Chapter One – In the Beginning

It was dark; the small room had a crack beneath the door allowing the slightest sliver of light to slip through. It was the only light Gen had seen in close to three weeks.

Her father had been a passionate chemist who loved creating numerous concoctions. His last brew was the one though. He could feel it. Drew, her father, had never considered experimenting on his daughter; but little did he know that he'd been closely watched from afar, they'd waited until he'd succeeded before they raced in to claim their prize.

Whilst Drew wanted to help, they had a different agenda. All they wanted was to create a supreme race of humans, capable of ruling the rest, ultimately forming a genetic aristocracy. The day they stormed into his humble family home, armed and dangerous, was the day that Drew had to act. He had to hope that he could prevent the plight that would unquestionably ensue. He lost his life that day, but not before emptying the small syringe that contained everything. His notes were quite thorough, however it would take any scientist years to figure out exactly what he had done, let alone duplicate it in a substantial quantity, all they could do was observe was the outcome, as he had jabbed Gen in the arm, a few fleeting minutes before they barged into the room.

Gen remembered everything. The balaclavas that masked the men, the large automatic machine guns that they had trained on both Gen and her father, and most importantly, her fathers reply when they asked for the serum he'd created. The defiant shake of his head, and confident laugh when he said it was gone. The answer that cost him his life.

They took her that day, expected her to tell them everything, expected her to know everything, but she didn't. She was so scared, so angry, that she wasn't able to think. Nothing was rational anymore, and slowly, as time passed, she got worse. The injection hadn't quite helped. She didn't know why, she thought she'd possess powers, but rather, on the contrary, her health was deteriorating.

Her father had attempted to revolutionize the superhero; create a serum that could allow someone to possess godly powers without heinous side effects. He'd explained it as creating a stable substance, similar to Captain America, dissimilar from the Hulk. Gen believed that this substance was it, that he'd finally nailed it. Clearly he hadn't. Three weeks had passed. Nothing had happened.

The door was lurched open, accompanied by the ear-piercing shriek of old hinges, as light flooded in. She cringed, pressing herself into the corner of the room, attempting to escape bright, artificial light. The room they had stuffed her in appeared to be a cleaned out broom closet, within the large laboratory, and everyday, a man would take her from the room, pushing her through the corridors before sitting her down in front of a meal and a glass of water. After eating she would always be faced with the same question. 'What do you know'. That day's routine had yet to change.

The man took two steps into the room, grabbing the cowering girl by the hair and yanking her up, ignoring her shrill pleas. His hand moved, gruffly grabbing her by the shoulder, and leading her out of the closet – kicking the door closed behind him – and walking her down the cold, sterile hallway into a small interrogation room. There sat, the metal tray, with the bowl of pea and ham soup, and the small bread roll, with plastic cup and a bottle of water, neatly framing it. Only once in the three weeks had she been offered anything other than pea and ham soup, and it was the day that they had run out of ham.

She was forced into the chair at the end of the table before the man turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. She slight jingle of keys signaled another tradition; she had once again been locked in. Gen's hands were shaking. She was scared. Perhaps today was the day that they decided she was useless; that she had nothing left to say. Worse even was that they could decide that they were done will patience, and attempt to torture her to get the truth out. She shuddered as the picked up the stale bread roll, tearing a small section off of the corner and popping it into her mouth. She took a deep breath attempting to calm her nerves before grabbing the plastic spoon and eating as much as she could stomach. The water bottle was next. She guzzled the water as quickly as possible before she sat back in her chair and waited. They were coming soon.

During her time in the interrogation room, her small, pathetic excuse of a room was inspected. The toilet at the back was restocked if need be, and the mattress was patted down in hopes of finding something. What they were looking for, she had no clue; perhaps a makeshift weapon, or a clue as to what she was hiding. All she knew was that her blood held the key to what her dad had created, and although it had not worked, she refused to give it up. He had died to protect his knowledge.

The jingle of keys brought her attention back to the door as she watched a man get escorted into the room. She'd never seen him before, he wasn't one of the usual men that got brought in; rather, he appeared more superior. He was clean-shaven, wearing an expensive looking suit whilst adorned in male jewelry. His face was smooth and calm, yet his demeanor screamed rich, and frankly, it intimidated Gen.

"Geneviève, it is a pleasure to finally meet you", he stated with a thick American, smiling slightly. Gen merely eyed him apprehensively. Although he appeared intimidating, she'd had enough. They'd pushed too hard, and as a result, she snapped.

"Shame I can't say the same for you". Her voice was curt, and her eyes directly pierced into his.

The man's jaw tensed in anger, before he quickly composed himself, lathering on a false smile.

"May I call you Gen? Well, Gen, I am Justin Hammer, and I really hope you have what I need". A smirk found its way on Gen's lips as she cocked her head to the side.

"It's Miss Gray to you, but really, you couldn't mask the desperation? Not even a little bit?"

Hammer breathed in sharply, looking away from her light brown eyes towards the floor. She'd hit a sore spot, because she was, incredibly right.

"Miss Gray, I'd be careful if I were you. You don't have anywhere near as much power as you think you do. I am in charge here".

Gen straightened her spine, placing both of her hands on the table in front of her, before pushing herself up so that she was standing. She knew she probably looked like crap. They hadn't allowed her to shower since she arrived, and she could feel her usually smooth brown hair, in what could only be described as inharmonious dreadlocks, but she didn't waver. Her father had died, yes, but he'd died honorably, and she'd be damned if she didn't show the same resolve he had. She owed him that much.

She smiled slowly as she felt a wave of calm settle over her. For the first time in three weeks she felt empowered, she was calm and collected. She had her cool. Hammer took a step back, barking orders at her to sit down, but if anything, it slightly amused her. She wasn't going to listen to this joker.

She closed her eyes, and smiled slightly, jumping back in shock as she heard a loud crash. Her eyes flew open, landing on Hammer who was on the floor beneath the table that stood in front of him mere seconds before. His eyes were closed, and Gen found her opportunity. She didn't know exactly what she was doing, nor did she have a clue on how she was doing it, rather, she allowed her instinct to take over. She strutted up to the door, closing her eyes as she held her hands in front of her. The door flew back right off its hinges, and as she peeked out from the doorframe she saw numerous workers staring at her in surprise.

That was her cue. She took off in a run, taking random turns as she hoped to avoid the men that were chasing her, yelling at her, calling for her to stop. Her legs ached but she persevered, letting out a slight chuckle when she saw the illuminated exit sign on the roof and the arrow pointing right. Taking a sharp turn to the right she glanced over her shoulder, taking note of who was chasing her. They were close. She didn't have much time before they would catch up.

She saw the doors at the end of the corridor she was running along. They bound by thick chains and a padlock, causing Gen to stop for a moment, before closing her eyes taking a calming breath. She concentrated on the heavy footsteps before raising her palm out behind her. A crash alerted her that it had worked before she focused on the door, and similarly, the screeching of metal prompted her to run onto the street ahead, taking a sharp left. She didn't know exactly where she was, all she knew was that she had to hide, because those men, whoever they were, were bound to keep looking for her. Justin Hammer appeared to be a very persistent man; not the sort to give up, and especially, not the one to admit defeat, especially against a young girl.

Hey guys, this is my first story! Hope you guys enjoy it! Please review, constructive criticism is always welcomed :)