18 Chapter 18 - What's Next?

"You seem awfully on edge, you good?" Inquired Theo, as I was rocking back in my chair and tapping my foot against the floor.

"It's just...last time I was getting ready for a flight, my parents were killed and I ended up a madman's lab rat for almost six years," I remarked dryly.

"O-oh, uh...," He trailed off awkwardly, not sure what to say.

"Relax, you don't need to worry about me being sensitive or whatever. After being tortured for that long, it'd probably take a lot to upset me," I replied with a wry smile.

After Theo and Siara questioned me about what had gone on in that lab, they took me out of that hell hole, along with all of the researchers except for Alok, who got away.

I wasn't too happy about the fact that they were arresting those bastards instead of killing them, and I said as much, Siara responded that killing them would make us no better than them or whatever.

While I disagreed with that notion, I kept quiet and didn't say so out loud. After all, they did save me, and I can't put into words how grateful I am to them. So, I didn't say anything.

After that, they took me to a hospital to get checked up, but I was cleared before too long, since any injuries I sustain heal right away. Since then, they've had me stay in their base here, in the country of Esidd.

They've been busy exposing the crimes of the research group that I'd been a captive of, apparently they'd experimented on several Alter kids before they got me in their clutches.

I'm the only one of their test subjects who's still alive...guess they never got another subject after me since a lab rat who can heal from any injury and ailment was probably sufficient for their experiments.

The Unity people have been really nice to me, they've made sure I'm comfortable and even hired me a therapist to talk to. I can't deny that I've broken down and bawled a couple of times or five during those therapy sessions.

I still feel like a part of me was destroyed permanently in that lab, and maybe that's for the best. The old me probably wouldn't have the strength to readjust back to a normal life if I'd remained exactly the same.

I mean, it's only natural that I'd change after all that, right? The therapist even said so, and that I'm apparently remarkably well-adjusted and sound of mind for someone who was tortured for more than five years.

Which is great and all, but there's one thing that's been bothering me...I have no idea what to do with my life, I don't know what's next for me. Unity investigated the deaths of my parents, and informed me that their bank accounts had been cleared out, likely by the men who killed them. Which means I have absolutely no money.

And then, as if they'd read my mind, they asked me what I wanted to do after this, but of course, I had no answer. So, they then offered me a place in Unity. If I agreed, they'd take me to their main base in the country of Cahgo, in the continent of Angla.

There, they'd teach me to control and use my powers, and I'd help them fight against anti-Alter terrorism and any other threats that they deal with. I was hesitant to accept their offer at first, mainly because I'd be playing into what the Progenitor wants me to do with the powers I inherited.

And I have absolutely no intention of obeying someone else's will, not after I spent over five and half years being forced to do so constantly.

However, learning to better use my powers and being able to defend myself, that's something I desperately need. The researchers trained me in regular combat, but besides my healing, they never really took the rest of my abilities into account.

They placed heavy restrictions on me with the control chip, including the restriction that prevented me from triggering whatever power I used to kill most of the men responsible for killing my parents.

If I join up with Unity, then maybe they can teach me how to control that power. And so...I accepted their offer. And in just a few hours, I'll be flying to Unity's main base with Theo and Siara, who live there and were only here to help the branch of Unity in this country in their operation to crush the research group.

Though I have agreed to join them, I do have a couple of concerns...most significantly, their no-killing rule. It just doesn't make sense to me. I mean, think about it, if Batman killed the Joker the very first time, imagine how much damage he could have prevented later on.

"About the whole 'we don't kill anyone' rule you guys follow...are there really no exceptions to that rule?" I asked Theo.

"Hm? Well, no, unless it's, like, a swarm of Monsters attacking a city or something. That's pretty rare these days though, Monsters usually just stay in their habitats, like any other wild animal, they hardly ever wander into towns or cities.

But when it comes to people, we don't kill. Instead, we capture them and expose their crimes for the world to see...by taking the high road, we make the world see us Alters in a brighter light, and anti-Alter terrorists in a more negative light. You know what they say, if you kill a killer, then the number of killers in the world remains the same," He surmised objectively.

Wait, that's a Batman quote, isn't it? Freaky, I was just thinking about Batman. But that quote is flawed...

"I've got two arguments against that. First, if you kill several killers, then the number of killers in the world will definitely decrease. And my second argument, let's say you kill a serial killer who kills people for fun. The number of killers may remain the same in that case...but the number of victims, or at least, potential victims, will reduce," I countered with a shrug.

"...okay, that's a strong argument, both of those. But if both sides end up killing each other, it'll either never end, or it'll end with everyone on both sides dead. We have to be better than our enemies, otherwise, no one's in the right."

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Because if it were upto me, every last one of those rotten bastards from the lab would be dead already...

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