Care Bears Evolution
Chapter 2
One Giant Leap
( Care-A-Lot, Hall of Heart's)
Up in the Kingdom of caring, There live the Care Bears, the champions of caring and love, and brought those feelings to the world down below. At the moment however things seem to be unraveling into chaos. An emergency meeting has been called to address an issue that happened during one of the members' latest missions.
" Well…… this certainly does complicate things. Tenderheart…you must be more aware of your surroundings."
Noble heart, is a purple care bear cousin horse, He has a white muzzle, a blue maine with green streaks running through it along with his tail which shared the same color scheme. Like the other Care Bears and cousins he had a white fluffy tummy with a symbol in the center. His symbol was a heart, with a multitude of colors ranging from blue, yellow, and green. In the center of that heart was a bright orange star.
He was currently addressing one of the top members of the CBF (Care Bear Family)
They recently reported their latest mission
Although on the surface, Noble heart looks calm about the latest news involving Tender heart and him being found out by an adult, and for them to take a picture of all things. He knew that there would be complications in the near future.
"I'm so sorry Noble heart. It just happened so fast. One second I was just saying my goodbyes to Jeffrey, the next thing I knew I heard a twig snap, and when I turned around, I saw a woman holding a camera looking as surprised as I was. Soon after she quickly ran away, I panicked and chased after her asking her to stop and hold on."
" Oh…. That probably scared the poor dear even more. Although we tried to keep a low profile Tender Heart, it's really not the end of the world if the people of Earth find out about us. To be honest we've been doing this for so long now, and with all the technical advances in this modern day, I know it's going to be more and more difficult to keep that low profile."
True Heart, is a white cream colored bear, with a tuft of light purple and pink hair and tail. Like the others she has a fluffy white tummy, and her symbol is similar to Noble Heart, but instead of a heart with a star in the middle, hers is a star with a heart in the middle. It shares the same coloration of the blue, yellow,and green of noble hearts tummy symbol. The difference is that True heart has a pink heart in the center.
True Heart gave Tender heart a reassuring smile, she knew it would be harder and harder to keep themselves from becoming headlines. Both Noble Heart and True Heart were the co-founders of the CBF, and have been for many years now. It was now 2022, and the technical advances of the human race were at an all-time high. Everyone was online, and everyone had the means to get information across to millions of people with the press of a button. It would be foolish to think that they could stay hidden in times like these. So it would seem they would have to adapt like they've always have.
"I think the important thing is that we let the humans that do discover us know that we don't mean any harm, and only wish to help. Perhaps we're just too old fashioned, and some of the other members are adapting already. I know Champ, Cheer, Bright heart, Treat Heart, and most of the others have picked up and are using some of the modern technology the humans use."
Noble heart added, seeing how the majority of the family were adapting to the current times. Out of all the CBF members, only Noble Heart, True Heart, Tender Heart and Braveheart Lion, we're the only members not using any bit of technology made by humans.
" It's thanks to John and Dawn that we're not completely out of touch with humanity. They are still very good friends with everyone here, and keep in contact with us the most. They were the ones to teach everyone how to use technology from Earth. Now half the time we don't even rely on the caring meter for missions, but instead someone will read an article about a natural disaster, or some sort of trouble that we have the power to help with, and then they will take off on their own to help solve it. The only time we rely on the meter now is if it's a personal issue with a lonely child or one that needs extra love and caring."
True Heart chimed in, she was a bit fascinated by it all, although she didn't quite understand it. In the end, The family was using it to be more efficient and independent, and she didn't see a problem with that.
" Hmmmm… then I think it's time we adapt ourselves. Tender heart, why don't you go visit Bright Heart? He seems to be the most adept with all the technology currently available. I'm sure he would be delighted to teach you the basics."
Noble heart suggested, thinking it would be best for someone knowledgeable about these kinds of things to teach one of the family's captains.
" Right away Noble Heart! I will do all that I can to learn, I'll head over to Bright hearts house right away."
Tenderheart beamed, happy that things weren't completely derailed when it came to their mission. He immediately said his goodbyes to both the founders and made his way to Bright hearts.
" Hehe he's always so eager. Hopefully bright heart will have the know-how and patience to teach tender heart the basics at least"
True Heart giggled, knowing that this would be a tall order for the raccoon cousin.
" Sigh* I know, I still don't understand it. But then again that's why we're leaving it to the kids, like you said, it's only a matter of time before all the world knows who we are. So lets give them the best first impressions we can."
Both Noble and True smiled at each other. Deciding to leave the fate of their family to their kids.
( The facility of evolution, front entrance)
It had been a week since the conversation with Roy, and now Kim had arrived at the facility. She was accompanied by one of her good friends Amy, who was her classmate during lectures. She volunteered to help Kim pack and move her stuff to the facility. It was also an excuse for Amy to see what it was like inside, Roy was expecting them and decided to greet them in person. He stood in the front entrance offering to assist with Kim's belongings and showing her to her new living quarters. Roy was an average looking 28-year-old Caucasian male, with messy brown hair. He was 5'9, he wore a nice looking white lab coat with an over exaggerated popped collar almost looking like a mad scientist. But Kim was sure that was just a fashion choice that he liked. He also wore glasses like she did.
It didn't take long for Kim to unpack everything and get settled into her new room. She didn't bring much and the things that she didn't bring she let Amy keep. All she really needed was her laptop, some of her clothes and toiletries, everything to keep her hygiene in check, and a box of her favorite books and manga. Everything else would be provided for her.
After Kim unpacked and got settled, Roy offered a tour of the facility for both Kim and Amy. He quickly gave Kim an ID badge signifying that Kim was now an intern that worked there. He gave Amy a guest pass, which would allow her to explore the facility for the day without security throwing her out. The tour began, Roy showing the girls all the technical advances that they were working on. Ranging from tools to enhance everyday living which included a thermal jacket, capable of either warming or cooling off the recipient that wore it. They were also more biological enhancements. These ones came with a lot more risk and had to be either consumed or injected for permanent effects. These were the facilities' more controversial subjects. Roy also couldn't discuss the details of them, at least with Amy. With Kim he couldn't say anything until she filled out the proper paperwork and non-disclosure contracts. He would be sure to get to that once the tour was over and Kim had gotten settled.
The tour lasted about 2 hours, once Roy was finished giving the tour they all stopped for lunch. After that Amy decided it was time for her to head back to the college dorms. After hugging Kim and saying her goodbyes she left, leaving Kim to go and settle in her new room.
After about 20 minutes getting everything set up with her laptop, she heard a knock on her door. Kim got up and opened the door, it was Roy and he had a smile on his face, seeming to be happy to finally meet his future partner and get things started.
"Greetings Kim, I hope everything's comfortable and satisfactory. Please let me know if you need anything else. I'm just here to give you the company's welcome and also all the boring paperwork that comes with it hehe."
Roy chuckled, knowing it was just all legal Mumbo jumbo, but still happy to have Kim aboard.
Kim smiled and nodded inviting Roy in, Roy accepted the invitation and brought a stack of papers to Kim's computer table.
"Now most of this stuff is just your typical sign here, sign there junk that most people skim through. But considering why you're really here I have to ask you up front. Are you really sure you're okay with this? If you agree I'm going to have to legally bind you to this, this is very top secret stuff. Very few people even know that we are doing this project. That's all I'm liable to say until you sign the contract. So if you want to back out now this is your chance to do it. We will still hire you as an intern and give you a free education. But we will deny any claims that we are working on a secret project. The short of it is, it would be our word against yours if you tried to expose what we were doing, and we really don't want that."
Roy gave a nervous chuckle, not really comfortable giving the big corporate talk, especially to those he could consider a good friend.
Kim understood however, she had all the time to think about it during that long week of packing and getting everything situated. If she hadn't seen what she had seen, she would have thought this whole situation was sketchy. However she was just as curious as Roy was, and already considered what she was getting herself into.
Without hesitation, Kim began signing the papers. Luckily for Kim she was a speed reader. Able to read everything fast while making sure there were no sketchy things that she wouldn't agree to. It only took her around 10 minutes to sign everything before she got to the non disclosures.
Roy informed her when she signed this he would let her know the rest of the situation and more details.
There was no going back if she signed this part, having one more minute to think about it she signed her name and put down the pen.
" I believe that's everything. I would like to thank you Mr Roy for this opportunity. I have to admit, I'm a rather closed off person. I don't really show too much of myself or connect with people. But when it comes to my curiosity, and my thirst for knowledge, I will come out of my comfort zone for the sake of science."
Roy smiles, seeing a true scientist among him.
"Well said Kim! And that's why we're all here. To explore the unknown and understand it. To push past our limits as much as humanly possible. Now, with everything taken care of in the proper paperwork sorted, I can finally discuss everything you will need to know about this project. However, let's not talk here in your room, let's go to the lab."
After Roy collected the papers that Kim signed, and put them away in a folder. The two made their way to Roy's lab, the door to his lab had a keypad that needed a code. He quickly typed it in, Kim not getting a chance to see what number he punched in before the door opened.
"Don't worry, I'll tell you the code later for now follow me."
The two made their way deeper into the laboratory. It was full of expensive equipment and all sorts of tools.
Kim looked around in amazement, she saw a bunch of graphs and charts, calculations and formulas. There was so much research in this room and she could tell Roy spent hours in here.
"Amazing Roy! Is this all the research involving the Care Bears?"
Roy smiled sheepishly, one hand rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
" Hehe yeah, recently me and my team have gotten so much new data ever since we started those forms, we were able to visit some locations that some people claimed that the Bears and cousins were at. We were able to get some very valuable data, but most of it we can't really use or understand what it means."
Kim decided to look around more, getting a glimpse of a picture of a paw print which seems to resemble a bears. But instead there was a heart shaped mark. They also seem to be a radiation reading graph. This alarmed Kim immediately asking Roy a question.
"Wait! They're not radioactive are they?"
"Hmmm? Oh that, don't worry, we were just a surprise too. We're not quite sure why, but it seems that some areas we visited that were reported to have incidence of purple lightning or other weird weather. Seems to have these traces of radiation. Despite this the radiation isn't harmful, in fact some of the scientists who were exposed to it without the hazmat suits said that they felt happy or in a good mood."
Kim looked intrigued, but she also had 50 more questions about it seemingly wanting to know more.
"We concluded that this might be the power they use for self-defense. Judging by what we heard about this "Stare power"
It gives off some sort of light, and leaves a lasting effect, this might be the radiation left behind. Although our data is inconclusive. We would need an actual encounter with one to see how it works and the lasting effects. We however cannot be intrusive, I had to shoot down an idea from one of our team members, suggesting that we find one of the recipients that were exposed to their power. Any children are a no-go, and there were very few accounts of adults getting hit by that Ray. The ones that may have been exposed to that light, most likely don't have any traces of the radiation anymore. However, we recently came across a big discovery! We decided to visit that park you discovered that brown Care Bear at. We didn't discover any type of radiation, so It didn't seem like there was any altercation. Things take an interesting turn once the bear notices and gives chase to you. He ran through the bushes you were hiding in. It would appear that it pulls at his fur, leaving a clump of it that we took as a sample!"
This got Kim's interest. She gave Roy her full attention, waiting for him to continue.
"We got the sample back to the lab right away! The crazy thing is none of our equipment can identify it! You would think the material would be from a bear. But no, it's a completely unheard of element combined with a little of that radiation."
Roy, getting more and more excited talking about their latest discovery, decided to show Kim the sample, it was in a chrome cylinder with The biohazard sign on it. Although it didn't seem to be dangerous on the surface. The two were still cautious and decided to wear biohazard suits just in case. Once the proper safety equipment was on, Roy went ahead and opened up the cylinder. The clump was still pristine as the day they collected it.
"Once we can safely figure out everything about this sample, there can be hundreds of uses for it! We just need to put it through more testing"
" What kind of testing are you putting it through?"
Kim asked Roy, wondering what they can possibly do with just a clump of fur.
"Well first we're testing any prolonged effects from anything being in its facility for a long period of time. So far nothing's really happens. However, once we brought plant life into the picture, there was a change."
Roy had Kim's undivided attention, curious about what he meant.
" You see, 2 days exposed to the sample made the plants grow healthier and look more vibrant."
Roy Then selected another cylinder with a biohazard on it, he opened it to reveal a flower, however this flower looks much more vibrant, almost cartoonish in a way. It almost seemed like it had a personality.
" Oh wow! It almost looks unreal! You're telling me it looks like that because it was near the clump of Fur for that long?"
"Yes, we don't know why but it seems to have an effect on plant life. We don't know if all of them are capable of this or just the one. The most amazing part about this is that before the flower looked like this it was wilting and dying"
Both Kim and Roy observed the flower for a few more minutes before eventually putting both the flower and the fur back in the cylinders, then they both went to a sanitation room to get hosed down, before taking off the hazmat suits.
"There's still so many avenues we can explore just with this sample alone. Although I wish we could interview and talk with one of them."
Kim stopped to ponder for a bit while Roy wrote some notes down.
"That would be interesting, maybe it turns out they are really friendly, and I know that they're sentient since the one that chased me spoke perfect English."
"Ya, if only they weren't so shy. I have so many questions. But I guess for now, we are just going to have to admire them from afar hehe "
The two chuckled at that, rapping up their business in the lab. Soon after that Roy decided to give Kim the rest of the day off, letting her prepare for the day of studying and then work that she will start tomorrow. Escorting Kim to her room, Roy wished her a good night before leaving to go to his own Room for the night. Just before Roy was about to go to bed, he heard a knock at his door. He went to answer it, opening up the door revealed a tall Burley Caucasian man in a military outfit, and what looked to be like a government official African American woman standing there.
"Hello Mr Baker, we would like to discuss a few things with you".
