“Excellent question. They had access to some form of serum that they created by hand. Our records claim they received the know-how from a being they referred to as Heka, we believe it to be the same being that gave us our name. They perfected said serum over thousands of years. However, there were always rather nasty side effects. Milder side effects caused their nervous system to slowly degrade, and they’d become vegetables after about 2 decades of having superhuman abilities. The most intense side effects were that they would go mad and become worse than the monsters they fought.” Everyone went silent for a moment, and Dr. Varma continued. 

“The serum also increased cognitive function, so they were able to advance their technology quickly. Soon their technology caught up to their abilities. So they made diluted forms of the serum to severely lessen the side effects and compensated the loss of some strength with technology. However, around the 1990’s the monsters started to become stronger than before. This brought upon the Advent of Nano-machines. Using technology and the premise of the old serum as the base, we created something that made us stronger than ever before, without the side effects. While having far more advanced technology to boot. Are there any more questions before I continue?”  Dr. Varma asked as she looked out into the stunned recruits.

“Then I’ll continue. Chasers are prohibited from using their abilities in public. This does not apply when on missions or in self-defense from other Chasers or supernatural entities. You will be prohibited from killing civilians. Obviously, you are prohibited from revealing your abilities to civilians unless the situation calls for it. Most importantly, you are forbidden from having children. Adoption is fine, but Chaser spawning children of their own is strictly forbidden. Which is why we aren’t too keen on workplace romances.” 

“Aren’t you and Zac dating!” Kenji blurted out.

“Yes! And neither of us have Programs.” Dr. Varma smiled at Kenji. 

“Why can’t we have children?” A recruit asked for confusion. 

“Because we don’t know what your little devils will become. These Nano-machines push human evolution forward by thousands, if not millions of years. But it’s controlled. However, you are changed down to your DNA. You will pass that change on to your children, and we do not yet know what effects that could have on the general public. That’s why such children are taboo.” Zac said as he looked over at Kenji. 

Kenji’s eyes widened as everything started to click. Kenji rubbed his forehead as he thought about his life to this point. His mother was always against him involving himself in physical sports. She always told him to focus on his studies, not on useless things.  She especially instilled the idea of living an everyday life. When he was conceived, his father was a Chaser, and his mother must have known, or could have also been one herself. He was one of these Taboo Children. 

“Has such a child ever been born?” Ume asked curiously. 

“We are aware of potentially two such individuals. One we aren’t certain of. The other, we are quite certain of because we know his parents.” Dr.Varma looked over at Kenji, and everyone’s eyes locked on him.

It made sense to everyone. Kenji was abnormal on many levels; many things he did were beyond what humans were capable of. At that thought, everyone turned their attention over toward Zac. If Kenji was abnormal, then Zac was downright freaky. 

“That’s right. They believe I’m one of these Taboo Children as well. But we aren’t sure, father died before I was born, and no one has information on him. While my mother was never a Chaser.” Zac shrugged. 

Dr. Varma nodded in satisfaction at the quick deduction of these recruits. Zac and Kenji were abnormal. They had the physical nature of Chasers, in some cases more impressive, but surprisingly they had no powers. 

“So why haven’t you gotten a Program?” Ume asked Zac curiously. If he was such an oddity, injecting him with those nano-machines would make him into something unstoppable. 

“The Nano-Machines don’t work on me.” Zac shrugged. 

“They get in, start their work and then… vanish. We have no idea why.” Dr. Varma said with an annoyed expression on her face. 

“Is it really ok to share all this with us?” Watabe was the one who asked. 

“It’s not like it’s a secret. Everyone in our line of work is aware of what I am. I even have a moniker. ‘The Anomaly.’” Zac chuckled. 

“That’s a Fuck’in cool alias.” Akiko blurted out. 

“I think so too. It’s fun.” Zac joked. 

“Will I be the same?” Kenji asked, a little concerned. 

“We don’t know, but we hope not. Because if we can figure out why the Nano-machines work on you….” Dr. Varma spoke but was cut off by Kenji, 

“You can maybe make them work for Zac.” 

“Exactly.” Dr. Varma nodded in response. 

Everyone else nodded as well. The recruits all recognized that Kenji was extraordinary. Even more so than Zac in some ways, but he’d need time to grow. Zac was already a dangerous animal. If they could figure out how to get the nano-machines to stick, it would be like turning a Black Mamba into a Black Dragon. Even Kenji understood this, regardless of how much he hated to admit it. They also understood why Zac was so invested in their recruitment class, even overseeing it himself. 

“Are there any more questions?” Dr. Varma asked.

“Yeah, how much do you actually know about me?” Kenji asked. 

“Do you really wanna know?” Dr. Varma asked in return, as Kenji nodded his head affirmatively. 

“Very well. We don’t know as much as we would like. But what we do know is that your father was one of the first Chasers to receive a Program, on top of that he’s one of the best, alive or dead. Anyone who knows him, either has immense respect, fear, or a bit of both.” 

“Yeah, he’s alright.” Zac scoffed with a roll of his eyes. Dr. Varma chuckled and continued 

“The real mystery is your mother.” 

“How?” Kenji asked, confused. His mother as far as he could tell was as average as it came. 

“Our information is limited, because we weren’t an organization back then. However, as far as we can tell, your mother didn’t exist, until about 17 years ago. That’s when she appeared out of nowhere, with a child. You Kenji.” 

Kenji could feel his breathing picking up. He wanted to say that none of it made sense, but when he thought back on his life. His mother had always been standoffish with people they didn’t know, she made no mention of family or friends, it was like there was nothing in her world outside of him. However, that wasn’t the end of his shock. 

“Fourteen years after her appearance, we discovered her, well Devin and Zac discovered her. And in the process, they were confronted by your father. They came to an agreement, and in exchange for keeping you a secret, he works for us indefinitely. However, our counterparts caught wind of you somehow.” Dr. Varma didn’t need to explain the rest to Kenji. 

“Is that all you know about my mother?” He asked again. 

“The only person who knows more would be your mother or father. Your father isn’t exactly forthcoming with information, and your mother won’t talk to us.” Zac responded. 

“Ah… Ok…” Kenji was breathless as he tried to process everything he heard. 

Not only was his mother not what he thought she was, but his father was close enough to keep an eye on him all this time. Why did he never visit, why did he never let him know that he actually cared, why didn’t his mother tell him? What was happening?! Kenji felt his world begin to spin and walked away from the group, without looking back. 

“Kenji!” Akiko called out to him, but he ignored her call. 

“I’ll go talk to him.” Zac calmly said, as he walked after Kenji.

“Zac!” Dr. Varma called out to him worried, but he simply waved her off without looking back saying, 

“Yeah, I know, kid gloves.” 

Zac followed Kenji into a corner of the room, where he found the boy beating his hand against a wall. Kenji looked over his shoulder and saw Zac standing there, he frowned at him and then faced the sterile white wall again. 

“What? Are you here to tell me to get over it? That I have a gift, and a duty to use it?” Kenji scoffed. It became obvious to him that he could no longer run away from this. It was as if the world had conspired to shove him into this position. His father was one of the greatest Chasers that ever lived, and his mother even if she wasn’t a Chaser, she was someone, with enough ability to confidently reject them. He wasn’t supposed to be alive, but now that he was, he must have a duty to fill a role, right?

“No.” Zac responded bluntly. He leaned his back against the wall Kenji had buried his fist into, and sighed, 

“Look kid. I'm a jackass, a dick even, but not a complete asshole. This isn’t something you just get over.” 

Kenji chuckled a bit as Zac gave a very accurate description of himself. 

“Also, no one can tell you what to do with your gifts, but you.”

Kenji looked up at Zac, the shock clear on his face. 

“People like you and me, owe the world nothing! So it makes it that much more impactful when we decide whether or not it’s worth saving. Even from itself.”

At Zac’s words Kenji rubbed his forehead, and chuckled silently to himself. 

“You can decide whether this world is worth saving later. Right now, you need to get your head on straight, the nanos could respond negatively to your mental state. So take time to gather yourself. You’re not in the first group to receive Nanos anyway.” Zac thrust his back from the wall and began to move forward. 

Kenji stared at his back and a feeling of calm took over him. He never experienced having a father figure, maybe this was what it was like? Or maybe just a jackass uncle? Regardless, 

“Zac, wait! I'm coming.” 

“Atta boy. It would’ve really sucked if I didn’t get to see whether those nano-machines would take or not.” Zac sauntered back to the group. 

“You’re such a dick.” Kenji muttered.