Hi Guys and welcome to the long-overdue chapter of Blizzard! So, a quick reminder of what's going on, Doctor Burrens has been murdered, James stole a file from his father called 'Metasis' and is getting Logan to try and decrypt it! That's pretty much all you need to know for this chapter, so let's crack on with it shall we?
James stood anxiously by, watching as Logan began to tap away on his laptop. Thankfully, Kendall was right by his side and James had never been more thankful that Kendall's hands were cold than now, because they were helping keep his body temperature down. When the typing came to a gradual stop and Logan let out a sigh, James couldn't help but squeeze Kendall's hand, causing the blond to ask the question.
"What's up Doc?" The blond asked, causing Logan to turn towards the two of them, revealing the computer screen. On it was a small progress bar and the two of them didn't need to get any closer to see how slowly it was progressing.
"The encryption of this comparable to military grade. At this rate, it's going to take the laptop hours to decrypt it, and that's hoping the encryption doesn't change or adapt" Logan explained, causing James to let out a sigh.
"I guess we've don't have much choice but to wait. Thank you Doctor Mitchell" James spoke up, causing Kendall to raise his eyebrow slightly.
"Wait a second, what about the supercomputer," Kendall asked, causing Logan to tilt his head slightly.
"You're not going to suggest what I think you're suggesting are you?" Logan replied, causing Kendall to shrug as he glanced at James briefly, the brunet immediately catching on to what Kendall was saying.
"Why not use it? That thing would be able to do it a lot faster than your laptop can" Kendall explained, Logan shaking his head as the blond spoke.
"I don't even know where to start with that being a horrific idea. Firstly, it's university owned and that would most certainly be a breach of their policies. Secondly, you don't have a good history with those types of computers, and this is information that we don't want to be released into the world." Logan stated, causing Kendall to tut slightly.
"You can't speak to me about breaching university policy, you used it to enhance video footage" Kendall quipped, causing Logan to go silent.
"Please Doctor, I really need this information. Plus, with you here, we can make sure the data is properly deleted so no one can access it" James stated, causing Logan to let out a soft sigh as he began to debate the topic mentally. James couldn't only squeeze Kendall's hand harder as Logan did this, and after what felt like hours, Logan pushed himself up from his seat.
"Fine, I'll do it but only because I know if I say no, Kendall's gonna do it anyway" Logan stated, causing Kendall to grin slightly.
"You know me so well" Kendall stated, causing James to swat him on the arm.
"Thank you, Doctor! I promise that no one will know you were involved in this" James stated, causing Logan to nod, if not briefly. As Logan made his way out of the room, memory stick in hand, Kendall and James began to follow him, the two of them having a brief conversation as they walked.
"So, what do you think is on it?" Kendall asked, causing James to shrug as he let out a sigh.
"I honestly don't know. I don't even know what Metasis is, so I can't begin to guess"
"It's not a real word" Logan spoke up from in front, causing both James and Kendall to raise an eyebrow as they glanced at him. "Sorry, I know I'm not meant to be eavesdropping" Logan continued, causing James to shake his head briefly.
"What do you mean it's not a real word?" James asked, causing Logan to shrug as he unlocked the door to the supercomputer room. Thankfully no one was in there, so they didn't have to wait to use it.
"Exactly what I said. 'Metasis' isn't an actual word. However, the prefix 'meta' can mean 'after,' and suffix 'sis' can mean a process or action, so if you look at it that way, it could literally be-"
"After an action or process," James interrupted, as he completed Logan's sentence. "But what action or process?"
"I guess that's what we're going to find out" Kendall stated, as he squeezed James' hand once again.
That action alone seemed to calm the brunet a little bit, but Kendall noticed how close James was standing to him. Clearly, all this waiting was taking a toll on him, so Kendall hoped that he could be some sort of help. As Logan shoved the memory stick into the computer, James felt his heartrate spike dramatically, and it only seemed to increase as the scientist tapped away throughout the initial process.
"Ok, so it's looking better this time" Logan began, as he turned back towards Kendall and James. "It says it's going to take roughly an hour to crack it" Logan continued, causing James to let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, that's a lot better" he commented, Kendall, nodding beside. "Thank you for your help Doc. You can go now if you want" Kendall said, causing Logan to fidget ever so slightly. Kendall knew exactly what this meant, and he couldn't help the smirk that grew on his face when Logan started to explain.
"I think I'm gonna stay if that's alright" Logan began, turning back towards the supercomputer as he did so. "It's this name, Metasis. I don't know what it is or means and that's driving me crazy"
The passage of time seemed to slow dramatically as they all waited for this hour to conclude. Logan sat himself at the supercomputer, just watching as the progress bar filled while James spent the hour pacing up and down, hoping that it would miraculously finish. Kendall seemed to hover between the two of them, making sure that James was ok before also checking in with Logan and apologising for taking their focus away from work.
As soon as the supercomputer stated that about a minute was left, however, they all huddled around it, impatiently waiting for it to finish. When they all watched the process complete and the file unlock, James was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea and anxiety.
Still, he knew he didn't come this far only to forfeit on the entire thing. As Logan began to scroll through the file, James reviewed everything in extreme detail, trying to find something that could explain this nagging feeling he had about it.
"By the looks of it, it's just a bunch of medical files" Logan was the first to speak, causing James to nod behind him before his eyes landed on something different.
"What about that one?" James asked, pointing towards a folder right at the bottom of the screen, causing Logan to click on it.
"It looks like a couple of video files" Kendall spoke up as they began to scroll once again.
"Load the first one. Maybe it'll give us some answers as to what is going on" James stated, causing Logan to comply, finding the video file with the earliest date before double-clicking on it.
An image of James' dad's office filled the screen, causing curiosity to rise as the overriding emotion. Thankfully, Logan was quick to press play, the whole room settling into silence as they watched.
"The test results have confirmed what I said, you've got Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. I got the results verified by other doctors, so this, unfortunately, isn't mistakable" Doctor Burrens began, causing Henry to nod as he swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Ok, so what can be done about it?" Henry asked, causing Doctor Burrens to let out a sigh.
"Honestly, not much. Lung replacements are a possibility, but at the state, you're currently in, they're not a necessity so trying to get a pair could be difficult. On top of that, even if we could get them, there's a high chance that you wouldn't survive the next 5 years" Doctor Burrens continued, before passing James' dad a piece of paper. "I'm working on something that might act as a solution but it's too early to be sure. As for the moment, there is a document stating you've only got the common cold. I know you said your son is worried so that should alleviate his stress"
"Thank you, Doctor," Henry said before the recording cut off.
"When was the second one dated?" James asked as soon as the first one ended, causing Logan to glance at the file.
"It's dated a couple of weeks afterwards," Logan replied, doubling clicking the video and pressing play.
"We've titled the project Metasis" Dr Burrens began as she stood in front a small screen with a PowerPoint on it. "It's been well documented that some animals such as mice can regenerate tissues within their bodies and the same can be said for their vital organs" Doctor Burrens continued, causing Henry to lean forward in his chair slightly.
"But surely a mouse isn't going to be able to grow an entire set of human lungs" Henry stated, causing Doctor Burrens to shake her head.
"You're correct, they're not," Doctor Burrens said before flicking onto the new slide. "However, the coding for this process is within the mice's cells and all it would take for them to be translated into a human is for the right gene to be identified and utilised. Which brings me to introducing ERKA, or what we've called Eureka." Doctor Burrens continued, now showing the DNA strand on the screen. "This is the gene responsible for the regeneration, and after extensive testing on both animal and human organs, we've discovered that its capability can translate over"
"So, you're going to inject me with mice DNA in the hopes that it will repair my lungs?" Henry asked as he leant back in his chair. "Can I ask what the side effects are? Like maybe mutating into a giant mouse?" Henry asked, causing Doctor Burrens to let out a soft chuckle.
"I can assure you that no such thing could happen. As for other side effects, nothing has been reported and the tests we've run show no evidence of anything. Just like of it like getting a vaccine" Doctor Burrens stated, causing Henry to nod slowly as he began to consider the treatment.
"And I'm guessing you're presenting this to me because it's the only option left," Henry asked, causing Doctor Burrens to nod.
"Unfortunately so. No other option is going to ensure the same results that this doesn't." Dr Burrens replied, causing Henry to let out a soft sigh.
"Alright then, I suppose that settles it," Henry said, pushing himself up from his seat. "I suppose the last thing to mention is that I want James kept in the dark about this. He's been through enough recently and the last thing I want to do is for him to suffer any more." Henry concluded before the recording cut off.
"Is there anything else?" James asked immediately, causing Logan to shake his head.
"They're the only two video files"
"What about the medical files? Is there anything there?" James asked, causing Logan to back out from the video folder as he glanced through the dates until he found one dated a few days after the last video. Clicking on it, they were all greeted with a report causing Logan to briefly skim through it.
"This doesn't say much. Only that the procedure went ahead" Logan concluded, causing him to glance back at James once again who had so many emotions written on his face. It took him a few minutes to settle down, and as he did so, he let out a deep sigh.
"It is even possible?" James asked, causing Kendall to quickly wrap his arms around James, seeing how weak-kneed his boyfriend had become.
"I mean, theoretically is it" Logan stated, as he loaded up each report one by one before skimming them. "And the science is certainly there in these reports. It's all laid out, from the initial tests to how they came up with the idea"
"But what does that actually mean? That my dad is now part mouse?" James asked as he let out a soft chuckle, hoping that would mask the tears welling slowly in his eyes.
"I think so?" Kendall stated, causing everyone to glance at him.
"You can't be serious" James stated, his eyes wide as Kendall stuttered for a brief second, trying to find his words.
"I mean, think about it. A mouse genome was injected into your father, designed to regenerate his organs. Who's to say that it didn't evolve or mutate while in his system." Kendall continued, as he pieced everything together in his head. "And without completely jumping to conclusions, it could explain Doctor Burrens murder"
"You cannot be serious" James stated once again, taking a step so that he could separate himself from Kendall, only to stare at him with shock written on his face.
"Think about it, James. It would explain how someone got into her office without forcing entry. Mice are renown for getting into really tight spaces. For all we know, he could have climbed through the air vents. And the claw marks? Mice have claws so that they can climb surfaces, so it is possible that your father has-"
"Are you trying to state that my father has turned into a giant mouse? You cannot be fucking serious right now! Are you even hearing yourself? Doctor Burrens stated that it wasn't even possible" James asked, letting out another laugh, but this time, the tears welling in his eyes were more prominent.
"The same could be said for me, James. No one would have ever thought that I would have the ability to create and manipulate ice, but here I am" Kendall stated as the tears began to streak down James' face.
"Doctor, is it? It is possible?" James asked, turning towards Logan, who let out a sigh.
"Normally, I'd say that it's not, but to be honest, I don't know what to think anymore. In this city, it appears that anything could be possible" Logan replied, causing James to let out a sigh as he dropped down onto the closest seat.
"Look, I'm not saying that this has happened, I'm just stating it's a possibility. Maybe Doctor Burrens was right, and it couldn't have happened. Just let Logan and I look through the rest of the medical notes to try and find anything, but just…I just want you to be aware of every possibility" Kendall stated, placing a small kiss onto James' cheek.
As Kendall and Logan got to work, James' mind began to reel with what everyone had said, but the more James thought about the insanity of it all, the closer he came to the realisation that Kendall could be right.
So there we have it! They managed to crack the file, and boy did they learn some interesting things from it! As I said, this chapter is long overdue but hopefully, this makes up for it a little bit!
I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest, RainbowDiamonds and EpicallyObsessed for reviewing the last chapter and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! As to whether James' dad's heart is int the right place, well I feel like this lets onto that a little bit! And I have to admit, I'm curious to see what you guys thought would be on the file, so let me know!
I hope you all have a great week and I will see you all next Monday for the next chapter of whatever I will write and post. At the moment, it's a 50/50 split, so odds on anyone? But until then,
TTFN 😀❄