The Start of Something New

April 23, 2017. A day the whole world remembers. The day that "Obelisk" arrived. The day "The Reckoning" started. It began with a huge meteor crashing into the surface of the planet, glassing half of a continent. The aftereffects altered the world's environment so drastically that the habitable zones were reduced to half their former size. Widespread chaos, anarchy, and death ensued.

The governments of the continent, though on the brink of collapse, didn't forget to send people to check out the impact site. This was when they found out something that would change everything forever. Well, change things more than they already had been. Superpowers. Direct contact with the obelisk granted superpowers.

This information was kept secret, as the governments used their newfound power to restore peace to the world, cementing their standing in this new world. They merged into one unified government and began to rebuild the world in their image.

Soon enough, large corporations began buying into the governments, paying immense fees to obtain contracts for time with the obelisk. The cycle continued and compounded, and soon there were two great powers in the world. The Union government and the rich. Wait, so basically business was back to usual? Yes. Except with sharper divisions.

Now, ten years later, people have begun developing natural superpowers. Although extremely rare, the lines of society have started to blur. However, one thing is common for most of humanity; people hate change.

"Momma! You gotta come see this, quick!" A young looking man yelled from his room.

"Ai, I'm a bit busy right now, Gavin. Making 'your' breakfast, you silly boy. Can't go in hungry on your last day of high school, right?"

"No, Momma, this is serious. Like life changing serious!" the teen yelled again.

'This boy, when did he get so difficult? Good riddance, he's starting university soon. Won't have to deal with him for more than a couple days a year… sweat deal, if you ask me,' Gavin's mom thought to herself as she walked over to his door. "Alright, I'm coming in now," she said as she opened it and looked inside, expecting to see him on his computer pointing at a scam message or something.

Instead, she was greeted by the sight of her son waving his hand around and a trail of blood floated through the air, following his movements.

"Isn't this so awesome, Momma? We can finally move out of this place and start a new life somewhere. I can provide for us," Gavin said excitedly with an eager look on his face.

"No."

"Momma?"

"No. No, you can't, why? I knew it. I never should've had you! If I'd known you'd become one of 'them', I swear to God I would've never carried you to term! You disgusting thing, your kind hasn't taken enough from me, huh? You better stay right here," she growled after yelling hysterically and left the doorway.

Gavin's face turned from shock to horror after his mother returned, shotgun in hand.

"Momma, please, I didn't know it would make you so upset! I won't tell anyone, I swear!" he cried out.

"I won't listen to your lies. Anyone who has those cursed powers is no kin of mine. I always had a feeling that I hated you, it's quite touching to know it's justified," somehow, Gavin's mother looked manic and calm at the same time.

If not for the loaded shotgun pointed at his face, Gavin could've called the face as very unsettling. With the weapon included, it was shit-your-pants scary.

"Momma! Please snap out of it!" Gavin cried. He watched as her index finger began pulling on the trigger and lunged to the side, a loud bang ringing out and searing pain shot through one of his legs.

His mind went black as he felt a connection to her arm and focused on it, resulting in her arm exploding into a mess of blood and tissue, leaving hanging bones from the elbow down.

Gavin's mother screamed in shock and pain. "Gav, I'm so sorry, hun. I didn't mean any of it. You just scared me, okay?" she whimpered as tears fell from her eyes. "I'm gonna go patch myself up, then let's watch a movie or something."

Gavin was extremely confused about what was going on. First his mother tried to shoot him, now she wants to watch a movie?

"A-alright," he murmured as she left.

Sitting back down on his bed, he began pushing the metal out of his body. At the very least, he couldn't bleed out with control over his blood. He could do nothing about the smell, though. Burnt flesh and iron, a far cry from eggs and bacon, that's for sure. As far as he could tell, he was lucky the pellets hadn't hit anywhere vital, but he wouldn't be able to put weight on his leg for a while.

All Gavin wanted to do was crawl back into bed and wake up again, and all that had happened up to this point would be a dream. He knew nothing could ever be the same after what happened, but a kid could hope. And so he did, he crawled back into his sheets and closed his eyes, shutting off all of his chaotic thoughts. He somehow drifted into a fitful sleep, yet was awakened by a cold sensation of metal on his temple.

Opening his eyes, he gazed upon his mother staring down at him with pure hatred, pressing his father's favorite revolver against his head.

"I've hated you since the day you were born! You're too much like your father, always reminding me of what I lost!" she screamed at him.

Pulling the hammer back in preparation to shoot, a wild grin formed on her face. That's when Gavin lost it. All of a sudden, blood poured out of his mothers eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. He felt the sensation of crushing her brain as she fell to the floor, limp. The revolver dropped and fired, the bullet embedding itself harmlessly in the wall.

Gavin looked at the body of the woman who he'd thought loved him for 18 years and cried. Wailed and sobbed in grief. He was still sobbing when the police showed up, put him in cuffs, and escorted him out of the building.

~•~

It was supposed to be Allison's day off. Working in a powerful organization was truly taxing to the mind. Although she didn't necessarily have a high standing, it couldn't be called low either. She had been soaking in the path when her work phone buzzed. Sighing grumpily, she looked at the text message from her boss and her eyes widened.

[On the way] she replied to the message as she hurriedly got out of the bath and dried off. Putting on her formal attire, she looked in the mirror as she applied some light makeup.

Platinum blond hair in a bob cut, thin eyebrows and mysterious cerulean eyes, button nose and thin lips. She looked like royalty, and carried an air of professionalism. Her figure was a little less impressive than her face, as her chest was slimmer than most and her rear wasn't exactly the most sought after shape, yet she gave her physical aspects no time of thought, as she was happy with the intellect she had received from her parents and the powers she received from the Obelisk. She was young, only 20 years old, but had been rising through the company thanks to her family and talent.

Exiting her apartment, she strode down the hall, the clacking of her heels slightly annoying her. She got in an elevator and took it down to the garage, to where her company vehicle was waiting for her. The Emberdyne 2660x in metallic black was an impressive sight, a seemingly luxury sedan with butterfly doors and authentic leather detailing. The wood paneling was made from the elusive mahogany wood, a show to the vast ocean that was Emberdyne's wealth. Of course, the public models would not be as opulent.

After inputting her destination on the autopilot, she began to go over the details of her emergency assignment. A certain Gavin Blakely, born on the 19th of August, 2009. Was raised by his mother after the death of his father due to the terrorist movement Kingslayer. Fairly typical life, not much money, decent grades. Until today, apparently. Killed his mother with unknown means, bullet wounds on his right leg. Higher ups think he might be a Natural have a strong assassination type power. Allison's job was to figure everything out, and determine whether the guy was truly special or not.

Arriving at the police station, she hopped out and the patrolling guards bowed respectfully. She gave a curt nod and walked in. Showing her ID, she was brought to an interrogation room. Inside of it was a man with a sack over his face.

"I want zero recording and no one peeking in on this. I interrogate him, alone," she said as she began thinking about how she would gain the most info with the least amount of questions.

"But Ma'am, that's against the protocols!" one of the officers said. One glare from Allison shut him up.

After all of the officers left the room, she locked the door and then entered the room where Gavin was sitting. Yanking off the hood, she was embarrassed that her heart started beating rapidly when she saw his appearance.

An overpowering appearance, his face as well defined as many models; sharp brows, roman nose, full lips that even a woman would be slightly jealous of, and curly black hair to top it off. Also, add darker skin with bronze undertones.

'Hey, this is a bit unfair! Why does he get to look like a god and I don't get to look like a goddess? Wait, get your head together, Allison! This is no time for wild thoughts,' she thought with a blush as she collected her thoughts.

"I killed her," Gavin spoke softly, not even opening his eyes. "I've confessed, can I go back to my cell now?"

"Gavin Blakely. 18 years old. Born in Neo Blackton. Three counts of juvenile delinquency- this sounds right?" Allison asked.

"Yep, just like I told the other cops," he sighed, "if you're just gonna ask the same questions, you can stop and save us both some time. I poisoned her, and lucky enough for me it worked before she blew my brains out. "

"We both know you're lying. Tell the truth," she barked. Gavin's eyes fluttered a little in shock.

"What do you mean? I'm not stupid enough to lie to an officer," said Gavin as he shook his head.

"Well, I'm no officer. And I know for sure you're lying to me. How. Did. You. Kill. Her?"

An intense pain flooded through Gavin's mind as he felt the only way to get rid of it was to answer truthfully. "I felt her blood and commanded it!" he yelled in agony. The pain stopped soon after.

"Interesting. Can you feel my blood?" she prodded.

"Yeah, I can feel everyone who comes near me," at this point, Gavin felt defeated. There was no point in lying and he honestly had no clue what to do anymore.

"Prove it," ordered Allison, curious about what he meant. Suddenly, she felt a cramp in her arm as she lost control of it, watching it wave back and forth in front of her.

"That's enough, please let go," she pleaded as she suddenly felt extremely unsafe.

"You don't have to be scared. I won't kill you, cuz what would that get me? A bullet in the brain? Well actually that wouldn't be so bad, so maybe I will?" he teased morbidly, chuckling to hide his sorrow. But he did eventually release control of her arm.

Allison could feel it, though. He was depressed. Who wouldn't be after sending their own mother to the afterlife?

"You feel lost, like you don't deserve to live after what you did, right? How about working for me, for a bit? Emberdyne Industries always takes care of its employees," Allison suggested.

"But I'm a criminal now," Gavin said sadly.

"Are you really that naive? There are crooks who have done much worse than you higher up on the ladder. They really play with the lives of non Gifted people like they're toys. It's quite sickening, actually. That's why I want to make it to the top, so I can change things for the better. I need your help to do it. We can use your gift to clean up the filth of the world, what do you think?"

"My criminal record, won't that make things... harder?" Gavin asked.

Allison let out a little laugh. She really hadn't expected the guy whose face looks like a god would be as innocent as a little child. "Erasing such a minor criminal record is as easy as taking a breath. Hell, they haven't even put matricide on it yet. Just say yes, and all your troubles will go away."

"Uh, alright I guess, I mean I got nothing else to do, right? Working with a beautiful lady isn't a bad deal," he smiled for the first time that day.

"Mhm, on the job, remember to keep your eyes to yourself, hot stuff," she replied, her head almost exploding from the compliment and her out of character reply. Everyone at work called her cold because she harshly refused any attempts made at her. And here she was, flirting with a guy who technically didn't make it through high school! "Alright, get your stuff if you have anything, we'll be leaving soon."

Gavin merely responded by shaking his head and jiggling his hands that were still cuffed to the table.

"Oh. Right," Allison said awkwardly.

~•~

There was an awkward silence in the car as Allison resisted the urge to stare at Gavin's face. Which was made more awkward as she could feel him blatantly looking at her. It didn't feel like a lustful gaze, more of an inquisitive kind.

When she could bear it no longer, she confronted him. "Do you want to say something? Or are you just going to keep staring?" she asked without taking her eyes off the road.

"What does Emberdyne even want with me?" he paused before continuing, "Come to think of it, it's probably cuz I'm a Nat, right? Some labcoats are gonna study me and then dissect me when all other avenues are exhausted. Why wouldn't they, if they could find a way to induce evolution without the Obelisk, wouldn't they be the future of humanity?"

"One, if you knew why did you ask. Two, if you knew why did you agree to come?" Allison was confused.

"Two, I have nothin better to do, so why not, right? Either this or the slammer and I honestly don't give a damn. Got nothin to live for anymore anyways. And one, trying to make conversation with a beautiful lady. You don't seem to like small talk so I opted to dive into the gritty stuff right away," he replied with a joking tone.

"Might as well add some merits to your career while I'm at it. If you didn't manage to convince me I'm sure someone else would just come for me later. Y'know, if I'm worth enough to the coats maybe I'll be in your memoirs as one of your biggest achievements. Haha, the life and times of… you never told me your name, did ya?"

"Allison," she said curtly.

"Huh? Allison… Emberdyne Industries… Regal appearance… Mental powers… Wait, you're Allison Carter, right?" Gavin exclaimed excitedly.

"Eh? Once again, your deduction skills are impressive. Yes, you're correct, though I am quite confused about how you know of me?" she said with a puzzled look.

"Heh, you're more famous than you think. Word round the streets say you're one of Emberdyne's most prized pieces. No one knows exactly why, but most assume it's something to do with your powers," he informed her.

"I see," she said blankly. 'Allison, get your shit together! Your heart shouldn't be beating like some crazed fangirl just because some hot guy knows about you.'

After that, the awkward silence resumed until Allison noticed something. They were being followed.

"Hey Gavin, how far can your powers reach?" she asked with urgency in her tone.

"I can passively feel within five feet of me, and I think like if I focus I can probably control twenty feet away. Why? We bouta get in some trouble?"

"Maybe. We shouldn't, but it's possible," Allison spoke through gritted teeth. "Just be ready for anything."