Energetic Prisoner

A haunting smile was the only thing on the figure's face. It was already hardly able to be seen thanks to the dark glass. Yet even inside the Pinnacle looked like a bland statue to normal viewers. Erik knew that the emotion was only visible to himself. He would have been surprised, if his partner hadn't warned him about this. The mogul turned and looked at Friday. Countless green sparks shot through her grey matter. She turned to go, striding to the door. The scientist ogling the Lookalike was grabbed by the ear and dragged out behind her. Erik watched the man’s heart begin to beat faster. Then the doors closed, and Erik found himself alone in the chamber. He glanced over to it. The prisoner’s grating smile hadn't gone away. Worse, two indigo pits now etched themselves on the Pinnacle's face. 

Erik cursed and pounded the glass.

"Well!" the mogul yelled. "You're still going, huh? What's the reason for dragging me down here? You wanted a chat? A complimentary pillow? Bottle of wine?"

No change. Erik knew this was a trick. That he shouldn't reveal his hand. But everything in him wanted to do so. To show his partner, to show his status. Prove why this thing, this Pinnacle, was his prisoner. Why Flynt Enterprises had used it as the paving stone of one of the greatest empires that ever was.

Pride. That was what it was preying on.

Like water dousing a fire, a coldness descended on the mogul's heart.

He would have been shocked if this was the first time. Thanks to his business partner, this peace had become an everyday occurrence. Heated business meetings had smoothed over, drinks had been pulled from his lips. Erik admitted he did have a bit of anger issues. Who wouldn’t, considering all the misfortune he had to put up with? Be that as it may, it was still his face plastered across numerous billboards. He had to keep a tight rein on his public image if he hoped to continue his success.

That was the danger of standing at the apex; one nudge and you tumbled into the darkness below.

Erik pulled himself out of his introspection and back to the matter at hand. That stupid smile still shone proudly on the Pinnacle’s face. Erik met it with a wolfish grin of his own.

“It doesn’t matter,” the mogul chattered. “You’re still stuck in there. Your service to the United States is not finished. And more importantly, your service to me.”

With this, Erik put his executive command into the machine. It read and accepted his genetic data alongside the keystrokes. The Pinnacle’s grin turned to a grimace of pain. Normally he would release ambient energy to the machine holding him, which would in turn allow it to be shared with others.

Now the machine was drawing that energy out by force.

The Pinnacle could feel it sapping his lifeblood. Drilling and drilling, ever searching for a way into his heart. There lay the truest expression of Energy. Exposing it would kill the Pinnacle.

So he did something he never thought he would do.

“Turn it off,” a voice like thunder crackled. “I’ll do what you want. And you.”

The Pinnacle’s eyes locked directly onto Erik’s gaze. A normal man would have found his vision to be scorched out of his head. Erik could feel his business partner saving him. Even so, it was still an uncomfortable and frightening sight.

“I know you’re watching,” the Pinnacle continued. “And I know you’re too much of a coward to do anything. So have fun with your puppet. Just know I’m about done with being in here.”

“Bold words for something that’s been in my family's collection for several decades,” the mogul grinned.

“Shut up Puppet Boy. You don't even know who’s pulling your strings. Brother, why don’t you remind him?”

Erik could feel an foreign sense of pleasure within himself. Before he could stop, he found himself raising both hands up to the sky. He staggered around the chamber aimlessly as if on strings. Erik could feel his face growing red, hearing two sets of laughter echoing around him.

“Enough!” he yelled.

He flexed internally and regained control. A jolt of surprise, then contempt, formed in his head. The mogul lowered his hands, closed his eyes, and breathed out slowly. Opening them revealed the world was back to normal. He was going to have words with his business partner about this. Furthermore, he was glad to clear up any misconceptions the thing might have about who exactly was in control here.

Erik straightened his suit and turned to go. The chained Pinnacle watched the mogul stomp out of the chamber. His grin kept on beaming. With a little humor, anybody could be misdirected. Now that Flynt was off his game, it was time to concentrate. The prisoner would have only one shot at what he was planning.

After all this time, he was going to finally get out of this stupid box.

Ψ

Erik found Friday standing outside, completely still. Her eyes continued to flash at different intervals. One big switchboard, crammed into such a small space. The mogul passed by and she fell into step behind him. As such, he didn’t notice the Lookalike’s right eye twitch and turn violet. Within seconds it was back to normal. She shook her head and continued after her boss. While she was technically the brain of the Lookalikes, they all had their own autonomy to function.

A small glitch had just been found in one of the lobby Lookalikes. Normally, Friday would investigate. Yet right now she knew it would be best to stick with Erik. The man was on a warpath thanks to the ongoing incident. Friday glanced to her boss, then resumed her switchboard duties while striding forward.

Unlike his secretary, Erik was too lost in thought to watch where he was going. A janitor rounded the corner in front of him. Even though he tried darting left, the mogul ran full force into the janitor. Both men went down with a yell. Friday rushed forward and helped her boss to his feet. The scrapper in an orange jumpsuit watched from a sitting position, eyes wide in shock.

“Watch where you’re going, moron!” Erik yelled. “This is a custom Brooks Brothers!”

It took all that was within Connor to bite his tongue. He had just gotten in and already he was having to deal with this crap. Better not make the day worse than it already was.

“Sorry, sir,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “Won’t happen again, sir.”

“I hope not,” Erik snapped. He leaned forward and looked at the janitor’s nameplate. “Connor, huh. I’m not usually one to dole out punishments, but you might have just cost yourself a bit of money. You’ll know when I get my dry cleaning bill back. Friday!”

Connor watched the Lookalike’s eyes flash a bright green. The same face he saw whenever he clocked in every day. Erik adjusted his tie and smoothed out the suit. Snapping, he strode onwards through the lab. That sent Connor over the edge. Luck be nuked, he was getting the last word. As Friday clopped past, the janitor coughed once.

“How are all your sisters doing?” he asked politely. “It’s crazy you all came from one family. Never seen that many identical siblings in nature.”

Erik turned, glaring daggers at the scrapper. He then moved his gaze onto Friday. Her eyes grew brighter, and a smirk formed.

“Flynt Enterprises understands the illegal nature and severity of cloning,” a prerecorded message passed through her lips. “It is unethical and dangerous to the populace to have completely new and unregistered humanoids out and about. As such, Flynt Enterprises has never and will never condone or operate any sort of cloning. Those slandering or libeling Flynt Enterprises will face a hefty fine from our legal team.”

“You heard the girl,” Erik sneered. “Wouldn’t want your entire paycheck to go back into suits, one form or another.”

He chuckled softly and continued back to his private elevator. The mogul needed a drink and some alone time to chat with his business partner. Afterwards he could send Friday off to bother somebody else. Blow off some steam with some laps around the pool. Putting that snippy janitor into his place had been enjoyable, but it took more than words to please a Flynt.

Said janitor watched his boss and toy round the corner. He grumbled under his breath and began his walk to the supply closet. Better to throw himself into work rather than fixate on how much cash his big mouth had cost him.