Latent Potential: The Origin Of The Surging Gale

Chapter 2: Destiny Awaits

I had the hardest time falling asleep that night. So many thoughts cascaded through my psyche. Excitement for the road ahead, nerves about the target on my back from the local gang, happiness I met Allen, and…
    “...it’s almost time…”
    That sure woke me up bright and early, almost too early, but I made the most of it and decided to beat the inevitable wake up call. Destiny was already awake, cooking a healthy breakfast. Evidently Mom was still fast asleep, as it was once again as if we were the only ones in the house at all. Some snoring and a sneeze I heard accounted for everyone else in the house at least. I tried telling her about what I saw. She was as confused as I was. After my morning meal, as well as the normal important rituals for the morning, I was led out of the house.
    “Does this mean I get to see where you disappear all the time now?” I asked jokingly.
    “Uh...sorta.” Destiny hesitated to answer. I supposed she wasn’t the best at explaining these kinds of things. After a little bit, we arrived at an old warehouse.
    “So...this is where you wanted to take me?” I couldn’t help but ask with a slight twinge of disappointment. “This is some abandoned shipping warehouse out near the wharf.”
    “What did you expect, Garret? Some sort of state of the art training facility or something?” She shot back.
    “Well...no…” I lied. She then let me inside the shack and what I saw was...strangely appropriate. There was all kinds of equipment that made this area the perfect private gym! It even had that sort of smell you come to expect from a gym. That was an interesting touch. I was shocked at the reveal.
    “Wow…” I said finally. “How...how long did this take you to make?”
    “Not as long as you’d think.” She replied, no doubt proud. “I had a lot of help getting this together. I mean, that’s what happens when you’re one of the best in the business!” Oh yeah, that reminds me.
    So I grew up in the classic era of professional wrestling. You know, where they had proper skill and athleticism in the ring and compelling matches that keep the crowd on the edge of their seats? Those were the days. Oh sure, it’s still around, but it’s grown softer, less impressive, and became more and more like a wrestling centered soap opera than actual sport. I remember enjoying the old school stuff as a kid. It was always enthralling. 
    Once the fall in quality of professional wrestling occured, a new form of fighting entertainment came out of the woodworks. Think of it like mixed martial arts with the pump and hype of professional wrestling, as well as the colorful characters and personas that arise from time to time to take on the big guns. It's like if a circus act was a contact sport! They like to call it Spectacle Fighting, or MMA for Show, though it truly is called Performance Fighting. There’s only one league I know behind such an ingenious concept of high flying action that puts real fighting on the TV screens like the movies come to life.
    The World League of Fighting Champions, or WLFC for short. They’ve been broadcasting for years now, and while it took some time to get off the ground for them, they became the newest hit in sports entertainment. I’m a HUGE fan of the WLFC! I’ve been watching it nonstop every night it’s on! So why is this important? I think at this point it must be obvious. Destiny is on the roster of the WLFC, and a damn good fighter as well. The championship belt has been in her sights for a while. Now it must all make sense as to why I’m excited for this opportunity: being trained by a top contender from my favorite fighting league!
    Destiny gave me the grand tour of all the special equipment, and it’s everything you’d expect in a gym, including a large cardio obstacle course, no doubt for agility training, and several training dummies and boxing bags, which I’d guess are meant for replacements for when they eventually break. Hardcore, right?
    Then we came to it. A new machine. Something I remember vividly. It looked like a capsule. It had controls next to it that was meant for someone else to work with.
    “What the hell is that thing?” I asked in shock. “It looks like an escape pod…”
    “That is the Nerve and Muscle Recovery Unit, or NAMRU for short.” Destiny responded. “This machine was created to help patients with nerve pain and muscle strain. Athletes have been using this tech for years to help heal minor injuries, and physical therapists use it to heal damaged nerves and make them stronger.”
    “So you have this to help you not feel pain after a hard day’s workout, right?”
    “Well...here’s a biology lesson for you, Garret. When you work out, your muscles break down due to lactic acid being secreted. That’s why you feel the burn after a workout as well as feeling weak. The NAMRU can speed up the muscle recovery process, but it also causes it to happen. When there is intense muscular pain, seizures, spasms, or the like, it can reduce the muscles down and return them to normal with special waves that restore muscle mass and nerves to their proper form.”
    “Wow! That’s incredible!” I replied. “This bad boy can keep a workout going for ages, right?”
    “How about we get you moving and I can just show you some added perks to it, okay?” Destiny finished off the tour and we began. It was my first day, so she wisely kept it lighter than her usual regimen, but it was still more than I could’ve expected. We did a little of everything to ensure balance. Push-ups, sit-ups, jogging, all that fun stuff. Thankfully I’ve seen enough movies to know why I’m not learning techniques yet. So long as she doesn’t have me paint a fence or wash a car, I’m fine. It was barely an hour before I felt myself reach my limits.
    “Okay...okay...I can’t…” I tried to beg for mercy, despite my futility in doing so.
    “Well you worked hard so far, dude… I guess I can show you how the NAMRU really works.” Destiny brought me over to the capsule, and when she opened it, I could see what looked like electric diodes and such protruding from the inner walls!
    “What the Hell?!” I couldn’t help but belt out. “Is that a healing chamber or a god damn stockade?!”
    “Just stand in the middle of it and shut up.” She helped me inside and closed the capsule. There was thankfully a window and a two way speaker, no doubt designed to ensure a patient’s safety whilst inside this peculiar device. Claustrophobia would make this thing a living embodiment of nightmare. Soon I heard the sound of Destiny’s voice. A calming, gentle sound with some attitude sprinkled in for a well balanced sound that I never truly thought of until then. 
“I’m gonna turn the machine on now. Ready?” I gave her the okay and all of a sudden, I felt as though my entire body was being charged with static electricity. Soon, I began to feel like I was melting from the inside. My muscles were completely broken down within thirty seconds, and soon came more of a shock to my system, making my body go completely numb. The whole process ended in about one minute total, and I ended up feeling even more like my body was a sack of pudding surrounding a skeleton.
“You okay, Garret?” Destiny asked through the speaker. I could only make a strange noise that sounded like a hippo dying in a tar pit in slow motion. “Sounds about right. No worries, dude. Time for part two of the process!” She pressed a button and soon I was surrounded by a new, strange sensation. It was like two heat lamps shining down on me and passing through me back and forth in a tight pattern. The waves moved through me and I could feel myself become revitalized, bringing my muscles and feeling back to my body like the previous hour didn’t even occur.
The capsule was opened and I exited with a slight spring in my step, which must be impressive for someone who exercised to his limits.
“Wow! That was incredible!” I exclaimed after exiting the NAMRU. “I feel like a new man! Let’s rock and roll some more!”
“Uh, that should be enough for a full workout, but I'm happy you want to keep going, Garret." Destiny seemed impressed. "Now tell me, how do you feel? Do your muscles feel out of place or anything?"
"No they don't. Actually, now that I look at them…" I flexed a bit and noticed a significant improvement from before. "Holy shit!"
"Uh huh. That's what I thought." She replied to my shock, a smug look on her face. "The tech guys knew what they were doing."
"Care to explain?"
"Gladly. I had the guys who got me the machine add some extra juice. Not only will the healing waves reproduce the muscle tissue, but it stimulates the body to add extra protein to muscle production, thus adding muscle mass."
"Uh…"
"Sheesh… in layman's terms, it helps muscles grow after they break down. Nerves also can be improved as well, but that needs more power, and that could prove dangerous. Anyway, let's get home and we can get a sandwich from the deli on the way. You earned a little something. Just keep it healthy." She smiled and I smirked and rolled my eyes. However, I couldn't help but think about the NAMRU's hidden potential. It builds muscles, makes nerves stronger, and refuels the body after a hard workout? There must be more to it.
A few weeks went by as we worked out more. I even was able to convince Allen to join us after he took on more Serpentine Dragons. How? Simple.
“Garret! When did you suddenly start looking less pathetic?” Allen asked after the Serpentine Dragons ran off; their asses thoroughly kicked. He and I have been talking a bit more, and I guess the results of my training were finally beginning to show.
“Suddenly? I’ve been working out for weeks! Destiny’s been kicking my ass with her regimen, but I’m loving it!” I replied.
“Wait… Destiny? Destiny Carter?”
“My sister.” His jaw dropped when I said this. “Oh, you’re a fan of the WLFC, dude?”
“Something like that. I just know she’s a big name.”
“Well, wanna join us? I could use someone to talk to there. It’ll be fun! Besides, we can show you the NAMRU. The thing’s a godsend!”
“Tch, sure why not? I don’t have much else to do.”
Oh yeah, about those skills Destiny mentioned last chapter. It was a rather quick style of martial art that combines several forms of martial arts together, which Destiny designated as "Way of the Champion's Fist." Go figure. As well, Allen was not only healed by the NAMRU, but was shown how it works. I sort of understand it, but it really seems foolproof.
This was my first mistake.
About one month had passed since the workout routine started, and while I was definitely feeling slightly better, I was beginning to get impatient. Dangerously impatient. I decided it was time for some real instant gratification. I called Allen one night and told him to meet me at the shack. Unwisely, he simply agreed instead of asking why. He didn’t sound tired. Evidently he was already there working out. I arrived and told him what I was planning.
“ARE YOU ON FUCKING DRUGS?!” Yeah, that was the reaction I was expecting… “What the hell are you thinking?!”
“I’m thinking I’m speeding up the process.” I replied, staying confident.
“Well I know this is suicide!” Allen shot back with sound reasoning; something I didn’t really need at the moment. “I mean, using the NAMRU at maximum power? You’re not asking me to help you; you’re asking me to fry you like a death row inmate!”
“Why would they make a medical device that had the potential to kill someone?” I inquired. “That sounds kind of ass-backwards.”
“Only if you use it right, dickhead! Look, you’ve got heart, but-”
“Allen, I’m not arguing this. Just set it up.” I went up to the control pad and set the energy output to the maximum level and I entered the main chamber.
This was my second mistake.
Allen complied with my demand and the NAMRU fired up harder than it ever has before. The nodes began to spark audibly, as if sounding like industrial strength cattle prods. Within seconds, I felt the energy course through me, and I let out a scream of agonizing pain as my nerves burned right off and my body melted away like a snowflake in Hell. My lungs and heartbeat even began to wane slightly. I could barely keep my eyes open and then, as if a silent call for help bellowed from my very soul, the healing waves cascaded my body and rebuilt me almost instantly. The window was opened and Allen harriedly looked at my recently rebuilt visage.
“Garret! Are you alright?! Talk to me, man!” What he saw was a kid that looked as though he was put through all kinds of torture and was gasping for breath like a fish out of water as lungs began working again properly. I had only one thing to say.
“Do it again…” 
Allen’s eyes widened with disbelief and he was preparing his emotional rebuttal, but I just glared at him and refused to move. He could see how...well, how stubborn I was being, though I rationalized it in my head as attempting to be virtuous so I could help Allen take on the Serpentine Dragons once again, though saying it to him would only have pissed him off more. Begrudgingly, Allen went to zap me again, and once again my body broke down as I bellowed the whole time in excruciating pain and then it was over, but before he could say another word…
“Again!”
Minutes continued to pass.
“Again!!”
Minutes soon became hours.
“Again!”
“Again!!”
“AGAIN!!!”
Time soon became a blur to me. Nothing was clear. The pain lingered each time and the healing wasn’t helping much with the migraine this torment was causing me.
Soon...it was all dark.
No light at all...