Seeker took a sip of the drinks his granny had prepared and began to eat the cookies.
Lynd and Alean were cuddling close together, making Seeker shake his head as the two have made their relationships well-known.
"Get a room, you two." Seeker shook his head.
"We did. This was ours. And you went up here since your room was destroyed."
"Congratulations, by the way." Meryl congratulated Alean.
"For what?" Lynd asked.
"You don't know? You and Alean were voted as the number two love team. You only got defeated by the GreyRose tandem. But Rosa's been very daring with his posts with Meng. So it's a given they would win."
"What?" Seeker and Lynd asked in confusion.
"It's a poll among the Unlocked girls. It started with those romantic novels, and eventually, most girls in the Unlocked army are part of this little social network. It's being managed by Lennox."
"Lennox manages it? He managed a social network for women?"
"Well, to be more precise, Lennox IS the server." Meryl explained.
Seeker sighed and decided not to listen anymore.
Nearby was the beaten, bloodied, severely wounded, and unconscious Jake. Several of the Unlocked doctors were healing him.
"So, in short, you always had this power?" Seeker asked his grandma as she brought out another batch of cookies and gave some to the doctors treating Jake.
"That's how I met your grandfather, Zeek. At first, it was a mere ability to step out and move among people's dreams. Then, I saw strange things and used that power to become someone back in the day." Granny chuckled.
"But how? This power of yours surpasses Unbecoming! Lynd nearly died when he did that!" Seeker wondered.
"Well, it's a long story. You see, I stopped actively using my powers a long time ago when I met your grandfather. One of the reasons was that I got strange visions and dreams even though I wasn't using them. I actually tried to seal it and asked Pastor Eagle for help. So that he could pray over me, it was then that he revealed he had something similar. He had also been keeping track of individuals who have been showing powers like mine. I was something of a secret weapon and was used by Eagle to help him convert various gangs in the Americas."
"...So that's why he refused to make the team when I asked him to! He already has one!"
"Right. With my powers to move in between dreams, I would trick politicians, people of power, even gangs to spill in their secrets. No matter how loyal or secretive they are, they always talk about it in their dreams. That's how Eagle built his empire in the Americas." Granny explained.
"Then the reason you wanted to seal this power... is because of the Presiders?"
"Yes. It must have been at that time that they arrived or moved on Earth. That was a little way before your father and mother fled to Pangea to live a new life there. I still owe my service to the Lord and Eagle. But when Richie approached Eagle for the first time, Eagle sent me to look for Lennox, who was there at the same time."
"Ah. I figured he would be related in this. Eagle won't bother with my memory, but Lennox will."
"Yeah. He and Meng, actually. Nogard Meng. That old man seems to like me too."
"What?!" Seeker, Lynd, Meryl, and the doctors all exclaimed.
"I may be old, but I know when someone's hitting on me." Granny chuckled.
The trio looked at each other in shock.
"You knew?" Lynd asked Alean who wasn't shocked.
"Well, my Zone told me. Besides, I'm not surprised. Granny is a very beautiful old woman! I think guys who are 40 would hit that fine ass. Maybe even younger!"
Granny blushed and laughed at Alean's praise.
"Hey! That's my granny you're talking about! And besides, Granny, it doesn't explain how you can use your powers without overheating your brain!" Seeker exclaimed.
"I was just getting to it, dear. Lennox and Nogard both sent their scientist to help study me. Their conclusion is that I could be someone who the Progenitor directly created. I was like, a first generation of Unlocked. But when I gave birth to my sons, they didn't receive it."
"What?! Then you are like Nogard?!"
"That's what Nogard believes and is using that as a claim that we are 'fated' together."
"That damned grandpa!" Seeker cursed.
"That's an interesting theory. That explains how some of the Progenitor's seed like Nogard is able to reach an Unlocking higher. They were already born to naturally be able to bear the power of Inhumans." Lynd analyzed.
"I wonder what my grandpa or grandma's powers were?" Meryl wondered.
"It isn't applicable to everyone. I guess Nogard and I are special experiments. Lennox theorized that the Progenitor did that so that by the time the Presider's arrive, they wouldn't see us and that we would develop our skill when the wars and tribulations come."
"Makes sense. It's another of the Progenitor's complex plans to hide this from the eyes of the Primordial." Seeker thought for a bit.
Suddenly, a rattling could be heard, and the doctors nearby began to immediately move to restrain Jake.
"Where... am I?" Jake woke up. He tried to use his powers, but then he felt a strange force stopping him from doing it. Severe pain was also erupting around his body.
"AHHH!" Jake shouted and struggled, but he couldn't use his Path.
"Finally, he's awake." Seeker smiled as he began to use the power of the Realm King.
It was a strange power that held Jake in place.
"Quickly. Inject those things in him."
"Y-You!" Jake roared as he saw Seeker.
As he was injected, strange darkness grew and covered his entire body.
"AHHH!" He felt great pain and felt that there was something foreign in him."
"Let's see if Charles's medicine work. In theory, Charles's path of creating sicknesses by invading the cells of another should stop him. It's like his entire body is full of Charles's cancerous cells."
"I get it. With a foreign cell living and clinging to his own cells, he can't use his powers to pass through objects!" Meryl was shocked.
"I think it's time to clear things up. You put up quite a fight back there. You bravery of not choosing to retreat and die in battle is admirable."
"Is he any good in a fight?" Lynd asked.
"Yes. His Path is annoying! At first, my dimensional attacks could reach him. But this guy also adapts really well in a fight! I was able to wound him a few times, but suddenly, his physical forms in the dimensions beyond the third also became spectral that I kept missing. Arthur really molded him the right way. Even without the battle experience and training, he is a Ranked Hero!"
"AHH!" Jake shouted and squirmed.
"Are you alright with this, Granny?" Meryl asked worriedly.
"It's alright, Sweety. I've been working with all manner of bad people since Eagle called me. Who do you think taught Chris his interrogation techniques?
"Amazing. We all had to go through insane fights against the WGP, fellow Overcomers, and face Presiders!"
"Actually, I think this guy fought against Presiders and just didn't know it yet. You can imagine how Arthur plotted and timed his arrival and escape to be directly in line with fleeing Presiders and so forth. We know Straviaa and Feyor were in New Great Britain from Pridgeon's info. This guy might have fought them, and those two might have thought that he was either one of the Progenitors or the Lost Primordial."
Jake froze as he heard that.
"Arthur? As in that Precision guy?! He sent all of those guys that nearly killed me?!" Jake shouted, and his anger grew to the extremes. He had known that those enemies were due to a misunderstanding. But now, he found out it was a planned misunderstanding.
"Amazing! His unlocking is soaring towards Inhuman Proficient! We need to get this data to doctor Charles!" The doctors were amazed.
"Poor guy." Cliff sighed as he stepped in the door. He glanced at Jake and realized that he had it lucky with Seeker.
"That's him?" Charm was with him.
"That's him. If I'm Seeker's experiment, this guy's Arthur's experiment." Cliff introduced.
"Ah, if you are here, that means they're here too, right?"
"Yes. The Covenant of the Strongest is just docking, going through the procedures to ensure they weren't being followed, and the scans for any bugs of some sort. And of course, to check if they are not in the influence of the Tyrant Empress." Cliff answered.
"She's here?!" Jake exclaimed as he heard that the Covenant of the Strongest was here.
"Where is she? Where-MMMMFFF!" The doctors bound Jake's mouth.
"Great! What better person to clear out this entire mess than Kristine herself. Still, Arthur's experiment seems to have come up short. But I'm not surprised. You can't make an Overcomer out of them through that. Even I only hoped for Heroes with the Gryphon Squadron."
BEEP!
The Comm device lit up.
"Seeker, they are ready. All Overcomers are in attendance. And the Tyrant Empress will be joining." Alean answered.
"Welp... This is it, guys.. If I become her slave, remember me well."