Reagan stared ahead with weary eyes when a drop of water fell down on the corner of his little cage. His "carriage" as his superiors would jokingly call it, for whenever he was deployed to his next mission for the Red Army. It was dark inside the crate he's confined in; being jostled around like unimportant cargo. The air was hot and overwhelmingly airless, with just a few small holes doting the ceiling, beams of light shining through them, so he wouldn't suffocate and die. Which would be such a tremendous shame for the Red Army if that were to happen.
The occasional droplet of water would slip and fall inside, and Reagan would learn forward to stoop down and take a sip from the accumulated puddle. It was hard to move around when you are stuck in a tiny box and heavily restrained in chains.
From far away, Reagan's enhanced sensitive hearing picked up the rumble of thunder in the distance. They were heading straight into the storm.
He didn't know how long he'd been in this box.
After spending five long boring and painful years imprisoned in a laboratory, forcefully fading in and out of consciousness as his mentally demented captors tested the limits of his body and powers, Reagan had given up on time as a concept.
He much rather be in this tiny cage than anywhere near that crazy scientist. At least here he wasn't being dissected and skinned alive for the fun of it!
Reagan chuckled quietly behind the steel muzzle forcefully clamping his mouth shut.
"We have our orders from General Erica." Someone said close by. Their voice was deep and rough, with an arrogant air to it laced with authority. "We are to escort test subject #1827 to the German border and figure out the source of the strange attacks."
Reagan couldn't help but snort at that. These soldiers were so clueless. Did they really think they were going to find out anything by keeping a close eye on him?
"First we're going to stop by briefly in Stavanger and pick up the rest of the assigned agents, and move on to our final destination from there." Said a more feminine voice, calm and collected.
Not if I can help it. Reagan narrowed his eyes in the darkness as drool slicked through his muzzle and dripped down his face.
At some point the whirring of the chopper's blades and the constant turbulence shaking his cage had stopped and Reagan presumed they had touched down on the aforementioned base.
Reagan leaned to the right and pressed his ear against the cage wall to listen for more clues.
"Do you expect trouble wherever you're going?" Asked a stern, uncompromising voice. A Lieutenant, if Reagan had to guess.
"If he is involved, then we can never be too careful." Said the arrogant soldier from earlier. "We need our best agents in this case. Whoever is messing with the Red Army has made a grave mistake, and we're going to teach them a lesson."
"Very well." Retorted the Lieutenant. "I'll call the ones General Erica appointed for this mission."
A pause, and Reagan heard the man bounding off. A few moments later there was shuffling and several pairs of footsteps drawing closer to his position.
"Autumns." The first soldier said condescendingly. "I'm surprised the General picked you for such an important mission."
"A mission?" One of the newcomers, Autumns, echoed with a genuine air of surprise. So much so that they didn't even react to the clear hostility they were met with. "Where to, sir?"
"We're investigating the recent attacks on our minor bases. We're escorting the secret weapon to Germany because we have reason to suspect the culprit behind these attacks is targeting it specifically." Reagan heard the man step closer and slap the roof of his cage as he talked.
"Really? Me, sir?" Excitement made Autumns voice quiver. "Thank you for this opportunity, sir! I won't let you down!"
"Don't get too excited." The arrogant soldier growled. "If it were up to me I would have chosen someone else to come along in your place. Don't forget I am in charge of this operation here, Autumns. That means you do exactly as I tell you, and nothing more. Are we clear?"
Mocking laughter rang in the hangar and Autumns' voice was considerably less excited now as they muttered a quiet. "Yes, sir."
Reagan rolled his eyes. Classic higher ranking soldier who bullies lower ranks to do his bidding. A case he'd seen many times in his life. People who are on top of things will always pick on those below them. Why wouldn't they? They are the powerful ones. They can easily get away with this. There is nothing that says they can't.
His shoulders slouched. That's all he ever wanted. To be on the very top of things so that no one could ever harm him again.
"Things didn't turn out quite the way you wanted to, eh? ~" Teased the voice in his head.
When Reagan wasn't too busy being physically tortured in the lab, he was being mentally harassed by a disembodied jerk who thinks just because he is in chains that he is helpless and ripe for the taking. Jokes on them, Reagan doesn't know when to quit.
The instant he is out of this goddamned cage and free of these chains, Reagan is going after the forsaken scientists and Red Leader to finish what he started all those years ago. And no voice is going to take over his body for their own bidding until his vengeance is completed!
"Just give up already! ~" The voice hissed, phantom hands slowly trailing down his spine. "You know your little plan won't work. It's been five years and you have made no progress! Even if you somehow escape, how will you get close to Red again without getting right back where you started? ~"
Because this time there won't be an eyeless freak standing in my way. Reagan thought with amusement as more drool seeped from the gaps of his muzzle, and dripped down his face and onto his chains with a sizzling splat.
The conversing soldiers next to him became background noise as he focused on melting his restraints with his poisonous saliva he'd accumulated in his mouth throughout the course of his journey. His tail twitched impatiently around him, and his horns scraped the top of the cage as he was forced to duck his head to fit in.
Suddenly, a very faint high pitch screech made his head snap up and bang his horns on the top of the cage. Reagan narrowed his eyes and focused, straining his hearing on that specific noise that was drawing ever so closer.
Sniffing the air he thought he could smell… nuclear energy.
His eyes widened and he quickly ducked into a tight ball as the whole base exploded into smithereens.
Panic.
Screaming.
For a highly technological military base it was surprisingly easy to destroy with just one blow.
Luckily for Reagan, he was contained inside an impenetrable, stainless steel crate that shielded him from the blast for the most part. Reagan hissed as the sparks of nuclear energy fizzed around him and grazed his skin when his cage fell apart. His powers thrummed and dulled significantly when exposed to the nuclear energy surrounding him, and he was forced back into his human form.
Wasting no time, Reagan hurriedly shuffled away from the commotion; not batting an eye at all the injured and dead soldiers that once were his fellow comrades sprawled around him – some buried in debris, others charred from the force of the blast, and a few limping here and there. The whole place promptly ready to collapse on itself.
It was hard to move in his still intact chains as Reagan made a run for it. Everyone was far too busy with this unexpected attack to pay mind to their secret weapon running away.
He limped forward as the dust began to settle. No one tried to stop him. Not exactly the brilliant great escape he'd been planning on all these years bidding his time, but Reagan is not one to complain when things go his way.
Whoever just attacked the base and freed him in the process has his immense gratitude.
Whatever that was worth.
Up ahead Reagan could see the faintest glimmer of sky in the debris. He picked up his pace. A fresh breeze ruffled his wild blond locks and he detected the faint scent of rain and earth underneath the overbearing smells of copper and ash.
He burst out into the open. Gray rain laden clouds blotted out the sun overhead as a small drizzle thundered down around him. Reagan lifted his head, appreciating the cool breeze and the rain on his face. When was the last time he'd been out in the open like this?
In the far distance, he spotted houses and tall buildings dotting the landscape. The city! Reagan was finally free after all these years of suffering, and he was going to make the most of it.
Starting with picking up his revenge where he last left off.
He hurried his step, which was hard to do in chains, and aimed for the safety of the city. Reagan won't have long before the Red Army notices his absence in the wreckage and track him down.
Little did he know, he was already being followed by a shady figure not too far behind him.
(Meanwhile…)
Traveling north for several days, Tom had finally made it to Norway. From his brief stop to help in the Netherlands, he traveled around the coast all the way to Denmark, where he boarded a ferry and made his way to Sweden on his Harley, and then crossed the border just a few hours ago. Now he'd stopped by a stream to stretch his legs and refill his canteen.
Every step closer to the heart of Red Army territory brought forth an uncomfortable, jittery sensation in the pit of Tom's stomach.
Don't get him wrong; part of him was genuinely excited to see him again, but another part was filled with nothing but dread at the thought of encountering him face to face after all these years.
However, if this is where the meek little voice inside his head wants him to go, then Tom will just have to take the risk in exchange for answers.
Ceasing his actions, Tom let himself stop and take in his surroundings.
It's impressive how intact the land remained despite the ongoing war, but it is to be expected that not everywhere would be affected the same way. If he were to just stay here in the woods Tom wouldn't even guess there was a war currently going on.
For a brief moment, Tom was almost tempted to settle down right here in the woods and wait a few years until he caught wind that the war was finally over.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath of clean, fresh air; and listened to the world around him.
He could hear birds chirping up on the overarching branches high above him. A herd of deer treaded carefully not too far away…
Explosions in the distance made Tom's eyes snap open unexpectedly, followed by screaming. Lots of screaming.
Help… help me! ~ Cried the little faint voice in his head.
Jumping to his feet, Tom tipped his head, trying to pinpoint where the source of the screaming was coming from when a pretty big hint smacked him in the face as he looked up. A huge cloud of smoke was billowing into the air a good distance away. Perhaps a whole day of traveling away, maybe a few hours at most if he hurries now.
Tom narrowed his digital eyes against the curtain of smoke. This is Red Army territory. Were they under attack? No… he couldn't hear any more explosions and he certainly didn't see planes soaring overhead. This was something else.
He mounted his Harley, revved it up, and sped off towards the explosion sight.