Commander Wakefield read Lyn’s personal report with an indecipherable expression.
“Where did you come from?” He mumbled the question that didn’t seem to have an answer.
She hadn’t even been given a proper test to determine all of her traits but it seemed clear to him she had more than four.
“Eyesight, strength, reflexes, regeneration, intelligence, dexterity, endurance, agility, and an incredibly high resistance to sickness.” He named off all the traits she was suspected to have before taking in what it really meant. Truthfully, Visette didn’t have any special physical related abilities since they were a result of infusing psionic energy into her body.
“Wait!” His eyes suddenly widened as he thought of Visette’s ability to learn.
It was a trait that hadn’t existed prior to her arrival to New Mayhall. In fact, the cities that did cooperate with each other in researching Abnormals had never mentioned such a thing. It wasn’t likely that they were keeping it hidden so that mean Visette was the first person to possess such an incredible trait.
Mastering skills such as fighting or shooting required effort, natural talent, and time. Visette ignored those constraints and showed unbelievable progress according to Lyn.
It was frightening to think that a 13-year old girl could shock Lyn but Commander Wakefield knew he wasn’t misreading the report.
“By Anton’s soul, where did she come from?” Commander Wakefield felt a little hesitant to act when considering her cloudy origins.
Was there a city or powerful entity that would come to get her back? And why were the x-ray images of Visette’s head distorted? What was the reason for Visette’s sudden appearance in the first place? Was she a runaway? Was she released as a part of a plan? Or was she a victim of human traffickers like Rachel suspected?
There were numerous unknowns surrounding Visette but she was too valuable to get rid of.
The thing that Commander Wakefield found to be the most unfortunate was that the doctor who examined Visette said that she would never be able to have children in the future. It cut all chances of passing down her traits or sending an influential suitor to gain her favor and obtaining her loyalty that way.
Commander Wakefield put the report away and went into thought. There were many ways to make use of Visette, killing the Corrupted was one but his mind strayed toward human enemies. Rival cities, government figures inside of New Mayhall, problematic individuals, all of those were ideal targets and with Visette around he could easily dispatch them.
“No one knows about her abilities yet.” Commander Wakefield laughed.
The Corrupted had entered a low activity period allowing for the last few years to be peaceful which allowed a power struggle to take place. Members of the New Mayhall council sought to lower the absolute control the military Commander in favor of electing leaders for each branch and division. Ultimately, the Governor of New Mayhall would have to decide but if a majority decision was reached he’d have no choice but to follow the decision.
“But now…” Commander Wakefield wore a satisfied smile.
In his eyes, he was acting for the greater good. If the members of the council who supported creating different divisions were to have their way, the military of New Mayhall would be filled with rivaling factions that would ruin cooperation. After all, even if a common enemy was found in the Corrupted, it wouldn’t eliminate the selfish desires of others.
…
The first month was easy for Visette. She learned a large number of strikes, punches, kicks, throws, and grapples. She also put on a slightly noticeable bit of muscle though it wasn’t too unexpected. The true source of her physical growth was her routine of channeling her psionic energy. She was confident that if she fought the Variant Corrupted again she’d easily defeat it.
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Visette changed her focus from thoughts of combat to the textbook in front of her. The book was something she asked Lyn for and since it was a simple item it was given to her very easily. The contents of the textbook didn’t contain anything groundbreaking, just some information about the organic life of Novo Prime.
Interestingly enough, there were species of animals who developed defenses against the Corrupted. A disease called “Rot” in the textbook was the main cause of survival for most animal species. It turned the blood and flesh of the infected animal semi-septic in addition to causing them to produce on a disgusting scent. Unless the Corrupted were extremely desperate they would leave the “Rot” infested animals alone.
Visette wondered if there were attempts to reproduce the disease in humans but she learned that it was impossible. “Rot” was a disease that was non-transmissible to the human species. Of course, it could be spread between animals and some were observed willingly infecting themselves.
Other defensive mechanisms by animals included, burrowing, camouflage, and other actions that didn’t include actually fighting the Corrupted. Humans were the only ones without a natural defense to rely upon.
“Hey, you didn’t notice I was standing here?” Lyn tapped on the glass wall of the cell.
“You arrived approximately seven minutes and thirty-two seconds ago.” Visette intoned without raising her head.
Lyn clicked her tongue. “Then let me give you a rundown of your schedule. Today you’re going to an Abnormal testing facility. Tomorrow you’re meeting with the Doctor Eliza. After that, it’ll be nothing but close combat training and time at the shooting range. Also, I’ll be increasing the intensity and content of your training as per the Commander’s orders.”
Most kids around Visette age would be receiving an education and training at New Mayhall’s military academy, but Visette obviously had to be treated differently. As for education, Commander Wakefield decided to hold off on it until Visette finished her tenure in the detention facility which would be anywhere from 3 to 4 years.
“I understand.” Visette closed the textbook and stood up.
She went through the familiar process of being restrained before being taken to a different facility.
Along the way, Visette remained silent, but Lyn began to talk. It was a habit she had developed during the first month of training Visette.
“I told my Grandfather about you...He says he wants to meet you one day. I never seen the old man that happy in a while.”
“Are you allowed to do such a thing?” Visette asked.
“No, but keep this between me and you.” Lyn glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw Visette nod.
“Anyway, he and my father taught me everything I know. It wasn't just me who learned from but a lot of people in this city. Even though hand to hand combat isn’t useful against Corrupted it’s still a necessity.”
As Lyn continued going on about her Grandfather, it was clear that she hadn't realized how comfortable she had gotten around Visette.
Visette, on the other hand, remained as tight-lipped as always about her own past and that was due to the fact she didn’t have one. She knew nothing about her parents or the ones who created her. She didn’t find it unfortunate, or rather, she couldn’t as her emotional responses were dulled. There was a small chance that in the future she'd develop more responses and come to feel the pain of their absence but there was no chance at the moment. So, she did the only thing she could do and that was listening.
They arrived at the facility and Lyn escorted Visette inside. There was a short process of signing in and then they entered.
Inside, there were different types of equipment everywhere and each one had at least several dials, cords, and displays on it.
“Come on.” Lyn removed Visette’s cuffs and pointed to one of the weird machines. “Lay down there.”
Usually, there would be technical engineering teams conducting the test but Visette was a special case so Lyn had to oversee it. It wasn’t a problem though because of the fact that most of the things in the room were quite easy to operate.
Visette laid flat on her back atop a bench of some sort. A bar was right above her chest which was connected to some sort of elaborate pulley system and huge metal slabs.
“The weight will gradually increase just hold it up as much as you can. Don’t be too scared to let it go since it has a safety system in place.” Lyn gave her own simplified version of the instructions and pressed a red button labeled “start.”
Visette began the first test meant to test the physical strength of Abnormals without actually having incredible muscle strength in the first place. She channeled her psionic energy through her body and prepared herself for a mentally exhaustive day.