Bad Beginnings

In Europe, a sprawling city was built, a city for new hopes and new dreams, based on old fashioned ideals and traditions, created in the image of mother nature's own perfection but furnished with the latest in cutting edge technology, this city was to be the city of all cities. This brought builders and merchants, bankers and business men from all around the world, they would shake hands and make deals, batter for wears and sell what was no longer needed to foreign markets to further bring forward this great city. Yet, with all good intentions and the highest of hopes, there are always those that bring corruption to an unpolluted entity. Novum Aurora, The New Dawn, would it truly live up to it's namesake?


It was late and it was pitch black, the sky-scraping buildings truly earning their name as their towering masses bloated out the skies above and caste elongated tendril-like shadows onto the ground below and for miles around. In this sprawling city, so many buildings so close together made it impossible for the stars to beam down their glorious light down upon this city of pleasure and more importantly... sin. In a small corner of the giant metropolis of Novum Aurora, two particular individuals of "unique" character were in the middle of a rather sloppy skirmish. A large man, of unusual proportions held a young and much more supple woman prisoner within his grip, the whole time a third party was watching from on high with an insatiable lust for action.


A struggle, rather short lived and of little interest took place, the only unusual aspect was that the only one seemingly more afraid and harmed was the larger man who had at first seemed to have the situation completely in his favour only to be seen fleeing at break neck speed, crashing and charging carelessly through the darkened streets. Unhindered by his hulking frame his reflexes for someone of such heft was almost baffling, his long shadow casting stranger and stranger shapes as he rounded yet more corner's yet all the while, eye's from above the metal and glass peered down using their piercing, all-seeing deep gaze. Watching, creeping, silently pondering, twisted machinations swirling like a endless vortex, focused with keen sense's for the individual below. Soon it would be time to strike, soon.


A man with reptilian qualities hide in the darkest corner of the darkest alley he could find, his mind still flailing around in pain from his mental wounds, his pain still racked his mind and dulled his sense's, he chose this neat little nest to hide from anyone who would torment him further but his disillusioned mind had been so preoccupied with pain he hadn't even noticed another foul soul lingering dauntingly close. It remained completely still, observing and watching the great beast fall so low and watched as the animal began to lower it's guard thinking itself so safe and sheltered in it's little hole. It was only sometime later that the animal began to feel a great sense of unease and then sharply his keen sense of smell relapsed into life and his basic instinct's began to recognise a foreign presence, unlike anything the beast had seen or met before, there was the distinct lack of smell in the air around this being, it left no scent in the air to track or to find. The great man rose, slapping his tail against the wall and turning to face the entity that stood before him. It felt both human and beast to him, both part life and part death.

"W..what.. wretched thing... are you? Sneaking up on me... following me to my home...who.. who do you think your messing with... I..I oughta shred you limb from limb!" His mind unable to focus completely but his basic animal instincts still pulsed to the surface with thoughts of self preservation and the need to beat back this would be opponent. He inhaled hard, puffing up his chest and throwing back his shoulders as if hoping a display of raw force would cause the shadowy figure to flee in terror but there was no movement, temporarily there was a stand-off, no one moved or even exhaled. It was the lizard that barked with more authority this time, having regained his mental fortitude and gained confidence having now immersed himself in his own familiar surroundings, he was curious now, most fled at the very sight of him and few remained after he built himself up and towered over those around him, he wanted to know who exactly had followed him and for what purpose.

"Not a big talker eh? Maybe I just spill your guts here and now and try to decide from your entrails whether your friend or foe if you really don't feel like telling your old pal here what it is you exactly want from someone like me?" His words rang around him in this concealed alley, bouncing from wall to wall, so thick and deep were these back alleys that no sound would even pass near another soul who would pass by, that's why this spot had been picked to hide from the cruel, bitter world that lay just outside these hollowed out alleys and streets.


The reptilian grew impatient with his rather unwelcome guest, he only seemed to further test his patience with complete silence and foreboding. The figure twitched in the vague light that lay around them, it seemed to spasm and jerk rapidly as if convulsing or in pain. The lizard had no idea whether this "thing" would attack or flee but its sudden erratic movements pushed the lizard from cautious optimism to fright and murderous intent. Swiftly pushing hard against the ground with his massive legs, the lizard swung himself around bringing his tail in for a swipe, hitting down hard and with a thud there was a great splattering of blood as the unspeaking guest hit the wall behind them hard and fast, slumping down and there it remained silent and still. Curious to find out what exactly it was he had splattered so nicely against his wall, the reptile strode forward, covering great distance with each stride of his muscular, scaled and clawed legs and toes. There was a human body, laying crumpled against the wall, blood dripped from it's head to it's legs, covering it in a thick crimson that shimmered in the twinkling dim lights of this little "cave". Proud of himself, he laughed at the corpse that lay before him, no longer afraid, feeling reassured in his victory and comforted by his own home to shelter him.


He slashed with his claws along the already tattered and ripped clothes, sinking his fingers in long and deep, savouring the kill perhaps after only early failing to mug a girl only half his size and stature. He thought for a moment and decided on something new turning his back to the crumpled mess at the wall, he moved off but as he took his first step, his sense's flared wildly, almost in disarray, he couldn't take in the new information his mind began to give him. The person he thought broken and beat, dead by his hand was standing up once more, in silence it stood up on it's feet, blood squirted out from the open wound with the sudden movement and splattered to the floor, alerting the already tense beast back into action. A fight ensued before silence once again was restored, temporarily. A blood curdling scream rang out, silenced against the great noise of the bustling mid-night streets beyond but it pierced through the empty back alleys and side passages that those not wishing to be found could be found. It woke those that had been sleeping rough, it tormented those that had wandered into the wrong neighbourhood by accident and even those who made such a horrible place their residence left in fear and dismay.


Blood poured into the open drainage gutter beside the corpse as it bleed out, glazed over eye's slowly closed for their last time and the breathe within it's lungs shot forth and was free.


The lizard lay dead, his crimson regret fled from him like a river and the quivering mass was nowhere to be seen.

Who was that scaly man?

“Look, lady. Just give me what you have and I’ll let you go.”, the attacker spoke a little more at a normal volume, though still retaining that sense of urgency and the tension that he held onto Fayth’s hair and the knife at her neck. It was useless to struggle against his grip, as the hair close to her scalp was encased within the iron fist grip of the attacker and any sudden, violent attempts to wriggle herself free would result in the blade accidentally cutting her throat open.

Fayth quickly reached within the tender awareness of her psychic power and focused her attention upon the thoughts of her attacker. As their minds touched one another, Fayth could faintly hear disconnected pieces of the attacker’s thoughts.

“-it, shit, shit… fuck have I…n’t look like she ha…er pockets…maybe she’s go…”, the thoughts were incoherent and nonsense, but the mental link was weak between them and Fayth did not intent to read her attacker’s mind, for that wasn’t going to help her to escape.

Fayth quickly conjured a surge of intense and raw sensations and solidified it with a hard casing of her will, then forcefully sent it through the psychic connection with her attacker. The mental projectile shattered whatever mental barriers that the attacker had erected from the tension that they held, and exploded upon impact with their mind. Pain stabbed through the mind of her attacker, piercing attention and thoughts, and ripping areas of the psyche.

The attacker painfully cried out and released their grip on both Fayth’s hair and the knife held at her throat. Though the psychic explosion destroyed the fragile mental link between them, a spike of pain returned back upon Fayth’s psyche and she gasped in discomfort and surprise. Her mind became disorientated from the blow and nauseating dizziness washed over her, forcing her collapsing to the ground on her four limbs and breathing hastily and heavily to calm the unpleasant sensations.

After a moment or two, she quickly recovered and turned back to face her attacker, focusing her mind once again to deliver another psychic blow if necessary. Groaning came from where her attacker was, and Fayth thrust her mind forward, only to found another that was ablaze. She sensed that her attacker’s was still burning with pain from the psychic blast, and like putting a hand into a fire, she recoiled back upon the touch. But she could still feel the erratic pressure thrashing about within the attacker’s mind, spawning more of the disorganised thoughts and unpleasant sensations.

The attacker was hunched over on their knees, with their head held intensely in their hands. Though it was dark, Fayth could see that the attacker wore a plain brown jacket and dark, baggy trousers. What drew her attention to the attacker though was their skin, which appeared to be covered in scales. Fayth also noticed a scaled tail that was frantically thrashing about, making deep thudding noises as it hit the ground. As soon as she absorbed the sight of this, her battle spirit was soothed to curiosity and she drew closer to her attacker to get a better look.

As she did, the groaning and mental discomfort died down, but Fayth was by the attacker’s side, crouching next to them and placing a hand on their back.

“Hey? You alright there?”, she asked tentatively, aware that her psychic blast had done more damaged than she had mean to.

Her attacker flinched at the sound but slowly looked up to the sound of her voice, trailing their eyes up to meet hers. But in that instant, her attacker panicked and wildly lunged into Fayth, uncontrollably throwing their clawed hands into whatever made contact. Both of them fell into a heap of their bodies and it ended with Fayth on her back with her attacker on top, clawing at her arms that partially shielded her face from the onslaught. But as quickly as the scrap had occurred, Fayth felt the weight of her attacker lifted from her body and she could hear feet scurrying away as her attacker fled the scene.

Fayth lowered her arms and achingly gathered herself up. The sleeves of her hoodie were ripped to shreds, which revealed that her arms and the exposed areas of her face were covered in bleeding cuts, and she could feel bruises developing in places where she had been hit and landed. Although the encounter had left her a little shaken up, her attention was entirely focused on her escaped attacker. She started to head in the direction of where she has heard the footsteps run off to, crying out and mentally scanning for mind of the attacker, but after a few minutes of searching, she was unsuccessful. Her mind was racing with excitement and she decided to run back to the rendezvous point, as she was eager to tell Reina of what had happened.

-

“Finally, I was startin-holy dreams! Are you okay?! What happened?!”, Reina emerged from her bedroom, dressed in her oversized pajamas, when Fayth returned back to their rendezvous point. Their rendezvous point and base of operation was in actual fact the apartment that they shared together. A cosy flat on the second floor of the building near the university campus; it wasn’t huge in terms of space but it wasn’t terribly tiny to be uncomfortable for residence. It was furnished with second-hand items that were slightly marred though not completely ruined beyond comfortableness, and the walls were painted in a horrid cream colour that was standard in most rented accommodation near the university campus. The living room greeted people when they entered the apartment, where to the right resided the kitchen next to bedroom, which was opposite another bedroom and a bathroom on the other side of the living room. The floor was carpeted light blue and utterly spotless, as were the rest of the surfaces in the apartment; it was surreally neat and organised that one would have thought the flat was the showcase display for potential new residents.

Fayth certainly thought that at times when she entered her apartment, but not on this occasion. Her mind still ecstatic with thoughts of her attacker, but she could sense the rush of Reina’s frantic worry as her friend went over to her.

“Rei-Rei! I ran into someone with a power, and they sort of attacked me, b-”, Fayth burst out as soon as she came through the door, but she was soon interrupted by her flatmate.

“They attacked you!?”, Reina’s concern for her grew intense and Fayth could feel it tickling the edges of her psychic senses and threatening to overwhelm her.

“Yeah. Look, stop fussing for a moment. Your emotions are a bit all over the place right now…”

“Right, sorry.”, taking a few deep inhales of breathe, Reina forced her distress for Fayth to calm and the tension she held onto began to subside. Her worries did not disappear completely but they were merely minimised; contained and kept at mental bay to avert the risk of another explosive expression that would torment her friend’s mind. If something terrible had happened to Fayth, then her concerns would only further hammer at her friend’s psyche, which she assumed would be fragile from the trauma.

“Thanks. Honestly, I’m fine. Just a few cuts and bruises. But did you hear what I said? There’s someone out there who might be like us!”

“A power? What makes you say that?”, Reina asked and waited with anticipation.

“Yeah, I think I saw they were part-lizard or something. I don’t know, I only saw a little bit before they got away. I tried running after them, but they were damn fast. Do you think you could use your powers and see where they went…?”

“I don’t think I can. My visions don’t work like that, and I would need something of theirs to get a vision from.”

“Ahh, damn”, Fayth cursed as she remembered the knife that her attacker had dropped. In the thrill of the situation, she had completely forgotten about it and she didn’t notice if it had been retrieved or left out on the streets. Already, the late evening was shifting to a darkened night, and if she were to go back out to recover the weapon, she could get lost within the maze network of the city streets. Just like the last light falling victim to the night, Fayth’s enthusiasm began to wane at the unlikelihood of finding her attacker.

“Sorry.”, Reina apologised as she could see the glowing excitement begin to fade away in her friend’s eyes. But she quickly had a thought and shared it with Fayth in hopes of comforting her. “Maybe we could go check out where it happened and I’ll see if I can pick anything up, if we get up early enough?”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea!”, Fayth beamed at the idea and hugged her friend in appreciation.

Reina hugged back, glad to see Fayth hopeful. But she was left curious and though she didn’t express it as openly as her friend, she too was stirred by the prospect of meeting another like them, another with a power…

Am I inappropriately dressed for crime-fighting?

“Behind you!”, Fayth psychically screamed at Reina, who was in the midst of tying up a gang of armed robbers. Reina had temporally frozen and apprehended most of the gang and was in the process of tying them so the proper authorities could deal with them, although she had forgotten to securely disarm one of the robbers, who revealed a gun from a hidden holster on their person. Since working with Fayth, Reina had grown accustomed to the telepathic warnings that she received and immediately ducked without looking to see what the danger was. Stretching out her hand and focusing her will into stopping whatever attack that would have been a fatal one, Reina froze the armed robber just as he fired the shot. Taking a moment to compose and stand herself upright, Reina concentrated on the temporal frozen robber while immediately scanning for any potential threats that might creep up on her. She even consulted Fayth to mentally scan the untied robbers’ thoughts to see if they posed any further risk to her. Once she was given the all clear, Reina stalked over to frozen armed robber, disarmed his weapon and delivered a hard blow to his nose, releasing the temporal stasis at the moment just before she made contact with his face.

“Great, now my sari is dirty”, Reina muttered angrily under her breathe as she started to tie up the robber.

“No time for appearances, dear. Let’s wrap this up and get gone from here. I can see the lights of the police approaching…” Fayth telepathically urged Reina. From her place on top of a four-storey building, Fayth had access to the view of the street of where the events had taken place. It was from there where she could assist Reina without being seen by civilians and avoid the intense liveliness of the situation. To anyone passing by, Fayth would just seem like any other civilian, who happened to be witnessing the events, thus avoiding suspicion that Fayth was actually involved at all. Even if she did arouse suspicion, Fayth could easily convince them otherwise, placing suggestions within their mental thought processes if she needed to.

“Alright, I’m done now. I’ll meet you back at rendezvous point.”

Fayth gathered herself and left the rooftop by the fire escape, which led down into the dark, damp alleyway below. Once she stepped out from the shadows, she began a casual jog back to the designated place. Dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie, Fayth would appear like a night-time jogger in the city, further avoiding any suspicion and passing off as an innocent civilian. As she took a few turns and minor detours along her jog, Fayth turned a corner of a street and was greeted with a faint, ominous feeling picked up by her psychic senses. Although it was weak, Fayth sensed the hint of desperation and tension nearby, almost as if someone was anticipating for something to happen. Fayth quickly dismissed it when she could see no immediate danger in the vicinity, but her pace quickened, as the anticipation leaked into her own feelings and facilitated her jogging speed.

She jogged past a darkened alleyway, and to her surprise, a person jumped out and barged her to the ground, crashing her side into the ground and knocking the breath out from her. Disorientated, Fayth attempted to scramble away from her attacker, but her hair was grabbed from behind and pulled back so that her neck arched backwards. Without so much as a warning, Fayth could feel the cold surface of a blade pressed lightly against her exposed neck and she could feel the heated breath of her attacker close against her left ear. To her psychic senses, she could feel the attacker’s heightened adrenaline, the exerted pressure that they applied in restraining her hair and steadying the knife against her throat, and that same feeling of anxiety and nervousness, only much clearer now that their physical and psychic presence was closer to Fayth now.

“G-give me all your money!”, her attacker practically shouted in her ear. She could hear the panic and urgency evident in his voice, which also extended to the hand holding the knife to her throat, as it was slightly shaking with tension.

Fayth remained still, intently aware of the blade and trying to not move a muscle in case the slightest movement resulted in her throat being sliced opened. In desperation, Fayth mentally screamed out to Reina, but when her friend’s thoughts did not answer her psychic distress, she knew that she was alone and on her own for this.

First Post - Neil Sylvain

The house was surprisingly devoid of objects. The only things one could find in there were plastic utensils and plastic plates, glasses. There were no devices around, no computer, no stereo, no TV, not even light bulbs, for some bizarre reason the housekeeper never understood. There weren't any bathroom stuff either, no towels, no shampoo, no sponges. The house was underdecorated, it hardly even had the walls painted after he moved in. No one was sure that he even stayed there at any time, because the bed still had that transparent cover on, made of plastic. 
Little did they know that he was there all the time, just too quiet for them to hear. Living alone, like a prisoner. The only people he would see were the housekeeper that was coming by every month for the rent and that woman, a bit older than him, from the sight of it. And not bad looking either. The neighbours would peek from their doors every time she appeared with her fancy car, her business suit and her red hair that barely reached her neck. She always carried a picnic basket with her and a briefcase made of some non-metallic material. She was quite pretty, in a dangerous fashion, but she would always visit him once in a while, with that basket and that briefcase, though the briefcase was only showing up once per month.
She was the only visitor that didn't mean to ask him for the rent and the only person that came in and out of that apartment. He wasn't ever leaving.
So, just like that, she appeared one more time, with the same basket and the same briefcase. She walked in the building and headed straight to his apartment. She knocked the door and he let her in. She took a pair of rubber gloves and put them on, before handing him the briefcase.
"You didn't miscount, I hope." He said.
"I told you, Neil, I could buy this little sorry apartment for you, instead of worrying every time for the freaking rent. Paying rent is so... Not my style."
"I am not sure how long I'll get to stay here, so I don't want you to make an investment that won't work." She chuckled in response.
"When will you learn? All of my investments work. Oh, I brought something Greek this time. I don't remember how my chef called it. Moussaka, I think." She said and put the basket on the table. He approached and took a tupper from inside. He opened it, grabbed one of the plastic forks and started eating.
"I am working on a cure, you know. So that you'll get back."
"There's no cure, Eleanor. Nothing can fix this."
"You never know. I am not giving up on you, like you never gave up on your dreams until now. This situation has cursed you and I am not letting you throw everything away just because you can't touch anything or anyone. I will find a way to get this thing away from you or I'll make a special section, entirely made of rubber, just for you."
"That's sweet, but yeah, try focusing your powers on something else, something more important." She threw a side-glare at him.
"Nothing is more important than you."

Prologue.

Since the beginning of humanity, people have always been a mystery to the journey of life. For they grow up, walk, learn, gather, hunt, fight, breed, nurture their offspring, grow old and die. The never-ending cycle of a human’s life is forever consistent, never deviating or straying off on a tangent from these important stages. Through their epic voyage of this world, their desire for more lingers, and so in between the major aspects, humans find themselves occupied with the minor details, such as entertainment, experience, integrity, joy, laughter, love, memories, passion, and significant moments that are special to them. All in all, the human nature is a complex one.

It was through their need to ensure their own survival and that of their offspring that humans developed a number of tools and skills to endure the harsh conditions that they faced. Certain abilities and behaviours were seen to advantage individuals who possessed such traits, particularly in grave times of living in an unknown environment. These adaptive qualities would also serve to help and guarantee the success of passing along their genetics through the survival of their offspring. Thus, the more offspring that were reproduced and survived, the more adaptive they were within the dangerous surroundings, and the likelihood of their own survival and reproduction.

It wasn't until Charles Darwin proposed the idea of natural selection and the evolutionary process whereby humans had evolved to adopt certain characteristics. Although some traits served an adaptive purpose in the past, their evolutionary advantage has long since expired in this day and age. Within this mechanical and technological development, humanity faces new threats and their own evolutionary survival tools that their ancestors had secured for them may not be so beneficial and suitable now. Indeed, the game has changed for many of us, and more than ever now, new traits are required if we are to confront and live through the oncoming storm of uncertainty.

Thus, just like the continuous changes to a person’s self-concept, the endless reforms of societal norms and structures, and the ever shifting seasons throughout the year, the evolution of humans is not locked in stasis and must too undergo a much needed adjustment period. However, the evolutionary process is gradual and requires a direction in which to change humanity for the better. Coincidentally during one summer, a destabilised reaction from the Sun caused an outburst of hazardous radiation, which was set towards the planet that would devastate the ecosystem and inhabited life on Earth. Despite the organisation of military personnel and scientific research, they were unsuccessful in diverting the solar radiation from its course towards Earth. While all hope was lost and the planet was nearing annihilation, an unexpected turn of events occurred when the solar radiation penetrated the outer atmosphere but lost its momentum once within the inner layers of the atmosphere. The radiation hovered there for some time before it dispersed and extinguished from the skies.

Unknowingly, the weakened solar radiation attached itself to humans and soaked into their cells, and became the catalyst that would initiate the much needed evolutionary transformation. Since then, there are certain individuals who may be currently undergoing or who have already experienced this evolutionary transformation. Among the everyday groups and societies, people are beginning to exhibit special and unique traits that may facilitate or inhibit their physical, mental and spiritual growth. In these strange and abnormal times, they will go through new experiences and form new friendships and enemies in line with their recently developed qualities. They will be hesitant to react with the choices to make about that aspect of themselves, but there is one certain thing that they will come to realise about their human nature:

A life, a little less ordinary.

Our story begins in Novum Aurora, a recently developed city within Europe, which has flourished with the vitality of people from all over the world. It is in this city where we follow the lives of certain individuals who may possess such evolutionary developed traits and the new adventures and hazards that they may face due to their extraordinary qualities.