25 Experiments (1/2)
Ed's office. Several piles of boxes containing uniforms for the Sinless were stacked in a corner.
Ed spoke, ”Gunther, I want you to hand out these uniforms to all members. The masks are optional, but they should wear them on any special occasions where the entire organization needs to appear united.”
”Understood.” He and several guards moved all the boxes out of the office. When they were finished, only Dupe and Ed remained behind.
”Nick, I need a big favor.” Ed said with a serious face.
”Oh? What kind of favor?” Dupe grinned in response.
”I need you to create clones for me to experiment on with my powers for the next several weeks. I need to gain a basic understanding of human biology and how my powers work on them.”
”Hmm?” He frowned. ”I thought your powers only worked on non-living objects?”
”They changed. They work on everything. It'll probably be an interesting experience to be experimented on, right? So, will you do it?”
”Let me think… HELL NO! Do you think I'm nuts?!” He yelled.
”Well, I mean… you do have a tendency to shoot yourself in the head all the time.”
”That's different. One shot and it's over. There's little to no pain. I'm not going to become someone's guinea pig, so forget about it.”
”I see.” Ed sighed as he leaned back in his chair. ”I thought you might say that, so I prepared a bribe I don't think you'll be able to refuse.”
”I doubt anything could change my mind on this.” He shook his head. ”Just forget about it.”
”You know, Nick… I've thought about your powers for quite a long time. How can you just make multiple bodies as an esper? It could probably be considered one of the most powerful abilities in the world if they were legit bodies…”
”What are you trying to say?” Nick questioned.
”There's no way each one of your bodies is complete. They must lack mana-cores. Otherwise, we'd have an infinite source of them from you.” Ed grinned. ”Therefore, I think you have a true body hiding out there somewhere. If something were to happen to that real body, then I bet all your clones would quickly disappear.”
”...So what if you figured it out?” Dupe frowned. ”Not like you can do anything to my main body.”
”Mm. You're right.” He nodded. ”I can't, but I bet someone else could. Does Tracker from Blood-Lust know where your real body is? What about the other tracking-type espers? Can you hide from them all?”
Nick made a complicated expression on his face and sighed, ”No, I can't.”
”And that's where I come in!” He grabbed a nearby backpack and pulled out a set of clothes from it. ”These clothes can completely block mana-waves from espers. It should stop the vast majority of tracking-type espers from being able to find you. Agree to serve as my test subject for three weeks and they're yours.”
Dupe looked at the outfit with a mix of desire and hesitation. He nodded, ”Fine. Three weeks. I'll give you two clones. One to start experimenting on and one to make new clones when you need them.”
”Great! I'll leave the base in your hands for the next three weeks. Do as we discussed previously.”
…
A small dark basement. Ed had used his powers to create this basement beneath the apartment complex he stayed in. The walls were made from thick metal to block all sound. A steel bed sat in the center of the room. Several piles of supplies were gathered on a nearby table. A naked Dupe was lying on the table while another Dupe stood in the corner out of the way.
Ed used his powers to bind Dupe to the table with metal.
Nick sighed, ”This is going to suck.”
”If it makes you feel any better, it probably won't be as bad as what Luny put me through.”
”Jeez. Thanks. I feel so much better now. No, seriously. Like I just won the lottery.”
”Okay, enough sarcasm. Let's get started.”
Ed began to write in a small notebook as he started his experiments.
Experiment 1. I melted Nick's leg as he screamed in pain. I tried reforming it shortly after, but things didn't go right… Cause: Misalignment of bones believed to have led to a heart-attack.
Experiment 5. I have successfully been able to melt and reconstruct his limbs without issue.