Hyper Awareness

And like any plan, regardless of how meticulously it has been devised, it dies the moment it is put into practice.

For example, Antigone is refusing to stay with the Connors for the evening and night, thus my dream of having a foursome remains but a dream.

Damn it!

While I could forgo dinner at my favorite restaurant in all of Hollywood and Los Angeles on the account of it being under investigation by the federal government, I am unwilling to subject my daughter and her innocent mind to my growing sexual escapades.

This is due to my growing harems in the prime-reality and otherwise.

"Looks like we will have to find a new favorite restaurant, Anti."

I tell my daughter while watching a couple of cop cars parking in the front of the restaurant.

Antigone is not listening to me. She is looking over my shoulder and glaring at a certain girl with auburn brown hair, who is also glaring back at her. Envious could be seen in those dark brown eyes.

Sibling rivalry?

I suppose I will have to deal with that one day. It is just impossible for thousands of people to get alone with each other. Hell, just three or four people in the same room is already a problem.

All the customers who are already inside the restaurant are being shown the way out with the deepest and most sincere apology by the manager and the staffs. This means that the federal agents have been given a warrant to search the place.

Just fucking great.

I have predicted this several weeks ago when I had the previous mob boss of the restaurant killed for trying to teach me a lesson. He is sleeping with the fishes at the moment, but that seems uncertain in the near future.

Jimmy and his associates are exceeding sloppy, leaving evidences all over the place.

However, I didn't think Jimmy and Johnson are sloppy enough to allow the federal agents to close in on them, their syndicate, family and establishments.

Someone must have talked.

It obviously wasn't me or any of our associates, formerly or not. No one working for me is that dumb. The moment they dare to backstab another for whatever temporary gain, I will backstab them literally and severe their spine.

Regardless, even though Jimmy and Johnson are my underlings, I am in no obligation to clean up their little screwup.

They will have to do that on their own, with or without the support from Hydra or Shield.

Shield might be able to help with this due to their extensive connections with several law and order agencies in the United States. As for Hydra, it cannot expose itself just yet, but many Hydra members do hold powerful position in the United State Government.

But in any case, if either Jimmy or Johnson calls for help, Hydra or Shield should be able to help them purely out of friendship and comradery, without needing to reveal their real identity.

I could make this problem go away immediately with just a single call, but I do like to see people squirm for a bit, even if those people are my underlings. In the face of overwhelming adversity is the only way people can grow.

Furthermore, the destruction of Jimmy's and Johnson's crime syndicate does not affect me in any way, so there is no need for me to lift a finger, really.

Of course, if it implicated me for any reason, I will have to step in personally, and there will be a lot of dead bodies as a result.

Maybe I should look ahead to see if it did, but I don't exist in that future, thus it won't give me the real answer. This is a problem with looking ahead.

What I manage to learn are more of a guideline instead of fact.

As I am leaving the premise with Antigone in my arm, Selene notifies me that she is detecting a hyper evolutionary strain within the immediate vicinity.

That means Selene has detected an evolved human or a Zerg.

Thanks to studying and mapping Allison's and Lexi's brain and brainwave along with mine, I was able to devise a proximity sensor of sort with Legion.

The sensor is still an early prototype, and it is one of my own inventions.

While it is not as perfect as I like it to be, it is still fairly accurate.

The reason I know human is capable of much more, such as moving things with their mind or seeing a probable future, is because the existence the brainwaves.

Brainwaves are electronic signals, similar to radio waves.

They're constantly emanating from a person due to countless firing of neurons within that soft organ housed inside their head.

Brainwaves are very difficult to detect as they are exceedingly weak. They are barely noticeable even when the sensor is right in the person's face, but with advancement in technology and researches, it is possible to detect it further away.

This is especially true if the brainwave is emanating from an evolved human. Thanks to their advanced physiology, their brain is far more active than any normal person, so their brainwaves is stronger and more distinct.

It did take Selene a while to detect even if she is constantly monitor due to my request. This is because of the passive monitoring mode as well.

Not all super babies are recorded and tracked by Shield. Most of them are, but most is not all.

I turn around and scan the surrounding.

Everyone within my vision are being analyzed by Selene, and through her connection with Shield, their entire history pops up for me to revise.

With his ever-growing computational powers housed within the expansive space of the storage ring, Legion helps me narrows down all the possible suspects. If it is wasn't for all this computational power, detecting brainwaves is just not possible.

It didn't take long for a single profile to remain within my vision.

And while I have a quick read through the profile provided, the sensor focuses on the woman to record her brainwaves. The shaded window of a police vehicle does impede the sensor and detector slightly, requiring some compensations and extrapolations in the results.

Even so, her brainwaves are off the chart. Its peaks are much higher than Allision, meaning her ability is more outrageous. It is either that or she is actively using her ability at the moment. The latter is far more likely since Selene tells me what she is looking at from the passenger seat – the restaurant.

As that is the case, I suppose Hyper Awareness requires just more brain power than Perfect Recall.

It does make sense since Hyper Awareness allows a person to observe and see everything. For a police consultant, this gives her an edge over all the others. Her brain allows her to see the crime happening in her mind with extreme accuracy.

And I think the woman just notice me looking at her. Her eyes match mine despite there is a windshield between us. This could be a problem.

Jimmy and Johnson will have a time of their life against such an opponent.

There is a certainty that they will try to have her killed. Is that why she is sitting in the car and watching from afar instead of entering the restaurant and helping out with the investigation up close?

In any case, this will be one interesting battle. It will allow me to see her ability in action.

"Something is wrong, Max?"

Sandra asks me when I just stood there in silence, staring into the distance. Even Antigone is slapping my head once she becomes the victor of the battle against Lexi.

Antigone is more special than Lexi because I care for Antigone personally. It is simple as that.

"No. Nothing is wrong."

I response and turn around and join Sandra and Lexi. Shield marks the woman and keeps a close watch on her for me.

Hyper Awareness isn't one of my natural abilities, but Selene can do the same through technology, so there really is no need to hurry.

Besides, it isn't like that person is using her gift for selfish gain like Lexi has done. Her sense of justice is very strong, and I would love to break that sense of justice.

Justice – funny word.

It does not mean what you think it mean.

Sandra didn't believe me, but she didn't press the matter. Lexi didn't say anything because she is still sulking inside. To lose a baby in a staring contest. It must have hurt her pride.

"What do you say to a bit of barbeque?"

I suggest when we are heading towards the homeless shelter. Halle is there with her family. They are not her real family, but her family, nonetheless.

"Barbeque?"

Sandra queries and I nods. She didn't have any opinion one way or another since she just likes to spend time with me, preferably alone and in bed.

I am too but enabling her all the time will makes the good time less fun. When people work very hard to get what they want, they will appreciate it more when they have it.

This is why I constantly gives Lexi the cold shoulder, but not so much that she feels alienated. She does have some good points herself.

"What about you, Lexi? Would you like some barbeque with me and Sandra and everyone else, as one big happy family?"

Lexi is more than happy to. And it isn't about the barbeque. It is because I have directed the question at her personally, just to show her I do have her in mind. She isn't like a pet or anything of sort. She is her own person.

Women – they are creature of high maintenance.

But if you know what buttons to push, women can be easy to manipulate.

"Hello, Miss Berry. May we join you?"

I ask when we are at the homeless shelter. As I did, several food trucks arrive with a big red label with a single word on the side, starting with the letter H.

And Antigone is super excited, climbing out of my embrace and reaching out her tiny hands the trucks.

Yup. Easy to manipulate.