The Chakra Scalpel was a massive leap in efficiency. It meant helping more people and earning more Influence Points.
Before, Maya had spent enormous amounts of time personally beating criminals senseless. With her taijutsu at 0.1, her fighting technique was nonexistent — she relied entirely on superhuman reflexes and flawless prediction, while also taking care not to accidentally kill anyone. Her efficiency was, to put it kindly, painful.
Now, with the Chakra Scalpel, her extraordinary perception and pinpoint Chakra control meant she could tag a target even if they dodged bullets. Every "shot" landed. Zero bloodshed. And her public reputation was all the better for it.
The rationale behind the sci-fi gun prop was straightforward: disguise her abilities, misdirect anyone watching. The Chakra Scalpel's visible projection really did look like an energy beam.
Of course, Maya's current Chakra reserves put a laughably short cap on the weapon's range — a whopping 20 meters (65 feet). Anything farther and she couldn't maintain precision.
That night, armed with her new weapon, Maya buzzed around Midtown Manhattan like a diligent little honeybee. Each stop lasted less than thirty seconds. In just over two hours, she heard the system chime four times. Riding the high, she threw herself into the work with even more gusto, swooping and swinging across Manhattan's skyline. She'd made her decision: tonight, she wasn't going home until every drop of her Shadow Clone's Chakra was spent.
The next morning, just before seven, Lucius was jolted from sleep by his ringing phone.
"This is Lucius Lyon. What is it?"
"Lucius, it's me — Adam!"
Hearing his manager's voice snapped Lucius to attention. "Adam, you're calling this early — is something wrong with the album?"
"Ha ha! Lucius, did you not watch the news last night? Starting around ten P.M., people have been buying up your tapes. Just now, several music stores called in to say they've completely sold out!"
Lucius was stunned, then thrilled. "What happened? I thought the album's hot streak was already over!"
"Spider-Man! It's Spider-Man! Last night his ODM gear speakers were playing your songs on loop! Everyone who saw the news knows. Do you have any idea how many Spider-Man fans there are in New York? And Spider-Man's got ties to Tony Stark, the billionaire — which means your album isn't just poor folks' entertainment anymore. It's breaking into the mainstream!"
Lucius was over the moon. He threw back his head and roared with laughter. "I love that Spider-Man freak right now! No, wait — I'm feeling inspired. I need to write Spider-Man a song!"
But the Spider-Man anthem would have to wait. The moment he hung up on Adam, the hospital called with fresh news about Andrew — and apparently the police were now involved.
Lucius dropped everything, splashed water on his face, and drove straight to St. Mary's on the East Side.
"Dr. Barron, what's wrong with my son? You people couldn't even explain it properly on the phone — all that hemming and hawing."
He'd barely reached Andrew's room when he ran into Dr. Barron standing outside the door.
"Mr. Lyon, please don't go in just yet. The police are in there examining Andrew right now." Barron caught Lucius by the arm before he could barge in and gestured for him to look through the glass window.
Six or seven cops surrounded Andrew's hospital bed. Lucius's pulse spiked. "Shouldn't it be doctors examining my son? And why the hell are police here for Andrew?"
Dr. Barron — a balding, middle-aged white man — glanced around furtively before leaning in. "When the nurse changed Andrew's dressing this morning, she discovered that your son's injury has... healed. Completely. And not only that, but the affected area has grown noticeably larger, and the veins appear to be, well — the medical term would be vascular engorgement. The nurse was so startled she screamed. Somehow the police found out. They're saying Andrew might be a mutant — a mutant with limb regeneration."
Lucius stared, mouth hanging open. It took him a solid thirty seconds to recover. "And where's my other son, Jamal?"
"Also inside. They're examining him too."
"Motherfu— My son is a mutant now? Fine, even if Andrew is a mutant, he hasn't committed any crime! The police can't just show up and grab him for no reason!" Lucius snarled.
Barron shrugged helplessly. "Don't ask me. I don't know anything. The police weren't called by me."
The words had barely left his mouth when the cluster of officers pushed through the door. The one in front — the senior inspector — was already talking as he walked. "Tell the team at the rear exit to stand down. False alarm. The kid isn't a regenerative mutant. His blood showed zero reaction on the X-Gene Detector."
"Yes, sir!" A uniformed officer relayed the order into his radio.
Watching the pack of cops stroll past him as if he didn't exist, Lucius snapped. He was a somebody now, goddammit. These badge-toting bastards had some nerve.
"Officer." Lucius stepped directly into their path. "You just barged into my son's hospital room, you blocked me — his father — from entering, and now you're walking away without a word of explanation? I don't even know my son's condition. You owe me answers. My lawyer is already on the way."
The white inspector's gaze swept over Lucius with undisguised distaste, and a crease formed between his brows. He turned to a subordinate behind him. "Bill. Handle this."
Without another word, he shoved past Lucius and strode away.
"Son of a..." Lucius bit down hard, swallowing the rest.
"Mr. Lyon, is it?" Officer Bill said, unhurried. "That was Senior Inspector Colin from Bureau 12. He handles mutant affairs for the Manhattan district. Your son Andrew's abnormally rapid healing drew the attention of the hospital nurses. They notified us. Under the federal Mutant Regulation Act, we are required to assess the threat level of any suspected mutant. You could bring every lawyer in America and it wouldn't change a thing."
Lucius could hear the contempt dripping from every syllable. He drew a deep breath and shot back with a cold smile. "And then what? Then you discovered this whole thing was a false alarm? Well, now that my son is confirmed not a mutant, your actions no longer have legal justification. Get your asses back to the precinct and wait for my lawyer's letter."
"Suit yourself. I was just doing my job — giving the parties involved an explanation."
Bill didn't spare Lucius another glance. He turned on his heel and walked away.
Lucius was winding up for another salvo when Jamal came running out in tears. "Dad! It's bad — Andrew passed out again!"