***

I was to work as an assassin. I was given an employer's name and where to meet him. The citadel had it's own means of interplanetary travel and I was instructed to take advantage of that. I merely had to walk to the edge of the 10th floor platform jutting out from the side of the building and speak the name of the planet I wished to go to. To return home I needed to visualize the platform and be subjected to a retinal scan. I have no idea how they perform a retinal scan from that far away.

They set me down on a cliff overlooking an iron city. I had been told that this place was just being introduced to the BC and the company currently in charge of the city was resisting in the name of economic interests.

I was to meet my employer in a bar three blocks from the company central office. The place was dark and crowded when I entered. The barrister was polishing a bottle of firewisky while conversing with a hooded customer. A man at a corner table beckoned me over.

He was a short man, balding, but with a fierce mustache. He wore a blue suit that looked fairly new, but if you looked closely the white shirt he wore with it had a stain on the collar. He wore three rings on his right hand.

"You must be here to help me."

I merely looked at him. He pulled a picture of a man out of his breast pocket and laid it on the table next to his drink. The condensation from the drink was making a ring on the table. I picked up the picture before it got wet.

It was a picture of a blond man of medium build. He was much more well put together than my employer.

"I paid your company. I want this man dead."

We don't get caught up in politics.
"Do you want it a public assassination or a secret one?" I could pull off either.

He responded that he wanted it private, but to have it still look like an assassination. He wanted the world to know that this person was killed. Of course, he didn't want it traceable to him.

It was almost night when I left the bar. I shrugged. It didn't matter who it was or who I worked for. The citadel told me that this person had paid to have a man killed. I was a hunter.

***

It took three days for me to become fully accustom to the augmented abilities of my body. I could jump higher, react faster. It was only then that my teacher began to have me learn nature manipulation.

As the moon winked on the eve that marked the second fortnight since my birth, I was given my first assignment.

Chapter 10: Heka

I woke like clockwork one hour before sunrise. I did not feel hungry.

As I got to the training ground a mile outside the citadel the sun began to peak over the horizon. As the glint morphed into a blaze I stood astonished. The light filtered through the clouds creating colors I could never perceive; but yet. My teacher was waiting.

***

It was from here that we began to manipulate our surroundings. You can think about them as controlling the elements, but that wasn't quite it. When you wanted to create wind, all you have to do is manipulate the flow of atoms in the surrounding atmosphere. If you wanted to control water it is those individual atoms as well. If you wanted to turn water to ice you merely removed heat from the system and vice versa for steam. Fire you manipulate a spark to a concentration of flammable gas. You get the point.

Jake and I with that lightning storm had taken the first step to being able to control our surroundings. We were able to perform greater physical feats then we could before. Our speed and strength easily doubled if not more. We could now spar at a level we could never have even dreamed of.

Chapter 9: Max

Oh boy

There we stood. Freezing. And out of nowhere, lightning struck a tree across the great lawn. The sound of the cracking of the tree mingled with the crash of thunder accompanying the lightning. Mrs. Sullivan had us continue training.

Another crash.

"Use the lightning in your attack." Mrs. Sullivan said with the slate calm she always possed.

"What?!?"

She did not respond. You've got to be kidding me. I'm supposed to be able to control lightning now?

"Jake, what are you thinking?"

He looked just as puzzled as I.

"Well let's break it down for a second." He started. "What is lightning?"

"A strong electrical current?"

"Which is caused by what?"

"The movement of individual electrons, in this case on mass."

"Right, so what if we were able to control the movement of electrons?"

What if we could control the movement of electrons. Jake must be kidding. I can control my hand. I can control my leg and my tongue. We can control the movement of electrons?

"Start by bending it." Mrs. Sullivan said. "Max first."

Oh boy.

I closed my eyes. The flash of lightning came to quickly for me to be reactionary about this. I had to be able to sense when another flash might occur. You know that feeling you get when there is a slight electrical charge and the hairs on the back of your neck raise. Yeah in essence that is what I was looking for. Out here, if the electrons started moving, which, through training we had become better able to notice as a current, there is a high likelihood that in the surrounding area a lightning bolt might occur.

Crash.

"Try again."


I stood open-mouthed. For now, if I could move it even a little bit that would be incredible. If I could be even conscious of where it was before it struck that would be

Crash.

"Try again."


Sigh.

Concentrate.

The electrons were flowing towards the ground and headed for the tallest object. For some reason it wasn't hitting the buildings around us. We were in New York's central park after all.

Crash.

I've got it. I can see it, almost in slow motion. If I can see it... could I move it?

Crash.

"Concentrate!" Mrs. Sullivan barked out.


And this time the lightning began moving towards the tree besides the field and I could trace a path to the ground next to it. The tree caught fire.

Crash.

I can do this. The next bolt flowed towards the ground and I urged it to hit the center of the deserted field. The air was warm.

Crash.

Mrs. Sullivan held her hand up. She walked over to the center of the field and held up a piece of the fulgurite I had made. I smiled.


Jake's turn.

There's a reason that they start young when they recruit for this. If we don't think it's impossible, we can do it.

Here is the basic principal. The average human only uses up to 11% of his or her brain at any given time. Through training and concentration (and also through surgery I guess) you can access an even greater percentage of that brain power. This gray area of the brain apparently contains the latent potential of a human. Abilities.

And here, I can control the flow of electricity.

Chapter 8: Aaron

I woke to the hollow sound of metal rasping against the door.

"Open up!"

I quickly scanned the room. To the eye it was as if I was the only occupant of the room. Dakur, and everything related to him, was gone.

I stood up and walked cautiously towards the door.

"Open up!"

I opened the door.


Before me stood a pale man in a blue uniform. His pants bound at the waist fell to the ground like a cascade of water. His mock-turtle neck shirt clung like spandex to his body. His short cropped, messy hair, like face was pale, and his eyes stared at me, blue and piercing. He wore a gauntlet on his hand with the insignia twin scales of the Balance engraved on the surface.

"Is there anyone else in this room?" He addressed me harshly, barking out as if the roar of the engines reached this quiet corner of the ship.

"No. Just me."

"Gather your belongings and report to the dining hall."

"Sir, may I ask what this is all about? I am merely a traveler minding my own business."

He looked me up and down. He laughed. "Not anymore you're not!" and he turned to move towards the next door.

I returned to our room and shut the door. Leaning against the door I slid to the floor wrapping my arms about my drawn up knees.

***

No. This isn't happening.

The stench of public officials filled the hall as I went to get breakfast. In the past two weeks I have taken to eating before our work out. I turned around.

Quickly gathering what few items I had in my possession I stole out of the room. Aaron was still asleep when I left. I flew down the hall and headed towards the docking bay. There were five Balance shuttles sitting on the platform which means there is at least one maybe two cruisers stationed outside. This was bad. This was really bad.

They were empty, and I found a place to hide on board the closest one.