Serum

That everything would be flipped upside down...

"Hey! Get up, you brat!"

*Smack!*

"..."

"There he is."

After getting a slap to the face, SS-008 opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the roof of the factory where he went unconscious. The second was the face of the lumberjack who was puffing smoke into his face.

"...Don't you know smoking is bad for you?"

"Don't you know that you should keep that shit eating trap of yours shut? Get the hell up."

"Heh."

Chuckling, SS-008 went and stood up. However, as he got to his feet, he staggered unsteadily, prompting the lumberjack to catch him.

"Whoah. What's going on? You drinking now?"

"It's the stuff they injected me with. I guess it's not totally out of my system yet. Wait, what happened after I lost consciousness?"

SS-008 asked as he steadied himself against the lumberjack.

"Not long after you sent the transmission, we caught them hauling away the packages. We weren't able to respond with a large enough force, and they got away."

"...Well that's going to look bad. How many times have I failed? I think this is the 4th time."

"They were prepared. As I said, this was a trap, and you couldn't adapt. Honestly, I'm baffled that they just left you alive. Anyway, you'll be getting sent back to the program after this to undergo more training so you can scrape off that rust. Until then, kiss the outside world goodbye."

"That won't be happening, sergeant."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind the lumberjack who was carrying away SS-008. They turned and saw two men in suits approaching them with an entourage of soldiers. SS-008 scanned the soldiers and noticed that they were supersoldiers like him from another team.

"Mr. President, sir."

The lumberjack saluted the President, as did SS-008, albeit with difficulty. He just nodded to them.

"At ease. Except for you, SS-008."

"Awaiting your orders, sir."

"I have a question for you, SS-008. In your transmission, you said you were injected with a substance. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir. While I was holding a woman hostage, she injected one of my open wounds with an unknown substance."

"I see... Did the syringe look anything like this?"

The president's aide took out a briefcase and opened it, revealing a syringe inside a slot. There were also 2 other slots that were empty that should be occupied by syringes.

SS-008 looked at it and recognized it. The syringe was the one the woman injected him with, and the briefcase was one of the items he was supposed to retrieve, or at least the items in it were. It was clear the woman got away with them.

"Yes sir. That syringe is the one I was injected with."

"So indeed it was..."

"Sir, I don't know what that substance was, but I can still function. Once I recover, I can go back out with a team and operate as you need me."

SS-008 saluted with the utmost respect. This was the president, and he had been taking direct orders from him for almost all his life.

However, after a bit of pondering, the president looked at him with odd eyes. SS-008 inwardly frowned at those eyes, and he could immediately tell that something was wrong. He then remembered the words of the woman, and his guard increased.

"...Sergeant."

"Sir."

"Step away from SS-008."

"...Sir?"

"That's an order, Sergeant."

"..."

With an odd look, the lumberjack removed SS-008's arm from around his shoulder and stepped back, leaving him to falter with no support. SS-008 kept himself somewhat upright though using his remaining strength that was slowly recovering.

"Super Soldier designation number zero zero eight. From this moment forwards, you are to be decommissioned and inserted into high-security prison for the violation of classification protocols."

"...Sir, violation?"

"SS team Beta, secure this prisoner and escort him away."

"Yes, sir!"

"W-wait. How did I violate protocol?!"

"SS-008! Are you resisting the orders of the President? Are you committing treason?!"

The man next to the president yelled at SS-008, and the beta team consisting of 8 soldiers took out electrical rods, clearly threatening him. Stunned, SS-008 felt his adrenaline kick in, and he saluted the president once more.

"No, sir! I am questioning the reason for the violation! I am unaware of what I did wro-!"

"You don't need to know what you did wrong, and you have no right to question my orders! SS-008, you will either comply and be peacefully escorted, or you will be forcefully deactivated and dragged to the scrapper!"

"...Sir-!"

"SS team Beta, apprehend the prisoner. This is a direct order!"

"Sir- Ack!"

Right as he was about to attempt to talk to the president again, the other supersoldiers came over to him and whacked him with their electric batons. They had a slightly paralyzing effect that not only targeted the body but his cybernetics. It was clear that the team came prepared to apprehend him specifically.

Seeing all this, SS-008 felt something in his mind snap. His body then started to strengthen as he mustered up all the concentration and energy he could.

"Get off of me!"

*Boom!*

He threw a punch toward one of the supersoldiers, sending him flying and planting him in a wall. Everyone looked at SS-008 with surprised faces, shocked at both his strength and the fact that he was defying orders.

Adrenaline pushing his weakness away, SS-008 stood up and fended off the other 7 soldiers while enduring the electric shocks that consistently stunned him.

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

*Crack!*

"I was just following orders!"

*Bang!*

"That crazy bitch just injected me with something! Why am I being decommissioned?!"

*Boom!*

Going between the soldiers attacking him, SS-008 broke bones, slammed their armor into the floor, and punted them across the factory. All the other personnel in the vicinity backed away, including the president who felt his heart pounding out of his chest in nervousness and fear.

Utilizing all his energy, SS-008 managed to fend off the soldiers and put distance between them. Unfortunately, he was quickly surrounded by other soldiers who pointed high powered weapons at him. Now, there really wasn't anything he could do, and he slumped to the floor as the last of his strength faded.

"...I just... I didn't do anything wrong."

Muttering to himself, SS-008 looked to the lumberjack who was standing near the president. Both of them stared at each other, and SS-008 didn't even look away as people carefully approached him and locked up his arms.

A restriction device was put over his head that covered his chest like a breastplate. The device then took control of the cybernetics in his body, deactivating them as well as the nanosuit which was quickly stripped off. He suddenly felt profoundly weak, even more than before.

"Get him out of here."

The president spoke after recovering, and the other supersoldiers who weren't incapacitated came over and hoisted him up, dragging him out of the factory. He was too weak to even stand.

...........

.......

"Holy shit..."

"It's him..."

"Why's he locked down? How the hell did they even pull that off?"

SS-008 was taken all the way to a skyscraper within the city that was the headquarters for government operations. It was one of the tallest buildings there was, and as he was being escorted to an unknown place, the hundreds of people they passed all stared at him, shocked.

He was bloodied, his limbs locked up with high tech restraints, and a mean look was plastered on his face, sending chills down the spines of everyone who saw. By this time, he was able to stand and walk himself, and even the guards escorting him didn't lay a hand on him unless absolutely necessary. It was almost like they were transporting a government official rather than a prisoner with how fearful and respectful they were.

As they came down a long corridor on one of the upper floors of the tower though, the group stopped. A man stood in front of them, and he stared at SS-008 with an angry look on his face. It was the lumberjack.

"You little piece of shit. Have I not trained you properly?!"

"Sir, you can't approach-"

"Get the fuck out of my way. I've dealt with this dog for over a decade! Are you saying you can handle him better than me?!"

"..."

"Besides, I've got a few things to say."

Pushing aside the guard, the lumberjack approached SS-008. They looked into each other's eyes again, but this time, there was clear hostility between both.

"Don't look at me like that, you lowlife."

*Bam!*

The lumberjack threw a solid punch at his face, causing blood to fly out. SS-008 was sent to the floor, still a bit weak from the deactivation.

"Is that it?! Not gonna bark like you did earlier?! Fuck! It's like all my training was for this. Why the hell did I even bother with you back then, huh?!"

*Thud!*

"Agh!"

The lumberjack sent a kick this time, sending his steel toe right into his gut. All the wind was knocked out of SS-008, and he was left barely gasping for breath.

"Are you really a supersoldier? Shit, I might just take you for a normal recruit at this rate. You might as well have just been left in the backwater slums scraping together moldy bread as a child. Maybe when you keeled over from the freezing cold, you could've at least been worth something to the dogs that ate you!"

*Crack!*

"Ahhh!"

SS-008 yelled out in pain as the lumberjack circled around him and kicked him right in his spine, causing it to let out a nasty sound.

"Hmph. You really are just a piece of shit. Don't resist as they go and scrap you for parts. It'll remove you from this world quicker. Puh."

Spitting on his face, the lumberjack turned and walked away. Seeing he was done, the soldiers who were escorting SS-008 went and picked him up again, continuing to drag him.

Looking to the back of the lumberjack who turned the corner into a certain hallway, SS-008 ever so slightly smirked through the pain. He could see data streaming through his retina.

[Rebooting...]

[Recalibrating cybernetics...]

[Scanning body...]

[Warning! SS-008 is in critical condition! Administering applicable doses of medical serum.]

[Activating nanobot repair systems.]

[Warning! Emergency state detected! Activating overdrive.]

[Administering adrenaline serum.]

[assembling Final Stand weapon system.]

With those notifications in his vision, his cybernetics started running in overdrive, and his strength started to return. Certain devices in his body also started to move in his abdomen.

On the outside though, nothing appeared to be happening as SS-008 continued to be dragged by the guards. This went on for several more minutes until finally, SS-008 saw the notifications he was waiting for.

[Medical serum administered. Nerve connections at 94%]

[Skeletal repair progress: 87%.]

[Muscle systems repair progress: 66%]

[Current bodily state: Temporarily Combat Capable. Medical attention required.]

[Final Stand weapon system constructed. Eject when ready.]

Seeing that, SS-008 smiled. Then, utilizing the systems in his body, he targeted the restraints and unlocked them.

*Click!*

"..."

As if that sound was death's bell, all the guards froze up in terror. Before they could even react, SS-008 acted.

*Slice!*

*Splat!*

With a swing of his arm, all 4 guards around him were decapitated. Their armor didn't do anything to protect them.

Ss-008 stood up and straightened his back as 4 heads and 4 bodies collapsed to the floor. He spun a long and thick knife in his hand that was a borderline shortsword. It had been ejected from his abdomen, and it was the weapon system that was present within every supersoldier as a final line of defense.

It wasn't just a knife though. After giving it a command, the knife reassembled itself into a pistol with a single magazine of bullets loaded into it.

SS-008 glanced at the guards. None of them had weapons except for electric batons, a failsafe so as to ensure he couldn't get a weapon easily should he manage to go free. So since he couldn't get anything from them, not even the armor which had locks on them, he removed the restraints, turned, and ran back the way he came.

Retracing his steps, he ran past many people who were once again startled by his appearance. He didn't bother with them though and quickly found the hallway that the lumberjack went down.

Turning the corner, he ran through and found an open door. Nobody was around, and SS-008 recognized this as the lumberjack's office.

"Get in here, dumbass. You made me wait long enough."

SS-008 smiled as he walked into the room. When he did, he could see the lumberjack who was kicked back on a chair. In the office was a standard desk, some bookshelves, and a couch with a coffee table. One thing was new though, and that was the vast assortment of weapons strewn across the floor.

"You had me scared for a little while."

"That's the only time I'm ever gonna save your sorry ass, so don't get used to it. Now, you've got a job to do."

"Job?"

SS-008 tilted his head as the lumberjack kicked his feet up on his desk, letting out a long plume of smoke from his mouth that was holding a fancy cigar.

"Your new job is to escape this god-forsaken place. Your assets are anything in this room, except for my chair and my cigar."

"Escape huh? What about you? They'll have your head since you helped me."

"If I gave a shit I would've left you to be scrapped. Now choose your damn weapons. You'll have to go without a nanosuit, and I don't have any medical supplies, but oh well. I'm sure your scrawny ass can handle a little bit of discomfort."

"...Sergeant."

"My name is Gray."

The lumberjack, Gray, gave his name. SS-008's eyes went wide. He had never known the guy's name and only ever called him sergeant since he was a child.

"Now get your shit and get on out of here. Sunrise is in 3 hours, so you better be far away from here before then."

"...Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna take care of some business. All I can say is, if you get out of here fast enough, you won't need to worry about these people chasing your tail for a long while."

"...Why can't you just leave with me?"

"Because I don't really feel like it. Now get out of here! Take it as one last order from your damn superior! Have I earned enough of your respect for you to obey me this once?!"

"...Yes sir."

"Good! Now hurry up! Troops are piling up the building as we speak!"

"Yes sir."

Feeling a tearing inside his chest that he's never felt before, SS-008 went over to one of the walls and grabbed some pistols and a rifle along with some ammo and even grenades. Then, after saluting Gray who was still casually resting on his chair smoking a cigar, he left the room.

..........

*Boom!*

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

*Shatter!*

Gunshots and explosions rang out on one of the floors of the skyscraper, blowing holes in the glass and attracting attention from civilians below on the streets.

SS-008 was fighting his way down through the floors. At first, he was on floor 63, but he had made his way down to floor 32. Sometimes he jumped outside the skyscraper and descended floors through the outside, sometimes he descended stairwells, sometimes he blew a hole in the floor, and he even took an elevator down a few floors once. No amount of obstacles could stop him.

At this point though, he was getting to his objective. He had wreaked anarchy across all the floors where hundreds of soldiers and security guards constantly made trouble for him. But he wasn't planning on descending to the ground floor. No, he was almost right where he wanted to be.

Upon reaching floor 30, he looked out the window after killing off several guards. Across a large gap he could see another building, and he was planning to go to it.

"Last grenade. Do your work."

Taking a grenade out of his pocket, he pressed a button and activated it. He then threw it to the glass and took cover.

*BOOM*

With an explosion, the entire side of the building was blown out, creating a ledge. SS-008 walked out from behind cover and looked across the way toward the other building.

"What is it, a bank? Oh well."

Shrugging, he created some distance between him and the ledge. Then without hesitation, he broke out in a full sprint and activated his legs to their fullest, launching himself out of the building.

*Woosh!*

The wind blew against him as he sailed through the air over 300 feet above the ground. The lights of the city illuminated his vision, and he looked down to see streets full of cars and spectators. For a moment, he wondered if anybody was able to snap a picture of him.

He kept his focus on the building though, which was fast approaching. After getting close, he swung forward his fist with all his might, sending it into the side of the stone building.

*Bang!*

The wall crumbled under his fist, and his entire forearm sank into the stone, holding him up. He looked back toward the skyscraper he jumped from and could see soldiers standing at the ledge he jumped from.

"Hmph."

Snorting, SS-008 grabbed the new holding and tore his arm out. He then took out his knife that was ejected from his body and inserted it into the wall, letting himself glide down the stone.

Once at the bottom, he quickly evaded the soldiers who were flooding out of the skyscraper after him, and using the crowd to his advantage, he managed to disappear from everyone's sights.

...........

"Sergeant Gray! What the hell is going on?!"

The President, who was absolutely livid, entered Gray's office with another escort of soldiers. After the whole fiasco with SS-008, he came over to his office as he received an extremely urgent message. The president was pissed and wanted to see what exactly Gray had that could help their situation.

Contrary to the urgency in his message though, Gray was sitting in his office chair relaxedly. He had a cigar in his mouth and held a picture frame, on it was himself and a woman. None of the guns or any signs that SS-008 entered were present in his office.

"Gray! Explain yourself right now!"

"...Mr. President, I'm going to keep things to the point."

"Please do!"

"...My wife died before we could have kids, and I volunteered for the supersoldier program in hopes of raising a man by my own hand. It was one of my lifelong dreams."

"What the hell are you talking about? You... did you let SS-008 escape?!"

"And after all these years, I was finally able to raise a kid into a pretty decent person. He was forged into a weapon, but he still kept his heart. You though... You took that away from me."

"SS-008? What, was he some kind of child to you? He was a soldier."

"Yes he was, but he was also my son. At least, that's how I raised him."

"So you were the one to let him go. Sergeant Gray, what you just did makes you a traitor to the state. Men, apprehend and prepare this man for execution. This scum will pay for his crimes."

"Hmph, in your dreams, you demented piece of shit."

Gray chuckled and flexed his hand. Suddenly, beeping sounds came from all throughout the room, and the president's eyes widened.

"You son of a-!"

*BOOOOMMM!!*

An explosion annihilated everything, going so far as to destroy the entire 63rd floor of the skyscraper. Flames spewed out from all the glass and into the outside world, separating the 100 story building in two.

.............

*Boom!*

Suddenly, SS-008, who was walking off out of the city, heard an explosion in the distance. He turned around to look back at the city and could see the skyscraper and the flames billowing out of it. Then, the top half of the building tipped over and fell. Something like this was something you'd see in a large scale terrorist attack.

He felt tremendous pain seeing that though. The one man he was friends with. The one man who had shown him the concept of a father.

'Gray...'

He felt the tearing in his chest again. The emotional pain physically hurt him, and for a long while, he stood there, enduring.

After some time though, he was interrupted. It was the dark of night, and he was out in the barren areas outside the city. But out of nowhere, he could sense some shadowy figures approach him.

"SS-008. We've been waiting. The madam wishes to see you."