*Flashback.*

The lab was cold. But then again, when wasn't it? Alex remembered distinctly, the words his 'mother' told him. "These tests are to gauge your strength. You have power that outweighs any normal person. I want you to have a good life, Alex..."...

*Present time.*

He sat in the corner of the cage in the bar, laughing to himself as he took one swig of 'SoulStorm Brew' after another. He just kept drinking it after every fight he won. So far...? 29 wins and counting. Alex began to growl loudly, like a tiger claiming its prey. This new opponent was apparently a husband to the lady standing outside the cage, behind Alex. She eyed him over and told him, "Don't kill my husband." Alex stared blankly at her for a moment, and then finally responded bluntly,
"No promises," as he put his jacket on the floor.

In a blur of movement, which only lasted a millisecond, Alex passed the man. The worst was to come in two seconds. He stared at his watch, and after those seconds went by, the man's neck snapped, and his corpse quickly crumpled to the floor with a sickening thud.

The lady behind Alex gaped in horror as her husband quickly met his end. She tried to shout in blind rage at Alex, but no words would leave her mouth. In her own way, she too, had died...

Alex walked out of the cage. He then walked over to the bar to collect his winnings. He could hear people in the background calling him a monster. He didn't care anymore. Now, he was used to it. "Some speed you had there, Mr...?" the barman began. Alex quickly cut in,
"Shadow. That's all you need to know," he smirked as he downed his last bottle of SoulStorm Brew.

The tension in the air barely even fazed Alex in the slightest. He just told the man "Thanks," and left with the money he had won. He blurred away without a second to lose.

He finally came to a stop at a broken-looking bus stop near the newsagents he went into for some cigarettes. "I'll nap here for a bit..." he mumbled, but was picked up by a bus that turned up only three seconds later. "The FUCK, man?! Can't even sleep..." as he stared at the shabby-looking bus.
"You getting on or what, kid?" the driver asked, with a confident smirk on his face.

"Whatever. Better this than freezing my ass off..." he grumbled. He got on, and as soon as he had sat down, the bus sped down the open country road.