Author's Notes:

Huzzah, I'm done with this chapter. Certainly took longer than I'd like to admit. Ran into complications irl that kept me away from getting to work on this. Ah well, such is life.

Another shout out to my editor and proofreader, Regreme, for his continued help throughout this endeavor.

Sam paced back and forth in an angry rut in front of the royal garden’s gazebo. It had taken him a bit of time and some fancy maneuvering around the castle’s snaking hallways to lose the cadre of guards chasing him. Eventually, he lost them and escaped out through a storage room with a window. After hearing more alarms going off around the castle perimeter, Sam bolted for the garden. Somehow, it was the only place that felt safe in his mind. Honestly, he wanted nothing more than to run as far away from this place as he possibly could. However, those notions kept getting shot down every time he thought about his lack of a plan once he escape further out. He was a stranger in a strange land; an outsider. There wasn’t anywhere he could run to, least of all his home back in Memphis.

Memphis. It’s been over a week since he last saw that city and his friends. Just thinking about it all just made him even more frustrated with his situation. It didn’t matter if he was free of this castle or locked up in its dungeons. He was still a prisoner to these lands and these god forsaken ponies. So, his feet shuffled once more around the perimeter of the gazebo to hopefully come up with an idea that would lead him home. Although, just in that moment, he heard something off in the distance besides the constant clanging of alarm bells. It wasn’t a surprise when he glanced up to see the silhouettes of pegasi against the sun honing in on his direction. Sam breathed a light sigh and put on his game face. Maybe if he was lucky, these guards would give him an excuse to knock a few heads around and a much needed distraction. Though when the glare of the sun backed off of the incoming ponies, Sam was surprised by the unexpected arrival of the princess of the sun along with them. Well, at least he could add ‘fighting a pegacorn princess’ to his resume by the end of this.

Sam stood a little more defiantly and scowled as he faced the ponies when they landed, “Oh no, looks like you found me. I suppose you’re going to say ‘we can do this the easy way or the hard way’, right? Well in that case, I’ve got some cable whips with your names on them.”

The royal guards at Celestia’s side readied their spears as Sam extended a few wire tendrils from his hands. Sam almost laughed as he eyed the silly ponies and their notion that they could take him down with some measly spears. Last time he was more or less half dead and he still kicked over a dozen of their asses. These ponies had yet to see what a conduit was truly capable of, and Sam was about to show them. Although, Sunny had other plans and blocked the two guards’ paths with her outstretched wings.

“Stand down,” she ordered while never letting her eyes wander away from the conduit, “Please return to the castle and inform the rest of the primary guard that they are to remain on standby. The additional guards that were pulled from their duties may also return to their posts.”

‘Wow,’ Sam thought, ‘I warranted the entire royal guard for a search of me? Gotta be a new record.’

The two guards looked shocked at their princess’s order, almost downright refusing it and adamantly protesting against it.

“You have your orders,” Celestia calmly countered.

With hesitant bows, the guards took flight and returned in the direction of the castle sparring constant glances back until they were out of view. This left the conduit and princess to stare menacingly at each other, silently gauging the other’s movements. It may have only been the princess left, but Sam knew better than to let down his guard. So his muscles remained tense like a coiled spring while the wires encircling his arms shifted with every twitch of his body. Sam eyed the princess suspiciously as he tried to deduce what kind of angle she was working toward as she remained unmoving for the longest time.

“Do you mind if we have a seat inside the gazebo?” Celestia finally asked, gesturing to the unoccupied, cushioned seats within the structure behind Sam.

Sam wasn’t sure what tactic the princess was working towards, but he knew that closer targets were always easier to hit. So, he slowly nodded and stepped into the gazebo to sit across from its entrance and awaited the princess’s next move. Sam watched as the princess approached nonchalantly to ascend the steps after him and sit on the opposite set of seat cushions. Sam still had his wires conspicuously wrapped around his knuckles and awaited the princess’s next move. Her posture was only slightly more rigid than what he was used to seeing, but she seemed to try and remain as relaxed as she usually did. Most likely a ploy to lull him into a false sense of security. However, her smile that she usually wore also seemed to be a lot more forced, as if hiding a raging storm of emotions behind it. Seconds turned into minutes, but to the two occupants of the gazebo it felt like a lot longer. It all made Sam even more tense as he waited for the right moment to retaliate when the princess tried something.

“You know,” Celestia finally broke the silence, “Both my sister and I like to come out to the gardens to think during our free time. Sometimes when time permits, she and I sit here in this gazebo to talk.”

Sam snorted, “I already know what you’re trying to do. Stupid psycho-analytical bullshit doesn’t work on me, so just cut to the chase.”

Celestia’s posture stiffened and a hint of a glare appeared on her features for a fraction of a second before being replaced by a stern look. Albeit, a very restrained one at that.

“Very well, I won’t ask what happened, seeing as the guards already informed me of the incident. What I would like to know is why you assaulted not just one of my subjects, but my personal student.”

Sam clenched his jaw. Remembering the event only brought the anger back. He was fine with that, he should feel angry, not to mention feel betrayed. Both of those feelings were all too familiar to him and his friends. The world wanted to see them as monsters, so why not let them see what monsters could do?

“What do you want me to say? That ‘I’m sorry’? ‘It wasn’t my fault’? Honestly, I think she got off easy.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Celestia deadpanned.

Sam laughed mirthlessly, “Right, but let me tell you something first. I am not sorry for what I did. I’ve had to do much worse just to stay alive, and everyday that I have been on the run has been filled with nothing but hardships and challenges. People who aren’t like me don’t even think about what it means to have to survive.”

Celestia continued to stare directly at Sam, even after his speech. Sam just watched as he waited for Sunny to just throw the first punch. It was starting to get on his nerves.

“I believe you are still avoiding my question, Sam.”

At that, Sam stood up. He tried to be as intimidating as possible. Though other than a slight flinch from the princess, her expression remained neutral, “What does it matter, huh?! Anything I say now won’t be worth jack shit! So, if you’re going to try and lock me up, just get on with it!”

“Sam, you misunderstand my reason for questioning you,” Celestia said, “If I wanted to have you detained, would I really want to have this conversation with you out here in the garden? Now before you answer that with another snide remark, also ask yourself this; do you truly believe that you don’t regret your actions in any way?

“I’ve seen what you are capable of, Sam. Yet with all that power, you exercise restraint. You’ve never risen an arm against anypony unless it was in retaliation, whether it be physically or verbally. You’ve shown us that your power is more than just a tool of destruction, but you put Twilight in pain with its use.”

Sam tried to block out the words, but his attempts were failing. He tried pacing within the small space the gazebo provided, but the exercise did nothing. He stopped and returned to glaring at the princess. Hoping that she would just give up and just let him have his reason to fight.

“You think you know me?” Sam countered weakly, “You don’t know anything about me, so you sic your little scientist on me to pick me apart like some biology project. I tried to tell her what would happen, but did she listen? She should consider herself lucky that I didn’t use my full power.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

It was a simple question. Yet, Sam found it increasingly more difficult as time passed to come up with a simple answer. Meanwhile, Celestia watched as the conduit struggled internally. It was as she had hoped. She saw the miniscule cracks in Sam’s arguments become bigger as they interlinked. He was trying to push her away, and instigate her into a needless fight. He might not have noticed it himself completely, but it was as the princess said that he did restrain himself in his confrontation with Twilight and here as well. As soon as Celestia was made aware of the incident, she had teleported to her pupil’s side fearing the worst. When she arrived, Twilight was distressed and unsurprisingly in shock from the ordeal. However, when she examined her student’s condition, other than the minor wound to her cheek, she was relatively unharmed. Celestia looked on to her waiting guards, seeing a burning desire for retribution in their eyes, but she needed to do something first. Something that would either end in a lot of pain and suffering, or she would find the answers that she hoped to hear and prevent an unjust punishment to befall someone who only wishes to be understood. She needed to speak with Sam, and that’s where the following events of tracking the human down led her.

Sam continued to trip over his answer as the princess silently watched him. For so long, it was so simple for Sam to disregard those in authority. What have they ever done for him? Lock him and all the other conduits up in a hole to rot is what. So, why should this be any different? Her and her little pet scientist just wanted control over him and his power, just like the D.U.P.. Yet, he just couldn’t bring himself to shake off the princess’ words. He only did what he needed to do, just like he always did when the D.U.P. came after him and his friends. Though, was it the same here?

Sam faced Celestia once more. She still sat there, just waiting. She may have looked a little more tense than usual, but she made no moves or took any aggressive stances. Sam wished one final time that she would just do something so he could fight. Yet, she just sat there, waiting for his response. Her patience reminded him of Isabelle. It took all of Sam’s will not to succumb to any reminiscing that would distract him, but he did remember one thing that Isabelle always liked to say.

‘I think we just have to talk the people. Let them know we’re not monsters, but just a little different. I think once we do that, they’ll start seeing us for who we are and not what we are.’

“I didn’t want to,” Sam said.

Celestia cocked an eyebrow, hoping that this was her chance, “So, you didn’t want to hurt Twilight?”

Sam grit his teeth, “No- I mean yes! I mean, she just needed to see that I wasn’t going to sit there and let her jab me full of needles.”

“Is that why you attacked her?” Celestia asked.

“She didn’t need to get hurt if she just listened,” Sam retorted, slowly becoming a bit more withdrawn, “I tried getting her to stop, but then she…”

“What happened then? Did you feel threatened?” Celestia pressed.

Sam could feel himself being backed into a corner. Not unlike his incident with Twilight, and similarly like the tortuous years he was imprisoned by the D.U.P.. If only his friends were here with him, even if so he could feel a little safer under the scrutinizing eye of the princess. Though he could draw no such strength now since he was alone. It surprised him how unnerved he could become without the simple presence of his friends to back him up. He missed that comfort of just knowing that there was someone beside him that he trusted. He needed that comfort again, and so he was reminded of how Celestia was right there waiting for him with that opportunity. Just like Isabella and his other friends.

Sam refused to sit down, even as his legs became shaky as he spoke, “I was scared.”

“You were scared?” Celestia prompted for Sam elaborate.

“I was scared, and angry, and maybe a little bit offended,” Sam continued, “Alright, pretty damn offended. So, when I saw that needle in her grasp, every moment of Curdan Cay came back to haunt me. All the conduits, including myself, were experimented and tested on like common lab rats. I still remember when all you could hear were the screams of the other conduits through the walls on some days. We were more often referred to as numbers rather than by name, like we weren’t even allowed to be human. Some were picked apart to the point that they went insane. So, when Twilight tried to force me into that test, I slipped.”

This was unlike anything that Celestia had seen in this human before. She watched, for the first time, Samuel lowering his guard and revealing a deeper, unsettled part of himself. Celestia thought many a times about what sort of feelings Sam hid behind his strong willed persona. She had caught glimpses of it before, like fading whispers on the wind whenever something of his homeworld came up. She remembered how he would usually redirect the topic or deflect any of the inquiries that made him even slightly nervous, and now, she saw why. She was unsure if Twilight’s actions were the tipping point, but Celestia now saw just how insecure and distressed the conduit truly felt underneath. She may have still been upset by his actions with Twilight, but another pang of pity reached her as she listened.

Celestia spoke up once more, “...Fear is a powerful emotion, Sam. I’ve seen how fear and uncertainty can control one’s actions and lead to regrettable decisions. Anger can be just as dangerous, especially when that anger evolves into hate. It can blind them and everyone else to the world around them. In the end, I don’t think anyone can resolve their own fear and hatred alone. However, it takes time, patience, and the help of willing friends to conquer those emotions. Though sometimes, that help might not be the right kind of help and we end up inheriting more of those negative feelings over time. Then we project those feelings through whatever we can, because by then those emotions are too ingrained and are far easier to cope with than accept others help.

“Listen, Sam. I can’t pretend that I know what you and your kin have been through, but shutting out everyone around you only distances you from what could help you in the end.”

“You don’t understand,” Sam countered, “Conduits never asked to be so different. We were merely born this way, and somehow, that labeled us as monsters or freaks. We were the ones to be shut out to begin with. I won’t say I want to give up my powers just to fit in. I just want to be seen like everyone else. Like...like…”

“You just want to be accepted without prejudice,” Celestia finished the thought, “Sam, I have faith that Twilight didn’t mean you any harm or offense directly. And I am sorry that you felt that way and threatened at the same time. It was my fault for not stressing more clearly to Twilight on her role in helping you. If it is worth anything to you, I’m sure she is just as sorry as I am for the whole ordeal.”

Sam sighed heavily as he finally slumped back into his seat, “I want to believe that, but I spent four years behind concrete walls just for having my powers. Four years that killed most of the faith I had in my world.”

Celestia was shocked upon hearing this. She would be lying if she did not feel a tiny bit of outrage toward Sam’s world, but that outrage was replaced by sympathy soon after for the wayward conduit, knowing all too well the pain of unjust punishment and reminded once more of the parallel he and her sister shared.

Celestia’s features grew softer as she spoke up to the conduit, “It can take just as long to build a lasting bond of trust, Sam. Though you will never have that trust to begin with if you don’t start building upon it first. I know you are scared and rightfully hurt, but please. Do not let your fear and anger hold you back from those that want to help you.”

Trust was a funny word for Sam. His country put their trust into an organization that subjugated people like him. His own trust had been crumpled up in front of him like a used tissue more times than he cared to remember. Natty, Isabelle, and even Lu were probably the only people he could honestly say he had any amount of trust in nowadays. However, when he looked back on his experiences in Memphis, there were a few others he could say the same about. A minority of the local residents became people that he and his friends had come to rely on for one thing or another. At first, they were just a mutual benefit or a means to an end, and nothing more. Though if it hadn’t been for some of those people and the bonds of trust they formed, Sam and his friends would have found themselves imprisoned under the concrete fist of the D.U.P. once more.

Looking at Celestia, all Sam could see was a kind sincerity that also held a deeply rooted pain that he couldn’t help but empathize with. He had to look away, or else he’d lose himself in those magenta orbs and instead looked down at his hands that he flexed open and closed out of habit. Him and his friends had made a promise to show the world that the D.U.P. were wrong and were nothing but a bunch of liars. They were going to show that conduits were more than just a bunch of freaks with powers. They were going to show that they could beat the D.U.P. without becoming the monsters they portrayed them to be. Though here he was, embodying everything that he stood against. It may not have been his world, but that did not do much to excuse him or his actions, no matter how justified he may have felt.

“I-I’m sorry,” Sam choked out, “I lost control, but you’re right. I saw how much Twilight just wanted to learn about me, and I took it the wrong way. Maybe we both took a wrong step, but I attacked her, like a wild animal.” Sam gave a weak, mirthless chuckle, “It’s true what they say ‘hindsight is twenty-twenty’.”

Celestia let a gentle smile touch her lips. The human known as Sam never ceased to amaze her with how complex of a being he could be. Though he was wrong in her eyes. He was not a wild animal, nor a monster. Just a being that needed an ear to listen to him and a bit of guidance, not unlike many of her pony subjects.

“Anything can be worth forgiving, Sam,” Celestia offered in a pleasant tone, “But, I don’t believe I am the one you need to apologize to.”

Truer words have never been spoken, and as much as Sam hated to admit it, he fucked up…big time.

“I don’t suppose you know where Twilight is right now?”

Celestia’s response was to gracefully stand up from the gazebo cushions and gesture for the conduit to follow. The two exited the shaded overhang of the gazebo roof to feel the warmth of the afternoon sun touching down upon them. Somehow, the light felt just a touch more satisfying to be under and filled the wire conduit with a renewed sense of hope. The moment was cut short when the princess of the sun stopped a few paces away from the gazebo and looked up to the sky.

“I am glad this issue was resolved peacefully!” Celestia spoke up a little louder, as if speaking to someone else that Sam couldn’t see, “But dear sister, do you have anything else you would like to add?”

At first, Sam was confused by the sun princess’ words. That is until shadows began to emerge on the ground. Sam looked up and witnessed something that surprised him. Princess Luna and a dozen royal guards flew out from behind the cover of a couple clouds overhead that looked strangely more solid than what Sam would expect from condensed water vapor. Perhaps they were just an illusion conjured up by magic. Though the contingent of guards and the lunar princess drew his attention more sharply as they landed upon the path in front of the conduit and Celestia. Luna’s face was indiscernible behind what Sam could only tell was her armored helm. The rest of her body was clad in similar raven-black, plated armor as if she were a war horse, complete with twin swords belted to her sides. The play on words was not lost on Sam, but he wasn’t quite up to making the joke out loud.

Princess Luna stepped forth, levitating her helm from her head to let her full expression be seen as she spoke, “Nay. When word reached mine ears of your transgression, I prepared for battle forthwith. Yet, I do not find an enemy to be condemned or slain. Samuel, so long as you make this right, I will stay my blade for another day.”

Sam smirked as he regained a bit of his composure, “Damn, and here I could have gotten a chance to see ol’ Loony in action. I’m a little bummed out now.”

Luna snorted at Sam’s comment, but a ghost of a smile made its way onto her face, if only for a moment. Celestia herself was glad to see the conduit well enough to make his jokes as he would, however crude they may be. If nothing else, it showed just how strong of a will he had to be able to stand back up after his falls. She smiled as she thought about how lucky his world, his friends, and his family must be to have a human like him among them.

Twilight found it incredibly difficult to concentrate on the book laid out before her on her plush reading cushion. After the incident with Sam and Princess Celestia’s examination of her, Twilight retreated to the safe haven of her old room within the castle. The room was something on par with one of the castle guest suites, but held some of Twilight’s unique personal touches. Those touches ranging from the monumental stacks of used scrolls, parchment and books next to the already crammed bookshelves full of other assorted knick-knacks. There were also scattered pieces of equipment that she hoarded from her studies and research throughout the room. Though the room felt unnaturally drained of its usual warmth that Twilight felt whenever she came here. Having the curtains drawn over all the windows so only a fraction of the filtered light enter seemed to add to the whole experience.

Yet the most striking feature in the room was the unicron it belonged to, trying vainly to forget how puffy and red her eyes were from the bout of crying she had done earlier. She also tried to forget the pain of her bandage covered cheek, but that and Sam’s words kept her from immersing herself in her literary escape. She finally gave up on the endeavour and slammed the tome shut with a groan and stood up from her reading cushion.

‘It was his fault to begin with,’ Twilight tried to tell herself mentally as she paced about the room, ‘He was clearly in the wrong!’

She may have told herself this, but she couldn’t put her full weight behind those words. Her right hoof rose to find its way to her bandaged cheek. She hissed in pain upon pressing into it lightly, all in a thin hope that the physical reminder could push her to believe her words.

“Maybe I have a problem with someone treating me like I’m some kind of science experiment!…I am not a goddamn labrat!”

The echoing words kept resurfacing in Twilight’s mind like an angry wasp. His words were filled with so much anger directed at her, over something so small as a simple blood draw. So how could she feel like she was the one who had made a mistake.

“Maybe…maybe I did push too hard.”

A shallow knock on her door interrupted the unicorn from her thoughts and caused a tense gasp to catch in her throat. She could have sworn that she had told the guards outside her door that she did not want to be bothered. Then again, perhaps it was Princess Celestia coming to check up on her faithful student. That alone pressed the unicorn to straighten out her disheveled mane and wipe away any errant tears from her bloodshot eyes.

“Who is it?” Twilight asked, failing to suppress the lack of composure in her voice.

The door handle jiggled a few times before twisting open and allowing the door to creak open by a fraction, although it wasn’t either of the princesses nor any of the royal guards that came in. From the crack in the doorway came the last person she expected to see poking his head in. Maybe it was the pain on her cheek flaring up at the moment or the sight of her aggressor spurring her on in the heat of the moment, but now Twilight could feel the adrenaline flooding her veins to fuel her anger and fear. Time stood still as Twilight took the defensive stance she was taught from her self-defense courses her mentor had put her through. Twilight never believed that she could have a use for such a trivial skill set, she was a scholar at heart after all. Nevertheless, her reflexes from the lessons proved to have its uses today. Hooves spread just wide enough apart to lower her center of gravity, head tilted ever so slightly for optimal spell casting angle, and magical reserves churning inside of her to await her call.

“What do you want?”

Sam winced at the bite in her tone, knowing full well he should have expected this reaction.

“I want to talk. Is it alright if I come in?” Sam asked meekly, something that contrasted Twilight’s perspective of the conduit entirely.

In fact, she had expected a swift retaliation upon Sam’s entrance, yet the human before her almost appeared to be withdrawn while speaking to her. If he did not come here to attack her, what was he doing here? He did say that he came to her to talk. Something at the back of her mind screamed out against her when she began to consider Sam’s request. However, Twilight’s undying curiosity won out in the end, and she cautiously motioned for the conduit to enter. Sam recognized the gesture and slipped the rest of his body in through the door and closed it as gently as he could behind himself. Sam’s head hung low, only sparing a glance up in Twilight’s direction to notice the bandage covering the right side of her face. He winced again at the reminder of his hot-headed reaction. The two beings stood across from each other, neither uttering a sound as they sized each other up. Sam felt a lump form in his throat and quickly swallowed to banish the feeling so he could speak clearly.

With a deep inhale of air, Sam spoke, “Before you say anything, I just want to say, I’m sorry. Back in the lab, I overreacted and I ended up hurting you.”

Another silence fell over the room after Sam’s short confession. Sam waited in anxious anticipation for the unicorn’s reply. Her expression was flat with only flickers of deep thought every once in awhile.

“Is that all?” Twilight finally asked.

Sam blinked a few times in confusion, “What?”

“I asked you if that was all.”

Sam ground his teeth in frustration, pacing back and forth in front of the unicorn, “Well I don’t know what else you want me to say! I can’t use the excuse that I only acted in self-defense, because all I did was lash out in anger. Celestia was right, I only saw you as some uncaring, emotionless scientist like the ones from the D.U.P. and acted like I would against them. You’re not them, but it all felt too similar for me to see it any other way. Ever since I ended up on this world, aside from the first week, I’ve been shown nothing but grand hospitality that I’m so unused to that it made it hard for me not to be suspicious. I want to believe that you all just want to help me out of sheer kindness, but it’s hard for me to just accept that. Again, that’s no excuse. So, I’m sorry. I was wrong to take my anger out on you like I did and -”

“Sam!” Twilight spoke up to interrupt the conduit’s tirade and pacing, “I wasn’t looking to see if you were going to make excuses. I just wanted to know if you really meant that you were sorry. Though you weren’t the only one to make mistakes. Listen, I was wrong too. I was so fascinated by you and your abilities that I forgot that you’re still a pon-person with feelings. It doesn’t matter if you are an alien or an interdimensional being from another world. I shouldn’t have treated you as anything less, but I did. I was also wrong to not see how much distress you were in when I provoked you. For all of that, I’m sorry too.”

The two stood apart from each other for another few minutes as they let each other’s words sink in. Sam was unsure how to really move on from this point, and neither did Twilight, so they just stood rooted in their spots until Sam conspicuously coughed a few times.

“Well, I guess we both kinda fucked up, right?” Sam nervously joked.

Although Twilight didn’t take to the vulgar language too well, she offered an awkward smile in return and nodded in agreement. A new spark of hope for a budding friendship already present between the two.

Twilight walked up closer to Sam and offered a more sincere smile, “Why don’t we start over? From the beginning?” She extend one of her hooves up in offer of a hoof/handshake. “My name is Twilight Sparkle of Equestria.”

Sam smirked as he took the offered limb in his hand, “The name’s Samuel, but most people just call me Sam. It’s nice to meet you ‘Twilight Sparkle of Equestria’.”

Twilight couldn’t help but snort in laughter at the conduit’s ridiculous joke.

The sound of button clicking and a tape recorder spool rolling could be heard as a pony began his dictation.

“Log number D-113. Extraction from the previous lab is complete, and set up in the new facility is almost done. I’ve yet to figure out how that nosey guard captain came to find any clues leading to the last facility, but I’ve ensured to destroy any evidence deemed unnecessary to the project at the previous site before leaving. Though back to the matter at hoof. Experiment B-13 was a failure. However, it did lead to miraculous insight on the meta-physiology of splicing the ‘conduit gene’. I have high hopes for the next subject, B-14, in that the next trial will be more fruitful.”

“Wh-what’s going on? Where am I?!”

“It seems that subject B-14 has awakened ahead of schedule. I’ll have to revise my dosages for sedations later.”

“Wait, I’m still here?! Somepony, please! Help me!”

“Excuse me B-14, you’re interrupting my recording log.”

“Anypony! This pony is crazy! Heeeelp!”

“*Sigh*, I suppose I should have anticipated this. They never want to cooperate. Especially in the name of the greater good. You, mercenary. Whatever your name is, will you be so kind as to sedate our subject?”

“Sure thing, Doc.”

“N-no wait, please! Get away from me! I-urk, mmmph!”

“Dammit, be careful! I said to sedate her, not give her brain damage! What am I even paying you for?!”

“Sorry, Doc. You gave me a job, and I saw to it. Which reminds me. Me and the boys were wondering when we get to ‘field test’ these powers. We’re getting pretty itchy waiting around to try them out for real.”

“Patience, my dear friend. I only need a little more time to isolate the source of this lifethread signature. From there, you and your ‘boys’ won’t need to receive regular doses of the beta serum to maintain your stability when taxing your metabolic reserves.”

“...Doc, you know I don’t know what you’re going on about with that science mumbo-jumbo, but if it means we get to really let loose soon, do whatever you have to do to make it happen.”

“Indeed. Now why don’t you go do...whatever it is you mercenaries do with your own time. I’ll let you know when the time has come to set out on your next job.”