Chapter 3

David turned on the lights in his base. It was a truly magnificent place. it had magnificent work stations, offices, garages, hi tech computers.

This wasn't going to be some sort of refugee centre for mutants, this was going to be an organisation that could be used for protecting innocent people, and not just mutants. If he and Siobhan, and of Corse others had mutated in this way, surely there would be other forms of mutation, and they may not be so friendly and devoted to the better cause. If he was to do this, the professors' words of advice would be critical for success.

In the professor's lab, David had been taken right to the back of the room, beneath the floors of the laboratory. The Professor was firing up his machine, and David was in awe of all the contraptions this old man had produced in his life. His concentration was brought straight back to the matter in hand when, from behind him, a harsh hissing noise echoed through the room.

"the potion is ready" smiled the Professor

"give it here then," David said excitedly, but also impatiently.

"Before i do, you must promise me 2 things;" the professor warned

"Is one of them to find and protect your daughter?" David inquired

"and the other," The Professor began, "Don't make the same mistake the first mutant did!"

"The first mutant?" David asked

"Her name was Althea" The Professor told him, "Her power was, itself, to change the cellular structure of other organisms...with radiation. Her powers reached the limits that the Atomic bomb had."

"Bloody Hell!!" David stuttered

"Now, like you and I, Althea knew that she was the future, however, rather than let evolution take it's Corse over the years, she was impatient, and she used her power to create new mutants."

"How many?" David requested

"thousands, but two in particular were most dangerous. Coral and Jem"

"what were their powers?"

"the same, they are both invincible, bullets can't stop them, the only one who can is their creator. However, she can also improve them, they are not natural mutants, they are force grown. Other mutants have stable conditions, Coral and Jem are more like clay than humans, their DNA shifts constantly, they are prone to extraordinary activity in their brains. They had one of their funny turns out on the town, murdered in excess of 20 people in 15 minutes"

"so, don't set some mental patients on innocent people, that's common sense, isn't it?"

"David, when you take this potion, you won't know common sense from completely insane"

"what happens if one of the things i wish to become is intelligent, that won't be a problem any more will it?"

"even too much intelligence can be a curse"

"Well that's a risk I'm gonna have to take to find your daughter!"

"then you are a braver man than i am!" The Professor admitted proudly, and handed the potion to David. "Remember, the effects don't take place immediately, so be prepared for a shock when it happens"

David nodded knowingly, then drank the potion.

And then it happened, two weeks later David caught up with his school on their way to a campsite in Bracknell, just a couple of miles northwest of Reading. The following morning the campsite had become a graveyard.

David sobbed at the thought of what he had done, and become. The Professor had been right. He was insane. While sobbing, David didn't hear footsteps approaching behind him. So when a voice rang through the cavern, he was taken by surprise.

"Why are you looking for me?"