Isaac walked into the lab, taking in the new security measures. Cameras were discreetly placed, and access points were more heavily guarded. The air was thick with tension as the team adjusted to the heightened scrutiny.
He spent the rest of the day acclimating to the new arrangements, studying the new layout, and planning how to continue making use of the lab without revealing anything too advanced.
'Things would've been so much easier if I had my own lab, but I don't have the resources right now,' thought Isaac as he returned to his apartment. He chose to do what he could now, which is develop his abilities.
He began by entering the state of introspection, and after inspecting the genetic ability chain of mental power, he diverted his focus to the rest of the genetic base points. Right now, he has a total of 45 activated genetic base points. 36 belong to the mental power chain; 1 is suspected to belong to his special sensing ability, which he decided to call mental perception; and the rest don't have a specific answer to their effect.
"The rest of my abilities are minor telekinesis and, most importantly, introspection." As Isaac was summarizing his progress, he began to carefully examine the rest of the unidentified base points. After careful analysis, he found two new suspected ability chains stemming from those points.
He chose a chain and began by activating the corresponding genetic ability point by diverting energy into it and its resonating counterpart that is already activated. He has a gut feeling that this chain is not as long as the mental power one.
He tried to move objects with his thoughts again, but there was still no progress. "Sadly, this chain might not be the one for telekinesis," Isaac said a little regretfully.
In the following couple of days, he focused on developing a more potent version of the energy restoration elixir in private while preparing the basic one for clinical testing, which will begin soon. He didn't forget to activate a new genetic base point at night; he got increasingly adept at directing the energy in his body to a targeted point.
During that time, he was informed by Pepper that the military got wind of this project, and Tony invited him to join the meeting with some superiors in the military. The meeting will be held in a week. The lab has already begun preclinical testing on animals to gather preliminary efficacy, toxicity, and pharmacokinetic information.
'The military attention is not bad at this stage; at least this will restrict this secret organization and prevent them from making any overt moves' thought Isaac while adding the finishing touches to what he called Energy Restoration Elixir II, or E2 Elixir for short. This variant has 210% of the previous one's efficacy, and the duration of the release of energy is expanded to allow him more time to direct that energy without danger.
After returning home that day with a new E2 elixir in hand, Isaac prepared himself and downed the concoction, directing the energy to activate subsequent genetic base points. He already activated a total of 4 points in this new chain, and after spending around an hour, he successfully activated the fifth, but he didn't stop and continued his efforts to activate the sixth.
Another hour passed before he succeeded, and like the last time, a genetic ability chain was established. Isaac was forced out of his introspection and felt his mental perception range shrink before consolidating 0.5 meters around him. The range normally expanded later to its full 20 m. However, Isaac felt the 0.5 of his immediate vicinity to be special, but he couldn't put his hand over it.
"This new ability appears to be in this consolidated field around me," Isaac remarked while investigating the new ability. He continued to test but was unable to determine the cause of his unusual sensation and fell asleep due to mental exhaustion.
The next day, while waiting at a street light on his way to the lab, a man stood next to him, clearly impatient. Isaac wasn't sure why, but he could feel the guy's impatience and even his intent to cross the road quickly. He perceived a car speeding down the road, so he spoke to the impatient man. "Be careful; the road isn't safe."
The man came to a halt and glanced at Isaac, perplexed. After a moment, a car whizzed by, and the man looked at the road in dread before thanking Isaac for his reminder. While chatting with the man, Isaac sensed a slight resonance with his thoughts, especially when he was close by. He could roughly perceive the man's emotions, which were a mix of trepidation and gratitude. He doesn't know how to express his new instinct in words.
'Maybe this is the new genetic ability chain' thought Isaac while continuing his journey to the lab.
Even after reaching the lab, Isaac kept thinking about the earlier incident. He interacted with some of his colleagues in the lab and kept testing this new ability.
He noticed Dr. Zhang at her workstation, staring intently at a screen and furiously scribbling notes. Isaac approached her, focused on his newly consolidated field around him. He could feel waves of frustration emanating from her, mixed with a touch of anxiety.
"Dr. Zhang, is everything alright?" Isaac asked, trying to gauge the accuracy of his perception.
Dr. Zhang looked up, clearly startled. "Oh, Isaac. It's just this animal test result. It's not making any sense. The elixir isn't being absorbed properly."
Isaac walked over, still focusing on the field. As he got closer, he deduced the exact point of her problem—a specific test result flashing on the screen.
He glanced at the data and then at the animal's profile. "I see. This animal may have metabolic issues, preventing it from adequately absorbing the elixir. That's the only area in which IVs prevail, as the elixir is orally taken and still depends on the body's own ability to absorb nutrients, although it happens very quickly."
Dr. Zhang's eyes widened. "I suspected something similar, but I wasn't sure. How did you come to an answer so quickly? Did you anticipate it?"
Isaac smiled. "Just an observation I made before. Make sure to note the metabolic rates in your next set of tests. It should help filter out anomalies like this."
Dr. Zhang nodded, visibly relieved. "Thank you, Isaac. That makes a lot of sense. I'll adjust the parameters for the next round."
Isaac walked away, his mind buzzing with the implications of his new ability. 'looks like I've unlocked the power of an empath, but that's not exactly it either, he thought. He could not only sense emotions but also hone in on specific intentions when someone was 0.5 meters around him.'
'Fortunately, I just slightly resonate with other people's emotions, not fully experiencing them; that would have been a disaster. Now this ability is very useful to me, and it came at the right time. Although I can't exactly read minds like professor X, I can feel the target emotions and their intent. From now on, I will call it the Mind Power Magnetic Field, said Isaac while deliberating on his new ability.
He then resumed lab supervision and examined the data; preclinical studies on animals are yielding results swiftly, and the findings will be presented before the meeting.
That evening, Isaac was eating dinner when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and saw his father's name. With a sense of curiosity, he answered the call.
"Hey, Dad," Isaac greeted, his tone light.
"Isaac." His father's voice was serious, cutting straight to the point. "I received a call from some military contacts today. They were asking about your project at Stark Industries."
Isaac asked with some surprise. "What did they want to know?"
"They were quite interested in an elixir you're developing. They asked about the progress, potential applications, and how soon it could be ready for military use."
"What did you tell them?"
"I kept it vague," his father replied. "I said I knew you were working on something promising but didn't have the details. Isaac, they're very interested, and from the way they were talking, it seemed more like an order than a request."
Isaac rubbed his temples, already knowing they will be eager. "I knew the military would take a keen interest eventually, but this is happening faster than I expected."
His father sighed. "Son, you need to be careful. I don't know what's going on there, but I am giving you a heads up. The military can be very persuasive when they want something."
"I will, Dad," Isaac reassured him. "There will be a meeting with some heads of the military soon and I will present some results to them."
"Good," his father said, his tone softening slightly. "Just remember, your safety comes first. If things get too intense, you need to step back and reassess."
"I understand," Isaac replied. "Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be careful."
After hanging up, Isaac sat in silence for a moment, the conversation with his father replaying in his mind, looks like some spotlight is inevitable.