Gareth was once again looking out of the newly built windows, he was watching the army camp being built. It had taken an extra week for the drones to finish the exterior repairs, but they were now finished and now inside rebuilding walls and furniture. If it wasn't for Gloria bringing in his equipment, he wouldn't have believed anything they would have said it was all insane.
You can't create something from nothing, he'd been told that one of the infected were exhibiting unusual abilities. He thought nothing of it as they all had weird skills from being able to manipulate earth.
Talking to animals, which they found out when he was talking to his empty room and when they asked who he was talking to, he showed them a cockroach and told them it's name Pretty.
So yeah I thought nothing of someone telling me something was weird but what she reported was haunting his and every other scientist in the known galaxy. The fact that one of these people had summoned materials out of nowhere. The report had looked at the underground drilling into and took a core sample then compared it to recorded examples, and they found very little difference between in too.
The meant the massive spiked monolith that Gareth could see from the 40th floor hadn't come from the ground resources. Unlike the earth manipulator, how could move the ground to form the statues this at least was believable, but making something that appeared from nothing and stayed around afterwards. It had to be an illusion, but after checking the little debris that survived the scorching sun that had appeared seriously burning several people.
They found that it was just merely a dense rock, He'd remembered watching over every test, and that blinding sun was genuinely shocking. The kid's skin hadn't burnt off in the seconds under that sun.
He'd only got the report a day ago, he'd wished he'd gotten it far earlier. Because he immediately ordered the subjects to go under physical testing and examination. Since the test of their abilities had put some of them in positions that would have injured normal humans.
He was wondering what sort of evolution had psychic abilities forced them down. His virus simply put. Forced evolution or mutations onto the target for those who didn't have inbuilt capabilities would go mad and evolve into the other possible human future.
Over several days he'd been thinking of working theories that had flooded his mind. Like can these infected humans breed with normal humans or will they infect them either turning them into monsters or into supers? Would copulating end in a child or would they only ever be able to mate with another super? If that was so, then there was a massive lack of males, which was a curious development. It also seemed that it was confirmed that women seemed to be psychic because it was like a one in five males to females.
He'd figured out that the reason that the virus favoured women was possible that was signed for women and that males were a little too different for it to change so failed most of the time.
Then there were the questions whether they should be counted as humans. Since most humans can't destroy city blocks, would they have special protections or would they be seen as villains? He'd thankfully managed to get a newsfeed. Unsurprisingly the news had found out about these infected people who instead of turned into monsters became gods not what he'd call them.
She then went and showed a video of several of the power test from the days before not that Gareth didn't know how they got the video. Still, one was inside the rubble wall, and the other was and a broad view from behind a concrete wall that would show anything they came above and to give a size comparison.
He watched several of the tests go on from someone he made concrete rubble fly around the grounds. Someone summoned fire from their body and burnt the ground like a human flamethrower. Then they had the imagines that he feared.
That kid Alan walked out all meek and scared had a bunch of guards around him before he entered the arena. He showed up on the inner camera, the kid just stood there before the ground rippled. Spikes started shooting out the ground once they stopped more ripples started again and more spike grows out of them. It soon covered arena consuming the smaller camera in darkness.
The shoot moved to the outer camera and watched as it left the frame reaching far into the air. It stopped and flicked back to the news women and "Experts", and they talked about what they'd just seen. The newswomen then said, "But that's not all, we've seen interesting buildings being built and harmless abilities, but let's watch what happens when you anger that young man."
Flipping back to the image when they left, they show the outside viewpoint with the spiked monument. Before anyone knew it, a flash blinded the camera for a split second as the camera adjusted. You could see the fireball incinerating the monolith before the image blurred as the lens and plastic melted. You could see people jump to the floor rolling as their clothes were lit. As soon as the sun appeared, it disappeared they kept it running as they saw the young man leave from the arena.
"So as you can see they can be and are dangerous while they can live through whatever they do several people were left with serious burns, the world has been rocked, and the British government is discussing what to do, while other countries are demanding information and access, even British allies are offering support for access."
The discussion continued down the implication, not even broaching the subject since even the experts didn't know-how. So they obviously could only talk about what could happen since individuals who were weapons of war aren't something that computes very well with governments.
It was already showing the effects as more military hardware had been dropped into the city. Gareth was now worrying about when the people found out that at least one of these people had attacked the military multiple times. There was more than one out there.
But that wasn't his responsibility; he needed to find out how to reverse the effects of his research. On that, he'd not found much that could help a lot of people were now looking at him at least he wouldn't be stuck in this floor anymore. The few people who'd gone into a coma were recovered, their bodies were returning to a regular stable level.
At least he would be able to see Ashley again, and actually meet this Alan and enter his own science equipment. That's what he was doing now packing his temporary desk into the wooden box, walking back down the corridor to the lift that had been off-limits. Now open for him to return, after dropping his stuff off he walked back into the lift and took it to the ground floor where he walked out of the building. Feeling the fresh air on his skin, his lungs filling with that cold air, the heat on his skins made him feel more alive then he had been for weeks.
Sitting on a bench, he watched the continued expansion of training ground with its increased height and thickness it was hoped to contain whatever Alan throws at it. It was quite the project a considerable amount of resources were being poured into the place. Gareth wondered whether it would become a home for him the supers which people had started calling them, he wasn't interested in the other name they got. Still, he was worried, but so long as it doesn't evolve or make it to the mainstream, it'll be fine.
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He decided to head to the medical tent, which was very easy to see with its red cross insignia upon opening the flap the smell of disinfectant hit him. He saw the dozen or so of Alan's burn victims, seeing some had family before them while others did not.
He moved the first nurse he could see and asked how was in charge, she took him through to see the sturgeon which was sitting there with a worried look on her face. "Dr Heila, Dr Gareth wishes to talk to you."
Dr Helia looked up her going cross-eyed, rubbing her eyes and thanked the nurse who left to help her patients, "Everything ok Dr Helia?"
"Oh just Helia, but I'm just trying to get these burnt victims better care and more resources. since I have a feeling that shit going to go sideways, Pardon my french."
"Gareth, Well I'm here to maybe solve at least one of those problems. I'm aware that this may be very uncomfortable for some people and could be deadly, but I'd like to bring Alan down here to see a patient and see if he could heal one of them."
That got quite the reaction from Helia, "What don't know if that a good idea since he's given everyone here nightmares, then I don't know how'd give their consent."
“I know that’s why I came to you, I thought you could go around and ask to see who comes around and I can have him down and help people.”
"I'll see what I can doubt, there are no promises."
"Thank you, that's all I'm asking for a chance. I'll leave it to you then."
Helia nodded before her head turned back to the papers on her desk, she then paused for a second before she left it and walking into the patient ward.
Gareth had returned to the EGD building and headed to Alan isolation chamber. To find that he wasn't there, moving on he ended up in the fitness centre, where he finally saw Alan standing tall, lean and piercing. It was as if he saw old Greek statues and took the best attributes.
Walking over to the two scientists assigned to him and asked, "What's the results?"
"Oh, Dr Gareth how are you doing, glad to see you out of iso, as for the test it's phenomenal we just finish his body examination. Alan mentioned several things that had changed from before he's had increases everywhere. He's been running for an hour already with no cramping and from what we can tell his not having any lactic acid build-up. It's bloody amazing."
“You don’t sound very enthused?”
Darl smiled “A bit hard to feel enthused when everything about him is different and amazing.”
Gareth nodded understandingly he was slowly coming to the same conclusion “Have we found out anything useful.”
"Not with Alan here, before being able to carve his body how he'd like since we gave him the tablet he changed overnight into that fine specimen of a man. As for our old gentlemen who have weaker abilities, we've gotten semen samples, and they seem to be safe. None of the viruses was identified within it. Same with the females; however, we believe that the intensity of and orgasm may cause damage to any normal human. Unless we externally introduce the semen or the Supers can just control themselves."
"Yeah, I was thinking along with one of those one earlier, who suggested it?"
"It was one of the women supers who wanted to meet her fiance, so the suggestion went around the teams. We all decided that we wouldn't get Alan to participate, that was unanimous. The next was basically who not to choose, and we got to reduce the list. Anyway, our findings came to be that they could safely, but they'd mostly not survive the encounter."
Gareth nodded at the information it was certainly interesting if they couldn't make a super soldier they could birth them. Anyway, that was for others to think of, "So I was watching the news that more has anything happened?"
This made Darl pause and as his brow furrowed. "No, and that concerns me more if there was an easy way out they'd take it but as it's taking so long their something up beyond what we can see and I don't think we're going to enjoy it?"
Gareth nodded it wasn't pretty position to be in, have an incredible new weapon that you probably can't use, without some huge problems. "I'd have to agree they're going to do something stupid. Hopefully, it isn't that aggressive and that they'll listen to the scientist in this situation and all of the supers can be safely kept here, and we can work with them.
Haha, who am I kidding they're going to come in like a sledgehammer and cause someone to freak out and panic, last thing I'd want to see. And they probably think they can control them which is stupid we don't even know how some of these powers work. So I propose we train them in how to use their powers, for Alan here we can prepare subtly, and push the limits of his powers."
Darl smiled, so did John, who spoke up, “We agree and are already ahead of you. We’re trying to get Alan's control, better and learnt that there isn’t a limit only a distance and number of times and size.”
Darl continued as Gareth gave him the explain yourself. "We have measured the distance each time his practice, and they've always been within a ten-metre radius around him. It doesn't matter whether his looking in that direction or not it still ten metres, we then asked him to push it further each time every time it takes a massive toll on his body.
He then has to rest for a few hours before using his powers, it was quite horrible watching him push to pass his limits. But now he can use his powers at another few centimetres, as for the number of times we found that if he focuses on over three things, one of them stops. As for the size, we only ever seem to get maximum like that ball of fire, substantial dangerous to him and us. We're keeping it to less harmful effects like flowers, feather and other harmless stuff, mind when there are several tonnes of the things it still deadly.
From what we've seen, there's nothing to stop him from growing in power. It seems that all of the supers can progress with their abilities by pushing them further than ever before, learning new things about them. We're very thankful that they aren't trying to leave. Most have been very accepting of everything; however, there are the vet boys that I'm worried about. The Captain took them out and has asked them to hunt and defeat the supers that are still in the city."
Gareth eyebrows rose “What! Why’d they do that?”
Darl stepped with a sad smile, “Because they were asked and they volunteered to go. I had recommended that the commander go and try and talk to the ones left out there.”
Gareth wondered. "Who would go a soldier, we couldn't let a super go then there's the maddened how are under the other's control either because he is a super or because his powerful."
Darl smiled "That's another thing we know, that supers seem all to be able to subdue the maddened and coexist with them; however, they're still pretty mindless."
Gareth’s eyebrows rose, “You didn’t put these into the report I received?”
John and Darl shrugged, “We didn't report other things to the army guys as they were the one sending it to you and we don’t take orders from the army, and we didn’t want them taking Alan's family!”
All of a sudden Alan who was behind the soundproof glass trip and stopped running his chest heaving, Darl asked over the mic looking concerned, “Everything ok, Alan?”
Alan gave them the thumb up and spoke and a dominating voice, "Yeah, I'm ok, just tired, got used to the running and fumbled over myself."
"Ok, Alan, why don't you take a break and practise meditation like we were taught you."
Gareth spoke up, watching Alan, "Do you think he can hear us?"
“What through the soundproof room, possibly.” Darl shrugged, “Wouldn’t surprise me!”
"So about his family, are they all ok?"
“Yeah of course been feed, watered, not really much we can do with if anyone but a super walks in they get attacked.”
Gareth watched Alan closely before speaking, “Do you think we could let Alan see his family?”
Gareth smiled see Alan’s eyes open flash toward him before closing them again, breathing deeply.
John sighed "I wish we could, but Command doesn't want them riled up with a visit, or let Alan get any ideas."
Gareth kind of understood the idea, he couldn't confront the army, he wanted to be off their radar for as long as possible. If he could get Alan to prove himself, it could maybe get some power back and work things through into his control.
"That's too bad I'm sure the Armies got themselves in their best interests, I'm sure they'd quite happily use them as hostages if they ever find out, so you did good guys."
Alan smiled, scratching his nose, before placing it back into his lap. Darl and John smiled, "Thanks, boss."
“So onto the many other things that you might have failed to mention to our infallible army pal, that I might want to know.?”
Darl and John smiled, "A few things, but the most important, Ashley, is Ill, it's nothing serious, but she has gotten progressively worse. We couldn't decide what to do since her powers weren't working properly we're hoping that it's not the Viruses doing it. We ended up deciding to wait for you since we knew you were getting out soon, all we could do was help manage and slow it."
Gareth was surprised, “Then how’s Gloria not come to me shouting and raving about her daughter?”
John looked down “Well we sort of told her that it looked like a cold and with the extra stresses around and all of the people that she most like just caught something, which it could be, but we thought you should know just encase it’s something.”
Gareth, nodded "Thanks, I'll go check on her as soon as I leave here, anything else?"
John and Darl shook their heads, Darl spoke, “No, the rest is the same as the type of abilities, we have some of their families, nothing much more than that.”
Gareth smiled, "Great, congratulations you're being promoted, you have shown great kindness and intelligence in your handling of the situation."
Gareth left, leaving Darl and John in two different states, one of happiness and one glum, "Dr Gareth's so nice giving us a promotion for all our hard work."John said with a smile on his face.
"You idiot you know he's now tied our fates with his own, if he gets shipped off somewhere, we're most likely getting dragged along. If he gets arrested, then we get arrested, this isn't a promotion it's hostages taking. Mind you of course, with all risks there could be a benefit as if everything works out for Dr Gareth then we profit and so does the Supers."