Chương 8: Under Pressure

It seemed like I had some kind of curse for getting roped into the most ridiculous shit. I couldn't even eat a sandwich in peace. But apparently this scientist the others talked up was "adamant" she had to figure out how I tick. I had about ten years to do that and no one succeeded, I had no hopes for her.

"She's not gonna find much," I told Christian. He shook his head.

"Doesn't make her any less curious, dude. Worst case, she can't find any excuses to prod you afterwards if you get it over with. Best case, the others realize it's best to let you work at your own pace." He turned around towards the door he came from, looking back at me for a few seconds. Asshole. I choked down the last of my sandwich and followed after him. I was getting sick of playing lackey, but as it stood they never showed me the way out of here.

And if I tried venting my frustrations on Christian, the result was likely me kissing concrete. Wasn't likely that his throws could actually hurt me, but it'd just waste my time more than anything. I had to figure out how he actually was applying his powers. Most of the team had some kind of sight factor to their powers. Christian saw how energy moved or something like that and he used that to redirect things. May could see in different spectrums of light.

Jairo, when actually using his power, apparently had limited eyesight that had to do with electromagnetic fields or something. Complicated. But if all of them prioritized sight so much, maybe that was the corner I could come from. If they decided to turn on me, then I had to make sure that motion ended up showing me their backs. We made it to Dr. Way's door, and descended the stairs to what seemed to be the answer to my question. There was no aquarium on this side. Instead, her room seemed way bigger than mine.

Probably twice the size. But all that space was occupied with enough crap to fill a warehouse. Workbenches, gadgets, machines everywhere. One corner had a bed with worn-down, plain sheets further adorned with smaller, multicolored pillows and blankets. Places are alive, and I had to figure out how this one lived. But there was so much random junk, scrap, and unexplained material that I would have had better luck making conversation with a mime.

I did manage to spot the key details, which were the people already in the room. Off to one side were the two kids I saw before, smacking away at this large, see-through sphere with lightning coming out of the center. It always made contact with their hands. I never knew what those things were called. But it was electricity those kids were playing with, and the ball looked glassy, which prompted the question:"Is it safe for them to be touching that?" I asked without much thought.

The third figure in the room I had noticed — the lanky, practically gaunt woman in a labcoat with frizzy, pale hair that reached far past her height and gave her the appearance of some kind of brush — decided to answer.

"Eh, I made that plasma globe-" Well now I knew what they were called.

"-with polycarbonate and a UV-resistant clear coat. You and Jairo might be the only ones who could break it. There's a yellowing risk but by the time that'd happen they'll have aged out of that and to a point where I can trust them with uncovered low-amp tesla coils. Also this is the quietest I'll get them until dinner time, so I'm not interested in disturbing that balance." I looked back over to the kids. Samuel and Samara, apparently.

They seemed to be talking to each other, but at such a distance and at their level of articulation I wouldn't be able to make heads or tails from it anyway. As Christian and I hit the end of the stairs, Christian waved to the scientist.

"Hey Doc. You said you were interested in giving Leo here some power tests, plus you wanted to introduce yourself. Now's your best shot for both." The woman beamed a smile at me like she didn't understand what "ear to ear" meant, it looked more like "eye to eye." Very narrow arc. Upon her approach, she reached out with noticeably boney, long fingers for a handshake.

"Dr. Samantha Way. I'm technically part of the New Sentinels but I'm also the head researcher, engineer, medical expert, pretty much anything you could justify a white coat for." My face scrunched up as I took her hand, thankfully bereft of any barbs, and gave it a weak shake. I was worried that even while holding back I'd snap her arm off.

"They just let you be all of that at once?" She nodded, letting go of my hand quickly as she gestured for me to follow her.

"You're not gonna find many people with the credentials for all of that who don't use it for crime. I'm working on my tenth doctorate."

"Tenth?" I blurted out from my returning vice of saying the word that confuses me most instead of leaving it between my ears, and stepped into a verbal bear trap.

"I've got a Ph. D in Materials Science and Engineering with a focus on high-strain composites, a Ph. D in Structural Engineering, a Ph. D in Computer Science focused on distributed systems and real-time embedded security, a D. Eng in Systems Engineering, a Ph. D in Electrical Engineering with a focus on signal processing and electromagnetics, a Ph. D in Applied Physics focused on high-energy systems, Ph. D in Biomedical Engineering, a Ph. D in Biochem with a focus on toxicology and metabolic pathways, an M. D.

in Orthopedic Surgery, and I'm working on my M. D. in Emergency Medicine with a fellowship in aerospace medicine since now I'm gonna be treating guys who get into superpower fights." I wondered if this is what talking to aliens sounded like. I just nodded along as I tried to figure out what toxicology meant. Poisons? Poisons seemed like a possible threat. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"I uh, I see," I lied.

"So do you have anything besides degrees?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Oh," she said, making me worried I pissed off the mad scientist.

"I've got certs? Filing cabinet full of 'em by the desk with the new 3D printer I got." Well at least she didn't get offended by it.

"That's cool. I'm Leo. I didn't finish high school." She shrugged.

"About one in ten don't. The Darling King didn't and look at the crazy stuff he makes." The Darling King. Midwest supervillain turned hero and runs a weapons manufacturer, King Corp. Some change of heart made him join the Great Lake Guardians a few years ago. Batshit insane. Can't talk without yelling. What a great comparison. Christian piped up.

"His Twitter's honestly kind of funny. I saw him getting into an argument with the Carnie Gang on there the other week and yesterday morning I saw a headline that they all got arrested after he raided their base alone without the rest of the GLG. Have you considered doing a super-suit like him?" Dr. Way shook her head.

"Absolutely not. I get vertigo easily and it'd be more useful to just make a bunch of drones anyway."

"Why haven't you done that?" I asked. She looked at me like she was thinking of a dead family member.

"FAA airspace regulations." Her eyes looked glassy. I needed to change topics fast.

"You uh, said you wanted to test my powers. I can try to give it a shot but they're not really complex." With just her blinking she immediately seemed to flip back to a positive mood.

"Oh yeah! I just honestly wanted to run like two really straightforward tests. The first is I've got a hydraulic press over here I want you to just pressure test for me." She had led me over to what frankly looked like some kind of guillotine in terms of shape, though instead of a blade hanging from it, it was a hammer.

"I took the bottom out already so you can stand in it. This is a very straightforward five hundred ton press. I can exert force from it pretty slowly and ramp it up easily. This is mostly to test your resistant strength, like how you can handle receiving weight instead of exerting it. I just want you to hold a hand under it however you want, brace, and I'll ramp up the pressure slowly. The second you think it's becoming too much, just pull your arm out." This was the most fucking baffling test I'd ever heard of.

But if it shut her up, might as well do it now. I trudged over, bringing my right shoulder under the press and bending my arm at a ninety degree angle to lay my palm up against it.

"All set then." Samantha scrambled over to another side of the device, flicking some switch as it roared to life.

"I didn't feel anything," I admitted. She then yelled out, "I just turned the pump on, the oil's gotta move for it to actually get going. I'll be turning the actual press on and watching the pressure gauge to tell you how much weight's being exerted, just say when you're ready." I shrugged and barked out a "Ready" since I was already ready. I could hear her, but not see her, as she followed up.

"Just letting the pressure build up now. Going over some of the things on record like slapping a door off its hinges, I estimated that a one ton press should be well within your wheelhouse. I'm gonna start from there and set it to a slow build. The second you feel it's too much, pull your hand out." Guess she felt it was necessary to tell me twice. Some thick clunking sounds came from her side, maybe very loud buttons or knobs or something, but the hydraulic press grew louder.

"We're at one ton," she said. I didn't notice anything. It's the same kind of pressure of someone putting a hand on my shoulder.

"You're good," I called out. The press continued its growl. I felt nothing, but she called out "Two tons. Concrete aged about two days breaks at this pressure. Anything different under your feet?" I glanced down.

"Floor looks the same." Nothing from her, but the machine continued to go.

"Four tons, or about three-day-aged concrete." Nothing. It continued to rumble.

"Eight tons, concrete cured for about a week breaks here." I shook my head.

"I'm not noticing anything." I had glanced around, and Christian was just silently watching me, arms crossed. Was he trying to figure it out too?

"Fourteen tons. Concrete cured for about two weeks splits apart at this point." I shook my head.

"Are you sure it's working?" Her response was quick.

"I'm staring at the pressure gauge right now, it can only go up if fluid is moving." I pursed my lips, turning my gaze over to a wall while I waited.

"Sixteen tons-" Christian interjected, surprisingly straight-faced: "And whaddaya get? Another day older n'-" Samantha snapped out a "Shut up! Sixteen tons. Fully cured concrete after a month snaps at this point. You're not feeling anything? Jairo tapped out here." It didn't feel any different than when it wasn't even on.

"No, not really." I felt almost bad, it seemed like her time was being wasted, the machine clearly wasn't working.

"Nineteen tons. Pine trees lose structure at this point." My head tilted at that goddamn forty-five degree angle again.

"Pine trees are stronger than concrete?"

"Trust me, I've put a lot of stuff under this for fun. A log of pine can handle a hydraulic press until about the nineteen ton mark. Do you think we should speed up?" I shrugged, knowing she couldn't see me.

"Go as hard as you want at this point, I don't think your hydraulic press is working right." I heard a furious array of clicks and clacks and the press began to really roar. I didn't notice anything.

"Sixty tons already. Metal starts bending at this point." I looked at my arm.

"My arm's bent but that's just so I can fit it under the press." I couldn't hear her as the machine's growling kept going.

"One-twenty tons. A sphere of solid steel would explode at this point." Nothing.

"No explosions here, Doc." I could now barely hear her over the press' roar as she yelled out.

"Chris! Are you seeing anything weird?" Christian shrugged.

"I was kind of waiting for you to ask. When weight gets exerted I see this big like, plume that almost looks like smoke coming out of a chimney. More 'smoke,' more weight. There's no smoke coming out. I do actually think your hydraulic press is just busted." I clicked my tongue.

"That doesn't make any sense, I was just using it last night, and the pressure gauge is moving," the good doctor said, before the machine whirred down." I didn't see any sort of safety switches on the rails the bottom mounts on. But if it were going, that much weight would start straining the press at the very least. I'm gonna have to look at this later. There might be good knowledge hidden in here." S he shook her head in defeat as she rounded the corner.

"Sorry you just stood there and I wasn't believing you." I nodded to her, told her it was fine. She kept going.

"I have one other test I want you to do for me. A combat test, if you think that won't be a big deal." Fucking. Finally.