Chapter 2: Weird Encounters

Martin swept the hair littering the floor as he listened to the news program playing on the television, positioned above his workstation. Stopping briefly to catch his breath, he glanced at his watch and noted it was three fifteen in the afternoon. He should have seen Finn heading to his shop by now.

When the bell rang throughout the shop, Martin quickly turned around to see Finn standing at the entrance.

"Hey, dad!" Finn greeted happily.

"Hey there, Starkid!" Martin greeted back.

Martin went back to sweeping the hairs toward a dustpan.

"You need help with that?" Finn asked.

"Nah, I got this," Martin replied. "Though you could help me close up after I'm done with this."

"You're closing early?" Finn asked curiously.

"It's a slow day for business," Martin replied, sweeping the remaining pieces of hair. "People on this island mostly wear animal hats nowadays like the folks from Founder's Island. Can't imagine how long they grew out their hair under those hats."

"Probably too long," Finn replied.

He made his way toward the leather couch. He dropped his bag on the couch and plopped down beside it.

"So, how's school, kiddo?" Martin asked, as he grabbed the dustpan filled with hair. He then walked towards the back to dump all of it in the trash.

"Oh, you know," Finn started, making it audible for his father to hear from the back. "The usual."

"Anything interesting happened today?" Martin asked from the back of the shop.

"Well…" Finn nervously started.

"Breaking news!" A voice sounded off from the television.

The image shows a shot of a man with a tiger hat, wearing a black suit, white buttoned up shirt, and a red tie.

"This just in. We have special coverage about an incident that happened a couple hours ago. Steve Lombard is in the scene. Steve?"

The image transitioned to a medium shot of a man wearing an orange cat hat, a gray suit, and a blue button-up shirt. The man held a microphone with the logo of the news channel.

"Thank you, Perry," he replied. "I am here today at Hub Island and a couple hours ago a car went haywire as it drove down the streets all over the city. Thankfully, no one got hurt from the incident. But according to the witnesses, there are some strange anomalies that happened during the whole debacle."

The image cuts to an older woman with white hair, tied into a bun. She wears a purple dress with a violet shawl draped over her shoulders. To the lower left of the screen, it reads "Gertrude," while smaller text beneath it states "Victim/Witness."

"So, there I was," she started. "About to get hit by the car. Then WOOSH!" she exclaimed, flailing her wooden cane into the air.

"On the other side of the road. It's like we got teleported or something!"

The image cut to a man in his late twenties, wearing a lion hat, and a green hoodie. The bottom left of the screen read "Tony," followed by "Victim/Witness."

"I was standing where a lamp post was crashing into. I could've been a goner," The man said nervously. "Then something moved me out of it. It was fast! I thought it was just some made up stories, but it's real. The Blur is real!" the man exclaimed.

The image cuts back to the reporter, now standing near the edge of the island.

"I am here at where the car was mysteriously stopped by an unknown entity. Joining me today is Seeker TJ-4-4, who is handling the investigation." Steve announced.

The camera zoomed out, revealing a hulking figure of a woman wearing a Seeker uniform and a violet hat shaped like a bat, with red bangs poking out above her face. Steve turned to the Seeker.

"What are your thoughts on this situation?" Steve asked, pointing his microphone up to the Seeker.

"Well, Steve," the Seeker started. "I believe that it was not the metal railing that stopped the car."

Steve brought his microphone back to him.

"What makes you say that?" asked Steve.

He then points it back to the Seeker.

"Imagine my fist is the car," the Seeker brought up her right hand balled into a fist. "And this is what happens if the car rammed through the railings."

The Seeker twisted her body towards the metal railing, shifting into a stance and reeling her right arm back. Then she jabbed towards the railing with such force that it destroyed a part of the railing. Steve backed away in shock. The Seeker faced the reporter with a satisfied grin.

"The car would've fallen down to the sea, but somehow something with a stronger force was able to stop the momentum of the car."

"Um," Steve tried to compose himself. "Thank you, Seeker… for your input…"

He then turned towards the camera as it zoomed in on him.

"There you have it," Steve started. "Back to you, Perry."

The Seeker behind Steve crouched down and waved at the camera, then the television was shut off. Finn stared at the television in a wide-eyed shock. He then averted his eyes towards his father, who was standing to his right holding the remote. Martin turned towards his son, with an unamused expression and a brow raised.

"The usual, huh?" Martin asked in a semi-sarcastic tone.

Finn let out a sigh, then slouched down to the couch in defeat.

"Look, son," Martin started. "I'm not mad at you for helping those folks. I get that you were trying to do the right thing and I'm proud of you for it," Martin said with a smile, but his face shifted back to a serious expression.

"But you have to be more careful when you're using your powers."

"Dad," Finn started. "I am careful. They haven't seen what I look like yet and some people on this island don't think I'm even real!"

"You don't know for certain, Finn," Martin said with a frown.

Martin sighed, and his expression softened.

"I'm just worried about you, son. The people here fear what they don't understand." Martin sat next to Finn on the couch. "Me and your mother always dread the day that somehow they're going to take you away from us."

"I just can't keep hiding for all my life, dad," Finn said with a bit of frustration.

"I know, son," Martin replied. He puts his hand over his son's shoulder. "It'll take time. But for now?"

Martin stood up from the couch, looked down at his son with a smile.

"How 'bout we close this shop and meet with your mom at the hospital?"

Finn looked up at his dad; a smile slowly forming on his face.

"Okay."

Finn and Martin walked up to the front of the hospital, the stylized, curved, white building towers above them, a giant, blue staff of Asclepius hanging in front. As they walk past the sliding doors, a growling sound can be heard from Martin. He buckled a bit, his arms holding his stomach, letting out a groan.

"I knew eating one of 'em chili dogs would be bad news," Martin said. "You go to your mom. I'll be in the bathroom for a sec."

Martin jogged towards the bathroom, his stomach growling once more.

"Coming through!"

Finn let out an amused sigh. He began walking towards the elevator, pressed the button that had an arrow pointing up. The elevator door opened, and Finn entered inside, he pressed a button that had a number six on it. He waited as the numbers on the floor indicator increased its count. As it reached the sixth floor, the doors opened, and Finn walked out into the corridor towards his mother's office.

As he walked down the corridor, he saw a lady walking in his direction. To Finn, this person seemed familiar. She was shorter than him, with a natural skin tone and a blue patch on the left side of her head, sporting blue hair styled into a mohawk. She wore an off-shoulder white dress with yellow accents around her neck and extending to her midsection. The dress featured slits on either side, allowing him to see her long brown shorts and brown high leather boots.

As they got closer, Finn's shoe stubbed against an uneven floor tile. He tripped and fell, chin first to the ground, his glasses sliding down towards the woman's boot. Finn groaned, not because he felt pain, but out of embarrassment. He could have stopped his fall by floating, but he couldn't risk revealing himself like that, not with a witness around. He sat up on his knees, rubbing his chin to make it look like he got hurt from the fall.

"You're a bit clumsy, are you?" the woman said. She held up his glasses to him, which Finn took with a nervous smile.

"Thanks," he said.

Wearing his glasses, he took a closer look at the woman and realized he recognized her from somewhere.

"You look very familiar," he continued.

"Well, does Dr. Gross ring any bells?" she said with a playful smile.

Finn's face lit up in surprise.

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed. "I remember now! You're the lead Experimenter of Hub Island!"

"Looks like I've met a fan," she quipped, gaining a blush and a head scratch from Finn.

"You also gave my mom her excellence award for being the best Helper on the island a few years back," he said, still embarrassed from Gross' comment.

"Wait," she examined Finn for a moment. Her eyes widened from realization. "You're Minerva's kid!"

Dr. Gross started walking around him, inspecting him further.

"I've seen pictures of you from your mother's desk," she mused. "Quite a growth spurt you have."

Finn stood still awkwardly as Dr. Gross circled around him. As she came up in front of him, her face was so close to his it made him uncomfortable.

"Quite handsome as well," she said with a smile.

"Um," Finn awkwardly uttered. "Thanks?"

"You're here to see her, right?" she asked, as she retracted away from him.

"Yeah," he replied, still recovering.

Finn mustered enough mental strength to calm his nerves. As he calmed down, he briefly observed the woman in front of him, but something peculiar caught his attention.

"You haven't aged a day, Dr. Gross," he said.

Gross was caught off guard by the young man's statement. Her eyes widened in shock, and her smile shrank.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, her voice monotoned.

"Well," Finn started nervously. "I had pictures of you and mom at the house and, funny enough, you looked exactly the same from couple of years ago."

"Except for your hair," Finn corrected. "In which case, you're a bit different from back then, but the same nonetheless..."

Dr. Gross watched as Finn began to fumble with his words. She smiled at the boy and began to chuckle.

"Why thank you, Finn," she replied with a jovial tone. "I didn't know you're such a charmer. Don't you know I'm way older than you?" she teased.

Finn was taken aback by the older woman's compliment. The heat rose from his cheeks.

"I... It was nice meeting you, Dr. Gross!" he quickly said. "See you around!"

Finn walked past Dr. Gross. She stood there for a second, observing him as he stiffly walked away.

"Finn," she called out. "Do you believe a man could fly?"

Finn halted mid-step. His eyes widened in shock, and his heart beat rapidly. A million questions flooded his mind. Why would she ask me that? What does she know? He took a deep breath and turned towards her, wearing a mask of curiosity.

"You mean on those aircraft vehicles from the books, right?" he asked.

"No," she replied, with an enthusiastic smile "I'm talking about soaring through the clouds with nothing but air beneath you."

"People can't fly, Dr. Gross," he replied through a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, but they can," she started. "Through evolution of course."

Finn frowned in confusion and looked at her with genuine curiosity.

"I don't think evolution works like that, doc."

"I see you're paying attention in school," she said with an impressed smirk. "But no, I'm not talking about natural evolution. Think of it more as the advanced version of it like GMOs, genetic splicing-"

"Cybernetic implants?" Finn added, earning a chuckle from Dr. Gross.

"I guess that's the first step," Dr. Gross said as she reached for the left side of her face.

She turned away from Finn and started walking towards the elevator.

"You wait and see, Finn," she said as she waved. "The next step of humanity might come sooner than you think!"

Finn watched the retreating figure of Dr. Gross. He couldn't shake off the feeling of unease from their conversation. This wasn't the first impression that he had expected when meeting her. Should he be worried about this? Or should he simply label it as a mad rambling from a doctor with a few loose screws?

"Finn?" a voice with a familiar English accent called out.

Quickly turning around, Finn spotted his mother approaching. Wrinkles surrounded her eyes, revealing her age. Her blonde hair was tucked beneath a white hat shaped like a polar bear. A white lab coat covered her petite frame, complementing her orange blouse and long brown skirt. Beige shoes completed her outfit.

"Hey, mom," Finn greeted.

He gave her mom a peck on her cheek which made her smile.

"Where's your father?" she asked.

"He ate a chili dog on our way here and… you can guess the rest," he replied with a smirk.

Minerva let out an amused sigh.

"That man can be hopeless sometimes."

"I also met Dr. Gross a second ago," Finn added.

"Really?" Minerva asked with a surprised expression. "She stopped by my office a while ago just to catch up."

"Yeah, she's really…" Finn paused, thinking for a moment. "Something," he added with an awkward smile.

"She can be a little eccentric," she added. "But she means well."

Her expression shifted to a frown.

"But you?" she quickly added, her tone turned strict.

Her finger pointed at him accusingly.

"You're in a lot of trouble, young man."

"Wha-"

"I watched the news earlier," she continued. "And we're going to have a talk when we get to the car."

She walked past Finn towards the elevator. Finn quickly followed behind her.

"But dad already gave me the talk!"

"Well, it's my turn to give you one!" she said without batting an eye on him. "You've yet to hear what I have to say, Finnie."

Finn stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't help but groan in defeat and quickly followed his mother to the elevator.

Author's Notes:

I hope you enjoyed the story. Please favorite this story and leave a comment :)