Chapter 4: The Twin-Chamber Protocol
The air in the secret Brooklyn laboratory tasted of ozone and sterile metal. After the assassination attempt at Camp Lehigh, the SSR had moved with frantic speed. They couldn't risk Dr. Erskine being in the open any longer.
Arthur stood in the center of the room, shirtless, the cold air raising goosebumps on his skin. To his left stood Steve Rogers—looking smaller than ever in the shadow of the massive machinery.
"The power grid won't hold, Abraham!" Howard Stark shouted, his hands flying over a control panel. "If we try to run both chambers, we'll blow every fuse from here to Coney Island. We have to pick one."
[ SYSTEM ALERT: PIVOTAL MOMENT ]
Option 1: Steve Rogers (The Hero of Legend).
Option 2: Arthur (The Mercury Catalyst).
[ HIDDEN OPTION DETECTED: THE DUAL-LINK ]
Cost: 2,000 DP.
Effect: Synchronize your System with the Lab's Power Grid. Both subjects can undergo 'Project Rebirth' simultaneously.
Arthur looked at Steve. Steve was looking at the needle with a mix of terror and absolute, unshakable resolve. If Arthur took the serum alone, Steve would remain a frail kid from Brooklyn, and the "Captain America" the world needed would never exist.
System, Arthur thought. Spend the points. Do it now.
[ 2,000 DP EXPENDED. INITIALIZING 'SYSTEM OVERCLOCK'... ]
"Wait!" Arthur called out, his voice echoing in the vault. He stepped toward the machinery. "Howard, check the capacitors again. I... I did some calculations. If we bridge the primary and secondary coils through a living conductor, we can balance the load."
"That's suicide," Howard snapped, though his eyes lit up with scientific curiosity. "The feedback would fry a normal man."
"I'm not a normal man," Arthur said, stepping into his pod. "And neither is Steve. Do it. Together."
The Transformation
The heavy metal doors of the pods hissed shut. Arthur felt the cold bite of the needles as the "Mercury Variant" serum began to pump into his veins.
[ ALERT: UNKNOWN MUTAGEN DETECTED ]
[ SYSTEM INTEGRATING SERUM... ]
[ EVOLUTION PROGRESS: 1%... 15%... 40%... ]
"Five percent power!" Stark's voice was muffled by the glass. "Ten... twenty..."
Then came the light. A blinding, searing white that burned through Arthur's eyelids. In a normal timeline, this was where Steve screamed. But Arthur felt the System acting as a buffer, absorbing the excess electrical energy that was supposed to blow the fuses.
[ SKILL TRIGGERED: ADAPTIVE CELLULAR MEMORY ]
[ Absorbing Vita-Ray Energy... ]
[ VIT (Vitality) PERMANENTLY INCREASED BY +15 ]
[ NEW TRAIT UNLOCKED: 'VITA-CELL' — You now generate a small amount of internal bio-electricity. ]
The heat was unbearable. Arthur could hear Steve's ragged breathing in the pod next to him. Through the System's link, he sent a "Stamina Surge" to Steve, sharing his own vitality to keep his friend's heart from stopping.
"EIGHTY PERCENT! NINETY! ONE HUNDRED!"
The machinery roared, a high-pitched whine that threatened to shatter every glass beaker in the room. Then, a massive crack of thunder—the sound of the System forced-feeding the power grid—and total darkness.
The Results
The hiss of escaping steam filled the silence.
The pod doors creaked open. First, Steve Rogers stepped out. He was no longer scrawny; he was a god carved from marble, a foot taller and twice as wide. He looked at his hands in disbelief.
Then, Arthur stepped out.
He didn't look like Steve. He hadn't gained massive bulk. Instead, his muscles were lean, corded like steel cables. His skin had a faint, metallic sheen that faded after a second. When he breathed, the air around him seemed to hum.
[ STATUS UPDATED ]
STR: 55
AGI: 60
VIT: 75
INT: 50
[ SYSTEM NOTE: You have successfully created a 'Tethered Fate.' You and Steve Rogers are now biologically linked. When you grow stronger, he receives a fraction of the boost. ]
Dr. Erskine stumbled forward, tears in his eyes. "Incredible... two successes. A man of heart, and a man of... of the future."
Peggy Carter stepped forward, her hand on her holster, looking between the two super-soldiers. "Well," she said, her voice shaky but impressed. "The Nazis wanted a war. I think we just gave them one."
[ CHAPTER 4 COMPLETE ]
Current DP Balance: 0 (You are broke, but powerful).
Timeline Divergence: 8.5% (Significant).