Dan and Li carried the container down the empty and desolate hallway. Dan abruptly stopped and looked back at Li.

“Uhh, do we know where we’re going?”

“What kind of question is that?” Li said. “We’re carrying this thing to the roof and getting out of here.”

“I’ve been lazy and just been following yellow arrows on the ground. It was just easier that way. Since we got the container, now we’re just on our own,” Dan said.

Li looked at him and sighed. “Sometimes I fear that this would happen. Not just with you, but with all of us. We become so dependent on our HUDs that we lose the ability to ‘feel’ our way through our environments. Don’t you have instincts built into you from learned experiences? Instincts that tell you where and where not to go?”

The answer was yes. Before Dan even reached double digits in age, he already had bad feelings about wandering off into certain areas of his city without his mom’s supervision.

“Yeah. A shitty neightborhood will do that to you,” Dan replied.

“Now that I think of it, I should have reported directly to Michael about our updated situation,” Li said. “Never worked with that Tim before so I’m not sure if the info has been passed along to our leader yet.”

“What do you plan on telling him?”

“I’ll ask if he still wants us to carrying the container to the roof. Or maybe it’s too soon and we should sit tight and wait. Michael said his role in this mission was to deal with Kodak’s forces outside and reduce their overall numbers. I’m not sure how far along he is on his end. I think it would be unwise for us to act on our own without our leader being filled in.”

Dan hadn’t thought about Michael much since he woke up from his bizarre dreams. He was thankful he had Li by his side to help ground him and not rush things.

“And who knows? Join the channel and ask him about your new powers. He might have some insight he could give on the nature of your sudden abilities. If I had gained new powers out of nowhere, I’d start asking questions,” Li said. “I’m opening the channel.”

Dan only had to wait a few seconds before he heard Michael’s deep and oddly reassuring voice.

“Li, what do you got for me?” Michael asked.

“Sir, we got it. The container is ours. Just to confirm, it’s the large rectangular casket with aqua blue serums inside?”

“Bingo. Excellent work Li. I would jump for joy but Tim already told me your update. I knew I could count on you.”

“Thanks sir, but I had help. Dan woke up from his power nap and gave me a helping hand in defeating the guards and lifting up this thing. He’s here with us now,” Li said. He glanced over at Dan, letting him speak first.

“Michael, it’s me,” Dan said.

“Good to hear from you Dan. How are you feeling?”

“Never better. My headaches are gone and I just helped Li take down a tier two guarding the container,” Dan said, brimming with pride.

“That is most impressive. You boys are punching above your level this mission. Angie would love to hear about all the action she’s missing out on. She has her weapons and gear ready but currently on standby on my orders.”

“Thanks sir, but there’s something I want to ask you. I’m not sure who else I could ask without sounding like a freak,” Dan said.

“Go ahead son, you can trust me,” Michael said.

“When I woke up, I found out I gained new powers. I have a berserk powerup that gives me inhuman strength. I literally punched a whole into somebody today. I couldn’t do that with my natural level of strength. I’d probably have to be a tier two to do that to an enemy.”

“Interesting. Go on.”

“Then there’s the glare ability. I pour my hatred into a stare and I can disintegrate an enemy in front of me. A lesser version of that is making them combust,” Dan said. “I’m grateful I have them since that’s how I helped Li kill that tier two Kodak agent, but I have no clue where these new abilities came from.”

The pause on Michael’s end had to be the longest five seconds of Dan’s life.

“I see. I’ll get back to you Dan. I’ll switch over to Li and see if he has anything for me about the mission. Li, still there?”

“Yes sir,” Li said.

“Since you boys have the container, I assume that’s not all you called me to discuss?”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“No sir. I wanted to ask what our next move is. Do we head to the roof right away with the container?”

“Even if you do reach the roof, you’ll be standing around in the rain waiting for our ride. As soon as Tim notified me, I had already called for the dropship to come pick us up. The only wildcard we have to deal with is that damn storm. Plus, you’ll still have to wait for Angie to link up with you guys. You’ll need her help to escort the container and keep the heat off you,” Michael said. “I’ll give Angie the word to get her ass up to you guys. I would advise waiting a bit until she makes her way up. Then, you’ll head up to the roof together.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Li said. “How long do you think we have until Kodak notices the container has been stolen?”

“Probably not too long,” Michael said candidly. “Nobody is on high alert yet. But knowing that Colleen Odyssey is on the premises, she’ll eventually sniff out my handiwork and start investigating. How many Kodak agents have you and Dan killed thus far?”

Dan and Li both exchanged glances at that question.

“More than a handful,” Li answered.

“I see. Plus, you have that tier two you killed. A second tier agent being killed will certainly raise alarm bells. Congrats on the kill, but you boys really will start taking heat soon. Tier twos dying of strokes isn’t a thing unfortunately.”

“No sir, Dan left severe burns on that agent and I delivered a clean headshot. They will know of our presence here.”

“Exactly. You and Dan stay out for now and await Angie’s arrival at your location. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir,” Dan and Li said in unison.

“Good. Li, I’m switching to a private channel between me and Dan only. Don’t feel left out,” Michael said.

“Yes sir,” Li said.

“Alright then.” Michael briefly cut out and then reestablished the link with Dan. “Alright Dan, let’s talk about your new powers. Did you truly just wake up and somehow magically gained these new abilities?”

Dan thought about his strange dream and the demonic voice speaking to him and even interfering with him outside of the dream world. He wondered if Michael could really tell him him anything about this other worldly entity.

“That’s not true. I had a strange dream and that’s where these two new abilities were given to me,” Dan said.

“Hmm, you talk as if some outside influence gave you these powers instead of you developing them on your own. Tell me, did a voice speak out to you?”

Michael has somehow predicted Dan’s dealings with the demonic voice.

“Yes, it did. It claims that I will be valuable in the future and that I’m its new disciple,” Dan said.

Michael didn’t say anything for a time and Dan honestly couldn’t tell how long the silence lasted. Then he gave his response. “I guess that’s what the serum has done.”

“What?”

“You want to know the truth Dan? The newest version of the Alpha Corp’s enhancement serum for its agents. The same one that flows within you. It’s from the same batch you and Li are carrying.”

Dan stood there staring off into space. He couldn’t muster any words, let alone a response to Michael.

“You have a lot of sudden changes happening to you all at once. Even though you don’t have the clearance to know, I’m overturning the rules and I’ll face the consquence with the hiogher-ups. The batch of serums you’re stealing back is knows as the Arctic serum. Sound familiar?”

Dan recalled that when he got his new codename and all the times he pulled up his stats, he had a peculiar middle name “Arctic.” He had no clue of the true meaning of that name other than being a cool sounding part of his agent codename. Until now.

“The serum seeks to combine the strengths of all three shards while minimizing the drawbacks. This is the ultimate weapon for our next generation of agents, the ace in the hole to defeat the Church of Nano-Evolution and gain control of the Dead Zone. So you can imagine how much is riding on our efforts to take back this container.”

Michael didn’t need to spell it out. Dan was made fully aware of how valuable this batch of serums was and why the Alpha Corp could not allow Kodak-Cresh to steal it.

“There’s only a handful of other agents who have the Arctic serum flowing through them. You’re one of the even fewer who have reported hearing a strange demonic voice call out to them. Of course, this is what the Alpha Corp gets when they play around with powers they don’t fully understand.”

“So, what does this mean for me?”

Michael sighed. “I unfortunately don’t have all the answers you seek. I only know this much because I’m one of the highest ranked agents within the shard. As much as I hate to say it, everyone who gets enhanced with the Arctic serum are mere guinea pigs to the Alpha Corp’s desperate efforts to compete with the other shards. I’ve always questioned whether I did the right thing for you by using the Arctic serum to heal you from your injuries.”

“I’m assuming a regular enhancement serum just wouldn’t cut it?” Dan asked.

“You were close to death’s door by the time I carried you off and got you to safety. I had to gamble and use the Arctic serum and hope that its supernatural properties could work a miracle. And it did. By the time I left, you were all healed up from massive blood loss and the internal damage inflicted by that machete to the back.”

From Michael’s somber tone, Dan’s interpretation was that Michael himself was taking the blame for putting Dan in these circumstances. But that wasn’t true. Not in the slightest. Dan’s life was already near a dead end after the murder of his mom. He had nothing but a life of fighting off gangs and thugs on the polluted streets of his hometown. It would have all been futile and he would have been lucky if he made it to his twenties.

Michael saved him and gave him a second chance in life.

“Listen sir, the voice in my head freaks me out and I have super destructive powers that I still need to learn to get a grip on, but I would never blame you for these struggles. I don’t think I could ever truly express how thankful I am to be here as an Alpha agent. These powers and whatever the fuck nonsense that voice tells me? I’ll figure it out somehow.”

“That’s… good to hear Dan,” Michael’s tone was of relief. “Sit tight and await for Angie’s arrival. Meanwhile, I still have some things to sabotage on my end. Michael out.”

The call ended and Dan turned to face Li, who had been sitting on the floor cross legged during the conversation.

“That seemed lengthy,” Li said. “I hope you got the answers from Michael.”

Dan looked down at his hand and curled it into a fist. He then looked back at the container containing the valuable Arctic serum. “Yeah, you could say that.”