Earth, 3022. The planet and its survivors were recovering from the Great Accident's after-effects. A scientist named Carl McLarcy discovered a new way to sustain the globe's energy demands through dangerous experiments with radioactive materials. In one of his researches, he finally managed to make a sustainable source of energy that would never run out but one fateful mistake nearly made man extinct. Due to his careless nature, Carl was fired and out of frustration, he banged the control panel of his machines. His tantrum activated the machines which caused the Great Accident, a nuclear explosion that nearly wiped out the entire world and all life on it.Ā
Ā For many years, wildfires had been burning while ash from the explosion blocked the sun from reaching the Earth, causing plant life to die. Animals had no bunkers to hide from the explosion so they were all burnt to a crisp. Cities, countries, and continents that took years to build were destroyed to nothing but a pile of dust in a flash. Ninety percent of all humans were killed with the other ten percent hiding in bunkers and other protective shelters.
Two hundred years passed and society started to rebuild itself. With slight radiation floating around, babies were born with mild birth defects and alterations. Luckily with a little science and great minds, these effects, although unable to be stopped permanently, were able to be modified with the DNA of some of the animals that were wiped out. Many 'mutants' got all sorts of add-ons depending on their gene structure and wallet.
Ā Some grew extra limbs while others grew stronger parts of their bodies. Some could form energy from their bodies while others had certain animal characteristics and a few had extra, secret abilities that were very rare and very powerful. With fifty percent of humans being mutants and the other fifty being normal, fights would break out and the mutants would always win.
Ā This made them control the world and anyone who objected to their standards would pay with their lives. Life became hard for many ordinary people as they were forced to live in the poorer parts of the world. Those who objected were oppressed and tormented and sadly, this was the fate that befell many people.
Ā This was the same fate that befell Max Lin and his family. When Max was six, his father owned a good convenient store on the edge of Raid City, the richest city on the entire planet. People that lived in Raid included mutants who fought for entertainment, rich men and women, and kingpins for different gangs that ruled the city and beyond.Ā
Ā One day, as Max's father, Gene Lin, was working the last shift in his store, three men walked into the store and chased everyone out. The men wore grey vests and blue trousers and one of them carried a baseball bat with a snake pattern. They had tattoos of cobras stretching from their necks all the way to their wrists. These men were members of the Grey Cobra gang, a small-time gang on the edge of the town that was slowly rising through the ranks. Remember the gangster bosses that lived in Raid, they and their gangs, controlled the territories they owned but that's another story for another chapter.
The three men pulled out switchblades with cobra heads imprinted on the tip of the blade and held them with pride and arrogance. " Mr. Lin. Did you conssssider our...proposssal?" The first man spoke. Their way of speaking was to imitate a snake.
" Please, I told you. I can not afford to pay for protection. The money I make is enough for my family and to keep this business running. I have rent to pay and employees that need their money. Please I hope you understand." He responded with a cold frown on his face.
" I'm ssssory, Mr. Lin but, your time issss up. Without protection, who knows what could happen to your...ssssstore." The man snapped his fingers and his two accomplices started smashing the store. Mr. Lin, who anticipated this, pulled out a metallic baseball bat and swung it straight at the one with a baseball bat. He hit him directly in the head, knocking him out.
Ā The second one held his switchblade and swung it at Mr. Lin but he dodged it and hit the gang member on his crotch. The man went to his knees and howled in pain and Mr. Lin whacked him on the cheek, causing him to pass out as blood filled his mouth. The last one, who was speaking with the ssss sounds, was the one Mr. Lin was left with.
Ā " You made a grave missssstake Mr. Lin." He thrust the blade nonstop at a very fast rate. Mr. Lin was barely able to dodge them but he still managed to hold up a little. The first gang member to pass out woke up and grabbed Mr. Lin's foot making him lose balance. The one with the switch blades stabbed Mr. Lin in the stomach five times out of anger.
" I..told you...you made a grave missstake." He never stopped stabbing Mr. Lin until the other gang member pulled him away. " Slither, we didn't have to stab him. C'mon, let's go."
" No, I need to teach him a lessssson." Slither said. Before he could cause more damage to Mr. Lin, sirens could be heard coming down the street. Before Mr. Lin started fighting the gang members, he pressed a small buzzer under the check-out table. He placed it there earlier because of the threats he constantly got from these particular men. The gang members grabbed their knocked-out friend and ran out of the store.
Ā Mr. Lin was left to bleed on the store floor. The police managed to get to Mr. Lin on time and they rushed him to the hospital. They got information from him about who attacked and why but unfortunately, Mr. Lin died due to internal damage and bleeding.
Ā Mrs. Lin was informed about her husband's condition and due to the major breadwinner dying, she and her six-year-old son had to move even further away from the city. They moved to a small town called Raid town, a small suburb further beyond the city's edge. It wasn't the best but it was what she could afford at the time. Eight years went by and Max and his mother still remained in Raid town and life became better for them because this was the only place without gangs but not all good things last long enough.
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Ā Somewhere in an unknown location, a man with blonde hair, a pair of slim glasses, and a tall, lean structure was grinning from ear to ear as he held a small, white box over his head. " Finally," He cheered." My great grandfather's life work has come to an end. I can now rest, knowing that I have finally placed mutant DNA in this small bo..."
Ā As he was in the middle of his celebration, a bomb that was placed on his building's roof went off and men in military-like attire came down and pointed their guns at him. " Don't move." One of the soldiers said with a threatening voice. "Open the door...NOW!!"
Ā The blonde-haired man calmly opened the door and stepped aside. A large, bald-headed man came through the door and looked at the blonde. " Jim McLarcy, the man who hid from the world because of his great grandfather's mistake."
Ā " What do you want. I told you, I have no strings attached with you." Jim said as he slowly backed away from the large man.
Ā " I was hoping you had something for me, Jim. I want to be able to...help my wife become a mutant like me."
Ā " I-I don't know how. Now leave me alone." The large man stretched his hand, grabbed Jim by the neck, and lifted him off the ground. " What's the matter, Jim? Afraid that..." The large man saw Jim fumbling with something in his hands. The large man removed whatever Jim was fumbling and noticed that it was a small, white box. " Interesting. What's in here, Jim?" The man increased his grip on Jim's neck so Jim quickly clicked a small remote, causing something interesting to happen. The lights started beeping red and a large, metallic door slid open. Behind the door, four, glass cylinders with green liquid were placed in a line next to each other. " See you in hell." The glass cylinders broke and four horrifying creatures jumped out.
Ā Two were large and looked to be made of black shadows, one was small, fury, had long claws, razor teeth, and white eyes, and the fourth one was shaped like a man. Its body was covered with a stone-like substance. The cracks between the stones began to glow and soon, a man on fire came out. He looked at Jim, then at the large man, and finally at the guards. He was about to attack when he suddenly saw the small fury creature jump at him.
" Holy what? What are those things?"
" I don't know but open fire on them." The soldier men started firing at the creatures and they managed to kill them all, all except for the fireman. Bullets just melted when they got too close to the fireman and the guards started getting worried. " Well, this is my cue to leave. See you soon, Jim." The large man quickly ran through the room and locked the doors shut. He then left the area with the small white box in his hands.
Ā " I wonder what this thing is for?"
Ā The soldiers followed the large man, leaving Jim and the fireman alone. The fireman walked slowly to Jim but he held out his hand and said, " Go, he's seen too much. You must stop him. I'll be fine." The fireman nodded in agreement. It turned into a large, floating flame and flew out of there.
" Activate System upon contact with a young host." Jim spoke into a watch before he closed his eyes and died. " Lucky me, that was just a clone." Another version of Jim spoke from a distance with a grin. " I wonder who will get my system for themselves and I also wonder...what mutant breed will they choose?"
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