Once Zac and Kenji returned, no one spoke or asked any questions. They were curious about these Taboo Children, especially with two of them standing in their presence, but they were more excited to get this underway.  

“Good, then we will be performing this in groups of 10. It shouldn’t take more than an hour for each group to finish. When I call your names, please step forward and follow me.” Dr. Varma then called out 10 names. Among those 10 names, Akiko and Ume were called. They were led toward those specimen tubes. Dr. Varma moved her hand across her tablet, and the sides of the tubes rolled down. 

“Please step inside and place the breathing mask over your face, then we will begin.” The 10 of them tentatively climbed on top of the stand. The walls of the tubes rose once again, and a breathing mask lowered for them. They all quickly put on the masks. 

“Here we go. Good luck.” Dr. Varma said as she moved her hand across her table once again.

The tubes all began to fill with a luminescent fluid. In moments the tubes filled with the fluid. The training gear that the recruits were wearing began to light up, and Dr. Varma sighed, 

“Here it comes.” She then pressed her tablet, and the liquid began to move and bubble. When the liquid began to move, so too did the recruits in the tubes. They all began to contort and writhe in pain. Watabe instinctively moved towards Ume’s tube with a frightened look. Ume was always so even keel. This was the first time he had seen such intense emotion on her face. Kenji winced at the sight but noticed something else. That luminescent liquid began to lose its luster over time. 

“The luminescence is the nano-machines?” Kenji blurted out. 

“Correct, they are drawn into the body through your pores. The training gear we equip helps to facilitate that. As well as regulate your heart rate, and keep an eye on your vitals.” Dr. Varma said. 

Kenji slowly nodded his head. They not only had them wear that gear to get comparative data. They also had them wear it, so the gear could document their vitals under different circumstances to accurately assist in this process. Kenji shook his head in disbelief. Indeed, everything these people did had a reason. Kenji turned his attention to Akiko’s tube. She seemed to be in less pain than the others, or at the very least, she seemed good at bearing the pain. 

“Not bad. Hachiman found some premium goods this time.” Zac thought to himself as he looked at Akiko as well. That girl seemed to have gone into a trance-like state. She had cleared her mind and was already starting to acclimate to the nano-machines. Zac then turned towards Ume and smirked. He knew this would be the hardest thing for her. However, after she survived this, there was nothing she wouldn’t be able to do. He just wondered what Program she would birth. 

An hour passed, and the liquid the recruits were floating in became dull. The tubes rapidly drained, and all the recruits landed on their knees. 

“No casualties and no abnormalities. Good, everything looks great. Ok, everyone, hop on down, and let’s get a look at your Programs.” Dr. Varma said with a smile on her face. 

The recruits quickly gathered themselves and walked towards her. 

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while, but what exactly is a Program?” One of the recruits who just got out of the tubes asked.

“Simply put, they’re a superpower. The Nano-machines enhance your body while discovering innate abilities hidden within your DNA. The Nano-Machines manage and maintain those abilities, so we call them Programs.” Zac explained. 

“Manage?” Another Recruit asked. 

“Yes, you initiate the Programs with a command phrase. The Nano-machines allow you access to said abilities, and then you can use them freely.” 

“If the nano-machine ‘allows’ us access, I’m guessing you control the nano-machines?” Ume asked. 

“Correct. To be more precise. The leader of each Organization has direct control, along with a kill phrase.” Zac said sinisterly.

“A k-kill phrase?” Akiko stuttered. 

“Of course, if you guys go rogue or attempt to betray us. Devin says a key phrase that only he knows, along with your ID number, and boom! Those countless nano-machines in your body detonate in tiny explosions that reduce you to atoms. What? You didn’t think you could run unchecked with superpowers, right?” Dr. Varma chuckled. 

Everyone instinctively gulped but then immediately calmed down. Those were pretty easy rules to avoid death. Don’t betray, and don’t go rogue. Dr. Varma then motioned for Akiko to come up; she held up her tablet and scanned Akiko. She then flicked her stylus in Akiko’s direction. Akiko’s eyes lit up, and her body twitched a bit. 

“Give me your name, and then confirm your Program and ID Number? It should have popped into your mind just now. We need to make sure the communication function is working properly.” Dr. Varma instructed. 

“Yes, Hanabi Akiko 88471469. Program: Flare.” Akiko responded. Dr. Varma nodded her head, indicating everything was correct. On the other hand, Zac tilted his head to the side with wide eyes.

Program: Flare; allows its Chaser to raise heat values, and directly control those bodies of heat. They are only limited by their own control. 

“Did you say Flare?” Zac asked

Akiko nodded her head affirmatively. Zac started to laugh. 

“You kids really are something else.” 

“Indeed.” Dr. Varma agreed with Zac’s assessment. 

“What do you mean?” Akiko asked. 

“All Programs are not created equal. Some are more…well, just more than others. Flare is a perfect example of that. Kenji, remember the night we saved you?” Zac said as he turned towards Kenji, who nodded. 

“That idiot that shot the giant fireball at you. He had the Blaze Program, which is pretty common. Flare is like Blaze’s more attractive, more talented, and more successful older brother.” Zac said with a smile. Kenji remembered the destructive nature of that fireball. It melted the platform instantly, but Akiko’s Program was capable of more? He didn’t really want to think about it right now. 

“So there are tiers to Programs?” Genkei asked.

“Not really. All Programs have strengths and weaknesses, and anyone could push any Program to do unbelievable things. It’s just that some Programs are easier to do that with than others.” Dr. Varma said. 

“Well, that’s not completely true. One Program sits above all of them. Program: Zero.” Zac said with a smile. 

“What’s that?” Akiko asked. 

“It’s a Program with infinite possibilities, or zero limitations. It can't be fully explained because it’s different for every Chaser that has that Program. It should be called Program: Infinity, but Zero sounds cooler, I guess.” Zac shrugged his shoulders. 

“There are currently only 3 known users of that Program, our illustrious leader Devin being one of them.” Dr. Varma said with a smile. 

At this confirmation, Watabe had a proud smirk on his face. He didn’t know whether he could become one of these Zero Chasers, but the fact that his Mentor was one was enough for now. More recruits went and got their ID numbers and Program names. However, none of them stood out as much as Akiko’s Flare Program. The last to go up was Ume. 

“Ok, tell me your name. Then confirm your ID number and Program.” Dr. Varma repeated as she had so many times before.

“Chiba Ume 54712482, Program: Bloom,” Ume responded. 

“Bloom?” Zac asked curiously. 

“Yeah, I’ve never heard of it before, either. Maybe Devin or Mr. Chiba will know.” Dr. Varma said. Zac nodded his head in agreement. If anyone knew, it would be one of those two

Ume had a satisfactory smile on her face. Akiko’s Program was supposedly awe-inspiring, but her Program was so rare as to stump even these two. In her mind, it meant her opportunities were limitless. She bowed to Zac, who had a proud smirk, and walked over toward Kenji and the others. 

“Alright, next group! Come forward when I call your name!” The following 10 were called, but Kenji, Watabe, and Genkei were not in that group. Watabe and Genkei seemed slightly annoyed; they wanted to see what they would get. On the other hand, Kenji was happy not to be called just yet. After everything he had just learned, he felt like this was a lose-lose situation. Either, he lived up to their expectations and was a kind of super freak. Or he would be a disappointment, and the Nano-machines wouldn’t take just like with Zac. And he would be at a loss at what to do… again. 

Kenji looked over at Zac and started understanding why he was so pissed at his mindset in the beginning. Zac dedicated his life to this stuff, to be the best he could be, even to the point where he could fight Chasers without a Program of his own. Yet Kenji, a person that could hold the key to getting the thing he lacked, didn’t want anything to do with this world. 

“Things are different now.” Kenji thought to himself. 

He still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he was invested now, and if those Nano-machines didn’t take, he knew not only would Zac be disappointed, but he would be worthless. And for some reason the idea of Zac being disappointed scared him more than anything. He didn’t believe he could become someone like Zac. Even if Kenji was A Taboo Child, Kenji didn’t believe he could fight against someone like Watabe after they became a Chaser. He was sure that everyone in this room, once they became Chasers, would leave him in the dust. 

“Suzuki Kenji!” Dr. Varma called out his name. As he stepped forward, he could feel the quickening of his breathing and his heart threatening to beat out of his chest. 

Kenji, Watabe, and Genkai were all called up with the last group. They looked at each other for a moment before entering their tubes. Kenji placed the breathing mask over his face as he tried not to think about what would come next. The pain was one thing, but if he experienced it with nothing to show for it, that would be the worst. Not only that, his life would be at significant risk. 

“Please work.” Kenji thought to himself.

The thoughts of everyday life were long gone. He didn’t know if he wanted to serve the world. But he’d rather be extraordinary in an extraordinary world, where he could freely choose what he wanted to do. He was tired of being dragged around in this vortex of absurdity. 

Kenji looked down as he saw the luminescent water begin to fill the tank. The water reached up to his neck, and he closed his eyes. At some point, he felt something pinching at his skin and entering his body. He waited for the pain, but it never came.

An hour passed, and all of the recruits exited their tubes except for Kenji. Everyone stood there staring at the tube, especially Zac. His face was unreadable, while Dr.Varma was confused. Watabe walked  towards Zac and Dr. Varma and asked, 

“Is he like Mr. Zac?” 

“No, this is something different.” Dr.Varma responded as she looked down at her tablet. 

“What’s going on, Shaila?” Zac asked, never taking his eyes off Kenji. 

“The Nano-Machines are entering the body but are then forced out.” Dr. Varma responded. 

“Not disappearing? But being rejected?” Zac was confused. 

“No, not rejected. I am reading noticeable changes in Kenji’s body. Also, the rate that the Nano-machines are being drawn in and expelled is slowly increasing. It's like breathing. “

“We don’t know how long this will take, so let’s finish registering the others first,” Zac said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah, Micheal Stepton. You first.” Dr. Varma called out one of the foreigners in this Japan branch recruit party. Out of the 30, 14 individuals were not Japanese. A stoic, 6’2 athletic young black male stepped forward, shaking his damp dreadlocks. Dr. Varma scanned him, and then her eyes widened for a second. She then checked what she was reading once again and started to laugh. 

“Hidden gems everywhere in this recruitment group. Ok, sweetheart, you know the drill.” Dr.Varma said with a smile. 

“Yeh, Michael Stepton 45297856. Program: Pulse.” Micheal responded in a British accent.

Zac immediately took his eyes off Kenji and looked over his shoulder at Micheal. He started to chuckle. 

“He could be a problem,” Zac said to himself. 

During Day 3, Micheal didn’t stand out too much with these recruits, but he would have been at the very top with any other recruiting class. He had a good foundation and was an excellent leader. Zac also knew who his mentor was. That psychopath would turn Micheal into a monster even if he had an average Program. But Pulse? 

Program: Pulse; allows the Chaser to manipulate, and control all forms of waves. Wave manipulation had countless applications in and outside of combat, all of them extraordinary. If that kid understood a fraction of his abilities, he would be one of the crown jewels of Renegade Technologies. Zac might have to prepare especially for him for day 6. Several others came and went; nothing was shocking about their programs, at least when compared to Micheal’s. Now, only 4 recruits remained. One of them was Kenji, floating in the luminescent liquid.

“Travis Kane, come on over.” Dr. Varma pointed at Travis. A caucasian sandy blonde-haired male happily walked over. He was of average height and build but had a bright disposition. He looked over and nodded at Micheal. Dr. Varma quickly scanned him. This time she let out a sigh, 

“Is it that bad?” Travis asked nervously with his American accent. This was the first time they had heard Dr. Varma sigh. Micheal was his team leader, and his other 3 teammates had pretty good Programs from the responses they got. 

“No, no. It’s the opposite, actually. I’m just annoyed. Your recruitment group seems to have ruined my ability to be surprised. Go on, you know what to do.” Dr. Varma waved her hand for Travis to go ahead. 

“Ah, ok! Travis Kane, 52478963. Program: Mind Matter.” Travis smiled. 

The sounds of Zac laughing could be heard throughout the laboratory. He couldn’t help it. Program: Mind Matter; Chasers with this Program could use psionic energies(energy of the mind) to create constructs. The only limitation was the Chaser's creativity and the things they adequately understood. Micheal and Travis, on their own, could become a two-man army, even within this deadly world of super-powered hunters.