Once I entered the office, I realized how cold it was in here. It was so cold that I could literally see my own breath as I breathed and made my way to the wooden desk that sat in the middle of the office atop a rug with the symbol of the authorities on it. The room itself had stainless white walls with various pictures and Knick knacks on the wall. Behind the desk was the person who I assumed was Director Nathans. She was African American with a long locs down to her back that were pulled into a ponytail. Her skin was the color of black coffee beans with several marks on her arms that looked like African symbols but it was hard to tell honestly. The most startling feature about her: her cold, icy blue eyes that seemed to bore into my soul and read me like a paperback book. She was dressed in a navy blue power suit with a black dress shirt and a matching navy blue tie. I stood across from her and stared back into her eyes but I could feel so much pressure coming from her.
"So we finally meet, Josiah Smith," she said, her voice powerful with a slight accent.
I swallowed. "You've been expecting me?"
"For quite some time, I am. I've had my agents watching you since you moved here," She said.
"May I ask why, Director Nathans?"
"Please. Call me Abina." She said flatly.
She rose from her seat and stood up to her full height which was almost eye level with me. She walked to the window that overlooked the city below and stood with her hands clasped behind her back. I followed her to the window and stood beside her. Her face was blank, almost emotionless as she watched the people below mill about on the street below.
"Do you know what makes our world function as it does, young Josiah?" Abina asked me, never taking her eyes from the window.
"Power?" I said, slightly bewildered by her question.
"Balance, child. Balance between the levels is what makes our society function as it does," she rebuffed.
"I'm not quite sure I follow you," I said, confused.
What did balance have to do with anything?
"What are the four levels that abilities are categorized as, hm?" Abina asked, turning to look at me.
"Omega, alpha, beta and gamma," I responded. "The four levels were created by the Ability Apprehension Institute as way to structure society."
"Correct," she said curtly. "No what happens when the amplifier drug gets introduced into that balance? A drug so powerful that it give someone the power to stand toe to toe with the likes of you and I."
I thought about it before answering. From what my mom had told me, the drug was only effective on alphas and betas and boosted their ability up by one level. So then…oh no.
"The drug disrupts the balance," I said quietly. "It causes power struggles between the levels and power struggles breed conflict. Seems a bit….classist."
Abina chuckled. "I suppose so but this balance has let our superhuman society thrive for as long as it has. So your mission is to destroy this drug and restore the system of our world. I understand that you have a prior connection with our prime suspect?"
"Yeah," I said bitterly. "As much as I hate to admit it."
"Then it wouldn't be a stretch to say that you know her very well?"
I hesitated. "I don't know her ability. But she is quite a fighter. I could never beat her in a fight. She's also extremely manipulative and cunning. When she can't use strength she uses blackmailing and coercion to get what she wants from someone."
Abina nodded thoughtfully but said nothing. She continued staring out the window, her eyes revealing nothing before she turned away and walked back to her desk, taking out what looked a taser that police use except it seemed modified.
"While you're with us, you'll be using our neutralizer gun to apprehend anyone with a possible connection to your former friend. You'll begin your training tomorrow with Agents Kelly and Whitaker in advanced combat techniques as well as receive your uniform for the duration of this operation," she said, handing me the gun.
"How exactly does the neutralizer gun work?" I asked, examining the gun.
Abina smiled but it felt cold. "About a year ago, researchers discovered that our abilities are liked to a mutation in a specific part of our brain, the pineal gland to be specific. The pineal gland is connected to our various abilities and the neutralizer severs that connection temporarily and renders the person unconscious in order to allow us to apprehend subjects. The effects last for four hours."
I widened my eyes in shock. So everyone's powers were the result of the mutation of the pineal gland and not just some freak accident. The neutralizer gun effectively halted that mutation in order to render someone powerless for four hours but what exactly was in the bullets of the gun that had that effect on the gland? A nerve agent? A non lethal injection of some type of chemical? Was that even humane? I shook my head to clear away all the questions that were bubbling up. I tucked the gun into the waistband in the back of my jeans and pulled my shirt down over it. I made a mental note to research what Abina had told me to get some answers on my own but for now, there was one question that I needed an answer to right now.
"When we catch Alexis…" I said.
"Are you worried about if you'll have to kill her?" Abina guessed.
I nodded. "I'm a lot of things but a killer isn't one of them. So what do you plan to do once we catch her?"
Abina sat on the edge of the desk, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she studied me. Her eyes stayed locked on mine as if she was searching for something behind my eyes. A heavy and palpable silence hung between us as my question remained unanswered with Abina continued to stare me before she blinked and let out a noise between a sigh and a groan.
"Do you know the five levels of threat we use to classify criminals?"
I shook my head.
"Level one is considered the lowest while five is the highest and given the most priority. Alexis is a level three threat currently since she hasn't caused mass destruction or become a threat to security. She's simply mass producing an illegal drug and running a criminal organization. So for now, we aim to just apprehend and detain her before things worse," Abina responded. "But if she proves to be more dangerous than anticipated…"
She didn't need to finish her statement for me to understand what she was saying. If Alexis became a threat, she'd be eliminated with no hesitation whatsoever to preserve the peace of the city. I felt a pit forming in my stomach at the thought of it. As much as I hated her, I couldn't see myself killing her if it came down to that….but what if that was the only choice? What if killing her was the only way to stop her for good?
"I expect great things from you, Josiah," Abina said, smiling cryptically at me.
I felt a chill go up my spine but nodded and she motioned her hand to signal that I could leave. I made a beeline for the door and didn't dare look back until I was out the office and heard the door close behind me. Whitaker and Kelly were standing a few feet away having a hushed conversation and looked up when they saw me leave the office.
"So?" Kelly asked, her eyebrow arched.
"You sure she's human?" I said, glancing back at the oak doors of the office.
Whitaker looked in the direction of my gaze and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"Who knows given what her ability is," He said, eyes narrowing.
"Her ability?" I inquired, my interest piqued.
Whitaker and Kelly exchanged looks before motioning me to follow them down the hall. I had no clue where they were leading me but I didn't ask in case they changed their minds. We walked through a set of double doors that led to an empty hallway that looked as if no one had walked through her in ages. The floor was cracked and covered in so much dust that our footsteps stirred up clouds of it. I also noticed that unlike the rest of the building, this particular hallway had no cameras anywhere which indicated that this wing of the building was no longer in use.
"Pop quiz," Kelly said suddenly, her voice serious.
"Yeah?" I responded, somewhat confused.
"What did you notice about the portraits outside the Director's office?" Whitaker asked.
"Besides how creepy they were? Everyone in the picture had the same blue eyes like the Director," I said, getting chills from the thought of the portraits.
Whitaker nodded. "That has something to do with the Director's ability."
I stopped walking and frowned in confusion. Whitaker and Kelly stopped and looked back at me, their expressions unreadable as they watched me try to figure out what it all meant. But nothing plausible came to mind at all which caused me to frown even more.
"Your face is gonna get stuck like that, kid," Kelly teased.
"What's the Director's ability?" I asked, looking up at both of them.
"Regeneration," Whitaker said. "But on a much more…advanced scale."
"Meaning…," I responded.
Kelly said, "Most people can mostly regenerate lost limbs and whatnot but the Director can regenerate her entire body."
I frowned. "Like a Doctor Who kinda thing?"
Whitaker chuckled. "That's an apt description. But yes, Director Abina can regenerate her entire body and alter her appearance if her current body becomes too damaged. That's why all the portraits have the same eye color. It's literally-."
"The Director in an entirely different body," I said quietly.
I glanced back at the doors we had come through, a million thoughts running through my mind. No wonder she seemed inhuman fo me during our meeting, she was literally creating entire new bodies which explained why the public assumed that the Director was always a different person.
"That's….some freaky shit," I said to myself.
But one glaring truth was prevalent, Director Abina was essentially….immortal. Immortal and powerful were never a good combination.