Lux woke up to the sound of loud knocks at his door.
"Hey!" He heard a female voice yell through the door. "Open up the door!"
Lux groaned. "Yeah, I hear it!" He rubbed his eyes. "I'm awake. Now, leave me alone!"
The lady knocked again. "Lux, open up the door."
Lux rolled over in bed and grabbed the phone off his nightstand. He flipped it over and pressed a button to open his electric curtain. "What is it? I'm-Oh, hey Chloe!? What time is it?"
"Ugh..." Chloe sat on his couch. "It's 6:00 AM. I had to call a few people to find where you were staying. Where were you last night?"
"Why are you asking?"
"Because Dr.Grant was murdered last night. By a guy wearing a black mask."
"Shit." Lux hung his head low. "I totally blacked out last night; as you can see, I'm just getting up."
"You mean you didn't even check in on the case last night?"
"I blacked out," Lux replied flatly.
"Well, your blacking out and not showing up for duty led to the death of Dr. Grant."
"I told you, I was-"
"Don't give me excuses! I already checked in with the chief, and he doesn't buy it. I called him because I knew he would believe me if I came to him instead of calling the police." Chloe huffed. "I thought maybe you didn't show up on purpose yesterday. I figured that's why you wouldn't pick up your phone, so I went by there with Detective David."
"Well, you had David there; why didn't you stop the killer?"
"He literally vanished, like into thin air." Chloe said. "That's why we need to catch this guy before anyone else gets hurt."
"So you mentioned you talked to Chief Earl."
"Yes," Chloe answered. "He's pissed. And I don't blame him. But he won't fire you unless you really screw up."
Lux sat back in bed. "Alright, I'm back; let's move."
****
A couple hours later, Chloe and Lux arrived at a laboratory. They walked through a metal gate and onto a small porch.
They stepped inside, passing through an empty lobby, and entered another room.
In front of them were two women and a man. The man wore a white lab coat and had blonde hair. He turned around and greeted them.
"Detective Chloe, I assume? Welcome, please come this way." He motioned for them to follow him. "Please make yourselves comfortable. My name is Dr. Rut." He started walking towards the back of the building. "And these are my colleagues."
As they reached the end of the hallway, they passed several doors until they got to the last one.
Dr.Rut opened the door and invited them inside. "My associates will be here soon. Please, take a seat."
The two detectives took their seats at a large conference table.
"Okay, well, thank you both for coming today." Dr.Rut began. "Now I'd like to introduce you to our current project." He pulled a file folder from behind his chair.
"Uhm, we would love to see that, but that's not what we are here for." Chloe interjected.
"Yes, sorry about that." Dr.Rut apologized.
"So, as you know, two of your colleagues were murdered by a killer clearly targeting everyone in your little group. Do you have a clue why?" Lux asked.
Dr. Rut looked at Lux for a while before asking, "Is he under you?"
"No." Chloe shook her head. "We are on the case together."
"I see." Dr. Rutter sighed. "I'll tell you what I know, but I am only going to say this once, okay?"
"Sure thing." Chloe nodded.
"We have been on a project since,as I wanted to tell you. We are attempting a series of tests on the human body." He explained. "This has been a very long process, taking years."
Chloe leaned forward. "Can you elaborate?"
"Yes." Dr. Rutter smiled. "Our main focus has been on the brain, mind, and body. We have attempted many different methods, including using animals, and eventually we found some success."
"Success means what?"
"Well, it turns out that we can use certain procedures to grant humans superhuman abilities."
"Like telepathy?" Chloe asked.
"Telekinesis,teleportation,and teleportation. However, we do have a number of subjects who have gained other powers such as heightened senses, super strength, speed, etc. Some have multiple abilities."
"So how does it relate to the killer, though?" Lux asked.
"Well, when we first started experimenting, we used our own people. We gave them powers, but we also made sure to alter them psychologically. You see, the power isn't enough; the mind must be ready. That's why we did it slowly over time, giving each subject a single power at a time."
"What happens to someone who rejects the changes?" Chloe asked.
"Well, they usually go insane or kill themselves. Which is why we keep all our subjects in a separate facility?"
"So you are suggesting the killer is one of the insane ones?"
Dr.Rutter looked at the ground. "It could be."
"Well, since you are working on the case as well, he will be coming for you as well."
"Yeah, and we will be waiting." Dr. Rut said, folding his arms.
Lux folded his hands as well. "He killed two of your colleagues with ease; what makes you think he won't do the same to you?"
"We are building weapons."
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, did you say weapons?"
Dr.Rutter nodded. "That is correct. Our weapons are based on our research."
"You mean you're trying to create super weapons?" Chloe asked.
"Not exactly." Dr. Rutter corrected. "We are creating something to give us an edge against the enemy. It is possible that we may need to use them someday."
"But what if you don't need them? What if the enemy doesn't even exist?" Chloe pressed.
Dr.Rutt frowned. "We believe that there are enemies out there. And we want to be prepared for anything."
"So you just want to make a bunch of killing machines?" Chloe asked.
"If we can stop these enemies, then yes, we want to make a weapon to protect ourselves," Dr. Rutter answered.
"So you aren't being altruistic?" Chloe asked.
"I'm not saying we aren't, but we are doing this because we believe it is necessary to our survival. If it helps us win, then we are happy."
"So you are willing to sacrifice anyone who gets in your way?"Chloe asked.
"I understand what you're saying, but I assure you that we aren't planning on sacrificing anyone. We are merely protecting ourselves."
Chloe sat back down, her face twisted into disgust. She was glad she hadn't eaten breakfast yet.
***
The next day, Lux was sitting in a café near the police station, reading through some reports, when a familiar voice called his name.
"Hey Lux!" A man dressed in black came up to his table. "Are you free?"