Was it a dream? Mark didn't know. Right now, he felt like it had been. That whole week felt like one long, horrible dream, a figment of his imagination. Mark only saw darkness, so he assumed that he would be waking up soon, in the comfort of his bed. He would go downstairs and eat and then go to school.
But it was not to be.
A light flickered on in front of Mark. He was against the wall of an empty room. He couldn't move. He heard voices outside, and a door opened on the opposite side of the room. A man walked in. He wasn't very tall, but he wasn't short either. He wore a black hat and glasses. He closed the door behind him, walking slowly to the center of the room.
"Mark Konners," the man said, gazing over Mark, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. My name is Peyton Burton."
"Where am I?" Mark said flatly.
"You are in the Secret Service Headquarters, located miles outside of the Sector's boundaries. You wanted to come out here, so I gave you your wish."
"Why am I here?"
"That," Peyton said, "Is a long story. But we have a little bit of time, so I shall relate to you your origin story.
"Our Nation has been here for millennia, so long that nobody can remember when or why our Nation was founded. The only person who knows why is President Xandar. However, one thing we know is that we are not alone here.
"Outside of this Nation, somewhere, is a race called the Leonics. They are a people bent on war and destruction. We do not know where, exactly, the Leonics come from, but we do know that it is not this earth; they are something unhuman. I believe you have run into one before," Mark knew exactly who Peyton was talking about. The man they had met in Sector Four and later in Sector Seven.
"Just over a hundred years ago," Peyton continued, "the Leonics attacked and nearly destroyed our Nation. The only way we won the terrible war was through our advanced technology and superior numbers. However, we did not completely wipe the Leonics out. There were a few remaining tribes, and they have disappeared to somewhere outside of the Sectors. We knew they wouldn't be gone for long, though, so we came up with a plan.
"The plan did take a few decades to be put into action, but we were able to complete it. We called it Project Leon. We took six babies, later two more, and experimented on them. We were trying to give them powers that would help us should another Leonic invasion take place. One of them was my daughter. I believe you…know her. Her name is Phoebe," Peyton looked up at Mark. He knew of the relationship between the two, "The experiments failed, however, at least, immediately. We sent you back to the Sectors and split you up, one in each Sector. We thought that your powers would never come, but we monitored you, anyways. We followed you, trying to see of any signs of your abilities growing. And, until a week ago, we didn't see anything.
"But then Byron Peters showed up. We discovered that he had an Unnatural ability, but he was not the Unnatural we were monitoring. This sent us into a flurry of panic, but we eventually found the source of his ability. His mother had been one of the scientists who had helped us in Project Leon. She managed to recreate the serum that made had given you your abilities, and she succeeded.
"Then you showed up. We decided that our Project had been a success, but you were too dangerous to be kept alive. The Leonics hadn't shown up for centuries, so we decided to kill you."
"Who's we?" said Mark.
"I guess I should clarify. I was not involved in wanting to kill you; it was the rest of the Council. They were the ones who wanted to send legions in and kill you. I persuaded them to do otherwise, however. We can never be too prepared, I told them. They listened to me, and spared your lives. We dug up some old paralyzing serum, improved upon it, and decided to use it against you. It not only immobilizes your body, but also the extra DNA we gave you."
"What DNA?"
"I'm afraid I've talked with you far too long," Peyton said, "There are others that must hear this story. Goodbye, Mark, and thank you for your time."
"You left me," Phoebe said accusingly, "You left me with your brother and you expect me to forgive you?"
Peyton felt the urge to cringe. He couldn't show any signs of weakness, though, especially not in front of Phoebe. He had refused the guard's efforts to restrain her. He wouldn't speak with his daughter like that; she had to know that Peyton did care for her. He had let them sedate her powers when she was unconscious, though, just in case. However, Phoebe didn't pace the room, like Peyton did. She remained still, watching, glaring at Peyton every time he moved. "I had no idea how he would turn out," Peyton said, honestly enough, "I didn't know that he or his wife would abuse you. I honestly didn't. At the time, I honestly thought that it would protect you."
"From what?"
"The knowledge of you being involved with Project Leon. If your mother and I had kept you, you would have known about it much sooner than now. We knew that that could have, and would, most likely, have, hurt you."
"Why didn't you take me back later, then?"
"I considered it. However, after seeing what your mother went through under the pressure of being related to the Head of the Secret Service…I didn't want that for you."
"You could have quit," Phoebe said, "You could have left the Service."
"No," Peyton said, shaking his head mournfully, "There is no leaving the Service. To do so would mean certain death. It's too dangerous."
"If you really loved me, you would have risked it."
"And left you fatherless, knowing that your adoptive parents were just that? I would've died soon after you found out. That would have crippled you even more than you already were. Believe me, that was what was best for you at the time, even if it did hurt you, physically and emotionally."
"You're lying," Phoebe said through gritted teeth, "You left me with him," she spit out the word, referring to Peyton's brother, with disgust, "to pursue your own career, your own desires," Phoebe's voice rose, "You left me with him so that I wouldn't get in the way of you succeeding. You don't love me, not at all."
Phoebe lept at Peyton. Peyton jumped out of her way and slammed his fist against a button on the wall. A glass sheet came down, blocking Phoebe from Peyton. "And now look at you," Phoebe said, colliding with the glass, "You're locking me away in some prison in your headquarters. You're going to use me as your tool to get what you want."
"I love you, Phoebe," Peyton said, ignoring Phoebe's hateful words, "You might not see it, but I genuinely do."
As Peyton walked out of the door, his daughter screaming at him as he did so, he struggled to compose himself. His conversation with Phoebe had disrupted his usually calm stature, although he should have expected that as soon as he walked into the door. Phoebe was just like him; she found it hard to forgive people, especially when they've done something horribly wrong, as he had, even, perhaps particularly, when the deed had been done unintentionally.
Peyton had to put his act together, though. His next meeting would be one of importance; Peyton was going to speak with the leader of the Unnatural, and, perhaps, convince him to fight for them.
"Your mother's brilliant, you know," Byron could hear, "She really amazed me."
Byron opened his eyes, finding that he was in a similar situation as Mark. Peyton stood in front of him.
"Oh, and, don't bother trying to read my mind," Peyton said, "We've found a way to succumb that ability, at least for now. Don't worry, though, we'll give it back to you later."
"You said something about my mother," Byron said, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, "What do you mean?"
"Your mother," Peyton said, "Was a genius. She found a way to replicate the Unnatural serum and give you your abilities."
"What?"
Peyton told Byron about the Leonic invasion and Project Leon. "So," Byron said, "I'm not the Unnatural from Sector Seven?"
"No," Peyton said, "You're not. At least, not the original one."
"Then who is?"
"You know her," Peyton said, "You've watched her die. Twice."
Byron felt his mind explode. Of course. That was how Veronica was able to survive. She had the ability of Resurrection; she couldn't die. "Then she's out there," Byron said, "Veronica's still alive!"
Peyton was silent, smiling at Byron. "She might be," Peyton said, "We don't know how long it takes her to come back to life. We've sent a team out to look for her, though; we might be able to bring her here."
"Will I get to see her?" Byron said.
Peyton almost smiled with delight. This was exactly what he wanted to hear. Peyton realized, with a shock, that his thoughts sounded like the words of President Xandar.
"Maybe," said Peyton, "You will, yes, but I have a few specific conditions."
Byron was quiet. He knew exactly was going on; he was being controlled. He allowed himself to be, though, for the time being, at least.
"Go on," Byron said.
Peyton made a gesture towards the door. It opened, and a strange figure walked in. One Byron was all too familiar with. It had been the last thing he had seen before being knocked out by that dart in Sector Two. She stood very tall, tall enough to look Byron in the eye with all three of her pupils, even though he was suspended on the wall.
"This is Project Zero," Peyton said, "She is my finest creation. We used leftovers from Project Leon to give her all of the Unnatural abilities combined. She possesses Pyrokinesis, Ferrokinesis, Hydrokinesis, and Absorption. She can teleport, see the future, shapeshift, and she cannot die. She obeys my orders without a second thought, and is a silent killer. She was how we were able to track you down and capture you without killing all of you. She was able to fight fire with fire, you could say. We had to wipe her memory in order to give her these powers, and there were some side effects, as you can see, but, in general, I would say that Project Zero was a success."
"So what do you want from me?" Byron said nervously, intimidated by the immense form of Project Zero, "Do you want my DNA? The stuff my mother used to give me telepathy? You want her to have it?"
"No," Peyton said, "I do not wish for Project Zero to possess your abilities. What I want is your cooperation. There has been a group of…rebels who, if our sources are correct, will be striking a soft spot in Sector Five soon. They seem to possess similar powers to yours, so they are, obviously, too powerful for us to handle by ourselves."
"So you want us to go in and fight them off," Byron said, "Why not just use some of that paralyzing serum that you used on Phoebe?"
"These Unnatural are not a product of Project Leon," Peyton said, "We don't know if they have a similar origin or not. Our technology is based on Project Leon, so, if they were the result of a different Project, it, most likely, wouldn't work. To test it would mean the cost of many lives. It would be easier just to send your team in and fight them."
"And risk our lives."
"Your lives are harder to destroy."
"How does Project Zero come in to this?"
"Zero will act as your supervisor, your commander. She will not partake directly in combat unless you are failing miserably, and she will relay orders from me to you. If any of you step out of line, or act in any significant way against Sector Zero's authority, she will be authorized to put a stop to you."
"You're assuming she could."
"She could, believe me," Peyton said, smirking, "It's what she was created to do. You are dismissed, Project Zero." Zero nodded, turned, and walked out of the door, her movements stiff and mechanical. Peyton began to follow her, but was stopped by Byron's voice.
"And what happens if I refuse to agree?"
"Then I guess you won't see Veronica again," Peyton said before exiting the room and leaving Byron in complete darkness again.
Kristine walked through the throne room angrily, almost falling into the throne. She had been unsuccessful in getting the Unnatural. She had been chased off by a squadron of soldiers who had claimed her rightfully earned prize. Even worse was that the soldiers had seen her battle. They knew that she was an enemy of the Sectors if they didn't know anything else about her. She would have to stay underground now, working from the shadows instead of with the commanders of the Nation.
"Your Majesty," Matthew said, standing next to her, "Do not be upset. We still have the female Unnatural in our possession."
"Yes," said Kristine, "Have we found out anything else about her yet?"
"Yes, your Highness," Matthew said, "Her name is Veronica Garrett. She heralds from Sector Seven."
"Anything else?"
"When we found her, she was wandering outside of Sector Eight, calling for someone. Her words seemed incoherent at the time, but we recently were able to decipher them."
"And?"
"She was calling for one Byron Peters. We believe that he is one of the Unnatural, as well."
Kristine sat up. This was news she was interested in, an update she could use to her advantage.
"Scott," Kristine said, a plan formulating in her mind, "Call the War Council."