"AHHH!" Alan screamed in terror as he tried to avoid the boot.
Unfortunately the boot was relentless, swift and homing in on his head like a predator stalking its prey. The crushing force it carried sent shivers down his spine. He was certain that his head would be crushed under the boot without resistance, like a watermelon thrown into the mouth of a hippopotamus.
All of a sudden, he saw a tiny seed blast past his head and slam against the sole of the reinforced military boot with remarkable precision. Dr. Daniel Peterson only felt an immense force erupt under his leg, and his entire body was thrown backwards, causing him to stumble and retreat in a clumsy manner.
"You can't kill him!" Zed stood up on his hind legs as he proclaimed in a righteous tone.
A brief moment of silence enveloped the scene as Dr. Peterson struggled to regain his footing. His face was contorted in disbelief.
"This is impossible!" He cried. "When did your physical strength reach such a level?"
This revelation was too shocking for him. He was flabbergasted. "Why didn't I, as your caretaker and the main research scientist, not know that your strength has reached such a level?" Instead of being angry, he seemed more excited.
"Heh." Zed stroked his whiskers arrogantly. "I've seen what happened to all the test subjects in the lab. If I don't keep some things hidden, I won't even be able to save myself if you want to dispose of me one day!"
"Amazing! How intelligent! Zed, please show me more!" Dr. Daniel Peterson seemed to be incredibly happy in that moment as he charged towards the little mouse. In his excitement, he seemed to have completely forgotten about Alan.
Zed poised himself and jumped off Alan's wide back onto the sand. The warmth emanated from the sunbaked sand felt extremely comfortable under his paws.
"Ah, this feels good... I've decided! I'll stay in the outside world!" Zed squeaked as he launched himself into the air, his body twisting gracefully as he spat out two more seeds.
"Pu! Pu!"
The seeds shot through the air like bullets, leaving faint trails of heat and smoke as they raced toward their target.
Dr. Daniel Peterson, too excited to consider dodging the projectiles, reached out to catch them. However, he'd underestimated the speed of the seeds and missed completely. He was promptly struck in the chest.
The impact of the seeds was immense. They slammed into Dr. Daniel Peterson's body, momentarily lifting him off the ground before sending him hurtling backward. He crashed into the sand with a thud, the breath knocked out of him.
Zed landed softly back onto the warm sand, his whiskers twitching with satisfaction.
Dr. Daniel Peterson groaned and staggered to his feet clumsily. He looked under his shirt with evident shock in his eyes. There were two bright red marks on his chest, and one side of his rib cage seemed slightly sunken in.
The red spots were slowly growing in circumference, and the center was already turning dark as bruises formed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Stupendous..." Dr. Peterson murmured, his eyes widening with fascination.
"A mere mouse, with strength rivaling a Peak Rank-A Augmented martial artist, all through the marvel of genetic engineering!"
Hearing this, Zed scratched the side of his head bashfully. He hadn't even used his full strength yet, but the other party was already lavishing him with such effusive praise.
"Return with me, Zed! We must conduct a thorough analysis of your strength to determine if your body can withstand it! Perhaps, with a more potent nutritional pellet, your power could soar even higher! Trust me, the outside world holds nothing for you. I can care for you far better than anyone else out here," Dr. Peterson coaxed with an earnest expression.
"No way! I won't go back to the lab!" Zed refused resolutely. Even after just an hour in the world beyond the lab, he had fallen in love with its boundless wonders. Nothing could entice him back into that suffocating cage.
"In that case, don't blame me for being rough with you." Dr. Peterson warned, his brow furrowed with anger. "No matter what, you're coming with me today!"
Suddenly, Dr. Peterson vanished from sight, as if swallowed by the void. Alan heard the whoosh of wind and in the next instant, a hand materialized beside Zed, reaching out to grab him.
"Zed, beside you!" Alan shouted, his voice laced with urgency.
"Too slow." Zed shook his head and skipped nonchalantly to the side.
His long tail suddenly turned black as he pivoted and lashed out at the empty space behind the hand.
"Ugh!" A groan rang out, and Dr. Daniel Peterson's figure reappeared, clutching his forearm.
His forearm was twisted grotesquely, and blood seeped out between his fingers.
"External materialization of the nanobots! Zed! When did you learn to control the nanobots? How many abilities have you concealed from me?!" Dr. Peterson's face twisted with the manic intensity of a deranged lunatic.
"Stay away from me!" Zed threatened as his fur gradually turned black and hard. His entire body seemed to be covered in a spiky metallic armor.
"This is going to be troublesome." Dr. Daniel Peterson thought as his eyes grew increasingly red. Scales started appearing in patches all over his face, and his pupils narrowed into slits.
But Zed didn't allow him any more time to prepare as he spat out another seed. This seed moved at a far greater velocity than its predecessors, propelled by a momentum that seemed unstoppable. The air and sand surrounding it were swept up in its wake, creating a swirling vortex.
Dr. Daniel Peterson widened his eyes with shock and placed his good arm in front of his deformed arm, holding them both up protectively before his face to block. There was no chance of dodging this attack.
"Rank-S..." he whispered, awestruck, as a sonic boom detonated behind the seed. Even though it was encased in a bubble of air, the seed had already disintegrated from the sheer speed. Without any deviation in its course, the heavy force hurtled towards him, connecting with his arms and sending him soaring into the air with a wretched scream.
Zed didn't even look back as he turned and walked towards Alan.
"Let's go, Alan!"
Alan nodded dumbly in a dazed manner as Zed lifted him up by his collar and soared into the sky.
"This kid is quite heavy..." Zed mumbled.
The two figures streaked through the air, vanishing from sight in mere moments.
----------
Zed reveled in the sensation of the wind caressing his soft white fur as he manipulated his mental energy to carry both their bodies, allowing them to speed through the sky. The vast expanse of land seemed to unfurl endlessly beneath him, and above, were white fluffy cotton balls that he'd never seen before. He felt that he could go wherever he wanted. This was the first time in his life that he felt so free.
This feeling of limitless freedom overwhelmed him.
Indeed, the world outside the lab was better. That crusty old man must have been lying to him. Fortunately, he was a smart mouse, and had chosen correctly!
As they flew, Alan suddenly reacted and screamed in horror, pulling Zed out of his thoughts.
"AHHHHHH! Put me down, put me down! I'm scared of heights!!!"
Zed rolled his eyes at the human youngling and slowly descended.
They touched down in a dense patch of jungle. As soon as Alan's feet met solid ground, his legs wobbled and gave out beneath him.
He laid on the floor, gasping and panting heavily, trying to quell his racing emotions. After what felt like an eternity, he finally regained his voice.
"Zed! Thanks for saving me! I thought I was going to die for sure... And wait, you can fly?!" He asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yea, I used my mind to control our bodies, allowing us to fly through the air," the little mouse replied, a grin playing on his face.
"You mean, you have psychokinetic abilities?!" Alan asked, his expression incredulous.
"It's a result of one of the brain enhancement experiments they conducted on me. The scientists don't know about this, though." Zed explained matter-of-factly.
"Where are we? Can you take me back? My family is still in the stronghold and if I go missing, something bad might happen to them."
"I don't know. It's my first time out of the lab."
"..."
"I'm hungry." After a moment of silence passed, Zed touched his stomach and said. He had only brought a few seeds along when they came out, and he'd finished all of them long ago.
"Uh, I have a bar of chocolate. But I'm not sure if you can eat it." Alan pulled a plastic-wrapped package from his pocket and showed it to Zed. He wasn't sure if mice could eat chocolate. What if they were like dogs and couldn't eat chocolate? He didn't want to cause the death of the first ever immortal mouse.
"Chocolate? What is that?"