Chapter 7 - Fresh Start

Point-of-View: Alexis Tucker

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Hm...? Where...am I? It looks like...I'm on a couch? How...did I get here? I sat up with a groggy yawn and looked around...what is this place? I then let out a wince of pain as I felt a sharp sting. Ow, my shoulder...oh, right, I forgot about the bulb shards I fell onto.

Wait, that's right...I destroyed my house and killed my parents...or was that a dream? No...no, I don't think so, I remember it all far too clearly. What happened after that?

I remember running away and then eventually stopping at a building under construction and-...hold on a sec, now that I'm fully awake...where am I? No, seriously, where the hell am I right now!? I stood up abruptly with a growing sense of panic as I scanned my surroundings, my breathing turning sharp and ragged.

I definitely fell asleep in the backyard of that half-built house, I'm sure of it...don't tell me, was I kidnapped while I was sleeping!? There were a bunch of empty food containers on the floor and the small table next to the couch I was on.

There were also a dirty pair of jeans and a worn out dark blue hoodie on the floor...wait, those clothes look familiar. Where have I seen them before? I can't remember...

More importantly, what the fuck, this room has no windows or door! No, calm down, that's impossible, there's probably a hidden door in the wall or something. I-I need to find an exit and get out of here...! I then rushed towards a wall to look for a hidden exit, my right knee cramping a bit as I did, but I ignored it as I frantically began searching for an exit.

Come on, come on, come on...where is it!? There has to be an exit here somewhere, there just has to be! I was then startled as my heart rate rose and electricity crackled around me. Oh, that's right...right, yeah, I have superpowers now, I can generate electricity.

Screw it, I'll try to blast through this wall...if I have enough power to destroy a house, a wall should be nothing in comparison! Okay, here goes-...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Suddenly came a voice from behind me, as I began charging up a mass of electricity.

I let a startled yelp of surprise before quickly turning around in the direction the voice came from. It was a man, with blonde hair and dark green eyes, and his voice sounded like he had a South African accent...huh, he's kinda hot-...okay, focus, this guy probably kidnapped me, so stop ogling him. And more importantly, where the hell did he just come from!?

"Who are you!? Tell me, did you kidnap me while I was sleeping!?" I inquired, louder than I intended to...it's no use, I just can't calm down.

Electricity was crackling all around me, and yet, he looked completely unfazed.

"Well, I suppose technically speaking...yes, I did kidnap you, in the literal sense of the word, but-," He began to respond.

That's all I needed to hear.

"Then go to hell, you creep!" I exclaimed, as I fired out an electric blast at him from my hands.

But he didn't so much as flinch, instead, a distortion appeared in front of him, before what looked like a portal opened up...and my attack disappeared into it. What the-...how did he react to that? It was my own attack and it was too fast for even me to see.

"No hesitation in attempting to kill me, huh? Scary. Also, you should hear someone out before trying to zap them to death," He remarked with a sigh, as the distortion faded.

I don't think I should be provoking this guy...he's, like, seriously bad news.

"Fine...then tell me why you kidnapped me," I replied with a wary frown.

"Right, I suppose that I should...," He responded, before elaborating.

He then explained everything, the fact that people with super-powers exist, along with Monsters and other races that live in hiding, like Vampires, Werewolves, Elves and whatnot.

And then he got to the part that concerns me, the Meta-Orbs...which is what I came across in my backyard and gained these powers from. There are a bunch of different categories of superpowers, mine is apparently called the Electro Skill.

"And that about sums it up in a nutshell," He remarked as he concluded his explanation.

"Okay...well, that all sounds really made up and delusional, but I can't exactly deny it when there's literal electr-...or rather, lightning crackling all around me," I muttered with a frown, before adding, "Oh, and you forgot one thing...I don't have to agree to stay here. So why shouldn't I try and bust my way out?"

"Well, first off, because you can't. And second, let's say that we do listen to you and let you go, promising to never come after you again...what happens then? Do you really think you'll be able to go back to your old life like nothing happened?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow, "Or will you instead be hunted down by Eden, and who knows what they might do to you, I can only imagine. And besides, I have a sneaking suspicion that your old life wasn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows...you seem like you have a lot of pent up issues, I'd have assumed that you'd like the idea of using super powers to let off some steam and knock some heads together."

Okay...he makes some good points, that last part was especially convincing. Though it you ask me, both Eden and Harmony sound sus as hell...I mean, with both those names, how pretentious can you get?

"Even if I agree with all that, that still doesn't mean you can kidnap me!" I protested indignantly.

"Look at it this way, had we left you alone, these would have been your options...stay on the run forever, get captured by regular society and get a sliced up in a normal-human lab, or get kidnapped by Eden and used as a tool by them, whose goal is to literally subjugate all normal humans," He stated objectively.

"Yeah, about that...if you've really had full on wars between Eden and Harmony, with super powers all about, there's no way that that wouldn't have been noticed...and you said there were multiple wars!" I argued, recalling that part of his explanation.

"Well, yes...where do you think supernatural stories and mythologies come from? Witnesses. So, yeah, people have noticed...though whenever we do have major conflicts, we have to spend time afterwards erasing memories. I've only experienced that on a very small scale, as there haven't been any major battles or conflicts for over a hundred years...yeah, Eden tried to take advantage of the chaos during the first World War, that was the last major battle between Meta-Humans," He informed me.

"So, wait, you can brainwash people?" I shrunk back suspiciously.

"Well, not me specifically, no. Actually, mind control powers are very rare, and are a form of the Dark Skill, which is one of the rarest, most dangerous and most unpredictable Skill types. Historically, mind control powers haven't been very effective on other Meta-Humans, but...there's a chance that that could change. I'm talking about one of my biggest concerns right now, which is the Dark Skill Meta-Orb...if that one falls into the wrong hands, it could spell disaster," He remarked with a nervous grimace.

"And I guess I'm supposed to believe that Harmony is the 'right hands'?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yeah...I mean, look at your current situation, you're in a room with a comfortable place to sleep, food, a shower, you're not chained up or anything, there's also a first-aid kit in the cabinet, you should patch up those cuts on your shoulder and arm," He remarked, before adding, "Oh, and also, I've been meaning to ask, could you stop letting your Aura leak out so much? It's annoying, the air's getting all static-y."

"If you're asking me to stop this lightning that's crackling around me...then tough luck, because I don't know how," I replied with a huff.

"Well, that's no good, you'll be falling asleep, like, every three to four hours after waking up if this keeps up," He informed me.

I...don't like that idea, not at all...

"...that does sound pretty inconvenient," I admitted grudgingly.

"Alright, then, in that case, I should find you a trainer too, someone with the Electro Skill...," He mulled, trailing off with a thoughtful expression.

"Too? So I'm guessing that I'm not the only person who came across your dumb orbs and got kidnapped because of it?" I inquired curiously.

"You're the second one, the first one was actually not that far from where we found you," He replied.

Hold on, does that mean...

"Wait, so then, the first one...was it a brown guy with dirty clothes and longish brown hair?" I asked, sitting up.

"Huh? How...do you know that?" He responded, looking a bit taken aback, before asking, "Oh, did you see the online posts? Those have gone pretty viral."

"What? No, I didn't see anything online, I...I encountered him in New York, just a few hours before I came across the orb in my backyard," I answered in bemusement.

"Wait, for real? Wow, talk about a coincidence, that's amazing...small world and what not, huh?" He remarked with an amused huff.

"Doesn't that mean you ended up scattering all the orbs in America?" I asked him.

"I kinda thought so too, but as it turns out, no...shortly after I found you and brought you here-," He began to explain.

"Kidnapped me, you mean," I corrected him curtly.

"Right, sure...ahem, as I was saying, just after that, we confirmed three more Meta-Orb discoveries, in Sri Lanka, Wales and New Zealand. Two of my colleagues are out searching the latter two, and I'm supposed to head to Sri Lanka after the intel division finds a decent lead I can follow. No point searching blindly, after all," He replied with a shrug.

"So...what happens to me now?" I inquired warily.

"You'll be trained to use your powers, since they aren't transferable and will disappear when you die, so it'd be a waste to leave them buried. That aside, you definitely need the training, since you keep inadvertently leaking your powers out. After that, I imagine that you'll be made to help Harmony in the conflict against Eden, possibly also with extermination assignments if there are any excessively large groups of or highly aggressive Monsters found," He remarked, as he opened a portal and began to leave, after tossing me a backpack.

"What's this? And where are you going?" I inquired suspiciously.

"No need to be so apprehensive. There's clothes in there that can withstand your powers without getting damaged, you can change into them if you want. And don't forget, there's also a first aid kit in the cabinet over there, you should at least disinfect those cuts. And uh...I guess, feel free to do whatever you want in here, I'll be back soon. Oh, and just between you and me...with the amount of potential you have thanks to the Meta-Orb, if you ever fully realize that potential, you'll likely be so strong that no one in Harmony would be able to stop you if you wanted to leave...so keep that in mind and play nice for now, okay?" He advised me, before leaving through his portal.

Why...would he tell me that? Just...who's side is this guy on, anyway? Then again, maybe he's just trying to gain my trust by making it seem like he's on my side. Can't fall for it, I should be cautious and play it safe.

Well, whatever...now that I think about it, I suppose that this isn't all that bad, I'd probably be on the run and in hiding if I'd still been in Albany right now. In a way, I guess this is a fresh start for me...

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