Chapter 1

The man in the white coat looked around the room frantically. He knew that his time was short. Soon they would find him, and most likely kill him. He had destroyed all of his notes and papers, so they would have no way of reproducing his invention.

Odd. All those years he had worked at a method for peace, and now it seemed that he had created something that they would use for war.

He looked at the vial in his hand, then around him. He had to hide this. There wasn't a sink or anything else, and he feared to merely break the container, since they might get a sample of the contents.

His eyes spied a refrigerator. He pulled it open, observing the contents. Inside were vials and vials of vaccines. Somehow, he held back his laughter at the irony presented him.

He grabbed one of the vials that indicated a tetanus shot vaccine, carefully peeling the label from the glass and transferring it to his own. He slipped the tetanus vaccine into his shirt pocket, and placed his substance into the refrigerator. He knew that he was taking a terrible chance, but saw no other way to keep it away from the government agents who wanted it for themselves.

He took a moment to calm himself, then pried open the door. No one was in the hallway. He took off running again, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he could make it to an exit. Stay alive a little longer. Perhaps even create an antidote for his discovery.

He made it as far as the exit door before his head was shot off.

"Steven?" a voice called out.

Steve looked up from the book he was reading. He was a good looking sixteen year old man, with bright green eyes and sandy brown hair. His body was in excellent shape from football and wrestling over the years. Not very large, but compact in his strength.

"I guess that's me," he said, trying to grin. The nurse crooked a finger at him.

The attractive blonde woman looked at her chart. "Stepped on a nail?" she asked.

Steve nodded, trying hard not to look at her expansive cleavage, her large breasts pushing against her white coat. "I was working on a barn for an eagle project, and just didn't watch where I was going. It only barely broke the skin, but I figure better safe than sorry."

"Well, we'll give you a quick shot that will take care of any problems. I'll want you to come back next week for a follow up shot- just in case."

"Sure. I look forward to getting shot with giant needles," Steve said sarcastically. He grinned at her, letting her know that he was kidding. He read her name tag, at the same time catching a quick glimpse down her shirt. "Ariana. That's a pretty name."

Ariana flashed him a quick grin. The kid was good looking, and she knew the effect her body had on men his age. Most were shy around her, but this one had a confident air. Just get through the shot, she thought to herself. Let him ogle you a bit, and then it will all be over.

She sat him down on the hospital bed while she prepped him for the shot. She pulled a tetanus vial from the tray, drawing the liquid into her syringe.

"I heard about that murder here last week," Steve said. "Pretty gruesome."

Ariana nodded. "Good thing that cop was here. Some loaded junkie running around the place like a madman. Good thing he didn't find the medicine cabinet." He pointed at Steve. "Now - lower your pants, and bend over."

The young man turned around, lowering his shorts. Nice ass, she thought to himself. She rubbed his behind with an alcohol swab. Steve felt the skin cool as it evaporated. "Here we go," she said. She slipped the needle under his skin, gave a quick shot, and then it was over. She pressed a small piece of sterile cotton on his skin. With her other hand, she threw the entire syringe into the biowaste container.

"Any particular Band-Aid that you'd like? I've got plain brown, Barney, and Wonder Woman." Ariana turned to him, her bright blue eyes catching his.

"Oh, I'll take Wonder Woman," Steve said, his eyes twinkling as he looked back at her. "That should impress all the kids at school."

"Wonder Woman it is," Ariana said. She slipped the bandage over the tiny wound. "Just leave it on for tonight, and by tomorrow you can take it off. Just remember to come back in next week for a booster."

"Yes, ma'am." Steve said as he pulled up his pants. He walked out of the room, signed some papers, then walked out to the parking lot. He had driven himself down in his old Bug- not anything great, but it got him from place to place. If he was going on a date, he borrowed his parents Toyota. Not much bigger in the way of make out room, but at least it looked better.

When he got home, his mother set him right to work setting the table for dinner. His father was his usual self- in other words, an asshole as he chided Steve for getting hurt, and how much it would cost the family, blah, blah, blah. He had gone through the same thing when Steve had discovered that he needed glasses about how much it would cost. Never mind that Steve paid for the actual glasses himself.

Steve stayed up a few minutes, doing some homework before going to bed. His head hurt a little, but he chalked that up to the shot. Nothing to worry about, he thought.

Back at the hospital, the syringe and vial were now being incinerated, erasing any trace of the substance injected into Steve's young body.

Steve woke up just a few minutes before his alarm. His father complained whenever it went off, so he had learned over the years how to wake himself up, and just use the alarm as a back up.

He went into the backyard and into the shed, where he had set up some exercise equipment. He liked to get a full hour in, but this morning he only put in half an hour. His head still hurt a little.

Well, hurt wasn't exactly right. It was more like fuzzy, like when you spin around really fast and then stop. He could walk ok, his mind felt clear enough to think, but there was just something- else. Something he couldn't quite pin down.

His father was at the table eating breakfast when Steve came in. He was reading the paper while he ate his cereal, not saying anything to Steve. This was a part of their ritual. As his father would finish sections of the paper and set them aside, Steve would grab and read them. He liked to start with the comics first, then move to the other sections. After breakfast, Steve took a shower and dressed for school. The fuzziness was still there, but Steve merely partitioned off his mind to it. Like when you have a pain in your leg. After ignoring it long enough, you don't even notice it.

When he arrived at school, he said his good morning to kids he knew. Steve was popular- not as popular as some, but was at least well known and liked. He was highly intelligent so spent most of his classes with the "geeks", but his sports playing slipped him somewhere in the "jock" standing. He also performed in some drama plays, and worked in student government a bit. Something of a jack of all trades.

The school day went by quickly enough. Nothing really exciting, and the fuzzy feeling in his head stayed with him. Wrestling practice had been canceled that day, so Steve took the opportunity to spend a few minutes after school studying.