Published at 4th of September 2026 6:45 am

Chapter 48 Checking In

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

I step out of the elevator into Kais gigantic laboratory. When compared to that crappy roadside clinic he used to operate out of, its obvious that Im spoiling the man. It isnt as if its a bad thing. The man is brilliant and does phenomenal work on whatever I task him with. Its that same brilliance that makes me wary of allowing him to operate on my brain. Or is it the paranoia talking? Im sure I was careful around him before; its why I originally didnt want to reveal my identity to him. Is the personality piece causing me to possibly alienate him? Theres only one way to be sure, and thats by removing the piece.

Walking forward, I put the mask to my face and transform it into the helmet after I hear Kai talking to someone in the distance. Its either Subject Ten or Thirteen; either way, both are people I dont want to see my face. Perhaps it is time that one or both of them are fully absorbed into the group. From what Ive seen and heard, both of them performed excellently during Kais debut. Artificer is quite an outlandish name, but one that ultimately fits him like a glove. Kais best utilized in research and development, but its good to know he can handle himself if push comes to shove. After walking for a few minutes, Kai finally sends a flying drone to me. He knew I was coming, and Im positive hes set the lab up to notify him when anyone enters, so hes being difficult on purpose. I step onto the black hoverboard, and it lifts me up into the air before blasting off toward its creator.

The doctor is sitting at his desk working on a black orb that resembles a creepy eye. He waves as I approach, but doesnt stop tinkering as I step off the board. Its unwise to interrupt him when hes working, but I have dinner plans, so I cant just wait for him to reach a stopping point.

Its bad enough you made me walk, but now youre ignoring me? I asked.

Im not; Im just working on my Beholders. They performed excellently during the debut, minus one large flaw, he answered.

Being?

Being that they are fragile. All it took was a single blade wielded by the swordswoman to take them out of commission. They need to be more durable or more agile. The problem being that going in either direction results in the other problem worsening. If I make them stronger, theyll be heavier, but if I want to make them faster, Im going to have to sacrifice bulk and shrink them down. It is quite the conundrum Im faced with, but I do love having a puzzle to solve, so it isnt the worst thing in the world, Kai exclaimed happily.

Doctor, its time to put away your toys. I am your boss, not your sounding board, I said.

Fine, he huffed. What mundane tasks will you have me perform? I am nothing but your trained animal, ready to perform tricks for treats.

Turn the melodrama dial down a notch. Im actually bringing you two separate puzzles to keep you occupied.

The doctor spins around in his chair to face me. Hes wearing his modified lab coat, a cropped long sleeve that is covered in caution tape, mens black bellbottoms, and zipped-up heeled boots. His long hair is put up in a bun, and he looks to be eating properly. He tosses his goggles onto his table, and there arent any bags under his eyes. The mans finally taking care of himself.

So dont keep me waiting; whatcha got for me? He asked excitedly.

There is something I did not mention about the Villains Syndicate leader. He accosted me on the Quickrail with his granddaughter, who happens to be the Cowl, Looking Glass. Shes been watching me since Isaiah, and I ran into the Syndicate, I explained.

Ohoho. He didnt approach Nobody, did he? No, he cornered you in public as Eryk. That mustve pissed you off. God, I wish I couldve been there to see your face, Kai giggled.

I was ambushed, not cornered. Cornered would imply Im under his thumb or dancing to his whims. Ezekiel Hart is running out of time. He admitted to me that hes dying, and it is something genetic and inherited given the request he made to me. The cash wasnt the real thing he wanted from our deal, and he wouldnt have offered to betray the entirety of his group if he wasnt going to die soon. I would bet hes not going to make it to New Year's. Hes begged me to save him and his granddaughters lives. He assumes I have taken a power that can cure whatever ails them, I continued.

You want me to save them without having you give anything up, Kai smiled, nodding his head. Do you know what they have? Because depending on how bad it is, I might have to resort to more drastic measures.

I dont, and I didnt ask. Because of how he gained his knowledge of me, hes in the unfortunate position of knowing more about me than anyone outside of my inner circle, but also missing more than half the puzzle. He knows about Vivienne and Isaiahs connection to me, and even knows about Technologica, but he doesnt know about Momentus. Hes thinking of me as an upstart with a particularly useful and unique ability; he has no idea the resources at my fingertips. Whatever he has, hes a gaunt paraplegic, blind in one eye, with only one working arm, and hes hooked up to a breathing mask, but theres also a blue gas he has to inhale every so often. His granddaughter doesnt share any symptoms with him beyond being painfully underweight. But I think thats more than likely an eating disorder as opposed to a result of the condition, I answered.

Youre right, my interest is piqued. It sounds incredibly similar to Limb-onset ALS. It probably isnt that specifically; otherwise he wouldve told you what it was. Likely, its a mutation form of it that is inherited genetically. It clearly affects the nervous and respiratory system, but it could be an autoimmune disease that has allowed a viral infection to take root inside his body. Thats without even getting into what parts of him are past the point of saving, Kai muttered to himself.

Hey. HEY! Were not done yet. Pay attention, I said, snapping my fingers. What is important is that while he needs us a lot, I also need him for several different tasks. I want you to treat this project the way you would for any of us. Dont hold anything back. Use what youve learned from the Subjects and with all of the nanite stem cell research. He will serve as the next benchmark for the Apotheosis Engine Project.

Youre using the correct name? Im touched, truly. I knew you cared. Dont worry, Ill go all out. Anything that cant be saved can be scraped and replaced eventually. I suppose you want me to give him the same fail-safes that I put in Casper and Goblin? Kai asked.

You put fail-safes in Casper and Goblin?

Yeah, I created a drone that contains perchlorates and will rapidly heat up when activated and then shrunk it down. The explosion being small doesnt matter because the rapid release of oxygen creates a large enough air bubble to form an embolism; then either a stroke or heart attack will kill them, he replied casually.

And how do you make sure that it goes toward their heart or brain? I asked.

The surprised look on his face is insulting. It isnt exactly advanced medicine to know about embolisms. The man truly believes everyone else is an idiot.

You can wipe that look off your face, I said.

Sorry, I didnt know you were that well-versed in matters of anatomy. As for the question about how to guarantee the embolisms route? There is no way to do that. Thats why there are over fifty of the bombs inside each of their circulatory system. With that many inside them, if an embolism doesnt work, the simultaneous explosions will rupture enough veins for them to internally hemorrhage or pop their organs like party balloons. Yadda yadda splat splat splat, you get the gist, he said, waving his hand around.

You know, for a surgeon, youre pretty cavalier about death. Its good that you didthat to Viviennes little thugs. Im having her bring them in, but you know I never say no to a backup plan. You know, Doctor, for all your idiosyncrasies and peculiar habits, you remain ever so capable; especially when compared to the others who require direct intervention to carry out their jobs, I complained.

Yes, continue to praise my foresight and can-do attitude. Perhaps consider rewarding me by freeing me from having to go to the truly hellish board meetings.

Not happening. If I have to go, everyone has to. Bureaucracy is a plague that all of us must carry, I said wistfully.

Hmm. I had a proposal to run by you about Subjects Ten and Thirteen, Kai paused hesitantly. I do not believe either of them is a security risk or a potential information leak. As such, I would like to reintroduce them to society to test their limits. Having Subjects out in the city will prove useful for gathering data and also for our plans for citywide infiltration.

He wants to let them out? Why? Hes saying its for data gathering purposes, but it also gives off a touch of sentimentality. Kais a sociopathic genius. For what reason would he do something so nice for the two Subjects? That unscratchable itching in the back of my skull is back. Is it paranoia to not trust a mad scientist? I need to get this personality piece out of myself now. I cant afford to keep second-guessing my people and overthinking their motivations. I have enough people in my life that are actually deserving of this level of scrutiny; I cant live being so paranoid.

What will you do without your super soldiers? I asked.

Youve given me enough to work on with the medical curiosity, and I need to continue refining my newest drones. I have no need of the two of them for the time being, he admitted.

In that case, I will consider where to station the two of them once I finish disposing of Casper and Goblin, I said.

About that, I think that would be a waste, he said.

Why?

They are both in the unique position of having powers, no ties to any of our enemies, and being deeply loyal to Vivienne. You said it yourself, we need people. Rather than having to find new people, test their loyalties and then decide how to equip them with the abilities youve taken, we have two fresh candidates who owe their lives to Vivienne and me. Which by extension means you. Im not saying they join us as equal members of the board, but we can use them as pre-empowered pawns. You can treat them like you would the Subjects, he explained.

I dont know if I could have ever envisioned the day where you would plead the case for sparing someones life that was not your own. Ill trust your counsel as youve met them before. Since that settles their fate, Ill grant your request about Ten and Thirteen. Thirteen will be working with Casper and Goblin; they took heavy losses from their run-in with The Triad, so theyll need the extra muscle.

And Ten?

Ten will be the solution to a long-standing problem of mine. Shes going to be my bodyguard and personal assistant, I answered. For both Eryk and Nobody. Vivienne cannot be with me at all times, and it is beneath her to be chauffeuring me around.

I do not think she minds, but I understand your point. Are you planning on giving Ten powers?

Yes. First, I believe I have some powers waiting for me. It is about time I take those.

I cant help but smile. Four powers, four new personality pieces. What kind of interesting new experiences await me?

Share