I waited for a few seconds in case Genna wanted to comment but there was no response from her. [It wasn’t intentional mind you… An accident caused by my carelessness,] I continued with a sigh as I bent over the sink and steadied myself with my hands on both sides of it. [Still, it was my fault. I killed them both.]

[Aium… I’m so sorry.]

[Don’t be. I was sorry for myself plenty already. After the accident, I cursed everything, God, fate, the world, the circumstances… But in the end I had to face the reality that I was at fault, I caused it and I should accept the situation that I created. It’s needless to say that I became a total wreck after the accident but luckily I still had Anne. She became my pillar that I could lean on. After the accident I changed a lot, blaming everything and everybody just to divert the crushing guilt on me. I can only imagine how depressing it must have been to be around me all time. When she finally snapped and left me all alone I hit rock bottom.] I paused for a second. [I’d rather keep those dark parts of my life to myself.] I looked back at my face in the mirror and continued, [Before you start telling me stuff to feel better or comfort me… There’s no need! I faced my demons already and I heard all kinds of encouraging and comforting words from far too many people. I’m functional now so no need to patronize me.]

[I understand, but let me say just one thing: I’m here for you now, Aium.]

[That, I’m happy to hear Genna,] I said with a small smile on my face.

[So, the burns are from the accident?]

[Yes and no. I crashed our car. Dad flew out while mom was stuck behind me on the backseat. When I came out of my daze the back of the car was already in flames. I got out and tried to get her out too but she was unconscious and stuck. I’m not sure but I think she was still breathing. The whole chain of events is a mess in my head, it’s hard to remember clearly. I struggled to get her out but the fire was getting out of hand. When people finally came to help I was already on fire. They tackled me and kept me back. For a long while, I wanted to kill those people after the accident. I blamed them for my mom’s death but… in truth I was the only one responsible for what happened. They just kept back a guy from burning himself to death.]

[This is darker than I thought. A lot of things make sense now actually. You keep the scars in order to remind you to not make mistakes,] she added quietly.

[Nah… I keep making mistakes no matter what I do. I came to an agreement with myself to accept that I’m a piece of shit. I keep the scars to remind me of what I did. I don’t deserve to forget that I have the blood of my parents of my hands,] I said staring into my reflection’s eyes.

[I strongly believe that you are too hard on yourself. You said it was an accident. You can’t punish yourself with these kinds of thoughts.]

[Maybe I’ll change my mind in a few years, I don’t know. For now, it works, so, there’s no reason to change my thinking on the matter.]

I walked back into my room and sat down. [Let’s change the topic. I don’t like thinking too long about the past. I only poison myself in small doses,] I said.

[Thank you for telling me and entrusting me with this.]

[Don’t sweat it… or I shouldn’t sweat it since we share a body? Another strange idea...] Amidst these errant thoughts I had another realization so I asked with furrowed brows, [You told me you can’t control my body, yet if I were to make a clone you would handle it while it’s in automatic mode. I definitely can’t believe that you can’t take over my body...]

[I can’t. The clone would have the necessary infrastructure for me to do it but I have none of that in your body. I’m technically incapable to do it and even if I could I wouldn’t do it without your permission.]

[Sure… sure. Of course, you wouldn’t. I’ll break my limbs the first moment you try to pull a fast one on me.]

[You know what? As crazy as that sounds I don’t doubt it. You have the mindset and the lack of fear of pain to pull it off. Too bad it wouldn’t matter. If I had the capability and the intention of taking you over why would I give you a chance to retaliate or resist in any form?]

[I see! You’re a worthy opponent! I might just...] I thought about joking about making a clone and beating her up but then another idea popped up. What if I made a female clone? [...nevermind.] Away wicked thoughts! Away!

[Ahhh, don’t give up so fast. I wanted to have a longer word-karate with you.]

[Hey! You’re stealing my words again!]

[And? What are you going to do about it? Word-karate, word-karate, word-karate,] she chanted.

[Fine… This one time the child can have her fun. How about we rather focus on this piece of treasure?] I changed the topic to the metal box on the table.

[Hold on! I’m only acting childish to make the conversation more comedic… and you know that. You are just trying to pick on me with cheap shots.]

[Cheap shots?! You are the one chanting a stolen phrase!]

[Fine! The BioEnhancement. What about it?] she snapped back.

[Do I use it like last time? Inject both stuff and sleep it off?]

[Exactly. The sooner you start it the more time you’ll have to sleep. It’s a top quality product so it works incredibly fast but I’d rather give you more than enough time. Also, I’ll wake you up before we arrive at our destination. You might need a little time to readjust. If the previous pattern persists I’m inclined to believe that this one will be similar too. The Improved Bladder went above 100% efficiency and even I went through our bonding incredibly fast with additional side-effects. I doubt there’s any danger since these products have several safety protocols but I’ll keep a close eye on you.]

[Uhum… What does this Advanced Dexterity do anyway?]

[The list of changes is far too extensive to go through but in essence, it makes your physical movements quicker and more precise.]

[Woah, that sounds incredible. Will I be able to catch a fly in mid-flight?]

[I’m not sure what a fly is but I think the answer is maybe. It doesn’t give you better reflexes. That’s another BioEnhancement. This one only makes you quicker. If it was such an all-around improvement it would be a level 1.]

[That’s reasonable I guess. Anyway, will this give me access to the Speed Force or will I just be slightly faster? What can I expect?]

[Hard to give an example. You are pretty slow moving if we look at the averages. How far it will improve you is a question I can’t answer with certainty.]

[I’ll be fast enough to run back in time!] I shook my fist in the air with determination.

[...and I’m childish...] she mumbled barely audibly.

Following that, I slammed both tubes into my shoulder. This time the extra energy and resources came in the form of another injection tube. The feeling of warm liquid spreading through my body was already familiar. Despite my lack of tiredness I laid down on my small bed in a comfortable position, closed my eyes and sighed deeply preparing for a nice sleep.

“Good night, Genna!”

[Good night, Aium!]

In my dream, I was standing in a huge round room. I had a strange urge to leave this place as fast as possible, but several people stood in my way. They all had lightning shaped insect arms, and they were growling at me menacingly. I didn’t fear them; they were just small obstacles between me and my destination. I walked up to the closet one with a smirk on my face and punched him right in the kisser. And then again… and again… and again. My smirk melted away quickly because my punches were like swinging around balls of wet noodle. They had no power or impact behind them. Running out of confidence and lacking any better idea I dodged under my opponent's bug arm, rolled on the floor once and dashed to the circular room’s wall. When I reached it, I started pushing my fingers against it with all my strength. With a loud snapping sound, the wall gave way with a shower of warm red liquid. I couldn’t care less and reached through first with my hands and then with my head. A familiar room in the GreenHut greeted me on the other side accompanied by shrill screams. I turned my head around, and I saw myself screaming. My arms and head were coming through my own chest. I started screaming like my other self, but other me froze before telling me, “Aium, wake up!”

“WAAGH-ARGH!!!” I screamed while bolting up into a sitting position.

[Good morning, Aium! Bad dreams?]

[Uhg… definitely nightmares. Good morning to you too,] I mumbled as I rubbed my dried out eyes.

I was supposed to be faster and more dexterous, but I couldn’t feel anything different from the usual. I sat up and tried moving around my arms as fast as I could. There was a noticeable change in my movement speed, but it was barely anything. I expected much more.

[So, how did we do? This seems piss weak...] I complained as I tried a few punching moves.

[Good news is that there were no problems. The bad news is that the previously discussed pattern changed in an unexpected manner. The extreme part of these BioEnhancements still persists, but this time it went for the other end of the spectrum. Like last time I can’t give you an exact number, but the efficiency ended up below 25%. Which should be nearly impossible. Once we reach the station I can give you more information on this part.]

“Just what I expected...” I murmured. “Of course the fucking bladder shit goes above and beyond while the actual cool stuff ends up being weak as piss.”

[There’s still an improvement. Maybe the next one you take will be another great success,] she consoled me.

“Of course it will be a great success but only if it’s something like longer earlobes or stronger eyelashes...” I grumbled.

[I don’t think getting a ridiculous efficiency on an earlobe extension would be a good idea,] she commented seriously.

“I suppose not...” I laughed.

I tried a few moves in the tiny room, but I had no problem getting used to such a small increase in the speed of my movements. If I didn’t want to move fast consciously, it wasn’t even noticeable. The most striking change came to precise movements. For example, my fingers felt more… reliable.

A while later I heard a familiar knock on the door. SalenKarr came to inform me that they would dock in a few minutes. Despite barely spending time together or even talking with each other she seemed reluctant to part ways. Most likely she was fond of the idea to put some flesh devouring larvae into my comatose body.

When we finally landed in the docking bay of the station SalenKarr led me back to the gate in the warehouse. Thankfully, I didn’t have to meet and small talk with the Captain or the other crewmember of the ship. The furry ceiling nightmare was more than enough to handle for me.

“I’ll definitely contact you later! Don’t you forget about me!” she chirped.

“How could I?” I said with a weak smile.

“What are you going to do next?”

“I think I’ll spend a few months on this station,” I lied.

“Oh?! We are in a hurry now, but in a few weeks, we’ll come back. I’ll have time so we could meet up!”

“Sounds good to me,” I lied again.

[So cruel...] commented Genna.

“This is our goodbye for now then,” she sighed and tapped the gate’s control plate with a pointy leg.

The machine sizzled on with a bright light and with a wave to the lovely nightmare I stepped through to the docking bay.