Part 3
Escape Room
I returned to my work on the suit, upgrading what I could. The words said by the news anchor continued echoing in my head, “Steve Rogers has been accused of terrorism.” It made zero sense. Most of the scientists and engineers didn’t seem to mind that this was happening in the world around them—but I did. I had actually met Mr. Rogers once on one of my missions when we were assigned to take out a pirate vessel that kidnapped some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and held them for ransom. I remember the feeling of confidence the Captain projected into the atmosphere around him, instilling a sense of patriotism and pride in our country. He was like a symbol of America. He couldn’t possibly be promoting terrorism. Something had to be up.
“I’m sorry sir, you don’t have access to this floor.”
I looked up to find a skinny twenty-one-year-old attempting to prohibit a S.T.R.I.K.E. operative from entering our lab. I knew that wasn’t going to happen, but I was more concerned with why he was here. I spotted several other men armed with semi-automatics through the glass wall. This wasn’t a good set up.
“Move outta my way, kid.” The operative put his hand up to the boy’s neck and slammed his head into the doorway, slamming it three more times before dropping him onto the ground. When he turned to enter completely, I recognized his face. It was Ward. What was he doing here?
By now, my scientist team had placed their attention onto Ward, standing there with fearful eyes.
“Everyone line up, right now!” He ordered gruffly, pointing out an imaginary line on the floor.
A few of the scientists and engineers complied while a larger number stayed where they were.
“What right do you have to barge in here, slam our security’s head, and order us around?” One of the braver engineers spoke up.
Ward immediately yanked out his sidearm and fired into him twice, sending the poor man to the floor. Confusion exploded as everyone ducked and began screaming, scrabbling to exit the room. Ward groaned and waved to the other men outside, signaling for them to come in. I noted patches on their right arms that resembled the Hydra symbol I had been educated about when I first joined. Realizing these men were not with S.H.I.E.L.D., I ducked down behind a counter. The men, upon entry, opened fire into us, sending dozens of scientists to their graves.
I shakily pulled out a hand gun from one of the drawers and slid on my hands and knees into another room where the Kestrel Exo-7.5 was located. I calmed myself by breathing slowly as the gunfire outside increased in volume, silencing many of the screams. I thrust myself into a flight suit and began attaching the main body of the suit onto my chest. I then placed different armor pads onto my legs and arms. My eyes fell upon weaponry we were designing to implement into the suit. Without hesitating another second, I placed different gadgets into the suit’s various nooks and latches.
The sound of pistol fire caught my attention, meaning that some of the scientists had obtained weapons of their own and were fighting back. Two engineers raced into the room.
“Oh, good!” One of them breathed after scanning me with his eyes, “Hurry up, we’ll give you cover.” He encouraged breathlessly and turned around to fire back at the S.T.R.I.K.E. team members.
I turned to my vault of serums and entered in the code to open it. There were four full vials in it. I quickly injected two of them into myself, one in my right arm and one in my left. I groaned and leaned against a countertop as the effects began to work. This was a huge risk on my part since I was the first person to be testing the serum. After the initial pain subsided, I smashed the other two vials onto the ground.
Bullets whizzed through the two engineers that were covering me at the doorway to the room and the gunfire stopped. I quickly grabbed the helmet for the suit, put it on, and yanked out semi-automatic pistols that were holstered at my sides. I pointed one at the doorway and the other at a window which faced the street. Two armed assailants attempted to enter and fire at me, but I hit them first, sending them lifeless into the floor.
“One’s still in there,” I heard a voice whisper.
After shattering the window with bullets, I holstered my weapons and prepared to leap out of the building. A gust of air rushed in and knocked me a little off balance that caused a feeling in my stomach that almost made me throw up. Suddenly, a bullet grazed my shoulder and sent me tumbling out the building.
Everything around me went quiet as I fell to the ground. Pain tore at my shoulder from the impact of the bullet. At first, I didn’t think about the fact I was falling until my vision settled upon the street enlarging below me. Out of nowhere, a voice calmly warned, “Altitude is decreasing dramatically. Pull up immediately.”
Coming to my senses, I ignited the suit’s engine and propelled myself back into the sky. Some of the S.T.R.I.K.E. members shot at me from the building but my speed in the air caused them to miss. I steered the wings that had ejected up high into the clouds where I settled into a glide.
“Hello, I am Carson. Your AI guide of this suit.” The voice was deep and sounded like a male.
I breathed heavily before replying, “Heh, yes. I—uh, I designed you.”
“Duly noted, sir. I’ve taken readings of your brain activity and translated them to understand that you’d like to head to your home and check on your family. Is that accurate? If so, I will guide you there now.”
My eyebrows furrowed, “How did you translate my brain activity? That wasn’t a function I was aware of.”
“Yes sir, one of your fellow scientists worked with your serum to allow for it to bond with technological devices, specifically this suit. You can control various aspects of this suit with your thoughts, Mr. Creed.”
“So, you know about the tremendous pain I’m experiencing in my left shoulder right now?”
“Yes sir, I am aware of that. I’m also aware, after a quick scan of your biology, that your cells are working at an astronomical rate to repair the injury. You won’t need a doctor.”
I shook my head in astonishment, “Well, this is cool. How’s the serum reacting to my body? Any side effects?”
“It seems your bones have lightened in density but have hardened in strength. They’re resilient yet unnaturally strong. Also, you have lost a great amount of weight. The serum has revoked most of gravity’s pull on you which makes your body lighter here on earth. Your muscle fibers have strengthened as well, giving you above average strength abilities. Your vision seems to have also been affected. You can see clearly at any distance. Your self-healing system has also improved.”
“And side effects?”
“Just the fact that now you can be blown about by wind, sir.”
I chuckled briefly, “Ok, let’s get to my house.” I leaned to the right and dove down toward earth.
Sig by Sam
