บท 37: Welcome Home

The Dream Rise House was a two-story modern villa occupying an area of some 50,000 sq. feet. Partly built up over a waterfall, it radiated a feeling of being one with nature.

The house was anything but conservative in terms of grandeur and expenditure. The villa's reflecting pool was large enough to provide a swimming ground for dozens of people.

For the most part, the house followed a large sliding window theme. The house was specifically designed keeping in mind the abilities of mutants, with the glasses and walls strong enough to handle the attacks of both mutants and modern weapons.

The house had around twenty rooms with separate spaces for the garage, cinema, dining, bar, and other miscellaneous activities. The safety and cleaning activities were managed by the artificial intelligence system installed in the house.

You could say each section of the house smelled of extravagance. It was hard to believe that such a lavish house had only one occupant.

The above features were what the people from the surrounding community were aware of. What they didn't know was that there was more to the villa, more than they could ever imagine!

There were two underground floors below the villa. They were designed in such a manner that thermal or any other scans could not detect their presence. Even the power system for the underground floors was self-sustained with no reliance on the villa's power source. Such a design required not only money but influence as well.

On the topmost underground floor, there was a high-tech genetic lab. The lab was a part of four sections on this floor.

Section 1 of the lab had an area of some 200 sq.m. It was well-equipped with cryogenic chambers along with advanced body scanners and all types of equipment required for treating a mutant. One could say the lab had enough capacity to save the life of a man about to die.

Suddenly, rays of white light started converging at the center of section 1.

The security system in the lab didn't do anything to stop the rays of white light from converging into a man. It was as if the security system was well adapted to such occurrences.

[[Welcome back, sir.]] The artificial intelligence (AI) system said in a feminine voice.

Kiba gazed at the virtual screen in the lab where the AI displayed the stats of the villa. He was surprised when he noticed the time.

"Claudia, thank you for the hard work as always," Kiba said after seeing the log screen.

[[Sir, it is my duty. If I may say, the sensors are detecting scents of multiple women from your body. You must have enjoyed yourself.]] The AI system named Claudia remarked.

"Ah well. It was quite fun," Kiba said with a bashful smile. He moved towards a body scanning device and commanded, "Run the usual tests on my body."

[[Understood.]]

The body scanner released multiple lights that wrapped him.

In reality, he wasn't as carefree as he let others believe. Ever since he fused with Cosmic Spark, he gave special care to his body. He was afraid there might be some serious side effects on him given the Cosmic Spark used to be the power source of an entire world.

After all, how can a human fuse with such a treasure and face no side effects?

He knew that he wasn't using even one percent of Cosmic Spark's powers in his ultimate form so the chances of any harmful effect were close to zero, but he wanted to be better safe than sorry.

This was why he built the advanced laboratory capable of dealing with any worst-case scenario. As for the lab equipment, some were smuggled to him by Eva while others he himself 'borrowed' from World Government and corporate.

For gaining the required knowledge to operate and manage such an advanced lab, he used his Cosmic Manipulation ability.

While Kiba was nowhere near enough to use his ability in an omnipotent way, he had gained enough proficiency to use it for things he needed. All the abilities he displayed so far were in fact just the minor use of Cosmic Manipulation. He could simply learn anything in this world without much effort.

[[Sir, everything is normal. Your body is as normal as any mutant.]] The holographic projection showed his body structure along with his DNA and other components. There was no trace of Cosmic Spark or the power released by it on the stats shown by Claudia.

Kiba sighed. He knew even the best lab couldn't detect Cosmic Spark inside of him. Even the blood samples he would take were similar to normal mutants with no unusual signs denoting his extraordinary powers. In fact, his blood or sperm sample, or any other scan would only denote that he had teleportation and high physical enhancement as his abilities.

He didn't know the reason as to why such things would happen. Perhaps it was because he actually wished as such when he fused with it, or perhaps the Cosmic Spark wanted to mask its presence.

The strangest part was regarding his reproduction ability. He knew the chances of him impregnating any normal mutant as Kiba were very low. The fertility of mutants had increased but that was only if they mated among themselves. The mutation of normal mutants was created by Divine Particles but his mutation in his present form was created by Cosmic Spark.

The breeding of two different energy beings was always difficult. This was why he didn't care when he came inside Eva or any of his partners. He wasn't worried someone would get pregnant and knock on his door saying, "Fucker, congrats! You are a father now!"

Of course, Zed was normal and he had to be extra careful.

Kiba's lips spread to a smile as he thought of this. His body started transforming back into Zed.

Soon, his hair was black and his irises fully blue.

"Claudia, now you should say I am back," Zed said, his voice filled with exhaustion.

[[Does it make any difference, sir?]] Claudia asked.

"Nevermind. Just run the scans," Zed sighed.

The lights once again wrapped around his body. The holographic projection started showing the details of his body as the search progressed.

After a minute or two, Claudia reported: [[There are signs of heavy fatigue on your body, otherwise everything else is normal. Even the fatigue can be considered normal since your body is always affected by the deeds of your other form.]]

Zed's mouth twitched when Claudia said 'deeds'. He knew she was referring to his sexual activities. The strain on his bodies was always shared in both forms, so he wasn't surprised by fatigue.

"Good night, Claudia!" Zed stepped towards the elevator outside section 1.

The elevator had the capacity for two people. The virtual screen inside showed the route to different sections of the villa.

He pressed 'Floor: +2' on the virtual screen. The elevator closed and started moving upwards. A minute later, the elevator left him inside a small hidden compartment containing nothing but a library shelf. He stepped out of the elevator and removed a book from the library shelf. The book had nothing but a fingerprint scanner. He pressed his right hand on the scanner.

CREEK

The library shelf opened up, revealing a luxurious bedroom.

"Finally sleep!" Zed was barely able to keep his eyes open any longer.

[[Sir, I hope you remember that you have a class in the morning. You have only 3 hours for rest.]] Claudia's sudden reminder jolted him just as he jumped on the bed.

"FUCK!" Zed loudly cursed before falling asleep.