Despite the Chief Administrator’s warning, everything seemed… ordinary. Alan had emerged feeling slightly stronger, maybe healthier, but that was it. No Eve in his head. If anything, the main disorienting feature was the lack of his enhancements. His thoughts felt sluggish, his memory foggy, his body frail. Reality somehow felt a bit less real, as if everything was slightly out of focus.

Feeling a bit hungry, Alan looked about the room. Two of the capsules were currently in use: Kitana’s and the one next to hers. Icewolf's and the last capsule were empty. Alan wondered whose it was. He assumed one of them was Kitana's mentor, whom he still hadn't met. The kitchen appeared to be fully stocked, but since Alan hadn’t ever bothered to learn to cook, he decided to go downstairs to the company kitchen which had a hired chef. Despite the fact that this was the room where he had stayed in for the past few weeks, only a week real time, it still felt foreign. The rich decor, the paintings and the penthouse view made Alan feel a bit uncomfortable.

Alan checked the sign in the elevator; the kitchen was on the fifteenth floor. Swiping his ID card he’d gotten from Omnitech, he proceeded downstairs. The kitchen was a fairly simple place, with a granite counter-top and a wooden dining table that could seat 12 people. A few people were there, eating at the table, wearing the standard light grey Omnitech jumpsuits. One person was standing behind the counter, a young man in a white chef’s coat. Alan assumed they were the chef. He asked for a burger with fries. The chef muttered something about everyone never asking him to make actual food.

Alan pulled out his phone, looking to see if any major news had happened while he was gone. Apparently a lot had, with Russia, China and a number of non-NATO countries withdrawing from the United World Government over a dispute about where the tax money going, with a claim that an emphasis was being put on western projects. Of course, as all violence took place in-game, this seemed like a peaceful transition to the public, but the in-game ramifications could be startling. Rumors were now circulating that these countries had started funding the Legion of Man, and were preparing to set up their own force in-game to take back the Control Points in their homeland.

Alan wondered about the foolishness of mankind. In about another year and a half aliens could potentially start a war and try to take over Earth, and here people were wasting tons of resources fighting each other. Well, unfortunately he couldn’t do too much about it now. He’d try to keep better track of how things evolved on the news though.

He texted Icewolf that he was back in the realm of the living.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Alan turned to look around, and saw a non-descript man in an Omnitech jumpsuit.

“Are you Adampwnage?”

“Uh, yes, that’s my username.”