Tom looked stony as he held the needle high into the light. Across the glass was a torn sticky note labeled “FINAL DRAFT” in his signature scrawl. Inside was an amalgam of liquid nitrogen and a bonding agent he generated in the lab his father left to him. The light flickered between semi-light and pitch darkness in the midnight hours.
Deep inside the syringe, Tom saw the future; a new life for mankind, and a new life for him. After this, he would finally ascend to the status of a genius in society, where he truly belonged. “…assuming it will actually work!” his mind snapped irritably.
So many tests and so many dead ends… Tom wanted so for this agent to work. If it succeeded, it would bring a new era from which mankind could stand above all else once again-a new species of human being!
Human testing, out of the question; it wasn’t illegal, but the fact that Tom’s intelligence was covert complicated things. Who would believe a twelve-year-old rewrote the genetic code of man single-handedly?
Animal testing, illegal, as most species were nearing extinction because of the Century-War. Greater men than Tom had been put away for life by the cause of attempting to combine the mystics of transmutation, with the physiology of carnivorous beasts-like the Lupis herpito of 1928… a live were-dragon, rumored to have never been detained- he was out of options. This was the only way to see for sure.
“Dad always said to look for the desert,” Tom mumbled, preparing a sizable vein in his left arm. “Maybe this will help me know just what he meant by that.” Look toward the reality of the desert for your answers, Tom, he’d always say. Something about the desert being the truth was all that Tom could obtain from his father before he…
Tom shook his head. Tiny droplets flew from his cheeks. “If the desert is the truth, then with this next step, I’ll find the desert if it’s the last thing I ever do!” He breathed in, and plunged the tip of a syringe pistol into his left forearm. He pulled the trigger and the amalgam ran through the needle into his blood. When the needle was empty, he pulled it from his skin roughly and watched carefully his arm;
Nothing at first. His limb merely laid normally, bleeding from the pinprick he’d made, until it began to tingle badly. He flinched as strange sensations coursed through his arm, and spread to his chest, and to the entirety of his body. His mind began to swim, the edges of his vision became blurred, almost opaque.
Suddenly his knees went numb and buckled. He fell to the floor and his vision became completely obscured. He was overwhelmed by fatigue and numbness, and lost consciousness moments after hitting the floor.
…

In my mission, falter will I not;
lives shall end if I do.
I will ne’er show fear;
Hell holds not to me and my heart.
My body will never break;
the soul is one of indestructible power.
Difference separates me from many,
but these faults are my cross to bear,
and my tool for you who would see us to doom.
I’ll take my sword in my left hand,
my shield in right;
may my soul pierce the darkness,
and my mind protect me.
God-delivereth me not from evil,
but unto its lap, as to cleave it in twain.

In my attack, I will ne’er hesitate;
Death will not forgive my sluggish mind.
Fear be-eth my weapon;
Hell awaits the souls of my enemies.
My body is immortal;
enemy souls shall replace my own.
Differences abound for me,
and those who would ridicule mine
are doomed to death by the very tools they laughed to.
My teeth are sharp,
my body: ripe with strength;
may the blood of my enemies be sweet,
and painted bright on their dead faces.
God pity me not,
for if he does, I’ll cleave him in twain,
And take his place as mine by right!

This be the tale of courage in the face of fear.
GLADE