The Good Doctor: Origins Ch. 04

"That's our Mobile Base." Giovanni explained as he led Rob towards it, "It was built in 1974 by the original Corps but hasn't been used since the eighties."

To the right of the Mobile Base were three aircrafts of design Rob had never seen before. At the end of the line of vehicles was a huge stone circle that was suspended from the ceiling by amazingly thick steel wires.

"What is that?" Rob asked, pointing towards it.

"That is a very important and ancient relic. You do not need to concern yourself with it right now. Come on, this way." Giovanni lead Rob in the opposite direction of the monument toward the line of cars and a steel door on the far left wall. They stopped in front of an all black Chevy Camaro with windows tinted so dark that light reflected off of them.

"This is your new car. You will take it to locations I send you to. In addition to your regular training you will be trained how to drive it in the field." Giovanni explained.

"Are you serious!?" Rob said as his eyes went wide, "This is mine!?"

"All yours." Giovanni said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Rob let out a low whistle as he admired the vehicle. It was absolutely gorgeous and he couldn't wait to check out what was under the hood.

"Come on, you can admire it later while you train with Turbo, right now you need to meet with Brick and The Wraith for combat training."

Rob managed to tear his gaze away from the machine and followed Giovanni to the steel door. He inserted his card into a slot identical to the one from the elevator and the door slid open. The pair found themselves in a long, rectangular room about one hundred feet long and fifty feet wide. Three walls, the floor and the ceiling were all covered with a black padding similar to wrestling mats. Along one of the long walls was an array of melee weapons from all periods of history and about half of the other long wall was devoted to a long glass case filled with long range weapons ranging from a simple bow and arrow to what looked like a rocket launcher. The door was situated on one end of the room in the middle of one of the short walls and the wall on the opposite side was made of steel with strange marking carved into it. Standing along this wall was the large man Rob had met previously, Brick, as well as a much smaller figure that seemed to be wearing a long white cloak.

As Rob and Giovanni approached the two Rob noticed that the figure in the cloak seemed to be floating about six inches off the ground. Their features were hidden by the cloak's hood which was pulled down far, but Rob could tell that it was defiantly female.

"Rob! Good to see you again!" Brick said in a deep booming voice, white teeth shining as he grinned broadly.

"Nice to see you, Brick." Rob couldn't help but smile back.

"Rob, I'd like to introduce you to my good friend, The Wraith." Brick said, gesturing at the floating woman.

She simply nodded once as a way of acknowledging his presence.

"Not a big talker, but she's one of the best." Brick explained.

"Remember we are on a tight schedule, Brick. He needs to be trained as quickly as possible. It'll be tough but something tells me he's a fast learner." Giovanni said.

"We'll definitely do our best, boss." Brick said.

"That's all I can ask for." Giovanni turned to Rob, "Listen to these two, they're the best there is. I'll be back later to take you to see Nurse Sweet and get a better understanding of what makes you tick."

The short man nodded first to Brick and then to The Wraith and finally turned and made his way back up the long room and through the steel door.

"Alright, Rob, first things first: we got to get you a melee weapon."

"Why? It's the twenty first century, why don't we all just carry guns?"

"Guns are great! Until you run out of bullets that is; or lose it; or get it wet; or it jams. Melee weapons never run out of ammo are hard to lose, and when you're trained properly can be the most useful tool you have in the field."

"Never thought of that way...." Rob said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Now I don't usually carry my weapon around seeing as it's so big, but I brought it here to show you just how simple but deadly these things can get."

Sometime during their conversation, The Wraith had floated to the corner of the room and retrieved what must have been the biggest wrench Rob had ever seen. It must have been as long as one of Brick's massive legs and was made of cast iron. How The Wraith managed to carry it, Rob did not know, but Brick took it from her and hefted its massive head over his shoulder.

"Just your run-of-the-mill industrial sized wrench, but ask some of the people who've seen the business end of it and they'll tell you it's much more than that."

"I can imagine!" Rob exclaimed, still baffled by the size of it, and convinced that no one could survive a direct hit from such a thing.

"Go ahead, peruse the selection. It's been my experience that when you come across the weapon that's meant for you, you'll know it deep inside."

Rob nodded and walked up to the wall full of weapons. The choices were staggering; every weapon from every time period and nation seemed to be on that wall. As Rob walked its length he saw a number of weapons that he knew could deal some serious damage, but none of them felt right. When he reached the midpoint of the wall Rob stopped as something caught his eye. He almost missed them; they were partially obstructed by the head of a freakishly huge hammer: twin black sword handles with no blades. Where a blade should have been a rectangular strip of metal bisected the handle, running from the end where the sharp edge would be, through the handle and stopping just short of the opposite end.

They seemed to be deliberately created this way, but Rob could not see why. Still, something about them drew his attention and he lifted them from the wall and carried them back to Brick and The Wraith.

"What are these?" he asked them.

"I'm not sure..." Brick replied, cocking his head slightly.

Without warning the handles lifted from Rob's hands and floated toward The Wraith. She looked to be examining them, and after a few moments they floated back to Rob.

"They have been here a long time. Created by the original members of The Corps....most likely Engineer." The Wraith said quietly.

"Who did you say?" Rob said, startled by the mention of Engineer's name. Giovanni had mentioned him the day before.

"Engineer. An member of The Corps until he went insane and he had to be removed." She explained.

"But..." Rob started.

"Yes, he is the same Engineer who created you. The man is a genius, and a great creator; which means those handles are probably very powerful."

"How do I use them?" Rob wondered out-loud.

In each hand he grasped the handles and swung one and then the other as if a blade was attached to the end...nothing happened.

"Channel your energy through the handles." The Wraith said.

Having no idea how to do this, Rob just focused hard and willed some sort of energy to come forth and enter the blades through his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated with all his might for a few seconds, but nothing happened.

"Do you work that hard to made your blood pump?" The Wraith said, "Let your energy flow naturally and it will come. The blades were designed to conduct bio-electricity and you have a vast amount stored in you, but you must let it flow."

"How exactly do you know all this stuff?" Rob asked her, his brow furrowing.

"I have the ability to perceive the past of an object as well as the ability to detect and control energies...but that is unimportant, you must listen to me and do as I say."

After taking a few deep breaths, Rob gently closed his eyes and willed whatever energy was apparently stored within him to flow through him like blood. There was a sound like a car battery sparking and Rob heard Brick gasp.

Rob opened his eyes and was shocked to find that where no blades had existed, two bright blue blade-shaped forms protruded about two and a half feet from the handles. They were humming softly and gave of a light glow.

"Whoa!" Rob said and lightly swung the swords experimentally. He found they weighed nothing, and when he crossed them they phased through each other as if through air. When he concentrated he could make the blades to come and go at will.

"Now that's a cool weapon!" Brick said, "Now let's get training!"

For the next few hours Rob and Brick trained in the use of melee weapons and Rob found that his blades could slice through soft material such as wood with almost no effort. He also found that they cut through metal, though at a much slower rate. By the time Giovanni arrived in the training room, Rob was already very handy with his blades, and even gave Brick a run for his money in a sparring match.

"You were right, Gio, this guy's a very fast learner." Brick said, out of breath.

Rob wasn't tired at all, and was in fact full of more energy than before they had begun. "What AM I Giovanni?" he asked, astonished at his own endurance.

"We're about to find out." Giovanni said and, after Rob said goodbye to Brick, the two of them left the training room to find Nurse Sweet.

*****************

"Remove your shirt and sit down in the chair."

Giovanni had lead Rob to what he called 'Sick Bay' which was located directly through a door on the back wall of the Hanger and left him alone with Nurse Sweet. She was to perform a medical exam on him and determine the exact extent of his abilities and limitations.

Rob discarded the black t shirt he was wearing and took a seat in a chair very similar to a dentist's chair. Once he was situation, Nurse Sweet pressed a button and the back of the chair reclined and came to rest at about a forty five degree angle. She pressed another button and a metal ball about two feet in diameter began to descend from the ceiling and came to rest a few feet above the chair. Another button and the ball began to hum softly. By this point Nurse Sweet was seated at a table that filled with an array of monitors and displays. Up until the ball started humming, they were blank, but now they sprang to life.

"Another one of Engineer's creations?" Rob asked, remembering the blades.

"How'd you guess?" Nurse Sweet said, not turning away from the displays.

"He created those machines out there too?" Rob asked, jerking his head toward the door and the Hanger.

"Please sit still, and yes he did. Why are you so concerned?"

"It just seems like you guys lost a real asset."

"You're our new asset. Lost him...gained you. Don't disappoint us."

"No pressure."

Nurse Sweet finally turned from the monitors and faced Rob, "Okay, I've finished taking readings and I have to go get the report from the Mainframe. Wait here and I'll be right back."

"Ten-four, boss." Rob said and made a little salute.

"You're obnoxious." She said, but Rob saw the traces of a smile on her lips for the second time in two days.

When she left, Rob let out a low whistle. That girl was driving him nuts. When she had come to his room last night, he had half expected her to jump him again, but was pleasantly surprised when she actually wanted to have a conversation. It was then that Rob saw beyond the cool exterior, and glimpsed the real Nurse Sweet. She was actually nice...and funny...and man was she sexy! Ever since then he couldn't seem to get her out of his mind. The previous night they had simply lay together in bed and enjoyed each other's company and it was the best experience Rob could remember. (Then again, he couldn't remember very many...)

But Rob knew that she didn't care for him. She didn't seem to care for anyone...still, maybe she could be cracked.

His thoughts ended abruptly when Nurse Sweet came back, followed closely by a short, thin man with thick glasses who looked exceedingly excited about something. The man was bald, and the lens of his glasses were circular and a pure shade of white through which his eyes could not be seen.

"Is this him?" the man asked with a voice that had a certain boy-like quality to it.

"Yes; Rob, I'd like you to meet Hax, or resident tech guy."

"Nice to meet you, Hax."

"The pleasure is all mine!" he said and bounced over to the chair where Rob was still seated, "You're an amazing creation! I happened to be in the Mainframe when Nurse Sweet came for her results, and I got a peak at the readings. From what I can tell you are the product of pure science fiction! I studied under Engineer, and I had no clue what an amazing talent he possessed!"

"Thank you?" Rob said, unsure of what to think of the strange man.

"Settle down, Hax." Nurse Sweet said, "Leave the poor guy alone. Nobody likes creepy little nerds drooling all over them."

"Fuck off, Sweet." Hax said, flipping her the finger.

"Leave." Nurse Sweet said and pointed to the door.

"Fine, but this means no sex later."

"Now!"

Hax grinned at Rob before he scurried out the door.

"Interesting guy." Rob said after he had left.

"He's a genius and probably the nicest guy I know." Nurse Sweet said almost defensively.

"Then what was all that back and forth about?"

"We have a unique relationship, but he's definitely one of my best friends."

"Well if you like him...then so do I."

Nurse Sweet found herself blushing at this remark...God, he was doing it again.

"He was right...you are remarkable." Nurse Sweet said, knowing deep down that she meant it in more than one way.

"So I've heard...but how remarkable?"

"Come sit down over here." She said, gesturing to the table with all the displays.

Rob got up and sat down in a seat next to where Nurse Sweet had been sitting earlier. She sat down as well and turned on the largest monitor on the table which displayed various charts and images as it fired up.

"These numbers may not mean anything to you, but to me they indicate that you are an almost perfectly efficient machine. A plant using photosynthesis is about 2% efficient; a human is around 17%; and a car around 21%....but you're 97% efficient. In other words you use 97% of the total amount of energy you take in."

"Is that good?"

"That's incredible! It means that you can function at peak performance nonstop for days on end with minimal energy intake. What's even more remarkable is how you obtain energy."

"By eating?"

"Nope! You actually derive energy directly from photons."

"So like the sun....like a plant?"

"Kind of like a plant, but much more efficient and you're not limited to sunlight; you can absorb all spectrums of visible light and convert it directly into energy. Your body then uses all of this energy and only three percent is lost as heat...probably intentionally to keep you warm and human-like."

"Wow. So what does that mean in terms of my limitations?"

"Well more tests have to be run, but from what I can see your strength and agility should outpace any living human being. But what are really interesting were your neural readings."

"Meaning my brain?"

"Yes, Rob, your brain." She said almost sarcastically, "From what reports show, your hyper-efficiency is not limited to your body but also your mind. You have the capacity for photographic memory as well as well above genius level intelligence. The neurons in your brain are actually a high-density network of nano-supercomputers, each one independent but connected to all the rest. This renders the capabilities of your mind almost limitless. I was actually surprised to see this...I would have thought Engineer would sacrificed brain efficiency for more efficiency elsewhere, but I guess I was wrong. This could potentially make you a lot more dangerous to them, Rob."

"Wait, so my brain is actually billions of little computers?"

"Essentially, yes. In fact, your entire body is made up of bio-robotic cells. They serve the same function as normal animal cells, but they have the efficiency and power of machines."

"Jesus Christ." Rob said, shaking his head, "That sounds absolutely incredible."

"It is, Rob. And we have a lot still to learn about you." In her excitement Nurse Sweet had laid a hand on Rob's shoulder, and just now noticed the hard muscle directly beneath her hand.

The contact caused warmth to begin to form in her belly and she quickly withdrew her hand. Rob looked down at her and the two made eye contact. They just stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like eternity before Nurse Sweet turned away.

"I think you need to go see Turbo." She said, her eyes fixated on the monitor before her.

Rob sighed and stood from his chair and retrieved his shirt. He knew now without a doubt that he felt something for Nurse Sweet that he could not fully explain. After Rob got dressed, Nurse Sweet stood from her seat in front of the monitor and walked towards the door, but Rob blocked her path.

"Excuse me, Rob." She said without looking up.

He couldn't stand it anymore. Reaching down he gently brought her face up to meet his. Her blue eyes drew him into their depths and her full lips were slightly parted.

"Rob..." she began but he silenced her with a soul-searing kiss the likes of which she had never felt.

At first she was taken off guard, but she relaxed as she felt his tongue begin to prod and she opened her lips to him. Rob removed his hands from her face and placed them on her lower back, drawing her in close. She could feel his erection growing in his jeans and she lightly ground her hips into it.

Rob could feel her sex warming and groaned when Nurse Sweet ground her hips against his. Growing bolder, he grabbed her ass and ground his hips still harder into her. They stayed like this for a few moments; attacking each other's mouths and grinding hips until they were interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open.

Immediately they parted and turned to face the door. There stood a Giovanni with one eyebrow raised and a puzzled expression on his face.

"Nurse Sweet...Rob...have you completed the examination?" he asked knowingly.

"Um, yes, we uh have." Nurse Sweet replied, straightening her white skirt.

"Right, well then if you're done can you follow me, Rob?" he asked.

"Sure thing." Rob said a little too quickly and followed Giovanni out the open door.

************

Turbo turned out to be a slim but powerful man with slicked back hair and a blood-red racing suit. He and Rob had spent the better part of four hours in his new Camaro learning how to drive at high speeds on a huge underground driving course located directly below the Hanger.

It turned out to be a lot harder than Rob expected, especially since Turbo was an excitable man who seemed to yell nonstop in Rob's ear. Finally Rob managed to get the hang of high speed driving, and even Turbo seemed impressed with his progress by the end of the day. After his lessons in driving, Rob finally headed back above ground and to his bedroom. Although he wasn't physically tired, Rob was looking forward to some time off before he had to do it all again the next day.

When he arrived at his room, Rob noticed that the light was already on. Frowning, he opened the door and found Nurse Sweet sitting at his desk, looking rather bored. Rob shut the door a little harder than usual and she jumped in the chair.

"Rob! You scared me." She exclaimed as her hand flew to her chest.

"Sorry, but I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you would have gone to bed."

Instead of replying she said, "Rob, what happened earlier..."

"You want to know if it meant anything?" he said, finishing her thought.

"Well did it?"

Rob took a step closer to her and she stood from the chair.

"Of course it meant something." He said his voice low.

Nurse Sweet stepped forward so that the two were only inches apart. She stared intently at his chest, muscles playing just beneath the fabric of his t shirt.