totally meta

chapter five

Henry stood in front of the doors of Seven Labs, clutching a folder of printed-out documents in his hand. It had been a couple of days since he'd accepted the job offer, and he had spent most of that time digging into the company. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to find, but what he uncovered only left him with more questions.

Everything Dr. Harris had told him was technically true. Seven Labs was indeed a research facility dedicated to studying strange phenomena. From what he could tell, they'd been involved in the study of all kinds of things: unexplained electromagnetic fields, spontaneous combustion cases, even a few isolated reports of people developing abilities like his own. But what hadn't been mentioned—and what stood out to him like a red flag—was when they had started their work.

Just a month after the explosion at Angelic Industries.

Angelic Industries was no small company. In fact, it was one of the biggest names in tech, known for its advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, and cutting-edge consumer electronics. They were the ones behind those eerily lifelike robots that had hit the market just a few years back, the ones people had been fawning over. But why had Seven Labs shifted its focus to studying phenomena like his right after the explosion?

Henry stepped inside the lab, his nerves steeled. He had questions, and this time, he wasn't going to just let things slide.

He approached the front desk and gave a nod to the receptionist, who had grown familiar with him during his stay. The receptionist gave him a brief smile and waved him through, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary for someone to just stroll into a high-tech facility full of scientists. As Henry walked through the hallways, he found himself heading toward Dr. Harris's office.

When he arrived, he knocked on the door and heard the familiar, crisp voice of Dr. Harris. "Come in."

Henry opened the door, stepping inside. Dr. Harris was sitting at her desk, reviewing something on her computer, but she looked up and smiled when she saw him.

"Ah, Henry," she greeted. "Good to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Good," Henry replied, though his tone was a bit stiff. He wasted no time getting to the point, pulling out the folder and placing it on her desk. "I've been doing some research."

Dr. Harris raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the folder before leaning back in her chair. "I see. And what have you found?"

"I looked into Seven Labs," Henry said, keeping his voice calm and controlled. "You told me the truth about what this place does—researching strange phenomena, looking into things like what happened to me. But what you didn't mention is that this research started just a month after the explosion at Angelic Industries."

Dr. Harris didn't flinch. In fact, she seemed almost amused as she folded her hands in front of her. "Go on."

"I know about Angelic Industries," Henry continued, his eyes narrowing slightly. "They're huge in the tech world. Smartphones, AI, human-like robots—you name it. But I also know that explosion was a big deal. People said it was some kind of freak power outage, but now that I've looked into it more, I'm not so sure. So, I want to know... what's the connection between Seven Labs and Angelic Industries? Why did you guys suddenly start researching people like me right after that explosion?"

To his surprise, Dr. Harris didn't hesitate. She didn't try to brush off the question or give him some vague answer. Instead, she leaned forward slightly, her expression one of calm seriousness.

"Alright, Henry," she said. "I suppose you deserve to know the truth."

Henry blinked, caught off guard by her openness. "You're going to tell me?"

"Of course," Dr. Harris replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You're not wrong. The timing of our research and the explosion at Angelic Industries is not a coincidence. In fact, the two are directly connected."

She stood up, walking around her desk and gesturing for Henry to follow her. She led him to a large window overlooking one of the labs below, where scientists were working on various experiments.

"Angelic Industries had been experimenting with something... controversial," Dr. Harris began, her eyes focused on the activity below. "They had developed a theory—a way to artificially induce supernatural abilities in humans. The idea was to create superhumans, people with enhanced abilities that could be controlled and utilized. But they were conducting these experiments in secret. No one outside their inner circle knew what they were up to. Not the public, not the government."

Henry's jaw tightened as he processed her words. "So, the explosion..."

"It was no freak power outage," Dr. Harris said, turning to face him. "It was a catastrophic failure of their experiments. Something went wrong with the technology they were using, and the resulting explosion caused a massive surge of energy to be released. That surge had far-reaching consequences, more than anyone anticipated."

"Consequences like me?" Henry asked, his voice low.

Dr. Harris nodded. "Exactly. The energy that was released didn't just destroy their facility—it altered the very fabric of reality in the surrounding area. People who were in the vicinity, or even those exposed to certain residual effects, began to show signs of changes. Some developed enhanced strength, others heightened senses... and people like you, Henry, gained abilities far beyond normal human capability."

Henry's mind raced as he tried to comprehend everything. "But why haven't we heard about this? Why isn't this all over the news?"

"Angelic Industries is powerful," Dr. Harris explained. "They've managed to cover it up, with the official story being that the explosion was caused by a simple power outage. But they know the truth, and they've been paying us—Seven Labs—to quietly research the full extent of the damage and the people affected by it."

Henry stared at her, the weight of her words sinking in. He felt like he was standing on the edge of something huge, something far bigger than just him and his newfound abilities.

"So... you're working for them?" Henry asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

"In a way," Dr. Harris admitted. "We're being funded by them, yes. But our goal is to understand what's happened and, hopefully, find a way to control or mitigate the effects. That's why we need people like you, Henry. To study, to learn."

Henry was silent for a moment, trying to wrap his head around everything. He had come here thinking there was something shady going on, but now... now he wasn't sure what to think.

"So, what happens now?" he asked finally.

Dr. Harris gave him a small smile. "Now? Now, we continue working together. You keep coming in for tests, and we keep studying what's happening to you. And hopefully, we'll be able to figure out exactly how to help you—and others like you."

Henry nodded slowly, though the unease in his chest remained. There was something about all of this that still didn't sit right with him. But for now, he had no other choice but to play along.

"Alright," he said, glancing back down at the labs below. "Let's see where this goes."