Chapter 19

"Is this death?"

"...get him to the ARC..."

"...stasis...we have his serum he recovered from St. Margaret's..."

"...No, no, no! The peptides and DNA sequences of D666

Omega have to be avoided! His notes are very clear on that..."

"...REM Sleep is off the charts...muscle mass is up

some 76%..."

"...come on dad! You can beat this!...I'm trying, but

I don't know what to do..."

"...don't you quit on me, bro!..."

"I love you, I miss, and I need you, Marvin."

"I love you too, Em," I said.

"Eli, he's awake!" shouted Em.

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

"Take it easy Doc," said Eli. "You've been in a coma

for almost three weeks!"

"What the fu—?" I began only to be interrupted by a

kiss from Em.

Mmmm, I love her kisses.

"Eli, why am I restrained to the bed?" I asked.

"Well Doc, you went through quite a few changes," he

said. "Your neuro output has quadrupled, and your muscle mass has increased as

well."

"The last thing I remember is Cisco being shot.

Punctured his lung just above the fifth rib on his ventricle side," I said.

"Wow! From what I understand, everything happened in a

split second, and yet you have total recall with detailed accuracy," said Eli.

"Joshua, JoJo and Tank? What happened to them?" I

asked frantically.

"When you went down, Joshua took control," said Em. "He

instructed Tank to get you to the APC and he and T have been pretty much

running things since you've been out of it. And Master Leon got the girls out."

As I sat up the chain broke. I looked at Em and she

looked at Eli.

"Eli, what the hell is going on?" I asked nervously.

"Well, as best as I can figure it, I took the best of

your formula and added to what you swallowed and now you are Tank to the power

of 10," he said. "The cellular growth, muscle and bone density and

neuro-stimuli are all off the charts. We actually are having a hard time

penetrating your skin with needles now. I can also extrapolate that your lung

capacity has increased as well."

"Dear you have to be careful with this new body of

yours," said Em as she ran her hands across my chest.

"What do you mean new body?" I asked.

Eli wheeled over a mirror. Everything was more buff.

My arms, my legs, my chest, my abs, my cranial capacity and I could extrapolate

that my lungs, heart and other organs were too. But there was something

different. Things weren't just larger, but more efficient as well. My breathing

was completely at ease.

Usually for comatose patients there is labored

breathing when emerging from that state. I also didn't suffer from any muscle

atrophy. Not only had my bone density increased, but I now had redundant ribs

covering my organs. My lungs and heart handled my blood more efficiently and

now staved off fatigue poisons. My spine and neuro-network were enhanced as

well. It was as if I could feel the neurons firing in my brain.

"I'm guessing with the extra density and mass you are

easily 300 lbs. now," said Eli.

"Well, well, well! Look who is back among the living,"

said Di. "It's good to see you up Marv. We were all really worried! While

Joshua and T were here every day, Emelia never left your side. I think she

loves you, Marv."

I reach out to hold her hand, but I cannot yet gauge

my own strength. I held it as gently as I could, but I could see the pain wince

on her face. I quickly pulled my hand back and my elbow dented the gurney.

"Baby, I'm sorry! Eli, you turned me into a monster!"

I yelled.

"Eli saved your life, Marv," snapped Di. "You all

didn't tell him, did you?"

"Tell me what?" I asked,

"You died Marv, and Eli brought you back," Di said.

"Well, that's sort of true Diane. The bullet that

lodged in his chest caused him to flat line and it triggered a mitosis and

cellular regeneration. The formula that splashed into his eyes and mouth caused

the same change that occurred in Tank. When I added the modified formula you

took from the hospital, it supercharged the change," he said. "Bone now covers

the bullet completely. Whether or not he is resistant to bites like Tank, we

don't know. However, he does seem to exhibit all the same attributes, just in

an advanced manner."

"Eli, have you added DC blood to a sample of my blood

to see if there was a change?" I asked. "The antibodies in their blood is

usually aggressive towards the white blood cells in living blood. The

mitochondria in DC blood emits a darker signature when it absorbs the healthy

cells. A spin in the centrifuge should tell you if the DC blood or mine is more

dominant."

"Wow, did you just postulate that formulation on the

fly?" asked Eli.

"Yeah, I guess I did," I said. "I don't mean to be

rude, but can you guys give me a moment alone with my wife?"

Diane and Elijah exited the lab and left Em and I in

the room. I held my hand flat so that she could place her hand in mine. I

gently closed it to hold her hand.

"Look, I know this isn't what you signed up for when

you married me," I said. "I would completely understand it if you wanted out.

I'm a…a mutant!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" snapped Em. "You're

fucking gorgeous! A few times I even walked in and saw Di staring at you with

lust in her eyes! Face facts, you are a total babe!"

"Babe, I must be secreting a heightened pheromone," I

said. "How do you feel about me when you're not around me?"

"I love and miss you. We all do," she said. "T,

Joshua, everyone has been concerned about you."

"And how do you feel when you are near me?" I asked.

"I want to rip your clothes off with my teeth and do

that thing we did on our wedding night," she said.

"Yeah, it's the pheromones," I said. "So, Joshua and T

have been running things?"

"You'd be so proud of them. They're firm but fair,

just like you," she said. "They're going to be thrilled that you're awake."

I stood up and hit my head on a lamp hanging over

head. The gown they had me in barely covered me. It's going to take some

getting used to this new frame of mine.

"Be careful honey! I just got you back, I don't want

you hurting yourself again," said Em.

"Em, I don't think that'll be a problem," I said. "My

forearms, biceps, hands, feet, calves have all increased in size and

musculature. I think I've even grown redundant ribs and lung capacity. We're

going to have to run some tests."

I leaned over to kiss Em and she fluttered and swooned

a little.

"Do you know how long it has been for me?" she asked. "I

NEED for you to get better QUILCKLY! We were still on our honeymoon after all."

"As soon as Eli says it is safe, I'm all yours to do

with as you please, m'lady," I said as I bowed and hit my head on and dented

the gurney.

"Are you all right?!" Em shouted. "Eli! Eli! Get in

here quick!"

"I'm fine! A little clumsy but fine!" I re-assured

her.

Eli burst into the room shouting, "What happened?!"

"I happened," I said. "I have to get used to this new

body."

"Well, your vitals are off the charts," said Eli. "I

think you were more in a gestation than in a coma. Physically, I haven't seen

anything like this since Tank and you've even surpassed him."

"Em, I need some clothes, but I doubt anything I have

will fit," I said.

"We'll borrow something from Tank and Henry until

we're able to get you some clothes of your own," said Em.

Em left the room in search of clothing for me. I was

kind of anxious to discuss something with Eli anyways.

"Eli, before all of this happened, I was really on my

honeymoon with Em, how will my new physiology affect her?" I asked.

"Well, Doc, umm that is to say, all of your parts

still work, but they're just a little larger and more durable and perhaps a

little stronger," he said in his best bedside doctor's voice.

"Could I hurt her?" I asked.

"Could you hurt her before the transformation?" he

replied. "You're still you. You just have to tone down your aggression and

enthusiasm. You'll have to practice your tactile touch and sensitivity to

balance your strength with sensation."

"In other words, I'll have to master myself?" I asked.

"Exactly," he said. "And with your increased learning

capacity, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Eli, can you get Joshua in here please?" I asked.

"No problem, Doc," he said.

A few minutes passed and I used that time to focus on

what I remembered about the day this all happened. Cisco stabbed Cyrus and

poured some of the formula into his mouth. What the hell happened to Cyrus?

What about Cisco? I had quite a few unanswered questions that hopefully Joshua

could answer. T and Joshua came in together. They both ran over to hug me. I

gently put my arms around the two of them so as not to crush them.

"I just have six words for you," yelled T. "DAMN GLAD

TO SEE YOU, BRO!"

"Dad, you had us so worried!" said Joshua! Joshua

seemed to be a little more buff himself.

"What happened to you while I was out of it?" I asked.

"Doing all the things you trained me to do," he said. "Jamie

and I have been working with JoJo, Ronny, Eli and even Tank: 'Strength alone

does not a good fighter make!'"

"You remembered?" I asked.

"I remember everything you ever taught me. You're my

dad and I love you," he said.

"Y'all gone make me cry," teased T.

"Joshua and T, thanks for handling everything while I

was out of it," I said.

"Isn't this what you were training me to do?" asked

Joshua. "Besides, I had the best help anyone could ask for. Isn't that right,

unc?"

"You know, what can I say?" remarked T.

"Joshua, what happened to Cisco and Cyrus? What

happened to their bodies?" I asked.

Joshua got serious and so did T, as the laughter and

joking stopped.

"Dad, I see even unconscious you're still haven't

missed a beat. T, Gerald and I are the only ones who know about this. Their

bodies disappeared," he said. "After the shooting ceased, some of the Poppa's

Pride fell and became DCs, some escaped and we rounded up a hand full and are

holding them in the brig at the Armory. We never found Cisco and Cyrus though.

How did you know?"

"Just before Gerald shot Cisco, he stabbed Cyrus and

poured some of the formula into his mouth. And when he was shot and the vial

became airborne, some splashed into his mouth as well. The same way it got me,"

I said. "The assumption here is that both Cyrus and Cisco are now like Tank as

they didn't receive my refined formula on top of Eli's."

"Damn! Two guys with Tank's strength and intelligence

out there doing God knows what," said T. "But we got two of our own, right bro?"

"My mutation seems to be a little more advanced than

Tanks is though," I said. "And the fact that theirs is a dilution of Tank's

blood may mean that they may not be as advanced as Tank as their DNA sequences

are a sub factor of his initial metabolic stasis."

T and Joshua looked at each other and then at me and

said, "Huh?"

"Dad I only understood a few of those words," said

Joshua.

"Yean and I didn't get any of them," said T.

"Cisco, Cyrus and I were all subsets of Tank because

the formula was derived from his blood. But then I received a new more

distilled formula based off of the original research and that supercharged my

adrenal glands, and my mitochondria processes as well as my cellular growth and

production. We need to conduct some tests."

"What the hell did he just say," asked T as he looked

at Joshua. Joshua just shrugged.

I must calm down. My mind was racing and the words I

was choosing were correct and advanced even for a doctor, but I needed to relax

and relate.

"To quote one of my favorite TV shows: 'I'm better,

stronger, and faster!'" I said. "I'm not bionic, but I may be even be better!"

"Doc, you have a few people who want to meet you,"

said Eli as he ushered in three young women. "This is Cicely, Tanya and Ingrid."

"We're told we have you to thank for our rescue from

my deranged father," said Cicely. "You have no idea what it means to be free of

him."

"Yes. He was a monster," said Tanya. "He did

unspeakable things, not only to us, but to his own daughter."

"You were a godsend," said Ingrid. "And I agree, my

uncle was a monster."

"I'm glad we were able to help you ladies," I

said.  "Now would you please excuse me as

I am in a state of semi-dress."

The girls left and Em returned with some sweats. I got

dressed as she relayed the goings on in the ARC, The Plant and The Armory. She

caught me up on how Eli stepped up and stepped in.

After Eli released me into Em's custody, we locked

ourselves in our room for three days straight, with me learning to touch my

wife so as not to hurt her. At first it was her touching me, but as I gained a

semblance of control, I would brush her cheek with my hand. Caress the small of

her back as I held her. And slowly and ever so gently enter her as we melded

into one, body upon body. Continuously Em would stop and remind me that she

needed respite. I would get her food and water and then coax her into another

compromising position.

The next few days after were of me testing the limits

of my newfound abilities. A tug of war against Tank, Henry, Brian, Joshua,

Leon, Gerald, T, JoJo, Ricky, Robert, Ronny, Eli and a tractor, and I won.

Calculations and computations faster than the computers that we had on hand,

including Alfred. Able to hold my breath infinitely with no ill effects.

Running a mile in just over 2 minutes. We couldn't find any weights that could

give me a challenge, so Fred and Tim set up some trailers at the Plant and I was

able to lift them. That's over 12 tons and I no longer got tired, but the truly

frightening discovery came later in the lab. Constant increases in auditory and

visual capacities. A 12-foot vertical leap. Instant and total recall. Eli was

thrilled.

Two months to the day had passed. Eli was giving me a

final once over to ensure I was ok.

"As far as I can tell, you are resistant to bites just

like Tank is," said Eli.

"Can I take a look in the microscope? I've been

practicing my tactile touch so as not to break everything," I said as I peered

through the viewer. "Eli, due to the fact that fatigue poisons are no longer a

concern for me, did you look at the radioactive discharge of my cells?"

"Where are you going with this, Doc?" Eli asked.

"Does mitosis occur in my cells?" I asked. Eli just

stood there in stunned silence as he arrived at the conclusion that I had

already made.

"Look Doc, I had no idea that your cellular structure

would mutate into what it did!" said Eli

"So, you knew this was a possibility then?" I asked.

"No. But it is true that you no longer age. You are in

fact, immortal," said Eli.