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Neil opened his eyes and struggled to collect his thoughts. The last thing he remembered was falling through the sky and closing his eyes. What had happened after that?
He was still facing up, looking towards the bright blue sky. He didn’t feel the pressure of anything up against his back, so he must have still been up in the sky somewhere. If that was the case, why did he hear the sound of traffic and murmuring voices? He especially should not be hearing the sound of camera shutters.
“Look, his eyes are open!”
Neil heard the voice of a young woman. Camera shutters went off like a machine gun.
He gathered his senses and realized exactly what kind of situation he had found himself in. He was currently hovering several feet off the ground with a crowd of people surrounding him taking pictures and whispering to each other.
He turned himself right side up and stood on the ground in the middle of the large crowd of people. Many of them were wearing Army uniforms, so he must have been on Fort Gordon somewhere.
There was nothing he could say in that situation to present it as anything other than what it actually was – a clusterfuck. As bad as his present situation was, it would be even worse if he let anyone walk away with photographic evidence of a man floating above the ground while taking a nap.
Neil destroyed all of the phones and cameras in the crowd. Many people recoiled in surprise, and some let out a gasp.
“What the hell just happened to my phone?” One man said.
What started out as a pleasant cruise through the upper stratosphere had turned into a nightmare. He could feel his heart rate rising, and sweat formed on his palms. How could he get out of this situation without making it any worse? If he tried to walk away, everyone would just follow him. If he flew away, they would all see it. He wished he could just make himself invisible.
He paused his train of thought. Could he make himself invisible? Neil recalled from his brief internet research that light particles were massless, and thus had no Higgs fields for him to manipulate. However, light was still affected by the curvature of space. If Neil could manipulate the gravity around his body, he could convince the light to bend around it and not project his figure to any observers.
Neil focused on applying a tremendous amount of force in a shape outside of his body. He could surely bend the fabric of space and make the light travel around him. Neil pushed his influence out and concentrated on curving the space around him.
Absolutely nothing happened.
“Fuck it.” Neil said.
He tossed up a cloud of dust and took off into the sky. It was crude, but effective.
While Neil ascended, he looked around and saw the familiar glass architecture of the NSA building just a mile away. He landed around the corner from the main entrance and walked inside. He made has way through security, down the elevator, and back to the familiar double doors of PRECINCT.
When he stepped inside, Carl, Tanya, and Steele were all standing there waiting for him in the reception area.
“What in God’s name were you thinking?” Carl said
“What are you talking about? I just went for a stroll.”
“A stroll? Ok, then do you mind explaining why the entire base has been put on lockdown due to an unidentified fast moving object?”
“Must have been a bird.”
Neil wasn’t worried about getting spotted. They could put his face on the newspaper for all he cared. It didn’t change anything anymore.
“I don’t know of any kind of bird that can deactivate surface-to-air missiles mid-flight as it plummets towards the base.”
What was Carl talking about? Neil didn’t have anything to do with surface-to-air missiles. He couldn’t have, anyways – he was asleep as he was falling. Unless…could he have somehow defended himself in his sleep?
“Carl, this is incredible!”
Neil was ecstatic. No one else seemed to share his joy.
If his ability manifested itself to defend him while he was asleep, then what could that mean? He remembered the encounter in the library where his body automatically went rigid to defend itself from the darts. The same thing happened in the training room when he first arrived at the NSA building.
Neil rushed over to the nearby desk and grabbed a pair of scissors.
“Tanya. I’m sorry that I stabbed you with a pencil. Now’s your chance to get back fair and square. Take these scissors and stab me in the back as hard as you possibly can. Don’t let me know it’s coming!”
Neil was too excited to make any sense.
“What are you talking about?! I’m not going to stab you, because I’m not a psychopath like you apparently are.”
Neil didn’t have the time for patience.
“JUST DO IT! Trust me, I’ll be fine.”
Neil turned away and closed his eyes while putting his hands over his ears. He wanted it to be a surprise.
He waited several seconds, but nothing happened.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He took his hands off his ears and turned around. On the ground behind him was a shattered pair of scissors. He hadn’t even felt anything.
“Hah! I knew it! Carl, when I was falling back down to the ground, I was asleep. I had no idea they even fired missiles at me. My body defends itself automatically! Everything around me is in my influence. My mind knows if it’s a threat before I am even consciously aware of it.”
Neil was speaking faster than they could keep up with.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’m invincible. No one can do anything to hurt me, even if I’m not paying attention.”
“Well, shit.” Carl said. “Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Turn invisible, apparently.”
“Are you telling me you tried to turn invisible?”
“Yeah. When I woke up from the nap that I took while falling from the sky, I was floating above the ground and there were a lot of people watching me, so I tried to turn invisible. It didn’t work. Sorry about that, by the way.”
Carl’s face changed to red almost instantly.
“You did what?!” He yelled, “What the hell were you thinking? You have got to control yourself! You have been acting more volatile every day since you’ve been here. The power is getting to your head, Neil. You can’t just go doing whatever you want. There are rules. People’s lives depend on your ability being kept secret.”
“Why, Carl? Why does it have to be a secret? Even if the rest of the world knew about me, what does it matter? They can’t recreate me. They can’t prepare for me. They can’t stop me, Carl. Just unleash me once, and all of our enemies will throw down their weapons the next day. They will be terrified of me.”
Neil was tired of preparing. He knew that he was powerful enough already. There was no point in spending months honing his skills, when what he had was enough to destroy anything in his path.
“That’s what you want, isn’t it? You want everyone to be afraid of you. That’s exactly what I’m talking about Neil. You are turning into a monster.” Carl said.
“I AM A GOD!”
Neil’s frustration had turned into a ball of fire inside of him. He released his anger as an explosive pressure wave in the air that launched the three of them backwards several feet onto the floor. The glass wall shattered, and the loose objects in the room dispersed into the air as if a bomb had gone off.
Carl, Tanya, and Steele lay on the floor. They all looked up at him, terrified and confused.
Neil didn’t know what had become of him. He had no idea what compelled him to say or do that. He regretted his actions immediately. His temper seemed to have control over his actions. Neil helped them all to their feet. He repaired all the damage he had caused in the room.
“Look, I’m sorry. I don’t know why that happened. You’re right, I am letting this power thing get to my head. Everything has just been happening so fast, and I…I think the stress is just driving me crazy, that’s all.”
“Freak!” Tanya yelled.
She stormed out of the reception area and ran down the stairs behind the glass wall.
“I think it would be best if we take some time off from the test facility. All of this just happened to you a week and a half ago. Maybe you should just take the next few days to meditate on what you have learned so far. Now would be a good opportunity to do some research on biochemistry so you are able to better utilize your micro-manipulation.” Carl said, trying not to let the fear escape through his voice.
“Yeah, I think you’re right. A few days off from this madness would do me some good.” Neil said.
Neil returned to his room and thought about how he would spend the next few days. He couldn’t exactly spend the time unwinding while twenty-six floors below ground.
He wondered what old Neil would do.
Old Neil would have spent the time playing video games with Bryan and Alex. He would have gotten drunk and stayed awake laughing at his friends’ stories until he was too tired to keep his eyes open. He would have spent time at some romantic retreat with Emma.
Emma had been the reason he had come there in the first place, and he had hardly thought about home since he had been there. He had spent so much time focusing on his ability and had been neglecting the things he used to care about most. Emma was his driving motivation for being there, and Steele’s. Neil wondered where she was at that moment. Was she still sitting in some jail cell somewhere, waiting to be released on false charges?
While Neil thought about his former life, he realized just how much the past few days had changed him. What he cared about a couple weeks before was completely different than what he cared about then. His only motivation then was to seek a better understanding of his ability. He wanted to know exactly what he could do.
Every day, Neil learned more about his ability than the last. He wondered how much more there was to learn. If he could go from accidentally knocking shampoo bottles over to causing fission reactions in less than two weeks, where would his power take him in a month? A year? What would Neil be capable of in a decade?
The next step in expanding his capabilities would be to master micro-manipulation. If he could understand molecular structure enough to perform complex chemical reactions, he could go beyond simple manipulation of matter. He would be able to effectively perform alchemy.
Neil began studying biology and chemistry to the best of his ability through research on the internet. If he was stuck in a lecture hall on his old campus somewhere, learning the material would take forever. However, being able to physically feel the shape of the molecules gave him a distinct educational advantage.
When he wasn’t studying, he was practicing. Tanya eventually warmed up enough to teach him various chemical experiments he could try. In his own time, he tested his knowledge of the human biology and anatomy by performing experiments like slicing his arm open with a knife and sealing the wound back up. After a while, he was able to break and repair damage to his bones instantly.
There was one experiment that Neil had been anxious to try. It was very dangerous, and very complicated, but Neil eventually convinced Carl to let him do it.
“You want to do what?” Carl asked.
“You heard me. I want to blow up a nuke. I think I can do it.”
He had been practicing containing the energy of explosions by creating a sphere of inward force which counteracted anything that pushed outwards. He had gotten the technique down to perfection. Even sound waves couldn’t escape his bubble. The waves weren’t able to propagate off of the air molecules.
He started out by testing grenades, and moved his way up to a 5000 pound bunker-buster that the NSA director had to pull some strings for him to acquire. It only took him a few tries to master the technique. He was confident that he could protect everyone from the nuclear blast. The most important part of the test was to see whether or not he could create his own nuclear reaction by splitting atoms.
After much resistance, Carl eventually gave in and agreed to let him test his idea. Even the NSA wasn’t able to acquire uranium or plutonium for the experiment, but they did acquire some spare platinum after some phone calls. It was one of the heaviest metals that could be found in abundance, so it would have to do.
They set up a block of platinum in the testing chamber and prepared for the experiment. Everyone wore radiation suits except for Neil. They weren’t entirely convinced that he would be able to block the radiating particles from penetrating his bubble. Neil was more confident than they were.
He had mentally prepared himself all morning for this occasion. The idea of becoming a self-powered Manhattan Project fueled his desires. He stood just a few meters from the block of platinum and adjusted his perspective so that he could feel every single atom in the block of metal. A week ago, it would have been impossible, but after practicing for the past several days he accomplished it in a matter of seconds.
In order to create the nuclear reaction, he would have to split the neutrons of all the atoms, which would release a tremendous amount of energy. It all had to happen at the exact same time. Neil had concentrated on every nucleus in every atom in the block of platinum. He prepared to take the plunge.
“Neil, stop the test.” Steele’s voice came over the loudspeaker.
“What? Why? I was just about to do it!”
Neil was furious. He had been building up to that moment for days, and seconds away from seeing if it would work.
“We just received a phone call. This will have to wait. The ISAF Commander is specifically requesting your help. This is big, Neil.”
That was enough to peak Neil’s curiosity. If a four star General was asking for Neil, they must have something important for him.
Neil reluctantly left the testing facility and followed the rest of the team into the conference room. The General was waiting for them on the video teleconference.
“Gentlemen,” General Dunford said as he saw them enter the room, “I apologize for the haste, but this conversation must be short. We just received actionable intelligence, and Neil is our only hope to complete this mission in time.”
“What sort of intelligence?” Neil asked.
“Young man, you are about to eliminate the most wanted man in the world. Ayman al-Zawahiri was the former second-in-command of Al-Qaeda. When we took out Bin Laden in 2011, al-Zawahiri took over.” The General continued, “We just received word that he is about to appear in public in Islamabad, Pakistan.”
“Pakistan? What’s he doing there?”
“He was recently the target of a predator drone strike. The intelligence pointed to a secluded hut where he was staying with his family in the nearby mountains to the north of Islamabad. Two of his daughters were killed and his only son was injured, but he was unharmed. This was three days ago. His son is now in critical condition in an Islamabad hospital. He’s going there today to visit him.”
“You want me to kill a man in front of his dying son after you attacked his family? What kind of person do you think I am?”
“Listen Lieutenant, I’m not asking you to do this. I’m telling you this is going to happen. Al-Zawahiri is the most dangerous threat to our national security right now. We have reason to believe he is currently plotting another attack on American soil that will make 9/11 look like a misdemeanor. If you don’t do this, thousands of your countrymen will die.”
The General was clearly not used to being questioned by his subordinates, but Neil was no subordinate. There was only one piece of leverage they had over Neil at this point, and he was about to get it back.
“Why don’t you just drop a bomb on the hospital?” Neil asked, mostly as a joke.
“Believe me, we thought about it. He’s important enough to almost make it worth the fallback. It wouldn’t’ be the first time we bombed a civilian target and blamed it on terrorists. If we didn’t have you, we might do it, but even the military is opposed to that kind of c
ollateral damage if we can help it.”
They clearly weren’t messing around. If they would even consider dropping a bomb on a hospital, they must really want that man dead.
“Ok, I’ll do it.”
“Great, ok here’s what -” Neil interrupted him.
“On one condition. Emma Snow is to be released. After I do this for you, I want to see her.”
Neil was proud of his quick thinking. He would have done what the General asked anyways, but at least now he would get something in return out of it.
“Done.”
“But Sir, she’s -” Carl was not happy with that condition. She was the only reason they could get Neil to do what they asked, and Carl knew it.
“I said it’s done, Delmont. This man will be doing his country a huge service. We can afford to let him spend some time with his girlfriend in return.”
The deal was set in stone.
“Ok, how do I find this al-Zawahiri?”
The General put a picture of him on the display. He was an older looking well-fed man with a long, dark beard and a turban. The glasses were the most identifiable feature. Not many people in Pakistan would be able to afford glasses.
“This is who you’re looking for. The picture is a few years old, but he hasn’t changed much. His beard has grown, and he has a little more grey in his hair, but that’s about it. We’re sending you the coordinates to the hospital. His son will likely be on the third or fourth floor. That’s where the more expensive doctors work.”
“How do you want me to do it?”
He felt like he was getting briefed as a contract killer. In a sense, he was.
“We want them to know it was us. You’re going to go in wearing our uniform, and the non-subdued American flag will be on your right shoulder. Don’t worry about discretion. This is how we announce to the world that we don’t fuck around. Consider anyone with a weapon a threat.”
Neil liked the sound of that.
“Sir, I don’t consider anyone a threat.”
“That’s what I like to hear, son. We estimate you’ve got less than three hours before he goes dark again. Good luck and Godspeed.”
Superhuman Nature Page 17
