The man introduced himself as Edward Garner, founder of the UCWF. He led Sam through the door, down another hallway, and into a large room filled with shelves, medical tables, and a large bank of monitors, at which sat a man in a white lab coat, accompanied by another in a fitted brown suit and tie. The man in the suit stood and walked over to Sam. Welcome, he said. You may call me the power broker. I don’t understand, Sam said. Why have you brought me here? Why do you have super soldier serum? The simple answer, the man in the brown suit said, is money. People pay us to have powers. It's very lucrative. Don’t worry though, the man said, you won’t have to pay. He smiled. You know you need the serum to defeat Walker. I hate Walker. I disagree with his ideals. That’s why you are going to take him down. Sam looked at him. I know that I need it, he said, but I don’t want it. Wilson, The Power Broker said, think for a second. That man could kill you if you did not have the serum. Sam swallowed. Ok, he said, I’ll take it. Minutes later, Sam found himself strapped to a table, a round device over his head. A switch was flipped, and the device hummed to life. Sam smelled phosphorus in the air. The man in the lab coat came over to Sam's side and stuck a bank of four interconnected syringes into both of Sam’s arms. He then went over to a button, put on safety goggles and counted down on his hands. Something did not quite feel right to Sam. Before he could protest, the button was pressed, and the thin blue liquid in the syringes flowed into his body. Pain. Undeniable agony hit him like a freight train. Something was stuffed into his mouth and his screams were muffled. The round device overhead hummed louder, lights within it brightening to an almost blinding light. Sam shut his eyes. The pain grew and grew, a pounding headache formed. Sam vaguely felt another needle go into his arm. Minutes passed, then an hour. It felt like a day of being burned inside a vat of magma. The pain faded, and Sam opened his eyes. He was bigger. He felt stronger. His uniform felt tighter. He sat up. You won’t find us here when you come back, The Power Broker said. Instead, you will find an empty room. Now go, Walker is waiting for you outside of the building. I will warn you, he isn’t alone.
