Stephen awoke, only to nearly pass out again. The pain in his shoulder nearly killed him, literally. He heard Byron's voice saying that it wasn't lethal, but he didn't seem to understand. Stephen could barely sit up, and, when he did, the sight of the giant Gabe nearly threw him back down onto the ground. Gabe hovered six feet above him, his small eyes peering down at Stephen. The sight of the huge man startled Stephen into forgetting his pain. He lept up and was ready to fight a losing battle, but was reassured by Byron that this man was not an enemy.
"You'll live," Byron said to him regarding his wound, "But I doubt you'll be able to fight at all until later."
"Wonderful," Stephen said sarcastically, "I might as well stay here. I'll just slow you guys down, and I won't be of any use."
"No," said Phoebe, "What you did back there was brave. Thank you."
"That doesn't change the fact that I won't be able to help you guys," Stephen said.
"We're not leaving you here," said Mark, "You'll come with us. You might have to teleport a few yards ahead and wait for us every once in a while, but you'll come."
"A Ninth Sector?" said Kristine Neff, Thomas Garek's assistant, said, shocked. Thomas was in his office at Sector One, gazing out into the wide streets where soldiers stood at attention for hours on end. He had been tasked with creating Sector Nine, a luring safe haven for the Unnatural. He was had told Kristine, and Thomas planned to work with her to create Nine.
"Yes," replied Thomas, "That's what the President said. And it must be kept out of the people's knowledge, including the Unnatural's."
"But who will we populate it with?"
"Who knows? The President has his ways."
"What will they do there?"
"I don't know that, either. At least, I don't know what the President has planned. I know what I'll do, though, once he appoints me governor."
"And what is that?"
"I'll capture the Unnatural and hold them there as the President has already instructed. However, I will do something outside of his knowledge. I am going to create an army, Kristine; an unstoppable army," he turned from the window to face her, "I'm going to clone the Unnatural's DNA and give it to the population of Sector Nine."
Kristine looked worried. "What are you going to do with your army?"
"I'm going to make sure the Leonic Threat ends. We'll be free; we'll never have to worry about another 2047 Incident again."
"What about after that?"
Thomas was silent. "I don't know," he said, honestly enough, "Maybe I'll kill Sector Nine. Or maybe we won't have any need for Sector One anymore; we'll just use the people from Nine as our law enforcement."
"Or maybe use them to overthrow the government," Kristine said accusingly.
Thomas looked at her, shocked. "I wouldn't do such a thing," he said defensively, "I would use my creations for the good of the Nation."
Kristine looked at him as if she didn't believe him before turning around and walking out the door, shutting it behind her.
Thomas looked back out the window, watching the soldiers march through their school below, wondering about Kristine's statement.
Was he doing what was best for his Nation?
Meanwhile, Peyton Burton was having similar thoughts, except miles and miles away, underground, outside of the Sectors. He was in his headquarters, the Head of Secret Service Operations, the place he spent most of his life. He was far beneath the upper levels in a laboratory only he and a select few scientists knew of. Here was where he was building a weapon.
Here was where he would stop the Unnatural.
He called it Project Zero, an unstoppable force that could counter the Unnatural's abilities and was virtually indestructible. It wasn't finished yet; Peyton had had a difficult time re-earthing the genetic code that made the Unnatural who they were. However, he calculated that the Project would be complete by the time the Unnatural gathered together and escaped their reach.
Then Peyton had a thought. Thomas Garek was creating a Ninth Sector; maybe Peyton could use that to help with his Project.
He rushed over to a keyboard that sat on a desk. He pressed a button, and the screen that projected across the entire wall lit up, awaiting his command. Through a series of passcodes and intricate scrolling, Peyton was able to find a biography of Mark Konners, one of the Unnatural. Peyton had a particular interest in Mark, perhaps because of his interest in Peyton's daughter. Maybe it was because of his ability. The thought of Pyrokenisis had always fascinated him, fire being an extremely dangerous, yet incredibly beautiful, entity. As Peyton read, he found two perfect subjects for his tests.
Caleb Watkins, scheduled to be transferred to Sector One in three days.
And Nellie Reed, who was supposed to stay in Sector Two for the rest of her life.
If he and Thomas could use these two…That would make it much easier to capture the Unnatural, or, at least, Mark. That was a problem, though; only Mark would be drawn towards these two, not necessarily the others, especially the two newest of the group; Stephen and Gabe.
So Peyton dug some more, this time into Gabriel's biography. Like Mark, there was really only one person Gabe trusted; the person's name was Oscar Baker. Perhaps Peyton could use Oscar to draw the Unnatural in, as well.
Peyton picked up the laboratory's telephone. Normally he wouldn't be able to communicate to people outside of his headquarters, but some scientists from Sectors Five and Eight had willingly given him a hand.
He dialed the war coordinator. Peyton savored the process. Normal people, if they could afford it, would use a touchscreen, computer, or even a hologram, but not Peyton. He enjoyed the simplicity of the relic. It was one of the only things he could remember about his old home.
About Earth.
"Thomas," said Peyton when the war coordinator picked up the phone, "There's been a change of plans. Once you finish excavating Sector Nine, I need you to do something for me."
"I've noticed something," said Byron to Mark that night, after they'd traveled for miles once again.
"What?" Mark said, not really interested in Byron's observations.
"All five of us, without fail, have been traveling at an incredible speed," Byron said.
"You've only just noticed that?"
"No, but I have, until now, put out the idea that, perhaps, all of us could have other abilities other than that of our main one."
"What do you mean?"
"Whatever it is that gives us our abilities, it gives us something else, also. We have more endurance, are faster, our reflexes are quicker."
"Yeah. I mean, how else would we be able to get as far as we have in just a day?"
After a while, Mark asked Byron, "Do you know who we're looking for in Sector Six?"
"You mean who I'm looking for."
"What?"
"Stephen won't be able to come with us, and he can't be left alone. There's no telling what could happen to him."
"So you want me to stay with him?"
"Yes. Try to go around the Sector, we'll meet you there with the newcomer."
"Why me?"
"I have my reasons."
"Then you should share them."
"Why would I do that?"
"Why can't Phoebe stay behind? Or Gabe? Or even you?"
"Gabe can't stay with Stephen because of his lack of experience. At least, lack of experience with us."
"Oh, yeah, and taking him with no experience into the middle of the job is a great idea," Mark said sarcastically. He was getting mad.
"Perhaps it is."
"Then why not Phoebe?"
"You wouldn't want that, would you?" Byron gave Mark his sly, mischievous grin again.
"I don't necessarily like her going in there without me. Why can't you stay with him?"
"Because you'll need me to find her."
"Who?"
"Kaytlen Williams."
"I doubt we would. We'd just follow the path of destruction that always happens when people show up."
"Mark, you're staying here with Stephen."
"Why?"
"This is going to be a rather circular argument, isn't it?"
"Stephen's fine! He can go in there with the rest of us!"
"No," said Byron firmly, "I'm not going to take that risk. None of you will be hurt. You will stay with Stephen, Mark."
"I know why you're leaving me here," said Mark accusingly, "You want to take Phoebe. You want to make sure she stays away from me, and with you. You're evil, Byron."
"Do not attempt to lecture me on morals, Mark," Byron says smoothly, almost as frightening as if he had screamed the statement, "Believe me, I have no interest in Phoebe beyond making sure that she makes it out safe, just like the rest of you."
"I wonder why I doubt you so much, Byron," Mark said sarcastically. Just as the words left his mouth, however, his head exploded into pain. He collapsed, clutching his scalp, trying to claw the pain away.
"Do not antagonize me, Mark," Byron said angrily "I am much more powerful than you could imagine. I could kill you in an instant; make your death excruciatingly painful, before you could think about incinerating me. I would know your every move before you made it, I would know your weakest points, physically, emotionally, and mentally. There is much at play here you cannot begin to comprehend, both with me and with what we're doing and why. I'm the only reason you're alive and I will be the only reason you survive this ordeal. You will do as I say and you will trust me, or else your life will be not last much longer."
Mark looked one time into Byron's angered eyes and fell into a deep sleep.