by <unknown>
"Could it be..."
John was again startled by this discovery. Could he have awakened another ability unknowingly?
The Blackwatch superpower database had more than a hundred entries by this point. Could this newly awakened power of his be "steel body fortification" or "spirit form"?
"Steel body fortification" was almost a universal ability to a point where six to seven out of ten psionicists would achieve this psionic manifestation. It was a straightforward ability that enhanced the body of the user to become hard as steel and immune to most common weapons as well as mild thermal weapons.
Comparatively, "spirit form" was significantly rarer. It was a modified version of "steel body fortification" that gave the psionicist a greater level of fortification. Furthermore, the psionicist could also gain superhuman strength, reflex, and overall physical qualities with this ability.
John knew more than a dozen people who possessed "steel body fortification", which included the famous Blake from the BHB Combative Police Force. However, there was only one other person with "spirit form" so far.
With this in mind, John tried to experiment for himself. With his bare fist, he tried to squeeze the bullet.
When he opened his palms again, his eyes lit up with ecstasy. The bullet had been twisted into a jumble of unrecognizable metal. He could see the marks of his finger pressed into it!
Could this truly be spirit form?
A wild excitement flashed in John's eyes. With an offensive tool in optic blast and a defensive tool in spirit form, he could easily ascend the ladder to become the strongest member among the psionicists!
"Clap, clap, clap..."
While John was measuring the potential of his abilities, he suddenly heard light clapping coming from behind the walls. A red beam immediately glowed within his eyes as he cautiously turned around to face that direction. Then, he saw the instructor, Sarah, emerging from behind the stone bunker.
"Not bad, John. I knew you were the right one."
Sarah said with a smile that was as scrutinizing as ever, "To awake another ability, excellent... It's the enhanced spirit form as well. This easily ranks you at top three among the current recruited batch."
"Madame Instructor!"
John lowered his head slightly as a show of respect. Although Sarah was a common person without any psionic abilities, nobody, John himself included, dared to underestimate her. This woman was a poisonous viper. Even psionicists had to be on guard around her.
"You're undoubtedly more powerful than me at this point."
Sarah raised two fingers. "Now, you have two options - one, you can let us continue our experiments on you, with a proper reward of course, since you'll be given a vial of L compound to further enhance your psionic strength. There's a likelihood that you may unlock the third power as we perform DNA experiments on you."
"The second option is you can join the B.S.S. and begin your tenure immediately. You'll be required to sign a decade-long contract with an annual salary of up to ten million dollars. The choice is yours."
The prospect of ten million dollars was certainly tempting to John. His heartbeat raced like never before but he managed to collect himself and think about his current strength, then he resolved. "I choose... The former!"
"Hm?"
Sarah's smile widened. She took another look at this bold student of hers. "Let me remind you that the L compound can have severe side effects that may cause instant brain death. Having psionic powers doesn't exempt you from its effects."
"I'd like to give it a shot!"
John nodded, even more determined.
"Excellent!"
Sarah seemed pleased as well. "In that case, follow me!"
With that, the two of them left the training grounds and headed for a nearby research center.
Several days later, the other psionicists received word of staggering news. The recent new psionicist recruit of B.S.S. John had acquired a third psionic power - flight.
With that, John had also officially become the first psionicist in Blackwatch that had three psionic abilities.
The news quickly made its rounds in the Blackwatch inner circle as well and got to Chen Chen almost immediately.
"I believe three superpowers is the limit."
The virtual projection in front of Chen Chen displayed John's genetic sequence. Little X elaborated beside him, "These psionic powers are acquired at the cost of the psionicist's DNA sequence being directly altered. These changes in DNA sequence have a significant effect on disturbing the structural integrity of their DNA and John has reached his limit already. If he acquires a fourth ability, his DNA will collapse."
Chen Chen did not elicit any response to this remark.
Despite John's superb potential, he would still need time to develop his psionic powers and gain mastery over it.
"If you think about it, John is truly lucky."
Little X pointed out. "Optic blast for attacking, spirit form to make up for defense shortcomings, and then he can move around with flight. These three combined nullifies all kinds of weaknesses and makes him a psionicist equivalent of Superman."
"Now that you put it this way, it does sound like a slightly weaker version of Superman."
Chen Chen agreed with a short nod. "Just like Superman, he's immune to common attacks, shoots lasers out of his eyes, and can fly. But I'm afraid that Superman still beats him in a fair fight."
"The only thing to do now is to let him continue training."
Little X stated, "So far, he can only melt several millimeters of fortified metal and resist the impact of light to moderate weaponry. At maximum speed, he only travels at a hundred meters per second. It might not be anything tremendous but I do think it's worthwhile to keep him in our company, especially considering that we need a suitable psionicist to represent us..."
"It won't be hard to keep him around."
Chen Chen considered for a moment and said, "I went through his background and obtained a brief overview of his mental psyche. He's been attention-craved ever since childhood, constantly wanting praises from his elders. It's his primary motivation for the work he put in and he maintained the same philosophy whether in his later studies and even in the work field... People like this are easy to manipulate. Give a man the prospect of fame and influence and they will naturally gravitate toward it."
"And how should we do it?"
Little X asked. Of course, she already had a vague idea as to how Chen Chen usually approached these things but at the end of the day, she was not as proficient as Chen Chen at formulating such schemes.
Chen Chen answered almost immediately, "He's piping with ambition and wants fame more than anything else. Let's give the man what he wants and let him join Lane, Blake, and Hodge, what do you think?"
"Ah!"
Little X gasped. "We're letting him join the Superpower Combative Police Force? Aren't you worried about him shaping up to be the next 'Brooke'?"
"John is nothing like Brooke."
Chen Chen disagreed vehemently. "First of all, he's not just after money as his self-worth goes beyond materialistic desires. And second, he has greater ambitions than Brooke and knows that only we can help him achieve what he wants. Lastly, so what if he turns out to be like Brooke?"
Little X understood the points Chen Chen was making. "Since you believe that we can keep him under control, then I'll enlist him into the Superpower Combative Police Force. He's just as attractive as Brooke and has a more charismatic personality so he should be a good fit. Since there are only three members left, it's a good time to induct a new member as well..."
While Little X and Chen Chen were busy discussing the fate of John, the person in question was ecstatically gliding along the roof of the training grounds.
Flight! His third psionic manifestation was flight!
John glided across the roof passionately, basking in the living of flying.
Based on what instructor Sarah informed him, all of these acquitted psionic power
s could be developed with dedicated training. John made use of every opportunity to train his psionic abilities.
Amid his training, Sarah appeared again.
"Madame Instructor."
John quickly swept down from the roof and came in front of Sarah. At this point, though his martial combat skills were still no match for the instructor, the powers he had obtained easily made up for whatever deficiencies of his skill level.
"John, the higher-ups have made a new decision."
Sarah said with a brief smile, "The plan was to induct you into the B.S.S. department, but upon receiving word of you unlocking a third psionic ability, they changed their mind."
"Changed their mind?"
John was slightly unnerved by the sudden change of decision.
"Don't worry, the offer is even better than B.S.S."
Sarah noted the worrisome look on John's face and quickly stated, "The latest decision is to induct you as the fourth official member of the BHB Superpower Combative Police Force!"
"What?"
John almost stopped breathing when he heard the good news. A swarm of excitement rushed into the depths of his heart and filled him with joy. He could not make out the nature of this mixture of emotion but something told him that he would enjoy this job.
"Of course, the previous option of joining the B.S.S. department is still on the table for you."
Sarah stated earnestly, "I was looking forward to having you as a subordinate."
John responded with a saddened smile. He looked into Sarah's eyes that stared back into his eyes fixedly, his decision wavered slightly.
"I'm sorry, Madame Instructor. I believe the BHB position is a better fit for me."
John stated solemnly.
With that, Sarah decided there was no need to further persuade him, so she brought him to another training ground.
The moment John stepped into the separate training ground, he was greeted with three familiar faces. They were the famous Lane, Hodge, and Blake.
The three of them welcomed John without any animosity. Since the three of them were never fueled by a fierce sense of ambition, they took to the new member quickly and seamlessly.
Chapter 579: Overnight Stardom |
New York City, Queens.
The dense smoke cleared up as the array of fire trucks and ambulances departed. The ambulances speeding to the hospital were loaded with several wounded by the fire.
It was evening. The highway that would usually be experiencing peak traffic was uncannily empty. Due to the fire in Aycliffe Building, the entire New York Center Avenue was closed off to all common vehicles.
Thankfully, the fire had now been put out successfully. Meanwhile, there was a loud commotion right opposite the Aycliffe building. A clamoring crowd of thousands of people surrounded four heroic figures posing by the steps. The passionate chorus of their cheers resounded across the avenue.
Among the four figures posing by the steps, one was a handsome man with a bed of silky, slicked-back hair. He wore an azure blue combat suit and donned a cape with the logo of the Earth Federation stitched on top and smiled radiantly.
Though the spotlight was all on the man in azure blue, the presence of the other three was quite remarkable. One of them was a black man with a row of flashing white teeth who wore a combat uniform with a bauhinia emblem stitched on top. Though his smile was dazzling, some could sense a dark aura lurking underneath.
The remaining two members seemed more childlike in comparison, but they each sported a combat suit styled to their distinctive brand as well.
Underneath the harsh sunlight, the four of them waved toward the crowd. Some of their fans among the passionate crowd approached them with large and fresh bouquets of flowers, presented to them with tears in their eyes.
"John!"
"Lane... Lane!"
"Blake! Hodge! You're all heroes!"
Their cheers drowned out the skies.
At one point, three of the members sensed that it was about time and darted a glance at the blonde-haired man in azure blue uniform. The man in question returned a faint nod and took a step forward. Then, he held his hand out and signaled for the crowd to pause their celebrations for a moment.
There was an immediate silence as the charmed members of his audience looked at him with a dazzled look in their eyes.
"Everyone, I'm honored by your passionate welcome."
The blonde-haired man stated, "I also feel the great responsibility that I should bear from here on. As the newest member of the Superhuman Combative Police Force, it's my mission and my obligation to step up to meet the great expectations expected of me...
"Ever since I was a child, I vowed to myself that I'd fight for justice, for this continent, for the federation, and mankind. I see laid before me now a chance to succeed these dreams of mine. I want to dedicate every ounce of my strength to protect all those who need protection. I promise from here on that I'd protect all of them in the name of justice, mercy, and sacrifice!"
As he said this, there was a prominent flash in his eyes. "I'm the Guardian - John. And this is my sacred vow!"
"Wah-!"
An enormous cheer erupted from the surrounding crowd again.
The blonde-haired man held his arms out and in a magnificent gesture and flew above the crowd. He soared above them as if he was riding on their waves of cheers.
This display of his powers threw the crowd in a state of delirium. They held their arms out in hopes of brushing against John the Guardian, some of them were so excited that they were crying tears of joy!
"John! John!"
"Guardian!"
The name echoed across the skylines of New York City...
This majestic scene slowly zoomed out and was cast onto a display.
Beside the display was a black man who seemed in his forties whose eyes were illuminated with a brilliant spark. He slowly approached the center of the pitch-black stage.
It was a live feed of a program titled "Richard's World", which was broadcasted every night at 7:30 pm on the International Channel of the Earth Federation.
The host of the show looked at the display behind him now. The display showed the paused frame of John being surrounded by tens of thousands of fans in New York City
"Dear viewers, I'm Wilson Richard and you're watching the Earth Federation international show - 'Richard's World'."
The host's voice was dramatic and energetic, instantly commanding the viewer's attention. "I'm sure all of you have heard of the recent news from Blackwatch..."
As he said this, he pointed a finger at the image shown on the display. "Are you all seeing this? Your eyes don't deceive you, Mr. John here is a superpower user in every sense of the word. In the past, superpowers were merely seen as a myth, something out of this world that only belonged in fiction. Today, it's proven that we were wrong all along!
"At the beginning of the year, we've lost hundreds of millions of innocent lives, families torn apart by the devastating fusion virus plague. The foundations of our civilization and never threatened to such an extent before and at one point. It seems like all hope was lost..."
The host's temperament grew dark as he said this, but he quickly picked up his enthusiasm again, "But we're a resilient species and we have powered through the devastation. And now, among the resilient survivors of the deadly virus, many have discovered that they have obtained new powers!
"The Earth Federation claimed that the formal term is 'psionic' power, but I believe the proper term to do it justice would be superpowers! These are powers that will reshape the world as we know it!
"There have been many drastic developments over the last few months and the familiar BHB Combative Police Force has emerged onto the world stage again, this time with a new addition to their forces..."
Upon stating this, the image on the display zoomed in several times until all was shown on the image was the blonde-haired man with his cape flapping majestically behind him. His other three partners faded int
o the background.
"His name is John Oppenheimer."
The host continued. "He's a survivor of the fusion virus disaster and as mentioned previously, some of the survivors have gradually acquired superpowers, and John here is no exception.
"We don't know yet the exact background of this elusive member, but those aren't important now. What's important is that he joined the BHB Combative Police Force and that the police force now goes by a new name - Superpower Combative Police Force!
"The roster of the famous police force remains unchanged but what has certainly changed is that our heroes have had their once-disabled bodies fully restored. In the process, they have also obtained powerful abilities so that they may continue protecting us.
"Only hours ago, they put out a fire and prevented a tremendous disaster that would have killed thousands of people in the Aycliffe Building in New York City!"
The host Wilson held his hands out and proclaimed dramatically, "I can sense it, human society is undergoing a tremendous shift!
"Sometimes, I find myself in awe and blessed for having Blackwatch existing in the Earth Federation! They have solved cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and all kinds of physical diseases plaguing us humans. They would then go a step further and improve our lifespan and dramatically raise the standards of common life!
"The heart and soul of Blackwatch - the BHB Combative Police Force has also undergone a substantial metamorphosis as they pave the way for the transformation of our era...
"The name BHB Combative Police Force is now formally retired and will now be known as the Superpower Combative Police Force. In addition to the familiar faces of Blake, Hodge, and Lane, a fourth member is inducted, and this is none other than the Guardian - John!"
There was a bright delight in the host's eyes. The display panned closer into John's face as he stood outside the Aycliffe building. "My beloved audience watching from your homes, take a look at his brilliant smile and radiant eyes, at the lucid righteousness of his soul..."
