Altered Cosmos

Chapter 22; Lab-Rat

Darkness fills space once again…Nothing to see for miles and the environment completely silent and still……

Seconds later, a blurry white light pierces through the darkness. The light began to come into focus and Levi eventually realises that he was staring at the ceiling of a not too bright room.

His head felt like it was on fire and he could barely move except for his eyes which turns to the side to see some men in lab coats operating a computer console.

He looks at the other side where he saw more scientists’ discussion and working. 

<Where the hell…… am I?> He closes his eyes and tries to recall what happened but it is only after a moment that he recalled the mission in Lagos with the rest of his squad.

He recalls the operation and their success, as well as the surprise attack by the enemy but anything past that was blank……

“Hey, Phillip. Have you given him the second dose?” A scientist said to a less professional looking young scientist. 

“Relax, there’s still time before the first one wears off.” Phillip said with a chilled soft-drink in his hand and his body relaxed into the chair. 

“Well. You better do it now before he wakes up.” A female scientist said as she walked past Phillip.

Phillip groans as he drops his drink down on the table and stands up.

“Come on. That first dose is enough to keep an elephant knocked out for a whole day.” Phillip grumbled as he heads over to a table where a set of medical equipment were placed.

“You’re forgetting the whole ‘Lightning tron accelerated metabolism’ part.” A man chuckled and some of the other scientists laughed at Phillip.

“Yeah, yeah…” Phillip sighed as he draws in a greenish-yellow liquid into a syringe. Levi remains completely quiet and still as he tries to come up with a plan without drawing attention to himself.

He creases his brow when he realises that his limbs were strapped down to an examination table and he seemed to be in his shirt and shorts instead of his battle suit.

<No way am I going to be someone’s lab rat.> He thought as he slowly focused his energy into his limbs but due to the sedatives, the process was more strenuous and imperfect although he doesn’t lose his composure as Phillip walks over to him, two syringes in his gloved hands.

Phillip sighs as he drops one syringe on side table and flicks the needle of the other one in his hand. “Let’s get this over with.”

He turns his attention to Levi’s arm and places a hand on it with the syringe slowly aiming for his skin……just as one of Levi’s arms break free from the metallic strap and grabs the syringe on the side table before swiftly thrusting it into Phillip’s thigh.

Phillip suddenly stops and looks at his leg as the sedative seep into his leg before turning to Levi whose blue eyes were opened. “You’re…awa…ke?”

Phillip’s words slurred as the drug hits him, getting the others attention just as Levi breaks the strap on his other arm and grabs the syringe Phillip drops as he collapses.

“Stop him!” The female scientists shouted out to the others just as Levi flings the syringe into her leg, causing her to collapse as well.

The other men charged at Levi who suddenly fired a wave of electricity that electrocutes all scientists in the room and even short circuits some devices.

Levi sits up as the scientists hit the ground with sounding thuds and rips off the straps on his ankles. He slides off the table but stumbles as his vision blurs.

“So this must be what a hangover feels like.” He grumbled, one hand holding the table for support and the other on his aching head. 

Levi looks around as a static sound appears in the room just as a voice comes in. “Come in, Unit 4… Unit 4, do you copy?”

Levi wobbles over to the console where a communicator was placed face-down on the keyboard. “Unit 4. Is the subject stable? Report.”

Levi picks up the communicator and turns it over. “Who are these guys?” He mumbled as he dropped the communicator down.

He walks over to the door on the other end of the room with a hand on his aching head before suddenly catching the sight of a closet not too far from the door where he finds his battle suit.

As he quickly zips up the suit on his body, he notices the extra lab coat in the closet and his eyes widen when he notices a symbol on it.

“No way.” He reaches and pulls out the lab coat…his heart dropping to his gut when he sees a dreaded symbol. <The Spider Web?>

“What the hell?” Levi stiffens suddenly when he realises a guard in black uniform had stepped into the room, eyes traveling between the unconscious bodies sprawled out on the ground just as he notices a figure running towards him.

“I need back-” The guard’s voice was cut off as Levi quickly wraps the lab coat around the guard’s head and arm, twisting the cloth and sending the guard into a wicked spiral which ends with his body slamming into the ground with a thud. 

Levi stumbles a little, the drug still affecting him but he could feel the effects wearing off. He suddenly freezes when he hears a terrifying click behind him.

“Your hands behind your head. Now!!!” Levi hesitatively complies and the guard nods with his M9 side-arm pointed at Levi. “Turn around. Slowly.” Levi complies again, turning around to stare the surprisingly scrawny guard in the eye.

The guard glances at the bodies all sprawled out on the ground including the guard that arrived a moment ago. “You’re in big trouble, kid.”

“Can’t we just talk about this?” Levi said with a little smile as he was about to take a step when the guard cocks the gun again. “Look. I don’t want to hurt you. Just let me go and-”

Levi takes a step and the guard panics by pulling the trigger……. 

Levi’s static shell immediately activates, slowing the environment around him including the moving bullet already inches from his face.

Levi instinctively grabs the bullet and the guard shivers in fear as Levi stares at the bullet in his hand.

“See? If you just-” The guard fires five more bullets and Levi grabs all of them with both hands instantly.

“Really?” Levi asked with a confused look and the guard was about to fire again when Levi threw two of the bullets at him, one completely misses his body while the other manages to pierce through the guard’s gun, rendering it useless.

The guard tries desperately to shoot but the gun doesn’t do anything as Levi walks forward, the other bullets falling from his hands. “Impossible.”

Levi stops in front of the guard with a threatening look in his electrifying eyes.

<I’m literally covered in electricity and ‘that’ surprises you?> He takes a breath and speaks in a calm tone. “Where am I and how can I get out?”

The guard glares at Levi and shouts. “You’re crazy if you think I’m telling you!”

He quickly reaches for his communicator but Levi suddenly throws a punch into his gut causing some saliva to spew from his mouth as he collapses to the ground.

“Damn it.” Levi sighed with a hand rubbing his hair as his static shell wears off. He runs out of the room and down the dark hallway with eyes scanning around for a way out or an idea of where he was.

<I’m sure all that noise got…> Levi stops suddenly as an emergency sound rings through the hallway with red flashing lights. <…their attention…> He suddenly ducks behind a damaged structure as some guards headed in the direction of the room he just escaped from. 

A robotic voice then sounds through the room. “Alert. Alert. Subject Prime has escaped from Unit 4. All forces are ordered to capture him. I repeat…”

Levi grits his teeth as he senses more people moving in the building. <Just great. Wait…> He concentrates hard, expanding his Area scope to the point where he gets a vague image of his prison and his eyes fly open.

<I’m underground?> Levi then slips away as two guards arrived at the spot, pointing their flashlights to search for their target. 

A few minutes later, on the other side of the hallway, a figure waits in the shadows as some more guards ran past, searching frantically and once the coast was clear, Levi drops down on the floor and moves forward. 

<Whatever those guys injected into me is still messing with my head.> He ducks behind a pillar and waits as another guard runs past him.

He then taps his band, syncing it to his eyes as he attempts to call for help but the signal seemed to be blocked off. He shakes his head a little and sighs.

<At least I know I’m two storeys under.> He glances past the pillar, searching for any guards. <I just need to find the…> A grin spreads on his face when he sees a sign by a passageway. 

“Hallelujah.” He whispered as he quickly sprinted towards the stairway. He quickly but quietly closes the door and runs up the stairs which ended at a door.

Levi reaches out for the handle but stops and closes his eyes, his Area scope activating again and sensing about 10 guards waiting on the other side.

He opens his eyes and lets out a weary sigh. “I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.”

“We know you’re there, Subject Prime.” Levi looks at the door and realises that some of the guards were trons as well. “Step out slowly with hands behind your head and you won’t get hurt. You have until the count of 3. One…two… thre-”

The door suddenly opens and the guards in the large room waited cautiously as Levi steps out with hands behind his head. “That’s a good boy.” 

As Levi continues to walk forward, he notes the location of each of the guards and the only exit behind them. He stops as two stepped towards him. One of the men spoke with a smile on his face. “Now. Let’s get you-”

Levi’s energy suddenly rises and electricity fires from his hands and into the ceiling above, short-circuiting the lights.

“Jesus!” He shouted as he looked around the room which was completely pitch-black until…… he sees the dull illuminating figure created by the blue outlines on Levi’s suit. “Get-”

A punch to the face shuts the man up instantly and Levi jumps up as energy beams fly across the room, some hitting the other guards and immobilizing them. 

Levi’s illuminated figure weaves past the attacks with swift hand movements and kicks taking out many guards, until…… the backup lights come on and Levi stares at the five guards still left.

Based on Levi’s senses, they were the trons with gold-black masks on their faces… but something was off about them…they seemed inhumane with their glowing eyes lifelessly staring at him and he also noticed that they didn’t have bands on their wrists like him.

“Subject prime.” The tron with the most threatening figure spoke and Levi enters a combat stance as they began to slowly circle him.

“Return to the science unit now or we will be forced to detain you.” 

Levi glances at the trons to his side and the last one behind him. <I don’t have time for this.>

He thought as he suddenly charges forward, aiming for the tron to his front… the tron throws his arm out to attack with a blast of energy but Levi quickly leaps to the side, dodging the blast and heading for the door behind the guard……

When an arrow suddenly pierces into his arm and he jumps back as another blast comes from the side.

Levi clutches his shoulder, the arrow sticking out of his skin and glances at a tron holding a wicked looking bow which seemed to be made of her energy. 

“I repeat…” Levi turns back to the leader, holding a palm of green-blue energy at him. “Stand down.”

“Not happening.” He mumbled just as a sudden feeling jolts in his body and distorts his vision. He wobbles a little on his feet and shakes his head as the archer tron spoke.

“It seems to be working.”

Levi’s eyes widen as he grabs the arrow and pulls it out with a squirt of blood. He looks at the arrow and sees the trace bits of energy on the arrow’s bloodied tip.

<Another drug?> 

His legs wobbled again, causing him to stumble to his knees just as one of the other trons charged at him.

Levi grunts as he pushes himself up just in time to dodge an incoming punch and swings his feet into the tron’s side, send the tron sprawling.

His vison blurs again and he barely blocks as an energy blast collides into him, sending him skidding across the concrete.

<Damn it.> He then ducks as two more arrows whistle past his body. <I’m not getting hit again.>

He quickly rolls to the side as a tron swings a long metallic chain at him just as another one sends a kick to Levi’s gut which sends him flying back to the wall with a loud crack and indentation to the wall.

Levi grits his teeth as he drops to a knee and glares at the trons approaching him. 

“This is a pointless battle. Stand down.” The leader said and Levi glances at the others, the archer pointing an arrow at him, the chain user to his side and the other two glaring at him.

In Levi’s mind, he senses the presence of others guards heading this way and gnashes his teeth as he stood. “I really don’t have time for this.” He grumbled as he released a wave of energy with his Static shell activating as well.

“Stand……ugh” The leader’s voice was suddenly cut off as Levi suddenly appears beside him and sends a knee into his gut all in an instant.

As the tron hits the ground, Levi moves with blinding speed as the archer tron fired a crazy amount of arrows at him but Levi continues to weave past them…before suddenly appearing behind the archer and dealing a blow to the back of her head.

The chain user then fires the long steel chain at Levi who manages to barely weave past the metallic projectile, grabs the chain with one hand and an arrow from the archer’s quill with another.

In one rapid body spin, pulls the chain user towards him and jabs the arrow into his side. Levi grunts as he flings the man across the room and into the wall with a loud crash.

As Levi tosses aside the chain still in his grasp, he hears a sudden bang and weaves to the side as a bullet whizzes past his gut. He looks up and sees one of the two last trons holding a weird looking machine gun.

“It’s futile.” The tron said as he continued to fire large amounts of bullets at Levi who uses his superior speed and skills to deflect all the bullets with his hands……

“Ugh…” Levi suddenly grunts as the drug from the archer’s arrow affects his body again, causing him to stiffen just as a bullet slightly grazes his cheek while he quickly jumps back. 

He then performs a quick backflip as the other tron charges at him with an incoming kick from behind but Levi blurry figure soars over him and lands on the ground.

More bullets fly as Levi speeds across the room, up the wall and ricochets off the roof to land beside the gun user with a loud thud, cracking the ground a little.

Before the gun user could react, Levi performs a complex spin, sending his foot into the man’s face, breaking a few teeth as well as cracking the mask. 

He then side-steps to avoid a punch from the last attacker before dealing the man a series of high-speed jabs to the abdomen before ramming his elbow into him which sends him rolling across the concrete ground.

Levi breathes heavily as he looks across the room, his attackers all defeated and he lets out a sigh, causing his Static shell to wear off.

“I’m getting tired of this.” He then hears the sound of several boots approaching and runs towards the exit as more guards busted into the large room to see all guards defeated and unconscious. 

Meanwhile on the base level, several guards moved, giving orders and commands to both humans and trons……unaware of the figure moving through the shadows, quietly yet quickly.

Levi slips into a quiet hallway and sneaks away when he stops by a small window where some sunlight pierced through. <It’s already morning? How long was I out?>

He thought as he moved forward, still using his interface to call for help but the signal still doesn’t go through. <Damn it. Did they cut me off? And I don’t sense the others anywhere.>

He suddenly stops and ducks into a closet but the guard there managed to get a glimpse and runs towards the spot with his weapon menacingly pointing at the spot.

“I know you’re there. Come out!” There was no response and the guard cocks his gun with a grunt. “Don’t make me come there.”

Still no response and the guard grits his teeth before suddenly firing at the spot, leaving holes on the door but there still wasn’t a response.

He then reaches out and opens the door……but it empties except for the cleaning supplies now designed with bullet holes.

“What the hell?” He mumbled just as a door several feet from him closes quietly and Levi sighs in his Static shell form on the other side.

His eyes then widen in excitement when he sees the door across the large indoor parking lot.

<Finally!> He thought as he ran forward, the images of the armoured vehicles and bikes zooming past him as he sprints towards the door………

When a speeding object suddenly stretches past a vehicle in front of him and Levi’s quickly slides down, avoiding the object which he realised to be the hand of a large dark-coloured Holon.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He mumbled as he stood up and the Holon’s eyes flared at him.

“Subject prime. By the order of the Spider Web, you must return to the lab.”

Levi grunts as he suddenly dashes toward the door……. but the Holon appears in front of him with a fist drawn for a punch and Levi quickly jumps back as the punch collides with the ground, sending rocks and debris flying.

Levi grits his teeth as the Holon steps out of the smoke with the same emotionless look on its face. “I repeat, stand down.”

“I’m really getting tired of hearing you guys say that.” Levi said as he walked towards the Holon with electricity coursing in his eyes…...when suddenly an afterimage forms behind him, then another afterimage and another……

Until the Holon finds itself surrounded by several copies of Levi walking around it. 

One of the copies suddenly charged towards the door and the Holon reacts immediately with another punch which manages to make contact……

But Levi vanishes leaving the Holon vulnerable as the real Levi appears in front of it and fires a close range lightning bolt that completely fries it.

The Holon  glitches and its voice brings out static as the electric current fires through its body……it then attacks with another punch.

But Levi jumps, ramming his knee into its chin and sending it into the air just as he spins, sending his heel to the side of its head and the Holon crashes into the ground with its head partially destroyed. 

As Levi was about to move forward, his Static shell disappears and his body stiffens with pain. “Damn it. I’ve reached my limit.” He looks at his hands which produced small sparks of electricity.

“At least, I can last longer than 5 minutes but……” He sighs with his head facing the ceiling and hands on his hips. “How am I supposed to get away now?”

After a short moment, he turns to a motorcycle parked some distance from him and a smile slowly formed on his face.

“I heard some sounds from the garage!” A guard shouted as he leads a small group of men towards the gate on the side of the large complex when they all stopped as a sudden revving sound fills the air followed by a shaking thud of the gate.

“What the hell?” The thud sound hits again and again……until a sudden blast suddenly shatters the steel door, sending debris flying as the guards ducked for cover. 

The leader looks at the damaged gate and glares at it.

“What the hell happened?” He said as he runs over to the gate to find some parts of it severely scorched just as the revving sound of a vehicle appears again this time louder and closer……

The guard then ducks as a sports bike flies out of the smoke-covered gate, revealing a certain white-haired figure riding it.

The bike lands with a bounce and the tires screech as Levi speeds down the highway. 

“He’s getting away!” A guard shouted as he pulled out his gun, firing bullets at Levi when another guard stops him with a furious stare.

“Are you crazy? Do you want to kill him?” The guard put his gun down and the man glances at the disappearing figure of Levi. “The Ace will take care of it.”