Call Me… Doc Ock – Arc One: Origin
Chapter 12: A Nightmare to Come
The first thing I noticed when my eyes opened was the sky. It was nothing but clouds the color of dark-red blood. Just looking at it felt wrong. Slowly, I got up and looked around. Everywhere I looked, there were destroyed buildings and all sorts of ruins. Something… something about this place set me on edge, even beyond all the destruction. I shuddered, I felt both a cold chill and a sort of muggy heat seep its way into my bones. Wherever this place was, I knew that I needed to get out of here fast!
Looking towards the sky, I spotted a faint green light in the distance. I froze. I… I don't know why, but somehow… somehow, I knew in my very soul that whatever it was, I did not want to go anywhere near it. Everything about it was somehow wrong, vile, evil… Yet looking around, I knew that staying here or away into the shadows would not do me any good either. Looking back and forth between the shadows among the ruins and the green light, I steeled my nerves and headed towards the light.
Slowly creeping along a random path, I kept looking around me. It felt like something was watching me. Every shadow seemed to move out of the corner of my eye. The slightest noise had me jumping and looking this way and that. Something was here, watching me. I just knew it. Every step I took, that awful combination of too cold, too hot seemed to get worse. Everything about this was awful! I just wanted to leave, to go home, to curl up in my bed and… and…
I stopped. Holding my breath for a bit, I strained my ears and… there… a noise… coming from… I grimaced as I realized where the noise was coming from. It seemed that it was coming from somewhere around the green light. Taking a moment to steel my nerves again I pushed forward.
As I got closer, it became more apparent what the noise was. Someone… someone was screaming. Even this far out, I could tell that whoever it was… was in pure agony. …yeah, if there was ever a sign that there was something wrong with this place, that would definitely fit the bill for danger. Looking around me, I somehow got the feeling that going back would not go well for me. 'This SUCKS.' With that thought in my mind, I pushed forward. Somehow… I knew that I was getting close…
Eventually, I could see what looked like a clearing beyond the ruins. I was almost there… keep going… keep going… As I got close the green light got brighter and brighter, blinding me. Something caught under my foot, and I stumbled through an opening into the clearing. Once my vision cleared, I froze at the sight before me.
In the center of the clearing was a large archway made of a dark green material. In front of the archway was… was… a boy on a rack. He was stripped down to rags covering his waist. All across his skin were lacerations in intricate patterns carved into his flesh. His hands and feet were nailed into the rack. His eyes were glowing a sickly green light and there was a dark ichor pouring out of them. The worst thing though was the… the…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The screaming. Good God… the screaming… I… have… never heard anyone scream like that! I stood frozen. What do I… What am I… What can I…?
Before I could begin to form a coherent thought, the space within the archway suddenly broke apart into a void. Slowly a dark green mist began to rise from the void into the clouds mixing the two together. Eventually, the red clouds turned green. I could only watch as the clouds began to twist and turn before forming… a face…
Eyes snapped open and turned towards me. I couldn't'… couldn't… A smile, utterly terrifying above all things made its way across the face.
"IsAac!" The cloud began to descend.
"IsaAC!" I couldn't… move…
"ISaaC!" I needed to…
*briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*
My eyes snapped open, and I shot up in my bed. Looking around, I found myself in my hotel room. Looking over to the desk, I spotted the alarm clock going off.
"…I am never going to complain about alarm clocks ever again…"
Getting out from the covers, I sat on the edge of the bed. It was only then that I noticed how drenched in sweat I was. I raised a hand to my face and even without any light, the shaking was obvious. That dream… nightmare… whatever… I needed help. I was in no way prepared to face whatever that was. I looked over to the clock again. It was almost 8:01. Azelea would be here in an hour. Hopefully… hopefully, he or one of the Mages could help me with whatever that was. I shuddered. I did not want to deal with that. My shoulders sagged.
"Of course, given that this is some off-shoot of the MCU with comic sprinkling, I'm likely going to have to deal with that thing sooner or later."
I paused as I considered that awful nightmare world. "…of course, given that I'm getting dreams, or visions, I'm probably going to have to deal with it much sooner than I would like… fuuuuuuuuuck!"
I got up and headed to the bathroom. I really needed to talk to Azelea.
"You okay?" That was the first thing I heard when I walked into the front room. Turning to Rudolph, I took note of the concern in his eyes. Sitting at the table, I looked over my food (pancakes again), taking a moment to stretch, I picked up a fork before addressing Rudolph.
"Just had trouble sleeping," I said before taking a bite out of my pancakes. After swallowing, I elaborated, "I was up all night, thinking about yesterday."
"What happened yesterday," Rudolph questioned further.
I glanced at him. I didn't feel like talking right now, but somehow, I got the feeling that Rudolph would keep pushing the issue, so I had to think of something that would put an end to this conversation quick. But what would be a good enough distraction from… wait… oh, right!
Shifting in my seat, I decided to come clean about something else. "So… you know how Stark and Whitehead showed up at the Science Fair?"
Rudolph raised an eyebrow, a frown on his face. "Yeah, and?"
Looking away, I went on. "Well, it just so happens that they were keeping an eye out for potential talent. Apparently, I fit the bill, so they both made offers to join their companies in the future."
"Wait! WHAT?" I tried not to flinch as Rudolph jumped to his feet.
"Uh, yeah and I was up all-night thinking about it." Which was partially true. I had gone over several of the pros and cons between the two for quite some time before I fell asleep.
A scowl made its way across Rudolph's face. "Tch… fucking Stark," he muttered.
Perplexed by this sudden animosity, I couldn't help but inquire. "Okay… what's with the sudden hostility towards Stark?"
"Whuh? Oh! It's… it's nothing," Rudolph simply said.
My expression went flat at the obvious lie. "That doesn't sound like nothing to me. Like, what he did do to you. They way you act when it comes to Stark, it's like he robbed you or something." Since, I've become aware of myself, I noticed that Rudolph tended to get really moody and irate whenever Stark and anything related came up. While I didn't exactly want to pry, I felt like this was something that I might have to deal with later at some point depending on whether or not I took Stark up on his offer.
The scowl on Rudolph's face deepened. "He may as well have…"
I blinked at that. I was about to ask what that meant when there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Hello Rudolph, Isaac! This is officer Azelea and Johnston!"
I perked up. 'Finally!'
Rudolph went to open the door. "Hello officers, come on in." Stepping aside, Rudolph waited until the two were in before closing the door. "Alright so what's going on?"
Johnston spoke up first. "Mr. Octavius, as you know we have managed to take in several of the men that were part of the shoot-out the other day. So far none of them have answered our questions and have otherwise been uncooperative. However, we did manage to find what appears to be their base of operations." Here, officer Johnston grimaced. "Let's just say that you and your nephew should be very grateful that he came out without a scratch."
"Wait, what do you mean by that," Rudolph asked looking confused.
Azelea and officer Johnston glanced at each other. After a moment they nodded, and Johnston went on. "Well, from what we found at the base, it looked like these guys were prepping for a war."
Looking alarmed, Rudolph pressed Johnston. "'Prepping for war?' What the hell does that mean?"
Azelea took over. "What he means is that these guys had military grade weapons. AK's, grenades, sniper rifles of different makes, rocket launchers, mines, full-on body armor, swords, axes, spears and an actual tank."
By the end, Rudolph looked pale as sheet, his mouth flapping with no words coming out. Slapping himself in the face, then shaking his head, Rudolph began to shout. "ROCKET LAUNCHERS, SWORDS, AXES, SPEARS, A TANK?! What the fuck are guys like that doing with a tank?! Where the hell would they manage to get their hands on something like that?! How the fuck would they manage to move something like that around without no one noticing?!"
Azelea lifted his hands in a placating manner. "Sir, let me assure you that we are thoroughly investigating the matter. Right now, we're still questioning the assailants," his shoulders sagged, "of course, as I mentioned, none of them are saying anything useful."
Standing up straighter, he looked over at me. "So, with what we have found so far, we've come to talk to you about Isaac's situation. Given that these men and women have been shown to be heavily armed and exceptionally dangerous, we wanted to ask that Isaac be placed in protective custody for at least the next few weeks."
"Protective custody," Rudolph echoed. He looked towards me for a moment then back to Azelea and Johnston. "Like, where would you take him, and how long are we talking about? I mean I can't exactly stay with him the entire time. I gotta head back to New Jersey for work."
Officer Johnston stepped forward. "Right now, our best estimate is for at least the next two weeks. We've found a lot of files at this base that we can use to track the perps' movements. Because of all the contraband, the F.B.I. is getting involved and is currently investigating these guys. As for where we'll keep Isaac, we're still trying to decide."
"Actually," I interjected, "I have an idea."
When I had the others' attention I went on, "I was wondering if it would be possible for me to… stay at my old place?"
At that, the men's eyebrows shot up. They looked at each other for a bit before Johnston spoke up. "…I don't know… I mean… if I were going to look for you… your old place sounds exactly like the first place they would check, wouldn't it?"
I nodded, "yeah, it would, but my old place is a lot safer than it looks."
"How do you figure that," Johnston asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, the thing is, my dad… he had the place fortified with some… advanced security systems. I mean it's probably better fortified than most places in New York, right?"
Johnston turned to Azelea. "What you do think, Azelea?"
Azelea, who had been watching me closely until Johnston asked him, took a moment to think it over. "…well, I can't really deny that the place had a lot of hi-tech stuff all over the place when we visited, but…" He turned to me with a frown. "Isaac are you sure that you're okay with this?"
I gave him a firm nod. "Yes, I am. Unless you can think of a better place, I think that my old place would at the least be more prepared for any intruders."
Azelea chewed on his lower lip for a bit then turned to Rudolph. "Sir, what do you think about this?"
Rudolph turned to me with a deep frown as he thought about this. "…I'm… I… honestly, I'm not really sure if it's good for Isaac to still be here. But, then again, if these guys, can slip a goddamn tank into the tri-state area without anyone noticing…" He grunted as he mulled it over in his head. Eventually, Rudolph seemed to come to a decision, his shoulders sagging. "At this point, I guess it's better than nothing… so fine, I'll leave him in your care."
Azelea nodded. "Very well sir, let me assure you that we will make sure that Isaac stays safe for the duration of the next two weeks."
"Yeah, yeah." Rudolph waved them off. He turned to me. "Okay, so I guess you'll be staying in New York for a bit." His lips pressed into a thin line. "Just… be careful, these guys sound like they're completely nuts, just do whatever the cops tell you to do alright? I won't be able to take some time off for a while, so Janice will come in to check on you."
I nodded. "Yes, sir." I turned to the two cops. "Are we going to go now?" When they nodded, I headed to my room. "In that case let me go pack my things. H2H! Time to start packing!"
After a few minutes, I had my things and was ready to go and came up to the others, H2H following after me. "All right, I got my stuff. I'm ready to go."
Azelea nodded, then turned to Johnston and Rudolph. "Okay, I'll go with Isaac for now, Johnston, can you do a quick check of the area, just in case?" At Johnston's nod, he turned to Rudolph. "Mr. Octavius, I would like to thank you for your cooperation so far and apologize for the inconvenience. Rest assured, that we'll make sure Isaac stays safe."
Rudolph glanced back and forth between the two of us, before waving us off. "Yeah sure, and Isaac," he addressed me with a stern look. "Make sure you keep yourself out of trouble."
I nodded. "Will do. H2H we're headed out." As we began to walk out, I tapped Azelea on the side. "We really need to talk," I muttered to him. Sensing the urgency in my voice, he nodded.
As we drove to my place, I told Azelea about the nightmare I had. By the time I was finished, he actually had to take the police car off to the side of the road. I wasn't looking directly at him, but from the corner of my eye I could see him looking at me with wide eyes. His mouth opened and closed for a bit as he tried to process everything he had just learned. After a few minutes he seemed to find his voice. "…that… that is not good!"
I nodded. "Yeah, no shit."
"Isaac," he spoke, sounding very alarmed, "this is… that thing you saw… this is…" He paused for a moment to gather himself. His face turned hard. "This is dangerous, if you're getting visions of this dark god, then that means that it may be close to getting loose."
I turned to him. "But wouldn't this thing need a host to 'get loose.'"
Azelea mulled it over for a bit. "Based on what we learned so far, yes, but right now, it seems like it may be trying to form some link to your mind. I do not like this. I do not like this at all. At this point, I will have to speak with the Masters thoroughly about this." He got back on the road. "Hopefully by now, several mages will be in place to keep an eye on you for now."
As he drove, he perked up as something seemed to occur to him. "Oh, by the way, we have looked over the Ofo Rod, and it's definitely of divine origin." His lips twitched. "I don't think I have ever seen Master Drumm or Master Wong look so shocked," he said amused. He shook his head. "Anyway, we have checked it over and so far, it doesn't seem to have any traps on it, so we can return it to you."
I blinked. "Wait, really just like that? I thought you guys, were just gonna store it somewhere."
He nodded. "Normally we would do just that. However, given your situation, you likely need whatever protection it can provide you." He glanced at me. "Well, that and there is the fact that legally, due to it being explicitly left to you by your parents, we can't just take it from you."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't you guys take all sorts of magical artifacts from all over the world."
He raised a finger. "Our policy is that we only take magical artifacts if they have not been claimed, or if the previous owner is trying to use it for illicit means. So far you haven't given any indication that that will be the case with you."
I shrugged. "Well, yeah I don't have any intention of making problems for others with it."
"I would hope so. A divine artifact can easily bring about a lot of destruction in the wrong hands."
"But I'm definitely gonna see what this thing can do," I said grinning.
Azelea groaned. "Oh, I can already feel a headache forming…"
