Sarah Elsword

It was a peaceful day like any other.Simon woke up and sleepily headed to the bathroom.After washing himself, he put on his clothes, grabbed his school bag and went downstairs.Ignoring the breakfast his mother left on the kitchen table, hoping that he would eat it, he drank a glass of juice and left.His dad would be waking up any minute then and he didn't want him to start nagging him about giving him a lift with the car.He prefered walking, so he always left a tad earlier.

Following the road down town, where his school was, he was looking around, trying to find something interesting to focus on.Unfortunately, his desire for something out of the ordinary wasn't fulfilled.Not even the leaves on the occasional trees were moving.The heat of the summer was still lingering , although it was already mid-September.The atmosphere was carrying that usual, boring feeling, one that signified that the day would be uneventful and 'normal'.Truthful to that feeling,the street hosted no weird, strange, or at least curious elements.Unable to spot anything amusing or stimulating, he started humming a song he'd heard the previous night.At that moment, he didn't expect that his wish for a break in the routine of daily life would come in such a day, much less in the form it did...

"RUN!!!" he suddenly heard, right after the sound of legs stomping on the ground.He was at the end of the block, where the roads and pavements crossed so only now could he see and hear what exactly was happening across the next horizontal pavement.A girl was running full speed towards him and two men in black where following her.The men were the kind that even when peaceful they would cause suspicion to others, so in that situation it was obvious that they were up to no good.The one who had shouted was the girl.She had shouted right after she saw him, meaning she was refering to him and wanted him to get away.The first dillema.The thought, What should I do?

, flashed through his mind, along with many speculations on how things could turn out if he got involved.In seconds, he had decided.Instead of moving away, he let her pass in front of him and then stood in the way of the two men.Realising what he did, the girl stopped, her chest going up and down from her violent breaths.The two men changed their running into a slow walk and ended up a meter away from him.

"Dont.Get.Involved." Man A said, in the most threatening voice he could make, which was quite threatening indeed.The other one didn't say anything, but he clenched his fists and all of the muscles on his arms tightened.The sight would normally be enough to make anyone mind their own business, but Simon was a little different.This was his one in a million chance to live some real action, and he wouldn't let it slip by.

"Two gorillas in suits chasing a helpless girl.I don't think I can walk away from this." he said as he removed his school bag from his back and held it in his hand."Will you leave so you won't cause a scene?" he said, not wanting to provoke them.Action and all was good but confrontations can turn ugly.

"She's not what you think, we're not what you think.Go and forget all of this while you still can." Man A said, still trying to threaten him but being a little ticked off about him calling them 'gorillas'.

"More than this scene, I'm surprised on how a gorilla was able to say such a complicated sentence." he answered.These guys were serious and he wouldn't be able to avert them from their goal, so he chose to make them mad and have them abandon reasoning.That way they wouldn't think of drawing any possible weapons, they would just attack him with their fists.At least he hoped that this plan would work, or he was screwed.

"Bastard!" Man A said and took a step, while raising his arm to punch him.Much to his surprise, he received a sound kick to the face before he could extend his arm.While he fell back, his subordinate stepped around him, trying to reach Simon.But when he left the back of Man A, his eyes didn't see Simon and the girl standing on the street.All he saw was a zip pocket as Simon's bag landed on his head, with the weight of various text books and note books behind it.Dazed by the impact, he then took a kick between his legs and fell on the ground.Man A was recovering and tried to take a step but he too was kicked between the legs and collapsed.

"Let's go, quickly!" Simon said to the girl, grabbing her wrist and dragging her away.After a while of running, they stopped in a park behind his house.Now both of them were short of breath and they needed some time to regain their composure.Now that he wasn't in immediate threat, he wondered about what the heck was going on and...about the lack of reaction from the girl when he defended her.

"Who are you?" Simon asked after a little time passed, since the girl didn't show any signs of trying to communicate.She didn't answer, she only did a negative motion.He sighed.
"Ok, let's start with the basics.What's your name?"
".....I'm Sarah.Sarah Elsword.

Revelations

"O-ok, that's a start.I'm Simon." he said and extended his arm in a handshake.She hesitantly took it.Hmmm, what now?

he thought, examining the girl from head to toe, the same way she examined him.Both of them looked like any normal teenager, nothing on them stood out, but...Oh my god, she's beautiful!

He thought upon closer examination.Long, silky, dark hair, elegant face, fit body, nice clothes, she could easily suit the description of the most popular girl in class.

In a while, an awkwardness settled on the silent atmosphere, none of them knew what to say.Thinking back, the only thing they knew about each other were their names and the weird circumstances under which they met.In the end, he reluctantly took the first step.

"Could you explain to me what happened back there?Why were those two chasing you?" he asked, trying to not sound too demanding.He didn't want to cause her to clam up, or he wouldn't get any information on what was going on.

After a small pause, she decided to talk."I guess that after beating up two Diablos you are too involved to just forget everything and leave me alone..." she said, half talking to him, half talking to herself.

"Two what?I lost you there.Take it from the start please." Now he was confused.Diablos?Doesn't Diablo mean devil?But it's probably the name of an organisation...

Sarah sighed and took a deep breath."In a synopsis, two organisations called Diablo and Angelo, named after the underworld names of their heads, have been fighting it out for the last ten years.Their goal is to find the few people in the world that have acquired ESP.The various psychic powers are usually unique per person, considering the few amount of people having them."

She was so direct, he was startled by how easily she blurted out all that.And even more surprised he was about what she actually said.Ok, the thing about the organisations he could believe, he knew that there are underworld syndicates everywhere in the world for a long time.But ESPers with unique powers that were the trophies of the war between the organisations?Not so easy to believe.

"Before I tell you the details, could we go somewhere else?I don't like being in public view while discussing these things." she added, looking around to spot any people passing by.Relieved, she saw noone.

"Uh, yeah sure.There's a cafeteria some blocks away, where students go when they skip class.I don't do that frequently, but they know me around there and they won't ask any unwanted questions." he replied, deciding to to clear things up when they get there.

"Good, let's go." she simply said."Lead the way."

While this scene was occuring, Simon's dad had gotten in the car and was about to leave.Then, he looked to the side, in between his house and the next, and saw that his son hadn't gone to school and was instead in the park with a girl.As he saw them leave, a smile crept up his face and he decided to ask him later about what he did that day.He wanted to see his reaction.

The two were walking in a fast-pace, eager to reach the cafeteria, each for their own reasons.In some minutes they arrived, they found themselves standing in front of a cafeteria with many windows that was almost empty.The thought that she would be seen through one of the many windows obviously crossed her mind, but she didn't say anything and followed him inside when he entered.In turn, he chose a table that had vision from the least number of windows, since the thought had gone through his mind as well.

They sat and a silent pause followed.The only other person was a waitress reading a newspaper on the far end of the lounge.When she noticed them she opened the TV like she always did when the first customers arrived.She then approached them and asked what they would like to drink.They both gave her their orders and waited untill she got away.

"So...let me hear your story again." he said confidently.He was going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what.Not to mention the sheer awesomness of what she had told him, at least the one that had taken form in his mind.He always wanted something supernatural like that to be real.

"First, let me warn you.Even though I said that you've been already involved, you can still turn back now.You may experience difficulty but it's possible to sepparate yourself with these events.If you don't, you'll be under grave danger." she said with an emotionless tone.One couldn't understand if she wanted him to take part and help her or not.

"I'm ready for it.As you said, it won't be easy to cut ties, considering what happened, so instead I want to learn as much as I can." he replied.Even if he wanted it, he wouldn't be able to escape the attention of both organisations, at least that's what he believed at the moment.

"Well then, since you seem to have decided, I'm going to tell you everything.I'll start from the very begining, the two heads, Diablo and Angelo.In the past, more than ten years back, they were a pair of hitmen.Angelo carried out quick and painless assassinations while Diablo did interogations, torture and the like, hence their nicknames.Having gained a lot of fame and money, the started up the D&A syndicate, one that included many prestigious hitmen and bosses of the underworld.It's purpose was to uphold the law of the underworld and to boost the mafia's power, so it would become many times that of any government.It was so strong and big and had so much influence that it was the first organisation to find out about the appearance of ESPers.As you can guess, they immediately tried to get a hold of them, in order to use them for their purposes.Psychic powers would be an unimaginable asset to their ranks, so they approached them with amazing offers of cooperation.When the ESPer, or they're guardian if they were too young, didn't agree to their rich offer they used other means like kidnapping and blackmailing.Much to their dissapointement, the ESPers had already learned to use their powers, they had been a little late in finding them.Their gifts gave them an edge against their pursuers and, in the end, it turned into an all out war between D&A and the ESPers who found each other through their powers."

At that point she paused.The waitress arrived with their coffees so they paid and waited again till she left.Each took a sip from their respective cup, while Simon was processing the bunch of information he was given.

"If what you're saying is true, then what is this about Diablos and Angelos fighting each other.Did the organisation sepparate for some reason?Did these two hitmen stop working together?"

"Something like that.You see, after the fight broke out, the organisation experienced difficulty in capturing the ESPers.That's when the schism started between Angelo and Diablo.Angelo wanted to leave the ESPers unharmed and threaten them with assassinations of their relatives.Diablo on the other hand wanted to order the use of dangerous force on them, so they would be crippled or even come close to death.That way it would be much easier to deal with them.Since the heads weren't able to reach a conclusion, the members of D&A sepparated into supporters of Angelo and supporters of Diablo.Seeing that the tension could possibly start a massacre, the two heads decided to split the organisation into two and pursue their goals spearately.In time, they started fighting each other over who would acquire the ESPers.And that's how we reached today.They still haven't captured an ESPer alive, but there have been some casualties."

"And what's your role in all of this?" Simon asked, although he could already guess what her answer would be.

"Me?I'm an ESPer.And I suspect you are one too."

A glass of water

"I'm what?!" Simon shouted startled.Before continuing, he remembered that they were in a public area, so he lowered his voice.He had already managed to draw a curious look from the waitress, he didn't want everyone around them to know what was going on."Look, I'm already having a hard time trying to believe you about the existance of ESP and all the other amazing things you told me.You understand that information from a complete stranger does not have much credibility."

She sighed and took a quick look around.No customers had arrived yet and the noise from the TV was sufficient cover."Ok, I'm going to give you a demonstration so that you can believe that psychic powers exist.My power is astral projection.I can project my spirit anywhere I want.I can see and hear things in distant or guarded places without being seen myself.I want you to go somewhere hidden and draw a number with a pen.I'm gonna tell you what the number is." she said.

Still suspicious, Simon stood up without replying and asked for a pen from the waitress.Then he went to the bathroom and instead of writting a number, he wrote 'And what is my power?' He then returned and gave back the pen.He sat back at the table and looked at Sarah, who had her eyes closed.

After some seconds she oppened them and looked at him amused."To answer your question, I don't know.I only have a feeling that you might possess one." she said and a smirk crept up her face."Satisfied?"

"More than that." he said, incapable of hiding his surprise."I suppose I'll have to believe you.But now that I know for sure, how can I find out if I have a power too?" he asked, showing more interest than before.Of course, now that he was one hundred percent sure that she was telling the truth, he was much more keen in getting mixed up.

"Normally, you should have unlocked it by now but there are cases in which people must reach adulthood to reveal their powers.Firstly, let me explain why I suppose you're an ESPer.Whenever a person with fully unlocked powers, like me, gets closer to a still dormant power user, he will instinctively approach him.While I was running from those guys, I unconciously ran towards a disadvantageous route, but then I met you.So I believe that that decision was created by the instinct us psychics share."

"I...I see..." he answered, a little skeptical."But I guess the only way to really find out is to wait until it's unlocked on it's own...?"

"No, there is a way.It's a test that needs a possibly dormant power user and an actual power user.The active ESP in the normal psychic will awaken the sleeping ESP in the dormant one.All we need to do it is a glass of water." she said and gave a meaningful look to the glass of water resting on the table.

"So, how is the test carried out?" he asked as he put the glass in the middle of the table and leaning forward a little.

"It isn't difficult, let's do it right now.First, make sure the water is completely calm and still.Right now it is, so watch out not to make the glass or table tremble.Second, focus your eyes on the surface of the water.Third, I'm going to send a weak mental pulse to you, something that all ESPers are capable of.You are going to feel a weird vibe in your head as a result.Now, wish for that vibe to flow out in front of you, and try to target it towards the glass."

Making himself go into a tranquil state, he followed her instructions.He did feel that strange vibe in his head and then, not really knowing what he was doing, he tried to direct it to the water.Suddenly, ripples started forming on the surface, as if the glass was slightly trembling.Unable to decipher the sign, but hoping that that was the needed result, he raised his eyes and gave her a curious look.She was smilling.

"Congratulations.Your gift has been verified." she said and clapped lightly."It's always nice to have new members on board." she added."So...now you are even more involved.There's no way that both organisations will miss your existance.What are you going to do?"

This was the first time after he saved her that he thought about how his life would be from now on."I want to some alone time to...clear my head and think this through, ok?" he said, trying not to reveal his sudden hesitance in his voice.

"Go ahead.It's not everyday that you decide something of such importance, I can understand your need of time." she said."Take your time."

"Thanks." He stood up and made his way to the bathroom again.Just to have something to do, he washed what he had written on the wall.At one point, he entered to toilet.He stood there a little, not knowing what to do.When he got back outside, he saw a boy looking at him.He wore sport shoes, jeans, a black T-shirt and a wristband.He had mid-length hair and a pair of eyes that combined blue and green in a weird way and had an unexplainable orange circle around their core.He had a lost look, as if he was thinking about something or had amnesia.He was surpised but then he realised that he was looking at himself.

He slapped his forehead with his palm and chuckled.That little thing had him wake up.The decision became clear to him.He left the bathroom and confidently strode to the table, where she had finished her coffee."I'm in."

And so he leaves

After his declaration he sat on the chair and took a sip from his coffee.He noticed that while he was gone some customers had enetered so he made sure not to be very loud, especially since one of them was sitting close."What are we going to do now then?"

Sarah was now bright with relief at his positive answer and replied energetically."We're going to meet up with another member of the ESPer team.He's a friend of mine and a very strong psychic.He except the protection he'll provide. he'll be able to teach you more about your power.For starters, he'll find out what it is."

"Um... can we first stop to my house?I want to inform my family.We'll tell them the story, persuade them with your power that it's the truth and they'll understand.I don't want to disappear all of a sudden and cause them so much worry.At least they'll know why I'm missing and that I'm fine...for the time being." he said.

She looked skeptical for some moments.A little hesitantly, she answered."I...I supposed it woudn't cause any trouble...I trust they are logical, they won't try to stop you or inform someone else, right?" she finished.

"No don't fret about that.They have faith in me and they won't do any rushed moves.I think they might try to find some way I can stay with them, but if they don't find a good one they won't cause trouble for us."

"Ok." she said and sighed, "It's decided then.We'll pay them a visit.Let's go now, there's no point in waiting." she said and called for the waitress to pay for their coffees.Simon took out some coins and paid.When the waitress started walking away he stood up.

"Well, let's go.It's not too far from here, it's in front of the park where we stopped before." he said as she too stood up.They walked to the exit together and they got out.At first they walked in silence but Sarah broke it.

"I've been wanting to ask you.How did you knock out the two guys so easily?They're supposedly trained soldiers of the Diablos, they shouldn't be so weak.Or are you very strong instead?"

"Neither of those.It's a tactic.I made them mad at me and, together with the fact that they gravely underestimated me, they attacked recklessly.If they were at a hundred percent I doubt I would have beaten them.Not to mention that they could have a weapon."

"Yeah, but you still devised a great plan and you fought like a pro.You even made a high kick at the first one!" she said in disbelief.

"I've been doing martial arts and self-defense lessons since very young.That's how I was able to do all that.But, as I said before, if they hadn't taken the taunt it was possible that I would end up getting killed."

"No matter what you say, I think you were awesome." she said in a carefree attitude, as if she was talking about something trivial and not about a dangerous fight.

They fell in silence again while they covered the rest of the distance.They entered the garden and stood before the front door.With a nervous sigh, Simon took out his keys and oppened the door.He walked in and heard his mother in the kitchen.When they entered they saw her activating the stove to boil water.

"Simon?What are you doing here?" she asked and then she saw Sarah."Oh, um, hello.I'm Simon's mother." she said surprised.She took a good look at her but didn't add anything else.She gave a stare full of questions to her son.

"Sit down.We need to talk." he said and motioned towards the kitchen table.In some minutes he told her everything that happened to him that morning.She would have interrupted him at the first time he mentioned ESPers but he stopped her.When he finished, he waited for her reaction.Sarah was looking down, probably a little embarassed to be there.

"Look, it's not April Fool's day, this joke has gone too long." she said, hoping that all of this was a tasteless prank."How can this be true..." she said in a lower tone and put a hand on the table to support her head with her hand.

"I'm afraid it is." he said and then nodded to Sarah.She did the same thing she had done before in the cafe to prove that she really is an ESPer.Alicia, Simon's mother, was left speechless.Everything they told her was surely the truth.There was no hope that it wasn't real.

"Isn't there a way for you to get out of this mess?" she asked, a hint of desparation in her voice.She just couldn't accept it."There must be something we can do!" she added."At least let us follow you!You're still young, you can't be out there on your own!" she continued.

"Mom, you know we can't do that.And believe me, if there was a way to cut ties with this, I would, but there's nothing I can do now.And you know you can't come with me, you still have to take care of Liza." he said, meaning his little sister."She's still in 5th grade, you can't take her with you or let her stay with someone else..."

"Yes, yes, what am I saying..." she answered."Let's...let's just wait until your father comes back from work, ok?" she said."You won't have left by then, right?"

"No don't worry.I'll see dad too." he said and left his chair to hug her."I'm going inside with Sarah, I'll let you cook now, alright?"

She didn't reply.He made a gesture to Sarah and lead her to the living room.They sat on the couch and he switched the TV on.He was feeling a little awkward now that she had been a witness to that moment.

"I can understand how you're feeling.I went through the same thing back when I found out I was in danger.The ESPer beside me at the time was Nick, he's the one we're going to meet now.He's 19 years old right now, three years older than me.Back then he was sixteen.Yeah I found out about my power when I was 13."

"I can imagine.I thought that most of you, or should I say us, have gone through similar situations." he said.The discussion then turned into more of a chat about trivial things, many of them concerning what was playing on the TV.

"How's your sister?" she asked out of the blue.She'd remembered him mentioning her in the conversation with Alicia.

"She looks a lot like mom.She's blonde, thin, a little short for her age and she's got big, honey coloured eyes.Even when I describe her she sounds like mom." he said and chuckled, not really feeling amused, but trying to distract himself.

Some time later, his father arrived.Normally, he would be arriving much later but he got a call from his wife that he should be back the fastest possible.He saw his son in the living room with the girl from before and many things ran through his mind, but he got grabbed by Alicia and dragged into the kitchen.Sarah and Simon exchanged a look abd silently decided to leave them alone.Half an hour later, Harry and Alicia joined them.Simon's father was obviously the parent he looked like.He too was tall, his hair was, although not really long, curly and he also had that unexplainable orange circle around the core of his eyes, but they were a dark brown, in contrast to his son's.

They both landed on their chairs with momentum.Their faces were tired and grim."We decided." Alicia said."We're going to have to let you go." his father continued for her.He was able to keep his cool, but he was on the border of losing it."It's...hard for all of us, but there's no other way.You, us and Liza will be in danger if you stay.You'll have to go.But I want you to promise!You WILL return.You must find a way to come back!" he said with force.

"I understand dad.I'll return.I'll kill my pursuers if I need to, but I'll return." Simon answered.And he really was determined to escape these people, even at the cost of taking their lives.They deserve it anyway...

"Good.Will you stay for lunch, to say goodbye to Liza?" his mother asked, trying to delay the inevitable.Now that she knew he would leave, she wanted to see as much of him as possible.But he wasn't the one to answer...

"No.We have to go.It's essential that we're quick in finding our other member.He's waiting for me right now, I can't be any more late." Sarah said, surprising them.But they didn't try to refuse.They all stood up and looked at each other.In tears, Alicia hugged her son, followed by Harry."Make sure you get back." he said in a damp voice, he was about to cry like his wife.

"I will.I will dad.Goodbye mom." Simon replied in the same voice barely holding back.He was kissed by his mom on the forehead.She had a hard time letting him go from her arms."Goodbye." he said one last time, while getting out of the door.

When they got out and closed the door, he wiped his eyes and hardened himself."Let's go.Lead the way." he turned to Sarah.Avoiding to answer, she started walking away.As he followed, he turned his head and gave a last look to his house, unable to predict if he would back at some point.I hope so...

he thought and hastened his pace to catch up to Sarah.

Technopath

After a walking a distance, Sarah stopped at a bus stop."We'll have to continue by bus, it's too far to walk all the way." she explained as she turned to him.

They weren't alone at the stop so they couldn't freely talk.They waited in there in silence, looking at the direction the bus would come from.Simon couldn't stop thinking how crazy the situation was.In just a few hours his life had turned completely around and there was no turning back.He didn't know what the future had in store for him, he didn't know if he would ever get away from the world he got involved in.

His thoughts were interupted by the bus and Sarah's tug on his arm.He followed her inside and saw relieved that there were few people using it.They sat at the far back, having made a certain distance from even the closest passenger.Some moments after it started, she turned to him.

"How are you feeling?Are you alright?" she asked concerned.As she mentioned before, she had gone throught that stage too, she knew it was difficult.

"Define alright." he said in joking tone."Don't worry, I'll manage.It's not like I'll be gone forever.And I did promise that I would return." he added in a more reassuring voice.

"Well...if you say so..." she answered a little skeptical.They fell in silence once again.Neither of them knew what to say, Simon might not even have wanted to say something, he was lost deep in his thoughts.

After some stops, Sarah stood up."Come on, the next stop is where we're getting off." she told him.In turn, he stood up and followed her to the door.When the bus stopped and they exited, they found themselves in a quiet neighborhood.After looking a little lost, Sarah's face brightened and she confidently walked across the road.Simon followed her and, after some walking between the houses, she stopped.She was looking at a bulding with two floors and a small yard in front of it.She looked a little unsure, but then she noticed the name on the mailbox and relaxed."We're here." she said.

"So, Nick is supposed to be here.Does he live in this place?" he asked.He had expected an apartement, a hideout or something along the lines, he didn't expect a perfectly normal house."I mean, is this his?"

"No, not really.He moves from house to house.Whenever there's an empty house, for whatever reason, he uses it as his base.Don't worry, he steals nothing and leaves it the way he found it." she replied.

"Oh, ok." he said.He was getting a little nervous now.Would Nick approve of him?What was he like?Would he be annoyed at his presence?He couldn't predict that.So, he simply took a deep breath and followed Sarah, who had oppened the door of the yard.

They walked up to the door of the house and she rang the bell.They heard no response from the mechanism, so instead she knocked the door.She waited a little but noone answered, so she knocked again.Once more, there was no reaction so she tried to knock a third time.But when her hand reached for the door, the door oppened and it only found air in it's way.On the doorstep was a young man wearing a white tank top and dark pants.In his hand was a stun gun, but it looked somewhat different than usual.It looked more...high-tech.He had shoulder-length blond hair, which encircled a normal face.At that moment, that normal face was wearing a frown but it dissipated into a smile when he saw Sarah.He didn't ask any questions or even say anything, he only looked around and then gestured them to get in.When they got in what seemed like a corridor that would lead to you to the inside of the house, he closed and locked the door.

"How are you Sarah?I haven't seen you in some time." he said as he went to the other side of the corridor, where it ended with a door to it's side.

"I'm fine, what about you?Still leeching off of innocent people?" she said, obviously joking with him.It was apparent that they knew each other well.

"I prefer to say that I accept the hospitality of the unknowing owners.But leave that aside, I see you brought company with you." he said, shooting a curious look to Simon."Your name?" he asked, talking to him for the first time.

"I'm Simon." he answered.

"Nick.Nice to meet you." Nick said and offered his hand.Simon hesitated for a second but took it anyway."Nice to meet you too." he said.

"Well, is he another useful person you stumbled upon on your way here?" he returned to Sarah as he let go of his hand.

"Let's go inside so I can explain from the beginning." Sarah said.Without answering, he guided them into the living room and sat on a chair in front of a table.Simon and Sarah sat on the couch at the opposite side.Without further ado, she narrated everything that happened to her, begining some minutes before she met Simon.She spared no details, she told him everything.He didn't interrupt, but he had a surpised reaction when he heard that Simon was a dormant ESPer.

"So that means that we officially got another member!" Nick said and relaxed.Before, he seemed like a friendly stranger.Now, his atmosphere changed to that of an older brother.A full smile decorated his face.

"Ok, first things first.What we need to do now is have something to eat.Simon, come with me." he said, catching Simon off-guard.Surpised, he followed him into the kitchen."I just wanted to personally welcome you.It isn't every day that we get another ESPer." he told him.Then, he flicked his arm to the direction of the stove and it oppened on it's own.That caught Simon even more off-guard.

"Haha, that's my power." Nick said, laughing with Simon's startled look."I have technopathy.I can understand and manipulate devices any way I want." he said and oppened the fridge to take something."Have you determined the nature of your power?" he asked as he oppened a cabinet.

"No, I haven't.I only know I have one." he answered, feeling a little more comfortable with Nick's behaviour.

"That can be fixed.Go inside, I'll bring the food and we'll discuss that then."

Your power is...

As he was told, Simon returned to the living room.This time, he sat on a sofa.He then sighed and relaxed.It had gone much better than he had expected.Sarah had probably predicted what would happen between them, so she didn't ask him anything.He closed his eyes and let his mind wander, distracting himself while he was waiting.

Some minutes later, Nick appeared from the kitchen, holding three plates and skillfuly balancing a third one on his left forearm.He placed the first two in front of his guests and kept the last for himself.Before they could speak, he told them to leave the talking for later, when they had finished.A little reluctant at first, they agreed.

They ate in silence, until Nick had the idea of oppening the TV, of course not caring to search for the controler, he simply used his power.They continued and finished under the sound of daily news.

"Now then, I believe he have many things to talk about." Nick started."First of all, we have to determine our new member's type of power.It's essential that we know what you're capable of, Simon.To do that, we need to perform a small ceremony.Sarah could only provide you with the first test, because this second one requires at least two fully fledged ESPers.As with the first one, she will bombard you with mental pulses, which you will store in your head.But this time, I will use my power to focus those pulses in order to stimulate the part of your brain that governs over you powers.To make a long story short, us together can awaken you.During the awakening, your power will appear and we'll be able to deduce it's nature."

"Don't worry it isn't dangerous.Remember that light-headed feeling you got in the first test?That will be the only consequence again, only it will be a little stronger." she reassured him.

"You don't have to persuade me, I don't intend to back off now.I'm ready to take it." he answered."I suppose we'll do it now, right?"

"Yes.There's no point in delaying it." Nick said and went to his side, as did Sarah."Close your eyes and relax, it won't take long." he advised.Then, he nodded to her to begin.She focused on Simon, her concentration being apparent in her eyes.At that point, he felt something in his head.It was like that pressure water gives you when you dive a little deeper than usual.It was like the last time, but it was more intense, as she had warned him.But, suddenly, the pressure started changing, applying pressure to different parts of his brain.At least that's what he felt, the pressure now wasn't spread out evenly in his head.The force was growing more powerful, he now couldn't hear anything except a dull noise.He started losing his sense of touch too.

Then, all of a sudden, it stopped.He oppened his eyes but it took him a while to comprehend that what he was looking at was the table that was on fire.Shocked, he looked around and saw Nick bringing a fire extinguisher.After he put out the fire, he collapsed relieved on the couch.

"That's one down." he said."But who would have thought." Sarah replied from behind Simon and then she entered his field of view."It was quite unexpected." she added."Well I was sure it was going to be something new, but not so different." he agreed.

Confused, he was only sure that they were talking about his power.What could it have been to set fire to the table?"Care to explain what happened?"

"A fine display of power, that's what happened." Nick said and smiled to him."You have quite an agressive power." he added.

Simon then turned to Sarah."What is he talking about?What IS my power?" he asked, kind of upset over their mysterious remarks."Stop beating around the bush and tell me."

"Alright, alright.When you entered a trance, something crackled at your fingertips.When we turned to look, a lightning bolt errupted from them and hit the table, putting it on fire.Your power is probably the control over electric currents, one that is similar to Nick's.It's quite a useful talent." she answered him as she made her way to the chair Nick was formerly sitting on.

"Controlling electric currents?Is that really a psychic power?Because it doesn't really sound like one to me." he said.

"I did say it was quite...different." Nick answered."Still, it isn't unheard of that someone can impact the material world with his powers.Other powers of that category are telekinesis and pyrokinesis."

"Do you think we could ask of Teo to train him?Since their powers fall under the same category, he should be able to help him better than us." Sarah suggested.

"Actually, I was already thinking about that.Teo should be returning from his mission in the near future.I'll go call him."

"Who's Teo?You should really to keep me up to date, I don't know a thing." Simon cut him, after getting lost in their conversation again.

"He's another comrade of ours.Teo is pyrokinetic, he can set inorganic matter on fire.He's fairly strong, considering he's only 17 years old.Now, I'll go call him." he said and left the room.

"How many of us are in this country?" Simon asked, surprised that there was another ESPer there.

"As of now, we're four.You, me, Nick and Teo.But Nick is from the US and Teo is from France, so you could say that this country's ESPers are us two." she answered.

"Oh I get it.So, this country is like your base of operations?"

"For now, yes.We tend to move around so we're not tracked.While we're at the country" she continued, probably predicting his next question,"we carry out missions to either save other ESPers or sabotage the two organisations."

"And what is Teo's mission at the time?" Simon asked.

"He has infiltrated an enemy building.Basicaly, espionage."

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 17.11.2012

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