October 1st, 2040, Pleasanton, California, approximately 10:52 PM

  In the dark hallway of a hospital, where the lights aren't completely off but are dimmed rather low, the sound of footsteps can be heard on the marble floor—footsteps coming from a professional pair of bck Johnston and Murphy shoes, neatly tied at the ces. Each step was quiet and with purpose before the shoes came to a halt. The person wearing them had stopped in front of a hospital room door that was to the right of a rge gss window to see inside.

  The person was a woman with a full head of straight pitch-bck hair, wearing a bck suit and red tie with a white undershirt found underneath, and matching bck dress pants that went with the suit perfectly. The suit had no wrinkles or folds, as if it was perfect in every way—or that it had to be perfect for the wearer. The woman stepped inside the nursery, her hands behind her back, her steps reckless yet somehow perfectly quiet, without a sound to be heard.

  Even her very breathing was calm and controlled, and her face matched. She had a young face and couldn't be older than a woman in her te twenties. She then straightened her tie and pressed a finger to the small, almost invisible earpiece that rested in her right ear. A hiss of static before she spoke quietly.

  "The nursery is clear, cameras are down, and the infants are asleep."

  She had never closed the door from earlier and simply walked back through it before sitting down gracefully onto a blue chair with metal legs, crossing one leg of her own over the other.

  Another hiss of static came from the earpiece—the voice of a man.

  "Understood, Director. Execution of Mission X shall commence right on schedule."

  The earpiece hissed once more to cut off the connection, and as if instantly, invisible footsteps—extremely silent but heard only slightly—echoed down the hallway. The footsteps emanated from a group of no more than five to six men, all completely invisible, yet if they were visible, they'd be seen wearing sleek, all-bck, military-grade gear.

  Most of the steps halted in front of the open nursery door. If they were able to be seen, all five men stood on opposing sides of the open nursery door, guns raised and their aim steady. Then, one of the men appeared—a zipping sound followed by a gentle fsh of green as he became visible. The man had short, buzzed bck hair and light stubble, and he stood at an impressive height of over 6 feet. He stiffened his posture and gave the seated woman a salute before speaking.

  "Agent Number 27 reporting for duty on Mission X, Director Mary," he said in a stern yet affirmative voice, but was just as quiet as the sounds of the other men's earlier footsteps. Mary nodded up at the man with a calm, almost uncaring look on her face before she stood up from the chair, her arms crossing behind her back as she walked inside the nursery.

  Agent 27 followed behind her, already reaching into a pouch on his belt before pulling out a small, sleek, bck case with an aged piece of tape on the case beled X Serum. He came to an abrupt stop, nearly bumping into Mary as he was too busy pulling out the syringe. He looked up to follow her gaze as she looked over the multiple sleeping infants. Mary stared, her eyes roaming each sleeping baby until she squinted, locking onto a particur one.

  Asleep just like the rest, it was a baby boy with brown, caramel-colored skin, and on his head, what looked like growing strands of dark brown curly hair, yet the texture, due to his earlier birth, was that of hay. Mary then lifted a finger, pointing at the sleeping baby, mumbling a silent, "That one."

  Agent 27 nodded, walking in front of the small pstic bassinet where the brown-skinned baby snored gently, almost like a whisper. Agent 27 removed the needle cap from the syringe. The green liquid inside swirled in his right hand. In his left, he pulled a cotton square to wipe at the baby's chubby left arm, swiping back and forth gently to clean what he could of the sleeping infant's flesh before he pced the cotton square back into his pouch on his belt. He then pulled out a yellow-colored spray bottle and gave the trigger a squeeze, aiming for the infant's arm.

  The spray bottle hissed, the liquid clear and gently coating the arm. On the spray bottle, it was beled "Numbing Spray", a government product unable to be given to the hands of doctors and nurses alike, as much as it would help. He then gently pierced the extremely thin needle into the infant's left arm before he pushed down on the syringe with his thumb. The green, swirling liquid inside was gently pushed into the arm. In his left hand, he held a superhero band-aid.

  And just as quickly as he removed the needle, he pced the band-aid on the injected spot, rubbing slightly to secure its pce before he pulled back, letting out a sigh of relief. He then put the syringe back in its case and closed it with a click, sliding it into his pouch. He turned around to face Mary with a salute, speaking with a whisper.

  "Mission X was a success, Director."

  Mary's smile grew wicked at the sound of Agent 27's confirmatory voice, and she gave him a nod.

  "Well done, soldier. Your effort will be rewarded, and I intend to promote you in the SDA."

  Agent 27 smiled and nodded before a green fsh, blurring from his body as he became invisible. His steps were heard as he left the room, and Mary followed, closing the door with a soft, gentle click.

  She walked with the five invisible men and Agent 27 down the hallway and into the elevator. She uncrossed a single arm from behind her back and pushed a button to open it. She waited, listening for the footsteps of the other men to enter the elevator until she heard none, and she followed inside. From inside, an invisible finger belonging to one of the men pressed the button beled 1, and the elevator began its descent from the eleventh floor.

  Mary smiled once more, with a sinister toothy grin before she spoke.

  "And just like that, human use of The X Serum has been a success. But only time will tell if our b rat will survive and mutate properly."