[color=black][font=georgia]After a spark of experimentation with artificial intelligence and an unnatural growth serum, Dr. Leonard Church had left the planet a wretched place, unsafe for the ordinary person to live. He had gathered together a group of the world's best soldiers only to turn them into the world's most fearsome abominations. However, when a group of these super soldiers decided to rebel, classified experiments got loose, wreaking havoc among the nearby civilians. While the serum worked in controlled settings, it caused unseeable distortions within the unchecked harmed civilians. The remaining super soldiers were brought in, had their memories distorted and were shoved into the world to hide Dr. Church's guilt. Those that escaped were in hiding, knowing that they would be hunted down if they were found out.
For the civilians tainted by this serum, they grew at rapid paces, often unevenly, giving them a grotesque appearance. Sometimes, their entire bodies would grow to be meters high, overshadowing helpless civilians that would soon become the monster's next meal, as the rapid growth caused an insatiable hunger. The longer they were exposed to the serum's influence, the more unstable their minds would get, causing them to lose any sense of logic, having only one goal, to eat.
Humans found that the only way to defend themselves was to lock themselves within a well fortified city built by the CEO of Charon Industries, Malcolm Hargrove. However, unease quickly took over the citizens and Hargrove quickly made a military to calm the rising panics. Three regiments were made, the Military Police, those that would live within the highest and most guarded wall guarding the CEO and his allies, the Garrison Regiment, who watched over the walls and acted as everyday police within the city, and lastly, the Scouts Regiment, those brave--or idiotic--enough to head outside the walls to try and destroy these Titans and reclaim the world for humanity.
Unbeknownst to the populace of the city, there are among them those that can freely change between these grotesque creatures and human forms as they please. These people however, still retain their intelligence and abilities thanks to the careful oversight of Dr. Church during his experiments. However, some, like one David Washington, have no recollection of ever having been morphed into one of these beasts, leaving their abilities severely handicapped. Others still retain all their knowledge and training and make worthy foes that no one knows to look out for, though they were trapped outside of the wall when they were first built. Determined to gain access to the walled in city, four of these super soldiers staged an elaborate ruse to get inside.
Wash could remember it like it was yesterday. He had been helping Tucker collect firewood for the house. Having been orphaned and made homeless by a spontaneous fire, Tucker's family had offered him a place to stay. They treated him as their own and he felt that he owed them for everything they had given him. However, when a Titan appeared over the rim of the great wall, he knew he'd likely never be able to repay them. He hurried along with Tucker to find their house destroyed in the rubble of the destroyed wall. Tucker's mother had been completely paralyzed by the debris that crushed her legs and back. Wash knew that even if they freed her, they'd never be able to move her fast enough to get away from the quickly approaching Titans. He made a snap decision that still keeps him up at night wondering, "what if;" he grabbed Tucker, heaving him over his shoulder and running away so as to save themselves. He remembered daring a look over his shoulder to see how close the Titan was, just as Tucker let out a grief-stricken yell, only to see their mother getting eaten. It was a moment that replayed in his memory every night, though sometimes it was distorted greatly, a different Titan, a different place, a different person as a snack. Sometimes, he even had nightmares where he himself was the Titan eating his adoptive mother. It's something he never shared with Tucker, not wanting to concern the younger man.
However, when Tucker demanded that Wash let him join the Cadet Corps, he couldn't blame his fiery passion and even felt it boiling up inside of himself. If he couldn't protect his adoptive parents, he was sure as hell not going to leave Tucker to fend for himself. They enlisted at the same time, being shipped off to training where they began their life as warriors and soldiers. Everything came surprisingly naturally to Wash, but he never thought anything of it. He just figured it was his dedication to a life of serving the city and protecting them from certain death from the Titans.
He surely stood out among his peers; Tucker may have had heart, but it was placed in the wrong thing. Some of the others as well struck him as more of civilians than soldiers. There was Caboose, the naive boy with mismatched eyes that seemed able at killing, but not at focusing on who he was supposed to kill. He was often found trailing around an angry man that snapped at everything. Half of his vocabulary seemed to be swears, and just the sight of him irked Wash in a way that he couldn't quite place. Wash was certainly not happy when Tucker took an immediate liking to the man. However, he learned to bear with the tensing of his muscles every time he laid eyes on the man. Another cadet that Tucker seemed to like was a girl named Kaikaina who seemed more like she was there to have fun than learn how to kill Titans. She'd likely try for Military Police, he thought. Her brother was a heavier set man that everyone called Grif. He was often getting in trouble for taking extra rations and eating during exercises. A close friend of Grif's was a man named Simmons. Wash had been pleasantly surprised by his apparent competence, but that pleasantness soon faded as he noticed that it was wasted kissing ass. Sarge was usually the recipient of this ass kissing. He looked a lot older than he was, and sounded it too. Wash learned to keep a wide berth of him within the first hour of meeting him. Donut, a man that often hung around Grif, Simmons, and Sarge, but sometimes spent time with Caboose, was definitely an uncomfortable relief to Wash. While most of the words that left Donut's mouth made Wash cringe, he found that he didn't exactly mind the man's company.
Besides these two intermingling groups, Wash noticed another distinct set of cadets. They were definitely the top of the class, tied with Wash. He would have considered befriending them if one of them, Locus, wasn't as uncomfortable obsessed with him as he was. He had gone to approach the smaller of the four, Felix, as he was definitely the most approachable, when he was stopped by Locus, getting asked about his scars and if he had any nightmares. This incident caused Wash to actively avoid the four men, but he was sure to keep an eye on them, determined to learn more about them. Felix definitely was the most charismatic out of the group, and Wash saw no reason to dislike the man. Cyrus, a taller and skinny man, was the most down to earth. Sure, he had skills that even Wash was impressed with, but his judgement was often clouded by emotions as he was always worrying over his family. The last of the group, a mountain of a man with a scarred face, Sharkface, as Caboose had taken to calling him as they had yet to catch his name, was definitely fueled by anger. Wash made sure that everyone stayed away from him, especially Caboose with his lack of a filter, afraid that the boy would be harmed.
[color=black][font=georgia]That's how Wash had found himself in a group of almost complete strangers, just watching out for the two he had grown closest too, Tucker and Caboose. He knew that soldiers had a high causality rate and that most of them would die, but he would put his life on the line to make sure that these two survived longer than he did. He couldn't care less if the others were eaten, only that he'd have less soldiers by his side to help him fight.
