Story of Lion Man

Chapter 7

This is the seventh chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

Ryan woke up slowly and groggily, staring at a white roof. At first, he was confused as to where he was, but then he suddenly remembered something that made him forget that thought, and his eyes shot open and moved his upper body up, finding himself in a bed (wearing his clothes), and looked at his arms ,and saw they were normal again. He then felt his face with both hands and it felt normal also. "Oh, thank God, it was just a dream." He thought, signing in relief. "You're probably thinking it was all a dream. It wasn't." He then heard a voice, looked around the room, and saw a teenage girl with short blonde hair, teal eyes, wore black trousers and a dark grey shirt, sitting on a chair on the right hand side of the bed, staring at him. "You did break into a house. This house. You stole a serum, ran outside, drank it, and turned into a lion, and you fainted." The girl said in a stern voice, as Ryan remembered everything. He remembered, but desperately desired answers. "Why am I back here? And how come I'm back to normal?" He asked frantically.  "You have questions and want answers? Come with me." She said, before getting out of the chair and after Ryan got out of the bed, led him downstairs through he house he just robbed, but looked a lot more comfortable in daylight.

The girl led him downstairs to a table, where, sat at the end was an old man wearing a light grey suit, an empty seat on the left hand next to it, and two seats on the right, in the second sat a woman with greying brown hair, wearing a black shirt and grey trousers. The old man looked around and saw them come in. "Ah, you're awake. Good." He said in a calm voice as the girl led them towards the table, and pointed her right index finger first at Ryan, then at the left side empty seat at the table. Getting the gesture, Ryan sat down in the seat, while the girl sat down in the first right seat. "Pardon my daughter, Jessica. She's not exactly happy about you being back here. She thinks your a thief." The old man said, starting the conversation. "Um, first off, who are you, and how did you find me?" Ryan asked, clearly confused. "Apologies. Firstly, my name is Martin Leonez. This is my recently divorced wife, Hannah, and our daughter, Jessica. To answer your question, we followed your footprints in the mud and found in Lion form unconscious. You fainted, didn't you?" Martin asked, Ryan nodding. "That's understandable. It can be a bit of a shock, first time." Martin added. "We're wasting our time here. Why don't I just do it?" Jessica then whispered , interrupting. Martin then turned his head to face her. "Well, I've just got a very good feeling about him. Besides, he knows what the serum can do." He whispered to her, before turning back to Ryan. "I'm pretty impressed by how you broke into the house and the safe. Freezing the safe was a particularly good idea." Martin said as Ryan then raised his right hand. "You don't need to raise your hand, lad." Hannah then said. "Sorry, it's just a lot of things in my mind. Like... how are you, who are they, what the heck happened to me earlier, and can we return to Planet Earth for a moment!? Stop taking the scenic route, and get to the point!" Ryan said very quickly in one breath, taking a breath after all the talking.

"So you want answers? Ok, I'll get right to the point. When I was younger, in the at university, me and my older brother created a formula that could transform the body of whoever drank it into that of a Lions, while at the same time amplifying A few apart s inside, particularly the muscles, and giving it abilities others only dream of. However, at the time, we didn't knew this and were unsure and confused as to what we have discovered, so we tested it on ourselves. And it worked in a way we couldn't imagine. We developed two serums and figured out they both had a different usage." Martin explain as he took out of his left pocket two vials, each of the two different colours from the ones in the safe. He placed them on the table. "Drink the orange one, you turn into the Lion form. The red, you turn back to your normal human self. By the way, when we brought you back unconscious, we gave you some of the red serum, just in case your wondering." Martin explained, pointing with his left index finger. "Anyway, for a while, my Brother, Daniel and I, weren't sure about what to do with it. That is until a representative of SHIELD came to us and offered us a chance to use our serum. "To help maintain peace and security around the world", they said. Of course this was during the time of the Cold War. In our naivety and the promise of glory, we took the offer. However, when we arrived at SHIELD, they said that only one of us could be used as an 'operative'. So we were both physically and mentally tested, and I made the cut." He continued.

"However, Daniel, was different. He didn't make the physical requirements. Plus, after several times in the 'Lion form' as we called it, he changed. The serum and its remarkable gifts corrupted him. He developed a burning desire for power, invincibility. And when I made the cut and he didn't, boy, was he jealous. So jealous, he left and cut himself off from me, not seeing each other for years. As for me, I became a classified agent known as the Lion Man. For years, I was one of SHIELD'S best assets. All over the world I spied, stole, killed, infiltrated. All in the name of keeping peace. However as the years went by, my trust in SHIELD became shaky. They began sharing less information with. So I suspected they were hiding something from me,and I found out that they were trying to recreate my serums, in case I need a 'replacement' and to make 'more' of me. But I knew no one could have it unless I trusted them. And I didn't trust them. So I resigned. I hide the serums and went into the world of business." Martin continued. "Wait a minute. Leonez. As in Leonez chemistry? My mother works there." Ryan then realised. "Really, huh? What's you're name?" Jessica then asked, narrowing her eyes. "Names Ryan. Ryan Mcranson." Ryan answered. "Mcranson. Now I remember you. You're Hannah's son. She talks a lot about you a work. Says you're good... but she she also tells me you're wimpish." Martin then said. Ryan tensed up his shoulders upon hearing that. "See? That's an even bigger reason why we can't use him, dad." Jessica said, Martin giving her a serious stare.

"Listen, can we cut to chase as to why I'm still here? If you're mad at me for breaking in, I'm sorry. I was just looking for food." Ryan said. "You don't need to apologise, Ryan. I'm not mad at you at all . In fact, I'm glad you did what you did. Because, you see, around three years ago, my brother resurfaced , got a job at my company, rose through the ranks, and managed to remove me as head of the company. No doubt he threatened the board of directors he'd kill them they didn't vote to remove me. Or maybe he bribed them. Anyway, a while ago I found out that he'd become obsessed with recreating my serums, intending to sell either to the military or possibly some terrorist group. You see, it's taken a while for him because he only knows half the ingredients. When we created the original serums, we both knew half of the ingredients, yet I secretly knew his half, and he didn't know mine. Anyway, i believe the only chance Daniel can be stopped is with the Lion Man. And after what you did, and now that you know about it, I believe that to be you, Ryan." Martin concluded his story. Ryan looked in confusion, as he asked "What?"

This is the seventh and longest chapter I've done so far. Hope you enjoyed it. I love history by the way, and if you don't know much about the Cold War, then I advise you do some research. I have to admit, I have a vague idea about how this story goes, but I'm mostly just making this story as I go along. And that's the story of the Martin and Daniel and the serum explained.