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Alexander Aries · **08-27-2015, 10:00 AM**

Narrator Said:
Last Time

When last we left the parents of our anti hero, Alexander Aries, his mother had been captured by the rival organization. This was in the middle of their biggest hit back in seventy seven, a nearly flawless plan to assassinate the Prime Minister back then. As you can imagine, said mission was aborted.

What did you expect? Adrian to continue on with the mission though his new bride had been kidnapped by the Black Hounds? Yes, that is the name of the rival organization to the Red Hand(no relation to the Black Hand, mind you).

So the questions soon arose as to what exactly Project Phoenix was and why the Black Hounds were so bold as to kidnap the wife of the World's Greatest Assassin in their pursuit of it?

Our story unfolds...

Adrian Aries stormed down the cold steel hallway of the underground headquarters of the Red Hand. He was livid due to recent developments as could be told by the fire burning in his deep blue eyes. Two armed guards stepped in front of the Top Assassin as he neared the mechanical doors at the end of the hall, one holding his right hand up defiantly.

"Stop right there, Adrian!"

Adrian's facial expression never changed as he grabbed the foolish man's arm and in one fell movement, twisted and snapped his wrist. The man fell to his knees clutching his wrist and Adrian lifted his knee into the man's nose, another snapping noise heard as his nose shattered easily. His gaze fell on the other guard.

"Where is Professor Heinz?"

The man crumpled under the stone cold gaze of the father of Alexander Aries. He shivered a bit as the Assassin locked eyes on him. Suddenly he raised his side arm, a .45 calibre service pistol on the face of Adrian who didn't even blink.

"Really?"

He kept his hand on the trigger as he spoke, a puddle forming at his feet.

"Y-you n-...you need to c-calm down, Mister Aries. I don't want to have to s-s-shoot you..."

A smirk formed on Adrian's lips as he pulled the man's nametag up to read it. It said Mike. Well, it didn't SAY anything but that was his name.

"Shoot me? You mean you would risk your livelihood just to prevent me from confronting that little rat bastard Heinz? Miyamota who not be pleased if his greatest asset was injured. So put the gun down." he sneered. "And let me through."

Mike squeezed the trigger, but something strange happened. As if in slow motion, Adrian sidestepped the bullet, which in turn ricocheted off one of the futuristic metallic doors and came back...

"OW MY DICK!"

Aries signed and shook his head as he looked down at Mike who laid there, holding his bleeding crotch and sobbing. He then looked up at the door, and the handprint scanner on the side of it. He reached out and placed his hand on the scanner. No response. He stepped backwards and looked back at Mike.

"Mike?"

"....*sobs*"

He rolled his eyes at the guard.

"Stop cryin' like a bloody Nancy boy and speak when spoken to, dumbass."

Mike looked up at Aries, noting that the Assassin never raised his voice. Not once. One thing of note was that Adrian Aries always remained cool unless he was severely pissed off. However, see Mike's unfortunate twist of fate was humorous to the genetically enhanced human.

"That fuckin' hurt!"

"Well what did you expect, Mike? You fired a live round in a metal room. Of course it will ricochet. I'll be damned if I stay in the way and let it hit me. I need my nuts for the project."

"Do you have no sympathy whatsoever for me? What kind of man are you?"

Adrian studied the handprint scanner as the guard admonished him for his cold demeanor. Truth be told, he wasn't concerned in the least bit about the poor man who just got shot in the dick. Well, that was of course until he needed him. He grabbed the guard's hand and the man began screaming.

"Hey! What in the actual fuck are you doing?! Let go!"

Aries looked at him stoned faced, placing his hand on the scanner.

"You are in no position to argue, soldier. After all, Professor Heinz may be able to reattach your penis if we hurry and get me to her."

"Don't you mean "me"?!"

"Yeah. Sure. You."

Mike eyed the perplexed World's Greatest Assassin as he allowed him to place his hand on the scanner, the doors opening with a woosh. By "his" hand, I mean "Mike's". Alexander's father was gifted with a killer instinct that was envied by his peered. He didn't care who he had to hurt to get the job done as long as it got done. Impressive by most people's standards.

As he stepped into the next room, we saw a room made up completely of metal. The walls were metal, the tables wereetals. Bleeps and bloops were heard coming from various consoles around the room. It was a scientist's paradise, namely a biologist's paradise, what with three tubes in the center of the room, arranged in a triangle. Each one contains a life form in different stages of development. The strange thing was that they looked human. The youngest one looked like what you'd expect a fertilized embryo to look like.

Mike had gotten to his feet and limped in alongside Adrian, who ignored his cries of pain. Adrian slowly looked around. His view though, was different. His left eye flashed neon green. You could tell there was something different just by looking at him. His view was...well...it was like that of a robot. Scanning the "life force" of subjects in the lab. He finally locked onto a female typing away on a keyboard, staring at a monitor.

The woman was in her late fourties with crazy, out of place black hair with the coarseness of a pineapple. As she stood from her work, she was about four feet ten inches, wearing a white labcoat with a red hand on the back. Asian in descent. Actually a milf by some standards. She looked back at Adrian, her expression not changing.

"You I do not mind being here, but you brought that idiot?"

"How else was I supposed to bypass the security scanner? He gave me trouble even getting in, Professor. Fuckin' wanker."

She declined her head and pointed at Mike.

"Number Twenty One, dispose of this garbage. He is a liability now, and of no use to me anymore."

"Wait...what? But-"

He grunted and looked down as in one swift movement, he found his intestines strewn down at his feet and saw Adrian, left eye aglow. Darkness overtook him quickly as he crumpled to the floor. Heinz pressed a button on a nearby console and out came a small group of robotic "janitors", quickly "erasing" Mike from existence. Another button was pressed and no sign of his existence was even well...in existence.

She looked at Adrian coldly.

"You needed to speak with me, Twenty One?"

"Project Phoenix. Tell me about it. I mean, I know it's some of your genetic research and such, but my wife..."

Her reply was matter of fact as she typed away on her keyboard.

"...was kidnapped by the Black Hounds and Bartholomew wants the Project Phoenix blueprints?"

Heinz knew everything. Although she hardly ever got out of that lab, she always had the scoop on everything. She sat there studying the computer screen, reading every bit of the green text. A few parts of code she changed. Adrian tilted his head, confusion in his eyes.

"Ummmm...professor..."

"Yes?"

"Project Phoenix? Bartholomew?"

"Hold out your hand."

He was getting irritated. Of course, he did not dare question his surrogate mother for anything. She slid his sleeve up and tapped a vein with two fingers, then pressed the tip of a syringe into the soft meat of the Perfect Assassin's elbow. He didn't wince, pain receptors actually "turned off". After attaining a vile of blood, she stood and moved over to the youngest embryo, pressing a button. A small cylindrical receptacle appeared, into which she injected the blood sample.

She began to explain as Adrian looked at the date on the capsule in curiosity. "August 23rd, 1987". Hrm.

"Ever wondered why you aren't like the other assassins of the Red Hand, Adrian? Like you are faster, stronger, smarter. And that time you got shot in the heart, you should have bled to death but instead, it seemed as if the blood cut itself off? I know it burned. Well, this is Project Phoenix. The guild of immortal, unstoppable assassins. I created these. I created and raised you and Elizabeth from babies. Now don't get the wrong idea, Adrian. It's not incest. You have the blood of your own mothers and fathers before you, also part of the project. So basically, that old bastard wants my technology so The Black Hounds can replicate the results."

Adrian was struck into silence by the revelation. He'd always thoughts of her as a mother, but he'd no idea what role she'd had in his conception, now revealed to be creation.

That date though...that embryo...how? What's going on? His cybernetic left eye really offered to information on this burgeoning life form. He watched as she sat back down and went back to work. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to do next.

Would he allow the technology to fall into the hands of the Black Hounds? He sighed and shook his head.

"So....what do I do, Professor?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment. But you know what? She stayed silent and continued her work. Could she offer him the answers he needed?

To Be Continued

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