Not much longer after arriving at the hospital, the older man had finally awoken. Sure enough, he felt energized, especially for a man who was just shot, but there was a strange sensation in him, something he never felt before. While he had felt power and fury before, it was usually to help protect his daughter and/or late wife, and it was usually a human feeling. This time, he felt as though his primal instincts, those he had kept away in the corners of his mind, were being awakened for the first time in years.

Perplexed at what was going on, he decided to open his eyes, seeing the appearance of none other than Dr. Jonathan Chase himself.

"Umm...who are you?" he asked him.

"Pardon?" he asked. "My name is Dr. Jonathan Chase. I'm the man who saved your life. Or should I say, the MANimal who saved your life. Please to meet you!"

"Hardy har har," said the other man. "So funny I almost forgot to laugh. But seriously though, what the hell am I doing here? More importantly, WHO the hell am I?"

"I'm afraid, dear sir, I can only answer the former question," he told him. "In any case, you're lucky to still be alive, frankly."

"What...what happened?" he asked. "I got shot, and then...this happens. I'm no longer a normal man."

"Normal?" responded the professor. "What is normal to a man like me? Orphaned at twelve, powers that ordinary man can only dream of...and that's not even going into what I had to go through with my dear daughter!"

"Yeah, yeah," said the older man, who was none other than Bryan Mills, special American agent. "Anyways, how the hell did I end up this way?"

Pause.

"Sorry, I just have total insomnia of the event last night. What happened?"

"Long story short, you were shot by what appears to be a man who has sworn vengeance against you...if what these files have to say is anything to go by," said Dr. Chase, taking a look at what appeared to be a set of files. "With a dire situation on our hands, I found no choice but to transmit some of my blood."

"Oh, so that explains why my hand can suddenly transform into a claw?" snapped the older man. "Let me guess- I'm a werewolf now?"

"No need to worry, sir," said Dr. Chase. "This doesn't mean that you've suddenly transformed into a werewolf."

The older man said nothing, but merely gave him a somewhat baffled expression.

"You can do far more than what a mere werewolf can!" said the good doctor. "Thanks to the mere blood possessed by yours truly, you now possess the power to transform into various animals, like a manimal-"

"MANIMAL?" said Bryan in a state of shock. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"Funny you should ask," replied Dr. Chase. "Since the dawn of time, there have been stories of men who've been capable of transforming into animals. Every culture from the Greeks to the Hindus have tales of-"

"Yeah, enough of the history lesson, Einstein. Just tell me why I'm this way!" he said, grabbing his shirt with his newfound "claw" hands.

"Calm down, dear sir," said the doctor. "I had perfectly good intentions to do what I did. In any case, you now have-"

But he didn't care. In the mind of his colleague, he was too angry and shocked to think. So he started fighting him, throwing him around the room like a ragdoll, full of fury.

"That should teach you to make a monster out of a man like me!" he told him. "You sick bastard! This is probably part of a co-op to transform me into a monster!"

"Wait a minute!" said Dr. Chase, exhausted from being thrown around the hospital. "You haven't told me your name!"

"My name?" said Mr. Mills, calming down. "My name is not important."

"Of course it's important!" said Dr. Chase. "In any case, I'd certainly like to know for sure."

"No, you fucking don't," said Bryan. "It's not necessary."

"Actually, for my colleague to get your information for your doctor reports, we'll have to get your name."

"Fine, it's Bryan Mills," he says. "But, what's really important is that I possess a particular set of skills, skills that make me a nightmare to men like you."

"Or should I say, a particular set of GILLS," said Dr. Jonathan Chase, laughing at his own joke "Hardy har har!"

Mr. Mills said nothing, but merely gave him an annoyed look that screamed "are-you-bloody-kidding-me."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have to leave," said Dr. Chase, immediately leaving the scene in a significant haste.

As he lay in his hospital bed, Bryan pondered the impact his new powers would have on his life. What would his family think? Moreover, what would his enemies think? They had apparently tried murdering him, otherwise he wouldn't be there, but would they see him as a bigger threat? If they were already seeing him as such as a normal human, God only knew what they'd think of him as a bestial killing machine.

"The reports came in," said a haggard-looking older man. "You're actually doing quite fine, but due to the sudden change in your body chemistry, you won't be able to go back home for a week. It's a significant way out, and I'm afraid my colleague's blood already altered your body chemistry. As it turns out, he has type O blood, who can donate to anyone, but, he's, well..."

"Yeah, I know," said Mr. Mills. "Who is this guy, anyway?"

"Oh, I don't believe we've met, have we?" said Dr. Chase. "Lt. Rivera, Mr. Mills. Mr. Mills, Lt. Rivera."

"And you work for me, otherwise you wouldn't have a real job!" joked Lt. Rivera, jokingly nudging him. "But seriously, this guy is amazing. He's got eyes like a bat!"

"That means he's blind," snapped Bryan.

"My bad!" he said. "I meant to say, um...ears like a bat. Yep, that's it. He's really good at hearing."

"Well, you should probably work on your hearing, so that your hearing doesn't good, well, batty!"

"Right back at ya, Johnny!" said Lt. Rivera.

"He's actually a very competent boss, all things considered," said Dr. Chase. "He wouldn't be able to keep his job otherwise!"

Bryan was about to say something, but he was so flabbergasted at what was going on, he didn't even bother. Nothing he said would suffice what was suddenly happening to him.

In any case, he realized, he probably should've called his daughter. After all, after all she had gone through, it would be terrible for her to lose her father as well.

It was at that point he realized his hand was still a goddamn claw.