• tab "Hello. May I ask which room Jacob Thomson is in?" The woman at the reception desk nodded, proceeded by her quick, nimble fingers clacking at the keyboard. About a minute of silence; of course, besides the noise of the keyboard itself, went by, when abruptly the woman said,
    tab "Room 57, second floor." The man smiled graciously and sincerely, replying with a simple "thank you", and began to walk off.
    tab "Would you like me to show you where it is?" the woman quickly interjected, leaning forward from her desk to better amplify her sound to the man. The man stopped in his tracks, and gave a small nod to the receptionist.
    tab "Not necessary," was all he replied, turning back around and continuing his walk towards the elevator. The door slid open.
    tab He walked in.
    tab And then the doors closed. Any hope of stopping him had now vanished.
    tab His course was set. Nothing was going to alter it. Nothing.

    tab Jacob's eyes popped open at the sound of a creaking door. He forced his head to the side, finding himself staring, rather awkwardly, at a tall man, cloaked in a black vest, a fitting black cowboy hat to go.
    tab "You missed Halloween," Jacob cracked sarcastically, continuing to stare. "But nice costume, anyway."
    tab "Love your greeting," the man replied pleasantly, kneeling down next to the bed. "But I think you need to work on being subtle with your sarcasm a liiiiittle more."
    tab "Shut up, you!" Jacob exclaimed, cringing in anger, jumping a couple inches in his bed. "If I weren't hooked to this bed..."
    tab "Yes? What would you do if you weren't hooked to the bed? Hm?"
    tab "I'd kick yo' a**!" The man bit his lip, stifling a laugh.
    tab "I need not look any further than that bandage wrapped around your head to see how far that plan would go." That silenced Jacob, very quickly, and suddenly, motion all together stopped. His brain, his thinking, just abruptly made a halt, and he went into an uneasy glare into the man's eyes.
    tab "Onward, though. I did not come here to wage a war with you." He made a small pause, a face of dignity radiating around the room. The man went on,
    tab "You see, Jacob, I understand how you feel. Your angry. You feel rejected, beat down, thrown from your rightful place." Another pause, and then dramatically, he said,
    tab "You want revenge." You could see it in Jacob's eyes. His fiery eyes, passionate on the intent of blood, just screamed yes. No words of his needed to comfirm that.
    tab "Yes. Yes, you do. Your eyes tell the whole story. But not just revenge, your eyes tell me. You want blood.
    tab "What would you say if I told you I could give you the power to do this?" No answer. A cotinuing stare, but this time confused.
    tab "You are skeptical, I see. More so you shall be when I tell you what this...power...that I will give you is.
    tab "Let me introduce myself first, though, something I should've done a little while back. I'm an...inventor, to keep things simple. Perhaps you've heard of me, though through my code name, of course.
    tab "Dr. Doc. Yes, a bit silly, I admit, but what else can little children relate to then silly things such as that?
    tab "You might already know me, and if that's so, then you know I'm currently researching something incredibly extraordinary. Yes, Jacob, robots. Not just computer like robots. Humanized robots. Robots that can think, act, and talk intellectually like a regular person.
    tab "But there is one rather major difference. I can implement these robots with super human strengths. A flame thrower arm? All right. Jetpack? Yep. Even invisibility is an option. So, these robots, though very much human, can also be just as much of a weapon.
    tab "It doesn't end there. This is where you come in, by the way, so if you tuned me out all this time, listen here: I can turn humans into robots, with out losing any of their memory, personality, or appearance. Exhilarating, no?" Jacob's eyes flickered with disbelief. None of this was making sense.
    tab "You don't believe me, I'm sure. Don't worry, though. I've developed a little 'tease' that will convert you. Why don't you feel your head?" Immediately, Jacob's brain snapped, twitching as he regained control of his body. With out a second thought, he grabbed his head, eager to prove that whatever Dr. Doc was trying to prove wrong.
    tab He tore off his bandage, and threw it to the ground, sitting up and the quickly spotting himself in the mirror across the room.
    tab Jacob couldn't speak.
    tab "Wh--how did you--when did you--" Sentences began to form out of his mouth, but never finished. It was too much.
    tab "Well, do you believe me now?"
    tab "Yeah," Jacob whispered. "Yeah, I do."
    tab He continued to look into the mirror. He could hardly believe it. It was like some befuddling magic trick.
    tab The wound...was gone.

    tab "How'd you do that?"
    tab "Telepathy," Dr. Doc replied. "Not exactly what you read in the books, but close. Would you like me to explain?"
    tab "Hell, no!" was Jacob's quick response. "I wanna hear more 'bout this plan you was talkin' about."
    tab "Of course. But let me ask you this: Are you in? Are you willing?"
    tab "You kidding? That ain't even a question, man. 'Course I'm in!"
    tab "I have your word, then. So no complaints." Jacob cocked his head inquisitively, a playful grin showing from his face.
    tab "What does that me--" The words choked up in his mouth mid-sentence when he saw Dr. Doc reaching for a pistol-sized gun, fully loaded with one dart.
    tab "Sit still. I'm gonna need your cooperation for one second as I..." A distinct "pop" noise shot in the air, and Jacob collapsed on his bed, drool drickling down from his lips.
    tab "Poor guy," Dr. Doc said said with a sympathetic smile on his face, placing the gun down on a table next to the bed. "But I guess it's encouraging enough to know that the alternative would've been much more painful." And as a rightful follow up to that statement, he began his work...
    tab Starting with the ripping of skin.