Chapter Thirty-Two - Experimentations

Chapter Thirty-Two

Experimentations

          After the run-in with Lieutenant Urad, Matthew did not have any more surprises waiting for him at Misty's house when he returned. He did a thorough check of the property before he gave the all-clear for everyone to return. As Joe was the last to get there, Misty had to move her car out of the garage so he could park his car in the garage for the few days he was there. The garage door stayed closed unless Matthew needed to leave or come back.

          Matthew was looking forward to having Joe there. During their time in the military, they were close friends, but Joe was the better tactician. When they were serving together, it was Joe who drew up most of their battle plans. The thing was, Joe didn't like letting the officers know this. He didn't like putting others' lives on the line. When he made plans, they were for Matthew and Joe. He didn't want to endanger anyone else's life. He knew Matthew would follow him because Matthew believed in what he was doing. Matthew trusted him. Joe didn't want others doing this because they were ordered to do it. Both saw too many of their buddies not come back from missions to take this sort of thing lightly.

          Having Joe at Misty's also gave Matthew a break from being the entertainment. Cindy and Becca were in absolute heaven having uncle Joe there, especially since he was the new and improved model. He would wrestle, chase, dance, and even play dress-up with them. Also, Joe was just the right size to fit in all the rooms, chairs, doorways, and beds. Best of all, he still had the best stories, even better than grandpa.

          Even though Joe was not a permanent resident at Misty's house, Matthew took advantage of the time he got with Joe. They worked on trying to discover any new abilities Matthew may have or testing some of the already known abilities. One ability Matthew thought he wanted, but could not prove he had, was x-ray vision. He stated as a child he saw a pair of x-ray glasses in the back of a comic book offering a pair for $.99 but his mom wouldn't let him buy them. Joe stated if Matthew got a pair, he wanted a pair, too. Misty only rolled her eyes and said nothing.

          An ability discovered by Matthew and Joe was the ability to cause a stasis field around Matthew where all action within the field moved at a normal time while time outside the field can either move faster, slower, or halt altogether for short durations. They also discovered that, with difficulty, time outside the field can be moved in reverse in very short bursts. However, it is not very accurate and is very draining for Matthew.

          During their time together, Matthew wanted to see if he could build up a resistance to the objects the color yellow. He knew if a tiny splinter of anything the color yellow could cause body paralysis and pain, what would anything larger do? He had Misty go to the store and buy random objects that were yellow or had yellow on them for testing. With these items, he and Joe went to the old, deserted military testing ground. They decided to go very early in the morning so they would have daylight and before hikers or bicyclists would be out.

          The first test was with an ordinary yellow pencil. When Matthew first picked it up, he did so with its eraser. He remembered how it felt when the sliver of yellow-coated wood was in his finger and how debilitated he became. It wasn't until it was completely removed did, he begin to feel normal.

          He carefully held the eraser and placed his finger on the pencil midway down its length. His finger was barely touching the pencil. It felt as if he was placing his finger in a pool of molten lava. He immediately removed his finger and dropped the pencil; however, by this time the damage was done. The finger had a burn mark where it touched the pencil. Matthew recognized the burn. It was a second-degree burn. His nerve endings were severely damaged but still intact. He needed medical assistance.
          Within seconds of the burn, Matthew's Third eye opened and began to glow. Soon a soft glow began to cover his whole body. When the glow reached his injured hand, the glow intensified. Matthew began to feel the pain subside while the glow pulsated and then faded. He saw all traces of the burn had been removed.

          This gave Matthew an idea. He did not have any idea if it would be possible but wanted to see if he could do it. This time, however, there wasn't an injury to focus on. He wanted his whole body covered with a continuous healing glow. He thought about how the Third eye would need to be activated to allow the process to happen.

          Within mere moments, the Third eye opened again, this time instead of a localized glow, the entire body began to glow softly green. He held up his hands and saw they had a soft green glow. He looked down and saw the rest of his body had the same glow.

          "Can you see the glow everywhere? Are there any patches without the glow?" Matthew asked Joe.

          "No, you are covered everywhere I can see. It looks like you are coved head to toe. Touch the pencil now as you did before."

          Joe picked the pencil up and held it out for Matthew to touch. This time. Matthew decided to try and pinch the pencil with his index finger and thumb. When he had his finger and thumb in place to squeeze, he hesitated. He now had two memories of experiencing pain from touching something yellow. He almost backed away. Instead, he quickly pinched the pencil and let go. He didn't feel anything. He pinched the pencil again, this time a bit slower. He felt nothing. He saw a whitish light circling his thumb and finger as he gripped the pencil. As he looked closer, he saw the light had tiny yellow and green bolts of light striking each other in a fight for dominance with the green bolts winning.

          Feeling more confident, Matthew reached into the bag to bring out more yellow objects. The first object pulled out was a banana. Matthew noticed there were light bruises where his hands touched. Was the shield he was producing causing these? He would have to investigate later.

          Reaching into the bag again, he pulled out a rubber ducky. This brought a smile to his face because it reminded him of the song, he used to sing Misty when she was a little girl. He moved the item from hand to hand and even rubbed it on his arm to make sure his arm was covered as well.

          He next brought out two lemons. They also acquired small, darkened spots where he touched them. He didn't want to ruin them in case Misty wanted to use them for lemonade or baking, so he placed them back in the bag.

          The last item in the bag he brought out was a marigold. This caused him to pause his experiment. This was his wife's favorite flower. She would have a vase of marigolds in the kitchen and dining room all the time when they were available. Their yellow color and shades of yellow and orange always brightened the rooms and her spirit. In her final days, Matthew made sure the flowers were in her hospital room at all times.

          Joe saw what Matthew was looking at and let him have his moment. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat to get Matthew's attention. "Well, it appears you have found a way of making yourself invulnerable to the color yellow. How are you feeling?"

          "Honestly? Very tired. Using this power is sapping my energy more than I anticipated. I feel tired and hungry. I don't dare use the healing power because that draws on the same energy.

          "Can you turn the power off?"

          "I am sure I can." With that, Matthew focused on his Third eye and willed his power to be turned off, to go back to normal.


          There was a surge of power and a flare from his third eye with a blinding green flash, and Matthew had his old, crippled body back.

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