The whispers from the faint voice hissed, tiresomely trying to make themselves get heard amidst the emotional turmoil that was raging in his head which felt like a tornado swirling furiously inside his heart. A voice resonated in his head for the past ten years, he could hear it clear and loud and decisive enough to propel the supervillain to submit to its wishes. The mad scientist tried resisting on several occasions but the result was futile for the metal appendages bound to him appeared to be heeding the voice more than they obeyed him. Many times Otto was struck with the realization that he was manipulated into doing things he did not want to do but it was after he had committed the crimes that realized his immoral acts. The brilliant mind often felt the metal arms defied him and he wasn't able to do anything about it for they had the strength everyone feared and even their own consciousness ever since the inhibitor chip was destroyed when he had been electrocuted during the demonstration of his fusion reactor. Ever since that moment of devastation, he had done what the voices mandated him to do, either it was to rob a bank or wreck a train in order to get the precious tritium. Otto's mind had never been calm ever since that moment. Their words had been clear and loud, resonating in his head repeating itself limitlessly to the point the mad scientist was forced to obey the order of the voice.
But now the voices had become muffled and unclear that he failed to comprehend what they were trying to imply anymore. It had been so since he dared to walk up to Samantha Wright, who had been strolling outside his warehouse. Otto found himself failing to push the thought of Samantha away from his mind, her face partially curtained by her black locks. Her words recounted themselves in his mind, the supervillain could feel her voice falling in his ears even though she was not in his presence. How can a person even think of giving a second chance to the man who had given up on life a long time ago? The brilliant mind wasn't able to apprehend the unconventional woman who occurred too perfect to be true to him, it appeared to him she had everything a person could ask for even though he knew very little about her. His heart wanted to know her more but the voices in his head warned him otherwise, the stern voice sounded scared and uncertain about the thought of knowing more about the doctor.
"Don't think about her, you are no more than a monster to her..." The hasty outburst of the hissing voice dazed the supervillain who sat by his working desk half mindedly gazing at the cigar in his hands- feeling conflicted whether he should enjoy the damage it would give him or not. What the voices were proposing felt cruel to the brilliant scientist, almost offending him although he had no right to feel that way. The Daily Bugle had called himself a monster uncountable times and he himself did the same but it never bothered him before. But hearing the confidence of Samantha gave Otto the ray of hope that he might not be the devious beast everyone claimed him to be.
"But she refused to believe I am one," Otto spoke out aloud. To any other person, it would appear as if he was talking to himself but in reality, he was trying to subdue the voices in his head from manipulating him.
"She lied. She fears you. She will only bring pain to us, don't let her near you..." The voice hissed vehemently afraid of losing control over their host. The more the scientist thought about her the more the voices found themselves being left unheard and that fact only angered them.
"No, no, no she isn't afraid of us. She told me she isn't." Uttered the mad scientist, his voice alluded to the unsurety he felt at that moment. The thought of Samantha fearing him only augmented the detestation the supervillain harboured for himself. It did not bother him what the world thought about him but the doctor's opinion made him contest himself- could he be good again? Will the people of this city forgive him for the crimes he had committed? Otto was unsure of the answer to these questions but a small part of his heart wanted to believe her words.
"She will never come back here... she will never understand your pain..." The voice made itself heard yet again. It was these voices and the sound of the waves hitting the concrete wall of the harbour that his ears could hear. His ears could also feel the feeble noise of the traffic far away on the streets in the heart of the city. The warehouse was vacant as ever, it was him and his seclusion that tried to plug the eerie hollowness of the place which was driving him crazy for the past few hours- ever since his little but warm conversation with Dr Wright. The doctor left a few hours ago, taking away the pleasantness of the dusk with her, leaving him behind in the clouded night. Samantha's presence had felt like the warmth of the sun after the snowfall on a winter morning but her leaving his company felt like the comfort she brought with her was snatched from him and he wasn't ready to give it up but he had to.
Otto was aware of the reason for her empathy- she was just showing him the sympathy he was looking for. She looked at him as just a man with four dangerous metal arms attached to his body and nothing more, he was nothing more than a danger for her.
*
The usually confident Dr Samantha Wright was cautious to turn the doorknob as softly as her slender fingers could, straining to avoid making any noise. It was already two hours past the time she had promised to return by and she wasn't able to call her parents for the surgeon had left her phone behind so that she couldn't be bothered by anyone in her moments of solitude. It was evident to her she would find her parents waiting when she would step inside her home but she was also aware of the fact that it was because of her carelessness. Being irresponsible was not something she had trained herself to be and for the past few months, she had been that a lot which Sam found very imperceptible.
Pushing the door inward the doctor could get a clear view of her father with a cup of coffee in his hand, standing behind the kitchen shelf, his eyes fixed upon the salmon he was frying on the pan. Her mother on the other hand had a glass of whiskey kept by her side as she had her nose buried in the notepad she always carried with herself, scribing god knows what in it. Samantha stood there her eyes fiddling between the only two people who refused to ever give up on her, they were no longer together or in love with each other. They were just two people who cared for her, the two of them decided to come under one roof again just for her sake- all so that they could make sure she was fine. The sight of the two old people made Sam drown in guilt, all she had been was a pedantic imbecile to the lovely people- she worked endlessly at the hospital out of the guilt she lived in and the surgeon was of no help to either of her parents when they had decided to divorce each other. No matter how much the doctor denied the fact but it was the bitter truth of her life that she had been running away from everything around in an attempt to be near it. She gave up on the life her parents wanted to give her and now she regrets it and why wouldn't she, the surgeon was so much more than the world knew about her. She had treasured a gift of art from her childhood, she was quite a sketch artist during her time at school but abandoned the amusement to concentrate further on her studies.
These thoughts never crossed her mind before but the moment her heart had accepted her death, it was that moment that she promised herself one thing- that she would live a life if she was to live any further. Samantha was determined about this decision of her like she had been about every other decision she had taken in her life. With a heavy sigh, a determined look on her face and a lovely smile dancing on her lips, Dr Wright entered her home with a determination to change her life for the people she loves and to rediscover the essence of her life again.
"Sorry for being late got lost in the moment." Announced the surgeon as she walked up to her parents and pulled both of them in a tight embrace. The former couple was taken aback by the sudden shower of love from their usually calm and distant daughter, it was a rare sight to see her break the imperceptible wall she had built around herself.
"Well, it's fine dear but where have you been and why didn't you take your phone with you?" Questioned Dalton as he planted a little kiss on his daughter's forehead. In those blue eyes, Sam could see the worry he was trying to mask but it wasn't left unnoticed by his daughter.
"Nothing just went on a little walk and then I met-" The surgeon halted mid-sentence when she realized the name of the notorious scientist was about to escape her lips and she knew what consequences it would have burdened her with. Sam had a pleasurable time talking to that supervillain but unfortunately, her parents did not share her sympathy for the man with four metal limbs.
"You met someone?" Asked Sharon as she fixed her daughter with a mirthful look.
"Actually, I-I met this very sweet... gentleman at the coffee shop. We fell into a deep conversation about the Guernica and I lost the track of time." Fibbed Dr Wright as she tried avoiding eye contact with the former couple.
"That's very sweet that you found someone interesting to talk to." Appreciated the old lady as she gulped down the content of her glass in a single sip. A smile danced on her thin lips on hearing her little Sam was enjoying life outside her workplace.
"Who is this guy?" The voice of Dalton made itself heard as he flipped the salmon in the most delicate manner.
"He... His name is Alfred." Spoke the doctor with a great deal of uncertainty, she hadn't prepared herself to lie, so the first name that came to her mind escaped her lips.
"Very well, who's gonna help me put the table up for dinner?" Asked the old man as he started serving the salmon on the plates, not showing much much importance to the man his daughter was talking about. Sam wordlessly set the china plates on the table while the architect poured Merlot in the glasses. Soon the Wright family was seated on the small dining table, enjoying the delicacy and chatting about their respective lives.
"So, how's this Alfred of yours look like?" The sudden diversion of question to herself startled the surgeon a little but she soon composed herself to answer the abrupt question.
"He... He is a rather very good looking fellow, quite handsome I would say." Replied Sam as she floundered to define a man who doesn't even exist, but as she spoke further the image of the brilliant scientist she was actually with came in front of her and it eased her task to the imaginary 'Alfred'.
"Was he cute or attractive?" Asked Sharon in her mirthful tone, the old woman enjoyed teasing he daughter a little bit.
"Mom, who askes their thirty six-year daughters that kind of question?" Responded Samantha as she passed her mother with a look of utter dismay. "Anyway, he was both cute and attractive." She added silently as her face sunk from shyness.
"Well, I do. Who knows where coffee can lead you to?" Added the architect the horseplay smirk never leaving her lips.
"Mom, just because I had a coffee with a guy I found to be cute and attractive that does not indicate that I am interested in him." Said the younger woman as she couldn't help but smile at her mother who had an amusing look on her face.
"Honey, you are my daughter, I have raised you and I very well know to you never called anyone attractive before this Alfred guy. So you better stop pretending you didn't like him." Said Sharon with an arched eyebrow.
Dr Wright was left speechless by her mother's assertion, the lack of interest she exhibited in love always concerned the old duo who desired to see their daughter begin a love life of her own.
"Oh, leave my daughter alone, Sharon." Intruded Dalton as he passed his little Sam a reassuring smile.
This determination to transform was not going to be an easy road for Samantha and she knew it but she was sure to walk on the rocky road no matter what.
*
The sickeningly sweet smell of the antibodies he was given had always tickled his nose and he detested taking those for the same reason. The little colourful pills consistently tended to erupt a nauseating feeling in his gut making him want to throw up but he wasn't allowed to. They said it was important for his body to keep taking those medicines otherwise his 'powers' would start to decline. The incessant beeping sound of the monitors that resonated in the observational chamber he was kept unsettled the young man but they refused to remove them from his chamber. The bright light from the florescent strained his eyes blinding him every morning when they were lit up at four during the dawn to wake him from the fragile slumber he managed to have in that cold chamber. Five hours was all that his body was allowed to rest for, training, physical tests and simulations consumed most of his waking hours. He only got the chance to get the taste of freedom when the vile Doctor Octopus was terrorizing the city, harming the innocent civilians like that woman whose life he saved the other day. The flying hero still remembered her face which was shrunk with horror and her body which felt like a feather in his arms, she was the only one of the numerous people he had saved to show her gratitude to him. It wasn't an exemplary act but it surely stood out for him for it was the first time someone thought to gratify him for his selfless acts.
Ethan Anderson was a name long forgotten from the lips of the people who knew him, The Black Skrull was people called him ever since he began to fly around the city saving it from Doc Ock. The young hero was no more than thirty-one when the experiment of the scientist he worked under failed, killing his superior in the process. It was that accident that gifted him these abilities. Ethan hadn't witnessed a single sunrise for the last two years, he was refrained from leaving the facility he was kept in. The Skrull was only allowed to leave the captivity he lived in when Madam Serenity allowed, it was on her to decide what was a threat for the city and what wasn't. All he was a slave to the government which decided his fate the day he was pulled back from the comforting embrace of death by the doctors.
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