Two guys finished putting the plates on for me and one of them said, “That’s 495 ladies and gentlemen, as much as we can fit on the bars here.”

  I knew I probably should have been holding back. This was a serious bench press. Nothing like world record benching. That would require plates heavier than the 45 pounders, which were the biggest ones here. Only a tiny fraction of a percent could bench this much. To me it wasn’t going to be anything. Given the right set up, I could probably have benched twenty times this or close to it, but there were other aspects than just raw strength. My mass and size became a limiting factor at some point.

  I pushed those thoughts away as I began to pump out repetitions. I started out making it look like I was straining a bit, but no one said anything, so I got carried away and just kept repping it out. After ten reps and no one commenting, I replaced the weight. Jimbo was supposed to be spotting me, but when I looked up, his eyes were fixated on the television that was mounted on the wall.

  I was about to ask what gives when one of the girls gasped. “Is that real?” I turned my full attention to the screen then.

  One of the cable news channels was broadcasting live as their cameras caught the image of a silvery disc floating in the air over Washington, DC, and slowly moving inland. It was hard to say from the broadcast just how large the object was, but I already had a good idea.

  A female anchor appeared in a cut out while the main image was still locked onto the object. The text along the bottom read, “UFO over DC.”

  “If you’re following along with this story at home, we’re bringing you the most up-to-date information on Fix News. This story is absolutely unbelievable except it’s completely real. The military is tracking this object which appeared over the nation’s capital mere minutes ago.

  “So far all attempts to hail the object have gone unanswered, yet experts are saying the object’s movement pattern is only possible if it is being controlled by intelligent beings. No one knows where it’s headed other than to say that it’s traveling westward at about 200 miles per hour with no sign of stopping.

  “The most recent data suggests the object is about sixty feet long and thirty feet wide. We apologize for the momentary lapses in images. This occurs as we have to change from one camera feed to another in order to track it.”

  I stood up silently. It would have been easy to groan and just sit there, but there was no point to it. I activated Stealth once again, and this time; I made a concerted effort to make it to the locker room without attracting any attention. I moved faster than normal people could but not so fast as to be shocking. Each step was absolutely quiet and aided by the gym’s rubber floor and the fact that all eyes were on the tv screen.

  I changed quickly and then left the building. Cece would freak out, but I had to figure out what was going on.

  Rapid Flight

  I took to the air then. I didn’t dare fly too close to the object, but I also didn’t want it appearing over my home, which is what I was half expecting now. I knew I was the only Forerunner with a home in North America. So far, I’d been on good terms with the Crembori and I was betting that was one of their vessels. I maintained Stealth as I flew and was pleased when I suddenly got a notification.

  Rapid Flight is evolving to Rare tier. Choose between available options.

  Speed increase, duration increase, mobility increase, turbo boost, stealth increase.

  The system might be an impersonal artifice according to Samvek, but sometimes what it did seemed incredibly personal, both in trying to screw me over and in responding to my needs. Then again, maybe this was responding to its own needs. The system seemed to be invested in the idea of secrecy.

  Stealth Flight (Rare 1%)- You may now fly with the same ease that you can walk. You will no longer automatically fall if you lose consciousness. Your movement is only limited by atmospheric elements. Your speed is up to quadruple your maximum running speed. You may only move yourself and up to triple your bodyweight in additional material. You may exercise a camouflage mode which will help you blend into your background. This is not true invisibility, but is based upon your Stealth Ability. Duration: 1 hour, Range: Self, Mana Cost: 150.

  I grinned. Stealth was my lowest ability, but keeping it running constantly while flying would definitely increase my growth. My new max speed also shot up. I could only imagine what it would have become if I’d chosen the speed increase. I could not break 1000 miles per hour.

  After about half an hour, I dropped to the ground. By my calculations, I should be in the path of the ship if it was in fact heading for my home. I pulled out my phone then to get an update, but cursed when I didn’t have any bars. Stupid human technology. This was gonna be the first thing I was gonna work on with my crafting class. Communication was too important for us to lose it all when the system arrived.

  I moved a bit and got the signal I needed, but by then I didn’t need to. I saw police vehicles heading down the nearby highway and overhead; I heard helicopters getting closer as well as jets flying overhead.

  I shouted, “Dan’Or, if you can hear me, you better explain this right now.”

  No one answered. I was about to leave and try something else, when the ship suddenly appeared overhead. It streaked forward much faster, so it likely lost the people following it. A beam of light struck me before I could possibly respond, and I felt myself being pulled up to the ship. I supposed I could have tried to resist, but without any leverage, I would have looked stupid struggling in the air.

  Now, I just had to figure out what they wanted. This was a pretty aggressive move. Could it be that the Crembori were turning on Earth?

  Chapter 45- Probing

  The light pulled me up onto the ship. Once there, I was held upright in a five by five room. The ceiling was just barely high enough for my entire form to fit. Then the light disappeared and I… well I didn’t drop. I continued to hover an inch off the floor. Oh right, I remembered, flight had upgraded again. Probably best not to touch anything in an alien ship if I could help it, so I kept floating.

  I couldn’t see through the cold gray walls, but I took a moment to check them out. They were perfectly smooth without any seams even where the walls met the floor or ceiling. Despite just deciding not to touch anything, I reached out. I needed more information. As I touched the wall, Identify triggered.

  Non-System Technology Detected. Identified as Crembori Long Range Scout and Research Vessel. Crew: 6. Hyper-Drive Capable. Risk: Deadly. Crew Disposition: Neutral. Crew Status Conditions: Curious, Anxious, Uncertain.

  That was a fair bit of information. I didn’t knock it though. I stretched out my senses and could hear a pair of Crembori voices through the walls. “This is not going to go well. Gal’Or gave strict orders…”

  The other voice cut him off, “Gal’Or isn’t here. He is only a human despite whatever spontaneous evolutions he may possess. Our methods are capable of handling a single human. If the danger is as great as Gal’Or has convinced the council, then we can no longer wait. We must reach an agreement immediately.”

  “Taking him against his will is hardly going to cause him to be friendly.”

  “This one we just need to examine so we can understand what’s happening on this planet. Then we can approach their government. They are not a completely mindless species. They will be made to see the benefits of accepting the Crembori.”

  “We don’t conquer other worlds. That isn’t the Crembori way.”

  “Who said anything about conquest?”

  I’d heard enough. I couldn’t begin to understand what was happening in their society. They were facing extinction even if most of them couldn’t respond to the system. Somehow, Gal’Or must have found a way to drive that point home with the people in charge of his world. I wish I could figure that out here. Heck, that was probably what Emil was trying to do. How much easier would all of this be if the governments of the world got people organized before the apocalypse? Then again, thinking about the political chaos all over the world—that seemed unlikely. Perhaps if we had a common cause to unite against…

  The wall in front of me turned clear and I could see three Crembori in front of me. I immediately activated, Adorably Harmless. I recognized one of them as Dan’Or, although I wasn’t sure how I recognized him. They still all looked the same to me, as pathetic as that is to say, but I trusted my perception and it was telling me the one to my right was Dan’Or.

  “What’s going on, Dan’Or?”

  The Crembori in the middle just stared at me while the one to my left jerked his head to stare at Dan’Or as soon as I spoke. Inside, I laughed. They were still freaking out that I could speak Crembori.

  “Dan’Or is no longer in charge of this outpost. I have been sent by the council…”

  I cut off the one in the middle. “Outpost? You have an outpost on Earth?”

  He looked annoyed… well looked might be wrong, but my senses were telling me he was annoyed with my question or maybe just with being interrupted. “You are here to answer questions, not ask them.”

  I laughed. That seemed to piss him off even more.

  Dan’Or said, “Des’In, this isn’t the proper way to do things.” Then he flicked his fingers and the wall in front of me receded, clearing the space between me and the Crembori. I stepped out of the tiny room before I could be sealed in again. The eyes of all the Crembori opened wide, presumably at the speed I moved at.

  “How, this isn’t possible?” The third Crembori asked.

  “So, do you all want to talk, or do you want to just kidnap me? And what are you doing about all the military aircraft?”

  “We are no longer in Earth’s atmosphere. You don’t need to worry about your primitive technology. We of Crembor have been studying the Earth for a long time. We only revealed ourselves in order to draw you out,” Des’In replied.

  “That makes no sense. I already agreed to keep an open mind to helping the Crembori. Dan’Or helped me out earlier. I would have gladly spoken to you again. Now you’ve caused a panic all over the Earth.”

  “It wasn’t you specifically that we were trying to draw out. We were told that there were some humans who had developed strange evolutions. Two were detected by our sensors within a few minutes after we allowed our ship to be seen. The other was on the far side of the planet, so we decided to take you in for testing.”

  I felt like he was softening to me. His tone seemed to have relaxed a bit the more he spoke. I didn’t know if that was Charisma at work or something else, but he still was acting like he could do whatever he wanted to. The word ‘testing’ was my trigger. I streaked across the space that divided us before any of the Crembori could react.

  I hoped I was pulling my blows enough, but if it was between their lives and mine; I wasn’t going to feel bad. I punched Des’In along the side of his ugly gray head and felt his body crumple under the blow. Then I shifted my momentum and turned and punched my fist into the head of the unnamed Crembori. Both were thrown by my blows. Even pulling my force, I hadn’t factored in that each of them probably only weighed forty pounds.

  Neither got up from where they lay on the floor, unmoving. I looked at Dan’Or who was backing up. His movement was in slow motion when I was in this battle mode. I flew forward and came to a stop between him and the panel he’d been moving towards. Then he raised his hand, and I saw a small device I hadn’t noticed before. It was implanted beneath his flesh, but through the gray skin, I saw a faint red light.

  My hand lashed out as fast as a striking snake and I grabbed his hand, crushing the bones and whatever object was inside of it. I might regret hurting them, but their technology was no joke.

  He cried out in pain for a moment before suddenly growing completely calm. It was as though he’d just shut off the pain receptors. For all I knew, that was a Crembori trait.

  The two of us stared at one another for a moment before I said, “I don’t want to kill any of you if I can help it, but I won’t hesitate, either. You need to start explaining, right now.” I tried to put as much intimidation into my voice as possible, and it seemed to work. Crembori reactions were still a bit difficult to judge, but I found that if I relied upon my instincts rather than my eyes it was easier.

  “It’s a very long story.”

  “So give me the highlights reel.”

  “Uh…”

  “That means just tell me the important parts. Keep it short and simple.”

  His head tilted to the side oddly, but then he opened his eyes again and took a deep breath. I wasn’t watching them, but felt confident that my perception would tell me if either of the Crembori on the ground got up. I was pretty sure that they were alive still, if only just barely.

  “Three hundred of your years ago, some of our explorers first observed the irregularity. Entire ships were lost to it. They would fly into that sector of space and just disappear. Our sensors couldn’t penetrate into that area. All communication was lost. Even weapons fire did nothing.

  “The council began to have explorers mark the limits of the irregularity, but then everything seemed fine for another two hundred years. That was when two more zones of irregularity were discovered in completely different galaxies. No connection could be identified between the regions, but we still couldn’t learn anything about them.

  Then eighty-four of your years ago, we lost contact with a world where we’d been observing the indigenous race. They were even more primitive than Earth currently is but suddenly the world of Galen disappeared. It was lost inside an irregularity. This prompted more study.”

  I held up my hand, and he stopped speaking. “A few things, first why do you call it the irregularity?”

  “Because nothing we know about science explains any of it. We are the most advanced race we’ve ever encountered by thousands of years and yet none of our technology, nor that of the worlds we’ve observed could explain these areas. The laws of physics don’t even apply consistently throughout them.”

  I nodded. “And what is this council that you all keep talking about?”

  “It is the ruling body for all Crembori, composed of one representative from each of the seven genetic pools, Or, In, Se, Ni, Ta, Bo, and Ra.”

  There were still pieces I was missing, but I wanted to hear the rest of his story. Although something else popped up. “There are three other Crembori on this ship. Are they going to intervene or attack me?”

  I watched him closely and tried to focus on my Charisma hoping it would allow me to determine if he was telling the truth. It was like flaring my stat by pouring my intent and mana into it. I wasn’t completely sure how it worked, but it intuitively felt right.

  They are members of my original crew before Des’In and Sen’Ra arrived to take over. They feel that we ‘Or have lost sight of our objectivity.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  “They will only react if you kill me or I give the order.”

  I stared at him intently, deciding that he was telling the truth. Then he added, “Surely, you must know that no matter what your evolutions are, our technology is sufficient to restrain you.”

  “Maybe, now tell me more about these irregularities,” I said very slowly.

  “We began tracking more of the irregularities and in the past fifty years, another world we were observing was lost. Then a little less than five of your years ago one of our scientists discovered a way of tracking smaller amounts of the irregularity. We were shocked when we found tiny bits of it on Crembori and we’ve found even more on Earth.”

  I had to assume that what he was calling irregularities was the system in general, or perhaps mana. On a whim, I pushed as much Life Mana into my hand as I could and then set it on the console behind me. Immediately, alarms began to blare and the metal which made up the console started to liquify and form a puddle on the floor.”

  “How? How’d you do that?” He demanded, before walking around the puddle. After a few moments, the metal stopped transforming as I pulled the remaining mana back into me. My body didn’t contain that much of it, and I didn’t want to waste any. Regenerating mana while on Earth was super slow, unless I was near my portal.

  That was the question wasn’t it? Not really the ‘how’ but the ‘how do I explain this’ sorta question.

  Chapter 46- Asylum

  I stared at Dan’Or as I tried to figure out the best way to handle this. “We should probably make sure they survive.” I gestured toward the two incapacitated Crembori.

  “We are more durable than you might imagine. While as a species we lack the strength and speed of humans, we are very tough to kill. It’s part of our genetic makeup. You might even call us cockroaches.” He got an inquisitive look on his face, or as close to it as possible.

  Had he just made a joke? I didn’t know, but I allowed myself to snicker. It wasn’t a very good joke, but I got the feeling that a laugh would be the right thing to do. Sure enough, he seemed to respond well to it. Maybe I was finally getting some benefit out of this extra Charisma.

  You have gained the skill- Read the Room 1. This skill will make it easier to interpret the facial expression and body language of both human and non-human entities. It will interact with your Charisma.

  Nothing like system confirmation. How much of life would have been easier before, if I got messages telling me when I was doing something right?

  Then he said, “I can have them moved to a medical pod but I’ll have to touch that console over there, since you crushed my personal implant and… uh… melted the console in front of you.”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry about. Give me a sec and I’ll fix that up.”

  Restorative Grace

  His hand immediately healed up. I sensed that the power of the healing was far beyond anything needed for his body, but the longer I thought about it, the more it made sense. He was a non-system entity. His body hadn’t been remade to be more durable through induction and leveling. He probably had less than 100 HP or the equivalent of that, so the spell was overkill.