Chronos Ascending

Meena pulled her baseball cap down further over her eyes as she walked towards the teenagers going down the sidewalk. The two girls were giggling as one of them showed off her new powers. She had just visited Chronos Corp as her 16th birthday gift the week before and as a result, she could now change her clothes on a whim. The girl twirled in a pink sundress that suddenly shifted into a tank top and shorts, then jeans and a black crop top. The girl next to her oohed and aahed at the new outfits. Meena brushed arms with the changing girl as she walked past, then crossed the street into an alley as she waited for the other high schoolers to pass by. After a few minutes, Meena tried out the newly acquired power. She first changed the color of her sweater and shorts, then changed to jeans and a hoodie. She nodded in approval.

~~~

That night, Nikolas was fixing his tie in the mirror when his younger brother entered the den to join him. Mattias sunk lazily into an arm chair and sighed, rubbing his temple.

"I hate having parties all the time like this. Socializing is such a nuisance," Mattias complained. He was also dressed elegantly with his dirty blonde hair slicked to the side. Though his displeased expression spoiled the elegance.

Nikolas chuckled and turned away from the mirror. "It is, but it's necessary. We have to appease the stockholders and future customers." He knew his younger brother would much rather be doing paperwork as usual. Mattias was the one to handle the inside work while Nikolas was the face of the company, always obligated to appear calm and cheerful. Yes, Nikolas finalized deals and smiled for pictures but it was Mattias who managed the inner workings. They were two sides of the coin that is Chronos Corp.

Mattias sat up straight. "Speaking of future customers, there are some officials from Russia who will be attending tonight. They've requested to have a formal meeting tomorrow about building Chronos over there."

Nikolas scowled at his brother. "You know how I feel about foreign branches. They're too hard to keep an eye on. Look at this!" He pulled his phone out and showed Mattias the latest news covering terrorist attacks in China, Paris, and Australia by radicals with powers. "How did these people even get their hands on Chrona Serum?" Nikolas shook his head in contempt as he glared at the article himself. The serum wasn't cheap; the price was now equivalent to a new car. But considering it tapped into people's DNA and activated their unique power, the steep price was worth it. Who wouldn't want to have a one-of-a-kind ability that nobody else had?

Mattias shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. You made sure the application process is highly complex. There's no way they could've just waltzed in and gotten a shot. Maybe we need to do some more investigations into our employees," he suggested. "Maybe we have staff dabbling in underhanded deals?"

Nikolas considered for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Give the order tomorrow. I want thorough investigations, especially in the branches near the terrorist attacks and increased crime areas everywhere."

Mattias saluted Nikolas sarcastically. "Aye, aye, captain."

Nikolas rolled his eyes at his brother and slid a hand into the pocket of his slacks. "Come on, the party's waiting."

Mattias stood up and stretched. "Yes, wouldn't DARE leave the party waiting," he mocked with an impish grin.

~~~

Meena entered the mansion fairly easily with the other guests. She chose to attend the party in the Chronos family house especially because of the low security surrounding it. She knew that they saved most of their defense budget for the Chronos branches and research facilities, (particularly those that have had problems recently) rather than their little-known home address. She had changed herself into a simple satin gown in a wine red color that almost touched the floor, with strappy high heels that peeked out from under the dress as she walked. Her face mask was black lace tied with a ribbon. Luckily she didn't stand out at all, especially since some of the women there were covered in sequined or glittery gowns with gaudy jewelry and looked to Meena like walking disco balls.

The mansion was as showy as one would expect it to be. Chandeliers hung from the high ceilings of the enormous living room and there were several comfortable areas for seating. Cocktail tables adorned either side of a grand runner rug that extended from the main entrance to the garden doors. A small group of violinists played soft music in front of the large, decorative fireplace on one wall. Waiters weaved through the crowd carrying trays of food and drinks. Meena wandered around for a while holding a glass of champagne until she noticed two men descending one of the winding staircases in the corners of the room. She wasn't the only one to notice either. Most of the guests turned to gawk at the young men. The first was younger with dirty blonde hair and had a boyish charm to him, while the second man had a stronger jawline, black hair, piercing eyes, and 5 o'clock shadow. Meena knew from her research that these men were the brothers that owned Chronos Corp, and the reason that she manipulated herself into this party tonight. She needed more info than the news could offer.

Meena kept her distance for a while, watching the brothers casually out of the corners of her eyes and sipping her champagne. They were fairly easy to spot seeing as they were the only two people without masks at the party. The younger brother listened to older gentlemen talk most of the time with a bright grin on his face. The elder one was more social. He appeared on TV much more frequently than the younger one as well. He made his rounds to different groups, shaking many hands and patting a lot of backs purposefully. Meena knew what this practice meant, as she did it herself quite often. The man must have a power that is triggered by touch, similar to her own.

A slow smile spread across her face as she made her way over to him and bumped him gently as she passed by, pretending to spill some of her champagne on the sleeve of his obviously expensive suit jacket. She made a handkerchief appear in her hand and began wiping his sleeve while apologizing profusely.

The man smiled warmly at her. "Please, don't worry about it. It'll dry quickly."

Meena pretended to blush and smile back sheepishly as she placed the handkerchief in his hand, brushing against his skin softly, and pulled away. "Thank you! I'm so sorry, again."

~~~

'...Idiot,' Nikolas heard her think as she walked away. His smile faltered as he gazed at the woman's back, which was almost completely exposed from her mid-length dark hair down to her waist, except for two straps crossing over each other. He watched as the woman began gently brushing against several other patrons as she passed through the crowd. He set his glass down on the nearest waiter's tray, now focusing on her completely. Did she have a contact-activated power as well? She had definitely touched Nikolas. What exactly was she doing? He couldn't tell what exactly her power was.

Then, Nikolas couldn't hear anything from her mind anymore. It was as if she was blocking him on purpose. But that wasn't possible. Was it? Very few people knew that Nikolas could read minds. And he had definitely never met this person before. Fascinated, he followed the woman at a distance as she slowly made her way outside the French doors leading into the tea garden. He lost sight of her as she exited ahead of him. When he made his way out, he glanced around in search of the wine red dress but to no avail. The garden area was dimly lit with just Christmas lights woven through the wooden slatted roof and many people were enjoying their drinks and conversation outside. A ways beyond the patio area was the gazebo, decorated with twinkling lights. Those things combined made it frustratingly hard to see much of anything as he scanned the throng of guests. Just as he was about to investigate the garden further, he heard someone call his name and begrudgingly turned to greet a couple with his business grin at the ready.