VENOM

Injection

The next day, Leo and Tommy were at school, as if nothing had happened. In all his haste, he had gotten the paperwork signed, dated, and sent back to the Labs all in one day, without so much as a wink of sleep. On top of that, he seemed to be getting worse. His disease had effected his skin tone; he was paler than he typically was, and his eyes were bloodshot. Tommy guided his friend to their first period, and sat him down in a chair.
"Agh..thanks man." He grunted. "You're a saint."
"Did you get any sleep last night, L?"
"I don't think so. I needed to get that paperwork done."
"Look I know you're a tryhard but you were overdoing it. That was a lotta paper."
"I'm fine..I'm fine." He grinned weakly. "See? Fine."
"Alright man..take it easy today."
"For sure."

First period went by, then second, then third.

At lunch, the duo made their way to their usual spot: a table in the outside courtyard. Usually empty, this time it was filled with the Reapers, a "gang" of jocks.
"Yo, c'mon dude let's find another place" Tommy whispered, tugging his friend to another table. Leo shook his head and ripped his arm from his friend's grip.
"This has always been our spot. Why give it up to these meatheads?" Leo limped his way over to the jocks, who were talking about some game or another.
"Hey fellas, look!" Laughed Toby, the leader of the Reapers and an enormous football player. "Limpy Leo's come to say 'hi'..whoa what happened to your face? Did someone piss in your eyes? Hah!"
"I've just come over to ask for you three to kindly move to another spot. You know it's for me, it's got that curved seat so I can get in easily."
"Aw I'm sowwy." Toby jeered. "Does wittle Weo have a hawd time getting in his seat? Here let me help you!" He picked up Leo by his shoulders, and tossed him onto a wall mounted bench, slamming his back against the glass. "That'll teach you, nerd." He laughed, and sat back down as Leo blacked out from the pain. The last thing he saw before the light faded, was a slender, female figure with blonde hair, and the muffled sound of yelling.

He awoke in the nurse's station, an ice pack on his forehead and a heating pad strapped to his back as he laid on his side. The nurse came in and checked his temperature.
"Miss Teague here outside said you fell." He glanced to the corner of the room, and sure enough, Samantha Teague, the lead cheerleader, sat there. His crush throughout high school had saved him. He must have been dreaming. She offered a small wave and a smile, to which he returned, flinching in pain. "You musta fallen pretty hard to have fractured your hand against the glass." Leo started to say something, but the nurse shushed him. "I know, I know. But Toby's dad is the VP of the school. Anyone would look bad trying to expose that. I was just about to call Tom's mother to come pick you up."
"No." He grunted. "Get..Schema. He promised..medicine." Tommy, who was sitting across the room from them, nodded in conformation.
"Fine. I'll make some phone calls. No promises though."

Within the hour, Schema and Leo sat across each other in the Life Foundation's lab.
"All the paperwork is in order, Mr. Newton. Are you absolutely certain you want to proceed?"
"If it means being healed from whatever is killing me, I'll take any chance."
"Alright. Before we begin, you must know something. This is a high risk procedure, so every vital sign will be scanned and watched the entire injection. It also must be done through the spinal cord, so it spreads to every nerve and blood vein. Again, this is high risk. At the slightest sign of trouble, the V Serum will be pulled out, and you will be put in recovery. Any questions?" Leo scratched at his chin, then looked up at the scientist.
"Will it hurt?" There was a moment of silence, then the scientist and the boy met eyes.
"Yes. More pain than you have, and ever will experience." Another moment passed, then Leo straightened himself in his seat.
"Let's do it."

Leo was strapped to an odd table that had him in a position that reminded him of Leonardo da Vinci's sketches of a human. He looked like two Vs connected at the base. He wore nothing but a pair of simple gray sweatpants. Schema again confronted him.
"You can back out now, my young friend."
"No..let's just get this over with." Schema smiled, and nodded to the scientists.
"As you wish. Begin phase one, Doctor De Santa." Machines began whirring and beeping as scientists approached him with syringes, and stood behind him. Two were plugged into his spine by his shoulder blades, and two more at the hips, and finally a third into his middle.
"Heh..was that it?" Leo chuckled nervously, sweat beading at his brow.
"Oh no, that was just prep work. Begin phase two." Another whir, and the sound of liquids running was heard. Leo glanced in the mirror, and saw the black substance racing through the tubes, and into his back. As the serum made impact with his back, he felt like his veins were holding liquid fire. He bit back a scream as the substance poured through every vein, every nerve, every organ. Sweat poured down his face and back as he heaved for breath, and faintly, he heard a voice:
"Begin phase three, nurse Rayes." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Schema watching through a glass viewport, when it was as though lightning was ripping through his body.  At this point, it felt as if he was burning alive from the inside out, and he could hold it in no longer as he screamed.

Then he saw something that turned him from simply in pain, to horrified: Schema's smile had vanished, and was replaced by his own terror. Suddenly, it felt as if every muscle was pushing against his skin, and his heart pounded in his chest. Every pulse was beating. Every one of his senses were awake at once. As soon as this pain had started, it ended.

The machines stopped whirring and beeping, and he was lowered from his restraints. Leo's feet hadn't even hit the floor when he passed out.

He jerked up, and looked around. An empty, metal room was all there was around him. Schema walked in, and smiled.
"Well, there was a minor bump, but otherwise it was a complete success."
"M-minor bump? What kind of bump?"
"Oh nothing. It just seemed that your vitals had shut off for a minute..or five."
"Five minutes? It felt like just a few seconds." An expression of worry shadowed the scientist's face, but it quickly faded away.
"Oh well, a grasp of time can change for those under stress. Now, let's see if the serum worked. Try to stand." Leo nodded, and dropped from the table. It seemed his legs were asleep, because he simply crumpled to the floor. The doctor offered to help, but Leo just waved Schema off.
"I got it. Just..give me a moment." He gripped onto a side bar, and looked at his arm. Muscles rippled under his skin, something he'd never seen before. He quickly looked down and saw that he wasn't just fit, he was ripped, six pack and all. Leo stumbled to his feet, and glanced at the reflective glass.
"What..what happened?"
"Well it appears the serum did more than just fix your decaying body, it was improved. You're better than healthy." Leo looked at the scientist in disbelief, then looked down at his feet, and put one foot in front of the other.
"This..this is amazing..I can walk!" He sprinted from one side to the other. "I can run! I'm... I'm cured!" He laughed and cheered, running around the room as the doctor just examined his patient, and smiled. "Wait, Doc, my hand." There was a scar from where the glass had shattered on his hand, shaped in a gash with lines protruding outward.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that. It can heal the inside of the body, but I suppose the skin isn't something it can cure."
"Ah..well okay. It's not too bad anyways."
"Shall I call a cab, Mr. Newton?"
"No, I think I'll get a ride from Tommy."

"Dude! You're bloody ripped!" Tommy exclaimed in surprise, his eyes as wide as sauser dishes. Leo had just gone to his room to change, when he forgot his cup and gone back out. "Can I get some of that serum?" Leo chuckled as he downed his fifth glass of milk.
"Not so simple, mate. Unless you got an incurable disease I don't know about."
"Well there was that one time I slept with Jenny.."
"Oh you're disgusting."
"Kidding, kidding. Anyways, are there any other side effects?"
"Welp, other than this scar on my hand, I don't think so."
"So they just let you go, huh? No other tests?"
"Not for now. They wanted me to get rest in a comfortable environment. I told them I'd call if anything popped up." Tommy nodded, then grinned.
"I bet getting Sammy will be easy for ya now." Leo choked on his drink and looked up at his friend.
"Pardon?"
"Oh don't try to fool me. Everyone knows you have a thing for her."
"I..didn't think it was obvious."
"It was more obvious than your new abs." The two chuckled and finished their drinks.
"Welp. I think I'll go to school tomorrow, see what happens."
"You sure? I mean from what you told me, you're still freshly cooked."
"Oh I'm sure. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces!"