ISSUE #13

Ian's world had been nothing but fuzz since he was attacked, a deep darkness, full of strange sensations and noises. But as he began to stir the world around him changed.

" Wuh? Whut's happenin?" Ian asked. His eyes started to flutter open, and he saw that he was laying down on a table. However, as he lied there, unaware of what was happening to him he felt a hot searing sensation in his leg" AHHHHHH!!" Ian screamed out in pain.

" Oh, you're awake now? Wonderful!" Ian looked down to the source of the voice as he panted in pain, and saw what horrors had been done to him, while he was asleep. He had been cut open all over. From his chest down to his pelvis, the skin on his arms were pulled back, revealing the muscle and Sinew below, his legs were also being dissected. The worst part, however, was that his skins kept growing back, but he was being repeatedly cut open." You know, I must say, when Kimura brought you in, I didn't think anything special of you. But I must say, you are really remarkable. You know we had to use a chainsaw to slice through your skin? I mean, seriously the rate your body heals, and changes is honestly quite remarkable! You young man, have quite the interesting gift and I look forward to exploring it intensively. Oh, and don't worry about that collar. It's just meant to hamper your powers a little. Keeps you from doing anything drastic." The man explained. He watched as Ian's eyes fluttered open and close, his heart beating fast. Signs he was going into shock.

Ian started frantically thrashing on the table.

" Oh, dear. You're going into shock? Oh, don't worry. I won't let you die... Yet." The man grabbed some vial and jammed it into Ian's body and Ian settled down, and his consciousness returned. " I'm sorry, young man. I can't let you just die on me. And I'm afraid I don't have any anesthetics. So, let's get back to it shall we?" The man asked. He picked up a small sledgehammer and slammed it down hard on Ian's kneecap, shattering it.

" AGHHHHHHHHH!" Ian screamed out in pain and started thrashing around on the table again. While the good doctor smiled and wrote down his notes.

A few hours later, Ian sat on the table, a bloody, broken mess. Vomit, and blood all over his face and spilling into his open wounds. His face had been smashed up with the hammer, every single bone in his body was broken, and his muscles harvested and shredded.

" Still alive! WHAT A MIRACLE YOU ARE! YES! I'VE CHANGED MY MIND! YOU WILL BE OUR GREATEST WEAPON YET! WEAPON XXX! I must get started on your regiment at once!" The man exclaimed, he quickly left the room with his work, sprinting out in such a hurry that even the guards outside the room were confused.

Ian was let on the table, his skin and bones quickly growing back. But the feeling of pain coursing through his body, made him devoid of all thoughts.

Ian's collar turned off for a moment, and in that moment his body started putting itself back together. His bones grew back sturdier, his skin grew back denser, no longer would a chainsaw be able to cut him. And because his muscles were torn into pieces, they grew back stronger as well. A terrible price to pay for power.

Moments after the doctor's exit, the guards came into the room.

" Heh! You poor bastard, the doctor really did a number on you huh? Well, sorry to break it to ya kid, but you're just getting started." One of the men spoke.

" Yeah, poor bastard. Should have stayed home man. Come on, let's grab him." The other guard spoke.

" Ugh! I hate having to touch all this blood. Next time, I hope I'm just stationed at one of our reserve bases." The first guard stated.

" Ah, just shut up and help me lift." The other one replied.

The two men, carried Ian out of the operating room and locked him behind a cell, made specifically to hold him. The bars were made out of Adamantium, and so were his chains. So, even if he wanted to escape right now, he physically couldn't.

A little bit later, Ian was forcibly awoken by the same woman, who had taken him. When he opened his Ian, hurried and curled up in a corner, completely terrified of the people who were holding him captive.

" Ha! Aw, you're scared. Where did that bravado go?" Kimura asked.

Ian didn't answer her, he was too scared. He looked down at his body and was a little relieved to see he was fine, but still very terrified.

" Good answer. So, things have taken a certain change that I wasn't expecting... The higher ups see you as more of a resource, than a simple tool now. That's good news. You should be relieved." Kimura spoke. Her tone was different from last time. It wasn't as condescending and was more empathetic. " You are in a very good position right now to, in a certain way, earn your freedom. See, right now you have two choices. I suggest you listen carefully and consider them both. See, option one: You can work with us. We'll train you to be strong, vicious, a killer you'll be given money, freedom, women, anything you want. All you have to do is say yes. Of course, when you work with us, you'll be taking on dangerous missions, be experimented on, and if you're lucky enough you'll be able to move up in the ranks like me. See where I am? I come and go as I please, I do what I want, and I get paid handsomely. Of course, I do answer their calls when I'm needed, and I do it without question. Sounds very nice right. That's a pretty good deal to me. Of course... There's also option two. Now, Option two is a very different deal. You will work with us against your will, you will be tortured repeatedly, experimented on repeatedly and not just physically, but mentally as well. You will be beaten and dragged through mud; you will be starved. You will suffer more pain than you've ever had to in your entire life. I promise you; we have ways to make you ours." Kimura explained.

Ian's world was beginning to crumble apart as he struggled to think about the two current choices he was left with, either become a murderous lapdog, or a brainwashed slave. It made him sick to his stomach.

" So, there you have it. So, what's it going to be. Are you with us?" Kimura asked. She held out her hand, but Ian refused to take it. " I can see you're on the fence about it. I know just the way to get you on your toes. Bring them in!" Kimura yelled.

An alarm went off in Ian's room and the doors opened up, and two people were thrown into his cell. One of them was a man, that much was easy to discern. But the other one was a small girl.

" See, Ian... We have ways to convince you. So, consider this just a taste of what we'll do if you don't take option one. Alright?" Kimura spoke. She walked into the cell with a collar and grabbed the girl. She slapped the collar on the girl and then walked out of the cell. Ian was more than concerned about what Kimura had going through her head. If they would brutalize him, he didn't doubt that they wouldn't hurt this little girl.

" Alright, now you have a choice. You can kill this man, a simple man looking man right? No wife, no kids. Except he's a really bad man. A child molester, and no one timer either. A grand total of twenty kids have been assaulted by this man right here. Wouldn't you say that the law failed? Wouldn't you say this man deserved to die for all the kids he killed?" Kimura asked. " Well, now he is. See that device on the girl's neck? It's a bomb. A very nasty one too. And all it would take to set it off is one push of a button." Kimura raised up a detonation trigger and played with it in front of Ian.

Ian watched as her finger raced towards the trigger and he reached out.

" NO!" Ian shouted. He raised his hands to stop Kimura and she smiled.

" No? Well, there is no such thing as no here, Ian. You have a choice now. Yu can kill this man, and save the little girls' life, the hero. Or you can choose to do nothing, and I push this button and kill them both, or maybe all three of you." Kimura explained. " Make your choice now."

Ian looked back and forth between the man and the girl. Ian never saw himself as being better than someone. To him life was sacred, and no man, not even the law had a right to take life. But right here, right now, Ian had an impossible choice to make. To throw everything he ever believed in away and kill this man, without knowing if any of what Kimura said was true. Or refuse and potentially not only get himself and the man killed, but a little girl as well. No child should be put in this situation, Ian knew that. And his heart throbbed knowing what kind of terror she would be in when she awoke. Ian, in his heart knew what he had to do. And God damn this woman and her organization.

" I'll do it." Ian spoke defeatedly.

" Good, boy. Here." Kimura reached into her waist band and pulled out a knife, and threw it to, Ian." I'm sure your chains aren't so tight you can't move around a little."

Ian nodded and reached for the knife and picked it up. He then slowly crawled over to the man, who was still sleeping, he inched closer and closer to the man.

' Dear God, please forgive me for this. Please forgive me!' Ian placed the knife on the man's throat and closed his eyes. He raised his hands up and jammed the knife down into the man's neck, blood gushing onto his face and hands. " GAHhh!" Ian screamed and dropped the knife in a panic.

He watched the man snapped awake and stared up at him in shock, unable to utter anything other a gurgling noise. Not knowing how or why he got there, or why he was killed. Ian watched as the man's life left his eyes and his last breath left his chest.

He looked down at his hands and started crying.

" Good job, kid. You're one of us now. Welcome to weapon X, I hope you survive the experience." Kimura licked Ian's face and laughed as she left the cell. She grabbed the girl and left Ian behind in the cell with the man's dead body.