What Happened to 5x Prolougue

 Dr. Daniel Royce sprinted down the long white hallway with a huge grin on his aged face. His arms were currently full of paperwork and folders, all of which were scattering across the floor as he pressed on towards the door to the lab. He stopped and looked up at the familiar sign hanging above the entry way. It read: CAUTION DANGEROUS CHEMICALS. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. His footsteps echoed down the pristine corridor, slowing as he eventually came to a halt. He took a deep breath before slowly pulling the door open with his two free fingers.

  "I've got it!" He yelled joyously as he ran down the flight of stairs and to a dimly lit room. The walls were of raw limestone from the original foundation of the building they worked in. In the center of the room, his colleague and friend, Dr. Jeremy Fletcher was slumped over, having his morning coffee at a large table covered in test tubes, beakers, and flasks. He hurriedly dumped the contents of his arms in front of the man.

  "You got what?" Fletcher asked groggily after taking a long swig from his mug, still not fully awake yet.

  "The formula for the 5x Gene! I figured it out!" Royce danced around the room a few times, laughing hysterically before sitting down.

  "How'dya manage it?"

  "It's the mixture used for making explosives and other things: some Potassium Chlorite, and Nitricic Acid. It's the DNA from silverback gorilla that will really make a difference, though. I did a little tampering with a blood sample from the brute and added steroids for the desired effect. Mixed with a stable blood sample from a human and inject it into a test subject, we'll have our results."

  "Fantastic! Now all we need to do is find a test subject who don't have nothin' in 'im yet...." Fletcher's voice dropped to a whisper as he mumbled various things to himself. "Jus' 'bout everybody here already got somethin' wrong with 'em. We need a clean subject. Otherwise, we got jack shit." Fletcher told his colleague.

  "You haven't secured a good test subject yet?" Royce shrieked, enraged with his partner.

  "The closest one I found was an old fella who's got thalidomide poisonin' from 'is parents an' has a stumpy arm." Fletcher argued back.

  "Damn!" Royce growled, pounding his fist on the table. A few empty test tubes fell from the table and shattered on the gray tile floor. "Then where are we going to get a one that's not all screwy? We've already done the calculations and we have one shot at this. One goof-up and the whole project will be in shambles."
  
  "I'll ask Kipling. He can have th' Searchers find us someone."

  "Very true. When is the deadline?"

  "Boss needs it done in three weeks."

  "I hope they can find us someone in time..." Royce sighed, leaning back in his chair. His left index traced his white caterpillar mustache and bushy beard in deep thought. "What do you think about it? Having super-soldiers on the battlefront? Men strong enough to lift a car and fast enough to outrun even the fleetest of runners?"

  "Yeah, it's a good thought." Fletcher said a bit distantly. The younger man then turned to his senior with a sheepish expression. He kept his gaze lowered in embarrassment. "I do admit... I'm kinda scared." he told Royce.

  "What of?" Royce questioned, standing up to fetch himself a cup of black coffee. The elderly scientist pushed his thick-rimmed glasses back up onto the bridge of his narrow nose.

  "I dunno, Danny," Fletcher ran a troubled hand through his short blonde hair. "Wouldn't you be scared if we 'ad a buncha big ol' burly men runnin' rampant in th' streets durin' peacetime?" Royce thought about this for a moment, stroking his beard. He contemplated Fletcher's question before pouring the steaming hot liquid into his mug.

"I'm not quite sure." the old man replied after taking a small sip of his coffee. He then looked at his watch and furrowed his creased brow. "I must be off. The grandkids are dropping by today." Royce said as he stood up. "I trust that you'll have the serum ready by next week?"

"That, I'm sure've" the younger said. "I'll try t'find a good person to test on." Royce nodded in approval and started towards the door.

"Good luck, Jeremy!" he called over his shoulder. "You'll need it..."