Sorry, it's been a while. Work has been very busy. Enjoy chapter 3.
There were no disasters as the group including Agent Greentack and Kevin went to visit Chase and Aimee. The agent was able to calmly convince each teen's parents that they needed to go with her, though Kevin wasn't entirely sure how, as he was left in the vehicle, with an armed guard watching his every move. They didn't want to risk him transforming again.
Chase was the first to join them and as he saw Kevin, he gave him a confused look, as if asking why they were there. Kevin responded by shaking his head, suggesting they shouldn't talk yet and he'd explain later. The same reaction happened when Aimee was collected. The trio sat in silence as they were driven off, they knew not where.
After a drive that lasted about twenty minutes, they pulled into the local airfield, where a plane stood waiting, its engines on, ready to go when everyone was safely stowed on board.
The plane's wheels led the tarmac and they were on their way, hurtling through the air. It was the first time that Aimee and Chase had been on an aircraft before. Their families preferred to holiday in places that were easily drivable to, rather than taking an expensive flight. They were all beginning to wonder if they were going to stay in the United States.
The flight wasn't long. Kevin, Aimee and Chase found themselves being marched off of the plane and into the back of another blacked-out vehicle and driven away, at close to top speed down the highway. No one talked to each other as they continued their journey. The only communication was through a series of coded looks the trio gave one another, some of which they didn't all understand.
The car drove up to a set of large metal gates, that had a watchtower/guard box to the lefthand side. After an identification check, the gate moved open and the car continued its drive down a long, empty road. After about 5 minutes, a large modern-looking building came into view. Lights shone from various windows over the glass clad wall, facing them. There were large patches in darkness, showing who was still working and who wasn't.
A garage door was open, allowing them to drive inside, before it shut behind them. Coming to a halt for the final time on this journey, the car doors were opened by two awaiting soldiers, dressed in standard military uniform, green khakis, and with yellow berets on their heads. The badge on the beret showed the variation symbol in yellow, surrounded by a black shield.
They all clambered from the car and came face to face with a rather stern gentleman, wearing a generals uniform, with the same badge on the front of his hat. He didn't smile or greet them in a warm way. The trio was stood rather sheepishly in front of this imposing figure, even though deep in their DNA, they now hold their own imposing figures.
"This is General John Braymar, commander of our research station," Agent Greentack said. "He's the one who ordered us to bring you in."
"Well, well, well. This is an interesting case and one I had hoped would never happen again," the general said, a firm line drawn across his face.
"You mean Doctor Banner?" Kevin asked.
"That name...!" General Braymar barked out in a tone that made the three teens jump back slightly, "... that name is not to be said in this building without strict permission. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," the trio replied, scared by the sudden shift in tone.
"Now, follow me."
They were led over to a large doorway, of which the door was open. When closed, a 13-inch thick piece of steel would be lowered into place, metal teeth embedding themselves into the floor in order to keep it in place. It would take a powerful force to break through it. The walls were at least 3ft thick and this allowed two doors to be in each doorway.
The group moved deeper into the building, passing by numerous rooms, all fronted with frosted glass, obscuring the view inside. The only things that could be made out, were the fuzzy shapes of the people inside and whatever they were working with. Finally, they came to a lone wooden door at the end of a corridor. There were no windows looking in, so the trio didn't know what to expect.
General Braymar opened the door and walked in, Agent Greentack motioning for the teens to walk in. The room was an office, plain and simple. It was smart, with normal furniture for an office, a desk with a leather chair behind it and simple stationery neatly placed on its surface. Three other chairs were already in place in front of the desk and the trio was pointed towards them. The sat down and watched as General Braymar walked over to the wall opposite them. He pressed a button on a cabinet by his hip and the wall shimmered into life, revealing it was actually a bank of television screens.
Various graphics moved across the glass surfaces, displaying lots of different data packages, the General pausing for a moment to watch them. He stared at them for what seemed like an age, before finally turning to face Kevin, Aimee and Chase. Leaning down onto the desk, both palms flat on its wooden surface, he glared into each of their faces, as though he was reading them like a book. Still, he said nothing.
Then, without a word, he stood up straight and walked out of the room. Agent Greentack followed, closing the door behind her. The trio was left sat, feeling very confused at the whole situation. All they wanted were answers and right now, they weren't getting any.
"What are we doing here?" Chase asked, his leg bouncing up and down with nerves. "Why have they just left us in this room?"
"I don't know. I just want answers to what has happened to us," Aimee said. "What happened when they came to pick you up?" She directed the question to Kevin. "You have changed again."
Kevin relayed what he could remember, some of it was a blur of adrenaline rushing through his mind.
"I hope they can fix this," Aimee said sternly. "There is no way I want to remain a monster for the rest of my life."
"I think it's quite cool," Chase said. "I've always wanted superpowers. I can finally stand up to the bullies at school."
"I don't think we should use any of this in public," Kevin said quietly, thinking again about what happened at his house with the agents. "I don't want to lose control and hurt anyone. They wouldn't be able to defend themselves."
In the room adjacent to the office, General Braymar and Agent Greentack stood listening and watching the teens as they talked. The general held a completely deadpan expression, with no emotion or thoughts readable on its well-worn surface.
"What do we do?" Agent Greentack asked.
There was a pause before the cold reply came.
"Drop them."
Agent Greentack hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she could actually go through with the order given, but this momentary lapse soon subsided and her finger went down on a large red button on the wall next to her waist.
Back in the office, there was no warning for what happened next, except for a loud clanging noise.
"What was…?" Aimee began to ask, but was unable to finish, as the floor beneath them fell open and gravity took hold of their bodies.
Panic set in, adrenaline flowed. DNA was rewritten and green became the preferred colour once more. The concrete at the bottom of the shaft soon had three large craters embedded in it, as the teen Hulks were once more on show. Bits of torn fabric fluttered down to their feet, almost like confetti welcoming them back to the world. The transformation was quicker and less painful this time around. Hormones rushing around their brains momentarily disorientated them, the Hulk brain being dominant until their human sides regained control.
"WHAT WAS THAT!" Roared Aimee, lifting her large fist, thrusting it into the wall, causing a large amount to come away and fall down. "Let us out of here!"
Aimee was getting very agitated and her heart rate was rising quickly. Chase and Kevin didn't know what was happening, but they were keeping their cool. Being the third time in 24 hours that Kevin had become this thing, he was beginning to get used to the control he needed over the gamma made thoughts. Chase was your typical teenage boy, who was taking it in his stride, with the main outburst probably coming later.
"Hey, Aimee, calm down. Remember, breath," Chase said to his friend, lumbering over in his large frame to her and placing his overgrown hands her shoulders. "We are all in this together. We'll work it out. They must be testing us and what's happens. Don't let them win."
Almost on cue and as though they were being listened to, a flashing red light filled the shaft and one of the walls began to slide open, revealing a cavernous room beyond. The three friends looked at one another, silently communicating with their green faces as to what they should do. Kevin tilted his head to the side, indicating they should head inside.
It was still strange to them, walking with their new feet, especially in a larger room such as this. When they were back in the laboratory, it didn't really give them much space to manoeuvre around a lot. They ambled deeper into the room. Something then whizzed passed Kevin's face, missing it by a whisker. Suddenly, more objects began to dart towards the trio, some hitting them hard, but bouncing off because of their hardened skin.
"What's going on now!?" Chase shouted across to the others.
They were barraged by a series of different challenges, that pushed them to their limit, but almost as quickly as it had all begun, it stopped leaving them unscathed.
"Is that all you've got?!" Chase called out to the walls.
A cloud of thick white smoke began to curl its way from various vents around the room, snaking down the sides of the wall and along the debris-ridden floor.
"What have you said now?" Aimee asked, turning to face Chase.
"Umm…" came his reply, as the smoke climbed up their bodies.
As it touched the walls of their noses, the three of them collapsed down to the concrete, out for the count and dead to the world.
There were various noises around them, bright lights burning through their eyelids (which didn't want to open) and various other strange sensations they would rather not know about.
An unknown amount of time passed by and Kevin, Chase and Aimee found themselves waking up in separate rooms, painted white causing the light to blare into their vision. They were back to their regular sizes and shapes and now dressed in an all-white uniform.
Each room had only one way in or out and this was a thick steel door, bolted in several places. There were no windows, or glass of any sort, except for the small piece in the security camera that sat in the centre of the ceiling, slowly rotating around, every time the room's occupant moved to a different area. It was like being in the most sterile prison in the world. Each of the teens reacted differently to their new predicament. Aimee spent her time tearing at the door, trying to wear it down and not succeeding. Kevin just sat staring at the wall opposite his bed and Chase lay there, whistling a tune to himself. All three had tried to bring their green side out, but something seemed to be preventing this from happening.
They didn't know what was going on and they wondered if any answers were ever going to come. They could be locked up in here for the rest of their lives and their families may never know. What had their lives come to and how would they get out of this predicament? Only time would tell.
Review if you liked it.