Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis

by Danny R Negron

  Princess Alexandria marvels at the interior of Indrid Cold's space craft. The interior is completely white with the windowless walls and floor bearing a striking resemblance to porcelain. At the rear, there is a semi-oval shaped white sofa which is attached to the wall and what looks like a floating glass table in the middle of the area. She laughs at a pale Henry who is suffering from a profound, and debilitating, form of phobia. He loudly yells, “Indrid! Can you please slow down? Just a little bit?”

  Dr. Frankenstein chuckles and says, “You need to see this, Henry. The view is amazing.”

  Alexandria becomes curious and starts to make her way toward the cockpit to accompany her father and Indrid. To her amazement, she notices that the closer she gets to the cockpit, the more transparent the floor and walls become. She arrives next to Indrid and observes the spectacular view of the desert below. It almost feels like she herself is flying in the air. While being impressed with the breathtaking sight, Barbara tells her, “Amazing, huh?”

  Dr. Frankenstein glances at both of them and tells Indrid, “Let's take them to the moon, Indrid.”

  Alexandria excitedly holds Barbara's hand as Indrid pulls her hands closer to her own body. The ship moves upward and enters a patch of stormy rain clouds. Barbara nervously grabs the doctor's arm as the ship dodges numerous bolts of lightning. Alexandria whispers, “Wow.” as the she observes the clouds parting to reveal the darkness of deep space.

  At this point, Barbara can't help but think about her dreams and wishes as a young child. One of them being to travel to the moon. For the first time in her life, she is about to come face to face with an icon admired by every tin foiled hat wearing conspiracy theorist on Earth. Dr. Frankenstein points his finger toward the familiar object that glows in the night sky and says, “There it is.”

  The ship gets close to the surface and everyone on board sees crater after crater zoom past them. Indrid releases the controls as soon as the Earth comes into view and the ship comes to a complete stop. All of a sudden, a beeping is heard throughout the ship. Indrid sees the ID and warns by saying, “There is an incoming video call, Ludwig.”

  Dr. Frankenstein nods in approval and Indrid raises her left hand. She makes a wiping motion towards the right and a screen displaying the rather agitated image of Queen Thessalonike appears. She then asks curiously, “What is the meaning of this, Ludwig? Why have you taken Alexandria with you without first consulting with me?”

  “My humble apologies, Thessa. After our brief conversation yesterday, I have taken it upon myself to make amends with our daughter. I assure you that she is in safe hands.”

  Alexandria begs by asking, “Please, mom?”

  After a moment of silence, the queen responds, “Very well. I will allow it. And Ludwig.”

  The doctor looks at the screen and listens carefully.

  “Thank you. Please be careful.”

  “Take care, Thessa.”

  With a wiping motion toward the left, Dr. Frankenstein disconnects the call. As both Barbara and Alexandria enjoy this rare opportunity to look at the Earth from a different perspective, Dr. Frankenstein glances at his watch. He then places his hand on Indrid's shoulder and says in a low tone, “Time to visit father.”

  She smiles at him and firmly grasps the controls. Alexandria is astonished while she asks her father, “We're gonna visit grandpa?”

  He places his palm on her head and replies, “That’s right, konfect. On Mars.”

  The humming of the ship's engines are heard as it departs from the moon and makes its way toward the red planet. It enters Mars and Indrid skillfully pilots the craft toward a highly mountainous region. A long beep is heard followed by a voice saying, “You are in a restricted area. You have ten seconds to leave this area.”

  Barbara becomes concerned as she looks at Indrid raising her right hand. She then makes a wiping motion to the left and a somewhat transparent computer keyboard appears. Indrid rapidly types and, afterwards, presses the “enter” key. Another long beep is heard followed by the voice saying, “Welcome.”

  A section of the mountain dislodges and lowers to reveal an entrance. The silvery ship slowly makes its way inside and Barbara can do nothing more other than open her mouth in disbelief. Even her conspiracy obsessed friends would have her committed by just mentioning this little trip.

  The ship lowers until it lands and floats softly on the docking platform. The engines stop humming and a section of the lower part of the craft opens....almost as if the metal were made of liquid. A beam of light exits the hole and the crew members gradually float down. As soon as their feet touch the ground, Henry sighs with relief and says in an angry tone, “Getting your teeth pulled without anesthesia is better than flying on this thing.”

  Dr. Frankenstein looks ahead and notices an elderly man walking towards them with the assistance of a cane. Right away, he recognizes his father, Victor Frankenstein and walks forward to greet him. They shake hands and Victor says, “Ludwig. So good to see you. Tell me. How is Thessa? And your brother...Wolf?”

  “Good to see you, father. Thessa is fine and Wolf...well...I haven't seen him in quite some time.”

  Alexandria suddenly appears from behind Ludwig and, with her hands on her hips, says loudly, “Sooo...you're not gonna ask about me, Grandpa?”

  Victor's wrinkled eyelids open wide and he laughingly asks, “Alexandria? What in the world are you doing out of Atlantis?”

  She hugs him tightly and he laughs with a joy that Ludwig has not seen in a long time. Victor becomes serious again as he looks up at his adopted daughter, Indrid Cold, and greets her by saying, “Hello, Indrid. Come here, my dear.”

  She walks toward him and they embrace each other warmly. He then glances at his son and says, “I am assuming this has to do with one of her premonitions, Ludwig.”

  Ludwig does not reply and just nods his head in agreement. Victor continues, “All of you...come with me.”

  The group follows Victor to the entrance of the station. As they enter, Barbara is astounded by the highly advanced technology inside. Although not as aesthetically beautiful as Atlantis, it is still a sight to behold. Victor stares directly into a panel on the wall. Suddenly, a beam of light gradually moves down his face and the door makes a hissing sound as it slides open. Everyone steps inside the office and door closes shut behind them. While Victor is lowering himself to his chair, he asks Indrid, “What is going to happen, Indrid?”

  “Ninety-five percent of Earth.”

  Victor is frozen with fear and, after a few minutes, turns his head to look at his son. Ludwig asks him, “Father. I need to know. Is Project Paperclip active once again?”

  His father lowers his head in a state of perplexity and replies, “I have had brief conversations with my former colleagues not too long ago, Ludwig. There was no indication, whatsoever, of any of them being involved in biological experiments.”

  He raises his head and continues, “We're all too old for that, my son. The only form of activity is from the son of Joseph Jaeger. Just recently, Gary Jaeger has become employed by StarSun, Inc.”

  Ludwig strokes his goatee and reflects on the recent announcement of StarSun's new CEO, Diana Garrison. Could this be what he is looking for? Would this new CEO somehow be planning an intentional outbreak for the sake of profits? It would be brutal but not beyond the realm of possibility.

  “The company has recently experienced a change of CEO. If there is a sinister plot, the only way to know for certain is to gain access to the upcoming Bohemian Grove gathering. It is very likely that she will attend.”

  Victor scoffs and explains, “You know that women cannot become club members, son.”

  “Come now, father. You seem to have forgotten about the poet Ina Coolbrith as well as the actress Elizabeth Crocker Bowers.”

  Barbara becomes puzzled and asks, “Bohemian what?”

  Alexandria nudges her with her elbow and replies, “Don't tell me you never saw that video with the huge owl!”

>   Ludwig raises his hand to silence his daughter and tells everyone, “We will need the assistance of my good friend, David Paul, before infiltrating the gathering. Thank you for your time and help, father.”

  As everyone exits the room, Victor stares at his son's creation in awe. He calls to her in a gentle manner. “Barbara.”

  She stops walking and quickly turns around. He motions to her to move closer to him. She steps forward and allows Victor to take her hand.

  He asks in wonderment, “How do you feel, my dear?”

  Barbara shrugs her shoulders and replies, “Like a monster?”

  Victor lightly pulls her hand toward himself and says sternly, “You are not. You are the same person you have always been...inside. And I see a very beautiful young woman.”

  She feels a sense of honesty with those kind words and blushes with embarrassment. Barbara responds, “Thank you, Dr. Frankenstein. Your son told me that you made something like me. Where is it?”

  Victor hesitates before answering her and makes sure that no one else is listening. He replies softly, “Do not call him that, Barbara. He has a name...like you.”

  She is now intrigued by this mystery and kneels down to listen carefully. At this point, the old doctor covers his mouth with his hand as he recollects the events that led to the creation of the eight foot tall behemoth. Victor takes a deep breath and opens a safe behind him. He takes out a bottle of single malt Scotch whiskey with two drinking glasses.

  Barbara instantly realizes what he is doing and says, “No, thank you, sir. I don't drink hard liquor.”

  Victor nods and places one of the glasses inside of his personal safe. He then pours a small amount of the alcohol into his glass and takes a sip. After a moment of silence, he begins sharing his story.

  “I had everything a man can ask for. A wonderful career, a beautiful home, a loving wife, and two children. Ludwig and Wolf. Wolf was the first born and showed every indication of being a normal baby. Several years later, Ludwig was born. We began to notice something rather odd with Wolf. His behavior would constantly shift from one extreme to another.”

  He takes another sip and continues, “My wife decided that it would be best to take him to a specialist. Let me tell you....the worst feeling you can have is feeling unable to help your child. Upon conclusion of the tests, we were given the news that Wolf had autism. My wife had to quit her job to care for him and I took it upon myself to find a cure.”

  The doctor finishes his drink and gathers up the strength to finish his recollection of the past.

  “I was called to investigate alleged sightings of a Mothman in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966. My wife arrived home one day and forgot to lock the front door due to her attempt to answer the telephone. When she returned to the living room, she discovered that Wolf was not there and that the front door was wide open. She ran outside and began calling him. Then...the worst fear had come true. At that moment, Wolf got hit by a car traveling at a high rate of speed.”

  Victor sighs with frustration and continues, “I returned as quickly as possible. When I arrived at the hospital, I was told that he was in critical condition and suffered tremendous blood loss. And that he may not survive. I could not bear the thought of losing him...so I made a decision. I used my position as a distinguished member of Paperclip to request permission...to perform the experiment that the government wanted.”

  Barbara's eyes widen at this revelation and says, “Oh, my God. Your creation. He's...”

  The voice of Ludwig is heard as he adds to the story by saying, “My brother.”

  Both Barbara and Victor focus their attention on Ludwig as he walks inside. Barbara rises to her feet and before she can say anything, Ludwig explains, “My father did, in fact, save his life. By transplanting his brain into a creation comprised of dead human body parts. When my father brought him back to life, he was the same Wolf that we knew...but in a much bigger body. Unfortunately, he did not understand the amount of brute strength that he possessed.”

  Victor shakes his head and continues, “He almost killed my wife...with just a mere hug. It was at that point that I realized the danger that he not only posed to humanity, but to himself as well. Instead of having him endure a lifetime of tests, I set him free...into the forest.”

  Ludwig takes a quick glance at his watch and says to his father, “I apologize for leaving so abruptly, father. Time is not exactly our ally.”

  Victor slowly stands up and places his hand on his son's shoulder. He tells him, “No need to apologize, Ludwig. Good luck to all of you.”

  Victor walks until he arrives at the door and turns around to say to his son while pointing his cane at him, “You need to stop making poor Thessa wait for you to marry her.”

  As he leaves, Ludwig notices Barbara trying to hold back her laughter. He asks, “What?” She replies, “He does have a point. You're not getting any younger.”

  Indrid's ship hums as the engines turn on. It then rises and swiftly departs the station. Victor watches it disappear into the distance and quietly says, “Godspeed.”

  On the ship, Ludwig stares into the darkness of space while thinking of his older brother. The time will come to locate him. He is nervous about the reunion and fears for the lives of the people around him. Wolf is a gentle soul but is easily frightened which usually results in a violent tantrum. The Earth comes into view and he gently pats Indrid on her back. She looks at him and says, “He will not harm us.”

  Alexandria is confused by what Indrid said and asks her father, “Who won't?”

  Dr. Frankenstein hugs her and replies, “Indrid is referring to David, konfect. It will be fine so don't you worry.”

  As the ship enters the atmosphere, Henry screams, “Indrid! For the love of God...Slow down!”

  Joshua exits the hotel and removes his jacket. As he drapes it over his shoulder, a young man also exits the building and asks him, “I still have no idea why you chose to work here, Josh. I want to toss a grenade into this shithole.”

  He shrugs his shoulders and replies frankly, “I like working for what I want, Cliff. I can let mommy buy me everything...but that would make the things I buy hers instead of mine.”

  Cliff lights his cigarette and, as he walks away, says, “You, my friend, are fucked up in the head. Later.”

  Joshua prepares to hail a cab when he sees something coming toward him from a distance. He decides to step closer in order to get a better view and, to his delight, discovers that it happens to be an adorable puppy. It doesn't look dirty or mangy so it must have an owner who lives nearby. They must have left the door open and it escaped.

  “Hey, buddy! What're you doing out here, huh?”

  The puppy begins to rapidly wag its tail and growl. It then lets out a computerized barking sound which completely baffles him. He looks all around the area to see if it's one of friends playing a prank on him. But there is no one to be found. Joshua takes one step closer and the puppy runs away in the opposite direction. After a brief moment of hesitation, curiosity gets the better of him and he follows the small animal down the dimly lit sidewalk.

  At the Museum of the City of New York, forty-five year-old David Paul Stubbe sits in his office performing his usual tasks of Curator of Natural History while taking a sip of his coffee. He is suddenly blinded by a very bright flash of light and almost chokes on his hot beverage. Once he recovers his vision, David immediately recognizes the person standing in front of him. Just as Dr. Frankenstein is about to greet him, he raises his hand and says, “Uh,uh...no.”

  “What if I just wanted a tour for my daughter, David? Is that how you treat tourists?”

  David rolls his eyes and answers, “No and yes.” as he points his finger at the door. Dr. Frankenstein closes the door behind him and gives David a serious look. He tells him, “I really need your help. Indrid had another vision...this time, the whole world is in danger.”

  David sighs and explains, “I've retired from that life, Ludwig. Have you forgotten
what happened the last time I assisted you?”

  At this point, David glances at Barbara and adds, “Besides, it would seem that you have found, or created, a suitable replacement.”

  Dr. Frankenstein takes one step forward and informs him. “David. If you value the innocent lives of the friends and family around you, I would strongly advise that you reconsider.”

  David Paul sits down and finally realizes that his old friend is, once again, in desperate need of his assistance. But what if he loses control? The last thing he wants is to rip someone to shreds...just as he did in the past.

  The diminutive, brown puppy sits down just in front of the museum. Joshua keeps his distance this time and hides behind a parked car. He takes a peek and wonders why the little creature with the odd bark is simply sitting there. It's almost as if he is waiting for his master. Just as Joshua is about to whistle, a bright light emerges from the night sky and shines down on the puppy. To his amazement, he witnesses the puppy floating upwards into what looks like a giant star. Joshua immediately takes out his phone in an attempt to capture an image of this unbelievable event. He curses as the phone freezes and reboots on its own. He decides to step closer to the beam of light to, at least, enjoy every moment of this paranormal experience. The beam reminds him of a giant flashlight as he stares into the sky.

  Joshua slowly, and cautiously, moves his hand toward the luminescent beam. As soon as his hand touches the light, he opens his mouth in shock. The hairs on his skin stand on end...almost as if he is in the presence of static electricity. An unseen force then begins to pull on his arm...to the point that his feet lift off of the ground. Joshua tries his very best to remove his hand from the beam, but realizes that it is much too late as he looks down in horror. His entire body disappears into the enormous star above him.

  Joshua tries very hard to focus after becoming blinded. The figures of two people slowly begin to solidify. His mouth drops open as he stares at the pale, feminine body of a creature he has previously seen only in science fiction movies. Next to her is a much younger, normal looking girl holding the puppy in her arms. Alexandria gives Indrid a concerned look and utters in a low voice, “Uhhh...not good.”