[center][sub][h1][img]https://i.ibb.co/GfYTDyV6/post-2-header.png[/img]
[b][color=black] I S S U E  # 2[/color]
[color=lightcyan]I S S U E  # 2[/color][/b][/h1][/sub]
[sub][h2][b][color=black] A L L  T I M E  L O W[/color]
[color=lightcyan]A L L  T I M E  L O W[/color][/b][/h2][/sub]
[sup][h3][b][color=black] P A R T  T W O[/color]
[color=lightcyan]P A R T  T W O[/color][/b][/h3][/sup][/center]
My eyes open slowly. The pain sets in immediately, my head throbbing and soreness blossoming from my nose and ribs. The room is bright, fluorescent lamps hanging from the ceiling and drowning me in white light. I try to get up but I'm held back by restraints. I look around in a panic, finding myself in a room even more barren than the last, and see the two orderlies who beat on me. They've both got sick grins on their faces.

[color=turquoise][b]"Ready for your shock therapy, moon man?"[/b][/color] Billy asks, sticking electrodes onto my forehead.

[color=lightcyan][b]"Please, I'm not supposed to be here! I'm Moon Kni-MMPH!"[/b][/color] Bobby sticks a gag into my mouth.

[color=indianred][b]"Yeah, yeah, that's all you ever talk about, Spector,"[/b][/color] Bobby sighs, then flips the switch on the machine.

Agony. Electricity coursing through my skull, frying my brain. Thoughts slip away from me, my mind turning to mush as the currents pass through it. My body convulses, my back arching. I try to scream through the gag but it just comes out muffled. I can hear the two laughing as blackness takes me.

When I open my eyes again my vision is blurry. The light is dimmer than it was in the shock therapy room, making it easier for my eyes to adjust as I open them further. I can hear faint conversations and a news report playing on a TV. I'm sitting in a chair in some kind of living area, people milling around or sitting at tables. I look up towards the sound of the news report, seeing a TV mounted on a wall. My vision clears and I read the headline.

[center][b]MOON KNIGHT FACES OFF AGAINST BLACK SPECTRE IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN[/b][/center]
[b]"- caught this footage of New York's favorite vigilante Moon Knight facing off against one of his many enemies, the ebony-clad Black Spectre. The two were duking it out on the street while a crowd watched on, but both fled before the authorities could arrive. Despite our station reaching out to them for a statement, the NYPD has made no comment on the event."[/b]

A voice chimes in from nearby, [color=khaki][b]"Careful there, my boy. That refuse will putrefy your brain, moreso than that shock therapy they love to dole out around here."[/b][/color] I look over to see an old man with a craggy face and shoulder-length gray hair standing a few feet away from me. He turns to me and smiles with a grin missing several teeth. [color=khaki][b]"It's all part of the lie, anyhow. Pure fabrication."[/b][/color]

I realize that I recognize him. [color=lightcyan][b]"Crawley...?"[/b][/color]

Crawley's smile widens. [color=khaki][b]"Ah, I see you remember me. That's good."[/b][/color]

[color=lightcyan][b]"What are you doing here? What am [i]I[/i] doing here?"[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]"You see, we're here because someone with great power wants to control you. Erase you. Supplant you. But if I know you, Jake, I know you'll fight like hell to free yourself."[/b][/color]

Jake. Oh God, where's Jake? And Steven? I can't feel them, can't hear them. My heart starts pounding. After a moment, I take in a breath to steady myself, then look back at Crawley. [color=lightcyan][b]"It's Marc right now, Crawley. I... I don't know where Jake is. Or Steven."[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]"I see. You're being broken down. Divide and conquer. Easier to erase your being when they do that. Don't worry, my boy. You'll find Jake and Steven."[/b][/color]

I pause and look around the room. [color=lightcyan][b]"So this place, it's... It's not real?"[/b][/color] It feels real.

[color=khaki][b]"It's all in your mind, Marc. These walls, this place. It is a tomb. Notice the lack of windows? That's because you are [i]buried[/i]."[/b][/color]

[color=lightcyan][b]"How do I get out?"[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]"One might think you'd need to climb out, but the truth is, you need to go [i]deeper[/i]."[/b][/color]

I'm mulling over Crawley's response when a door opens. A few patients step through it, heading back to their rooms. A woman with glasses and red hair up in a bun stands in the doorway. She wears a plastic smile and holds a clipboard. [color=peachpuff][b]"Alright, Group G, time for art therapy."[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]"That's us, Marc."[/b][/color] Crawley makes his way into the room. A few others follow after him: Frenchie, Gena, Marlene. They're all here. What the hell have I gotten them into? I consider whether to play along or try to break out right now, and after a moment decide to do the former for the time being. I stand up and head into the room.

It's a small room with a circular table in the center and six chairs surrounding it. The walls are adorned with sheets of paper either coated in watery paints or covered in drawings composed of crayons and markers. On the table is a stack of blank paper and art supplies, paints and brushes and crayons and markers. My friends and the doctor all take seats at the table. After hesitating for a moment, I take my seat next to Crawley and the doctor.

[color=peachpuff][b]"Alright everyone, today we're going to do something simple. I'm going to give you free rein to use any of these art supplies to draw one thing: your happiest moment. It could be anything, as long as it's something that you hold onto preciously. You'll have 20 minutes to draw. At the end, we'll present them and explain what we drew. Sound good?"[/b][/color]

Gena raises her hand. The doctor points at her to say her piece. [color=plum][b]"Will you be playing music for us, Dr. Emmet?"[/b][/color] So that's her name.

Dr. Emmet smiles. [color=peachpuff][b]"Of course, Gena. Here, I'll play your favorite song to start."[/b][/color] She pulls out her phone and pulls up Spotify, then [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_iTphwVNYs]plays a song[/url]. Instantly the melody brings back Jake's memories of late nights in Gena's diner, sipping coffee and eating flapjacks as that same song played. Gena loved to play it on the jukebox whenever business was slow.

I shake off the memory as everyone gets to work. After a moment I get to work on my drawing as well, grabbing a black marker. It's all I'd need. We continue our work, the only sound the ever evolving soundscape reflecting the taste of those at the table. RnB for Gena, 70s rock for Crawley, French pop and dance for Frenchie, 2000s pop rock for Marlene. Nothing for me though.

Eventually, a timer sounds off and Dr. Emmet stops the music. [color=peachpuff][b]"Alright, let's see what everyone drew. Why don't you start us off, Gena?"[/b][/color]

Gena lifts her page and shows everyone the drawing. It's a drawing utilizing a wide array of colors, pinks and blues and reds and greens and everything in between. It depicts her in stick figure form standing in front of her diner with two smaller figures. Her boys? [color=peachpuff][b]"That's lovely Gena. Is that where you used to work?"[/b][/color]

Gena smiles. [color=plum][b]"Yes ma'am. This is the day I opened my diner with my baby boys Raymond and Richard. I had worked so hard to do it, saved up all the money I made to be able to open my own business."[/b][/color]

[color=peachpuff][b]"I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm very proud of you, Gena. I'm sure your boys are too."[/b][/color] Gena's smile lessens at that, but she nods. Dr. Emmet looks over to Crawley. [color=peachpuff][b]"Okay Bertrand, it's your turn."[/b][/color]

Crawley presents his drawing. It's more subdued, only black marker on white paper. It's a few stick figures sitting in a circle. I'm not quite sure what it is. Dr. Emmet seems just as confused but doesn't falter. [color=peachpuff][b]"What does your drawing represent?"[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]"Why, it's my first time leading an AA meeting. I was getting into social work before I found myself here."[/b][/color] Crawley grins.

[color=peachpuff][b]"I didn't know that about you, Bertrand. That's very admirable. Admitting you have a problem is a hard thing to do."[/b][/color]

[color=khaki][b]"Admitting I had a drinking problem was years ago. Helping others admit it was a more recent development."[/b][/color]

Dr. Emmet looks over to Frenchie. [color=peachpuff][b]"Jean-Paul, what did you draw?"[/b][/color] Frenchie lifts his paper and shows it off. It's far more developed than either Gena's or Crawley's, actual shapes and well-defined lines instead of stick figures, depicting Frenchie and a man sitting at a table together. [color=peachpuff][b]"Oh my, that's very well drawn. What does it depict?"[/b][/color]

[color=olive][b]"Zis is my first date with zee man who would become my husband, Robert,"[/b][/color] Frenchie says. It hits me like a sucker punch. Frenchie got married? To a man, no less? I didn't even know that he was gay. We didn't have any secrets between us, so why would he keep that from me? Did he feel like he needed to hide it? I don't even know what to think.

[color=peachpuff][b]"Beautiful, Jean-Paul. You have a future as an artist."[/b][/color]

[color=olive][b]"Ah, no, no... It is just a hobby."[/b][/color] Frenchie sighs, then looks back to Dr. Emmet. [color=olive][b]"You may move on."[/b][/color]

Dr. Emmet looks to Marlene next. [color=peachpuff][b]"Alright then. Marlene, what have you drawn?"[/b][/color] Marlene shows us her page. My eyes widen. It's half-way between Gena and Crawley's stick figures and Frenchie's well-detailed drawing, the art depicting Marlene holding a baby in her arms. [color=peachpuff][b]"Is that your child?"[/b][/color] Dr. Emmet asks.

[color=hotpink][b]"This is the day my daughter Diatrice was born,"[/b][/color] Marlene says.

The floor drops out beneath me when I hear that. A daughter. Marlene has a [i]daughter[/i]. Am I the father? Dr. Emmet smiles and nods at Marlene. [color=peachpuff][b]"How old is she now?"[/b][/color]

[color=hotpink][b]"Fourteen months. She said her first word right before I came here. It was 'Moon'."[/b][/color] As I listen, I can feel tears pricking at my eyes. I take in a shuddering breath and wipe them away before anyone notices.

[color=peachpuff][b]"How precious."[/b][/color] Dr. Emmet turns to me, not seeming to notice the flurry of emotions running through me. [color=peachpuff][b]"Last but not least: Marc, are you ready to show us what you drew?"[/b][/color]

I nod, then lift my page to show everyone. It depicts the statue of Khonshu in the tomb, the moon shining above and a stick figure meant to be myself beneath it. It's funny. The happiest day of my life was the day I died. The day I became a weapon for a god. 

Dr. Emmet frowns. [color=peachpuff][b]"Marc, what did I tell you about this?"[/b][/color]

I'm not sure what she means. [color=lightcyan][b]"About what?"[/b][/color]

[color=peachpuff][b]"[i]This[/i], Marc."[/b][/color] She gestures to the drawing. [color=peachpuff][b]"Khonshu, Moon Knight, all of it. It's regressive. Dwelling on those fantasies just holds you back from seeing your treatment through."[/b][/color] She reaches out and yanks the drawing from my hands, crumpling it up. [color=peachpuff][b]"No more of this."[/b][/color] She stands and walks over to a bin to toss it in.

I'm stunned, unsure how to react. I look over at the others at the table: Crawley is frowning, but the others have glassy looks in their eyes, seeming far away after seeing that. Then I realize that Dr. Emmet isn't looking at me right now. Thinking fast, I grab the black marker I was using and a pencil, keeping them held tight in my hand and lowering it below the table so she can't see. No one comments on it.

Dr. Emmet steps back over to the table but doesn't sit. She grabs her clipboard and pulls a pen from her shirt pocket, marking things off. [color=peachpuff][b]"Save for that last bit, I believe this was a very productive session. I'm glad I got you all thinking about good times in your lives. Focusing on the good times will help you in your treatment."[/b][/color] She looks back at us and smiles. [color=peachpuff][b]"That's group. You all can head back to your rooms now, it's almost time for lights out."[/b][/color]

She heads over to the door and opens it, allowing us to step outside. I'm the last one out, locking gazes with Dr. Emmet as I'm leaving. Her eyes are soulless, belying her pleasant demeanor. She's not human. She's a monster. I need to be able to [i][b]See[/b][/i] her true form, the true form of the orderlies as well.

I make my way back into my room and sit on the bed, waiting. The lights in the hallway go out after about twenty minutes. I grab the marker and the pencil off the bedside table and get to work, grabbing the stark white bed sheet and pillow cases. I use the pencil to tear open holes in one of the pillow cases for me to see out of, then use the marker to draw Khonshu's symbol of the crescent moon onto it. I tear the other pillow case into strips that I wrap around my hands. I slide the pillow case mask over my head and tie the bed sheet around my neck.

Then, I scream.

I scream as loud and long as I can, continuing until I hear the hammering of running footsteps from down the hall. I clench my fists and wait. The door bursts open and Billy and Bobby step through, looking furious. [color=turquoise][b]"Goddammit Spector, what the fuck are you screaming about... Now?"[/b][/color] Billy trails off as he sees my get up.

[center][img]https://i.ibb.co/LDyh13R8/post-2-image.png[/img][/center]

[color=lightcyan][b]"Nothing. Just wanted to get your attention. I wanted to see your true faces..."[/b][/color] I see now that they're not human, just like I suspected. They're beasts with jackal heads and claws, and they look terrified as they take in my form. I bask in their fear. [color=lightcyan][b]"... So I could pound the living [i]shit[/i] out of them."[/b][/color]

[color=indianred][b]"Uh oh, Billy."[/b][/color]

[color=turquoise][b]"Uh oh is right, Bobby."[/b][/color]

I leap forward with a raised fist. [color=lightcyan][b]"Knight knight!"[/b][/color]