Ed's office. Several piles of boxes containing uniforms for Sinless were stacked in a corner.
Ed spoke, "Gunther, I want you to hand out these uniforms to all members. The masks are optional, but they should wear them on any special occasions where the entire organization needs to appear united."
"Understood." He and several guards moved all the boxes out of the office. When they were finished, only Dupe and Ed remained behind.
"Nick, I need a big favor." Ed said with a serious face.
"Oh? What kind of favor?" Dupe grinned in response.
"I need you to create clones for me to experiment on with my powers for the next several weeks. I need to gain a basic understanding of human biology and how my powers work on them."
"Hmm?" He frowned. "I thought your powers only worked on non-living objects?"
"They changed. They work on everything. It'll probably be an interesting experience to be experimented on, right? So, will you do it?"
"Let me think… HELL NO! Do you think I'm nuts?!" He yelled.
"Well, I mean… you do have a tendency to shoot yourself in the head all the time."
"That's different. One shot and it's over. There's little to no pain. I'm not going to become someone's guinea pig, so forget about it."
"I see." Ed sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "I thought you might say that, so I prepared a bribe I don't think you'll be able to refuse."
"I doubt anything could change my mind on this." He shook his head. "Just forget about it."
"You know, Nick… I've thought about your powers for quite a long time. How can you just make multiple bodies as an esper? It could probably be considered one of the most powerful abilities in the world if they were legit bodies…"
"What are you trying to say?" Nick questioned.
"There's no way each one of your bodies is complete. They must lack mana-cores. Otherwise, we'd have an infinite source of them from you." Ed grinned. "Therefore, I think you have a true body hiding out there somewhere. If something were to happen to that real body, then I bet all your clones would quickly disappear."
"...So what if you figured it out?" Dupe frowned. "Not like you can do anything to my main body."
"Mm. You're right." He nodded. "I can't, but I bet someone else could. Does Tracker from Blood-Lust know where your real body is? What about the other tracking-type espers? Can you hide from them all?"
Nick made a complicated expression on his face and sighed, "No, I can't."
"And that's where I come in!" He grabbed a nearby backpack and pulled out a set of clothes from it. "These clothes can completely block mana-waves from espers. It should stop the vast majority of tracking-type espers from being able to find you. Agree to serve as my test subject for three weeks and they're yours."
Dupe looked at the outfit with a mix of desire and hesitation. He nodded, "Fine. Three weeks. I'll give you two clones. One to start experimenting on and one to make new clones when you need them."
"Great! I'll leave the base in your hands for the next three weeks. Do as we discussed previously."
…
A small dark basement. Ed had used his powers to create this basement beneath the apartment complex he stayed in. The walls were made from thick metal to block all sound. A steel bed sat in the center of the room. Several piles of supplies were gathered on a nearby table. A naked Dupe was lying on the table while another Dupe stood in the corner out of the way.
Ed used his powers to bind Dupe to the table with metal.
Nick sighed, "This is going to suck."
"If it makes you feel any better, it probably won't be as bad as what Luny put me through."
"Jeez. Thanks. I feel so much better now. No, seriously. Like I just won the lottery."
"Okay, enough sarcasm. Let's get started."
Ed began to write in a small notebook as he started his experiments.
Experiment 1. I melted Nick's leg as he screamed in pain. I tried reforming it shortly after, but things didn't go right… Cause: Misalignment of bones believed to have led to a heart-attack.
Experiment 5. I have successfully been able to melt and reconstruct his limbs without issue.
Experiment 32. Through repeated trials, I have finally managed to melt and reconstruct all internal organs except for the heart and brain.
Experiment 79. I have tried recreating the nerve systems of the four limbs through a mix of metal cables and lightning mana-powder. I've failed dozens of times with no success in sight. The lightning mana-powder remains completely untamable. It's a mystery why it reacts so differently from the other elements.
Experiment 82. I've gone down a new track of research. I have completely melted his skeletal system and replaced it with steel. The body rejects the new material, but an esper's lifeforce seems strong enough to withstand it. I wish to gather some normal test subjects for future experiments. I may be able to strengthen their bodies by injecting mana into them. It would make for an interesting army if it worked.
Experiment 92. I have successfully replaced his left arm with a mutant limb from a dog-type mutant. It's not particularly useful, but it opens the door to many new possibilities.
Experiment 157. I have repeatedly replaced various organs and body parts with those of mutants. There seems to be a hard limit. I theorize the limit should be lower for ordinary humans. However, I should still be able to strengthen our fighting force with this. Unfortunately, I'm unsure how to convince ordinary humans to undergo the surgery and that I'm not an esper in the process…
Experiment 212. I created brand new human limbs from mutant flesh. Okay, technically they're mutant limbs, but still… I could hypothetically do the same for my own limbs now, but I think I'll pass. My metal limbs are stronger and more convenient. Besides, I've found an exciting new track for my research.
Experiment 553. I have spent hundreds of trials combining human flesh, mutant flesh, and metal. I have finally succeeded! I can use the mutants flesh to create new nerves and muscles for my missing limbs. They're stronger than ordinary human flesh and can easily move the metal joints, gears, and fingers on command. I'll soon be reconstructing my metal limbs in this manner. I'll save a tremendous amount of mana by being able to move my limbs naturally. I'll also retain the firepower of my previous limbs. I'll wait until I finish my experiments with Dupe before replacing them. Who knows when I'll get another opportunity like this.
Experiment 666. I have successfully turned off the pain indicator within Dupe's brain. He no longer suffers during the experiments. He seems incredibly grateful. Odd, he should want to kill me by now instead. Is it Stockholm Syndrome? Or perhaps he's just a masochist?
Experiment 1112. I always wondered what it would be like to have extra limbs. I gave Dupe a total of six arms and three heads. He looks kind of stupid, but I got a good chuckle out of it. Would people start worshiping him as a god if I released him like this?
Experiment 2156. So, brain transplants were a thing a very long time ago before the apocalypse started. Would it still be possible now? The answer is yes. I finally succeeded in transplanting Dupe's brain from one Dupe to another Dupe. However, they're both Dupe. So, what was the point? Perhaps I've gotten a bit carried away. Is this how Luny descended into madness?
Experiment 3360. Ah, this is the last experiment. My beautiful three weeks have come to an end already. Well, I really only needed the first week to be honest. My later experiments have mainly been for fun. Today, I finally succeeded in implanting a mana-core into Dupe's brain. As I thought previously, his clones do not have mana-cores. After the successful transplant, his clone underwent an awakening! A 1st awakening at that. I never thought I would succeed in this regard. His clone can no longer create duplicates. He seems to be independent from the other clones? I would need to kill him to verify it. His power is to shapeshift. How useful! I've noticed it's a body-related power. Is Dupe predisposed to body-related powers? I wonder what my predisposition is then? Anyways, I have one final experiment to complete before calling an end to all this madness…
Ed left the basement and locked the steel hatch behind him. He went and found the Nick that had been running the base. "Hey, today's the last day of the experiment. I need you to come with me for something."
"Hmm?" Nick turned around. His face had a very tired expression on it. A slight hint of fear could be seen in his eyes as he stared at Ed. "What do you want?" He questioned.
"Come with me to the basement. I know this is just one of your clones, so no need to worry about me trying something sketchy, haha."
The two headed down to the basement. Ed pointed proudly at the Dupe lying on the table, "I have successfully awakened a new power in your clone. He can shapeshift! Pretty amazing, right?"
Nick watched in shock as his clone transformed into different people and animals. The steel bindings were mere decoration for the clone at this point. "This… what are we going to do with him?"
"Right." Ed sighed. "I thought a lot about that to. I've decided to kill him."
"What?! Why?!" He yelled in shock. "This power is incredibly useful!"
"True…" Ed nodded. "I considered using him for our purposes. Logically, it's the best decision to leave him alive. However, I'm dying of curiosity. What will happen to the original and other clones when I kill him?"
"What?!" Dupe took several steps back in fear.
Ed aimed an arm at the awakened clone lying on the steel bed. A stream of fire shot from his metal limb. Agonizing screams rang out for only a second before the body turned to ash.
"AGHHH!!!" There were still two clones of Dupe within the room. They both knelt down while releasing blood-curdling screams. The skin on their bodies began to bubble. Tumors protruded all over their bodies. They wiggled back and forth before returning to the body. This lasted for nearly a minute before he slowly calmed down.
"Huff! Huff!" The two clones breathed heavily while sweat covered their bodies. They now looked completely normal again. One clone glared at Ed and threw a punch at him. In mid-air, the fist changed into an octopus tentacle and wrapped around Ed's throat!
Ed watched calmly as all this happened. When the tentacle reached his throat, the tentacle began to rapidly melt into ooze. The clone's arm failed to regenerate. "Interesting. You can transform your arm like that, but if it's destroyed you can't make a new one? I suppose this can be counted as a brand-new method for a 2nd awakening? It's too bad it would only ever work for you. If we repeated the process, would a 3rd awakening be possible? So many questions…"
"You bastard!" The clone growled. "You could have gotten me killed. You knew this would happen?"
"No." He shook his head. "I theorized it as a very small possibility. I honestly thought nothing would happen. I'm quite pleased with the results."
"How can you be so nonchalant about this? Aren't we supposed to be friends?" Dupe questioned.
"Friends?! Haha!" Ed laughed loudly. "You threatened to sell me out as soon as we met here. We're business partners. Nothing more, nothing less. If anything, you should be thanking me. How many espers can go through a 2nd awakening as safe as yours? I assure you, mine was much worse."
"Tsk. Heartless bastard." The clone complained.
"I'll leave you here to calm down. I want to go take a look at how the base is doing." Ed left the clones behind as he headed outside.
The base had undergone some significant changes since he had last looked. Nearly every member of the base now carried a steam rifle. They wore matching uniforms and now looked like a real organization. Railroad tracks led outside in two different directions.
'Mm. Good.' Ed smiled. 'They followed my instructions. The tracks going northwest should lead to the most damaged parts of the city. That part of the city is the most dangerous, but it also contains the best resources for scavenging. I wonder if they managed to find any mech construction tools we need in that direction? If not, I'll have to make some. The tracks to the southwest should lead to somewhere we're holding livestock. Well, the headquarters should arrive tomorrow. Then things will really get interesting. For now, I'll get started on fixing my face and creating new limbs.'