“Devóne. I expect Petya treated you well.”


    Boyband looked at me, keeping calm as he had promised. He still couldn’t maintain eye contact with Deleon. I couldn’t blame him. I hated looking at the rat, and Cut’s laboratory was an odd spectacle of intriguing objects, each with their own convoluted explanation. All I needed to understand were the two operating tables with white cloths over their tops. Cut stared at us from the corner of his room. Four of his associates, all dressed in lab coats, spoke amongst themselves as they stood behind him.


    He looked at me.


    “He did well.”


    “Well then, I’m happy to hear that the team synergy continues.”


    “Where are the others?” I asked.


    “They’ve already left to fulfill their assignments. Are you ready for yours?”


    “After… whatever this is?”


    “Of course. Doctor Cuttrin and his associates have been waiting for you.”


    I shrugged, walked over to the operating table, and swung myself on it.


    Boyband furrowed his brow.


    “Come on.” I waved him over. “The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get back to your rich part of the Republic.”


    He continued to stare at me. Having seen what the Bite had done to him, how could he ever trust Deleon? I didn’t, but I knew his modifications were worth a limited trust. He had bought us with the Bite—rather, stolen us—but each modification was an addition to his investment. I had the agility, Ralia had her hacking, and Tevon had his strength.


    “We’re both getting a new one, right?” I asked Deleon.


    “Yes. It comes at a high cost, but we need to ensure your success.”


    “Trust me.” I told Boyband. “It will only help.”


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    He sighed, then moved to sit on the other table.


    Cut approached with his associates. “On your stomachs, please. We’ll use anesthetics before doing anything invasive.”


    We both did as told after removing our shirts. We faced each other as we lied prone. I smiled at him as I asked Deleon another question. “What is it this time?”


    “Something not quite what you would expect based on your previous modifications. By that I mean that this is more of an update to your system, rather than an addition to it. Your agility modification gives you an advantage, so we will provide Devóne with a unique talent of his own, but both of you will receive the systemic upgrade. I know it is early for him, but I need you all at the same level.”


    “What do I get then?” Boyband asked.


    He touched Boyband’s cheek. “Your charm can easily deceive us lower-classmen, but you will need a little more to weave your way through the Violet district. I considered downloading musical talents into your mind to give you an easy approach to Anton Jackson, but even we should not toy with downloading information and talents.”


    Boyband looked relieved. The experimentation of doing so in the virtual era had created too many emotionless humans by downloading information that eventually corrupted any human mind they had left.


    Deleon continued. “I am giving you a coercion modification. Nothing as magical as it sounds, but a way for your hypothalamic implant to send impulses into other people’s minds, making them more susceptible to trusting you, among other added bonuses. You will not be as hypnotic as you might hope, but if you learn to hone this talent, you will be a master manipulator.”


    He nodded. I wasn’t sure how he took that.


    “What do you mean by the upgrade for both of us?” I sneezed as they put a nasal cannula into my nostrils and started an IV.


    “The light spectrum has found its way into everything that we do. In the natural world, ultraviolet light is the most powerful, for this reason the wealthy use it for all they do, but our minds are too compartmental when it comes to such spectrums. While wealth, power, and most of our society relies upon the energy of the higher colors, red and orange still have their uses. They are not without power. Your hypothalamic implants run on this opposite spectrum. As you may have noticed with the violet glow in your eyes, that they run on violet light. The strongest in terms of natural power, but not as strong as indigo in the anti-spectrum.”


    I furrowed my brow.


    “Your hypothalamic implant no longer needs the energy we rely upon in violet light to power it. Now that your body has grown with it, it supplies some of its own energy. We are alternating it to run on indigo light, on the anti-spectrum. Plan on advancing down the spectrum until you reach pure red. If you were to ever reach that point, you would be at your maximum state.”


    “State of what?” My words slurred, and I felt my eyes start to roll back with a wave of somnolence.


    “You will see in time, Imp. Welcome to the second stage.”


    I lost consciousness.