Waking up

“Good morning beautiful.”

A distorted voice summons you from a once comfortable slumber. The reason you say once is because some fucker moved you while you were out and strapped you to a medical table. You have nothing on a but a pair of tightly fitted compression shorts. Above you hovers a perfectly smooth red mask - with no features to speak off. But it’s clearly attached to a person, a woman who steps back from the table and lets you see where you are.

The medical bay.

“Who kidnapped me this time?”

The masked woman steps aside and Carmine enters your field of view. “Apologies for the rude awakening. Bloody Nose was getting impatient.”

“We have a schedule to keep,” Bloody Nose taps an imaginary watch on her wrist and points to you, “Boytoy needs to get his shots soon.” Aside from the creepy reflective mask, she’s wearing a black coat that covers up most of her curves. The kind you’d wear outside during winter. Whoever she was, she was very interested in hiding her identity. Which poses a lot of questions considering that you’re inside a secret base.

“If you say so,” Carmine shrugs. “This is Bloody Nose, the last member of the inner circle and a woman who gives out very good advice. You should listen to her.” The masked woman simply nods.

“You could have just asked.”

“I could, but this is more fun. You get to live a bit vicariously until we install the killer laser…” Carmine is wearing a scandalous white dress which hides almost nothing. Leg, sideboob, cleavage, the holy trinity is all on display. She’s topped it off with a pair of hoop earrings. She looks like she’s ready for a night on the town.

“Why’s it so urgent that you do this genetic engineering stuff to me?”

Carmine, for her part, looks over to the other part of the equation. The mask distorts her voice, and she talks in a tone that you can only describe as characterless. She’s definitely hiding something from you. “We’re entering a period of elevated threat. Carmine doesn’t think much of you beyond what I have told her.”

“Wait, so you were the one who brought me here?”

“No. I simply pointed her in the right direction. She has made her own assessment on your suitability for this job.”

“And what is that assessment?”

Carmine swoops in and kisses you on the cheek, “Selfishness, amorality, and willingness to charge in without thinking…”

“…You display all the psychological signs of a man who could kill.” She leaves that statement in the air as Doctor West joins the pair.

“Good morning Mister Doe, I hope these two ladies have filled you in.”

They really didn’t but you aren’t going to pick a fight right now, “I guess.”

West flips through her notes and lands on the page she’s looking for, “Today is the first day of your treatment programme. This is the basic course of body enhancement that all soldiers working for the Red Hand receive before their first deployment. It will increase your strength, metabolism, stamina and perception - if you have any damage to your eyes. In order for me to proceed, I require your express consent.”

You try to get a word in, but she stops you, “Let me talk through the side effects first. They are primarily created by the equipment that we use. You will suffer from a severe soreness of the muscles, pain in the arms, multiple points of entry from needles. Your skin may become irritated due to the solution that we will place you in. However I am happy to report that as of now, not one of our volunteers have reported negative side effects from the procedure itself.”

“Okay.”

“Since we inject you with a large number of nanomachines, you should take every precaution to not expose yourself to high electrical charges; lest you desire another trip into the chamber. And also this may trigger sensitive metal detectors, if they can pick up your keys, they can pick up millions of robots concentrated into your blood. This tends to happen when you are injured. Finally, by agreeing to this scheme you acknowledge that we will monitor your health from the medical centre. Heart rate, muscle condition, breathing. We can also track your location should the need arise.”

Your eyes spin a bit as she unloads a deluge of information onto your plate. This is the kind of terms agreement that you’d skip every time you bought a new gadget. This isn’t a new phone though – It’s your own flesh and blood.

“Uh. So if I say no, you’ll release me?”

“Yes. Carmine won’t be happy though.”

“He will not refuse,” Bloody Nose states. It does not come off like a threat, there’s an air of teasing in her words. Carmine remains silent.

You already agreed to be a part of this circus. “Inject me with whatever.”

Bloody Nose nods. Carmine seems pleased with herself. Doctor West turns to the pair, “I’ll handle him from here. Unless you find the process as exciting as the first time.”

Carmine shakes her head, “I have things to prepare that aren’t him. Do your best work Doctor.”

They leave through the doors to the ward, leaving you alone with the bombshell blonde. “I’m not flirting, but does Carmine have a thing for only hiring attractive women?”

Doctor West sighs, “Yes.”

“I knew it.”

The Doctor sets about plugging in tubes and scribbling down notes. “We already have your weight, muscle density and mass index. So we can start right away. We’ll apply a local anaesthetic to your arms and legs.” She pulls out a needle and injects you in several places. You wince a few times, but you soon start to feel comfortably numb.

She pushes the bed back and you are pulled upright. You’re inside one of the machines! They didn’t even wait for permission! “Your first time can be slightly distressing – many people have a fear of drowning.” She straps an oxygen mask around your mouth, it seems higher tech than the ones you’d find at a scuba dive. “It will get into your eyes. So please bear with it. Give me a nod if you are ready to begin.”

You take the dive and give her a glance. A machine whirs to life as a glass tube falls down around you. Your ears pop as the air is sucked out, and a green fluid, with a consistency similar to regular water, begins to pool under your feet. You can’t move your arms or legs; a menacing set of manacles rotate from under the bed – each one armed with several injector devices. Not long freakish needles, but simple, white, disposable things. They place themselves over your arms and hiss as they puncture you. You don’t feel it. They pull away after they are done.

The green fluid covers your eyes. It stings at first, but you get used to it due to **** exposure. Doctor West looks into the tube and then down at the monitor in front. She seems pleased with things. She gives you one last thumbs up before leaving.

Then it’s time to play the waiting game. They said it’d take a few hours. So you occupy yourself with memories of fun with Carmine, and scenarios of impending doom now that she’s revealed her true colours… would it kill them to leave a TV in here or something?