Here is Chapter 2. I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to review and add any comments you have.
A series of alarms were blaring, sending people scurrying all over the building. In a secret location, not known to anyone other than the employees who worked there, people were panicking. There had been a sudden spike in gamma radiation, detected. This was highly unusual in the location of the spike, as there were no known laboratories using this level of gamma in their experiments.
General John Braymar marched into the command centre and headed straight over to the main control desk, where a nervous operator sat, ready to give over the information on what was happening.
"Details…" came the curt comment from the General.
General Braymar was known as a man of very few words and expected a succinct response to any of his questions.
"General, sir," the operator started. "We have detected a huge spike of gamma radiation in Mt Vernon, Ohio. It lasted for about 5 minutes, and then it seemed to stop, but there is some lingering radiation that seems to have moved around the town. It is centred on three areas specifically."
The General listened carefully to what was being said, no visible signs showing on his face, to tell the operator what he was thinking about this information.
"Gamma radiation, eh. The use of gamma in this concentration was banned thirty years ago after the Banner incident. Have any companies in that area been given a licence to use gamma on this scale?"
"No, sir," came the short response.
"Well, it seems like we need to investigate immediately."
"There is a team on their way now. They will be ready to infiltrate within the hour."
"Good. Keep me updated."
The General turned and walked off to an office at the back of the command centre. The wall adjacent to the command centre was completely glass, so the occupants could monitor what was going on at all times. He sat down at the desk and stared out at the wall of screens on the command centre's opposite wall. Data was streaming across them, telling of the gamma spike and the location of the infiltration team.
Ever since the accident that had caused the genius Doctor Bruce Banner to turn into the Hulk, the world's governments had regulated the use of gamma radiation heavily. They wanted to reduce the chance of that happening again. Doctor Banner had joined the Avengers and helped to save the world on many occasions, but he was also unpredictable and often lost control of his Hulk side. People didn't want to take the chance that another person, who maybe even more uncontrollable, could become like the Hulk.
Satellites had been sent into space to monitor the Earth and the radiation levels spread across it. Any anomalies were raised, and it was the task of this building to investigate and neutralise any dangerous situations. The spike detected in Mt Vernon was the largest ever recorded since Banner, so this warranted a major investigation.
Unbeknownst to what was now going on, Kevin, Aimee and Chase had made their way back up to the main house and shut the door to the cellar behind them. Kevin retrieved some fresh clothes for all three of them. Fortunately, he had some old clothes he had grown out of that were right for Chase, and there were also some old clothes of his mum's for Aimee.
They had decided to part for the evening and regroup the next day to work out what was going on. Was what happened a one-off, or where they now monsters forever?
Kevin was sat on his bed, just staring at the wall opposite; many thoughts spiralling through his head. Questions upon questions floated over his eyes, but no answers were available. He didn't want to risk turning into the green thing again, but he couldn't deny that he was intrigued as to how it all worked.
The thoughts were screaming too loudly now. He needed some answers. Kevin jumped off of his bed and bounded over to his computer. Opening up a browser, he spent the next half an hour researching Bruce Banner and his alter ego. Over the time he did his research, Kevin learned some interesting details. It seemed that Doctor Banner did turn into the Hulk when he lost his temper, and he spent a long time practising how to control his feelings and then, in turn, control the Hulk. This meant that his transformations went from random and uncontrollable times, to mostly when it suited Doctor Banner and his situation.
Kevin sat back in his seat and placed his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. He was still scared and didn't quite feel that he had processed the evening's events fully. There was probably a delayed reaction on its way. He had to admit that when he was in his own Hulk form, it was freeing. The strength that he had felt was amazing. He liked to work out occasionally in the gym in the garage and over the last few months his muscle mass had increased, but nothing like earlier. Kevin had looked in the mirror again as he got changed into fresh clothes. He could swear that his body fat had reduced. His skin seemed to sit tighter over his body, making the muscles more toned and defined. It wasn't much, but it was noticeable.
Kevin needed a drink, so he heaved himself up and went down to the kitchen. His muscles were still shaking from their trauma, so he took it slowly. It hadn't helped when he'd bounded to his computer and shaken them up.
He opened the fridge and pulled out a large bottle of orange juice. Setting it down on the counter, Kevin reached for a glass, ready to pour the amber liquid into.
At that very moment, outside of the house, there were half a dozen figures, clad in black, moving around the perimeter of the property. They were armed with weapons and were training them on the building. The leader quietly barked a series of instructions into their headset. The team moved forward. They had identified the entrances and exits and were about to make sure they wouldn't be able to be used by anyone they didn't want to. Each figure attached a device onto the side of every window and door on the ground floor and above their heads, the quietest drones in the world sank down from the sky and trained a series of weapons on the upper floor.
A wave of the hand and the team made their strike. The front and side doors burst open and the team streamed into the house. They moved forwards, guns always raised in front of their faces.
In the kitchen, Kevin had heard the noise but didn't know what to do. He was frozen to the spot, the bottle of orange juice in his hand and the liquid now pouring over the sides of the glass. It flowed down onto the counter top and off to the floor, going over his feet, but even that didn't make him move. The next moment, the black clad figures came into the room, the lights on their guns shining in his face and their shouts telling him to get down onto his knees, with his hands behind his head.
Kevin didn't react at first, but soon found himself putting the bottle down and sinking to the ground and doing what he was told. The leader of the group came up to him and stood looking down at the teen. They reached up and removed their mask. Underneath was the face of Agent Amanda Greentack, trained in the fiercest combat techniques. She was ruthless in her determination to make each mission a success.
"Who are you?" She asked Kevin.
"Um," Kevin stuttered. "My name is Kevin."
"Kevin who?" Came the curt reply.
"Kevin Lee."
"Where are your parents?" Agent Greentack asked.
"They're out for the evening. Sorry, who are you?"
"I'm Agent Greentack and I am here because of unauthorised use of gamma radiation. We have detected a large spike of the radiation centred on this property about an hour ago. Were your parents still here then?"
"Um, no they weren't. It was just me," Kevin part lied and part told the truth.
"Are you sure you were alone?" Agent Greentack. "We also have two other readings of high level gamma radiation that have moved away from this property. There are teams ready to take them also."
"Okay, I wasn't alone. I had two friends with me. Please don't hurt them," he pleaded.
"We won't hurt them, as long as they comply with our inquiries. Tell me, what were you doing with gamma radiation?"
"I don't know," Kevin said.
"What do you mean, you don't know? How could you not know?"
"Because I don't. We managed to break into my parent's cellar and down there was this weird room and a machine in the centre of it. I pressed a couple of buttons on the machine and thought I had turned it off, but then it activated."
"You were in the room when it went off? How you are still here now? You should be dead with that level of radiation!"
Kevin didn't really want to tell her the whole truth. If he did, would they lock him, Aimee and Chase up as monsters? Would they be taken away and dissected?
"I'm waiting Kevin," Agent Greentack said impatiently.
She doesn't have a great bedside manner, Kevin thought to himself.
"I was in the room, yes. I still don't fully know what happened."
He could feel himself beginning to get a little panicked now, more so than before. There was a tingling sensation on the back of his neck.
"Take us to the room," demanded Agent Greentack. "Slowly get to your feet and keep your hands where we can see them."
Kevin rose slowly, his knees trembling. He was careful to not step into the large puddle of orange juice that lay across the floor. At least he hadn't been wearing socks when the liquid had spilled. That was one sensation he really hated against his skin, wet socks.
He lead the team to where the cellar door was and pulled back the secret book. The door once again clicked open. Agent Greentack held Kevin back as one of the other operatives moved forward and pushed the door open, revealing the stairwell. That was when Kevin was then pushed forward and made to go down first. The walk down to the steel door at the end, felt like an age, even though the distance was relatively short.
"How does the door open?" Agent Greentack asked.
"I'm not sure. I just touched it earlier and it slid back," came the nervous reply.
"Well then, do it again."
Kevin gave in to the demand and did what he had earlier. Once again, the door opened and revealed the strange room, this time no longer in a pristine state, but with the destruction the three teenagers had wrought earlier.
"This is the machine that emitted the gamma?" Asked Agent Greentack.
"Yes it is," Kevin answered quietly.
Agent Greentack went over to the console and looked it over, processing what she saw. Then she walked around the platform, staring up at the three arms hanging down, with their trio of disks that pointed into the centre.
"Fascinating," she breathed. She turned to look at Kevin and then back at the machine. "How did you survive this? There is no way your body should have coped with that level of radiation."
"Ma'am, there are what looks like shredded clothes over here," one of the operatives called over, holding up the remnants of Chase's top.
The tingling sensation on Kevin's neck had returned and was getting more pronounced.
"You will have to come in with us and so will your friends. We need to know what happened."
That was when the tingling peaked even more.
"Oh no," Kevin breathed out, suddenly.
"What is it?" Agent Greentack asked, whipping her head round to him, her long brunette hair waving round her head.
"I think you might want to go," Kevin said. "I don't know what is about to happen next."
"Are you threatening us? You realise there are six people in here with guns?"
"Just go!" Kevin suddenly shouted.
Agent Greentack and her team watched what happened next, with a mixture of horror and fascination.
Kevin's skin began to bubble again, his muscles immediately inflating to at least 5 times their normal size. Green colour worked its way across his skin, as his body began to grow. His clothes grew tighter against his skin, tears forming where they could take the strain no more. Eventually his shirt gave way and fell to the floor in shreds. His hair blackened and he finally stood about 1 and a half times his original height. His muscles bubbled a final time and the transformation stopped. He was the monster again. This time it felt slightly different. Not only had it been a quicker transition, but there was something else in his head. A more animalistic instinct was there. He still felt in control, but there was this urge to attack.
The Agent and her team were rooted to their places and it took a moment to come to their senses. That was when one of them decided to take shots at Kevin. The bullets ricocheted off of Kevin's now thickened skin and bounced down to the concrete floor with a clatter. This caused the animalistic side in Kevin's head to roar louder and this in turn also came from his throat. Kevin's body shuddered again and he grew at least another foot and a half taller, his muscles gaining more bulk. He now had very little control over what he did next.
Kevin charged towards the operative that had shot him, hitting things out of his way as he went. He got to the operative, who had fallen down onto their knees in fear of the monster. Before Kevin could pick him up, a strong pull stopped him. He tried to turn around, but he found a series of ropes had been wrapped around his torso. Agent Greentack and other operatives had shot what looked like a harpoon around him and they were holding on for dear life, preventing him from attacking the other one. With a roar of frustration, Kevin reached down to the ropes and ripped them away will all his strength and sent several of the operatives flying. He then turned and charged towards Agent Greentack, who niftily jumped out of the way, meaning Kevin went barrelling into the machine, tearing two of the arms down from the ceiling. This sent sparks flying down to the ground too. Kevin couldn't stop his momentum and went crashing into the glass panes, bringing shards of sharp glass raining down all over him.
Agent Greentack stood up slowly and looked over at the broken window, hoping that Kevin was down. It wasn't to be. With another roar, Kevin came bounding back into the circular room, landing with a crash and thump in the centre of the platform. It buckled under his weight, more sparks flying around. He stood, breathing deeply and panting, staring at Agent Greentack. She in turn just looked straight back at him.
"Kevin, come on. We need to take you in. We need to determine what has happened and if there is a way we can help you. We won't hurt you, if you don't hurt us. Come on, calm down."
Her words burrowed into Kevin's mind and deep down his human side understood what needed to be done. The only question was, would the monster relinquish control? He began to calm down, watching the Agent and her friends carefully. Greentack motioned for the guns to be lowered and everyone to step back slowly, so as to reduce the confrontation. Kevin's human side began to climb through his mind, growing stronger and stronger, reducing his wild side. Slowly he sank to the ground and within about a minute, his body shrank back down, the muscles and bones clicking and snapping back into place.
It took another minute before Agent Greentack dared to speak.
"Kevin, will you come with us?" She asked calmly and quietly.
He looked up at her and saw there was a flash of concern and genuine worry across her face. Clearly she hadn't expected what just happened.
"Yes. I'll come," he replied.
"We need your friends too. We don't want them causing any unnecessary harm to others. We can work with you, help you learn what you've become. You'll need to help us convince them to come with us."
Kevin nodded and slowly rose to his feet.
"How am I going to explain this to my parents?"
"Don't worry about that," Agent Greentack said, giving a sly nod to one of her companions, who then moved off to get something. "Let's go."
Kevin walked over to the Agent and they moved out of the room and back into the corridor. They arrived back into the house and an operative was sent to retrieve some fresh clothes and shoes for Kevin to change into. They then left the house and headed over to a large black vehicle, where they got inside. As they drove off, Agent Greentack spoke again.
"Do it," she said.
There was a sudden rumble under the ground and the vehicle bounce around as a tremor moved down the road.
"What did you just do?" Kevin asked.
"We have destroyed the machine. We don't want anymore problems caused by it," Agent Greentack replied, curtly.
They then sat in silence as they drove the short distance to Chase's house. Kevin just sat there wondering what was going to happen now. What was happening to his life? Was anything ever going to be the same again? Why did his parents have this thing under their house and how much would they know when they got home and saw it all destroyed? Questions and more questions. Would any of the answers come and if so, how soon?