Chapter 15: Source of Power

[Third Person's PoV] 

All seven of them were sneaking their way inside, dressed in clothing designed for stealth to blend into the darkness, with some of them carrying bags over their shoulders.

"I don't understand. Why don't we just have Nathan make them all faint and burn the weapons to cinders? We're just being excessive," Klaus whispered angrily, wishing he could be drinking instead.

"Because we need the practice, and having Nate do everything will make us look useless," Diego whispered back, equally irritated.

*"So what, am I just the lookout? The emergency button in case things go wrong?"* Nathan asked with a straight expression as he floated above them, hands behind his head.

"Yes," they all whispered back without hesitation, causing Nathan's lip to twitch in annoyance as he looked at them.

They snuck into the docks through an open section of the roof, using a rope to slide down. Nathan, however, simply floated down, watching them with a straight expression, finding their approach overly complicated. Klaus was also floating, having recently discovered his telekinesis ability.

"I can see why you like floating around, brother," Klaus said smugly, though his stance was far from perfect as he surrounded himself in a green energy aura.

"You only discovered your ability last week. Slow your roll; you might hurt yourself, Klaus," Nathan cautioned.

"Let him, Nate. Maybe he'll hurt himself and have to get his jaw wired shut again," Ben added, causing the others to suppress their laughter as they safely landed on the ground.

They hid behind a container, observing men patrolling with rifles. A few containers down was the weapon they were tasked to destroy.

"Nate, Diego, and I will take out the men with the weapons. The rest of you set up the bombs to destroy the weapon," Luther ordered, handing his bag to Allison.

The group sprang into action, except for Nathan, who casually walked with his hands in his pockets. As he approached a few of the men, their eyes turned white and distant before terror spread across their faces. They wet themselves as they experienced their greatest fears, then fainted from shock.

Meanwhile, Diego darted forward, throwing knives that changed direction mid-air, hitting bullseye after bullseye. Seeing their men fall, the remaining enemies aimed their guns at Diego, who had just thrown his last knife.

Surrounded, Diego raised his hands with a frightened expression. "Wait, wait, wait," he said, feigning fear as the men smirked and began firing. But just before the bullets reached him, they stopped midair, forming a dome around him. Diego grinned and chuckled, "Just kidding~," before thrusting his fists forward, sending the bullets flying back at the shooters, hitting each one.

As the bodies dropped around him, Diego stretched, smirking. "I've definitely gotten better with my powers."

Luther, meanwhile, was effortlessly knocking out enemies with single punches, tossing them aside like ragdolls. A man with a shotgun suddenly appeared from behind a container, but Luther quickly inserted his finger into the barrel. The gun exploded backward, sending the man flying unconscious.

Luther glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then began flicking his injured finger. "Ow," he groaned, sucking on his finger.

*'I saw that,'* Nathan's amused voice echoed in Luther's mind.

Luther quickly pulled the finger from his mouth, muttering, "No, you didn't."

Meanwhile, the others were crouched down, setting up the bombs. As Ben was setting up his, he suddenly paused, a confused expression on his face as he thought he heard something inside the container. He tapped on it. "Hello?"

"Ben? What are you doing?" Allison asked, puzzled.

"Guys, there's someone inside this thing…" Ben said as he began climbing the container. As he did, Diego, Nathan, and Luther jogged over to him.

"Ben, what are you doing? Remember our father's orders—we're not allowed to open it," Luther reminded him. 

"Father and his orders can go and fuck themselves for all I care. There's someone in here," Ben said, ignoring the warnings as he turned the handle and opened the container. Inside, a dark-skinned Asian girl floated in water, her eyes wide but calm.

"Let me help you out," Ben said seriously, looking down at the girl. "But you have to trust me. Do you trust me?" he asked.

The girl nodded, but just as Ben reached his hands inside, Nathan suddenly felt his entire body tremble, his eyes glowing. He instinctively made a grabbing motion, using his telekinesis to yank Ben away, sending him flying back.

"DUDE! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Ben groaned as he slowly got up, rubbing the back of his head in pain.

Nathan didn't answer immediately, staring at his hands, which were still shivering slightly. "I-I don't know… it was a knee-jerk reaction. I felt like if I didn't stop you, we were all going to die."

Everyone was shocked to see Nathan so rattled, even Ben, who was still rubbing his head. "What?" Ben muttered, bewildered.

"He's right," a familiar voice said, causing them all to turn. Reginald Hargreeves walked toward them calmly, holding a weapon. "If Number Eight hadn't stopped your foolish actions, you would have caused the end of the world… though I would have killed you first before it got to that point."

Stunned by his words, Luther stepped forward. "What is going on? Why would you say you'd kill Ben?"

"And who is that girl?" Ben demanded, his serious expression returning. "Why were you making us blow her up?"

Reginald sighed, rubbing his forehead with the barrel of his gun. "If the Marigold inside your bodies had made contact with the Durango inside hers, it would have caused a chain chemical reaction that would have wiped this world clean… like it once did to mine…"

They all exchanged confused looks, bombarded by questions they didn't even know they had.

"What is Marigold?"

"What is Durango?"

"Why would it cause the end of the world?"

"Like it once did to yours?"

Nathaniel scoffed, floating mid-air. "So, you're finally going to tell them, old man?"

"Tell us what?" Vanya asked, turning to Nathaniel, her concern growing.

Nathaniel smiled knowingly. "Our old man isn't exactly human… or from this world. Our dear old dad… is an alien. Ain't that right, Pops?"

Reginald remained unfazed by Nathaniel's revelation, nodding in agreement. "That's correct. As for Marigold, it is the source of your powers. It was responsible for your irregular births. The element known as Marigold was created by my late wife, Abigail. But in creating this new element, another emerged on its own—its opposite, Durango."

He paused, the weight of his words hanging heavily in the air. "When these new elements were created, they brought about the end of my world, leaving nothing behind… and taking my wife with it."

The others stared at him, wide-eyed, as they witnessed something they had never seen before—genuine emotion from their father. The grief and sadness in Reginald's voice were unmistakable, leaving them all in a state of shock.