A few months have passed since Samuel discovered the truth of his existence as a dragon. As discussed, Samuel had been visiting the lab base each and every day for his basic training. He had gained basic proficiency in using each and every one of the abilities he had so far including extreme weight training.
He was currently able to deadlift five hundred pounds with no sweat in his regular human form; ten thousand in his hybrid form and so far, nothing was too heavy for the biggest dragon transformations he could use. His limits in terms of handling weight while flying were also yet to be determined.
The Griffin family had occasionally paid a visit to the lab. Their first visit was one that will stick in their memories forever. The morning a week after they first met Dr. Michelson, the rest of the family tagged along with Samuel on his way to the lab. They rode on the back of their son in one of his many dragon transformations as he flew towards the lab.
Catherina raised her hands in excitement. Being the second time flying with her brother, she was no longer nervous, rather, she was ecstatic. This was her version of a roller-coaster and she absolutely loved it. The reverse was true for her parents who were experiencing their first ride on the back of a dragon. If not for the fact that they knew that the creature they were currently riding on was their son, they would have passed out from fright.
Samuel approached the mountain, circling it once to give his parents a view of the entire base before finally landing in front of the hidden entrance. He transformed back and, quickly put on a new set of clothes. He approached the camouflaged door and stood before it. "RECOGNIZED; SAMUEL GRIFFIN. GOOD MORNIGN AND WELCOME BACK", Lisia's voice rang out suddenly, surprising his parents.
"Thanks Lisia", he said as he motioned for his parents to get closer. "Don't worry, she's the AI Dr. Michelson mentioned", Samuel reminded. They bottled up their nervousness after hearing the reminder and decided to approach but Catherina was way ahead of them. She quickly reached her brother's side and held his hand. "RECOGNISED; CATHERINA GRIFFIN. WELCOME", Lisia announced again exciting the little girl.
Their parents finally reached their side as Lisia's voice rang out again, RECOGNISED; BERNARD GRIFFIN; VIVIAN GRIFFIN. ENTRY ACKNOWLEDGED". The hidden door hummed and slowly opened to reveal an elevator. They entered and the elevator moved, automatically taking them to the living room.
Dr. Michelson welcomed them and led them on a tour through the entire base. Seeing a demonstration of their son bench pressing several hundred pounds of weights did more than shock them. After the tour, they returned to the lab to begin the other reason for their presence here; Catherina's check-up.
Dr. Michelson laid Catherina down on the platform of his PET scanner hybrid and applied anesthetic gas to help her sleep throughout the process. "Lisia, please run diagnostics!" he requested. "ACKNOWLEDGED. INITIATING DIAGNOSTIC SCAN", she replied as the scanner activated and got to work; her parents watching on with nervousness.
After a few minutes, the machine stopped. "NOTICE! SCAN COMPLETE. RESULTS SHOW THAT CATHRINA HAS A DORMANT META HUMAN GENOME, THOUGH", Lisia announced. "Interesting", Dr. Michelson said with a hand to his chin as he approached Bernard, Vivian and Samuel.
"What did she mean by 'meta human'? Bernard asked. "Though she is still very much human, her DNA is still slightly special than that of normal humans. Meta human is basically the name given to abnormal or best to say, extraordinary human beings", Dr. Michelson explained.
"So, do you mean she is not a dragon as well", Vivian asked. "Not at the moment, no. Her metahuman DNA is currently dormant so nothing else can be diagnosed but I suggest we make her check-up a regular event. Anything can happen after all", he suggested. and the parents agreed.
Catherina woke up an hour later feeling a little discombobulated. After regaining her bearings, she immediately joined her brother who entertained her with the assortment of games in the living room. They played as many two-player games as they could find whilst their parents casually had tea and chatted with Dr. Michelson. After an hour, Samuel took them back home and returned to continue his training. He was excited that his sister was an extraordinary like him. He looked forward to the future.
The check-ups for Catherina became a monthly affair and after six months, the scan diagnosed her meta human genome had an awakening likelihood of fifteen percent, five percent more than when she last did her check-up. Based on this data, Dr. Michelson hypothesized that if she were to fully awaken, it would probably happen after her sixteenth birthday; though he couldn't be too sure due to the lack of necessary factors in his calculation.
'I would need to take further measures into her growth to ensure she doesn't go out of control if and when she fully awakens. But that will have to wait till we return. There is still time after all' he thought to himself.
After another month, Dr. Michelson announced to the family that the time had come for Samuel and he to leave on the anticipated trip to Cape Metro. The house was abuzz as they decided to hold a going away party for the two. They invited Dr. Hathaway who was more than willing to participate. Why you asked? Because the party was held above the clouds in the night sky under the light of the full moon. One could easily figure out whose idea it was; it was Catherina's.
The group enjoyed their time in the sky, eating and drinking. Samuel wasn't left out if you were wondering. With the long neck of his Argentinosaurus-like dragon transformation, he was able to lay his head on his back alongside his family and enjoy the large portions of steak and vegetables prepared for him. With his stability while soaring in the sky, the party went on for hours until they were all tired and sleepy.
Catherina, for one was already fast asleep on her brother's enormous snout. Samuel flew them back home, dropping off Dr. Michelson on his way. Dr. Hathaway spent the night and drove off early the next morning back to the city.
The rest of the family slept-in in the same bed until nine in the morning. It was the best sleep they've had in a long while and they were determined to enjoy it as long as possible. But all good things must come to an end sadly.