I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
Enjoy!
Through the course of several weeks, Tech felt himself getting better by the day. He couldn't believe how quickly he was able to gather back his strength. The doctors had predicted that he would go through treatment for months but he was glad that the length of time was shortened in the hospital. Quinn paid him a visit every day and stayed with him for hours, bringing him meals that he could tolerate other than the hospital food that they offered.
"I could be out of the hospital today," he said to the female wolf.
"That's wonderful news," Quinn smiled when he said that. "Very strange how you were able to heal so quickly, considering how mummified you were."
Tech gave her a stoic expression followed by a, "gee thanks, Quinn."
A chuckle escaped her lips as she sat down next to him. "What are you going to do once you're out?"
"Finish my senior thesis," Tech answered her and took a sip of water. "After my device went haywire, it made me think that it was a bad idea to install that self-destruct apparatus for extra credit. The device would have worked like a charm if the professor hadn't been so hungry to miss out on lunch with his colleagues."
There was that Tech who was always worried about his 'babies' and wanting to do well in school. If Quinn was in his position, she would have gone on vacation and then think about the next steps. Sometimes she envied Tech's ego but that was just the way he was and she knew that everyone could be good at everything.
After a minute, Tech threw the blanket covers off him and got up from the bed. One of the things his doctor recommended was to keep his body in motion as he healed. Exercise was always good for the body and he tried to do as much as a he could. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he was able to heal so quickly. As he stretched, his ears perked up when the news reporters came on television.
Quinn groaned. "News every day," she said. "Everyone has been talking nonstop about this meteor that its driving everyone crazy."
While others found the news to be exasperating, Tech found it intriguing. The more facts that were shown, the more he wanted to learn about why this meteor came to Earth earlier than expected. No matter what hypothesis he thought of it still didn't make any sense. However, this time, the news broadcasted something a little different than he expected.
Both reporters looked exhausted. Whether it was the effects of the meteor or the same repetitive news, it was evident on their faces that they had enough of reporting on nothing but tragedy. "And when you think that things couldn't get any worse, the death toll continues to rise after the meteor struck Acmetropolis over three weeks ago."
Oh no Tech thought, waiting for worse news.
"Exactly," the other reporter said, "celestial news has arrived that a monster from planet Gossamer is here on Earth. It is unknown how the creature came to Earth and no one knows of its whereabouts. Sightings in Acmetropolis, have not yet been reported. It is highly suggested to report the monster to the authorities that the creature is returned to its home planet."
He heard Quinn let out a sigh behind him. "Well at least they're not going to kill it."
"It's strange," Tech said as he turned around and looked at her, "no creature that lives that far in the solar system would be able to come to Earth. Ugh, let's change the channel into something lighter. Can you hand me the remote?" he asked as he held out his hand towards her.
Quinn reached for the remote and was about to give it to Tech, there was a green light that was bright enough for her to see, as it outlined the form of the remote. Immediately, she let go of the remote and removed her hand away from the light. The remote levitated in the air as Tech continued to hold the palm of his hand towards it.
Both canines were in shock at what unraveled in front of their eyes. "The amount of blood tests that the doctors ran, nothing like this came up," Tech finally found the courage to speak as he lowered his palm and the green highlight from the remote disappeared.
Quinn looked at the object that rested on the bed before she raised her eyes and looked at Tech. "I think this is something that goes beyond a blood test, Tech." She remained silent for a second and paced over to him. "Do you think we should tell the doctors about this?"
If this was something in the name of science, Tech did not want to be used as an experiment and considering what he went through, he didn't want to have excessive needles being poked into him. "No," he shook his head to her. "I don't want to be stuck here."
"Maybe I can help you," Quinn suggested.
"How?" Tech asked her.
"Ever since I switched majors, I have been studying genes and evolution through the course of time. Even manipulating some of them to see the result in lab animals. I can do some sequencing from your blood."
"You're gonna take my blood too?" Tech asked her.
"I do need some of your DNA, Tech, how else am I going to see your genes?" Quinn said, "you of all people should know that."
Tech couldn't help but give her a playful scowl. "Give me a break, Quinn. I've been in this place for weeks."
After Tech was released from the hospital, he and Quinn didn't waste a second and headed over to the university's laboratory. Her laboratory was clean, and the way that it should be all times, with animals that she had been experimenting with in cages. The animals that she worked with were seemed to be a peace in their cages as they slept. One hamster lifted his head as he saw both canines in the room.
Tech was sitting a chair with a bad wrapped around his arm as he furiously squeezed his hand. "How many times have you done this?" he asked her.
"Just enough times to get an A+ in my lab practicum," Quinn said as she walked towards him with a butterfly needle. "Now this won't hurt."
"Yeah right," Tech said, "you can feel a pinch with that thing."
"How about you stop talking and looked at me while I do it?" Quinn suggested.
Tech took a deep breath and averted his eyes from the needle going into his arm. Once he felt that little pinch, Quinn raised her eyes and looked at him. Being this close to him, she never noticed how light green his eyes were…and very handsome. Keep your focus now, girl. You don't want to stab with it. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked as she collected his blood into a tube. After getting the amount that she needed, she gently took out the needle and wrapped his arm with a bandage.
Tech rubbed the spot where the needle was. "How long are we going to wait for the results?"
"With today's technology, just a couple of minutes. I just need to take care of the first steps before putting it in the machine," Quinn answered him as she went ahead to process the sample.
After what seemed like a good couple of minutes, Tech looked up when Quinn approached him with his results. "Well?" he asked her, "what does it say?"
"You have a mutation," Quinn said as she handed him the paper. "At that specific gene right there."
"What?" Tech exclaimed as he deciphered the results. "So, you're telling me that the shockwave from the meteor caused me this mutation? To move things with my hands?"
"That's not all," Quinn said to him, "you were able to heal very quickly than the doctor's predicated. Something in your body was able to cause that."
"The mutation," Tech said. Mutations could either be deemed as beneficial, harmful, or neutral. As for Tech, he didn't know what category this fell into. "What do I do?" he asked her.
Quinn only shook her head as she looked at Tech. "I don't know. With this, I would like to call it a gift, you must have control of it."
"I guess that senior thesis is going to have to wait," Tech sighed. How was he going to have control of something that was new to him?
