Chapter 14 : Lincoln (Past)

Terrifying screams that were not his own filled his mind as an overwhelming headache took over him. He knew he was awake, at least he felt like it, yet all he could see and hear were the people he had once known. He could taste bile in his throat as the spinning of his mind started speeding up and the cries became more distant. Suddenly he started to hear the sound of the heart rate monitor, it was beeping too loud for his comfort, the sound not helping with his dizziness.

His eyes finally flapped open; he could see but could not register what he was seeing. Blood painted the walls, a red aura surrounded the room, tables were turned over and there were bodies on the floor. Wait... Bodies? He thought to himself and squinted at the three bloodied bodies on the floor. Suddenly the image of them being stabbed by spikes came to Lincoln's mind and he threw up. He struggled against the restraints but they wouldn't budge.

He was too shocked to look at himself by when he did, he screamed in agony. Dark red aura wrapped around his body, the same one that surrounded the room and the bodies. He screamed louder at the realization that he may have been the one who killed these people. He didn't know how to react; all he did was scream until he was transported to another world.

He was back in a vast, empty and dark land with no one but him and the people he knew as friends. He could hear their screams for help, but could only see their smiles. Blood dripped from their foreheads, passing through their eyes, but they kept their contact with Lincoln without blinking even once. Suddenly a void sucked all his rather happy friends and he woke up, screaming in agony.

His throat ached as he looked around.

He was in a familiar room, but where did he see this place before? It looked like a hospital room, and he didn't seem to be alone. Two people wearing white coats stared at Lincoln. Memories of the previous day came to his mind, he was captured by someone, and was he brought here?

He slowly stopped screaming. He had a couple of tubes stuck in him, all of them empty. "Where am I?" Lincoln asked slowly with a hint of fear in his voice. One of them confirmed he was okay and left the room. "You are our experiment." The man remaining answered. "Experiment? What are you going to do to me?!" Lincoln asked, not able to hide the fear in his voice anymore.

Everything he feared for was happening right in front of him. He wasn't killed and now he's going to be experimented on. "You will see soon." The man replied with a smirk. Lincoln tried moving but said he was chained to the bed, restricting his movements.

The second man entered the room with another person. This person was much taller than the pair. "Hello, Lincoln, was it?" The tall man asked. Lincoln didn't give an answer, but followed it up with the question of his own, "Where am I?" "You are in a German organization hideout that resides in Canada. We will move soon anyway so we don't mind telling you. However, it's not like you can leave us." The tall man explained. "How was I captured? Wasn't the police force the ones that captured me?" Lincoln asked, and the man laughed.

"No, they were too dumb. One of our spies spotted your incredible strength and was ordered to capture you immediately. We have been conducting various experiments with hundreds of people but failed miserably in all. We think we'll have more hope with you. So, our spy captured you and took you away before the police force was able to do anything." The tall scientist said, and Lincoln kept silent as he processed what the man was saying.

"Anyways, let's get straight to business. We are capable of unlocking unknown abilities within someone using a genetic transfusion, something no human has ever achieved up to this date. We found out this was possible when one of our patients mistakenly reacted with a meteor we discovered and went completely berserk. However, he died shortly after." The tall scientist explained, with a calm tone, as if someone dying was nothing to him.

"It was then when we started with the genetic transfusion but only one of our patients came out alive. But he was then sent out of our organization because he was just as useless as our other subjects except for one aspect. He had issues with his memory and could not remember most of what happened whenever we asked him to try to awaken his powers. Of course, he kept failing but he would forget his past slowly by slowly whenever he tried. So, then we knew that these powers come at the cost of one's memories if used too much. It is only a theory, however." The tall scientist explained.

Lincoln tried processing everything, they were going to try the same on him. And there is a high chance he will die, and suddenly he was scared. "So, I'll give you two options. Be as it is, you're already an important specimen to us and with a little brainwashing, you can be our military's special weapon. Or we can tinker a little with your genetics and enhance this power of yours making you more powerful if you do survive. Since both work in our favour, and I'm having a hard time with choosing because I'm afraid we might lose you with the second option, I'm letting you choose." The tall scientist said.

Lincoln gulped.

So, he won't be able to go back home. No matter what. He could use his ability to somehow try escaping this place, but he didn't know the limits to it. He also doesn't have his strength nor his enhanced hearing anymore, he realized that when he tried breaking the restraints. It seems as if it had been cut off, so, he wasn't ready to take chances on escaping and possibly dying if it fails.

However, he also had the choice of being more powerful, and if he survives won't he have a better chance of escaping? He could then use his powers for the better of his country, if they allow him to, anyway. But wouldn't it be better than betraying his country and his friends because he would be brainwashed to fight for Germany instead?

He already knew what to choose.

He'd rather die than betray his loved ones.

If he does survive the transfusion, there will be a high chance they won't be able to brainwash him. He'll train himself, escape this facility and find his friends. Then he'll convince the Canadian military and fight for them instead.

It all seemed like a foolproof plan but, what if he doesn't survive?

It's okay. Lincoln thought and sighed, after all, I'd rather die than betray my friends.

The scientists waited patiently as Lincoln thought out his answer. He sighed again and they watched intently. "I'll take the second option then." He said, and they gasped. They were probably shocked he was going for the option that could result in his death. "Wise choice." The tall scientist managed to say and moved to a machine. "Wait... But at what cost? Other than dying, if I do survive what will happen to me?" Lincoln asked.

"You will still be used as our weapon, and we will brainwash you if we can at least. If you're talking about the side effects then since we haven't fully developed this transfusion, using this power too much will kill random neurons in your nervous system, and that would mean you forgetting random things in your past." The tall scientist explained.

So, it seemed they were not sure they can brainwash him, and everything ran on theory with the limited success they had.

"That's it?" Lincoln said, referring to the side effects. The tall scientist shrugged with a smirk. "This depends on how much you value your memories." He replied.

Suddenly something in his pocket burned and he tried his best not to scream. Whatever went through the tubes stuck to Lincoln, made his consciousness slip away, but before it did, he heard the man say. "This will also come at the cost of your parents." The man said. And Lincoln thought he understood what he meant. He thinks Lincoln would go against his country and so he would have to kill his parents at some point, but he wouldn't be able to. "They're dead." Lincoln managed to say. "Aware." That was all he heard before getting knocked out cold.

Huh. He thought to himself as everything went black.