Atonement IV: Part 3

"Well, doctor what do you have to say?"

General Ironwood along with Ansem, Winter and Arthur were waiting outside the room while Pietro personally examined Harriet after her test that ended with her actually shooting lightning out from her hands, surprising herself and everyone else. General Ironwood had been still as a statue for more than a few minutes and even Watts was amazed by what had happened.

Immediately after this, Ironwood had ordered for her to be taken for a checkup.

Pietro emerged from the room, rubbing his glasses before speaking. "Well, General I can honestly say the results are nothing short of astounding."

He held his scroll for everyone to see, showing them Harriet's vitals and her Aura level which was at its maximum output.

"Ansem had earlier surmised that Miss Bree's running produced a large amount of static electricity when she normally uses her Semblance. The electric trail she leaves in her wake is the electricity being released with her Aura protecting her. Only this time, when she was running in a circle in the training, she ended up running so fast it seemed the very electricity she expelled was then immediately absorbed back into her body. Her Aura of course was protecting her from being harmed but I think it took a step further." Pietro began.

Watts leaned forward, looking at the readings. "It seems her Aura was also absorbing the electricity, enhancing itself."

"How?" Ironwood asked.

"Both her Aura shield and the electricity she was expelling and absorbing as she ran came together with her Aura acting as the usual energy field to protect her and of course heal of her any possible damage. It seemed as she was absorbing the electricity and it fused with her Aura, actually enhancing it." Pietro explained with an astounded look on his face. "It's likely a side effect of the vortex she created."

Ansem looked at the readings next to Watts. "But it seems it didn't stop there. How is she physically?"

"Physically? She's better than we could actually have hoped." Pietro brought up a physical scan of Harriet's body. "Take a look at her nervous system. I had a scan of her both before and after the test."

The results from the first test showing that Harriet's physical status was the same as usual but the one after the test showed different results.

"I'm afraid I do not follow completely." Ironwood admitted since he was not a doctor.

"Her nervous system was seemingly supercharged for the lack of a better word, General. Her synapses are much higher than that of a normal person's, meaning her perception, reaction speed, reflexes, instincts, etc., are all enhanced and as the electrical signals from her brain are delivered at a radical speed, faster than anything I have seen before." Pietro explained.

Ironwood was surprised to hear all of this but knew Pietro was telling the truth. "Is she clear for visitors?"

"Yes, General. But let's try to be easy on her at the moment. This is…a little new." Pietro cautioned.

Ironwood nodded in agreement as he entered, followed by Ansem, Watts and Winter. Inside, Harriet was sitting up on her bed, wearing a hospital gown now with her scorched and torn uniform off to the side.

When she saw Ironwood enter, she moved to stand up and salute, but Ironwood quickly stopped her. "At ease, Bree. You are resting so I think we can drop the formalities."

Harriet relaxed and sat back down. "Yes sir."

"How do you feel?" Ironwood asked, stopping in front of the bed. "That was quite the surprise you put on at the end."

"Well, I feel…good, sir." Harriet admitted, glancing off to the side. "I can't really put it into words. One moment I was running in that circle…As I ran, I felt like everything was slowing down around me…Even the doctor's voice sounded so slow to me when he was telling me to stop and when I did I felt… When I looked my hand, I could see the lightning dancing between my fingers, I could hear it and feel it tingling all over and then when I held out my hand…" Harriet trailed off. "It was like I knew I had all this energy just waiting to come out, actually more like burst out."

"You mean the electricity you stored up, not actual lightning." Watts stated.

"No, I mean lightning." Harriet shook her head. "I stored and absorbed all the electricity. I could see all of it dancing in front of me as I ran and as quickly as it passed through me, released through my feet only brighter and stronger, each and every time I ran. It was like we were connected, as I ran it became stronger and when I absorbed and expelled all at once, I was becoming stronger."

Ansem rubbed his chin. "Have you noticed anything different about yourself since you woke up?"

Harriet stared at him for a quick second before looking around. "Well, I feel…normal or as normal as I can be. It feels like the electricity supercharged the synapses in my brain and relayed all the electricity through my nervous system, so it would explain why I was expelling the built up static electricity as fast as I absorbing it."

Ironwood and Winter looked astounded as the way Harriet was speaking. Granted, she was far from what one would consider an idiot, but she was speaking more strategically than she normally did.

Ansem noticed this as well and had an idea. "Miss Bree, would you be open to taking another test?"

"Hold on, Ansem. It's too soon for this." Pietro protested.

"It's not going to take out of this room, I assure you." Ansem said calmly before looking back at Harriet. "More of a simple variety. Tell me, do you like games?"

Harriet shrugged. "Sure."

Xxx

"Not what I had in mind."

Harriet was staring blankly at the two-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle placed on her arm table on her bed and the pile of at least a dozen books for her to read off to the side.

"Perhaps not but your Scroll was sadly fried during your test." Ansem admitted sheepishly. "I promised Dr. Polendina that I would recommend anything that would have you getting out of bed before you are cleared. Think of this as passing the time and I'm sure your competitive nature will come in handy here."

Harriet looked skeptical but shrugged and sighed. "Fine."

The pieces were all out in a pile in front of her and she glared at them, her eyes flashing bright yellow with a bit of electricity sparking. She took several pieces, going through them to check if they fit together. One piece connecting to one and then she continued on, not knowing that as she did, her movements became even faster. The men and Winter were all surprised to see Harriet moving faster, picking up the pieces, seeing which ones matched and put the ones that didn't off to the side before picking them up again.

Slowly at first, the puzzle was coming together as Harriet's eyes flashed, moving back and forth between the puzzle and the pieces as she continued putting it all together in under…

Six seconds.

Harriet sighed in relief, rubbing her head as she looked at the puzzle. "Finally."

Once it all came together, it showed a clear blue sky with a farmhouse and a green grassy ground.

Ansem held up his watch for the rest to see. "Six seconds."

"Well, I guess the books are next." Harriet sighed as she picked up the nearest book, opened it and looked at the first page as her eyes flashed again.

She flipped through the pages before putting it down on the other side, picking up the next one and seemingly read or skimmed through it. More electricity sparked from her eyes as she finished it and put it down before picking up the next one. One second later, five books were done and another ten were done as the next second passed.

Before even five seconds had passed, all the books were now in the finished pile while Harriet fell back on her head, exhaling in relief and rubbed her head. "Okay…I feel like I just had an encyclopedia shoved into my head."

"Six seconds to finish the puzzle and an extra four seconds to finish the books." Ansem said, having been looking at his watch.

"Impossible. She likely skimmed through the books." Winter stated.

"Hey, just because I'm not big on books doesn't mean I just pretended to read. I even thought that you would like Tabitha Tomes as she solves the mystery of how her arch enemy, Redwood came back from the dead." Harriet argued, glaring at Winter.

Watts raised an eyebrow. "Really? And how did he do that?"

"Well, first he made everyone think he was magic, paying people off at the right time. He paid the prison guards to pretend to be possessed outside of his cell, having the stone slab covering his tomb prematurely broken before he was supposed to be executed and then put back together with an adhesive. An old Vacuon recipe, made of egg and honey that would wash away leaving no evidence. And when he was supposed to be hanged, the execution attached a hook to the hangman's knot when he was being hanged, attaching it to the harness allowing weight to be distributed around the waist and the neck was unharmed." Harriet explained, surprising the group yet again. "And he used a toxin to temporarily stop his heartbeat so when the doctor checked his pulse, he wouldn't find one, leading everyone to think he was dead. When the toxin wore off, he made everyone think he had resurrected himself to keep up the farce that he was magic."

Harriet then blinked when she realized what she had just said. "…Whoa."

"'Whoa' indeed." Ansem nodded in agreement. "Forgive me, but I doubt you read this book before."

"Nope, I actually never even heard of it." Harriet shook her head and agreed with Ansem.

"She actually read that fast and retained the information?" Pietro adjusted his glasses, beyond surprised at this. "I knew the shock had possibly jumpstarted her nervous system but to this extent."

"It's as she said. The electricity built up as she ran, being absorbed and expelled constantly faster than seconds." Ansem stepped back. "With the constant built up, the electricity evolved into lightning that she continued absorbing and it passed through her nervous system. I believe she not only managed to learn how to conjure actual lightning from how fast she ran, but I believe she can now access abilities created by the symptoms of her nervous system being constantly charged throughout her body."

Ironwood was beyond stunned, having to step back and sit down on a nearby chair, the ramifications beyond anything he could have imagined. Watts asked Harriet a few more questions, having read some of the books she had, making sure she had not just skimmed through them and to his surprise she answered them all correctly.

He even tried a trick question with her about three times and she was able to catch them all easily.

At this point Pietro decided the testing was done and insisted that Harriet rest now after what had experienced. They all agreed and General Ironwood had ordered Harriet to be on leave for at least a week before returning to duty.

Once they were all back out in the hallway, Ironwood waited for the door to close before turning to Ansem. "It appears I owe you an apology, Ansem."

Ansem raised an eyebrow.

"I had my skepticism regarding your theory and only chose to indulge it to see if Harriet and the others would benefit from extra training." Ironwood explained as he walked over to the window which was now dimmed so Harriet would not have to worry about anyone watching her. "But this? The speed of finishing that puzzle, able to read those books so fast and retain everything in just a few seconds in addition to the lightning…It's clear to me now that your Limit Break theory is no longer a theory."

"You were not wrong to have your doubts, James. Miss Bree gained these abilities because of her willingness to try, it was her own dedication that gave her these new abilities. All I did was offer a few creative ideas." Ansem waved off Ironwood's apology.

"Regardless, it seems your creativity was what was needed to make this possible." Ironwood stated. "Therefore, I'm giving you clearance to offer more tests to the rest of the Ace-Ops and any other Specialists willing to try. And I will try to find an opening in schedule to see what test you have for me. If a single test was able to enhance Harriet's Semblance to such a degree, it would be invaluable to the rest of the Huntsmen in Atlas and Remnant."

"Thank you, James." Ansem nodded. "I will do my best for anyone who wishes what they might gain."

Winter looked to her father, wondering if he had an idea on how she might gain a Limit Break like Harriet clearly had.

"In the meantime, I am interested in anything else you have been working on." Ironwood glanced to Watts and Pietro. "As for you two, I need to brief you both regarding the project I chose."

Watts narrowed his eyes as he threw a dirty look at Pietro.

Ansem chose not to comment, watching as the two men left with Ironwood, leaving him and Winter in the hallway.

"Father?" Ansem looked to her as she had a somewhat solemn look on her face. "I wish to apologize as well. Like the General, I had my doubts about your theory."

Ansem smiled and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Peace, Winter. It's not unwise to question what you see and hear, even from those you trust deeply. My theory had as much chance of being wrong as it was right."

Winter smiled softly but quickly looked away as Ansem removed his hand. "How long have you had this idea?"

"Admittedly for time, but I was almost always too busy." Ansem answered honestly. "And no, I never made the suggestion to your mother or have come up with any ideas for a Limit Break regarding your Semblance or the rest of the family."

Winter looked surprised that Ansem knew what she had been wondering but brushed it aside. "But you might consider one now if I ask you."

"I would be willing to try but it would be a little difficult." Ansem answered, noticing Winter raising an eyebrow. "Simply because your Semblance, the Schnee family Semblance is the most versatile Semblance known on Remnant. You can channel the power of the elements through your Glyphs with the power of Dust, you can summon the essence of enemies you have slain and you can even use time dilation. I don't doubt your Semblance can evolve like the rest but it would be a little difficult to find a way."

"I see." Winter could understand, given that she of all people would know how versatile her own Semblance was.

Harriet's was rather straight forward so it was understandable why her father would have come with a few tests for her rather quickly. She had even seen Elm's progress with her Root Semblance, noticing how Elm had really improved her focus in training and seemed to be practicing more with her Semblance than before.

"Still, I have no doubt that the same results we found in Harriet can be found with your Semblance." Ansem brought a finger to his chin. "In fact, I think your mother would be best suited for this."

"Mother?" Winter cast a curious look.

"You know of your grandmother's Semblance, correct?"

"Yes." Winter nodded. "She created her own glyphs, but it was out made out of bonding with certain people."

"And you know your mother inherited this as part of her Semblance." Ansem stated rather knowingly.

"I do. Though, it's kind of hard to utilize." Winter admitted, looking to the side for a second. "It's hard to find genuine friends with an heiress to the most successful company on Remnant."

"Your mother had the same trouble but she managed to find a handful she could bond with." Ansem recalled. "You do not consider having a bond with any of your fellow workers?"

"It's discouraged by General Ironwood. As soldiers we're can't afford to get attached or we risk becoming emotionally compromised and this endanger our mission. It's important to keep our personal and professional lives separate." Winter answered, sounding professional.

"I suppose that would be typical response." Ansem sighed. "Just be careful that your attempt to keep personal feelings detached do not rob you of your ability to understand that sometimes those feelings can be the most valuable tool you need."

Winter looked to her father, simply nodding.

"Now, since the General does not seem to need you at the moment, how about we see about getting some dinner?" Ansem asked with a smile.

Winter looked hesitant for a second but nodded. "I suppose the General won't mind."

Xxx

So, Ansem was right again.

Watts chuckled to himself as he opened the door to his apartment and stepped in, contemplating today's events. Ansem's Limit Break Theory, the idea that a Semblance could not simply become stronger with more use but evolve to a certain point it would unrecognizable from before with newer, stronger abilities had been proven correct. Harriet Bree had shown that not only was her Semblance enhanced but her entire body had been improved simply because she ran so fast and took in some electricity to supercharge her…

Watts grabbed a bottle of Atlesian wine and sat down on his couch, pouring a glass of wine before throwing the empty bottle away.

"Right again!" Watts said bitterly to himself. "Is that man ever wrong?"

Watts knew he was a genius since he was a young lad, acing every test before him in school before moving on to college and the science academy of Atlas. No one could even come close to him except for just two.

Pietro Polendina, a fat imbecile whose idea of the next defender of Atlas was a robot dressed a little girl.

And Ansem Schnee, better known as Ansem the Wise.

Watts scoffed at the humble title as he sipped his wine. It didn't help that Ansem had almost completely overshadowed him in all things, coming with new technologies that should only have been a childhood fantasy but somehow he made it all possible. A reactor powered by water that also distributed clean water through out Mantle, windmills gaining power from the wind for places like Mistral and Menagerie, and solar panels for taking in light from the sun and storing it as energy.

All of this and so much more because somehow Ansem had been blessed with a gift of intelligence even greater than him!

Arthur Watts was by no means a petty man.

He could respect intelligence and give credit where credit was due.

However, when someone managed to disprove his observations, it left him…a little annoyed.

Watts pulled out his scroll and pulled up the holographic screen.

Accessing Schnee Dust Company Database

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.

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Uploading WProgram

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Accessing Schnee Files

Watts worked to comb through anything that might tell him what else Ansem was up to. Beyond anything that wasn't already released to the public, he couldn't find anything special to his frustration.

He needed to know just how much Ansem might be keeping close to his chest.

The man had risen from humble origins, born in Mantle and worked his up to actually become head of the SDC, essentially becoming the richest man on Remnant but he didn't stop there. He had seemingly advanced society ahead by nearly half a century and that frustrated Watts who himself practically and almost literally built the defenses of Atlas himself.

Just where was Ansem going with this Limit Break theory?

Watts was sure it went beyond personal curiosity, despite Ansem's claim he was not interested in military contracts.

Another source of frustration for Watts since he found that one with the proper intellect should not be afraid to broaden his horizons in all directions.

It was when he found something, something that was well hidden. His hacking program had barely managed to spot it.

DTD

Watts raised an eyebrow, wondering what that could be and attempt to access it.

Enter Passwords:

Watts frowned; finding that Ansem had actually made nine passwords and they all had to be inputted for him to gain access. "What prompts a man to have over nine passwords?"

Of course, he was positive he could hack his way into the database. He had a feeling that Ansem was hiding much more than he would have anyone believe and Watts was never wrong.

Never.

That is why he would often visit SDC headquarters to get a better look at what Ansem might be cooking up behind closed doors. However, the man was not only annoyingly smart he was also wise as he made sure there were actual security guards, not robots but human guards at any sections likely to be restricted.

Why have real life people for security nearly twenty four hours a day when it was more efficient to have robots as guards?

Ansem made it no secret he disliked how much Atlas was starting to run on automation these days but the man had to know that people could be bribed, bought or extorted. It was even more annoying he couldn't convince anyone to let him slip by to see what Ansem might be up to. Since he couldn't slip by without anyone watching his movements, he had to try looking through the digital side of things.

An area he was an expert in.

Watts believed that not even Ansem could prepare for a hacker of his caliber, so he got to work on trying to breach the fire walls Ansem had set up.

Tron Program Activated

Detecting Unauthorized Access

"What?" Watts narrowed his eyes.

Before he could blink, his hacking program was immediately deleted. "What?!"

That was not all, his own security measures alerted him that the program was trying to trace the hack. Watts grabbed the Scroll and immediately smashed it on the ground, stomping his foot on it for good measure.

"He actually thought that far ahead?!" Watts raged. "He couldn't have anticipated…Unless he suspected me."

The only reason he would suspect him…

"No, he couldn't have. I made sure to cover all my tracks." Watts muttered to himself, taking a quick look around his apartment.

It was impossible.

He made sure to cover his trail.

Unless…

Xxx

"I'm home!" Pietro called out, the front mechanical arm of his chair opening the door to his personal shop and home. "Hopefully, I'm not alone."

"Of course, you're not alone." A woman called out from inside.

She stepped out, showing herself to be an elderly woman with mechanical goggles over her eyes that glowed blue. She was shown to be setting up a table.

"Maria, you made it. I thought you would be adventuring out for another few weeks." Pietro commented as his chair brought him up.

"I got a little bored and decided to check up on you are doing." The woman answered with a smile as she placed a paper bag on the table. "I brought dinner home."

"Oh, you didn't have to. I am sure I would have been happy to cook up something." Pietro said with a small smile.

"Oh, you fix my eyes, you take me in, and you practically are the stay-at-home kind of husband. I may not be the best at this wife stuff, but I can at least try to act considerate." Maria waved off her husband's kindness. "Don't worry, it's not from any greasy restaurant. This will be one hundred percent home-made…with fries."

"Maria, you may not be a typical wife but you are the most understanding woman a man could ever hope for." Pietro commented, moving to help set up the table. "So how was your adventure this time?"

"Oh, just little touring around. I'm getting too old." Maria sat down. "A few Grimm here and there…Though, I admit that I ran into an old friend."

"Really?" Pietro smiled. "How were they?"

"Oh, she's the same as ever. Always lending a hand to every little person who crosses her way and finding herself in trouble because of it." Maria chuckled. "I'll give you a hint, she encouraged me to actually marry you."

"Oh?" Now Pietro was curious. "You mean you didn't like me for my for own kindness and humor?"

"And your hair, which you're sadly starting to lose." Maria threw her head back and laughed.