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Similar to "The Assault on Vetrex 1" this is kind of an experiment. I just felt like writing this, so I am. I'll probably start another "big" story like the Daemon Blade later once I gain the propah inspiration.

The itch was unbearable, as it had been for days. Severus furiously rubbed at his armor and attempted to shift within it, but he knew his attempts were in vain. Four and a half weeks ago the itching had started and it had only grown worse. The Corrupt Astartes would've normally removed his armor to check it, but he couldn't. His form within it must have changed and now he was locked in. He told himself it would all be worth it and forced himself to ignore it as he plugged in the first IV line to a port in his armor. Severus felt the cold substances plunge into his veins and shivered. It was a powerful steroid he had "borrowed." Supposedly mortals were incapable of surviving the extreme drug and only Astartes could use it, but even then in small amounts. Disregarding this, Severus had injected a sizable medical bag of the substance into himself every day for the past three months. It was extremely difficult to obtain that large an amount, but following the mess with the Black Legion Hydra Fleet, the drugs they were going to pay to the Emperor's Children instead went to people like Severus with the resources or brute strength to obtain them.

He plugged in the second IV line. It was a strange, chaos infused drug that enhanced the senses. Unlike the steroid, which he felt immediately, this took a little bit to start working. It pained his eyes and ears and made him just want to shut out the world. "Perfection comes at a price," he told himself. The itching was easing away now. It sometimes did that, stopping for an hour or two before coming back even stronger. Severus plugged in the third and final IV line. Unlike the others, this one was extremely unstable and mostly untested with strange and sometimes dangerous side effects. It was originally intended as something similar to a geneseed that would help turn normal men into super soldiers. However the Imperium soon learned how costly it was and banned the substance. Severus screamed as it entered his veins. He scratched at his armor and bellowed at the top of his lungs, stomping on the ground and attempting to pry off his helmet. The inside of his armor felt damp and unpleasant. Once more the itching was back. The Astartes screamed before slipping into unconsciousness.



"You are weak!" hissed Chaplain Vibianus. He floored the Marine with a solid punch to the face. Severus felt the cold rain and thick mud. He squirmed, trying to stand back up. "You are no Astartes; you are a pathetic mortal. You have failed the Emperor." Determined, Severus began pushing himself back up. The rain was pounding down on him now. A solid kick sent him reeling back and once again he collapsed. Vibianus took a step forward and stood over him. His skull helmet was glistening in the rain. "Your black carapace, power armor and geneseed shall be granted to someone more worthy. Do not worry though, the Chapter will still have a place for you as a Servitor within the engine rooms. Maybe then you will properly serve the Emperor."

Severus grunted and forced himself upright again. He braced for the incoming blow, but that didn't help him. "What's the matter Brother Severus?" asked the Chaplain mockingly. The blood was washed away but the rain but the broken nose and shattered eye socket remained. Severus paused to breath and stood up for the third time. His strength was sapped and energy gone, but his will remained. Once again the Chaplain attacked, punching the Marine directly in his already broken eye socket. There was horrific crunching noise and more blood, but this time Severus refused to fall. He stared at the Chaplain's skull helmet, breathing loudly. There was a pause. Finally, the Chaplain laughed and put his hand on the Marine's shoulder pad. "You've passed the test, Brother Severus. Congratulations."



He awoke. The itching was gone for now. Severus sighed in relief and tried to forget the memories of his loyalist days. The Astartes unplugged the three lines and stood up, flexing his limbs. Oddly enough he felt recharged. "Master?" said a Slave Creature from outside the room; it was tapping on the door. Severus wondered how long it had been doing that. "Yes?" replied Severus, opening the door.

"The Primogenitor has arrived," it replied, saliva dripping from its deformed maw.

Severus immediately knocked the minion aside and charged down a series of hallways until he reached the hanger. "Greetings Bile," he said, rushing over him. "I apologize for my lateness."

Fabius Bile was an intimidating figure. Taller than most Astartes, he stood at about nine foot five. He wore a rough lab coat of human skin and a massive contraption of syringes, tubes and robotic arms on his back. Oddly enough his face was quite human with tan wrinkled flesh and thinning grey hair. He smiled, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth. "I don't mind; I take it you want to get straight to business."

"My reputation precedes me," Severus replied. He grabbed a crate and opened it, revealing hundreds of syringes, test tubes and medical bags. Each was filled with strange fluids. "This will be your payment. Normally I would prefer not to sell this, but unfortunately I've gained a tolerance to all of the substances here."

Fabius reached down and picked up a syringe fill of a thick red goo. "This is Thixix Red?" he asked.

"The purest Thixix Red in existence; courtesy of the Black Legion itself."

"It's impossible to gain a tolerance to this," the Primogenitor said in a matter-of-fact way as he set the syringe back down. "How much have you been taking?"

"Enough," answered Severus, quite bothered by the question.

Fabius paused and said, "You're going to die you know. Nobody can take enough of all of these drugs to gain a tolerance, much less just Thixix Red, and live. Even Astartes can only be pushed so far."

"How hypocritical of you, considering your history. Bile, you've taken things that could kill Daemons. You pioneered the drugs that dominate the Emperor's Children. How could you say that I'm going to die? Now, where is it?"

"Even I haven't taken that much. I'm not an idiot about this and I haven't survived for 10,312 years by sheer luck." The Primogenitor opened up a pouch in his lab coat and removed a medical of black gunk and handed it to Severus. "If I may ask, what drives you to take so much?"

"What drives you to continue your research at all costs? What drove you to clone Horus? The pursuit of perfection. For thousands of years I've been attempting to reach physical perfection. During the Great Crusade I used discipline and constant training, similar to Lucius. During the Heresy I considered Chaos after seeing how high it had elevated Horus and the other Traitor Primarchs; they surpassed even their own super human limits. But I realized that Chaos is costly and fickle; for every Champion there are a dozen mindless Chaos Spawn. So I took a step back further and tried to think what had gotten me this far already; geneseed. Drugs, Genetic Modifications, Artificial Enhancements and new Organs are the route to physical perfection and invincibility. So I started working. I'm just as powerful at any Daemon Prince and I don't have to worry about the favor of some mad God. And to make things even better, every day I'm getting stronger. Perfection is just a step away," Severus replied, smiling beneath his armor. Or at least he felt like he was smiling, but he didn't know if his new form was still capable of smiling.

"First of all, I don't work for perfection alone. I work to further the cause of the Traitor Legions and to sow the downfall of the corrupt Imperium," corrected Fabius. "Secondly, assuming you reach perfection, then what?" He smiled again. Severus was now extremely bothered. "Surely you have goals beyond that."

"Isn't perfection in itself a worthy goal?" asked Severus. "Now leave. You're getting on my nerves."

"Contact me when you want to do more business," said Fabius as he turned around and went back into his ship. Severus stormed away from the hanger. The itching was coming back. He wanted to stab through his armor with a powersword and rend himself apart, but forced himself not to; physical perfection didn't come from self mutilation (contrary to whatever Lucius thought). Back in his quarters, Severus plugged in IV Line into the bag of gunk and then plugged the other end of the IV line into his armor. There was a brief shock, as if he had suddenly been shot. It subsided and he realized it was just the drug kicking in. His eyes throbbed. His hands hurt. The itching turned into a strange burning pain that was spreading until it had consumed his entire body and all that was left was pain. He screamed and writhed. Severus tried to grab that IV line and pull it out of his armor, but his hands were too numb and swollen and useless to get anything done. His ears were bleeding and he could hear his own heart; it was deafening.

Severus tried to move his legs and stand up and run away to rip the IV line and free himself from the drug, but the bulky limbs refused to move. They felt like piles of bricks that had been attached to his torso. Underneath his armor his face was contorting; his helmet was damp and sticky. The Astartes tried to scream for help, but all he could do was moan quietly. He was being crushed against the inside of his armor. Finally Severus slipped into unconscious to escape the pain of reality.



"What?" yelled Severus. "Why?" he took a step forward, putting himself face to face with Chapter Master Varnak. He was seething with rage. All of his hard work had been for nothing. "Why him? Why?"

"Severus," boomed the Chapter Master deeply. His voice spoke with strange authority, but Severus' anger let him ignore it. "Stand down."

"NO!" Severus shouted. "Not until you tell me why! What makes him so better? What makes me so worthless? Tell me!"

"Severus," he repeated. "Stand down." Now it was less of a command and more of a threat. The Astartes didn't care.

"I refuse to until you tell me why! I've been working for years for this! I've gone through things that normal men couldn't survive to get this! Why him?"

"Do you want to know why?" Severus' Command suddenly hissed in response. "It doesn't matter what you've done; he's stronger and faster. He has better will power and is far wiser. He is better than you!"

A punch sent him reeling. Without thinking Severus drew his plasma pistol. There was a commotion. People were yelling. Someone tried to tackle him. He started shooting.



Severus awoke. He unplugged the IV line from his armor and noted that the bag was empty. It was supposed to last a month. The Traitor Legionnaire groaned and stood up; the motion was effortless and quick. As soon as he had thought of standing up he was up. "Maybe this stuff it worth it," he muttered to himself. He took another effortless step and heard a cracking noise. Severus looked down to see a sizable break in his shin armor. Tiny tentacles, fleshy pseudo pods and strange claws were reaching out through the crack and pulling it wider. He realized that the strange things pulling the crack wider were him; they were part of him. The crack ripped open wider and more cracks formed. Tentacles were clawing out. He saw a writhing face pushing its way out of his thigh. His flesh was expanding beyond his control.

Panicking, Severus tried to hold his thigh armor shut. His elbow exploded and flesh was coming out everywhere. It tore apart his wrist and hand, leaving a giant mass of organic limbs, writhing faces, pulsating veins and scar tissue in place of an arm. It was still expanding. Screaming, the Astartes tried to open the door, but his other arm exploded as well. The tentacles and flesh were digging into his quarters, crawling inside the cracks, latching onto the walls and eating the surroundings. Severus' chest armor was buckling. He was still screaming. When his chest finally burst his helmet burst along with it and in place of the Astartes was a massive writhing creature.

As it spread through the ship slaves, other Traitor Legionnaires and corrupt guardsmen tried to stop it to no avail. Krak missiles, lascannons and even mutlimeltas couldn't stop it. The only survivors abandoned the ship and left a warning beacon saying to never approach it. Truly Severus was invincible.

C&C appreciated.

Over all, a good story. Please make more, and include Bile in another part....

Thanks for the comment. Bile is an interesting character so I'll probably use him again soon.