Loki's Pain

Chapter Twenty-seven- The Bot Becomes

What Ash saw once the blinders were removed was, he was sure, completely unique to the worlds of both magic and science. It seemed an almost perfect blend of both. The floor of the room had been completely cleared of obstructions and inscribed with intricate, scrolling mystical patterns which Ash found oddly beautiful and compelling. They formed two overlapping circles, and he was ushered into the middle of the criss-crossing pattern.

Once his feet crossed the outer rings, Strange activated the design with a soft golden energy, and Ash could feel the energy of the barrier as it surged around them, closing everyone inside. Almost instantly, bonds of magic wrapped around his body and he felt an almost gentle tugging sensation across his skin as he was led towards one of the two, wheeled, hospital cots set up next to each other.

As Tony and Natasha helped him lay down Ash noted that the other cot seemed to have someone already laying on it, but they were completely covered by a thin white sheet inscribed with even more mystical symbols. Just as he was begining to wonder whether or not the person was even breathing, the bot in his head finally caught on to what was happening and began an all-out assault on his consciousness. By then it was too late, however, as mystical shackles now bound him to the bed. So even if it had managed to take over, it would have had no hope of escape from what was to come.

Soon after, Strange began a series of incantations in a language, or even a series of languages, that Ash could never hope to decipher. At the same time Tony slid an odd-looking helmet over his head that had a dizzying number of cords hooked into it...all of which led to the other bed and under the sheet. A few seconds later Ash was able to hear a soft hum emanating from the electronics as it powered up. The control panel for whatever the helmet did were linked to a podium set up behind Ash's head, so he was unable to observe what Tony was doing, which left Ash totally uneasy. The only counter to that was being able to watch as Strange made his many gestures and intoned his incantations with utter seriousness, which was oddly entertaining despite the situation.

Despite the waves of bot attacks causing a flaring mega-headache behind his eyes, he still had enough presence of mind to wish he would be able to see more of it at some point in the future.

Still, as the battle raged on, for a battle it certainly was, even that little distraction was lost to him. Eventually, the pain grew so intense that he could not help but scream. It felt as if the bot was driving steak knives into his head an setting it on fire all at once, before it tasered what was left over.

Then it got worse.

The pain increased, flaring out to encompass his whole body, and not just his head. Pain eventually became his entire world, so overwhelming that he could no longer see or hear. Even his hair follicles seemed to be on fire, and at that point Ash even begged for death. He pleaded with Strange, with Tony, with anyone who could hear him, to end his suffering. He even cursed at them all when the pain didn't stop, and continued for what seemed like hours.

It was within this sea of pain that Ash finally felt a subtle shifting in his head. The bot was moving, but it was different than when it took over his mind. Within one moment and the next, it was gone, and Ash noticed the gaping emptiness in his mind that the bot once occupied. It was almost as if the bot drained out of him like a lanced boil, and with it, the last of his energy. Ash felt as if he was dying, instinctively fighting against it now that the bot was gone and the pain had eased up, until Strange muttered another simple incantation into his ear that Ash could sense rather than hear. Within seconds his consciousness was mercifully rolled under into utter blackness, and he was left to rest in a completely pain-free and dreamless sleep.

Once the bot shifted Tony noticed the surge of energy along the lines of the helmet and signalled to Strange. Strange immediately activated the symbols drawn on the sheet, trapping the bot and it's new body beneath it. Tony had hesitated in using it, considering what had happened before with an untested AI being installed in one of them, but Strange had assured him he could contain it. Still, Tony had also taken the precaution of removing its arms and legs, as well as any outside signal accesses. 'Can't be too careful these days, after all, right?' Tony thought to himself as he deactivated the path back into Ash's mind before removing the helmet entirely. Being careful to steer clear of the glowing symbols on the floor, Tony was grateful to see the lines of pain smooth out after Strange's "mumbo-jumbo" put Ash to sleep.