"This is bullshit"

The doctor snorted, "Vhat is bullshit is vhat you are wearing. Zhis is for everyone's own good"

"You mean for your own good so you can study us all?"

"Jackie" the man in the corner shook his head, "There's more important things right now than how comfortable you are"

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT ME!" The hero shot out of his chair, "You have TWO innocent men locked up in cages down the hall with no explanations given to them and you both just want me to be fucking calm about it?! Fuck! At least tell them why they're here, Henrik!"

Henrik, the doctor rolled his eyes, "You have no idea what you're talking about. They're not in cages. They're in perfectly comfortable rooms suited to protect them and telling them anything might alert the A.L.T.R. Entity. Right, Marvin?"

"For now" Marvin nodded, "We don't know what it's intentions are. Why it's doing what it's doing. Why it's trying to hide. But we do know that the connection it shares with Mr. Brody and Jackson is alarming. The more we learn, the better prepared we can be in case things go south."

Jackie scoffed under his breathe, "Still . . . those fucking weird ass questions you keep having your men ask them are creepy as hell."

"It's not for them" Henrik corrected him, "Asking the questions are to monitor the Entity and to make sure he's not possessing them again."

"Wouldn't possessing be considered as dangerous?"

"Not entirely" Marvin shook his head, "It might just be trying to communicate in the only way it knows how for now"

"Still sounds like bullshit to me"

"You don't HAVE to understand any of it" Henrik snapped at him, "You're just a food delivery boy who touched a button he shouldn't have!"

"I told you it was an accident!"

"I do not fucking care!" Henrik yelled back, "It is because of YOU zhat zhis mess started to begin with!"

"You don't know that" Marvin argued for Jackie, "You and your scientists were already messing with things you shouldn't have"

Henrik just huffed and ignored the magician.

Marvin chuckled to himself, "Besides. . . if Jackie HADN'T pressed that button, he wouldn't have gotten his powers and we wouldn't have gotten the entity contained without him"

"It vasn't zhat hard" Henrik muttered, "All he did vas break apart my robots to make a wall around zhe freaky thing"

"Exactly" Marvin pointed out, "How else would it have been contained since I hadn't gotten there yet?"

Jackie smirked at Henrik, feeling his ego inflate.

"Vhatever, I need a fucking coffee" Henrik grumbled to himself and left the room.

"Maybe Mr. Brody and Jackson would like a coffee" Jackie called out to him with one last jab.

"Maybe you should shut zhe fuck up!"

Marvin winced as the door slammed behind Henrik and sighed, coming over to sit next to Jackie, "Look . ..  I know things are weird right now. Not everything makes sense. But please trust that we're just trying to protect them and everyone else outside these walls. We have no idea what that thing's capable of"

Jackie frowned, "I guess you're right. . . . I still don't like it, though. There's still been no luck trying to communicate with it or get close to it?"

Marvin shook his head, "No. It's keeping itself in that weird black sphere almost like it's containing ITSELF. Not even my magic can penetrate it. And whatever human tries to come close to it, suddenly gets possessed. They try to run until they get tazed or knocked down. Henrik has been using what robots he has left to try and get through the sphere but no luck."

"Sounds like it just wants out"

"Until we know what it wants AFTER the fact, we can't let it escape"

Jackie wasn't so sure about a lot of things happening at the moment but he was sure about one thing.

None of it was fair.

__________________________

Chase didn't understand what was happening.

'Am I in prison or something?' 

But it didn't look like it.

The room he was in was small but it had a table, a small toilet and a bed.

There was a camera in the upper corner of the room and he felt like every single move he made was being watched way too closely.

Once in a while, a man in a lab coat would walk in and ask him strange questions. What his name was. If he experienced anything strange lately. What his mental state was. If he felt safe. If he knew why he was there. if he ever lost someone close to him. If he regretted his decisions. If he had any encounters with something called A.L.T.R 114209 . .  whatever the fuck THAT was.

'This is all so fucked up. It's like I'm being examined like a guinea pig'

He wanted out so fucking badly.

'I just wanna go home'

But the door was locked.

There were probably guards outside.

Chase laid on the bed on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

He didn't know how long he had been there.

One moment he had been in the forest drunk on the anniversary of his family's death and the next moment, he was on the roof of a parking garage.

Then almost immediately after that, some people ran up to him and knocked him out and he was brought to this facility.

'I want out'

What's worse was that he was sober and had to deal with the memories of his fucked up life with a clear head. 

There were heavy bags under his eyes. 

He couldn't sleep.

He was losing his mind.

'The hell is A.L.T.R 114209? Why do they keep talking about it? Is it another prisoner or something?'

Chase was so tired. He felt like something was keeping him awake.

Probably the cameras watching him.

Here and there, though, he swore he could hear a voice.

It was soft but he could make out a few words here and there.

'Is there another prisoner in a room next to mine?'

Chase rubbed at his sore eyes. Every time he blinked, he swore he saw something. Some kind of picture he didn't recognize. It didn't make any sense.

None of this did.

'We're both trapped here'

Chase suddenly sat up, 'I didn't think that'

He looked around and up at the camera again. Nothing had changed.

He went to lay back again.

'I must be really losing my mind'

'Not entirely. Not yet'

Chase sucked in a breathe, 'What the fuck?'

The other voice was in his head, 'They're keeping you awake on purpose. They need to see. Do tests'

Chase took a few deep breathes, 'This isn't happening. It's all in my head'

'Of course it is. It's how I'm communicating with you. I was finally able to reach you again'

'Again?'

'We're both trapped here' the voice continued, 'No way out.'

'.  . . . . . . .' Chase thought about it. Could this be the A.L.T.R. they were talking about?

If so, what was the harm in talking back? At least he might have company now.

'So you're a prisoner here, too?'

'Prisoner. . . . . yes. Seems so. No way out. Won't let me out'

'They won't let me out, either.'

"If both of us worked together, maybe we can get out of here"

'Shhhh'

Chase hadn't realized he said that outloud, 'Sorry. . . . are they listening?'

'Yes. Always. Always watching. I've watched you, too'

'What?'

Suddenly an image broke into his mind again and he grabbed at his head, making his cap fall off, "NO!"

It went away and Chase started to tear up, thinking about it, 'No. . . ..  please. . .. please don't. . don't do that'

'It's your own memories.'

'I don't want to fucking see it!'

'. . . . . . . . .'

Chase realized after a little while that the voice had gone quiet.

It was too quiet now.

'No. . . no, wait. Please. Are you there? Are you still there?'

Nothing.

Chase clutched his pillow tightly and bit his lip.

He fucked up and now he was all alone again.

__________________________

Meanwhile, a strange entity remained cocooned in its sphere.

It didn't want to leave.

It couldn't.

It wasn't safe.

Not yet.

So many dangers it wasn't ready for just yet.

Soon.

It would be ready soon.

HE would be ready soon.

He had finally reached out just enough to make contact with Mr. Brody.

Just a little more influence  . . . . .

The Entity held itself in its cocoon, gaining strength with every breathe Chase took.

A small smile creeped on his lips.