"You look well," Kylan said. "You look rich."
"You're still loud and obnoxious," Max replied. "Leave."
Kylan got up from the ground and dusted off his pants and jacket. He stretched his arms and legs, and made a show of refusing to leave, making Max even angrier.
"I can leave, but what makes you think I won't just turn around and kill the Emporer ten minutes later," Kylan replied.
"You're right."
A gust of wind from behind pushed him right into Max's arms. Kylan struggled to get free, but Max put him in a headlock. After Kylan started gasping for air, Max let go, then put his hands on the temples of his head. A quick jolt of electricity went through Kylan's head. Everything was a burst of colors, swirling shapes and hues, andthen suddenly, he went blind.
He stood in fear, waiting for his sight to come back.
Max pushed him to the ground and scoffed.
"Don't worry, you'll be able to see in a while. But you're disconnected from the Paths," he said.
"How did you DO THAT," Kylan screamed. "GIVE IT BACK!"
"A little voice in my head teaches me neat tricks. You're not the only one that got stronger."
Max left Kylan blind and afraid in the dark. He was too afraid to move anywhere, and sat on the filthy ground, waiting for his vision to return. It did slowly come back to him, but everything was in grayscale. The world has no color, and when he closed his eyes to try and see the unseen, nothing came to him. Max had temporarily taken his gift, and Kylan was scared, because if Max became more powerful, could he take it away forever?
Kylan nervously walked outside into the filthy neighborhood and saw the smoke in the distance of his group's handiwork. He remembered that even if his part of the plan failed, the others still succeeded in their part. He ran through the narrow streets and out of The Pit, back to La Rando.
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La Rando was filled with police and military personnel. No citizens were allowed on the streets, and it was hard for Kylan to hide in plain sight. Securi-Bots whizzed through the streets, and he stuck to the dark, filthy alleys. Luckily the color returned to his vision and his connection to The Paths returned once he reached La Rando. It made him bold, and Kylan foolishly tried to leave town by flying.
Like a monkey, he jumped onto a dumpster, pulled himself up onto the top of an HVAC vent hanging on the side of a building, and then climbed onto the roof of a bakery. He was going to fly from roof to roof and hide now and then so no one would find him. He took a few steps back, then made a running start, and used the wind to push himself to the roof of the other building.
The wind made his long hair whip around, and he loved flying, when he felt most free, right next to stealing and setting fires.
"YEAH!"
He was having too much fun, feeling like a superhero, and forgetting that he had broken several laws. He forgot to hide and did not attempt to while flying and jumping from roof to roof. A Securi-Bot found him and whizzed up to the roof. It scanned his body and its giant LED screen showed a big red X.
"You cannot be on the roof," the Securi-Bot said. "Please get down."
"NO!"
"It is dangerous. Go inside. You are breaking the law."
"I break the law EVERY DAY!"
The Utili-Bot's LED screen changed to a loading screen and a funky chime played.
"Guilty plea is already given, right to trial refused. A security threat was detected. Neutralize."
A whirring noise of exhaust exuded from the Securi-Bot's body when a large gun popped out of the top of its spherical body. The end of the barrel glowed purple as it started to charge, and Kylan didn't need any more warnings. He ran, jumped, and then flew into the air, dodging plasma bullets from the robot. It was slow, but its aim was good, and he was starting to get closer to Kylan whenever he had to swerve to avoid the bullets.
Because no one was around, Kylan was easy to spot in the sky. Military personnel and police weren't taking any chances. They pointed their guns at him, took aim, and fired. He stopped flying in mid-air for a moment, hoping the sudden drop would make them all miss, and it did, except for one. A bullet went right through his left arm, and he cried when he fell. More shots were fired, and Kylan started to fight back.
He pushed out a gust of wind when the robot got too close, and it was struck by friendly fire from more bullets. The explosion gave Kylan a short moment of cover, and he made a controlled crash to the ground. His shoulder hit the edge of a building's roof, and he heard a crack when he fell onto the beige awning. It caught his fall for a moment, saving his life, and then he fell right through it, onto the gravel.
His vision was blurry from the pain and tears. The gravel got into his wound, and he couldn't feel his left arm. His right ankle was twisted and his left ear was cut as well. Gasping and writhing in pain, he looked at the sky, and slowly, the sounds of thunder echoed in the distance. Lightning crackled and rain was near. Kylan tried to crawl to shelter, but he was exhausted and rolled over on his back.
The rain began, and he cried harder because no one could tell if you're crying while it rained.
"You did this, didn't you Max," he said irrationally. "Beat me up and use your lightning to make it rain."
He had lost a lot of blood from the giant hole in his arm, and the plasma bullet made it only spread. Kylan turned his head to the left and saw a bright light from a door.
"Elysium is here for me."
He closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
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Kylan woke up feeling like no time had passed.
He was in a surgery room for a small clinic that hadn't opened yet. The walls weren't decorated because of this, but there was enough medical equipment inside to save his life. He looked to his right and saw a blood bag and IV tube connected to it, and he looked to his left and saw his arm in a cast. For the first time in a long time, he had no words because of the pain and weakness.
He didn't know what to do or if he was about to be sent to prison and was given required care beforehand, so he lay in the bed, hoping someone would return.
About fifteen minutes later, a man walked in with a light plate and a Digi-pen with a look of relief. He set it down on a nearby counter and checked on his patient. Kylan swore he was suffering from brain damage from the fall and Max's shock to the head because his doctor could not be who he thought it was.
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"ASTER!"
"Yes it's me," he laughed. "I'm so happy you're alive."
"WHEN DID YOU BECOME A DOCTOR!?!? WHEN DID YOU FIND ME?? WHEN-"
Kylan tried to sit up while asking questions and groaned in pain when simple movement made his left arm protest.
"You need to take it easy. I can get you some medicine to help with the pain," Aster offered.
"Thank you, Dr. Aster," Kyle replied.
"I'm not a doctor. I'm still in med school. I just started. My boss was the one who did most of the work."
"He also found me?"
"No, I found you outside. I heard a loud noise while unpacking stuff for our grand opening and went to check it out."
"So you saved my life again Dr. Aster," Kylan said.
"I legally cannot say I am a doctor, please stop."
Aster's boss heard all the commotion and came to see how the patient was doing. He and Aster wore the same medical white coat, with bland hospital clothes. He had long green hair in a bun, and iridescent eyes, another Kuraga from wealthy means.
"I'm Doctor Kuracisto. Nice to see you're up and awake!"
"I have a question," Kylan asked.
"Yes?"
"Doctors keep secrets right?"
"Yes."
"Please don't call the police," Kylan begged. "Please don't say anything if they come here!"
Aster and Dr. Kuracisto chuckled and Kylan was pleasantly surprised that no one spoke to the police in this neighborhood.
"This free clinic was started by the many social welfare programs started lately by the government," Dr. Kuracisto said. "I would never jeopardize its opening and the privacy of my patients."
"Also, no one would come if we told the police you're here," Aster said. "La Rando is next to The Pit, many people there have warrants. Guilty or not, everyone deserves to see a doctor."
"Can I bring my friends here," Kylan asked. "They get a lot of accidents on the job."
"Yes, everyone is welcome," Dr. Kuracisto said.
"AWESOME!"
Dr. Kuracisto unwittingly allowed a group of fledgling terrorists to visit his clinic frequently.