Intern at S.T.A.R. Labs

"Great Old One, wrongly regarded as the fool, lord of all , may you rest well and let all prosper."

Whispers fill the air , prayers, praises , wishes all to a deity of no statue, no mural and seemingly unknown name. The dark room with but one spotlight, a roof window shining moonlight down to the alter where the priest stood. Worshippers kneeling on the floor devoting to the 'Great Old One'. Squeaky wheels echo , a little girl and a nurse leading her to the alter.

" And who do we have here?"

"Ca-Catherine. The nurse said you could fix my legs, even the doctors said they couldn't ". Said the little girl sniffling.

" Catherine you should refer to the head priest with respect !. Sorry Head priest , she is young." The nurse hazardly covering up the girls mouth.

The priest slowly walked towards the girl, with moonlight shining above him his stature looked menacing. He kneeled down to talk to the girl

"Catherine, what a lovely name." he said caressing her head. The girl stopped crying and was now calm.

"Catherine, do you believe in a higher being?"

"No – sir".

"Well then what made you come here little one?"

"My mommy told me , the nurse will take me to a better place, a place where magic happens."

"She is Julia's daughter , head priest" the nurse added.

"Ah Julia. Did you know little one, your mother was a lost lamb, just like you, not believing in a higher power , succumbing to the addictions of the world. Look at her now, don't you love your mom now?"

"Yes, I love my mommy"

" Well , don't you want to be just like your mommy?"

"Do you do the magic , mister?"

" Me , oh no. The great old one has bestowed upon us this power , I am but a mere humble servent of his, helping lost lambs , guiding them towards their dreams. So tell me, what is your dream Catherine?"

" I want to run again. I want to play with the other kids."

" A pure heart wishes only for good I see." The head priest walks to the alter and gets an old book. The book was bigger than the average phonebook but looked ominous. The nurse backs up, joining the other worshippers and kneeling, chanting. The girl having moonlight on her could barely see anything now . All she could hear were whispers and the priest chanting.

The light only seemed to get brighter by the second as the priest voice faded away. The girl started screaming, not in pain but fear. Suddenly she stopped and felt a hug, cold and rough. It was the priest trying to calm her down. With light now faded she could finally see. The priest wasn't leaning to her, she was standing. She was standing on her own two feet. The priest slowly let her go and walked back.

" Try to walk , little one." The priest said calmly.

She took a step , and another and another and another and jumped to hug the priest, with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you , thank you so much mister"

" It wasn't me little one, it was the Great Old one's grace." He signalled the nurse to take care of Catherine as he walked back to the alter.

" Wisemen, the Great Old One has shown the way to another lost lamb. It is our duty to reciprocate and show him our devotion. Spread his word, help the needy and make their dreams come true.

All hail the Great Old One!"

The room erupts as everyone stood up to praise their deity.

"ALL HAIL THE GREAT OLD ONE"

"All hail the great old one!!" even Catherine joined the chant.

" Cheers again" , glasses collide with mixing of several alcoholic beverages. The group of friends sat at a table with enough drinks to feed a family.

"Look who finally took our advice and joined Central City, the land of sunshine and roses. Whoo".

" Congrats on getting the job in your fancy shmancy science lab!."

"Its an internship guys, paid but still an internship ".

"C'mon , they will hire you immediately after, you big fuckin nerd, hic".

" Yeah welcome to the office life, finally . One of US!"

"One of US!"

"One of US!"

"One of US!, hic"

'Someone clearly had a lot to drink' " Hell yeah, cheers to me".

" So how's it been, working with the biggest dorks of the country?".

" Oh ,you know. Nose deep in books and screens making science and doing rat mazes. Pfttt" . Everyone collectively laughed in the drunk mess they were.

" The most important question, bout your Job.."

".. can you talk to aliens with the particle ring thing, hehe?"

".. will demons come out of the particle portal?"

".. will I finally get some action if the particle accelerator succeeds?"

"None of those , hehe. Have you met any ladies yet?"

"""" Yeah!!!"""" collectively their brains lit up.

"Well, not to brag, but there is a total smokeshow at S.T.A.R. labs"

""""Hell yeahhh!!""""again collectively their brains lit up.

" and she's so sweet but also cold at times."

"Ooh mama, I like when they play hard to get"

" but broo, if I have ever seen a perfect hourglass, she would be IT!!"

""""Lets gooo!!""""

"Quiet down you guys. Your disturbing the customers". Said the waitress , trying to calm down the ruckus.

"Sorry Brenda, we'll be shhhhhuper quiet now, hic"

" You better be, also I am cutting you off John".

"What whyyy, I'm totally fineee, check it" he chucked a salt shaker and catches it with his mouth. "Sheee?"

"Yeah ,that's the cue that you've had too much".

"It's ok Brenda , let him off today. I'll take him home"

" Hmm fine, but tell him to call me tomorrow, got it Adrian?"

" Yes Mrs. John Smith." Adrian said teasingly.

"I'm not, you , I'm leaving". She left red as a tomato.

The night went on and the friends chit chatted till closing hours. They all bid farewell and went there ways, with Adrian and John supported by Adrian waiting for a cab.

" The cab will take you home, just get to the door safely okay"

" You're my best friend Adri, you know all my secrets, even about Brenda."

" Pretty sure all of us know you two like each other".

" I just can't with her man, she's too good for me. Plus with paying for mom's medic bills , I can't afford a relationship."

"Speaking of which , I asked someone, she said the reports are legit but it will take 2 months for it to be perfect so –"

"Hwaaaaa" as John hurled all his innards, out.

"Guess I'll text you tomorrow. Oh the cab is here".

Adrian sat his drunk mess of a friend in the cab and asked the driver to take him home safely. Just as he said bye ..

" Don't worry Ad, my dreams will come true soon" John whispered.

" Yeah sure buddy, have a good night". Adrian brushed off those lightly as a drunk's wishes.

"Well, here's to a good weekend. Go me!" as he walked to the train station and walk home.