Shadows and Power

Aiden opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure approaching as he rubbed his eyes with his hands. "Hello, I see you're finally awake, boy. Aiden, that's your name, right?" said a feminine voice.

"Where am I?" asked Aiden, looking at his clothes, which resembled hospital attire. The figure moved closer, revealing a middle-aged woman with a surprisingly youthful face.

"Hello again; it seems you didn't hear me. You must be confused about where you are. My name is Doctor Brenda, Brenda Swang," she said with a smile. "You have such beautiful hair; I've always wanted it to be that long." She briefly digressed but returned to the matter at hand when she noticed Aiden's bewildered expression.

"Well, Aiden, may I call you that?" The boy nodded. "You were selected by this person standing next to me." Aiden shifted to look at a man slightly shorter than himself. "This is Doctor Richard Laos, a magnate in his field and the one in charge of this experiment."

Aiden's face turned to panic as he wondered what kind of experiment it could be and whether the test he remembered had been a dream. "What kind of experiment?" he stammered.

"Glad you asked, boy," said Doctor Laos. "It seems that either a relative of yours or your parents, who participated in a similar experiment, passed down a hidden power to you, and we want to awaken it. The only way to activate it is through an extremely difficult situation, even life-threatening," the doctor explained.

Aiden couldn't believe it. Hidden powers? Relatives in experiments? "I never met my parents or any ancestors. I've always lived in an orphanage," he said, clutching the sheets tightly in his hands. "I don't want to be part of any experiment. I don't think those things exist. I want to go back to my dog and leave this place," he began to cry.

He got up from bed and, in the process, accidentally hit the doctor in the face. He stepped off the bed, stepping on the doctor, and started running toward the door, but three men assisting the doctor stopped him before he could escape. Doctor Brenda, examining her face in a small mirror, said to Aiden with anger: "You little devil, you almost ruined my beautiful face." Then, turning to Richard, she added: "I tried to handle this calmly and easily, but I see this brat won't cooperate, and the boss wants results. It's your turn, Richard."

"Alright, boy, you should thank Mr. Zeus, who brought you here; thank you to your little friend Elena," said Doctor Laos, laughing. "Sometimes you shouldn't trust people." He let out an evil laugh. Aiden recognized that voice—it was the same one that had made him suffer until he passed out. He tried to struggle against the three men holding him, but to no avail. Two held his arms, and one held his legs.

"It's time to double the dose," said the doctor, signaling to his assistants to take him to the machine. Everyone left the room, heading toward the machine.

At the highest level of Radar, Zeus was in a meeting when he was interrupted by the sound of an alarm. One of the security robots informed him through the panel that the fire switch had been activated. Zeus remained calm and asked everyone to settle down. "This floor is impervious to everything," he told them. Then he instructed the robot to locate the source of the fire and extinguish it as quickly as possible. "I want a report," he added. The robot responded: "As you command, my lord," and the monitor turned off. The room automatically sealed itself hermetically.

Zeus turned to the eight people seated around a round table. "Let us continue with the meeting," he said. The company Radar was responsible for scientific advancements, weapons, and medications, but this meeting was not about those endeavors. Zeus's ultimate goal had always been to create the perfect human, someone under his control who could dominate the world and bring peace—at least, in his twisted vision.

"My friends," Zeus began. "Today, after so many failed attempts, we finally have something—or rather, someone—who will help us advance our plans and take us to the next level." A collective gasp broke the silence, followed by murmurs. The eight people in the room remained skeptical of Zeus's words.

"How is that possible?" asked Led Wargen, an older man wearing a dark green military uniform with red epaulets. "The previous test subjects who escaped years ago now fight against us. What makes you think one of them will cooperate with us?"

"Yes, how will he do it? You're not deceiving us again like before," said Lady Ria, the second-in-command and head of the technology division. She appeared youthful, dressed in a sleek black suit. Three others—Aragon Barns from the American division, Irina Agos from the Oceania division, and Aldos Etron from the African division—began nodding in agreement. Eliot Page, from the European division, observed silently, as did Jeti Fin, from the Asian division.

The last member made a loud clap with his hands, silencing the commotion in the room. It was Sir Larot, a man clad in black armor with a polarized visor. He was the one tasked with carrying out all the difficult and covert operations without leaving a trace. "Let Zeus speak," he said in a deep, commanding voice, and Zeus gave him a nod of gratitude.

"All of you are my eight leaders, the most important figures in this company, and you have stood by me over time—not just in this corporation, but in previous ones as well. Enough talk; let's get to the point," said Zeus, pulling out a remote and lowering a monitor. On the screen appeared the test results of the subject, Aiden. An aura of astonishment filled the room. "Is it real?" they all asked.

"Oh, yes," the boss replied. He switched on the screen and called Doctor Richard. "How is the process going? Have you found a way to activate the boy's powers yet?" he asked. The doctor responded that they were still in the process and would conduct another study.

"Good," said Zeus, licking his lips. "We want to see the process live and in real-time." The doctor thought to himself that he didn't like being watched, but he had to comply for the greater good. As he and his assistants strapped Aiden into the machine, the monitor activated again. The robot informed Zeus that there was no fire issue, but the elevator to the lower floors had been damaged and destroyed.

"I need that elevator operational and the employees back to work," Zeus demanded. Then, the doctor began securing Aiden to the chair and injecting him with various colored liquids, causing the boy to writhe in pain at intervals.

"How are his vitals?" the doctor asked Swang. "They seem stable, but all those chemicals have triggered all his vital levels," she responded. "Keep monitoring him," the doctor instructed. In his mind, the doctor muttered to himself: "Soon, Father. Very soon I'll recreate—or perhaps improve upon—what you once called the METALUX."