SHIELD Agent Rhapsodos: A Part That Remains

:: Adapt ::

When was the last time he had to adapt to the cold? The last time Genesis remembered staying for more than a few months in a cold place was Modeoheim; the most recent Nibelheim. Afterward, the crimson commander avoided cold weather like a plague.

Unfortunately, Chicago city has its cold winters too, and whether Genesis liked it or not, he'd have to remain in the city where he now called home.

Fortunately, he was healthy this time around, didn't have a wing sticking to his back, and his SOLDIER enhancements kept him from getting affected by the weather. The only downside though, was the fact he had to eat more than the average person. He was forced to endure eating less than what he needed to support his metabolism. However, at the same time, he found out something that blew him away.

He was able to control his super soldier enhancements via the Lifestream.

While he couldn't 'switch off' his enhancements, Genesis, however, could adjust the power like a person would fine-tune a music equalizer or volume to get the level of sound they would want.

It had been by pure accident he found out. Genesis was wishing that he could eat less for a week and his unusual high body temperature dropped to that of a normal person. In return though, he felt more of the cold weather. It was a fair tradeoff, as at the present Genesis just didn't have enough pocket-money to support his unnatural food consumption. On the other hand, he was happy to actually feel he was a normal human for some days. It also had saved the hassle of learning to control his strength among the normal people. This time around, it was a matter of tweaking his control of his Lifestream flow to tune his enhanced senses to what he desired.

So here he was, out in the cold on a mission; his mission? It was to buy Christmas presents, another important holiday that most people celebrated annually in the US. Apparently both Robert and Hazel did at least.

For this time, Genesis was willing to use some of his body heat of a 3rd class SOLDIER so he wouldn't have his teeth chattering. He had wondered about the streets from shop window to another in confusion of what gift he would buy his friends. Since it took some time, his shoes were soaked from the snow. The crimson commander stuck in an adolescent body cursed for his indecisiveness why he just couldn't decide on something. As much as he hated the snow, Genesis wanted his presents to mean something.

For the last two hours, he still wasn't so sure what he would buy for Hazel and Robert. Hazel's present was probably easier to decide on, but he just didn't have much pocket-money if he was going to buy them both separate presents. Robert was another factor, as Genesis was confused on what he gift he could give when the old man was going to die soon. Thankfully, his walk finally led him to a store window that answered his prayers.

Smiling brightly, Genesis opened the door and welcomed the heated room that returned more color to his pale skin. As much as he was proud that he had more control in fine-tuning his enhancements and adapted quickly, there were times on Earth he didn't want to think about it. Just as easily as he turned his body heat up, he leveled it to a tolerable temperature as he browsed through the store. The former SOLDIER smirked; he could get used to this.