Dr. Semyon was seated in a white conference room fitted with the latest encrypted communication technology. He looked behind to nod reassuringly at Baba Adenoba who stood, leaning against a wall having refused a seat offered, instead he cradled a bone carved totem, occasionally whispering into it and nodding to a silent response. Across from Baba, Dr. Semyon's personal bodyguard, Petyr monitored every movement the aged African made.
The wall sized screen switched on. The view was split nine ways and nine separate faces came into view, however, seven of the faces were blurred heavily leaving only a white haired American man in a tailored suit and a bald portly German. The German caught sight of Baba Adenoba and immediately frowned, Dr. Semyon caught this but ignored it.
"Welcome Investors," greeted Dr. Semyon. He paused slightly before continuing, "During the recent containment breach, we lost Dr. Haliway among other personnel and test subjects. Currently, I Dr. Semyon now lead the Dark Matter research and application division and thus will provide our update report."
"You wait." Said the German. "Explain the African. None of Dr. Haliway's reports mentioned him before."
"Yes, actually they did. This is Subject 18 from initial tests into Dark Matter integration." He paused then added for clarity. "He is one of our initial individuals who we discovered with natural trace amounts of Dark Matter. As Subject 18, he largely contributed to our understanding and application of Dark Matter. He is here to provide clarity on the Incursion project."
The German nodded.
One of the blurred screens spoke "Incursion?"
Dr. Semyon took a short breath. "Site D, currently contains an anomaly. We have confirmed it is a Dark Matter translocation aperture. Current readings suggest a localized gravimetric event horizon, isolating local space yet connecting distinct points in space-time albeit diversifying relocation end point due to unknown-."
One of the blurred screen groaned loudly and notably. The American chuckled then said, "You might wanna dumb down your jargon Doctor. We're Investors not Scientists if you catch my drift."
Dr. Semyon cleared his throat. "Of course. We believe a portal to a Dark Matter Dimension has-."
"Spirit world." Baba Adenoba interjected.
Dr. Semyon ignored the interruption and continued, "A portal has been formed in the wake of the Umbra Event, localized to site D. So far, at random times Dark Matter entities," He shot a raised finger at Baba Anedoba before the man could interject, "have come through this portal. We have had success in terminating these incursions, but the strength of these entities appears to be increasing."
"Una wan carry power wey una neva sabi before." Baba Adenoba chuckled as he spoke causing loose charms and talisman to clink softly as his aged body shook. "Dem be spirits ehn. You no go fit continue like dis oo. The wan wey go do you finish, once e come." He shook his head with a grim smile that indicated nothing good.
The German spoke, "forget about localized issues. This Umbra event. It's damn near continental. I didn't invest in this project so I could give the rest of the world powers damnit!"
"As it is, we have no way of scaling the specific abilities acquired by Dark Matter integration. We have however, taken a major step forward in the overall project. We can now introduce raw Dark Matter, sourced directly from the Anomaly, into test subjects. There are three possible reactions noted thus far."
He paused and when none of the screens spoke, Dr. Semyon continued.
"First, there is outright rejection. Dark Matter rejects the subject's body, destroying it on a cellular level. This is so far been the least likely of scenarios. The acceptance scenario tends to play out in two different ways. Where Dark Matter is successfully accepted, it will begin to coalesce in a spot closest to neural activity. This is a little understood reaction. So far we have confirmed that Dark Matter is a nuero-receptive substance, reacting to the thoughts, ideals and mindset of its host. Due to this, Dark Matter gathers in the brain until a critical junction is reached."
Dr. Semyon then pulled open a laptop. It was already active and had a video ready to play. He checked to ensure the laptop feed transmitted to the Investors, before he continued.
"This is Subject DM03." The feed showed a man in combat gear, laughing with other geared up men as they sat in a firing range, except, the targets appeared to be a jeep. "Like other Umbra Victims, Subject DM03 experienced intense headaches before finally erupting with a strange new power." Dr. Semyon pressed a button on the laptop and gave an order to it. The feed showed Subject DM03 face the jeep. A micro singularity erupted into being, growing instantly to the size of a baseball all the while Subject DM03 seemed to struggle to maintain control over the sphere, seconds later, he grunted, and the singularity sped off and crashed into the jeep. On contact, it instantly increased in size, enveloped half the jeep, before winking out of existence with a popping sound. Only the front part of the jeep was left to fall to the floor, the rest of it was simply gone.
The Investors murmured in approval. So Dr. Semyon continued.
He operated the laptop, changing the feed. "This is Subject DM05." A live security feed of a young man training in a gym came up. "The subject was trained specifically by Baba Adenoba from the moment of Dark Matter integration. Unlike other subjects, Subject DM05 did not succumb to these headaches."
Dr. looked to Baba Adenoba, so the aged man elaborated.
"Da powa within must be – er – hmm wetin be the word em." He seemed to wrestle with the word for a moment, then burst out, "Cul-ti-va-ted. All these oda wans with power once – Bah!" he waved his hand as though he referred to trash. "No growth."
Dr. Semyon looked to the American and the German, the Representatives, he knew he had to elaborate.
"Subject 18 here is our expert on Dark Matter and human interaction. He has helped us discover the difference between the two types of Dark Matter Awakening." Dr. Semyon then spoke into the laptop. Subject DM05 stopped exercising. He thrust at a series of weights and they began to float towards him, one by one, until seven 25 pound weights now orbited him.
"Subject DM05 possesses weaker initial abilities than Subject DM03. However, we believe Subject DM03 has reached the upper limit of his ability. Since he Awakened, there has been no significant improvement in his ability output. Subject DM05 however, began with a Telekinetic ability to lift less than fifty pounds of weight, yet now, has increased that upper limit to One hundred and seventy-five pounds in just a few days of training with Subject 18."
He paused and allowed them to take in that information.
"We are working with Subject 18 to streamline Dark Matter integration to be more like Subject DM05 as well as isolate an ideal training regimen to ensure rapid growth in strength."
The various blurred screens seemed to nod in favor of their direction.
The American spoke "Good work Dr. Sie-mon, am I saying that right? Continue with project Dark Matter Integration. We expect more news soon."
One of the screens spoke, "Is there anything else we can be given. These freaks are out of control, my agents can't control or respond to them at all. At this rate, they'll begin to control territories that belong rightfully to us."
More nods of agreement.
This Dr. Semyon worried about. There really was no way to cage an empowered being once their powers had fully manifested. How do you cage someone who could burn, freeze or destroy with but a touch.
He could only provide information.
"The best we have been able to provide for now, is a classification system. If integrated, we could come to at least know the strength of an individual and how best to deal with such a threat."
"That's it?" the German frowned.
Dr. Semyon nodded.
"Let's hear it then." Said the American.
"At human base, there is no need for classification. We have concluded however to set our standards based on the durability of a Dark Matter Individual. We have Grade 1; where the individual can be incapacitated and even killed with sustained gunfire. They are susceptible to most known toxins and anesthetics. Grade 2 become resistant to gunfire. Gunfire, at this grade, will NOT always penetrate their skin, however the impact would injure and incapacitate them to some degree. Grade 3, the highest for now, are individuals entirely immune to conventional weapons fire. Their skins are entirely bulletproof, and many have displayed an ability to repair damage to their bodies within minutes of injury. It should be noted, regardless of Grade level, all Dark Matter Individuals possess varied abilities and so far no two abilities are entirely identical."
A few moments went on as the Investors murmured and discussed amongst themselves.
A blurred screen spoke, "We can at least disseminate this information to guide our resources in the field."
"Agreed." Said the American.
"Now, let us discuss this Incursion Project. The funds you are requesting are, significant Dr. Semyon." Said the German.
Petyr continued to passively listen to the meeting. No matter what, he watched Dr. Adenoba, the first human they discovered who actually had Dark Matter abilities before the Umbra Event.