Book 1:

Rise of the Meta-Humans

 

© Clay Clearbrook

 

Chapter 2

 

The first of the Metahumans had no clue what was happening to them and it would be some time before anyone put two and two together to realize that the passing of the LoveJoy comet and the appearance of Metahumans were connected. No one, to this day, could determine why a small percentage of the Human race were effected or what sparked the change.  Some changed due to some traumatic event, others simply changed for no apparent reason.  Some scientists put forth the theory that the changes were sparked when certain individuals came into close proximity to uncontaminated dust from the LoveJoy Comet. This has never been confirmed. The only thing that has been confirmed over time is that only individuals between the ages of fifteen at the low end and thirty-four at the high end were affected.  ---- from “The Rise of the Metahumans”  by Reginald Porter.

 

Adrienne was stunned to realize it was past ten in the morning when she woke up. Very rarely did she ever sleep past six-thirty.

Stunned though she might be, she felt no overwhelming desire to jump out of bed and rush around. 

She stretched slowly and then reluctantly swung her feet to the floor and made her way to the kitchen. Once again she glanced in the fridge. She would have to get some groceries today since it had not magically been filled over night.   At least she still had coffee.  She selected French vanilla packet and popped it into the coffee machine and waited the few minutes it would take to brew.

With her coffee cup cradled in her hands, she made her way to the living room and switched on the large flat screen tv that hung over the mantle of the apartment’s fireplace.

With her legs tucked up under her on the couch, she flicked through the channels.  One thing she had missed in the hospital was getting the news.  Yes, she would admit it.  She was a news junkie.

She made it a point to keep up on the political news.  While most were content to go through their every day lives blissfully unaware, Adrienne considered it her civic duty to remain informed on the important issues.  While many idiots would cast their votes according to how they felt about a candidate’s personality or let one single issue dictate their decisions, Adrienne took all the issues into account and ignored the candidate’s personality, race, religion or sex. She might not agree with one or two issues, but her support and donations would be towards those with whom she agreed the most.

In political forums on the web, this was often enough for her to be labeled a right wing fanatic.  To say that she was more libertarian minded would be closer to the truth.  Very rarely would anyone mistake her for a liberal.  She was known to think too much and demand facts too often for that. Add to that her sense of what was right and what was wrong and it would be extremely hard to make the label of liberal stick.

It took only a few minutes to confirm that she hadn’t missed too much.  The Middle East was still on the verge of exploding and the United States was still trying to maintain a hands-off approach.  Big mistake.

Crime seemed to be on the rise all over the country, especially in those areas with the strictest gun control laws.  No surprise there. Police departments throughout the country seemed to be under fire from all sides.  One side claiming they weren’t doing enough to try to stem the violence while another side blasting them for doing too much.  Some even going so far as to demand that the police take a suspects race into account before deciding to arrest.  They were even demanding arrest equality. Regardless of the facts the police should be sure that they arrested an equal number of people from different races.

Skimming through the local news, she discovered that there had been another bank robbery in Kansas City. This one had been rather brazen.  A single robber had hit the UMB main bank.  He had simply walked in without a weapon and quickly disabled the numerous security personnel.  He had then made his way to the vault and then calmly walked out with two bags of money.   Though the bank was naturally being quiet about the facts, some tidbits had been made public.  Some of the workers were obviously shaken by the ordeal, several of them claiming that this one robber had simply ripped the vault door open with one hand!

After a second cup of coffee Adrienne switched off the TV. It was time to get up and around.

First things first.  She needed groceries.  After that she might head over to her grandparents.

Her car, a little Ford Focus, was probably still sitting in her parking spot at the campus. That meant that she would have to use her second mode of transportation.

She grinned as she made her way to her bedroom to get dressed for the day.

***

When Adrienne stepped into the lobby of the One Light building, she was greeted by a wolf-whistle.

Anne was already behind the counter and, true to her predictions, she was looking a bit tired.

“I take it you had a good time?” Adrienne chuckled.

“Oh yes.” Anne stretched like a feline. “Several times.”

“You’re hopeless.” Adrienne laughed.

“I don’t know why you don’t dress like that all the time.” Anne shook her head as she took in Adrienne’s attire. “You can be damned hot when you want to be.”

Since her motorcycle was still at the University where she had parked it three weeks ago…or at least she hoped it was…Adrienne had dressed appropriately for riding and called for a taxi before leaving her apartment.

“Yeah, I am sure dressing this way would work in the science labs on campus.” Adrienne smirked.

“Well, you wouldn’t be known as The Geek for very much longer if you did!” Anne retorted.

“Hey, I actually like that.” Adrienne protested. “I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to keep my private life and scholastic life separate!”

“I still say there is something wrong with being part of a university and refusing to take part in the university life style.” Anne said. “But to each their own.”  She shook her head. “So what ya got planned for the day?”

“Grocery shopping first.” Adrienne glared at her friend. “Some nameless evil person cleaned out both of my refrigerators so I have to restock.”

“The dirty fiend.” Anne gasped in mock dismay and then nodded. “Since you’ll be on your bike I take you are going to have the groceries delivered.  You know you could do the shopping online and have it delivered…like any normal rich ass person.”

“You can’t squeeze a grapefruit over the net.” Adrienne said. “Besides, I enjoy it and since when have I been normal?”

“Since never.” Anne sighed and then smiled. “That’s what I like about you.  Okay, you head on out.  If you are not back by the time the delivery gets here, I’ll let them in and restock for you.”

“Thanks.”  Adrienne nodded. “You’re a good friend.”

“Friend hell, I just like to snoop.” Anne laughed and waved her off.

Shaking her head, Adrienne headed out to the waiting taxi.

***

Motorcycle retrieved and grocery shopping completed and delivery set up, Adrienne was soon speeding down I-70.  Heading east and out of Kansas City proper.  She headed south when she hit 291. Had she continued straight she would have soon reached the suburb of Blue Springs.  Heading in this direction she would take just a few minutes more to reach Lee’s Summit.

Her maternal grandparents had raised their three children here and her paternal grand-parents had left their home town of Mashall, Texas to move here soon after her father had died. Now they lived in adjacent homes on the eastern most borders of the still growing suburb.

When she pulled up, she could see that both sets of grand-parents were congregated in the drive way of her paternal grand-parents home.  The two women seated in lawn chairs while the men-folk were working on an old pick-up truck that Grandpa Denny was refurbishing.

Though both women smiled when she pulled in, Adrienne could not help but notice the quick disapproving look her Grandma Gladys gave her motorcycle and clothes.  Riding motorcycles.  Another thing proper young women didn’t do…though an occasional ride with a man in control was okay.

Once again Adrienne wondered how on Earth her father had developed such new fangled notions of equality between the sexes with parents that would have been more at home in the nine-teen thirties or forties.

Not that Grandpa Denny had ever said a word about Adrienne’s choice of clothing or modes of transportation.  Perhaps her father had taken after his father more than his mother.

“Hey sweet heart.” Grandpa Denny called out from under the pickup. “Come to give us old men a hand with this thing?”

“Hardly.” Adrienne called back. “I’m lucky if I remember how to start a car, much less work on one.  You know how we blondes are.”

“Right.” Grandpa Ray snorted from where he was squatting by the pickup, ready to hand Denny any tool he asked for. “Hey…why did they start putting the dimmer switch back on the floorboards?”

“Because Blondes kept getting their legs tangled in the steering wheel!” Adrienne popped back, laughing.

While her grandmothers would never tease her like that, they always enjoyed watching her match wits with their men.

“Are you guys ever going to finish tinkering with that thing?” She demanded. “I swear it hasn’t moved an inch for over a year.”

“Why would they want to finish it, dear?” Grandma Alice demanded with a twinkle in her eye. “What would they do with themselves then?”

“Besides, if they are working on that thing they’re out of our hair!” Grandma Gladys chimed in.  While they wouldn’t tease her like the men would, the men themselves were prime targets.

“Denny, I think those old women are insulting us!” Ray called out.  A pair of hands reached out and grasped the bottom of the pickup and Grandpa Denny pulled himself partially out from under.

“Ray, old man, when have they ever stopped?”  He said. “As a great author once said, our mistake was not in teaching them to read or putting shoes on their feet, but in teaching them to talk!”

Looking at her grandfather as he made this profound statement, Adrienne’s laughter cut off when she noticed the slight shift in the propped up vehicle. Grandpa Denny had caused the jacks that held the front end of the pickup off the ground to move when he had grasped the side of the vehicle and hauled himself out.  The load had become unstable and was starting to buckle!

“Denny!” Grandma Gladys screamed in fear, seeing the same thing.

Adrienne moved without thought as the jacks slid sideways, letting the truck fall.  With one hand she grasped the lower frame of the vehicle and with the other she reached down to haul her grandfather out of harms way.  She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. 

As the others helped Grandpa Denny to his feet, Grandma Gladys running her hands over him as if she could confirm he was okay by touch alone, Adrienne noticed that she was still holding up the truck.  Gently she lowered it until the tireless rims rested on the ground. 

She remained bent over, her hands on her knees, as she settled her nerves.  She had to get through this visit with her grandparents. Though her mind was racing, she would have to put the mystery of her sudden burst of strength aside until she was alone.

***

Once they were convinced Grandpa Denny was unhurt Grandma Gladys had ushered everyone into their home. Adrienne, who had never seen her grandmother drink anything stronger than a glass of tea was shocked when she handed out a bottle of Miller Genuine Draft to everyone and then popped one open for herself.

“Hah.” Grandpa Denny had laughed when Adrienne mentioned it. “She thinks she can fool everyone.  Let me tell you.  Back in my day there was only one person who could drink me under the table!”  He pointed to his wife. “When your father was fourteen he insisted that he was old enough to drink.  Your grandmother told him he could drink if he wanted to…if he could match her drink for drink in a contest.”

“You almost ruined it, you old goat.” Gladys smacked him on the arm before turning to Adrienne. “Your grandfather tried to warn him but your father didn’t believe him.”

“Your father passed out before your grandmother really even got started.” Grandpa Denny was laughing now, tears in his eyes as he recalled the memory. “The next morning she got him up and ready for school and you have never seen a more miserable teenage boy.  And here she was, bright and cheerful as if nothing was wrong.”

“Oh I was feeling it.”  Grandma Gladys moaned, holding a hand to her head. “But I couldn’t very well let him see it.”

“A couple of months later he demanded a rematch.” Denny chuckled. “He had convinced himself that it was a fluke or that your grandmother had somehow cheated.  After she drank him under the table a second time, he never said another word about drinking until he reached his twenty-first birthday.”

After lunch, during which both sets of grandparents regaled her with funny stories from her parents’ teen years, Adrienne reluctantly decided it was time to head home.  She had tried to put the incident with the truck out of her mind, but the vision of her holding up the vehicle with one hand would not go away.

Relieving herself before heading out, she was a bit surprised to find Grandma Alice waiting for her when she emerged from the bathroom.

“Are you okay dear?” She asked, taking Adrienne’s right hand in her own. She turned it over in her wrinkled hands and examined it before looking up into her granddaughter’s eyes and Adrienne knew that at least one of her grand-parents had noticed that she had not simply pulled Denny out of the way but had held the truck up with one hand while she did it.  She contemplated brushing it off for a brief instant before recalling that she had never been able to pull anything over this old woman.

“Honestly I don’t know, Grandma.” She whispered, pulling the woman into a hug. “But I will be. I promise.”

“Good.  I’ll hold you to that, Adri.” Her grandmother told her.  She took her face in both of her hands and gave a gentle shake. “You’re so much like your mother it’s scary sometimes; just as headstrong and determined.”

“Yeah, well since that doesn’t describe Grandpa Ray I wonder where she got it from?” Adrienne laughed.

Saying her goodbyes and hugging all, Adrienne was soon on her motorcycle, speeding back towards downtown Kansas City.

Passing a junkyard, she made a snap decision and exited the highway and headed back to the yard.

Within minutes she was walking among the rusted carcasses of old vehicles of all types in the abandoned lot.

She wandered around until she found an out of the way spot she felt would not be visible from the highway.  She was going to test something and she didn’t want witnesses.

She started small.  She found a vehicle that was little more than the rusted frame of something that might have been an old VW Bug at one time. She took deep breath and bent at the knees.  She remembered her father drilling into her again and again to lift with her legs and not her back.

She took hold of the frame of the VW carcass and, letting her breath out, lifted.

The frame rattled and groaned as it came off the ground and Adrienne marveled as she held the quivering frame in the air. There was barely any sensation of weight at all as far as she was concerned.

The old VW frame thought otherwise. With a loud a rattle and screech of metal the rusted hulk began to crumble under the strain and fell back to the ground in pieces.

Not satisfied with this test Adrienne sought out larger vehicles; lifting each with no more effort than it had taken to lift the VW.  She stopped when she lifted the front end of a virtually intact semi truck over her head.   As she lowered the latest test to the ground she realized she probably could lift the entire vehicle if she lifted from the center of balance.

Unbidden images of some of the superhero movies she had seen came to mind.  In those movies, the villain would grab a car by one end and fling it at the hero: A feat that was a physical impossibility in the real world.  The car would crumble under its own weight even as the villain tried to fling it.  She recalled some of the comics she had read.  The earlier ones, those from the sixties and seventies, didn’t pay as much attention to the laws of physics as the later ones. In the older comics it was nothing to see the hero rescue a floundering ocean liner by diving below the water and lifting the entire ship up into the air with one hand.

The later comics showed how this was just silly.  If the hero could lift the ship with one hand without plowing through the center of the ship, its own weight would cause the ship to buckle and break in half.

Giving in to a whim, Adrienne grabbed the semi again and, without thinking it through, lifted the entire thing over her head and flung it at a pile of crushed vehicles.

The truck sailed through the air and smashed into the pile with a horrendous crash.  She staggered back a step when a flying chunk of metal struck her leg. Adrienne could only gape at the destruction she had caused in disbelief. It wasn’t possible! Even if the vehicle had not been sitting rusting for decades it should have fallen to pieces.  She let her eyes fall to her legs and noticed a large gaping rip in her pants.  The skin revealed showed no markings. By all rights she should have a hunk of metal sticking out of her leg.  Nothing.

Thinking the noise she had made might attract attention, she raced out of the junk yard and back to her motorcycle.

***

It was a shaken Adrienne that finally pulled her motorcycle into the underground garage of the One Light building.  During the rest of the ride home she had tried to make some sense of what was happening with her.  Ordinary people did not lift semi trucks over their heads.  Ordinary people did not shrug off flying metal debris with nothing more than ripped clothes. As she pulled into the garage, another piece of data tickled at her mind. She recalled the news reports she had watched that morning. Ordinary people didn’t rip open bank vaults with their bare hands! Unbidden, the talk she had had with the MIA agent, Sean Durick, kept resurfacing in her mind.

Usually she would stop in the lobby to say hi to Anne after being out. Not stopping would make Anne wonder if everything was alright. Thankfully her trip to her grandparents and her adventure in the junk yard had taken up a good portion of the day. Anne would be off duty and long gone by now.  Probably at home sleeping off the effects of a late night out and an early morning shift. 

Adrienne took the elevator straight to the Penthouse level and all but ran to get into her apartment.  She closed the door behind her and finally let the shakes that had threatened to overwhelm her have their way.  She leaned back against the door and slowly folded to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

She was going insane.  There was other explanation.  Her mind was off in lala land.

When she got the sobbing under control, she pushed herself to her feet and staggered through the apartment in her Data Center. 

Her vision was fading in and out as she snatched the business card the Doctor had given her from the cork board.

She scrambled for her phone and her hands shook has she punched in the number.

Her call went straight to voice mail.  She thought for a brief instant of hanging up.  Instead she gave her name, her phone number, and even her address.  She ended the call and, still clutching the card and her phone, started back into the main apartment…

***

“Please don’t tell me I was out for another three weeks.” Adrienne grumbled when she opened her eyes to find herself looking into the face of Dr. Gerald Talbot.

“Not this time.” The doctor had laughed. When she tried to sit up he put a cautioning hand on her shoulder. “Easy now. Take it slow. Lie back down if you feel dizzy.”

“I feel fine.” Adrienne replied.  She was in her own bedroom.  So far as she could see, it was only her and the doctor but sounds beyond the closed bedroom door let her know that someone else was in the apartment as well.

Seeing her glance, the doctor nodded.

“You friend Anne met me when I entered the building.” He told her. “I think she was on her way to check up on you.  She said you had been out all day and had not returned by the time she got off work.”

“She’s the day time receptionist down in the lobby.” Adrienne said, closing her eyes with a sigh. “We’ve been friends for some time now.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed.” The Doctor smirked though she couldn’t see it she could hear it in his tone. “She led me to your apartment and then helped me get you in here when we found you lying in the door way of your Geek office.  At least that is what Anne called it.”

“In a bedroom alone with a man and the door closed.” She commented without thinking. “Anne isn’t going to let me live this one down.”

“I think that is a safe assumption.” Dr. Talbot said. “She was trying to use humor hide it but she’s obviously pretty worried about you.”

He was quiet for some time so Adrienne opened her eyes to see him simply looking at her.

“Obviously I got your voicemail.” He said. “Care to tell me what happened?”

“I thought that was your job.” Adrienne quipped.  She slowly sat up and swung her feet to the floor.

“Fair enough.” The doctor nodded. “You fainted.  If I had to guess, I would say something happened that caused you to go into emotional or mental overload.  Maybe both. Physically you are just as fit as you were when I saw you yesterday morning.”

“I think I am going insane.” Adrienne refused to look at him while she told him of her day.  She finished her story and finally looked at him when he said nothing.

“Well?”

“Well what?” He countered. “I am still waiting for you to tell me why you think you are going insane.”

“Oh come on.”  She surged to her feet and rounded on him…before realizing she was totally naked. “Oh my god!”  She rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.  She grabbed her bathrobe from the hook on the back of the door and pulled it on before yanking the door back open. Obviously her outburst had been louder than she thought since Anne was now standing in the open doorway of the bedroom, glaring at the doctor.

“Before you go off on me, take a look at your hands.” The doctor ordered when she emerged. She did as he demanded and noticed the dirt, rust, and grime that covered her palms. “There is a similar patch of dirt and rust on your leg where you got hit by the metal chunk you mentioned.”

“No.”  She shook her head. “It just isn’t possible.”

“I believe, Ms. Keller, that your definitions of what is and is not possible are about to undergo some drastic revisions.”

Adrienne did not reply immediately, looking instead at Anne.  Her friend had made no move to back out of the room.  Instead she leaned against the door frame, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Before you ask, I heard everything.” Anne told her.  When Adrienne scowled she spread her hands out in front of her. “What?  I come in and find you out cold on the floor and I’m not supposed to be concerned?”  She walked across the room and perched on the edge of Adrienne’s bed. “Seriously Adri?  A truck?”  Her tone said that she was not asking for clarification but rather making a disapproving comment. “You couldn’t do something a little more original?”

“What?” Adrienne could not believe her ears. She was standing there in her bathrobe, freaking out, and Anne was dissing her because she saved her grandfather?

“C’mon Adri.” Anne shook her head. “That has to be the most over used schtick in comics. Starting with an alien baby saving his soon to be adoptive father when the jack gives way while said father…one Jonathan Kent…is changing a tire on his truck.”  When Adrienne looked blank Anne shook her head. “Seriously?  You’ve never read Superman comics or seen any of the movies?”

“Actually, the idea for the comics came from real life.” The Doctor put in. “You would be surprised by the number of serious injuries and deaths occur each year from accidents involving buckling vehicle jacks.  It is a lot more common than people realize.  Do you know what a lot of doctors and surgeons call do-it-yourself auto mechanics?  They call them ‘accidents waiting to happen’!”

Adrienne looked back and forth between the two of them, her jaw dropping.

“You two are taking this too damned calmly!” She raged. “I’m either going insane or becoming a freak and all you can do is talk about is how lame it is that I found out by lifting a truck?”

Sighing, Anne stood and crossed the room to throw her arms around Adrienne.

“You’re not going insane, Ms. Keller.” The Doctor spoke up. “We’ve already discounted that. As for becoming a freak; I suppose that would be a matter of opinion.”

When Adrienne made no reply, Anne turned her attention to the doctor.

“She’s scared to death.” She said. “What the hell is going on?” She demanded. “And while we are at it, since when do doctors, especially those that are on the board of KU Medical Center, make house calls?”

“Ah…you found out about that, did you?”  He actually had the nerve to smile. “The answer to the second question is simple.  This Board member makes house calls when the patient is Ms. Keller!”

“Me?  What’s so special about me?”  Adrienne demanded and then shook her head in disbelief at her own question. “That was a dumb question, wasn’t it?”

“Not you in particular.” Dr. Talbot wasn’t smiling now. “I should have said people like you.” 

He glanced around and noticed a straight backed wooden chair pushed up under a desk and snagged.  He placed the back of the chair facing her and swung a leg over to sit on the chair with his fore arms resting on the back.

“I admit that I had my suspicions while I had you at the hospital but I couldn’t be sure at that time.”  He told her. “I am sure now.”

“Doctor, if you have learned anything about me you should know that I am a reasonably intelligent person.” Adrienne snapped in frustration. “Yet I don’t have a clue what you are talking about.” She frowned as her discussion with Sean Durick once again popped into her mind.

“Let me give you an example.  By the way, we are probably going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on.  You might as well start calling me Gerald or Jerry.” He told her.  He glanced at Anne. “That goes for you as well.”

“Fine.  Jerry.” Adrienne waved for him to get on with it.

“Did you happen to hear about the bank robbery last night?”  He asked, adding to her confusion.

“Yes.  But what has that got to do with me?”  She demanded, recalling that she had thought about that after leaving the junk yard.

“Directly?  Not a thing.”  He admitted. “What did you hear about it?”

“Some guy entered the bank and supposedly ripped the vault open and made off with some cash.”  She replied.

“Right.”  He nodded. “You must have heard the early reports this morning.  Since then there has been no mention of the vault or even how one unarmed man can take down eight security guards at one time.   Now all that is being reported is that a lone robber made off with a couple thousand dollars.”

“I don’t see your point.”  Adrienne shook her head.

“My point is that the initial reports were the correct ones.  A single male entered the bank, knocked out the security guards, three of which are still in critical condition, and then physically ripped the vault door open with his bare hands!”

“That’s impossible!” Adrienne exclaimed.

“Just as impossible as lifting a large pickup truck with one hand?  Just as impossible as tossing a semi-truck?” Jerry shook his head. “Recall what I said just a few minutes ago about your definitions of what is and is not possible?”

When Adrienne did not reply right away, Anne stepped away from her and motioned to the doctor.

“Adri, you take a few minutes to get cleaned up and dressed.” She ordered. “This looks like it is going to be a long night and I think you will feel a bit more comfortable in something besides your bathrobe!”

She leaned in to whisper in Adrienne’s ear.

“Just to make you feel better, I am the one that undressed you. The doctor didn’t see anything.”

“Not until I jumped out of the bed, at least.” Adrienne gave her friend a weak smile. “And the thought of you undressing me is supposed to make me feel better?  I know you, remember?”

“I’ll have you know I didn’t even try to cop a feel…more than twice.” Anne laughed, pushing her back into the bathroom. “Now take a shower and get dressed.  We’ll be waiting in the living room.”

***

“I have to ask.” Jerry spoke up when Adrienne finally joined them in the living room.  Anne had been right.  She felt a lot better after a hot shower and fully dressed.  “How does a college student afford something like this?  This Adrienne Keller bears very little resemblance to the Adrienne Keller aka The Geek I pictured from Professor Hightop’s descriptions.”

“How did you know they called me The Geek?” Adrienne demanded as she took a place on the couch beside Anne. She grabbed the can of Cherry Pepsi her friend had fetched for her and took a long swig. “I’m sure the Professor never used that term.”

“My dear, even the students at KU have heard about The Geek of UMKC.” Jerry laughed.

“Right.”  Adrienne grumbled under her breath.  “I really am a geek.” She told him.  “You should see my Data Center.” She waved a hand behind her towards the doorway that led into the second apartment. “And if you recall, those MIA agents mentioned that I own AdriKel Incorprated.”

“Adrienne Keller.  AdriKel.”  Jerry mused. “I’ve heard of that.  That’s the company that is supposedly revolutionizing the computer industry. From what I have heard, it is a complete mystery. No clue where they are headquartered and no public presence in the slightest.   They just appeared out of nowhere and partnered with Microsoft. Suddenly Microsoft cancels it proposed release of Windows 10 and unveils Windows AI.” He shook his head. “There was some other news about it but I can’t recall what it was.”

“Actually, a couple of items.” Adrienne nodded. “I developed the core programming that became Windows AI but that is not publically known.  In fact, only a select few people at Microsoft are aware of my identity.  I got a healthy sum for that…and continue to get royalties.  Of course now some of the other companies are crying foul and trying to have the government force Microsoft to release the programming. Apple, in particular.”

“Oh yeah.”  Jerry shook his head.  “I can imagine. Since Windows AI came out Apple stock has fallen through the bottom.”  He waved a hand, indicating the apartment. “So all of this is from AdriKel?”

“That and having parents with a bit of foresight and an extremely stock market savvy aunt.” Adrienne laughed. “But I’m not yet ready to go public. I made a promise to myself that I would finish college and I plan to do just that.  I keep all of this a secret because trying to keep my promise and deal with the publicity at the same time would be more of a hassle than I would care for.”

“So you have two identities.” Jerry nodded. “Adrienne Keller at home and The Geek on campus.  Good.”

“Why good?” Adrienne cocked her head, sensing that they were now going to get into the serious matters now.

“It means you are used to keeping secrets.  You’re going to need that skill more than ever now.” Jerry told her. He paused but Adrienne motioned for him to continue. Yet for the first time in their short acquaintance he seemed somewhat unsure of himself.  It was as if he were hunting for just the right way to tell her something dramatic.

“Why don’t we start with why how I can suddenly lift a truck and why flying debris didn’t even leave a scratch.” Adrienne remarked in a dry tone. She wanted to hear what the doctor had to say before she revealed what she and the MIA agent had discussed.

“It may not have scratched you, but it tore the hell out of your riding leathers.” Anne chimed in.

“Right.” Jerry nodded. “Obviously you are not the only one with secrets. Since the experiments that put you in a coma involved particles from the Heart-Stopper I will assume that you are aware of the effects it is believed those particles supposedly had on humanity.”  He waited for Adrienne’s nod before continuing. “Ever since the Kansas City Tragedy MIA has ramped up its efforts to identify potential Metas.”

Adrienne nodded and then to save Jerry from going over stuff she already knew, gave both him and Anne a full account of her discussion with Sean Durik.

Jerry’s eyes widened and then he frowned.

“I assumed they were with the government.” He said. “I didn’t for a moment believe those guys were with the University.”  He then sighed.  “What this Sean told you was the truth, for the most part.”  He then told her about the increasing difficulty of obtaining blood samples from her. From what I was able to discover, your incident in the labs was the traumatic experience this Sean said it could be. I believe it is what triggered your L3 genes.”

“L3?” Anne gasped, eyeing her friend with something close to awe.

“That means both my parents would have to have been L2 Carriers.” Adrienne shook her head. “Wouldn’t their military medical records have revealed that?”

“Not necessarily.” Jerry countered. “If they were alive and in the military today, then that information would be included in their records.  At the time of their deaths, there were tests in place to identify potential L1s and L2s, but there was nothing available at the time to identify someone who was simply a Carrier.  So your parents’ military records would show that neither was an L1 or L2 but would not show if they were or were not Carriers. That is if anyone was able to get their hands on those records. The military, especially the Marines, are very reluctant to surrender medical records to outside agencies.”

Adrienne was silent for a moment as she digested this information.  She then gave Jerry a speculative look.

“The MIA agents were slightly perturbed by my refusal to be examined.” She said. “Surely they would not have bothered if they had access to your records and they showed what you said they did.”

Jerry squirmed in his seat, looking extremely uncomfortable.  Finally he sighed.

“The medical files they did go through showed nothing out of the ordinary.” He said. “I falsified the results for the official records and kept the real results in my personal files. Those files, with nothing to reveal your actual identity, now reside on my personal system at home. I took extreme precautions.  Should anyone but me try to access those files there are several safeguards in place to insure that the files are scrubbed. As an added precaution, should anyone somehow get past those safeguards, none of the files identify their subjects in any way. Not sex, name, age, or even race. They are simply referred to as Subjects A, B, C, etc.”

“Why would you do that?” Anne asked the question Adrienne was thinking.

“I was originally recruited to be on a team tasked with researching Metahumans but I resigned when I discovered that the team was being funded by a government agency that seems to have been created for the purpose of studying and utilizing Metahumans. Willingly or not.”

“MIA.” Adrienne scowled.

“Actually, no. From what I have since learned, most of MIA was not even aware of the existence of this other agency at the time.”

“So you resigned from the team…” She encouraged him to continue, relieved to learn that, as yet, Sean Durick had not lied to her.

“Yes.” He nodded. “Thankfully I did so before I got in too deep. I was able to discover some things that those behind the team thought to be securely secret.  If they had become aware of what I had learned I probably would not have been allowed to resign.  If I had insisted I would probably have just disappeared.”  He paused. “They were not interested in studying the Metas for science or for any desire to help them.  They were studying them to see how useful they could be or how to destroy them if they could not be used.”  His face took on a haunted look. “When I discovered what was going on, I also discovered that two of the individuals I had helped identify as Metas had refused to work with the agency.  They weren’t bad people.  Just more interested in getting on with their lives.  I discovered they had been terminated.”

“By our own government?” Anne demanded; her expression one of shocked disbelief.

“No.” Jerry held up a finger to make a point. “Not our government. Just one out of control segment of one particularly shady intelligence agency. I imagine one or two individuals might know something but as a whole the rest of the government, from the President on down, was likely just as much in the dark about this as you were.  Don’t get me wrong.  If our national security was at stake I have no doubt our government would do whatever it had to do.  But even so, the way this agency was going about things made me believe that they were every bit as determined to keep the rest of the government, especially MIA, from discovering what was going on as they were to keep it from the public.  I’m convinced that if the then President or Congress knew what was going on, they would have put a stop to it.  I think that is what those within that agency believed as well.  I am not so certain with the current Administration.”

“So you quit when you found out what was going on.” Adrienne brought him back on topic.

“I did.” Jerry nodded. “I resigned but I swore I would do what I could to protect any potential Metahuman I came across.” He gave a quirky smile. “You will forgive me, I hope, if I don’t divulge how many I have discovered before you came along.”

“Okay.”  Adrienne frowned into her now empty glass and reached over to snag the bottle of burgundy to refill it. “Now I have to ask.  Why?  From some sense of guilt for the two you couldn’t save or is there another reason.”

“A little of both.” Jerry admitted. “Honestly, however, I have a very personal stake in it.”

“You know someone close to you who is a Metahuman.” Adrienne raised an eyebrow.

“You could say that.” Jerry hedged.  Sensing it was not something he was ready to talk about, Adrienne let it drop.

“So what happens now?” She demanded. “What should I be expecting?”

“Well obviously you should be expected to notice some drastic, if not visible, changes.” He responded.

“Like healing and strength.” Adrienne prompted when Jerry paused again.

“Among other things.” He held up a fist and unfolded two fingers. “Strength and healing.” He unfolded a third finger. “Possibly increasing invulnerability…” He started to unfold a fourth finger but she stopped him right there.

“Invulnerability?” She shook her head. “Look doctor, you realize this isn’t the comics, don’t you?  Invulnerability is impossible!”

“Flying debris.  No scratch.” Anne reminded her.

“Hearing about that was not the first time I noticed it.” Jerry attempted a smile. “I know that you noticed the difficulty the nurse had in drawing blood when you woke up.  What you don’t realize is that they drew blood from you the day you were admitted with absolutely no problem.  The next time we drew blood was a week later. The head nurse came to me to inform me that it was more difficult at that time.  We took blood again the following week and again it was more difficult than it was the previous week.  Then you woke up and it was almost impossible for the nurse to get a needle through your skin to take a sample.  I personally made another attempt to draw blood two days later while you slept. I could not pierce your skin at all.”

Adrienne leaned back on couch, stunned.

“And finally, your muscle density.”  He actually looked embarrassed now. “By looking at you, I would say that you should weigh anywhere from a hundred and ten to a hundred and twenty pounds.”

“A hundred and thirty.” Adrienne shrugged. She was not overly concerned about her weight. Most of it was toned muscle.  Not an extra inch of fat.

“Well, try two forty three.” Jerry shook his head. “That is your actual weight now.”

“No friggin way!” Adrienne exclaimed. She leapt to her feet and raced into and through the master-bedroom and into the master bath. Moments later she returned, holding a bathroom scale in her hands.  She tossed it on the coffee table and stood there staring at him.

“Judging by the way you jumped up and raced out of here, you can add increased speed and agility to the list as well.” He said.

“He’s right.” Anne nodded, her eyes wide. “One second you were sitting here…the next you were just gone!”

Adrienne looked at them both silently then turned and walked into the kitchen.  When she returned, she held a chilled bottle of burgundy and three glasses.  She sat one of the glasses down for Jerry and one for Anne and then filled her own.  She drank the glass in one gulp and then refilled it before once again planting herself on the couch.

“So people like me become super strong.” She whispered. “So that bank robber really did rip the vault open with his bare hands.”

“Yes, he did.” Jerry nodded. “But not everyone is affected in the same way or to the same degree. I would say that you and the bank robber share the same strength and to some degree of invulnerability.”

“He would have to, wouldn’t he?” Adrienne stared into her glass. “Even with super strength he wouldn’t have been able to rip open the vault before he damaged his hands unless he had some form of invulnerability.”

“Possibly.” Jerry shrugged. “Or it could be the same form of energy field that allowed you to fling a semi-truck before it could fall apart under its own weight.”  When Adrienne appeared ready to question him on that, he waved it off. “We’ll get into that later.  For now, let’s just stick with the basics.”

“You said not everyone is develops the same way.” Anna prompted. Jerry poured himself a glass of the burgundy and studied the glass for a moment before responding.

“The MIA agent told you about the L designations.” He said. “Well, they are also responsible for breaking those designations down into more specific categories. People within each of those categories tend to develop similar…traits… for wont of a better term. Different classifications for different groups of…well…powers.”  He paused and grinned. “Ironically, didn’t bother coming up with names for these classifications on their own. Why bother when gamers had already done if for them. I believe they lifted the classifications from a defunct game called City of Heroes or something such.”

Adrienne grimaced. While it was true that the online game Jerry mentioned had been closed down in 2012, it was now basking in renewed interest, especially among the older gamers, since the code for the game ‘somehow’ got released to the public and private servers started to pop up.  Though it was not always the older gamers, she admitted to herself, seeing that she had become somewhat addicted to the game herself.

“Tanks, Blasters, and such?” She gave Jerry a disbelieving look.

“For the most part, yes.” He answered somewhat sheepishly. “Though I do believe they somewhat updated the terminology a bit since then.  One thing we can be thankful for, however, is that people throwing magic spells around don’t exist. Not a single one of the individuals studied since the Heart-Stopper appeared has ever shown what might be called mystic or magic wielding abilities.”

“So I guess, going by those classifications, I would be classified as…a tank?” Adrienne frowned at the term. “Unless there is a better term for it now.”

“Well...no.” Jerry gave an apologetic smile. “Most of those with the strength and near invulnerability but without any true ranged abilities are still classified as Tanks.”

‘Great…Just frigging great.” Adrienne muttered.  She sighed and sat up straighter. “Okay…so what am I supposed to do now?”

 “You go on with your life.” Jerry snapped. “You stay away from doctors and you don’t draw attention to yourself.”

“So I just go back to UMKC like nothing has happened.”  Adrienne shook her head. “Just like that?”

“Well, I wouldn’t count on that.”  Jerry sighed. “I told you that you might need to get some legal representation.  Frankly, I don’t think that is going to help as far as your future with the college is concerned, but I believe you should fight what is coming anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Adrienne set her glass down.

“If the Professor was working with the same agency, knowingly or unknowingly, then you are on their radar.” Jerry explained. “If that is the case, then I would not expect them to be unaware of your dual identity any more than MIA was.  By now they probably know everything there is to know about you. Everything.   If so you will raise their suspicion if you do not fight the college’s decision to expel you with everything you have at your disposal.”

“Expel me?” Adrienne fixated on that. “They’re not going to expel me.  I just have to have a meeting with the legal department…” she trailed off as she recalled that he had predicted just such a meeting.

“Exactly.” Jerry nodded. “Believe me.  Whatever their personal thoughts on the matter might be the college admin has gotten their marching orders. They cannot afford to let the details of this experiment out to the public so you are going to be the sacrificial scapegoat. They will show proof that you were responsible for the accident. You will not be able to publically refute them because of a non-disclosure contract you had to sign when you were selected to work on the project with the Professor.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Adrienne shook her head. “If they don’t want the publicity, then the last thing they would want would be for me to fight them on it.”

“You aren’t going to fight them.” Jerry told her. “But you are going to appear as if you are ready to.  Whatever the governmental agency might expect, the University Administrators are expecting The Geek to show up Monday morning and meekly take whatever they dish out.  They won’t be expecting the real Adrienne Keller, CEO of AdriKel, to show up with a team of lawyers, reporters, and a representative from Microsoft!”  He reached over and took one of her hands in his. “I am sorry, Adrienne.  But The Geek died when she fell to the floor in that lab. Your Scholastic life died with her.”

“How is this supposed to help anything?”

“It helps because it makes you visible.  It helps because you will no longer be just another smart college kid but the mystery person the entire computer world has been buzzing about for over two years now.  How many people would notice if The Geek just disappeared?  But the CEO of AdriKel?  That is another thing altogether.  If you go in loaded for bear Monday morning, you are going to put the UMKC admin and legal department between a rock and a hard place. Make no mistake.  They will follow orders if push comes to shove.  But until then they are going to do whatever they can to avoid the negative publicity that would be sure to come if it became common knowledge that they had the nerve to expel the one person that has single handedly revolutionized the computer industry!”