Chapter 156: Reed’s Perseverance
After drinking the potion Alex had given him, Ben felt his body transform dramatically, becoming thicker and bigger.
"Are you kidding me?" Ben roared, his voice deep and troubled.
"Not at all Ben, you can now switch between being a human and a stone man at will," Alex said, shaking his head and explaining.
Ben, much like Hank before him, found that after drinking the potion, he had gained enhanced strength and could revert to his original human appearance whenever he desired. As he focused on wanting to be human, his stone-like skin shrank back, revealing his human form.
"I can change back!" Ben exclaimed, astonished, as he touched his body with a mix of joy and disbelief.
"Thank you," Ben said to Alex. Though he had promised to join Paradise , without Alex's help, he might have felt that joining Paradise was his only refuge, given that the human world could no longer accept him as he was.
"You're welcome. Not only you, but Johnny, Susan, and Reed will also be part of Paradise in the future. After all, in a way, your abilities are also a form of Mutant power," Alex said with a smile.
"Bro, you should get me a potion too so my clothes don't burn off," Johnny joked with a grin.
"Your temperature is at least four thousand degrees. No clothes can withstand that. The spacesuit you wore before might be able to handle such heat," Alex said, playfully smacking Johnny on the head.
"You all look pretty good," Reed said as he walked in, looking at the three with a smile.
"I like your new look," Johnny said, chuckling as he looked at Reed .
Reed stroked his face with a puzzled expression. "I didn't think I looked that old."
"Boss, are you okay? I miscalculated the speed of the solar storm, which caused us to be hit by it," Reed said, sounding quite reproachful. He recognized that it was his mistake.
"Yeah, the solar storm is nothing to me," Alex replied with a smile.
He didn't feel any effects from it. The energy of the storm was still stored in his body, and he could release it to destroy a city with a mere gesture if he chose to.
"Also didn't you gain something from it as well?" Alex asked lightly.
"A blessing in disguise?" Reed hadn't yet realized what powers he had gained.
He looked at Ben and was surprised to see his transformation. "Ben!"
"I can freely transform now Reed, look," Ben said excitedly. His body had transformed into a stone-like form, about two meters tall.
A flame emerged from Johnny's palm, burning slowly and defying the laws of physics.
"You guys…?" Reed was dumbfounded. Had everyone become Mutants?
"Don't be surprised, you're one too!" Alex smiled slightly, grabbing Reed's arm and stretching it to about two or three meters in length.
"Wow, that's disgusting," Johnny said, wrinkling his nose in disbelief.
"This…?" Reed retracted his extended arm, his face showing surprise. "Have I become a Mutant?!"
"It can be said that your DNA has been altered by the solar storm, granting you a supernatural ability, which can also be classified as a Mutant power," Alex said with a faint smile.
Reed 's face twisted in a mixture of concern and frustration. "What a terrible situation. We just wanted to study the cosmic storm and ended up becoming Mutants?!"
"What about you, boss?" Reed asked, turning his gaze to Alex.
"Me? I was a Mutant to begin with. Absorbing the solar storm doesn't really affect me," Alex shrugged and replied lightly.
"Reed, don't worry. This ability is something ordinary people don't have. We should actually be quite envious," Johnny added, giving Reed a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"But we don't know if the effects of the solar storms are temporary or permanent. We need to conduct more in-depth research," Reed pointed out.
"Research on solar storms?" Alex thought back to the plot. Reed had developed a device based on solar storm fluctuations, which could mimic the solar storm.
"Yes, studying solar storms might help us understand if the changes are permanent or if we can reverse them. As I mentioned before, solar storms could make future generations healthier and stronger," Reed said with enthusiasm. His passion for research was evident.
"Hey, Reed , aren't our abilities a direct result of the solar storms? Your theory seems to be accurate. If solar storms can transform DNA, it could potentially cure many diseases and improve overall health," Ben added with a smile.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 157: Unreversible Plot
"But this doesn't feel like evolution to me; it feels more like a disease," Reed said, shaking his head, still grappling with his new reality. He felt like a freak, even though there were others like him.
"Hey, this guy! If this is a disease, then Mutants are all sick," Johnny retorted, clearly annoyed. He saw his abilities as a gift rather than a curse.
"Everyone needs to adapt to their new reality. Not everyone is as anxious as you are," Ben said with a smile, patting Johnny on the shoulder. Unlike Reed , Ben found some comfort in his ability to switch between being a stone man and a human, and he didn't share Reed 's unfounded fears.
"Hey! Who are you calling a big nerve?!" Johnny shot back, a bit irritated.
"Okay, I'm off to find Debbie. She must be extremely worried after all these days," Ben said, choosing not to argue further. He looked at Alex and added, "I hope everything goes well with her."
"Go ahead," Alex nodded, hoping that Ben's reunion with Debbie would be a happy one.
However, Alex didn't anticipate how the plot would evolve. Even though Ben could transform between a stone man and a human, misfortune still seemed to follow him.
On the Brooklyn Bridge, Ben sat alone on a large bridge pillar, his forehead resting in his hand as he muttered to himself, "Yeah, Ben, how good would it have been to stay in space for a few more days? Why did anything bad have to happen?"
He glanced at his stone-like body with a touch of self-deprecation. His lover had left him because of his transformation, leaving him feeling somewhat hopeless. He wondered if Reed was right—perhaps this wasn't a special ability, but a disease.
At that moment, a pigeon landed on his shoulder. Ben looked at the little bird and chuckled softly, "Hey, little thing, aren't you afraid of me?"
The pigeon cooed twice, then left a pool of white excrement on Ben's shoulder before quickly flying away. Ben's expression was one of deep loneliness, as if even the pigeon didn't like him.
Ben reached up to wipe the pigeon droppings from his shoulder. At that moment, a person suddenly appeared next to him, crying as they clutched a pile of documents, which they then threw into the river beneath the bridge. Seeing this, Ben thought the person was attempting suicide and quickly intervened, "Hey, do you think you have a problem? Look at me."
The young man, startled by Ben's sudden appearance, nearly lost his balance and fell off the bridge. If he had, it would have been a grim end. The young man managed to steady himself but, upon seeing Ben more clearly, his face drained of color, and he trembled with fear.
Ben looked at the young man and continued, "What's the matter? Feeling bad?"
The young man's legs were shaking, and he was backing away, trying to distance himself from what he perceived as a monster. Meanwhile, the vehicles passing below had to slow down as they witnessed the commotion.
Seeing the young man's reaction, Ben stood up, spreading his hands helplessly. "Okay, friend, calm down. Don't go outside."
The young man, still trembling, was precariously balanced on a slender iron pole. The area around him was narrow, and he began to falter as he tried to move away.
Ben saw his stone body and, with a thought, transformed back into his human form. He hurried towards the young man to stop him, but the sight of Ben's transformation only increased the young man's fear. The young man, already unstable, stumbled and began to fall.
The bridge was bustling with traffic, and if the young man fell, he would be run over by the vehicles speeding by.
Fortunately, the young man managed to grab onto a strap on an iron pillar. However, his luck was short-lived. The strap couldn't bear his weight and broke, causing him to fall onto the bridge.
Drivers in nearby cars, alarmed by the sudden appearance of people in the middle of the road, slammed on their brakes. One car narrowly missed the young man and crashed into the edge of the bridge.
At that moment, a large truck was barreling down the bridge. The driver, seeing the chaos, realized he wouldn't be able to stop in time and was about to hit both Ben and the young man on the ground.
Ben gritted his teeth, transformed into a two-meter-tall, sturdy figure, and braced himself. He positioned himself sideways to absorb the impact of the speeding truck.
Ben's rock-hard body collided with the truck, causing sparks to fly and the front of the truck to crumple. Despite the severe impact, he managed to stop the truck, preventing it from running over the young man. The onlookers scattered, and many people began to gather on the bridge.
(End of this chapter)
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