Finally Meeting Part Two

Samuel woke up a quarter after noon only to realize that he was no longer in the living room but in an unknown bedroom. He sneezed as the final remnants of sleeping gas was completely expelled from his body.

He held his head as it was ringing loudly.The last thing he could remember was the notification on the game console that read 'GAME OVER'. Wondering how he got to this room in the first place, he glanced up at the wall clock, "oh no, Mom and Dad will be worried" he said to himself as he lifted himself from the bed. He wobbled a little as he tried to stabilize himself. He took a deep breath to clear the dizziness in his head before he tiptoed to the door and opened it cautiously, sniffing around for any unknown scents.

Smelling nothing unusual and sensing no one in the hallway, he traced and followed the familiar sent of the living room he had been in before and ran towards it. He arrived at the living room only to find a man sitting in a sofa adjacent him operating a laptop computer. The man was a well built, six foot four gentleman with a pair of glasses on his moderately handsome face. Though it was for sure his first time seeing this man, he could sense a familiar presence from him. Beyond all that, if he could tell one thing out of everything; it was that this man was extremely dangerous. He didn't know whether it was instinctual or whatever; he just knew.

Samuel froze instantly after spotting the man. Realizing that he had not been spotted and thinking luck was on his side, he began to tiptoe over to the door. Halfway there, the man noticed him, "Ah! So, you are finally awake".

Samuel, by instinct, jumped back and used his right wing as a shield. "He must be military. I'm in serious trouble" he thought to himself in a panic. "Good, your fight or flight response is active. Do not worry you are in no trouble at all Samuel", the doctor said trying to help Samuel relax. "How did he know my name?" Samuel asked himself.

"Are you surprised? I know more about you than you realize", the doctor informed. "Are you the one who has been observing me all these months?" Samuel asked.

"I am. Your senses really are incredible. No matter the method I use to observe you, you always manage to sniff me out. My name is Dr. Emmanuel Michelson, the director of the Sienna Institute for Genetic Research and Analysis", he paused and took a breath.

"First of all, I must offer my apologies to you", he said with a small bow. "What for?" Samuel asked perplexed. "Years ago, I led a team of extraordinarily gifted scientists in an experiment to create the ultimate superhuman, and you are the result of that experiment. Long story short, I am responsible for what you are now. As you are now, you possess a myriad of abilities and skills: your superhuman strength, wings, sharp eye sight, wave senses, fire and ice breath, melting stare, heat vision, hypnosis, claws and dragon metamorphosis, these are all as a result of my team and I tinkering with your very humanity. I'm sure there are others that are yet to manifest but they would most likely show up as you grow".

Samuel was baffled, most of the abilities mentioned he had never shown or performed before. "Wait! So, you mean I was born like this because of you? YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU RUINED MY PARENTS' HAPPINESS ALL FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR EXPERIMENT?" Samuel shouted with an aggressive tone, a dangerous glint in his eyes. The tension could be sliced with a butter knife.

"Indeed, I apologize, but, calm yourself and try to recall; when have you seen your parents portraying any sense of being unhappy with your birth? They seem to like you fine as is", Dr. Michelson reminded staying calm even in the midst of the murderous intent leaking unconsciously out of the child before him.

"I guess you are right", Samuel took a deep breath and sighed after pondering a little. He then retracted his claws and fangs that had revealed themselves during his emotional outburst. "Now, with that out of the way, I think it's time you got to know yourself", the doctor said. "Know myself! What do you mean?" Samuel asked confused. "Haven't you ever wondered what creature you are?" he asked. "Yes, I've been wondering that for years", Samuel responded.

"You are a DRAGON!! The first of your kind and the only one currently in existence, as far as we know", he announced to the dazed little dragon boy. "A dragon, but I thought dragons were a myth, fictional beings told in stories", Samuel said. "That's just what people are made to believe, but we know different. There are several creatures in existence, naturally or artificially born, terrestrial or extra-terrestrial", Dr. Michelson informed.

"By extra-terrestrial, do you mean aliens?" Samuel asked with stars in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure you will come across quite a few in the future", he said as Samuel jumped in excitement. "Now, I believe it's time I introduce you to someone", Dr. Michelson said suddenly. "Who?" Samuel asked. "Lisia, say hello to Samuel", Dr. Michelson shouted to the ceiling. "HELLO SAMUEL, MY NAME IS LISIA. I AM A FRAGMENT OF A WORLD CLASS SENTIENT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MATRIX. I CURRENTLY RUN THIS ENTIRE COMPLEX. FEEL FREE TO ASK ANYTHING OF ME", the feminine artificial voice echoed in the room.

"So cool! Very nice to meet you Lisia", Samuel shouted back in excitement. An A.I system was the romance of every male and Samuel was no different. "With that done, let's move on. We are a little behind schedule", the doctor said as he turned towards another hallway.

"Follow me! I'm going to help you uncover and understand your draconic abilities", Dr. Michelson said gesturing Samuel to follow him after realizing that the boy was confused. 'My draconic abilities huh!' Samuel thought to himself as he chased after the doctor.

Dr. Michelson took him into an elevator that took them to the top of the mountain. He pushed a button and the peak of the mountain opened up into a large terrace. "Okay, before I show you anything else, I first need you to show me what you have already unlocked and mastered", he instructed as he took a step back. "Well, I sort of unlocked some form of rage mode", Samuel said. "Rage mode huh! Could you explain how that works?" Dr. Michelson asked.

"Well, it happened three years ago. A friend of mine was shot by some hunters and I sort of lost it. I remember what I did, I think. Although, I have a sinking feeling that it happened again but I have no memory of it", Samuel replied. 'I'm amazed he managed to make a friend, even with his condition', Dr. Michelson thought to himself. "Can you show me what you remember?" he asked. "I'll try", Samuel said as he stepped back and spread his wings.

The dagger-like extensions popped out of the ridges in his wings. "What the...!" Dr. Michelson said as he stepped back in shock. This was not in his expectations. Following that, Samuel's eyes glowed a shade of crimson as his wings were suddenly set ablaze. "Amazing!" the doctor said as the fire diminished almost immediately. "How do you activate it?" Dr. Michelson asked. "It activates whenever I focus anger", Samuel informed. "I see. They return to normal when you let go of your anger. Make sure to be careful with that since we don't know the full extent your rage can take you", Dr. Michelson observed and warned.

"By the way, when I came closer to the mountain, I felt certain waves through my body. What's up with that?" Samuel asked suddenly, changing the topic. "When I created the serum, I flooded it with organic nanites in order to track you. It seems they evolved and adapted and your DNA basically took control over it. It can now serve as a homing beacon to the lab and to track any electronic device close to you", the doctor explained.

"Any more?", he asked. "Oh! I can share my regenerative abilities with others", Samuel explained. "You what? How?", Dr. Michelson asked in alarm. "I do that by introducing a drop of my blood into their body", Samuel informed. "Intriguing! So how many people have you done this for", the doctor asked again. "Just my human friend Elizabeth and my wolf cub friend Drogo. But I think the effects are temporary", Samuel answered. "Hmm! I think it's quite the opposite. Your blood is supercharged with a super human genes, and is quite superior to any creature out there. With just a pint of your blood, super soldiers could be created. Soldiers who are able to heal from all non-fatal wounds".

"It will be quite troubling. I suggest you abstain from sharing your blood all willy nilly. And speaking of your friends, as time passes by, your blood will force their blood to change and adapt to it. You could say that they are becoming pseudo dragons. This is what your dominant DNA is capable of. The future is sure to be interesting", Dr. Michelson said with a grin.

"Any way, back to topic. It's time for you to learn and master the rest of your abilities", Dr. Michelson said bringing them back to their main objective for the day. "I can't wait. The first is fire breath, right? How do I do that exactly?" Samuel asked impatiently. "It should be quite easy for you. Fire breath is sort of the default skill of every dragon as spoken in myth. You first need to regulate your breathing".

"In your lungs is a special organ that serves as a compartment that houses a special gas. When the gas comes in contact with the oxygen in your breath, it ignites. The flame builds up and condenses in your lungs, awaiting release. Don't worry. You are thermally insulated both inside and out", "Dr. Michelson explained. "Wow! That's a lot to take in", Samuel said after digesting all the information. "Let's try it. Take in a deep breath, build up the flames in your lungs, and just breathe out".

"I'll give it a shot", Samuel said as he turned away from Dr. Michelson and took in a deep breath. With full concentration, he built up searing flames filling up his lungs. He pictured the flames and forced it out of his lungs. Red hot flame shot out of his mouth with great intensity and incinerated the top of the mountain in his view a kilometer away. He was astonished and so was Dr. Michelson. "That was insane!" Samuel shouted as a residue of the flames expelled from his lungs spilled out of his mouth.

"In time, and with enough practice, you will be able to breathe fire with greater intensity without having to go through the long process of building up the flames before firing. It will be second nature to you; pure instinct". "Cool!" Samuel said taking a look at the demolished mountain peak.

"Let's continue. Now we are going to try your ice breath. Just like your fire breath, your ice breath has the same process. There is another organ that produces some sort of gas akin to liquid nitrogen. When the gas is drawn out of the organ into your lungs, take in a deep breath and condense it. Then following the same procedure, fire it out with a breath", Dr. Michelson instructed.

Samuel took a deep breath and built up the ice in his lungs. He forced it out and just like the fire, it shot out with great intensity, speeding towards the mountain. The ice breath hit the top of the incinerated peak freezing over the entire peak and quenching the remnants of his flames still festering on the mountain.