"Is it ready?"
"Almost," Dr. Shen replied, huffing as he attached the final cable. "There we are. Now we can switch this beauty on and get this party started."
"Hmmm." Darian tapped his finger against the table, eyes on the multitude of screens in front of him. Specifically, on the central one showing a scene taking place outside their atmosphere, in the vacuum of space where a comet was approaching, one that appeared once every three decades.
Darian sighed, remembering the last time it had appeared. The day where the world was plunged into chaos. The day that had truly seemed like Armageddon. He could see the black smoke in the sky, the ash falling like snow. It was the day the Cloak Guard had fallen. He smirked at that. The supposed heroes, after fighting for so long against the greatest of evils, had finally fallen. He clenched his fists, his hatred of them overtaking him for a moment. How he longed to be the one to have put them all down, to crush them like the ants they were. Unfortunately, he had to make do with the ones he'd gotten. Especially the last one standing.
At that, he turned to the tank in the back and the figure within. He'd caught him that same day and held him all this time, knowing he'd need his abilities. But after today? Darian mused on it. Perhaps he would keep him for a while longer, as a reminder of the past. But his usefulness had greatly diminished, something Darian took pleasure in.
His gaze returned to the comet, his particular satellites tracking its movements. Only a few minutes before it was in position. And then, at last, he would have the cloak energy. Three decades of waiting would come to an end. He couldn't begin to process all his emotions at the thought of that.
"Shen?" he asked.
"Almost there," the doctor replied, on his computer and typing fast. "If I don't make the necessary computat-BINGO!" he suddenly shrieked. "And we are online. Whoo!" He wiped his brow and smiled at Darian. "That was a little too close, but we are good to go now."
"Hmmm." Darian would have preferred to have everything ready a week before now but unfortunately that was not possible. He looked at the machine, the one he had nicknamed the Battery. As that was what it was, a battery for energy except on a cosmic scale that could draw the cloak energy from the comet into it. But, it required an ungodly amount of energy from them. As Shen had stated, the second they turned it on and connected it as they had just done, it would begin to drain their resources. They had minutes before everything shut down. All the time they needed.
"Alright, the comet is almost in position," Shen announced. "The…Battery," he said painfully, having preferred his own name for it, "is ready to begin the transfer. All we need to do is wait."
Darian kept his eyes on the screen. All these years, he had wondered why the energy had gone to that comet. Why it had left at all. Granted, those moments at the end of the battle had been confusing, but he had never been able to answer that question no matter how much research he had done. Perhaps today would be the day he would.
There was a slight beeping sound, causing his eyes to flick over. It was time.
"And here we go," Shen said, licking his lips. He glanced at Darian for a second before he pushed a large red button. Instantly, the Battery thrummed to life and Darian could almost feel it drawing the energy down.
"So far, so good," Shen nodded. "The energy from the comet is decreasing and the Battery's is increasing. Still have a ways to go but all things considered, not too bad."
"How long will it take?" Darian asked.
"Ooh, about five minutes. Don't worry, I see no signs of potential issues or problems. Everything is running smoothly. Should be done right before the comet flies by."
Darian sniffed. He didn't like the word 'should.' He'd prefer 'will' but in this life, he knew there were no guarantees. Still, everything did seem to be running as it should. He tapped his foot, watching carefully at the energy meters as one rose and the other dipped. It was perhaps one of the longest 5-minutes of his life, but then it was over, the energy completely drained from the comet and now carefully stored within the Battery.
After all this time, it was finally his. Everything he had worked so far, had sacrificed, had been for this. He allowed himself a soft smile in triumph. Now, he could truly begin.
"There we have it," Shen proclaimed. "100% energy transfer, a complete success. More so given there is some extra energy here."
"Extra?"
"Yes it seems that there was something else in the comet. Possibly what drew the cloak energy there in the first place. Hmm, a subject worth exploring later. Now, we can…" he trailed off, his face going slack as he looked at the screen.
Darian felt a tightening in his gut at the expression. "What is it?"
"It's not possible," Shen muttered.
"What isn't possible? What is happening?"
"The energy…it's leaving."
"Leaving?"
"It's…exiting the Battery."
"You said that wasn't possible." Darian felt a rage fill inside him, a rage that urged him to crush Shen's skull in. He held back, for now.
"I don't understand. The Battery was designed for the cloak energy's specific signature. It is more than capable of holding it. But, there's no problem with the Battery. The energy is just…leaving."
Darian growled, his fists clenching and unclenching. After all these years, all his hard work, and the thing he had sought was just…leaving? Just like that? He roared, grabbing hold of a table and flipping it into the air. He raised his arm and beam of light shot out, obliterating the table into dust.
He turned to Shen who was watching him with a terrified expression. "Find out why this is happening or I will ensure your end will be…" he trailed off, a sound distracting him. He turned to the water tank and saw an influx of bubbles surrounding the prisoner's head, the figure inside twitching and making the odd sounds as he was about to vomit. But no, he was doing something worse.
He was laughing.
The next second, Darian was at the side of the tank, grabbing hold of the crane and yanking the figure out, snapping several cables and sending his prisoner crashing across the floor in a shivering, wet mess. The man gasped in shock, spluttering a little inside his helmet. But then, he began laughing once more. Darian's teeth tightened as he walked over, ripping the helmet off. He grabbed the man's chin and lifted him up. "What is so damn funny?" he demanded.
"D-did your s-science exp-periment-t not w-work?" the man asked knowingly.
"What have you done?"
"Me? N-nothing." The man grinned. "B-but you? Y-you've d-done everythi-ing I want-ted."
Darian's eyes widened. "You wanted me to bring the energy back."
"B-bingo."
"But how did you know the machine would…"
"F-fail? It always w-would. No matter w-what the m-mad scientist m-made, it wouldn't-t work. You n-never underst-tood the power. It ch-chose us, seeking us-s out. It was d-dormant until-l you b-brought it here. Now, it's-s awake and it's ch-choosing others. You j-just released it to find n-new hosts-s. And-d even if y-you find them and k-kill them, the energy w-will just f-find new hosts." The man winked. "You j-just created your g-greatest enemies."
Darian stared at him for a long moment before dropping him. He closed his eyes, breathing in.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"