. Idly I toyed with the crimson-smeared scalpel as I waited, the shimmer of artificial light flashing on its silver surface. I wondered briefly if the woman could sense her family was once again gone, or if the winds had brought the scent of death to her. I could hear the burst of a jet engine not far from the base, and my thoughts began to dance once more, entertaining so many possibilities of what could be done. I glanced over at a brightly colored box on my table, so neatly wrapped and cheerful. Oh the shock she would receive upon opening my gift to her. Adjusting my goggles, I stood from my swivel chair, lifting the box from my desk as I walked past the dismembered body of the pirate on my table. The toddler's heart-wrenching wails echoed down the hallways, causing me to smile. I do not know what brought me to be merciful to the child, but he remained in one piece…for now at least. Walking outside of the base, I placed the brightly colored package at the feet of my mechanized creation, the former time traveler.
I suppose you could consider my "improvements" upon the time traveler man as my revenge for stealing my device. I knocked on the chest of the man, hearing a satisfying rattle of metal beneath the ruined skin. His golden locks were stained with dried blood, the stitching from where his brain had been removed still apparent upon his pale forehead. Perhaps the most pleasing detail of my new scarecrow was the red eyes I had given him in place of his previously blue ones. Those happened to be threaded upon a string and tied around his neck. My monster of creation perfected.
Even as I admired my handiwork, I could sense my prize approaching. Quickly I ducked into the base, observing with anticipation as the woman stared ahead, catching sight of her former friend, and then the present at his feet. I could hardly contain myself as she pulled the colorful package away from his feet fearfully. Oh how her face broke into tears, wonderful tears as she sobbed, pushing the box away and inadvertadly dumping the severed head of her former husband onto the dry brown grass, the head rolling to the feet of the rival. I watched for what seemed like an hour as she trembled, averting her eyes from the ghastly sight. And then, rage. The glow in her eyes I had been waiting seven years for, it had finally returned. It delighted me beyond anything I could have possibly compared it to. She stood slowly, using her familiar obsidian staff to balance herself as she entered my domain. I watched from my observation room as she moved slowly through the passages, her confidence and cockiness gone. Now was just pure and exquisite fury.
I met her in my experimentation room, the electricity of my inventions surrounding us. She spoke not a word, but her eyes said everything as she brought up her staff to strike. What a vision of true beauty, she swung in desperation as tears flowed down her cheek. Dressed in black, she already mourned. I ducked and weaved from her blows, slamming my fist into her gut and forcing her back. She continued to swing the staff quick, shattering my work with every blow. I could feel her hatred for me turning to complete and utter apathy as she moved. I had taken everything from her. I doubt she actually heard the cry of her son only just down the hall, so focused was she on me. With one final strike, she sent me flying once more. This time however, I would not allow her to escape. She approached me, ready to deliver the killing blow, but I was too quick. Within my pocket sat a detonator, designed to activate the nanobiotic poison I had injected her with so long ago. She writhed in agony, falling to the ground and twitching uncontrollably. Her ruby lips mouthed silent words and screams as the beautiful cerulean eyes flashed in terror and dilated. Pieces of glass protruded from her limbs where she had fallen, and for a moment, I pitied my prize.
And now here I sit; her hand in mine as I examine the inner workings of her body and marvel at what could have possibly allowed this woman to fight me so long. Outside, the world is turning under my control with no one to oppose me, but I do not care. For the moment, I sit and ponder my actions, even as her blood flows between my fingers. The one person who I wished for, hunted and desired now lies on my table, my hand clenching her heart. And for once I mourn, for whom now will I strive for? No one else will ever bring me such pleasure; I know this to be true. The echo of the child down the hall reflects my loneliness as I sit alone with my experiment, her beauty overwhelming me. Seven years of hunting has left me now with but one question: What now do I do?