ALL NOVEL Chapter 3: A Broken Record
I AM BEN REILLY?!
I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! This... HOW.. WHEN..
"SHIT!", I accidentally blurted out my shock and my eyes widened at the sound of my voice amid the liquid blubbing around. I quickly covered it and looked up to see if Warren had heard me. He didn't. Thank God.
I tried not to look at the reflection for now, because the last thing I wanted was a full-blown panic attack. But, the more I avoided it, the more my anxiety grew. Until, finally, I just had to know. I had to see it.
I did. I took one look into the reflection and saw it. Saw HIM. And the sight alone nearly made my heart stop.
It's Ben's face, looking back at me. His eyes, his nose, his mouth. There is no doubt that I'm looking at Ben Reilly. But I'm also looking at ME.
I tried to calm myself down by breathing in and out. In and out. It was all I could do not to hyperventilate. I could feel myself beginning to shake, my hands clammy. I was feeling sick, and not just because of the stench of the green liquid.
What's happening?! How could this be? It's just not possible. Is it?
My mind raced to find an answer to this absurdity. Is this some weird type of wet dream? Am I on drugs? Or did I fall asleep? What about my life? What about my review site? My readers? What about everyone else? My mom and dad..? I had so many questions. But none of them seemed to have any logical answers.
What the fuck am I going to do?! I'm stuck in some science fiction world, as a clone of a fictional comic book character, and I'm completely alone!
This isn't real. It just can't be! I tried to wake myself up.
"Wake up, Sam. Wake up! This is just a dream. Open your eyes and get out of this crazy nightmare!"
Nothing. I was still here. In a fucking tank. Still in this alternate universe.
"Shit. Okay. I'm probably going to have a panic attack, but I can't. I can't let this overpower me. If I'm going to find a way out of here, then I need to keep calm."
I looked at Warren again and found that his back was still facing me. Looking down, I saw the word Jackal carved onto his table and my thoughts raced as to what I should do next.
Miles Warren was a madman and planning to make the same mistake that brought him to ruin in the comics, I have to get out of here. There are no police, no heroes to rescue me. I am on my own. And it's time I play the hero instead of reading their stories and writing about their greatness.
I can do this. But first, I have to figure out where am I and how to get out of this tank. I don't know where exactly this tank is, but judging from the view outside the windows, I would guess I'm on the first floor. Which is good. There's only one floor between me and the outside.
"MWAHAHA!"
Suddenly, Miles laughed weirdly snapping me out of my plan-making. His beyond-creepy laugh brought my attention back to him. He slowly stood up from his chair placed a few test tubes inside his laboratory coat and looked down for some moment and then abruptly turned toward me, smiling widely.
"I've finally done it, Peter!", Miles laughed with excitement. "I've finally brought back your clone, and he will be perfect! Oh yes, he will be PERFECT!"
Miles looked like a maniac. His eyes were bloodshot, and the hair on his head was disheveled. It was as if he hadn't slept in days, which was entirely likely, judging by the way he had acted earlier.
"I've been waiting so long, too long, for this moment. But now, you're back, Ben, and this time, you're going to live. Oh yes, you are."
Miles began pacing around his work area. He had this crazed smile on his face and he was muttering under his breath and occasionally cackling with glee.
It was disturbing, to say the least.
"Soon, soon, I will have the perfect specimen. Then, I can finally finish my research and present it to the world. Oh, they'll love me, Peter. They'll love me!"
I watched as Miles continued to pace around, completely lost in his delusions. He was ranting and raving, and his voice was growing louder and more excited. It was clear that he had completely lost his mind.
He walked toward the tank and stared at me for a few seconds until an angry frown formed on his face and he said, "Congratulations! You are my greatest creation! You are going to make me have my revenge! After what that bastard did to my dear Gwen, I can never forgive him! He would pay!"
My eyes were glued onto his mouth, horrified at the amount of insane dialogue spouting out of it. I stared as he kept going on and on about how much he loved Gwen and how he would make SpiderMan pay like a broken record. I knew why he was saying all of this. It's because he thought that I couldn't hear or understand what he was saying. The good news is, this is a great way for me to have the upper hand! It was the perfect time for me to play dumb and act like a zombie-like clone. I can take advantage of him being oblivious and distracted.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Miles stopped ranting and walked away from the tank, seemingly forgetting about me.
I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the mad doctor was finally gone. However, I was wrong.
The mad scientist returned, and with a big smile on his face, he looked at the tank and said, "All right, time to get you ready."
Get me ready? I have no idea what that means, but whatever it is, it can't be good.
As if reading my thoughts, the mad doctor reached for the buttons on the side of the tank and pressed one. The sound of air hissing filled the room and a sudden temperature change caused the green liquid inside the tank to begin getting warmer.
I stared at Miles who only stared back at me and shouted, "Begin the memory Infusion!"
Memory infusion?! Oh no!
My eyes widened as I saw a bunch of wires coming out of the wall and plugging themselves into the sides of the tank.
Miles smiled and walked away after saying, "Don't worry, you will learn everything that you need to know, in time."
He opened the door and walked out of his lab, and as he did, a low humming sound came from the walls around me. It was getting louder and louder and as it did, I started to feel a slight tingling sensation in my body. It was faint at first, but the longer it continued, the stronger it became.
This isn't good! I don't want to become a mindless clone of Peter Parker. I need to escape!
I didn't need an extra minute. I quickly grabbed the breathing tubes and pulled them with a hard tug. With some resistance, the tubes exited through my mouth and the stitches. I removed it carefully from the inside of my nose and tore it open from the outside.
It was a good thing the water was green, or else it would've been bloody.
Once the breathing tube was removed, I turned around and looked up, hoping to find something that I could use to climb out. Unfortunately, the top of the tank was sealed tightly shut.
Damn it!
I turned around and touched the glass of the tank. I figured it would probably break if I slammed against it hard enough. Since I wasn't able to go over the top or out of the tube, the only thing I could do was try to break through the wall.
But how?
I looked down at my hand and clenched my fist. I knew that my body was different now, stronger, but I didn't know how strong. With no time to waste, I took a deep breath and swung my right arm, slamming my fist against the glass.
The impact shattered the glass and the green water gushed out, taking me with it as I fell over the cold cemented floor of the basement.
I rolled on the ground, gasping for air. The taste of freedom was sweet, and the smell of the laboratory was refreshing. But there was no time to relish in the moment.
I looked up and saw a computer screen displaying a diagram of the human body, and underneath it, a set of words:
"Memory Infusion In Progress..."
I stood up and stumbled towards the computer, ignoring the shards of glass and the puddle of green liquid beneath me. I didn't care about the pain. The screen displayed a progress bar that showed only a small percentage filled. I had no idea what would happen if the memory infusion process finished.
Thankfully, it didn't.
I smiled seeing the progress bar stop. I had managed to stop the process. But before I could celebrate, a loud siren sounded and red lights began flashing around the room.
"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! SECURITY BREACH DETECTED!"
A robotic voice announced through a speaker above me.
"Shit!"
I ran towards the nearest door and pushed it open. To my dismay, the hallway was filled with red laser beams, which were most likely connected to an alarm system.
"Damn it!"
I cursed under my breath and began searching for another way out. At that moment, I heard heavy footsteps descending the staircase in front of me. I looked back and saw two men in military fatigues heading towards me with MP5s drawn.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" one of them shouted as he fired a warning shot over my head.
"Freeze!", the other one yelled, "Or I'll shoot!"
"Freeze?", I replied as I raised my hands in the air.
"How can I freeze when I have hot blood running through my veins?"
They stopped and looked at each other, confused seeing a naked man covered in green goo talking nonsense.
I took advantage of their confusion and leaped forward, grabbing their rifles and twisting their arms. The men cried out in pain as I wrenched their guns away from their hands and kicked them in the stomach, sending them flying across the room.
I watched them slam against the wall and slide down. They were knocked unconscious.
I couldn't help but be amazed at how easily I took them out. I couldn't even punch a guy without crying like a baby in my previous life. Damn! Now, I realized how strong Spiderman truly was! How much he was holding back! How easily he could kill someone with a slap to their face! How monstrous!
Suddenly I heard the alarm blaring in my ears.
WAAA~WAAA! WAAA~WAAA!
Oh no! I didn't have the luxury of pondering these things any longer.
I turned around and began searching the lab for anything that might be useful. The lab was filled with all kinds of chemicals and equipment. However, none of them looked useful in the slightest. So, I did what every sane person would do.
I tore apart the blueprints of his experiments. From the corner of my eye, I saw an Inflammable sign on the tank I was in, and a wicked idea came to mind.
There was a big container full of that same green liquid beside the tank. I walked up to it and easily picked it up. I brought it toward Warren's lab and threw it onto his research and all over his desk. I was doing all of this because I didn't want Warren's clone-related experiments to spread and help other supervillains as well. It was the responsible thing to do.
After that, I aimed and shot at the container with the other guard's gun. After the first three shots, the glass of the container broke apart and the green liquid began spilling out. I shot at the liquid and it caught fire instantly. I emptied all of the bullets at it and when I saw the fire beginning to spread, I turned on my heels and ran away.
I couldn't let the fire get to me. I was covered in that green vomit! I might get burned and melt alive. That's a horrible way of dying! Not in a billion years! Nuh-uh.
"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! ALL PERSONNEL EVACUATE!"
"SECURITY BREACH DETECTED! LEVEL 4 PROTOCOL ENGAGED!"
Before running out of the lab, I borrowed the clothes of one of the guards. I couldn't make my escape buck-naked! Imagine the newspaper headlines if I did so -' A naked man terrorizes people while fleeing from an unknown laboratory!'
I laughed as I descended the stairs and noticed that there weren't any guards on the ground floor. I hid behind a crate and scanned the room to see that I was in a warehouse. After checking that there were no more guards, I opened the front door and saw four unsuspecting guards. Four quick chops to the back of their heads and I had sent them all to Wonderland.
I was beginning to enjoy the new body.
I scanned the area, looking for any guards hidden in the vicinity. When I saw none, I instantly ran as if my life depended on it. I turned to look at the warehouse and I saw the logo of the facility which read, 'Landau, Luckman, and Lake.'
My eyes widened when I read the infamous name but before I could look at it for one more second, the warehouse exploded and was engulfed by the flames.
"Holy shit!"
I fell to the ground due to the blast and rolled to a halt. When the flames had gone down a bit, I saw a few black SUVs rushing to the scene and people dressed in suits.
"Damnit!", I cursed and quickly got up. I didn't want to be there when those people arrived. I needed to get far, far away.