Kastiel felt confused. Here he was telling the world about what he knew, what they were too ignorant and misled to hear. He expected to feel anger or frustration or even nothing at all. But he didn't feel those things. Instead, he felt a wave of euphoria wash over him. He was panting after his speech and for a few seconds he couldn't hear anything. Not the encroaching shouts of questions or the flashes of cameras and microphones they shoved in his face. For a moment, however brief, everything stopped around him and he felt......something.

He felt......happy, for the first time in years. Tears leaked from his eyes at the realization that he felt something that he hadn't felt in what he thought to be in his entire life: Hope.

Then suddenly reality dawned on him like an ever-looming shadow and all the feelings he had before vanished as quickly as they came. Maybe all the other Powers had hope because of what he did, but he didn't. They all had a future and hope that things will be better; while him on the other hand had nothing. He had lost everything years ago. He had no future, so he might as well devote it to them. Kastiel realized what just happened. He didn't feel anything of his own. He felt their happiness, not his, He felt their hope, not his. And he hated it.

But if there was one thing, he was good at it was thinking rationally, and right now he needed to focus on the problem at hand.

He focused back on the crowd and decided it was time to address the questions they spat at him like bullets. They had come closer, getting as close as they could to him. He admired them actually. They knew that he was potentially dangerous like his father, but they were fearless. They got as close as they could, all for freedom of the press.

"How many of you are there?" one asked.

"I estimate that at least five percent of the population of every country is a Power. Even more so for largely populated ones."

The reporters stared at each other and their cameras in disbelief, then began to ask more questions.

"Are they dangerous?"

"Will they attack us?"

"Are we safe?"

One of the reporters stood out to him though. The one editor-in-chief he met personally.

Hannah's father walked up and placed a recorder closer to Kastiel's face; and instead of the generic basic questions that the others asked that he couldn't possibly answer, he asked:

"Hamal Everett of the Listian Times. Powers as you call them, of such magnitude can throw the world into chaos. How'd you expect the world's nations to deal with something like this? What will be the implications on our society and its aspects? Some prime examples are law and Order. Will super criminals emerge. Economic standing. Will these Powers have a negative effect on the economy. Will social standing change? Will powers be preferred over normal citizens in the workforce?" The man said with fervor.

Kastiel smiled. He found himself having respect for the man's fierceness with his work, even if it seemed like he was trying to trip him up.

He composed himself and began to answer.

"I believe that every nation should be expected to handle this carefully so that the difficult process of integrating powers int society with be done with everyone's safety in mind. I have no idea how powers will be treated or accepted by other countries. However, I would like to announce that I have made a place for powers of every nation. One where everyone can live in peace. That place is called Solea. And it will be the first Power Nation in the world."

The crowd gasped at the statement. Some of them were livid while others remained professional and concealed their dispositions.

"Regarding the economic standing of countries after the revelation of powers..." Kastiel was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.

Everyone's attention snapped to the man that fired, so did their cameras. Some of them were still trained on the blue haired boy but that changed when another shot fired into the air the get the stragglers attention. Armored cars pulled up to the square and dozens of soldiers got out, carrying ion rifles at their side.

The troops were lined up behind who Kastiel assumed to be their commander. The soldiers wore black sleek body armor with hexagon plated material at the joint while the commander wore a black helmet with red grooved along the body.

"Attention all citizens," the commander began through a microphone. "You are all under orders of the Government Council to vacate the area immediately."

The commander raised his hand and the soldiers behind him took it as an order to raise their rifles. They aimed it at Kastiel while looking through the scopes. The citizens and reporters couldn't see that however and panicked then ran away from the square; but still close enough to witness and record the scene.

Most people would panic in a situation like this, but Kastiel stood firm. He had a blank look on his face as he looked at the soldiers in front of him. The soldiers then got on one knee and held their rifles over their shoulder, each one charging as they did so. Each one had six separated chambers that gave off a dark red glow.

The commander spoke again.

"Attention, you have ten seconds to surrender yourself to us and walk towards us with your hands above your head. If not, we will shoot. If you attempt of resistance or to flee, we will shoot. Any sign of you using any sort of ability, and we will shoot. Do you understand? If you understand my terms, then walk toward me. Now!"

All the reporters and bystanders eyed the interaction, recording with anything they could. Helicopters from their respective news stations circled the square like hawks but still keeping a respectable distance.

'So that's it.' he thought. 'They're only allowed to shoot if he used his power in resistance. Then they'd be given leeway to disregard everything I said today by reporting that he was a terrorist.

The crowd wanted to see a power up close. Their anticipation was building with every second that passed. Their hearts raced, they were switching on phones and adjusting camera angles all to get great footage. They all focused on him expectantly, but he did something no one expected.

He lifted his hands in the air and began to walk towards the men and women with their rifles trained on him. He kept walking until he was a distance in front of the commander.

"Hello." he said blankly.

"On your knees." the commander said with a scowl.

Kastiel closed his eyes and braced himself, expecting what was coming next. Like clockwork, he was tackled to the ground. A soldier held his arm behind his back and pushed him into the concrete. From this position, Kastiel could see the feet of all the soldiers move and felt his hands locked into place by handcuffs. He was brought to his feet only to be knocked back down by the jab of a rifle.

"On your feet!" a soldier shouted.

He stood up and the soldier pushed him in the direction of the armored vehicles. Again, the soldier pushed him into the truck and about ten of them got into it with him. They had their eyes trained on him, and even through the tinted glass of their helmets, Kastiel could tell that they never broke eye contact.

He leaned his head hack and sighed.

Everything was going according to plan.

________________

Darius felt annoyed. He had asked for the week off to spend time with his family but was called in unexpectedly for a reason his superior wouldn't say on the phone. He checked in at the gate and walked through the doors to an uncommon sight. In all the years he'd worked there he'd never seen the headquarters so crowded. People and agents were flocking from place to place. The secretaries were swamped with the overflowing phone calls and everyone moved so quickly either on a call or carrying files. He made his way to the conference room and sat at the table, rubbing his temples.

He really needed that personal time, just being back at this place so soon was giving him a headache. The soundproof room helped though, drowning out the overlapping voices and ringing phones outside. Darius sat quietly, enjoying the silence.

He did anyway, until he burst in.

His best friend Val.

Valian threw the door open, accompanied by what everyone at headquarters simply referred to as his 'consorts'; though they would never say it to his face.

Just by looking at him you could make a guess for his personality and would hit far off the mark. He wore his shirt out of his pants, a scruffy grey suit and a tie that hung loosely around his hair. His hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in its entire existence and for some reason he always had his hand in his pocket. Darius would sometime wonder how he became the L.B.I.'s director in the first place.

The two women following him on the other hand were anything but unkept. They wore stylish tight-fitting clothes and they all wore mile high heels, clacking as they went. Their makeup was applied well and one of them wore red lipstick which Darius could've sworn he saw a remnant of on Val's cheek.

Val slumped into a chair and spun it around to face him.

"Look," Val sighed as if it were hard for him. "I know that you asked for some time off but we have a problem."

"I could see that." Darius replied as he gestured outside.

"You aint seen nothing yet." Val retorted, switching on the screen monitor.

Darius eyed the screen and the blue haired boy it displayed.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Our problem for the next few fucking months." Val sighed, pinching between his eyes. He lumped further into the chair and increased the volume.

"Cameron Galis was not executed, he was...."

After watching for a few minutes, Darius finally said something.

"Wow, that was...." he said at a loss for words.

"It's a pain in the ass is what it is. I've got thousands of civilians calling the front desk as if we're a common police station, my superiors are up my ass on this, and no one wants to go in there to interrogate the little brat.

Darius raised a brow at his hysteria until it all clicked.

"Now I get it. You want me to go in there and interrogate him!" he said in disbelief.

"You've got nothing to worry about." Val lied, but one look from his best friend made him spill. "Ok fine! No one wants to go in there because-"

"He's the son of a superpowered maniac that might also be a superpowered maniac?" Darius said in an obvious tone.

"Look the kid let himself get arrested with no resistance. He's in the interrogation room right now and he hasn't even tried to escape. He's completely harmless." Val explained.

"You don't know that!" he shouted.

"Dar you know I wouldn't ask you this if I didn't think it was safe. But the upper dogs are breathing down my neck on this. I'm calling in that favor."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Darius groaned in frustration.

"Fine!"

"Thanks Dar." he sighed in relief. "I know I can always count on you."

Val got up and exited the room with his secretaries in tow.

"Fuck my life." Darius groaned.

He decided to sit at the table for a while. He couldn't believe Val would use that card on him. He couldn't believe he agreed! The only upside he could think of from this situation was the prospect of Valian not being able to use that on him again.

A few minutes later, Darius made his way into the interrogation room. He stood in the waiting room and decided to look through the one-way glass, as a way to see what he was dealing with.

'Really?' he thought. 'A kid who dyed his hair blue and people are taking him seriously?'

Then Val came in with his signature door slam with the consorts and a couple of who he could only assume were Secret Service agents.

"Gentlemen, this is Darius Glaston, the best Deputy Director a man can ask for."

The sharply dressed women exchanged greetings and shook his hand.

"Well then, get to it." one of them gestured through the glass.

Darius sighed and walked through the door, giving Val a glare as he went. He pushed the door open, gaining Kastiel's attention.

Kastiel looked at him blankly and Darius's face scrunched in confusion.

"Even his eyes are blue." he thought as he sat down.

He opened the thin file on the table and glossed over its solitary page.

"Name and age." he said abruptly.

"Kastiel Galis. Sixteen" he stated.

"Your actual name." Darius pressed, not at all convinced.

"Kastiel Aelios Galis." He said again.

"Ok stop. I know that you're not who you say you are. You're in deep here kid, and I need you to back out of this prank before you face serious jail time." Darius emphasized with a hint of flair to move things along.

"Do you question your kids like this when they're in trouble?" he asked.

"No. Now I need the name of your parents."

"They're dead." Kastiel said matter-of-factly.

Darius' stance towards the boy changed in that moment. He felt some sympathy towards him. He could tell that there was a hint of pain in his voice. But as soon as it appeared, it vanished. His eyes were the same haunting blue, and his face showed no emotional cracks in the slightest; and then after a few seconds of silence, Darius decided to approach the interrogation from another angle.

"Listen kid, I want to help you, but I need something from you that will let the people on the other side of the glass know that you're not a threat." he explained with some sympathy.

Kastiel however looked like he paid no attention to what he said. He was fiddling with his watch that was just out of view of the observers but in such a way that Darius could see it. The watch was a blue analog watch. It looked like a normal antique until the blue haired boy tapped its surface with his index finger. The small thing then began to disassemble itself, its pieces moving along and with each ither in a metallic fashion. It formed a ridged metallic pyramid that fit into the watch's surface and at its center, was a blue glowing circle.

Darius needed to act. He wasn't supposed to have any tech on him and he had no idea what it did. He rose out of his chair to grab it and as soon as he did Kastiel tapped the watch. A second later the lights went off and the emergency alarms went off.

"What did you do?!" he asked the boy.

"It's just a temporary blackout to distract the people behind the glass." he gestured with a nod of his head. "I need to talk to you."

"Go on." Darius said, not letting his guard down for a moment.

"You're a Power, aren't you?" Kastiel asked with a straight face.

Darius froze as his heart skipped a beat. He knew! This kid knew something that even his family didn't know about.

"What about it? Are you blackmailing me?" He demanded. "My father was one too. So am I. I understand that you have a family. I..... had one too."

"You had one?" Darius asked with confusion.

"Powers are hereditary. Meaning the cells that cause them get transferred genetically. You have powers and your kids do too." Kastiel changed the subject.

"No, they're not.... they can't be!" Darius tried to deny. But deep down he knew how hard it was for him to control his when he was young. He couldn't imagine his kids going through the same thing on their own. The thought of them not being able to tell him or their mother made him feel worse. They probably thought that he would hate them, and his job wouldn't help them be forthcoming either.

"I meant what I said today. I'm making a place for those like us. One where Powers can live and govern themselves." he continued.

"You're crazy!" Darius exclaimed. "The world would shoot something like that down as soon as you try."

"They can try." he said letting out a slight laugh. But then his tone turned serious. "I once let the world take charge of me and I lost everything. Do you know how many of us have died? Been experimented on? Forced into slavery or sold? Every government in the world has known about us for years and we've suffered because of it. Things won't change if we wait for the world to be better to us. If you want to be a part of that, then go to route six off of New Arizona. There'll be an escort waiting for you. As for now, the power will come back on in twenty seconds and you are going to tell your superiors that I'm just a kid playing a prank." he said as he sat down.

"I didn't even accept your offer." Darius said trying to regain some control of the situation.

"You don't have a choice." Kastiel said matter-of-factly. "And if you want a future for yourself and your family, then you'll sit and play along."

"Was that a threat?" Darius said with anger seeping from his voice.

"No." he blinked. "It's an ultimatum."

Just like Kastiel said, the power came back on and the glass screen dimmed back to its one-way state. The intercom came on and a woman's voice came through the P.A. system.

Deputy Director Glaston, please report to the Director's office.

Darius left the room shaken. He'd gone into the interrogation room with the intention of intimidating the boy, but instead it was him who got intimidated. There were so many thoughts flying through his mind and before he could address one, another one would pull his focus.

'What do I do?'

'Do I accept his offer? '

'What if I don't.?'

'If I say no, he could expose my family. The boys- they could end up just like his father.'

'I don't have a choice.'

'Is this the best option for my family?'

All of a sudden, Darius snapped from his panic state and realized that he was at Val's office. Without thinking, he opened the door and stepped inside to see Val talking to one of his secretaries. They paused upon noticing him and Val cleared his throat as if he was interrupted.

"So?" he raised an eyebrow.

"So what?"

"The interrogation," Val said in a 'duh' tone. "What happened?"

Darius composed himself and took a deep breath. He didn't know what to say, but in a split second, he made his decision.

"Nothing, just a kid playing a prank. I don't know if someone put him up to this but he sure as hell isn't the son of Kastiel Galis." he lied through his teeth.

"THANK FUCKING GOD!!!" Val exclaimed with a sigh. He loosened his tie and slumped into his chair.

"Do you know I had to get all proper to meet some General who's coming. I can call this shit off. Lyla," he turned to the secretary. "tell the receptionists to ease the callers. Tell them to say the whole thing was just a prank by an unknown organization."

"So, do I have a green light to let him go? Because he doesn't know anything." Darius asked with his best convincing 'bored' face.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead." Val said as he typed away on his computer.

"Yeah, what was up with the power earlier? And the alarm?" Darius tried to be casual. He had to appear like he was in no rush to get the boy released but he was genuinely curious as to how he managed to shut off the power.

"No one knows." Val said not breaking eye contact with his screen. "Generator maybe? And the alarm was because of an intern at the front desk."

"After I release the kid, I'm going home." Darius said as he turned to leave.

"Uhuh sure. Say hi to the wife."

Darius closed the office door and sat in the waiting room, thinking. He didn't have a chance before, so now he took his time, taking in the gravity of the situation.

Was he really going to leave everything behind?

He'd built a life, not just for him, but for his family too.

Would he leave it all behind at the behest of some kid that didn't make himself trustworthy in the least?

And the biggest question on his mind was:

'How am I going to tell my family.'

_____________________

Kastiel sat in the room in silence. He hated to admit it but he was nervous. Darius should be back by now.

If he doesn't take the offer, I'll have to leave on my own. He glanced at his watch and wondered if it had enough power to get him out and signal Eve to come get him. Just shutting of the building's power earlier drained it of half of its power supply.

He frowned. This always happens when he doesn't account for everything. Even a little thing like energy management had put him in a risky situation.

He had two options:

Wait a little longer for Darius to come through. Then follow the rest of the plan.

OR

Use the watch to escape and then after which find another way to contact Eve and give her his location.

Kastiel decided to go with option number two. He'd rather take his chances on the run rather than staying a second longer in the LBI, not when the Government Council is bearing on his location.

He clicked the watch and it morphed itself into a projector to display a holo-screen. He hadn't decided on an escape method beforehand, so he decided to go with an EMP. He tapped the function settings and set it to go off. The watch then retracted its previous form and into a button.

He was about to tap it when the door opened to reveal Darius. So, he let the watch cancel the EMP and morph back into its default state.

"You're being released." he said. Then he stood aside and motioned him out.

Kastiel stood up and walked through the door. Darius Guided him through the halls past several agents. Their expressions didn't have the signature bitter, hateful expressions that he'd come to get used to. They just looked at him and went about their day.

When they were in an empty corridor, Darius stopped him.

"Listen kid-" he began.

"Don't call me that." Kastiel interjected.

"Whatever, I'm going to need more than a time and place to even think about considering anything you say. This is my family we're talking about."

Kastiel sighed.

"What do you think is going to happen now that I've exposed us to the world?" he stared expectantly. "Powers aren't anything new. The governments of the world have known about us for decades. Why do you think no one questioned if others like my father existed."

"The Government Council addressed everyone that he was a one of. A by-product of a surviving faction from the third world war." Darius recalled.

"It's because they needed to keep it secret. Many of them take any of their citizens that they suspect are Powers and experiment on them, force them into labor camps or force them into military factions. And now that I've exposed us to everyone, I basically gave them a green light to take citizens in scores and dress it however they like to the rest. Before, people would notice if many people went missing so they had to have small scale operations. But those small-scale operations were cruel. Orphaned children were experimented on till death and no one cared because they practically didn't exist. Now they'll do it with no restraint whatsoever. Claim that they'll be transferred to Power Preservation Settlements, government custody or some bullshit like that." Kastiel spat.

Darius began to understand everything with looming dread.

"When you get to where I told you to go, there'll be a hover-ship."

"A—a what?" Darius stuttered.

"It'll take you somewhere." He ignored his last question. "It will be a place where Powers from around the world can come to live without fear."

"Do you mean a country?"

Kastiel again ignored the question and continued.

" It'll have all your needs, even more so than you have here. I-"

Kastiel was interrupted by a noticeable beep from his watch. He looked at it and frowned.

"I have to go. Now." he said in a demanding tone.

Darius continued escorting him out of the building, all the while noticing his rising unease. After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the front desk where a receptionist waved at Darius.

"Tell Donna I said hi." she said in a polite tone.

"Sure thing." Darius replied, trying to smile. He didn't want to think about talking to his family later.

The tension built as they headed towards the door. Everyone in the lobby was looking at them. They both sighed as they pushed through the doors only to be greeted by another surprise.

There were swarms of them; from amateur vloggers to profession reporters and journalists looking for their big break. Helicopters were in the air and news vans scattered throughout the massive crowd.

They were snapping pictures with such magnitude and frequency that neither of them could look at them directly. They looked like feral animals, only kept at bay by the electric fence that surrounded the building.

Darius was shocked. It looked like every news reporter in the country was here. Kastiel though wasn't paying attention at all, instead he was focused on the distant sky and the giant ship that was approaching from it. It was a great distance away, but he wasn't going to wait. He knew it all too well and the speed it had. He would be lucky if he had a few minutes to get out of here.

"Off." he raised his hand to Darius, not taking his eyes off the sky.

Darius placed his finger on the finger print lock and the cuffs released.

Kastiel wasted no time, rushing down the stairs. Darius signaled the entry point to open the gate. as he approached.

Kastiel would've felt dread about the mob of reporters, but he had bigger problems. He stepped outside and they swarmed him. They followed his every move, taking pictures and asking questions that Kastiel was too distracted to answer.

The ship was almost here.

He tapped the watch, getting ready to repel the crowd until something caught his eye. A glint from something metallic. A knife.

A hooded figure then lunged at him with both hands on the blade. Kastiel Dodges it, moving to the side then catching the figures hand which held the knife.

Then the hoodie flew off. It was a woman. Her eyes were teary and she had a look of desperation in her eyes. A look of despair and hurt. It shocked the boy, and he stood there for a moment, contemplating.

"My husband and daughter died because of you freaks!" she screamed with tears streaming down her eyes.

She tried to pull free but Kastiel was stronger than he looked and tightened his grip.

He wanted to say something.........anything. But he couldn't. He wanted to say sorry, say that he knew how it felt; but in the end, the words wouldn't come out.

With no warning, an officer tackled the woman to the ground. He grabbed her wrist with the blade and threw it away from her. He pulled a pair of handcuffs and locked them on her wrists before turning to Kastiel and sliding him a wink.

'Is he a Power?' Kastiel thought.

Maybe he was, but Kastiel had bigger problems. The ship was a few miles away and this crowd was becoming a problem. He clicked the watch's sides in a unique pattern that unlocked a last-ditch command he inputted. After he did, the watch began to hum as it generated a force field around him that expanded with every passing second. The crowd was pushed back and Kastiel made his way away from it. The blue shield moved as he did. allowing no one to get close.

Kastiel had made it as a way to escape the LBI if things with Darius didn't pan out, but here was one major flaw. Fitting the tech into something as compact as a watch limited how long it could last without energy to power it. And after using the watch earlier, the time was cut in half. It would only last about thirty seconds and the watch displayed the remaining time.

He sprinted through the crowd, not caring about them colliding with it because they noticed it in time to move away.

He arrived at a clearing and turned off the watch with ten seconds to spare.

"It should be enough to contact Eve. He turned on the signal and the ship appeared a few seconds later, dropping its cloak and opening the back door.

"Eve, let's get out of here!" he shouted.

Of course. Strap yourself in.

Kastiel sat down and Eve piloted the ship higher. As they ascended, Kastiel saw the enormous metal hull of the Dreadnought; and after reaching the glass of its cockpit, saw her.

Alex Batherland, the woman he hated most.