Juniper Fay was lounging around in her room as she received the news from those who were out on the field about their mission status.
She knew that Carmen and Robyn had just finished their own mission's and were on their way back. Juniper was about ready to turn in for the night when her computer screen brightened at the sound notification of an email.
Judging from the flash on her screen the email must have come from someone important, causing Jun to give off a low moan as she lazily sauntered over to her desk.
She brought up her mail and it was from one Calum Verus. She opened the email and scrolled down reading it intently with confusion laced on her face mixed in with annoyance and disappointment.
The cool air outside gave a flowing chill through the open window of her room, Juniper Fay stayed still and silent for some time that if one saw her they would assume she had died on the spot right there, it didn't even look like she was breathing.
Then she leaned in on her chair with her head facing her ceiling.
"I hope this isn't what I think it is."
Calum Verus' email on her screen read:
Dear Ms Juniper Fay,
I wish I could have gotten this to you sooner but I had some things to prepare. Your questioning about Charlie Liber's disappearance all those years ago took me by surprise.
For confidentiality purposes this message will self-terminate after ten minutes.
One of the research facilities of the Ministry of Welfare was attacked during late September. I would like to discuss the exact details of this attack as well as the facility and the loss of ministry assets with you and the paladin in your institution no later than noon tomorrow. Please keep this conversation between ourselves and whoever you plan on being there.
Due to sensitive nature of the topic, I cannot state anything further in this email. However I have attached an image of damage done to the facility.
I wish to get this issue resolved as soon as possible.
Looking forward to speaking with you.
Kindly,
Calum Verus.
The images on screen were clear. They shown the forested area surrounding a clear image of a building in the middle and the after was that building destroyed and the forests damp as if it were recovering from a rainstorm or flooding.
Well it was time to issue another emergency meeting. But before she was about to send out the usual alert, Juniper thought it best to exclude one person.
'He's an agent of the BPA anyway so it should be fine.'
Marc Simpson was left out of it and the alerts were sent out with minimal details.
___
The day was dull and grey with temperatures staying cool. The sun was obscured by clouds which seemed to signify the mindset Juniper Fay was having.
They had switched conference rooms this time, it was filled in with a large triangular shaped table with a single podium by the tip closest to the window where Juniper fay sat.
She had told them that today was more of a special occasion so all of them seemed a lot more serious in the conference room, all sat straight, none of them picking at parts of their face or scratching heads or making snarky comments.
Jun didn't like it. It felt all too professional, it didn't matter what field of work she was in she always wanted the space to be comfortable and free but this one event made everything feel so closed in, claustrophobic and stuffy.
The only one that truly seemed in place was the elder woman Elara Morgan and the straight-laced and rational Bruno Hayes.
"I still don't trust this guy." Greg said with a deep yawn. "Something about him keeps throwing me off."
"Chill out old man." Zara said without giving the Hero a glance. "We haven't even met him in person yet."
"What we feel about him don't matter." Bruno said. "He has his uses in the information he'll provide. So play nice."
Juniper stayed quiet, she didn't want to intrude. She couldn't, wicked thoughts kept rushing through her mind on the disastrous situation that could be laid out in front of them. But she couldn't judge, at least not yet until she has gotten everything out of the man.
A buzzer went off which came from reception and then she could see video feed of the lanky man in a black and white chequered suit being escorted to the conference room.
"He's coming." Robyn Wilson said, Juniper was glad that she said it instead of her. Robyn must have been keeping an eye on her then.
She mouthed a silent 'thank you' and then waited for the man to show himself.
"Is it normal to have visits from government officials by the way?" Carmen asked to which the more experienced Caleb responded.
"No, the BPA even though working alongside the government, try to be as autonomous as possible. There's just not much they can provide to paladins other than public ridicule."
There was a polite knock on the door which caused some to turn their heads as they watched Calum Verus walk inside the room.
He looked all around similar to his news appearance, with his clean pale shaven face and weird thin line smile he had a sort of boyish charm to him. His circular glasses and bowl cut hair just made him look like a geeky kid genius that doesn't want to grow up.
He was holding on to a briefcase in his hand and that only tightened as Juniper got out of her seat to greet him.
"Thank you for visiting us today minister."
Calum' eyes went wide, the blush on his face was obvious due to his complexion.
"Please, that isn't necessary!" He dropped his briefcase off by the side of the podium and shook her hand, his grip was tight as he swung his hand up and down in an overly animated way causing some of the members in the room to stifle a laugh.
Calum didn't go right back to the podium, but instead walked around the table slowly while acknowledging who it was he knew around the table and whispered praises while stuttering.
He only recognized three of them in the room by certain monikers some people used online and even Greg from his previous podcast.
"It's an honour to meet with you Cyclone." He said as he got to Carmen. Carmen looked a little puzzled, none of the paladin really paid much notice to the little nicknames people came up with for them. It only happened because most paladin didn't reveal their real names anyway.
He then gushed at the sight of Greg... "And it's been a long time goal to meet you **Hero**." Greg looked even more confused then Carmen. Greg was of the mind that the man in front of him was hiding something and would be as insincere as they come. But his gushing over the paladin in the room seemed so real.
"And of course there's The Ink Master." he pointed over to Bruno.
"Don't call me that." Bruno said in his usual hard and serious voice. "Don't you have something to give us?"
He then stumbled over to the podium and picked up his briefcase while adjusting his glasses.
"You're wrong but right. I won't be giving you anything, just presenting you with what's been gathered for today." He pulled out some pieces of paper and a tablet along with a small remote to go with.
He dragged the podium over to the center of the triangular table through a small slit that he could fit in. The lights were dimmed and the blinds were brought down as he turned on the tablet and activated its holographic features.
The first image was a loading screen with the Ministry of welfare's public logo on it. This told the people in the room that it was most likely specially tailored to the people of that ministry similar to the mobile devices of paladins.
The logo's lettering was so fine that it seemed like it was truly solidified and they could see their reflection on it.
"You paladin go out and deal with the trouble left behind by dangerous threats produced by this society. And we of the Ministry of Welfare look to build something from the trash left behind."
The Ministry of Welfare, he started to explain, had started many years after the paladin society took on a proper form. Their responsibility went from legislation to research on how to prevent the illicit use of Paranormal abilities that awakened in people as well as to aid paladins working together and make things run more smoothly.
He pointed out that even the phone's that paladin use now and issue to their students had come about because of the ministry which surprised everybody in the room.
"But," he added. "as with all things concerning the government, much of our work is classified until further notice. And that went especially for our research centers..." That got them all interested, it felt like a new light had been lit under them as they took in everything he said.
"Grid is what it is referred as." The center shifted to something else, it showed video footage of with a direct first persons point of view.
It opened up to a building that Juniper recognized from the night before, first they walked into the building which seemed like a normal warehouse. Then after turning left and lifting up a tire which was connected to another opening it showed the real entrance.
The ground opened up from the rubble as the mentors in the room experienced the hologram carry them through the bunker and then through more opened doors and into a labyrinth of cool white halls and more doors that were sealed with key cards and biometric scanners tuned to fingerprints or eye scanners.
Men and woman dressed in white doctors coats would pass through, either with stern faces or hiding their faces with a face mask.
"Grid had been established after the most recent attack on the south of France by the gluttonous fiend." He explained. "This is just one of it's shelters that was hidden off in the mountains." Calum went off to say that he inherited this station after working there for a number of years but he also worked in other facilities too.
"What did this research facility that you were in charge of focus on?" Greg Knox asked showing great interest.
"We worked on dangerous power users." He stated boldly while puffing his chest proudly. "Candidates are chosen based off of factors like, volatility of their power, threat to the general populace, security and potential to study it. As well as things like the candidates mentality, economic background and family dynamic."
The latter two felt like strange one's to include but some of the paladin there thought it just meant how they contributed to the family dynamic and overall health of the person.
He then went on to explain how their powers were studied, OD was seen to be a paranormal force but some aspects of it could still be figured out with science, they couldn't be replicated but they could work well together, like the phones that paladin's are issued that only responds to a users OD.
Calum's facility worked on developing countermeasures for dangerous paranormal powers that may develop. The government took this seriously. Some say that powers are only limited by the creativity and understanding of a user, not everyone needs to be the level of a monarch.
"Which is why this is such a big loss." He said with a tone that bordered more on annoyance than actual sadness.
He then showed the rest of the destruction that Charlie Liber had left in his shadow as he left with the three escapees.
"Only three?" Robyn Wilson asked.
"Yes, my facility only focused on a few at a time. Three or four." Calum answered with his reason being... "Every power is different and need's to be contained in different ways, for example. Summoners have always been a problem. Like the Monarch of Japan..."
The rest of the room thought and knew where he was getting at while mentioning the demon fox of Japan who took part in ending the civil war that happened back in 2009.
"Most summoners gain the traits of the beast that they summon, physical traits continue to grow and they don't stop. In fact it changes their body and blood also. Like giving them a stronger immune system and greater resistance to what can bother us normal humans."
Nobody in the room liked how he said that, "Normal Humans". It was a rhetoric still used today to diminish paladin and other awakened people that tried to fit into society and everyone in this room has felt the negative of it.
"Even if we suppress their powers, their physical abilities are still at one hundred percent albeit without the added effect of their OD enhancing them."
"Did you have any in your facility?" Elara Morgan the ever so quiet elder asked.
"No unfortunately or fortunately I didn't, but in the last place I worked we had one. I might have time to speak on him later."
He brought up his remote to move on to the next page of his presentation to show an image of a face that was so detailed they could make out the individual pores on her pale skin. A girl with long, straight black hair, her face at the time of this picture still had fading scars which presumably came from prepubescent acne. Her eyes were filled with curiosity and wonder.
"That's Renata." Carmen muttered aloud.
"So you've met her then." Calum replied. "So you should know how destructive she can be." He pointed over to the bottom where the text was then enlarged to show her power and some brief info.
Renata Kalim. Current age: 17, first admitted to Grid at the age of 12. Paranormal Power: "Disjunction". Touch based power that allows her to remove gravity from an object or person, causing them to disintegrate into their atomic components.
Renata was a bright child, Calum said. She was good at languages and science but her parents started noticing her behaviour around other children was violent and usually ended in violence instigated by her which she would let go on until the children were badly injured.
"The parent's have no idea when she awakened, but Grid saw it best to take her in before irreplaceable damage."
"What was it like? Managing someone with a power like that." Bruno asked.
Calum's expression shifted. He went on to say that her mood swings were wild, soaring to euphoric heights whenever she had a chance to unleash her power. The only issue is that she revelled in experimenting with it. Treating everything and everyone as mere tools for her whim, it was like the girl was born lacking empathy.
Calum then said in a more quiet and disappointing tone that in her first week she destroyed half her room and that the scientists observing her barely escaped with their lives.
"Sounds like a real bother." Bruno said.
"Yeah." Calum answered, a wry smile creeping to his face. "It was."
The images changed again. It showed what he said was a containment room, prison is what the paladin in the room heard.
A feat of engineering to keep volatile powers like hers in check.
"Every detail was meticulously planned. The colour of her room being one singular hue, to blur her perception and suppress her inclination toward chaos. The gravitational stabilization fields would restrict her movements, while the non-reactive gloves with Rune's on them suppressed her OD."
The atmosphere thickened as the paladin in the room contemplated the design of the room for this one girl.
"I find it hard to believe there was no other way." Caleb Adams spoke out with slight anger growing in his voice that no one saw fit to reign in.
"This way was the best. We were able to keep her under control in here..." he then moved to another image of a pod seemingly built in to the room with Renata inside of it wearing what looked like an isolation suit. "The room is built with special non=reactive and non=conductive materials to resist her disjunction for as long as possible."
Calum didn't seem to notice the growing tension as he continued to squeal on about his invention.
"A vacuum chamber was built in to ensure that no air molecules were present, the temperature would be kept at absolute zero leaving the only warmth in her suit in the pod... I almost forgot but the some layers of the materials in the room are made of a self-regenerating nanomaterial to prevent her from escaping so easily with her disjunction."
He acted like a giddy child which caused the reactions in the room to be mixed with a strong undertone for fury.
"People would go crazy in there!" Caleb said raising his voice. "How long was she kept in there?"
"About twenty six months." Calum replied offhandedly. "Not counting the time in labs or outside to prevent things like atrophy, there was some psychological deterioration, but she would always get back on her feet for interviews and other tests."
Everybody gave him either a harsh stare on an unbelieving stare not knowing what to make of this. Bruno decided to cut through the tension again.
"Judging by the treatment of these people, I assume them returning home was never the end result."
"Obviously not. They're considered assets of the state by that point anyway, and all of them usually lack any close relations outside so there's no one to object. People like Renata may be promising genius' but without control she was just a tempest waiting to be unleashed."
"Usually if they can't keep up with the strictness and severeness of our testing then they usually become physically and/or mentally dull and unable to participate. But we can still study their remains for some time afterward." Calum was waving his hands in the air like a composer as he was explaining the process further. "So many paranormal powers can still be active even after death, that's sometimes how spirits come about or even ego tools like the infinity train stay with us the living. So if you could be so kind I would like it if you could bring Renata's body to us pristine condition. You're all gold rank so I'm sure you could kill her without much damage to her body."
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