Head Games part 2

The Ice Box was a cylindrical structure residing within a mountain in the Himalayans; most of the building was buried inside the mountain itself while an entrance, tower, defensive weapons, and a landing pad protruded from the peak. It was officially named the International Metahuman Correctional Facility but its snowy surroundings and the fact that it was a prison resulted in a more famous nickname.

The warden of the Ice Box was a former CIA operative who happened to also be one of the first recruits for the IMD. Shawn McCabe was a member of the first roster of Badges in 2005 and eventually retired a decade later. He was a tall man with graying hair and while he was once muscular, years of strenuous activity caused his physique to break down. “I assure you, none of my prisoners have escaped,” McCabe walked Ryan Bennings through a circular, two-story cell block. Each cell was equipped with a forcefield barrier that contained super powered prisoners. Meanwhile, guards in 10ft tall mechs hovered at various stations while armed drones flew back and forth through the atrium.

“If Cady didn’t escape, he found a way to extend his telepathy,” Ryan explained. Looking up, he noticed some villains he had faced in the past. A man with cybernetic fins and a stinger-tipped tail pounded on the forcefield containing him, “Bennings! Hey, come in here a minute, I wanna show ya something!” Ryan recognized Manta as a Second Phase operative he put away years earlier. Another cell contained Piecemeal, a super strong villain that could pull himself apart and piece himself back together. He belonged to an underground metahuman fighting ring and had battled both Ryan and Rex Robinson on different occasions. “I’ll be seeing ya real soon,” he shouted from his cell. Ryan continued to walk alongside McCabe, ignoring the jeers.

“If Cady did anything,” McCabe explained, “We’d know about it. He’s on medication to ensure he can’t use his telepathy.”

“I’m sure he found a way to bypass whatever you’ve set up here,” Ryan continued, “I’d like to have a chat with him to make sure.”

“I’ll send you downstairs and they can set up an appointment. How’s next week sound?”

“You understand this isn’t a conjugal visit, don’t you? I had two very lucid hallucinations earlier this morning and Cady admitted to it.”

“You mean during your hallucination, Cady admitted to it.”

Ryan shot him an annoyed look, “You were in the IMD, I don’t need to explain to you how telepathy works.”

“I’m just covering all bases. You uh,… you haven’t been ‘partying’ recently, have ya?”

Ryan’s annoyed expression turned to outrage, “What?”

“I know I don’t know you well but I remember that used to be the situation. I remember the sex tape and the wild parties. Y’know, back when you were dating Mackenzie Fellows?”

“That was a long time ago and besides that, I know the difference between a telepathic attack and going on a bender, thank you very much.”

“Fine, I’ll set up a meeting with Cady and you’ll go through the proper channels to speak to the guy.”

Ryan sighed and began cleaning his glasses, “If I must. Closest available time, please. I doubt anyone else is in line to talk to him.”

Hyperion’s Light was in the air within the hour, sailing over the Indian Ocean. Ryan wondered what Cady’s next move would be. He wondered if he should use a psychic dampener to protect himself from any future telepathic assaults but then, he also needed to find a way to stop Cady permanently and to do that, he felt the need to place himself in a vulnerable position for the time being.

As Ryan flew the vessel, he received a call from an unknown phone number, although he recognized the name and photo attached. Blane Russel was mostly known for violent horror and action films that, according to his critics, were often overwrought, bloody, and lacked substance. He dabbled in cartoons previously, however, when he made a live action Charlie Brown movie that was controversial due to how dark and surprisingly violent it was.

“Hi, this is Ryan Bennings,” he answered curiously.

“It’s Blane Russel. I got some ideas about that Brain Boy reboot,” he spoke confidently as if there had already been an agreement for them to meet, “Bob Smythe mentioned on his podcast you wanted to reboot the show and I think you’ll like my ideas. We’re gonna go for a live action version, no cartoon. It’s gotta be a hard R-rating, too. Totally badass. Get an actor with some chiseled abs for the role. See, I was thinking, why’re you a Brain Boy? You need to be the Brain Man! You hit the gym, you get laid. You despise mortals because you’re smarter and you have that right! In the cartoon, you used all these stupid gadgets and inventions but here, you build rocket launchers and ICBMs. You blow the shit outta everyone who gets in your way!”

“Uh,” Ryan stammered, “What time is it over there?,” he noticed the local time over the Indian Ocean and knew it’d have to be in the middle of the night anywhere in the US.

“I don’t sleep when I work,” Blane told him in a far-too-aggressive manner, “Anyway, what’s with the Labrat character? He’s a giant rat. Why doesn’t he eat someone’s face? In real life, a giant rat’s gonna eat some faces!”

“You realize he’s a real person, correct?”

“Whatever. In my version, he eats faces.”

“Okay, you seem really excited about the face-eating.”

“And I think there should be a twist where you and Labrat find out you have the same mom.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure this is a good idea going forward. I’m really not interested in any sort of Brain Boy projects and please tell everyone you know I said that. I’ll even pony up the money for a billboard in LA if you like. Have a good night.”

Ryan hung up, but immediately got another call from his home. Labrat appeared on the screen and Ryan could make out men in suits milling about in the background, carrying equipment.

“Ryan, I had to let them in,” he began, “They’re from the government.”

“Wait, what’s happening?”

An agent came on the screen, “Mr. Bennings, we’re with the IRS and we’re collecting property of the US government.”

“You don’t have any property at my house.”

“It’s our understanding some technology was used for military programs in the past and ownership was claimed. This would include any and all research and advancements made while you were employed as a contractor. We are simply collecting and will be leaving an invoice at your residence.”

“No, wait until I get there!”

“We can do that. After all, you seem to be piloting a craft that the US military has also asked to collect.”

“Hyperion’s Light?”

“Yes, as we understand it, it was built from U’ntari technology and in accordance with the Department of State, all alien technology on US soil is considered US property.”

“Of course, you realize…,” as Ryan spoke, he noticed two agents leading Labrat away, “Wait, what’re you doing now?”

“As you know, this being was created as a test subject for a military program. It’s to be collected as well.”

“No, he’s a living, breathing organism!,” Ryan shouted, “You can’t just cart `im off!”

“I’m sorry Mr. Bennings. If you just let that harmless little rodent live his life, he would’ve been better off. But no, you had to biologically engineer a friend because none of the other kids wanted to play with you. Ever consider that, shithead?”

When Ryan snapped to attention, he realized he was still on the phone with Blane Russel and there were no signs of IRS agents. Blane snapped his fingers impatiently, “Hey, you spaced out there for a while.” Ryan shook his head and tried to regain his bearings as Blaine continued, “We got a deal or what?” Ryan said nothing and disconnected. “You got me again, Cady,” he said aloud.

“If it’s any consolation, you won’t die yet,” he heard a familiar voice in his mind, “I want you to suffer. I’m going to take my time and remind you of the destruction you’ve caused in the past.”

“You’ve done that before.”

“In the past, I simply tried to kill you. This time, I’m going to dig into your mind and see what makes you tick. I will bring up your most intimate, painful memories and once you realize the ugliness inside you, I’ll leave you to decide if you want to live or not.”

“I see,” Ryan responded, “Hey, speaking of painful memories, I’m thinking about the time I shot you in the knee. I assume you’re getting that mental image right now. I mean, it’s not a painful memory for me, per se, it was actually kinda funny, but I’m sure it’s a painful one for you. Oh, and now I’m thinking about the first time I embarrassed you during one of your boring lectures at Harvard. And now… a montage of all the other times I embarrassed you at Harvard. It’s like a clip show in my head right now. Let’s finish it all off with the first time I got you arrested.”

“… Arrested for my affair with a co-ed. Yes, I remember those events quite well.”

“Affairs are, by definition, consensual for all parties involved, Professor. Just saying.”

“You’re doing a lot of talking but I know you’re thinking of ways to stop me,” Cady deflected, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Not unless you value the lives of your rat friend, or your teammates, or maybe some of the former lovers that still talk to you.”

“Jokes on you, none of my former lovers talk to me.”

“I’m sure you’ll care if I kill any of them. You have quite a lot of blood on your hands already, I don’t think you want more.”

“You still feel morally superior, Prof? I thought you were beyond killing innocent people.”

“I am what you made me.”

“Ah, that’s a bigger load of shit than your theories on the human mind. You were the absolute worst biochemistry professor ever,” Ryan unbuckled himself from his pilot seat and stood up.

“Perhaps but now I’m your greatest enemy. And just to remind you of that, I’m going to do this.”

There was a strange sensation in his mind. Ryan knew he hadn’t been set on fire. He knew the flames were only a representation of an idea artificially inserted into his mind but his body was still convinced. His synapses sent messages through his nervous system; pain shot through every inch of his flesh. He trembled and quaked as his body registered the damage it was tricked into believing. Ryan screamed and fell to the floor as he physically experienced the sensation of being burned alive while never receiving a single burn.

“Now that I have your undivided attention, let’s take a trip through your past. It has always been a good source of misery and Craig Levison’s death has left you with certain memories at the forefront of your psyche.”

Ryan was now 15 and it was the day he emancipated himself from his parents. Previously, he had drawn up his own contract to remove himself from Craig Levison’s control and ensured his parents would no longer be a part of his business. He sat in an office at the Levison Life headquarters with Craig Levison, his parents, and a lawyer on the other side of the table.

“What’s this?,” Linda Bennings asked as she gazed at her copy of the new contract.

“This is what happens when you steal my grant money to go to a casino,” Ryan told them.

“It was given to us,” Jack Bennings protested, “We’re your parents.”

“And that’s no excuse for mismanagement, Dad. Hence, my emancipation,” he turned to Levison, “You’ll also find that I’m cutting ties with you, Craig. This contract gets me out. It’s pretty cut and dry. You get that shitty cartoon until you pass away or you sell it, but I still get royalties from whatever you decide to do with the franchise. Otherwise, I’m on my own.”

“You’re a lawyer all of a sudden?,” Craig asked as he looked over the contract.

“Legally speaking, I had a lawyer draw up this contract but it was all to my specifications. He was pretty impressed with my research and didn’t have to make too many changes. It’s airtight. In a few moments, your lawyer is gonna finish reading the contract and give you an apologetic shrug and then reality will set in.”

The lawyer looked up from the contract and gave an apologetic shrug to Levison.

Levison pointed at Ryan angrily, “You ungrateful little prick!”

“Hey, you can’t talk to our son like that,” Jack shouted.

Levison turned to Ryan’s parents briefly, “Mr. and Mrs. Bennings, I apologize and mean no disrespect,” he faced Ryan once again, “But he really is an ungrateful little prick. We were supposed to make a movie!”

“The cartoon’s cancelled. I don’t think anyone’s interested in a live action Brain Boy movie,” he explained, “Besides, I can’t act. We all saw the SNL episode. Anyway, you got ownership, so you can always get someone else to star in your little movie.”

“But you’ll still get royalties.”

“Yup.”

“What’re you gonna do for a job?,” Linda asked.

“Independent contractor. I have plenty of patents different people are interested in,” he turned to Levison, “And none of them are in the Industrial Military Complex.”

The image froze as if paused on a television. Cady’s voice could be heard in Ryan’s mind, “What led you to finally separate yourself from Levison and your parents?”

“Lots of things, really,” he answered, “I was gradually getting sick of the cartoon and Levison was pushing me to do a live action movie I was meant to star in, which was a terrible idea. Then, I ran across a conspiracy theory online stating that CIA weapons were used in a coup in Costa Triste and I realized it was the tech I designed years earlier. That was at least partially Levison’s doing as he agreed to a meeting between me and a couple of agents in disguise. Not too long after that, when a think-tank gave me grant money, my parents blew it on a riverboat casino and that was the last straw.”

“It’s no wonder you grew into the man you became with these people as role models. Obviously, your hero-worship of Rex Robinson shows that you never quite learned from your past. I’ll leave you for now but I’ll be sure to renew our little journey later.”

Ryan felt a release and when he looked outside, he noticed it was dark and the sun had set long ago. He lost several minutes, if not hours, while under Cady’s hold but didn’t realize it. A curious thought occurred to him and he quickly checked the local time at the Ice Box, comparing it to the local time in Boston.

He finally had a plan.

Continued…