World Traveler Villain

[Chapter: 5 Successful Injection]

William jumped off the stool and looked at the removed bookcase, revealing a ladder leading to the underground level at the back.

"As I thought, you really have a secret passageway from your house to the laboratory. Let's go down, hahahaha!" William said as he dragged Erskine down through the passage.

After entering the laboratory, William looked around in surprise. Even though it was the 1940s in this world, this place was anything but "modern."

There were complex instruments and gauges all around, with all kinds of meters spread across the tables.

This place looked like a retro-themed modern laboratory, complete with numerous levers and buttons.

Not to forget the big, coffin-like case on the pedestal in the middle of the room.

William moved toward the main entrance to the lab, firmly shutting the bunker's door. He didn't want any surprises while he was undergoing his transformation process.

He checked all around for any additional entrances and concluded there weren't any.

William walked around the corner as he asked, "Doctor, this place is great. Did you design this, or was it Howard?"

"Can you untie me now? You know I can't do a thing to you," Dr. Erskine said while looking at William.

"Of course. It's time already," William replied as he walked over and cut open the rope tying the doctor with a slash of his knife.

Dr. Erskine twisted his body out of the entangled ropes and asked one last time, "Are you really sure you want to inject the serum?"

"Then what do you think? Did I come all this way just to drink with you?" William said lightly.

"Injecting the serum is risky. One can easily die. No one knows what will happen," the doctor said. He knew William wouldn't back down, so he used reverse psychology to make him more determined to take the serum, keeping him there longer.

"Well, that's scary indeed..." William replied, feigning fear.

"But Doctor, do you think I'm scared? I've already died once. It won't matter if I do it twice," William said.

He already knew the serum was the final, successful product of all the research this doctor had done. The doctor wouldn't have agreed to select Steve if he wasn't at least 95% sure the serum would work.

William ripped off all of his clothes, putting the scars he had gained during his lifetime on full display. From burn marks to bullet holes to nasty slashes, there was everything on his body.

There was a reason why William was feared, even though his gang was relatively small.

There was a hint of surprise in the doctor's eyes, but he shrugged it off. He had seen worse on the battlefield.

"Don't worry, it's just a little detail. Let's carry on with our work," William said in a light tone, feeling excited about getting the serum.

Dr. Erskine shook his head slightly and turned around to power on the machinery.

"How long does it take, Doc?" William asked.

"Twenty minutes," Dr. Erskine replied.

"Make it ten. Don't forget about your lovely wife who's still outside," William said, not even looking at the doctor.

Looking at William's smile, Dr. Erskine secretly cursed, 'Devil,' in his heart and said helplessly, "Ten minutes will do."

"Don't stand idle. We have work to do. Start the process," William said, continuing, "You're not a fool who needs to be reminded of everything."

Dr. Erskine, already depressed, became even more so. He had already sent his SOS to the military, but he estimated it would take more than 15 minutes for them to arrive.

"Follow me," Dr. Erskine said, stepping onto the round platform. "Walk up."

"Doctor, I trust you very much. For your own safety and your wife's safety, I hope we can cooperate happily," William said with a kind smile, then hopped into the iron coffin-like machine and lay inside comfortably.

Dr. Erskine took a deep breath and muttered, "I see."

"That's it," Dr. Abraham Erskine said as two robotic arms pressed against William's chest, holding his body firmly.

"First, a series of minimally invasive injections will deliver serum into your muscle groups. Then the serum will stimulate selective cell growth, and penetration through the Vita rays will speed up the process a thousandfold," Dr. Erskine explained.

He took out six blue serum tubes and placed each one in an instrument hole on either side of William.

"Starting the injection. Countdown: five seconds. Five, four, three, two, one." Dr. Erskine pressed a button.

As much as he wanted to kick William out, he had to admit William's body was a perfect specimen to test the serum.

Dr. Erskine's inner scientist was eager to see the results, especially given William's already considerable muscle mass.

All the needles inside the iron maiden-like device injected into William's body. He felt as though he were being stung by a thousand bees all over.

The six blue serum vials rapidly emptied, injecting their contents into William's body. His expression worsened as the pain increased exponentially.

He felt his muscles convulsing and moving randomly.

After the injection, Dr. Abraham Erskine pulled a lever. The entire iron chamber shifted, standing upright as its gates closed together, forming a sealed cabin with only a dark glass panel visible.

"Irradiate now," Dr. Erskine said, inserting thick tubes into the back of the sealed compartment before walking to the control panel on the other side of the room.

Dr. Erskine stood by an instrument and began slowly rotating a disc, light pouring out from the sealed compartment.

"Ten percent... twenty percent..." Dr. Erskine announced, watching the instrument dial as he turned the wheel slowly.

The sealed cabin filled with dazzling light, sharp as thorns, penetrating William's body.

As the light intensified, William felt as though his body were melting, billions of needles piercing him. The pain was only part of it; his body was changing, breaking, and reconstructing.

"Fifty percent... sixty... seventy..."

With the continued power output, the streetlights and home lights in the entire Queens area went out. The blackout continued to expand.

"Aaaarrgghhh!" William's beast-like roar echoed from the sealed cabin as he struggled to control himself.

It felt like his entire body had turned to jelly, reshaping itself. His bones, tendons, organs, blood vessels, and muscles were all changing.

"Stop?" Dr. Erskine called out.

"Continue! I can handle it! Aaarghhh!" William shouted from inside.

"One hundred percent."

The light from the sealed cabin illuminated the entire basement before it began to fade.

The pain suddenly ceased as William felt warmth coursing through his body. He could sense significant changes, though he couldn't pinpoint them yet.

He felt as though he were in a warm bath, his worries melting away. His body grew more energized by the second.

The surrounding instruments emitted electric sparks, surpassing their limits.

The lights went out, leaving only emergency bulbs active. The iron maiden ceased emitting light.

The glass shield of the sealed compartment no longer glowed. All the machines stopped operating and quieted down.

Dr. Erskine slowly walked toward the capsule, forgetting it was William inside.

In his mind, all that mattered was whether the experiment had succeeded—this was his lifetime's work.

"William! William! Are you okay?" Dr. Erskine asked, his inner scientist speaking.

Boom!

The door of the sealed compartment flew out, smashing heavily into the control panel and destroying the instruments and dials.

"I'm fine," William said, slowly emerging from the steam that shrouded him.

*****

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