The Mighty Doc Stalwart #258

The Island at the Bottom of the Sea

Adapted from The Mighty Doc Stalwart #258 (September 1984)

By Dr. Mike Desing

They called it the Island at the Bottom of the Sea. Mikah had heard the name, but had not really understood how you could have an island on the, you know, bottom of the sea. It was, like, islands should be on top of the sea. That’s how they work.

But this was, without question, an Island at the Bottom of the Sea. Mikah stood on its shore, marveling at what he observed. All around him, the sea curved upward; the island itself sat at what might be best described as a valley amid mountains of raging seawater. The waves still ebbed and flowed against the shore, but when they receded, they did so at a steep upward curve. They were maybe five miles below sea level, but this jungle-covered island in the midst of a concave of saltwater was untouched.

Doc had warned him he’d see some magical things. He had no idea it would be this magical.

Mikah figured that he had been at the beach for maybe an hour. He returned to the cave. Therein, Doc stood beside his still-slumbering brother (who lay atop a table) and the lady. 

The Lady.

She was… wow. Mikah had been warned that she was a powerful sorceress, maybe the world’s most powerful, and that she was the goddess of this island. It was her will that kept the tides at bay, and it was her magic that gave life to the island. They had only skirted along its beaches and entered the first of its pristine caves, but the deeper parts of the island were covered in thick jungle that loomed with menace. It was the Lady’s power that shaped the fabric of reality here.

And she was super hot. Mikah realized that she might be able to read his mind, so he kept trying to make sure whatever she saw there would not represent him poorly. It was hard for him to do. That dress really showed off her--

“Mikah,” Doc called, snapping Mikah out of his dream. Had he been staring? He was probably staring. If so, Doc pretended not to notice, “explain to the Emerald Queen what you know…”

The Queen listened attentively as Mikah explained his knowledge of the Stalwart twins, the Freedom Formula, of Doc’s fallen wife - and the mental barriers that she had placed in his mind. He finished with, “and that’s basically everything.

She brooded for a second. Then she spoke. Her voice was like the forest, both soothing and hinting at unbridled power, “Nathaniel, I need to speak with the Chronicle alone.”

Doc did not look happy with this arrangement. Mikah wasn’t sure he was happy either. Doc paused for a moment, fixed his jaw, and left. Mikah hoped that Brutakus didn’t take this moment to wake up. He would have felt much better if Doc had stayed.

The Emerald Queen crossed the cave, which was really quite a nice cave by cave standards, and alighted on her throne. He wasn’t sure her feet had been involved at all, since she just sort of floated there. All around, flora abounded, seeming to grow untamed while also pruning itself. Mikah waited.

        She rubbed a fingernail on her chin, “Chronicle, you know more. You know of the darkness within. You know of the lost daughter. And you suspect the danger to come.”

Mikah swallowed hard. It was not worth trying to argue.

         She continued, “You don’t understand, but you will. You haven’t suffered, but you will. You have not known love, and its inevitable loss, but you will. The story is happening, right now, all around you, and you know that. You are here to bear witness to it. You know that. You cannot stop what is to come. You also know that.”        

        Mikah didn’t move.

        “When you leave here, remind Nathaniel of the promises he made - to the girl and the imp. Once he fulfills those, inform him of the darkness he carries. When that is resolved - only if that is resolved - you will tell him of the girl. You have many roads to follow.”

         Mikah nodded. He moved to the unconscious twin of his hero, and he touched the forehead. Mikah saw it all. H removed his hand. “I’m ready.”

         “Good. Now, let’s see if we can help Nathaniel…”

***

They found Doc at the forest’s edge. He was peering inward, examining, “I think that’s a Tyrannosaurus. It’s about two miles in and the foliage is thick, but its movements and bearing suggest T-Rex.”

Mikah both did and did not want to see a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The Lady turned to her side, to the tabletop that levitated beside them. Brutakus - James Stalwart - continued to slumber. She touched his forehead, and he awoke with a sudden inhalation. That settled it for Mikah; James was still alive after all. Doc assumed a defensive posture. He seemed to realize that he stood between his brother and the dinosaur: not an enviable strategic position.

But the Emerald Queen busied herself turning her index finger counter-clockwise on James’ forehead, “he, like his brother, is highly resistant to charms, which is just as well, since I abhor the use of charms. Free will is vital.”

Brutakus seemed to be entranced anyway.

“I am quieting his mind,” she said in answer to a question that neither Mikah nor Doc had posed, yet which both had likely considered, “helping him to see and understand as much as he is capable.”

“Is he… brain dead?” Mikah asked.

“No. He exists in a primal state. His mind has… regressed. He possesses incredible intelligence, but framed in a savage context. His capacity for cunning and violence is tremendous. Without equal, in my experience.

“So what do we do with him?” Doc asked.

“He will stay here. With me. He can roam the island. He will have complete freedom here. He poses no danger to me.”

“But what about the rest of the life on this island? He poses a danger to it… and it to him.”

The Lady turned and Mikah saw for the first time a flash of her capacity for cruelty. “He is a savage creature. It is his nature. Savage creatures do savage things. Despite your desire for some people to be different, you must ultimately accept them for who and what they are.”

Doc did not like this answer, but he couldn’t argue against it. She was a goddess, after all. She stopped twirling her finger, and Brutakus - he was fully Brutakus now - sprang to a battle stance. He looked around, taking in the Lady, Mikah, and finally his brother. Their eyes locked for a moment, and then he was gone, disappearing into the copious jungle. His roar and that of a Tyrannosaurus Rex soon echoed over the treetops. 

Doc and the Emerald Queen shared a few brief whispers beyond Mikah’s hearing, and then she touched his cheek. They departed.

Jynx and Zirah had waited in the Beetle, and seemed the better for the two-days’ rest they had taken. Doc fired up systems and opened the navigation panel. He started to set a course, “well, back to the Tomorrow Project we go.”

“Actually,” Mikah suggested, “it might be time for you to return to Meridian. It’s time to make good on your promises.”

Both Jynx and Zirah looked up and waited. Doc paused, set new coordinates, and fired the engines.

They were going to Meridian.