*Whirr* *Whirr*

" .... medicine failed."

Five blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the brightness, and waited for the dizziness to fade. The room did not have any fancy decorations. Apart from the readings on the equipment, everything from the walls to the machines, including the nurse’s clothes were completely white. The only sounds in the room were the beeps from the equipment and the shuffling of the nurses who were busy taking the readings.

The room had a single door guarded by two soldiers wearing the latest exo-suits and armed to the teeth with weapons. It did not have any windows, but Five knew there was a one-way mirror through which the scientists in the other room observed him. After the brief spell of dizziness passed, he focused his ears on the conversation happening between the scientists.

"It's another failure. How many medicines and procedures have we tried?"

"16."

"IT WAS A RHETORICAL QUESTION. DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW IT WAS 16."

"Calm down Ron. We need to come up with a solution."

"Calm down? Seriously El? How can you expect me to stay calm in this situation? The only thing the artifact does is enhance the abilities of the test subjects at the cost of their life. You can find thousands of similar products on the market. There's no need to waste so much money on this research. Our sponsors are losing their patience, and I don't think you want to test them."

"We have Five, don’t we?"

"We can be happy about it after finding a way to stabilize him. Our medicines are doing shit. His situation is the same as Alpha's, and I would be happy if the medicines don't worsen his condition.

“Even though they were all created using Alpha's DNA, Five is the only one showing a reaction. If we lose him, do you have any confidence in finding someone similar? None of our readings or experiments explain the artifact’s reaction to his presence. It was pure coincidence that we even found out about it."

Five cursed himself, thinking about the time when he considered the scientists his family. Wanting to be praised, he mentioned the artifact’s response.

"Are you listening?"

Five snapped out of his thoughts and gazed at the nurse standing in front of him. Like everyone else, she wore white clothes, and her face was covered by a white mask. The only things visible were her black eyes and blond hair. He didn't find her familiar, but that wasn’t saying much. The only faces Five remembered were those of the other test subjects or some of the scientists.

He shifted his attention to the nurse. "I'm still feeling a bit dizzy and didn’t catch your words. Can you repeat that?"

“I need to draw some blood samples."

Five stretched his arm and focused on the conversation happening in the other room.

"Should we increase the intensity of the exposure and see if something happens?"

"Five is the only specimen we have. I'm not going to risk him."

"I'm not talking about him. What about the others?"

"We tried it last time and failed."

"So what do we do now?"

"Let's hope the other research teams have something."

A loud boom disturbed their conversation. The floor trembled from the intensity of the explosion.

"My God! What is that? Is it an attack?"

"Why's the alarm not ringing? What's going on?"

Five panicked as the explosion wasn’t part of the escape plan. Something must have happened, forcing them to change it. One of the scientist's communicator rang, bringing with it a voice he loathed.

"Good evening Ron. I presume you heard the explosion. Do not panic. It's not an attack."

"Good evening Professor Vetang. What's the cause of the disturbance?"

"It's just an experiment gone wrong. I should add fortunately as it resulted in a breakthrough."

There was a hubbub as everyone became excited and tried to speak at the same time.

Professor Vetang interrupted them. "I know you are all delighted, but calm down. Send the test subjects back to their rooms, and gather everyone at my office in Section C."

After the call ended, the scientists discussed the breakthrough.

"There's no use wasting our time speculating. We will know the answer soon. El, why don't you take —"

Doctor Eliza interrupted him mid-sentence. "No. I need to look at the data. Since you're done with your observation, why don't you take him back? I'll be done by the time you return, and then we can leave together."

Ron huffed in annoyance. "Fine. Let's meet in my office. I need to pick up some reports Professor Vetang needs to go through."

"Okay."

The conversation between the scientists ended while Five's gut clenched with worry. He wondered how the sudden change affected their escape plan. The timing of the breakthrough was rotten. It altered the movements of everyone present on the base, making the previous planning useless.

Five figured there wasn't much he could do without gathering more information. A pot-bellied man wearing a lab coat appeared near the door. He wasn’t wearing a mask, allowing Five to see the smile present on his face.

“How’s your day?” Ron said. “I hope you're feeling as happy as I am.”

Five did not reply and neither did the scientist expect it. He gestured to the soldiers who picked up Five’s monitoring pod and carried him outside. A long corridor bustling with people wearing white entered his view.

“One of the research labs had a breakthrough! When you go back to your cell, say goodbye to your friends. We no longer have any use for them.”

Five strained against his restraints, determined to tear the smug grin off Ron’s face. His attempts elicited a peal of laughter.

“Don’t be so angry. You are a valuable specimen and won’t meet the same fate. Instead of focusing on your fury, enjoy your remaining time.”

A bang followed by a spray of blood appeared in his vision. With a smile on his face, Ron died before his body hit the ground. The emergency alarm rang a second later, causing chaos within the corridor. People ran helter-skelter, trying to reach a safe spot.

Bullets riddled the soldiers before they could fire a single shot. Five’s pod fell to the ground, blocking his vision.

The exchange of fire between the unknown party and the soldiers highlighted the tense situation. Five could hear the cries of fear and pain from the non-combatants. The two parties fought without being concerned about collateral damage.

After some time, the firing stopped. He waited with bated breath for the victor to reveal themselves. A familiar voice reached his ears.

“Long time no see kid.”

"Zeta?” Her presence shocked Five. Vetang had executed her in front of everyone, making an example of what happened to people who rebelled.

“Surprised to see me?”

Unable to say anything, he nodded.

“It’s a long story, and we will have time to catch up later.” She signaled her subordinates to start retreating.

“Wait.” He grabbed her arm, stopping her. “The others, they are still in block A.”

“Alpha is getting them out.”

“And Vetang?”

Staring into his face, she hesitated. “He made it to the bunker. About 10 of them have barricaded themselves along with him. We have neither the time nor the resources to break into it. Let’s retreat and wait for another chance.”

“No. You leave with the others. I am staying.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What are you going to do? Break into the bunker? Trust me when I tell you it’s an impossible task without a warship.”

“You don’t understand!” He grabbed his collar and pulled it down, displaying the left side of his chest. There was a metal piece embedded deep into his skin. “They recently developed a new tracking system. You cannot remove it without killing me. If Vetang lives, there is no escape or second chance. He will throw everything at his disposal to capture or kill us!”

Zeta cussed for a good minute before calming down.

“Let’s assume I let you go. What can you do apart from getting yourself killed? Come with us, and we will figure something out.”

Five wordlessly lifted his hand. A blurry indistinct object formed over the palm of his hand.

Zeta recognized the artifact in an instant and stared at it with bulging eyes. “That’s impossible!”

“Now you know what I can do. Take the others and go. I will make sure he doesn’t make it out alive!”

Both of them knew it was a one-way trip, but Zeta didn’t dissuade him and instead hugged him.

“Good luck kid.” She let him go and left with the others.

Five stared at her retreating back till she was out of sight and moved in the opposite direction. Dead bodies of soldiers, rebels, and general staff littered the corridors. Paying no attention to the carnage surrounding him, he rushed towards the bunkers with single-minded determination.

Turning around a corner, he ran into a group of soldiers.

“Halt! Get down on the ground and put your hands in the air. Otherwise, we will open fire.”

The artifact pulsed in response to the threat. Five channeled the energy and fired green beams at his targets. Their state-of-the-art plasma shields and exo-suits offered zero protection, shattering on impact. The beams punched through the guards, killing them instantly.

Five did not pay any attention to the minor hindrance and kept moving towards the bunker. Anyone who blocked his path met the same fate.

Eventually, he made his way to the shelter, leaving a trail of destruction on his way to the destination.

Vetang spoke through the speakers installed outside the chamber.

“Your performance is surprising. It looks like you hid a lot of things from me.”

Not responding to the professor’s words, he fired blue flames at the metallic door. A shield surrounded it, defending against the intruder.

“It’s useless. The energy source protecting this place can power an entire planet for 10 years. I am sure you won’t listen to my words and persist in your foolish actions, so why don’t you explain the artifact’s functions while wasting your energy. I am curious about what it can do.”

Five bared his teeth and challenged more energy from the artifact. Unable to withstand the energy, cracks appeared on his body. The flames increased in temperature, melting the surroundings. The temperature kept growing without end and after a few minutes, the shield flickered.

A triumphant smile appeared on Five’s face while the hearts of those inside the bunker stopped.

“Stop this madness! Your body can’t take it. I know you resent me, but everything I did, I did it for humanity! My actions might seem heavy-handed, but many threats in the galaxy won’t give us the time to do things gently. You showed me what the artifact is capable of. Using it, we can conquer the galaxy. Join me and the two of us will be hailed as martyrs.”

Five’s smile widened. Cracks spread from the corner of his mouth all the way to his temple. “I like the way our positions are reversed. The desperation in your voice sounds like music to my ears. Don’t stop and continue begging for your life.”

Five would have continued taunting them had his leg not given way. It crumbled beneath him, throwing him to the ground. Biting his tongue, he stopped himself from screaming out loud. His body was on the verge of breaking down.

Vetang laughed. “I was advising you out of concern. You will die before the shield crumbles.”

His statement was true. A battle of persistence happened between Five and the shield. The victor would be decided by who held on for longer.

Vetang’s taunts cut off, and deafening silence filled the chamber when the shield shattered. Five let up on the flames, waiting for the professor's words. In the final moments of his life, their positions changed. He had the ability to dictate the lives of people who tormented him for as long as he could remember. Before he killed them, he wanted the satisfaction of hearing them beg.

“F…… Five.” Vetang’s trembling voice sent a wave of contentment spreading through his body. The satisfaction of knowing he beat his tormentors was priceless. Not allowing the professor to complete the sentence, Five burned everyone inside to a crisp.

Completely spent, he fell to the ground laughing. The excruciating pain did not register on his mind. Happy at his achievement and imagining his friend’s peaceful lives, he let the darkness consume him.