Chereads / Anomaly correction officers / Chapter 8 - Chapter 7: to replace a heart

Chapter 8 - Chapter 7: to replace a heart

Dr. Fletcher pulled a chair and sat next to Marcus's bed.

"do you know what an Ether implant is?" She asked as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.

Marcus shook his head, "Not exactly, I do know it's what allows Kenji to teleport and Elissa to fly, but that's about it."

Dr. Fletcher nodded, "That's fine, it's not something a cadet is supposed to know about anyway, at least not yet."

"Not yet?" Marcus asked curiously as he leaned closer toward Dr. Fletcher.

"Correct, you were supposed to learn about them after your entrance exams, however, your situation is now a little different."

"What do you mean?" 

"Ether implants are created from the cores of anomalies, for example, Kenji's implant was created from the core of a reality walker anomaly, and before you ask yes, I will explain." Dr. Fletcher said as she flipped a page on her clipboard, she quickly began to sketch something.

"You see, a reality walker is a rank four anomaly, it's semi-sentient and highly aggressive, but that's not what you need to know now." 

She then turned the clipboard around, showing Marcus a picture of a spherical object moving between portals, "you see, a reality walker can manipulate the Ether around them to join distance points together."

Interesting, Marcus thought as he studied the drawing, that must be exactly what Kenji does regularly, I wonder what else he can do?

Marcus nodded, "So that's his main ability, but if I remember correctly Luna can teleport as well as shapeshift certain parts of her body, does this apply to Kenji as well?"

Dr. Fletcher nodded, "I'm getting there just be patient, as I was saying reality walkers can bring any two distances close together as if placing down a door and walking through it, but that's not all, they can also process time in about 250 flashes per second, while a normal human only 60."

"What does that mean?" Marcus asked.

"Kenji can process time in what is essentially slow motion and that's not all, while a reality walker is only semi-sentient, they produce stem cells that are enhanced by ether, meaning Kenji has a healing factor and boost in IQ."

Dr. Fletcher then smiled, "That's just the tip of the iceberg."

Marcus could barely believe what he was hearing, these implants were far more impressive than he originally thought. 

But it also made sense, Kenji had made spot-on predictions about almost everything. 

Not only that but it would also be logical that Kenji would need high intelligence if he was constantly teleporting, he'd need to calculate the distance he'd travel, the time it would take, and more.

"That explains why he was so difficult to catch off guard," Luna said with a sigh as she flipped a page in her book.

Marcus turned his head to look back at Luna, his curiosity piqued, "What about you, you can morph parts of your body and teleport, but what else?"

Luna glared at Marcus with a contempt expression, "I'm not sharing that information, we may no longer be enemies, but we are not allies either."

Marcus sighed, "alright…." 

Marcus understood Luna's position, she gambled her life once and it paid off, to ask herself to weaken her position even further was just ludicrous.

Marcus turned his attention back to Dr. Fletcher, "you were talking about implants?"

Dr. Fletcher nodded as she turned her attention from Luna to Marcus, "Yes, I said all that to say this, officers use implants to obtain the power of anomalies, but you don't need one as you have an active core functioning in your body, a real active core." 

Marcus grabbed at his chest and squeezed his hospital gown, "Yeah I get that, but I don't know what it means Dr, Fletcher, I understand that a core is similar to an implant, but I feel I'm missing something."

Dr. Fletcher opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Luna, "It means your power is unregulated, where other officers have controlled chaos, you have raw untouched power, you should be honored." 

Luna's tone was contemptuous, it held neither joy nor malice.

Dr. Fletcher nodded, "Yes, this is uncharted territory, as most causes of humans obtaining an anomaly's core ended in either the human going mad, or the anomaly possessing the human host, a symbiotic relationship that has never been seen before."

Marcus nodded as he absorbed the information, he was glad he was fine and he enjoyed the idea of having borderline superpowers, but he could tell something else was up, "so then what's next? Can I continue my path to becoming an officer, or will I become a lab rat?"

Dr. Fletcher paused for a moment as she leaned back in her seat, "It's difficult to say, for now only I and two of my close colleagues know most of the details surrounding your predicament, then there's Kenji and Elissa who knows you have the core inside of you. If I'm being honest the most logical thing to do would be to study your bond with Luna, but…"

Dr. Fletcher met eyes with Marcus, "You deserve the right to make this choice. Do you want to submit to being a test subject? It could lead to breakthroughs in implant technology, we might even be able to skip the invasive surgeries needed to implant these devices." 

Dr. Fletcher then paused for a moment before crossing her arms, "Or you can continue your path as an officer and I'll monitor your vitals periodically to ensure your safety, the choice is yours."

To Marcus the choice was obvious, "I'm sorry Dr. Fletcher, but there is just no way I'm becoming a test subject, I hope you understand."

Dr. Fletcher nodded, "I do, more than you know, however, I did expect you'd make that choice." Dr. Fletcher said with a smile.

"But on a more serious note, will you turn your corpse over, if you regrettably pass?"

Though the thought of Dr. Fletcher poking at his corpse sent a shiver down his spine, Marcus nodded, "Of course, it's not like I need it right?"

Dr. Fletcher smiled again as she stood up, "Very well then, with that everything is done, you'll resume regular training tomorrow with a few minor adjustments, for now, continue to rest."

With those departing words Dr. Fletcher left the room, leaving Marcus and Luna in a comfortable silence.

"Man, I can't believe Dr. Fletcher would just let me go like that." Marcus said to Luna, "I thought for sure I'd have to quit training and school…."

Marcus stiffened up as he thought about school, he then slowly turned to Luna who was still reading her book, "Uhm, Luna."

Luna raised an eyebrow as she slightly lowered her book, "yes?"

"How am I supposed to take you to school with me or even home for that matter?"

Luna shrugged, "If your room is up to standards then I'll reside there."

"But what about my mom and sister?" Marcus asked.

"I'm not a fool Marcus, I know how to avoid two measly humans."

Marcus nodded as he allowed himself to sink into the hospital bed comfortably since the first time he awoke, "I'll trust your judgment, Luna."

"Mhmm."

Marcus was released from the hospital the next morning, it was then he discovered that it wasn't just a normal hospital, but a covert one owned by the organization, Aptly named Laboratory Seven.

He was given a ride home by one of Dr. Fletcher's autonomous vehicles, both he and Luna shared the backseat.

Marcus was looking out the window with a vexing expression.

How the hell was he supposed to sneak Luna into his house? 

And even if he did manage it, what would his sister say if she saw some cute little girl in his room reading medical literature, he'd be called a pervert, or worse the cops would be called.

"I'm fucked…." Marcus said to himself quietly.

"What are you so afraid of?" Luna asked as she turned from the window to look at Marcus with a frustrated expression, "is your sister that much of a nosy brat?"

Marcus turned to look at Luna with a grave expression, "Nosy is an understatement, I believe she physically cannot function without bothering me."

"Then I'll kill her," Luna said bluntly.

Marcus's eyes widened as he dwelled on the possibilities, "that would be nice, but where would we hide the body? Besides I have enough on my plate dealing with you, I don't need the death of my sister on my conscience."

Luna shrugged, "It's your choice, but I will not compromise myself so that your sister can continue her worthless escapades."

Marcus sighed as he slumped his shoulders, "Fine, I guess I'll just have to be a man about this matter."

After their conversation had ended, Marcus turned his attention back towards the window where he noticed that the car was pulling into his neighborhood.

When the car finally parked near his house, Marcus began to take deep breaths. "Ok, so here's how we do this, you go around my house and stand underneath my room window, then I'll open it up and you fly inside got it?"

Marcus turned to look at Luna with a thumbs up, but she only looked bothered, "if you insist." She said in a flat tone.

Marcus felt a blow to his confidence, but it was game time either way.

Stepping out of the car and crossing the road Marcus began to approach his house with baited breath, "simple mission, simple mission…" he repeated to himself repeatedly.

Finally reaching the front door Marcus turned around to look for Luna, but she was long gone, opting to take her own route.

Turning back around Marcus began knocking on the front door, "Mom I'm home!" Marcus shouted after three knocks.

There was a brief pause before the front door opened revealing Denise.

She was dressed in a black T-shirt and gray sweatpants, her hair was a messy Afro and her eyes were a light auburn brown.

"Aren't you supposed to be at football practice or some shit?" Denise said in a frustrated tone.

Marcus groaned as he grabbed at his temples, "Just once I'd like to come home without seeing your face." 

Denise rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the door, "whatever."

Marcus sighed as he entered the house and closed the door behind himself, he then hurriedly began to make his way upstairs.

At the top step, he quickly turned right and rushed towards his room, once inside he closed and locked the door behind himself, before turning to fully look at his messy room.

He knew Luna would throw a fit the moment she saw it, but that wasn't important right now.

He pushed past the empty takeout boxes, dirty clothes, and empty bottles until finally he reached his room window, he then quickly opened it and stuck his head out.

Marcus began looking for Luna but he quickly realized she was nowhere to be found, "shit did I forget to tell her which was my room?"

Just as he realized this crucial mistake, he could feel a cool breeze on the back of his neck. "Move." A voice said in a familiar tone similar to that of a middle-aged man.

Turning around to look up Marcus was greeted by Luna floating above his head.

With a sigh of relief, Marcus pulled away from the window and Luna gently floated inside, the moment she did her expression went from contempt to disgust.

"You are one disgusting pig." She said with a sigh as landed on Marcus's bed.

Marcus nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I get that but, in my defense, this is my sanctuary."

"The only worship that takes place here is by the souls of the damned." 

Marcus nodded, "I never expected anyone other than my sister to come in here anyway, but now that you mention it," Marcus began to survey his room with an embarrassed expression, "I could do better."

"If I am to reside here you will clean this place."

Marcus sighed as he began to pick up his lost clothes, "You don't have to be a jerk about it you know."

Luna ignored him as she floated towards his bookshelf, she floated there quietly scanning his small selections of books until she came to a thin paperback titled, The Tell-Tale Heart.

She immediately pulled it from the bookshelf and made her way back towards Marcus's bed.

Marcus looked up to see what Luna was doing, only for his eyes to widen at the book choice she made, "I wouldn't read that if I were you."

Luna paused, giving Marcus a frustrated expression, "Don't tell me what to do, foolish human."

Marcus shrugged, "whatever, just don't damage it, it's school property."