November: I Might Be A Superhero

019: Successful Trial

They were escorted into the lab by soldiers who had been keeping a watchful eye over the scientists. Commander Rodney Brown was in charge since he answered to the shadow government and it was a Friday afternoon. Exactly one week after the failed experiment in Atticus' lab.

"It's not a pleasure seeing you, Prosecutor Adams and Commander Rodney," Doctor Hemmingway cast the men in front a look from where he was having a small discussion with his scientists.

"The feeling is mutual," the cunning prosecutor smirked.

"No one fancies seeing your face either, except you work for us now." Commander Rodney glowered at him, "you were one step away from being tossed into the streets, penniless because of your failed experiment."

"Be careful with your words, commander. Thousands of people might answer to you, but you're in my lab."

"The head of state has kids with the alien virus in here and he doesn't care if you get kicked out or not. We can bring in someone more capable than you."

"I own this place, Commander. You have no right to speak to me this way."

"Then release the kids."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that."

Well, let's see if today's own will be different, or else you'll kiss his place goodbye."

Upon hearing this, Prosecutor Adams broke into a sweat. If they were to do such he'd be unable to stop them because he wasn't powerful. Atticus lab was a private lab until the government got involved. And of course, he couldn't let the kids with the alien viruses be taken off his hands. It was a dream come true to have them under his care, but exasperating to see soldiers guarding everywhere, and having everything observed in the lab's CCTV room, after kicking out all the CCTV workers and putting soldiers in there.

Room 001 was closed with the 'No Entry' sign. Everything in there burnt to ashes and settled in clouds of dust and human bones. The boy with flying limbs, his three scientists, and one intern that died in the fire from the failed experiment. Doctor Hemmingway didn't replace a thing. They just packed out the bones of the deceased and compensated their families with fat cheques...

"You've been silent, Doctor Hemmingway," Commander Rodney stepped forward to stand in Doctor Hemmingway's face. "either you back out now, or you lose your worth with this Experiment."

"That's enough you two love birds, let's get to business. Shall we?" Prosecutor Adams stopped them.

A frustrated Doctor Hemmingway pushed the scientists out of the way as he headed towards room 002. 

"I'll do the experiment my-fucking-self!" He yelled at Commander Rodney who snorted, enjoying his anger.

"Good thing, Doctor Hemmingway. This time you'll die along with the patient after failing. I wonder why they chose to bring the kids in here when you're completely incapable." Commander Rodney folded his arms across his chest, his mischievous smirk never leaving his face.

"That's enough, Rodney." Prosecutor Adams snapped immediately, having enough of his bullshit.

Doctor Hemmingway tried as much as he could to keep his anger in check as he unlocked the door with a card and approached the sleeping girl on the bed.

"Her name is Melissa Anderson, sixteen and with the quirk of letting the thoughts of people visible when she places her hands on their heads," Doctor Hemmingway forced these words out from his throat as he looked at Commander Rodney Brown. 

Oh, how he wished he could punch him so hard in the face for threatening to kick him out of his own lab that he built with his money.

"Go ahead, Doctor Hemmingway." Prosecutor Adams urged him, and he turned away from them.

"I made the Red Bane fluid myself. With similar acids from the last except these ones aren't harsh, because the Red Dew fluid worked until things took a sullen turn. So I tested it, and decided to create a replica with a similar but less acidic base."

"What was it before? Aha, red dew fluid that killed five people. This time, I wonder what death this Red bane fluid will cause." Commander Rodney Brown taunted Doctor Hemmingway.

"Ignore him and carry on." Prosecutor Adams said to Doctor Hemmingway."

He took a deep breath and continued, "Melissa is asleep. We put her under a sleeping dose this time to avoid what occurred the last time," he explained, gaining nods from the men that stood outside except the seemingly annoying Commander.

After taking the Red Bane fluid from the vessel, he pumped the injection into the girl's neck. While everyone outside stood, awaiting to see what will happen next. Fire extinguishers were also close by Incase things go wrong this time.

They watched from the large glass window as the fluid transferred itself to every of the girl's veins and darkened her entire body almost like a tar.

It was a horrific sight to behold but they appeared unfazed, mostly Commander Rodney Brown who was waiting for something wrong to happen as he had anticipated.

But nothing happened. Instead, the girl's body appeared normal after five full minutes.

Doctor Hemmingway had this heart churning the entire time, silently praying to whatever he believed in to make things go right for him. He was about to get kicked out of his own lab by the government. A successful experiment with the infection-induced kid would guarantee his safety.

And he broke into an audible gasp of relief when he saw that nothing went wrong. He was progressing.

"Melissa," he called on the sleeping girl and she immediately flickered her eyes open.

"Get up," 

"Yes, Doctor Hemmingway." The girl stood up like a robot and waited for his next instruction.

"The red bane fluid is functioning in her body system right now, erasing every trace of emotion. The red bane fluid is highly stimulating to her senses." He explained, maintaining eye contact with Commander Rodney Brown, "That longing to be with family members or a boyfriend is devoid, she'll listen only to the instructions made by me."

"Let's see her in action then," he said, stroking his mustache.

"Hunter, come on in," Doctor Hemmingway spoke into his mic, immediately an intern stepped forward, and waited for the door to be slid open before he made his way in.

"Why don't you let the girl do it on you?" Commander Rodney Brown asked Doctor Hemmingway.

"I'm afraid my thoughts wouldn't be pleasing to the eyes. You especially will find it very offensive." Doctor Hemmingway responded and asked the intern to sit on the chair.

"Do it, put his thoughts on Display." He ordered Melissa.

"Yes, doctor Hemmingway," the girl moved over to the boy's side and placed her hands on his head. 

 

The fluorescent lights wavered for a few seconds and Commander Rodney Brown was close to yelling he said so about a disaster impending to hand over, but the fluctuation stopped.

Melissa's straightened black hair turned snow white and immediately the boy's thoughts were on display like a TV was placed in front.

The intern, Hunter, was wise enough to fixate his thoughts on him playing soccer, reading a book at home, making chili, and visiting his mother's grave with a flower. 

"Do we see what he wants us to see alone?" Prosecutor Adams queried.

"Right, we need to know his darkest deepest thoughts." Commander Rodney Brown provided, "can she do that even when he tries to hide them?"

Doctor Hemmingway paused for a brief moment, wondering if he would like to reveal the other side of 002's quirk. He wanted to explore the girl on his own when no one was watching. But it was impossible because CCTV cameras were installed everywhere.

"I asked a question, Doctor Hemmingway. You cannot be deaf all of a sudden."

The irritating voice of the annoying Commander made him clench his fists and grind his teeth until his jaw began to hurt.

"Flip over, Melissa." He forced these words out.

The intern Hunter was beginning to panic upon hearing this. 

"As you wish, Doctor Hemmingway," Melissa's hair changed to gray when she took off her index fingers and replaced them with the middle.

And then, they saw a whole lot of unpleasant things concerning the intern, Hunter. Him chasing after literally everything in skirts, getting drunk to a stupor, lying and deceiving people. His real name was Wesley and he had been to jail twice over drug abuse. Before going into a rehab to fix himself and settling at Med school. On his way to apply as an intern in Atticus' lab, he knocked someone over with his car and sped past them.

"You seem to have a nasty life, boy." Commander Rodney Brown said aloud when Doctor Hemmingway ordered the girl to stop.

The trembling Hunter refused to meet everyone's eyes, he felt so ashamed of himself and humiliated. Had he known, he wouldn't have volunteered to be used. Now everyone knew the secrets that he was trying so hard to hide.

"So, the girl can put people's thoughts on display when she touches their heads. Both the ones they want us to see and the ones they're hiding, is it not?"

"Yes," Doctor Hemmingway gave Prosecutor Adams a firm nod.

"And the experiment was a success, can she be controlled?" Someone else from the group asked.

"Yes, Consigliere. But the Red Bane fluid subsides if she gets deprived of it for three days. And she'll return to her usual self."

"Well, then make plenty of it!" Commander Rodney Brown yelled.

"Tone your voice down, at least he deserves some credit. He isn't one of your boys." Prosecutor Adams patted the Commander's shoulder, having enough of him already. 

Doctor Hemmingway felt grateful towards the prosecutor, but it didn't reduce the dislike he had for them. His paranoia towards all of them stayed the same.

"Sit, Melissa." 

"Yes, Doctor Hemmingway."

"Are you hungry?"

"I will eat when you want me to." 

This was the little chat between Doctor Hemmingway and Melissa Brown, who behaved as if she had the characteristics of a robot. 

"Wait, does this mean she'll starve until you ask her to eat?" Someone else inquired.

"Yes, but that will be dangerous. She's human and it'll affect her health. She will die if she starves."

"Oh," 

"More red Bane fluid would be made, but I cannot guarantee it will work the same on the other kids." Doctor Hemmingway dismissed a frightened Hunter.

"What do you mean by that?" Commander Rodney Brown was flabbergasted for a second, "I thought this method will be applied to every other kid."

"The alien viruses aren't the same. Each kid has a unique one and I do not want to make a mistake. I and my scientists will study them, run more blood tests and come up with different fluids to gain full control over their actions and behavior," Doctor Hemmingway clarified and felt a tad of satisfaction running through him when they remained silent, wanting to know more from him.

"So you're saying this Red Bane fluid is just for the girl?"

"I'm afraid, yes. I'll be needing more time to carefully examine the remaining sixteen kids and then produce their control fluid. What works for A might not work for B, although under different circumstances it might. But I'm not willing to risk any more lives."

"Brilliant!" Prosecutor Adams appeared pleased upon hearing this explanation from Doctor Hemmingway. "You're good at what you do."

"I'll take it that luck befell on you this time." This from Commander Rodney Brown.

He was ignored by Doctor Hemmingway who immediately ordered 002 to return to sleep, before making his way out.

To say he was relieved was an understatement. His heart was slamming against his chest in excitement.

"Let's call it an afternoon, shall we?" He tried to dismiss them with a clap of the hand, but they remained on their spot 

"Doctor Hemmingway?" Prosecutor Adams called him, looking dead serious like he had something important to say.

"Yes?" 

"My son, Chase, is here."

"Oh, the boy with the fire quirk. May I see him?" Doctor Hemmingway was a bit interested in seeing the boy. Same as the other men. Commander Rodney Brown was at some corner, giving his men instructions through a combat radio.

"He's agreed to work with you, but none of that red dew thing will be injected into his body. He'll have a normal life. Except he wants to be more powerful." Prosecutor Adams placed his hand on Doctor Hemmingway's shoulders.

Doctor Hemmingway was silent for a while, staring into the blue eyes of the corrupted prosecutor, at the same time searching his thoughts.

"Well, then. We'll put him in a sensory deprivation tank with a tube in his mouth, that way he'll travel into his mind to figure things out himself." Doctor Hemmingway finally spoke up.

"You think that will help him?"

"Let me see the boy, prosecutor."

Everyone waited as Prosecutor Adams slipped out his phone, pumped some buttons, and waited for a few seconds, before speaking. 

A minute later, the sixteen-year-old showed up, casting a suspicious glance from one man to the other as he stood beside his father. Chase wasn't scared of them, just that he didn't trust them. They looked like assholes to him.

"Wipe your eyes, son." Prosecutor Adams shoved a hankie into his son's hand, to wipe his eyelids which were completely black as if he applied eyeshadow.

But Chase didn't listen to his father, rather he looked bored, not even uttering a word.

"What a fine boy you have as a son, he seems handful too." Doctor Hemmingway smiled at Chase and then stopped when the boy's face wasn't being cooperative.

"Good looks run in my family, same as a gigantic ego."

"Can we see his quirk?" Commander Rodney Brown appeared behind Chase.

"No here, we don't want to burn anything down." Doctor Hemmingway forced laughter from his throat.

"Has your intern found that boy with the unique quirk?" Commander Rodney queried, gaze dead serious.

"What unique quirk?" Chase finally spoke up.

"No, but the video will be uploaded all over the internet and the Newsline."

"Make it known that a fine of $500,000 will be credited to whoever finds him and bring him to me." Commander Rodney Brown's voice was hard and full of determination.

"You mean bring him to us," Prosecutor Adams snapped his head to face the Commander. "How many times do I have to tell you, you cannot have that boy since you intend to use him in fighting war against the Russians?" He gritted out.

"Which boy?" Chase raised this voice, making his eyes brim with fire. And it stopped the impending argument between his father and the commander.

"There, boy," doctor Hemmingway pointed at the Tv behind them, "he's the same age as you. Might as well attend your school."

Chase whirled his head around to the screen where the video of a boy using his quirk to deal with thieves, was on display on the TV. 

He ground his jaw until it began to hurt because he knew who it was. The thrift clothes, brown hair, and lanky body which required lots of exercises to gain weight.

 November Calhoun.

The boy he liked bullying at school. It pained him so much that these men, including his dad, had forgotten about him and were talking about November. Even wanted to pay a huge sum of money to have him.

"Styles failed to capture his face the whole time he made this footage, but do you by any chance recognize him?" Doctor Hemmingway asked a fuming Chase who had his hand balled in fists.

"No," he lied.