The silence in Ward C-17 was heavy enough to choke on. The sterile white of the walls reflected the faint hum of the ceiling lights, turning everything inside the room into a cold mirage of glass and steel. Beyond the reinforced windows, rain battered the roof of the military hospital like a slow, rhythmic drumbeat.
In the bed near the far wall lay a man, motionless except for the faint rise and fall of his chest. His body was wrapped in sensors and tubes that led to a cluster of medical devices humming beside him. The tag on his wrist read only one word: BLADE.
He had been found two weeks ago in a destroyed military facility at the edge of Sector 9 a classified zone that even most officers weren't allowed to mention. His body was almost completely burned, bones fractured, organs damaged. He should have died before the rescue team arrived, but somehow… he hadn't.
The attending doctors called it a miracle. The soldiers who carried him in called it a curse.
Doctor Crow didn't call it either. He called it "potential."
Standing at the foot of the bed, Crow adjusted his glasses and stared at the data streaming across the holographic monitor. His reflection flickered in the blue light
dark circles under his eyes, unshaven jaw, a faint smirk that never quite left his face.
"Still regenerating," he muttered, voice flat but tinged with fascination. "Even at this rate, the cells shouldn't be replicating this quickly."
He leaned closer, observing the pulse monitor. The numbers climbed slowly, steadily, defying the expected limits of a human body recovering from near-death trauma.
A soft knock came at the door. A young nurse peeked in. "Doctor Crow, the Director is asking for an update on patient C-17."
"Tell him he's stable," Crow said without looking away from the monitor. "And tell him not to interfere with my experiment."
The nurse hesitated. "Experiment, sir?"
Crow finally turned his head, the faintest smile touching his lips. "My research project. Don't make me repeat myself."
The nurse nodded quickly and vanished.
Alone again, Crow's gaze drifted back to the unconscious man. He reached out, adjusting one of the cables attached to Blade's chest. Beneath the skin, faint lines of crimson light pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. It wasn't natural. No drug in the hospital inventory could explain it.
Crow's voice was a whisper now. "What exactly are you, soldier?"
When Blade opened his eyes for the first time, he didn't know where he was.
White ceiling. Cold air. A faint antiseptic smell burning in his nose. The faint rhythmic beep beside him. His mind was fog.
He tried to move, but his body refused to obey. His arms felt like they belonged to someone else. His throat was dry as sand.
A distorted memory flickered through his head fire, screams, metal twisting, a flash of red light and then nothing. The pain that followed made him gasp.
Immediately, alarms sounded. The heart monitor spiked. Within seconds, the door slid open and two medics rushed in, followed by Doctor Crow.
"He's awake," one medic said.
Crow stepped closer, eyes narrowing with curiosity. "So you finally decided to join us."
Blade tried to speak. His lips parted, but no sound came out.
"Don't strain yourself," Crow said, adjusting a setting on the monitor. "You've been out for quite some time."
"How… long…" Blade's voice cracked, rough and faint.
"Two weeks," Crow replied simply. "You're in a military medical facility. You were found unconscious at a classified site. You're lucky to be alive."
Blade's gaze moved weakly around the room. "Where… am I exactly?"
Crow smiled slightly. "That information is above your clearance, soldier. But what matters is that you survived something no human should have survived."
The man's words sent a chill through Blade's spine. "What… happened to me?"
Crow folded his arms. "That's what I'd like to find out."
Later that night, when the hospital lights dimmed to their midnight hue, Crow returned to the ward. Blade was asleep again, though his vitals glowed in steady patterns of light blue across the holographic screen.
Crow moved silently, like a shadow. He inserted a data probe into one of the ports at the bedside console and began copying information. Cellular structure analysis. Organ regeneration patterns. Neuro-response rates.
Each data point made his heart beat a little faster.
The readings were impossible. The patient's cells were dividing at an accelerated rate, repairing damaged tissue in hours instead of weeks. Even his neural pathways showed signs of reconfiguration, as if his body was adapting to something unseen.
"This isn't healing," Crow whispered. "This is evolution."
He looked down at Blade, sleeping soundly, unaware of the storm that was beginning around him. Crow's eyes gleamed.
"I think I found my prototype."
He straightened, deactivated the monitor, and walked to the door. Before leaving, he glanced back one last time.
The patient's heartbeat echoed softly in the room, a steady, defiant rhythm.
Outside the ward, the hospital corridors were quiet. Only a few security drones hovered near the ceiling, their mechanical hum filling the silence.
Crow walked past them, deep in thought. His mind was a battlefield of possibilities formulas, dosages, projected results. The project had been stagnant for months, and the Organization was losing patience. But now… with this patient, everything could change.
He reached his private lab two floors below. As the door sealed shut behind him, the sterile air thickened with the smell of chemicals and metal. Rows of vials containing glowing liquids lined the walls. In the center, a small containment pod emitted a faint red light.
Inside it was a sealed vial of dark fluid the prototype serum. The result of years of illegal research.
Crow placed his hand on the glass. "You'll have a host soon."
The red light pulsed, as if responding to his voice.
And somewhere, deep in his mind, a voice whispered back not in words, but in instinct. Yes. He will do.
Crow smiled, a cold, satisfied smile.
Tomorrow, he would begin the tests.
The next morning came without warning. Blade stirred at the faint hiss of the blinds sliding open. Pale sunlight crept across the white floor, brushing against his bed like a hesitant hand. His mind felt clearer now, but the emptiness in it was terrifying. No name. No past. Just fragments of pain and light.
He sat up slowly, muscles stiff but responsive. The scars on his arms were almost gone. His hands strong, steady didn't look like the hands of a man who had nearly died.
He stared at them for a long time.
That was when the door opened and Doctor Crow walked in, holding a tablet against his chest. His coat was immaculate, pressed to military precision, and the faint shadow of a smile crossed his face when he saw Blade awake.
"Good morning," Crow said, voice even. "I see you're adapting faster than expected."
Blade's eyes narrowed. "Adapting?"
Crow glanced at the monitors beside him. "Your recovery rate is beyond normal. Every test we run on you breaks a new record. You should be proud."
"I'm not sure I understand what's happening," Blade muttered. "You said I was in some kind of accident?"
Crow walked closer, his footsteps echoing softly against the tile. "An explosion at a restricted site. You were the only survivor. Your body was broken, but somehow you're healing like nothing I've ever seen."
Blade tried to search his mind for a memory, but every attempt brought pain. "I don't remember anything before waking up here."
Crow looked at him thoughtfully. "Amnesia isn't unusual after trauma, but in your case, it might be… different."
"Different how?"
Instead of answering, Crow tapped something on his tablet, and the monitors flickered. A 3D projection of Blade's body appeared in the air a scan in shimmering blue light. Beneath the skin, patterns of glowing veins pulsed faintly.
"This," Crow said quietly, "is inside you."
Blade's breath caught. "What is that?"
"Regenerative tissue unlike anything I've seen in human biology," Crow explained. "It's not foreign material your body created it on its own. It's as if your cells are rewriting their own code."
Blade stared at the hologram. "You're saying… I'm not human?"
Crow chuckled softly. "No, you are human. Just… an advanced version."
The words didn't make sense, but something inside Blade trembled an instinct, like his body knew more than his mind did.
Crow stepped closer, his eyes sharp behind the lenses of his glasses. "You may not remember who you were, but I believe you were part of something extraordinary. Something that nearly destroyed you."
Blade's fists tightened. "Then help me remember."
Crow watched him for a moment before replying. "I intend to."
He turned toward the door. "Rest for now. I'll have some questions for you later."
When he left, Blade sank back against the bed, staring at the holographic scan still hovering in the air. The glowing veins pulsed faintly, in rhythm with his heartbeat.
He didn't know what was happening to him but deep down, he could feel it. Something was changing.
Hours later, Blade was moved to a different room. This one was larger, filled with diagnostic equipment and observation screens. A pair of security drones hovered silently above him, their red lenses tracking his every move.
Crow stood behind a transparent wall, monitoring data as Blade sat shirtless on a cold metal chair. Dozens of electrodes were attached to his body, each connected to a console humming softly in the background.
"How are you feeling?" Crow asked through the intercom.
"Like a lab rat," Blade replied dryly.
Crow's lips twitched in amusement. "Good. That means the tests are working."
He tapped on a control pad, and one of the monitors began displaying a pulse waveform. "I'm going to stimulate your nervous system to measure the limits of your response time. You might feel some discomfort."
"Define discomfort."
Crow smiled faintly. "You'll see."
A sharp jolt surged through Blade's spine. His muscles tensed violently, his vision flashed white, and then he gasped. The shock should have sent him into spasm, but instead, he felt his body absorb the pain like it was energy. The electrodes began sparking as his pulse climbed.
"Fascinating," Crow whispered, watching the readings spike far beyond human levels. "He's adapting in real time."
Blade gritted his teeth, sweat running down his face. "What are you doing to me?"
Crow's voice was calm. "Testing your limits."
The current increased again. Blade let out a low growl, veins glowing faintly beneath his skin. The room lights flickered. One of the drones malfunctioned, spinning erratically before crashing to the floor.
Crow shut down the current instantly, his eyes widening. "Incredible. Neural amplification far beyond projected values."
Blade slumped forward, panting heavily. "You… call that a test?"
Crow typed something rapidly on his console. "You're the most promising subject I've ever seen."
"I'm not your subject," Blade hissed.
Crow paused, then smiled faintly. "You might think that now. But you'll understand soon."
He turned off the intercom, leaving Blade alone in the silence of the lab. The faint smell of burnt ozone filled the air.
That night, Blade sat by the window of his room. The rain outside had stopped, replaced by a heavy fog that swallowed the distant lights of the city.
He stared at his reflection in the glass pale skin, sharp eyes, a faint line of scars down his neck. He didn't recognize the man looking back.
He clenched his hand into a fist. The faint glow under his skin flickered again, just for a second.
"What's happening to me…" he whispered.
Behind him, the door hissed open. Crow entered quietly, carrying a small metal case.
"You're awake," the doctor said softly. "Good. I was hoping you'd be."
Blade turned, suspicion written all over his face. "You're not here for another test, are you?"
Crow set the case down on the table. "No. I'm here to talk."
He opened the case, revealing a series of small vials filled with dark red fluid. Each vial pulsed faintly, almost alive.
Blade frowned. "What is that?"
Crow's eyes gleamed. "The beginning of an opportunity. For both of us.
Blade didn't take his eyes off the red vials. Each pulse of light inside them seemed alive, like a heartbeat in liquid form. The glow cast faint crimson shadows across the walls, reflecting in Crow's glasses as the doctor watched him closely.
Crow broke the silence first. "You've seen what your body can do. You've felt it, haven't you? The strength. The heat under your skin."
Blade said nothing.
Crow continued, tone low and steady. "Your cells are evolving faster than anything we've ever recorded. But that process it's incomplete. What you are now is just the foundation of something greater. These," he gestured toward the vials, "are the missing pieces."
Blade's voice was quiet but sharp. "You're talking about drugs."
Crow smiled faintly. "Enhancements. I call them 'Serum X'. Experimental, of course. Each designed to amplify specific traits within the human genome. Strength. Perception. Speed. You, however, are different. You can survive them."
Blade leaned forward slightly. "And what happens if I don't?"
Crow's smile didn't falter. "Then I learn something valuable."
The tension in the room thickened. Blade's eyes darkened, his jaw tightening. "You're using me as a test subject."
Crow didn't deny it. "You were dead when they brought you in. I gave you life again. Don't mistake your situation for freedom."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The hum of the machines filled the silence.
Then Blade asked quietly, "Why me?"
Crow looked thoughtful. "Fate, maybe. Or maybe because no one else could handle what's inside you. Either way, you were chosen."
"Chosen by who?"
Crow's expression didn't change, but his eyes did just for a second, a flicker of something colder, deeper. "You'll understand when the time comes."
He closed the case, sealing the vials inside. "Rest for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll begin the integration procedure."
Blade's voice hardened. "And if I refuse?"
Crow's smirk returned, this time almost sympathetic. "You won't."
The doctor turned and left, the door sliding shut behind him with a hiss.
Blade sat there for a long time, the echo of Crow's words heavy in his mind. Integration procedure. Evolution. Chosen.
None of it made sense, but his instincts screamed that something was wrong—terribly wrong.
That night, Blade couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, flashes of memory tore through his head like lightning. Metal corridors. Shouts. Pain. He saw a woman's face—blurred, but familiar. Her voice whispered through the fog of his mind.
Don't let them control you.
He jerked awake, gasping for air. Sweat ran down his temples. His pulse raced, the monitors beside him reacting to the spike.
"Don't let them control me…" he muttered, trying to piece the memory together. But the moment he tried, it vanished, leaving only that haunting sentence.
He looked down at his arm. The faint glow under his skin was brighter now, pulsing in rhythm with his racing heart. He could almost feel the energy humming inside him—alive, restless.
He clenched his hand into a fist. For a split second, the room around him slowed. The hum of the machines stretched into an echo. The clock's second hand crawled forward, painfully slow.
Then it snapped back to normal.
Blade's eyes widened. "What the hell…?"
He stared at his hand, half expecting it to glow again, but the light had already faded. Whatever it was, it wasn't a hallucination. He had felt time slow down.
His breath quickened. He didn't understand what was happening to him, but a terrifying thought clawed its way into his mind.
What if this is only the beginning?
The next morning, the door slid open, and Crow entered with two soldiers in black armor. Their faces were hidden behind opaque visors. The air in the room turned heavier, colder.
Crow's tone was calm, almost casual. "It's time."
Blade's eyes narrowed. "For what?"
"The procedure."
The soldiers moved closer. One reached for Blade's arm.
Blade pulled back instinctively. "I'm not agreeing to anything."
Crow sighed softly, as if speaking to a stubborn child. "You misunderstand, Blade. Agreement isn't required."
The soldiers grabbed him by the shoulders. He resisted, muscles tensing, but their grip was firm.
Something inside him snapped. The faint glow beneath his skin ignited again. One of the soldiers shouted as a burst of unseen force threw him backward into the wall. The second stumbled, clutching his head as the room seemed to distort around them—the sound of the machines bending, stretching.
Crow watched, wide-eyed, as time itself seemed to slow. The air shimmered around Blade, the dust motes frozen in the air.
Blade's eyes glowed faintly blue as he turned toward Crow. For that brief moment, the doctor looked at him not as a patient but as something far more dangerous.
Then the effect vanished. The glow faded. The room snapped back to normal speed. Both soldiers hit the ground hard, dazed.
Crow adjusted his glasses, recovering quickly. "Fascinating."
Blade looked at his hands, trembling slightly. "What… did you do to me?"
Crow smiled, stepping closer despite the chaos. "Nothing yet. That was all you."
"I don't want your experiments," Blade growled.
Crow tilted his head. "And yet, you just demonstrated the very reason you exist. You can't hide what you are."
"I didn't ask for this!"
"No," Crow said softly. "But you were chosen for it."
For a long moment, they just stared at each other the creator and his unwilling subject. Then Crow turned away, signaling the medics outside.
"Restrain him. Carefully this time. We begin at dawn."
Blade didn't resist as they approached, his mind racing, searching for a plan, a way out. The flashes of that woman's voice echoed again.
Don't let them control you.
As the restraints locked around his wrists, Blade closed his eyes. Deep down, something inside him whispered back something fierce, raw, and alive.
I won't.
When the room emptied and silence returned, Crow stood outside the glass wall, watching his subject through the reflection.
He tapped his earpiece once. "This is Crow. Subject C-17 has awakened faster than projected. Cellular adaptation confirmed. Early signs of ability manifestation observed."
A distorted voice answered from the other side. "Proceed with Phase One. Keep the Board updated. And remember, Crow… control is everything."
Crow smiled faintly. "Understood."
The transmission cut. He turned back to the glass, eyes glinting with anticipation.
Inside the room, Blade sat alone under the cold white lights, chains gleaming around his wrists.
He didn't know it yet, but the experiment had already begun.
And for the first time since his awakening, he wasn't just a patient.
He was a weapon waiting to be unleashed.