Hemopoiesis 1.6
"How have your recent days been, Mark? I know it hasn't been easy for you, but I also see how strong you are. If you are worried about anything, you can tell me. You know I am always ready to support you."
Linda sat across from me, holding a marshmallow in one hand and a mug of hot chocolate in the other. I had never been a fan of it, so I drank plain black tea. I had to add sugar, because my body was too persistently asking me to replenish the spent resources. I was in Linda's office, resting my mind and body from the last few days, which had turned out to be truly special. Three days of endless training and checkups would have been a difficult task even for an adult, let alone a child. Honestly, only super endurance saved me. I didn't expect to use it this way, not for saving lives or fighting villains, but simply for an excessively long "examination". That was the official word everyone used, but my experience didn't much resemble a stay in some hospital. Especially because after such "days off", I was squeezed dry and could barely stand on my feet. Largely because only short breaks were allowed to satisfy vital needs, after which I had to return again to tests, tests, and more tests. I was let go and left alone only on the fourth day, when it seemed every cell of my body had been checked. And as soon as all this unbridled activity ended, I had to go to classes, which also wasn't much like resting. Fortunately, no one bothered me, and all the teachers pretended as if nothing had happened. Yes, my classmates occasionally threw questioning glances, sometimes even openly coming up and asking where I had been. But it wasn't a big problem, and one phrase — "an examination" — satisfied everyone. At Red River, everyone, even small children, understood the power and might of that phrase, so they quickly calmed down, leaving me alone. I suspect it was obvious that it was better not to bother me right now, which is why I was allowed to do nothing the next day as well and replace classes with a visit to the psychotherapist. So-so, of course, because I would have preferred to be left alone, but it would do.
Tilting my head to the side, I looked out the window. It was already dark outside, plus it was raining right now, so it was hard to make out anything beyond the tall coniferous trees that covered the area outside Red River with their crowns. Because of this, it felt as if the orphanage was located right in the middle of a forest. I, however, was mostly lost in my thoughts, piecing together all the acquired information in my head. It was obvious that Director Stevens and the entire administration were somehow very interested in the possibility of me having a super-intellect ability, which is why they were in such a flutter. I only had theories, and frankly, lacked the desire to think about it, at least for now. Now is the time for rest and nothing else. True, I still had to keep my mask up and watch my speech so as not to blurt out too much.
"Well, even though it was hard, it was also very interesting. I learned a lot about my power, and now I'm not afraid of it at all. Well, almost, probably..."
Even though I was playing my role, this was already at least partially true. If anything, the control of my powers had significantly increased due to such frequent and active use. But even though the classes on improving blood manipulation were very interesting, long and complex mental activity exhausts you quite a bit. There was only one limit to using the superpower, related to the endurance of the body itself. There was no "mana" or resource spent on manipulating blood, but my head would split open after a few hours of work. However, even after my words about a headache, I wasn't let go anywhere for another twenty minutes, being persuaded to "give it a little more effort." This, it should be noted, was said specifically by the principal, who sounded not at all friendly back then. He was clearly interested in my powers and especially in how smart I turned out to be. But towards the end of all the examinations and tests, for some reason he sounded... relaxed? As if a whole mountain had been lifted from his shoulders when he found out that I wasn't a super genius, but simply a very smart kid. I was also finally able to test my less obvious powers. During a general set of physical exercises, my unusually high strength, speed, and endurance were assessed. I was tired after them too, because my body was still a child's after all. Yes, it turns out even supes can get tired. But it was worth it, because I tested my limits, and therefore began to better understand what I could and could not do. For example, I learned that I am capable of crushing stone with my bare hands or bending steel if I give it my all. And this is only the beginning, as far as I understood, since Brink's book stated that supes get stronger with age and reach their peak around twenty-five, and therefore this is far from the limit of my capabilities. I wonder, will simple training help me become stronger? All the known supes look like buff supermodels, while the teenagers and the builder guy didn't impress. There wasn't a word about this in Brink's book, but I suspect it's due to the work being aimed at children. Well, I'll test that from my own personal experience, as physical training definitely won't hurt me.
"I understand you very well, Mark. We all go through various trials in life that shape our character. No hero became a legend without going through hardships. But you don't need to worry about that, because the white streak always comes in the end. And I am incredibly glad that it is me who gets to tell you some very good news! You know, this meeting today will be special. And for a very, very good reason!"
I take a bite of the chocolate cookie, looking at Linda in surprise. She had never looked so happy before. Linda practically glowed, she was so happy, while looking as if today was the best day of her life. Purely out of interest, I start monitoring her blood circulation. Her heart was beating slightly faster than usual, showing that she was unlikely faking her joy. Well, since it's something good, I can turn off my paranoia at least for a while and...
"Tomorrow, a couple wants to meet you, who are very, very interested in adding a very smart little prodigy to their family! You know, usually more than a year passes from arriving at the orphanage to leaving for a new family, but your case is truly special!" Linda answered.
I silently looked at the rejoicing woman, while tens of thoughts flashed through my head. In theory, I should be happy right now that I will finally leave this crazy place and avoid fights with some insane teenager who can bend steel with his pinky. But on the other hand... it's too suspicious that this happened right after all the shady business with the principal and his army of doctors. Only a few days have passed since those events, and the right family has already been found that wants to take in a little pseudo-vampire like me? Have they already gone through the entire endless streak of paperwork and other bureaucratic nonsense? Besides, I doubt the details of why I ended up here were hidden, so they must understand all the risks of falling under the effect of the power of a child with a very dangerous and hard-to-control superpower. That's why I had been pondering for so long how best to present myself so that I wouldn't be considered a monster. And that's why it all looks so suspicious.
"Ummm... I kinda don't even know what to do. Can I find out something about them?" I asked a question.
Linda smiled softly at me, not hiding her joy at all that my fate had taken a new turn. Then she leaned in slightly and began speaking in a whisper.
"Let this be a secret between the two of us. I'm, like, not supposed to tell you this... But this is not an entirely ordinary family. I'll put it this way, they are familiar with supes not by hearsay and know how to raise true heroes out of them. They will come tomorrow to meet you, so I advise you to watch some classic movies about heroes in your spare time. You might learn something useful. I advise you to take a look at the movies or comics about The Seven." finishing telling me secrets conspiratorially, she winked, and returned to her seat, taking another marshmallow.
The situation didn't sound any better. So, these aren't simple people, but someone already connected with supes? It makes sense, actually, that exactly people with experience would be trusted to raise a superweapon on legs like me. Most likely they have a positive experience, because otherwise no one would likely trust them to raise future heroes. At the very least, because each of us can become a multi-million dollar brand, which is why wasting a resource would be foolish. Especially me, a supe with a rather interesting and unusual power, who also has the "basic Soldier Boy set" — superhuman strength, endurance, and durability. But... The Seven? The best of the best, literally the pinnacle for supes? How could they even be connected with them?
"I... don't know. What should I say to them? What if they don't like me?" I asked.
By the way, come to think of it, now it's clear why the majority of orphans in the orphanage are teenagers. They try to give all the children away as soon as possible, because if they don't succeed with this — it will be practically impossible to fix all the psychological problems that have emerged at a more adult age. And in the worst case, we will get not a national hero, but someone like Martinez or Stevie. The latter has never beaten someone up in public, but given his powers, he doesn't really need to. I'm sure he has done things much worse than anything the particularly aggressive Latino is capable of. And because of this, Stevie scared me much more than a simple brute breaking bones with a flick of his pinky. But I had thoughts that he wouldn't be walking around so tough and important for long. I have some doubts that Red River and the government will let this telepath out "into the wild."
"Don't worry, Mark, everything will be fine. Just be yourself and everything will be okay. Tomorrow there will be a regular meeting where you will get to know each other and learn more about each other. I'm sure you will like each other, these are wonderful people whose hearts are full of love and care." Linda answered.
Hmm, I can't understand how objective I am right now. Everything happening around could just be a set of coincidences, or it could... I have few ways to somehow verify this. The only thing left was to try to read Linda's reaction and learn at least something from it. Exhaling deeply, I, despite my headache, tried to monitor the reaction of her body more carefully, while already planning a small speech in my head. But before I could say a single word, a small realization came to me. My ability filled my head with all sorts of knowledge about human blood, but one specific fact interested me more than others.
"Thank you, Miss Shu. Now I am sure that everything will go well..."
I noticed the difference. Infinitely small and practically invisible. The blood of ordinary people and supes differed somehow invisibly, but fundamentally. I couldn't make out in what exactly, however, I could say one thing with certainty. There were two people in the room right now: me and Linda. And each of us possessed superpowers.
. . .
The entire next day I walked around practically dead, as I hadn't gotten enough sleep at all. After realizing the fact that Linda possessed some powers unknown to me, sleeping peacefully was somehow difficult. I spent the whole night thinking about what power she could possess. Because I perfectly understood that it was unlikely she was a simple strongman or a runner like Marathon or Homelander. What type of abilities is better suited for working as a psychologist than others? Of course, the one that is capable of controlling someone's mind anyway. Undoubtedly, I could be wrong, simply inventing imaginary enemies for myself... But along with the realization of this fact, other questions began to come to mind. Why am I so calm and relaxed when I am near her? It's obvious that she is the main person capable of tricking me into revealing information and uncovering my main secret. A psychologist should understand that I am not the most ordinary child, whose strange behavior cannot be explained solely by trauma and the death of a parent. But for some reason, I seemingly forget about this every time I enter her room. I treated literally every person around me with suspicion. Everyone except one woman, whose job is literally to dig into someone's brains and work with their secrets. The mere realization of this fact was enough for me to frantically start recalling all our meetings.
Most likely, she can somehow influence emotions or is simply capable of endearing herself with the power of her will. I doubt that if she possessed a more powerful ability, she would have been sent to work in some orphanage. Yes, this place is relatively important, but a power capable of calming down and endearing super-strong teenagers is enough here. Purely so they don't go crazy and plan an escape, as a result of which few teachers would get out of here alive... Well, and also, purely theoretically, if she is capable of controlling emotions, what else can she evoke? For example, eternal anger and constant aggression in the strongest supe of the orphanage? To make it so he's always like a rabid dog on a chain, capable of breaking everyone objectionable? So that these are purely orphanage showdowns, not fatal, but serious enough so that no one even thought of risking going against the administration. I thought for a long time about the phrase of the beaten-up kid with regeneration. When I reach his age, either I will have my own super-strong psychopath, or I myself will become a half-crazed beast. Now it even became interesting, what happened when the main terror of Red River was too small to cause problems?
Except thinking about everything constantly was fruitless, and therefore I tried to focus on truly important things. Trying to keep myself in hand and not think about all the potential problems that meetings with the brainwasher could cause, I prepared for the arrival of the potential adoptive parents. The meeting with them was scheduled after classes, and I waited for this moment, playing out different scenarios in my head of what could happen and coming up with answers to any tricky question. I also needed to work on the right image, because if the family turned out to be normal, then I shouldn't miss the opportunity to leave the orphanage. I tried to adhere to the principle in life: if you don't know what lies ahead, it's better to be ready for any situation. Although the existence of telepaths in this world strongly ruined such an approach to life...
The classes, as usual, were maximally boring. But this time they seemed even more unbearable, because I was resting from using the power, so I literally had nothing to do except make plans in my head. But this is also a tiresome activity that quickly becomes boring. Because of all this, the moment the final bell rang, I stood up faster than ever, because it was as if a mechanism had already been wound up inside me. One of the caretakers called me to her almost immediately, after which she led me to some rooms without a word. I had never been in them before, but I met nothing special there: a small room, on the walls of which were drawn a blue sky and a green meadow with various animals on them. The pictures were clearly drawn by children, which gave this place at least some share of coziness. But the interior interested me least of all, as all my attention was focused on the two people who had arrived.