Chapter Seven

Pain. Darkness. And more pain. Jason struggled to remember anything else. He could feel the straps that secured his hands. He felt sure that there were also restraints on his feet as well, but his injuries prevented him from testing that theory. 'Why can't I feel my legs?', he wondered. Something was wrong, that was for sure, but he could not remember anything. His name was as foreign to him as some distant country. He could not remember who his parents were, and especially could not remember where he was, or why he was here.

A door across from him suddenly swung open and an older gentleman with distinct Asian features ambled into the room. "Good morning, Jason.", the doctor sneered.

'Jason, that must be my name.', he thought to himself.

"I am glad to see that you are awake. I am anxious to see how you are feeling today."

Jason tried to respond, but found that he lacked the strength to answer fully. What amounted to a pitiful squeak escaped his lips.

The doctor spoke into a microphone attached to his lab jacket requesting some water be brought in. Moments later, another gentleman walked in carrying a paper cup.

Dr. Chun brought the water to the young man's lips. Jason drank greedily at the water being offered to him. After the other man retreated through the door, the doctor spoke again.

"How do you feel?"

"I am not sure", Jason replied shakily.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't remember anything. Until just now, I did not even know my name."

"Ah, yes, that would be true. You are in a hospital. We are going to make you better."

"Better?"

"Yes, better. We have finished prepping your mind. Now we work on the next step, prepping your body." The smile that played across the doctor's face worried Jason. It did not look like the smile of a sane man.

As if on cue, the door opened again. A man strode in the lab, and Jason definitely did not like the looks of the new visitor. He was extremely tall, and his skin had the texture and sheen of bright metal. It was as if the face was carved from a billet of steel. Then the creature spoke, Jason realized the horrid face couldn't be any metal he knew of, as it moved as if it were really skin.

"Who are you?", Jason stammered, as the creature drew closer.

"Hello Jason. My name is Dr. Sinister. I am here to help you be all that you can be."

Jason was unsure what was going on, but whatever the predicament, he was sure that it could not be good. He struggled against the bonds that held him down, and suddenly the realization hit him that not only could he not feel his legs, he could not move them either."

"What the hell happened to my legs?", Jason screamed at the advancing figures.

"You lost your legs in a parachute accident. However, such small matters will be of little concern to you shortly." Sinister managed a small smile at the prostrate youth.

Jason shuddered as he felt the cold hand of Dr. Sinister grab his forearm. With his other hand, he plunged a syringe into a vein in Jason's arm. Jason could feel the cold fluid enter his veins, chilling his body as it coursed through his system.

"What are you doing to me?", Jason moaned as the potion started to have an effect.

"I am giving you a gift, my boy. I am giving you a taste of what I have learned, what I have discovered, a gift that your wonderful mutant ability will allow you to receive so freely."

Sinister withdrew the needle from Jason's arm just as the young man slipped into blissful unconsciousness.