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***
Waking up was surprisingly pleasant. It was as if I had finally slept and rested fully for the first time in a long time. I don't know what it was, maybe it was the water from the Lazarus Pit. I hadn't eaten people for a long time, and now I had tasted bone marrow, maybe it was because of that....
I was now lying in a bathtub with a viscous, pitch-black liquid at the bottom. I hadn't had this in a long time, it was even darker than the first time, and the odor was so strong it made me nauseous. What the hell is the problem? Did I have so many toxins building up in me? I turned on the water and took a quick bath.
I was in no hurry to leave; I had to check something. The bathroom in the lab was designed to be sterile. It was radiation-free, which was good for me. Taking the phone in my hand, I sighed:
«Damn cell phones. - the charger was dead, but I had an electronic watch, and it still worked. When I looked at it, I was stunned. A week? I slept for a week? I don't like this... The pain from the absorption process could be blamed on the radiation, I wasn't immune to it, and Roshtayn's bone marrow must have contained a lot of it. But this black liquid and the time it takes to absorb the power makes me wonder... Either there's something wrong with me, or it's the Atomic Destroyer's powers. Hmm, I'll have to take another one's power and check it out, my speculation is going nowhere.
Okay, that's not important right now. What's important is this.
*♪ Beep ♪
Tapping the control screen next to the door, I checked the status of the room. All the lab rooms had similar sensors. Not only did they let me know the temperature and other indicators in the room, but they also let me know the amount of radiation in the room. Under normal circumstances, in a normal environment, the amount of radioactive radiation was not very significant, but even so, the Atomic Destroyer absorbed it almost completely. The screen gave me the expected value of 0. Of course I'm sure there were dozens of zeros after the decimal point, and there might have been a one somewhere, but that's just a pitiful margin of error. Even though I can be in this environment, it would be hard for a normal person without radiation. Natural radiation is useful, but even that was gone in this room. I was sure that would happen, so I chose this place to transform. I absorbed the radiation here, but nothing changed outside. So, even though it's been a week, I can't be tracked like I was with Roshtayn. Yeah, that's good, but I think I should leave the base temporarily, I need to figure out my ability elsewhere. I don't want anyone coming here if they're looking for the Destroyer. I'm pretty sure Cisko wrote some kind of program to track radiation spikes. All right, I got a place in mind.
I quickly got dressed and grabbed my sword. I didn't need the suit, I was going to test my strength, not enough to ruin it. I also grabbed a Geiger counter with two large ampoules of Uranium Fluoride that I had prepared beforehand. Of course they might not be enough, but they should be enough for a simple increase in strength. I'll get rid of Roshtayn's decomposed corpse later, it's not worth staying here now. After drinking a couple drops of water from the Lazarus Pit, I went to the training area. It wasn't exactly a training area, but it was a place where Barry practiced his speed, so it would be good for me. I'm sure he'll be there, so we'll talk. Central City news can wait. I had to check my condition. My deputy at the company should handle everything, I warned him about my possible long absence. His management skills were good, as was his potential. He was young, but I thought he'd have a good future if he worked hard. I personally checked the main employees, their financial situation, family, in general, a complete dossier on everyone. I can't say I'm very happy with all the employees, but we're just getting started. There will be more talent in the future, I'm sure of it. After the Palmer incident, his company took a serious hit. It was a good chance to make a killing. The processors this guy makes are amazing, probably some of the best in the country. I wanted to steal the blueprints and get them to Hartley so he could modify them a little. If it works out, we'll have a pretty good product. Of course someone might guess, because that's not the way business is done, and it's not worth stealing. But I'm not an honest businessman, and Hartley's got a pretty good head, he can do it perfectly, I hope....
While I was thinking about all this, I had already reached the old airstrip of the city. It was a place where there were usually no people, just the right place to test my meta-powers.
I sat down and concentrated, I wanted to concentrate and feel the radiation. An ordinary person can't do that, people aren't capable of feeling that kind of radiation at all. But I'm not an ordinary human anymore, if I can unconsciously absorb radiation, I might be able to do it on purpose and much faster. A meta human feeding on radiation must be able to sense it somehow. Blackout sensed the electricity in each person and could track them that way. These abilities are a bit similar, so it could work. Of course, I wasn't sure, but it was worth a try.
After an hour of trying unsuccessfully to feel something, I sighed disappointedly and stood up. Maybe I was still inexperienced, or maybe this was all a dead end. It didn't work, it was like trying to talk with my mouth closed. I felt something strange that I hadn't felt before, but it was unconscious, and I couldn't control it.
«Yeah, that's not good.... - I sighed and picked up a vial of Uranium Fluoride. I hadn't spent a penny on them, as it happened, there was an electro-chemical plant in our town, and I'd managed to sneak the stuff from there. If that's not enough, I'll go to the Radioactive Waste Repository. There's plenty of it there, and I'll check my maximum magnification.
I was about to break the vial and absorb everything when my senses sharpened. As soon as I turned my head, a flash flashed in front of me, and a man in red appeared.
I made a surprised and pleased face and then exclaimed:
«Flash?! Is that really you?! I'm so happy to meet you, I'm a fan!
The guy's a little stunned:
«Uh, thanks... - Barry frowned and asked: - Where's the Atomic Destroyer?
«Atomic... Who? - I pretended to be surprised.
Barry didn't answer, but just listened. He didn't seem to be asking me a question, but his friends. I listened, too, curious about what they were talking about.
***
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