"What is it?" Kael asked Dave once the call ended.
After their interrogation session, they had wasted no time reaching their chopper. It was during their flight back that they watched the heroes' address to the world.
Kael didn't think much about the words of the hero known as Lord Damien. Knowing the kind of personalities some of them had, there was reason to take their word for it.
He was, however, a little concerned about what they mentioned about working with ARISA. Fortunately for him, Dave assured him that the probability was unlikely, though there was still a possibility.
The two detectives had the same concern about what to do should their investigations lead them to the heroes when they were around. That would be disastrous.
"Hah... We'd have to return to the training facility." Dave sighed, looking towards the pilots, instructing them to return to the facility.
"Is that what the call was about?" Kael asked after a moment, getting a nod in return.
"Yeah..." Dave nodded, looking at Kael. "Aria wants us to take the guardians of Ethan Banny to one of our research facilities."
Kael narrowed his eyes at the word "research facility". While he didn't know what they did there, he was sure it would involve a few grey area subjects. Of course, not that he was judging.
"Did she say why?"
"Unfortunately, no. But we will find out once we get there." Dave explained, his gaze turning to the window as their scenery changed once more.
***
The research facility the guardians were to be taken to was located in the city, though in a less populated region, specifically at the edges of Westmere City, and was one of many around the world. The building itself was inconspicuous; however, it was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.
The trip back to the training facility and to the research facility took a little over an hour, as new arrangements had to be made for another chopper to be sent over. For the suppression team, they came in armoured vehicles and usually moved where Dave directed them.
Arriving and entering the research facility was an eye-opening experience for Kael. With white walls and glass everywhere, Kael could spot not a speck of dust anywhere. Aside from the researchers in white, there were security forces as well, also in white and heavily armed.
No unauthorised personnel were allowed at the facility, as ARISA strictly regulated these policies. Naturally, this brought about many rumours about what they did in there. Regardless, the work they did there was for the benefit of humanity — their words.
"Aria, what is this about?"
Dave asked once Aria met them on their way towards the inner areas. Behind him and Kael were the three guardians under the watch of a few of the base's security personnel.
"There's something I want to check with them." Aria gave a simple reply and gestured for the researchers she brought along.
At her cue, they motioned to the security forces to follow them with the guardians. The guardians, of course, were visibly confused. They had no idea why they were brought to a research facility, and they couldn't refuse either.
Unlike typical law enforcement protocols, dealings with awakened individuals required no permissions from judges or such. In fact, ARISA had no restrictions on their movement. They just needed a reason to bring someone in. But they could only restrict their freedom if they had evidence.
"Follow me."
Aria turned around and led Kael and Dave to another section where they would watch. Along the way, Aria finally explained. "The reason I wanted them here is because they were one of the few people who were close by when the murders happened."
Kael and Dave nodded, urging her to continue.
"However, they claim they didn't see anything, and while they could be lying, I doubt the parents who were in similar situations would hide any clue that would lead us to the killer(s). So it got me thinking... what if their minds were tampered with?"
"Where are you going with this?" Dave raised a brow curiously.
"I'm saying that there might be a chance that they were brainwashed, hypnotised, anything that could have erased or altered what they saw," Aria added, looking over her shoulder.
"I see..."
Dave and Kael nodded thoughtfully, seeing the point the woman raised. It was all Dave needed to understand why they were here.
"So how does bringing the guardians help us?" Kael asked.
The group had already covered several meters, taking turns and climbing a few steps to reach a spacious observation room. Inside was a group of researchers sitting and monitoring the bluish-white holographic displays.
Before the seated researchers was a control bridge, and past the holographic displays was a room that revealed machines Kael had no clue about. However, from what Aria mentioned, it probably had something to do with brain studies.
The room answered Kael's question before Aria could even open her mouth. "These machines are capable of monitoring brain waves and fluctuations. More importantly, they can detect neural anomalies—traces of interference or suppression. If their memories were tampered with, we'll know."
Soon, the three guardians were brought inside the chamber with the machines, where they finally received an explanation of why they were there. Seeing no reason to refuse, the guardians followed the instructions of the researchers.
More than anyone, they wanted to clear their names, and if this was what it took, so be it. However, the possibility that they could have had their minds tampered with scared them a bit.
Back in the monitoring room, the three detectives watched calmly as the researchers did their thing. It took several minutes to an hour of scanning and discussions among the researchers, but the detectives were patient, listening to the researchers' discussions.
Once the scans and talks came to a close, the lead researcher stood up and faced the detectives. The lead researcher had a slight frown on his face, as if the results they got were baffling.
"What did you find, Joseph?" Aria asked, slightly impatient.
"Your guess was right, Commander Reyes." The researcher said. "All three of them showed unusual brain activity. Moreover, some of the neural pathways show signs of forced disruption — like something interfered with their memory centres."
"Forced disruption?" Kael echoed, furrowing his brows slightly. "You mean someone erased their memories?"
"Not exactly erased," Joseph shook his head and clarified. "More like blocked or suppressed. The patterns suggest an artificial influence — possibly magical or technological in nature. It's subtle, but definitely not natural."
Aria folded her arms, looking past the displays and at the guardians being led out. "So the killer or killers did tamper with their minds. That would explain why none of them remember anything."
But there was something that wasn't adding up, something Kael noticed when he interrogated them. 'They did not express any feelings of lost time or perception. We don't have any magic like that... That could only mean...'
"So this is our first clue, huh..." Dave muttered, pulling Aria and Kael out of their thoughts. "Some kind of mind manipulator. This should be interesting."