Chapter 26: Grodd Lives and the Gorilla City Expedition (REMAKE )
The S.T.A.R. Labs Cortex was usually a symphony of beeping monitors and Cisco's questionable pop culture references. Today, it was a tomb of grim silence, punctuated only by the frantic clicks of Caitlin's keyboard. General Eiling, the man who'd tried to turn Barry into a weapon, was gone. Kidnapped. And the culprit? A giant, hyper-intelligent, telepathic gorilla. Because, of course.
" A gorilla. A telepathic gorilla. I mean, I knew Grodd was coming, but it's still surreal. It's like someone threw a dart at a board of 'things that shouldn't exist' and hit the jackpot. And now I have to get into his head. Literally. For science. And superpowers."
Adam leaned back in his chair, a half-eaten bag of chips forgotten in his hand. "So, let me get this straight. We're looking for a general who thinks metahumans are weapons, and he's been taken by a gorilla who is a weapon. The irony is so thick, you could cut it with a banana."
Joe West pinched the bridge of his nose. "Adam, this isn't a joke. Eiling might be a pain, but he's still a human being. And Grodd… Grodd is dangerous. He can get inside your head."
"Precisely, Detective," Adam said, a glint in his eye. "And that's why I'm volunteering for the 'Grodd Safari.' Someone needs to go in there and figure out what makes a super-intelligent ape tick. And by 'tick,' I mean 'telepathically assault.' My 'Enhanced Deception Detection' might help me see through his mind games. And if he tries to, you know, mind-control me, well, I'm surprisingly resistant to bad ideas. Usually."
Caitlin looked up from her console, concern etched on her face. "Adam, his telepathy is powerful. It could… it could break you. We don't know what it will do to a normal human mind."
"Normal?" Adam scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Caitlin, my mind is about as 'normal' as a unicorn riding a unicycle. I've been killed by a pigeon, a leaky faucet, and a very aggressive skateboarder. I think I can handle a giant ape with a superiority complex. Besides, think of the data! The scientific breakthroughs! The potential for a really cool new skill!" He was pushing. He was always pushing. He needed that telepathic resistance. He knew future threats would involve mental attacks.
Barry, meanwhile, was vibrating with nervous energy. "Adam, it's too risky. We don't even know where he's holding Eiling."
"Oh, I have a pretty good idea," Adam said, pulling up a schematic of the sewer system on a tablet. "Grodd likes the dark. He likes to be hidden. And he likes to feel superior. He'd put Eiling somewhere he can observe him, somewhere he can make him feel helpless. My 'Urban Navigation' is telling me there's an old, abandoned section of the sewer system, right under the old zoo. Poetic, don't you think?"
Joe stared at the map, then at Adam. "How do you know this?"
"Just a hunch, Joe," Adam said, shrugging. "A really, really good hunch. My 'Enhanced Observation' picks up on… patterns. Even in sewer systems. And I watch a lot of documentaries about, you know, supervillains and their preferred lairs."
Against their better judgment, they agreed. Barry would go in, with Adam on comms, guiding him. But Adam had a secret agenda. He needed to get close. He needed to get into Grodd's mind, even if it was just for a second.
They found Eiling, suspended in a cage, in a vast, cavernous chamber deep beneath the city. And there, looming in the shadows, was Grodd. Massive, powerful, and radiating an almost palpable aura of malevolent intelligence.
" Okay, Grodd. You're even bigger in person. And way more terrifying. But hey, this is for a good cause. My mental fortitude. Don't go easy on me, big guy. I've got lives to spare. For now."
Barry engaged Grodd, trying to distract him. Adam, meanwhile, subtly moved closer, deliberately exposing himself. He felt it then, a sudden, overwhelming pressure in his mind, like a thousand voices screaming at once, a torrent of images and emotions that weren't his own. Grodd's telepathy. It was raw, powerful, and utterly terrifying. He felt his own thoughts being overwhelmed, his will bending, his mind twisting under the sheer force of Grodd's intellect. He saw flashes of Grodd's rage, his pain, his twisted desire for revenge. It was like being plugged directly into a supervillain's brain. And then, mercifully, darkness.
[SYSTEM ALERT: DEATH DETECTED. CAUSE: TELEPATHIC OVERLOAD (GORILLA GRODD).][LIVES REMAINING: 4/5 (Current Life Activated)][DEATHS ACHIEVED: 1/25 (Next System Level: Level 6)]
[SKILL ACQUISITION: 'MINOR TELEPATHIC RESISTANCE' HAS BEEN UNLOCKED!][DESCRIPTION: Provides slight protection against telepathic attacks and mental intrusions, allowing for clearer thought under duress.]
Adam gasped, his eyes snapping open. He was back in his apartment, disoriented and shaking, a phantom echo of Grodd's thoughts still lingering in his mind. He felt a faint, almost imperceptible shield around his consciousness, a subtle buffer against external mental influence. He tried to think of Grodd, and while he still felt a prickle of fear, the overwhelming mental assault was dulled.
" Well, that was… invasive. Turns out, being mind-controlled by a hyper-intelligent ape is not on my list of 'fun ways to spend a Tuesday.' But hey, 'Minor Telepathic Resistance'! Now I can finally block out Barry's endless angst, and maybe even get a few minutes of peace from Cisco's terrible puns. Small victories, right?"
He quickly changed, his heart still hammering. He raced back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Grodd was contained, Eiling was safe (and furious).
"Adam!" Joe exclaimed, rushing over, his face pale with worry. "What the hell happened? You just… collapsed! Grodd got inside your head!"
"Yeah, well, turns out my head's a pretty boring place," Adam feigned, rubbing his temples. "He probably took one look around and decided to bail. Must be my 'enhanced common sense' again, telling me to get out of the way of homicidal gorillas. But I did get a good read on him. He's smart. Too smart. He's not just an animal; he's a general. He thinks like a strategist. And he's got a whole city of gorillas out there. A city."
Caitlin, meanwhile, was already hooking him up to monitors. "Adam, your brain activity spiked! It was off the charts! How are you even standing?"
"I'm just built different, Caitlin," Adam said, winking. "Or maybe I'm just really good at faking it. But seriously, Grodd's not just a metahuman. He's a leader. He's building an army. And I think he's got a whole city of super-intelligent gorillas waiting for him. Gorilla City. It's a thing. Trust me."
Joe and Caitlin exchanged bewildered glances. Cisco, however, looked intrigued. "Gorilla City? Dude, that's awesome! And terrifying! But mostly awesome!"
Adam grinned. He was in deeper now. With a new, incredibly useful skill. And the team was finally starting to believe his wilder "hunches." This was going to be a long, strange ride. And he was already one death closer to Level 6.
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