Chapter 1
Stein hated the airport. The bustle of people, the noise of the planes, and the hassle of going through the TSA was enough to make one go mad. But Stein knew he had to fly. You see, it was the only way to get to Hawaii to visit his best friend Holt Hyde. They had been friends since kindergarten and it had been 7 years since Holt had moved away. But,the reason Holt had invited Stein was the real reason why he was putting up with all of this. Holt was obsessed with biology and medicine, and apparently he had made a life changing breakthrough and want Stein to be there when he tested it. "Excuse me sir" said the woman standing at the gate, snapping Stein back to reality " were boarding so if you could please move the line along that would be great." Stein walked through the gate and boarded his flight. Luckily for him it was a small flight and he had a whole row of seats to himself. The flight itself was rather boring. They passed out peanuts and soda and the in flight entertainment was an annoying Adam Sandler movie. It wasn't until they were above the airport in Hawaii that things went to hell. Suddenly a crazy looking man jumped from his seat and began yelling for them to not land the plane. As the Air Marshal was reaching to calm the man down, only Stein noticed the detonator in the mans hand, but before he could say anything, an explosion ripped apart the plane sending Stein and about 80 others flying out of the plane. As Stein scrambled for his parachute, which he had packed in his carry on luggage and grabbed just before the explosion,shards of metal rained down. But just before he could pull the cord, a huge chunk of metal came spinning out of nowhere and pierced his heart. As his limp corpse fell, more pieces hit and cut it until it landed in the water with a huge splash.
Chapter 2
Stein awoke with a start. He was sitting on a cold metal table in what seemed to be an underground lab. He quickly looked around for anybody who could help him, but as he did his eyes landed on a mirror near the table. He could see himself, but something wasn't right. Across his body lay a crisscrossing pattern of scars and his normal blonde hair was now a dirty green. The most disturbing of the change was that his once piercing green eyes were now a dark red. He started to get up, but was stopped by two figures. "You know a normal person would be a little more hesitant after what just happened to you." Said the first figure with a devilish grin. " But then again, when have you ever been normal."  There was a pause before Stein burst out laughing. Holt Hyde hadn't changed a bit since they had last seen each other. With his skinny runners build and strange salt and pepper hair, Holt was always the comedian of their duo. Suddenly the other person walked forward. " Hello Stein, I'm Kari, Holts lab assistant." Stein looked her up and down. She was thin with dirty blonde hair and horn rim glasses. Her eyes were a piercing black and she was wearing a hello kitty t-shirt under her lab coat. "Now" she continued "What is the last thing you remember."  Stein thought for a minute before answering. " I remember the bomber, the plane exploding and the I must have blacked out." Stein looked at his friend. Holt choked back some tears before speaking again. " Dude." He said with a solemn tone " you didn't blackout, you died. The experiment I was working on here was going to be used to help victims of bombings, but we had to push it to the limit to help you." Stein got up and started to walk over to his friend when suddenly he collapsed, crashing into a nearby surgical table. When he got up he noticed the scalpel in his leg and the cuts on his arm, but all he felt was an emptiness. There was no pain or sorrow, just emptiness. At last the full realization of what he had become hit him and he sank to the floor and wept.
Chapter 3
Thomas Henley hated his job. The 45 year old freelance mechanic had no family and the stress of his job left him with little hair on his head. He had been called to the abandoned warehouse by a mysterious employer who told him that if he did his job right. He would never have to worry about money again. But as he walked through the rusted building, rusted chains hanging like giant spider webs, he began to have his doubts. Should he really put his faith in an anonymous source? What if it was a prank call and there was no money? These doubts were instantly cast aside when he saw the object he had been told about. It was a large golden sarcophagus, with tubes protruding from its sides. It was huge about as big as a queen sized bed and the top lay open. Henley looked inside and saw the problem. There was a loose panel inside, but it was too far to reach. Henley climbed into the container and began sliding the panel back into place, but as soon as he had finished, the top of the sarcophagus slide shut and the inside began to glow. Needles shot out and pieced him, and as he the sarcophagus rattled and Henley screamed for help, a thin, well dressed man watched from the shadows. Soon the rattling stopped and when the sarcophagus opened, the thing that stepped out was not Henley. It approached the thin man before kneeling before him. "Rise my son" the man said, his eyes glowing red "Find the one known as Stein. Use the curse of the dead to raise an army to destroy him and bring about the age of Tartaros