Ed Mercer vs the Invaders: The Giant Awakening

Chapter Four: Welcome to Area 5?

Ed Mercer stirred, his eyes fluttering open to the sight of unfamiliar surroundings. His body felt strange—heavy, awkward—and his mind raced, trying to make sense of everything. The last thing he remembered was the army, the tranquilizers, and… growing. Growing impossibly large. His heart pounded in his chest as he struggled to sit up, blinking against the sterile white lights above him.

He looked down at himself. Gone were the remnants of his torn wedding suit. Instead, he was wearing a dull, grey jumpsuit, the kind you’d see in a prison or a mental ward. The fabric stretched awkwardly over his still-massive frame, and it only took him a second to realize that he was no longer towering over buildings, but he was still far from normal size—at least 15 feet tall, crammed into what seemed like a reinforced, steel-walled room.

Panic seized him as he shot to his feet, the top of his head nearly scraping the ceiling. “Where the hell am I?” he shouted, his voice echoing in the vast, empty room. He rushed toward the thick, steel door, pounding his fists against it. “Hello? Can someone explain what’s going on here?”

The door remained unyielding, and the only sound that came in response was the echo of his own voice. He was trapped. Completely alone.

Ed’s breath came in short bursts, his chest tightening with fear. He backed away from the door and looked around the room again—nothing but cold steel walls, a single bed much too small for him, and a massive reinforced window on one side, through which he could see only white light.

He sank to the floor, leaning against the cold wall, his hands gripping his knees tightly as his thoughts spiraled. This can’t be happening. This has to be a nightmare.

Before his mind could settle any further, the door suddenly hissed and slid open. Ed shot to his feet, ready to confront whoever was responsible for this, but what he saw made him pause.

In walked a strange group of figures, and at the head of them was a middle-aged military man wearing a crisp uniform and a no-nonsense expression.

"Welcome, Edward Mercer," the man said, his voice steady and authoritative. "I’m General W.R. Monger, and you’ve been relocated to Area 5?, a top-secret military facility for... well, monsters."

Ed’s mouth dropped open. "Monsters?"

“Yes,” General Monger said, stepping aside to introduce the bizarre group behind him. “These are your new ‘fellow inmates,’ if you will.”

Ed blinked as he took in the sight of the creatures before him. First, a tall, gangly figure with multiple legs and an unmistakably insect-like appearance stepped forward with a wicked grin. “Dr. Cockroach, PhD,” he introduced himself with a dramatic bow. “Mad scientist extraordinaire.”

Next, a gelatinous, blue blob with a single eye bounced forward. “Hi! I’m B.O.B.!” he announced cheerfully, even though he had no mouth. “I’m mostly indestructible, and I don’t have a brain!”

The third was an odd, muscular creature that looked part-fish, part-man, with gills flaring on the sides of his head. He crossed his arms and nodded. “They call me The Missing Link. I’m basically a prehistoric badass.”

Finally, behind them, Ed could make out a gigantic, insect-like creature that barely fit through the door. It let out a strange sound, part screech, part growl, and one of the others chimed in.

“Oh, and that’s Insectosaurus. He’s… well, he’s mostly harmless. Just really, really big.”

Ed took a step back, his heart racing again. This couldn’t be real. He had to be hallucinating. “I don’t belong here,” he managed to say, his voice shaking slightly. “I’m not a monster. I’m just—this was an accident.”

General Monger gave him a sympathetic look but didn’t waver. “I understand, son. But the fact remains—you’ve been exposed to extraterrestrial matter. Your size, your strength—there’s no way we can risk you being out in the public. You’re a danger, whether you mean to be or not.”

Ed’s stomach dropped. “What? No, you can’t just keep me here. I need to—my life—my fiancée, Darulio—he’s out there. I need to get back to him. I’m not staying here.”

Monger sighed. “I sympathize, Mr. Mercer. I really do. But for the safety of the world, you’ve been classified as a threat. Your new name, your designation, is ‘Ginormica.’ And until we figure out what’s going on, you’re not leaving this facility.”

Ed’s legs gave out, and he sank down onto the floor, overwhelmed by the weight of it all. “Ginormica?” he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. “This is insane.”

“You’ll have time to adjust,” Monger said, almost kindly. “And I promise you, we’re doing everything we can to help you. But for now, you need to stay here, where it’s safe. For everyone.”

Ed couldn’t respond. His throat was tight, his chest aching with emotion he couldn’t control. The world outside the cold walls of this place—the wedding, his career, Darulio—seemed like it belonged to another lifetime.

Monger gave him one last, somber look before turning on his heel and walking out, leaving Ed with the strange collection of creatures. The door hissed shut, and Ed was left alone again—alone, except for the sound of his own shallow breathing and the cold, unyielding reality of his situation.

His knees drew up to his chest as he sat in the corner of the massive cell. He leaned his head against the wall, letting out a shaky breath. Tears welled up in his eyes as the hopelessness of it all crashed over him. He pressed his forehead to his knees, trying to keep the tears back, but they came anyway.

---

Days passed, but Ed refused to give up. Dr. Cockroach, the eccentric scientist, had offered to help. He claimed he could shrink Ed back to normal, using “cutting-edge science.”

Despite his wariness, Ed agreed. Anything was better than staying like this. Every day, he submitted himself to endless tests and experiments, enduring strange machines and injections. But no matter what they tried, nothing worked. The frustration built inside him, but with each failure, Ed’s resolve only strengthened. He would not remain a prisoner forever.