Marcus looks at his reflection in the mirror. A young man's face stares back. He has short black hair, and emerald green eyes. Above his left eyebrow is a small scar from fighting a rad rat with an old piece of wood when he was twelve. His face no longer has a gaunt undertone, and even has an healthy, athletic build. He is even growing in facial hair. The skinny, malnourished kid from Dirt Mound has turned into a young killer, with a confident shine in his eye.
'Hmm, need to shave soon.' Marcus groans.
Marcus hasn't gotten used to having facial hair yet. He prefers being clean shaven, because his cheeks start to feel itchy if he hasn't shaven in a few days.
'Don't have time today, got to get to the medical wing.'
It has been three days since graduation. Marcus is currently in his apartment on the residential district of Devil Maw. When he became a full-blown Red Scarf, he was allocated this apartment so that he no longer had to stay in the barracks at the training facility. The day after graduation, he was told to head to the medical wing for his 1 free augment every New Blood gets when they graduate. He also is getting a 'HUD' implant, whatever that is.
He pull out his uniform from his closet, and gets dressed. His new Red Scarf uniform is by far the most comfortable clothes Marcus has ever worn. Made of a fabric called 'Veil Weave' his uniform is light, breathable, and tear resistant. It also repels all water, dirt, and grime; He has always wondered how whenever he saw a Red Scarf, their clothes were always immaculate.
Wrapping his scarf around his neck, a cool refreshing feeling washes over him. The scarf itself is a piece of advanced tech. The scarf absorbs the excess heat from the host, stores it, then uses it to warm up the host when they gets cold. The scarf can only hold a certain amount of heat, so it vents extra heat out one end of the scarf. This is why RS Mercs wear the scarf with one half flowing over their shoulder, so it can flap in the wind and dispel the extra heat.
On top of temperature regulation, when the scarf is worn over the mouth and nose, it acts as a filtration device to protect the wearer from various noxus fumes, and gasses. It's no wonder to Marcus that this scarf was the namesake for the mercenary company.
After getting dressed Marcus makes his way to the medical wing. When he arrives, a nurse is there to greet him, and leads him to a private room with various medical equipment. The nurse then hands him a list of the tier 0 augments they have in stock for Marcus to choose from, then walks out the room.
The augments were categorized by what part of the body they augment. The categories are: Skin, Muscles, Bones, (various organs like heart, lungs, eyes, ect.), General Enhancement, and 'additional parts'.
Some of the augments sounded far more useful than others. There are augments like 'Rock Skin', and 'Increased Stamina'. Then there is also 'Stomach Pouch' which lets you store a morsel of food to digest later, and 'Extra Toes' which helps you keep your balance. After looking at the list for a while, he finds the augment he was looking for, 'Strengthened Reflex Time'.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
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Augment: Strengthened Reflex Time.
Tier: 0
Stability: 9
Origin: Hunter/Abomination
Description: Enhances the fast-twitch muscle fibers in the augmentor to allow the body to react, and make fast/explosive movements up to five times faster than the normal human.
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Marcus has noticed that sometimes his body can't keep up with his enhanced senses. He will react to a threat, then feel a delay before his body draws his weapon. The delay is miniscule in the grand scheme of things, but it's still there. It's always been Marcus's firm belief that being able to draw, and fire his gun faster than his opponent is the most important thing in a fight. Not only will it make his draw faster, it will also make him more deadly in close quarters combat.
After an annoyingly long time sitting in this room by himself the nurse came back. Marcus told the nurse what augment he wanted, and they asked someone to get it while they checked his vitals. It only took a few minutes before the gene seed was in his hand. This one was slightly luminescent with a red hue.
Marcus took a deep breath, then swallowed the gene seed. His bodies reaction this time wasn't nearly as bad as last time. His felt his muscles spasm sporadically all around his body for about fifteen minutes. While definitely uncomfortable, he didn't feel like he was going to pass out. While Marcus was absorbing the augment, the nurse continued to monitor his condition until he stabilized. Once all that was done the nurse asked him to sit on a bed with wheels, then started moving him to a different room to have his 'HUD' installed.
"I was wondering, what is a HUD anyways?"
"A HUD, or 'heads up display' is one of, if not the most important piece of tech Red Scarfs use. It is installed behind the right ear, and connects directly to the brain. It provides a plethora of benefits such as monitoring your current condition, communication between allies, and connection to the 'neural network'!"
"What's a 'neural network'?"
"Oh, you'll learn about it later, we are here."
They arrive at a surgery room, with a man in scrubs was waiting for him. The man has slicked back hair, goggles over his eyes, and a perpetual grin on his face. Overall his presence is very off putting.
"Hello there Mr...Viper? Yes Viper! So scary, your callsign. Nasty little buggers those vipers!
Anyways~ your here for a 'Heads Up Display' implant yes? Great little implant this. Will change your whole worldview I assure you!"
The man has a very weird accent that Marcus can't quite nail down.
"Uh-huh. Right."
'This guy is a nutcase!'
Marcus turns to look at the nurse with a pleading eyes. The nurse just nods with a reassuring smile.
"Say doctor, is this procedure safe?"
"Oh dear Viper~ I am not a doctor. I'm a Tech-doc! Names Herr Strauss to be precise (nice to meet you by the way). Having mastery over both flesh and machine puts me above mere 'doctors'! As for the safety of the procedure... well safety is just a word! There hasn't been an 'accident'... in at least seven years! Nothing to worry about dear."
"You know what? I don't think i'll be needing this implant. How about I just-!!!"
Marcus looks down to see the nurse has put a needle in his arm.
'How did I not sense her!'
"HEY! WHAT Did you inject me....."
"OH-HO~ Don't worry dear Viper, the procedure will only take a moment! Just take a short rest and you'll be all good to go!"
The voice of the madman named Herr Strauss starts to fade as Marcus's vision fades. With his consciousness soon to follow.