Project S.T.A.R. (3) It was Thursday, that meant that I could go home! A three day weekend after four whole days at "school" working my ass off. I hurried so I could catch the Tram. The Tram was a revolutionary way of travel. It was like a subway but much cleaner and no worries about anyone robbing you. It was also faster. My home was about 30 miles away. On the Tram, I could get there in 10 minutes. As I sat in silence, I thought about my life and Anthrax. Would I ever have a normal life? In the beginning I should've been angered at the fact that I was born only to fight mankind's battles. But I was blinded by that because of the awesome suit. Now I wanted an escape. I can remember what we went through like yesterday.... 3 years earlier.... They were going to be training us. Getting us ready physically and mentally. Some kids were scared. Some were excited. I felt a mix of everything. I was disturbed by what they told us but, I was anxious for the power. We trained for a full 6 months. Target practice, hand-to-hand combat, technology preparing, endurance exercises. It was hell. It was no better with "the Minister" and his officials always hitting us, punching us, beating us if we got out of line. Those that acted foolishly or tried to escape received a deadly shock to the brain by the microchip. We received vehicle training in specially-made Anthrax vehicles. Mind-link and all kinds of other shit you have never heard of before and never will. There were only twenty of us at that one Anthrax station. There were twenty more at another. And another. And another. In all there was five Anthrax schools with twenty pupils each. We all were getting our fill of it. Then came the moment of truth. One day we were all called to the conference room. There we were explained of what was to happen to us. Everyone was to be in squads of five. Throughout our 18 hour days we would control our respective zones. Sixty miles to patrol for each group. Whenever there was trouble, Anthrax operators would alert us through our microchips. No one was to cross into another squads' zone. Ever. My squad consisted of me, my best friend Alex, Taylor, Tim, and Ray. I got along with everyone fine except Ray. We always had beef with each other. I hated him. In a squad, you could be promoted by exceptional things you have done while on duty. The first rank was the follower, which everyone started off as. The second rank was the weapon specialist. Third was the Tactical officer. Fourth was the technological warfare consultant, who was also 2nd in command. Fifth was the highest honor. Only one person could have a fifth rank and that was the squad leader. I am not going to be a follower for long. I thought with envy as Ray was promoted to squad leader. Everyone was getting nicknames for their squads. We dubbed the nickname "the Green Daggers" squad. Our motto was to stab CRIME in every possible way. This was hard because Anthrax selected "The Wall Street Centre" for our zone. The Wall Street Centre was a 60 mile zone that was very rich and prestigious. It was almost always peaceful. Just small-time crime which we were not allowed to handle. We were bored most of the time when others just like us were fighting and destroying evil. Everyone excelled in their ranks but I remained a lowly follower. No matter what I said or what suggestions I gave, they where not paid attention to because of my rank. Once I lead the way through a successful mission and Ray took full credit for it. The squad leaders and squads were arranged in the computers. Every time a squad completed a mission, they were given 5 points. If something went wrong, 5 points were taken away. The best squads had the highest points. We were at #6 with 225 points. It was all possibly because of my ideas and still I wasn't promoted. Fuck this, I want a real life. I thought angrily..... Present date; 5 min. later... TSEEEEEEEEEEEER! The Tram slowed to a stop at the Western Antopolis Station. Every Thursday when I came home, I went through the same routine. As usual, I walked to the same bench and sat down, awaiting my parents. As usual, I studied people as they walked by. Antopolis has the biggest criminal population in the whole world, estimated at about 90 million. So there had to be warped people walking by me. But I was distracted by the 50 ft. tall viewing screen that showed news and stock picks throughout the day. A reporter named Kent Wilkerson was standing on the screen speaking in a very serious tone. "Today it seems that the mysterious group of armored rouges have done their worst damage to Antopolis. After capturing some terrorists with half a ton of explosives, five of the six terrorists escaped with the rest of the explosives. Then the renegades showed up and a high speed chase ignited. The speed of the renegades was too intense for local police. Terrorists threw explosives into the streets of Antopolis and 29 people lost their lives. A lot more would have died if not for the renegade soldiers. They neutralized 13 explosives during the chase. A helicopter crew videotaped the tremendous chase as one remaining rogue chased after the criminals alone." Then the screen starting the tape of my daring capture of the killers. Everyone around me watched and was startled as I tumbled over the car. The camera darted over to the van now crossing the bridge. Then, BOOM! The van was no more. "A tremendous explosion destroyed Brooklyn Bridge completely. Behind me you can now see the terrible traffic, which is backed up four miles now with people trying to commute home." Then the screen cut to the Mayor of Antopolis, Gregory Smiles. He looked dumbfounded. "These people who think they can take the law in their own hands are foolishly putting themselves in harms way. I speak for all of Antopolis when I say, We don't need your help!" he ended. Back to Kent now. "The vigilantes have been fighting extreme cases of CRIME all over Antopolis for about 3 years. The FBI, CIA, MIB, or any other covert government organization has been unable to locate any information about them." The station was packed with people and all eyes were on the screen. I played along also but inside, I was smiling. Then, "Felix!", came a voice. I turned in time to see my mom calling me to the car. "So what did you learn this week?" she asked. What can I lie about now? I thought. In the "school" we had the brain-stem helmets. We could learn all our schooling in just seconds. Only Anthrax had this technology. "We learned how to do the right things no matter what." I said. She looked at me funny. "That's better than some of the stuff they taught us." She said. I remained silent as we continued home. Throughout the past three years, I had found it very hard to even communicate with my parents. I wished that I could tell them everything. But I didn't want to risk getting them killed by Anthrax. "Round 4, FIGHT!" the electronic machine pronounced. "I'll win this round Felix! With one punch yo' ass is dead!" screamed my neighborhood friend Virgil. We were playing Virtual Reality Boxing at the arcade near the Antopolis mall. I had Mike Tyson Jr. and he had the legendary Muhammed Ali. He swung and swung but I dodged repeatedly. I waited to the right time then...boom, boom, BOOM! A swift uppercut sent him sprawling. He tried to get back up but Ali was too weak. Ding, ding! Winner by T. K. O., Mike Tyson Jr.! We took off the V-R helmets and laughed. "How about a soda? Your treat." I asked him. He was about to respond when someone pushed me from behind. I toppled over someone who was carrying a serving dish of drinks. SLOSH! I didn't care who I had made fall, but I cared about who pushed me. When I looked up, there was Ray and Alex. Virgil helped me up. "Hey man, what the hell is your problem?!" I said angrily as I brushed myself off. Ray stepped closer to my face. "I can't stand they way you just prance around school thinking you're the big man on campus. Just because you got a lucky break today doesn't mean it changes things." he said. "Well it does. It means that I don't have to put up with your ass anymore. It's the other way around." I said through clenched teeth. "And I know you two trashed my stuff today. Why don't you admit it? Alex, I thought you were my friend. You suck up to Ray so much I could swear that you was his bitch or something." I yelled in Alex's face. He looked shocked and lunged for me. We were on the ground, twirling and wrestling. I pinned Alex by the hands and punched him in the nose. Bap! Blood seeped from his nose. Ray grabbed me by the collar and threw me off of Alex. Bam! My back hit the side of an arcade machine. People were now crowding by us and yelling, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Ray jacked me up by my feet and raised his fist to punch me. Then, Wham! Boom! Virgil dived into Ray, knocking over a machine. Alex was standing back up now. I ran over to him and knocked his feet out from under him. Bap! Bap! Bap! That was the sound of me hitting Alex over and over again. He lay on the floor curled into a protective ball. I turned around just in time to see Ray shove Virgil over a table. I grabbed a glass salt and pepper shaker as I ran over to challenge Ray. I ran onto a chair and jumped Ray. Crash! We both hit the floor. Ray struggled to get up but I was ready. I raised both glass shakers and slammed them as hard as I could on the temples of Ray's head. Brash! I was about to beat him more as Virgil pulled me off of him. "Felix we got to go, the mall cops are here!" he said. I took the hint and we pushed our way through the crowd, trying to get to the back exit. We ran like hell towards the Tram, right down the street. We bought our tickets and leaped on it in record time. We sat down in a mix of exhaustion and fear. We were felling pretty cocky now that we had kicked some ass and we weren't going to get in any trouble for it! Home was another 10 miles away, which meant that we had about 30 more seconds to sit on the Tram. "So what was all that about?" Virgil asked. I shook my head. "Those two are always on my case at school. We don't really get along." I said. Virgil shook his head in confusion. "Sometimes you genius kids really don't make any sense. You'd think that you guys would be a tad more smarter than to pick fights." he said. You don't even know the half of it my friend. I thought as we neared our station. "Mom! Can I still go to Universal Studios this weekend with my friends??? Huh? Can I!?!" I yelled from upstairs. It was Friday night and me, Virgil, and some more of my non-Anthrax friends were planning to go to Universal Studios, Antopolis on Saturday. I heard no answer from her. I jumped downstairs to see both my mother and father watching the t. v. with their undivided attention. "Hello? Can I still go-" but I was interrupted by my dad. "Shish! Be quiet, this is important!" he said. I looked at the television. It showed footage from the Brooklyn Bridge. "The super soldiers have affected many lives in Antopolis, but after the destruction on Thursday, more people and damage was done ever since the soldiers appeared in Antopolis." Said the reporter. It wasn't that bad! Is no one concerned about the fact that we save lives!? This is a fucked up world to be fighting for. I thought angrily. "This just in. We have a live feed from our mayor, Gregory Smiles." The screen cut to Gregory. He looked pissed off once again. "After many hours of debate and discussion with head officials from the FBI and CIA, my board and I have came up with an ultimatum for the so called "soldiers" who take justice in their own hands. If there is another escapade from the vigilantes, they will be treated like criminals themselves. With the assistance of the Armed Forces and Special Operations teams, the city of Anthrax has upped their defenses. If the super soldiers appear again, then they will be shot and persecuted. We are prepared for the war on CRIME and we DO NOT need any assistance from locals who take the law in their own hands." Ended an angered mayor Smiles. Well the shit really hit the fan now. I wonder what Dr. Kraken has in plan for this. "About time." Said my dad. "Those people have caused too much danger and violence to this city." He said. I tried to reason without giving away myself. "But has anyone forgotten that these people have did what the police of this city can't? They have helped innocents." I said, still looking at the t. v. My father stood up, obviously uncomfortable. "Son, people like those aren't to be trusted. They are just like all the other thugs out there trying to scam someone. Killers. All of them are. I hope they just kill them and don't waste anytime." He said. Ring! Ring! The phone sounded from the other room. As my father left to get the phone, I had mixed feelings about what he had said. Are Anthrax really doing this for good? I shook my head. "Mom, can I still go to Universal Studios tomorrow?" I asked expecting a yes. She shocked me when she said no. "What? But you promised that I could go!" I said shrilly. "I know honey but now it is getting so violent. There's bound to be some trouble and I don't want anything to happen to you so the answer's no." She said as she left me standing there. I can't have any fun because of the stupid Anthrax bastards! How many more times is this going to happen?! I screamed in my head as I ran back upstairs frustrated. Monday; 8:00am... Felix Alvarado is not just some lowly follower anymore! Time to be respected. I thought greedily as I walked into the front doors of the Anthrax school. This was the first day back and MY first day being squad leader. People still eyed me stupidly but I didn't care. All I cared about was showing everyone in my group that I could lead. And boss the hell out of them. As I entered my room, Alex and Tim sat on their own bunks talking. They stopped once I entered the room. "And good morning to you too guys." I said sarcastically as I threw my bag on my own bunk. Alex scoffed. "Just because you are our squad leader, that doesn't mean you have to go around and brag about it." He said. "Technically I do. Everyone in my group betrayed me by voting me guilty. And here I am! I escaped certain death and made squad leader at the same time. To me, that is a lot to brag about. How's your nose?" I asked. Alex started to say something back but Tim cut him off. "Well not me. Obviously we will see if you are fit enough to handle the pressure." Said an angry Tim. I stared him down. "Don't hate me because you didn't make squad leader. Isn't that what you have been bitching about for the past 3 years?" I said acidly. Tim jumped from his bunk and tried to attack me. Alex grabbed him and held him back. "SAVE IT for today. Remember?" He asked Tim. Tim then nodded and stopped struggling. As they were preparing to leave, I called Alex back. "Alex, what are you talking about?" I asked. He grinned. "You'll see. It's big." He said as he walked out of the room. "Green Dagger squad, please report to the briefing room ASAP!" blared the intercom. I took the elevator from the gym to the conference room. Once there I found all my other squad-mates sitting. "What's up?" I said fakely. I loved abusing my power already. "the Minister" walked into the room along with Dr. Kraken. "Green Dagger group, today you will be asserting your attention to the Scientific Laboratory of Antopolis. A week ago Prof. Simon Rancor was released from prison on bail of $100,000. He was arrested for destructive uses of dangerous material. He released toxins on a colleague, making him lose control over his nervous system. Today, Simon is being allowed to go back to work at the Scientific Laboratory of Antopolis. Why? Because he owns it. We have suspected that Simon is making illegal substances of some kind in the building. So we want you to stake out, spy, and possibly collect some evidence of Simon doing illegal acts. Beware Simon is a genius when it comes to diseases, toxins, and other biological warfare. If it gets bad, shoot first and ask questions later. Dismissed." He said with a wave of his hand. Simple, spy on an old coot all day. Couldn't be easier. I thought. But then I didn't know how bad things would go and how challenging this "squad leader" thing really was. Anthrax has some fantastic vehicles. In order for us to stake out Simon, we were going to have to use something covert, able to hide us. Therefore, we chose the Dark Storm. The Dark Storm is an all black vehicle that is able to fly, drive, and maneuver underwater. To make it even better, the Dark Storm had hologram technology. It could project a hologram around itself that would match all it's surroundings. Very useful if you want to spy on a hot chick taking a shower. After our briefing, we all suited up and met at the Anthrax underground Tram station. The Anthrax Tram would take us to the mountains, some 20 miles away where we could launch without anyone spying or watching us. As we rode underground, my other team mates talked among themselves. They did not invite me to butt in their conversation. They were talking about an episode of Jerry Springer Jr. that had aired last night. Something about transvestites that cheated on their homosexual mates. Tim and Alex pretended to be the queers and Ray was Jerry. Taylor laughed as the two had a mock fight, and all of them fell to their seats laughing. I felt so alone. I'll show them. Who needs friends anyways? I don't need them. They'll see. I proved to myself as the Tram slowed to a stop in the mountain base. Once we were in the secret Anthrax mountain base, we loaded our equipment and got positioned in the Black Storm. Tim, who was a master in aerodynamics, piloted the thing. Taylor, who was our technological genius, monitored the screens. Alex was at the weapons helm and I sat positioned on the passenger seat next to Tim. And where was Ray? I looked behind me to see Ray sitting in my old seat, the damned follower's seat. Good, let him see what it feels like to be ignored. I smiled. Then Tim activated the engines and we took off from the base to the open air. The Dark Storm flew silently and fast. Anthrax scientists created it with alien technology; making it the most efficient all around vehicle the world has never seen. I looked out of the window as we flew over the thousands of skyscrapers that was the Wall Street Centre. This was my first time seeing such a sight. It was hard to concentrate on anything else. "Felix, we are nearing the laboratory. What do you think will an accurate landing space?" said Tim. I noticed that when he said my name, it was filled with hate and malice. I ignored him and looked around the laboratory building. Hmmm.... Where can we land that will be good enough? "How about right there on top of the building to the right." I said. Once we landed, everyone stared at me. Why are they looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong? I thought to myself. They just....stared. "Felix we need to come up with a plan! If I were still leader, I would set up a surveillance around the whole building from the outside." Said an irritated Ray. Everyone else nodded and agreed with Ray. Not me. "Nope, too difficult and it would take forever to find Simon." I said in my best leader voice. This was too fun. "Do you have anything better in mind then, genius?" scoffed Ray. "In fact I do. Watch and learn." I said. "Taylor, hack into the mainframe of the building and give us all the total number of floors and their names." I said. After a few seconds, Taylor spoke up. "I got it! There are 174 floors in the building. There are 5 main lab rooms in there. Toxins, Disease archives, hazardous material, non-Earth organisms, and Cloning." She ended. "Do we still have those infiltration bugs?" I asked to no one in particular. Infiltration bugs were small computers in the shape of insects. They had an equipped camera, radio, and remote control ability. "Yeah, we have about 10." Said Tim. "Well, let's send two bugs in each floor to look out for Simon." I said to all. This was a great plan. After about two hours of searching, we still had no sign of Simon at all. Tim tired of the idea and made his bug come back. So did Alex and Taylor. Ray never even tried. I didn't try to make them. I kept on flying my gnat around the Disease archives over and over and over. "Felix, this idea is not working. I suggest we try a different approach, like Ray's idea." Seethed Alex. "People this is a stake out! It is supposed to take long. Doesn't anyone watch COPS?" I said trying to get a laugh. I didn't. I was getting pretty bored myself when...."There! I think I found him!" I screamed. Everyone crowded around me. Alex held up Simon's mugshot. The man that I saw looked like a split image. It was him. "Getting closer." I said as I flew the gnat closer to Simon and landed on his shoulder. A man was walking close to him. Their conversation went like this: Man: Do you have a plan? Simon: Yes. The people of this filthy city shall feel the pain and suffering which I have felt. Man: So, when are you going to do it? Simon: About a quarter past noon. It will be something that will go down in the record books my friend. Man: Sir, not to intrude you but, may I ask, what are you going to do? Simon: Are you mad?! We shall talk in my office. [Enter office. Simon locks door.]
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