Here is Chapter 4. I hope you enjoy.
FLASHBACK
NEWS REPORTER: "The government today has acknowledged the cause behind the green monster that has been causing all of the destruction in major cities across the United States. Doctor Bruce Banner was subject to a high dosage of gamma radiation and it has turned him into a beast they are calling the Hulk. Army, Navy and Airforce teams have been deployed to ensure a swift response to this threat and protect the public from any sightings of the Hulk. All civilians are warned to stay well away from Doctor Banner and report any contact immediately. Details are on the screen below. This is Katty Ingleman for KSCC News."
FLASHFORWARD
"That proved very useful."
"Are you sure? They deflected pretty much everything we threw at them and then their bodies stopped us from completing any major internal studies of their anatomies."
"It was very useful indeed. They will do nicely for what we want."
General Braymar was sat at his actual office desk this time, leafing through various papers his scientists had put together on their three test subjects. He was satisfied with what he had seen, a smile creeping onto his usually straight face.
"Get them ready, I want to speak in the conference room."
Braymar stood, straightened his uniform and then marched out of the room.
Agent Greentack stayed behind, her mind going to the events of the night before. She kept playing them over and over in her head. Was it right that she had agreed for them to be tested on? Was it right to be using three innocent teenagers?
This was really beginning to eat into her and she was questioning the General's motivations and morality. Agent Greentack had always been loyal to every superior she'd had throughout her career but didn't follow like a blind sheep. She'd worked with plenty of idiots and had even had some of them disposed of if they overstepped the mark, but this was the highest level of superior in her career.
She made her way out of the office and down the long corridor, past various laboratories and office spaces. Down some stairs, along another corridor, she soon came to a dead end. Checking no one was around, looking on, Agent Greentack took a pass from her pocket and swiped it over a section of the wall. A green light appeared on the brick and the whole section of the dead-end swung open. She walked through and shut the door after.
This was the home to the base's secret holding cells, the location of the trio now. They were the first 'customers' of the cells, having caused their gamma mutations. No one else had carried out such a transmutation since Doctor Banner. He hadn't been seen in about 25 years, though the search was still on. Many believed him to be dead, or shielding himself from the gamma scanner satellites, or even that he'd gone into space. Some conspiracy theories online thought he'd gone to a planet called Sakaar, where he fought creatures from other planets, all to please a maniac who took pleasure in their defeats. Of course, many just batted this theory aside.
Agent Greentack walked over to the cell holding Kevin and stood in front of the door. She pulled down a little hatch that allowed her to look into the room, where she saw him still staring at the wall opposite his bed. Then she moved to the left and opened the next hatch, observing Chase lying on his back. The next cell had gone quiet, Aimee no longer trying to break the steel barrier down, still, Agent Greentack didn't want to take a chance and open her view hole.
"I hope you can all hear me," she called out. "General Braymar would like to speak with you. Please prepare for transfer to the conference room."
"Why?" came Aimee's voice. "Why would we go with you?"
"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice. The bracelets on your ankles will keep your gamma abilities under control. They will also allow us to apply an electric charge if you step out of line, so I recommend you do as you are told."
"This is really turning out to be a thrill ride of emotions," Chase said from his bed.
"Just stand up and face the wall opposite you please," Agent Greentack said, a tinge of annoyance filling her voice. "Now please!"
With grunts of exasperation, the teen trio got to their feet and faced the wall opposite to their cell doors, as requested. There was a clanging noise and the walls descended into the floor, revealing a large wooden clad meeting room beyond. A large oval table sat in the centre of the room and sat across from the teens sat General Braymar, a sheaf of papers spread out before him. He was looking over them in keen interest, absorbing what they were telling him. He looked up as Kevin, Aimee and Chase stepped in and beckoned them to sit in the three awaiting chairs.
"What do you want with us?" Aimee asked, as they each lowered their bodies into the seats.
"Ah, Miss Kennedy. I have a great many different tasks of which I can use you for. You present such an opportunity, the likes we have never seen or believed possible before. You are able to retain a conscious mind in the Hulk state, that the previous holder of this power did not have. You will be a very valuable asset to the department."
"All I want to do is get rid of this monster inside of me and return to my normal life. There is nothing else I want. Can you do that?"
"I'm afraid not. You are what you are and under the powers given to me by the United Nations, I am able to detain you under the gamma protection laws. We don't want others being affected now, do we."
General Braymar's lips curled slightly into a smile as he said the last part.
"What's going to happen to my parents?" Kevin asked.
"Your father and mother are currently being interviewed as to what the laboratory under your house was being used for. They are not really being very cooperative at the moment. We may need to go in for full force interrogation, which won't be pretty."
Kevin's emotion spiked and he could feel the blood in his veins begin to boil. A voice was screaming in the back of his head and it was getting louder. Something wanted to break out, but it was being prevented from doing so.
"They will be alright," General Braymar continued, "if you help us."
"You are bribing us for help?" Chase asked.
"Not bribing," the General's face stiffened into a fake smile. "Merely encouraging cooperation. You understand?"
"Not really, no," Aimee replied, bluntly.
"Well, here we go then. You are to do a few things for us and then we will consider letting you go back to an ordinary life, away from us."
General Braymar pushed a Manila folder to each of the teens and directed them to open it up. They did so with some hesitation. Inside they found a profile page and a series of photos for the task they were going to be sent to complete.
"Read and take the information in. I want you to have it all memorised before you are sent out. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," came the unenthusiastic reply.
The General stood up, gathered his remaining documents together and then left the room. The door locked behind him, an audible click was heard.
The trio looked carefully at the papers and saw what they were going to have to do. It was mind-boggling to them. At the start of the week, they were regular school kids, doing regular school kid things and now they were going on a secret mission for a secretive organisation.
This was what was detailed on the opening page.
D.O.G.M.A
Department of Gamma Mutation Accidents
Mission Briefing
Name of Target: Doctor Samuel Sterns
Details of target:
Doctor Samuel Sterns has been identified as a target, for his use of gamma radiation in unauthorised experiments. Recent observations have been made in equipment being delivered to Doctor Sterns' laboratory and large amounts of electricity have been drained from the local grid, at all times of the day. Local residents have reported strange behaviour in the wildlife near to the laboratory and some have said they have seen monstrous creatures around town, in the dead of night.
Doctor Sterns' experiments are to be neutralised and he is to be brought in. It is imperative that any gamma radiation is not leaked into the outside world. Equipment extraction teams will be sent in to retrieve the laboratory items once Doctor Stern is removed.
Do not fail.
Kevin, Chase and Aimee had no idea who this Doctor Stern was, but it did sound concerning about the gamma experiments.
Agent Greentack had come back into the room and directed them back into their cells, where the walls closed behind them. On the beds, sat some new clothing. The outfit consisted of a black pair of combat boots, black trousers and then the top was made of black spandex, with yellow patches on the shoulders. Chase and Aimee had no sleeves on their tops and Kevin's had long sleeves, a yellow line spreading down the side of the arm. They looked very strange indeed. The ankle bracelets remained in place.
"Are you done?" Came the voice of Agent Greentack once more through their doors.
"Yes," they each replied in turn.
The doors were opened and they were led back to the hanger they had arrived in. This time, instead of cars, there was a helicopter in there. Flashing yellow lights began to blaze around each of the doorways, as the large steel bulkheads descended into their places. The floor then began to rumble as it rose up, getting closer and closer to the ceiling. The latter then proceeded to slide to the side, allowing the helicopter to emerge into the open air.
"That was cool!" Chase said, his face beaming.
"Is there anything you don't find cool?" Asked Aimee.
"Not much," the teen admitted.
"Get in then," Agent Greentack said, directing them to their seats.
Once buckled in, the helicopter blades began to spin, picking up momentum gradually until they were racing at breakneck speed. The pilot pulled on the joystick and it started to rise into the air and head off in the direction of Doctor Stern's laboratory.
While in flight, the group was given a final brief of the mission by Agent Greentack.
It was the first time Kevin had been in a helicopter and he found himself losing attention, instead, he watched the world go by. Fields washed underneath them, the different green hues painting a marvellous picture of the Earth. Soon, the green turned to umber as they flew over the desert and then grey as they came above a city.
The helicopter came to land in a heliport, where a blacked-out van was waiting. They all disembarked the flying machine and got inside of the vehicle. It set off, driving towards the laboratory, its occupants getting more and more nervous as the time ticked away on the clock.
Soon, it pulled up one street over from their final location. Agent Greentack handed over a small circular device to each of the teens.
"Here, put these in your ears," she said.
"What are they?" Kevin asked.
"Communicators," she replied.
They each placed the device in an ear.
"Ow!" Came the cry of three teenagers.
"What was that?!"
"It hurt so much!"
"It's stinging!"
"Calm down, it will die away in a minute. The devices have latched themselves into your inner ear, just so they can't fall out if you change."
"What do you mean, 'if we change'?" Aimee asked.
Agent Greentack lifted what looked like a remote control and pressed a button on it. With a clunk, an immediate sense of relief and surge of strength spread through their bodies, as the ankle bracelets dropped to the metal floor of the van.
"Some freedom for you," Agent Greentack said. "Now, are you ready to undertake this mission?"
"Remind me again why we are doing this?" Aimee asked.
"My dear, you have a very cynical look on the world, don't you? Not everyone or everything is out to get you. Just do this one thing for us and we will see you released back to your families."
"Aimee, let's just get it over and done with. I don't want my family to be hurt," Kevin said.
"I've always wanted to be a secret agent," Chase said. "I'm like a teenage James Bond."
"Don't think too highly of yourself," Aimee shot back.
Night had begun to fall and darkness was crawling across the sky. This was going to provide ample cover for their mission. Street lights were few and far between, meaning there was little light pollution to break their camouflage. The van door opened and they jumped out into the night.