Arc 1: Genesis
As screams echoed in the tower, the only thing Harry could do was to stare at his own bloodstained hands and think to himself, Dad would hate me.
It all began this morning.
The sun was bright. No clouds in sight.
"So, it was you at the museum the other day? And no, Jason, Cronus is NOT a cool codename", said Harry as he lazily swiveled in his oversized chair.
At just 15, Harry looked more like the class president than the CEO of a multi-million dollar company. Round glasses. Black hair. Tuxedo that's always cleaner than most labs.
He was sitting in a large, empty office on the top floor of his building.
Someone knocked the door.
"Come in," said Harry.
His secretary John entered the office.
He looked like a humanoid llama.
He was an Anian.
Anians are a species that are just as smart as humans but look like different animals in human form.
They are a rare species but commonly found on the continent of Aniscus (Pronounced as anish-scus) far West on the planet.
"Sir?" said John.
"I'll have to talk to you later, Jason," Harry said on the phone. "I gotta deal with these some idiots right now," he whispered slamming the phone.
"What is it this time, John?" he rolled his eyes.
"He's not leaving, Sir. He says he wants to meet you."
"Ugh... Fine. Tell him I'm coming," Harry got off his chair went to the waiting room at the base of his building.
"Didn't my men tell you to get lost?" Harry asked tauntingly.
"Cut the crap and get on with it! You know what am here for!" barked Ben, a scruffy gym-built pile of rage and muscle who towered over others at 6'4". He was fueled by ego and desperation.
"Don't make a scene here, and I'm not selling it to random hobos."
"Watch your tone, kid! And I got money."
"You know what, since you're that desperate, I'll accept your offer. Follow me quietly."
They took some stairs down the basement.
He closed the door behind them, and barricaded it.
Harry turned on a dim, blue light which revealed what looked like a dirty chemistry lab.
Ben frowned, "What is this?"
"If you don't like it, you're welcome to leave," answered Harry in a belittling way.
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to, you little punk? You think you can talk to me that way? I know people. People that can destro your family overnight," he grabbing Harry's collar.
"Big talk for someone that can't function without needles. And anyways... I don't even have a family."
Harry turned to the lab table and began preparing the steroids. But due to his rush, he didn't follow the usual process.
Weird, he thought. It's usually blue instead of gray, but this jerk won't know the difference anyways.
He strapped Ben to a wooden chair, filled up four syringes and injected them one by one in his arms.
Ben screamed.
It wasn't like the usual groans of his clients. It was brutal.
This seemed unusual for a man like this.
Something had gone wrong.
He was in excruciating pain.
"Stop it! Stop the pain!" he screamed.
Harry shoved a red vial down his throat.
"This is a neutralizer. It should stop your pain. Now be a big boy and stop screaming," Harry patted his back.
He started screaming louder.
Something is wrong. This isn't normal, Harry started panicking.
What do I do now! He broke out in sweats.
The staff on the floors above could hear the screams now. So did Francis Beckman, the head of security.
So he, along with the rest of the security personnel reached the basement, but to their surprise, the door was barricaded.
They shot down the door and made their way in.
Francis had seen horrors in his life.
He had fought a war 30 years ago.
The kind of war that leaves your hands shaking long after it ends.
But even that hadn't prepared him for what he saw in the basement.
He froze in fear.
Him and the other guards saw Ben was strapped to a chair. Growing.
His muscles were growing grotesquely, his bones were cracking and stretching and worst of all, his face was changing.
The combination of the faulty steroid and the neutralizer produced a reaction that nobody quite understood.
Ben's body doubled in size. The leather straps snapped. His tank top ripped. Fur burst through his skin.
His body was morphing.
His hands and feet morphed into claws. His face elongated into a muzzle. His teeth sharpened. His height grew past 12 feet.
This isn't normal,It's a scientific breakthrough! thought Harry. He's changed species! From homo sapien to anio sapien, he's an anian now. And not just any anian, but a monstrously huge and strong one at that!
"You are a true Beast", whispered Harry as he felt proud.
"Open fire!" commanded Francis to the rest of his men. "We have to kill this monster."
They started firing but it was in vain.
Instead, it aggravated the Beast.
He tore through them one by one, brutalizing them all.
Harry watched, frozen in fear as he realized the mistake he made. He had given power to the wrong person.
"Hey, punk! This drug is better than I thought! I finally have what I always wanted, and that was to be the strongest. Stronger than anyone else. And for that, I won't kill you," said the Beast whose in his now deepened voice.
" This one is specially for you, Harry Hex," He picked up a guard and killed him.
Tears came to Harry's eyes.
What the hell have I done. I'm a disgrace to society. He's gonna kill everyone now, he wept.
The Beast then tore through floors, and people alike.
Killing every one he saw.
The Beast climbed to the top of the tower, where a huge white letter "H" was mounted.
He climbed it and howled, letting the world know he exists.
Going through his mind were memories of his childhood.
Memories of his drunk father who used to beat him.
Memories of his school where he was always bullied.
Memories of how the world ignored him.
He wanted to be seen and heard.
He was now a monster, but one nobody could ignore.
As screams echoed in the tower, the only thing Harry could do was to stare at his bloodstained hands and think to himself, Dad would hate me.
The events that took place that day shook the world to its core.
What followed next, was a massacre.