James looked out the glass wall of his cityview flat. Neon lights and ads of every color under the sea flashed brilliantly in the otherwise dark region at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. A school of fish swam by with desperation, each acting to escape the tyrancial teeth of the much bigger fish behind them. James watched as half of the school was swallowed in one massive gulp, never to be seen again. He turned, disgusted by the loss of life he had just witnessed. Looking around his flat, he once again concluded that this had been a good decision, leaving the US. Being an sixteen during World War II, he had come out of it with heart full of American pride and disappointment on not being able to enlist. On hitting eighteen, he joined Joey and they both enlisted in the service...determined to be the arm of American Justice in the world. But, then came Korea as well as the horrors of war. He and Joey managed to survive, but not a day went by that he didn't think of his Lieutenant raping that woman and killing her as he stood idly by. Not a day went by that he didn't regret not killing his whole squad as he and Joey were forced to witness the destruction of an entire town of innocent Koreans. No, he had lost his faith in America and the "justice" they represented. After the war, he continued his life. He got a degree in Electrical Engineering, graduating at the top of his class in 1956. One day on returning home, he found an elaborate letter on his doorstep adressed to him. "James, congratulations on your outstanding academic performance. Graduating as the Validictorian is no small feat. I have a propasition for you"

"Oh great." he muttered to himself, "Somebody must want something from me." But, the next line stopped him cold.

"Have you ever felt dissatisfied with your life in America? Is the American Dream and American Justice a dream with no substance to you? Then, let me invite you to a place where people like you can exsist with no government interferance in your life. A place where the best and the brightest of the world can create a society that is free of the flaws of the world. A place called, Rapture!..." James read on, earnestly interested in the proposition, however unlikely it was. Later, he called Joey and told him about it. Joey, though not as impacted by the war as James, thought that it was worth a shot to check it out, just in case. Together, they called a number left by the man in the letter. That was the start of their journey to Rapture...their journey to paradise. James came back to reality and looked at his watch.

"8:00pm, I'm gonna be late if I don't hurry." He walked over to the goods he had bought earlier and pulled out his gene tonics, RapidAct and the Performance Package. After reading the instructions, he found a sizable vien on his arm and injected the Performance Package from the syringe. Automatically, he felt the effects. Warmth started from the injection site and spread to the rest of his arm then then his chest and finally his entire body. He laid down on the bed because he knew what came next. Convulsions started racking his body as his entire genetic code was being rewritten by the gene tonic. Then, the warmth started to burn. He felt like he had been thrown in a fire. Except that he was fireproof. He wished that he had been thrown in a fire! He started screaming, knowing that he felt what it must've been like to be at the Salem witch trials on the recieving end. Inside himself, he felt his muscles snapping and rejoining and gaining bulk. The pain became toom much and he passed out. When he woke up, he was no longer in pain. He lightly jumped off his bed and walked over to his mirror. "Wow. No wonder they call it the Premium Perfomance Package!" he said under his breath as he looked at what he had become. He was now toned and looked as if he was in terrific shape. A six pack that had not been there before, bulging biceps, and pecs that could cut glass. Also, from the looks of it, his lower areas had... improved significantly. He saw his free-weight set out of the corner of his eyes and became curious if his new body was just for show. He picked up a fifty-pound weight as if it was nothing and laughed as he tossed it around. " Thank you, ADAM!" he exclaimed joyfully as he ran to get his other tonic. He laid on his bed and injected the blue liquid into his blood stream. But, nothing seemed to happen. "Defective?" he thought to himself. All of a sudden he started to get a migraine and a cold sensation flooded his body as if he had been dipped into an ice bath. Then, as soon as it came it was gone. "Was that it?" he asked himself as he walked to his closet and pulled out his tuxedo and proceeded to get dressed.

Meanwhile**

"Heather, what is taking you so long? You don't want to be late for our reservation, do you?!" a woman impatiently yelled as she beat on the bathroom door.

"You can't rush perfection, darling!" Heather said as she put the finishing touches on her make-up. Despite the yelling behind her, she managed to calmly look through her wares. She wanted to look perfect tonight. "Now, what color eyes do I want today?" she mused as she pulled her finger across her gene tonics, "Purple? No, did that day before yesterday. How about green? That's always in style." She pulled out the appropriate vial and stuck herself with the needle. She nonchalantly watched as her blue eyes switched to a vibrant green with a sunburst of yellow in the middle. Her thoughts drifted to what James was doing. "If only James weren't busy tonight" she thought to herself as she twirled her curly blonde hair between her fingers, but she quickly scolded herself, "Why am I thinking of that guy? All he wants to do is hold me back, make me a wife, destroy my career! You know, I think its time that the little game I've been playing with him comes to an end." She nodded her head as if to seal the thought in place for good. She finished putting on her clothes, checked herself at all angles, and walked out amidst the frustrated cries of her friends.

"Finally, now let's go! We may still make our reservation time!" the girls said desperatley as they shoved Heather through the door. "We can't be late for a night like tonight!" some of them giggled, all but Heather in the know of what James had planned for his girlfriend.

The women took the bathysphere up to the top of the tower where The Kashmire was located. All of them giddy, some for different reasons than others. Joey greeted them at the door and pointed them to a table next to one of the glass walls, it had a perfect view of the city. Gleaming in the twilight that the artificial lamps gave to the deep sea atmoshpere. " I'll have someone come get your orders, ladies, one sec." Joey said as he walked back to where James was sitting impatiently and out of sight, all decked out for the nights activities. "The cats have arrived and Heather...she's absolutely gorgeous" he said to James, " Go get 'em Jimmy!" James gave him a hug that took the air out of him. "You been workin' out?" James laughed and strolled towards the other room.

"Just got good genes, that's all." he said slyly," They actually aren't that expensive nowadays. Oh. and there's something for you underneath the table. Just consider it an early birthday present." But, before Joey could say anything against it, James was out the door.

"The little bugger went and spliced himself!" he laughed as he reached under the table and pulled out the box. As he slowly opened it, his jaw dropped. A fully upgraded Magnum, something he'd been wanting almost as much as a 12 guage. He gingerly took the pistol and placed it with his brand new shotgun that he had recieved earlier from his employer for use in the restaurant. "That kid, too generous for his own good." he sighed, "But I'm not complaining. Shoot, two guns in one day!" He stepped behind the counter for the best seat in the house. James quietly snuck up behind Heather and put his hands on her shoulders. She swiftly turned around and looked at James in a manner he couldn't quite put his finger on. Shock definitely, but there was something else in her expression that gave Joey a bad feeling "Good luck, kid, you'll need it." he said to himself as he started mixing drinks for the newly arriving customers.