The paladin in the room were stunned.

They had all made the tough decision to take a life before, it had come with the territory. But the position they were in now felt so wrong. Renata Kalim's actions could have only gotten worse because of the harsh treatments she suffered in the grid.

Elara's voice was a whisper... "Are all of Grid's subjects children?"

"They are majority juvenile but some were brought in as adults. But that's not what is important now. People like Renata do not even have the will to use her power responsibly and only top rated prisons meant for awakened may have the facilities to restrain her barring Pandemonium."

"And now with her out in the world again with someone much smarter and more devilish than her she will seriously do some damage..."

"Already has!" Robyn said cutting them all off. "A news report just came in showing a destroyed prison, half of it disintegrated and some people drowning. Clear images of one Charlie Liber and Renata Kalim."

Juniper knowing the full specifics of Robyn's ability concluded that she must be connected to live news reports on her phone or some other electronic device.

"Shit." Greg said with some disappointment subsiding his anger.

It was literally confirmed to them that Charlie Liber was now leading Renata Kalim and more planning something big.

"There was a teleporter along with them that was from another facility, her power was teleportation with the usage of dethatched hands."

Calum then shown an image of a girl that was in her late teens at the time of the photo. Her name just Jo. She was tanned and had dirty blonde hair. Her power: Grasping Hands, was intriguing but had its limitations, she could only summon five hands at a time.

That was one issue solved then.

"Can we get to who else from your facility that was taken again?" Bruno asked.

The next mugshot image was of a young boy with short grey hair and piercing yellow eyes glaring at the camera with angry defiance, but from the picture they could all still see, he was afraid.

Edwin Duval, current age; seventeen, power; Small Man's World. He could change the size of objects as well as shrink his own size.

He was left at an orphanage, Calum explained. It was presumed he awakened by the time he was nine years old, Edwin was a thief who regularly used his power to avoid confrontation and move around as he pleased. One night after breaking into a museum he destroyed many classic art pieces on the first floor before calling police on himself and laying there.

"Police were worried about escape attempts from him since his charge wasn't strong enough to put him in a facility that could restrain him properly so details of his ability and himself were posted on the Paranormal website which all of you have access to."

He then went on to say that the ministry intercepted the message immediately and took him into their own care. Research on him amounted to amazing discoveries.

Edwin could shrink himself to the size of a grain of sand, but movement was limited as the world became larger and even dust particles and became an object to him. He couldn't grow past his natural height and weight but his weight stayed the same no matter how small he shrunk himself to.

"Objects on the other hand, he could shrink down to a nanoscopic level, we had to pull in advanced equipment to be able to detect it as they seemed like they were invisible and the objects didn't keep the same weight as he shrunk them or enlarged them."

Calum began speaking in that squeaky voice of fascination again as he lost himself.

Carmen was lost in thought as Calum was speaking and then she raised her voice to ask..."Arrested for petty crimes?"

"That's just what police wanted him locked up for." He waved his hand across his face. "They don't think much. It's the nature of his power. You can imagine how much of a threat to national security someone like he can be. He can slip through the tiniest of gaps so even well locked doors-"

"That's not what we're talking about here." Greg spoke out. "Your talking about locking up a boy for the rest of his life based off theories on what he could do. Do you know how many awakened could-"

"Greg, keep a lid on it for now," Juniper said coldly. Judging from her tone she was not happy at this information either. But it was still important for them to get all the information they could.

Greg immediately went quiet.

"Sorry for the interruption minister. Please continue."

"Oh it's alright," he said without even taking the heated nature of Greg into account, "In any case, Edwin Duval's chances of becoming a contributing member of society is incredibly low with how he's acted out in the past. Leaving him to us is the best solution since we can still find use in him."

Calum smiled again in a way that seemed to be trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm a little surprised by your scrutiny though Hero Gregory Knox, you hold the record for most resolved cases among paladin, so how many awakened criminals have you dispatched and gotten locked away."

There was a silence in the room. For a second they all believed that he was waiting for a genuine response from Greg, Greg who now had a face of shock and anger thinking on the implications of Calum Verus' words.

The paladin in the room now all thought that there is a chance that the people that they have locked away could have been turned over to Grid the second they turned away from them to celebrate a mission well done.

"And lastly..." Calum clicked his remote to show the last escapee.

It was a boy, unlike the rest of the children who had at least been in their teenage years or close, this boy on the screen wasn't even close.

The child's black hair hadn't even grown to the tips of his ears, his eyes were of a dark blue with serious bags under them like he hadn't slept in days and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot. His mouth twisted and his jaw was tightly clenched like he was trying to stop himself from crying.

As Calum introduced him there was a dark and heavy aura coming from both Caleb and Greg.

"Oscar Dempsey." Age seven, acquired by Grid at age six. Paranormal Power, "Mayhem". That's what Calum called it.

"So this is the child responsible for those attacks closing in on the city." Bruno said, from the name of the power alone there was no other way it could be anyone else. The last attack was barely even two weeks prior with people attacking each other.

"Correct. It's just a mix of fear and rage that he can induce in people. And it is ramped up to a degree that is just uncontrollable."

Calum went on to tell the paladin in the dim room that Oscar's parent's had been the first to succumb to his power when it had awakened. But unlike the citizens who were lucky enough to have paladins intervene and hold them off long enough, his parent's did not.

They had died, first with his mother slicing his father's throat open. And then as he ran out into the streets the neighbours were affected by it. The smoke can barely be seen as it blends in with the air so no one could notice it.

After the neighbourhood was engulfed in madness police would come armoured up. They would succumb to in an instant and start ramming their cars into innocent people and shooting at each other.

Images flashed on the hologram one after the other showing the brutality of the violence that took place because of the power of one small boy.

Oscar had survived the night by hiding in the trash can of a neighbour before some more police and detectives had come to check on the place. When they found him he couldn't stop crying until he was suddenly mute.

Calum said that agent's of the ministry had come to quickly take him.

"There were many death that day, but the attack was passed off as a dangerous chimera wandering in the area."

Containing him was hard, Calum recalled. Whenever they tried many of their researchers and doctors would succumb to his power which he seemed to have no control over to activate. By the time he was taken out of one room into his new one his power would activate and the researchers would start clenching their fists so hard and snapping them and start gnashing their gums if not attacking each other.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

They explained it as forcefully letting go of their body and then watching things from inside of them like it were a window they were peaking through, their bodies just moving off of instinct.

Eventually he would give signals as to when he could feel it coming.

The room he was kept was again similar to the other two prisoners, but everything was kept to make him feel at ease, he wasn't in some containment pod but had an actual bed. Nothing in this room made any sound though, there was just a low hum of white noise while the room was sealed shut and filtered air coming in.

"What reason did you give to him for why he was there?" Elara asked while keeping a strong grip on her shaking leg.

"We told him of his power and how it worked and what it had done." He then showed the same images of the destruction the boys power caused on one sad night.

"Really?" the question was more rhetorical.

"Well he did have a hard time remembering what happened to his parents, a mental block I presume but we eventually got him to remember and got him up and functioning." Calum said without a care in the world. Earlier he had judged Renata Kalim as someone with no empathy, but he was wrong. "He became a model subject by then." He was so wrong.

In the dimly lit room, Calum Verus changed before the eyes of the paladin. Even one's like Gregory Knox who felt bad about him to begin with or Zara Bennet who wanted to give him a chance to show himself as a better man.

And the delusional man did not even notice. He was stuck, stuck in what he believed to be his own victory and achievement. Happy to show it off to the paladin in the room, some he even admired. It was a lie he had been living in for far too long.

"Since other paranormal power users like summoners were gaining the traits of their powers we thought the same may be for the boy. But we couldn't do any proper surgery because of his power." The paladin shuddered at that, even the ever cool and composed Bruno Hayes was showing a different face of disgust toward Calum Verus.

"We had to use several strong doses of drugs like Ambien or Rohypnol to keep him in a state where his power wouldn't activate." he then stopped speaking in his euphoric victory tone. "But then Charlie came and destroyed that all."

Some of the paladin were slightly happy that the boy was taken out of the ministries hand. It was like placing him in the care of the lesser evil. Although now they planned on placing all their effort on finding the boy.

"So now we want to focus on termination of the boy."

The temperature of the room plummeted. Zara used her ability on Caleb's clothing to stop him from moving forward and everybody stopped shifting once they felt the cold and piercing aura of Juniper Fay.

"For obvious reasons, we couldn't really experiment on him and his limits. And I doubt it would be that possible unless there's a power user out there we could find to nullify his ability..." There was a cold pause in the room before he continued. "But since there isn't, it's probably best to terminate him before he can cause any more trouble."

He then pointed a finger up as if a light bulb appeared over his head.

"I just remembered, because of the chance of his power emitting once he dies. It is best to have someone on hand that can immediately destroy his body. Like you Ms Carmen." Carmen had an incredulous look on her face. "Although it probably would be better to burn up the body I wonder if any of the students in this institute have the capacity."

None of the paladin had even thought of their student's. How could they, any one of them could have been in the position that the three kids were in and that left a cold lump to form in their stomach. For Zara and Caleb they immediately thought of Corbin.

Calum clapped his hands. "Together, I know we can all achieve victory."

He then packed his papers back in his briefcase. Nobody knew what to say, they were sick, mad and wanted to follow Calum to his higher ups to tear them a new one.

"Wait!" Juniper said. "I thought you were going to tell us briefly about your time at one of your other branches and how Grid formed all together."

"Wow, I almost forgot that one. But honestly, I don't fully know how Grid formed since it's been around before the ministry of welfare."

!

After hearing all the news today the paladin believed that Grid and it's monstrosities were at least relatively new.

"To the best of my knowledge Grid has been around for at least forty years now. And some of the branches, including the one I worked at for the longest. Their goal was always to cultivate power and create someone that could contend with a monarch, specifically Noa Godwin."

Shock and fear were now radiating throughout the room.

Noa Godwin. The monarch of the states was already recognized by most as the pinnacle of humanity. And members of Grid were trying to make another one.

"If it was going on for fifty years, are they still with Grid?" Caleb asked.

"No. Some have become successful paladin, and some couldn't handle the teachings and ended up dead either by suicide or getting killed by a paladin because they let their bad behaviours take over them. I've heard their are some in high off politician positions and more. And then there are some that have been living a normal and minimal life." he said. "Although the number of the latter and first one could be counted on two hands."

"Then let's narrow it down to the last fifteen, maybe twenty years." Bruno asked, his gaze sharp. "How many have the potential to reach the level of Noa Godwin?".

Calum tilted his head, fingers brushing his chin as if muffling over a forgotten detail.

"That's a loaded question. Things like power is only one factor. A mind's discipline, resilience, and ability to push beyond normal limits-- those are what shines real gems. The sharpest edge doesn't matter if it can't pierce where it's aimed."

How do you even begin to shape that then?" Carmen asked, her voice a quiet challenge.

By instilling something raw and unwavering." Calum's words were measured, deliberate as he searched their faces with a distant smile. "It starts by taking away everything. You can't a new story on an old page, right? We chipped away at any part of them that they wouldn't have any need for."

A chill passed over the room. Juniper's fists were clenched, her expression freezing as Calum continued oblivious to the simmering angst around him. None dared to interrupt--not yet.

Calum still looked on to the paladin's with so much admiration, blind to the disgust and hate in their eyes. They all had a thought in their heads that he probably should not be saying this but they also shouldn't interrupt him so they could get every bit of information down.

"First was isolation," Calum went on, "we removed them from anything familiar. Every interaction they had was with the Grid. Every meal they ate, the bed they slept in was provided by Grid. Keep them on a diet of obedience and then give them something to strive for, something just beyond their reach. Eventually we were the only thing they could trust and the only thing they could fear."

"Things like depatterning with a combination of psychedelic drugs and electric shock therapy..."

It was like staring at the devil himself describe his finest work, yet Calum wore a benign smile.

"And then came in a combination of psychological reinforcement, deprivation and reward systems. Certain personalities need more prodding than others, but in the end they all break. Whether they are pliable like clay or resistant like steel, everyone bends."

Elara's lips trembled as she tried to suppress her rage. "And the ones who couldn't bend.?"

"Unfortunately they broke," Calum said simply, "but just because they weren't suitable candidates did not mean they were wasted. Every failure can teach a valuable lesson." He chuckled softly.

Greg shifted uncomfortably, his skin crawling as he looked at the images on the screen of children, each face now seemed much younger, more innocent.

"I think I made it sound like we were torturing them," he stopped. "but that's not what I meant. Physical harm wasn't even needed, especially not before figuring out their paranormal power. You see, Noa Godwin is an icon as some in this room are becoming. A symbol of strength with an abundance of material on him. Footage of battles, interviews before government officials made it so paladin shouldn't prioritize them anymore. But he was everywhere for a point in time."

Calum tapped the side of his temple with a finger. "Immerse them, feed them hours of footage of Noa Godwin, drill them on his battles, his flawless execution. Some began to move like him, thought like they believed he though. Copying his poise and command."

"So... you thought that they would become him?" Elara was confused, sure she and everyone knew that children would just pick up on personalities from those around them. But this way didn't sound possible, at least not to the level he was describing.

"Not become," Calum nodded. "Absorb. He was a symbol and they were vessels. Some learned leadership qualities, others his ruthlessness. When a trait began to stick, we built on it-- books, tasks, even simulations to make it real."

Greg's jaw clenched, the horror was clear in his eyes. "But they aren't Noa Godwin. They're just kids."

Calum's smile faded slightly as he gave a confused look. "We showed them greatness. We gave them the tools to strive for it. Some broke but that is just a cost for creating something extraordinary." He spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. As if he were saying, 'Who wouldn't want to be like Noa Godwin?'

Bruno then spoke again. "What happened to the one's that didn't break?"

"Success stories I wish I could say. I didn't stay to see much of the results on the one's that were on the path to success but I would get reports."

"The overseer of Grid was someone I never saw personally, but they wanted to be closest to the best of the best so whenever it was time to switch facilities they were always where the cream of the crop was. There were only three." He shown three fingers in the air.

The screen changed to an image of a man, young man. Sixteen at the time of the picture it says. Elias Baldwyn.

"I recognize that name." Bruno said.

"Yeah he was one of the bad eggs." Calum then shown another image of an older Elias but this time in a news report. The report was on French news the timing was only two years ago.

Elias was sat on a mountain of corpses, the full image wasn't shown on the news because of how graphic it was. Elias while sitting on the corpses was taking a bite out of an arm he had ripped off from a torso.

"A bad egg is the best you could call that monster?" Zara asked,

She along with many of the paladin remembered the case, France was already barely half of what it used to be and some monster appeared and started devastating the lands even more picking fights with anyone he could get it with. The reports stated he tore through everyone that came against him.

Elias Baldwyn King of Carnage was what they had started calling him, believing him to be offspring of one of the first children. Impossible since Chimera don't reproduce.

"Well in some ways he was a success. He adopted that fighting spirit that Noa Godwin has. He just uses it in the wrong ways. But he was a bad egg to begin with anyway."

He went on to say that he was a victim of the **curse of the black lamb** event but he came out great. The bad was that he happily killed his parents when he came out of it. And he was only nine years old.

"Since I wasn't part of the experiment process I don't know his power or even the identity of the number one pet project but I do know number two." Another image was put on screen, one that filled them all with horror. "I was part of more experiments with him, he was who I was alluding to when speaking on summoners gaining the traits of their summons. We found out he was quite resistant to toxins, and a peculiar resistant to heat which may lead on to developing something great for future paladin use."

The familiar bright amber eyes were dull in this photo, the hair not loc'd in place but curled into a short fro. His age when taken in: five.

"From what I know he transitioned nicely into society and with a BPA official, I do wonder how that happened. But I do remember him being great..."

His name was... "Theon Abara."

.

.

As soon as the name left his mouth, Calum Verus was already on the ground knocked out cold with the hard punch delivered by one cold and frightening Carmen Ford.