Chapter 02

"I can't believe it" Katie breathed "I can't freaking believe it"

"Indeed" Doctor Anthony Boucher almost looked giddy "I knew the answer was close but I never imagined it to come out of the blue like this."

"He survived" Katie stared at the unconscious patient; whose body had almost completely healed. "But did he get better?"

"I believe so" Doctor Boucher laughed "All the tests indicate that he is more fit than an Olympian athlete"

"Do we move him now?" Katie questioned the doctor

"Not so fast" the doctor explained "We've archived our primary objective, let's see if we can also reach our secondary objective"

"I would strongly advise you against that" Katie objected "This man could pose a danger to us"

"We would be hard pressed to find someone on this planet who would be a danger to you" doctor Boucher laughed "The truth is that all we know for now is that he's fit, we have to continue observing him over an extended period of time, I cannot risk a defective body"

"He would definitely be a flight risk" Katie countered

"I have planted a few of Langston's latest gadgets in him, he's not gonna take a step out of this premises without our permission" the doctor patted his subordinate's shoulder "I know the risk is huge, but it's a risk we must take"

"I hope your right doctor" Katie sighed "I'll prepare a few contingencies just in case"

"If it will make you feel better about our situation; go ahead" he glanced at the sleeping man "Plus; we still have a lot of time; let's not rush to take drastic measures"

"So, what do we tell him when he wakes up?" Katie asked the last question on her mind.

"The truth" doctor Langston laughed

XXXXXX

Tom Cassidy woke up yawning, he had had quite a good sleep. "Ugght" Tom squinted his eyes when they were hit with the bright white light.

"Wait… where the fuck am I" Tom opened his eyes, causing them to get blinded by the bright white lights hanging directly above him.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Tom swore as his eyes burnt.

"Doctor Boucher, He's awake!" Tom heard a woman's voice.

"Young man can you hear me?" Tom guessed the new voice belonged to the aforementioned doctor.

"Give me a minute" Tom sat up and blinked his eyes until he could see again. "Wassup?" Tom looked up to see a stout man in front of him, the little hair over his head was white, which along with his wrinkly grey skin really showed his age, but the old man's eyes were sharp and bright like someone eyeing a tasty treat.

"Do you know your name?" the old man asked Tom

"Thomas 'Tom' Cassidy" the boy replied

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"Riding my bike down the road near Bakersfield; who are you people"

"I'm doctor Anthony Boucher, and this is my assistant, doctor Paloma Lorca" the old man explained "you were in a terrible accident; you were hit by a truck and suffered some serious injuries"

Tom moved around his arms and legs before turning back to the doctor "How long have I been out?"

"Two weeks" it was the curly haired Hispanic lady beside doctor Boucher who answered "But you're fine now"

"The injuries can't have been too terrible if I was able to recover in two weeks" Tom noted. It was then that he noticed his surroundings. Tom wasn't in a hospital room, but something else entirely.

The floor and walls were completely white, but clearly metallic. Soft blue light shone from the panels above in the metal grate ceiling. Tom himself was surrounded by multiple cylinders and needles.

"Where am I?" Tom questioned uncertainly.

"Let me give you a tour" Doctor Boucher suggested "Can you stand?" Tom gingerly placed his feet on the ground.

"Excellent" the doctor smiled "Change into this fresh set of clothes, and then walk with me" the doctor and is assistant left Tom alone to change. Tom noticed that he had slimmed down while he changed, but didn't pay it much heed. People tended to get thinner when they only lived on glucose for a long time

Tom exited the room to see Doctor Boucher standing alone. The old man didn't say a word, he turned around and began walking, leaving Tom to follow.

Tom ran a hand through his straw coloured hair as he followed the old doctor's slow pace. "You were in a very bad shape after the accident; regular doctors couldn't do anything to help you, one of those doctors knew and contacted me, he asked me to pull you into my experimental research so that you may have a chance to live"

"Where are we?" Tom asked as he followed the doctor down the sterile and spotless corridor.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you" the doctor sighed "This is a top secret government facility, designed to conduct research the government isn't ready to tell the world about"

"What kind of research?" Tom questioned

"You're a curious fellow, aren't you?" the doctor laughed, following which he devolved into a series of coughs.

"You okay?" Tom patted the doctor's back, holding the man's arm lightly

"I apologize" the doctor finally breathed, "I'm afraid my body isn't what it used to be"

"It's all chill" Tom released the doctor.

"Let's continue our tour" the doctor brushed off his health, leading Tom into a rather large hall. In the centre of the hall was a raised podium, set up with computers on three of its sides, and a black man on an office chair, moving from one console to the other.

"Isaiah" Doctor Boucher called out to the man, "Come and meet Mr. Cassidy" the man looked up from his consoles to see the doctor and Tom, and stood up sharply.

"Hey… hi… how are ya? I'm Isaiah" the man spoke very quickly.

"Tom" the other boy gave him a nod.

"Mr. Isaiah Langston is out electronic and software expert" the doctor gave a brief introduction.

The two men shook hands "So what exactly do you guys do around here?" Tom was starting to get an off-putting feeling in his gut.

"Me? I'm a computers guy, and electronics; I make electronics and software, what about you, what did you do before winding up in our little corner of the world?" Isaiah bobbed his head, making his black curls wave around over his head.

"I… was a drifter, I'd recently quit my job and was moving around, looking for my calling" Tom explained under doctor Boucher's keen gaze.

"Cool!" Isaiah nodded again in appreciation. "Well, I'll see you around I guess" the black man offered his hand.

"Yeah" alarm bells went off in Tom's head but his face remained calm "I guess I will"

"Come" the doctor waved out his arm, "I'll introduce you to the final member of our little team, and then tell you all about our research" his unspoken question being answered, Tom silently followed the doctor.

It was five minutes after they left that Paloma Lorca entered the computer room.

"Hey did you see Katie?" Paloma, or as Isaiah called her Loma asked the Black Man.

"Probably the gym" Isaiah didn't look up from his screen "Tom and the doctor have gone there, the doctor wanted to introduce Tom to all members of the team"

"What do you think will happen to him?" Loma leaned against the computer table "This 'Tom' boy"

"The doctor will probably keep him around for a few tests, and when he's determined the correct procedure, let him go his merry way?"

"You really think so?" Loma looked sceptical "That they'll just let him go"

"It's not like the government can force him to enrol in the army" Isaiah looked up "Plus the doctor will probably offer him money to hang around"

"I guess so" Loma still didn't look sure

"I'll bet you a hundred bucks" Isaiah boasted "That when all of this is over, Tom is gonna just go on his merry way, and the doctor won't stop him"

XXXXXXX

The next place the two men visited was a large gym cum gun range like area. The room had dark blue floor mats, and a couple of dummies nearby for martial arts, Tom guessed, weights and punching bags to one side and a gun range to the other side, longer than a quarter of a mile.

Tom guessed that the woman with the tattoo sleeve, who was bench pressing dumbbells was the fourth member of the team.

"Katie" Doctor Boucher called out "Come here and meet our new patient, Mr. Cassidy" the lady dropped her weights and got off the bench, heading to the two men "nice to meet you. I'm Katie Darby" she offered Tom her hand.

"Tom Cassidy" Tom shook her hand. Katie Darby had a serious face, and an athletic physique, her jet black hair was in a pixie cut, and her handshake was firm and steady. Tom's gut kept telling him that she was a woman he didn't want to mess with.

"Special Agent Darby here is our government Liaison" the doctor explained "And the person in charge of security"

"Cool" Tom nodded, not feeling really surprised "So will you now tell me what your research is about and how I fit into it?"

"Yes" the doctor nodded "Come" he led Shawn to one of the punching bags hanging from the ceiling. "give this bag your best punch"

"Seriously?" Tom's face crunched in confusion.

"I assure you, I'm not one for jokes" the doctor gave Tom a humourless smile.

Tom took a few moments to set himself up, he then reared his right hand and threw it straight forward.

BANG!

A large hole was formed in the bag and all the sand flew out of its backside. Tom's punch literally blew a hole in the bag, while Tom simply stared on incredulously.

"I think you'll now believe me" Doctor Boucher's voice seemed half smug and half excited "When I say that you are now more than a mere human"

"What did you do to me?" Tom didn't look away from the sand that littered the floor. Seeing his numb reaction, Katie took a step sideways, grabbing her gun off the table.

"We healed you" Doctor Boucher explained "Brought you back from the brink of death"

"And?" Tom still looked numb.

"And now… you my dear boy are stronger than the strongest man, faster than the fastest of men, you, my boy are now the pinnacle of humanity"