Doctor Devil

*OCTOBER, 29 2020*

Doctor Henry Bates, a famous billionaire, and scientist sat alone in his office at the top of Omega Technologies, an organization is known for its groundbreaking researches in both science and technology. With just thirty minutes left to the unveiling of the organizations latest project- his lifes work, his eyes fixed squarely out the glass window, staring deeply at the nothingness of the evening sky.

The moon had risen reasonably in the night, partly lighting up the spacious room and adding to the uncertain mood the night already carried. A flat-screen TV hung up on the wall, displaying a news correspondent giving the news update. Although Henry had turned the volume low to avoid hearing what the news had to say, he could not help but listen to the woman on the news.

"We are coming to you live from Omega Technologies where quite the crowd have gathered for what everyone is calling the biggest step yet for mankind as they launch the MIRROR BRIDGE, a machine they claim could create inter-dimensional portals to anywhere in the universe. This project has been said to be the original research of Dr. Henry Bates, one of the lead scientists of the organization with over thirty percent ownership of the organization's shares."

"Dr. Bates, a physicist who was a graduate of Harvard University at the age of nineteen and had gotten two Ph.D.'s by the time he was twenty-nine, was recruited by Omega Tech shortly after. Still, Dr. Bates had risen from promise to prominence as he stands as a major shareholder and the current C.E.O of the Company. The whole project has been a mystery from the beginning due to concerns from the company that it could be hijacked by their competitors but that is all in the past now as the whole world is watching and waiting for the big unveiling. What is next for Mankind? One can only guess and hope for the best... Courtney Preston, Channel 6 news."

Henry scoffed. He always considered it funny how the press made things seem like there was no pressure when every fiber of his being clung on whatever outcome the night brought. He turned off the TV, tossing the remote back to the table before he made a shrug. It wasn't like the pressure got to him anyway.

After years of research and testing, the project struck all involved as auspicious in every way and he was willing to bet all he had to see it succeed. It was a compound process that involved the emission of beams of neutrons at an impenetrable wall. Usually, no neutrons should be on the other side of the wall but if the presence of neutrons is detected with the help of a neutron detector, it would only mean that they may have gone through the wall by oscillating into the mirror world becoming mirror neutrons and reappearing in this universe.

A couple of tests and experiments at various speeds later, the mirror neutrons were achieved, and Henry's theory was that an antimatter-induced fusion with the mirror neutrons would cause a reaction resulting in an open passage to the mirror world. The experiments carried out were on a small scale which resulted in no notion other than the theory was highly plausible. The only problem now was that antimatter being so unstable that a gram of the substance if not handled properly could cause a nuclear explosion.

Unlike then, Henry was willing to risk everything to make it work on a bigger scale. He believed it would and now the time had come to prove it.

Just as he reminisced on the key moments that had brought him so far, Anthony Huffman, his assistant walked in, plugging his brief moment of reflection. Anthony- Tony as he was fondly called by everyone was a young man in his early twenties, average in height with thick short hair. He was dressed in a black shabby suit and a pair of round glasses, fondling his fingers as he fidgeted into the room.

"Dr. Bates," Tony said as he pushed back the frame of his glasses to balance it on his nose. "It's time sir."

Henry heaved up a sigh as he got up. He took a moment to button up his jacket before turning to face Tony, his visage steaming with confidence.

"Let's go." He said with a smile.

Tony followed silently as they headed for the elevator.

"What about the helicopter?" Henry asked.

"It should be arriving in about in eight minutes, just enough time for your speech sir."

"Okay."

"Uhm, Miss Murphy called. She said her flight got delayed due to weather conditions and she wouldn't be able to fly in tonight. She'll take the first available flight back once the airline can travel." Tony said and studied his bosss expression.

"Okay," Henry said after a little hesitation as the elevator commenced its downward trip.

Tony pushed back his glasses once more. He understood he was trying to starve out any distractions that could prevent him from achieving the nights goal.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked.

"To be honest, no," Henry admitted mildly. To Tony, his firm composure seemed to betray his words.

Alright, Tony said then returned his stare to the elevator buttons.

The crowd below roared in applause as soon as they sighted Henry. He returned their warm welcome with a wave as he took his position before the stage stand. Tony stood behind him as well as a few other members of the company's board. The crowd's uproar gradually died down with a firm raised hand hinting he was ready to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Good evening. Today marks a phenomenal breakthrough in the history of science as we know it, but I want to start by asking this question, do you dare to dream? Do you dare to make all your wildest imaginations become reality? I'm sure you do." Henry said after a brief pause. "And right here at Omega Tech, we work tirelessly to make your dreams come true. Imagine wanting to be in another continent, let's say Asia for example, and only having to do so in just three steps."

Murmurs of awe dispersed around the whole crowd.

"Okay, okay, I think I'm getting ahead of myself... Or let's say you are late for that job interview you desperately need, or your wife's water just broke and there's traffic... My fiancée couldn't make it tonight because of the weather at Washington." The crowd immediately showed their sympathy with an 'Awww'.

"Yeah, but what if I told you all those obstacles would mean nothing with the Mirror Bridge. Ladies and gentlemen, what will be achieved through the mirror bridge today could dawn a new era in transportation, and with further research inter-dimensional travels would be possible."

Just then, a chopper began its descent, a notable imprint of the company's logo on its sides and Henry knew he had to round up his speech. "Now I want to take this moment to appreciate my team- they are all at the site right now, but I bet they are watching this. They are the best and I believe they would want me to end it all on this- Keep dreaming, if you can dream it, then it is possible. Thank you." He said finally with a nod which only seemed to raise the noise of the crowd as cameramen took photos and reporters threw questions from all sides. Luckily, security had lined up on the pathway to the helicopter for such happening, and as Henry and his assistant headed for the helicopter, none of the crowd could get to him.

"Good evening doctor." The pilot said as soon as they were settled.

"Good evening," Henry replied. "Take us to the site."

The site, located at the edge of the city was just another Omega lab facility where bigger experiments were carried out away from the city's residents.

Dr. Bates and Tony alighted from the helicopter immediately it landed and headed for the control room. Everyone was about to jump to their feet in a show of respect but Dr. Bates wouldn't let them.

"No, no, no, remain on your seats." He said as he walked to the center of the room where Karen, another senior scientist in Omega Labs and a part of his elite team stood.

"Karen," He said spreading his arms wide for a hug. "How'd I do?"

"You did good Henry." She replied with a smile. "You even got through to some of us here; we are all hyped up and ready to go."

Henry smiled in delight as he stared at the monitor screen.

"Okay then, let's make history people. Launch it!"

At his command, the whole mood around the room changed as series of commands were typed on the computers.

"Particle accelerator launched sir." One of the operators announced.

"Okay, shoot beams now!"

"Neutron beams fired sir." Another said. "Moving at fifty miles per hour... Moving at a hundred miles per hour... Moving over ten thousand miles per hour."

"Neutron beams now reacting with wall atoms... Wall atoms successfully excited... Mirror neutrons detected."

"Alright, it's all going well." Dr. Bates replied smiling. "Launch the reactor."

"Reactor launched! Preparing mirror neutrons for reaction with antimatter,"

Everyone immediately began celebrating the success with ecstatic sighs and lit-up faces. Henry turned to Karen who beamed a smile at him before returning her eyes to her tablet.

Its working Dr. Bates. Tony shrieked in a high tone, emancipating a grin from Henry.

But it was all soon short-lived with bad news.

"Something's wrong sir,"

"What?" He bellowed, his smile fading quickly and lines of worry creasing his forehead.

"The reactor, it's shutting down."

"What? How come? Everything was checked and nothing came up during diagnostics." Dr. Henry asked worriedly.

"I don't know sir."

All Henry could see on his team's faces were confused and despaired looks. And it wasnt just them. He realized he couldnt say a word to stir up his team into looking for what went wrong.

Why now? Theyd come so far already.

Before his brain could think of next, what they beheld next was the reactor shutting down beneath them. Henry knew it wasn't only them who saw it, the whole world was watching too.

"Quick, Tony disconnect the camera audio now" Dr, Bates said in a low tone and Tony did as he was told. The phone rang almost immediately. The worried look Tony gave Henry before handing him the phone already told him who it was.

"Dr. Bates." The voice said just after Henry had the receiver against his ear.

"Dr. Cortez, good evening--"

"What is going on over there? What's wrong with the live feed? What's wrong with reactor?"

Dr. Bates looked at Karen before letting out a sigh.

"The reactor, it is down."

"I said it! I knew this was too good to be true. I warned you, Henry, I told you to stop chasing this fantasy of yours and keep it in the planning phase but you wouldn't listen. Do you know how much has been spent on this project already? Do you know how many of our investors have lined up for this project? And now you are coming up with nothing, nothing at all!"

"Dr. Cortez, all I'm asking you and the members of the board is a little time. We can find out what's wrong and make it work--"

"No, I'm not going to take all that crap. Shut it down now! All of it."

"Dr. Cortez--"

"Do it now, Henry!" The voice said finally then hung up.

"Fuck!" Henry cursed as he kicked the desk in front of him, his whole body filled with rage.

"What do we do now?" Karen, already knowing what the call meant, asked.

Henry was lost in his thoughts for a moment. This wasn't fair. The whole world was watching. Had he come all this way for him to lose? No way!

"Should we shut it down sir?" an operator asked.

"No, don't turn it off yet."

"But the reactor--"

"Start it up again."

"It's not responding sir," One of the men replied.

"What?"

"It's the sensor," Karen replied as she checked the machine schematics on her screens, "It's not picking up any signal from our end."

"Then I'll go start it up manually."

All eyes were shifted to the doctor immediately.

"Henry, what are you saying?" Karen asked in shock.

"We can't activate it remotely from here... But that doesn't mean we can't activate the device directly from the bridge."

Everyone gaped at him now like he was speaking a foreign language.

"The reactor is at the other end of the testing chamber. We can get close to the reactor and activate it there." Henry butressed.

"But that's just suicidal!" Karen countered. "The level of radiation in the chamber is through the roof, plus we're dealing with antimatter here, the slightest mistake could be fatal."

"I know that, that's why I'm doing this myself."

"Henry, don't be stupid, we have field engineers here. Let one of them go do it instead."

"No," Henry objected. "It's my call. I should do it... Somebody get me a hazmat suit!" He yelled.

In no time, a suit was in arms reach. Dr. Bates took off his jacket and gave it to Tony before taking the suit and putting it on.

"Henry, are you sure about this?" Karen asked just as he pulled the zipper up. He responded with a nod.

"Radio the people down there and tell them I'm coming." He said before putting on the headgear.

"Good luck sir," Tony said as Henry headed for the door. He raised his thumb at him then turned for the door. He stared at the handle with a little hesitation.

Once you open it, there is no going back. He reminded himself.

He took a deep breath as he opened the door, walked out, and shut it behind him immediately. He proceeded by jogging down in sharp circles on what was a stair-like tunnel, The guards were already expecting him by the time he got to the base.

"Good evening sir, shall one of us be accompanying you inside?"

"No, just me," Henry replied.

Soon, the hatch was open and Henry was right through.

"I'm in." He announced through the radio.

"Okay," Karen replied. "Now there's no time to waste, God knows how much radiation that suit can handle. Go straight to the reactor, there's a panel at the base, override the automatic configuration, and switch it to manual. You'll see a red lever by your right, pull it."

Henry didn't bother to answer as he felt he knew what to do already.

"I'm done." He said after a while.

From his radio, he could hear positive feedback from the people in the control room. Everyone started cheering once again.

"Yes! Reactor launched, you can get the hell outta there now."

"Preparing mirror neutrons for reaction with antimatter... Mirror neutrons reacting successfully with antimatter..." He heard on of the operators say from his radio.

In a flash, a blue-black hole started to conceive from thin air right in front of Henry. Henry stood awestruck, staring at the hole which only seemed to get bigger with each passing second.

"Oh my God, it's working!" Someone screamed from the radio.

"Karen, are you seeing this?" Henry asked in amazement.

"Yes! You were absolutely right!"

Her words seemed to widen the smile across his face as he continued to admire the hole.

Still, I cant see anything on the other side. Can you? Karen asked.

"Not yet, He said as he stared into the blackness on the other side. Send in the drones, quickly."

Before he could finish his statement, he noticed a hand started emerging from the hole.

"Hold on, there's something on the other side." He said.

The whole ground started shaking in a quake, jerking Henry towards the hole. Staggering forward, his body came in contact with the hand and the ground shook more vigorously, causing the vile of antimatter to crack open.

HENRY, GET OUT OF THERE

What followed next was an explosion that rippled through the chamber and up to the rest of the facility, bringing the entire building to rubble and crumbles of debris.

I woke up in a new body and a new environment. Not something one would imagine coming from the prince of darkness but so it was. Somehow, I was seeing through someone else's eyes. Everything felt unnatural and for the first time in many millennia, something out of my control actually happened.

Strange. I was in a humans body.

At first, It was only normal to be dazed but even with a blurry vision I could see people in white robes and gowns- doctors, nurses, as you fondly call them and even as they trooped in and out with fright and shock written all on their faces, I could sense then this little ordeal of mine would be fun-what and comical. PS, torturing damned souls in hell can get a little boring, not a lot of hobbies to choose from down there.

But I digress.

Hearing the beeps from a heart monitor I could presume whatever body I was in must have passed out. Humans and their machines, I thought. As cool air whipped through my face with silent talks in a distance, I slowly regained my clear vision and in no time I was crowded by serious-looking faces.

"Thank goodness you're awake!" A woman in white echoed impressively.

Who are you?" I asked. "What am I doing here?"

"Cut the crap, Henry!" A voice barked almost immediately.

"Henry? Who is that?" I uttered as I looked around. As I suspected, I was in a hospital, in a vessel that wasn't mine. I sat upright to observe more.

"What in the heavens is going on?" I said as I scanned both my arms then shifted my gaze to the rest of me in scrutiny.

I was in the body of an average man, light-skinned, firm biceps, strong cheekbones, everything. You might wonder why I was still astonished. Angels and demons are not of the mundane world and our actual form isn't one you humans can begin to comprehend. We are neither male nor female and we tend to take any form we chose when we come to earth- man, woman, boy, girl, animal, anything we want but the problem here was I didn't choose to be this man, neither did I choose to possess him, but somehow I'm inside of him.

"I am Henry," I said after a brief pause, not knowing how to react to the situation.

"Damn right you are!" The voice yelled. He had a black gelled haircut and dark eyes with a slightly crooked nose and mouth, a hairless jawline to match. "How the fuck are you still alive when you were the closest to the blast?"

"What?"

"Over twenty people died because of your overreaching experiment, including Dr. Karen."

"Sorry, who are you again?" I asked him.

"Is he asking who I am?" He said looking at the men as he laughed. He suddenly charged towards me with his fist raised but was stopped by one of the men.

"Dr. Cortez, calm down!", restraining him by the arm. He was older and bald with a name tag Dr. Simon on this coat, wearing a pair of glasses. Dr. Cortez jerked his arm off and straightened his suit while the older man turned to face me.

"Henry, what happened last night was a catastrophe. We lost a lot yesterday, not just money, we lost some great minds and we're also on the brink of losing the company's name too. I mean the media are all over this. It's a disaster."

Money? Company name? What does that have to do with me?" I said but only to myself.

"Okay, first off, stop calling me Henry," I said, already getting sick in my stomach. "I am the Prince of darkness and you will acknowledge my supremacy."

"Can you see?" Dr. Cortez exclaimed. "He's gone mad."

"Dr. Bates," Simon continued. "We know it's not your fault Henry, it is science after all; things are bound to go either way... But this, this is too colossal. The board will have a meeting to decide your role in the company and its future."

"I'm not Dr. Bates, dammit!" I said, starting to lose my patience which seemed to frighten all of the men.

"Still, we rather would have you keep whatever dignity you have left and insist that you resign by Monday before the board reaches a decision and go public to the press, we need to contain this!"

I looked at all of them in silence. There was no need to say anything, my claim fell on deaf ears anyway.

"Even your assistant is struggling with his life over there and you're already awake." He said glancing over to a hospital bed where a young man laid down at the end of the ward with machines and drips connected to his body.

You probably need a couple of days to come to terms with all this and I'm guessing a few days should suffice, I'm sure you would make the right decision. Have a nice day, Dr. Bates." Dr. Simon concluded, exiting the room swiftly with the rest of the men behind me.

"No one else is paying for your mistakes this time... This time you will suffer." Dr. Cortez added finally and left.

As youd expect, I didn't take his word to heart. Neither did I put much thought to any of the things the older man said before leaving. I had to figure out what was going on.

I closed my eyes as I tried to remember. Where was I?

"Come on, Remember!" I said abrasively.

The last thing he could remember was being in hell, going about his duties punishing lost souls when suddenly a hole appeared from nowhere. It was blue and black at the same time with lightning circling all over... It got bigger and I saw a face- this face!

The face I'm wearing right now. But how? The only thing I did was stretch out my hand... I admit that wasn't really smart of me, but I was curious and now here I am.

A science experiment.

Is this the result of a science experiment? Impossible, no one causes a tear through the veil by accident!

Aside from myself and the other human, the room was empty. I looked to my right side and saw bouquets and 'get well soon' notes. All of this was truly bizarre and a part of me wanted to leave immediately but at the same time, I wanted to know what was going on and why.

I stepped down from the bed and walked towards the man Dr. Cortez said was my assistant. I figured he too was there that night and should be able to give me answers.

His monitor was beeping slowly and I could tell he was in agony. He looked pale; his entire body was almost covered with severe burns and bandages. Could it be a result of the blast the older man was talking about? That must have been some blast.

Fortunately, this man somehow managed to survive and medically, it would take weeks, even months before he could regain consciousness if he ever did survive that long at least. But I didn't have that time. I clenched my fist and tightened my muscles as I felt the power coursing through me. Healing him was going to be a piece of cake. All I had to do was direct my powers towards him and then picture what I intended to do in my head.

"Okay, here we go," I said cracking my neck muscles and my knuckles.

I placed my hands on his chest and an otherworldly glow broke out from my hands to his body, spreading around his chest as I took his pain away and gave him life in return.

The beam started fading away and just as the final surge of light dispersed into thin air, the man jolted up in a gasp with his eyes wide open as he held my hands tightly. Guess you can call it a miracle but definitely not the godly kind, haha.

"W-Where am I?" He said panting. "Am I dead?"