#experiements

You weren't certain how you got so unlucky. Ichigo always told you that this captain was a psycho. You should have taken it more seriously. Because when you discovered your abilities, the Head captain assured you that they would be able to help to avoid another breakdown like you had in the world of the living.

Splitting a building in half.

You were scared. Terrified that you would hurt someone. You'd gotten lucky that the structure was abandoned, but the next time you wouldn't be as fortunate. So here you were, in the soul society, hiding.

"I just need to make it to Rukia, then she can open that freaking portal and get me out of here."

You had one meeting with Mayuri Kurotsuchi and that was enough. He went on a tangent about all the experiments he wanted to conduct and it became clear that he had no interest in helping you hone your skills.

"There she is Nemu."

You flinched from your spot behind the wall. You weren't even offered a chance to run.

"W-Wait!!"

"Knock her out."

With a swift tap to the back of your head, your vision faded.

~~

"Such bothersome creatures, humans."

You were laying on the table and Mayuri moved closer, holding the needle.

"Master, if you'd explained to her that we were actually trying to help she might have been more willing."

Mayuri just grinned.

"Everything I do has a purpose. Powers such as hers are typically more prominent when she's in fear. I was merely checking to see if I could urge a fraction of that energy. I was right. You saw it didn't you?"

Nemu nods.

"Yes master, her reiatsu is quite raw. Humans in the world of the living are quite unique."

"Indeed they are. I will enjoy this."

He pressed the needle into your skin, watching the liquid slide beneath your skin as he stepped away.

"Now we wait until she wakes up. You're dismissed."

"Yes master." Nemu bowed, walking away.

Mayuri's gaze moved back to your form. You shifted against the table, and his eyes narrowed.

"Is she waking already?"

You should have been asleep for at least another hour, especially with what he'd just administered into your bloodstream. He placed the needle down, moving closer. Your eyes opened lazily, and Mayuri just folded his arms.

"How unusual, you're already awake."

It took a moment for you to gather your bearings, but when you did, your eyes shot open. You jolted upright.

"What the hell did you-"

Your statement dropped at the end, and your body disappeared. Mayuri grinned, and you staggered when you reappeared a distance away, eyes shaking in shock. You straightened, and Mayuri just watched you proudly. Your eyes drifted to your hands.

"W-What just happened..."

"I believe I fixed your problem."

You just stared at him. Because although he'd literally kidnapped you and possibly slipped some crazy evil genius serum in your veins, you couldn't deny that something felt different. It all felt lighter, like you'd dropped some heavy weight.

"Would you like to learn more?"

His grin was wide, because you knew he could see your eagerness to understand what happened. He would no doubt put you through some crazy trails, but your curiosity was brimming. You needed to know.

"I do."

Exactly what he wanted to hear.

~Four Months Later~

"WHAT THE HELL MAYURI!!"

You were being chased by a hollow and Mayuri just watched.

"I told you that your reiatsu was growing. You should never let your guard down."

"NO SHIT!!"

You spun around, clenching your fist. When it jumped at you, your legs grounded and you fired a punch. The base of your hand connected with its mask and the shockwave of energy caved the hollow's mask in, sending a rush of wind that batted against the trees present. The hollow disintegrated almost instantly as the wind began to level out.

You huffed.

"Impressive, your spiritual pressure has grown quite a lot. Your abilities are still very sloppy, but there is always room for improvement."

A vein popped on your head at the statement.

"I'LL SHOW YOU SLOPPY!!"

This was nothing new.

Mayuri made you his little lap dog. Always testing out his crazy theories on you. The first time you mastered flash step, he'd failed to tell you that you were close to the Kuchiki clan's residence. So when you landed in Byakuya's koi pond and killed some of his precious fish, it's safe to say that you'd spent that night in the fourth squad barracks getting healed by Hanataro.

He was a menace to society. An effortless genius, but a bastard. After your outburst, you'd left and headed to hang out with Nemu and her little association. She was having tea with some of the other female reapers.

"Then he says that I'm sloppy, do you believe that!!"

Okay, so maybe you just came to vent.

Rangiku laughs.

"That does sound like him."

You sighed heavily.

"I just wish he'd help me without it always turning into me ending up with a dozen bruises. Is that too much to ask?"

" I understand you might be skeptical, but Master must have faith in your abilities."

You snort.

"Like if, he just enjoys having me around to mess with." You grumbled.

Nemu wore a smile.

"Master has never taken interest in anyone who wasn't on some level important. Especially humans. In his eyes, there is worth. It may not seem like it, and he will never say it, but to him, you matter."

The statement was not what you were expecting.

You didn't want to talk about it further, so you grabbed a cup of tea and downed it like alcohol as Yachiru cheered in the background.

As you were making your way back after hours of venting, her words still wouldn't leave you.

That's why when you headed to his barracks, it was just a distraction. Your trips to the soul society were usually you hanging out with Mayuri and ending up in some kind of crazy situation.

Although that was the truth, you could have walked away at any time. You didn't have to keep coming back.

"So why do I.."

You couldn't answer the question.

"He will never say it, but to him, you matter."

You blushed as the words played back.

"I-IT'S NOT LIKE I LIKE HIM OR ANYTHING!!"

"Quit your yelling."

The nonchalant voice was expected. You hadn't even realized that you walked into his personal lab.

The blue haired male standing before you was not who you expected to see.

"W-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!!!"

"Would you seize the yelling."

His voice sounds agitated and you just pointed dumbly, because you knew that voice.

"M-M-Mayuri!!"

He ran a hand through his hair, disinterested.

"Who else would it be? Do you think I would let some stranger into my personal space to exploit my discoveries? I'd quicker dissect them."

A creepy smile grew on his face and you sweatdropped.

"Yep, that's definitely him."

It took you a moment to realize his hair was dripping, as if he just came out of the shower. He was moving around the room casually, yet you still kept your distance.

This was weird.

Your silence must have finally drawn his attention, because he turned to you, and your face heated up.

"Why are you suddenly so quiet?"

"N-No reason!!"

You waved frantically.

He didn't seem to buy that. With one step, he was standing right in front of you.

Mayuri leaned slightly to match your height, wearing that know it all grin.

"Did you fall in love with this face?"

"T-THAT'S RIDICULOUS!!"

His stupid smirk didn't leave, and all you wanted to do at that moment was punch him if nothing but to stop your embarrassment. His hand slid behind your neck, and you meant to question it, but his lips were suddenly pressed to your own, and all you could do was gape like a fish. His sapphire tresses tickled your forehead, and you couldn't help but take in the scent of his wash. It was almost intoxicating.

His tongue drifted over your lips teasingly and you couldn't stop the sound that escaped. Mayuri pulled back, tauntingly. Enjoying the dazed look in your eyes.

"You're transparent, (Y/N)."

You swallowed. Because during the entirety of your partnership, he'd never called you by your name. Nor has he ever looked at you like that.

"Nemu was right.."

Today I tried a new way to ground using the elements and tarot. I shuffled and cut my cards several times and "showed" my deck the energy issues I was feeling. I shuffled and cut a bunch and when I felt ready, I drew the first five cards. For this experiment, the card direction didn't matter, so I just put them all face up.

The first row was:

8 of Water

4 of Air

Ace of Fire

Page of Water

Queen of Water

This grouping would indicate an overabundance of water, and a complete lack of earth. So the first thing I did was breathe deep and slow, close my eyes, and visualize roots and branches growing up from the ground and connecting with me and filling me with earth energy. Then I visualized the roots soaking up the excess water energy, since plants need water. Once I felt this was done, I picked up my deck and shuffled and cut again, and again showed it my energy. Then I drew four cards. This four looks pretty good, except that the Emperor, which I associate with fire, sticks out like a sore thumb. So this time, I need to try and raise my fire energy. To do so, I visualized sitting outside in the sun to receive fire energy. Unfortunately, it was a winter sun and I didn't get much. This was reflected in my next draw, in which the 10 of Fire is flanked by the 6 of Air and one of the two versions of Justice in this deck. I associate Justice with Air as well. This time, I use air and my breath to help with fire by visualizing a match that gets brighter every time I breathe in and pull oxygen towards it. Once that was done, I drew two cards - the Empress and the other version of Justice, which in this case indicate Earth and Air. I was a little confused, but I tried thinking of another way to represent the elements in my body, and for earth, I decided to try a different position. In that position, I did more deep breathing. I did a final shuffle for a final card that would either indicate I had sufficiently balanced my energies again, or let me know that I would need a physical representation of an element outside myself to finish up. I drew the Hermit. This card's art features a sleeping figure and all four elements, which tells me I am good for now.

Even though Roxanne Ritchi threatens to use her nosy reporter skills to find out all my secrets each time I say it, SPOILER WARNING!

Okay, this one may seem a little odd at first glance, but bear with me. There is some fairly solid evidence that Megamind is significantly stronger and perhaps faster than his physique would suggest. The question is: was this simply natural or was something else going on? Fan theories offer some interesting ideas to contemplate.

To begin with, as I’ve mentioned in How Strong is Megamind, the blue man’s life in prison, work building machines, and previous battles with Metroman all point toward him being more durable and physically powerful than he might appear. Furthermore, as covered in another article, What Would Megamind Look Like in Real Life, a comparison of Roxanne and Megamind’s body shapes makes it likely that the reporter weighs roughly 150pounds compared with her formerly-villainous boyfriend’s 120 pounds. Thirty pounds difference might not seem like much, but consider that this means Roxanne weighs twenty-five percent more than Megamind. Yet the blue hero picks her up several times during the film without any apparent strain. To put this in perspective, that would be like an average American man—weighing about 198 pounds—being able to fully lift a small sport motorcycle—weighing about 250 pounds—with casual ease. Clearly, while he might not boast Metroman’s super-strength, Megamind is unexpectedly strong.

Then there’s his speed. The mere fact that he is able to battle Metroman repeatedly, when the other is known to have super-speed, and the fact that he dodges Hal/Titan’s laser vision, makes it clear that the blue alien is extremely quick. The question, then, becomes whether these abilities are simply natural for his species.

Why is that even up for debate? Well, there is proof in the movie that Megamind was not merely held in prison, he was studied. In the scene outside the blue man’s jail cell, taking place near the beginning of the film, we can see screens that appear to display real-time data about the alien’s brain and body. (For more about that, feel free to read The Warden.) It’s possible that only Megamind’s impressive mental faculties was being examined, but it’s equally possible there may have been more to it. Perhaps it could have even involved experimentation as well as observation.

Indeed, that is the argument that one fan theory makes. A website called The Gamer offers an interesting hypothesis: Megamind may have been purposefully enhanced starting in childhood. The fact that Megamind, although likely nearly forty years old at the time of the film, still appears to be a young man. This, in fact, throws the Warden’s apparent off-hand comment that the blue man will miss the opening of the Metroman Museum by “several thousand years” into a whole new light, and the article suggest that this could be due to genetic modifications. Of course, that concept is thin at best, but it is certainly also fascinating.

If that were true, however, we must wonder why? If Megamind was already a known supervillain, why would prison officials still be trying to enhance his strength? One potential explanation is covered in the recent post Six Dark Megamind Fan Theories. There is evidence that the blue man may have been deliberately pushed into becoming the Bad Guy from a young age. Indeed, it seems there may have actually been a conspiracy for exactly that purpose, and those behind it may have had an arguably good reason. As a boy, Metroman was clearly a bully, but he also possessed superpowers. That made him extremely dangerous, and it appears that he may have been conditioned to engage in heroism for the purpose of earning praise while Megamind was molded into his “evil” nemesis. This would have encouraged the superpowered youth to use his abilities for the greater good while providing him with an “acceptable” target, thus making him less likely to turn his inhuman strength and laser vision on ordinary people. (Some fans, in fact, suggest that Megamind may have realized exactly what was going on, but gone along with it because he, too, recognized that Metroman needed to be controlled.) If we accept this as fact, then suddenly the possibility of officials purposefully making the blue man stronger and harder to defeat doesn’t seem so strange.

enjoying experimenting with DALLE 2 

the original prompt was something like:

Indestructible Feet

12/99