Date: Tuesday morning - August 13, 2024
Earthshatter glanced around as Technomancer walked in to join him in the central chamber of Syndicate headquarters. The room was empty aside from the two of them, which suited their purposes for the moment just fine.
“I take it we’re still going to get the Neurorate, boss,” Technomancer said.
“I can certainly see the uses because that stuff can enhance cognitive functions. When you were overseeing Project Wrath, you insisted we needed it for that. Do you still think so even with how effective Lady of Wrath has proven herself to be aside from the amnesia fluke?” Earthshatter asked.
“Yes, boss. The formula for it may be what I need to make sure that doesn’t happen again. There’s plenty of medicines like it out there, but the Neurorate would be more effective than most of them,” Technomancer said.
“Assuming her unique DNA can handle it, of course,” Earthshatter replied.
“When we get it, I will make some adjustments to a sample. Pardon my French boss, but the clone is getting really fucking arrogant. Even seeing Red Phoenix wake up from death multiple times and hit harder didn’t humble her,” Technomancer said.
“These adjustments of yours are going to do what, exactly?” Earthshatter asked.
“The plan is to increase docility in the long run, make it easier to keep her on a leash,” Technomancer explained.
“Not a bad idea. I’ll have Violet Sparrow go to New Eden to get the supply of samples we need. You would only need to adjust one sample for your side project?” Earthshatter asked. Technomancer nodded.
“Excellent. As for the rest, I have an investor who would certainly be interested in getting her hands on it. She would pay us quite well,” Earthshatter said.
“She? You mean-” Technomancer began before Earthshatter raised a hand to cut him off.
“Yes. Her information is how I found out about the Neurorate’s development despite New Eden’s efforts to keep it from being leaked,” Earthshatter replied.
“With us being the only supplier she can go to, she can meet any price we ask for. Clever,” Technomancer said with a nod.
Outside of the central chamber, Lady of Wrath had her back to the wall with her head turned right. Not a word of the conversation between her creators escaped her. She knew they were doing this for one reason-they feared her potential, and the Neurorate sounded like it could increase her mental capabilities further. Lady of Wrath would play along for the time being. If she could learn who they were planning on selling the Neurorate to, she figured she could turn the situation in her favor.
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Blur, Red Diamond and Red Phoenix gathered on the roof of Brightmark police headquarters. Feeling a gust of wind behind them, the three turned to see Omega Woman descending to the rooftop.
“Thanks for coming to see us,” Red Phoenix said to the veteran heroine.
“Sure thing. Blur, you said Detective Knight wanted to see us?” Omega Woman asked the young speedster.
“That’s right. She should be coming up any minute now,” Blur replied.
A few moments had passed and the rooftop door opened. Serena Knight made her way over to the quartet.
“Thank you all for coming. I was able to get a contact at New Eden Medical to give me a few details on that Neurorate stuff,” Serena said as the four heroes turned to face her.
“I am not a scientist by any means, but the Neurorate is a type of ‘smart drug.’ The idea is to be able to enhance memory and focus, help people be more alert, and process information to learn faster,” Serena continued.
“Let’s assume the medicine works as prescribed. How effective are we talking?” Omega Woman asked.
“My contact gave me a few hypothetical uses. It could treat Alzheimer’s more effectively than most other methods, or Parkinson’s. Some of New Eden’s data suggest it could speed up recovery for anyone who’s had a stroke,” Serena explained.
“Something that potent in the Syndicate’s hands would be trouble. If they try to make a move to steal it again, give us a call,” Omega Woman said. Blur, Red Diamond, and Red Phoenix nodded in agreement.
EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTERS RADIO BROADCAST:
August 13, 2024
10:00 AM
“Welcome to the Extraordinary Encounters radio show. My name is DJ Witness, and this is the show where I give you the chance to call in and share stories of encounters with Extrahumans and other unusual situations out there,” DJ Witness said.
“As many of you listening out there are aware, the Syndicate’s newest member Lady of Wrath looked to test her luck against three of our city’s local protectors yesterday. Of course I am talking about her battle with Blur, Red Diamond, and Red Phoenix. I will open the lines for anyone who saw the fight go down. You’re on with Extraordinary Encounters,” Witness continued.
“Hi Witness, my name is Trevor. I wanted to call special attention to Lady of Wrath making quite a rookie mistake. She came back to brag about killing Red Phoenix, but I’d say he gave her the biggest surprise of her life when he came back totally fine,” Trevor said.
“Well thank you Trevor for bringing this to my attention. As a reminder, Red Phoenix demonstrated a remarkable superpower months ago during a fight against Lady Atlas when he first came back to life and got stronger. Thanks for calling in, Trevor,” Witness replied.
“Thank you for having me. I’ll be tuned in for more,” Trevor said before Witness ended the call.
“Now on to a different topic: New Eden Medical Center. I received word that the hospital and medical research facility are going to be holding a press conference soon,” Witness began.
“As I hear it, New Eden seems to have made a major breakthrough. They are being tight-lipped about the details, but I will be keeping an ear on their press conference. As always, I will relay any additional information to all of you out there as soon as I have it,” Witness concluded.
