House of Powers
Auditorium - All
For such a large room with so many seats there were very few occupants, less than a dozen sitting down far apart from one another, almost one to a row. Before them, in front of a huge electronic whiteboard, stood two people wearing full body bio-hazard suits. Over the last few hours the seated adolescents would have gotten used to the sight of everyone around them wearing such protection, having been told in no uncertain terms that they had to be taken to a secure facility for their safety and that of everyone around them. Their illness of mild nausea and dizziness was apparently far more than the symptoms of a mild flu and was highly infectious disease which had yet to be fully explained to them.
All heads turned as a doorway to the side of room swung open and an unsuited woman, wearing a lab coat, walked in. She looked utterly at ease and showed none of the apprehension her two colleagues oozed even through their protective suits. Her hair was auburn and long, tied back into a ponytail and had a clipboard tucked under one arm and was carrying a steaming mug in her hand, taking sips from it as she made her way to the front and turned to face the assembled young adults.
"Good morning all. I know that you're all feeling anxious, perhaps even scared, about the situation but there's little for you to worry about now that you're here. As you already know, we've brought you here under such conditions because of your illness but you don't yet understand why beyond that." She scooped up a remote that was on the lectern and clicked a button, the projector above their heads whirring into action and a series of images popping up on the screen representing strands of DNA as well as a several graphs.
"I'm a research physician studying a new phenomenon that has only just been recorded in the last year or so. A few adolescents, like yourselves, have exhibited symptoms of mild flu but the underlying cause of this ailment appears to be your body rejected a minor change in your DNA. I assume you have all seen, or are at least aware of, X-Men?" She didn't wait for any answers, assuming a positive response, and clicked the remote so that one of the images of the DNA enlarged to fill the screen, with two different strands next to one another.
"This isn't an accurate representation but hey-ho, it'll have to do for today. In crude terms, your body is developing powers that are beyond anything humans have ever possessed before, it's a singularity, a phenomenon that has never been recorded in history ever before. However, your body is rejecting the change and this is causing your illness. Whatever is causing this change is infectious and, during the later stages of illness, you may have caused those around you to suffer from the same effect."
A few more clicks and the images began to cycle through photos of a luxurious facility. A games room, a luxurious pool, sumptuous bedrooms, a well equipped gym and a large cafeteria all appeared on screen before the cycle began again, showing the richness of wherever the adolescents were.
"In this facility we've manufactured a series of drugs, methodologies and therapies which will allow you to harness your power, control it without it killing you, and survive the changes your body is undergoing. After this change has completed you will no longer be infectious to others and can go back out into the world."
Standing before them with a proud expression on her face, hands on her hips, she grinned at the stunned new residents of the facility. Tapping the side of her nose confidentially, she finished her small explanation.
"Well, it's a lot more complicated than I make it sound but essentially this place has been made for the sole purpose of treating people in your condition safely. I won't lie, it's got high-tech sensors coming out of every corner so we can research what's going on within you in a non-invasive manner but everything is anonymised and confidential. Once you leave here no one will know what's happened to you, other than that you had a health scare. You may ask why you should believe me and you may also be wondering why I'm not suited up like them". She was jerking a thumb over her shoulder to where the two suited observers waited with her other hand on her chest.
For a moment, there was silence, and then she began to wobble as if made from jelly. Her body shimmered until it was a blur and then two identical version of her stood before the group with wide grins spread across their bespectacled faces.
"I was one of the first cases and I made it through the initial response safely. Sadly, a lot of people didn't but we know a lot more now. Oh, and those who're infected or have been previously are immune to to receiving the infection again. Now, we'll answer questions another time. For now we need to take some blood samples from each of you and then you're heading to the cafeteria for a meal. There's a prescribed drink you'll be given which contains a few medicines which will slow the process and give us time for you to harness the power your illness is producing."
One of the copies shimmered again before fading away, the original of the woman turning on her heel and disappearing out of the door as nonchalantly as she had arrived. The two suited attendants moved forwards and gestured towards the door at the rear of the auditorium, one heading up and leading the assembled patients out with the other following behind.
Sometimes, Arthur let his imagination run away and he fantasised about being in some of his favourite periods of history. Other times he indulged in inserting himself into less academic scenarios, such as is favourite sci-fi or fantasy films and TV shows. Never had he become so absorbed in the escape that he had lost track of reality itself but now, dazed and following a man in a bio-hazard suit down a pristine and brightly lit corridor in an alien facility, he wasn't so sure that he hadn't completely lost track of reality.
They passed several doors with plaques on them denoting the purpose of the room.
Games Room. Lounge. Gymnasium. Swimming Pool. As they rounded the corner at the end of the hallway he noticed a sign on the wall with arrows pointing in two directions. In the direction they were going it announced that they would find the Dormitories and the Cafeteria and in the other direction it listed all the rooms they had just passed. The last bit of corridor had multiple doors set on either side, far more regularly than before, suggesting that they led to smaller rooms. Each had a number on it with a plaque holder below it. Several were empty but half a dozen had a name inscribed on them and he saw his own name was on one leading to room number 15.
Following the man in front of him on, his fellow residents trailing behind, he emerged into a large cafeteria with more tables and chairs than was surely necessary for their small number. A kitchen area was set into the wall on one side but a shutter came down across the door. Instead the canteen was open with more suited attendants standing behind it, bizarrely wearing aprons over their suits, ready to serve food to the newcomers.
"Go and take a tray, then order your food. In future you'll be able to prepare your own but today we thought you might be too tired. You'll also be given a drink with medicines in it. Please make sure you drink it as it's vital for your health and combating the early stages of your current ailment." The man, Arthur could tell now that he had spoken, was gesturing to the nearest end of the canteen where several trays were stacked.
Nodding his dazed assent, he picked one up and shuffled down the line, peering through the glass at the food on offer. There was an excessive variety for so few people and seemed overly wasteful; if he were in a stabler mental state he might have made a comment on it but instead he meekly chose a mild curry, rise and naan bread. Joyously, tea was on offer and brewed individually rather than from a machine, and he seized on the opportunity to have a mug of it alongside the plastic cup containing a weirdly blue liquid that was given to him with the implication that it was mandatory.
Unsure of what to do or say, he merely nodded his thanks and then took up a seat at the nearest table and stared at his food, too weirded out by the recent events to even decide whether he was actually hungry or not. He at least drank the medicinal liquid he had been given, grimacing at the bitter aftertaste, and then moved onto the tea. The familiar and comforting taste brought some clarity to his thoughts and he decided that he was, indeed, hungry, turning to his food and beginning to eat while trying to process everything that had happened since the men in protective suits had arrived that morning to bring him here. There had been no force used but they had given the implication that he had no say in the matter.
He wasn't entirely convinced by everything they had said but whoever ran the facility had gone to great effort to accommodate them luxuriously so he was less suspicious than he had been. Still, the idea of powers and mutating DNA all seemed a little far-fetched, even if it fit in with what the research physician had demonstrated earlier. He glanced back to where the other residents were getting their food and resolved to discuss with them their thoughts on the matter, not that they could do anything if they disagreed with being kept there.
