Chapter 6 : Studying the Terran

[Author note : to those who follow both my stories. Thank you ! Also, I won't post The Iron Lad/Squib of DC today. No worries ! The chapter is already written... He's even posted on Patréon along with a few other chapters for my other stories for those interested (https://www.patre*n.com/user?u=66371596).

No, the reason why I will post tomorrow instead of today is because... I was advised to space out my post to increase my visibility. As things are, I'm slowly being forgotten... Anyway, I'll shut up, now ! Enjoy !]

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Looking through the viewscreen of his bridge, Captain Birftratt observed the Terran prisoner intently. At some point, he asked his science and medical officers :

« What can you tell me about our prisoners ? »

The two humanoid lizards exchanged uncomfortable looks before hissing, their forked tongue pointing out and their head hung low. The medical officer said :

« Beside what they've told us ? Not much… Most diagnosis' tools use some form of energy to get feedback from a patient but… There's no feedback from the Terran, as if he wasn't there. In fact, sometimes I believe he's just some kind of holographic projection. But that's impossible too, since they can't exude chemical compounds… »

« On my end, I've been able to obtain somewhat limited results… » The science officer said. « You see… I don't know if he isn't able to process those forms of energy or if he instinctually lowers or cancels their absorptions, but… We can see and hear him, right ? »

The Captain nodded :

« Obviously. »

« Yes, well… That shouldn't be possible considering what the crystal lifeform told us. Lights and sounds are also forms of energy that most lifeforms and even our sensors and various tools use to get data from the world around us. Our sight organs process light reflected from a surface to show us an image interpreted by our brains and if this Terran absorbed light, we wouldn't be able to see him. The same is true for sound. So I used various tools based around those two forms of energy to scan the prisoner and had some results… »

Wiping at a tablet in his hand, he sent the recorded data on it to the viewscreen for the Captain to study. The latter looked at those silently for a moment before asking :

« What am I seeing, here ? »

« On the left, a series of echographs of the Terran body and on the right, the inside of his body shown through the use of X-rays. In fact, they're both rather archaic technologies and aren't used much anymore because of how little they tell us, and how difficult to decipher they are. From what I can tell and see however, his body doesn't differ much from an average Terran body, except for a few organs which aren't recorded in the archives. I can't tell if they're the source of his… peculiarity however. »

The medical officer spoke up at this point :

« Captain ! I'd like to request permission to take blood samples. Maybe they can tell us more about the prisoner… »

Once more, the Captain was silent for a while before he nodded :

« Granted. I don't like it but we need information. »

* * * * *

Simon looked at the somewhat futuristic-looking needle slowly approach his arm and commented :

« That's not gonna work, you know ? »

However, he was surprised when the needle safely pricked into his skin and he saw his blood start to fill the syringe. Almost for the first time since his crash, he felt pain. It wasn't much and he didn't feel it much since he was surprised and confused. Wasn't this kinetic energy he should have absorbed ? Did he somehow lose his powers ? No ! He could still feel the energy bubbling inside, waiting for him to command it, or for his instincts to unleash it. So, why… ?

« Why shouldn't it have worked ? » The alien asked, his language translated for Simon to understand in common Terran.

« Because… I've been struck, stabbed and fired upon, and yet it didn't do anything. I don't understand… » Simon felt a little anxious that his seeming invincibility ended when his life into the unknown just started. Knowing that he couldn't be killed was a big part of what gave him courage for the future. Now, however…

« My colleague has found out that your energy absorption seems to have limitations. Whether that's because your 'change' is still very recent and your control isn't optimal, or some other reason… We can't really tell at this point. In fact, most of our data gathering tools have come up empty when it came to you. » The alien seemed to shrug, the movement somewhat odd on such a strange individual (to his Terran sensibility anyway). « Maybe it's because my movement was slow, and thus didn't generate enough energy for you to absorb or your subconscious didn't consider my movement a threat… »

The sentient extraterrestrial went on and on, most often than not using vocabulary Simon could easily understand. It was obvious that the person was used to deal with people without scientific or medical background. Despite this though, Simon was lost in his own thoughts. The anxiousness in his heart made him rethink what he considered his new super-power and he arrived at a simple, and perhaps narrow-minded conclusion :

Every Superhero has one or several mortal weaknesses, he realized.

Superman, for example, was weak to magic, and Kryptonite was poisonous to him. Even Batman, who was perhaps, the most vulnerable of all, had at least two glaring weaknesses : his paranoia and his 'code'. The fact that he forbade himself from killing his enemies, especially, was something which brought him a lot of grief…

So, with the help of Crys, he started thinking about his weaknesses… An old philosopher (or general, he wasn't really sure what the man was) from China had said that knowing oneself was half the battle. He figured, knowing his own weaknesses would help him survive his new situation.

Unfortunately, although they quickly arrived at a few hypotheses, they couldn't really test them in this cell… Not that he couldn't leave or anything : it wouldn't be much of a challenge, he thought. But, for the moment, he had nowhere to go. Being on an unknown ship somewhat limited his movements and beyond its hull, was space. He supposed he could retrieve his starship (if they didn't already disassemble it) but to got where ? This region of space was still a mystery to him and his ship had no FTL drive… Perhaps, he could just exit his cell and roam the place until they arrived somewhere… However, that too, would prove more troublesome than it was worth.

It would make him appear dangerous, something he definitely was, but they might not have yet realized. So, they might report his existence and everything they could find out about him… Well, that was probably something they were going to do anyway. If he didn't show belligerence though, maybe they'd decide that it wasn't worth it to expand valuable resources to keep him contained… They might just let him go.

He sighed and muttered under his breath :

« Like that's gonna happen… »

This TUP thingie… if it was some kind of government, it stood to reason that they'd try to exploit him. That's what governments did, wasn't it ? At least, from what he read, and watched on the TV or in movie theater… Sure, more than 70 % of what he was thinking of came from fictions, but… Fictions not only came from the minds and imaginations of their authors, like legends, they had their origins in something. Maybe…

Simon told the alien :

« I'm curious about my changes, myself. Is it possible to have some kind of report about what you guys found out or something ? »

The alien considered him in silence for a while, his slitted eyes almost glaring. Finally, without outward sign that he arrived at a decision, he (she, or it… not sure what was appropriate) conceded :

« I'll pass that along to the captain ! »

And he left the cell, leaving Simon and Crys alone.