Derek wasn't surprised when both his father and Voisin came storming into the hideout back from their mission early after hearing of his actions a few days ago. He was slightly upset they disturbed him from his slumber as his father shook him awake. Derek's whole body was still weak from the over use of his magic and not letting it heal properly after the explosion. It didn't help that his father was only making the aches in his own body worse. Ryder rushed after the man, trying to keep him from disturbing Derek. His father's face was nothing but rage as he peered down at the boy. Great, he was probably grounded for life, yet again.
"ARE YOU INSANE?" His father shouted.
Derek yawned, slowly stretching as he blinked up at his father still half asleep. He really hated when people got in his face like this. Even his own father should know this and respect his boundaries. Then again, he did cause quite a stir at the hospital.
"Sir, please calm down. He is recovering right now," Ryder protested.
Ryder tried tugging Mr. Cleveland back away from Derek. It was no use, his father's temper had been set on his son. Nothing would interfere with that. He elbowed Ryder out of the way as he glared down at Derek.
"No, he could have gotten everyone killed!" His father yelled.
Derek glanced over to see Voisin was lingering in the doorway, a frown lining his face. Derek was glad he was frowning. That was actually normal for Voisin. Derek probably would have been running for the hills if the man had a big fat smile plastered on his face. Still, this was the upset frown and not Voisin's normal, impassive one. Hopefully Voisin would come to the rescue, but his father had a bit of a temper on him and would scream it out before he finally relaxed. Derek knew he just had to endure the persistent man's screams. Thank Merlin for magic. He had been screaming something, but the silencing incantation Derek muttered drowned out his father's nagging.
"Are you even listening to me?" Mr. Fitzgerald screamed shaking Derek.
"Sir, let him rest, please. He finally calmed down again," Ryder pleaded.
"Dean, listen to Ryder. We don't need another repeat of his tantrum," Voisin warned. Mr. Fitzgerald narrowed his eyes, spinning around to glare at Voisin as he released Derek from his grip. Derek took this as an opportunity to curl back up and go back to sleep.
"He needs to be disciplined," Dean Fitzgerald growled. He whirled around, groaning in annoyance at the sight of his son falling back asleep despite all the yelling. "Stupid boy had the nerve to cast a silencer on himself?"
"We will discuss this with him later," Voisin sighed, "my question is how did he take over a demon?"
Mr. Cleveland sighed glancing over and training his attention on Voisin. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he studied his old comrade and good friend questioning if the man had put the pieces together. Knowing Voisin, if he knew the truth, he would never reveal it unless it benefited him.
"Voisin, I fear this is a result of that program," Mr. Cleveland sighed. Voisin silently nodded, his eyes furrowing in anger from the memories.
"What program?" Ryder questioned.
"He might as well know, Dean. He witnessed Derek's true strength," Voisin sighed turning to his friend.
"Yes, but we vowed to hide the truth. However, the truth can't stay hidden forever," Dean sighed glancing over towards the very confused Ryder.
"Twenty eight years ago the Council allowed a group of wizards to fuel the evolution of our race. They worked to combine samples of DNA from other species using AI techniques to create stronger wizards knowing the Sorceress's time was coming soon," Voisin explained.
"What? There are plenty of half breeds, why must they go as far as further altering the DNA?" Ryder questioned.
"They were afraid; that's why," Voisin snapped.
"What happened?" Ryder muttered.
"A lot of lives were lost, both mother and child. There was only one success," Mr. Fitzgerald sighed.
A shutter ran down his spine as his mind flashed back to the experiment. Sixty eight women were forever damaged, mentally insane and stuck to rot away inside asylums as they lost their own humanity. Another nineteen couldn't even make it through the whole pregnancy. He watched as their own bodies failed them, collapsing from the toll as their child consumed them. Another twelve were able to get rid of the fetus's toxic effects on their body by miscarrying. However, that miscarriage resulted in them taking their own lives from the mental strain of not being strong enough to carry a pregnancy full term.
Dean Fitzgerald regretted that he was assigned as lawyer on the case. His wife was the lead scientist on the case. She had been determined to continue pursuit of the experiments despite his warnings that she wold put herself at risk. She had been so excited when her partner had become the first successful test subject that first year. If only she had died with the rest, then his wife would have stopped her pursuit. She would have agreed not to put herself at risk by becoming a test subject. She would still be here today instead of him witnessing her death as Derek was brought into the world.
"Mr. Fitzgerald?" Ryder questioned pulling Dean from his memories.
Voisin sighed as he studied the pain on Dean's face. The man was suffering as old memories resurfaced from what they had done. Ryder had to know the truth though. He needed to know the signs and how to effectively deal with any of these kids if they were to lose control again.
"Sorry, Ryder. It is just a painful subject to talk about," Dean muttered as he averted his gaze from the kid.
"You said there was one success. Why haven't we heard about these experiments?" Ryder questioned.
"Because, we worked to erase the existence of the experiment from everyone's minds," Voisin snapped.
"You were involved?" Ryder gasped.
"Yes, I served as a sample collector working out many deals to get the DNA from the other species. Mr. Fitzgerald served as the lawyer on the case, his own wife was in charge of the research," Voisin explained.
"Was the experiment discontinued after that?" Ryder questioned.
Dean Fitzgerald shook his head as he studied a spot on the floor at his feet. Kasim Murrell was the first successful child born. His wife hypothesized that because of Kasim's own lineage, only those with other species' blood in them would be able to successfully carry a pregnancy full term. His wife was a quarter giant and bore the second successful child, Devan Fitzgerald. With Devan's birth, both his own wife and Mrs. Murrell decided to try for a third time using themselves as test subjects along with eight others. Of those, four more children were born. Unfortunately, Mrs. Murrell was the only one to survive birth a second time. All the other mom's, including his own wife perished.
"In total there are seven children, all who had parents working at the facility," Mr. Fitzgerald replied, his voice cracking, "four of them you know very well."
Ryder's eyes widened as he realized the truth about both his best friend's and their younger brothers growing up. He knew that Kasim was a child prodigy , slated to serve as an Elder before he even graduated from high school. His younger brother was equally as powerful as Ryder recalled the battle where he first witnessed Nikkolai's own strength. He spent more time around Devan and Derek and knew from experience that both their abilities often broke boundaries when it came to what they could do. Also, both boys had been known to cause mild disasters when upset such as earthquakes and floods or hurricanes. Well, that hurricane the one time wasn't exactly mild, but that was just Derek being Derek.
"Your own sons," Ryder whispered as he met Dean Fitzgerald's eyes.
Mr. Fitzgerald solemnly nodded his head casting a wayward look at his own son who should have been asleep, but he had secretly listened in on every single word. According to his deceased wife, Derek should have giant blood enhancing his abilities like his elder brother, Devan. His wife had lied, and Derek was something else entirely. He wish he knew the truth of Derek's genetics, but his wife was smart in hiding her tracks. Shortly before her death, she had destroyed her own lab in a mad rage to ensure Dean would never learn the truth. Derek was harder to control compared to the other subjects and could leave destruction in his path when he let himself lose control.
At the age of three, he ripped apart a whole town from a temper tantrum over not getting to get ice-cream for dinner, resulting in a class 5 hurricane. At four, he flooded his preschool because they wouldn't let him play outside on the playground. He calmed down after being introduced to Luke Noble and Nikkolai Murrell. He stopped having such vicious temper tantrums thanks to his two new playmates. All that changed on that fateful day when he was seven. Today, Derek's demonstrations only deepened Mr. Fitzgerald's worries. Even he wasn't entirely sure what his own flesh and blood was and it terrified him what his son was capable of.
"What is in Derek's DNA?" Ryder questioned.
"Monster," Derek muttered sitting up, tears streaking his cheeks as he eyed his father.
His father glanced over in shock at the sound of Derek's voice. He shouldn't have been so careless and revealed the truth with Derek so close. Derek had not only heard everything, but listened in on Dean's wandering thoughts. The disconnected look in Derek's eyes sent chills down all three men's spines. He wasn't there anymore. The boy had let all forms of reason leave his mind as his emotions fueled his actions. Mr. Fitzgerald feared the boy would probably go on another rampage. He wished Spell-master Domingo and Rachel had the sedative complete to knock Derek out. However, brewing a potion of that strength took time, and time was not something they had right now.
"I am nothing but a monster, right?" Derek shakily chuckled.
"You are not a monster!" Mr. Fitzgerald screamed.
"Oh, I'm not? What about yesterday? I would have killed all of them! Or the time I drove that mortal insane, how she leapt off the roof believing she could fly! Better yet, when I actually killed someone just because they kissed my crush! Admit it, I am a monster!" Derek screamed, his voice cracking in his anguish.
Dean Fitzgerald studied his son as he shook his head disagreeing with his words. His son was filled with so much remorse and pain. Even Derek was scared of himself. Dean fought back his own tears as he mustered the words to speak.
"Child, can't you see, you show remorse! You can't be a monster!"
"Then why do I still do these things that only a monster could do?" Derek wailed.
Dean's response was cut off by the sound of a portal opening in the middle of the room. All four men turned, their faces paling in shock at the damaged Wizards before them.
~~~~~
What are your thoughts on mixing science with magic? Were these experiments unethical? Share your thoughts below!
Stay tuned as Marcus and friends return from their mission!