Chapter 66: Enhancement is Like Taking Steroids, Mutation is Like Opening a Mystery Box
A sharp hiss expelled excess air from the syringe needle as Ryan stuffed a medical bite guard into the disabled veteran's mouth.
"Clamp down on this. The process will be extremely painful."
Using fluoroscopic guidance, Ryan located the median cubital vein in the subject's remaining arm. After receiving a tense nod of confirmation, Ryan slowly inserted the needle into the vein.
From the moment of injection, the veteran experienced intense burning pain coursing through his circulatory system.
Ryan maintained pressure on the injection site to prevent needle displacement while continuing to administer the radiation-enhancement serum into the subject's bloodstream.
"MMMPH!!"
The pain escalated rapidly. The veteran's arm turned bright red initially, then his entire body flushed a deep crimson-purple as his cardiovascular system struggled to process the foreign genetic material.
Ryan withdrew the syringe and placed it on the nearby instrument tray, then aimed his handheld recording device at the test subject.
"Severe rejection response evident. Subcutaneous tissue congestion spreading systemically."
"Pupils dilated, respiratory pattern irregular, subject losing consciousness."
"Heart rate elevated to 197 BPM. Cardiac function maintaining, indicating successful serum integration at the cellular level."
"Hair follicle destruction occurring. DNA recombination in progress. Wait - detecting unknown structural changes!"
The disabled veteran was developing razor-sharp bone protrusions from his elbows, knees, and shoulders - clearly not standard human anatomy.
Ryan had expected the serum to enhance existing human characteristics, but these mutations were decidedly non-human in nature.
Seconds later, an elongated bone blade erupted from the veteran's severed arm stump, extending to approximately the same length as his remaining hand.
Ryan quickly secured the recording device and grabbed a penlight, approaching the examination table. He gripped the subject's jaw and shouted, "Stay conscious! Can you hear me?!"
The veteran's pupils constricted slightly but showed no other responsive signs.
"Listen carefully - if you can understand me, you need to maintain mental control or you'll lose yourself completely!"
Humans could become monstrous when their bodies underwent radical structural transformation. The most dangerous characteristic of such mutations was the complete loss of individual consciousness, as the original personality became overwhelmed by alien genetic imperatives.
This psychological degradation explained why many subjects experienced dramatic personality changes following successful experimental procedures.
The disabled veteran seemed to register Ryan's urgent warnings. The bone spurs protruding from his body slowly retracted, returning his appearance to relatively normal human proportions.
He gradually stabilized over the next hour. The angry red coloration faded from his skin, and his hair, eyebrows, and facial hair began regrowing - though now completely white instead of his original brown.
Ryan suspected the white pigmentation resulted from genetic markers inherited from his laboratory mouse control subject.
Two hours later, the veteran's heart rate normalized to baseline levels, as if the entire traumatic transformation had never occurred.
Ryan frowned while reviewing the data from his monitoring equipment, particularly the brainwave patterns. Based on current neurological activity, the subject should have regained consciousness.
Moments later, the disabled veteran slowly opened his eyes.
"Am I... still alive?"
"I'm afraid your family won't be collecting that insurance payout," Ryan replied with dark humor.
After removing the restraints, Ryan produced heavy-duty shackles and secured them around the subject's wrists and ankles.
The veteran asked in confusion, "What's this for?"
"Standard precautionary protocol. I need to monitor you for one week and conduct psychological evaluations. You'll be released once I'm satisfied there are no adverse personality changes."
Preventing test subjects from developing dangerous psychological instabilities required necessary containment measures.
After collecting blood and tissue samples, Ryan instructed his enhanced soldiers to escort the veteran to the secure holding area, then prepared for the second experiment.
The convicted volunteer positioned himself on the examination table and asked nervously, "Sir, will I experience the same mutations he did?"
"Not necessarily. Individual genetic responses vary significantly."
Ryan theorized that the disabled veteran's missing limb had triggered the serum's regenerative protocols, causing the bone blade development as the viral agents attempted to repair perceived damage.
Such changes were completely unpredictable - the serum essentially adapted its effects based on each subject's unique physiological defects.
"Time: 2:08 PM, September 26th. N1 Radiation-Enhancement Serum Human Trial, Phase Two. Subject: Marcus Payne, Age: 36, Weight: 155 pounds, Heart Rate: 129 BPM, Serum Concentration: 51%."
Ryan repeated the identical injection procedure.
As predicted, this subject didn't develop bone protrusions, but his skin became unnaturally tough and resilient.
Unlike Luke Cage, whose unbreakable skin retained the texture and flexibility of normal flesh, this subject's epidermis felt like tempered steel - completely rigid and lacking elasticity.
"Radiation-enhancement serum truly is a genetic lottery. How subjects mutate depends entirely on random biological chance."
Three hours passed before the second subject slowly regained consciousness.
"Sir, I feel significantly stronger than before."
The convicted volunteer appeared more mentally alert than the veteran, capable of normal conversation immediately upon awakening.
Ryan nodded and retrieved a surgical scalpel, drawing it across the subject's forearm. The blade left only a faint white scratch - the skin remained completely intact.
His defensive capabilities appeared comparable to Luke Cage's, though more detailed testing would be required to determine exact differences in durability.
Ryan removed the restraints and tossed shackles to the subject. "Secure these yourself. You'll need isolation monitoring for the observation period. If everything checks out normally, I'll arrange for supervised family visitation."
Upon hearing this promise, the prisoner volunteer expressed overwhelming gratitude: "Sir, thank you! If there's any way my abilities can help you, I'll do whatever you ask."
Sentence commutation and family visits represented his greatest hopes. Gaining superhuman abilities was an unexpected bonus he could barely comprehend.
While most people would be thrilled to acquire superpowers, he remained focused on simple human connections rather than considering criminal applications. This demonstrated genuinely rare moral character.
Ryan nodded approvingly. "Don't worry. If you pass all subsequent evaluations, I can not only arrange sentence reduction but also provide excellent employment opportunities. Now report to holding."
The prisoner volunteer bowed respectfully to Ryan and followed two enhanced soldiers back to the containment facility.
Both test subjects required complete isolation with no communication opportunities.
After concluding the experiments, Ryan conducted preliminary analysis of data collected from both subjects.
Both had undergone significant genetic mutations. The uncontrollable nature of these changes made it impossible to determine whether results were beneficial or detrimental. In Ryan's assessment, such unpredictable outcomes were far less practical than his standardized super-soldier serum.
Ryan deleted the radiation-enhancement formula from his computer systems and placed remaining serum samples in cryogenic storage.
Civilian mutants would never prove as militarily useful as a disciplined enhanced soldier corps.
Over the following days, Ryan continued collecting data while maintaining his super-soldier production schedule.
The disabled veteran, Anthony Martinez, had acquired the ability to extend a bone blade approximately twelve inches long from his forearm. CT scans revealed the blade structure was integrated within his existing bone matrix. When activated, it extended through specialized openings in his skin. The blade's composition exceeded normal bone density - approaching steel-level hardness with limited regenerative capabilities, though healing remained extremely slow following damage.
His physical strength had improved to levels comparable with standard enhanced soldiers, though significantly below Luke Cage's extraordinary capabilities.
The convicted subject, Marcus Payne, gained enhanced strength and steel-hard skin nearly identical to Luke Cage's abilities. The key difference was that Payne's muscle strength remained at normal human levels unless consciously activated. When using his defensive abilities, his skin lost all elasticity and achieved Luke Cage-level durability.
After completing physical assessments on both Anthony and Marcus, Ryan emerged from the laboratory to find Luke Cage being escorted into an armored transport vehicle by federal agents.
Ryan asked with curiosity, "What's the situation?"
"Good morning, sir. Subject Luke Cage is being transferred for congressional testimony. Following the hearing, he'll be permanently incarcerated at the Raft maximum security facility."
End of Chapter 66