"Uff... luckily, we weren't chased by robots this time," Vance panted lightly once they were inside the chopper.
"Yes, I was half expecting an army waiting for us. You know, after we destroyed them, the others found out, and they came out to seek revenge," Lucas joked, but his smile slipped when he sensed the oddity in his words.
Even Ryker, Vance, and Dave went silent at his words.
"It can't be right?" Ryker asked apprehensively.
No one answered. No one knew the answer.
"Should we destroy the lab?"
"Maybe we can do something," Vance muttered, looking at the rifle in his hands. "Let me give it a try."
Vance aimed his rifle at the laboratory and pressed the trigger. At once, a white light that blinded the four men flashed before hitting the building.
To their shock and delight, the place where Vance had aimed exploded immediately. Although only a small fraction had been ruined, it was still a feat.
Rejoicing at his achievement, Vance continued to aim at the laboratory and didn't stop until it was completely wrecked. The building had been reduced to ruins, and there was nothing but debris and dust in its place.
"Yay!" Vance passed a high-five with Lucas and cheered at the outcome. Maybe, just maybe, this could stop the mayhem in the world after today.
It was almost lunchtime when they reached Velomore. Since not many people knew about their adventure, they looked at the four curiously as Ryker lowered the chopper.
Lucas couldn't handle their interrogative gazes, and he turned to Vance, who only shrugged lightly in return. The man was unbothered by the people's looks around him.
"Where are we going?" Lucas whispered, moving closer to Vance, who was clutching his rifle as if it were a treasure.
"To see Patrick, we need to speak to him first. And then, to Stinton," Vance replied, glancing at Ryker. "He's one of the few people who knows what we were up to today."
"Oh!" Lucas nodded, going along with Vance's plan.
As always, Patrick was in his lab, experimenting. When he saw the four men arrive, he signaled them to wait while he finished the test experiment he was working on.
Lucas had his head lowered as he the file slowly again and the more he read, the more he was horrified. Previously, he had only skimmed through the content. So, he had missed out on a lot of details. Now, everything became clear to him.
Although he didn't recognize some of the chemical compounds, he was familiar with the process. His jaw ticked when he thought of the humans on whom the mutagen had been tested. He couldn't even imagine the pain and suffering they went through while they were subjected to such torture.
Ryker sensed his heavy mood and patted his back. He didn't say any words of comfort, allowing the man to come to his senses on his own.
Sometimes silence and solitude were all one needed to return to normal.
Nearly ten minutes later, Patrick emerged from the lab and took a chair in front of the four men who were looking at him grimly.
"What's wrong? Why do you all look so crestfallen?" he asked, wiping his hands with a sanitizing tissue.
"You may want to take a look at these." Lucas handed the files in the order of the experiment details and Patrick took them apprehensive. Giving the four men a look of suspicion, he started reading them.
At first, his expression was normal. But as he read more, his eyes quivered and his mouth opened in shock.
"What the hell is this?" he asked no one in particular. "How is it possible?"
Patrick already had an answer in his heart. But he couldn't bring himself to believe it. How could the monsters have been created by their own people? How could they be so inhuman?
"Wren and Jackson?" He looked at Lucas for an answer and the man nodded, confirming his suspicions.
Patrick's mind exploded in shock and he couldn't fathom anything for a long time. His hands kept shaking while his blood ran cold.
"This can't be. How...." Patrick had already suspected the two men when Lucas had brought it up before him. "But now when he had the evidence of their crimes, he felt his world spin."
"Patrick, I don't recognize some compounds. Do you know them?" Lucas enquired, bringing him out of his stupor.
"I recognize most of them except for two or three," he muttered with great difficulty.
Lucas pointed at three compounds - VX-9 Neurogenic Catalyst, Delta-Serum 14, and Oxythermite PX. Only their names and their effects on the human body were mentioned. So, he couldn't decipher what exactly they were.
Patrick pursed his lips when he saw the three compounds. They were the three he too had no idea about. He had never even heard about them before.
"What are you guys looking at?" Ryker was curious. Lucas and Patrick's dire expressions made it impossible for him to control himself anymore.
Lucas didn't explain. Even Patrick didn't bother about him, forcing him to leave his chair and peek into the file from above.
Ryker didn't understand most words in the file. He was about to give up when he read a sentence that sent a chill down his spine.
VX-9 Neurogenic Catalyst
- overrides brain function at the molecular level.
- erases emotional regulation (fear, guilt, empathy) and boosts primal instincts.
Ryker's gaze subconsciously moved to the next two compounds, and he cussed under his breath instantly.
Delta-Serum 14
- unstable synthetic RNA fragments to reprogram human cells.
- rewrites DNA replication — causing rapid uncontrolled mutations.
Oxythermite PX
- oxidizing agents and nano thermites.
- melts cell boundaries, allowing tissue fusion, limb growth, and internal restructuring.
It was, however, the end product that made Ryker lose his mind completely.
End compound: CRX-21
- Colorless, odorless mist.
- Upon inhalation, floods the bloodstream, first targeting the nervous system, then rewriting DNA, then physically reshaping the body.
- Victims are conscious during the entire transformation.
Time for the entire process: 8 - 10 minutes.
Note:
1. Victims have no human memories after transformation.
2. Disintegrates after 12 minutes.
"Inhalation? Does it say inhalation?" Ryker was too stupefied to make sense of everything he was reading. It was more horrifying than facing the monsters themselves.
"Yes. The final compound, CRX-21, is a mist. You just have to release it in the air and humans who sniff it will transform into monsters within 8 to 10 minutes," Lucas replied, standing to his height.
"Then, then, we...." Vance was shit scared. If all humans transformed after they sniffed it, why weren't they affected? They too had breathed the air where the attacks had happened previously.
"The compound is volatile and unstable and dissipates within 15 minutes after being released in the air," Patrick explained, reading the details again.
"That explains why not all humans mutated into monsters," Dave remarked.
"Let's go." Patrick stood up, closing the file in his hands.
"Where?" Dave, too, jumped to his feet immediately.
"To meet Stinton. We can't keep this from him. We'll have to come up with a solution soon and caution the other cities as well."
With that, Patrick walked out of the lab first and the four men followed him without delay.