Andrew's Enhancement Chapter 3

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ANDREW'S ENHANCEMENT PROCEDURE

Once the group of five people reached the Medical Room and sat down, Andrew exhaled slowly and leaned forward to catch his breath. Dr. Franklin and his aides healed most of their wounds, but their bone knitters were out of power.
“We had a lot of broken bones to heal when this house almost collapsed four days ago, thanks to Alexander’s sabotage,” Dr. Franklin explained. “We had more injuries today, and healing them drained the Bone Knitters completely. As you can see, we still have some residual damage and we can't find fresh power cells in the mess. You'll have to let your ribs heal the old-fashioned way Andrew."
The doctor had the nurses set Andrew's broken ribs and Andrew used his iron will to conceal the tremendous pain he felt. His friends were very impressed with Andrew's tolerance to pain and they were pleased that he wasn't incapacitated by his injuries. Once the nurses had finished wrapping his ribs, Andrew stood up.
"Thank you everyone for all your help healing our injuries during this tour," Andrew said, smiling and nodding at everyone. "Since Alexander is gone for good, you shouldn't see us injured again."
"I hope you're right," Dr. Franklin said, astonished at Andrew's superhuman pain tolerance. "I'm glad you appreciate all our help and have a good journey home."
Marge led the way out of the Medical Room and the four friends followed her. As they walked, Andrew resisted the urge to stretch, not wanting to jar his recently set ribs. It was quite an adjustment for Andrew to adapt to a limited range of motion, since he had never broken any bones before. But he resolved to emerge from this experience stronger than ever. Andrew had no idea how prophetic those hopes were, but he would soon find out.
"How do you feel Andrew?" Carrie asked him, squeezing his hand gently.
"My ribs ache badly," Andrew whispered back. "But since I have to maintain my 'tough guy' image with Steve around, I can't let the pain show on my face. How are you feeling?"
"Oh I'm fine," Carrie replied. "I look forward to seeing the rest of the Space Station tour that we missed."
"What part of the tour did we miss?" Steve asked Marge.
"That's a good question," Marge replied. "I think Commander Thomas will have the answer. How are your ribs feeling Andrew?"
"Oh they feel fine," Andrew replied. "I don't even feel a twinge of pain."
Margaret could tell by his slightly glazed eyes that he was hiding tremendous pain. But she also knew, as Carrie did, that his athletic pride would not let him show any pain, or let her heal him again. She was about to suggest that they go back to the Medical Room for some pain pills when she had another idea.
Marge's Enhancement Serum should work, Margaret thought to herself. Andrew won't notice the difference between my magic and the serum, but I hope the doctors will ask his permission before they perform the procedure.
Once the five friends got outside, they saw that both the Metal Monster and the Space Station were ready to take off. Marge led the way over to the Space Station ramp, where Thomas was waiting for them.
"Why is the Metal Monster preparing to lift off as well?" Marge asked him.
"In case something happens to the Space Station, the Metal Monster will be around to help," Thomas replied. "I suggest that the Haunted House lift off as well and join us in space. It would give the creatures a chance to see the moon as well."
"You're not suggesting that we land on the moon, are you?" Marge asked him. "Everyone on Earth, especially the Military, would know about us if we did that!"
"I think that close orbiting would keep that from happening," Thomas replied. "A little modification to our shields should make us appear as a dust cloud or a comet fragment."
Thomas led the way up the ramp and Andrew gritted his teeth as he felt stabbing pains along his right side. He realized that he must have suffered some internal injuries as well. When he coughed and drops of blood landed on his hand, Andrew's hunch was confirmed. Once they reached the top of the ramp and it closed behind them, Andrew whispered in Margaret's ear.
"Do you think you could give us a map to the Medical Room Thomas?" Margaret asked. "I think Andrew's bandages need adjustment."
"Here you go," Thomas said, handing the map over. "The route to the Medical Room is part of the tour you missed anyway, so that's a great way to catch up. The route to the Command Center will also be part of the tour, which I will show Marge and Steve now."
"Good idea," Andrew agreed, glad that Carrie was staying with him. "We'll see you in the Command Center later Steve."
"Good luck man," Steve said, as he watched his three friends walk down the hall.
He suspected that Andrew's injuries were worse than he was letting on, but he knew that Andrew would never reveal weakness around another guy.
"Do you have internal injuries Andrew?" Margaret asked him.
"Yes I think so," Andrew replied, deciding not to hide the truth from her or Carrie. "I should have not been rash and rushed around the helicopter as it was exploding. I just couldn't help myself; I wanted to see Alexander destroyed."
"We're about to find out the price you paid to watch Alexander get buried by rubble," Margaret informed him. "You should have been content with taking two bullets to the chest, without much harm to yourself!"
"You're right Margaret," Andrew agreed. "If the Medical Room can't heal my injuries, I may have to swallow my pride and let you heal me."
"Good idea," Margaret said. "I was going to magically alter some pain pills to do that anyway, but I didn’t want to do it without asking you. But your idea is a better one anyway. You have to understand that extraordinary injuries should be healed by extraordinary methods."
Andrew had no idea that she was referring to the Enhancement Serum, because he had no idea that such a thing existed. Margaret decided to keep the Enhancement Plan quiet until she could see if it worked.
While Andrew, Carrie and Margaret were heading to the Medical Room, Thomas led Steve and Marge to the Command Center. Once they got there, they saw that windows surrounded the entire room, except the back wall: which had the doorway they had just come though.
"Quite a view Commander," Steve said, marveling at the view of the forest out the windows.
"You haven't seen anything yet Mr. Peterson," Thomas informed him, sitting down in the Command Chair. "Helm, are we ready to lift off?"
"Yes sir," the Helm Officer replied. "Communications reports that the Haunted House and the Metal Monster are standing by to lift off as well. We're just waiting for your order to lift off."
"Make it so," Thomas said, leaning forward in his chair. "Take us up Helm; nice and steady."
"Aye sir," the Helm Officer said. She pulled a few levers and the Space Station slowly rose from the clearing. By looking out the windows, everyone could see the House and the Monster lifting off on either side of them. "It will take about ten minutes to reach orbit sir."
"Very good Lieutenant," Thomas said.
Steve came up to him and asked, "How do you keep the government from detecting you?"
"We transmit false images with our shields so that we look like one of their satellites," Thomas replied. "The other two bases should be able to do much the same thing, with a little modification to their shields. That reminds me: I should tell Sub-Commander Mildred that the helicopters with the new parts should arrive at the clearing before we return. If you'll excuse me Steve, I'll go do that right now."
As Thomas went over to the Communications section of the front console, the Helm Officer put the station on autopilot and motioned Steve over to her section of the console. While they waited for Thomas to finish his conversation, she began explaining the Station's systems to Steve.
Meanwhile, Margaret, Carrie and Andrew had reached the Medical Room.
"How may I help you?" the nurse at the front desk asked them.
"I think this young n has internal injuries," Margaret replied. "If you could hurry and get the doctor, we can find out and get Andrew healed."
"Stay right there; I'll go get the doctor," the nurse ordered them. She was only gone for a minute before she returned with the Head Doctor of the Space Station. "Here's your patient Doctor Thompson: Mr. Andrew Pearson."
"Please come with me Mr. Pearson," Dr. Thompson said.
Andrew followed him into the Examination Room for X-rays and an MRI.
"You do have internal injuries Andrew," Dr. Thompson said, after looking closely at the X-rays and the MRI scans. "It looks like your shattered ribs punctured your right lung in three places. I will have to operate immediately to repair the damage. Come with me into the Operating Room Andrew."
Andrew shrugged off the nurse's supporting arms and stood up by himself, just to show how tough he was. Doctor Thompson noticed Andrew's iron will and decided to tell him the Enhancement Plan, which Margaret had just telepathically told him about.
"You're a very strong man Andrew," Dr. Thompson commended him. "How would you like to become even stronger?"
"I'd like it a lot!" Andrew shouted in excitement. "I'd love it if I could resist bullets all the time, not just when I'm hyped up on adrenaline!"
"We have a new experimental serum that is designed to enhance your adrenaline and testosterone levels from within the body, without having to rely on external supplements," Dr. Thompson informed him. "It has been tested with great success on the creatures in the Haunted House and they have become much stronger than they were before. We developed the serum in cooperation with the military, who have reported the same success with their soldiers. That means that human trials have been 100 percent successful as well. Would you like to be the next volunteer?"
"Yes sir!" Andrew shouted in enthusiasm. "You don't have to ask me twice, unless I lose my hearing of course!"
"You're a really funny guy Andrew; I can see that we won't have to worry about you abusing the great power we are going to give you," Dr. Thompson said. Once they reached the Operating Room, he added, "We will have to give you a general anesthetic because we have to introduce the serum into the glands themselves. It will be quite painful in the testosterone gland itself and we don't want you moving one bit."
"Can't you enhance my adrenal gland first, restoring my pain tolerance so that you can enhance my testosterone gland safely?" Andrew asked him. He sat down on the operating table and added, "I want to be awake for the entire procedure so that I can feel myself getting stronger by the minute!"
"That's a very good idea Andrew; and then we won't need to give you an anesthetic while we heal your injuries," Dr. Thompson realized, as the nurses began wheeling over the canister of serum. "You're a very smart man Andrew; obviously you have a great mind, not just great strength!"
"Thank you for saying that sir," Andrew said, lying down on the table. "I'm getting so excited; I can't even feel the pain from my injuries anymore!"
"That proves how compatible you'll be for the serum," Dr. Thompson realized, as the nurses opened the canister and took out the vial of serum.
"How can the canister be so big if the vial is so small?" Andrew asked him.
"The vial has to be kept cool because room temperature could activate the serum prematurely, causing it to evaporate before it can be introduced into the body," Dr. Thompson replied. The nurse loaded the hypo and handed it to him. "Are you ready Andrew? Your life will never be the same after this injection and there's no way to reverse the enhancement process."
"I'm ready sir!" Andrew shouted in excitement. "Make me so strong that if anyone like Alexander tries to bother us again, I'll be able to defeat them effortlessly!"
Andrew's face turned red with anger at the exact same moment that Doctor Thompson injected his adrenal glands with the serum. Andrew's anger kept him from feeling the prick of the needle and he felt stronger immediately.
"Stay still Andrew; now I need to extract a sample of your adrenal gland," the Dr. Thompson informed him.
"Why do you need to do that?" Andrew asked him. "I thought you were just going to enhance it, not extract bits of it!"
"The serum works by separating out all the impurities and canceling out the chemicals that shut down adrenaline surges," Dr. Thompson replied. "That way, your adrenal gland is turned on to full power all the time, giving you superhuman strength even when you're calm. But I need to extract an adrenal gland sample first and use the centrifuge to physically separate out the impurities. Then we can drain off the impurities and re-inject the purified adrenaline sample back into your adrenal gland. Then your adrenal gland will produce a much purer form of adrenaline than before, which means that your adrenaline will not have to flow as much. If it doesn't flow as much, your heart won't beat as fast, and you'll be at a lower risk of having a heart attack. But you will still have superhuman strength, because of purified, not diluted, adrenaline flowing through your veins."
"Good explanation sir," Andrew said, as Doctor Thompson extracted his adrenal sample and put it into the centrifuge. "What about my heart though; doesn't it have to beat faster to supply all the blood to my muscles, when I do have adrenaline surges? And what if pure adrenaline strains my heart, even at a slower flow rate?"
"Yes it will; that's why we included a cardio-strengthening solution into the serum," Dr. Thompson replied. "That way, pure adrenaline in your veins will not cause you to have a heart attack. It took the cooperation of many government agencies, some civilian ones, our advanced medical science and even Margaret's magic to make this serum successful."
"What are you talking about?" Andrew asked, as the nurses siphoned off the impurities from the centrifuge tube. "What does Margaret's magic have to do with this?"
"Margaret's magic has already had a strengthening effect on your heart and made your muscles denser, which allowed them to stop bullets," Dr. Thompson replied. He put the vial back into the hypo and re-injected the purified adrenal sample back into Andrew's adrenal gland. "Her magic kept you strong enough to make this enhancement possible. And you will probably become much stronger than ever before, due in no small part to your iron will."
"Thanks Doctor," Andrew said, smiling as he felt the serum flowing through him. "I can feel the serum flowing through me and making me stronger than ever!"
"Actually the serum activated your adrenal gland, making it pump out adrenaline all the time, not just when you get angry," Dr. Thompson informed him. "And now that I have purified your adrenal gland, it will pump out much purer adrenaline than it ever has before. Then your adrenaline will not have to flow as fast, even if it flows all the time."
"Thank you for explaining all this to me while it's happening Doctor," Andrew told him. "I really appreciate that."
"You're welcome Andrew," Dr. Thompson said. "Even if we had intended to enhance you against your will, you're so strong even without enhancement that I doubt all of us could have got you onto the operating table!"
"You're probably right," Andrew agreed, getting angry at the thought and causing the medical alarms to beep. "No one will be able to restrain me against my will once this enhancement process is complete!"
"You're probably right," Dr. Thompson agreed, keeping Andrew distracted with conversation while his colleagues healed Andrew's injuries. "Better calm down Andrew, before you hurt someone in your anger, like you have on the football field many times!"
"I didn't do that deliberately; it was an accident!" Andrew protested, as the nurses took out the second, and last, vial of serum. "I just got so excited during the football games that I used my full strength even when I didn't have to! And who told you that I hurt people during football games? I never told you that!"
"Margaret told me that telepathically while we took your X-rays and MRI scans," Dr. Thompson replied.
He hoped that Andrew wouldn't ask him what else Margaret had telepathically told him.
"Did Margaret also give you the idea to enhance me in the first place?" Andrew asked him.
"Yes she did Andrew," Dr. Thompson replied. "She also told me that you have been working out in the gym several times a day. Steve and Carrie told her that you've added two pounds of muscle and vastly improved your bench-press in only ten days!"
You're right about that Doctor," Andrew agreed, smiling at how strong he had become even before he was enhanced. Then his smile faded and was replaced by a stern look. "I’m going to have a little chat with those three people. Once I'm done, they will never talk about me or make plans for my life behind my back again!"
"I understand Andrew," Dr. Thompson said, as the nurse loaded the hypo and handed it to him. "It’s time for the true test of your pain tolerance Andrew," he added, as he positioned the hypo over Andrew's testosterone glands. "Are you ready?"
"Yes I am sir," Andrew replied, gritting his teeth in preparation for the prick of the needle in his most sensitive spot. "Make it quick sir!"
"I will Andrew," Dr. Thompson promised him, inserting the needle carefully and injecting the serum.
Andrew was surprised when he didn't feel any pain at all and he realized that his idea to have his adrenaline enhanced first had been successful. The rest of the procedure went smoothly, with the medical team purifying Andrew's testosterone and re-injecting the pure testosterone back into his testosterone glands. The doctors explained that Andrew's muscular growth would be greatly accelerated, allowing him to put on as much muscle in one month as he had previously in one year! They also explained that Andrew's lung capacity would also increase proportionally with his muscle growth, though no one had any idea how beneficial that unintended side effect would soon be.
Up in the Command Center, the Helm Officer said, "We've reached orbit sir; shall I take us to the Moon?"
"Good idea," Thomas agreed. "It will be quite a surprise for our guests when we collect them from the Medical Room. That's an excellent idea Lieutenant!"
"Thank you sir," the Helm Officer said, smiling slightly.
Thomas walked over to Steve, who had finished his briefing with the Engineering Officer.
"Have you learned all about our Engineering systems and how to operate them Steve?" Thomas asked him.
"Yes I have," Steve replied, standing up and looming over Thomas. "Should we go to the Medical Room now and see how much Andrew learned about your Medical systems?"
"Good idea Steve," Thomas agreed, amazed at how big and tall Steve was. He intended to ask Steve later if he wanted to be enhanced like Andrew had been, but he didn't want to tell anyone about Andrew's enhancement. "We can also see how Andrew is feeling after his first-hand experience with our medical technology."
That was Thomas's cryptic way of referring to the fact that Andrew had been enhanced, as well as healed, but only Marge picked up on that. Thomas led the way down the corridors to the Medical Room, with Marge and Steve following him, and two guards bringing up the rear. Steve noticed that he dwarfed the guards, but they still looked very fit and strong.
When everyone got to the Medical Room, they found Margaret and Carrie sitting down in the waiting room, deep in conversation.
"How is Andrew doing?" Steve asked them.
"I'm sure he's fine; the nurses tell me that the doctors here are very skilled at their work," Margaret replied. She kept quiet about the fact that she had just filled Carrie in on Andrew’s Enhancement. "He should be out soon."
At that moment, the doors on the rear wall opened and Andrew came out with two doctors.
"How is he Doctor?" Margaret asked, as Carrie ran up to Andrew to hug him.
"He's fine now," Dr. Thompson replied, as Andrew kissed Carrie softly and stroked her face. "We had no trouble healing his ribs or his lung."
"What was wrong with his lung?" Carrie asked, stepping back from Andrew. She looked into his eyes to make sure he was okay and asked him, "How did you injure your lung?"
"Apparently my ribs weren't just broken; they were shattered," Andrew replied, shrugging as if he were unconcerned. "The fragments punctured my right lung in three places. I didn't know the extent of the damage and neither did the doctors, until they gave me X-rays and an MRI."
"But he's fine now," Dr. Thompson assured everyone. "Andrew has a great pain tolerance and he is stronger than any human I have ever seen."
The two doctors took their guests on a tour of the Medical Room, explaining their technology and their advanced healing techniques. Andrew had requested earlier that Dr. Thompson keep quiet about the Enhancement Procedure, but he had no idea that Margaret had told Carrie all about it. Dr. Thompson and his colleagues showed their guests the new Gravity Chamber, which had settings from zero to ten times the gravity of Earth.
"This chamber would be ideal for strength training, because it will make normal weights feel much heavier," Dr. Thompson informed everyone.
This was his way of letting Andrew know that he could find out how strong he really was without having to get special weight plates made.
Andrew realized that the Gravity Chamber, combined with his enhancement, could help him become much stronger than he had ever been.
Perhaps I'll even become strong enough to lift a car! Andrew thought with excitement.
"Do you have one of these Gravity Chambers in your house?" Andrew asked Commander Marge.
"No, but I guess from your question that you'd like me to have one built," Marge guessed. When Andrew nodded, Marge smiled and added, "You're really looking forward to coming over for extreme workout sessions, aren't you Andrew?"
"Yes I am," Andrew agreed. "If I could add higher gravity to my workout sessions, I could soon come close to lifting 1000 pounds, or more!"
Steve's eyes widened at that prediction and he realized that he had to do something to keep Andrew from leaving him behind.
"Hey, do you think I could use one of those Gravity Chambers for my workout sessions?" Steve asked Marge. "I'd love to add a few hundred pounds to my bench-press as well!"
"That's a good idea Mr. Peterson," Dr. Thompson said. "I have a few ideas about how you can become stronger as well. If you'd like to stay behind for a few moments, I can tell you about them."
"It looks like I will be able to see us orbit the moon from here," Steve realized, looking out the window. Everyone else followed his gaze and saw the moon getting closer. "I'm eager to hear what you have to tell me Doctor."
As Dr. Thompson led Steve into the Examination Room, he nodded at Andrew, letting him know that he wouldn't betray his secret. Andrew grinned and flexed his bicep, imagining how large it would soon become.
"See you later Mr. Pearson," Dr. Thompson said.
"Thanks for healing all my injuries so well," Andrew commended him. "I feel much stronger than I ever have!"
"You're welcome," Dr. Thompson said, closing the doors of the Examination Room.
"We'd better get back to the Command Center," Thomas realized. "We'll have a much better view of the moon from there."
"Good idea," Margaret agreed.
As they all walked down the hall, Andrew wondered what effects the Enhancement Process would have on his life.



NOTE: the reason I posted Chapter 3 twice is because the last post had the wrong title. Chapter 4 will be the final Chapter of the Andrew's Enhancement Short Story, and will explain the immediate benefits of Andrew getting enhanced. This short story will bridge the gap between Andrew Chapter 3 and Andrew Chapter 4.