| abstract
| - Kevin O’Reale sat up in his bed. Many injections had taken place on his body. A mask went over his mouth to keep him alive. His hands twitched and his eyes fluttered slowly, but eventually opened. He begins to breathe heavily. He looks and sees Seth Dwarn overlooking his survival. Kevin: Seth… What happened… Dwarn: There was a flash of light wasn’t there? Kevin: Yes… And it happened so fast. Suddenly all my research comes crashing into my face. All those viruses must be inside of my body right now. Dwarn: Actually, they’ve been fought off quite successfully. We’re pumping more of it into you. Kevin: WHAT? What are you- Kevin tries to get the needles out of his arms and cords off of his body, but Dwarn places his gloved hands over Kevin. He’s wearing a mask and protective clothing. Dwarn: This is the only way you can survive, Kevin. Kevin: You’re trying to kill me? Dwarn: No. Letting you live. Kevin breathes deeply as he feels some type of coldness shiver through his body. He moans in agony. Kevin: This can’t be living. This is just constant death. Kevin looked upon his body again. His skin was coming to red and light green colors as splotches. He had bruises, sores, rashes. Spots over his skin. His body felt weak, almost like small movement would break his bones. And yet he was surprisingly muscular. It was almost like he was feeding off the viruses… Kevin: What’s going on here, Seth? What’s REALLY going on? Dwarn stays silent as he looks at Kevin deal with his pain. Kevin shivers in the bed. He can’t move with most of the needles injected into him. Kevin: Please Seth. Tell me what is going on. Dwarn stays silent and leaves the room. Dwarn: Sorry, Kevin, but we can’t tell you. For your own safety. Kevin yells. He looks around and sees some scissors. Weakly, he uses it to cut off some of the tubes and removes the needles from his body. He breathes deeply. His eyes are filled with crust and his mouth is warm and dry. He crawls out of the bed and tries to walk. He can steady his feet, but he shivers rapidly. His heart rate suddenly went up once he got out of the bed. He begins to sweat and feels tired. He falls onto the floor, bruising himself. ~~ Stephanie arrives back at home after a long day. She walks past James and goes up the stairs to lay on her bed in her apartment. James follows her up the stairs. James: Stephanie, where did you go? Stephanie: What? James: You’ve been gone for a while now, Stephanie. A whole day. Where did you go? Stephanie: James, I can’t tell you. James: You had me worried sick about you. Now it’s nine in the evening. What are you doing out there? And why is your face bruised? Stephanie feels her cheek. She hadn’t noticed the bruise on her face. Stephanie: I don’t know where I got that from. James: Yeah, I don’t either, which is why I want an explanation. Now. Who did this to you? Stephanie: *Sigh* I’m going to be honest, James. I got into a fight. OK? I got into a fight and beat the woman. James: You beat a woman?! You weren't drinking where you? Stephanie: No no. Just got into a… Confrontation. James: Hmph. So that’s what you're going to call it. Stephanie: James, stop worrying over me. You’re not mom. All that matters is that I’m alive and well. That’s all I want you to know. James: Fine. But please, put some make-up on tomorrow. I don’t want any customers seeing what happened to you. Stephanie: Thank you, James. Stephanie goes up stairs to get some rest. James: Oh, and by the way, Stephanie… Stephanie: Yes? James: Don’t go around messing with JTC. Stephanie: What? How did you- James: I used a phone tracker, you know. Stephanie: Then why did you ask me- James: Because I believe in honesty. 100% of it. Now go upstairs. I’m leaving work for tonight. I’m going to lock the doors. James leaves his desk and heads out the doors, locking it in the process, and then he drives off. Stephanie looks out her window, and shuts the blinds and curtains. She removes her working clothes and the Emerald costume underneath it. Stephanie: James… James James James I forgot about him. Oh, no no no. He’s going to get even more suspicious… And then he’s going to figure it all out. Stephanie sits down on her bed, hands in face and elbows on her knees. She breathes slowly. Stephanie couldn’t sleep. She kept tossing and turning as she gets memories of Ms. Matter and getting punched in the face by someone. But who was that someone? She couldn’t remember. But it wasn’t Ms. Matter, surely. It had to be someone else. She grabs her phone off of her desk and sees that it was turned off the whole time. Her eyes widen. Stephanie: My gosh… James you filthy… She stops right there. Stephanie: No… He couldn’t have punched me. He wasn’t even there. Why don’t I remember anything about that punch? She goes back to her bed, but she still doesn’t sleep. She just looks up straight at the ceiling. Her breathing is slow but steady. ~~ Kevin O’Reale wakes up in an alleyway. He doesn’t know where he is or what happened to him. All he knows is that he feels terrible. Kevin catches a glimpse of who delivered him in an alleyway. Kevin: Blue… Kevin slowly gets up off the floor, when suddenly a shot of heat goes through his spine. He screams in agony. He grabs a blanket that was thrown away and covers himself in it to get heat. It’s dark in the night, the temperature cold enough for him to see his own breath. He shivers in the cold. He looks at his hands. They’re as white as snow and have blisters. He comes across a man walking in the street. He’s wearing a cabbie hat and has a beard. He also is draped in a scarf. Kevin: Sir… Please, help me. Man: My gosh… Your hands! You’re not a leper, are you? Kevin: Please… I don’t know what’s been going on with me. Kevin places his hands on the man. Suddenly, Kevin starts to feel stronger while the man he touched begins to grow a whiteness to his face and blisters. He falls back and faints from the amount of energy that Kevin had absorbed. Suddenly, Kevin’s arms were cured. He gets healthier, but soon shows other symptoms. Kevin inspects the man. His heart stopped beating from shock. Kevin: Oh… No… Kevin runs into the alley, making sure nobody saw what he did. He hides behind some boxes to make sure he isn’t seen. He looks at his arms. He’s clean. Kevin: What did I just do to that man, and why am I suddenly healthy? Kevin’s arms begin to shake out of fear. Kevin: Oh no. They’ll figure out who killed the man. I had my hands on him. Hell, they’ll figure me out and execute me. Kevin gets up from the boxes and runs to the place he knows best: Willamette University. At Willamette, Kevin covers his face with the blanket to make sure he’s hidden. He enters his office by a window. He sits down in his chair and begins to look into his research from days ago. While he does so, he begins to feel weak again. But not in a tired way. Almost like hunger. Kevin: Why do I crave? Suddenly his head shoots back to a locked lab door where his stored bacteria are. He unlocks the door and heads in. He feels a stronger craving. Kevin: The craving is real… But this is no food… At least I don’t think it is. Kevin touches one of the glass dishes and understands his craving: he needs more bacteria in his system. He takes out a syringe and takes some of the bacteria and mixes it into a liquid to inject it into himself. He moans as he puts it into his system. It feels good to him. Kevin: Such pleasure… I feel so resurged. The stress is gone. The bacteria is back into my system. Kevin begins to drift off to the floor by sliding against a counter. He sighs and closes his eyes. Kevin: Heh… This is all strange. To think I just got rid of these viruses and now I injected them into my body for energy. It’s almost like I’m a… He stops to think about it, but the continues. Kevin: ... virus myself. Kevin falls asleep. A person appears above him and, wearing protective gear, drags him out of the building. ~~ Colt wasn’t happy with what he heard on the news that morning. Someone had dragged O’Reale out of the JTC center and took him out for a “test drive” where a man was murdered over a sudden case of leprosy and shock. Colt: What is this? Dwarn (working on a helmet): Looks like someone broke in yesterday and took our friend. Colt: Ugh. How could my security be this flawed? Do we know who did it? Dwarn: Nope. Camera was blocked prior to the incident. Colt rests his head into his hands in frustration. ~~ Kevin gets a bag removed from his head and looks around. He sees a singular light shining upon him in a very dark room. ???: Kevin. Kevin stares into the darkness to get a glimpse of the one who spoke. Kevin: What is going on here? ???: Your powers are a curse, Kevin. You are cursed. Kevin flutters his eyes weakly. His arm shakes. Kevin: Just let me go, please. ???: Let you go and you’re taken in by the police and executed for a crime you didn’t mean to commit. Sounds like a good life plan, don’t you think? Kevin closes his eyes and lowers his head in despair. Kevin: Look, blue person, I remember you from earlier, now who are you? ???: Nobody you would know, really. But the Triad is interested in your abilities. Kevin: Triad? Oh no… No no no not those terrorists from a couple days ago. No. ???: Kevin, you make it seem like you’re innocent. Kevin: But I am… Not, am I? ???: Nohoho, no. Kevin notices the raspiness of the voice but cannot make out whose voice it belongs to. ???: So are you going to listen to me now or not? Because I can tell you are intrigued. Kevin: Very. Just, what do you want to do with me? ???: I’ll give you access to all the bacteria and viruses you need and help you survive in this world. It’s obvious your friend, Megan, tried to take this on her own, and yet now she’s encased in glass for however long. You need some assistance in this new life. Kevin: Assistance. So you’ve dealt with this kind of thing before? ???: Yes. I have. And we need a replacement for one of our most important men. You should do nicely. Kevin: I have no other choice. What do you call yourself? ???: If I gave you a name you could deduce who I am. So for now, no name. Just refer to me as your overseer. I do have in mind what is best for you, Kevin. Kevin: If we’re going to have code names, please. Call me what I’ve become. A virus. Call me “Virus.” ???: Very well, Virus. Hm hm. I love the sound of that name. Simple and to the point. Virus: Yes… The Virus.
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