Pale Flesh

Chapter 12 12

Aiden arrived home exhausted after the long night with Kai. Memories of his friend briefly lifted Aiden's spirits but did little to alleviate his constant hunger.

On impulse, Aiden called his parents for the first time in days. His mother Evangeline answered, worry clear in her voice.

"We've been so worried!" she said. "What's going on,baby?"

Aiden reassured her."I'm dealing with...changes. I'll explain when I'm ready."

Evangeline sensed Aiden's turmoil. "You'll always be my baby boy. Come home for a hug whenever you're ready to talk."

Aiden's father Thaddeus spoke next. "I'm flying out to Aravon for a meeting. We'll have dinner, catch up."

His father's familiar gruffness lifted Aiden's spirits.Then his brother Asher came on the line.

"Dude where you been?"Asher asked, concern mixing with teenage bravado.

Aiden chuckled."How's basketball? Still getting straight A's?"

Asher rolled his eyes."Barely! Coach is riding me hard,application season's killing me."

Speaking to his family reminded Aiden of his lost humanity.For a moment he felt the warm embrace of his mother's hug, her unconditional love. But all too soon,the beast within awoke once more,reminding him how far he'd fallen from that world of light and love.

Aiden missed his family deeply.Yet he feared the monster he'd become could never truly return to their arms.

...

After the events of the past few days, Aiden realized he needed to understand the full extent of his transformation. Testing his abilities in a controlled environment was the first step.

Aiden headed to his private gym located within his penthouse. The space was outfitted with custom equipment designed to withstand the forces of those with superhuman strength and endurance.

Aiden began by loading hundreds of weighted plates onto his custom-built bench press, bringing the total weight over 10,000 pounds - a figure that would challenge even a team of empowered individuals. Yet Aiden lifted the bar with ease, fluidly performing repetitions that shook the floor.

He then moved to the squat rack and deadlift platform, loading the bars with several thousand pounds of weight on each side. Though such loads would be impossible for even the world's strongest humans, Aiden lifted them with as much effort as a regular person doing bodyweight exercises.

As Aiden pushed his transformed physique to its limits, he felt a rush of wonder at his newfound potential. But he also recognized the vast gap that now separated him from ordinary humanity. He had become more than human through his transformation - for good or ill, he wasn't sure yet.

...

Exiting the gym, Aiden willed his status display to appear in his field of vision. His new abilities worked in mysterious ways.

A holographic screen popped up in front of Aiden, displaying his current biometrics and capabilities gauge. He saw:

[STATUS]

HEALTH - 110%

STAMINA - 110%

HUNGER - 47%

EVOLUTION - 50%

INTELLIGENCE - 11

REFLEXES - 15

STRENGTH - 11

SPEED - 16

[SKILLS]

Stealth[LV10]

Fighting[LV8]

Marksmanship[LV 9]

Lockpicking[LV7]

Disguise[LV6]

Poisons[LV8]

Interrogation[LV7]

Bloodhound[LV1]

??????[LV???]

Aiden studied the data dispassionately. It made no scientific sense - his capabilities defied the laws of physics. Yet here he was, transformed into something beyond human.

Aiden closed the status display. For now he would strive to regain a semblance of control over his spiraling life. But nagging doubts remained.

...

Moon bowed his head as Willem raged over Venom's disappearance. Their highest paid assassin, vanishing after a failed mission? Venom knew the price for failure.

Once Willem dismissed him, Moon got to work. He summoned Hrim, a sworn brother of Venom's within the syndicate.

"Venom has disappeared after his last contract," Moon told Hrim. "Find him, discover what happened during that mission before attempting anything against the target."

Hrim nodded. "Consider it done"

Hrim set about finding his sworn brother Venom. He started by tracking Venom's last known whereabouts and retracing his steps around the time of the failed mission.

Hrim soon discovered that Venom had been seen entering a seedy diner the night before he disappeared. Hrim went to the establishment and questioned the staff, showing them a picture of Venom.

One of the waitresses recalled serving Venom that night. He had eaten alone in a booth, nursing a cup of coffee for hours and seeming deep in thought. When she checked on him, Venom told her he was contemplating a "tricky job" he had been hired for.

This piqued Hrim's interest. The waitress remembered Venom leaving shortly after midnight, but there was no sign of him since that night. It seemed likely that whatever "tricky job" Venom had undertaken was connected to his disappearance.

Armed with this new information, Hrim returned to Moon and reported his findings. Moon pondered the revelation, theorizing that Venom's target - Aiden - may have somehow detected and neutralized their assassin.

Moon told Hrim to keep investigating quietly for now. When the time was right, Moon would deal with Aiden himself to avenge Venom and restore the syndicate's honor.