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Chapter 16:- Heroes Aren't Born, They're Made.
The blackness slowly faded away.
Victor felt his heavy eyelid open slowly and the world around him came into focus. He was strapped to an upright metal bed with 3 solid steel bands around his neck, waist, and knees. He was in a room, filled with an odd mix of medical equipment and shop tools. He couldn't move his arms or his legs and his entire body felt twenty times heavier than it should have been.
Then he heard a slight hum, and felt a small jolt of electricity rush through his body. And in the blink of his eye, everything changed.
Green circles covered his vision, circling every object in the room, along with statistics, words and other useless data. A mechanical voice echoed in his head.
"Black & Decker chainsaw. Seventh model. Made in Taiwan. Max speed of 170 miles per hour at 250 revs per minute. Runs on unleaded and leaded fuel. Fatal if used effectively. Threat level: Intermediate."
Vic felt his neck twitch, and immediately shook his head in disbelief.
"Phillips screwdriver. Twenty-first model. Made in the United States. Cross-head tip with a diameter of 6 millimeters. Length of six and a half inches. Hardly any penetration. Threat level: Zero."
Vic yelled out, willing the voice out of his head.
"Standard N.H.S. Defibrillator. Second model. Made in Great Britain. Maximum voltage of 350 volts. Possible system overload if used correctly. Threat level: Major."
Vic's head ached with pain, he made to grasp his head, bursting through the solid steel bands that held him in place. He put his hands on his head, and felt skin with one hand, and steel with the other. He stopped yelling, and looked in horror at his hands. He stared at two enormous metal fists, his wrist covered in dials and meters, and a blue light issuing from his entire forearm.
"Nooo!" he yelled, his voice barbaric in tone.
Mr. Stone burst through the door. "Vic?" he said anxiously. "What's wrong?"
"What the hell have you done to me? And why is there a voice in my head that sounds like Angelina Jolie?"
"I saved you, Vic…"
"What?"
"You died, Vic. Now you are reborn," he hit a button on the nearby wall and the remaining two belts that strapped Vic in place retracted immediately. Vic walked over to the mirror that his father indicated. "As something much more."
Vic stared in horror as he beheld what he had become a hideous fusion of man and machine. His entire body was robotic with the exceptions of about half of his face and small parts of his arms. Blue lights illuminated his entire body and a robotic red eye glowed on the robotic side of his face.
"I gave you all of the latest equipment…" Mr. Stone said excitedly. "Top of the line in bionic technology. Your biological muscles were deteriorating, so I lined them with steel fiber optics that shoot electrical signals into them. As a result, your reactions are ten times quicker and you can lift about three-hundred times your original carrying capacity."
Vic continued to stare in the mirror.
"Plus I've installed brand new sonic technology into your arm, basically allowing you to transform your forearm into a powerful sonic cannon. Which in turn can unleash a beam that creates a thirty-thousand decibel pulse, capable of making anything vibrate to such an extent they literally destroy themselves. And, of course, there's an easy way to tone down the decibel rate."
"Why did you do this to me?"
"Oh and I've installed missile packs into your shoulder plates, and an extendable chainsaw into your right arm."
"SHUT UP DAD!!!" Vic yelled turning to his father.
Mr. Stone immediately stopped talking about Vic's new body and asked quietly: "Why are you mad son? Look at what I've done to you. Not only did I give you a second chance in life… but I've also given you an incredible body that you could battle Superman with!"
"Is that what this about?" yelled Vic angrier than ever. "I'm supposed to be your frickin' bodyguard from all the dangerous superheroes? So you don't have to keep a piece of kryptonite in your desk drawer for when he comes to shut your god-dang corrupt organization down for good? Huh?"
Vic paused, just for a moment, then continued. "No… This was so I could see my son again…" He reached up for Vic's face in an affectionate gesture.
"Don't give me all that crap Dad!" Vic walked away from his father and to the middle of the room before turning back to his father. "Tell me, Dad. Was the first trial of your 'cyborg' experiment successful?"
Vic opened his mouth to say something, then gave up and bowed his head.
"Yeah. That's what I thought. I'm a god-dang experiment to you." He turned away and looked down at his arm and meant to crack it, but it ended up transforming into the sonic cannon his father had talked about.
"Sonic cannon engaged," said Angelina Jolie inside his head.
"Let me tell you something Dad. It failed." He turned back to his father and leveled the sonic cannon in the old man's direction. "Because I'll never let you do this to anyone ever again!"
"Vic… I'm your father…"
Vic scowled, spun and fired the cannon, which smashed the giant computer in the room as the pieces erupted into flame.
"NO!" yelled Mr. Stone at the top of his voice, as he watched his computer burn.
Vic turned and pummeled the bench he'd been sitting in with his fist, and it broke clean in two, then he turned to the walls lined with delicate equipment and machinery. "Missiles," he muttered and almost immediately his shoulders split open and launched eight missiles in the direction of the walls, which immediately smashed as the machinery broke into flame.
He turned back to his father. "There you go Dad. Now you have nothing."
"I have… you…"
"Yeah… You could use me as blueprints for a second model, but you're not going to see me again. I'm gonna become what you've always hated." He walked slowly towards his father and looked him in the eye. "I'm gonna fight people like you who would use innocents for their own means. And I'll be sure to send them your personal regards."
"You'll never survive Vic. You've nowhere to go… Stay. Stay with me."
"I'll find somewhere. And I'll try to make someone's life better, not worse… like you intended me too."
"Metallic object detected in subject's left shirt pocket," said the voice in Vic's head.
"Miss Jolie tells me you have something in your pocket Dad." He fingered the shirt pocket and pulled out a small blue disc. "Oh. I better keep these plans Dad. Don't want you rebuilding the stuff."
The door burst open and Wilson ran in. He ran up to Mr. Stone and pushed him behind his muscular form.
"Careful Wilson. You'll be next."
Vic turned and walked to the massive holes in the walls caused by the missiles. He made them wider with his sonic cannon, before he morphed his arm back, and looked out into the huge city beyond. "Goodbye Dad. Don't expect a postcard," he said calmly before leaping into the skyline, jumping from building to building.
"Should we pursue him, sir?" asked Wilson.
Mr. Stone stood up and smiled. "Not yet. My son is bold, yet foolish and that will be his ultimate downfall. The boy's forgotten he'll need to be recharged soon as his batteries will run dead, then we can reclaim him easily." He pulled a device from his desk drawer, and indicated to Wilson the flashing red dot that indicated Vic's location. "And also, he will lead us straight to the green boy and his female friend… And S.T.A.R. Labs will not only own the patents on 'cyborg' technology, but also the ability to morph into animals and whatever weaponry we can manufacture out of the girl's powers. We'll be rich beyond belief."
"If I may say so sir, these children avoided capture from a fully armed squadron of police officers. How do we capture and detain them?"
"Well, that's where my son was correct, Wilson."
"Excuse me, sir?"
"You'll be next," Mr. Stone said with an evil grin spreading across his face.
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There you go… And now with every Titan established, it's time to move on and establish a villain or two. And perhaps a special bond between a villain and a hero???