Chapter 16: E-Prototype [I]

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All credits go to the awesome creators of the movies and other fictional works that I use in my novel.

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"You're right, we are mortal and fragile. But even if we are tortured or wounded, we'll fight to survive. You should feel the pain we feel and understand. I am the messenger that will deliver that pain and understanding."

-Guts

Word Count 1293

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"Oh, [T-Virus]-Kun, you were taking the Dao of Tyranny and Usurpation too far but who is Kal?" I couldn't help but cackle like an evil scientist while casting a smug look at the slide.

"I am the scientist supreme, er, I think I got my title wrong there." Hank Pym will surely shit blood if he realizes there is another bastard out there in the Omniverse shamelessly trying to steal one of his titles.

"I... am..."

"The apex of apex, the destroyer of worlds." Got it wrong again.

"I am... the all-range... Atomic." That's plagiarism dude.

I sighed helplessly. "I really suck at titles."

"Hmm, I think I have had enough of the momentary pause."

"It's time to go crazy." I then assumed a no-nonsense demeanor.

T-Virus had many variants and prototypes.

The first creation of the virus came from West Africa which came to be known as Progenitor virus.

This viral progeny was extremely deadly and I think the one who handled it - Umbrella Corporation obviously - decided to modify it into something... controllable, at least.

I think that somebody... let's call him Albert Wesker... I know, I know it might not be him... but I had to give the guy some credit for being a cool villain.

So the Wesker guy modified the progenitor virus with leech DNA to make the desired bio-weapon, T-Virus.

Leech, really, that guy was truly something.

Leeches are naturally bloodsuckers, little vampiric creatures. So you get the memo, why the hell the zombies tend to really like blood and flesh a lot?

Let's leave that faulty T-Virus aside.

We have another variation of the virus that was used on Wesker - oh shit, the Wesker guy again - in the games.

This prototype was overpowered but it also had some of its drawbacks.

The new strain was extremely picky of its hosts - it is as if it had studied natural selection prior to its creation.

It favored only those who had a 'special gene'.

Why the fuck was the new strain so discriminative?

And what the hell was the special gene?

I naturally didn't know but I could relate it to people who are exceptionally blessed with superior biology that sets them slightly above their fellow humans - let's just call them lucky bastards.

So Albert Wesker as the dedicated villain has to, of course, get his hands on the Prototype virus and do what power-hungry villains normally do as per the script - empower himself to be the ultimate Chad.

So the prototype gave him superhuman strength, reflexes and a regenerative healing factor that could even make him resurrect under specific conditions.

He could regenerate his skin in a matter of minutes if he was roasted in fire but still... It was nowhere close to Van Helsing's Count Dracula's show of regeneration after being burnt to a mere skeleton.

It just made Albert Wesker a roach - a better survivor that could take anything that came his way.

"I am not going to take the Wesker route. I am going to incorporate the strain that gave Alice her telekinetic powers and the prototype that gave Albert Wesker his god complex."

I am definitely not creating something that can influence my nature like something as unrefined as a god complex.

Yeah, yeah, I have a little bit of 'playing god' tendencies but I was in no way a narcissist. (That in itself is under review)

What am I then? Riddle me that.

"So basic telekinesis and a minor healing factor and some additional stat increase."

Without further ado, I started working on the prototype.

I had synthetic tissue and cell cultures at hand for the purpose of cultivating the virus.

This time I wasn't going the human experimentation route but using a faster and efficient alternative.

I once again couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the micro-versal world under the microscope.

I had looked for ways of toning down the virulence so as to create the prototype I had in mind.

It took me a few hours to isolate the prototype strain.

And now with the Prototype strain, I was only left with the developing and modifying T-308.

I wanted these two strains to complement each other perfectly in what I dubbed "The balance."

A viral harmony or an antigenic shift.

I had a grand vision of evolving the strain to meet the standards I had in my mind.

It took me yet another 4 days of slaving in the laboratory to create a new version of the virus.

An evolved super-serum.

The E-Prototype.

I had no problems with things like getting tired like normal laboratory personnels when it came to extension of experimentation periods.

Currently, I am sitting on a futuristic chair that was designed to look like... Wally West's famous chair... The Mobius Chair.

In my right hand, I had a medical injection gun containing a vial fixed on top of it.

Blue-colored contents could be seen inside the glass vial.

"E-Prototype." I mumbled the name of the strange-looking liquid.

"It is now or never." I steeled my resolution while disposing of my lab coat and shirt off my body.

I then took the medical injection gun and aimed at my left arm - inches above my deltoid muscles.

"After this... I will be born again." I then pressed on the trigger button without hesitation.

I felt something foreign, something violent, rush deep into my muscles and then started spreading quickly to my whole body system.

I didn't know when the medical injection gun dropped from my hand.

It just happened.

Time seemed to have stopped.

And when the viral E-Prototype started its effect at a cellular level, my body was hit by a strong wave of unimaginable pain.

Before I knew it, my body was hitting the floor.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Aaaaargh!"

I growled in excruciating pain like a primal beast from a primitive ecosystem.

I was in all fours, my palms tightly pressing on the ground. The result of my action was a handprint plastered on the super durable floor.

Little red veins started manifesting all over my body, as I felt my muscles being torn apart over and over again.

I didn't care about pain anymore.

I gnashed my teeth violently like a rabid dog while randomly knocking things away from my path.

My skin was now boiling red due to the rising of my body temperature to inhumane levels.

From an outside perspective, I looked like someone who was about to transform into a monster - like the usual werewolf transformation troupe.

The E-Prototype was slowly combining with my DNA, altering my physiology and metabolism to high degrees.

My current expression wasn't sexy but more like a novel protagonist who just had his clan murdered brutally.

It was a menacing scene.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Grrrr!"

It felt like millions of bullet ants were wreaking havoc all over my body.

Just imagine it.

By the use of my sheer willpower, I braved through the cellular transformation.

I didn't want the pain to knock me unconscious.

Luckily, the pain wasn't eternal.

Black goo signifying the impurities from my cells and whole body, started being expelled gradually.

The process felt... orgasmic.

Wait, that felt wrong. Was I by chance, a masochist?

Anyway, when I started investigating my bodily changes, I found that my heart beat was... non-existent.

Did I become a... vampire?!

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