The screams on the operating table had been going on for three hours.
At first, it was the screams of a human on the verge of collapse, then it turned into the growls of Beast, and now only heavy panting remains, each breath accompanied by the gurgling sound of blood and foam churning in the throat.
Bucky Barnes ' bare upper body was soaked in sweat, and his muscles showed a morbid spasm.
The iconic red star robotic arm has been removed and replaced with a writhing mass of dark red living metal.
It resembles a living tumor, or the chitinous shell of some the Deep crustacean.
This dark red substance was "breathing," with countless hair-thin nerve tendrils protruding from the severed end, greedily and domineeringly piercing Bucky's deltoid muscle and collarbone, forcibly connecting with his nerve bundles.
"Wonderful, it's simply a work of art."
Doctor Shinigami removed his blood-stained rubber gloves and casually tossed them into the incinerator beside him.
He hummed an unknown, eerie tune, his eyes fixed with fanaticism on the arm that was assimilating with its host.
" Hydra's technology is too rigid. Using electric current to burn out brains in exchange for obedience? How crude. True control should stem from the deepest desires of the flesh, from submission at the genetic level."
Behind the one-way bulletproof glass, the faces of several Hydra veterans were even more grim than those of the Deadman.
They had witnessed countless tortures in their lives and even personally signed numerous execution orders, but what they were seeing before them still challenged the limits of their physical and mental endurance.
This is clearly creating a monster!
That former Winter Soldier looked like a deformed yet powerful giant insect.
" Schmidt..." The bald old man swallowed hard and asked through the Mike, "He looks... not quite human anymore. Can he really infiltrate society and carry out missions like this?"
"Humans?"
Doctor Shinigami turned his head and stared intently at the old man, a gaze that made the man instinctively take a step back.
"Why be like humans?" Doctor Shinigami's voice came through the loudspeaker. "Humans are fragile, sickly, and flawed; they are swayed by emotions and eroded by the years. What we are creating are monsters! A new species that transcends mortals! The pinnacle of evolution!"
"The power you pursue is like ants fighting over a crumb of moldy Breadcrumb before the absolute level of life."
He pressed the red button on the control panel.
"A moment to witness a miracle, everyone."
Sizzle--!
The dark green liquid was injected into Bucky's carotid artery through the catheter.
On the operating table, the man who had been on the verge of death straightened his back, his spine making a series of popping sounds.
Bucky Barnes opened his eyes.
Those are no longer human pupils.
The originally grayish-blue iris expanded, then rapidly contracted under the influence of the dark green liquid, eventually transforming into two pinpoint-sized vertical pupils emitting a cold yellow light.
Bucky sat up, and the dark red armor on his left arm sensed his host's anger, instantly hardening and multiplying.
With a strange "clicking" sound, a sharp bone spur, thirty centimeters long, popped out from the back of the hand.
With a struggle, he easily broke the high-strength alloy shackles that were strong enough to restrain an elephant.
"Quickly! Suppress him!"
In the observation room, the elders finally lost their composure and began shouting in panic, some even knocking over their wine glasses. "Damn it! This thing is out of control!"
Several fully armed guards burst through the gate and rushed in, raising their specially made stun guns to fire.
Doctor Shinigami did not stop it.
He even took two steps back, crossed his arms, and a morbid, almost orgasmic, smile of excitement spread across his face.
"Come on, show me! This is the baptism of Rebirth!"
"How can you call yourself Shocker Riders if you haven't experienced bloodshed?"
Bucky jumped off the operating table.
The moment a guard pulled the trigger, the stun gun still accelerating in the chamber, a menacing, armored hand gripped his throat.
Click.
Crisp, melodious, and crisp.
The sound of the neck bone cracking was still clearly audible amidst the sirens.
Less than a minute later, Bucky, having dealt with the four guards, casually tossed the corpses aside, his vertical pupils fixed on Doctor Shinigami.
His killing instinct made him want to tear apart the source of his pain.
You want to kill me?
Doctor Shinigami showed no fear whatsoever; instead, he revealed a sinister smile.
"Then come on, Shocker Rider No. 1."
The concrete ground beneath his feet shattered, sending debris flying.
Bucky charged toward Doctor Shinigami with a burst of wind pressure, the bone spurs on his left arm aimed straight for the latter's heart.
Doctor Shinigami calmly pulled out a seemingly ordinary black short whip from behind his back and gently lashed it at the air.
The whip didn't touch Bucky's body, but it produced a very peculiar, high-frequency crackling sound.
"Ugh!!"
Bucky, who had been riding high, suddenly let out a piercing scream.
He lost his balance in mid-air and crashed heavily at Doctor Shinigami's feet, clutching his head with both hands and convulsing violently.
It was a decree from the depths of their genes, the obedience of worker ants to the queen, and the class oppression etched into every cell.
"Repair... Shocker..."
Bucky rolled on the ground in agony, uttering incoherent syllables.
The madness and murderous intent in his vertical pupils receded like a tide, transforming into fanaticism and obedience.
Doctor Shinigami looked down at him, lifting his chin with the handle of his whip, a gesture as disdainful as if he were toying with a domestic dog.
Tell me, who are you?
"I am... Shocker Riders... Number One."
"Very good." The Doctor Shinigami's smile deepened. "What is your mission?"
Bucky knelt on the ground, his forehead slamming heavily against the blood-stained floor, his voice fervent:
"For... Shocker... to conquer the world."
Doctor Shinigami nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at the dumbfounded old men outside the observation window.
"See that? That's the difference in technology." His voice carried throughout the underground base through the loudspeaker. " The Winter Soldier in Pierce's hands is just a knife that could chip at any moment, while what I have is War Machine with the ability to evolve on its own."
Doctor Shinigami pointed at Bucky kneeling on the ground, his tone arrogant:
"If I wanted to, I could mass-produce a hundred, a thousand of these knights! Tell me, what would S.H.I.E.L.D.. use to stop them? What would Vought use to stop them?!"
The bald old man's hands trembled as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Fear remains, but there is even more of a greed for survival in the face of adversity.
If this technology could be used on their old bones...
Extend lifespan? Strengthen the body? Even...
Rejuvenation?
" Dr. Schmidt... no, Your Excellency," the old man's form of address changed, "This is nothing short of a miracle. The Switzerland bank account key will be delivered to your office shortly."
"A wise choice."