Junk Man part 1 (of 2)

Tetsuo Miki sipped his coffee and placed it on his desk before doing his third rounds for the evening. Typically, his nights were quiet and the only co-workers he had to interact were the cleaners but they were always busy and left at 9pm so he had the run of the building, which he enjoyed. After he passed through the final hallway, he returned to the elevator and rode it back to the first floor and returned to his desk where his coffee was waiting for him. When he sat down, he took another sip, then he received a notification on his phone: his girlfriend let him know she picked up some milk so he wouldn’t need to get any. He smiled and sent a heart emoji, then took another sip of coffee.

He stared at the screen for a moment as a creeping and intense hunger began to develop. He had a break not too long ago and ate a nice sandwich so it was peculiar he would be so famished. It was frustrating how urgent and overwhelming it was; he reached down with one hand and removed the apple he had been saving in his bag. Instinctively, he began gnawing on it, taking quick and messy bites before a feeling of repulsion came over him, then he spit it out and dropped it on the floor. It was then that he realized he was still holding onto his phone, gripping it tightly in his hand and feeling oddly satisfied. He calmed down a bit while taking it in both hands as he tried to make sense of what came over him. Slowly, the phone began seeping into his skin.

He shot out of his chair in horror and looked at his hand which now had a chunk of plastic in the palm. His next memory was of him realizing he was about to faint and struggling to return to his chair before falling unconscious. He never did know if he made it to his seat but when he woke up, he was in the lab upstairs and recognized the bespectacled man crouching over him as Dr. Wilkes, one of the head researchers at the labs. It was odd that he was there late at night but considering the strange occurrence, he was a welcome sight as an authority who could potentially explain what had happened.

“… awake?,” Wilkes’ voice was muffled as Tetsuo drifted in and out of unconsciousness, “… a contamination in the building… came as soon as I found out…”

“Have you heard of Astra Machina?… nano-virus released because… need to find a cure… getting a substantially large from her is the only way… your condition.”

“What happened to me?,” Tetsuo slurred as he gazed at his hands. His head was heavy and his senses were dulled.

“Can we call the authorities?,” Tetsuo felt oddly hungry again and despite the surreality and horror of the situation, his main drive was to end said hunger.

“Government hiding… won’t help… but I’ve found where she’ll be next… have to be ready… I can help…,” Wilkes continued as everything went dark.

“I’ll do anything you ask,” Tetsuo mumbled as he felt objects moving in and through his flesh, “…Just gotta grab a bite first.”

He fell unconscious once again.

14 Hours Later…

In Jersey City, Astra Machina happily sat a bucket of soapy water and dropped a sponge in it. Wally and Kim stood behind her with curious looks as they shivered from the cold.

“Car washes are a great way to raise money and it’s very cheap to set up,” Astra told them happily, “I have signs on the street and I made posts on a lot of forums so people should be aware.”

“But it’s still cold outside,” Wally told her, “People usually wash their cars in warmer weather.”

“That’s why I advertised a heating system,” she morphed her hand into a device that resembled a giant blow dryer.

“What charity are you raising this for?,” Kim asked.

“I’ll give it to an animal shelter. People love cats and dogs so they should spend money on this.”

“Which animal shelter?”

“Oh, I haven’t decided yet but once I show up with money, they’ll take the donation, right?”

“Uh, probably,” Kim gave Wally an unsure look and then went back to Astra, “You might wanna contact people beforehand, next time. Does Ryan Bennings know about this?”

“I told him I would help make sure people don’t hate the Commission so much and he said ‘You can’t make things any worse’, so I think he’s really excited.”

“Wish we had a car so we can be your first customers,” Wally told her.

“Thanks, Wally.”

Cars began to line up shortly afterwards. Stay-at-home moms brought their kids in vans and Astra happily waved at them while her multiple arms washed the windows. Occasionally, Wally or Kim would help by filling her bucket or getting more soap. With Astra’s abilities, it was a quick job and she was on her twenty first car when Tetsuo showed up.

Astra had syphoned some water and created a hose to spray the soap off the hood; as she was busy, she did not have any active sensors to detect enemies. She did, however, hear Kim shout, “Astra, look out!” which was followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the pavement from a great height. And when the large metallic fist slammed into her, she was disappointed to know that she had been targeted yet again. She had a decent streak going too.

She flew into the air toward a car that was waiting in line but the driver quickly accelerated and she hit the pavement. The other vehicles gradually tried to leave the area without hitting each other or the strange man running around. Tetsuo was wide-eyed and still wearing his security guard uniform while his left hand was a gnarled mess of metal and plastic. He raised the lumpy mass at the end of his wrist above his head and charged again, but Astra’s leg stretched out and landed against his chest which pushed him into the path of a moving car. The driver slammed on the brakes and Tetsuo fell against the hood.

He looked down with a hungry look and placed both palms against the hood. Soon, strips of metal began to peel away from the car and moved into his arms, burrowing painlessly into his flesh. Tetsuo let go of the vehicle and stared curiously at the pieces of metal protruding from his limbs. Just then, Astra tackled him to the ground.

“What did you do to me?,” Tetsuo shouted in a panic.

“I haven’t done anything that I know of,” Astra told him sympathetically, “But I can help.”

“Yeah,… you’ll help.”

Tetsuo reached up and gripped the sides of Astra’s face, taking off chunks of metal which were then added to his mangled flesh. Astra quickly broke free of his grip and leaped back; as she did, she noticed a few details regarding his security guard uniform.

He swung his over-sized hand down but she stepped out of the way, then he used the scraps from the car hood as a multi-bladed weapon but it did little more than bounce off Astra’s body. Astra’s legs stretched out, allowing her to vault over his head and once she was high enough, she flipped and landed behind him. He spun and finally caught her across the face which brushed her back. His condition seemed to boost his strength, the more matter he collected and since he seemed to have an intense drive to absorb everything in reach, it meant he was getting stronger by the minute. Meanwhile, she tried her best not to harm the obviously confused and ill man.

“Why are you fighting?,” she backed away from him defensively but Tetsuo quickly followed. “You seriously think you can spread disease and not have to answer for it?,” Tetsuo launched forward, wrapping both arms around her waist. Astra felt more metal being ripped from her as he absorbed the pieces into his chest. She grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him a few yards away and when he hit the pavement, Tetsuo got up and charged again. Thinking fast, Astra formed a small taser on her wrist and fired a mild energy bolt just large enough to render a full grown man unconscious. Tetsuo stopped and froze before passing out on the pavement.

“Astra are you okay?,” Kim asked as she rushed to her side.

“I’m fine but I can’t say the same for Tetsuo,” she answered.

“Who’s Tetsuo?,” Wally asked.

“It’s the name on his tag,” Astra stooped down to indicate his security uniform, “I have an idea who did this to him and why he’s after me.”

Wally and Kim finally noticed the uniform and were ready to confirm their suspicions as well but Tetsuo shot up, pushing Astra to the side before frantically racing across the lot. “Wait, Tetsuo!,” Astra called after him but he didn’t stop and darted across the street as more cars screeched to a stop. At the same time, a police squad car entered the lot with lights and sirens on.

“Are you gonna go after him?,” Wally asked.

“If I did, the police officer might take that as a sign of me fleeing the scene,” Astra explained, “I’m trying to make people like us more and conflict with the police isn’t a good idea. I learned that from the Cavalier’s situation.”

“So we stay behind and talk to the officer,” Kim said as he approached, “What about Tetsuo?”

“We’ll get him help. I know where to go next.”

Hours later, in a small one-bedroom apartment, a young woman fried some eggs over a stove top, the worried expression on her face never fading. Her boyfriend didn’t return from work, nor did he answer his cell phone. She was considering calling the police and despite her hopefulness he would return, she still jolted when she heard the door open. She rushed out of the kitchen and into a darkened living room where she barely made out the figure crouching in a corner.

“Tetsuo, is that you?,” she asked worryingly.

“Yeah,” his voice was a low whisper.

“God, where’ve you been?,” she rushed to turn on a lamp but he stopped her.

“Don’t turn on the light, Sara!”

“You haven’t been home all day. What’s going on?”

“I’m… not feeling well.”

“Are you sick? Did you go to a doctor?”

“Doctors can’t help this…”

“Tetsuo, you’re scaring me. Tell me what’s wrong? Are you in trouble?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you. Things were… I couldn’t think straight. Something’s wrong and I don’t know what it is. I’m hungry now… hungrier than I’ve ever been. Food doesn’t do it for me, either.”

“Please, you’re not making any sense. Lemme turn the light on.”

“No… Just-just listen. At work, after it happened, I was in a daze. I’m not sure how but I came across one of the guys who works in the lab. He told me I contracted a-a nano-virus released by Astra Machina. The lab techs had been working on it but there was some kinda leak.”

“A nano-virus?”

“It’s not contagious but it’s possible I could get a cure if I… consume her.”

“What do you mean, consume her?”

“It’s the only way… So hungry.”

“I’m turning on the light,” Sara rushed toward the lamp.

“No, don’t!,” Tetsuo pleaded once again and rose to his feet.

With a flick of a switch, Sara finally noticed the pieces of metal jutting out of him. The face of the man she loved had scattered bits of silver and gray while his limbs were cancerous lumps of metallic debris. She didn’t mean to scream but he wasn’t surprised or offended either. “I’ll get better, Sara,” he told her, “I promise I will.” She ran to her phone in the kitchen, “We gotta get you to a hospital!” She snatched it off the counter and began to frantically dial but when she turned around, Tetsuo was gone and the door was left open.

Outside, Tetsuo rushed into the street. Because of all the commotion he had been causing, the police were already on the lookout for him and a squad car materialized behind him shortly after he left the building. Tetsuo ran between cars as lights and a siren chased after him. Eventually, he ducked down a side street and came across a chainlink fence. He shoved his palms against it and began to pull as the car came to a stop behind him. With his strength, he began to rend the fence himself and what was left was quickly absorbed and became a part of him. “Don’t move!,” the officer shouted as he drew his weapon. Instinctively, Tetsuo spun around and lunged as the officer fired. A backswing sent the officer flying over the hood of his car and he crumpled into an unconscious heap.

It was then that he noticed the bullet lodged in his chest but it mattered little since he began to absorb it as well. Tetsuo heard more sirens in the distance and rushed through the hole in the fence to the factory it surrounded.

He was supposed to be meeting Dr. Wilkes at the lab but he knew he had to lay low for a bit. He shattered a window and climbed into the factory, then felt lucky for the first time in over 24 hours as there was no one inside. He once again ran to a dark corner and huddled there as if that was his new state of being. He was scared and confused but still very hungry. He would meet-up with Dr. Wilkes later but for now, he had to consume something while waiting for the police to leave. He reached out to the machinery nearby, placed his metal fingers on the surface and began to feast.

Across Jersey City, Astra found the building she had been looking for. Through a web search, she learned it had been newly bought and did not have any signage to denote the company so it flew under the radar. Still, there was plenty of public information available so Astra had an easy time finding it. With Tetsuo’s security uniform holding a familiar logo, she was certain she knew who was behind his transformation and while she had trouble understanding people, she was sure her target was waiting for her. Considering she was picking up a life form on the top floor, her suspicions seemed correct. She didn’t bother hacking the security system and instead, flew into the air with a jetpack and smashed through a window.

When she landed, she saw a familiar figure standing in the Nantox office, arms folded in anticipation.

“Hello, Astra Machina,” Jennifer Sawyer greeted her.

Continued…