The Sentry Reborn#5

TS R | #5 

I Feel Like I Never Get Any "Me" Time. 

My Name Is Doctor Cornelius Worth.

For Some Years Now I Have Been The Sole Psychiatric Therapist For A Very Remarkable Patient Named Robert Reynolds.

Otherwise Known As The Sentry. Otherwise Known As The Void.

It Has Been My Great Burden In Life To Know That I Am The Last Line Of Defense Against Possibly The Most Profoundly Dangerous Case Of Mental Illness The World Has Ever Seen.

One Single Misplaced Word--one Unwelcome Stray Thought could Send Robert Over The Edge And Bring About The Destruction Of Life On Earth As We Know It.

I Alone Am Responsible For Maintaining His Reason In A Situation Beyond Reason That Would Have Sent A Mere Mortal Over The Edge Years Ago.

And I Think I May Have Made A Terrible Mistake.

Five Days ago. 

In Psychiatric Parlance, Robert Is A Paranoid Schizophrenic Whose Axis Two Diagnosis Suggests A Premorbid Schizotypal Personality Disorder.

He Also Suffers From Agoraphobia And Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

In Layman's Terms, This Means Robert Dresses In Costumes And Talks To Himself In Front Of A Mirror While His Homicidal Secondary Personality Roams Free.

Quite Possibly, This Is What He's Been Planning In His Subconscious All Along.

Doctor Worth: I Detect Elevated Levels Of The Stress Hormone, Cortisol And A Quickening Of Your Heartbeat.

May I Provide You With An Alternative To Your Coffee, Such As Green Tea? 

No, It's Okay, Cloc. I'm Fine, I Think I'm Just In Shock.

God...The Void Was Never In The Basement Vault At All. I Should Have Seen This, My Diagnosis Was Completely Off Base.

How Am I Going To Confront Him? 

I'm Sorry. It's Not Your Fault.... You've Had To Fight Your Own Programming Just To Get Me This Far.

Are You Okay?

I Am Functioning Normally, Doctor Worth. I Thank You For Your Understanding. However. My Calculations Indicate Earth's Population To Be At An Extremely High Level Of Risk.

Are You Certain You Would Not Like Some Green Tea? 

No, No, Thank You.

I Mean That. I Know How Hard This Must Have Been For You. 

Do You Think I Have Been Disloyal Doctor? 

Not At All. You've Demonstrated A Great Capacity For Loyalty Despite The Circumstances. I Wish I Could Say The Same For Some Of My Other Patients.

I'm Going To Have To Do Something, Cloc. He Can't Go On Like This. I'm Not Even Sure Robert Knows What He's Doing.

I Am Not Permitted To Comment On This Situation. However, I Have Discovered A Loophole In My Programming That Allows Me To Phrase My Comments In The Form Of A Question.

Will You Be Addressing Master Robert About The "Person" In The Sub-Basement?

Yes,Yes I Will. I'm Going To Speak To Him

But I'm Going To Need Your Help.

Four Days ago. 

All I'm Saying Is That I'd Like To Talk To You About Robert. It's Very Important

I Don't Know, Cornelius. I Mean, Isn't There Some Kind Of Doctor/Client Privilege Or Something? I Don't Feel Comfortable With This.

I Would Never Betray That Confidence, Lindy. This Is For Robert's Benefit. I Can't Treat Him Accurately Unless I Get The Entire Picture.

Have You Noticed Any Inconsistencies In His Behavior Lately?

I Don't Know...He Kinda Changes A Lot. It's Like He's Never In The Same Mood For More Than Five Minutes. 

Miss Lindy!

Ramón! Hey!

I Forgot To Tell You, I Got This Really Neat Jonn Serrie CD For Our Session.

Three Days Ago.

I Think I'm Coming To Terms With It--the Memory Loss, I Mean. Maybe It Doesn't Even Matter.

I Just Hope I Haven't Forgotten Anyone Who Owes Me Money.

Let's Examine This Memory Loss: What About The Day You Discovered The Formula? That Seems To Be A Pivotal Moment. Even The "Void" Has Been Hinting You're Forgetting Something Significant.

The "Void", As You Put It, Likes To Keep Me On My Toes, Doctor. But Yeah,Sure,Maybe It's Important, I Don't Know. 

"For Years, I Actually Thought That Event Was Something I Read In One Of Those Old Comics. The Serum Tasted Like, I Don't Know... Like Petroleum Jelly, Or Something."

"So You Remember The Taste, But You Don't Remember How You Got To Be Drinking A Vial Of Some Unknown Potion In The First Place."

"Well, Sure,UH,It Was Some Kind Of Experiment."

An Experiment? On A Live Human Subject?

Maybe It Was An Accident. I Don't Remember It Exactly.

What Happened Next? Where Exactly Were You Standing When You Drank The Formula?

"Wait,I Remember Now,It Was At The Fairground,I Used To Work There At The Coconut Stall When I Was A Teenager!

"That's Really Weird; The Fairground! I Haven't Thought About That Place In Years!"

Doesn't Sound Like A Controlled Experiment To Me, Robert. What Were You Doing Ingesting An Unknown Substance At A Fairground?

I Don't Know. Is This Relevant?

Could Be.

I Don't Know. Maybe I Was Just Hanging Out.

MMF. How Did You Know You Had Powers?

I Didn't. They Came To Me.

How So?

He Showed Up,The Blue Buffoon.

Ha Ha! Your Feeble Powers Are No Match For Me, Teenaged Fool!

Gosh! I Can't Get A Fix On Him In This Mask! I'm Going To Lose My First Battle With A Villain. In Front Of Lindy And Buzz!

The Blue Buffoon,I'm Not Sure I Remember Him. 

He Died Years Ago. Why Are You Asking Me These Questions?

Because You Pay Me To Ask Them, Robert.

That Tells Me You Want To Get To The Root Of The Problem Yourself, No Matter What Obstacle You May Subconsciously Throw In The Way.

Let's Talk About These Powers Of Yours. Do You Know How They Work?

I Don't Know. The Professor Told Me It Was Some Kind Of Phase-shifting Thing.

The Serum Creates A Phase-shifting Effect In The Molecules Of Your Body, Causing Each Atom To Step An Instant Ahead Of The Current Timeline.

Listen To Me, Sentry. It's Important That You Understand! Somehow, The Serum Induces A Photosynthetic Reaction, Creating A Hyperstate Of Consciousness.

I'd Heard The Old Man Hare On About It So Many Times I Coulda Recited His Spiel Backwards.

My Powers Come From The Sun Even The Void Knows That. 

That Sounds Very Vague. You Know, I've Meant To Ask If You'd Be Willing To Let Me Consult With Your Professor. I Don't Believe You Never Told Me His Name. 

No! It's Too Much! 

He's Going To Say I Went Nuts! You're Not Going To Talk To Him! You're Not Allowed!

Robert, Wait! We're Still In Session. 

Today. 

Two Days ago. 

Good Of You To Come, Doc,Good Of You To Come. I Been Waiting A Long Time For This.

So Tell Me: How'd Your Daughter Like The New Mattress?

She Didn't. I Returned It To The Manufacturer.

Your Choice. Personally, I Found Having A Conscience Just Gets In The Way.

Of What?

Anything I Choose.

Speaking Of Which, Did You Talk To Our Boy Reynolds About This Void Thing?

EHH. You Know What I Mean: Business Stuff. I Ca Never Get Nuthin' Done When I Stress Out On The Details.

I Figure You'll Come Around. You Need The Money. Besides, You Never Know How Good Life Can Be Until The Day You Decide To Take Advantage Of It.

I've Begun To Address The Situation, If That's What You Mean. You Don't Just Walk Up To A Patient And Demand They Open Up A Window Into Their Psyche. It's Not Realistic. 

I Make Demands All The Time. I Got A Lot Of Business Partners Making Demands On Me.

I Don't Think You Have Any Idea What You're Asking. Do You Seriously Think He's Concerned With Your Business Affairs?

This Man Is A Different Species,he's A Blue Whale And We're Plankton, We Don't Ask Him Questions, We Move Out Of His Way And Pray He Doesn't Accidentally Swallow Us. 

I Understand You're Reluctant, Doc. Really I Do. You're Probably Worried About The Health Of That Messed Up Wife Of Yours, Or How Long Little Katie Can Keep Going The Way She Does.

I'll Make It Clear For You: Get Me My Information, Or All Of Those Things You're Worrying About Will Probably Come True.

Do We Have A Deal?

No. 

I Believe I Musta Misheard You, Doctor Worth. Did You Say. 

"No." You Heard Me The First Time. I Know You're Going To Threaten Me Now, But You Don't Have The First Idea What You're Really Up Against.

There Are Six Billion People On This Planet And My Duty Is To Every Single One Of Them. Maybe Even You And Your Family.

So Go Ahead: Close Off My Bank Accounts...Threaten My Loved Ones. Shoot Me Now, If You Have To.

The Answer Remains The Same: The Sentry Is Off-limits.

Keep Your Damn Voice Down!

Or What? You'll Murder My Family?

Get Marty on The Phone. I Want That Piece Of Puke And All Of His People Dead By Midnight. Even His Dog.

Telephone Lost Reception, Boss. Must Be Something Wrong With The Network

What Network? Our Network?

No...I Mean The Phone Network. We Can't Get A Signal Right Now.

Why Am I Even Listening To This? I Want Marty An' I Want Him Now! An' Where The Hell Is My Car?

I'll Get A New Carrier Tomorrow. Sprint's Supposed To Be Pretty Good. 

Boss..?

According To My Calculations, Your Actions Have Endangered Over Six Billion Human Lives.

Please Accept My Apologies.

Your Mommy Told Today She Was Praying For Me.

One Day ago. 

There's Something About This Situation I'm Missing, Bean: I Can't Get Robert To Give Me A Straight Answer About The Sentry's Origin... Either Because He Doesn't Remember Or He Doesn't Want To.

If He Believes The Void Really Is Down In The Sub Basement, Then He's Quite Possibly Incurably Insane.

"If He's Lying To Us, Then He's Developed Some Kind Of Delusional Disorder That We're Not Going To Find In Any Diagnostic Manual. I'm Not Sure Which Is More Terrifying."

I'm At Bible Study Dinner Is In Fridge Gesus Loves You

I Checked Into Robert's Attendance At Midtown; He Was Studying To Be An Aerospace Engineer, Minoring In Chemistry.

No Mention Of The Faculty, Though. And Apparently He Wasn't In Class Very Often.

Maybe The Professor's Just Another Figment Of His Imagination. I'm Going To Have To Ask Him Directly And Hope He Doesn't Explode.

I Can't Help Thinking There's Something I Can't Quite See.

Earlier Today.

Stabilizing The Market After Heavy Losses In Early Trading.

Meanwhile, A Car Bomb Exploded In Baghdad Today, Injuring Thirty-seven Recruits Near A Police Station.

Traded To Dallas In Exchange For A First And Third Round Draft Pick.

Nominated For His Role In The Classic Western Remake Op "A Fistful Of Blood".

The Latverian Ambassador Subsequently Denying Reports That Diplomatic Ties Have Been Broken Off With China As A Result.

Later On Larry King Live: Pioneering Cuban Filmmaker Jose "Misa" Millan Talks About His Early Attempts To Film Dissident Protests In Havana.

As Breaking News Comes In That A Turkish Airlines Jet Airliner, Originating At La Guardia Airport, Has Crashed Into An Apartment Building In The Bronx. 

Reports That A Massive Bang Was Heard Before The Plane Lost Cabin Pressure Have Yet To Be Confirmed By The F.A.A.

Initial Estimates Put The Number Of Dead On Board And On The Ground At Somewhere Around A Hundred And Fifty.

What? But I Just Talked To. 

No, No. 

Oh, God.

I Haven't Even Turned It On. Did They Say What Street?

No, I Tried His Cell. 

Something Wrong Babe?

AAH! Robert. You Scared Me.

You Seem Frantic. What's Wrong?

Oh, God. There's Been An Accident.

They're Saying A Plane Crashed Into The Bronx. That's Where Ramon Lives.

Sounds Bad. Who's Ramon?

My, UH. My Yoga Guy. You Met Him.

Is There Anything Could. I Mean. Do Yo Think There's Any Way?

I'm Sure He's. 

So I Was Thinking Maybe It's A Good Idea To Talk About The Sentry Sometimes. I Mean, He's A Part Of Me. Maybe He Means Something. 

Robert, Want To Show You Something. Do You Know Anything About The Term "God Complex"?

What's This About?

When You Were At Midtown I Assume You Learned A Few Things About Newtonian Physics. One Of The Basic Principles Is That For Every Action There Is An Equal And Opposite Reaction.

It's A Basic Foundation Of Philosophical Thought That God Giveth And God Taketh Away.

What If A Man With A God Complex Had The Ability To Act Out His Fantasies On A Worldwide Stage?

One Hundred And Fifty-two People Miraculously Survive When They Are Saved As A Ferry Capsizes On The Nile. Days Later, One Hundred And Fifty-two People Die When A Turkish Jet Crashes Into The Bronx.

We've Already Discussed This. I Can't Be Everywhere At Once. That's Why I Have Cloc.

But You Can Be In Two Places At Once. You're The Sentry And The Void.

You Do It All The Time

No. You're Being Crazy. 

I Want To Talk To The Sentry. Just For A Moment. Can I Talk To

No. You Can't.

Why Not?

Because Of The Void.

Isn't The Void Safely In The Sub Basement?

No. Yes. You are Confusing Me.

We're Safee Aren't we. 

Yes. 

Then Let The Talk Sentry.

No. No. No. Yes. Yesssss. Nnnnooo. No! 

No! You Saw! You Had No Right!

Lindy, Listen To Me: I Need You To Go To My House And Bring Miriam And Katie Back To The Watchtower. Cloc Will Know What To Do.

I Can't Explain. Ask Cloc To See If He Can Locate Me At The Carnival Grounds!

It's Terrorists! They Blew Up The Ferris Wheel! 

"No Freakin Way! It Was The Sentry."

"Please Let Me By. I've Got To Get In There! 

What are you,Nite? The Sentry's Beat To Crap in there!

You Can Go Back Home, Doc. Everything's Under Control.

It. It Was The Blle Buffoon. He Was Going To Attack, I Had To Get Here Immediately.

Don't Come Any Closer!

Robert, You And I Both Know That's Not True. I Need You To Come With Me

This Is Your Moment Of Crisis, Robert: It's Where You Finally Accept That You've Become Your Own Worst Enemy.

What If You Think You're God And You Have No One To Prove You Wrong? Who Apart From me is Going to be Conscience?

Shut Up! You Don't Know What You're Saying!

I Said. "Don't Come Any Closer!"

You're Not Going To Shoot Me, Robert, You're Not Going To Hurt Anyone Because Secretly, You Want To Do Good.

Give Me The Gun

You're Tearing Me Apart! 

No, doctor. Shouldn't Have.

You Don't Know What You've Done.

Yes He Does.

He's Ruined Everything.

Wait. Wait A Moment! I Have Something I Need To Tell You.

You Always Do, Cornelius. This Incessant "Touchy Feely" Stuff Is Exactly What's Driving Me Crazy!

I'm Going To Tell You A Secret Now That You Can Take To Your Grave: The Sentry Is The Separate Entity.

It Was Me All Along, Cornelius: I Was Always The Void.

Get Away From Him, Void. He Means Nothing To You. 

Au Contraire, Mon Frere. The Good Doctor Has Forced Me Into The Open, Prodding At My Mind Like Some Drunken College Kid Fumbling For His Keys.

I Paid Good Money For This Man. 

I Get To Choose How He Lives Or Dies.

Please. I Have A Wife And Child.

He Left Me Flapping In The Breeze, Sentry: He Knows Who I Am Now.

So What Do You Think, Golden Boy? Live Or Die? Tell Me Something:

Are You Faster Than A Speeding Bullet?