Chapter Text
Albert took a deep breath and could only stare at his bed and the window next to it. Fear was bubbling up in his chest again, something he hated to say he has grown accustomed to in the past few nights. But he was just so tired , scared or not Albert needed some sleep, these sleepless nights have finally started to affect how he has been doing on missions.
It's even gotten to the point where the rest of the team has started to notice, and Albert hates it. They don't think he notices, the worrying glances or the looks of frustration they gave him, it hurt if he was honest. Albert already knew he was a disappointment, he doesn’t need the reminders every which way. Maybe that’s why he felt the need to confront this thing, a thing that has shown up without fail every night on his window seal.
A thing which had a devils face, bright red with pointed ears and dressed in all black. But that wasn’t what scared him, quite the opposite, it was intriguing and fascinating. Something Albert could study for days on end, just wondering what kind of sentient creature it was, how it manifested. But, how the thing showed up and how it said things to him, whispered things, things he would rather not confront.
That’s why he stayed up till dawn, that thing only came in the night when he was asleep. Never coming when he was awake, Albert wasn’t sure why maybe something to do with how more alert he was? But Albert had sleep, and it wasn't like he could sleep anywhere else in The Clock Tower, if he did it would bring more questions from the team and he couldn’t handle that.
So taking a deep breath and clutching the pair of scissors Albert grabbed from Tapputi, he went to his bed and tucked himself in. Careful to make sure the scissors under his pillow wouldn’t cut him in the middle of the night. Tonight would be the night Albert would confront that thing and make it not come back ever again and he would do whatever it takes.
Even if it met Albert had to kill it, if whatever that thing is could be killed.
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Albert awoke with a start, feeling an almost burning feeling of someone staring at him. It was like someone was using laser vision to make two big holes in his back. Then Albert heard it, his window opening, even though he knew it was locked. The slide of the window only urged Albert to reach under his pillow and clutched the pair of scissors. All the while keeping in mind he needed to be sneaky and pretend to be asleep while doing so.
Albert then felt someone sit down on his bed, and shuddered when he felt pointed fingers run through his hair almost comforting like. Then he felt a cold breath whisper into his ear.
“ They wanted you once, when they thought you would come out the same as Him. ” The fingers in Alberts hair didn’t feel comforting anymore. They felt threatening like at any moment they could cut open his skull, “ How does that feel? To know you aren’t wanted anymore? Just because you came out younger and inexperienced?”
Albert squished his eyes shut, tears spilling out of them, he knew he shouldn’t be showing this emotion to the thing. But it hurt , because it was right. They didn't want Albert the clone, because wasn’t the original, because he wasn’t as smart as him. Then the sadness was quickly pushed out of his, being replaced by anger.
Anger at the American Government for creating him, anger at The Super Science Friends for having unreal expectations of him. Anger at this thing for pointing out what Albert already knew, and didn’t even want to think about. How dare it point it out, why did this thing feel the need to point it out to him? He was a child and Albert didn’t know how to process these feelings.
Maybe that’s why in a blind rage, Albert grabbed the scissors from under his pillow and swung them blindly at the thing. The devil jumped back, and did the last thing Albert expected to do. It wiped where Albert had cut its face, it was shallow and not life threatening, but it licked its finger with a snake like tongue and then threw it head back and laughed.
“ Ha! So you soulless child, you do have some fight in you. ”, it stepped forward and Albert noticed the devil wasn't just wearing all black, its whole body was a solid black and it wasn't wearing clothes. Then in a flash it was in his face, holding Albert by the throat, “ Tell me child, do you really think you can kill me? I’m not Issac Newton, I'm much different ”.
Albert struggled and with the scissors in his hand and tried to grip the things hands, and spoke in a gruff breathless voice, “How do you know abou-about that?” Albert was shaking, he couldn’t help it, his vision was going black and he was scared.
The thing leaned down and licked his face with a forked tongue, “ Child I know a lot of things about you, you intrigue me. You have no soul, and you weren’t created in a woman’s womb, and yet your still alive, ” it let him go, letting Albert gasp for air on the floor, “ Your one of the few things in this world that still intrigue and confuse me.” The thing went across his room crouching in his desk chair, giving him a condescending look.
Albert quickly sat up coughing making sure not to let go of the scissors. He glared at the thing looking at him across the room, “Fuck you dude. What do you mean I’m soulless?”
As Albert’s eyes narrowed, the thing leaned forward, chin in his hands with a sick grin,
“ I mean you have no soul. Your an unnatural abomination made for war, and war alone. It only makes sense you have no soul, ” it stopped and shrugged, “ That and I felt no soul on you, I feel them everywhere. You child, you have no feeling, only emptiness and darkness surrounds you. Almost makes me jealous. ”
Alber was almost bursting at the seams with emotions now, “Why would that make you jealous?!” He stood up his hands so tight around the scissors now that his knuckles were white, “ How could I have no soul?! I feel emotions and empathy, and every other damn thing in the emotional sphear!”
It could only laugh maniacally, and Albert having enough decided to lunged at the thing. Not caring anymore if he got hurt, or what it could do him. Albert just wanted it to stop laughing.
The thing didn’t even try to stop him, even when Albert was on top of him. Albert wound up stabbing it multiple times, the thing not even trying to get away and still laughing, like pain was hilarious to it. Then it grabbed Albert’s arm mid stab, digging its long sharp nails into his arms. It looked up at him, wild eyes and a smile with nothing behind it but a sick joy.
“ I’ll leave you alone for now boy, no matter how much pain amuses it's an absolute pain to restore my physical form. ” The thing started to stand up, holding Albert by the arms, the scissors now long forgotten on the floor. Albert could only struggle and cry as the thing dug its nails deeper into his skin, “ Just know this child, I will be back. Maybe not tomorrow night or the one after that. Hell maybe years down the road, but know that ,I, Spring Heel Jack will be back for you. You're too much of a temptation for me not to come back.”
The thing-no Jack, dropped him unceremoniously on the floor. Jack took one more look into Albert’s face before letting out a chuckle, and Albert had to cover his eyes. Because as Jack chuckled a blue cold fire wrapped around his body. Something Albert has never seen and was sure he would never see again. Once the chucking stopped, Albert dared to open his eyes, where Jack had once been was a glowing ball of blue fire, before Albert could react the ball bounced around his room and went through the window.
Albert could only sit on the floor and ponder at what just happened. With Jacks words echoing in his ears, Albert shakily got up and went under his covers, wrapping himself in the blanket as he began to sob. He was scared, and Albert didn’t know what to do, or what he could do. So he just continued to cry before falling into a dreamless black sleep, all while praying and hoping that Jack was lying. That maybe Albert does have a soul and that demon was wrong.