Two weeks ter…

  Edith sat at her desk and stared at her monitor, her attention divided between the charts dispyed on the s and the video of Fii running oreadmill while hooked onto a portable EKG mae. The young woman was covered i, and her heart rate was elevated, but her vitals were stable.

  They had beeing Fii's endurance for the past two hours, and while she was far from done, she showed remarkable stamina and resilience for her age—even without taking into at the enhanced endurance ferred by her metahuman state.

  She reached for the mug on her desk and took a sip of coffee, grimag as the lukewarm liquid touched her lips. Yuck. It was cold.

  A sharp pain shot through her leg as she moved, and she winced, cursing under her breath. The bullet wound ihigh was still healing, and she'd been pushing herself too much, even though she wasn't supposed to. She shifted in her seat, trying to ease the stiffness in her muscles.

  Damn bullets. Damn gangs. Damn slums!

  She hated this pce. This stinking, filthy, rat-ied hellhole. No amount of bleach could make the air smell any less foul, or the floorboards any less sticky. The noises didn't bother her, as she rarely slept mu the first pce, but she'd have to double-check the walls and ceiling for cockroaches tonight.

  "Sheri," she called over the inter. "Another cup of coffee, please." She let out a loud, exaggerated groan, hoping that the other woman would get the message. "My brain feels like mush without caffeine, and I 't trate."

  There ause, then a muffled sigh came from the other end. "Sure, just give me a minute. I'm preparing the dose for the patient." The line clicked off, ah returo staring at her s.

  As much as she despised the slums, she'd grown to appreciate the ck of bureaucracy. The rules were simple: Pay up and keep quiet. The cost of living was signifitly cheaper, and she didn't have to deal with the stant stream of red tape and politionsehat bogged her work down iropolis. Besides, the anonymity afforded by her current lifestyle meant that she could duct her research with retive freedom, unencumbered by the pesky moral straints that limited her before.

  So long as she stayed below the radar, no one would be the wiser. Or care. Sure, she would probably never receive funding from the gover or private industry, but she'd made her peace with that. She had enough saved up, and the...fiscated assets from her former employers provided her with plenty of capital to cover her expenses for the few years.

  "Here you go." Sheri pced a steaming mug on the desk beside her, startling her from her musings. The st of freshly brewed coffee filled the room, ah breathed it in, sav the aroma.

  "Ahhhh, that's better." She smiled, inhaling deeply and closing her eyes. "Thanks, Sheri." She picked up the mug and took a careful sip, relishing the warm, bitter taste. "By the way, have you given any more thought to my proposal? About taking over for me after my iable untimely death?" Edith opened her eyes and turo face the other woman, fixing her with an expet look.

  Sheri frowned, folding her arms across her chest. "Edith, you've already made it very clear that you're not dying anytime soon," she replied, raising her brow skeptically. "You said so yourself. In fact, I'd say you're the picture of health, despite your injuries." She gestured at Edith's leg.

  "Please, Sheri. It's only a matter of time before one of those lowlifes puts a bullet in my head. I mean, look at what happehis week." Edith leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. "Those punks almost killed me. Hell, I'm lucky to be alive! So, with that in mind, wouldn't you agree that I should make arras for the future, just in case?"

  Sheri shook her head, sighing heavily. "Alright, Edith. Fine. If—if—something happens to you, and I'm avaible, I'll take over. Happy?"

  "Deliriously." Edith grinned, winking at Sheri. "I knew I could t on you."

  Sheri rolled her eyes, turning to leave. "If there's nothing else, I'm going to get back to work." She paused, gng back over her shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want any painkillers? Y must be killing you." She indicated the injured limb, which Edith was still absentmindedly rubbing.

  "Nah, I'm fine." Edith dismissed her s by raising her mug. "This is my painkiller. Nothing's strohan a nice, hot cup of joe, you know?" She brought the cup to her lips and took another sip. "Mmmm. Pure bliss," she moaned, smag her lips.

  Sheri gave her o disapproving look before leaving the room. "Fine, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

  "Will do," Edith said, waving her off. As the door closed, she spun around in her chair, staring at the monitors on the opposite wall. Fii was still jogging oreadmill, looking bored out of her mind.

  Edith tapped a few keys on the keyboard, switg between different camera ao view Fii's physiology from different perspectives. She zoomed in on the subject's legs, fog on the muscle groups. It was remarkable how well the metahuman mutation had taken hold. Muscur hypertrophy and hyperpsia, boy augmentation, increased endurance, cellur regeion; everything appeared to be funing optimally.

  Fii's skeletal structure and ligamentous attats were adapted to withstand far more ford strain. Even her skin tone had improved, losing its uhy pallor and acquiring a more youthful glow. Overall, she appeared to be in excellent physical dition, a far cry from the frail figure raised in the slums.

  If she pared Fii's stats to other metahumans iropolis database, she was easily iop five pert—enough to get her scouted by the Ultimate Guardians.

  "Fasating," Edith muttered, leaning closer to the monitor. Her eyes darted across the s, trag Fii's movements, mentally juxtaposing the current observations with data amassed during the prior weeks.

  Helix's voice echoed ih's ear, the robotic ce given a hint of curiosity by the speaker's design.

  [Results from the most ret blood test firmed no abnormalities with white or red blood cell ts. Boy remains above average for a metahuman. Vitamin B12 and C levels are within standard parameters. Thyroid fun is normal, and cortisol levels are within expected ranges. Glucose toleraest ive. ransmitter levels—serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and epinephrine levels are within normal range.]

  Helix tinued.

  [The report of her metabolic parameters are as follows: Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is registering at 2,800 kilocalories per day, which is approximately 60% above the average for females of her age and build under normal ditions. This elevated BMR is sistent with her enhanced physiology.]

  A graphical representation of energy ption appeared on a nearby s, dispying fluctuations in Fii's energy use throughout the day.

  [Furthermore, her Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) is also signifitly elevated. When bined with the physical activity multiplier, her Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) approximates 4,500 kilocalories. This is suggestive of her body's increased energy demands due to her enharength, speed, and gravikiic abilities.]

  Helix tinued.

  [The body's fuel source distribution has also shifted. Typically, under resting ditions, the human body utilizes carbohydrates and fats predominantly. In Fii's case, her body demonstrates a more effit fat metabolism, possibly to support prolonged energy demands without rapid depletion of gly stores.

  Reendation: Ensure a caloritake that matches the TDEE to maintain optimal physiological fun. Special attention to mautrient distribution further optimize her performance.]

  "Thank you, Helix," Edith murmured, stroking her thoughtfully. "What about the EEG data?" she asked, gng at the numbers fshing on the s. "Have there been any signifit ges in her brain atterns?"

  [Acc to the results of the electroencephalogram, Fii's brain dispys a notable increase in gamma wave iy. This is often indicative of enhanced itive processing aened awareness. Furthermore, while theta waves typically indicate states of rexatiht sleep, her readings suggest an active presence of these waves even in her awakeate. This unusual pattern might hint at her ability to tap into deep rexation or meditation-like states while still being fully alert. It's akin to her brain accessing multiple modes of sciousness simultaneously.]

  Helix tinued.

  [Delta wave activity, typically associated with deep sleep, shows a redu. This suggests that her sleep patterns or the depth of sleep might have been altered post-mutation. Iingly, the corretioween her distinct theta wave activity and her Gravikiic abilities implies her brain might be adapting or evolving, capitalizing on the aspects of neuropsticity induced by the mutation.]

  "So, in simpler terms for those of us not plugged into a database?" Edith prompted, furrowing her brow.

  She drummed her fingers impatiently against her desk, eager for more information but she always found the AI's ical expnations overly voluted and hard to digest, which teo frustrate her. She preferred a more straightforward approach.

  [To put it simply, Fii's brain is operating on multiple enhanced levels. She's processing information at an accelerated rate, possibly accessing deep wells of creativity and intuition while awake, and her sleep patterns may have evolved. These ges might be directly reted to, or perhaps even a side effect of, her Gravikiic abilities. Her brain is reshaping itself, adapting to her ate, in what be termed as accelerated neuropsticity.]

  Edith nodded slowly, taking in the information. "Fasating...simply fasating."

  She g Fii on the s, notig that the girl had finished her workout and was now lounging around in the lobby area. "Do we have anything else to add to our test batch of data?" Edith asked.

  [Regarding her ability to manipute gravity, her level of trol tio improve at a geometric progression. It has now reached the point where she indepely regute her body's personal gravitational field, effectively altering the perceived weight of her own body.]

  Edith swiveled in her high-backed chair and looked through the frost-streaked gss of the door separating her office from the room taining the superputer. The room was dimly lit and filled with the pleasant hum of cooling apparatuses. A series of blinking lights and panels glowed in the gloom, illuminating the otherwise dark space.

  She had paid a hefty sum to acquire this superputer. Helix aramount to her researd was desigo operate autonomously, without a need for user iion, and possessed specialized capabilities to analyze and synthesize vast amounts of data.

  The only downside was that the superputer was a st-geion model, and its oversized frame seemed outdated and ically obsolete in the text of modern teology. Not to mention, it required a great deal of maintenance, which proved to be a headache. If she ever had to relocate again, she'd be in trouble. Fortunately, though, they hadn't had to move, thanks to Sheri's es in the neighborhood.

  She leaned ba her chair, rubbiemples. "Helix, expin to me how she's being more profit with her Gravikinesis, but she still 't solve basic algebraic equations."

  [Her gravikiic abilities seem instinctual, but refining her trol might be from uanding the mathematics of gravitational forces. The challenge lies in making these abstract cepts resoh her.]

  "Which means...what, exactly?"

  Helix's reply was immediate.

  [If you put her in an enviro where uanding the force equations directly enhanced her gravikinesis, she might grasp the subject more readily, improving both areas simultaneously.]

  Edith smirked. "So, what you're saying is we should drop her from a great height and tell her she only save herself if she uands on's w of universal gravitation?"

  Helix seemed to pohis.

  [Well, from a purely stific viewpoint, that would be an iing experiment. But from ahical standpoint…]

  "You're programmed for ethiow, are you?" Edith interrupted.

  Helix replied dryly.

  [As much as I'm programmed for humor. Though I could provide the gravitational calcutions necessary for Fii to levitate safely if you really want to pursue the test.]

  "Let's keep that as pn Z." Edith waved her hand dismissively, ughing.

  Helix's voice became softer.

  [What I was implying, Dr. Edith, is that we should foaking learning…fun, for her.]

  "Fun, huh? I'll see what I do," Edith muttered, rising from her chair and hobbling over to the et where she stored her drugs. She rummaged through the rows of vials before log the ampoule with her name scrawled on it in block letters. Pulling it out, she stared at it for a moment before unc it and swallowing its tents.

  The bitter, chemical taste made her shudder. She winced, f herself to swallow the awful stuff. She felt a rush of energy course through her as the medication kicked in, and her muscles rexed as the pain in her leg subsided.

  As she limped over to the sink in the er of the room, she noted Fii's progress on another monitor. The young woman was engaged in a series of calisthenics—a regimen desigthen her body—and seemed to be making goress.

  "Alright, let's shelve the algebra lessons for now. What's the test on her gravikiic training? Is she still having trouble with vertical lifts?" she asked, taking another sip from her mug.

  [Yes, her success rates with geiical gravitational vectors remain insistent. This issue mas as a dey in ramping up her gravitational field to the desired strength and dire.]

  The puter s dispyed several graphs illustrating the results of Fii's practice sessions.

  [Her proficy mainly lies in the horizontal pne, although she occasionally mao create upward gravity fields of suffit magnitude to teract her iia.]

  The graphs dispyed a rapidly deing slope, indig that the odds of succeeding diminished as the angle approached y degrees.

  Edith studied the graphs, frowning. "Well, that's not ued, all things sidered. She's still learning how to trol her power. And while her progress is remarkable, there are bound to be a few roadblocks along the way. The important thing is that we're moving forward and making progress, and she seems eager to learn and improve."

  Figuring out exactly how a metahuman power worked had always been a herculean task, requirieudies, analyses, and simutions. A power like gravity manipution was more plex than any other metahuman power ever recorded, aside from the few that were deemed too 'otherwordly', which meant that she had no prior research to draw from.

  It was like w in uncharted waters, and she wasn't sure which dire to swim. But between her and Helix's efforts, they had mao develop a rough framework for how Fii's power worked.

  Each time Fii activated her gravikinesis, she was essentially produg a localized gravitational field. This field could be maniputed to either waih's gravity, giving her lift, or in tandem with it, anch her more firmly. At least, that was their initial assessment. But not every superpower could be expiirely by sce.

  "Hmm, I see." Edith frowned. "To expedite her activation process, we could anchor specific gravitational effects ter words. This association would reduce the mental putation required for only used gravitational maniputions." Edith mused aloud.

  Helix processed the suggestion, formuting a response.

  [A keyword activation might be beneficial. Pairing it with a reflexive rea to produce the desired gravitational effect would be simir to how a reflex test works. I could run simutions modeling gravitational fields. These would provide Fii with visual feedback, allowio better predid uand the outes of her gravikiic as.]

  Edith tapped her fingers on the desk thoughtfully, her gaze shifting to a set of monitor feeds dispying Fii in various training exercises. In one clip, Fii was shown attempting to lift a heavy steel beam. The beam wavered, rising a few timeters off the ground, before suddenly crashing down. In another clip, Fii was holding a gss sphere, which started levitatiween her palms befently floating back down.

  "Helix, show me the data on Fii's iions with external objects. Is her ability limited only to her personal gravity, or she extend this to items she's in tact with?"

  [Initiating review.]

  The s's dispy was adjusted to showcase a series of graphs and charts.

  [During our test tests, Fii has demonstrated the capability to extend her gravitational field to enpass objects she directly touches. This extension is currently limited by her tration, the object's mass, and proximity. The further away the object is from her body, the less trol she seems to have.]

  Edith leaned in, iing a graph detailing Fii's heart rate and tration levels against her ability to lift differeed objects. "So, if I'm uanding correctly, she make things she touches lighter or heavier based on how she maniputes her own personal gravity?"

  [Correct. She essentially shares her gravitational field with the object, either augmenting or terih's gravity as she desires. It's akin to two mags influeng one another. As she strengthens her e with the object, she extend her influence over it.]

  Edith pohis for a moment. "That could be tremendously advantageous in the field. Imagine her being able to lift heavy debris or prevent a colpsing structure. Or oher side of the spectrum, she could make something so heavy that it bees immovable. A sort of dynamichor."

  [Ihe applications are diverse. But there are limitations. Fii's grasp on objects seems to be temporary. Once she releases them, her influence diminishes rapidly if the object goes beyond the area of her gravitational field. Outside of the field, objects return to their normal state within moments.]

  Helix then pyed a clip where Fii was seen lifting a series of kettlebells. Each time she tossed them away, the weights instantly crashed to the ground.

  [As you see, her influence doesn't linger.]

  Edith sighed. "We'll o find ways to extend that duration. If she's to use this in real-life sarios, we 't have things crashing down uedly. It could be catastrophic."

  [She's still refining her abilities, Dr. Edith. We've noticed a gradual increase iime objects remain influenced post-tact within her gravity field. It's ceivable that with training and increased neural e strength, she maintain her influence for extended periods even after letting go.]

  A thought occurred to Edith. "I saw her throw a grown man around using only one arm not that long ago. That means her influence over objects she touches extends to biological anisms too."

  [Gravity does not differentiate between anid nanic material, so the answer is yes. She share her gravitational field with other people.]

  "Oh, yoing to love this." Edith rubbed her hands together mischievously, grinning from ear to ear. "I just got an idea for a little...experiment." She reached for the inter and pressed a button. "Sheri, please join me in my office. I have a special proje mind, and I need your assistance."

  She let go of the button and chuckled, turnitention back to the monitor. "You're in for a treat, Helix."

  Helix spoke up.

  [I'm still waiting for Pn Z, Dr. Edith. Shall I order a parachute?]