Soldiers were marching through the halls of the United Federation stronghold, belonging to the Order of Honorius, settled into the Knothole Ruins. This was their most secure stronghold on Mobius, and it was unknown to all, but the soldiers based there. Deep down in the lowest levels of the stronghold was a research facility, where the brightest engineers and doctors were studying their footage of Isaac's latest transformation, locating him in Central City, well within their grasp!
"We lose him for almost a month, and he finally shows up in the highest crime rate area of the city." The Leader of the Order of Honorius commented, knowing sending soldiers there would be too dangerous and had the potential of revealing themselves. They soon began playing footage of Isaac when he had attacked the criminals a month prior, showing specialized attacks they had never accounted before! Color drained from many of their faces upon studying the Hellfire attack, which disintegrates anything organic that comes in contact with it!
"Seems he's becoming more ruthless, sir." One of the soldiers commented, noting how Isaac never devolved to using such attacks before. The Leader nodded, feeling that it was merely a matter of time until something worse happens.
"Is the suit ready?" He asked, wanting to know the progress of their latest innovation, provided to them by the Mobian Trading Company. The head engineer began looking through his notes on his clipboard, multiple warnings and errors noted in red ink!
"Well, uh, sir… we may need more time before testing. We've been having troubles with the medic apparatus and the dosage of certain… substances to render the subject comfortable. By our estimates, we should have everything sorted out in three to six months." He explained, showing him the notes. The Leader slapped the clipboard out of the engineer's hand, not liking what he was hearing!
"Three to six months?! We need it now!" He yelled, outraged.
"But sir, if we were to put someone in the suit now, we'd have to surgically graft it to them to ensure everything stays in place!" The Head Engineer explained, revealing the drastic nature of the suit's current state. But the Leader smiled at this, feeling that could be arranged.
"Then do it." He ordered. The engineer had a hard time hearing, for a second believing that the Leader ordered him to surgically put someone in the suit! But a serious glare confirmed the engineer's worst fears.
"Sir, that is highly unethical and immoral! Doing that to someone would render them unable to live without the suit! They would most likely die the moment we take it off of them!" The engineer exclaimed, not making light of the risks of the procedure.
"Then keep them in the suit. Now, if I remember correctly, you hook them up to a mobile ventilator, correct?" He asked. The engineer wasn't believing what he was hearing that this man was willing to experiment with a man's life!
"No! No, no, no, no, no! This is my project! And my project is nowhere near ready for testing! I will not have someone killed testing my suit!" The engineer yelled. Taken aback by this, the Leader began nodding his head, appearing to agree with him.
"Well, if that's how you feel, I won't force you to push it out until it's ready." The Leader said. The engineer sighed in relief, feeling that he had control of his project back. He began going through his notes, going through the medical situations.
"Thank you, but right now, our first concern is-" He began to explain, before a bullet ran through his head! His body hit the floor, the Leader holstering his pistol. He bent down and snatched the notes of the dead engineer's hand, going through them himself.
"Nothing but easy fixes. Too bad he wasn't smart enough to see that for himself." He said, walking away from the engineer's corpse.
"Clean up the mistake and get this suit ready for testing!" He announced, walking to the development team. They quickly began taking out the equipment and a series of medical tools, soldiers taking said equipment and tools over to an operating room. As they did this, digital blueprints and calculations began taking over the monitors, showing probabilities and the efficiencies of the suit's different functions.
Teams of engineers began bringing out different pieces of the metal suit, attaching the different crosswires and apparatuses that were going to be surgically grafted into it. As they prepared the process of ensuring all parts were available for the operation, a team of soldiers were wheeling someone in on a gurney, a patient chart showing that this was the one that was going to be part of the suit's testing. He had a hood over his head, concealing his face and vision.
"We got him, sir! We found him hiding out in Westopolis!" One of the soldiers said. The Leader grinned widely, walking over to the restrained 'patient'. He quickly uncovered his head, seeing it was indeed who they were looking for. He was gagged with a large piece of tape on his mouth, only able to mumble his words.
"Thought you could hide from us, huh? We always knew where you were, traitor! Of course, this will be your chance of making amends with the Order! You should consider yourself very lucky." The Leader said. The 'patient' soon began thrashing on the gurney, his curses muffled by the tape on his mouth! Sighing, the Leader put the hood over his head, motioning for them to take him away. The team wheeled him into the operating room, where he would be an unwilling part of their experiment.
As the probabilities began constantly changing, going up and down on survival rates and efficiencies, the doors to the development lab opened, showing the CEO of the Mobian Trading Company strolling in, accompanied by a trio of armed guards. The Leader smiled, pleased to see he had come to witness the surgery and the demonstration prepared right after.
"Did you find the place alright?" The Leader asked.
"Once your soldiers led us to it. Now, I'm anxious to see what you've been using MTC funds for. And I'm hoping this could be used for future endeavors." He said, crossing his arms. The Leader nodded, motioning towards the door to the operating theatre.
"Just follow me and you will see for yourself." He replied, walking towards the doors to the operating theatre. The CEO followed, his guards following. After climbing a staircase at the doors, a series of chairs at an upward incline surrounded the viewing area, the operating room lower than the theatre platform, surrounded by hermetically sealed tempered glass panes. The Leader sat down to where they would get the best view, the CEO and his guards sitting down as well, viewing the procedure.
They had an IV drip in his arm, the 'patient' already unconcious. The surgeons were preparing a custom ventilator, one of which was the size of a pair of lungs. The Leader grinned, knowing the development team had actually listened to his instructions instead of the deceased Head Engineer's.
"What's happening right now?" The CEO asked, confused by this procedure. The Leader cleared his throat, having rehearsed this to make it seem completely practical for their cause.
"With the suit we have been developing, so as to prepare for this unprecedented threat that is the demon-spawn, it will need to render our subject impervious to their attacks. Not only this, but it will need to be able to be battle-ready in any biome or environment that the battle could exist." The Leader began, the surgeons beginning to make incisions into the 'patient's' chest and trachea.
"First is the removal of the lungs. With a set of specially made ventilators, it will allow improved oxygenation of the blood while in higher altitudes or in a low-oxygen environment. First, the surgeons will feed the tube of the ventilators into the trachea, allowing the subject to breathe and still be able to eat for sustenance. After the ventilators are attached and operating, blood able to feed into it and become oxygenated and disperse to the rest of the body, the lungs are then removed." The Leader explained, the surgeons still working on making their incisions and cauterizing any bleeders that appear.
After the surgeons connected the trachea with the lung ventilators, they triggered the valve that allowed blood to circulate, blood circulating through a porous tube, becoming enriched with oxygen, and circulating through the rest of the body. After about thirty minutes of this going through without any hitches, they cauterized the lungs, removing them and placing the ventilators in their place, adding crossbeams into the chest to support the ventilators.
"This is rather ingenuous! I can already see the medical applications for this!" The CEO exclaimed, already feeling his pockets becoming heavier with cash!
"After the lungs are removed, the surgeons will move onto the heart. This will be replaced by a heart-like pneumatic pump, able to handle the stressors of combat and constant movement better than an organ, as well as being able to change the rate of blood flow in case of traumatic injuries." The Leader explained as the surgeons prepared for the next step of surgery.
"Just to ask, is there another reason for replacing the major organs with prosthetics?" The CEO asked. The Leader nodded, before the glass pane in front of them turned white, showing footage of Isaac in his Demonic Form, breathing Hellfire onto one of the drug dealers, disintegrating his entire front!
The CEO's eyes widened, now seeing that this perceived threat was real, and he was much closer than he had actually anticipated!
"Replacement of organic organs will reduce the effect of this new attack, ensuring our subject will still be able to fight with minimal damage." The Leader explained. As the screen dissipated, turning clear again, the surgeons were beginning to fix medical apparatuses onto the subject, needles being put into the subject in multiple spots into his back, the surgeons screwing the frame into his skeletal structure. The frame adhered to the contours of the subject, showing the suit was going to be a very close fit.
After controlling the bleeding, they began feeding tubes to the needles, attaching small dispensers able to fit along the frame of the apparatus. After testing the dispensers, finding them able to dispense the chemicals effectively, they began work on attaching the armored plates. The engineers began attaching the armored plates to the apparatus, using an arc welder to fuse the plates to the apparatus.
As they did this, the surgeons began fitting a catheter and a colostomy bag to the subject, the metal plates for the lower body being attached with bolts instead of being welded.
"Why the catheter and colostomy bag? Won't the subject be able to get out of the armor?" The CEO asked, beginning to be put off by the procedure.
"Don't be too concerned. This is to allow the subject to stay in the armor for prolonged periods of time. The armor for the lower body is using bolts to allow the plates to be taken off, so as to replace the bags when they get full. But the subject… is a rather special case. He's being put in the armor to conserve his life, hence the reason to replace his lungs and heart." The Leader lied, putting the CEO at ease.
"What about the needles put in him?" The CEO asked.
"Well, as you can imagine, the sensation of having the frame surgically grafted onto him and the prosthetics would be rather painful. The needles inject a powerful painkiller called ketamine at certain times, which in itself has been chemically modified. It has been tested to completely block all pain receptors, rendering him immune to pain. The medical apparatuses monitor how much is in his system, preventing accidental overdoses. But the chemical modification is for our own purposes. It contains phenylalanine alkaloids, known to be in peyote and other hallucinogenic plants." The Leader explained.
"Hallucinogens? Why?" He asked.
"It's to alleviate the mental effects of being in the suit, as well as to hardwire his brain to be, how you say, compliant to us. Of course, to be honest, we have found a few… side-effects with prolonged exposures." The Leader said.
"Such as?" He asked.
"Delusions of a religious nature, out-of-body experiences, general confusion. Of course, testing should help us iron out the kinks." The Leader explained.
Before the CEO could ask anything else, the surgeons removed the IV drip from the subjects arm, beginning the last assembly to allow the subject to recover. They closed the chest cavity, stapling everything together. The engineers put the chest plate into place, using bolts to secure it. After doing so, they placed the helmet over his head, the helmet hermetically sealing itself onto the suit. The monitor above the operating room began showing a disinfection cycle.
"Right now, the suit is generating the UV lights in the suit to kill viruses and bacteria that may have been present during assembly. This is creating a sanitized environment in the suit, greatly reducing the risk of infection. This will also reduce the risk of the subject getting sick while wearing the suit." The Leader explained.
The CEO was amazed by this, seeing not only the medical applications of all of this, but also how he could sell this to the military! If they could, his eyes would've become dollar signs at the sight of this endeavor! The surgeons lowered the subject back down onto the gurney, wheeling the subject to the recovery room. The Leader got out of his seat, the CEO and the guards doing so as well.
"Now, we wait for the subject to regain consciousness. While we wait… how about some lunch? My treat." The Leader asked, leading back towards the staircase.
"I'll eat anything, as long as you've got scotch to go with it." The CEO responded, his guards following him.
6 Hours Later:
The Leader, the CEO, and the troupe of guards entered the Demonstration Room, sitting down behind a wall of bulletproof glass. The Second Lead Engineer was with them, controlling the monitors that would show what equipment was being tested.
"Demonstration one is ready. I repeat, the Archangel Project is ready for demonstration one." The Lead Engineer announced over the system, heavy metal doors opening in the testing chamber. The subject walked into the chamber, looking around. The armor was completely decked out, showing a white and gold color pattern. The monitor soon turned on, showing part of the suit's functions.
"First part of the demonstration is the HUD scanning feature. This allows for facial recognition, making it easier to differentiate between enemy and ally in the heat of the battle. This has three different modes: Thermal, Night Vision, and Standard." The Engineer explained, the monitors showing what the subject was seeing.
The Subject looked up towards those viewing, switching between different modes. He could see their pulse rates, showing that they were calm.
"The HUD also has the ability to tap into the Public Record database wirelessly, allowing the user to be able to positively identify their targets. This is to reduce the risk of false identifications." The Engineer explained, before hitting a button on the panel.
Barriers suddenly popped from the ground, sentry turrets exiting from the ceiling! They began firing at the Subject, him quickly taking cover!
"Being the superior choice in ballistic protection, each armored plate is layered with an impact gel layer on the inside, reducing the effectiveness of ballistic impacts." The Engineer said, before lowering the barriers.
The bullets from the sentries began hitting the Subject, but none of them could even dent the armor! Soon, the Subject caught on, beginning to walk towards the sentries.
"The metal alloy used creates a small electrical field, affecting the impact of the bullet. With this technology, the armor is able to withstand impacts from rounds as powerful as .50 cal. Of course, for testing purposes, we will not be testing anything larger than .50 caliber." The Engineer explained, before the sentries retracted back into the ceiling.
As the Subject began surveying the demonstration room, the entire room was engulfed in flames, jets of fire firing from the floor! After about twenty seconds, the flames dissipated, revealing the Subject as being unharmed, the armor not even showing signs of damage!
"To combat this new, ruthless ability, which seems to disintegrate organic materials, we have tempered the armor to be able to withstand temperatures reaching up to the same intensity as the surface of the Sun! The internal climate control inside the suit keeps a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature for optimal comfort." The Engineer explained, moving onto the next step of testing.
A panel in the floor opened up, a heavily modified hoverboard lifting from it. The Subject quickly leaped onto the board, as if already knowing how to use it! The board was designed like the wings of a glider, almost like a pair of bat wings! The board began moving forward, the weight shifted onto the balls of the feet being how the board moved. The Subject's foot shifted onto a panel on the board, the board gaining altitude.
"This was developed from a previous project: Project Artemis. This provides fast and efficient transportation, solely powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells. The Artemis is equipped with sub-caliber machine guns, able to achieve a firing rate of 20,000 rounds per minute." The Engineer introduced, pressing a button.
Three targets, shaped like humans, popped from the floor, lighting up. The Subject aimed the machineguns on the Artemis, a quick shift of weight activating the weapons! The rounds tore through the targets, rendering them into scrap in mere moments!
"I'd buy that for a dollar." The Engineer commented, cracking a bit of a joke.
"I'd buy that for a billion!" The CEO exclaimed, practically drooling over the demonstration!
"And of course, no matter how careful someone is, they're bound to be injured while in the suit. While I myself will not attempt to injure the Subject, so as to preserve the integrity of the suit, the gel layer reacts to the elements found in blood. When the suit monitors blood loss, it activates an inflation in the localized gel layer, causing it to act as a tourniquet. This will control bleeding, allowing the Subject to continue fighting, as well as to be able to remain able-bodied to return to base for first-aid." The Engineer explained, pulling out a small sample of the gel layer from his pocket.
He produced a small vial of blood, unscrewing the cap. He poured some of it onto the gel layer sample, almost instantly swelling up!
"And before we conclude the demonstration, we have one more weapon to test." He said, revealing a small metal ball from his pocket, the size of a baseball.
"This here is merely a prop, since holding onto the real one has high probability to burn the skin off of your hand. This is called a demon-killer. This is filled with compressed silver nitrate and explosive gasses. Upon detonation, this will coat whoever is unfortunate enough to be within a twenty-foot radius of these in silver nitrate. And if it's a demon, this will cause the equivalent of fourth-degree burns!" The Engineer explained, pressing another button.
A small table came up from the floor, one of the demon-killers on the surface. The Subject held onto it, smoke emitting from the surface of the metal ball! The Subject quickly threw it, the bomb detonating upon impact with the opposite wall, a shower of powdered silver nitrate coating part of the room!
"That does it for testing, everyone! But remember, we are always creating the next innovation to achieve the ultimate goal of complete demon eradication, so updates to our projects are almost guaranteed!" The Engineer concluded, the Subject walking back through to the heavy metal doors he had walked through.
The CEO and his guards arose from their seats, the Leader of the Order of Honorius doing the same.
"Have to admit, you have surpassed all of my expectations for this innovation of military and medical ware! I can already see it being available to many different militaries within the next ten years!" The CEO exclaimed. This statement caused the Leader to frown, not liking what he heard.
"Available? No. This is our innovation, Lester. We're not going to be letting this out for other people to use. This is our sole weapon that can finally turn the tide against the onslaughts brought onto us by G.U.N." The Leader explained, using the CEO's first name.
"What?! You used our funds! Our resources! We provided you the means to fix our problem! Not to declare war on the United Federation's military!" Lester exclaimed.
"Those funds you used; they weren't given to you! They were loaned! If anything, unless you can pay for the resources you used, your innovation belongs to the Mobian Trading Company!" Lester revealed. The Leader's eyes widened, realizing he was in debt to the one that had hired them 8 years ago!
"You trickster! You told us to figure out how to kill the demon-spawn! And we did! So, this means it belongs to us!" The Leader exclaimed. Lester shook his head, beginning to smirk.
"The resources we sell you is yours. But last I recall, the funds and resources you have requested were not paid for at all! In fact, I myself have said I was lending you funds and resources! That means it acts as a loan. So, unless you can pay back the Mobian Trading Company for what we lent you, your innovation acts as collateral!" Lester explained.
"But… but we can't pay that back! The resources and funds you gave us were more than anything we had!" The Leader exclaimed. Lester smiled, knowing he had the upper hand in their deal.
"I didn't become the shrewd businessman I am today by playing fair, Francis. We will still sell you our resources for the next twelve years, but there is no way in Hell I am going to let you hog this innovation to your Order! So, when you kill Isaac with this thing, get ready to give it back to who truly owns it!" Lester explained, walking towards the exit.
As they walked away, Francis' hand slowly went to his pistol, the urge to kill Lester becoming all-consuming! But after taking a few breathes, he took his hand away from his holster, knowing that would ruin the chances of them having a constant source of resources. He looked back to the demonstration room, imagining Lester being in there, torn apart by submachinegun bullets! It was the only thing he could do to keep his bloodlust entertained… for now.