Prologue: Illusions of Grandeur

Academy City: A sprawling metropolis in the Land of the Rising Sun. With a population of 2.3 million, making it roughly one-third the size of Tokyo, 80% of which is composed of students, it's a place of cutting edge research, advanced technology, and the remarkable discovery which earned the wondrous city its reputation as one of the most incredible places on Earth. Extrasensory Perception, also known as ESP, and it's practitioners; ESPers, wielders of psychic abilities.

With the most well-known including telekinesis, the ability to move and influence objects with one's mind, Telepathy, allowing the ESPer to see into the minds of others and hear their thoughts, to the more wondrous and mind-blowing powers (pun intended) such as Pyrokinesis which grants the power to control heat and even flames, and Electrokinesis, allowing one to influence, direct, and even generate electricity to the point of unleashing bolts of lightning from their fingertips, Academy City is a place where science rules the day, and ESPer powers rule science!

So when children, abandoned by their families for one reason or another, to be left in the care of the city as an orphan, or Child Error, more often than not, little mind is paid to such a typical occurrence.

This was not one of those times…

"This is incredible! His AIM Diffusion Field is scanning as level 2, nearly level 3! With a specialized regimen and focused research and training; he could easily reach level 3 in a few months, maybe even 4 within a few years!" A rather enthusiastic man in a white coat essentially hollered to his colleges.

"Take it easy, doctor Reid." An older, more grounded man said, attempting to reign his assistant in. "The readings are quite promising, but we don't even know what he is yet, he claims he can see threats coming before they hit him, and sense when others approach regardless of situation or obstruction. So what does that tell us?" He asked the entire room.

Said room was a small think tank of 7 scientists, each with their own workspace personalized and maintained by each individual researcher… except for one, which was covered in half-empty snack bags and discarded candy wrappers, as well as a stack of empty paper cups stacked, quite literally, halfway to the ceiling, if not more so.

"He has something of a sixth sense…" A female doctor looking to be in her late teens in the left-center row of workstations observed. "Perhaps his ability is precognition?"

"Nein, Dr. Dinkley, he seems to perceive things moments before zey happen, like he can feel ze area around him being distorted, he failed ze psychic tests in both forms, he didn't name ze flash cards when zey vere revealed." A male scientist looking to be in his 50s with a heavy German accent opposite the young woman argued.

"So, Dr. Schwartz, you suggest he has no perception of the future, merely his environment… fascinating." The head researcher's assistant eagerly stated as he took notes on a small notepad.

"It sounds like it could be Aerokinesis; his AIM field is entangled with the air around him so he can feel the currents being altered by foreign influences?" Another female scientist, looking to be in her late 20s, suggested.

"Nein, Dr. Kurtis," The German scientist interjected once again. "Ve put him through ze typical elemental influence trials; zey vere all negative."

"Heh, when that tennis ball bounced and nailed him in the forehead I thought I was gonna faint from laughter!" A male doctor with an American accent said with a chuckle in his voice.

"Pity it vasn't you… und a brick…" The German quipped, pinching the bridge of his nose.

*PFFFPPPHHH* "HAHAHAHA!" The girl sitting at the disaster-zone one may dare call a workstation erupted with laughter. "Ah, ah, hooo! And they say Germans aren't funny! AhhahaHA!"

"Hmhm," The older researcher chuckled, him not being the only one in the room attempting to keep himself from joining in on the girl's ever-infectious laughter. "Dr. Birkin, please compose yourself, you've spit soda pop all over your monitor again."

The girl suddenly froze before looking at her monitor, but relaxed when she remembered this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened, and she made certain to waterproof it in case it happened a third time. "Whew… almost forgot we prepared for this. Anyway; he's Psychokinetic."

The entire room seemed to have gone still with her sudden observation.

"What makes you say that?" The Assistant asked eagerly awaiting an answer.

"Simple; he can feel space around him like a spiderweb, he can't control elements or move objects with his mind, and, like Sour-Kraut here said, none of the elemental control tests took."

After giving Dr. Schwartz a look clearly meant to say; 'Don't' the head spoke again. "So we know what he can't do, what can he do?"

The young scientist promptly responded in a way no one expected. "Who cares?" earning a skeptical stare from everyone else in the room. "What he CAN do doesn't mean jack! What's important is what he's CAPABLE OF!"

"Interesting… go on, please." The head doctor requested.

"See, it's a matter of growth potential, like always, same with that albino kid the Kiharas picked up last year; his ability isn't one we've seen before, but it's abstract, so it's potential is massive, limited only by its host; it's Spacial Manipulation!"

"Hang on, little lady," The American interjected. "We've seen Spacial Manipulation-archetypes before; Wormhole, Graviton Warp, Teleport, why's this kid different?"

"Simple Dr. Whosit!"

"-That's Howser!"

"Whatever…" The young lady dismissed. "What makes him different is he could be capable of all three!" she stated, earning a different reaction from everyone, mostly controversial.

"What!?" Dr. Dinkley cried.

"Impossible!" Dr. Schwartz denied.

"Incredible!" Dr. Reid exclaimed.

"You're crazy!" Dr. Howser shot.

"How!?" Dr. Kurtis demanded.

"Everyone, please!" The head intervened. "Dr. Birkin, can you prove this?"

"Of course, Dr. Sickshal." The youngest researcher exclaimed. "But I'll need 4 months and…" she paused, doing some number checking on her fingers. "...16 days, 11 hours, 37 minutes and 8 seconds earmarked for R&D, if granted, I'll have Academy City's very first bone-fide Reality Bender!" She jubilantly gave her answer.

"...Reality Bender?" Dr. Whos- Howser, criticized.

"What?" Dr. Birkin asked, slightly annoyed.

""It's lame! It's a lame name!" He shot, strangely very irked by the girl's choice of title for the new ESPer power.

"Alright Dr. Name-'in-stien! What would YOU call it?" Dr. Dinkley shot in the little crusader's defense.

"Literally anything else she could come up with, just not Reality Bender!" Dr Howser practically demanded/begged.

"Fiiine," Dr. Kurtis sighed rather irately. "How about… Dimension Breaker?" She suggested in an attempt to shut her obnoxious college up.

"Eh…" Howser responded lamely.

"What about… Perception Distorter?" Reid offered."

"Nah…"

"Janus!" Schwartz professed.

"Whatnoose?" Howser asked, confused.

"Ze Roman god of Portals, and beginnings, among ozher things."

"Pthew" Howser almost literally spat.

"Game Changer?" Dinkley suggested.

"LAME!" Was uttered in unison by almost everyone in the room, which prompted the young woman to curl up into a fetal position in her chair with a gloom over her head.

"For the love of- why are we arguing this!?" Kurtis suddenly demanded. "Who cares what we call him! As long as we get the results, we can just call him-" she declared before suddenly, she was cut off.

"Lawbreaker."

Everyone suddenly looked in their senior's direction.

"Doctor?" Birkin asked in surprise.

"That is what we will call him."

"Huh… never thought you'd toss your hand in on this one Doc, but I like it!" Howser said, satisfied.

"Concise, elegant, just dramatic enough, well done sir." Kurtis agreed.

"It fits vell with his aspired skillset, I approve." Schwartz conceded.

"It's great! Little cowboy-ish, but at least it's not 'Outlaw.'" Dinkley said as she removed herself from her ball-posture.

"It's a perfect fit for our newest endeavor!" Reid exclaimed.

"You've done it again Doctor! Like Dr. Reid said, it's perfect!" The young Dr. Birkin praised.

"It's settled then," Sickshal declared, satisfied. "Dr. Birkin, you shall have all the time you've specified, see to it you furnish the team with regular updates every 5 days."

"Yes sir!" She obliged happily.

"Doctors Kurtis, Dinkley and Reid, see to it all preparations are made and a site secured!"

"Yes Doctor!" They agreed.

"Doctor Howard, make the calls and see to it all necessary supplies and equipment are secured."

"On it Doc." Howard replied somewhat unenthusiastically.

"Dr. Schwartz… you know what to do."

"Achtung, Herr Sickshal." Schwartz responded in German.

"And Dr. Birkin?" Sickshal addressed his youngest protege.

"Yes Doctor!" She responded happily.

"...Do not disappoint me again." He responded, suddenly taking a very dark and serious tone, causing everyone in the room to freeze where they stood.

"Uh… o-of course Sir… I-I promise I won't fail." She replied, a notable amount of fear in the young girls voice.

Everyone else in the room had an air of reluctance about them, fearing the wrath of their normally patient, almost fatherly mentor… should he remove his mask for what he warned would be the last time.

Sickshal then turned to the observation window at the end of the room, while all of his students exited via the door on the opposite end of the lab. "This is it..." He mused, looking upon the child in the observation area; an almost demented look in his previously passive and patient eyes.

"You will become… my Lawbreaker!"

Prologue end.