3Chapter Two
Location: North Pacific, close to Japan
Timedate: 7th October 2014, one week later
Titanosaurus had travelled across the Atlantic and Pacific, and even through the tunnels of the hollow earth itself. He considered himself lucky enough to avoid a fight with the MUTOs and most especially the wrath of alpha predator himself, Godzilla. He'd rather defend himself and wherever he'd mark as his territory than deliberately face the King of the Monsters.
As history and experience would've taught him, he'd often rather prefer to fight those lesser than he, titan or otherwise. As such, catching the sight of a lone defenceless blue whale and its frequent sounds, the aquatic dinosaur let open his jaws and chomped down on the unlucky animal, munching it up to satisfy his strong and endless hunger, even if futile. A cloud of dark red streaked from the titan's mouth, along with a few chunks of mangled flesh and crunched bones.
For but a brief while, Titanosaurus relaxed his stance as he finished guzzling his snack. However, swimming among the depths of the vast Pacific, his antennae flinched. A low growl escaped his muzzle in the form of bubbles; he soon sensed the presence of another titan, possibly one smaller and weaker than he. Eyes glowing green with intrigue and opportunity, he adjusted his direction from eastward down to southeast, to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Location: Lake Tazawa, Northern Japan
Meanwhile, back in the tranquil lake, the triphibian titan Varan briefly traversed the cool deep. He spotted a few tiny fishes gliding about before they fled from his unbelievability, and he looked up to see a faint light gently rippling above. With feet on the ocean, Varan patiently eased down and back before launching himself upward with straightened legs, soon to be close to the light.
Even at four-hundred metres in depth, it wouldn't and didn't take too long for Varan to reach the top. Starting with the top of his head, Varan broke the lake surface. What was briefly flat and smooth had become disturbed and fractured as various waves spread out to the distant edges of the lake. Varan gaped open his mouth to breath and take in the fresh air. Neither air nor water hindered his seemingly drooping eyes.
He looked around, seeing beautiful mountains all around in the surrounding horizon, and hearing the faint sounds of calm winds and birdsongs. The sun itself has already risen above from the East, bringing light to the vast area. But even with this tranquillity, he still sensed something, or someone, coming in from a far-off distance; another titan like himself but possibly different.
So raising and spreading his membrane wings, Varan leapt and took into the air. The first time he ever done so in countless years. Heading for the western side, he would eventually find out who and which this other stranger would be.
Location: C.K.S.A. HQ
Elsewhere, in the secret facility, time was taken in waiting for the human subjects to evolve and adapt to the serums. Some of them seemed to adjust and even change more quickly than others. The boss and her assistant waited patiently and quietly for quite a while, the boss herself frantically tapping one of her leather-boot-clad feet. After another good long while, two of the doctors entered the room.
"So how are our subjects today, Cameron?" Miss Zoe Packard asked.
"So far, the first ten subjects are already showing signs of metamorphosis from their new upgrades," Cameron explained. "Subjects 00 and 01 have developed scales and dorsal fins. Their disabilities are increasing, some more quicker than others".
"And their radiation levels seem to be slowly rising," one of Cameron's fellow scientists added. A hint of twitching concern in his tone. "Not so much absorbing as they seem to be, producing it from within their own body and cells. They're developing an immunity to poisoning".
"I prefer you show me this, rather than tell," Packard replied.
"And we shall," Cameron offered.
And with that, Cameron Winters led Zoe Packard to the corridor of cells, bathed in the neon aura of indigo and violet. They started right away at the first cell, sealed off by a thick wall of sterile glass. Within the cell, behind the glass wall, a man crouched on a stool, with protruding plates of blackened bone from his spine. His eyes squinted in pain and his teeth clenched and cringed.
"Observe our very first volunteer, Subject-00," Cameron introduced. "Or as some of our friends have already come to call him, Manzilla".
Miss Packard huffed at such a name. "And what's his true name?"
"Tod Millaghan, former officer of the SFPD, close witness to and survivor of the attack of San Francisco".
"Of course," she huffed when she heard him bring up the San Francisco fiasco.
"We found him near the downed Golden Gate bridge, bearing a real and clear grudge against the monsters, so we offered a chance to get back at them, and he volunteered".
"Right, anything else I may not know?" Miss Packard questioned.
"Upon the injection of the serum containing DNA of Godzilla and MUTOs, his started developing a state of metamorphosis and an immunity to intense exposure to radiation, even absorbing and weaponising such energy".
"And how much good would this do for us?"
"Those Titans feast on atomic, nuclear, and radioactive energies, but these can also be used against them and each other," Cameron offered a logical theory.
"Is that so...?" Miss Packard stared intently, glimpsing the hint of a bluish glow from the man's veins. "Any others in luck?"
"Oh luck wouldn't even being with sum it up," Cameron smiled before offering the way. "Now for the next subject?"
With that, Cameron Winters and Miss Packard moved on to the very next cell, right after the previous one. Behind the glass door, was a female human, right in the centre of the room, crouching in a near-foetal position on a wide stool. Similar to the first, this woman has a few strange dark spines growing from her back, glowing blue veins and scales ran across most of her bare body. Her long black hair spread out somewhat messy, barely managing to conceal her face.
"Behold Subject-01, aka Godwoman," Cameron introduced Packard once more. "Just with Tod, her mass in strength has doubled, if not tripled".
"If your theories of radiation absorption and immunity indeed prove to be true..." Miss Packard paused. "...May I enter the cell?"
"As you wish, my dear," Cameron nodded.
Soon enough, after Cameron produced a card and contacted the containment lock, the glass door emitted a hiss as it parted open, allowing the two to step forth and enter, and startling the woman as her head quickly moved up. Chunks of her hair flung back a bit, revealing a bit more of her paled face.
"What's your name?" Miss Packard asked. "Just a reminder".
'Maria, Maria Hayne," the woman spoke, a shuddering and fragile tone to her voice. "Wh- what has happened to me?"
"Just what you had been promised. You've been gifted with power, my dear," Cameron answered. "And you'll be able to fulfil revenge against the monsters that took everything from you, and now attempt to take over our world".
Hearing those words enforced traumatic memories back into the limelight of Maria's mind, memories of a strange, gigantic, otherworldly monster wrecking its way through her home city of Las Vegas, memories of demolished buildings and monuments, memories of countless fresh corpses scattered about her. And with those memories, came a desire for vengeance against those things.
Just then, the eerie silence was broken as an alert sound went off, immediately catching everyone's attention.
"What the hell?!" Miss Packard exclaimed.
"Sounds like an opportunity at hand," Cameron realised.
Leaving behind the subjects, Cameron and Miss Packard rushed on their way to the main control room, where on a huge monitor screen, showing the whole wide world mapped out, revealed a few blinking red dots in certain locations.
"Report!" Miss Packard demanded.
"Ma'am, we're detecting a signature in Japan, two in fact," one of Packard's associates reported.
"How convenient," Packard commanded. "Send in Subjects 00 and 01!"
"You sure about this?" One of the scientists stammered. "But what if they aren't ready yet?"
"If I'm say they're ready, then they're goddamn ready!" Packard raised her voice.
"Yes ma'am," the scientist nodded before dashing out.
"Our opportunity has only begun," Cameron said sinisterly, smiling once more with dark glee.
Kaijin Profile - Subject 00
Identity: Tod Millaghan
Alias: Manzilla
Nationality/Citizenship: American
Date of Birth: 22/11/1987
Background: Once a police officer living in San Francisco, California, Tod became aware of Godzilla and the MUTOs when news came of their trajectory towards the city. He took a major part in the evacuation, however, he would have his up-close view of the King of Monsters himself when Godzilla's path was briefly blocked by the Golden Gate Bridge. Dismayed by the seemingly failed efforts of the United States military forces to contain the monsters and prevent such casualties, Tod resigned himself from duty and took a matter or two into his own vengeful hands.
His alias comes from how if Godzilla was seen as a "God", Tod himself was and is a man. Whether God made Man or not, Man could, would, and should kill God.
Powers/Abilities: Being injected with the serum containing some of Godzilla's DNA (or 'G-Cells' as some have dubbed), Tod developed significant energies of radiation with him. This has given him enhanced senses and durability, and he can even expel such energy in the form of focused atomic fire beams out of his palms.
Kaijin Profile - Subject 01
Identity: Maria Jayne
Alias: Godwoman
Nationality/Citizenship: American
Date of Birth: 23/09/1988
Background: Maria was a secretary in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her family were killed when the female MUTO tore its way through the city of sin. One of the few survivors of that event, she was left mentally and emotionally scarred. Even when the massive organism was seen in advance heading towards the city, Maria questioned the late efforts to evacuate Las Vegas, if even at all. Soon afterwards, she heard of an enlistment of potential volunteers for a secret project, she was quick to accept the opportunity.
Her alias was apparently inspired by a legendary yet mysterious heroic figure, an extra-terrestrial warrior who supposedly defended Japan and all of Earth from various Kaiju and Titans back in the 1970s.
Powers/Abilities: Upon taking in the injected serums compounded from Godzilla's DNA, Maria soon developed an immunity to potentially hazardous amounts of radiation. She could even focus her own energy in order to levitate and even achieve limited flight. Like with Tod, her senses are heightened and she can fire concentrated atomic beams from her hands.
To be continued...