Kastiel looked down at the metropolis below from his hover ship. The new Listia city had been rebuilt in as little as five years. The technology of this age would've taken twice as long but the world couldn't wait. He'd never seen it himself, but here it was, in all its unearned glory. Its skyscrapers and glass architecture reflected the sunlight as if it were a jewel; and below the towering behemoths were little specks that moved ever so slightly. 'People.' he thought. He hadn't seen any in a while, not normal ones anyway.
Humanity had really come far in the span of sixty years. The world was stable, as if it were alienated to its conflict ridden past. There wasn't any more discrimination, no more hunger, no more war. World War III had been buried along with all its atrocities. Climate Change had been defeated and the Covision pandemic stopped.
Homo Sapiens were at their golden age, and yet something was missing. Maybe it was because humans no longer had struggle; the struggle that they had been proud to have overcome was non-existent today. Listia City's destruction was nothing compared to the past's problems and people's lives were, in an unexpected way....... dull. That's why when Kastiel gathers all the city's media outlets the jumped at the opportunity for something, anything to bring spontaneity.
Citizens were sitting at home, looking at hollo-screens or the enormous billboards outside. They patiently waited, completely unaware that Kastiel was about to turn their entire world upside down.
They couldn't see him in the hover ship he was in and he spent a while staring at the city.
"Eve?" he said after a while.
Yes Kastiel?
"Is everything ready?"
Yes, everything is fully operational. We're ready to go. The question is, are you ready?
"I am. I can change things Eve, I know I can."
I know you can, you've come a long way.
"I know," he sighed. "I just hope it wasn't for nothing. How are the protocols?"
Housing protocol is complete and Aegis protocol is ninety-seven percent complete. It should be finished by the time you get back.
"And the ship? How's the cloak holding up?"
We are completely undetected, however there are occasional distortions.
"I'll have to fix that soon."
It's almost time. Your suit is in the changing room. I suggest you get ready.
"Ok."
He got up and started walking towards the changing room when he fell to the floor and let out a pained scream. He anchored himself to the chair as he began to suffer an experience he knew all too well.
He gripped the chair as his vision blurred and the room spun. He could hear it again, the cries, the screams and the fear he experienced as he ran. His heart raced and tears ran down his cheeks as he struggled to stand. He began to hear it again...
Kas, don't leave, please! YOU CAN'T LEAVE US HERE! WE'LL DIE!
Sir are you ok?
"Where is it?!" he forced out.
A3, to your right.
He struggled to stand and he leaned unto the wall to keep his balance. He couldn't think straight. His head felt like it would split in half and his vision was blurry. He took it slow, moving across the room but stopping when the pain would spike. Going by memory, he felt around the storage cells until he felt the upper left box. He pulled it out and searched for the tube. After popping it open and swallowing a pill, he slid down to the floor. he waited for a few seconds then it started to subside.
They're becoming more frequent; I told you that....
"I know!!" he yelled in frustration. He dried his tears and closed his eyes, trying to focus.
Are you ok to proceed? Maybe you should recons......
"I'm fine." he said as he got up. "Send Argo to the pickup point, I'll some through on my end."
He quickly started getting dressed, putting on a sleek black suit and checking his appearance in the generated mirror.
You don't know that. What if things don't go your way? You could end up in Listian custody just like......
"Look Eve," he cut her off. "I know I programmed you to be factual to a fault, but I don't think i like that fault anymore. I'm ready, land us in."
Eve landed the ship about a block from the square where Kastiel had the reporters gathered. He fastened his watch and stepped out. He was ready. After he tapped the watch, the ship cloaked itself and with a gust of wind it flew away.
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The square was a block away and he started walking. 'This is weird.' he thought. He'd never done this before, walking amongst people. They were walking past and brushing by, going about their day. There was the common occurrence that they would stare at him, and why wouldn't they? He really was something to see. He had bright blue eyes and his hair was an even darker stunning shade. He looked weirdly ethereal with his walk and posture. The looks he received were of awe, intrigue and the occasional jealousy.
'Were they really jealous?' he thought.
Maybe he couldn't see it but he really was attractive. His features were perfect yet he never did take any notice and put it out of his mind. He decided to focus on his plan and went over everything again.
'The announcement, my appr-'
He was cut out of his thoughts by the sensation of a tap on his shoulder.
"Um.... Hi?" a timid voice said. He turned his head to see a girl shrink behind a book; as if she didn't expect him to turn around after getting his attention.
"Um, my name's Vena and I think that you're really cute and i was wondering if I could have your number?" she spewed out with no confidence whatsoever.
Kastiel looked behind her and saw two other girls who eyed their interaction with great interest, but turned away when they caught his gaze.
'Contact information? Should I give it to her?'
After a few seconds, which seemed to be agony for the girl, he finally said something.
"Sorry," he apologized. "but I don't have that."
"A number or a phone?" she quizzed.
"Both." he replied.
"Oh, sorry for asking." she said sadly before turning away.
But before she he could, he grabbed her hand so she could face him.
"Look, I haven't been in this interaction before but from the looks of things, you should be more confident when asking someone." he told her.
"Yeah, I guess huh?"
"To be honest, I'm not a good relationship candidate." he continued.
"Oh, uh.... no!" she stuttered. "I just wanted to..."
He gave her a confused look.
"Well, I guess if you put it like that, that really is the intention for something like this huh?" she admitted with a smile.
"Well Vena, I have to be somewhere. It was nice meeting you." he smiled.
"Yeah, you too." she said, but this time in not so broken spirits.
She turned around and made her way back to the table where her friends were.
"So?" Hannah asked expectedly. "Did you get it?"
"No," she sighed. "He doesn't have a phone."
"No pho- Vena he lied!" Deniz added. "What a fucking asshole! He could've said no like a decent person! Who doesn't have a phone?!"
"He wasn't lying." she explained. "He was really nice actually and gave me some good advice."
"Huh, well I guess that's good. Hey see that one over there? He's cute." she gestured.
"I'm good, thanks. Any idea what's up with the news? They've been broadcasting an empty podium for hours." she said as she stared at the screen.
"I don't know." Hannah stated. "Dad said that it's some super huge scoop. It must be something big cuz he just bought me an aScreen."
She rustled through her bag and pulled out a square. She pulled at it's vertical sides until they were a distance long and then horizontally to form a screen that displayed her cheesy wallpaper.
Vena watched as she scrolled through the various unclosed apps and contacted her father. After a while, her father picked up, talking to the cameraman before turning towards the three girls.
"Hey girls, how are you doing?" the middle-aged man asked.
"We're ok. We're at the park. what's going on over there?" Hannah asked. she could see the mob of cameramen, reporters and journalists; even in the sky there were about three helicopters hovering in place above the square.
"Why would all these media companies waste so many resources for something like this?" Vena asked.
"We got an anonymous call saying that an announcement is going to be made today. One saying that the Cameron Galis incident was fake, something the Government Council orchestrated.
The three girls looked at each other in shock.
"Shouldn't you call the police for something like that?" Deniz questioned.
"Hell no!" he said in an obvious tone." Listen, all the editors in chief in the city got the call and we all know that you'd have to be a complete idiot to pass that up. This could be the scoop of the year, maybe even the decade."
He was about to say something else but his attention was caught by the exited voices of reporters and the growing camera flashes.
"I got to go, he's here." he said before cutting the call.
"Switch to the news so we can see what's going on." Deniz suggested.
Hannah put on the news broadcast and the three girls watched intently. After a few seconds of the camera focusing on the empty podium, a figure walked up. The screen zoomed in and the three girls were shocked. There was the same young man they saw earlier. They instantly recognized him by his blue hair.
"What the......! He's making the announcement!" Deniz shouted.
"I remember he said that he had to go somewhere but i didn't think he'd mean something like this." Vena stated.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the press," He started. "First I would like to thank you all for being here. I know that you all have come today eager to hear what i have to say."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out an orb. He clicked it and it flew a few feet above him and the media and hovered in place. The unremarkable thing glowed and then started to project images with great size and dimension big enough for all to see.
"As you all know, ten years ago this city was attacked; by a man with inhuman abilities resulting in the death of three thousand people. However, I am here to tell you that was a lie!"
The crowd of reporters and growing bystanders were filled with gasps and murmurs.
"Cameron Galis was an ordinary man with Powers, and there are thousands more like him. However, when he was discovered by the Listian Government Council. They captured him and every other one like him took it as a message to stay hidden." he continued.
The orb he sent up earlier displayed pictures that were too horrific to describe. The girls couldn't believe what they were seeing. The pictures were awful, they showed the man they had been taught to hate mutilated beyond belief. His limbs were removed and his thorax was dissected right down the middle with all his organs on display. Vena felt sick to her core.
"This is proof that the government council experimented on him and framed him for the destruction of the city years ago."
As soon as he stopped, the crowd flurried with questions and camera flashes; but the one he chose to answer was- 'How do you know Cameron Galis?' And his answer was:
"He was my father."
The crowd gasped then began to fill with murmurs and overlapping voices. Some couldn't believe what they were hearing, while others jumped at the opportunity to shoot questions at him like bullets.
"My father was not executed; he was experimented on. Believe me when I say that there are thousands more like him. There are people with abilities that are able to better humanity. However, the actions taken against Cameron Galis when he was revealed only strengthened their resolve to stay hidden.
Vena and the girls' attention was broken by the sound of sirens. About a dozen armored trucks rushed by, all of them labeled with the same words: Listian Government Council.
"I am Kastiel Galis and I am here to show the world that we exist and we will not hide ourselves anymore, we are ready to move forward to a future where we can co-exist; and I will do anything to make it a reality."