Adrian took a deep breath as he walked out of the hospital.
"Thank you doctor for the care you've provided me." Adrian said with a smile as he shook hands with his caregiver. It had been a week since he reawakened from his coma, his body more or less turning to normal. The exception was that a wad of hair on his hair had turned white, causing him to develop an edgy bicolored black and white hairdo that made him frown when he looked at himself in the mirror.
Walking out of the hospital, Adrian looked at the message in his smartphone. Sighing, he hailed a taxi towards the city center.
After a quick ride, Adrian was standing in the street that was filled with towering glass skyscrapers, the office district of the city. He ignored the gigantic shadows of the tall megastructures and walked over to a small cafe that was popular for serving uniquely exotic organic herbal teas, that was the current rage.
Adrian entered and found a table in an isolated corner, already occupied by a powerfully built, but aging man.
"Dad." Adrian spoke calmly, as he nodded at the man, his father. "How are you doing?"
Norman sighed. "Sit down, son." He gestured, before carefully analyzing his son's health. "Thankfully, you're looking healthy now." He said after a moment.
Adrian nodded. "I heard you called in the doctor especially for my treatment. He seemed to have a special healing type ability that supported life growth? Thank you for your care, dad." He said with a smile. "Why did you call me here today?"
Norman raised an eye. "How did you find out his ability? From what I've heard, his ability is not visible amd its mechanism isn't quite clear." He asked before quickly nodding. "So it is your awakened ability? I didn't expect my blood to awaken a sensory vision type ability that can pinpoint the nature of other abilities."
Adrian nodded. "So, dad. I know you never waste any time on frivolous meetings. I'm guessing there's something you want to tell me?"
Norman smiled. "Between you and Emily, you've always been the brighter one. It is a pity, that she is destined to lead our Miles-Teller conglomerate." He sighed before continuing. "Yes, I have a few things to tell you."
Adrian wasn't surprised by Norman's declaration that he had no intention of involving Adrian in the company even though he had finally awakened. This was a matter the two had talked about almost a year ago, and Adrian had long made peace with the matter. He was happy that his sister could inherit the massive company, running which wasn't one of his interests anyway. Adrian patiently waited for his father to explain the reason for the meeting.
Norman took a sip of the herbal tea he had ordered, struggling to formulate his words. "Son, the incident you got involved in a month ago was beyond my control. I couldn't jeopardize the company to interfere in your matter. I hope you understand that." He said slowly.
"Cody Briggs, that idiotic boy, managed to bring down the entire Briggs conglomerate like a house of cards. That boy is dead. From what I hear, he even died at your hands." Norman said as he carefully analyzed Adrian's facial features for any emotional fluctuations, but failed to notice any.
"The officials from the security division already briefed me on the matter in the hospital. Turns out Cody was involved with some terrifying underground force which was supplying strength ability users with some dangerous drug. It even turned him into a monster." Adrian replied calmly.
Norman shook his head. "That is true, but it isn't the complete truth. Listen to me carefully..."
An hour later, Adrian walked out of the cafe with a somber look. He hailed a cab to his home as he ruminated on the information that his father had supplied him.
The underground group, of which the mysterious woman was a part of had been under observations of the security division for years, and the drug wasn't an ordinary drug. It was actually the condensed blood of a mythical creature, a dragon. Cody's ability, it turned out was very synergistic with the blood of that creature, causing him to transform.
When Adrian was attacked, the security division had simultaneously launched an attack on the organization, following the trail of one of the members. In the process, a huge battle ensued in which a local gang of strength ability users, called the snake gang was obliterated. However, the attack eventually failed and Cody's dead body was also stolen by the villains.
"Just who are they?" Adrian had asked his father.
Norman shook his head. "I'm not too sure. From the two members who were caught and tortured for information, their group didn't have a formal name. They were aware of five members including themselves and their master - whom they called Eucalyptus."
Adrian shrugged imperceptibly in the cab. According to his dad, the security division would handle the matter. He just needed to keep a low profile and not reveal that he had awakened his ability publicly for the moment.
When he entered his home, he stopped. The atmosphere felt weird to him and he halted his steps. "Who's there?" He called out cautiously.
"It's me. Quill" A young man in a hoodie smiled. Adrian saw the familiar figure, who went around acting like a vigilante known as Gray Ninja and smiled, before entering.
"You are quite perceptive." Quill replied.
"This isn't the first time someone has entered my house without intimation." Adrian said with a smile. "I might have to change where I live. What brings you here?"
Quill smiled bitterly. "I wanted to apologize. I wasn't able to come to your help that day. I..."
Adrian raised his hand to stop him. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault, not was it your responsibility to protect me. In fact, I'd urge you not to run around in a mask, for your own good. Your reputation on the internet isn't exactly good." He said with a smile. "Want some coffee? I just brought some supplies from the market."
"Thanks." Quill said with a nod.
"So, what's the real reason you came?" Adrian asked.
"I... I was tailing that shadow ability user when she was stormed by the security division, and I managed to steal something from the scene that I think might be a clue." Quill said reluctantly as he took out a red crystal like object from his pocket.
Adrian saw that object and suddenly felt his heart thump and his vision inverted as the entire world jerked for a moment in his eyes. Inside quill's body, Adrian could see an orb that was bending the space around it, with signs of electric flashes popping out of the translucent orb, however, his gaze was stuck on the red crystal in Quill's hand. The red crystal was filled with an energy that caused an intense desire within him.
An instant later, Adrian was back to normal, but his face was covered in sweat. He calmed his heart before looking at Quill. "Why did you bring that to me?"
Quill shrugged. "I didn't know anyone else to go to. I don't even know why I stole it from there, in hindsight, the security division would have confiscated it and investigated the matter directly."
Adrian tried his best to appear nonchalant as he opened his palm to urge Quill to pass the crystal to him. "Hand it to me. I'll send it to the security division saying that I found it in my house. Probably left here when Cody attacked, though it would be difficult to explain how the security division didn't find it during forensics examination earlier."
Quill nodded and passed over the crystal. Adrian felt a warmth from the crystal in his palm, that slowly flowed into his body and towards the center of his chest - the area where the peculiar black flame was located. Adrian didn't make any fuss and calmed down only after Quill left.
He quietly activated his ability, causing the world's colors to invert to black and white. There he saw the peculiar black flame in his chest, and small orbs of red energy flowing through his body towards the flame, being refined and the color being washed away.
The red orbs of energy were being bleached by the black flame, causing the red aura to disappear and the orbs turned white, which then were absorbed by the black flame, turning it slightly bigger. At the same time, a pure energy flowed through Adrian's body reinvigorating his cells and making him fill full, kind of like how the Nucleus Solution did, but it felt more natural and the effect was several times more powerful.
When Adrian awoke from.his reverie, he found that the red crystal had crumbled into a powder and disappeared into the wind. His body felt stronger and healthier than before. The entire process, brought Adrian into deep thought.