I remember every second of that damned white room. I remember all the other kids, their faces, voices, and how they slowly disappeared.

 

My name is Leonard Clock, and I am an orphan who fell victim to a series of inhumane experiments. I never saw any of my birth parents, and I don't know my real name. My first memory is of a furnitureless white room filled with children of my age. 

 

It hurts to think about those times, but here is my story.

 

I was locked in an underground facility with thousands of other children. None of us had proper names, but facility workers called us by codes tattooed on our arms. Mine is still on my arm. It slowly fades away with each passing year, but still there to remind me of my past. 432-2. 2 stands for the second one of the group, as every kid also had a predetermined partner.

 

Inside the facility, we went through several trials and experiments that mostly ended with death. I remember most of them. Scientists of the facility injected strange liquids into our bodies in order to cause mutations and awaken new powers, forced us to stay in airtight rooms filled with anti-oxygen, and sometimes forced us to kill small Crimsons with nothing except our bare hands and abilities in order to enhance our combat capabilities and eliminate the weak.

 

Facility scientists become more extreme with every death. Mortality rates increased every day, yet this was only a part of their accelerated natural selection for those butchers who call themselves scientists. I remember standing in a line and watching ten kids die from the same experiment until the head scientist decided the experiment was a failure.

 

Thankfully, those painful days only took two years. One morning, the facility guards dragged my partner and me to parts of the facility we had never seen before.

 

My fear level was on the roof since the timing for experiments always remained consistent until that day. Thoughts filled my little mind. Who could have caused the time of the experiment to change? The head scientist always told us about the importance of punctuality and consistency whenever he saw us, plus he was the strongest person we knew since everyone else always obeyed him, so at that time, I thought that whoever changed the timing of the experiments must be far more terrifying and sadistic than him. My fear escalated to another level when two facility guards wearing uniforms I had never seen before intercepted us and took my partner away. I was now alone.

 

I found myself in a room with a mountain of corpses and a bloody dentist's chair in the center. After giving me enough anesthetics to stop me from screaming or moving during the experiment, not enough for me to sleep, a scientist began using high-powered lasers to drill a square-shaped hole in my skull to plant a scavenged technology, an alien supercomputer size of a bank card, deep into my brain. I remember every second of it. I remember feeling as if my body was on fire throughout the process.

 

And when the computer finally connected with my brain, I briefly lost control of my powers and accidentally caused a complete blackout in the entire facility.

 

Sometime later, special force units began swarming the facility. I heard guards killing kids and scientists to stop the possible leaking of information. I don't remember much about the raid except the sound of gunshots and screams, but I opened my eyes in a UDC field hospital around Washington.

 

Opening my eyes in a soft and warm bed instead of a cold floor and seeing proper doctors and nurses instead of maniacs wearing blood-stained coats was my happiest moment.

 

Later, a man, almost two and a half meters tall (who I later learned to be the Chancellor, who united the world,) followed by six winged people, entered my room and asked me about the facility with a friendly tone. What they did to us, what the facility owners named themselves if I remembered any faces etc.

 

After the questioning, UDC conducted some tests and transferred me and the only other children who survived that hell, my then-partner and now sister, into a new facility. Three of them died on the way, and the last survivor is someone I can now call my sibling, even though we haven't talked for some time.

 

In this new and safer place, they first used anesthetics and proper equipment to inspect the computer on my head but stopped their research after discovering removing it would end up in my death and chips self-destruction.

 

So, instead of trying to find a way to remove the computer, UDC decided to train me and use the abilities I gained through the cruel experiments for the good of humanity after uniting me with my sister.

 

To do that, they took us into a training facility, and the man who led the assault at that facility, Jake Clock, decided to be our legal guardian. He named us and became one responsible for overseeing our training.

 

We both went through the same basic combat and physical training courses, but since she was more adept at combat and I was more adept at engineering, after some time, we began getting separated for personalized

training.

 

Three years later, during my training, the man who once visited me in my hospital room decided to visit me once more. That day I learned he wasn't just a prosecutor but a legendary figure who managed to unite all world superpowers into fighting against our common threat.

 

He asked me a question. "What do you think power is? Of course, there is no wrong answer, as for some it's unparalleled physical strength, for some, it's wealth, and for some, it's knowledge, but I want to learn your option."

 

I answered without hesitation. "To create and lead." For me, the symbol of power was still the head scientist since I never learned who changed the schedule that day. Neither the facility guards with their weapons nor investors with immense wealth had any control over him.

 

Chancellor laughed at my answer. "For I believe in something similar. One who can lead others is the strongest. Now, I want to ask you, do you feel frustrated knowing you can't do anything about those people who tormented you."

 

I nodded.

 

"Wouldn't you want to gain the strength to find and punish all of them?"

 

"I want."

 

He smiled at me. "You are smart, but that's not enough. Even though that computer on your mind gives you photographic memory, you can probably print schematics of an advanced fighter jet after inspecting it for ten minutes, your brains computing power rivals the most advanced computers on earth, and you have access to infinite knowledge through its connection to the global network, your body is weak." After his words, my sister entered the room with Chanellors bodyguards. "I gave the same speech to her."

 

Chancellor moved next to her and slowly turned her head towards me. "And unlike you, she has the power." He looked at Olivia. "You will be his loyal dog, one ready to hunt for its master." Then turned to me. "And you, be the hound master leading your pack to victory. I will see if you two are capable of holding power."

 

That day our training got stricter, as we found ourselves in a game much bigger than us. But we didn't care even if we died, as we now had a chance for revenge.

 

*****

 

I opened my eyes. I am inside a locker room waiting for the announcement calling me. Today is a big day. Because of that, I am joining the combat trials of UDC's warfare academy entrance tests. Until today, I was in training, but the moment I enlist in a school, the Chancellor's game of power will start.

 

I already aced the paper exam, but I still need to have a good combat record if I want the freedom to choose any school I desire without restrictions.

 

My goal is to enter Horizon, one of the top four. This school can provide the tools to assemble a team and raise them into loyal soldiers for my revenge.

 

"Participant number 2358, please move to the arena. Your first battle will start in four minutes."

 

It seems like my time has come. Don't forget to wish me good luck.