She continued, "He is just sleeping now. The dangerous part is over. We waited at a store to ensure that he would be alright before heading to the house which is why we were late."
"What will happen to him now?" Light asked in a tight and controlled voice.
"My hypothesis is that he will turn into something similar to me and the other people on this base. I anticipate that he will wake up with a stronger life force and potentially new abilities, but his brain and unique personality should remain intact."
"I see," Light's tone did not lighten despite hearing that Rin would be okay.
Aida did nothing to explain herself. She spoke to Light in the most clinical tone, "He should wake up in a few days. His body has gone through a lot of changes so his mind will need some time to acclimate."
"Ok." Light turned to Rin and began inspecting every part of his body while ignoring Aida.
This was to be expected. Light had spent his entire life protecting his 2 brothers, yet after only having been separated from his brother for 2 days, his brother was returned to him unconscious and had a near death experience. He was angry at himself for not being there to protect his little brother and disappointed with Aida for not properly caring for his brother.
Aida could feel something brewing under the surface of Light's standard calm facade. Yukio, who was sitting on the side silently, just held both his brothers' hands in support. He could also feel the turbulent emotions going through Light at the moment. Although Yukio was sad to see his brother unconscious, he had also heard Aida say he would be okay, so was able to remain calm.
Ace entirely disregarded the heavy mood in the room as he pranced around looking through the room. It had 2 bunk beds which could fit a total of 4 people. He sat by the window and watched as people walked in and out of the building. There were many interesting types of people around now that the virus had given people superpowers. The smile on his face widened as he thought of all the fun he could have in this new world.
Immersed in their own thoughts, none of the others in the room noticed Ace's smile that seemed out of place. Despite being united, the mood in the group had completely changed. While previously, they ate together cheerfully, now the tension in the room was palpable. Aida, who had never been responsible for anyone's life except her own and Xiao Ai's, did not know how to react in this situation. It was her first time facing the burden of responsibility. Aida hugged Xiao Ai tightly, wishing she would wake up sooner.
Time passed slowly as they waited in the cell. The guards came in a couple times to provide them with food and water. There was a bathroom connected to the room so they did not have to impose on the guards.
Hours later, a guard came up and knocked on the metal bars, "The boss is ready to see you now. If you are ready, I will escort you down now."
Hearing this, Light silently picked Rin up and walked out the door with Yukio following like a small tail. His aura seemed to have grown darker, and the usually calm facade had been ruined by the trace of anger visible in his brows.
As they entered the conference room, the boss had his back to them as he continued to work. They sat down and patiently waited for the boss to turn around. Everyone in the room knew this was a psychological attack to shift the dynamic in the room. Unfortunately for him, he had an odd bunch that were not bothered by the environment at all. Light was too preoccupied with Rin to care, Aida was poking and prodding the sleeping Xiao Ai, and Ace simply never cared to begin with.
The mysterious man sensed that his intimidation tactics didn't work. Swivelling his chair around, he opened his mouth to speak and then froze. They were certainly familiar faces that he didn't expect to see. Aida, noticing the movement, also looked up. Light ignored his presence altogether.
Surprisingly, the person before them was Randy from the airport. The last time they saw him, he had gotten onto the helicopter with Noah and left. How exactly did he end up in the city?
Recovering from his shock, Randy chuckled, "I should have known it would be you five when they told me they found humans in the city. If anyone would be able to survive this place, it would certainly be you."
Directing a comment to Aida, she said, "I'm glad you're alright."
"What was your name again?"
Not bothered by Aida's question, he responded with a slight smile, "I was previously called Randy, but now I go by Lucifer. How is it that only two of you are infected?"
"How did you know that two of us had turned?" Aida asked.
"We have someone here who is sensitive to auras. Although they cannot determine the precise power that each person has, they are generally able to classify the type and strength of each person we encounter."
"So you mean this person can determine whether they are human, Reaper or Variant as well as the strength of the person." Aida proceeded to explain her naming convention to Lucifer as well.
Changing the topic, she asked "How did you end up here? I thought you left with Noah and the other scientists. I actually just saw a news article about Noah in City M."