Augments

WEEEOOO–WEEEOOO–WEEEOOO.

Red lights flared to life, casting the lab in a pulsing crimson wash. Sirens screamed overhead. Emergency sensors must’ve picked up the restraint failure.

I glanced up at the ceiling where a surveillance lens blinked once—then dimmed.

They know.

Had seconds, maybe less.

That’s when I saw it—on the metal counter just a few feet away.

A gun.

Sleek, matte black. Futuristic. No trigger guard. Etched with glowing blue lines that pulsed faintly with energy. I recognized the model.

“V-9 Railcaster,” I muttered. “Non-mechanical. Electromagnetic firing system. Government issue.”

Illegal for public use. Only distributed to elite Hero Corps and internal security.

I once held one of these as my own in my past life.

"Well, welcome back then."

I picked it up. Light, almost weightless. The moment my fingers curled around the grip, it pulsed—responding to the bio-signature of my new body. The interface slid into place along the side: a digital ammo counter, currently at 17 pulses.

"More than enough."

I turned to the door—metal, sealed, no visible handle. A scanner flickered on the side, awaiting clearance.

I raised my bloodied hand and pressed it to the pad. Nothing.

Then the light shifted—green.

Access granted.

The door hissed and split open.

A sterile hallway stretched before me, lined with reinforced glass and motion-sensor lights that flickered with each step I took.

Building 06.

I knew the name now. It came back in pieces. Whispers in the dark when I still worked for Hero Corps. Classified files buried in encrypted servers. The place that didn’t exist.

'Project Genesis'

Where human evolution was no longer theoretical.

Where people became weapons—or corpses.

Footsteps.

I pressed my back against the wall just as a squad of armed guards turned a corner, scanning the hallway.

Their visors glowed. Infrared. Motion-detection.

Standard containment response.

'Just had to run into these guys...' I thought to myself.

Among the people who worked with the heroes of the government, were these guys.

Augments.

– Short for Augmented Operatives – are enhanced humans modified through advanced cybernetic implants, biomechanical engineering, or neural tech. They serve as the government’s elite enforcers, often used for black ops missions, assassination, and internal containment.

They were divided into classes.

Augment-Class I – Basic neural enhancements and subdermal armor.

Augment-Class II – Integrated weapon systems, strength augmentation.

Augment-Class III – Experimental, often unstable—near monster-level power.

'I had no clue they were gaurding this building...I don't don't of I'll stand a chance against them'

My breath slowed.

Their footsteps were too synchronized—metal hitting tile like a ticking clock. One of them paused, head tilting ever so slightly.

Class II, at least. You could tell by the hissing valves near the jawline, the reinforced joints, and the way they moved—efficient, predatory. No wasted steps.

I’d fought beside Augments before. Back when I was one of them.

Not like them, but… still part of the machine.

Back when I still believed we were saving people.

One thing was for sure, maybe they had been human in the past but the power they had was nowhere human.

One of them spoke, voice filtered through a digitized throat modulator.

“Heat signature detected ten meters west. Possible Subject-1096-A. Move.”

'Damn it...'

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