Novo (Chapter 2)
Arcus came to about thirty seconds later. He groaned, rubbed his head, and sat up. He felt sore all over. His entire body was tingling. When he opened his eyes, he didn't believe what he was seeing. He was in a completely different place. He stood up and looked around. He saw trees all around him, and he was standing in what looked like a park. He recognized this park… no, it couldn't be. It looked like Venustas Park, in Arcis City. But that was across the country! It didn't make any sense. His blood chilled. He remembered something else. This was where his father… Stop it, Arcus said mentally. Don't think about that. He decided not to focus on that right now. Mila, Max, Leo, Annie, Sage, and Shadix were all about ten feet away from each other on the ground. He seemed to be fine, but the concrete around him was messed up. There was a giant crater around him to the point where it looked like a bomb had gone off, except he was standing on what looked like a short pillar of untouched concrete. He noticed something else… there were people all around him, lying on the ground. There were so many it was hard to count them all. The park he was standing in must have been a popular destination. The people were probably unconscious, he reasoned… although he knew he was just trying to reassure himself. He slid down the edge of the crater and eventually woke each of them up. "Ugh… my head. What WAS that?" asked Leo. "Search me," grumbled Arcus. He finally got them to their feet. They climbed up over the edge onto the pavement. That was when HE showed up. What looked like a small black hole suddenly opened in front of them. They all backed up quickly. It collapsed, and a strange figure appeared. He was wearing a white hooded cloak, like something from Assassin's Creed. (What?... yeah, yeah, yeah, breaking the fourth wall and all that.) He spoke.
"Hey guys, what's up? ...Isn't that what you kids are saying these days?" His deep voice sounded friendly.
Shadix, Max, and Mila elbowed Arcus before he could say anything. Mila stepped forward. "Who are you? How did we get here? Why are all these people unconscious? …And why is THAT there?" she said, pointing at the crater with the pillar in the middle. "All in due time… Mila," he said. She stepped back. "How do you know my name?" she demanded. "Oh, I have been watching you all for a very long time. I have to say, it's been fascinating. But to answer your first question... My name is Aston Exitium. How did you get here? Well… that's a little harder," he admitted. "As to why they are unconscious… well, they aren't. I have the answers to all your questions, and more. No doubt you feel stronger than before… you do, don't you?" Arcus knew what he was talking about. There was no way he should've survived an explosion powerful enough to blow a ten foot crater in the walkway. There was DEFINITELY no way he should've just gotten up and walked away after. He felt stronger as well. His mind was more… acute than it was ten minutes ago. "Yes… you are feeling the effects. You are also stronger than you were in a different way. For example, Arcus… you remember your parents, of course," Aston said.
Arcus clenched his fists until they turned white. He silently seethed at how this person seemed to know about them. "You remember your father, don't you? He left you, abandoning you and your mother, didn't he?" Aston continued. Arcus was infuriated. "Don't. Talk. About. My. Father. Like. That." Arcus hissed. "Yes," Aston continued. "He never really loved you, of course. He was HAPPY to be stationed here." Aston goaded. Arcus was about to punch him in the face, when Aston dared to make one last comment. "He couldn't stand you… EITHER of you."
"That's IT!" Aston shouted. He sprinted toward him, fist raised. He was going to rearrange that jerk's face, when he noticed something. His fist… it was…
"Electrified?" He whispered, uncomprehending. He stopped. Miniature lightning bolts were running up and down his arm. In fact, they were running THROUGH his arm, almost like he was conducting it. Obviously Arcus knew that the human body could conduct electricity, just not on THAT level. "Ah yes… elecrokinesis. I should've guessed," Aston mused.
Arcus stopped staring at his arm and looked at Aston. "What… what happened to me back there?" He took another step toward him. "You know what this is, don't you?" he asked angrily. "Oh, yes. In fact, I'm very much like you," Aston looked around to Arcus' friends. "ALL of you," he said. "You don't know it yet, but each of you has powers of their own. You just need to figure out what they are. I myself could increase your power tenfold," he boasted. "But only if you join me. With your power combined with mine, we could take control of this planet, and wipe these unworthy humans off the face of the earth! We are the future. We are… imperials," he concluded.
Arcus didn't know what to think. What he was saying sounded insane. But then again, he would sound pretty insane if he told someone that he could make electricity come out of his arm. Max looked at us, then back at Aston. He started to walk in his direction, until he was at his side. "Well?" Max demanded. "You coming or what? World domination seems like a pretty sweet idea to me." Sage took a deep breath, and went out to Max's side. "He's right, you know," she said. "It does sound pretty sweet." Mila was shaking her head. "Sage, think about what you're doing!" she said insistently. "I already have," Sage replied, "and my answer is yes."
Arcus heard police sirens in the distance. Aston looked annoyed. "Well?" he asked. "Come on!" Arcus was the first to speak. "No." Aston looked quizzical. "No? What do you mean, no?" "It's not right," Arcus argued. "What have they ever done to us, that we should wipe them off the face of the earth?"
Aston clenched his jaw. "Consider your decision, Arcus. If you are not with me, then you are against me," he said tightly. "I've already considered, and MY answer is no. I refuse," Arcus declared. The police sirens were close now. Aston seemed to be disappointed. "So be it," he said. "Next time…" he remarked ominously. He snapped his fingers, the black hole appeared again, and they were gone. "Friggin' showoff," Arcus muttered. Police cars swerved around the corner, and barreled towards them. Just as it seemed it was about to hit them, it screeched to a halt. Two officers climbed out of the car, pulled out their pistols, and yelled "Freeze!"
They froze. One officer said, "Sir, put down the weapon if you know what's good for you!" Arcus didn't know what they were talking about. Then he realized his arm was still electrified. It must've looked like a cattle prod or a tazer to them. "Stand down, Williams," said a woman's voice. She must've been pretty influential, because he obeyed immediately. She got out of the other police car and walked up to them. "Sorry about that, he's not the trusting type," she said, while she glared at the officer. She turned her attention to Arcus. They were about the same height. "We got a call of suspicious activity, involving someone named Aston Exitium," she said. "He's a wanted fugitive from the government," she continued. She introduced herself. "My name is Mariam Dolosus," she said. She offered to shake Arcus' hand. He just cocked an eyebrow at her. She pulled her hand back. "Right. Bad idea. Don't want to get electrocuted. Anyway, I know what happened to you, and I also know someone who can help you. I have a friend named Mark Callidus. He's a forensic scientist, very involved in police cases, and he studies mutation as sort of a side project. The only reason I know about it is because he spouts off about his discoveries to anyone he meets." She stared at Arcus' arm a long time. "I've heard about it, but I hadn't actually seen it firsthand before," she murmured. She looked back to his face. "He has answers for you, for example, like why you have fifty thousand volts running through your arm right now," she proposed. Arcus looked at his friends, and then looked back at her. "How do we know we can trust you?" he asked skeptically. She shrugged. "You can't," she admitted. Arcus paused. "Seems legit," he said. "Get in a car, and I'll take you to him," she said, gesturing for the drivers to unlock the car doors. "He knows all about people like you."