2013-04-01 - Cutscene: Family Affairs - Meat For The Table

The room is completely dark with the sole exception of a bright set of monitor screens that serve as the wall opposing the entrance, their inconstant lighting making the whole environment of steel and cables running by the floor appear much more surreal than any other place in the base, enhanced by Mozart's Moonlight Sonata coming out of the speakers in between screams and the sounds of bullets zooming through the air. There, hovering lazily as some disturbing scenes from the conflicts in a Middle East country are shown as though they had been recorded directly from someone's helm-cam, is the large silhouette of AIM's leader, the dark intelligence named M.O.D.O.K.

The scared AIM agent approaches slowly, not making a sound, but before she can even utter a single word one of the large creature's tiny arms goes up, silently ordering her to not even begin. With the same hand the head of AIM reaches for an open compartment on the side of his body, taking a napkin and, assumingly, goes to wipe his large mouth, something made quite ungraceful due the lack of length of his arm. Noisily the creature finishes, putting the napkin back where it was, letting the compartment close, the floor in front of the flying overlord full of remains of what could have numerous carcasses of roasted meat, all the intellect in the world unable to help M.O.D.O.K. to chew properly without raining remains over the floor beneath him. Cringing, the agent takes a step back, her knees shaking.

M.O.D.O.K. doesn't care to look at the insignificant human behind him before he starts to talk, those tiny hands meeting before him, making it look like the villain is hugging himself. "If you are here to tell me Dr. Bella's motivations are unclear and she is not to be trusted with our resources, I am afraid you are wasting precious moments I could be using to further many of our goals. It would be a sore waste of M.O.D.O.K.'s time, and as such, you would understand if I got a bit primitive about it. Wouldn't you Agent Carraway?" His voice is high pitched and annoying to most; to Agent Carraway, however, it was terrifying and each word carried an undertone that might signify her death.

"Yes. Your life hangs in balance, my dearest Agent Carraway", continues the AIM leader as he turns around his hovering suit to face the cowered girl. Few humans would look at M.O.D.O.K.'s face and feel anything but terror, it's immense caricature of a human face not at all pathetic when seen close-up, the sheer size of his teeth in that disturbingly oversized mouth taking people's mind to the darkest places, especially if they had to stand still while the hyper-intelligent terrorist slowly hovered in their direction, just like Carraway had to now.

"Yes, I could easily fit you from head to lower lumbar vertebrae inside my mouth, and just as effortlessly bite it off, so I would advise you to think thoroughly before you answer my next question, and do so perfectly: What is AIM going to do about it?" He is enjoying his inquiry, and how it makes this insignificant human woman squirm. It soothes his remembrance of his last venture and how humiliated he felt when his car exploded in Madripoor; he would still find who was responsible for that. As if he had it planned all along, the music suddenly stops, and Carraway is left with only but silence and the low buzzing of the hovering sadist.

"W-We wi-will f-f-find her, sir and we will show her how AIM deals with t-traitors!", the scared woman replies, only to be met with nothing but an unreadable M.O.D.O.K. staring down at her, his tiny hands clasped together in front of his body almost comically.

Slowly giving his back to the agent, the AIM leader flies away at his own leisured pace "Vengeance is not good for business, Agent Carraway, especially not against someone like Dr. Bella. She can live or die, I do not care, but what she has given birth to, the fruits of her labor that yes, are very good for business; ours. So you'll go back to Agent Fifield and tell him this: do not send me unevolved footsoldiers if he is afraid of repercussions for his failures. Tell him also that he is to take advantage of my mercy and go after Dr. Bella and her findings. The good doctor is disposable, her findings are not. And last, but not least tell him that if he fails to meet my low expectations of him again I will find him a place on my table he could more easily fill without all the difficulties of being competent.", and at that last remark the large creature just motions to the roasted meat he had just feasted on, his large, meaty lips widening into a sickly grin, those large teeth almost reflecting Carraway's terrified face on them.

"Now go, Agent, before I get hungry again.", and as the girl turns to run with all the speed she could M.O.D.O.K. is left alone with his thoughts, his eyes now turned to his last meal, realizing AIM's agents can't even discern between human and boar carcasses. "I am surrounded by idiots."