[b]Lost Haven, Maine - Little Sicily [/b]

"Urrrghhh..."

Doctor Eric Saxer's head was killing him. This always happened after exposure to the Meta serum, but he'd never quite get used to it. The doctor opened his eyes, letting the light enter his pupils long enough to comprehend what he was seeing. Above him was what looked to be plaster. Upon further exploration, Saxer noticed that he was lying down on something soft. Curious as ever, the doctor started to sit up and examine his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a run down apartment, seated on what felt like a rather expensive mattress and covered by a large blanket. He was also wearing what appeared to be a fresh pair of clothes. The doctor swung his feet off the bed, putting them down on the cold, hardwood floor. Eric brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes - he was still tired and groggy, but at least his head was starting to clear up. Something started to creak, causing Saxer's heart to race as he jolted his head up in the direction of the sound.

The door had just been opened, and a young woman with light blue hair and winter clothing stepped inside the room. She made her way over to the broken marble counter that surrounded the kitchen area, and set an unmarked brown bag down on the counter."Good morning. How'd you sleep?" She began casually, pulling a couple of sandwiches out of the bag. Eric rubbed his chin, absent-mindedly acknowledging the gray stubble that was starting to form there. "I feel like I slept on a brick." He said after a moment of thought, suspicion dripping with every syllable. Eric stood up, straightening out his shirt as he tried to stand on shaky legs. He felt weak. The serum's effects hadn't quite worn off yet. [i]Where am I?[/i] Doctor Saxer asked himself, glancing around the room for any obvious escape routes. There were a handful of broken windows, however upon closer inspection Eric realized that he was on the third or fourth floor.

[i]Damn.[/i]

He briefly wondered if he could make it past the girl in the kitchen and through the door. His hopes were dashed, however, when a familiar figure walked inside and stood in the doorway. The man's bronze chestplate and helmet were unforgettable.

Chike stepped into the room towards Ceri. When he reached her side he plucked a sandwich out of Ceri's hand."You could'a asked.." She mumbled. Polemos made his way over to the doctor, his face blank of emotion. He had none of his arms that he was wielding when the two did battle down on 18th street. He was, however, still wearing the same armor. Chike set his helmet down on Eric's bed, handing the sandwich to Saxer. The doctor took it, and quickly began to devour it. Whenever he used the serum, it tended to burn through calories much faster than normal; thus, Eric needed more food more often to keep replenish himself after battle.[color=aba000] "My name is Chike." [/color] The warrior brought a strong hand up, and Eric shook it."Eric Saxer. Where have you taken me?"

It was obvious from Eric's tone of voice that he was angry to have been taken to an unfamiliar place after losing consciousness. Chike sympathized with the doctor; being kidnapped probably wasn't the most pleasant thing ever.

[color=aba000] "Mr. Saxer, I have a few questions. First off, why did you attack me?" [/color]

"You had invaded my home. I was trying to protect my family." Now that was a bit unexpected. So the doctor's family was out there somewhere?

[color=aba000] "Your family, Mr. Saxer?" [/color] Eric sighed, his muscles loosening."We're not related by blood. We...We've...Well, it's complicated." Chike crossed his arms at this. [color=aba000] "Now why is that? [/color]

"We have history, my family and I. We've been through things that you couldn't possibly imagine.

[color=aba000] "Try me. [/color]

"Alright. I'll start from the beginning. You'd best sit down, though. This might take awhile."[/b] Eric said, before taking a seat on the bed behind him. Chike went and grabbed a chair from the dining room and sat down. Ceri soon joined them, handing Eric another two sandwiches. Saxer quickly devoured them before starting on his story. "It all started fifteen years ago. Myself and nineteen other men and women were recruited by a powerful corporation, SuperIOR Inc, to work on a top secret project. The company was looking to create the next step in human evolution. They wanted to make people faster, stronger, and smarter. They hired us to look into it."

"Excuse me," Ceri interrupted,"Why did they hire you guys? Are you scientists?"[/b]

At this, Eric Saxer nodded. "Yes. I'm a geneticist, personally. But we had researchers from all sorts of categories." Eric then waved his hand, and moved on. "Anyway. When the project first started, we were first assigned the task of re-evaluating the entire human genome. They had us run tests on every strand of DNA in the human body. We spent approximately two years performing tests on genetics, trying to find out the specifics of man's genetic structure. Eventually we found what we were looking for: We located a variety of genes that affected the human body's cellular growth. We found the DNA that we could, in theory, manipulate to evolve mankind's physical and mental capacities.

"The next step was finding a way to manipulate these genes. We tried everything we could think of, but after four years we determined that there was no natural way we could safely accomplish our goals. We thought we were finished. That is, until SuperIOR introduced the idea of cybernetically enhancing humanity to the next level. They brought three experts on the subject for us to work with. They were all geniuses; you couldn't believe the machines they were capable of creating. We spent the next eight years creating prototypes, and stress testing the nanites' evolutionary abilities. It was groundbreaking work. Around mid-November of the eighth year, we did our first animal trials. We used the nanites to enhance a number of field mice. We discovered a number of flaws in the serum. First, it degraded human intelligence while active, instead of increase it as he had planned. We tried a number of work arounds, but nothing seemed to change. 

"The second flaw wasn't in the nanobots themselves, but in the liquid we suspend them in. You see, the yellow liquid is actually the main energy source for the nanites. It's basically a shot of tens of thousands of calories right into the system. The nanobots use the massive amount of energy to jump-start their systems, and then continue to feed off the liquid until it burns out. The problem is, this liquid is meant to last for months at a time under the most stressful circumstances; yet, it seems to burn out in minutes. Up until recently we always assume the nanobots were using the energy inefficiently. But we discovered that that wasn't the case; the liquid serum is missing a key bonding agent, leaving the liquid in a state where the tens of thousands of calories are treated more like thousands.

"We...We also found that the bonding agent had been removed and replaced with a placebo string."

[color=aba000]"Who sabotaged your work, Doctor Saxer?" [/color]

"I don't know. Nobody does. Anyway, once the board of directors found that we couldn't fix their serum they decided to drop the project. They began to seize all of our equipment and research, and started to...remove...test subjects. The three engineers disappeared off the map. That was when the research team and I took what we could and fled. SuperIOR hunted us, at least for awhile, but we managed to find this place. It was the perfect hiding place: few people dared to come here after the 'Red Plague' hit, and then there was the fire, and finally the looting and pillaging...Everyone with an ounce of respect ran off; most of 'em claimed the place was haunted. The couple of gangs that still populate the run down apartments and smashed up stores tend to leave after dark."

[color=aba000] "So you're safe here?" [/color]

"We were, until you showed up." Eric answered, glaring at Chike spitefully.

[color=aba000] "We can protect you and your family. Ares might not be the most agreeable god, but he protects his own. You'd be safe." [/color]

"And what's the catch?"

"You would provide my forces with your serum in exchange for protection." Chike, Ceri, and Eric and turned to see who had spoken. Standing there, a red light fading behind him, was Ares. His black armor seemed to absorb little light from the small bulbs hanging from the ceiling, and his gaunt face appeared as stricken with rage as always.

"Who are-" Eric began.

[color=aba000] "Ares, the God of War." [/color]

"He's real." Eric choked, his voice noticeably more reserved than a moment before. Chike couldn't help but grin a bit as Eric squirmed.[color=aba000] "Do we have a deal?" [/color] Eric decided not to answer verbally, but instead chose to nod.

"Good, it seems we have brokered a deal in the nick of time. Polemos, my servant, there is a disturbance outside." Ares motioned to the window facing the newly-built shrine to Ares. Chike and Ceri stood, making their way quickly over to the window..