Barton was the first to awaken. He woke up in a bright room, deep under the ground. He was confused and disoriented at first. He was also very hungry and very thirsty. Interestingly enough there seemed to be a small table off to the side with fresh fruits, vegetables, a freshly cooked chicken and a giant pitcher of water.
The table also had a plate on top of a placemat That confused him even more but was too hungry and thirsty to question it.
He grunted as he weakly sat up out of what seemed to be a medical bed. He was about to question why there was a medical bed in the room but put that thought to the side for later. He then caught a whiff of the food and the next second he was sitting down in the chair mowing down on a chicken leg.
He dropped the chicken leg when he realized he had gotten over to the table with inhuman speed. He doesn't remember when that happened. The last thing he remembered was being stabbed in the gut during a battle.
After he satiated his hunger and thirst, he started to contemplate where he was. He started to look around and noticed there were little balls of light floating around the ceiling. The ceiling, floor, and walls were made out of some kind of stone. You could tell that they were manmade.
But the equipment all around the room was far more advanced than when the room was built. There was a medical bed with different screens around it. Each one had a different purpose and displayed different information.
Then he noticed all the wires attached to the bed and what looked like the kind of cuffs meant to hold down a patient. At that moment a flashback happened.
It was like he was watching the scene from above. He saw himself on the same medical bed, but he was writhing in agony with his arms and legs tied down by the cuffs on the bed.
"Woah. What happened," questions Barton. He looks down at himself but it was like he was see-through. He looks around the room and sees all of the same medical equipment as before but this time everything was beeping and going off. The screens were showing a multitude of medical information on his vitals and they were all over the screens.
Attached to him was an IV hook-up that was threatening to fall over with how badly it was getting shaken by Barton's thrashing. Someone shouted out, "sedate him NOW!"
There was a bunch of medical staff scurrying around trying to figure out what the sudden change was about. They were freaking out and yelling out to one another in an attempt to sedate and get him stable again.
He could now hear bits and pieces. It was usually when someone was shouting. All of the alarms, beeping and the sounds of frantic footsteps mashed all together and made it near impossible to hear anything.
"Someone hold him down! Quickly now," someone else shouts as they are holding a hypodermic syringe with sedatives inside and walking towards the thrashing Barton.
It takes at least three of them to get the arm with the IV under control. At least long enough for the person with the syringe to inject the sedatives into the IV. But immediately Barton thrashes even harder and the three that were holding his arm fly into the walls. It was hard enough to knock them all out cold and create holes in the walls where they crashed.
"what in the fuckin hell," whispers Barton.
Then the flashback ended and he was back in the chair he was sitting in. But he was covered in sweat and breathing heavily.
"What was that," he asked himself.
He then noticed the tiny little cameras set up all over the room and waved at whoever was behind the cameras.
"I know you're watching me. Would you mind showing yourself or at least tell me what the HELL is going on," he says and nearly shouts the words at the end.
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Behind the scenes was a scrawny but tall looking man. His eyes had very dark circles around them, almost like he never slept. He never wore shoes and preferred to be barefoot. He wore a black tank-top with an all-black haori. His pants were all black sweat pants that tied at the waist and scrunched down at the ankles.
His hair was ear-length and looked slightly unkempt. It was as black as a black olive. His skin was a pale tannish color. Almost like he had never been out in the sun. He had looked like he had just crawled out of bed.
He was an immortal being and had found all of them and was now helping them all with their awakenings. Out of all nine guardians he was keeping an eye on, Barton showed signs he was going to awaken first. So the man made his way to Barton's location first.
As he was hunkered down on a sofa watching all nine screens in front of him. His mouth turned up in amusement as he noticed that Barton was finally awake and was waving at the camera on the other end.
The mysterious man got up and walked into a portal he created with just a thought and popped out the other end.
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Barton fell backwards in an attempt to back up quickly while sitting in the chair as a man stepped out of a portal that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Easy now, Barton," says the man as he walks closer and the portal closes in an instant, "You asked and I came. My name is Ezra."
Barton scrambles to get up and says, "you will have to explain that," as he points to where the portal once was, "in a minute. But first I want to know what in fucking hell is going on? Where am I? What am I doing here? And what in the fuck happened to me?"
Ezra puts his hands up to show he is no threat, "You are in an underground medical facility. You are here because I found you. You were dead and I simply brought you back."
At this point Ezra starts to pace around nonchalantly and speaks in a matter of fact way. "To be more precise I may have slightly altered your DNA in the process of bringing you back to life. I do not know what sort of powers you now possess. You are the first of nine to wake up. Now I wanted to be here when the first one woke up so I could explain myself a little bit before I have to go take care of some other business. Well family business I should say. No need to get into that now."
"You what now," questions Barton as he tries to wrap his head around what he was just told. "I was dead?"
"Yes you were. But I," as Ezra points to himself and then to the one door leading out of the room, "and my team have revived you. ALL of our lives depended on this mission that so far has proven to be a success."
"Back up. I was DEAD," questions Barton. Still trying to remember what happened after he got stabbed in the gut. But he was pulling up nothing. Being stabbed was the last thing he remembered before he woke up in the room.
Ezra sighs in frustration. "Yes you were dead. You had died in battle some millennia ago," as he waves his hand around. "WE had brought you back," he says as he points to the door again signifying his medical staff. The ones Barton saw in his flashback.
Barton scrunches his eyes at Ezra and asks, " So I was dead? You and your team revived me? But now what do you mean by you altered my DNA?"
"I'm sure you noticed your speed when you went after that chicken leg right," smirks Ezra, "What I mean though, is that when I created the serum that makes you a guardian now, it effected all of you differently. I know that you all got powers but exactly what they are is... well... unknown."