Chapter No.57. Transition.

As was their custom, James and Sylvia were going for a walk in the park near the Steris residence. Sunlight filtered through leaves casting a checkered pattern on the grass and walkway. Birds chirped as they dashed about from tree limb to tree limb searching for tasty insect morsels.

As they rounded a corner, James and Sylvia saw something unexpected, a ten-year-old boy running about, obviously lost. He had slanted eyes, a small chin, flattened nose, and large ears.

"He has Down Syndrome," Sylvia said.

James grabbed the child and held him. "Where's your mother?"

He grunted and began to bawl.

Sylvia knelt and placed her hand on his head to calm him.

A woman approached, obviously distressed, her long raven hair flying wildly about. "I'm sorry! He got away from me."

Sylvia turned to James. "I can sense what's wrong with him. He has extra copies of chromosome 21. I think I can see all of the genetic damage well enough to remove the extra gene copies and reverse the effects it caused."

James smiled. "Cool!"

The child's mother's eyes grew large as she witnessed a miracle. Her child's appearance began to change, causing his facial features to slowly morph back to that of a normal child. His body also altered, and he smiled. "I'm sorry I ran away, mother."

His mother was astounded. "What in the . . . How did you . . . Oh my God!"

Sylvia stood up and turned to James. "Do you realize what this means?"

James tilted his head and presented a confused expression to her. "What?"

"It means that we are capable of reversing the effects of genetic diseases."

"Really?"

"Yes, and the wild thing is that there are over six thousand known genetic diseases."

He smiled. "Cool!"

"Who are you people?" the mother asked, her brow furled.

"We are God's servants, mam," James said. "Have a nice day."

They casually walked away as if nothing had happened, but their discoveries were not over. They sensed that a group of thugs were approaching.

"Should we make like wizards and simply vanish?" James said.

"I have a better idea. I think we can shape shift."

"Really?"

"Yes. I discovered it by accident when I was trying to alter my appearance."

"Why would you want to do that? You're beautiful."

She frowned. "Listen to me! All you have to do is imagine what you want to look like, and it will happen."

"So, what do you suggest we become?"

"Let's turn into to two big muscular tough guys," she said.

They did and when the thugs came into range, they decided to avoid a confrontation with James and Sylvia.

"You are on a roll," James told her. "You've discovered two new powers. Way to go!"

"I think there are more, but only time will tell."

Later that evening when Sylvia was over to enjoy the pool with James. That's when they revealed what they had discovered.

"Sylvia has discovered two new powers," James told his parents. "We are able to not only cure genetic diseases we can erase all of the damage they cause. She did that to a Down syndrome boy."

"That's amazing," Janet said. "There's lots of genetic diseases."

"Like six thousand," James said.

"What's the other power?" Robert asked.

"We can shape shift," James said. "We morphed into two big burley guys to prevent being bothered by a gang of thugs."

"This makes one wonder how many other powers we have," Robert said. "Unfortunately, the Vestals didn't tell us how many or what they were."

"I suppose they assumed that we would figure it out," Janet said. "I think we should test out this genetic disease idea."

No one objected, and that Sunday, the Steris family attended mass, they caught the attention of Father Johns on the way out.

"The angels proclaimed that we've passed the test and as a prize, they gave us more powers."

Father Johns offered a subtle smile. "What possible new powers do you need?"

"We don't need anything," Robert said. "We assume that we are given these powers to better serve God."

"Of course, I understand."

"One of the new powers is absolutely amazing," Robert told him. "We are able to not only cure genetic diseases but also can reverse all of the effects of the diseases."

Father's eyes grew large for a moment before he squinted. "Really?"

"Yes." Robert gestured to Sylvia. "She was able to return a Down Syndrome boy to normal."

"That's . . . it would be a game changer."

"We need to try out more genetic cases," Robert said. "Would it be possible to assemble a group of them so that we can try out our new power?"

"I don't know if people will believe me, but I'll see what I can do."

"Fair enough," Robert said before they departed.

As it turned out, Father had to limit the number of families that wanted miracle cures. He informed the Steris family that they could practice their powers on Tuesday evening.

Father had assembled three Down Syndrome children, two hemophilia cases, four MS suffers, an ALS patient, a child with Werner Syndrome, two sickle cell anemia cases, and a PKU child. The superheroes wasted no time in getting to work healing them.

Robert dealt with a middle-aged male that had ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He sensed that the guy was a veteran. Turns out he was a marine.

"I was a marine combat medic in the Iraq War."

"I served in Afghanistan with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit."

"Small world, isn't it."

"How did you get to do this . . . miracle thing?"

"When I got out of the service, I had a night job and was in a bad accident that put me in a coma for ten years. While comatose, I met a guy who I assume was connected to God. He told me that I was assigned to a mission to prevent Armageddon. Turns out, it was actually an experiment to see if normal humans could handle God like powers to save humanity."

The man stood up and extended his hand, which Robert shook. "Whatever it was, you've cured me. I have normal strength in my arms and legs now."

Robert smiled. "Yeah, I found all of the genetic screwups and eradicated them."

The man smiled back and Robert noted a tear in his eye.

James and Sylvia cured two young African American girls with sickle cell anemia. They simply smiled when the cure was completed.

Janet's cure of three Down Syndrome cases blew everyone's minds because she transformed them into normal human form. Even Father Johns was surprised to witness a Biblical-grade miracle. The fact that someone could do it convinced him that the accounts of Jesus' miracles were fact.

After the people who had been cured left, Father Johns turned to the superheroes. "I must say that this is the most significant thing I've ever witnessed."

"It's more than significant," Robert said. "This is what makes us happy that we can do these miracles. Our journey through the experiment has been rough, especially recently."

"What do you mean?"

"The president asked us to attempt a rescue of Margaret Wilson, a PSR journalist who had been covering the war in Yemen. She was apprehended by Saudi forces, tortured to confess to espionage, stripped naked, whipped and chained to the wall in a cell. We had to cause some casualties in order to rescue her. This is not what we want to do. This incident has suggested that we are entering a new phase of the experiment, one that might involve us in nasty conflicts."

"Yes, these little wars are killing many innocents and causing hunger and famine. I pray for the day when war will become a thing of the past."

"I think they'll be around for some time," Robert said. "And we'll end up trying to stop them."

Father Johns realized that what he said was probably true, but he hoped it wasn't.