Shigeo was greeted by his younger brother Ritsu the next morning. Ritsu was only a year younger than Shigeo, who himself was seventeen years old. Despite this, both teens had jobs they had to work to keep up with the price of living on this planet on even the most basic level. Mob's brother was a rather lucky individual, thanks to his raw talent and charisma, he had a comfortable job in comparison to their mother and father.
"Hey Shigeo, you got home late huh?" Ritsu asked his older brother.
"Yeah, our last job took longer than I thought it would." Mob responded as he put on his shoes.
"Well, just be careful bro. It's pretty dangerous out there on the streets at night."
"Yeah, I'll be careful."
With that, Shigeo left his family's room and made his way to the place where he met the stranger yesterday.
It took many hours for Alexio to craft the message asked of him, and it was only now that he was able to start projecting his thoughts to the Thorian inquisitor's own Astropath. Meanwhile Mordo had continued his investigation into the planet's state of affairs. This planet was considerably well off, very resource abundant and self-sufficient, it would be very valuable to the Imperium. However, it was obvious based on its main attractions, it would be rather easy for the ruinous powers to gain a foothold on the planet through the wealthy and powerful.
But it did surprise him to find flyers around the city of a crude drawing of a plain-faced person with a bow-cut. The flier had a message asking "Have you seen our god?" The flier seemed to be made by a cult named the Psycho Helmet Organization. After a few moments of staring at the horrid drawing, it dawned on him that the person had a striking resemblance to the boy he met yesterday. Mordo did feel a glimpse of anger at such a cult saying just blasphemous things, with that Mordo decided to search for that boy and get some answers.
Mob was simply waiting in front of the building when he felt an agitated aura closing in on the building. The teen looked over to see a slightly darker aura emanating from the ESPer he met yesterday. He held his tongue until the man was within earshot.
"Are you ok? You seem to be upset." Shigeo asked the man.
"I need answers from you. Now." Mordo asked with a threatening voice.
Shigeo blankly stared at Mordo, his unemotive eyes would put off any normal man, but the Inquisitor completely ignored the boy's glare.
Progress Toward Mob's Explosion: 71% - 76%
"What do you need to know?" Mob asked, still staring at the man.
"Not here, boy." Mordo stated as he started his walk back to his ship, having his hand on his Psycannon Bolter Pistol, ready to kill the psyker if he tried to attack or run away.
Shigeo simply followed the man without hesitation, why he did so was not clear to Mordo. Whether it was because he could tell he was ready to attack him, or because he genuinely wanted help was not clear.
The walk was tense, Mordo could feel the boy's emotions lurking underneath a thin veil. It was almost like the two of them were waiting for the other to shoot first, but by the time they made it to the ship, the moment never came.
Upon entering the ship, Mordo pulled out the Psycannon Pistol and aimed it at the boy's head. Without another question; the pilot Lucia pulled out a Lasgun that was hidden underneath the pilot seat and did the same. The young psyker simply stared at the Inquisitor before talking.
"If you want me to answer questions I can answer them, you don't need to threaten me." The boy responds with a deadpan voice.
"Why are there local cultists calling you their God?" The Inquisitor pulled out the crude flier he came across as he spoke to the boy.
The boy remained silent for a moment as he strained his face to remember or understand what the man was referencing.
"Oh… I remember now." The boy said with a frown.
"Speak then." Lucia barked out.
"It was when I started to work with master Reigen."
Three Years Ago
"Hey Mob! Today should be a simple one. Reports of some kind of hooded figures are causing people to go crazy." The reddish-blonde man said as he walked with the eleven year old Mob.
"Master, are you sure you'll be safe?" The young boy asked with a worried look.
"Of course I will! I am Reigen Arataka! The greatest ESPer of the 41st century!" The mid-twenties man in a suit said with his thumb pointing to himself.
Mob simply kept his mouth shut as he followed behind his master's lead.
It was a simple job on Mob's part, the evil spirit attempted to attack Master Reigen, but with a solid burst of psychic energy, he was able to exorcise it from the physical realm and with some focus, he was able to rebuild the sanity of those afflicted to a certain degree, though they'll never truly be as they once were.
"Alright, nice job today Mob! Here you go, here's your pay for the day." The man gave the boy some currency before putting away the rest of the job's payment.
"Alright, see you tomorrow Mob." The man said as he sat back into his office seat.
Mob only sighed as he pocketed the money and left his master's business office. Shigeo's walk home had always been a time for him to reflect on himself. His job of helping Reigen was his only outlet for his psychic abilities, but it always seemed the more he dug deeper into what he could do, the more and more afraid he was to use them. This naturally stressed the boy considerably.
Progress Toward Mob's Explosion: 54% - 77%
It was at this moment that a woman, wearing a mask of a smiling face, blocked Mob's path and spoke to the boy.
"Hello little boy, are you unhappy?" The woman said in a knowing tone.
"No, not particularly." Mob quickly responded.
"Perhaps, you are having problems at home?"
"No."
"Maybe, you're having work related issues?"
"Not really."
"Is it possible you've been having trouble expressing yourself in a healthy way?"
"Wow, how did you know!" The boy suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"Well, if you would like help with that, follow me to see our leader!"
"Sure." Mob agreed as he followed the woman into a nearby building.
The two figures made their way to an elevator as the woman continued to talk.
"Our organization is called LOL, and we just want to be a place where people can find happiness! Our leader Mister Dimple simply wants everyone to find pleasure in living and finding a reason to smile."
"How does this help me with expressing myself?"
"Everyone has urges that society says are bad and should be suppressed, but in this organization you can do whatever you'd like! A place where you can play out all your desires without the guilt of being judged!"
Just as she finished her speech, the elevator hit the ground floor and the doors slowly rolled open.
"Here we are! You should go upstage with all the other new recruits!"
Shigeo was hesitant for a second but decided to do as she said.
As the boy made it on stage he found out there were two other people on stage with him. One of them was a very decrepit looking man with filthy clothes and a horribly weathered face. The other person was a red-headed woman wearing a trenchcoat and sunglasses. As the three of them were waiting, the woman leaned over and started to whisper to the boy.
"Are they trying to recruit you too?" The girl said in a worried voice.
"Huh?" Was all Mob could respond with.
"I've been investigating them for a while, I think this a cult or something, just stay close to me."
Mob was surprised by the woman, but had trouble understanding what she was trying to say. He wasn't sure what a 'cult' was.
"Master Dimple is here!" Was what some of the crowd shouted as a man wearing a mask walked onto the stage from the right side. The crowd exploded into cheers and yells of approval as the man made it to the middle of the stage and held both his hands in the air. Upon raising his hands, the crowd suddenly became silent.
"Welcome my wonderful Smile members! Today we will be welcoming two new members into our fold!" The man's voice was loud and powerful, but at the same time he had a jovial tone to it all. The man then removed his mask to reveal his face, while everyone else in the crowd did the same.
It almost seemed as if his face was made of rubber and his dimples had a bright red color over them. Mob stared at the man for a few moments, he was disgusted by his face. It felt fake to him, as if this was just a shallow illusion.
The man went up to the decrepit man and spoke to him.
"Hello sir, what brings you here?" Master Dimple asked in a happy tone.
"I j-just, I just need a lil' pick m-me up. I just n-need a lil' bit…" The man choked out as she swayed side to side.
"I see, you want to escape this horrid reality. There is no shame in that, we shall give you what you need, for you are a Smile member!" WIth that said, the man slipped a mask marked with an odd symbol on it. The man began to laugh and giggle as he kept the mask on.
"You boy, why are you here?" The man said as he moved closer to Shigeo.
"Oh, I'm here because a lady told me this place can help me express myself." Mob responded with his monotone voice.
"I see, well in this place you can show your true self without worry. Let me help you." The man placed another mask over Mob.
"And you young lady, why are you here?"
"Hmph, I'm here…" The woman pulled out a Laspistol and aimed it at the man. "To put you under arrest!"
The man simply smiled a face-splitting grin.
"And why would you do that?" Dimple responded with.
"You're dealing drugs, and recruiting people for your sick cult, you even have a fucking kid here!" The woman said as she stared daggers at the man.
"Do you think you can stop me? You and your little weapon? How's about this?" The man snapped his fingers and two men that were hidden behind the curtains of the stage grabbed her arms and forced her to the floor.
"You can join us, or I'll make you everyone's private entertainment for tonight?"
The woman began sweating buckets, but as she tried to struggle, Mob raised his hand to everyone's surprise.
"Excuse me sir, is this just some kind of religious organization? If so, I'm not sure how this will help me." Mob said as he removed the mask with no change to facial expression.
There was an audible gasp by the crowd as they saw Mob completely unphased by the mask. For the first time during this meeting, Dimple stopped smiling and instead wore a completely shocked expression.
"W-what are you?" Dimple said with shakiness in his voice.
"My name is Shigeo." Mob responded.
"Hm.." Dimple seemed to calm down for a moment as he stared at the boy.
"Hmph, I think I understand now. No wonder you feel a struggle to express yourself… you have nothing to express! You must be dense, idiotic even! Hell, an Ogryn might have more emotion than you. You must be a soulless puppet strung around by others."
Progress Toward Mob's Explosion: 77% - 93%
"But I'll give you a chance, why don't you do something for me. You can prove me wrong right here and right now… All you have to do…"
Dimple handed the boy a rusty knife.
"Cut this lady open right now, and we can help you find yourself."
The crowd cheered as they seemed to have desperately wanted to see such a sight first hand.
Mob stared at the knife, before staring back at Dimple. He didn't notice it before, but now it was clear, this man's aura was horrid. Disgusting. This person radiated a sickening glee that failed to hide how desperate he was to see such heinous actions. But he could also feel that this was no ordinary man.
"Now I understand why you're doing this… you're not even human." Mob said as his piercing gaze met Dimples.
The man was caught off guard by the statement, taking a step back from the boy.
"Ah! I see. No wonder you were unaffected by the Mask of Pleasure. You're a Psyker…"
"And you're an evil spirit possessing that man, using your powers to control these people."
"Hm… well then I don't see a point in hiding myself any more… Followers! Attack the boy! Hold him down now!"
Upon hearing the order, the crowd of people rush to grab the boy. Just as Mob was about to purge the man's soul from the evil spirit that possessed him, he was pushed to the ground and held to the floor.
"Hahaha! Now you'll see how hopeless you are!" Was all the man's form could say as the top of his skull was being pried open by horrid crab-like claws. A new voice rang out as it gave out a horrible high-pitched laughter, one in a mocking tone.
But as Shigeo hit the ground, there was only one thought in the young boy's mind.
Progress Toward Mob's Explosion: 93% - 100%
100% RAGE
Soundtrack: Explosion of Mob Feelings
A bright purple-blue medley of psychic energy escaped Mob's form causing his bowlcut to turn into a messy head of whirling hair. With this release of power, the cultists were lifted into the air and pinned to the roof of the room from the boy's telekinesis. The fiend that escaped the now bisected man was paralyzed. It could only stare in awe as the flood of emotional psychic energy overwhelmed every sense the beast had. But despite this outpouring of psychic energy, the beast could still feel a boundless amount of power being held back by the boy.
"To think you've had this much power, you aren't even drawing from the warp are you?" The fiend said with a faux-confident tone.
Mob simply stared at the beast, once again causing them to freeze for a moment, staring back at the glowing red eyes of the boy.
The beast was able to gather their thoughts, harden their resolve, and rushed into attack the boy. It let loose a barrage of attacks with their claws, but each swing felt like they were met by an immovable object.
With a wave of his hand, Mob unleashed a powerful smite, completely destroying the beast's lower half. The creature's form seemed to falter for a second, before hitting the floor.
"Guh!" Exclaimed the beast in both surprise and masochistic pain.
Mob stomped on the beast's head as he stood over its form.
"Isn't this what you wanted? You were nice enough to show yourself, so I'd thought I'd show you what I really feel. Are you satisfied?" The boy said with an expression of pure contempt.
The fiend laughed to itself as Mob continued to simply hold the beast down with only his left foot.
"Psykers like yourself are easy to manipulate, overextending your power, allowing us an easy way in!"
The fiend attempted to force itself into Mob's psyche, but upon touching the psychic they found they couldn't lay a finger on the boy.
"What is this? What are you?"
"I'm…" Mob stated as he began to channel his immense psychic force into his foot. "Terrible."
With the added force, the evil spirit's form was completely shattered and exercised from the material realm, leaving in that split second an almost sadistic grin on the boy's face, almost intoxicated by the power he wielded in that moment.
Mob looked over to see the woman that was going to be cut open, staring at him in horror. The look of fear completely snapped Mob out of his trance and returned him to his previous self. The boy gently lowered the other, now unconscious, cultists onto the floor.
"I only remember bits and pieces after that before waking up in my home." Mob said, looking at Mordo.
"Are you saying after they saw you defeat their leader, they think you're some kind of God?" Mordo asked the boy.
"I don't know, but I can't think of anyone else seeing me do something like that."
"And you let them live after they saw that daemon?" Lucia said with disgust in her voice.
"They were under the control of that evil spirit, I exorcized it so they should be fine."
"You really are naive." The woman snarked before Mordo looked at her to shut up.
"I shouldn't use my powers to hurt people." Mob said with a somewhat serious tone. "Master Reigen said my powers are like knives, you shouldn't point them at others, and they were just normal people being attacked by an evil spirit."
The more Mordo listened to the boy, the more he was amazed by him. Not by his supposed feats or power, but by the fact the boy can be so naive about the forces of chaos, yet not fall into any temptation or corruption. Even now, Mob's aura was that of an untouched soul, while not necessarily bright and holy like an Astropath or of a Grey Knight, it held no taint of the warp despite his ability to manipulate it. And now, listening to this pre-teen's moral code to not use them against other humans, seems to indicate a psyker with incredible control over their abilities and exceptional willpower to resist temptation.
"Put your weapon down Lucia." Mordo finally said after some deliberation.
The woman glanced at the man with an intense stare, but Mordo replied with one of his own, at which point she relented and put away her lasgun. Mordo did the same as he holstered his Psycannon Bolt Pistol. Mob let out a breath he seemed to be holding for a while, seemingly relieved the conflict didn't require violence to be resolved.
"Answer me this child." Mordo said as he demanded the boy's attention.
"Why do you continue to 'exorcize' these 'evil spirits' if your master is dead and you're not being paid for it."
Mob paused for a few seconds before responding.
"Because I don't want more people to get hurt by them."
"So 'evil spirits' were what killed your master?"
"Yes."
Progress Toward Mob's Explosion: 76% - 79%
"I see."
Mordo could empathize with that sentiment. Normally Mordo has an easier time understanding if a person would be useful or a hindrance thanks to his psyker ability, but without clear emotions to read, it has been difficult to understand this child.
"Shigeo, why don't you sit down. I would like to hear more about your experiences." Mordo said with a more comforting tone of voice.
"If you want me to." Mob responded with.
"Please, I still have many questions."
Mob nodded his head, while Lucia simply rolled her eyes and went to the back of the ship, clearly not wanting to listen to another story from the brat.
Mordo was surprised to find out the boy has faced a number of different daemons in his short life. Descriptions of Bloodletters, Plaguebearers, and Daemonettes manifesting both fascinated him but also completely crushed his hopes. With the amount of daemonic outbreaks on this planet alone, it seems better off to be exterminated than to be allowed to stand. But at the same time, that thought led to the major question of, why is everything on this planet still normal? There weren't many other visitors but the odd noble from nearby planets, nor is there a powerful military that must be destroyed. So why then, have the daemonic influences not overtaken the surface?
The possible answer may have been in front of him. This boy has an in depth knowledge of most of the lesser daemons of the immaterium, and has worked to eradicate them from the planet. Even yesterday the boy stopped the manifestation of daemons of Slaanesh. Could it be what he had suspected to be true? Is this boy... It was a heretical thought, he needed the input of a Thorian for their area of study may have a better read on such a thing. Such an idea could have large ramifications, what of the astronomican? Or if they were corrupted by the ruinous powers? This of course forces Mordo's hand, what is his position? Will he have to try and kill them? Or will he try to help them?
But regardless, it was clear to the Inquisitor that without this boy's help, this planet likely would have fallen to the grasp of the ruinous powers long before he came to investigate the world. This information seemed to spark a curiosity in the Inquisitor, perhaps he could bring this boy along in his investigation to see more of his powers first hand.
Currently the boy was sitting in the ship's cafeteria. The ship itself was a small modified merchant ship in order to keep a low profile, along with needing only a minimal amount of crewmates in order to operate. Mordo himself left the boy for a few moments in order to speak with Alexio on any updates from Orva.
"Alexio, any update from the Thorian?" Mordo asked as he took a seat across from the man.
"Yes, her first question was of our location. I suspect she wished to investigate herself, but I was able to get a small little snippet of signs to watch out for. She said the following: 'He shall have a great doom upon his brow, he shall be a witch of great power, he shall be altered in the physical form, he shall be able to talk and walk with the animals'." Alexio responded as he continued to use the emperor's tarots.
Mordo looked puzzled by the signs for a moment. What does it mean to have great doom upon your brow? Is it a look of scorn? Frustration? What of being altered in the physical form? Perhaps they are augmented in size? The boy may have a doom on his brow, but would not many have the same? These are things he must test, perhaps another reason to recruit this boy in his investigation. Afterall, he has been very lenient with them, he can't let him become a loose end. It's true this world knows not of the Imperium let alone the Inquisition, so there was little risk of being exposed, but letting this boy continue on without being supervised would be unacceptable.
"Mordo, would you like me to send Orva our coordinates?" Alexio finally asked.
"No, hold off for now. Send a message that I wish to be thorough before I send it to her." Mordo responded as he was still pondering.
"Very well. Also Mordo, before you leave, I believe Octus wanted to speak with you. Something about seeing the warp toss and turn."
"I'll make sure to check in on him."