They introduced Oliver into yet another sterile white room. The electric sliding door closed behind him without a sound. The boy felt a laugh build up as he walked deeper into the room and stared at the only object with him in there.
It was a large padded recliner chair with several thick wires attached to and monitors by its side. It was a contrasting black to the rest of the room and Oliver believed he was supposed to sit in it. He looked around in case there were any other oddities and noticed a large glass window high above him. He couldn't see past it and so he assumed it was for the researchers to get a safe view.
He smirked as he took his seat and reclined backwards to get comfortable. He could hear several machines and mechanisms whirring as the chair succumbed to his weight.
Once perfectly comfortable, they turned a speaker on and Oliver heard a monotone voice attempt to talk with him.
"Kindly if you are comfortable and ready, please let us know. Someone will administer the test orally and if there's a particular flavour you like, please say it."
Oliver thought carefully before saying apple would be great. He wasn't sure why, but he absolutely loved the taste of apple juice and he had never grown out of it since daycare. After what was a few minutes, the sliding door opened once again, and a nurse entered holding a tray.
She had that professional smile on as she walked up to him with the tray in hand. She placed it on a stand next to the chair before bowing politely and leaving the room.
Oliver looked over at the tray and picked up a small round tablet and a glass of mysterious drink. It was pretty obvious what he had to do and so he tossed the tablet into his mouth and swallowed it down with the weird drink.
It tasted just like apple juice, although the sweetness was a bit lacking. What followed was nothing until Oliver noticed constraints appear from the armchair. He was surprised but wasn't for long as pain bolted through his head.
His body convulsed as screams echoed throughout the room. The pain burnt throughout his body and hollowed out his mind of anything else. A bright blue hue spread over his irises and his black hair lost a bit of colour.
The monitors went wild with crazy figures as they projected his body changes. The researchers in the observance room nodded as they compared ideas. Oliver was still trying to escape from the unimaginable pain as he tried to break his restraints.
After what felt like an eternity, Oliver felt like he could collect his thoughts as the pain subsided. His muscles felt absolutely sore, and he felt himself drooling. His eyes appeared incredibly hollow as his skin regained colour.
The recliner began vibrating and Oliver felt his tense muscles relax and he began counting from 1 to 100 in order to distract himself from the mind-numbing pain.
What followed was a solid ten minutes of Oliver recovering from the pain before a team of nurses entered the room. They began interfering with the monitors and cleaning up. A few of them removed Oliver's restraints and helped him get up.
One of them guided him out of the room and led him to a staircase leading to a different recreation room. There he met his father drinking some apple juice from a juice box. He tossed the empty box into the trash as he smiled at his son.
"At least you're still in one piece."
"Yea, at least I'm still here."
They laughed together and Oliver's dad led him to a nearby table, supporting him as he wobbled.
They sat down and had a deep chat, waiting for the test results. A man wearing a formal business suit approached their table with a briefcase in hand. He was polite as he sat down and produced business cards for the pair to view.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting. My name is Frank and I am an official of the gene research tower, legalities department."
His voice was low and robotic, as if someone forever etched a plastic smile on his lips. He placed his briefcase on the table and pulled out a pile of documents.
The first few he asked them to sign and read before finally producing the results.
"Congratulations! You are a confirmed evolved, Mr. Smith."
Oliver barely contained his excitement as he tried to act like an adult.
"As for the specifics of your ability. We believe you are a telekinesis user like your father, this was suggested by the effects your ability had on the surrounding apparatus. A rarity. Your ranking is of at least D-rank considering the rate of cell growth and replacement and also the size of your personal boundary field. We have also produced recommendation documents for a Ranker's college if you would like to further pursue the development of your ability."
He was formal as he placed the other documents back in his briefcase and left the results with the two. He got up from his seat and produced a business smile as he said his last statement.
"Please return in a week to receive your rank ID and with an answer to the Ranker's college proposal."
"We will, thank you."
Once the man left, Oliver's dad produced a victor's smile as he reached for the result papers. He still had his son in one piece and he had even awoken a rare ability.
The pair soon left the research tower and were watched by security personnel as they left the premises altogether.
They rocketed off into the horizon and, before too long; they hovered above a certain street in the commercial district of Sydney. The pair landed before a rather small two-story redbrick building. Someone beautifully styled a bright neon sign into a pizza and under it were two neon words.
{Simon's Diner}
Father and Son glanced at each other and found the other to have the same smirk on their face. With no further words, they stepped into the establishment and were immediately hit with the overwhelming heat. The snow was piling outside and yet in here was the perfect warmth for enjoying a mug of cocoa.
They were glad to see their usual table unoccupied and clean. They took their seats and waited for one waiter to appear. It looked like the dinner was busy today as large groups made up most customers.
A young man with a youthful smile appeared and asked for their orders. After getting the orders, he left them and headed for the kitchen. The pair talked and enjoyed the orange glow design of the diner. A jukebox was on the second floor, playing a simple pop song with no words.
Eventually, the young man returned with their orders. But someone else accompanied him. A rather large, chubby man with a limp in his step. He wore the diner's uniform, but on his badge was the word {Simon} in bold italics.
The man had a simple moustache and little to no hair elsewhere. His face was covered in aged wrinkles and a few red spots. He greeted the pair with a thick European accent and brash etiquette.
"It is good to see my two favorite customers despite such cold weathers."
"Hello old chap."
Oliver's dad stood up and hugged the old man and welcomed him to join them. Oliver gave a simple wave and smile, and Simon returned the gesture.
On the table was a classic meal of fries and burgers. They would order more food as the day played on, but right now, it was time to enjoy the company of family and friends. After all, holidays were in a few days.
Oliver ate a couple of fries in one bite and turned to look outside the diner front. He loved the sight of falling snow and normal people just carrying out their lives. A smile was on his face for a moment before he watched the most absurd scene of his life.
In the middle of the street, a flash of blue appeared before the air and snow warped in a spiral. It was odd to watch, and Oliver got a sinking feeling in his stomach. The first thing that came to his mind was a teleporter evolved but his hopes were quickly destroyed.
A deep predatory growl drowned out all other sounds for miles around as people trembled in fear. From the spiral sprouted a dark burly arm with black jagged claws. Nobody had to see the rest of the thing to know what exactly it was.
That was when someone from the diner finally screamed what was on everyone's mind.
"IT'S A DEMON BEAST!!!"