Chapter 5 - The Utter Discomfort of Blood

Downtown LA

A shadowy figure wandered downtown in the comfort of darkness. Behind him, a lone streetlight revealed his destruction- a body count that would be classified as mass murder. The scene was painted with red. Blood streaked bodies, some just limbs, decorated the street in pools of blood; like a wild animal with its prey.
Looking back, the figure grinned saying “I couldn’t help it.”

On a train

Bovey. Yes, that was his name once wasn’t it? Bovey sat on a train watching the blood flow through his veins. To him, it was an art form. The way the blood followed pathways leading into different places, getting faster when more is needed and slowing down again. Only he could truly understand the beauty of blood.

The train stopped and Bovey got off. Silently, he walked out of the station and into the light of the city.
“Hey, you!” someone shouted. Bovey turned around. “Hand over all your money or else…” a man said, pointing a gun towards him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Bovey said, a smirk on his face, almost daring the man to pull the trigger. The man said nothing. Slowly, Bovey raised his arm in front of him, reaching out to the man with his hand. The man tensed, his hand shaking, making the gun shake with it.
“Hey man. What are you doing?! Stop it!” he yelled. His face was turning red now and going a shade darker by the second.
“Stop!”
Bovey’s smile grew bigger and the man’s eyes widened.
“Stop it!
Bovey started laughing, loud, mocking laughs. The man clutched at his ears, holding his head in his hands.
“STO-!” A sickening squelch cut off the man’s pleas. Satisfied, Bovey held his index finger out, drawing something out on the ground. First an ‘s’ shape, then three lines, his erratic behaviour distorting the shape and direction of the lines. It was his calling card.

In the middle of the desert ...
(Luisa & Thinzar VS. Tommy & Win)

Win started breathing deeply, trying to calm her down but Tommy noticed not even that could stop her.
“I. Said. Stop” she said through clenched teeth.
“And I heard you. But that’s not gonna make me, isn’t that right Thinzar?” Luisa replied. Thinzar laughed.
“Aaarrghhh!!” Win screamed, furiously running towards Luisa. At the same time she started forming blades that ran down her forearms. Lifting one in front of her, she took a leap towards her target, ready to bring the blade down on her.
“What is that? Your battle cry?” a voice interrupted them. Win looked up towards the source of the sound but she realised too late that it was Thinzar. For a split second their eyes connected. “I want YOU to stop.” Thinzar’s voice echoed in Win’s head and suddenly she found that she couldn’t move, she was frozen in mid air, Luisa inches away from her death.
“What? This isn’t possible!” Tommy whispered.
“You don’t think it’s possible? How about US? No one thought people like us, with ABILITIES could even EXIST.” Thinzar’s voice brimmed with anger and purpose. “In this era, anything is possible.”

At Bovey's apartment

He wasn’t always like this. Bovey was once a normal person. He was sane, he was calm, and he had feelings. Then the insanity took over, spreading through his body like a disease. And now, he shared his body with another conscious mind.
“What are we going to do now?” said Bovey.
“I’m craving …hmmm…what’s it called? The taste of blood.” Uhhh … Bovey again.
“You sicko! What’s wrong with you?” Bovey said to Bovey
“What’s wrong with you?”
Bovey contemplated with himself. He didn’t know and it didn’t really matter to him anyway. All he knew was that he had a sudden urge to kill.

In the middle of the desert ...
(Luisa & Thinzar VS. Tommy & Win)

“Let Win go!” Tommy yelled.
“Sorry. But we can’t do that,” said Thinzar. Outside, the beginnings of a shower could be heard.
“Hmmm…finish this soon Thinzar. We don’t want to get caught up in the rain” Luisa told her.
“Gladly.”
Tommy clenched his fists and looked towards the ground, trying to avoid Thinzar’s glare. From the corner of his eye he saw Win’s fingers starting to move.
She’s breaking free, he thought C’mon Tommy, think of something else. You can’t let Luisa know. Tommy glanced at Luisa – she hadn’t seemed to notice. It looked like she was still fighting with Win. Was it all in their heads?

In their heads…

“So how does it feel?” Luisa sent a thought into Win’s head.
“What?”
“Not being able to do a single thing.”
“I CAN do something. Soon…”
“Oh… like with Agent Damien? Soon is too late.”
“Don’t!” Win thought of all the things she’d to her once she could move again “…just wait. You’re all going to get defeated.”
Luisa chuckled at the thought.

Tommy vs. Thinzar

The rain was getting stronger, crashing loudly onto the roof and getting louder by the moment - unnaturally loud…
“What the-?” Thinzar said looking up. She looked over to Tommy and saw that his palms were facing upwards by his sides. By this time Luisa and Win had noticed too. Win smiled, starting to move her legs now.
“That’s not rain…” started Luisa. Small objects were breaking through the roof.
“It’s ice!” Tommy yelled sending sharp solidified droplets of water down to Luisa and Thinzar. Thinzar’s power over Win faded as the shock and panic took over her.
It was like everything moved in slow motion. Luisa looked left and right for an escape; Thinzar desperately tried using her power one last time, “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me” she said; Win ran towards Tommy creating a barrier. Then the shower of ice came. The icicles fell to the ground shattering into a million pieces that scattered everywhere, piercing everything. All that remained was a thick mass of steam.
Win and Tommy came out of their cover surveying the damage of the area. “This’ll cost us.” Tommy said hoping to lighten the atmosphere. It didn’t work. Win was searching the hallway; there was no sign of Luisa or Thinzar.
“They got away? How?” she screamed. “They should have been obliterated.”
“Luisa must have picked up on my plan earlier than I thought.”
“Yeah. Let’s report back to The Company.”

At a bus stop
Bovey

Bovey looked around for his next victim. A professor-scientist type man, alone, stood at a bus stop. Perfect, thought Bovey. Quietly he walked up to the man until he was directly behind him.
“You know, it’s not a good idea to be alone at this hour of the night” he said in a low voice.
The professor turned around swiftly and saw the dark figure, wearing a dark cloak, the light casting freaky shadows on his face.
“Boo” said Bovey. He got ready for the kill, lifting one hand in front of him, two fingers out.
“Wait!” The professor cried. Bovey decided to humour the man, stopping but not lowering his hand. The professor stared anxiously at the hand “I know who you are.”
Bovey thought about this for a second. “Nobody knows who I am.”
“W-we do. At The Company.”
“The Company?” The man nodded frantically. Bovey had never heard of The Company before. “Thanks for the warning,” he said. Then, before the man could say any more, Bovey brought down his hand, making the professor’s blood exit through the holes in his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. He was instantly killed. As always, Bovey drew the sign in blood.
Better leave something for The Company too, he thought. Next to his calling card, he wrote:
‘You’ll be seeing me soon.’

At The Company…

“Thinzar and Luisa have gotten away,” said Win.
“That’s fine. They’re very strong when they work together. Leave them for now…” Allison reassured her.
“But we’ll have to keep an eye out for them. They’re a danger to The Company… and to the public,” said Henry.

Hours later…

The Company was in total darkness. Nothing could be seen except for the red lights of the alarm. Every hallway was deserted. Down below, prisoners pounded on their cells screaming for help.
Henry, Allison, Tommy, Win, Dylan, Aida, Janette, Khiem. All of them stuck in the depths of the company. All of them trapped.

To be continued…

By: Allison

Chapter 4 - The Misuse of Powers

Thandar

It was a dark room with only a lamp as a source of light. There were two people inside the room a doctor and a young girl. The doctor spoke first in an amazed whisper “I’ve never seen anything like it you seem to be able to control shadows….. do you no how many people you could help with this ability?”
“Can you help me?” she said staring at the ground
“Well, I-I-I’ll try to help you but there’s no guarantee that it will work”
“No guarantee?” she replied still looking down
“Well no, but imagine how you could use your talent” he said slightly excited
“Talent?…..USE?” the girl said raising her voice “Do you really think this is a talent that I can USE when told like a slave?” she said lifting her head and stood up, now looking directly into his eyes. The spoilt girl glared at the doctor with frustration.
“There’s no need to get agitated, calm down and please sit” he indicated towards the chair
“I think I’ll get a second opinion” as she walked out she slid a pair of scissors off his desk and just as she was about to leave the room she threw the scissor directly at his shadow on the wall behind him. The man's pupils suddenly shrunk to the size of a grain of rice then a thin trickle of blood slid down his face, he fell to the ground dead.

At The Company

“Aida, we have an assignment for you” said Allison in a calm voice “You will capture a young lady by the name of Thandar.”
“Here’s her file and location.” said Henry passing Aida a folder.
“Where’s Dylan?” Allison said with a small frown.
“Don’t know, probably still hiding from Win.” replied Aida standing up “I’ll go tell him.”
“No one will be here when you get back, so be careful.” said Henry
“Everyone is gonna be out?”
“Yep”
Aida found Dylan on Level 3 looking inside an empty cell “Did they release her?” he said
“No, you idiot! She’s invisible, remember!”
“Oh.”

Somewhere in the Company

“Do you think it’s safe sending Tommy and Win after Thinzar and having everyone on assignments at the same time?” Henry asked Allison
“Yes because Thinzar still hasn’t got complete control of her powers yet and we don’t have enough time to spread these assignments out over a few days, it will all work out.”
“I hope so, any word from Damien yet?”
Before Allison could reply, Win and Tommy entered the room.
“Ah Win and Tommy. We need you to go and bring someone back for us.” said Henry
“Who?” asked Tommy
“Her name is Thinzar. Her power is persuasion so try not to look her in the eye, it helps” continued Allison handing over a file. “And we need to ask a favour”
“Sure” replied Win
“If she doesn’t come quietly, you’ll have to eliminate her” Tommy looked shocked at this idea but Win looked perfectly fine. “Why? What did she do?” Tommy questioned Allison with a look of horror on his face. “She killed many people, including an agent, Damien” Win and Tommy exit.
“Win took the news well. He was like a brother to her.” said Allison
“Are you ready to leave?” said Henry ignoring Allison
“Yes, Fong shouldn’t give us too much trouble.”

In search of finding Thandar

“Will you stop!” yelled Aida as Dylan burnt holes on the dashboard “You’ll break my concentration!”
“God, you’re a nervous driver” Dylan said stoping at once. A few minutes silence went by when Aida spoke in a distant tone “Has anyone noticed that you’re missing?”
“Well, my mum. She brings dinner over every Monday, and I guess my online- computer gaming partner Tim… I hope”
“What did you tell them?”
“That I was going on a vacation, what about you. Would anyone have noticed?”
“No.”

In search of finding Fong

“Well, we’re here” said Allison in a cheerful tone as she and Henry got outside the car.
“Why can’t these people hide in normal places, like a movie theatre or something” Henry mumbled to himself. As the pair walked towards a green-house Allison saw something
“There she is Henry” Allison said pointing at the green-house where an outline of a woman was visible. “I’ll go round the back” whispered Henry. Allison approached the door and opened it. As she entered she could hear Henry entering from behind the greenhouse.
“Hello Fong we have come to help you” the woman looked up. “I don’t want help” she said “Well, at least hear us out” said Henry
“I’m sorry but I’ve already had a job offer so NOOOOOO!” at this a deafening screech caused a huge sonic-boom shattering all the glass of the green-house. Henry created a barrier around himself but Allison was too far him to help. After the glass had settled Henry found that Allison only suffered a small cut on her cheek. “Where did she go?”
“Don’t know, check outside.”

At Thandar's Home

Aida and Dylan entered a large empty room; light from the afternoon sun was flaring through the window. “What do you think they meant by shadow manipulation?” Dylan said in a hushed voice, his hands a bright red colour.
“No idea” replied Aida “, maybe you should’ve asked?”
“Let me show you” Thandar said in a loud whisper, appeared out of a corner. Aida started running towards her, her body shaking. A bull taking her place a few metres from Thandar. Before she could deliver a deadly blow with her horns, Thandar grasped Aida’s shadow as if it were a solid object and motioned towards Dylan. The bull flew towards Dylan and slammed to the ground. Aida shifted back to herself, a bruise on her side from the landing.
Thandar grasped the shadow again and flinged it to the ceiling. At that moment Dylan realised that the only way to help Aida would be to change the positioning of the shadows. Changing the lighting in the room Thandar lost grip of Aida’s shadow.
Suddenly Dylan realised was that now his shadow was in her range. But Thandar was preoccupied with Aida. With one blow she slammed her foot to the ground on top of Aida’s shadow and there was a loud crack followed by an ear-piercing scream.
Dylan knew one of Aida’s bones had been broken and took his eyes of Thandar not realizing that Thandar was reached out for his shadow. She grabbed the shadow by the neck and started to constrict it. Suddenly everything went pitch-black, his eyes were wide open.

Then white light consumed the room. It reminded Dylan of how he feels when he releases a repulse - but 10 times stronger. While falling to the ground Dylan saw a shadow, a silhouette running away. With all the strength he could muster, he tried one more time to attack, a desperate attempt to stop her from escaping their clutches. But it was too late. All that was left was Aida’s screams for help. Dylan thought to himself ‘Did Thandar do this?’

In the middle of the desert

“She should be somewhere around here” said Tommy looking at a file as he and Win travelled down a dimly lit hallway.
“You wouldn’t be talking about me would you?” Thinzar said as she turned around the corner holding a pistol. Tommy and Win prepared themselves for a fight.
“I think they were” said a voice from behind them. Win and Tommy spun on the spot to see another woman who was unarmed.
“Tell us who you are!” said Thinzar, her voice echoed inside Win’s and Tommy’s head neither of them was looking directly at her eyes.
“NO!” yelled Win
“Their names are Tommy and Win, his power is to control the state of matter and hers is to create any objects with her mind” said the other woman coolly as if she just read their minds.
“How rude of me!” exclaimed the woman “I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Luisa, and you already know Thinzar” Thinzar gave a small wave “How about we sit down and have a talk”
“What do we do?” asked Tommy in a whisper.
“Attack when I say so...”
“Come on we won’t hurt you.” exclaimed Thinzar with a mocking smile.
“Now Tommy!” Win created two objects a katana and a knife, which she passed to Tommy. Tommy froze the knife and threw the knife at Thinzar who dodged with ease; Thinzar retaliated by firing three shots at Tommy who dissolved them.
Win charged at Luisa, she gave a small smirk as Win ran at her. Win’s mind was suddenly clouded. A voice was in her head, she could no longer hear Tommy. The voice was looking for something… memories flashed in her mind ; she was sitting with her dad, then she was chasing a boy on a bike, and she was talking to her best friend, ‘the fire man’ “Get out of my head!” Win screamed with her hands over her face
“Are you sure it’s your head I’m in?” replied the voice. Win knew it was her mind because all of these memories were hers, they flooded her mind. She was laughing at a neighbour in his underwear, she was crying at her father’s funeral. “STOP IT!”

Back at Thandar's home

Henry’s phone started to ring “Hello?” he said answering the phone
“It’s Dylan, Aida’s really hurt!”
“Are you back at the company?”
“Yes”
“Did Thandar get away?”
“Yes” Henry replied after a moment’s silence
“How badly is she hurt?” he asked in a disappointed tone
“Her leg is all messed-up, bones are sticking out”
“We’re on our way we’ll be about an hour” Henry hung up without another word. “What did he say?” asked Aida
“Said they’re on their way, be here in an hour, he sounded kinda angry”
“It’s not my fault a psycho-lady ripped my leg apart!” Dylan walked towards the door. “Where are you going?” asked Aida
“Out……not against the law is it? Dylan said closing the door behind him. Aida waited for a moment then pulled Henry’s laptop off his desk. She picked up her phone and dialled a number then said “What file did you want again?”

At the park

It was dawn and the sun was almost gone. Dylan kept wondering about what happened with Thandar as he was walking through a park when suddenly a hooded man appeared out of nowhere. They stared at each other for a moment when the man spoke. “I know who you are” in an almost casual voice.
“What did you say?”
“I know who you’re working for” at this Dylan shot beams directly at the hooded figure who raised his hands smoothly into the air and a large wall of rock blocked the attack, then he pushed his hands down and created a small shockwave. Dylan lost his balance he fell with his back towards the man, as Dylan got to his knees he lifted his head to see a huge rock spear millimetres from his face.
“Now I have your attention I wanted to have a word with you” the man said
“Who are you?”
“That’s not important right now, but you can call me Zeodust…… yours?”
Dylan thought for a moment “Nova”
“Well Nova, I know what kind of person you are you don’t seem to want to kill innocent people”
“It was an accident I didn’t mean to...
“Not that, I mean Henry and Allison……. How well do you trust them?” Dylan didn’t answer. “Cause I wouldn’t trust anyone who locked me up” Still no answer.
“I thought I would come and meet you myself”
“Are you going to kill me?”
“No, if you get in my way”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see, and watch your back”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, what did I just say about the Company? …see you soon”
“When?”
But there was no reply. Dylan slowly turned and got to his feet, no one was there.

By: Dylan

Chapter 3 - Reunion And Memories

“…”

“Yes, I know those 2”
“…”
“What!?... Zahav is after them!”
“…”
“Fine. I’ll send some agents over to help.”
Henry stood out

“Don’t you think Henry that it ought to be time you let me out of this place? I mean you got what you wanted.” Win said in an agitated voice.

Henry stared blankly back at her “Sorry. I forgot we locked you in there”
Win mumbled something unintelligent under her breath and sighed staring at the plain wall as Henry moved to the cell door to open it.
“What are you thinking about?” Henry asked a he moved to sit next to her.
“Huh? Oh just wondering how Tommy is. He’s so.... not used to his powers and I fear that he could lose trust in us.” She stared at Henry with concern. “Maybe if you could partner him up with me I could look after him and make sure nothing happens.”
Henry sat there in concentration “I’ll have to talk to Allison but right now he is not our biggest concern. We have a few more people to collect and fast or Zahav will do something that will leave a lot of mess”.
“And I am guessing we’ll have to clean up after. Why can’t he just roll over dead instead of being an ass and making us do everything to find him? Argh!!”
At that moment a woman walked into the room so silently that when she cleared her throat both Henry and win jumped. “Sorry to bother this conversation but we still need to find Khiem and Janette”
Henry stood up and faced the woman. “Sorry Allison. We should have been concentrating.”
“Whatever.” Win said in a bored tone. They moved out of the door. “I have to find Dylan. But killing him will have to wait.” She mumbled under her breath. She pulled the door shut and paused to sigh before she turned and started jogging to catch up to Henry and Allison.

“You son of a...why did you have to do that for, woman? If I had done something more you would have been dead”
“Sorry Dylan but you got to admit that was pretty cool. You should have seen your face”
“Aida, looking at your face is what scares me”
“Well, you look like a monkey”
Just at that moment three people walked in.
“DYLAN YOU LITTLE MONKEY! I am going to kill you”
“Oh shit, it’s Win”
“WHERE IS MY FIFTY BUCKS YOU OWE ME?”
“I told you. I was drunk and high on something. I have nothing left” he whimpered behind Aida. Win flung herself towards Dylan but was stopped suddenly by a huge amount of pressure.
Henry spoke in a clear calm matter “Win, control yourself or I won’t let you go.”
“Fine. But I’m not letting it go that easy. I’m getting my money back some way, and my Hello Kitty bag from the first grade. Yes Dylan I know you took it”.
“I told you I didn’t know it was yours”
At that moment Allison interrupted “You two stop fighting or I will personally stop you myself”
“Sorry Allison” Both Dylan and Win said in unison. Henry released Win and kept an eye on her to make sure she didn’t try anything that would get her thrown back into a cell.
Allison waited awhile for things to be completely settled before starting to speak again. “Dylan and Aida we have a new assignment for you two. This will be a bit difficult so you need to work together. Okay?”
“I wish you never had partnered her with me. She is so annoying. I signed on because I thought we were trying to save the world not kill Dylan by annoying him. I demand a new partner.” Dylan pouted.
“Don’t worry Sunshine. I won’t scare you again,” Aida said with a mocking smile.
Allison interrupted Dylan’s attempt to retaliate “You two, grow up. The new targets are really important. I’ll give you the background and after that Henry will give you their files. Their names are Janette Pacheco and Khiem Lam. They are on the run so be careful. Janette will be easy to take down because she won’t use her powers unless provoked to but she might cloak herself. Khiem on the other hand will be a bit more difficult. He can create weapons, though he is afraid to use it but he served the country so he has some good self defence.”
“This is going to be fun. Sunshine let’s take my car. That way if you explode it again it won’t be completely destroyed.” Aida said in a cheery, joyful voice.
Dylan starred at everyone else in the room pleadingly “Oh god! Help”.

Later in Aida’s car with Dylan at the wheel...

“Aida? Aida? Aida why the hell are you staring at me for?”
“You are my sunshine....” She started to sing.
“No, no, NOOOOO” Dylan said pleadingly.
“My only sunshine”
“Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.”
“You make me happy, when skies are gre...” The car suddenly stopped and a small explosion went off in the car.
“Darn it Aida. You had to turn into metal didn’t you?”
She laughed and started her song again “You make me happy, when skies are grey.”
Dylan sighed “this is gonna be a long ride.”

Somewhere in a dark alley...

“What do you want? Leave me alone.” Said a soft, quite voice obviously belonging to a young girl.
“You know exactly what I want. You have what I need” said a much older voice belonging to a man in his early twenties. He was wearing dirty army pants and a singlet with a dog tag around his neck.
“No. Never, Get away from me.” the girl bolted down the alley way and the man followed closely behind. The man reached out his arm and grabbed the girl by her arm and spun her around. He held tightly and starred at her fiercely.
“Listen to me Janette. I need your help. You’re not the only person running away because of that evil man. He killed my wife and my new born baby and he killed your Aunt. We need to find him okay. And I can’t do that without you.” He stared at her face and when she finally found the courage to look at him all she saw was the sadness of a man who had been stabbed and tortured in the heart a million times. A man who looked sleep deprived properly because of the nightmare of his loved ones death, who has lost all except for the hurt and hate.
“I’m sorry Khiem but I can’t put myself through something like that. I never thought I’d see you again, not after my auntie’s death. Thank you for saving me but I just can’t” She looked up at his face and the saw shock in his eyes. She thought to herself that it couldn’t have been that hurtful of words but then he spoke in a panicked whisper.
“Janette get behind me now and get ready to us your powers” she had no time to react before he moved her behind him shielding her from what the problem was.
“Hello Khiem. I haven’t seen you for a long time. When was it, Oh yes I remember now. It was when I was listening to the tortured screams of your wife. She was pleading for her life, how pathetic it was” He snickered and edged a little bit closer. “What was it she was screaming now? Oh I remember, it was please, please I need to go to hospital, my babies coming.” An evil laugh broke from his voice. “But I cut her throat and she stopped. Her blood ran down her body and it looked absolutely amazing. Of course you interrupted and now, I need to destroy you so the whole family can be reunited.” Janette peeked out from the side to see what was happening and saw a tall man dressed in black pants and a white buttoned up shirt standing in front of her. In that instant a flood of memories rushed through her in a span of one second and she froze like all thoughts was pushed out of her head as she realised she was starring into the eyes of her aunties killer. The same man responsible for the death of probably many more people. And he was looking right into her deep brown eyes as well. “Ah, I see you brought me a little extra something to hunt. I like it when it’s hard. Your wife was too easy that I could have done it blind fol-”
“STOP IT!” Khiem yelled with frustration and anger. He eyed Janette and spoke in a whisper so that only she could hear. “I’m going to attack and when I do you are going to turn invisible and bolt for it. Keep going and do not look back. Got it?” Janette looked at him with concern and doubt but then replied by nodding her head. She looked around for any escape route and the only one was back through the ally way. “On the count of three. One...... Two..........Three”
Janette ran for the alleyway and out through the other side. The man saw this and reacted by moving toward the ally way but something sharp caught his legs. He stumbled and fell hitting the pavement. When he looked down he was shocked to see a big lioness digging into his leg. He relaxed and for a split second there was no sound, no sight, no taste, and no smell. The world just seemed to disappear but in the same amount of time it all flooded back and everything seemed normal again.
“Damn it he got away” A frustrated woman’s voice yelled.
“Well this guy didn’t but I think when we get back he may need his head checked out. I hit him pretty hard.”
“Dylan why did you do that? They were supposed to come back safely.”
“Aida wasn’t a girl part of the retrieval mission as well?”
“Take him to the car and keep an eye on him. I’ll find the girl. Aaarrgh” She sprinted for the ally way and morphed into a big dog this time.
“What am I going to do.” Janette thought to herself as she ran by house after house and entered a park. She ran past the swings and the playground when finally she reached the exit. She slowed down to a walk and tried to breathed in a lung full of oxygen and tried to remember what just happened. Everything went by in a blur. First she was talking to Khiem and then she was running for her life. She stopped and tears started rolling down her eyes but before she could burst into a cry she heard movement. Stealthy movement very deep breathing and in a flash everything was blank, all she saw was a deep pit of darkness and she feared for her life. Was it that evil man? Was I being kidnapped? Am I going to die? She thought to herself. She awoke in a bright lit room with a single bed and plain, grey walls. On one side were a door and a big patch of glass. “Where am I?” she asked even though it was unlikely that she would receive a reply. She sighed “I Knew my life would end badly but I never knew it was going to be this short” She went back to her bed and lay down hoping her death would come swiftly.

Somewhere nearby where Janette was being detained...

“Tommy, do you think she will trust us after what Aida did to her? Poor girl, she looks so sad.”
“Win, she is perfectly fine. And plus we have an assignment to do so we got to go see Henry before he gets mad” Said Tommy in a rushed tone.
“Who are we looking for?” win asked in a bored tone.
Tommy looked worried and replied “Zahav”
Win starred at him in confusion “I thought Dylan and Aida were working on that case”
“well Allison says that maybe they aren’t the right ones for it” he said in a happy tone. “but that’s not all. We also have to look for Thinzar as well. It’s amazing how busy you all are.”
Win looked at Tommy “Well do you wanna get lunch before we head of then.”
Tommy had a wide grin on his face “Yes please, and can we call Khiem along to. He looks like he needs it.”
“Fine but I’m still not talking to him after he threw that knife at me”
“You don’t have to cause I’ll do all the talking.” Tommy smiled. They stepped out of the room and started walking out.
“Whatever. I feel like Chinese”

By: Win

Chapter 2 - Trust and Lust

Thinzar

The two shadowy figures lied on the bed that was enlaced with a thin net, elegantly falling around the bed. An aroma filled the room, enhancing the dim light and tense atmosphere. The man tried to refrain from her seduction – trying to break free from her spell. He knew what he was feeling was her doing and that he must not give in to temptation. The man raised his hand slowly against the will of his body, which was filled with lust. He tried to conjure a ball of fire within his fist. The woman stood on her knees, towering over his ankles. He wanted it – wanted her. He pleaded her with utter gratitude and she stared directly at him. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want you.” She gave a pleasant rub of her finger down his lips.
“Tell me where the other heroes are.”
He was now under her spell. Nothing could free him. Her power of sexual persuasion was too strong. “They’re...”
She moved closer and he groaned with unfulfilled pleasure…
“I…I…” he stuttered, her lips inches away from his. She suddenly raised her body and turned away from him. Slowly, she walked to the drawer and opened it, reaching for the object inside.
He appraised her perfect figure with tension overwhelming his body. Her back was still facing him.
“I gave you a chance. Goodbye, Agent Damien,” and with a turn of her body, she drew her gun and pulled the trigger - twice for luck.

Henry, Allison, Win, Tommy


Tommy realised everything was going to end – his life and his future. It was a matter of time before the two were going to kill him. He spotted a shelter and figured this was his only chance of surviving. Creeping inside very slowly – aware of his actions and the surroundings – he noticed an outline in the darkness. Someone was there – someone was there. He assumed it was one of the two that was going to murder him. Aware of his powers, he reached for the grass beneath his feet. He grasped a handful of grass and concentrated. A slight cold atmosphere was tensing the room. The grass turned into ice darts. He clutched the converted objects tightly and without hesitation, he walked straight into the corner and a young woman was situated in the dark part of the room. His hand turned red and the ice darts melted. Droplets of water dripped from his hands and a cloud of steam was flowing.
“Ma’am, are you alright?”
“I... I... don’t know,” the woman mumbled.
“...” Tommy hesitated.
'What should I do?' he thought.
She hesitated and there was total silence. Footsteps were heard in the entrance of the next room and the mysterious woman put pressure on her hands and stood up. “I’ve seen what you can do. I’ve seen what your powers are. Help me and I’ll help you. "
"Help me? How did you know I need help?"
"A man named Dylan killed my father and I want revenge on him and others like him. I tried to kill him but I couldn’t. There were people after me and they still are,” the lady said ignoring Tommy.
Tommy focused on her facial expression - she was distraught. “I’ll help you get your evil if you get mine,” she whispered.
“How do you know about my powers?” He asked.
“I saw you use your powers,” she explained.
“How? You couldn’t see me!”
She raised her hands and closed her eyes. She called for an object in her mind. A piece of glass appeared in her hand and she shifted in the gap under the door.
“How did you do that?”
“You’re not the only that’s gifted. Name’s Win.”
“Tommy.”
“Now are you going to help me or what?”
“My powers are useless. I can only freeze and heat objects. What can I do? If you possibly think I can destroy them, you must be kidding.”
“Tommy, you can’t just freeze and heat objects. You can control the state of matter. You can liquefy, freeze, heat and make objects solid. Try it – try to liquefy this.” She handed him the piece of glass. He grabbed the piece of glass and stared at the sharp object. It turned into a shiny liquid. He stared with amazement at the liquid and focused. The liquid formed to the original object – a piece of glass. “You’ve seen what you can do. Now, will you help me?”
“How can I trust you?”
“You can’t.”
Footsteps were heard in the next room. Win grabbed the piece of glass and she placed it in the gap under the door. The shiny object reflected an image – a pair of shoes. They were here.
The pair ran outside the room and started sprinting. Tommy turned back and saw the duo – the murderers. “We have to stop. We can’t just keep on running.”
Win turned around and faced the duo. “It’s them. They were the ones trying to hunt me down. They failed to find me. And now they succeeded. Tommy, remember what I said about your powers. You can also liquefy and solidify objects. Use your power.” She faced him. “We have to work together.”
He nodded slowly. The woman of the duo drew her stun gun and aimed it at Tommy. She pulled the trigger and two darts were fired. Squinting at the two flying miniature objects, it was no longer a solid – but a liquid.
The man walked to the direction of Tommy and the woman walked to the direction of Win. She conjured an object – a taser. Her fingers clutched onto the object and she raised the weapon and aimed it at the woman. She pulled the trigger and two darts were fired. The man of the duo glanced at his partner and raised his arms, pushed his palm against the wind and stopped the darts. He lowered his arms and the darts dropped to the ground.
“We don’t want to hurt you. We want to help you – we want to help you control your powers,” said the male of the duo.
“You fired a gun at us. If that’s not what hurting us is, I don’t know what is,” said Tommy.
“It was just a warning. We’ve been studying you, we’ve been researching you. We know everything about you. Even you, Win. We know about your parents – how they were just like you,” said the male of the duo.
“Do not talk about my parents,” she screamed with aggravation.
Win closed her eyes and concentrated. Two daggers appeared on her hand. She handed the deadly weapons to Tommy. “Remember what I said. Be creative.”
Tommy nodded. Knowing that he doesn’t have much time to live, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes. One arm glowed red and the other icy blue. The daggers also glowed – one was flaming and the other was frozen. ‘A fire and ice dagger,’ Tommy thought. He closed his eyes and sighed once again knowing that any second might be his last. The two daggers were thrown powerfully from Tommy’s arms. The female of the duo closed her eyes and concentrated. The fire dagger turned into a cloud of gas and the ice dagger turned into nothing but liquid.
“How did you do that?” Tommy asked furiously.
“We’re one of you. You’re like us. We’re like you,” said the female.
“We’ll never be evil,” spatted Tommy. He reached for Win’s conjured taser and transformed it into an icy object with thorns. The object was thrown from Tommy’s hand and it spun endlessly at the male. The man widened his eyes and raised his palm and with massive effort pushed his palm against the wind and began to control the icy object. As he began to lower his arm, the icy object lowered.
“How come they’re not fighting back?” Tommy asked.
“It’s a trap. They’ll attack us when we’re least expecting it.”
“Look, we don’t want to cause any trouble. Just come with us,” said the female.
“Who are you people?” asked Tommy.
“I’m Henry and this is my partner Allison. We work for the Company and we’re the good guys. We’re not evil. There’s a threat out there that will destroy us. That will destroy the world,” answered Henry.
“Win, your mother and father worked for the company. If you view us as a threat, you must have viewed your parents as a bigger threat,” said Allison.
Tommy lowered his guard but Win was still in frustration. She conjured yet another object this time – a deadlier, sharper weapon. A katana. Without asking for Tommy’s assistance, she ran in quick and long paces to Allison and had her weapon ready. The weapon was inches away from her neck and she started to slice Allison when a force stopped her. Tommy peered at Henry and saw what he was doing – his hands were controlling her force. Henry stopped the death of Allison.
“I understand what you’re doing,” Tommy said. He glanced at Win. “Don’t you understand? They’re not evil. He wouldn’t let her die.” Tommy faced Henry and Allison. “What do you need from me?”
Henry and Allison glimpsed at each other and exchanged looks. They both looked at Win. “Win, I think it's about time you tell Tommy."
"Tell me what? What's going on?" Tommy asked.
"All of this, it was just a result of you coming to the Company. It was a test. We needed to observe your powers," Win replied.
"This... this... THIS was just all a test? A sham?!" Tommy exclaimed.
"I'm sorry." Win said with a sincere tone.
Tommy faced in an opposite direction avoiding Win. Henry and Allison lead a path and Tommy and Win followed. “I don’t understand. How could you? So everything you told me was a fake?" Tommy asked.
"Not everything. Someone did kill my parents, but not Dylan. I'm an orphan - just like you."
"How did you ... never mind. I still don't understand. I don't know why you would become one of them."
"I thought you realised they're not evil. They help with our powers, our ability to control. The Company has a purpose and one purpose only - to save the world."
"Pffftt, you don't know what they've done to you. For all I know, you could have been brainwashed," Tommy said with a chuckle.
"Funny," Win said with sarcasm.

Moments later
Tommy and Win were imprisoned in a jail cell in Level 3.

By: Tommy

Chapter 1 - Start Of Something New

Henry, Allison, Dylan

He was sprawled lifelessly across the ground, burnt to death. Dylan overlooked him, horror on his face, he had killed someone. It replayed in his head over and over seeing him slowly burning to a crisp, his cries of agony and pain. The thought occurred to him that is was just self-defence he was trying to kill him he had spikes protruding out of his body. Then In a blink of an eye he was flailing wildly in flames...
'Hmmm he has already killed our dispatched agent. are you in position?'
'Yes I'm in position. Target located'
'I'll be outside don't hurt yourself too much this is a very unstable target'
'Don't worry everything will go according to plan'
Henry drew out his pistol knowing that he wouldn't need it, it would attract Dylan's attention. He stepped into the hallway 'FREEZE!' he shouted 'PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!'
Dylan turned around still shocked by what he had done before 'A-a-are you one of them?' pointing at Ayman's burnt body.
'And what if i am?' exclaimed Henry
'He tried to kill me!'
'So you killed him before he could kill you? What if he was trying to help you? Did you think about that?'
'Help me!? He had spikes coming out of his body!'
'Hmph fine, if i can get through to you then maybe this will!'
Henry slowly raised his hand he waved it around then he closed his eyes. He pushed the air and in a sudden instant Dylan was flung into the wall as if by an invisible force, he fell onto the ground heaving.
'W-what is your power?' blurted Dylan
'You'll have to beat me to find out'
Henry clasped his hands and Dylan was buffeted by gravity from left and right. He collapsed on the floor coughing out blood.
'Dammit!' yelled out Dylan
He raised himself up weakly, he raised his hand and pointed it towards Henry, a bright light shot out of his hand towards Henry.
'Come on you can do better than that' laughed Henry
He raised his hands and a invisible force formed a blanket over Henry. The bright light shot into the barrier and dispersed flying into all directions. Dylan became enraged.
'ARRGH!'
'Perfect... get ready Allison... oh and don't stay too close to the house'
'Why?'
'You'll see'
Dylan started to illuminate. Henry quickly tried to form a shield around Dylan to contain him, Dylan raised his hands the space around him started to melt.
'Urgh, I can't control it!'
The second Dylan said that he exploded, tearing the house apart and ricocheting Henry through the house and onto the lawn. Henry quickly got up blood trickling from his head. Allison rushed to meet up with Henry.
'See I told you and you got hurt'
'Hmph, just a graze'
'Whatever you say'
'Get ready here he comes'
Dylan advanced towards Henry and Allison he raised his hands and out shout a few beams of light. Allison countered by raising her hand, the beams of light dissipated.
'What!? Did you do to my beams'
'I won't let you be using your power for now' said Allison
Dylan tried again to shoot out a beam but to no avail
'Damn!' exclaimed Dylan
'Now Dylan we just want to talk to you, we can help you control your powers, if you just come with us' said Henry
'C-can you really?'
'Yes but you just have to come with us'
'Okay'
Henry raised his hand and motioned it forwards, the same force knocked Dylan unconscious.
'What was that for?' exclaimed Allison
'That's what he gets for knocking me out of the house'
'Fine whatever lets just go back to the Company'

Back at the Company

'Okay. Dylan was put in level 4' said Henry
'So, why did Dylan kill Ayman?' questioned Allison
'It seems that Dylan was still in shock about the train explosion that happened yesterday, Ayman caught him off guard and scared him causing himself to heat up and repulse...then you know the rest'
'Any other reports?'
'Well we have lost contact with Agent Damien I fear the worst for him'
'Damn that means 12 agents dead in the past year including Ayman'
'Thats why we need to search for other people with powers to regain the people we have lost'
'We already have Dylan and Aida'
'Then that means our targets for now are Tommy, Win, Janette and Khiem'
'Okay we'll start with Tommy and Win if our sources are correct Win should be leading Tommy right where we want them'
'Anything else?'
'Well i guess we've made a few enemies'
'A few?'
'Hehehe, we'll leave this for later' laughed Henry
'Okay time to go find Win and Tommy...'

By: Henry

The New Generation of Villains

Thandar - shadow manipulation
Thinzar - seduction/persuasion
Zahav - sense removal
Bovey - blood manipulation
Fong - creates sonic screams
Luisa - able to read/control people's minds

The New Generation of Heroes

Henry - gravity manipulation
Allison - power mimcry
Aida - shapeshift
Tommy - controls gas, liquid, solid
Dylan - UV radiation
Win - able to conjure objects
Ayman - spikes growth
Janette - creates force fields/invisibility
Khiem - able to create weapons out of objects

NEUTRAL

Praful - control the Earth's movements