Martel exhaled a breath of relief as he saw his familiar bedroom on Earth. Six months ago for him and three months ago for Earth, he was taken from his bed into a fantasy world. He was relieved to be back as it meant far less life-threatening adventures.

On the far side of the room was a person in military garb who began to stir as he awoke from his nap. In a panic, he reached for his gun at his side and began to draw it.  Martel rushed him, stopped his arm, and struck where his Ki Point would be if he had any.

“Wa- what did you do?” The soldier asked in a panic. “I can’t move my arm.”

[Interesting, so it works against people who don’t have Ki. Perhaps it strikes a nerve, or everyone has them?] Martel thought. “Hey, is your arm asleep?” 

He nodded his head as his arm flailed due to his lack of control.

“Be more careful when you pull a gun,” Martel replied with a sigh as he struck the point again to open it. “You’ll be laughed at if you say you freaked out from seeing a bunch of pretty girls. Go tell your superior that the resident of the house is back.” 

The soldier nodded and bade a hasty retreat.

“So much for not having a deal with any more life-threatening events,” Martel said under his breath before he turned to the young ladies behind him.

The first to catch his eye was the same person who he first saw when he was taken from his world and ended up in the kingdom called Camelot.  With her slightly tomboyish face, and her looks that make her out to be younger than her actual age was the Golden-haired beauty, Morgan. The elegant green dress that flowed to the floor showed her position as Second Princess of Camelot.  She had been through much and would have become his sister-in-law if not for that fateful night. Her specialty was a form of Magic that dubbed Emotion Magic. After he had revealed the true nature of this Magic, he helped to reach heights that had rarely been achieved by anyone in a thousand years, say for Morgan, himself, and Cali.

Cali, who stood with the other three girls, accurately fit the description of a doll as her expressionless, smooth, and pristine face almost appeared artificial. She had the look of a 10-year-old girl with long black hair and a black one-piece dress. Martel was charged by her father, a deity-like being, to care for her in return for her help. Technically, she did not fit the description of a living being as she was comprised of Spirits. These Spirits were the physical manifestation of emotions though they are without mass. The spirits could be used to fuel Emotion Magic, which she uses to give herself a shell of a body, and are a requirement for Emotion Spirit Enchanting. 

Another young lady who could also fit the description of a doll curiously looked around the room next to Cali. Her name was Shiro, the name Martel gave her months ago after he saved her. She was incredibly cute, even for her young age. Perhaps this was because she was also technically not human either, at least not a complete human. She was a Demihuman;  those who were human in appearance except for telltale animal or unique features. In Shiro’s case, her race appeared to be that of a cat-human. Underneath the white mob cap she wore, two cat ears protruded from her white-haired head. Though it may sound strange, they blended in quite well with her hair. She also hid her white tail in her dress.

The fourth and final of the young ladies was Caelia. She was also not a normal human and considered herself to be Shiro’s older sister. She had a human father and dark elf mother who left her with slightly tipped ears and skin that turned bronze when certain conditions were met. However, it could be argued that it was not the only thing her mother’s blood gave her. She was nearly 18 years of age and quite the beautiful young woman thanks in part to her gorgeous figure.  However, the most attractive aspect of her, especially to Martel, was her heart. A kind heart which had given and continued to provide Martel a kindness he didn’t feel he deserved.  

Months ago, he took her father from her in a duel to the death; a man who he respected for his sacrifice and sense of responsibility.  While it was his request to end a war that had lasted for over half a century, to take her only remaining parent was something that Martel felt didn’t deserve forgiveness.  It was in Martel’s old bedroom that the five of them had gathered, brought together by their misfortune and loss.

Martel gave the girls a small smile before he spoke. “Welcome to my world. More specifically, my old bedroom.”

“So this is the place you grew up?” Caelia asked while she looked around.

“No. This is an apartment complex that I called home for the last few years. I went to the University nearby, and this was one of the provided living options,” Martel replied as he motioned them to sit on the bed as they waited.

“I must say, coming here so quickly doesn’t make it seem real,” Morgan said as she looked around. “It makes it seem so anticlimactic.”

“I’m sorry my bending spacetime to cross into a different reality is so anticlimactic.”

*Meow* 

“Oh, Snow? You’re still here?” Martel said as an elderly white cat made her way to the end of the room.

“What’s that?” Shiro asked as the other girls looked curiously as well.

“Oh yeah. I noticed there weren’t any dogs or cats in Albion, huh. This is Snow, my cat.”

“It’s cute,” Shiro said with a smile as she knelt in front of Snow. “Come here,” She said while she reached out to her.

*Hissssssss* Snow recoiled and hissed at Shiro before she retreated.

“That’s strange, she usually only avoids other people and isn’t that hostile. Don’t worry about it, Shiro. Shiro?” Martel asked in shock as he turned to look at Shiro.  Her mouth was wide open in shock, and tears started to form in her eyes as she ran into him to hug him.

“Don’t worry about it too much,” Martel gently said as he petted her head and sat her back down on the bed. “By the way, there’s something important to tell you, girls. From this point on, you are my wives.”

““W-What!”  “Both Morgan and Caelia exclaimed.

In contrast, Shiro had an excited expression on her face, and Cali was expressionless as always.

“W-w-w-what nonsense are you spouting?” Morgan asked with slightly flushed cheeks.

“Didn’t you know?  Your brother suggested that I marry you.” Martel teased

Shock covered her face as she was unable to speak.

“Naturally, I refused. Unless you want to marry me.”

“Like hell!” She shouted and punched him in the face, as she had done many times before.

“You need to learn how to take a joke. At any rate, you guys need to be my wives in name only.”

“Why?” Caelia asked with red cheeks.

“While you specifically would be able to deceive them for until you turn 18, all of you are technically underage. I’m not fluent on the laws involving the rights of minors.  Nor am I privy to any legal changes that have occurred recently due to The Convergence. I want to avoid any legal complications and, hopefully, they will recognize polygyny as an exception in our case. If you are my wives, it should technically give me guardianship over you and allow me to make decisions that would otherwise be forced upon you.”

“Like what?” Shiro asked innocently.

“Tracking devices, possible experimentation, the list goes on and on. With these new abilities appearing throughout the world, some wish to control them out of fear or abuse them for personal benefit.”

“That sounds scary.”

“If this doesn’t work, most likely we will head back to Camelot. Once again, you would be my wives in name only. You don’t need to worry about me doing anything to you. By all means, if you find someone else worthy of you, I won’t stop you. And, if anyone’s bothering you, you can tell them you’re married. It’s a win-win for you.”

“I want to be your wife, though,” Shiro said cutely.

“That’s sweet of you. When you grow up, we might make it official.”

“I understand, I’ll play along,” Caelia said a little embarrassed.

“Fine,” Morgan added in a scoff.

Cali nodded her head.

“Well then, the cover story will be I became a very influential person because of my unique knowledge. I accepted marrying you due to the political power and security it gave me.”

The girls all nodded their heads in response.

“By the way, my birth name is Marty, which I will use from now on.  However, I don’t mind you calling me Martel in private. Also, I will be pretending to be weak, so please no comments on my strength.”

“Anything else?” Morgan asked.

A small smile came to Marty’s lips as he quickly moved in and hugged them all together before they could react. “From now on, we are a family.”

Surprise and shock had covered most of their faces before it turned into a small smile which they all shared.

“Oh yes, and one more thing,” Marty continued as he reached into his pocket and grabbed several rings. “I snagged these rings before leaving. They have the same effect as my ring so you should be able to understand what anyone says.”

The girls nodded and accepted the rings.  A couple of seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Marty said as he stood up from the bed.

The door opened to reveal a man whose black suit that gave him the air of businessman and government official. He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses when he entered. “Marty, I presume?”

“I am, and you are?”

“Ah yes, how rude of me. My card.” The man said as he handed Marty a business card. “My name is Thomas Joseph Dally, personal assistant to Adam Smith, the founder of the University and the Otherworldly Corporation. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.” He said as he extended his hand.

“Likewise, you sure got here quickly.”

“When items started returning, we figured you would be returning soon, so I set up a temporary workplace nearby.”

“How considerate.”

“May I know who the beautiful young ladies behind you are?”

“They are my wives, end of the story,” Marty said bluntly, which caused the girls to flinch.

Thomas nodded. “I see. You must have been quite popular over there.”

“Geniuses are generally taken care of.”

“Some men just have all the luck,” He replied with a hint of sarcasm. “If you will all come with me please, you’re going to have to go through a checkup.”

“That’s fine, but I’m not letting them out of my sight,” Marty said as he motioned them to get up.

“You’re the overprotective type? That should be fine. We have a car prepared to take you to The University’s facilities.”

“Is that all? I was expecting a quarantine zone.”

“They tried to do that the first couple times but soon gave up. It was soon impractical given the number of people who were returning to random locations all over the country. The government decided to focus the money preparing for a response instead of prevention of any dangerous foreign substances. Plus they figure that if a human could survive there, anything they bring with them shouldn’t be deadly.”

“What surprisingly positive thinking.”

“All they require is a medical check and the occasional check-in to ensure their powers don’t run rampant.”

“I ended up being forced into another world and end up on parole when I get back? Life sure is funny.”

“You will learn more after your medical examination,” Thomas said with a business-smile as they exited the apartment.

“What is that?” Cali asked as she tilted her head cutely and pointed ahead.

“It’s a car, specifically a limousine. Think of it as a horseless carriage.” Marty answered.

“It moves without a horse?  Does it run off of Magic?” Morgan asked.

“No, it uses a natural phenomenon.”

“Are these all houses?” Caelia asked as she looked around.

“Yes, this is a relatively dense housing area. Most of these buildings are made up of many residences.”

“How many people live in this kingdom?” Morgan asked.

“It isn’t a kingdom; it’s a country. We don’t have a king. You can get into the country’s politics at a later time. As for the population, nearly 39 million people live in this state with roughly 320 million in the country.”

A look of shock and disbelief came over Morgan and Caelia’s faces.

“So many people,” Caelia whispered.

“That’s way more than all the kingdoms back home combined!” Morgan added.

“That does make sense. This country is larger the size of your continent. At any rate, get in the limo.” Marty said as he opened the door for them.

While they were hesitant at first, the girls all went inside the limo, followed by Marty and Thomas.

After the girls sat down and everyone fidgeted around as they tried to take in and understand everything they could see, Thomas motioned for the driver to go.  

“Wow, we’re moving,” Morgan said in surprise.

“Would you girls care for a drink?” Thomas asked them as he pulled out a bottle.

““Sure.””

“Okay.”

*nod*

“Wait for a second,” Marty said as he snatched the bottle from him to look at it. “Oh, it’s just carbonized apple juice.”

“What were you expecting?” Thomas asked with a hint of amusement.

“I was under the impression most limos came with alcohol.” 

“They do, but seeing as you are still under the drinking age, I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“Go ahead,” Marty said with a sigh as he gave Thomas back the bottle.

“Would you girls like ice with it?” He asked with a smile.

“Ice? You have ice?” Morgan asked in shock. 

“Sure do,” He replied as he put ice in everyone’s drinks.

“This is good,” Caelia said.

Cali watched the bubbles in the drink.

Morgan put a hand to her smiling cheek. “I can’t believe there is ice, I feel like royalty.” 

“I thought you are royalty, Princess,” Marty retorted with a chuckle.

“Shut up; it’s an expression.”

“This tickles,” Shiro said with a small giggle after she took a sip.

“Your women are quite amusing,” Thomas said with a sly grin.

“So why has the personal assistant of Mr. Smith come personally to get me?” Marty asked to change the subject.

“Don’t be so modest. You captured his attention years ago being the youngest student ever admitted to the University. I heard you even met him repeatedly a while back.”

“Years ago, yes.”

“People like you are the reason why he wanted to make the University in the first place. To let those with unique abilities and gifts shine to create a new and better world.”

“That’s dangerously close to the same line of thought as some of the most atrocious people in history.”

“Nothing so dramatic, I assure you. As I was saying, Mr. Smith became thrilled when you so quickly established contact after being abducted. While some have managed a similar effect, it was usually weeks if not months after their abduction. However, you not only established contact within a week but a method to transport items to and from.”

“It was just over a week for me, though.”

“At any rate, he soon declared that we should spare no expense in assisting you. Our investment paid off quite well too. The unique cultural items were sold quite a bit for profit after being thoroughly studied, in your name, of course.”

“With the finders fee, I’m sure.”

“Of course. That’s how business works, after all. Your theories on the nature of these worlds, and The Convergence, also sparked many debates in the scientific community. You’ve become quite the superstar to them.”

Marty put his hand to his face and sighed. “More unwanted attention,” He whispered under his breath. “Speaking of investments, how is the house coming along?”

“Your mansion is completed. We made sure to give you the best 200 acres available within an hour of The University. I’m afraid we haven’t completed your underground shelter due to the complexity.  It was convenient that it had a nuclear bunker already in place.”

“I’m surprised they went through with it, given how unreasonable and expensive it is.”

“It was the first time I’d ever seen Mr. Smith take an IOU,” Thomas said with a laugh. “He expects great things from you in the coming years. Incredible, given how young you are.”

“What about the… Other matter I asked of you recently.” Marty asked him with a motion to keep it vague.

“It has been taken care of. A relatively small request compared to the rest, but one we were lucky enough to be able to fill immediately as you desired. You can come to see ‘it’ soon.”

“After we deal with this mess then.  I noticed the house was empty. Did you already move my belongs to the new house?”

“Yes, and I must say, I was quite surprised by the amount of Japanese literature and culture.”

“A hobby that has been coming in handy in interesting ways,” Marty said before he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a basic gold ring which he flicked to Thomas. “That’s a gift for Mr. Smith. It’s enchanted with Magic that will allow him to hear any in-person verbal communication in a way that can be understood, transcending the language barrier.”

Thomas eyed the ring with a dangerous look. “I’ll make sure he gets it.”

“I’ll be sure to check that he does,” Marty replied as he took a look at the girls who were all focused on the scenery. “Any thoughts on the scenery, ladies?” Marty asked.

“There are lots of these... Cars, right?” Morgan asked as she looked outside.

“It’s considered to be the normal means of transportation so it’s natural that there would be a lot of them.”

“What’s that?! What’s that?! Can I eat that? It looks like food!” Shiro asked as her eyes gleamed while she pointed at a giant hamburger.

“No, it is an oversized representation of a type of food, though. Perhaps we can get some in the future. There are many different types of food to eat here. We can take your time and find what everyone likes.”

“Hey, what’s that strange bird?” Caelia asked as she pointed to the sky.

“That’s no bird; it’s an airplane. A machine used to transport people and things through the air.”

“What kind of magic is that?” Morgan asked.

“There is no magic. Didn’t I tell you all a long time ago that my world was devoid of Magic until just recently? As far as I’m aware, we have no practical uses for Magic at this point.”

“That is technically no longer true,” Thomas interjected. “Though there is indeed nothing yet ready for consumers, we have multiple uses of different types of Magic on a private level. I’ve been instructed to give you a full tour after the checkup and orientation.”

Marty nodded his head as looked around. “I thought you said we were going to The University facilities? I don’t recall this area being part of The University.”

“That makes sense. This area is used solely for things involving The Convergence. You would not have needed to come over here, and it is quite new.”

“I see,” Marty said as they turned into the parking lot of a large building.

“We are here. If you will, please follow me.”

“Is this building made entirely of glass? That seems impractical.” Morgan observed as they entered the adjacent building.

“You could call it an extraordinary type of glass,” Thomas answered. “It’s made in such a way that it is stronger than stone.”

“There is going to be a lot of new things for you to get used to,” Marty added.

“Is this how you felt when you came to our world?” Morgan asked.

“No. Your world reminded me of how this world was in the past. It wasn’t as big of a shock. Plus, you girls are getting the VIP treatment, but I got a cell with a view for a couple of days.”

“W-we got that sorted pretty quickly.”

“I’m not complaining. The entrance was worth it.” Marty teased.

“Don’t remind me!” She replied in a fluster.

“Oh, perfect timing doctor,” Thomas said toward a lady with long brunette hair in a doctor’s coat who faced the other direction.

“This better be worth it, Thomas,” She replied as she continued to face away from them. “Even if it’s a personal request from Mr. Smith, I am quite busy. Just because there is a VIP Abductee, that doesn’t mean that-” she stopped as she turned around. Quickly, she rushed over to Caelia. “Say, you are an Offworlder, right? Your hair isn’t a natural color, and it doesn’t look dyed. Wow, your hair is such a unique color it doesn’t appear to be blonde, but gold. And you have white hair? How rare.” She said to Morgan and Shiro respectively before she turned to Cali and Marty and gave them a little sour look. “You two look completely normal.”

Without saying a word, Marty had Cali transform into an intricately designed black staff in his hand. A look of shock came over Thomas and the doctor’s face.

“I hate to break it to you, but she is far from normal.” Marty retorted as she turned back into her human form. “I’m afraid her appearance is nothing but a shell, so she is outside of the realm of your expertise doctor.”

“I suppose so.  Now that I take a good look at you, ‘normal’ doesn’t describe you either does it, Dr. Cross?”

“Doctor?” Morgan asked while the other girls look slightly confused.

“Please call me just Marty; it makes me sound like a medical doctor otherwise,” Marty replied as he turned to the girls. “I earned a doctorate, which technically means I can be called a doctor.  It just means that I am learned in a particular area study and can teach it at a high level.”

“Very well, Marty.” The doctor replied as she regained her professionalism.

“I’m surprised you know who I am.”

“It’s only natural that I know who you are; the one who took my title of the ‘youngest person to obtain a doctorate’ in this University.”

“I see. Then that would make you Dr. Elizabeth Barton, no?”

“Oh? You’ve heard of me?”

“... Only from people saying that I beat your record.” 

Elizabeth Clicked her tongue. “… For some reason, that pisses me off. At any rate, if you would please follow me,” She said as she motioned them to follow toward a nearby room.

...

“Ouch,” Shiro said with a wince as Dr. Barton pierced her arm with a needle.

“So what exactly is this blood test for?” Marty asked her as the tube filled up with blood.

“It’s a standard blood test, but I’m also going to put some of it through a DNA tester. It should finish before you leave.”

“Seriously? Don’t those usually take a day or more?”

“We have state-of-the-art equipment. It’s one of the perks of working with the University. By the way, is it okay if I take a little bit of their hair? The other two aside, white hair is extremely unusual. I like to run some tests to find out why.”

“Oh, that’s probably because she isn’t human. Shiro, why don’t you take off your hat?”

“But…” She hesitated as she gripped her hat.

“I won’t force you, but she legally has to keep this information confidential regardless. Also, it isn’t as big a deal for you to hide your identity. While some will probably still discriminate against you, none should attack you just because you’re not human. I think some would like that about you. I leave it up to you.”

Hesitantly, she took off her hat and revealed her white ears.

Dr. Barton’s eyes lit up. “A species I haven’t seen before!” She exclaimed as she reached out to grab her ears.

“Easy there, Doc,” Marty said as he grabbed her shoulders to keep her from Shiro before he pulled her aside to whisper to her. “Keep this a secret, but she saw humans kill her parents, so she has trust issues.  Be gentle.”

Her eyes went wide before she nodded her head. “Shiro, can I touch your ears?” She asked in a sweet tone.

Tentatively, Shiro nodded her head.

“Wow, they’re so soft.” Dr. Barton said as she lightly touched them. “I have some tests I want to try,” She said with a dangerous smile.

Once again, Marty grabbed her shoulder with an angry smile as a vein appeared on his forehead. “Be sure to run those by me for approval first. Okay, doctor?”

...

After the examinations finished, Marty and Dr. Barton chatted while they awaited the results of the medical tests.

“So tell me, Doctor, why is someone of your caliber doing research and taking care of those involved with The Convergence?”

“Mostly, the pay and benefits.  I happen to be a SUPER myself, so I get to avoid some of the unpleasantries that come with it.”

“SUPER?”

“You’ll find out all about that in orientation. Even Non-Abductees have been displaying abilities that would’ve been considered impossible before this last year. You see, a friend of mine slit her wrist a while back. I suspected something was wrong, so I showed up soon after. I called 911 and held the wound to try to slow the bleeding. I didn’t want her to die. The single thought of wanting her wound to heal was all that mattered to me. Imagine everyone’s surprise upon removing myself from her hand only to find that the wound was gone.”

“So you have a healing ability then?”

“It’s an ESPER ability, yes. I call it Regrowth. I can stimulate the cells to heal wounds quickly. Unfortunately, the cells have to be alive, so it isn’t practical for major injuries unless the person just sustained the injury.”

“Still, it sounds like the perfect ability for a doctor.”

“Maybe for a paramedic or surgeon. I’m a research doctor. Aside from the occasional VIP, I don’t treat patients and focus on studying those from other worlds.”

“That explains your enthusiasm with the girls then.”

Elizabeth broke out in a sly smile while her posture and tone turned seductive. “Did you not notice? Halfway through your examination, I got very interested in you too.  I must say I like what I found.”

“I noticed,” Marty replied with a frown. “And that wasn’t halfway through.  You continued for quite some time after.”

“Of course. I decided to be very thorough in your case.”

“So? Why did you want me here alone? Surely not just to unnecessarily flirt with me.”

“Oh? When was I flirting with you?” She asked as she covered her smile with her hand.

“… I’ll be going now.” Marty said as he began to take his leave.

“Wait!” she said as she reached out and grabbed him before she fell from her chair onto the floor.

Marty sighed. “Have you ever heard the expression ‘you reap what you sow’?” He said as he knelt and poked her.

“You aren’t going to leave a wounded lady alone, are you?” She said sweetly in a way that indicated she was in pain.

“Fine,” Marty replied as he picked her up.

“DNA testing is in.”

“Remind me why I am here alone again?”

“I figured those young ladies wouldn’t be able to understand our talk anyway and leave it to you to share what you want.  By the way, they are medically fit.” She replied as she looked at the computer. “I’m testing the DNA from people of other worlds. I’m not sure what I’ll find, but it should be interesting.  Now then, how close do you think the DNA of humans and life forms from other worlds compare to Earth’s?”

“There should be no discrepancies between this world’s human in other world’s humans past the standard deviation. Other human-like carbon-based life forms should be no more than around 3% different than this world’s.”

“Why… Why do you think that?” she said with wide eyes expressing her surprise.

“Most animals on Earth share 40% of their DNA. The closer to a human they appear, the closer the match. Given my very minimal understanding of the nature of these different worlds, I don’t think this should vary. Of course, there could be exceptions.”

“I didn’t put that together, but now that you mention it my numbers don’t dispute that. Well then, let me ask you this. In regards to those that I just did a DNA test on, please list whose DNA is the most similar to Earth’s humans starting with the closest.”

“Myself, Morgan, Caelia, and Shiro.”

“Nope,” She replied with a smile. “You put yourself at the wrong end.”

“Wait, you are telling me that I’m the least human of the bunch?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Other than that, you got it right. Caelia has minimal discrepancies while Shiro has more. However, given her ears and tail, it isn’t surprising.”

“That is understandable, but then what about me?”

“I thought something was odd after glancing at your old medical records. Did something happen to you on that side that would’ve changed your body?”

“Now that you mention it, there were one or two things,” Marty intentionally replied vaguely.

“Then I’m going to go over the things that are noticeably different. First off, you’re a couple of inches higher than the last report states even though that was after you should’ve ended your growth spurt.”

“Yeah, that did happen recently.”

“Upon taking an x-ray, several more things were discovered. Firstly, your bones seem to be thicker, and your skeletal structure is slightly different.  One of the apparent functions is to allow more room for your organs. This was furthered by some other tests which found certain organs to be larger than they should be.”

“What organs?”

“The most radical change in size?” she said with an expression of humor. “Organs that correspond with a certain activity.”

“... Which is?”

“All the organs that play a significant role in sex and reproduction.”

“...”

“If the trend is complete, surely you’ve noticed a difference externally,” She said as she heightened her voice seductively.

“I see, is there anything unique about my heart?”

“You’re no fun,” She said with a sigh. “Aside from the telltale signs of your heart replacement surgery?  No, why?”

“Just wondering,” Marty replied with a sigh of relief.

“The size of your heart seems consistent with the last report. Though that might be because you have a third lung. “

“Come again?”

“At first, I thought it was a tumor. However, on closer inspection, I noticed a small bronchial tube, and that was hollow and functional. Speaking of closer inspection, don’t blink.” She said as she slowly moved her fingers as if she would poke out his eyes.  Just as they were about to touch his eyes, something shifted and covered them.

“What the?” Marty couldn’t help but exclaim.

“I thought so,” she said as she flicked his eyes, or rather, what had come in front of them. “You have a nictitating membrane, otherwise known as a third or inner eyelid. How’s your vision?”

“Near-perfect. There are small obstructions, but otherwise, it is fine.”

“That makes sense, given that yours is a solid material I haven’t seen before.”

“It’s solid? That’s strange, I think my eyes are touching it, and it feels soft. For whatever reason, it reminds me of a scale.”

“Maybe you have a mucous membrane on the inside? Let me try something.” She said as she shined a light in his eye. “Thoughts?”

“It isn’t as bright as I thought it would be.”

“Now that you mention it, it looks slightly darker than a moment ago. You have a built-in transitional lens? I don’t think I have words to describe what I’m feeling right now. Anyway, when I noticed that, it reminded me of a lizard. As a result, I decided to do a thermal scan on you, and that’s when things got interesting.  You seem to have traits of being both cold and warm-blooded. Your body loses heat more readily and from more areas than a normal person. However, this is offset by the third lung I mentioned. It has a high temperature, and your body evens out a roughly hundred degrees Fahrenheit.”

“What does this entail?”

“Since these changes happened, how much have you been eating?”

“Now you mention it, far less.”

“Warm-blooded animals require more food to maintain body heat. If we assume that this third lung either doesn’t use energy from food or is more efficient, you should require less food. This is just a theory, something I would very much like you to test and get back to me, but I believe the changes should also include greater immunity to extremely high temperatures. Also, cold-blooded animals can’t survive in cold temperatures, but seeing as you have an internal heat source, it is quite possible that you can survive in colder climates as well. Please inform me if there are any other differences with your body.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope that’s all, you’re free to go.”

“I see,” Marty replied as he turned to leave.

“Also, be careful if you are playing around with those young ladies. If you don’t properly consider their feelings, they’ll get hurt.”

“I’m fully aware. Don’t worry; I’m better equipped when it comes to that sort of thing than most.”

A sly smile came across her face as her eyes dropped to the lower half of his body. “I’ll say.”

“That’s not what I was referring to!”

“I finally got you flustered,” She said with a small laugh.

“Now I’m leaving,” Marty said as he turned to leave.

“Oh wait, this just a passing thought, but please hear me out.”

“Fine, make it quick.”

“I see from your report that you didn’t take any immunosuppressants for your heart transplant. Did you take something natural?”

“No,” Marty replied with a sad smile. “I just could never reject a parting gift from my little sister.”

Surprise came across her face as he exited the room in the silence that followed.