Date: January 7, 2021
Location: Round Rock Medical Facility, Texas – Blaze's Underground Lab
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08:00 AM
Fluorescent lights buzzed to life as Blaze stepped into the chamber. The hybrid subject, Keith, was suspended within a reinforced containment cell. Glass, steel, biometric locks. Every part of this space had been designed with the assumption that something inside might try to break out.
Keith's eyes were open.
"Good morning," Blaze said, his voice calm, controlled.
The hybrid blinked slowly. Sweat clung to his forehead. Muscles twitched unnaturally, reacting to the changes still occurring in his DNA. Blaze noted every detail—the dilation in Keith's pupils, the slight twitch in his index finger, the faint change in breathing patterns.
Observation Log: Heartbeat elevated. Visual responsiveness increasing. Memory retention uncertain.
"Do you know your name?" Blaze asked, tapping the glass with a gloved finger.
"…Keith."
"Good." Blaze clicked a pen, making a note. "How many fingers am I holding?"
Keith responded correctly. Blaze didn't smile. Instead, he scribbled another observation.
He walked over to the secondary console, bringing up Keith's vitals. Enhanced muscle regeneration. Accelerated reaction time. Partial fusion of vampire genome with human neural architecture.
Still too slow. Still too human.
He looked at the data and murmured to himself. "Marginal increase in predatory response. But lacking higher-order cognition integration. Instability remains."
He turned to face Keith again. "You're a failure, but a necessary one."
Keith didn't react.
"Don't worry," Blaze added, his tone coldly comforting. "You're the first. Perfection comes after prototypes."
---
12:00 PM – Noble Lies
Keith sat in a steel chair across from Blaze, sipping warm water. He was clothed now, a thin gray shirt and matching pants. Blaze had removed the restraints.
"You said I'd be stronger. That I'd be more than human," Keith said, his voice shaky.
"You are," Blaze said. He smiled gently now. His tone was filled with carefully manufactured warmth. "But strength takes time. You're evolving."
"Why me?"
Blaze met Keith's eyes, lowering his voice. "Because I see potential. You've been discarded by society. No family. No purpose. You were rotting in a cage when I found you."
Keith nodded slowly, taking it in. A sliver of gratitude gleamed in his bloodshot eyes.
"But here, you're becoming something that can't be ignored. Something no one will ever hurt again."
Keith looked down at his shaking hands.
Blaze leaned in closer. "You're not a mistake. You're a miracle. I'm just giving you the tools to survive in a world that wants to destroy anything different."
Inside, Blaze was detached. Cold. Calculating. Every word was another lever pulled. Another gear turned.
Internal Analysis:
Subject responds well to victim-rescuer narrative. Shows need for validation and leadership. Ideal for emotional tethering.
---
03:00 PM – Surface Manipulation
Blaze wore a different identity now. Black slacks, a crisp white shirt, a lab coat with a forged badge that read "Dr. Samuel Blackwell."
He entered the University of Texas biomedical lab with practiced confidence.
"Dr. Blackwell," a middle-aged scientist greeted him. "Didn't expect you today."
"Change of plans. The institute requested urgent analysis on synthetic hemoglobin samples," Blaze replied smoothly.
He moved through the facility like he belonged. His voice never wavered. His eyes scanned everything—cameras, access panels, lab positioning. He memorized names, routines, even coffee cup logos.
"Need access to freezer 7-C," Blaze said casually.
The older scientist hesitated. "That's off-limits to externals."
Blaze smiled warmly, placing a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder.
"I understand. But do you really want to be the one who delays a government-funded fusion study?"
The scientist blinked. Sweat formed on his brow.
"Of course… You're right."
He keyed in the code.
Blaze walked out twenty minutes later with a vial of genetically altered wolf DNA and a subtle smirk.
As he crossed the parking lot, he dropped a flash drive near a vending machine. A trap. It contained just enough data to frame a lab technician for breach of protocol.
Cruel. Calculated. Flawless.
---
07:00 PM – The Monster in the Mirror
Back in the lab, Keith stood in the training chamber.
"Let's test your reaction speed," Blaze said. "Your target is him."
The second subject, a handcuffed criminal Blaze had abducted from the prison system's blind spots, stumbled into the light.
"No!" he shouted. "You can't do this!"
Keith growled.
"Fight your instincts if you can," Blaze whispered. "Or don't. Show me what you are."
The chamber's siren flared green.
Keith pounced like a beast. In seconds, he pinned the man and nearly crushed his windpipe.
"Stop," Blaze ordered.
Keith didn't hear. Or didn't care.
Blaze sighed. He leapt over the barrier, sprinting toward them with supernatural grace—parkour precision. He rebounded off the wall, twisted midair, and landed a precise pressure strike to Keith's neck.
The hybrid collapsed, unconscious.
Observation Log:
Subject has increased physical prowess but lacks discipline. Must instill cognitive control or apply obedience chemical conditioning.
He looked at the bleeding criminal, then pressed a syringe into the man's arm. His scream died in seconds.
"Collateral," Blaze muttered. "Necessary, but wasteful."
---
11:59 PM – Reflections and Threats
The lab was quiet now. Keith lay in stasis, encased in medical foam.
Blaze stood before a polished steel mirror.
His reflection stared back—black hair, sharp blue eyes, dressed in a pristine black gentleman's suit. Not a wrinkle on the coat. Not a drop of blood on the gloves.
"You are me," he whispered, "broken and red. But I am the one holding the pieces."
He turned away as the encrypted alert buzzed in his custom-built communicator.
One phrase appeared in green font:
"We know what you're building. We're coming."
Blaze's smile returned, but it was colder now.
"Then come. I need new test subjects."