The steady beeps of a patient monitor could be heard. The world remained black, unable to be seen, with only that poignant tune playing on repeat. The small rings of a medical instrument—a scalpel—were also heard, like someone was checking the edge's sharpness. Then, with a quick drop of the metallic tool into a tray, everything went silent once more.
Everything hurts…Xander thought, still unable to escape what dream sequence he was trapped in.
Till—a violent shock of electricity shot through his body—the boy suddenly woke. His body felt like it was being burnt from the inside out by a furnace. Under his skin lit up with blue wires that made sharp turns along his blood veins and nerves, none of the wires moving in a straight line. His form convulsed and twitched abnormally, trying to free itself and curl up. But he would find that he was bound to a gurney in a deeply shaded-grey room, with nothing but a blinding white light and medical equipment surrounding him. A continuous blue liquid flowed into his body through many tubes and pads that were attached to him.
This liquid seemed to be the source of his pain.
A man in white scrubs was to the side of his gurney, busy closing the curtains to the section the boy was in. Before the closure, many other sections—akin to the one Xander was in—were seen throughout the facility in close proximity. Other children of his age were strapped in similar positions as he was, though not nearly in the same amount of pain. Xander's screams reverberated across the facility, alerting many of the similarly attired men and women. But none came to his aid. The doctor—if even one—that was assigned to him issued a command to some unseen figure.
"Lower the ceriumium intake. He's awake now; he doesn't need much more. His body will produce more itself if needed."
A man on the other side of his body did as he was told, built like a soldier with attire that was combat ready with an AR on his back and M9 pistol locked to his hip. His clothing colour was a duller version of military camo, having a distinct pattern not shared by regular army forces. Black, gray and deep navy blue were the colours, striped down on one side whilst the other was left with the primary colour of blue. His face and arms were bulky and muscular, yet it didn't impede his careful movements in reaching below Xander's gurney to turn off the liquid tank of this Ceriumium liquid.
Slowly, in increments, the last amounts of blue, chunky liquid poured into Xander's veins. In his body, the wires under his skin lost their lustre, returning to their dormant state of invisibility. Yet, his pain didn't seem to disappear with its cause, taking its sweet time in dissipating. The army man watched Xander pant and groan, seeing the boy turn starkly pale like a grim reaper hung over him. He then looked at the doctor on the other side with a slight amount of concern—not out of pity or care but necessity, probably because his job had something to do with it.
"Falco," the man said, his voice deep with a rolling quality that commanded a person's attention, "the kid is not looking so hot."
Falco looked back at the man, then at the whitening Xander, who lay motionless on the gurney. A small, bluish pulsing light appeared on Xander's right biceps, the boy's skin steadily returning to its regular shade. The development surprised the army man, while Dr. Falco let out a subtle, quick puff of laughter. He further examined his test subject, taking up a pair of scalpels from the table. He didn't have any intention of using anesthesia before proceeding next with his plans. If everything was working how it should, there wouldn't be no need for any.
"You know, for a former Marine, you and others of the same cloth seem to have little faith in your superiors…and our team," Falco said, astute and calculative, looking at the blade-edge of the first scalpel. It was clear and stainless, reflecting his aged, wrinkled face and glasses, whilst the other side reflected Xander's exhausted expression. "We made these kids into what they are. We know how they should respond."
Falco then moved close to the boy's side, slightly shifting so that his head was level with Xander's own from the side. Falco fiddled and gazed at the scalpel in his hand, as if it held some seductive beauty that was entrancing to its beholder. The army man simply watched Falco's weird disposition, trying to figure out what next was to be done by the psychotic man.
"Kaiser, you should already know that these kids are far more resilient than even heroes from a comic strip." Falco said. Then, in one quick finesse-like move, Falco spun the scalpel whilst raising it above Xander. "That is because of the gift that we gave them."
Xander's eyes fixed themselves on the weapon. He didn't squirm or even try to move—it was like he was remembering how this point had gone before—like he had been through this type of scene, or under such a procedure from this man more than once in his life. Even so, it didn't stop him from feeling some dread about the doctor's intentions.
What if his thoughts were incorrect?
"And as one of the original progenitors of this gift's genesis, I will forever know infinitely more than you ever will!" Falco declared, slamming the scalpel down onto clenched-eyed Xander's arm.
Immediately upon contact, a high-pitched ringing escaped from their section. The scalpel blade broke, its edge shooting high into the uncountable floodlights overhead, almost landing on another section if not for a covering overhead.
"And as I can see, everything seems to be fine. His body just needed a jumpstart with the new system implanted in him." Falco said, "Now make yourself useful and get the Voltic Coolant ready, while I check on something."
Kaiser simply looked away and mumbled under his breath whilst crouching to work under the bed.
"Theatrical bastard."
Using the second scalpel he had taken up, Falco this time re-stood, so he was over the young boy. Xander had no shirt on, but long track-like pants that covered his lower body. Falco took another moment to examine the scalpel in his hand, checking the faintly glowing blue edge that seemed to resonate with an unknown counterpart inside Xander. Falco fixed his glasses and then began his procedure.
With one hand he took another instrument from his table, a syringe with a similar blue-tip. However, in this instrument was a reddish, lifelike substance. For some odd reason, it didn't seem as if he needed to tie Xander's arm with ribbon or elastic substance to reveal any veins. Even if he had done so, he knew it would do nothing with the metallic properties that this "gift" gave Xander. Without so much of a warning, he jabbed the syringe into Xander's arm. Xander squirmed with a bit of an audible gasp, seeming to sweeten Falco as he injected the contents.
"Oh, my dear child…even with this gift of mine, gifts can always be taken back. This will only be momentary, I promise."
Next in the procedure was to use the cerulean-edged blade of his to cut into Xander's skin, specifically in his right bicep that glowed blue. The moment the instrument touched his skin, a low hum and high-pitched whistle were released into the air. The scalpel acted as an electric buzz-saw, shifting its appearance as it sawed through Xander's skin, which now seemed to lose its metallic properties.
How is he doing that? Xander grimaced, What did he inject me with?
After an incision was made, he cut deeper and deeper, visibly paining Xander more and more. Despite this increasing pain, no blood or anything gushed out of Xander. His body didn't seem to use such a trivial way of nutritional transport; bundles of metallic wires did the job instead. He reached Xander's bones in seconds, the blade unable to cut through these newly enhanced structures. These newly formed bones were where most of the wires were concentrated, but on this specific bone, something of note was present that held Falco's interest.
"Kaiser, are you done setting it up?" Falco asked.
With a quick click of a tube to a new canister, and the typing of a code into a digital interface on said container, Kaiser was finished.
"Good to go." Kaiser replied.
"Get over here then. You know what to do."
Kaiser walked around to Falco's side of the bed, taking up two sets of forceps whilst standing further beside Falco. One would think an army man like himself would not have the training to do what was being asked. But at this facility—whatever it was meant for—guards were just as skilled surgeons as the actual doctors present.
He used the forceps to peel back the skin, allowing the full contents of the arm innards to be seen. All the human parts had been removed, more akin to a messy computer tower inside with bones. The trace of ozone and corrosive odor of burnt metal leaked out into the air. However, at the heart of it all was one lone microchip. It was shaped like a V, weird and smooth, with an unlisted periodic element serving as its and the wires' core. Falco was delighted to see the pulsing blue structure, tapping it a few times with his scalpel to make sure it was stationary and fixed properly in place.
"Stationary, no movement." He said, dropping the scalpel to one side of the tray, "All wires flowing with Ceriumium. Now for the Voltic Coolant."
Falco reached under the bed for the canister Kaiser had set up and pressed a single button on it that caused it to whir to life. A white and black mixture then flowed through the tube into Xander's body. Unlike the Ceriumium, this one didn't sting or burn, inducing a cold sensation that ran throughout his whole body. Ice flowed in his veins, his eyes livening with a digitized display, processing just about everything in the room he could see whilst his eyes displayed binary code like supercomputers. His arms twitched, wanting to transform, metallic scales vibrating in and on his arm. But something unseen inhibited them.
It was common knowledge among the doctors and guards what these kids could do when their "gifts" truly awoke, so inhibitors were placed on all the guard's waists—constantly active and never turned off.
Falco rose from beside the boy, his procedure seeming to be complete. He commanded Kaiser to release the skin flaps of the boy, whilst moving to his station one last time. He took up a comprehensive book of sorts and flipped through the contents. The title of this manuscript read "Vector Codexius".
"Monitor the boy, and when he is done refilling, transport him back to his cell." Falco said.
"Aye-aye, Professor," Kaiser jeered.
"Doctor. Kaiser," Falco said.
When Falco had found the page he was looking for, he placed the Codexius on the table. Every doctor owned one of these. It catalogued all the patients—or I should say children—that were placed under their care. He pulled out a pen, biting the cap of the ballpoint. He looked at the section specifically for Xander.
While Kaiser oversaw the boy's recovery, Falco couldn't help but be all smiles while recording and putting in his observations on the digitized book. Xander, in that moment, was left to stare blankly into the eyes of a man who couldn't care less about him before all that befell him, or if he would have a life after.
He was left alone in this world with the only person who still cared about him—Diane.
********
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[AUTHORIZATION - PROJECT SENTIENCE - SECTOR: NEVADA PROVINCE 4]
[VECTOR CODEXIUS - CLASSIFIED ENTRY #665]
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SUBJECT: XANDER FARWAKER
AGE: 15
CODENAME: UNDETERMINED (Field test not conducted)
ASSIGNED SPECIALIST: Dr. Falco
MENTALITY/TEMPERAMENT:
Reserved, pensive, calculative—before entry to the program he only talked to one person.Prefers Solitude: Keeps to self and speaks only when prompted. Unnaturally intelligent (unlike the others, he is aware of what is inside him)Relations with Cellmate - Brother of Subject #666)
VECTOR RANK: F-ranked (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
VECTOR TYPE: Pure Long-Range
VECTOR ABILITY: Able to manifest plasma-charged sniper rifles in place of his arms, no other known abilities.
SPECIALIST'S NOTES:
With the original system, his Vector was quite underwhelming even for being a plasma-based weapon. Lacks the natural grunt and striking power that other long-range vectors have been able to output. More than likely, he will be a failure unless his IQ proves to be his saving grace. Able to understand what is bonded to his body. Hopefully, the system update increases the power threshold or better.
Vector Evolution: Possible.
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END OF ENTRY - ACCESS CODE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: VNP4-665
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