The smile that had crept across my face wasn’t one of malice or calculation—it was relief. Pure, simple relief that I finally had a way to cut through Chen’s accusations with facts that no one in this room could dispute.
"You want to know why I haven’t been profiting from my father’s experints?" I said, my voice carrying the confidence of soone who held all the cards. "Because I was eight years old when my father left."
The statent hung in the air, and I could see Chen’s certainty waver slightly. But I wasn’t done.
"Hugo Vale abandoned his family when NovaCore shut down," I continued, standing straighter as the weight of old pain mixed with vindication. "I haven’t seen him since. I’m thirty-eight years old now. That’s thirty years of no contact, no communication, no secret father-son experintation sessions."
I gestured around the room, eting the eyes of world leaders who suddenly looked uncomfortable with their previous assumptions.
"I was a child when these experints were being conducted. Far too young to profit from them, far too young to even understand what was happening. The only thing I inherited from Hugo Vale was his abandonnt and the sha of his na."
President Chen’s expression had shifted from confident accusation to careful recalculation. "But you still could have—"
"Could have what?" I interrupted. "Could have sohow convinced my absent father to experint on from wherever he disappeared to? Could have developed these abilities through so kind of delayed genetic modification? Or maybe you think I’ve been running secret experints on myself for the past thirty years?"
The skepticism in my voice was genuine. The absurdity of the accusations was becoming clear to everyone in the room.
"I only found out about the extent of my father’s work two years ago," I continued, my voice dropping to a more somber tone. "When I went back to my childhood ho. Found his old research notes hidden in the basent. That’s when I learned what he’d really been doing at NovaCore."
I paused, letting the genuine pain of that discovery color my words.
"You want to know why I exposed his identity during my global broadcast? Because I wanted the world to see the truth. I spent 2 years before that running and indirectly fighting a bunch of you as you all saw the Masked Syndicate as a threat. But by then I had decided to pull the plug and reveal it all. I revealed the experints that he developed and the harm they resulted in."
Samuel leaned forward, his expression more sympathetic now. "That must have been difficult, realizing your father was responsible for—"
"For creating the foundation of every human experintation program that followed," I finished. "Yes, it was difficult. But it was also necessary. I couldn’t let my personal feelings about my father prevent from exposing the truth."
President Valeska had been listening intently, her diplomatic mask firmly in place. But now she leaned forward, her voice carrying a note of challenge.
"That’s a very touching story," she said carefully. "But it doesn’t address the fundantal question. You clearly have abilities that no unexperinted human possesses. The ability to hold multiple jobs simultaneously is impossible under normal circumstances. Even if you weren’t experinted on by your father, you were experinted on by soone."
The words hit like a physical blow. I felt the confidence I’d been building start to crumble as the truth of her statent sank in. She was right—I did have abilities that shouldn’t exist. The System had given a job title that allowed to function in ways that defied normal human limitations.
"I... I haven’t been experinted on," I said, but even to my own ears, the words sounded weak.
"Pleased like we are any different." Samuel pressed. "Look around this room. Several of the people at this table have job title and/or artificial jobs that enhance their natural abilities."
I felt a sense of relief run down my spine. Samuel had my back and I believed that he was telling the truth. It wouldn’t be out of ordinary for these leaders to utilize the research that my father created to boost their own System.
"You’re suggesting that people at this table have been experinted on?" I asked, focusing my attention towards Valeska.
Her expression tightened almost imperceptibly, and I felt my Psychological Insight flare in response. She definitely had a job title—I was sure of it now. But instead of answering directly, she pressed forward.
"What I’m suggesting is that you’re being hypocritical," she said. "You’re condemning experints that gave people enhanced System’s while clearly possessing such abilities yourself."
I felt cornered, desperate. The truth was impossible to explain—that I’d received my abilities from so mysterious System during the darkest mont of my life, when I’d been standing on the edge of a bridge contemplating whether to end it all. No one would believe that. It sounded exactly like the kind of lie soone would tell to cover up illegal experintation.
"I don’t know how I got these abilities," I said finally, and the admission felt like defeat. "But I know I wasn’t experinted on. I would rember sothing like that."
"Would you?" Chen interjected, her information broker instincts clearly engaged. "mory modification was one of the techniques developed during the NovaCore experints. If you were subjected to procedures and then had your mories altered—"
"Stop," I said, my voice sharper than I intended. "Just stop. Don’t even try to lie about sothing like that. I’ve talked to many NovaCore subjects and they all vividly rember the torture that was inflicted on them."
But even as I said it, doubt was creeping in. They were going to pressed on how I could be so sure? How could anyone be sure of their own mories when dealing with technology that could alter the human mind?
The room had gone quiet, and I could feel the weight of skeptical gazes. Even Samuel looked uncertain now, his earlier support tempered by legitimate questions about my origins.
MacLeod had been silent throughout this exchange, but I could see him watching with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Sympathy? Calculation? Sothing else entirely?
Then it hit —the perfect way to prove my innocence. If I had been experinted on, it would have required governntal approval. And since I’d been in Canada for the past several years, since before my abilities manifested, there would be records.
"You want proof that I wasn’t experinted on?" I said, my confidence returning as the solution crystallized. "Then let’s get it."
I turned to face MacLeod directly, eting his eyes with the certainty of soone who knew they were about to be vindicated.
"Pri Minister MacLeod," I said formally, "as the head of the Canadian governnt, you would have had to approve any human experintation programs conducted within Canadian borders. Did you approve any experints to be perford on within the last two years?"
The question was perfect—direct, verifiable, and with MacLeod as my ally, certain to provide the clear denial I needed. I felt my Instinct flare suddenly, a sharp warning that made my head burn, but I pushed it aside. This was too important, too necessary for clearing my na.
MacLeod looked at for a long mont, his expression unreadable. The silence stretched on, and I felt the first stirrings of unease. Why wasn’t he answering imdiately? Why wasn’t he giving the emphatic denial I needed?
"Pri Minister?" I prompted, my voice carrying a note of confusion.
Behind , I heard Evelyn shift in her chair, her enhanced senses probably picking up on subtle changes in the room’s atmosphere that I was missing. Anthony’s presence felt tense, alert.
MacLeod’s expression remained carefully neutral, but I could see sothing in his eyes—regret, perhaps, or resignation. When he finally spoke, his voice was steady but carried an undertone of sothing I couldn’t identify.
"Yes," he said quietly. "I did approve experints to be perford on you."
The words hit like a physical blow. The room seed to tilt around , and I felt the blood drain from my face. This wasn’t possible. This couldn’t be happening.
"What?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.
"I approved the procedures," MacLeod continued, his voice gaining strength. "The experints were necessary for—"
"No," I said, my voice stronger now, fueled by shock and betrayal.
But even as I said it, I could feel the certainty crumbling. MacLeod had just betrayed in front of everyone and worst of all I could see a smile forming in his face. Was this what Mark had warned about?
Behind , I heard Evelyn’s sharp intake of breath, her enhanced senses probably confirming what I was desperately trying to deny. Anthony’s presence felt shocked, confused.
MacLeod has announced to the public that he would support and with this mont right now I was seeing the lies hidden behind that statent.
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