I was… floating… I think?
What…
Where am I…
Who-
A sea of thought slams into me, washing over me, pulling me down and almost drowning me as memories flash before my eyes, snippets of places and conversations. Once comes close enough that I cling to it, desperately trying to not get rushed away, eroded like stone underneath the waves of the sea-
I look in the grimy broken little mirror in the hut that I'm staying in, gazing once again at my enlarged cranium. While the vast increase in my intelligence was most certainly welcome, and I did not exactly mind the new look, it cannot be denied that my current appearance… well, it might be something more at home in a horror movie to be honest.
Not that the opinion of others will change the way I feel about my looks, but it's nice to be surrounded by people who take the bulbous cranium in stride for once. Of course, being their witch doctor, they probably would've been willing to accept a lot more scary looking mutations if it gave them the medical care that I provided to them.
Ha! Wait till they first lay their eyes on Michael! Other than his size, he might not look too different from a baseline human at first glance, but one look at that ribcage or raised spine is enough to make one wonder if they're looking at some sort of monster or demon instead. Especially now that his eyes are glowing like that.
I hope he comes back soon. Worry is eating me up, and to get my mind off things I've begun to work on that truck that I stole. It's soothing, actually, especially when I start singing as well. I got a rather nice singing voice, even if I do say so myself, and it feels weirdly appropriate to sing old timer country songs in this rural stretch of desert land. I reckon my forefathers felt much the same when they were trekking through the frontier, hell, they might have even sung similar tunes to what I'm belting out right now. Still though, if my old professors could see me now, standing in a grease-stained, sweat-soaked shirt, wrench in hand!
Michael better hurry and finish his business in Wakanda… I've been working in the sun for so long, I've even given the truck a name for crying out loud!
… yes, yes I remember-
NO!
No, that isn't me… someone I know… someone close to me… but those aren't my memories… right?
Where am I?
Who am I?
What's-
A sea of thought slams into me, washing over me, pulling me down and almost drowning me as memories flash before my eyes, snippets of places and conversations. The panic is all-consuming, but something inside me tells me that I can survive this, that I need to survive this. The memories pressing the closest on my skin are the clearest and in desperation I reach out and grab it-
Trapped. Dying. No pain, weirdly enough. Just this feeling of being… both light and heavy at the same time. Did weed once, back when I was younger. This feels the same. Different though. I wasn't dying then. I am now. I can feel it.
Huh. Was kinda expecting some sort of highlight reel of my life to pass me by or something. Then again, I also expected that if I were to die horribly, I wouldn't be so calm about it. Would that be the adrenaline, or the bloodloss?
Hey, I'm getting even lighter! Oh, Michael is carrying me. He's yelling. Not that unusual, between me an' Noah doing our mad science. Sterns sometimes too. He looks desperate. That's unusual. The guy is bulletproof, what does he have to look worried about-
Oh.
Well isn't that kind of him. Knew he wasn't a really bad guy. An asshole, sure, but not 100% a dick… I can't see him anymore. Everything's just different shades of gray and orange now. Now that's gone too.
Just black.
Shame.
There was so much more cool stuff that I wanted to build…
I remember now… I died… yes, yes I died, I remember that I died once!
But I didn't die like that… no, this was someone else… also someone I know, but not as closely as the first memory…
Where am I?
Who am I?
What's going on?
Hello?
Is there anybody out-
A sea of thought slams into me, washing over me, pulling me down and almost drowning me as memories flash before my eyes, snippets of places and conversations. But I rage against it. The current is ripping at every part of me, trying to tear out my eyes, upheave my footing. But I roar as I try to keep standing in the whirlpool of thought, and as I open my mouth, memories rush in as an unintelligible tapestry of noise and color, though a single one soon dominates my field of vision and this time I almost know what's about to happen-
I carefully examine the markers on the smooth rocky surface, glancing closely at the details before leaning back in order to take in the larger picture. I know what I'll find. I've found it thousands of times before, over and over again. Still, the intricate knots are subtly different each time, especially when someone asks for their house to be redone in the latest fashion after a couple of hundred years, so it always pays to take your time before you start the chiseling.
I'm not artisan. By Muspelheim, I ain't even the best carver in this crew! That'd be the young Jormund over there, already cutting away at his part of the large wall-sculpture with an ease that I will never equal. Kid's got talent, that's for damned sure, doesn't even need the markers like most of us do and still gets every cut right.
Won't be surprised if the kid goes to apprentice under an actual artisan in a couple of decades.
Me though? I am the guy with the most experience, at least in this crew. This has to be the sixth time I've been a part of the large scale renovations of this mansion, and I swear to Odin, almost nothing has changed. Still, the pay is good, even as the work might be monotonous, as I lean forwards for the thousandth time, place the chisel against the mark just so for the thousandth time, and start hammering in the same goddamned knot for the fucking thousandth time!
There must be a better life than this, there has to be!
And if not better, then at the very least a hell of a lot more exciting!
Apparently my cries caught Surtur's ears, because right at that moment, the double doors to the grand hall burst open, the young son of the Lord of the House (related to the Royal Family no less, as he kept reminding everyone all the fucking time) dashing into the large room with the energy and glee only the youth possess.
The lad can be forgiven for his enthusiasm (he's only about 150 or so after all), but his father apparently thinks differently.
"Thormund!" he barks, bringing the child to a halt and drawing our attention.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"Father! Father, they are recruiting Father!"
"They? Who is this they, my son?"
"The Berserkers, Father! A Berserker Army is to be formed, recruiters are calling across all of Asgard!"
I haven't even noticed that I've lowered my tools as I half-turn to look at the child, completely ignoring little Thormund's crushed expression when his father sternly forbids him from joining a military force of raging warrior madmen, my own thoughts flying far away.
'The Berserkers eh?' I think to myself.
I… know this… I don't know the names… I don't know the house… but I know this story.
Someone told it to me.
Someone… who?
To me… who?
Where am I?
Who am I?
What's going on?
Hello?
Is anybody out there?
A sea of thought slams into me, washing over me, pulling me down and almost drowning me as memories flash before my eyes, snippets of places and conversations. Once again (again? Has this happened before?) I try and hold my ground, hold myself together-
=====mICHAel!======
What… I hear something… Yes, I heard something! It was dim, overshadowed by the howling hurricane that surrounds my curled up form, but still I try to call out to it.
Hello?!
======MICHAEL!=======
Michael…. Who is…. That's me… right?
Yes… yes, I am Michael!
I am Michael McCole! I died and was reborn! I would become a God! And on my quest to Godhood, I had tried to obtain the…
… the Mind Stone.
It's fucking with me. I know it is. In response, the sea of noise and color once more pulls me under, but I curl in tight on myself, and this time (what? What do I mean? Did this happen before?) I don't lose myself to the current, or a powerful memory. Instead I can see multiple flashes of thought rush past me, each one faster than the one before, but getting clearer as well.
A memory of staring at moving legs, after years of being stuck in a wheelchair. An overwhelming emotion of awe as I stare up at the towering might of Otrhys, adults safely at either side of my small body, as well as the drowning feeling of despair as an old tannery goes up in flames around me. Briefly, a scent brushes past me faster than a bullet, leaving a lingering impression of grease, cold toppings and a ratty couch in my mind: pizza night, back when it was just me, Noah, Sam and Phineas in the old headquarters.
All this and more (so much more… is there no end? There might not be…) keeps slamming down onto me, swirling around me, tugging at my limbs, slashing at my eyes and throat.
How do I escape it?
=====michael====
The Mind Stone.
It's fucking with me.
I know it is. It… I remember… that it trapped me. It trapped me in a coma-like state for eleven days the last time I made contact with it. What has happened this time? It's probably even worse…
====Michael PLEASE we neED YOU TO sTop!=====
Stop?
Stop what?
What's going on?
The Mind Stone!
I need to escape, before I forget again!
==== MICHAEL PLEASE STop!=====
Someone's calling me… someone's telling me to stop….
Stop?
Stop what?
What's going on?
The Mind Stone!
It's making me forget! I need to escape this, I need to wake up! The voice, maybe I can reach the voice-
==== miCHAeL! PLEASE! YOU'RE HURTING US!=====
Hurting us?
Why would I hurt us?
Who is us?
What's going-
NO!
No, I remember this! This is wrong, something is terribly wrong!
I need to get out!
=====MICHAEL! wE can't TaKe Much MORe!====
I need to get out!
Towards the voice!
====MICHAEL! PLEASE! IT HURTS!=====
I need to get out!
Towards the voice!
It's getting clearer, I'm getting closer!
======MICHAEL! HURRY!=====
I need to get out!
The sea of memories draws even tighter, but I work myself to my knees.
I need to get out!
An enormous weight keeps slamming down on my back, like an angry giant trying to flatten me.
I need to get OUT!
I slowly raise my fists above my head, feeling something underneath me and the thoughts and this world reach out towards me, warmth filling my body.
It's dark and it's angry and it's me.
I NEED TO GET OUT!
OUT!
OUT!
OUT!
Heat explodes from my body as my fist light up with a golden glow and with a roar (there's a darker echo, somewhere down below, far away, and deep inside of me all at once) I slam then down onto the ground underneath me.
And with a snap, my eyes open. For a moment, I'm not sure what I'm seeing, though my body is still in panic mode, my breaths coming in short, shallow gasps and my eyes flitting wildly around the room that I'm in.
No. Not just a room.
It's my Vault.
The Vault where I went to retrieve the Mind Stone together with Sterns-
"Sam!" I immediately call out, worry coiling in my cut as I whirl around, my eyes widening in shock as I lay eyes on my friend.
He's floating nearly two feet of the ground (as is everything else in sight), his back arched in an extremely painful looking way, his limbs cramped as if he's having a seizure. His eyes have rolled into the back of his head, and blood is flowing from his nose, ears and mouth.
The shock of seeing him like that hammers home, registering almost as if someone threw a bucket of ice at my head, clammy coldness rushing through my veins and replacing the tremendous heat from before (dimly I notice that the floor underneath me has melted and my Aurelion Armor is glowing as well, though my HUD helpfully informs me that all systems are still green).
With the sudden shock, my panic is broken and with that, Sterns (as well as all the shelves in the Vault) comes crashing down to the ground. I'm almost immediately at his side, my white cape fluttering wildly behind my at my sudden speed. I want to cradle Sam, but since my armor and skin are still giving off waves of heat, I am forced to keep my distance.
Instead, I merely settle on calling out to him, desperation leaking into my voice after the few dozen times that he doesn't show any response. I'm about to risk burning his skin in order to take him by the shoulder and give him a vigorous shake (I know that might make things worse. I don't care, it's Sam, he needs to wake up), when a pitiful groan comes from the scientist.
"Sterns! Sterns, talk to me, are you alright! The fuck is wrong with me, of course you aren't alright, Sam listen! Listen to me! I'm gonna get help, alright! Try not to move, just stay still! I'll be back okay?!"
Another groan keeps me from bursting out of the Vault in order to drag Hansen, or Burstein or Phineas or literally anyone with access to medical equipment to help my friend, but Sterns' weak cough and twitch of his arm keep me at his side.
"… glad… you f-finally… listened… you dick…" Sterns manages to gasp out, giving me a small, challenging grin, before his eyelids flutter closed, his face showing deep exhaustion.
Before his eyelids are even fully closed, I've already flown out of the room, roaring at the top of my lungs for help.
There's no answer.
Even Phineas remains silent.
AN: Am I a mean son of a bitch for doing this? Yes. Yes I am. However, I've been dealing with a heavy bout of depression lately (as well as just regular physical illness as well) so I haven't had the time to sit down and write a proper chapter, so this is all you are gonna get for now. In better news, I'm in better shape now, and the draft for the next chapter has already been put to paper. Over the coming weekend, I'll manage to finish that and upload it (probably Saturday or Sunday, since tomorrow I have a dentist appointment amongst other things). So yeah, a cliffy for now, but the answer to your questions is only a few days away :)
Fun Fact: A bell-themed Supervillain exists in the Marvel Universe who goes by the name of Doctor Bong.
As awlays, major shout out to my amazing Patrons, Miu, justlovereadin, Carn Krauss, ReapeScythe, Thordur hrafn, Daniel Dorfman, Fakhrurrozi and Samuel Carson! I cannot thank you guys enough for willing to support me as you do, so thanks again!