A smooth center of awareness
Chuck holds the Mask carefully, studying the features and textures of the face. It shimmers in the light, offering old secrets and renewed purpose.
"You're being drawn to an evil path and calling it good," an unseen voice offers, familiar but now distant and shaded.
"I have to hope that I have done enough character shifting to get away from old patterns," Chuck murmurs back to no reply.
The weight of the atmosphere in the lab is crushing to Chuck; slowly he settles himself down into the chair, the console blinking just outside his vision. "Put on the Mask," he whispers to himself, raising it up to look out from behind the eyes.
