I could see bright light and pitch black darkness. They weren’t separated, just mixing and coalescing and mingling like oil and water. Parts around the edge of each churned out different shades of grey. The only thing around me was solemn silence.
Silence so deep that I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. Suddenly I snapped back into reality. I was on a cold wooden tile floor, staring at a dull grey ceiling. My limbs lay limp against the ground and I was struggling to breathe.
“Oh fuck he’s bleeding!” I heard someone yell.
“We need to do something, now!” another voice yelled in the dark.
“Do what!? What am I supposed to do! What do you want from me!?” A deep but still feminine girl’s voice yelled.
“Did you break the window!?” An anxious sounding male voice said.
“Oh don’t you start with me about that! We need to help him now!” The girl replied.
Then I was out again. This time I was in water. Floating around in a sea of red fluid. My body just drifted along with an unseen current. Nothing drifted with me. It was one of the most relaxing experiences I’ve ever had.
The silence again returned. The fluid was more like cool air constantly rushing against my face. Then I was back. I was staring at my hand, which was at my side on the ground. It was frozen in a claw shape and soaked in blood.
“His suit. It’s losing power.” Someone said above me in the darkness.
“Fucking do something!” The girl yelled.
“I’m trying! I’m trying! Stop swea-” The male yelled back.
“Don’t you fucking start with me Danny!” The girl replied.
“I think he’s in shock.” Another girl’s voice said.
“I know he’s in shock! I’m trying to help him! I need the suit off of him first!” The guy said.
“Well take the fucking suit off!” The deep voiced girl commanded.
“I can’t!” The male said.
My head dropped and I was in a void. Then I was back. Someone was shaking me back. They gripped my shoulders and my head whipped back and forth against my will.
They slapped me hard enough I could almost feel it. Skin made a thud as it collided against the suit. Then they held my face straight as they stared into my eyes.
“Jacob!” Danny shook me. “Jacob, stay awake!” He slapped me again. Everything hurt so much. “Jacob, you need to take the suit off. If you don’t, you’re going to die!” He sounded very scared.
I did what he said. It sounded important. I let go of the suit and the mask dropped to my lap. The rest of the suit went limp against my body.
Then I was out. This time I was lying in bed. I was in my room and my old night light was on, it illuminated the room with shadows of moons and stars across the ceiling. I had woken up from a nightmare about doctors. My mom was sitting in a chair behind me rubbing gently pushing the hair out of my eyes as I tried to force myself back to sleep. When I was back Emily was above me, pushing the sweat soaked hair out of my eyes.
“He’s screaming. Why is he screaming?” I could hear Danny say.
Was I screaming?
“Are you serious!? Look at this thing! Look at his hand!” Mar screamed.
“It’s like an Iron Maiden.” Emily murmured. She was looking down at me.
Suddenly less than a month of being a superhero was catching up to me all at once and I could barely move. Every inch of my body was soaked in sweat. I was trying not to throw up and dry heaving horribly. My hand was beyond repair. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I was in that house I’d gone to change earlier. It was cool because the glass door at the back of the house was open, letting cold air in.
“I mean, what are we going to do?” Mar was pacing.
“My mom is a nurse. She can help, maybe?” Danny suggested.
“How are we going to explain the costume?” Mar asked.
“She doesn’t watch the news.” Danny replied.
I felt very lightheaded. I tried to blink and found myself unconscious.
…
My arm felt slimy. I clenched my hands into fists. I found slimy resistance in my right hand. My head hurt still, and the bare skin of my back rubbed against a carpeted floor. I craned my neck to see what was going on. I was laying on my back near a window the size of a wall. I could see the entire city below me. The cars were like ants at this height. The sun was starting to rise past the shadows of skyscrapers. I turned my head and saw that I was in someone’s office.
They were sitting in a chair scrolling through their computer. I could only see their back. The room was pitch black except for the light coming off of the man’s computer. On the wall was an Iroquois false face mask. I twisted back around to see what was wrong with my right arm. It was inside a jar that fit around it. Inside was the green substance. It had the consistency of glue. I tried pulling my arm out of it, and it slid right off without resistance.
My arm was left covered in green slime. I spread my fingers apart and saw a thin layer of slime appear between them. I flicked my hand to get it off when I realized something. My hand was intact. It had been completely healed, and the needles had been removed.
My arm was paler than it had been before and was creepily smooth. Lines of scar tissue marked all along my hand where the needles had raked themselves across. I cringed at the sight. As I was admiring my hand, I heard the sound of the chair behind me being pulled. When I looked up the man was standing over me.
“You’re finally awake. Good.” He said. I recognized him immediately as the guy I’d seen on tv not too long ago. He was the one responsible for the new cops, the giant new bank, and the prison being built for the mutants. “Are you experiencing any sort of pain of any kind?” He asked me.
Are you going to lock me away with the other monsters?
“Huh?” I asked. My throat was raw.
“Any kind of pain? Delirium? It would really help with testing.” He said calmly. He was wearing glasses, and he stood tall and confident. In response to his question I clenched my hand into a fist. My arm felt cold. Like it was covered in ice water.
“It feels cold.” I answered. He looked down at me and squinted, just for a second.
“Is that all?” He asked. I squeezed my hand closed again.
“Yeah, that’s it.” I mumbled.
“I’m glad. Would you like a seat?” He asked.
I glanced around the room to make sure there weren’t any supervillains, then nodded my head. He walked to the front of his desk and grabbed a seat. He sat it down next to me, as he did, he flipped a switch to turn on the light. My eyes burned and my head ached at the sudden change.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Do you need anything? Your throat sounds a little sore. Would you like some water?” He asked, gently. I stared at him. My dark hair partially covered my eyes.
“I’d like some answers.” I scowled. He chuckled in response. A smirk grew on his face and he adjusted his glasses.
“Oh you are everything I expected you to be.” He said cheerily. “What do you know about me?” He asked, clasping his hands together and laying them on his lap. He kept his head high, looking down on me.
“I know that you…” I started, before coughing and needing to clear my throat. Tears welled in my eyes for a second and I had to close them because of the forceful coughs. When I opened them again the man was turned around in his chair, holding down a button on his desk.
“Houston, can you bring our friend a glass of water?” The man said, while leaning close to a speaker on his desk.
“Gotcha.” A voice that I immediately recognized replied over the speaker.
Oh you have got to be kidding me.
“The reality of your situation must be sinking in by now.” The man said with a smirk. “I’ve been watching you since your first night out, Mr. Jacob White.” The man said.
My heart dropped in my chest. I jumped to my feet, despite the pain all over my body screaming at me not to. I tried to rush towards the door. I was only halfway there when the man spoke.
“If you run away now, you’ll never get your suit back. Or that neat little grappling device.” He said in a bored voice. I sighed and let my head drop. I walked begrudgingly over to the seat and sat back down.
“Good boy.” He said condescendingly.
“What do you want from me?” I asked. He leaned back in his seat and relaxed his shoulders. When he looked back at me his expression was empty. His eyes looked hollow. Like someone that hadn’t slept in a long time. It sent a chill down my spine more than any supervillain.
“It’s simple really. I want to talk to you and get to know you, Mr. Jacob White. You’ve occupied my thoughts for quite some time.” He said with the same emptiness.
“Why? Is this some sort of secret military base? Are you going to try and dissect me or something?” I asked. He gave me a curious look. He tilted his head a little.
“Who do you think I am?” The man asked.
“You’re the guy from the news… Your company is supplying the city with a bunch of tech.” I answered.
He relaxed a little bit more with that answer. The smirk returned, as did the glint in his eye. That air of mischief. It was like his whole personality changed with a flip of a switch. I couldn’t get a proper read on the man.
“You know, I’ve been operating in this city for some time. In the background, preparing things. Your arrival really made a mess of my operations.” He chuckled. “At first I thought you were one of ours. But my partners claimed they’d never seen you before.” He continued.
He opened his mouth to say something else when Houston walked in the door of the office with a glass of water. He handed it to me and tilted his hat before leaving.
“He was very useful.” The man said as Houston left the room. “He gave me your description, and told me where you had him drop you off. He even told me your age.” He watched for my reaction. I just chugged the glass of water and listened. “It was when my pet attacked that high school, that all the pieces were put together. I obtained a yearbook from them and Houston spotted you.” He finished. I nearly choked on my water. I gagged a little and dropped it from my mouth. My hands were shaking, my eyes went wide, and my heart sank for the second time.
“You… You…”
He made them. He made the mutants.
He started to laugh. He unfolded his arms and sat up in his seat. He leaned in close.
“Surely you didn’t just figure that out.” He laughed.
“You made that thing!” I shouted.
“It killed my classmates! Why?!” My throat burned as I yelled at him.
“For you. For this. So we could have a conversation.” He said, the smile fading once again.
“And what the hell do you want from me!?” I shouted even louder.
“Quiet down, right now.” He commanded with a stern voice. “Or the next monster I make will be sent to your mother’s legal firm. Or that Daniel boy’s home, while he’s sleeping.” He threatened. I shut my mouth.
“Good boy. Now, the reason I went through all the trouble to find you and bring you here, is because I have an offer for you.” He said. Suddenly a noise came from the room beside us, muffled by the wall. It sounded like a loud crash.
“Daddy!” A high pitched scream came from the room.
I noticed a door on the wall leading into the room. I could see that the lights in the room were off. The man gave an annoyed look in that direction.
“Sorry, that would be my son. Give me a moment.” The man explained. He sat up and just barely opened the door enough for him to slide in. He closed it behind him.
I immediately tried to get a grip on my surroundings. I scrambled around the room trying to see where he stashed my suit. When I found that the room was practically spotless I ran over to his desk. I checked each of the drawers for anything I could use. I closed the drawers with a slam and glanced over at the door as I heard the man move around the room.
My eyes caught a sliver of light and my thoughts clicked. The computer. I moved the mouse and it lit up with ease, it was already unlocked and ready to go. The first thing I checked are his files. I’m greeted by a list of seven files each labeled with a name of an organization:
Lucky Seven
Platinum Family
Crimson Family
The Romans
Scrapyard
I click on the top one out of curiosity. Contained within are seven folders each labeled with a different name. They were organized in alphabetical order:
Ms. Compound (Captured by Scrapyard)
Ms. Gray
Ms. Genesis
Mr. Nobody (Whereabouts Unknown)
Mr. Parasite
Mr. Polybius
Mr. Slight (Presumed Deceased)
Mr. Polybius was the last file that had been opened so I clicked it. It contained six folders. They were project names of some sort and they all had ‘Phase 01’ in the title:
Project Dust (Phase 01)
Project Elemental (Phase 01)
Project Force (Phase 01)
Project Lazarus (Phase 01)
Project Lethe (Phase 01)
Project Network (Phase 01)
I clicked the first one because I felt like I knew what would be contained within. My suspicions were confirmed almost immediately. The folder held files on biologically modified microscopic parasites, an arrest record for a bald man, and his psychological profile. It also had security footage and incident reports for attacks on the hospital, school, and the city.
One of the files was the clip from the local news about my first night out. I heard someone clear their throat. Mr. Polybius was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was giving me a disappointed head shake.
“If you wanted to see my files you just had to ask.” He said calmly. “I’ve got nothing to hide.” He added.
“You really created them.” I mumbled in disbelief.
“I did.” He affirmed.
“Why!?” I had venom in my tone. My throat stung.
“My organization simply wants to pursue our various fields of study. We want to make the world a better place through science. But to do this we need money. Unfortunately all of the big offers just happen to come from militaries.” He explained.
“I’m not big on violence myself. But it pays the bills.” He sighed.
“Why send them after me?” I asked.
“I need to prove their worth, and because I want to make you an offer. I want you to join me. As my apprentice.” He answered.
“No.” I told him with a sneer. He stood up straight and began walking towards me.
“Don’t you at least want to hear my offer?” He asked.
“No.” I repeated myself. I stood up from his chair. He looked down as if staring at the floor, and adjusted his tie. His glasses tilted ever so slightly down onto his nose.
“Jacob Oliver White. Age fifteen, born January 1st nineteen ninety-eight. Mother Janet Olivia White, father Ethan Malcolm White. Twin brother Jason Malcolm White, deceased.” He rattled off. My skin crawled at the mention of Jason.
He looked me in the eyes.
“Your cancer first appeared at birth. A few days after your twin brother suddenly died from SIDS. His death resulted in a private company taking interest in you, and turning you into their pet project.” He continued. “You were put under the knife as an infant, and it was successfully removed for the first time. The second time it appeared was when you were twelve years old. A round of chemo successfully treated it that time. The third time was three months ago, and it was declared inoperable.” He slowly walked closer to me.
Jason. Jason.
Jason. Jason. Jason.
I promised never to say his name again.
Promised to never think about him.
My hands started to shake. I was out of breath. I felt my insides twisting and turning. His name repeated in my head over, and over, and over again. Everything I have, everything I am. All of it because he took my place.
“What do you want?” I said through gritted teeth.
“I can help you. I can’t cure it yet, but my ex-wife’s specialty is the brain. She’s already living in this city. She can fix you.” He stopped right in front of me, and placed his hand on my shoulder. “I can give you the life you deserve. A long one.” He said with sympathy. I met his eyes.
“No.” I said with all of my heart. He removed his hand from my shoulder and took a step back.
“As you wish.” He responded in an apathetic voice. He proceeded to lean down and hit the button next to the speaker on his desk. “Gladys, can you please bring Mr. White his suit and staff.” He said into the speaker.
“On it.” A female voice responded. Mr. Polybius looked up at me again.
“You should know that I’m not going to stop. I’m going to keep sending my pets after you. Bigger, better ones. Until you say yes.” He stared at me with cold eyes.
“Have a nice night, Mr. White.” He added. I felt a chill go down my spine as he stared at me with the beady eyes of a mad man.
I left without a word.
