A week later, Tom discovered it was his turn for the experiment trials. They brought him and several others to a bunker-like building on the far side of the base, a place he’d never ventured to before. It was heavily guarded and looked well built as if they were trying to contain something massive underground. He did as he was told and marched into it with the others.
It was too late to back out of whatever awaited him down below. He just hoped that he would do a lot better than Billy did. “Maybe they immediately ship you out if you fail this thing?” He thought. “Well, I better do my best and outlast all these guys… poor Billy, maybe we’ll meet again someday, or even, out there in the war.”
* * *
Stripped down to their underwear and standing in a row in the cold white tiled medical room, Tom and the other few recruits tried their best not to be bothered by the uncomfortable feeling of being almost naked. As the only indigenous man in the room, Hawkesby stood out like a sore thumb.
The other men were skinny, slightly younger than himself, and either had heads of hair that were blonde or brown. His neatly slicked back short black hair was yet another difference making it harder to adjust blending in. The men tried to remain quiet, but a few turned to one another and whispered to each other. Hawkesby knew they were talking about him.
Despite all being military men, and being Canadian, the racial divide was very much alive and well in this bunch. Native Americans were always outcast by the white folk, not always mind you, but enough in this country that caused many of the native people to become prejudice themselves.
The awful whispers didn’t last, as the higher brass entered the room. They ordered all the recruits to stand at attention as they inspected them all. With the group of commanders and generals, was a very pale and gaunt looking man. He wore black gloves and a very white doctor’s smock that was collared tight to his neck. The man’s large bald head and small silver mirrored round glasses was almost too eerie of appearance to look at.
“What do you think of them, Doctor?” One of the generals harrumphed. He allowed the gaunt man to pass him and pointed at the third recruit (who looked nervous). “This one might be just the sort of buck we need.”
“We will see, General…” The doctor said, he closely studied every inch of the young man’s face and forced open his mouth to look inside of it. “There’s no telling which one will survive the process…”
“Survive?” Thought Tom. “That doesn’t sound to good.”
“Surely the serum you’ve been working on is better this time?” The general continued as he walked beside the doctor. “After those last fifteen, uh, mistakes… I thought you said the next group would be better?”
“Better, yes…” The beady eyed bald man quipped. “But I make no promises on how those groups turn out. Dead, perhaps? Maybe one or two survivors, ok? But, more than… I shall not speculate on those odds.”
Tom was next in the inspection. The doctor immediately stopped and stared at him for a long couple of minutes. He couldn’t quite see past those mirrored glasses, the eyes barely visible as they scanned his face. The doctor leaned in and smelled his hair… yes… smelled his hair. That threw Tom off slightly and wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Woah-woah! Back up! What the hell are you doing? Is this a joke? What experiment are we actually drafted for here?”
“Interesting…” The doctor’s lips curled in delight. “I’ve not seen one like you before. I rarely get to study the native people… which tribe are you with?”
"I beg your pardon?"
"Your tribe..." Vex repeated, giving a slight sigh and motioning casually with his hands. "Which indigenous peoples do you associate yourself with?"
“I don’t really, uh..." Tom stammered for a bit, looking confused by the man's question. He didn't care for the doctor's insensitive implication, nor was he about to give the man a satisfactory answer. “Sorry, who are you again?”
“I am Doctor Zahal Von Vextimalstrokya,” The man said with authority. “But, for the sake of simplification, I am known on this base as Doctor Vex, instead.” He continued to study Tom and even touched his skin in a very creepy fashion. He was rubbing and cherishing Tom’s arm like a fine leather chair. “I am responsible for all the mutations on this base. The transmutation effects everyone differently, but with surprising results based in their genetics and hereditary.”
Tom quickly pulled his arm away, “Mutations? What mutations? What are you babbling on about?”
“The experiment, my dear fellow, the one you volunteered for…”
“I thought we were just testing a new plane, or new weapons, or even some sort of survival vaccination…”
“Yaw…” Vex said. The thick Hungarian-Slavic accent was more pronounced as he continued to eye Tom. “This is very much for your survival––and that of the entire world, my boy. You vill become part of the most elite fighting force. Gods amongst men! Should you survive of course…”
“Beg your pardon?” Tom glared at him in confusion. “What are you on about?”
“The Northern Crew,” The General replied, he stood erect and gazed up in pride, continuing to finish it as if citing it from memory. “The greatest Canadian superhero fighting force ever assembled! We’ve taken on the Nazis, the Jerries and the Japos, all with our super soldiers of the future.”
Tom looked at him, then at Vex, then at the others. He let out a boisterous laugh. “Are you shitting me? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I mean… sure in like, comic books and the movies… but this is real life, right? You’re talking science fiction…”
“Science fact!” Doctor Vex screamed bitterly. He motioned his finger downward in a rage and vented in a tirade. “Those fools in Washington, they laughed at the science behind my work, told me I was mad and creating fantasy! The Canadian Government at least viewed it with a more discerning eye and gave me the means to help them become monumental towards the war effort!” Vex paced about and continued to rage. “The Northern Crew are the crowning achievement to my brilliance! They use their powers to stop cities from being bombarded, to force the enemy back and give the Canadians the edge in all of their battles! Comic books? Science fiction? This is war! Nothing is impossible and I, I alone, Doctor Vex shall bring about a new age of supermen that will user in peace at any cost!”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
All of the generals and high ranking officials tried to clam the man down. They escorted him away while he still talked loudly about his genius. Tome didn’t know what to make of that whole scene. Neither did any of the other men standing there. One of the older Generals hung back and grinned at all of them. He rubbed his hands and tried to undermine the whole situation.
“Well, that’s scientists for you, eh? Now, how bout we get you men ready and start the testing process.”
* * *
Tom and the rest of clad officers were taken to another room by the nursing staff and brought to their beds waiting for them. The gurneys were all up in a row against the thick cement block wall. The plain white of the interror room gave a rather ‘clean’ and sterile look. A very hospital-like environment that one would expect to see, or laboratory even, especially since they were about to become the ‘test subjects’ for whatever this was.
Tom took his place and lied down onto the bed. The nurses and doctors quickly strapped him down, took his vitals and prepared to administer the needle contenting the serum. Before any of the staff inject the patients, Doctor Vex spoke over the intercom as he and five other military officials watched on from a sealed, glassed-in room.
“Attention!” He commanded them all. “Before we give this latest batch of CAN1SX-35, I must ask you all to add the additional restrains that were placed under the beds immediately.”
The staff did as they were told and reached under. Strange looking metal clamps emerged as they locked them in place and the sound of power humming through them activated. Tom could feel the power holding him down. As if someone put weights on his entire body. Try as he may, he could not budge from the invisible bond the clamps produced.
“Excellent…” The doctor grinned. With a hand raised up, all of the staff prepared to administer the needles in unison. “You may begin… now.” He dropped his hand, and the nurses and doctors all injected the serum.
Tom felt the pinch of the sharp needle and relaxed after it was done. Nothing happened right away, many of the men were all razzing the ones that flinched from the injection and laughed about it. Tom didn’t join in the fun. He was too busy worrying about what they just gave him. The room was starting to spin, his vision foggy slightly and felt an odd sensation all over his body.
The other soldiers started to complain about the symptoms and quickly began to panic.
“Remain calm, gentlemen…” Doctor Vex hushed at them. “The feeling will soon pass. What you are experiencing is the culmination of years of hard work and testing. Each group experiences these shots in various ways. Some of you will have no effect, others may get a bad reaction…” Vex leaned away from the microphone for a second and adjusted his glasses. He took in the scene of all the men convulsing or starting to shout in agonizing pain. He gave a momentary smile and return to speak again. “The ones who survive will be the achievement of this new formula. Genetics and chemistry shall be the wave of the future. You are to be commended and applauded for your heroism. If you do, in fact, survive… that is…”
Tom could no longer hear Doctor Vex talking. The ringing in his hears was too great and it felt like his brain was boiling from the inside out. He couldn’t hold in the torment any longer, screaming to the top of his lungs in anguish, Hawkesby thought he was burning alive.
“No!” He shouted. “Stop! Stop this! I can’t… I can’t do it! No!”
Tom tried to look around as his body temperature heated up. He saw men exploding into nothing but parts and blood splattering over the white walls. Some of the men looked oversized and disfigured, ripping the clamps off and throwing the beds like they were cardboard boxes. All he could hear was the muffled sounds of women and men screaming; monstrous bellows that ended in a hail of gun fire, all the while, Doctor Vex looking on with those small silver glasses with little facial emotion.
Tom wasn’t sure what was going on. It was like the room turned into the tenth level of hell as monsters and body parts flew about his limited sight as if drawn out of a nightmare of his youth. He tired to break free, the pain growing and becoming hotter. The last thing he saw was a panicked doctor looking directly at him and gasping in horror.
“He’s… he’s…” The frightened man muttered. “Oh my God… Doctor Vex! Clear the area, this man is about to go…”
Suddenly, the man stopped speaking. Everything stopped; the noise had muted and the screams silenced. Tom had totally blacked out and there was nothing more to see.
* * *
He didn’t know how long he had been passed out, or dead even, if that’s what had happened to him. But the sounds eventually came flooding back in. He could hear a clock ticking far off in the distance. The sounds of hospital staff talking in the background. There was no screams or blood curling howls of death. It’s as if he was awakening from deep sleep.
He felt the touch of someone on his hand. Tom fluttered his eyes open and turned to look to see a man sitting by his bed. It was Doctor Vex. A queer smile on the gaunt man’s face made him slightly frightened. But Vex continued to smile and patted Hawkesby’s hand.
“You are finally awake, my dear boy.” He chortled with delight. “Good, very good.”
“W-w-what happened…” Tom finally said. His voice was hoarse, his throat felt dry and scratchy. “Am I dead?”
“Far from it,” Vex said. “You survived the process. I am absolutely delighted that your genetics were able to withstand the transformation. Oh, by dear, dear boy…”
“Stop calling me that.” Tom grumbled. “My name is Tom.”
“Yaw…” Doctor Vex nodded. He seemed put out by his comment, but humoured him anyway. “Well, Tom… You’ll need your rest, and then we can discuss your future later.”
“Future?” Hawkesby gazed with confusion. “What future? You nearly killed me you insane son of a bitch…”
“Now-now, Tom, don’t be…”
“Screw your experiment, Doctor…” Tom said trying to sit up. He was still restrained in his bed, and as he looked around, realized he was in a different hospital-type room. “Where am I? What did you do to me and all those men?”
“Consider yourself lucky,” Doctor Vex said, adjusting his glasses and smirking devilishly. “You were the only survivor of that whole trial. I must admit, I had my doubts about your… uh… people’s genetic code, but such is life, eh? You were transported to the east side of this base. I’m afraid, the west side is going to be off limits for a very long time. Thank goodness it was underground with all that shielding to support it.”
“What happened to me?” Tom shouted bitterly.
“You exploded, Mr. Hawkesby,” The Doctor calmly explained. “In the most unusual way… You lit up like a very bright candle and nearly took out the entire base in the process.”
“Huh?” Tom looked on in puzzlement.
“Like a bomb, poof!” Vex motioned with his hands. “No more westside. Thankfully, the Generals and I were in a box build for such things. Having had so many surprises in the past. But, they did have a hard time retrieving us with all that radioactive rubble on top.”
Tom wasn’t sure what he was going on about. He wanted to tell of the dangerous Doctor once more. But he grew very weary and started to pass out again. Doctor Vex simple stood over his bed and patted Tom on the cheek.
“Sleep for now, Tom. My precious A-tom-ic Hawk… Yaw, a good name for a new god, don’t you think?”
Tom couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. Sleep was washing over him a wave on a beach and he fell into slumber; the last image he had was of Doctor Vex grinning at him like a demonic spectre.