Chapter 6
One day, while working in his office, Ralph got a peculiar prickling sensation on his skin. He could almost hear it and feel it, but not quite. His claws ached to rake at something even though they were trimmed and short. The creeping sensation came from somewhere in the compound. He went out into the hall and tried to locate it. Walking around the facility, he found a building he had never been in. Opening the door, the unusual sensation was so intense it made him twitch. There was something wrong.
A group of Heroes were crowded around an object. He glanced over a Hero's shoulder and saw a weird-looking device pulsating light.
A short, balding middle-aged Hero recognized Ralph with his green hair and said, "Oh, First, ah Ralph, have you come to see our new acquisition? It just came in from the South African raid."
Ralph suspiciously eyed the instrument and didn't like it. He asked, "What is it?"
"We don't know. We flipped the switch, and it started doing this." The pulsating light flashed at a higher frequency.
"I don't like it; something is wrong. Turn it off."
The Hero technician flipped the switch, but the instrument didn't stop. Flipping the switch again, it started pulsating faster, whining. The tech pulled the power plug, but it kept strobing and making sounds. This worried Ralph even more. He got an overwhelming urge to escape; something terrible would happen.
Ralph yelled to everyone, "GET OUT! GET OUT! NOW!" He turned and ran for the door. Because the First said it, everyone rushed for the exit.
The First was the last to leave the building because he didn't have a Suit. He hurried to the Emergency Evacuation button, punched it, and sirens went off all over the compound. Heroes zipped off the campus and into the desert from all over the facility. Ralph ran as fast as he could to the front gate. Someone came behind him, picked him up, and flew into the desert several miles away. It was Eric.
The explosion occurred within 10 minutes of the Heroes leaving the structure where the mysterious device was located. A purple mushroom cloud rose from the Hero grounds. Ralph searched for his wife.
He asked Eric, "Can you telepathically call Pam to ensure she is okay." Eric nodded, and a minute later, he told Ralph, "She is fine in Palmdale." After the mushroom cloud dissipated, the Hero League CEO carried Ralph back toward the Hero League grounds.
The device's explosion leveled the building that it occupied. Luckily, it had been in a facility on the edge of the compound and with no other buildings nearby. The closest structures had all the windows blown out—all the Heroes who observed the pulsations of the curious instrument gathered near the building's remains.
Eric asked, "Who hit the Emergency Evacuation switch?"
Ralph said, "I did."
"Why did you think it was necessary?"
"I got an unusual reaction. It made me twitch, and I didn't like the sound of it."
One of the Heroes inquired, "Why were you there when we turned it on? You weren't part of the research group?"
Ralph replied, "I got a bad feeling. I don't mean a bad feeling; I could sense something in the air. It made my skin crawl. I walked around, and it was the strongest in this building. I came in, and you were all standing around watching the thing. When it started pulsating faster and making that awful sound, I knew something terrible would happen, and I shouted for everyone to get out. I punched the Emergency Evacuation button and ran."
Eric said, "It looks like your intuition was right again. This could have possibly killed someone."
The other Heroes approached Ralph and shook his hand, thanking him for saving them.
"You're welcome," he responded to each one.
The two executives headed for the Administration building, where their offices were.
Eric asked, "Do you think you sensed something wrong due to your psychic abilities or the junk genes?"
Ralph answered, "I'm not sure, maybe a combination. My hearing and olfactory senses are enhanced, and I'm stronger than usual. So, I guess the junk gene activation isn't all bad. But I still don't like the green hair, claws, and weird sex, although the orgasm was incredible."
"That's what Dr. Adams told me," Eric said with a smile.