CHAPTER 26

Travis had to admit, that last line had sounded a little cheesy. He'd been thinking about a superhero name all day. He needed something cool and flashy. He'd thought of things like Comet or Blur or something, to go with his speed, but none of them had felt right. Then, when he'd gotten his electrical powers, it hit him. He moved fast light lightning, but even that didn't feel right. But another word for lightning was Thunderbolt. Now that was a dope name.

All he needed was a good costume to go with it as all he had now was a ski mask he'd managed to pick up. And maybe some catchphrases as well. Cause 'have no fear' did suck.

"Who the hell are you?" the leader of the criminals asked, gun pointed at him.

Travis had watched a lot of action scenes in movies but had never really thought about what it would be like to have an actual gun pointed at him. It took everything he had not to cower down or just run as fast as he could, but he held strong. He had superpowers now. And he had an obligation to use them to save his friends.

"I'm the newest hero in town," he replied, hoping his voice wasn't quivering. "So, unless you want things to get messy, I suggest you surrender now."

Instead of surrendering, as Travis hoped, the leader just sighed. "Great, another one," he said before looking behind Travis to where Franklin was standing in the rubble of the wall he'd busted through. "Another two, I suppose I should say."

"No matter," the masked man said. "They are just wannabe heroes. Not true threats."

"Oh really?" Travis asked, his grin rising. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out several items he had swiftly picked up on his way here.

Duct tape.

"Let's see if you feel the same way after this," he said, stretching out one long strand.

A second later, after zooming all around the room and using all the tape he had, Travis had managed to tie up every bad guy in there, all of them now looking like gray mummies around the middle. He'd even removed their guns, tossing them in the corner.

He clapped his hands together, congratulating himself on a job well done. "That was easy," he said in relief. He'd been a bit worried it would take a bit longer or that something would go wrong, but apparently he was worried for nothing. His super speed made him invincible like this. "So, are you impressed yet?"

"A little," Franklin said.

"Not at all," the masked man told him.

"Oh come on dude, I just tied you and all your little goons up in like, I don't know, less than a second? How is that not impressive?"

A second later, the man was free, his whole body seemingly covered in metallic spikes that ripped the tape apart. As Travis watched, the spikes retracted into some sort of metallic skin that writhed and shifted around him.

"Children today," the man clucked. "So full of themselves. You're granted this small taste of power and think it makes you immortal. I think it's time you got a reality check."

"Oh yeah?" Travis asked, shaking himself off. It didn't matter what weird powers this dude had. He still had his super speed and as long as he had that, there wasn't anything he couldn't pull off. "Let's see."

He started to move, ready to wrap the man up again or maybe just knock him out this time. But he came to a stop right as he began, his feet jolting. He cursed and looked down, gasping at the sight. His feet were encased in that same weird metallic stuff, holding them back. He couldn't move.

"I trapped you while I was distracting you," the man informed him. "Pathetic."

He waved his arms and the metal stuff flew up and around him, twisting in the air towards all the tied up men. In a few short moves, all the tape was cut and the men were free again.

"What the hell?" Travis grunted, doing his best to try and break free but whatever the stuff was, it wasn't budging. It felt like solid iron, except he could see it still moving.

"Don't worry, I got this," Franklin said, stepping up.

"Oh do you now?" the masked man asked sarcastically. "And pray tell, what is your special ability that makes you believe you can handle me?"

"Why don't you come over here and find out?"

"How tedious," the masked man remarked before nodding to the gang's leader. "Do it."

The leader nodded and lifted his gun, pointing it right at Franklin's head.

"FRANKLIN!" Travis screamed as the leader pulled the trigger.

BANG!

Travis watched, completely petrified. He had slowed down time in some vain attempt that that might save his friend. But, of course, he was the only one unaffected by his power, the only one still conscious. And there was nothing he could do. He strained against whatever was holding his feet down but it was no good. It was like he was encased in cement. He knew a few Flash tricks that might help but he didn't think he had time to master any yet. Even if the world was slowed down, the bullet was still moving pretty fast, ready to hit Franklin in less than a minute.

He needed some sort of plan right now. But he was coming up empty. He didn't know of anything he could do stuck like this. He could only watch as the bullet slowly made its way through the air towards Franklin's face, nothing to stop it.

Travis blinked. But…what if there was something?

This might not work, but it was his only shot so what the hell? He looked around desperately by his feet for something, anything, he could use.

There! A small piece of debris just within reach. He leaned down, wobbling a bit from his feet still being trapped, but grabbed hold of it. "Here goes nothing," he said to himself, aiming as best he could. If he wasn't able to run over there to stop the bullet, then at least he could throw something in its path. He wished he was a better baseball player, but whatever.

He timed it as best as he could and then threw the small rock with as much force as he could muster, aiming it right at the bullet. He watched as the rock sailed through the air, right on the path of the bullet. It should hit it right…about…

Travis stared, not believing what he was seeing. The rock was…slowing down? That couldn't be possible. But it was. The rock was no longer sailing through the air but now just floating, gently making its way across the room.

"Oh crap," he muttered, realizing. It was only moving at speed mode in his hands. Once it left, it lost its momentum and returned to normal speed. How could he not have realized it sooner? He read so many Flash comics detailing stuff like this. And now, the rock was going to miss the bullet as it was moving slower.

He needed a new plan, now. He honestly just hoped that Franklin's super strength worked on par with Superman's and that the bullet would just bounce off. But they hadn't tested that so he had no idea if that was the case. Gah, they should have tested that earlier but it was obviously too late now. So he couldn't rely on that. But what could he do?

He tried throwing more stuff even harder at the bullet but it all resulted the same, just a swarm of rocks midair. He'd tried pushing his power into the rocks so that they could keep their momentum as they traveled but that hadn't worked either. The only other thing he could think of was finding something long enough to reach the bullet but all the pipes and girders were out of reach. The only thing he had was the duct tape but, unfortunately, that hadn't worked either. He hadn't been able to get the grip right on the tape strand and even when he tried whipping the roll at the bullet, once it passed a certain distance, it too slowed down. He tried again and again but never was able to get it close enough to the bullet.

He was officially out of options. All he could do was just stand there and hope for the best. It seemed the masked man was right, he had gotten ahead of himself. His speed was useless here.

But that wasn't the only power he had.

Would it work? Well, it wasn't like he had a choice. But his lightning kind of went all over the place. It was hard to aim it, especially at a small target. Earlier, he'd really just been shooting it randomly. Firing at that bullet would be almost impossible. And even if he did hit it, what exactly was that going to do?

Well, he had to try something. He took a deep breath and aimed carefully, drawing on his power. He concentrated as much as he could and fired off a bolt of electricity.

He missed by a solid foot.

"Damn it!" he cursed. He tried aiming even more carefully but, as it always happen when he concentrated too hard, his vision got blurry and his arm started to wobbly, throwing his aim off. He fired anyway and missed by even more.

At this rate, he would need to fire a hundred more times before he even got close and that bullet was getting closer to Franklin. It was strange to think not even a second had passed in real time but it felt like minutes had gone by. Now wasn't the time to dwell on that though. Travis estimated he had maybe sixty seconds of his time left before the bullet hit.

"Come on, Travis, think!" he said desperately, banging his head a little in the hopes that that would shake some idea out.

He was shocked that it actually worked.

"Oh," he said. "That might work. But…" He shook his head. No more doubts. He was almost out of time. He still hoped that his friend would turn out to be bulletproof but if there was one thing he knew with certainty, it was that you couldn't just blindly count on something to happen.

"Here goes nothing." With an even deeper breath, he summoned his power once more and unleashed it all in one single, concentrated beam. A laser of pure lightning. It crackled and fizzled, sparks flying everywhere. Travis winced, his power draining fast. This was taking way more out of him than he thought it would. But, judging from the massive new scorch marks on the wall, it could work. With a grunt, he moved his finger, still aiming as best he could.

"Come on!" he moaned, moving his finger closer and closer until he reached the bullet. "Now, hold it steady…no!" he yelled, as he missed the bullet, moving too quick for it. He moved it back, going slower. "Just…a little…more…"

He got it, the beam striking the bullet. Now came the hardest part.

Travis forced himself to concentrate even more, keeping his beam on the bullet. He drew on what little power he had left, pulling it all up and, with a yell, forced it down the beam. The surge of electricity rushed through the air, striking the bullet right on. Travis smiled a little as he saw the ashes fall to the ground. "I think that did it," he muttered before slumping over a little.

And just like that, time returned to normal.

"Wha-" the masked man asked in confusion.

"Travis!" Franklin gasped, seeing his state. "What happened?"

"Nothing man," Travis replied, gasping a little, feeling like he'd just done a major workout. "Nothing at all. Now do me a favor buddy, and kick that dude's ass."

Franklin didn't really understand what had happened. He'd heard a gunshot and the guy was aiming a gun at him but he hadn't felt anything. There wasn't even a hole on his clothes and he hadn't heard the sound of it ricocheting off the walls. Then of course, there was Travis who looked exhausted. He hadn't looked exhausted all day even though he'd been on the move non-stop. A second ago, even though he'd been trapped, he still looked as lively as ever but now he looked ready to drop. So what the hell had happened?

"Interesting," the masked man said, looking at the wall. Franklin followed his gaze and blinked at the huge scorch marks on it, like it had been blasted by a flamethrower. "It seems I underestimated your powers," the man said to Travis. "But your control is still lacking. How unfortunate."

Travis had done that? But…never mind. Franklin couldn't dwell on that. They were still in an insanely dangerous situation with guns still pointed at them. Travis was captured and Madison, well he couldn't really count on her for help. So it was all up to him.

When he played football, he knew that it was best to wait a second when on defense so you could see your opponent's best moves and counter them. But when on offense, you had to move fast and take them by surprise, leaving no room for doubt.

Even with their new powers, whoever this guy was, he was incredibly strong. Which meant that Franklin couldn't even give him a second.

"So now let's-" the masked man started right before Franklin charged forward, punching him right in the chest. He had held back, not wanting to do much damage to him. But that turned out to be a mistake as right where he hit, he felt something hard and firm, way stronger than the walls he'd busted through.

The masked man skidded back a few feet, grunting a little, before he looked up and glared at Franklin. "Is that all you've got?" he asked.

This is not going to be good, Franklin thought. But he couldn't stop now. So he charged again, throwing a haymaker with as much power as he could muster.

That's when it happened. The writhing, shiny-black stuff rose up and enveloped the man's wrist, forming a black fist that caught Franklin's and held it back.

"What…the hell?" Franklin grunted, struggling to push through.

"Some sort of strength enhancement I see," the man smirked. "Like we need another one of those in the world."

In the world? This day was just blowing up Franklin's mind. There were more like him in the world? How had he not known about this?

He couldn't think about that right now. He needed to win this fight.

"But let's see if strength is all you have."

Franklin frowned and glanced down just in time to see the man's other arm have that same metallic stuff over it. Except this one didn't form a fist, but a blade.

"Oh shit!" Franklin exclaimed, trying to get away but the man held his fist firmly.

"Oh no, this is the price of your arrogance," he said right as he stabbed.

Franklin winced, ready for the pain. And then he felt it, but it wasn't like he expected. Instead of feeling the intense, sharp pain of being stabbed, he felt a dull throb as he'd just been hit by a ball. He looked down and blinked as he saw the tip of the blade flattened out. His skin was perfectly fine.

"Hmm, not just strength enhancement but invulnerability as well. How annoying. It seems your friend over there wasted his energy stopping my bullet for nothing. What a shame."

He was invulnerable? Franklin stood there, startled for a second, before he regained his bearings. There were too many things happening right now, too much to process. He had to narrow it down. No matter what, he could not lose this fight. And if he was invulnerable, well that was just more good news for him.

"Don't worry, I'll find other ways to end yo-KCH!" the man suddenly grunted as Franklin grabbed his throat, lifting him up.

"I figured you couldn't have that weird stuff of yours all over your body," he said. "Looks like I was right."

"Won't do you much goo-" the man spat out right before Franklin twisted his body and slammed the masked man down onto the ground, cracking the floor from the impact. The man grunted, his body heaving slightly, but it was clear whatever that metallic stuff was, it had protected him from the worst of it.

Franklin had spent the last day worried about holding back. But now he couldn't afford to. He had to take this guy out. But before he could do a follow-up attack, shiny black tendrils shot out from the man's wrist and wrapped around his throat, whipping him headfirst into the ground. Franklin grunted more from shock as his head was suddenly implanted in the floor. Then it was lifted up again before slammed down once more, widening the hole. He went to do it a third time but Franklin managed to block it with his arms.

"You're really getting on my nerves, kid," the man said.

"Yeah? Same to you!" Franklin replied. He grabbed the tendrils around his neck, trying to break them off, but then they suddenly wrapped around his hands and fingers, forming into giant cuffs that encased his hands completely. He tried to move his fingers and gain enough strength to bust out but the stupid stuff held firm.

"Lights out!"

Franklin barely had time to look up before the man punched him with his metallic fist, knocking him on his back, laid out flat. He felt that dull throb again, reverberating over his skull. He had a feeling that if he didn't have his powers, he'd be dead now. As it was, he was a little woozy.

"Did you honestly think a few kids who just gained their abilities could beat me?" the masked man asked, stepping onto Franklin's chest. Franklin moved to get up but the metallic stuff lashed out again, forming a barrier around his chest and arms, holding him against the ground. "You have no idea what you've stumbled into. Blind mice, moving aimlessly in the dark. How pathetic."

Franklin struggled but all that strength he'd felt earlier seemed to have vanished now. He couldn't do anything. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest, fear washing over him. The man was right. They had been so stupid, rushing into this, acting like they could just take on some bad guys like it was nothing. This was a real-life supervillain. And he was about to kill them.

Was this how his dad had felt? Trapped, just waiting to die? The fear inside him became an almost unbearably crushing weight. He didn't want to die like this. But he had no idea what to do.

The man stiffened slightly and then moved, his free arm rising up fast and grabbing hold of something in the air. There was a gasp and then Madison was visible, struggling in the man's grip.

To say Madison was beyond terrified would be an understatement. For the past few minutes, she'd been cowering in the corner, watching as first Travis and then Franklin had been beaten by this man. She had watched them both train, so she knew they were really powerful. But apparently it wasn't even close to nearly enough as the masked man had shown no real effort in taking them down.

She wanted to help them but her overwhelming desire to stay hidden kept her from doing anything. She didn't even know what she could do. She would just get in the way, like she usually did. Besides, she wasn't a fighter. She could turn invisible. That was it.

But when Franklin was laid out flat, Madison knew she had to do something. They were her friends and they were about to die. Travis was shaking on his legs, clearly exhausted though Madison didn't know from what. And Franklin, well even with his so-called invulnerability, this guy seemed to know a lot more about their abilities than even they did. She was sure he would be able to find some way to kill him.

Which left her. The weak, scared girl who would much rather be home, hunched over her computer eating candy corn. But she wasn't there. She was here. And if she wanted to leave alive with her friends, then she would have to do something about it.

It took all of her courage, but she managed to get to her feet and walk forward. She didn't know what she was going to do which wasn't good seeing as she was walking right towards certain death. She could always just try a sucker punch but after watching how that guy had taken Franklin's hits, she didn't think that would work.

Then she noticed the pipe on the floor. Hesitantly, she leaned down and touched it gently. If she picked it up, people would notice the floating pipe and know where she was. But…what if…

It's a program, she thought. It was just like any other program. She would just transfer here data to another server. That was it. Whatever power she had, she needed it to be part of this pipe.

She focused, feeling her power. It was easier now, after what Travis and Franklin had said. A glittering veil that was draped over her and yet somehow also inside of her that seemed to give off some sort of blueish energy to her eyes. She focused in on that and channeled it as best she could into the pipe. At first, she thought it hadn't worked. That she had failed again.

Then the pipe faded away, blending into the background at first before it completely vanished from sight. Madison breathed out in relief before picking it up as slowly and carefully as possible. She turned to face the masked man, lifting the pipe up high.

The other gang members were watching as well, apparently more interested in the show than anything, some were gaping while others had raised eyebrows. Well, she just hoped that Travis and Franklin would be free to take them out because Madison didn't have what it took for all of them.

She walked right up to the masked man, pipe at the ready. Was she really about to do this? Knock someone out. Sure she'd heard about it and see it on TV but the reality was way more terrifying than she thought it would be. It sounded easy enough, but now here she was about to do it.

Come on Madison, she thought to herself. This is for your friends.

She let out a breath, relieving her tension somewhat, before going for the swing, closing her eyes as she did so.

That was a mistake. The next thing she knew, a metallic hand was wrapped around her throat. She gasped and her fear came rushing through her like a waterfall and, unfortunately, it washed away her power as well. An instant later, she was visible again, clawing and kicking madly to get away from the masked man's grip.

"And here's the third one," he said, almost rolling his eyes. "I've got the whole set. My word, you really are newbies aren't you? Well, I'm afraid you'll never be able to grow out of this because now I'm going to have to kill you."

Madison felt his grip tightening on her throat, constricting her air. Pain rushed through her and her vision became blurry. She tried desperately to break out but she couldn't do anything. Was this it? Was she really about to die now?

There was a sudden blast of light and for a second Madison thought she had actually died. But then the grip on her throat released and there was a loud, agonized scream. She looked up to see the masked man clutching his face, smoke rising up from it.

"Headshot," she heard from behind her, turning to see Travis there with his finger pointed like a gun.

"You'll pay for that, you brats!" the masked man cried rising back up.

Madison didn't think. She just acted, knowing that this was their one chance. She was still holding the pipe so she swung it with all her remaining strength. It struck the man right on the head just as he stood up, knocking him right back down again.

At the same time, the metallic stuff holding Franklin and Travis down seemed to fall apart, flowing away like syrup.

"What have you done?" the man cried, holding his head gingerly. It was only then that Madison noticed his mask was sparking a little, as if it was mechanical. She turned to the metallic stuff and blinked in surprise. Maybe it wasn't a superpower.

But she didn't have time to think it over as the gang leader suddenly entered the fray again with his men, all of them pointing their guns.

"This ends now," he said.

"Yeah, it does," Travis agreed. "Your leader's down and I can easily tie you all up again."

"We ain't surrendering kid," the gang leader replied. "And you're still pretty weak. So…"

"So why don't we call it a draw," Franklin interjected. "We all walk our separate ways."

"No!" the masked man practically spat. "You will all suffer for this. I will…"

"Oh shut up," the gang leader told him. "You got yourself a deal kid. You leave now, we won't bother you and you extend the same courtesy."

Franklin glanced over at Travis who nodded. Madison just watched, her stress off the charts. She just wanted this to be over so she begged them to agree to this.

"Alright," Travis said. "Let's go."

There was whoosh and a blur of motion and Madison found herself several blocks away, once more in Travis's arms. If she wasn't so scared and tired, she would be embarrassed. He put her down and she wrapped her arms around herself for some small form of comfort.

"I'm so sorry," Travis told her. "I'll be right back, just need to check on Franklin."

And just like that, he was gone again.

Madison didn't realize she was sitting down until she was on the ground. Her body wasn't sure what it should do. She felt like she should scream and cry and tremble and throw up all at the same time, so it made her just freeze there.

She had just been attacked. By real criminals. And a real supervillain. This was all real. She could barely comprehend it. Her hands were shaking so much they felt like they would fall off any second. Her mind kept coming back to that man's cold fingers around her throat, to the darkness that had threatened to swallow her. Only minutes ago, she had come so close to dying.

Her body made a decision and she turned, feeling the contents of her stomach rising up. she retched into the street, the bile taste burning in her throat. She felt calm for a second and then her stomach surged again, sending another violent wave onto the street.

There was a rush of wind and Travis was there, holding her hair back as she finished vomiting. "Just let it out," he said. "Don't worry, worse stuff has spilled onto the streets. I've seen it."

The beginnings of a chuckle entered her mouth before it faded away. Then she flung her arms around him as her body made its next decision and she was crying, tears and snot streaming down her face.

"I got you," he said. "Trust me, the bad guys aren't coming for us. And even if they did, I'd just run us away from them. You're safe."

She didn't know why, but she felt safe in his embrace. Like, just for right then, the rest of the world didn't matter and it was just her and him in this small bubble. Slowly, she stopped crying and moved away from him.

"Sorry about that," she said softly.

"No need to apologize," he replied. "If anything, I should do it to you. I'm so sorry about today. I…honestly didn't think we'd actually run into bad guys or a supervillain."

"I-I don't think that's r-really your fault-t," she stuttered a little, still shaking.

"Still. Even if I do want to be a superhero, I know you don't. I just…you know, wanted to help you train, get better at your powers so you could be in control. And then, we got attacked and you were right in the middle of the last place you wanted to be."

Madison sucked in a breath. It was true, she had been there because of the training session. But without that, she wouldn't have gained the amount of control she had, even if it had led to the most terrifying moment of her life.

"It's ok," she told him. "I don't blame you. But…are you really going to be a superhero and try to fight guys like that?"

Travis snorted. "I wanted to but after what happened, no. I'm going to train harder though. If there really are people like that guy out there, I want to be ready. I'll make sure that I can stand against them. But I'm not going to go looking for a fight, if that's what you're thinking. Not yet anyway. For now, I'll just…slow down a bit."

This time, Madison snorted, surprising even her. "Even before your powers, you weren't one to slow down."

"No, I guess not. But it might be worth a try."

"Where's Franklin?" she suddenly asked, realizing he was missing.

"He's fine, he's headed home. He's too heavy for me to carry so I just stood guard as those gang dudes left as well. They kept their word, no attacking."

"Good," Madison breathed in relief. "So…what happens now?"

"We go home," Travis said. "And then…I don't know. I guess we'll see."

Madison nodded. After the events of today, she didn't really know what to do next. So she stood up with Travis and let him carry her back home, though this time she rode piggyback style which was only slightly less embarrassing.

She had already decided she wouldn't tell her parents. Not yet anyway. She wasn't sure how they'd react, how any of her family would, to her having powers. Much less getting attacked. She couldn't handle any of that right now. It wasn't too much of a problem, she was used to hiding her feelings from them anyway.

Still, as she walked back home, she couldn't help but feel she'd forgotten something important.

Darian Kane had been sitting in his office, brooding over what his next move would be, when his assistant came rushing in.

"Sir, we found them!" he said. "The new superhumans!"

Darian sat up. "Where?"

"We just received word from the Jonas Cartel that they had an altercation with three superhumans at the abandoned warehouse on Green Avenue."

"Three?" Darian raised an eyebrow at that. That was a surprise. He expected only one to make a splash at the moment, but evidently these three had found each other rather quickly. That did not bode well. "Have they been contained or eliminated?"

His assistant hesitated, already telling him the answer. "No, sir. They escaped. According to the Cartel's leader, they were too strong, even against another Awakened with abilities."

"Another one?" Darian asked. "Alright, put a note on that. But these new superhumans were too strong? They have only just received their powers, how are they that powerful already?"

"They worked together, sir. Individually, the leader said they would have been taken out. But they managed to fight together to beat back the other superhuman. Fearing more damage and consequences, the leader decided to withdraw and the superhumans did the same."

"Hmmm." Darian leaned back in his chair. This was what worried him. They were already forming a team and had gone toe-to-toe with an Awakened superhuman. If these three could do that, who knew what the seven would be able to do.

Change the world was at the top of his mind. It seemed far-fetched but he still remembered the power the originals had. Godlike.

He clenched his fist, furious at the Oculus. That fool of a man had tricked him and almost certainly doomed him. It had only been a day and those newbies were making waves. How soon before the others took notice. A week, if he was lucky. It seemed likely he would have to step in himself, but that would just draw more attention.

"The good news sir is that we know the name of one of them."

"What?" Darian shot up so fast, he almost got whiplash.

"Yes. The girl there was named Madison. She apparently has the power to turn invisible."

"Girl? How old is she?"

"The Cartel leader estimated around fifteen or so."

That young? Darian felt a slight twinge of guilt but he swiftly squashed it. He had no time for sentiment like that. The younger she was, the easier she would be to kill.

"Then find everyone of that age named Madison in the city. Track her down. We'll find her, get her to tell us where her friends are, and bring them all here." He needed to check and see if he could still extract that power of theirs.

"At once sir," his assistant nodded before turning to leave.

"One more thing," Darian stopped him. "This other superhuman. Who is he?"

"Um…I don't know sir. The Cartel leader did not specify. All I am aware of is that he possesses some strange ability that may be metallic in nature."

Darian frowned. "Look into it as well. See what you can find out."

"At once sir."

An Awakened superhuman who did not work for him running around the city. While not uncommon, it was a little unsettling. Especially if he ran into the newbies like that. Who was he? And why was he here?

Darian was sure there were plenty of other superhumans like him in Terrinburg, and most assuredly more than half of them worked for either the SRC, a rogue Faction, one of the other Emperors, or even someone else. He himself had a network of spies in all their territories.

So if this man was a spy as well, then he would no doubt relay information about these newbies to his superiors. Darian gritted his teeth in frustration. This was becoming more and more complicated by the second and he was running out of time.

"Time to make some calls."

This was it. This was where it happened. Where they had mocked him and scorned him. Where they had broken his spirit and almost made him give up on life.

This is where he truly felt lost.

So destroy it, the voice whispered. He didn't know what it was. It lurked inside of him, sliding between his thoughts like a conscience. Except he didn't know of any conscience that said the things it did. Rip the place asunder.

"What would that accomplish?" he asked.

It will prove your strength. You will bury this place in the past where it belongs and grow even stronger than before.

"I…" He looked at the building in front of him. It was a small and white two-storey square with several wings and branches added to it. "I don't know. There might be people in there."

So? Why do you care? They are beneath you now. Flex your power. Begin to show the world what you are truly capable of.

He wanted to. God, he wanted to. Tear everything down, all the streets and buildings and just start anew. A blank canvas. But…he didn't want anyone to get hurt. That wasn't him.

This weakness is holding you back. You wish to be strong don't you?

"Of course I do," he replied. "But…not like this."

Ugh, very well. Give me control and I will show you how it's done, without killing anyone. It will still be an important lesson.

He found himself nodding in agreement. Yes, that he could get behind. "Ok," he said. "Do it."

As you wish.

The power rushed through him, taking control of mind and body until it was like he was passenger, just watching what was happening. He felt his body change, a dark matter wrapping around his skin, shiny in appearance.

Now, let me show you how it's done.