Sunday, October 23rd, 2043. 2:00 PM.
Today was the day William felt was reasonable enough for Daina and I to actively try to find out what our unique abilities were. Mom, Dad and Ameera had visited us in the morning, and to say it was a joyous and heart-felt, teary eyed reunion would have been an understatement. Ameera cried as we held her in an embrace for what felt like forever. Honestly, I even got on the train and cried a little myself.
Anyway, it was just William, Daina and I down in the training room again, my folks having left around lunchtime. Daina and I had become quite fit, more so than one week of our training should have done for a regular person. It seemed that Plasma Energy enhanced efficacy of the refinement of our bodies.
I was sitting on a mat, attempting to use meditation coax out that "amplified state" I had tapped into when I first did those three laps. I concentrated on within myself, feeling out the various ways my energy flowed through me. I took note of how it always seemed to contend with my band, as if there was some kind of enmity. "Let's see… if I remember correctly, I felt my muscles tense up. William says I might be able to manipulate electricity. If I use this avenue…" Besides my school work, I had taken to surfing the web for all sorts of information, primarily on electricity. I also asked Julie, as my dream was to be an Electrical Technician like her. I also took my biological concerns to William, and I learned things from him that would be taught in higher grades. "William said that the control of Plasma Energy is decided by imagination and willpower. He also said that knowledge makes imagination more effective. Okay, I have an idea on something to try out." I nodded to myself before getting up and walking towards the track.
"Bill?" said Daina, looking up from her own meditation.
I did not answer. I kept my eyes closed as I focused once more. I imagined my nervous system as an incomplete circuit. I then imagined carefully laying out copper wiring. Then I thought, Switch On. I repeated this thought process continuously until I finally felt something happen. I felt various tiny pinpricks going off, not at all painful. I felt my energy become erratic, and that ubiquitous electric crackling sound grew louder. Once again, I felt my muscles become tense. My vision became sharper. "Is this actually working?" I turned to the monitor. "Whoa, it is!" Sure enough, my total energy was going down gradually. My chemical and electrical readings were fluctuating to values above the usual. "Okay, here goes." I took a step, just a step, and my energy usage spiked briefly. "Okay." Next I began walking. My speed was 8 meters per second. "Now for…!" I began to run. "Daina, call out my speed for me!" I had to pay attention to where I was going.
"19 meters per second!" Daina called out. I tried pushing myself, moving my arms and legs as quickly as I could. My feet made stomping sounds on the floor. "22!" The crackling sound was really loud now, or maybe my sense of hearing was heightened. I also felt wind crying in my ears. "25!" That seemed to be the limit. Trying to go any faster actually started to hurt, but just maintaining that final reading was okay. My body did not even feel like it was burning with lactic acid by the time I decided to stop. "Bill, that was incredible! How did you do that?"
I was not even breathless. "I did it… I tapped into the power-up again. I still am." I looked at the monitor. My remaining energy was a strong 82 MJ. I had only used 48 mega Joules! "Okay, breathe and power-down!" I concentrated and I felt the effect vanish. The sound dropped, my senses returned to normal, my muscles relaxed. "I can… control it now… Use it at will. Okay, I will call this the Light Boost!"
"Light Boost?"
"Light Boost… Level One." I could already picture it; I would be able to increase my stats by a factor based on how much energy I was willing to expend per unit time over the duration the ability. "Okay, I'm going to rest for a bit, then try again." I went back to a mat. Where was William in all this, you ask? This discovery process could be quite unpredictable, so for his safety he was monitoring us from the lab. The training room had cameras in each corner, and one in the center of the ceiling. The lab also had a monitor just like the one in the training room. "Have you come up with any ideas?"
"Well, not exactly… Okay, watch this." I observed as Daina held out her left arm. To my utter shock, a shining metallic fluid began to seep out of the pores and coated her arm. It looked like she made a gauntlet. "This metal coating is pure elemental iron, I think. This feels similar to when the mercury forms in my stomach before I'm forced to regurgitate it."
"Wow… Is it heavy?" I got up and moved towards her for a better look.
"It is, but I seem to be stronger while doing this. The added weight is barely noticeable."
"Maybe you have your own unique strength amplifier to work in conjunction with this," I suggested. Daina nodded in agreement.
"Actually, that is probably an automatic application of the Force-Manipulation ability," said William's voice suddenly over speakers. "The Researcher will teach you about it when he takes over your training. For, just know that your arm automatically amplifies your lifting force to manage the weight."
"That's awfully convenient," said Daina with a smirk.
"What else can you do?" I asked her.
"Well…" The iron gauntlet seemed to become fluid-like in places before growing spikes. My eyes widened in amazement. "Also…" The whole thing became fluid again before disappearing back into her arm as if being absorbed like a sponge. I looked at the monitor and found that Daina hardly used any energy. "I think if I take it back in instead of discarding it, I save on energy. I felt the weight vanish, meaning the iron turned into something, probably smaller elements, or maybe just Plasma Energy."
"How cool, you have an ability with diminishing returns. Hey, you might be able to armor up your body with this ability. The automatic Force-Manipulation should see to it you won't be hindered too much."
Daina stood up. "I'll give it a try. I'll call this… Form Coat: Iron Armor!" I immediately noticed the error we both made as Daina's training clothes began to bulge and tear apart. I fought off the heavy blush that pervaded my face. "Well, this is unexpected…" commented Daina as she looked down at herself. At least her technique had worked; her nudity was veiled in gleaming iron. "…And cold!" She shuddered.
"Can you move well?" I asked with some trepidation.
Daina moved her arms and did a little spin. "Yeah, quite well in fact; the coating is skin tight but light over my joints. I kind of feel freer in this than in my clothes, actually. It feels so natural… so right."
I blinked at that. "William, how about you go fetch a change of clothes for Sister Daina before she develops any weird habits."
"Already on it! Come into the lab, Daina," William's voice answered. Daina just chuckled before complying.
A can of worms had been opened, and new world of possibilities was exposed. You could be sure that the following Monday, Daina and I experimented a lot. Daina found that she could do her Form Coat with all of her metals, but it was a waste to use mercury as obviously the liquid metal just splattered unto the floor. Thankfully, by the end of the day, after many a change of clothes was again destroyed, she learned to exert better control. Apparently, when she expelled the metal from her body, it was not fluid but actually a sort of strangely bondless 'soup.' She let the bonds form when she was done expelling to solidify the coating, and she had to break the bonds again before reabsorbing. To stop tearing her clothes, she simply controlled the soup to safely spill out around the openings before coating her body.
As for me, I discovered how to manipulate my electricity. It was much easier to do when under the power of my Light Boost ability, but I could do it at any time. I was able to use Daina's Form Coat ability, but not to the extent she could. I could only coat my hands and feet in iron, copper, chromium, cobalt and tungsten, and in various steel alloys. The different metals and alloys allowed me to run varying current and voltage combinations based on the varying ranges of resistance of the materials. I could generate enough charge that visible lightning-like sparks of static would dance over the body part I currently using, pun intended. The strongest charge was most easily done with elemental copper. I learned that the strength of the static was indicated by the color. Dark shades of violet were the highest, and pale yellow was the lowest.
Of course, free electricity manipulation was very draining, not to mention dangerous. The bolts were hot and left painful burnt lines on my unprotected arms and legs when they arched away from my hands and feet, completely bypassing my training clothes. By Wednesday, my max capacity was as high as 180 MJ but that could vanish swiftly with just as few practice sessions, bringing me down as low as 25 MJ. William explained to us that when our energy got low enough, it would automatically block itself from further use to prevent us from killing ourselves by using it up completely. Our Plasma Energy was finely intertwined with our lives, maintaining a delicate balance within us.
Thursday, October 27th. 6:50 AM.
It was not too long after breakfast and Julie had left for work. Daina, William and I were still in the main hall about to head to the lab when a knock on the door occurred.
"I wonder who could that be," I said out loud.
"Did Miss Julie forget something and came back?" voiced Daina.
"No, the Researcher has arrived at last," said William with a smile as he went to answer the door.
"Good morning, Dr. Williky," greeted a surprisingly familiar voice.
Hey... wait a minute. That voice... this wouldn't happen to be...!? I thought. To Daina and my complete astonishment as William stepped aside, none other than Sir Arthur Midian entered into the house, the very founder of the ground upon which I stood. Not just this house in particular, mind you, but the country of Santa Pyre itself.
He looked just like in the pictures and on TV: English white hair and early forties Englishman features, with spry grey eyes and a small mustache. There was a cut scar on his left cheek from a sailing incident in the earlier part of his sailing career. He was wearing his favorite English Navy uniform, although he never was a part of the Navy. But that did not mean he was not a famous and respected man of the sea. Oh, no; he had been to ports all over the world and seen all the oceans. His favorite was the Pacific. The vastness of it reminded him of the hard work he has done to get where he is. He even had a Knighthood from the Queen of England, which is why everyone called him "Sir Midian" or "Sir Arthur."
"Whoa!" I exclaimed.
"Double whoa," said Daina.
"I told you they'd be surprised," commented William with a small chuckle.
"Ah, you must be the ones I heard so much about." He extended a hand towards me. I did not move a cell, still shocked. "Come on, I will not bite. Do I have horns on my head or something, Bill Punjabé?"
I gasped. "No-no!" I finally took his hand and shook it. "It is such an honor to meet you in person, Sir."
"It is good to meet you too." He went towards Daina. "And how are you, Miss Scotland?"
"I... I am fine..." Daina replied sheepishly. I almost feared that she reverted back to her old self. She shook his offered hand.
"Wow. You have firm hands for a woman, Miss Daina."
"Uh... Thank you?"
If I was in her place, I wouldn't even be sure how to answer that, either, I thought. I coughed to break the awkwardness and to gain attention. "So, um, shall we get to business, Sir?"
"What is with this urgent attitude you have, young Bill?" Arthur roared with laughter. He had a very hearty laugh. He truly was younger than William and Julie.
"Sorry Sir. I didn't mean to offend..." I started.
"Don't be quick to second guess yourself, my boy. I finally managed to get here, so we might as well have our long awaited talk."
"I for one have many questions," I remarked.
"Let's all take a seat," said William.
Arthur, Daina and I sat on to the eight-person dining table while William went to fetch some coffee for Arthur. When William came back and Arthur had taken a few sips, it was time.
"Now, my good people," Arthur began as he placed his cup down on a small table, "I know it must come as a real shock to you that I, Arthur Midian the Founder of Santa Pyre, am in fact the "Researcher" you've so vaguely heard about. I am Julie Midian Williky's younger brother by six years and therefore William's brother-in-law." Daina and I nodded, already knowing this. "I tried to come home to Santa Pyre after I heard about the incident that happened on Lava Side Island. It was my absolute duty to get the details." Daina and I exchanged glances. "Before you say anything, please listen to me for a while."
"Okay," I replied.
"We'll save up our questions," Daina added.
"Good." He nodded once. "William contacted me and told of you two. I was shocked beyond measure. As you should already know, I am in a similar standing to you two. That is to say, I am imbued with Atomic Plasma Energy Heritage just like you."
"How did you get your mutation?" I asked. "Daina and I tanked an explosion of Plasma Energy saturated radiation, so to speak."
"We'll get to that in a moment. Allow me to show you something." Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out a perfectly normal rock before showing it to us.