Prompt from KuletXCore: Whatever happened to Soldiers 1-23 and 25-75? We only know 24 (Gabe) and 76 (Jack).
…
There was always some sense of mystery revolving around the Super Soldier problem.
Soldiers' 1 – 10 were rumoured to be completely unstable and were never seen again… they just disappeared after being brought into the problem.
11 -20 didn't react at all to the serum… it looked they had at first, but it was clearly only a temporary measure as when they went into their first mission… they were killed like any other soldier.
Soldier 21 was the first one who the serum worked properly for. However, he was around 60 when he was injected, and died a mere ten years later.
Soldier 22 turned dark and was executed for his crimes… nobody really liked to talk about Soldier 22.
Soldier 23 was the first one who died in the line of duty. Shot with a radioactive bullet, that entered his ribcage which might not have damaged any major organs but caused him to die of blood loss long before any help could arrive.
That was the one Gabe really missed.
As Soldier 24, Soldier 23 taught him practically everything he knew and to walk into a room, where the blood of his mentor stained his boots…. It almost destroyed Gabe.
Soldier 25 jumped from the top of the base, unable to deal with 'the voices in his head.'
Gabe honestly felt sorry for Soldier 26.
The necessary medical checks weren't done correctly and after the serum was injected, it was discovered that he had a small, cancerous tumour at the base of his spine. The serum only seemed to make it grow faster, and before the year was out, Soldier 26 was gone.
Nobody quite agreed on what happened to Soldier 27. Some say he died heroically trying to defend the base from an enemy. Others say he was killed by a jealous ex through blunt force trauma… most agree that it was covered up for a reason.
It was unfortunate what happened to Soldier 28. A non-fatal shot that led to complications during the ensuing surgery. Died on the table.
Soldier 29 was in a 10 car pile-up… at the bottom.
Going back to the success they had with Soldier 21, Soldier's 30 – 35 were given the serum at a much older age, meaning that they passed due to old age, rather than succumbing to any dark thoughts.
Soldier 36, whilst being given the serum at an older age, sacrificed his life to save his daughter. His was the only heart that would save her life…. Needless to say, with the effect of the serum, his daughter was still happily living, spending time with her 18 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.
Soldier 37 also sacrificed his life to save others, remaining in a sinking ship in order to make sure explosives reached the bottom of the ocean. During a later expedition, his skeletal remains were found in a locked room.
Soldiers 38 and 39 were on a joint mission together, when they were the victims of a car bomb.
Soldier 40 was captured and beheaded by a terrorist organisation… the serum caused his body to continue trying to fight long after the head was severed (Jack still had nightmares about that one).
Soldier 41 was another one who was tormented by the voices in his head, swallowing almost three tubs of pills in the bath in order to stop them.
Soldier 42 hung himself to stop them.
Soldier 43 jumped from the same building, the same place that Soldier 25 jumped from….. ironic really… they were father and son.
Four incidents of 'voices' was enough to make the organisation try and improve the serum, attempting to re-work and prevent any more incidences of psychosis…. Which only caused more problems for the subjects down the line.
Soldier 44's heart literally exploded because it couldn't take the strain of the serum.
Another rework.
Soldier 45 was the poster boy for the serum for a long time. Blonde-haired, blue eyes and tanned skin, the perfect hero…. Until he was shot in the head in a convenience store trying to save a little girl.
Soldier 46 was gunned down in a courtroom as he was testifying against Soldier 47, who was then gunned down by other agents.
Much like Soldier 26, the medical checks for Soldier 48 weren't done correctly as he passed away after suffering from a fatal brain tumour, one that only seemed to get worse and worse after the serum was injected.
With the exception of each other, Jack and Gabe's favourite soldier was Soldier 49.
He was one of the only ones who dared to speak about the conditions that the Super Soldiers went through, what they'd had to endure and how they were treated by the scientists. He tried to tell the world what was happening… and he was punished for it.
A series of unexplained crimes happened, ending in the death of one of the scientists…. Soldier 49 was blamed, tried and convicted. Less than 3 days later, he was strapped to the electric chair and executed without really getting a chance to explain himself.
He was the last one to try.
Soldier 50 was killed by killer bees (that was a weird announcement).
Soldier 51 was nicknamed 'The Immortal'. He'd been shot over 12 times in various, fatal places, stabbed several more times… only to be poisoned a day before he could officially retire.
The serum was doing well, so the scientists decided to go through another re-work.
Soldier 52-57 went in for the new re-work and were never heard from again, causing the rumours to circulate once again.
Soldier 58 died protecting his daughter, shielding her body with his own… not that it really mattered… the bullets went straight through him and into her.
Soldiers 59 and 60 were together… they weren't meant to be, but they were. When the organisation started to crack down on them, threatening to separate them for the rest of their lives, the pair lay in their shared bed and ended their lives together.
Some say you can still hear their voices in the building.
Nobody actually knows if Soldier 61 is actually dead, but his ship went down in the Arctic ocean, and he was believed to be lost at sea, possibly drowned.
On one of the missions, the healer for Soldier 62's squadron was killed, and the entire team succumbed to septicaemia… blood poisoning. It was thanks to that mission, that the procedures were changed, and healers usually always had a 'tank' with them as protection.
Soldier 63 was killed by Soldier 64… his own son, who was then thrown in jail and disappeared from the minds of everyone who knew him.
Soldier 65 was crushed by a landslide.
Soldier 66 was the victim of a brutal, homophobic attack by civilians…. Gabe always hated thinking about this. 66 could have beaten that gang with one hand tied behind his back, but he didn't want to hurt the civilians.
One good punch could have saved his life.
Gabe honestly couldn't remember Soldiers' 67 – 75…. They all pale in comparison to Jack.
Maybe they're still alive… maybe they're still active somewhere… but Gabe couldn't care less.
Jack was the only Soldier he cared about.