Peter Pan The Killer

Chapter 27: Skul

"A pity," Skul muttered, patting Peter's head as the door ground shut.

Peter's eyes had glassed over, but he blinked back the tears.

Had it all gone according to plan? No matter the desire to boast, Skul could not completely agree it had. Improvisations were there where they were due.

If all had gone to plan, Peter would have broken far earlier. Alas, he required an elaborate hostage scheme to subdue him. Did it work this time? He had better hook him up to the neuro-scanners right away. Every second that ticked, an ounce of data lost.

Peter stared at him with hollowed eyes. The boy had grown so much. Twenty-one years of age. All Skul could see was the child within him. The child with everlasting potential, to become just like him. Neverland were foolish to think he would leave his prized subject behind. They brought on their own demise, dismissing him.

Skul never forgot his enemies.

The boy gave little resistance towards the needles and scanners, and soon the monitors streamed with rows of data.

"Why?" A cracked voice broke Skul's concentration on the screen.

Peter stared at the screen as well. The data made no sense to him. He had always questioned; not the most obedient subject. However, this time, the why was heavy with emotion. The boy was aware now. Aware of the gravity PXDST held.

There was a profound reason behind his elaborate schemes. Neverland did not understand. PXDST was a living substance, dormant until they found the right nervous triggers. PXDST would not display efficient biocompatibility and suffer from enormous untapped potential otherwise.

He was not about to let years of research go to waste, because his colleagues were too afraid of his experiments. He inoculated several potential candidates with PXDST, an individual venture upon getting kicked out of the project. Once they failed stage one, he would order them killed. He could not risk the failed substance to trigger unwanted responses and suspicions. To kill two birds with one stone, he ordered the boy to eliminate the failed subjects.

There was a reason for that, too.

After several failed attempts, it had come to his knowledge, it would take an extent of trauma to provide specific triggers to activate the substance. After all, PXDST was a biological implant wedged deep within the boy's cortex, designed to undergo controlled proliferation and drug release. Trauma was difficult to forge. The experiments in Neverland were not enough.

They refused to believe the boy had to experience the actual world in order to experience real trauma. Skul took it a step further by turning him into a murderer. The act of taking another's life changes people. It was a crucial change for the development of PXDST.

Nevertheless, it was insufficient. He could stare in agony at the data all day, it seemed like it would never be enough. But Skul was not one to give up so soon. Perhaps he was spoon-feeding the boy. In just the right time, the police had caught on to them. It was a perfect time to stage a betrayal. He left the boy to fend for himself, to analyze his response to the real world without a parent figure. He had tailed him without his knowledge.

It went miraculously well.

The day he snapped, the day he killed himself, was the day PXDST activated. He lived, and he would live forever. Yet again, it was not enough. With the boy's data, PXDST was recoded and turned into an elixir of longevity. After inoculating Crocker with the improved dose, it worked as he planned. However, what was the point of immortality if you were just another common man, but with a long life? Skul wanted more.

He was going to create a race like no other. Emotions came in the way of such advancements. Halting progress with petty morals. PXDST could change it all.