Dark Earth: The Prophecy - 2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Tasks and Rewards

I woke up the next morning well rested and happy. I had pleasant dreams for the first time in weeks. Cristobel was still sleeping. I got dressed and went into the hallway. The aroma of sausage and eggs filled the air. I went down the hallway and took a left turn towards the kitchen. Aunt Cassidy was in there preparing breakfast. Though cooking wasn’t necessary due to technological advancement, she insisted on cooking the old-fashioned way. “Good morning, Julian. How did you sleep?”

“I had the most pleasant dreams. Cristobel’s powers are wonderful. I usually have nightmares, but I didn’t have any at all.”

“Well, I know you keep having those dreams about the dark knights.”

“Well, that’s to be expected.” Simon walked in and sat at the table across from me. “Adriana said you would have these dreams.”

“How did she know that?”

“I can’t tell you why. You’ll find out eventually. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“You’re damn right you are, baby.” Adriana walked into the kitchen and sat on Simon’s lap. “How did you sleep, Julian?”

“I’m well rested for the first time in weeks. Cristobel was nice enough to help me with that. His powers are amazing.”

“That’s great! I suggested it. I knew you were uneasy about everything. He said he already wanted to. I think he likes you. He hadn’t even had a roommate until now. He was actually happy about it. So are you ready for your training this evening? Nikita will wake up around sunset. She wasn’t able to sleep much in the wasteland. She was getting cranky. She’ll be well rested and ready for you. She’s not going to be easy on you.”

“I’m a little nervous. I know she has a temper.”

“Well, she’s got a rough exterior, but she has a heart. She’s only looking out for all of us. She trained me for over a year. Fortunately, you already have some training, so it won’t be so bad.”

I was still nervous even after Adriana’s reassurance. Uncle Max had trained me in martial arts for several years. They simply wanted to make sure I was prepared for the tasks ahead. I wanted to impress Nikita with my skills, no easy task. She had been a martial artist for over two centuries.

Uncle Max joined us at the small table. “Are you ready for training? I told Nikita I would give you a warm-up session this morning. We should go into the training center after breakfast. Is that okay?”

“Yeah I think we should.”

“It’s settled then. We’ll use the training center here. It’s on the same level as the showers.”

********************

After breakfast, I went to the lower level for the warm-up session. I was amazed at the size of the training facility. It was the size of a football field, maybe even larger. The most shocking part was that it seemed larger than our living quarters. Uncle Max spoke. “I thought it was huge too.”

“It’s larger than our living quarters! Why is that?”

“Well, we have neighbors. We are living in the Protectors’ Headquarters. The White Knight Army training camp is on the other side. The recruits live beside us on the other side. It’s like a duplex only bigger. The lower floor houses some of the White Knight Army in the city. We needed a training facility for everyone.”

“So will we be working with the White Knight Army?”

“You will work with them sometimes. The Protectors sometimes lead their own divisions in training exercises. We have yet to work with them in actual combat. I used to be an informant for both the army and the protectors. Now I will simply be a trainer along with Nikita, that is, after you are done training in hand-to-hand combat. After that, Natalia will train you with weapons. I have taught you as much as I can with weapons, but she is an expert. They were assassins until Tempest and Oracle started the White Knights. They are trained killers, which is why they are instructors. They are teaching you how to kill. I only taught you how to defend yourself. With that said, let’s do some stretches and then some sparring”

I sat down on the mat, and stretched my hands to my feet. After a minute or so, I got up and moved onto the ball. I stretched myself over the ball for a short time, and I whether I was ready or not, Max went into attack mode. I was able to block most of his attacks, except for a leg sweep. I quickly regained my composure, much to the delight of my attacker. I did not hold back. I blocked a crescent kick and kicked his remaining leg out from under him. Knowing that he would try a takedown, I backed away. Soon he was back on his feet, and he attempted a flying back kick, which I dodged. I took advantage and struck his left kidney without hesitation. He wasn’t happy about that. We continued sparring for about 10 minutes. I managed to knock him down a few times, but he knocked me down as well.

“That was very good, Julian. You are ready for Nikita. You’ll be training after dinner. You can watch the recruits’ training session if you like. You will be fighting a trained soldier tonight. She and Natalia detained some EAS agents last night as well. You’ll be killing one or two this evening after you pass the first test.”

“I only get to kill one or two? I just killed five a few days ago. I think I can handle more than two.”

“You’re forgetting something, Julian.”

“What’s that?”

“You won’t have your powers this time, and they will have weapons. The only thing they won’t have is their communicators. Nikita wants you to learn to strategize. While you’ll have your powers in battle, sometimes you have to depend on your combat skills. The EAS agents are a well-trained army of clones. Nikita insists upon you learning to fight without your powers for these exercises. Don’t worry. Your final test will allow you to use your powers.”

“Well, I am a bit perplexed. I have to kick them off of their hover boards just to have a fair fight.”

“You’re more than capable, Julian. Prove that to Nikita. The faster you impress her, the sooner you will become a member of The Protectors.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Uncle Max.”

“No problem, Julian. Go take a shower. I think Cristobel wants to talk to you for a bit. He said he’d like to get to know you better.”

“Ok, I will talk to him.” I went to the showers, wondering what Cristobel wanted to talk about. The shower was wonderful. The water was perfect. The computer seemed to know exactly how I wanted the soap. The fragrance and moisture level were perfect.

After I finished and dried off, I put my towel around my waist and made my ascent to the top floor into my sleeping quarters. “How was your sparring session?” Cristobel was sitting on his bed waiting for me. He smiled at me and he looked as if he were daydreaming.

“It was fine. I’m a little nervous about the training sessions with Nikita.”

“It’s not so bad. She just tells you how it is, kill or be killed. It was actually your uncle who taught me martial arts. Nikita fine tuned me into a lean, mean killing machine. I was scared at first, but I enjoyed killing those evil clones.” Cristobel chuckled. “I still do.” I started laughing too. The clones I killed definitely had it coming. The one thing that scared me was the fact that I could not use my powers. Killing savages who hunt down evoloids is quite rewarding.

At that moment, my eyes forced themselves to close. I saw a group of rogues attacking the city. There was a cryokinetic freezing buildings, two electrokinetics electrocuting people, and a telekinetic smashing a tree into buildings and vehicles with her mind. I was mortified.

“Julian, what’s going on?”

“I think we need to talk to Adriana now.” Cristobel pressed his comlink.

“Adriana, we need you to come down to our sleeping quarters. Julian needs to speak to you.”

“I’ll be right there. The bell to our sleeping quarters rang.

“Come in,” I said.

“Julian, what’s the problem?”

“I believe I just had a premonition. I saw a group of rogues attacking the city. There was a cryokinetic, electokinetic twins, and a telekinetic. I think they’re going to attack the city tonight.”

“Well, we’ll see if your premonition is correct. If it is, you’ll be going with us into the field so long as it doesn’t interfere with your training. We can handle them. Thanks for telling me.”

“No problem, ma’am.”

“Please, call me Adriana. We’re like a family her.” Her smile assured me that she meant every word.

“Okay, I will call you Adriana.”

“Good! Now I suggest relaxing until dinner. You’re going to have an interesting training session tonight. Good luck.” She disappeared with her purple haze.

“Cristobel, I didn’t know I had precognition.”

“Well, if you’re right, we have a mission tonight. We’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.” I was not worried. I was more interested in the fact that I just used a power I’d never used before. I figured it would take some getting used to.

********************

Dinner was delicious. As always, Aunt Cassidy’s cooking was superb. The rest of the crew was used to having machine made food. Homemade cooking was practice, but out family always insisted on more traditional 21st century cooking methods. Before I left the table to go to the training center, Calista said she wanted to talk to me. We went into the living quarters. “Julian, I need to ask you something.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Well, ummmm… you’re kind of cute. I was wondering if you were interested in me.”

“Calista, you’re a beautiful woman. I’m sure most men would gladly lose a whole hand just for a chance with you. Unfortunately, you’re ummmm… well you’re not my type.” Her smile quickly turned into a frown. Her eyes lost some of their glow.

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, I figured you knew, but I guess you didn’t. Calista I had no idea you were into me. The truth is, I’m gay.”

“Oh… I just thought you wanted a brunette, or you were interested in my sister. That makes it a little easier. You were my last hope.”

“So, I was right. Cristobel is gay.”

She sighed and her disappointment grew. “Yes, he is. I was after him for months. My sister and I had a competition going. We both lost, because he’s gay. Maybe it’s karma.”

“Calista, you can have any straight or bi man you want.”

“Yeah, and I’ve had some women too. Sometimes, I have some fun with Natalia and Nikita, but only when they’ve fed recently. Tempest would have their heads if either one of them turned me.”

“Are you allowed to date army recruits?”

“Yeah, I am. We just have to make sure it doesn’t interfere with missions, and any guy I date cannot be on my team during training missions.”

“Well, I will be sparring with one of them tonight. I will check him out for you. If he’s cute and straight, I’ll let you know. You could probably go to my training session and check him out.”

“I like how you think. I doubt he’ll be as cute as you though. Damn it, all the hot guys are either gay or taken.”

“You’ll find someone Calista.”

“I sure hope so. I haven’t had a boyfriend in over two years. I need one.”

“I find that hard to believe. If I were straight, I would definitely have you, but I’m not so…”

“You keep reminding me.” She smacked me on the arm and started laughing. We walked over to the elevator. Calista decided to make things interesting. Before I could walk off the elevator, I was trapped in a bubble with her. She shifted the bubble into overdrive and we flew towards the training facility. Once we entered the training facility, Nikita jumped into the air and poked the giant bubble. We started falling, but I caught Calista and slowly descended to the floor.

“Calista, you know better than to play games in my training facility. If you weren’t such a sexy bitch, I would probably drain your blood right here.”

“Oh Nikita, I just wanted Julian to have a little fun. We didn’t hurt anyone.” Nikita didn’t answer. Instead, she pointed to the gallery and Calista lowered her head. She made her way to the gallery. Nikita scowled at me in disappointment.

“If you had waited another minute to come to the training facility, I would have hunted you down and dragged your ass in here. You are to be in here no later than 6:15 PM sharp. Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am I understand.”

“All right, let’s get down to business, maggot. This is Private 1st Class Daniel Murphy.” He was a handsome young man between the ages of 19 and 21. He was about 6”2 and 220 lbs of muscle. He had blond hair and fierce green eyes. His face was emotionless. Most would be intimidated, but not me. I knew I would beat him eventually. “He is a recent graduate of the Army training course. He has agreed to spar with you tonight. The match ends when one of you is no longer able to continue. Gabrielle will heal the loser. I have temporarily stripped both of you of your evoloid powers. This is hand-to-hand combat. Julian, if you win, I will present you an EAS agent to kill. Do you have any questions?”

I simply said “No ma’am,” and she instructed us to begin. My opponent attacked me with a flurry of punches. I blocked most of them and he blocked most of mine. Since most of his blows had been unsuccessful, he changed stance. He attempted a kick to the jaw that I blocked. I took full advantage and swept his other leg. He returned the favor as I went crashing into the mat. He attempted a summersault stomp, but I moved and tripped him with my hands. As the exercise combined wresting techniques with martial arts, I grabbed his ankle and applied an ankle lock. This was a mistake as he managed to flip himself over and kick me in the face. He stood up and attempted yet another kick to my jaw, but I blocked it and tripped him once again. He rolled out of the way and lunged himself back onto his feet. He came at me with another punch, but I blocked it and flipped him onto his back. I grabbed his arm, extended it with my left hand, and punched him hard in the elbow, dislocating it. Unable to continue, he tossed out his white flag, thus forfeiting the match.

“Nice work, Petzolt. Gabrielle, heal Private Murphy’s arm. Petzolt, I never expected you to win that match. I’m impressed. You are ready for your second test in record time. Cristobel had to fight five times before he finally passed the test. Most of others took the test seven to ten times before passing it. Max taught you well. You might become one of my trainers if you continue to impress me this much.”

“Thanks, ma’am. That means a lot coming from you.”

“You’re no longer a maggot. Call me Nikita.”

“Okay, Nikita. Where is the EAS agent? I want to kill.”

“I love your attitude, but I am not permitted to give you more than one test in a given night. Besides, I have to show you how to dispatch them according to protocol before the test. Your training will continue tomorrow night.”

“Can I kill one just for fun?”

“Nice try, Petzolt. You are free to go. Your powers are now restored.”

“That was incredible, Julian!” Calista was so excited I thought she was about to piss herself. “Wow, you passed the test in one try. Nobody has ever done that. Do you know what this means?”

“It means that I was lucky, I guess.”

“Don’t be so modest. You totally kicked ass out there. Daniel was the top student last year. You…”

“Calista…”

“Sorry, Daniel but it’s true. He totally mopped the floor with you.”

“Well, he is damn good. I thought Cristobel was impressive, but it still took five times for him. They said you were special. I just didn’t know exactly how right they were.”

“I just had a good teacher. Uncle Max was an awesome instructor. He used to…”

“Yeah, he was a great informant. He was a high-ranking member of the EAS, and he hid it well. Unfortunately, he had to send the clones on the attack from time to time, but he always told us immediately afterwards. They were like sitting ducks of course. The clones in the EAS aren’t as well trained as the soldiers in the Black Knight Army.”

“Yeah, I killed five EAS agents on New Year’s Day. They were pathetic.”

“Well, with your powers it’s easy. You won’t have your powers to protect you in the test. They’re downright relentless. I had a hard time killing them without hydro kinesis, but I managed after about three tries. Those lasers hurt. Without my sister, I would have been dead for sure.” Calista was still obviously impressed but definitely jealous.

“Yes, you would have, sis. It’s too bad I can’t heal myself, because I had to spend a week in the infirmary after my first battle with that EAS agent. I was pissed when I could finally face another one. I broke the mother fucker’s neck.” Gabrielle’s eyes were fiercer than I had seen them. “How could such a sweet young woman be such a well-trained killer?” I thought to myself, knowing getting on her bad side would not be a good idea.

“Gabrielle, is healing all you can do?” Her eyes widened and an evil grin crossed her face. My hand started burning. I shrieked in pain. “Damn, you didn’t have to demonstrate.”

“I hate it when men think I’m some weak healer. I can just as easily inflict damage.” She healed my hand just as quickly as she had turned it into charred remains. “My code name is Misery. Now you know why.” Her laugh was evil.

My anger grew beyond my control. I shot a bolt of lightning that sent her into the wall. “If you ever do that again, I’ll kill you and add your powers to my collection. I can also make your powers recoil. I won’t hesitate.”

“Damn Julian, you really have a nasty attitude. You could have killed her.”

“Calista, she shouldn’t use her powers against me like that. I take offense to someone who’s supposed to be on my side causing my hand to burn off. I simply gave her a taste of her own medicine.”

“There is no room for using your powers against one another. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out? My monitors tell me everything that goes on in your bodies. Your powers are dangerous weapons. Save it for the bad guys. I’ll let it slide this time. Next time, Edgar and Elliot will gladly show you the error of your ways.” Adriana was pissed off. She ran a tight ship. There was no tolerance for fighting among The Protectors. “Now, let’s go to the living quarters.” We all followed Adriana, Daniel included. Cristobel had obviously taken a shower and dressed in the locker room as he joined us.

The metaplastic door to the elevator was opaque instead of clear. I wondered why it would be darkened. The door opened and there was no light in the living quarters. “Illuminato,” shouted a familiar voice, that of my Aunt Cassidy. The entire group shouted, “Surprise!” The remaining members and some of the soldiers were present. There was a table in the center of the room with two cakes. One said, “Happy Birthday, Julian” and the other said “Happy Birthday, Cristobel.”

“Wow, I figured you’d forgotten,” I said to Aunt Cassidy.

“Don’t be silly, Julian. I’d wanted to throw you a birthday party ON your birthday, but your power surge, the EAS, and your subsequent escape into the barren wasteland postponed your party. You and Cristobel were born on the exact same day.” My mouth dropped. I had no idea I shared a birthday with Cristobel.

Adriana filled a glass of Pinot Noir just for me. She filled a glass for Cristobel soon after. “Ladies and gentlemen, Cristobel and Julian are five days overdue for their birthday party. I assure you I didn’t forget for a moment. I would like to propose a toast to our youngest members. While Julian is still in training, I have no doubt he will be a fully-fledged member very soon. He has broken the record by completing his first test the first time. The previous record was 5 times. Cristobel, I hate to be the bearer of bad news at your birthday party.

“Adriana, it’s not bad news. Julian is going to be a great asset to the team.” His humble statement surprised everyone. He prides himself by being the best. Conceding would be out of character according to Adriana.

“Wow, I didn’t think humility was in your vocabulary,” I laughed.

Moments later the alarm sounded. “Adriana, there are rogues attacking the city in sector 3-A. They’ve reported a telekinetic as well as a couple of electrokinetics and a cryokinetic.”

“We’ll take care of it, Chaz. Thanks. Julian, you were right. I won’t break my promise. Let’s go.”

Within minutes, we arrived at the sector 3-A portal in full gear. Flying vehicles and small buildings had been destroyed. A young woman was lifting her hands as trees obeyed her every command. “She’s mine,” I said.

“Are you sure you can handle a telekinetic?” Calista asked.

“Yes, I can. I want that power, and I want it now.” The rest of the team searched for their own targets and I flew through the shadows and approached the telekinetic. I tried to sneak up on her, but a flying vehicle was hurled at me. I quickly rolled through the air and the vehicle flew into a nearby building.

“You can’t stop me, but I can stop you. I’m Telena the Great and you are nothing but a bug for me to squash.”

She stopped me in mid-flight and tossed me into the ground with her telekinetic energy. I played dead and she took the bait. As she leaned in, I attacked her mind for all I was worth. I could feel the electricity of her mind. I sensed a new combination ability of my own. I increased the flow of electrical impulses in her brain. She doubled over in pain. I let go sensing that she was in enough pain. I lifted up her lifeless body as if she were a toddler. I punched her in the neck. The force of the punch literally knocked her head off her shoulders, and a fountain of blood spurted from her body. A white orb left her body. I reached up and grabbed the white ball. Instantly I felt its energy enter my body. I left the scene in search of my team. I found Cristobel as he shot a black orb at one of the electokinetics. He hit his target and he flew into a wall. Though he was still alive, his body was lifeless. With my new power, I lifted the lifeless body with my mind.

“I see that you found a new power. I like it. Don’t kill him. We need information. I’ll put on the force field cuffs. Behind me, I felt familiar entities, human ones. I turned around and saw five EAS clones. One swooped in with an electro sword. I stopped him. I removed the weapon from his grasp, again with telekinesis. I imagined the weapon decapitating the clone and it did. The four remaining clones approached me from the air with their laser guns drawn. I imagined the electro sword destroying the laser guns. The electro sword obeyed my commands so that the clones only had their own electro swords. As if they were all of one mind, they drew their weapons. I stopped their momentum with my powers. I imagined the electro swords slicing and dicing them all into tiny pieces and not even a second later, the weapons began ripping them all to shreds. Chunks of flesh and bone and a mist of blood descended to the ground.

“Wow… I… I’ve never… s... seen anything like that before.” Adriana was shocked. She had barely even been able to finish her sentence. Simon and the Donavon sisters were behind her. Cristobel was directly to my left. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost. I summoned one of the electro swords into my hand.

“I like these. Can I keep it?”

“Yeah, we all collect them,” Natalia stated. “Adriana, is he supposed to be able to do this? I’ve never heard of…”

“Well, he is a psionic with absorption abilities. His abilities are based upon a powerful mind. Only one other possesses such powerful psionic abilities. Telekinesis is psionic in nature. That explains why he wielded the power so effortlessly.”

Ten more agents approached from the air above. I stopped them dead in their tracks. “Cristobel, can you produce a gigantic nightmare ball to hit them all. I want to see it again.” I ducked out of the way, still concentrating on the immobilized clones. A gigantic nightmare ball flew into the air, sending them all into a permanent nightmare. I collected their super hoverboards and made them all crumble with telekinetic force as the clones plummeted to the ground below them. From that moment, I felt almost invincible.

“We need to get back to base.” Simon knew more EAS clones would come. Though I could have easily dispatched any of them that dared enter my sight, I knew we had a party awaiting us. Before anyone could speak, we were surrounded by purple haze. When the haze dissipated, we were back at the party as if we’d never left.

“How did it go, Julian?” Aunt Cassidy asked. I explained how I had single handedly killed a telekinetic and absorbed her power and about watching Cristobel send a rogue into a nightmare. The rogue was on the floor face down in front of Cristobel. I told her about the five agents that I had dismembered with their own weapons and the 10 additional agents that Cristobel and I decimated. Those 10 agents were also on the ground with the remaining rogues.

“They’ll do nicely. Julian, you have a test coming up and the rest can be imprisoned for our feeding later this month. You two are amazing.” Nikita was definitely pleased with the development.

“After the party, you can assist Edgar and Elliot with an interrogation. Your powers will definitely make it a lot more interesting. Avoid mind reading just to keep it interesting. You have so much potential Julian. A variety of attacks will make you difficult to predict. I need you to remember that you’re not invincible, but you are powerful. Nothing about you is normal. There are powerful evoloids out there with powers beyond anything you’ve ever seen before.” Adriana always seemed to have the right words. Her purple haze was amazing even to me. All she has to do is send a little haze into my body, and she knows exactly what I’m thinking. She could already foresee my future. Whether she wanted me to, I could read her thoughts as well. She sensed it, however, and increased the haze around her mind, blocking my intrusion.

“Well, I figured you might think I’d enjoy interrogation too much. I know you were freaked out when I killed those EAS agents.”

“We all contribute to interrogations. Often times our own powers can assist Edgar and Elliot. They like to use their illusionist powers as well. Sensing fear is the key. Sometimes Natalia conjures the object of fear as well. I think it will be much easier to discover their fears. Your mind will break them down enough for you to sense their fears.”

After enjoying some rum cake and wine, I followed Adriana, Edgar, and Elliot to the lowest level of the facility. The room was filled with objects of torture. There were shackles on the walls as well. Adriana and I watched Edgar and Elliot in action for the first interrogation. The woman was a hybrid. Edgar pierced her heart with a stake, leaving her heart. He withdrew the weapon. He continued asking questions, but she did not budge. “It’s your turn, Julian. Remember that her mind will be difficult to penetrate. Break her down. Electricity may weaken her somewhat. Do your worst.”

I entered the interrogation room. The vampire with cryokinetic abilities was indeed cold as ice. Her body temperature was much lower than most. The force field still prevented her from using her powers. I used telekinesis to pin her to the wall as Edgar and Elliot watched with enthusiasm. I shot her with a bolt of lightning. “You’ll tell us what we want to know Ice Bitch. Who ordered the attack? You will tell us.” Edgar’s voice was cold and emotionless. I relinquished her from the grasp of my combined powers. She lay on the floor unable to move. She tried to blow ice wind at me, which I dodged. She received another dose of lightning for it. Since she was worn down, I entered her mind, searching for the answer to the question. I saw a cobra shooting its powerful venom and I saw a flame.

“Adriana, I need Natalia and Simon. I know how to break her now.” Two minutes later Natalia and Simon entered the interrogation room. “Natalia, we need a spitting cobra. We’ll all have to leave the room first,” I whispered into her ear. We left the room.

“Julian, I love this idea. Although venom will not kill her, it will bring her immense pain. Adriana, I need you to take control of the snake once I conjure it. Make it spit into her eyes and then bite her.”

“That’s simple enough.” Adriana’s response was cold and calculated. The snake appeared in the interrogation, followed by a purple haze into the serpent’s body. The cobra spit acid into her eyes with pinpoint accuracy. The snake slithered across the floor, biting her as she screamed in pain. A few minutes later, Simon and I entered the interrogation room after Natalia made the cobra disappear. Simon knew exactly what to do. Flames circled in the air around the cryokinetic vampire. Fear and pain filled her psyche.

“Okay…. It was the EAS. They hired us to kill you.”

“That’s all we needed to know.” Simon sent the flames into her body. She screamed in horror as her flesh burned. I could sense that even Natalia was uneasy. Flames will kill any vampire or evoloid alike (with the obvious exception of pyrokinetics). Her screams for mercy faded and soon only a pile of dust remained.

“Nice work, Julian. Now, I think after tonight you need to get away for a day or two. Since you passed your first test in one night, you can have an evening without training. You’ve killed tonight. We cannot let you lose your humanity. All of us have to take time off. Your powers can give you a sense of invincibility and a bloodlust often consumes you. You need a day away from here. Usually I don’t do that for a month, but you’re a very special case. After five days, your death toll stands at eleven, if my math is correct. I want no argument. I’m sending Cristobel and you to White Knight City. There is a beach there. It’s a much more peaceful place than Centropolis.”

“Did I freak you out?”

“I guess I wasn’t prepared for you slicing and dicing four EAS agents with their own weapons like that. Usually I fight with them and kill them with purple haze. Nobody has ever killed them with such ease. Most telekinetics take years to learn how to control their abilities. You absorbed the power and used it immediately without hesitation. You’ve even skipped the step where your emotions cause your telekinesis to spin out of control. My concern is that you’re going to enjoy killing too much. We may live in a dark world, but we only kill when we have to. You have to be focused on making the world a better place. I must admit that killing EAS agents is a lot of fun, but I hope you don’t go around killing for fun. That is Black Heart’s favorite past time. I don’t want you to be like him.”

“What? I don’t take pleasure in killing except for maybe EAS agents and rogues. I want to ask something though. Haven’t you ever considered trying to recruit some of those rogues?”

“Yes, I have, but my parents insist that we don’t. They make the rules, and we follow. Most rogues are the ones who take pleasure in killing and torturing innocent humans. We are above that. We have to eliminate them.”

“So is there a reason you want Cristobel to go?”

“I want you to get to know him better. You two have a lot in common. In case you’re wondering, you are allowed to get to know each other in any way you see fit. I would have no room to talk. In fact, Simon and I are getting married in May. I see the way Cristobel looks at you. Your aunt told me that you like guys. I’m sure you think he’s hot. Who wouldn’t?”

“Well, I don’t know how to bring it up. He’s afraid to say anything and he blocks any attempt I make to find out what he’s thinking. I didn’t even know he was gay until Calista told me. I was surprised. Does he know we’re going to White Knight City?”

“No, he doesn’t. Let’s go talk to him.” Once again, I found myself surrounded by purple haze. When the haze started to disappear, we were in the living quarters again. Cristobel was talking to Simon. Adriana and I walked towards them. Cristobel looked directly at me and smiled. Simon gave Adriana a similar look. “Cristobel, you and Julian are going to White Knight City for a couple of days.”

“I thought I wasn’t scheduled for another week or two, and I usually go alone.”

“Would you prefer to wait another week and go alone or would you like to go now with Julian?”

“I… ummmm… I’d like to go tonight.”

“Good, then it’s settled. Go to your sleeping quarters and pack some clothes. You’ll be leaving as soon as you’re ready. I already booked a room at the retreat on the beach. It’s not like a real beach, but close enough. Now, get going.”

We went to our sleeping quarters. A suitcase was already on each bed. I walked to my closet and it opened. “I don’t have any swimwear.”

“I’ll take care of it, Julian. Don’t worry about a thing. This is going to be a wonderful trip. You’re going to love it.”

“How long will it take to get there?”

“It will only take the amount of time it takes for Adriana to immerse us in haze. I love her teleport. It’s freaking awesome. I always feel like I’m on solid ground and then the haze disappears and I’m at my destination.”

“Yeah, I still haven’t seen what else her powers can do.”

“Well, she can kill our enemies quite easily or knock them out cold. She usually likes to toy with them first as I do. You seem to enjoy a quick and efficient kill. Don’t you like toying with them at all?”

“Well, you missed my test earlier. Damn, that was only three hours ago. It’s only 2200. Since then, I’ve broken the record for passing my first test and absorbed a kick-ass power.”

“I wish I had telekinesis.”

“I can share it with you, but I have a rule. If I share a power with you, you share something with me?”

“You mean you want me to share a power with you?”

“Yeah, I don’t mean all of them or anything. You seem to have a wide range of powers.”

“I do. Most of them are related to dreams and nightmares. I’m sure you’ve also figured out I can read minds and block my own mind from invasion. You are good at that as well.”

“I really like those nightmare balls. So how about nightmare balls for telekinesis and electrokinesis? I know I can collect a lot more powers. I can share more powers, but you don’t necessarily have to share a power. There are other things you can do.” I gave him a sly grin as I said that. He knew exactly what I was talking about. He was a bit surprised.

“Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Calista told me.”

“Oh, she has been talking about trying to get in your pants since last night. I figured she would have succeeded.”

“I don’t swing that way. If I did, I could definitely have my way with her. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I was afraid to ask.”

“I was too. You definitely didn’t strike me as the type. I saw how you look at me, but I thought it might have been wishful thinking on my part.”

“You know what? That’s exactly what I was thinking. So, are you packed? I am.”

“Yes, I’m packed. So does it seem like a real beach?”

“Well, I’ve never been to a real beach, but White Knight City is huge and surrounded by white beaches and water as far as the eye can see even though the domed city is in the middle of the artic circle. I think Natalia had a great vision for it. It took her days to make it. She really has an eye for detail.”

“You mean she created White Knight City? Wow, I figured it took a lot more than conjuring.”

“Well, on the large a scale, she needed help from Tempest. They built White Knight City together.”

“Well, let’s go see it.” Cristobel simply nodded and we left our sleeping quarters. Adriana was waiting impatiently outside the door.

“It usually doesn’t take that long to pack. Were you just chit chatting?”

“Yeah, we were,” I replied. “We’re ready.”

“Okay, I’m sending you directly to the retreat center. I’ll be there Wednesday to pick you up around 1700. Julian, you WILL have another test so you don’t need to be staying up all night.”

“Adriana, I won’t keep him up that late.”

“All right, it’s time.” Adriana closed her eyes and raised her hands. The purple clouds shot out of her hands. I closed my eyes as well, as White Knight City was to be the next sight I saw. I wondered if this trip would be as quick as the others.

“Open your eyes, silly,” Cristobel said about 5 seconds later. “We’re here.” We were in the lobby. The lobby was beautiful. The walls were sky blue. There was a golden fountain in the center of the lobby.

“Wow, this place is amazing! I may not want to leave.”

“Yeah, it’s breathtaking. That’s for sure. I first saw this place when I was six. I ran over to the fountain, but Adriana stopped me from splashing in it.”

“Well, I would have done the same thing.” He chuckled at my remark. We walked over to the desk.

“Hey Cristobel,” the young man at the desk said. He was blond with baby blue eyes. He had tanned skin which was free of scars and blemishes. He was definitely easy on the eyes. “We’ve been expecting you two. Cristobel, you have your usual suite. The robot will take your luggage. Enjoy your stay.”

“Thanks, Tyler.” I followed Cristobel to the elevator. The elevator went up about five floors. “It’s this way.” We walked down the hallway to the right. We went to the door at the end of the hall. After a retinal scan for both of us, the door opened. Unlike most doors, this was a classical door which opened towards the inside of the room. “I want to show you something.” We walked towards the other side of the room. Cristobel pushed a button on the wall and soon the wall pulled away to reveal a window. As far as the eye could see was a moonlit sea.

“It’s beautiful, Cristobel.”

“I knew you’d like it,” he replied. I stared into the sea, knowing that some of it was an illusion, but I admired its beauty just the same. I felt Cristobel’s hand and grabbed it instinctively. At that moment, I knew I was exactly where I needed and wanted to be.

********************

Daily Report January 5, 3007

Julian is a Level 4 psionic. However, by absorbing psychoportive abilities, such as teleportation or astral projection, he has the potential to become a Level 5 psionic. He has powers within all four of the five types of psionic abilities. So far, he has exhibited all major forms of telepathy except projected illusions. The subject also exhibits ESP. In a dream, he saw a conversation between all three members of the counsel. He has reported dreams of retrocognition and precognition to his aunt. Past events have been confirmed. At least one premonition has also been verified. His premonition was an attack on the city by a group of rogues. He has absorbed several psychokinetic abilities such as telekinesis and electrokinesis. His psycho-metabolic abilities include his power absorption abilities. He is one of only two evoloids with this particular ability. He also has pain and environmental resistance. He also exhibits super-human strength. His body can resist gravity, allowing him to fly. He can also cause another evoloid’s powers to recoil or backfire.

I sent Julian with Cristobel to the retreat tonight. After tonight’s battle, I am afraid he’ll spiral out of control if he doesn’t get away. The last five days, he has killed EAS agents and rogues alike. He also spent over 72 hours in the wasteland. He and Cristobel should get along quite well according to the prophecy. They are to become lovers. I want their romance to start sooner rather than later. Julian needs balance in his life. Cristobel may be just what he needs. They will have the love that their predecessors do not. According to The Oracle, he can still be either good or evil. She suggested the retreat. As always, I trust her judgment.