Chapter Two

June 24th, morning, Midtown, Manhattan.

Part one

“Sir I need you to close down your store, it’s been labeled as a public threat,” a curly haired girl said to the elderly man placing a sign on the windows and doors.

“I don’t understand what’s going on here?” The elderly man replied watching Public Safety Servants search his store and shunted his customers out of his establishment; he wasn’t sure why Public Safety was in his store telling him to close down.

"You can't search my property without a warrant!"

The woman hands the store owner a paper, reading the warrant he sighed looking around his store.

“Sir, traces of synchrotron radiation were detected in your establishment so for your--”

The man elderly man was dumbfounded not because of the bomb but from the words the woman said. “Syncha-what? What are you talking about, lass?” The elderly man hollered at the woman and her colleagues.

“Ma'am, I found something you should come and look.”

The woman walks over to her partner who was staring at a firetruck on the lower shelf.

“A firetruck?” The woman said, tilting her head, she wasn’t sure if her colleague was making fun of her in this situation. “Are you joking with me? At a time like this?”

Holding the device up to the toy, the number skyrockets.

“No ma'am not this time! This toy is giving off the same readings as the other objects we found a few days ago from previous sites. Synchrotron radiation is higher compared to previous records.”

“Okay we need to…”

An audible click comes from the children’s toy followed by loud humming noise escaping from the fire truck and before their eyes the toy starts collapsing in on itself.

“Shit!”

The woman and her colleague were engulfed in a flash of white radiance, the windows were blown out by the explosion. Inside of the store was no longer recognizable. “McKenzie are you alright? McKenzie?!” The woman protected the store owner from the devastating blast, the elderly man was in awe about his store.

She called her colleague’s name, but she didn’t get a reply. She helped the store owner up and pointed him to the door. Searching the ruined store, she found her partner trapped under a pile of rubble unconscious and injured.

On her radio she called for an ambulance as she aids her injured partner.

“The bomb tore right through level 3 ballistic armor. I must report this immediately. Hold on, help is on the way!”

*******

“And that’s pretty much it. That’s what happened yesterday afternoon involving those random bomb threats. I hope you’re listening to me, Kuniva,” Jasmine said as she dips her hand in and out of his space as he reads his book on Magnetohydrodynamics. “Hum hum… Public Safety hasn’t found the guy responsible for the bombings?”

“Not yet.”

Jasmine purchased two canned beverages from a nearby vending machine. She tosses one to Kuniva and points to the soda can. “From what the report said the culprit is using anything that’s aluminum as a base for the bomb. The object in use is detonated through synchrotron, once at critical mass is reached, it is then dispersed outwards greatly impacting its surroundings with tremendous force.”

Kuniva turns the can around and carefully studies the can. "Using aluminum as a base, interesting."

Jasmine opens the can of soda but didn’t drink it instead pours it down the storm drain. “Luckily there haven't been any fatalities but we should find the bomber soon before it reaches that point. But the only problem is we have yet to figure out who’s the culprit.”

“Why not just run the person’s ability info through the Public Safety database. If you search for that matching ability, then you should be able to find the suspect.”

Kuniva hands Jasmine the canned beverage. Jasmine takes the soda and opens it and proceeds to pour out the drink.

“The biotic that has control of synchrotrons is a high school boy named Joshua Santiago, a Category 4. There’s no other Category 4 synchrotron manipulator in the city that can do this but him.” Jasmine raised the plam of her hand showing a picture of the person in question on her Network Sleeve.

“Ok, you found a suspect. Why not go and question him?”

Jasmine shakes her head, tossing away the empty soda can.

“That’s the problem.”

“What do you mean by that? It can’t be that difficult… right?” Kuniva asked meekly.

“The bombings started two weeks ago. The suspect in question has been hospitalized before the chain of events happened. From Joshua's medical records, he’s been in a coma after a serious car accident. So, forget about him, he hasn’t regained consciousness and we can’t arrest or question a person who isn’t responsive. That'll make Public Safety look bad in many ways. He’s off the table.”

Kuniva closed his book and vacated the park with Jasmine.

“Is it possible someone is using another person's identity to commit the bombings?”

"Framing? Not likely. It’s not easy getting that info from the Public Safety database, with heavy security implemented it can only be done on the inside and to top it off a security team consisting of the FBI, Public Safety, and Cyber Security would have been dispatched to the person's residence for infiltrating government property. So, I'm ruling that out of the equation. I feel like I'm overlooking something,” Jasmine said.

*******

Part two, Old Lower Manhattan

“Hey, Marquis.”

“Yeo, where are you off to, Shantae?”

“To the store for a sandwich before class starts. I’m tired of eating cereal in the morning.”

They left the school grounds and went into a nearby store picking up some food. After paying for their breakfast they head towards the school park sitting on the bench eating their meal facing the school building.

“I almost forgot, you should check out this new song.”

Shante hands Marquis a pair of headphones she pairs her Network Sleeve to Marquis Network Sleeve. He puts the headphone on and hits the play button and Marquis’s eyes widen.

“This beat is fire! This is that new single that was released a few weeks back. The artist is extremely popular and number one the most listened to artist of this year.”

When Marquis pressed the skip button, he raised an eyebrow and continued to press the skip button.

“Huh? Why do all the songs sound like they merged into one and distorted?”

Shantae looks at over at Marquis pressing the skip button. “Yeah, that’s the website media player. That might be the reason you hear that.”

Marquis takes off the headphones and hands them back to her and eats his sandwich then looks at the time.

“How much did you pay for that song?”

“Eh, It was free times cheaper compared to buying a physical cd copy. New music writers can publish their work when they want too without the music industry greedy fingers involved. Having something like this is amazing.”

“I agree but you better be cautious when using sites like that. For all you know the site can be lurking with hackers and malicious data.”

“What website isn’t being looked at? Ah~”

Marquise squints his eyes nodding his head in approval. They finished their breakfast and headed off to class.

*******

A young man in his early twenties wearing a black hoodie walked by and bumped shoulders with a male bystander. He bumps shoulders with another person, the pedestrian turns around cursing him, but he continues to walk, not answering back to the person. Unable to hear with earphones on.

“Hmm?”

He felt something touch his back. Naturally he turns around to see who it was but instead he was greeted with a punch to the nose.

“Guhha!”

The man who he had bumped into grabs him by the hood.

“That was rude of you. When you bump into someone you turn around and apologize.”

“B…but you’re the one that bumped into me first why should I have to apologize?”

Not pleased with the choice of words rolling off the young man’s tongue. The aggressor strikes him several times until his nose starts to bleed.

“Know your damn place, trash,” the attacker said, shoving young man's face into a dirty puddle.

“Hey you! Come over here right now!”

A Public Safety servants shouted as they sprinted over to the scene.

The man and his friends laughed as they walked away. Public Safety helps the injured boy up on his feet however, he was shoved away.

“Can’t rely on you Public Safety jack assess for nothing!” he said through his teeth, walking away.

*******

The classroom was silent, only the sound of chalk scratching against the blackboard and the scratching of pencils against paper was audible.

“Ok class, make sure you write this down and remember it well for it will be on the final test. Origin Fields- invisible fields produced by stigmata nodules when induced by an electrical charge, these fields aren’t dangerous to people and can be picked up by another biotic with the same ability. Think of them as special radio waves,” the teacher said, flipping to the next page in his book. “The only way for non-biotics to pick up those fields is through specialized technology,” the teacher said.

Taking down the notes on the black broad, Marquis felt something poking him in his lower back. He ignores the first few pokes. The pokes became more aggressive and constant.

“What do you want!?” Marquis whispers, turning around in his seat facing Shantae.

“Wanna hang out at the mall later?” Shantae whispered back.

“You can’t be serious? We have a test coming up and you’re thinking about this? I’ll have to pass.”

Marquis turns around facing the black broad. Focusing on the teacher he feels something poking him in the back but this time he ignores it. After the poking stopped something tickled his neck his body quivered. He jumped, hitting his desk disrupting the class, he turned around with fire in his eyes.

“Why are you like this?"

“Stop talking you two,” the teacher said.

Marquise sighs, “Will you stop if I agree?”

Shantae nodes snickering.

*******

With the sounding of the last bell of the school day students vacated the school grounds.

“Oh yeah, that feels so much better. Sitting in a chair all day can be stressful to the body. After tomorrow's exams it’s summer vacation!”

She pumped her fist thinking about the upcoming school break not caring who sees her jumping for joy, having a break from school is a luxury.

“Oh… Now that you mentioned it I completely forgot Summer Break is the day after tomorrow.”

Shante linked arms with Marquis, pulling him vacating the school grounds.

“Oh, how did it go?”

“Class?”

“No fool, your Biotic Examination? How did it go?”

“Ah! Yeah. The equipment failed at the last second and I passed out from a headache after using my ability. Overall, I’m still in the first category just like every year before. It could have gone worse. If only you could hear what the teacher said.”

“At least you have a category, it sure beats being a System Error. Unlike myself, I’m not even compatible with neural augmentations, not even the researchers can understand why that is. I’m what’s that word?”

“Unless?” Marquis said.

“Generic, but not close. However, I won’t let something like this keep me down. I’ll continue to enjoy my life just as I always have.”

Marquis snickers. “Ha. Knowing you I wouldn’t hold you to it.”

"Hey, why did your ability knock you out during the test?"

"Good one, during my 9 birthday at a barbecue put together by my sis and grandma I was shot in the head playing with the other kids. Others were hurt but they all made it though almost except for me. After the examination, I was labeled unstable, with the lack of resources available to the community at the time. The thought of removing the bullet from the left side of my brain…"

Marquis paused, noticing Shantae crying a bit. She was one word away from bursting in tears in front of there schoolmates.

"Hey! Don't cry no need to cry. I'm still walking that all that matters."

Shantae wiped her face.

"I was put on life support until a solution was found. It took a few months until the hospital was able to get in contact with a brain surgeon and a team of neural reconstruction specialists. It took weeks to remove the fragments from the inner parts of my brain. After cleaning up, the reconstruction specialist took care of the mending. And as a result I gained a second ability I call it Cyberlife, doctors still can't find a reason for this phenomenon. As for the headaches, it's caused by the use of my second ability psychokinesis, lifting anything heavier than a watermelon will put a strain on the left side of my brain."

"Why the name Cyberlife?" Shantae asked.

"Well it's self-explanatory, computers has always been one of my most favorite pastimes and with all the time I spend behind in the virtual world I developed a connection with the 1's and 0's. I can infiltrate cyberspace accessing information without having to touch a computer as long as I'm near it. 66% of the time I don’t need to use my Network Sleeve." Marquis points to the left side of his head.

"I have a pocket sized cyberspace where I can store important downloaded data. The researchers aren't sure if my ability was split in two from the neural augmentations or awakened before the surgery."

As they walked down the street Marquis noticed a familiar figure with black and platinum sliver hair walking across the street.

“Yeo, Kuniva.”

“Marquis, what's up? Hm? girlfriend?”

“Nah, she's been a close friend of mine since middle school. Sometimes I have to correct my sister about our relationship...”

Marquis was dragged away mid sentence. Kuniva wasn’t sure what was going on between them too.

Shantae pulls Marquis closer into whispering range.

“Start explaining right now!”

“Explain what?”

Shante took a quick peek at Kuniva.

“He's wearing a Doctor Hunter High School sweater. How do you know someone from that school?”

“Oh, he’s friends with my sister, they known each other since middle school. He’s no ordinary joe you see. He’s the only type 3 in the city and one of the Seven Unranked.”

With all the information Marquis gave her, Shantae's face looked as if she didn’t believe him but she knew Marquise wouldn’t joke around.

Marquis breaks free of Shantae’s huddle. “He’s the strongest EM biotic to exist. I present to you, Kuniva Eurodyne."

“Hey, that was a good showcase,” Kuniva said as he bumps elbows with Marquise. Shantae froze, her eyes and mouth were stuck open, no words came out, only the sound of slight inhale wheezing. She finally snapped back and grabbed Kuniva’s hand and held it tight.

“Am I dreaming please tell me this is a dream?”

“Nope, I’m real as I can be,” Kuniva replied with a slight smile.

Shantae hops over to Marquis pressing her face to his. “Tell me what’s he like? I mean in a fight of course.”

"You're making it sound like a competition. I don't really get to see him fight but just recently..."

Marquis tells her about the event at the bank, he told her the story the way a child would with the little sound effects as he chops the air. Shantae eyes gleamed with excitement, she takes his hand again and shakes it vigorously.

“H-Hi! My name is Shantae Woods. I'm Marquis’s only friend!”

“Hey! Stop spreading…hump!”

Shantae shoves Marquis out the way as she continues to admire Kuniva.

“Nice to meet you too, Shante. Where are you two heading off to?”

“Oh yeah, we're on our way to the mall, I need a few things before tomorrow.”

“Ah, I was heading there myself, let's all go together.”

“Let’s go!”

Shantae grabbed Marquis’s hand and pulled both the boys down the street. As Marquis is being dragged down the street he shivers looking around him. It feels like I am forgetting something important but what?

*******

Part three

Soho, Afternoon

“You mean that superstition about that Stigmata Enhancer?” Kuniva said.

“Yup, that’s the one.”

Marquis looks back and forth between Shantae and Kuniva trying to get a grasp on the conversation, he sighed after not getting a clear understanding of the conversation.

“What are you two talking about?”

Shantae links arms with Marquis and pulls him closer.

“Aw~ feeling left out? I thought you didn’t believe in made up stories or superstitions?”

“I don’t but I would still like to hear it.”

“Well, word on the street is that there's a device that can give people abilities and increase the strength of existing abilities without much need for effort,” Shantae said looking at her reflection in the car window.

Marquis stares at Shantae as she stares at her own reflection, despite her cheerful nature there was a profound silence as she stared at her reflection. Shantae noticed Marquis' eyes on her.

“Haha, it’s just a made-up story on the internet like the other made-up stories.”

“Right, I'm sure that’s the only logical explanation. Think about it though if we could get our hands on such a device the word hardship wouldn’t be in our vocabulary.”

“If such a thing like that actually existed I…” Shantae paused.

“Is something wrong?”

Shantae looks at Marquis and grins pulling on Marquis rocking side to side.

“Hehe, yup everything is peachy.”

Kuniva was deep in thought after hearing Marquis and Shantae conversation and thought about what Jasmine mentioned yesterday. Stigmata Enhancer… sounds real to me.

*******

“What a bust! None of the times and places aren’t related to one another. Without more information it’s impossible to narrow the scope for the prime suspect.”

Jasmine pushes the keyboard away and leans her head back looking up at the ceiling. She reaches into her lower drawer and takes out a small bottle of eyedrops and put two drops in each eye.

“Ugh! Relying on a synchrotron detector isn’t getting me anywhere, reviewing camera footage and eyewitness reports isn't helping. 23 People were injured in a bombing leaving two in a server… what?”

Jasmine quickly sits up pulling on her holo-display monitor closer to her face, her red watery eyes glued holo-display.

"23 people!? That’s way too many compared to other reports from a few weeks ago... that's odd the majority of them are Public Safety from the 112th, 115th, and 153rd branches!” Jasmine said mashing the keys on her keyboard.

*******

Part four

“Whoa~ Your eyes are so cool, how did they turn out that way?”

Shantae tip toed getting a closer look at Kuniva unnatural eyes. Seeing the pent-up curiosity in her eyes as she inched closer to him, he opened his eyes wider giving her a better look.

“It’s all in the genetic blueprint. Sight 100x better than a normal person, seeing all spectrums of light in the electromagnetic spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet.” Kuniva said, checking out the sweater on that rack. He didn’t feel bothered by her sudden approach, he knew that anyone that saw eyes like his which belonged to a viper in the sockets of a human would do the same.

"Not only that because my eyes can filter out polarized light allowing me to see color in great depth without the glare."

Through his eyes, colors popped before him seeing colors that a normal person couldn't see, deep red's and blue's. Not a glimmer from light sources are present in his sight.

“So basically like the most expensive camera lenses and television in one, you have better vision compared to other people, ha! You're fully kitted out. I wish I had eyes like yours, no one can ever escape my sight in hide and seek as a child with those eyes, I would have been unstoppable.”

"That's if you don't cook your brain on the first try," Kuniva replied.

"Yeah, on second thought I rather keep my eyes the way they are." Shantae picks up a shirt from the shelf and hands it to the clerk. “What are you getting?”

“Not sure to be honest. And plus, I’m still broke and waiting on my refund from Marquis' sister.”

Kuniva reaches into his pocket pulling out his wallet, he opens it and not seeing a single dollar to his name. Kuniva was pained to see his wallet empty. I usually carry some cash on me just in case I want to buy breakfast in the morning but this is breaking my heart. I’ll have to wait until mom sends me some funds… if she does.

Looking through the inventory of sweaters and shirts he picks a grey sweater out checking the size and inside. He looks at the price tag.

"Glad I don't need climate controlled clothing, this stuff is getting more expensive every year."

“I always thought black looked good on you,” a girl said.

Without looking back Kuniva replies, “It would fit well on me but I’m not a big fan of the built in climate control or its design, I'll stick to the regular hoodie. What brings you here, Evelyn?” he puts the sweater back and fist bumps the girl's fist. “Whoa, what happened to you? Did you lose a fight?”

Evelyn's left arm was wrapped in bandages and her forehead was patched up.

“N… No, I fell when I was out free running last night, miss calculated a leap and tumbled down,” Evelyn said, rubbing her arm with a forced smile.

“Are you sure you should be moving around? You have a tendency of getting hurt again. Not to mention you smell like ozone."

"Aw~ thanks for your concern from the guy with cat reflexes. That smell is coming from you."

"Well, since I can't challenge you right now I’ll hold it off until you get better.”

Evelyn faintly smiled.

“I’ll be back.”

After using the restroom, Kuniva was at the vending machine buying a drink. One his way back to the others his curiosity peaked when noticed a guy holding a strange colored potted plant. Hey, I have that same dreaded plant at home. Maybe he’s heading to the flower store upstairs to return it. I would too.

Marquis was taking a few shirts to the cashier until his Network Sleeve began to vibrate. He takes a moment putting the clothes down on the counter and takes the call.

“What is it…”

“Where the hell are you, Marquis?”

Marquis flinched when he heard his sister’s voice barking in his ear.

“I’m on break sis and stop yelling, I’ll go deaf before I’m old.”

“Haha, very funny. I have an update about that bomber in the reports.”

“Wait what!?” Marquis shouts back at his hand and looks around but no one was looking at him despite the outburst.

“I’ve informed the main branch about the current location.”

“Ok, now where’s the location?”

"High levels of synchrotron radiation has been detected in the Downtown Manhattan mall moments ago.”

Marquis' eyes widened.

“Uh about that, I happen to be in the mall.”

“Who are you with?”

“I’m with Kuniva and Shantae.”

“Warn mall security and have them evacuate the premises pronto!”

Marquis quickly hangs up and strides over to Shantae; he grabs her arm and heads over to Kuniva. Marquis takes out his badge and pins it to his sweater.

“This store is the target for the next bombing.”

“Don’t mess with me, Marquis!”

“This isn’t something a person should be joking about Shantae. Kuniva please assist in evacuating the premises.” Marquis hands him an voluntary armband.

So much for not getting involved in Public Safety affairs. Kuniva shrugs his shoulders putting on the armband.

Marquis grabbed everybody’s attention and calmly explained to them about the situation.

“Shantae you have to leave as soon as possible.”

“Um…Sure but will you be alright? I can help…”

“I’ll be fine, just go.”

Shantae didn’t say anything else to him, she saw the dedication in his eyes and the patients in his stance.

While Marquis spoke to the security guard, Kuniva began escorting the people out of the store.

"Yeo, what's going on?" Evelyn asked.

"An emergency vaccination," Kuniva replied.

Escorting the people out of the store a woman frantically runs up to a Security Guard.

“Please help me! I can’t find my son!”

“Please calm down ma'am I’ll notify the other security guards and control to keep an eye out for your son. Can you tell me what your son is wearing?”

Hearing the mother’s plea, Knuiva and Evelyn scanned the area one last time, but didn’t see a boy matching the mother’s description.

“Where’s the last place you been with him?” Evelyn asked the frantic mother.

“We were in the game store. He said he had to use the restroom just seconds before the evacuation,” the woman said, pointing at the store.

“It’s possible he must have been swept up in the crowd on the way out,” Kuniva said.

Growing impatient with the security guard, the woman runs to the store with Kuniva and Evelyn behind her.

Just when they were about to search for the missing child the mother sighed in relief when she saw her son next to Marquis coming around the corner.

Marquise answers the call.

“Sis…”

“Get out of there now! The bomber is targeting anyone that’s with Public Safety!”

Second later the plant begins to hiss and the dirt spills over the pot, in a quick response Marquise snatched the pot from the boy and tossed it away a few feet away. "That plant is the bomb!"

The mother's eyes that were filled with joy changed to one of absolute terror. Marquis pulls the boy to the ground and uses his own body as a shield.

The mother screamed racing to her son, Kuniva sprinted for the woman reaching for her arm and holding out the other hand towards the bomb forming an iron sand shell around the bomb but he wasn’t quick enough to encase the entire blast radius with all his focus on the mother’s safety.

Damn it!! Ditching the thought of muffling the explosion he grabs the boy's mother to the ground and shields them with iron sand.

The store rumbles as the bomb is set off.

Passersby gathered around watching as a section of the mall go up in flames.

“What the… was that an explosion?”

“How many bombings dose that make this week?”

“The fire department and Public Safety are coming!”

Outside the mall a young man wearing a hoodie grins walking away he grips his pocket pulling out a small aluminum vile.

People stampede away from the area as the sound of a second explosion vibrates through the atmosphere and the ground he walked on.

The boy turns left into an ally. That went without a hitch. I despise this city!

He takes one last look at the vile and puts it in his pocket.

“This power is remarkable! I can feel my power growing each time I use it,” he said clenching his fist.

He removed his hood and fondled his messy hair.

“Public Safety is nothing but a joke. To protect and serve, yeah right they don't care for the people. They all deserve to suffer every last one of them.”

The boy was suddenly pushed to the floor.

“You made quite the mess back there. People would have been worse than hurt,” Kunia said grinning at the boy.

“What are you talking about?”

“That explosion was indeed something. The results would have been catastrophic, but it was a wasted effort. No one was injured or killed. That second explosion on the upper floors caught me off guard. It took alot out of me to keep that boy mother safe.”

The boy grinds his teeth when he hears the outcome of his set up explosion. How? That bomb had enough power to level a section of the mall. He slowly backs up, keeping his eyes on Kuniva. He reaches into his left pocket on his backpack taking out a stun baton.

“You should stay out of grown folk’s business, kid.”

He points the stun baton at Kuniva slowly approaching him. Kuniva looks at the stun baton.

The baton turns on shocking the boy promoting him to drop the weapon.

He shakes his hand looking at the malfunctioning weapon, drain pipes rattle as if they were about to spring to life at any second. Sweat beads his face, his body trembles and his breathing erratic. No… no way. It's that kid from that high school. It didn't take him long to figure out who was opposing him.

“Don’t try it. I'll catch you and I can’t ensure your safety,” Kuniva said, it was a warning as the boy took a few large steps back.

“Who would have thought this time it would be the strongest EM biotic to exist, huh? It’s always the damn same, first it was her now it's you. No matter what I do I’ll always end up getting crushed and dragged across the dirt. All you higher level biotics just look down on us non biotics, especially you flithy Unranked,” the boy said, picking up a broken glass bottle and lunging towards Kuniva.

Kuniva anticipated the attack, reversing the incoming action and turning the suspect’s hand behind his back, disarming his attacker, pinning him to the wall. He reached into the suspect’s pocket taking out a wallet.

"You’re a college student," Kuniva said examining the suspect’s student ID.

“You’re not human, you're a freak, an animal! Those Public Safety scum are bastards who are just like you!” the guy shouted as his face was pressed against the wall.

The hate in the boy's eyes spoke louder than his words. “You must get some trill picking on the helpless, just like them bastards!”

Kuniva let’s go of the suspect and backs away, the atmosphere arched with electricity, a bluish-white spear of lightning ripped through the air and striking the wall near the boy.

The suspect fell to the floor, scuttling backwards.

The air smelled of concentrated ozone, arcs of electricity coursing up Kuniva’s body.

“I was once a Category 1 at one point before the changes to the system, we all have. Some are born with talents and others aren’t. People that don’t have any praised worthy merits they build some and they keep working until they reach their goals. Oh and just to clarify, I will stand up to anyone without my power.” Kuniva gazed down at the trembling guy with his red stare.

“What you have done is unforgivable and to top it all off you’re nothing but a coward relying on your power to carry out a nasty goal involving innocent lives. Tell me, wouldn’t that make you no different from the others?”

The boy's mouth opened but no words left his tongue. He submits to Kuniva's presence, forgetting about the thought of fighting back.

*******

Public Safety and fire department arrived at the scene getting a grasp on the situation. Every store behind the detonation was nothing but a pile of rubble.

“The suspect has been apprehended by your friend a few blocks from here, Jasmine.”

“Good, thanks Chelsea.”

“Hey sis!” Marquis called out to his sister.

“Thank goodness you’re ok!” Jasmine said, hugging her little brother tightly.

“It was thanks to Kuniva.”

Marquis tapped his sister to get him go before he suffocated.

“Kuniva did this?”

Jasmine falls into a profound silence as she investigates the area that was hit by the explosion. The floor was charred but everything behind her was untouched where the explosion was halted, wasn’t in the same condition like the other. This area remains intact no sign of any damage. How did he use his power to do something such as this?

*******

Kuniva was sitting in the quiet hospital hallway deep in thought. That bomb should have killed us and what was that small fairy-like thing back there? Is my mind playing tricks on me? His train of thought fads when he hears Evelyn and a nurse coming down the hall.

“Thank you for waiting. The mother and son are doing fine,” the nurse said.

“Thank you. Evelyn you good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. They ran a few tests to make sure I'm not bleeding on the inside since I was here yesterday night getting fixed up, come with me to get my medicine,” she replies.

After receiving her medication, they depart from the hospital.

“Are you heading home?” Kuniva asked.

“Uh… no I was about to… head to the dinner. Yeah, the dinner, I’m hungry. Want to come along?”

Kuniva took a moment to answer back, he looked closer at Evelyn's face then relaxed.

“Yeah, I’ll come.”

“Then let’s go.”

*******

Part Five

June 25th, Old Flatiron District, Marquis dorm room, an hour from noon

“Geeze, You look worse than you did yesterday, you should stay home today.” Jasmine hands her brother a cup of water and two pills. Marquis sighed at the thought of staying home.

“Not like I have a choice in the matter. Still have to fill out the report for the recent hackings.” He takes the medication and lays back down hiding under the blanket.

“It really sucks having allergies as horrible as yours. Waking up because your nose is running, your eyes are either watery, dry, or itchy…”

“Ok I get the message, sis. Now can you turn on the air purifier, please.”

Jasmine leans over kissing her brother on the cheek only for him to wipe away her kiss.

*******

Part Six

Lower East Side, East School District

Kuniva and Jasmin exited the school building and into the blazing afternoon heat. Not a second later, sweat beaded down Jasmine’s flushed skin, her hair which had been neatly groomed sometime ago was now a frizzy fluffy mess, but Knuvia didn’t have a single drop of sweat on him as they walked in the blistering heat.

“Yeo space cadet, you there? Huston, we have a problem.”

Kuniva bumped Jasmine’s shoulder, bursting her bubble.

“What is it?”

“First, I’ve never seen you focus this hard before, what’s with the long constipated look?”

“Hey, let me pick at your brain for a second.”

Kuniva nods.

“Are you 100% certain that guy you seized was the culprit responsible for the bombing?”

“Yeah, I’m certain that's the guy who holds a tight grudge for Public Safety and us Biotics. I mean, I am the one who caught him. Why are you questioning it? Is something wrong?”

“A lot is wrong,” she said, stopping at the store pointing up at the breakfast sandwich.

They enter the store and Kuniva orders two sandwiches after paying the clerk Kuniva heads over to the table where Jasmine is sitting.

“Five minutes, but what were you saying earlier?”

“It’s about that guy you captured. I went through his records and looked into his Biotic registry. The system indicated his ability is a Category 2 not 4.”

“Hold on just a second, how is that possible? With the damage he caused he can easily be a Category 4, no doubt,” Kuniva never seen Jasmine showing signs of tunnel vision until now. She was in her own world.

It wasn’t long until the waitress arrived at their table with their food. Jasmine lost all focus when her sandwich was brought to her.

“Here's a theory, Stigmata Enhancer? Just look at it, low level and non-Biotics getting crazy strong in a matter of minutes. Biotic related crimes on the rise just three weeks after word hit the streets. It fits."

Jasmine almost immediately rejected his theory. "I won't dismiss that theory. However, we don't have any physical leads to trace it back to the point of origin. All we have is speculation and rumors going around the city."

"So in other words, you can't prove that it actually exists."

Jasmine eats half of her sandwich, she leans back patting her stomach. “I can’t eat another bite.”

“That’s unusual. I’ve seen you pack away more food than that.”

“Yeah but today, food isn't really on my mind. This whole case is driving me crazy.”

While resting Jasmine looks up at the waving string tassels. The longer she looked up at the waving glittering tassels she felt a chill.

“It’s hot out here but when I look up at the old ugly decorations waving in the wind, I feel…cooler.”

Kuniva looks up at the swing tassels. “I believe that’s called synesthesia, my mother is currently researching how it influences biotic abilities.”

“Syn-who? You lost me.”

“It’s a neural phenomenon when an object can stimulate two senses or more. For example, the human brain doesn’t only produce visual perception upon seeing a certain color. Like blue, for instance you’ll feel cold when looking at the color blue.”

Kuniva finished his food before the waitress came to collect their plates. “Other than vision and hearing, it can influence other perceptions as well such as emotions.”

Jasmine nibbled on her sandwich one last time and tipped the waitress. “Like warm and cool colors but they are also food flavoring. Red for spicy and pink for sweet, and yellow for sour.”

“Yup but some foods can be tricky. Sometimes colors can be mixed matched, confusing the brain.”

“The human brain is a highly complex organ, to think it can be fooled by a bunch of colors,” Jasmine said.

Kuniva and Jasmine exit the store heading towards the park, on their way in Kuniva spots Shantae walking across the street. "Oi, it's Shantae."

"Oh you're right."

Jasmine called out to Shantae, pulling her to them.

“Hey you two, how's it hanging?”

They all sat on the bench under a tree.

“How’s my brother doing? I didn’t have time to check up on him during my lunch.”

“His allergies are worse now compared to last year. I went out to get some allergy medicine for him. Hey don’t you have allergies too, Jasmine?”

“Yeah but my allergies pale in comparison to his each year.” Jasmine's nose begins to drip snot, Shantae hands her a packet of tissues.

“I have more where that came from.”

“Thanks,” Jasmine said with an itchy voice as she blew her nose, her eyes turned red and watery.

“Whoa Jaz. One minute you were doing fine and now you look sick as a dog.”

Jasmine grabbed her bag and walked away from the bench cleaning her nose.

“Sitting under that tree is the problem, ugh death to all plants.”

Moving to an open area far away from vegetation. Kuniva reaches for the beverage in his backpack side pocket.

“By the way, Shantae, remember the conversation about stigmata enhancers. Do you mind telling Jasmine about it?”

“Yeah sure.”

After Shantae put Jasmine on about the conversation. Jasmine hums softly glancing at Kuniva. Without a second thought he knew what she was thinking without her needing to say it.

“Hey now don’t overthink it besides, it’s nothing but a made-up story circling the internet and those numbers I gave you aren’t the exact figure isn’t right,” Shantae said.

“How can't I? It all lines up with recent events.”

“It's a thesis that was written by several researchers several years ago. All these rumors aren’t the most acute,” Shantae said scrolling through forums on her Network Sleeve.

“That enhancer is like a cheat sheet for a major test. The common procedures for a biotic development test takes too long. Now I’m curious, does something like that exist in the world?”

Jasmine inhaled through her nose then exhaled.

“The timing is far from coincidental. In fact, the cases regarding suspects with synchrotron abilities don't match what’s been recorded when the crime was committed. This isn’t the first one to happen. There are possibility thousands of them roaming the city and all cases occurred all at the same time for the past several days.”

As Jasmine continues on about the case. Kuniva and Shantae zoned out as Jasmine rambles on. They look at each other, not sure what to say to her.

“Do you have any more info about other ongoing matters, Shantae?” Kuniva asked, breaking Jasmine’s train of thought.

Shantae takes a moment to think and says to Kuniva, “Well, there are people who have claimed to have used the Stigmata Enhancer. If I recall, it was mentioned on this subpage on the internet a few weeks ago. To be honest, I have no clue whether it’s a joke to make fun of people who believe in everything they come across on the net or truth.”

“Well, what do you think?” Kuniva asked Jasmine.

“At this point, It’s not hard to believe if you ask anyone provided with enough evidence. That thing truly exists in the world and it explains all the current events that’s going on in the city. It'll be best if we confront the supplier face to face. We just might get a catch,” Jasmine said over her shoulder sharply, she glanced at her wrist noticing the time.

“Kuniva we have to move, class will start in a few minutes.”

“See you later Shantae.”

Shantae sat on the bench thinking about what Jasmine said. If it's real then… I can make my dream come true.

*******

Part seven

Lower Westside, Manhattan, Mid Evening

"Huh!? Like we’ll ever tell you about it.”

The guys at the table laughed at Kuniva.

“Come on man, I need to pass this development test.”

“You wanna know about the Stigmata Enhancer?” One of the guys said.

“Yup that’s the one.”

A few tables away on her laptop Jasmine inched her head around the corner observing. “Kuniva, don’t blow this!”

The longer she thought about how the situation can change from bad to worse in just a split second. However, it wasn’t the suspects at the table she was worried about, it was Kuniva.

*One hour before Evening*

“I found the forum about the Stigmata Enhancer,” Jasmine said, scrolling through the row of comments.

“Never knew there were people that used their real names then write such vulgar comments. They must be newcomers or stupid.”

“Thanks to them, I’ve ran a brief background check on them. As it turns out the group consists of a few bad eggs.” Jasmine reaches through the holo-display and grabs an earpiece and hands it to Kuniva.

“Can you go face to face and get some information out of the supplier? Get as much as possible but…”

“Don’t make it too obvious. Yeah, I got it. Hey, I thought getting civilians involved in Public Safety affairs is prohibited?”

“Please don’t use my own words against me. But looking at my current situation I don’t have anyone else to ask but you. If I attempt this myself it'll go south quickly, they know who I am. Not to mention that information is important.”

Kuniva can see Jasmine’s eyes filled with determination but her expression said otherwise. He took the earpiece and placed it in his ear. "Let's get to work."

*******

Jasmine kept an eye on Kuniva as he chats with the guys at the back of the dinner. Now I’m really concerned, two kinds of concerns for that matter.

Kuniva sighed. “You guys aren’t making this any easier. I really need that enhancer so I can pass my exams.”

The guy smirks. “I have taken extra effort to gather all the information for myself. How about this kid. Take that exam and cram it!”

“Oh come on! Don’t do this to me, man!”

“I don’t give a shit about your problems,” the man chortled.

Kuniva looked around the dinner, customers were getting restless in the presence of the rowdy crew leaving the establishment. "Can you keep it down a little? You're scaring the other customers."

Jasmine peeks her head biting her nails. All hell is about to break loose in this dinner. She looks at Kuniva who seems like he was about to let loose his cool. However, Kuniva remained composed, sticking to his script.

One of the guys looks closer at Kuniva and leans over to his friend whispering.

The other guy takes a closer look at the emblem sewn on the right side of the sweater. He grins.

“Humm, I take back what I said. I’m feeling generous tonight. You want the goods? Then bring your money then we’ll talk.”

"What a change of heart. Lead the way."

Kuniva glanced at Jasmine as he followed the group out of the dinner.

After walking a few blocks and into an alleyway out of the eyes of people and cameras. Immediately after entering the secluded place, a knife is drawn and held up to Kuniva's throat.

The man snatched out the earpiece and stomped on it. “You must think I'm a damn fool, what do someone like you need the enhancer for anyway? I know exactly who you are, you hang around those Public Safety dogs and if you're with them you're a mole. I'm old fashioned.”

With a bladed weapon to his neck a regular person would have surrendered handing out anything of value but Kuniva didn't feel threatened, he looked the older man in the eyes not blinking once.

“Looks like the jig is up. And I'm flat broke.”

“Taking me for some shit joke kid uh!” He pushes the cold hard blade into Kuniva’s skin close to breaching the skin. Despite the sudden transition of aggression, Kuniva didn’t show signs of intimidation which irritated the older man.

“You younger generation kids are fearless but also arrogant. Our abilities have been bumped up to Category 3, kids in that damn school are all stuck up bastards, no matter how high and mighty they are they'll eventually fall like the rest of us.”

No surprise there, who wouldn't have hate for the upper categories? getting special privileges that most can't grasp. To compensate for their shortcomings, they used stigmata enhancers to assert their dominance, this can be troublesome. Kuniva looks up at the heavy clouds rolling between him and the silver fragmented moon and said, “It’s going to be one long night, Sorry Jaz.”

The street lights flickered through the district before every street and building plunged into darkness as a pillar if lightning erected from the ground to the sky. The men were unconscious, and their bodies twitched.

The sound of zapping echoed off the walls, the smell of rain filled the air. “Damn it, Jasmine isn’t going to be happy about this.”

A light illuminated from behind him.

“I figured it was you!”

“Evelyn, what are you doing here?”

Soon after the power outage, emergency flood lights turned on as a result of the electric shock. Red, white, and blue lights flashed from the other end of the alley. The sound of sirens blaring echoing through the alleyway.

"Abnormal influx of electromagnetic radiation detected!" The drone announced.

Evelyn pulled Kuniva by the hand and raced down the street.

“It’ll be bad if they caught us!” Evelyn said.

Kuniva laughed softly remembering a moment just like this back when he was in middle school following her shadow.

“Westside Park?” Kuniva said as he took the lead.

“Race you there! Loser buys the winner a treat!~” Evelyn winks splitting off in a different direction.

“Wait that'll be two gifts I have to get you!”

Racing through the street, the bustling noise of honking car horns grid locked for blocks. A man cursed Kuniva as he vaulted over the car hood. Kuniva traversed the serine neighborhood leaping and vaulting over obstacles in his way.

With one leap clearing the park fence he looks around the park for Eveyln but the girl wasn’t in sight for that matter it was only him and the passing security drone.

“After so long I finally—”

“Won? Not so sure.”

Kuniva's head sinks as he turns around. “Wait, I was definitely here before you.”

Evenly points to a tree at the park center. “I grew up in this city like you but the only difference is I know all the possible shortcuts. So what do I want?~”

Kuniva looks around on the floor grumbling and picks up a branch and tosses it to Evelyn.

“How about round two?” he said bitterly, balling his fist.

Evelyn smiled, gripping the branch like a sword and posed as a knight. “You always become super competitive with me! What happened to not using your power on those weaker than you? I’m not even categorized,” she said teasingly.

“Oh, my bound is my word but you’re different, Evelyn. Since elementary I couldn’t for the like of me figure you out, you’re not a biotic but you have this unknown ability,” he said. Without warning Kuniva lunges at Evelyn with a black sword in his hand.

Evelyn parried the attack and pinched Kuniva’s cheek leaping away.

A sword of ironsand? That's new and concerning.

“And what do you mean Uncategorized? Electric shocks and hits from iron sand are negated by some barrier!” Sparks ejected from Kuniva's barrier like a constant stream of lightning with great intensity flew towards the fleeing girl.

Evelyn leaps and spun around swinging the stick to the incoming attack.

An explosive noise followed by a bit of quietness.

The lightning spear dispersed into particles the size of fireflies scattered by the gust of hot air, electricity rampaging through anything it touched blowing out a park light.

“How should I put this…” Evelyn held the undamaged branch out.

“It’s a blessing and a curse. The outcome will be the same as when we were in middle school,” Evelyn said solemnly, looking him straight in the eyes.

Kuniva knew the high voltage current that was dispersed into the environment was strong enough to scorch the surface of anything that was hit or so it seemed. She was unharmed, the branch itself was still in the same condition after being used to intercept the devastating attack.

His sighs seemed lighthearted, but baring his sharp fangs and claws told a different story.

"Uh-huh, well that was then and this is now. I've learned a few new tricks since you left, friend.”

The clear night sky instantly darkens as clouds sail across the sky, the atmosphere booms, the crackle of lightning branching outwards through the clouds like veins, lighting the entire city.

Thunderclouds?

Flashes of lightning illuminated the sky, city lights flickered from the electro interference caused by the sudden influx of electromagnetic radiation. Above the clouds lights of various colors danced waving across the sky.

“At first it was impossible for me to create such massive lightning storms because of environmental conditions, mainly the untamed weather patterns. I can't change the weather to create lightning storms but there's two sources on this planet I can use to generate lightning without much interference." Kuniva points his sword to the sky.

10,000 miles above them is the ionosphere and the magnetosphere.

"My body is different from the average person. The most interesting part about my body is my central nervous system. It's one massive stigmata nodule and bio-superconductor, semiconductor all in one package. A body that can amplify electromagnetic radiation and store a vast amount of it for later use but you already knew that, I'm a walking powerplant. Let’s see how well that blessing can handle a full-scale attack.”

The air is heavily saturated with the smell of rain.

“Woah an Aurora Borealis! You'll knock out the power to the rest of the city! Wait, don't tell me you used this on those guys a while back?” Evelyn asked calmly.

“I'm not a loose cannon! I know how to pick my fights. And becoming an accidental murder wouldn't be good for me,” Kuniva said.

"Would that count for me as well?"

"Maybe sometime in the future."

A massive bolt of lightning fell from the sky striking the earth, the once tranquil neighborhood atmosphere polluted by the sound of the car alarms. The intense lightning strike knocked out power in several neighborhoods across all five boroughs leaving the city in complete darkness.

*******

“Mm…what time is it?”

Marquis looks over at the clock on the wall that reads 8:30 pm. He rolls back over sniffling. The sound of rustling kept him from going back to sleep. He looked over his bed side and saw Shantae on a beanbag chair reading a manga.

“Shantae, what are you still doing here?”

“There was a major thunderstorm a few minutes ago knocking out the power that means transit is out for now."

"And I slept through that?"

Marquis takes a few tissues and lays back down, stuffing the tissues up his nose to block the falling snot.

“Well, since I’m here, do you want something to eat?”

“Some soup would be nice.”

“Soup? Isn’t that for people who are sick?”

“You don’t have to be sick to eat soup. I want it because it’s the only thing I can think of when feeling like crap.”

Shantae slowly agrees with Marquis as she heads towards the kitchen.

Marquis gets up out of bed and heads for the bathroom and hops in the shower.

“Have you ever thought about becoming a higher category?”

“It never crossed my mind. But it would be nice to be in a higher category, I would have better chances of a better education,” Marquis said shouting over the running shower.

“Well, I think if you wanted to live a life where you can live in the outside world. There must have been tons of people who have been awestruck by this biotic thing and came to this state,” Shantae replies.

“I was one of those people.”

The water stopped running.

“What is the extent of my own abilities? What kind of ability do I have dormant deep within me? The day before I arrived in this city the thought of awakening my biotic powers kept me awake all night long. When I had taken the Biotic Development Test I got a zero. Then I went to take an augmentation test and failed that as well. I felt my dreams shattered before my eyes.”

Marquis sat on his bed drying his hair. He sat in silence listening to the sound of stringing coming from the kitchen.

“I’m just a low Category 1 even though my category is lower. I never let it get in my way of doing what I want. Hanging with you, Kuniva, and being overly loved by my annoying sister. To be forward, I wouldn’t have meet you if it wasn't for this city.”

When Marquis finished drying, he looks at Shantae standing over him with tears in her eyes.

“That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard from you. Are you blushing?”

“Gah! Can we eat now?”

“Ten more minutes.”

*******

June 26th, Old Lower East Side, morning

Part eight

Well last night was just the worst. We didn’t get the information regarding the Stigmata Enhancer and I had to listen to Jasmine’s complaining about me messing up the deal. Maybe that guy from the mall would have some intel about stigmata enhancer. Unless public safety questioned him already.

Kuniva was thinking about last night, just the thought about the altercation made him feel fatigued. He stops at the corner waiting for the crossing guard to signal him to cross. The power was still out across the entire city.

"Today is June 26th, a few weeks from Summer Vacation. For the rest of the week they only be taking attendance, with classes finished I have all the time in the world. Real question is what should I do?"

Just when Kuniva got an all clear to cross the street Jasmine appears out of thin air and grabs hold of Kuniva’s hand.

“No time to explain!”

Not even letting him say a word she vanished with Kuniva.

Looking around Kuniva recognizes the structure before him.

“The Hospital? What are we doing here?”

“A problem has occurred, remember the boy who was taken in for the bomb incidents?”

“Yeah, what about him?”

“This morning after questioning him he suddenly went unconscious in his room just before his wellness check.”

Jasmine and Kuniva entered the hospital and scuttled to the elevator to the tenth floor.

“How did that happen? He was fine just a day ago. Self-inflicted injury?”

“He was cleared after find nothing. Nothing is guaranteed tomorrow, Kuniva. Anything can happen in 24 hours.”

He was aware of the saying but didn’t understand the sudden change in the bomb suspect condition.

“What did the nurse say?”

Jasmine and Kunvia hastily walked down the hall taking a left.

“As claimed by the reports from the main branch of Public Safety, after the interrogation he was spouting nonsense and gibbering and a second later he collapsed. You didn't beat him up too badly did you?”

Kuniva immediately denied Jasmine of such actions. "I barely touched the guy!"

Jasmine flashed her badge to the nurse.

“How’s his condition?” Jasmine asked the nurse.

The nurse takes a moment to look over the data.

“His condition hasn’t changed since this morning. We’ve done the best to our capability but the possibility of this young man waking up is slim. We scanned his brain for any damage and any neural abnormalities, but the scan came back negative,” a old male doctor said, handing Jasmine a metal clipboard.

“The cause of his condition has yet to be determined. We’re currently looking for other solutions.”

“This must be a rare case,” Jasmine said, handing the doctor back his clipboard.

The doctor sighed looking back at the unconscious boy.

“They aren’t rare anymore that is.”

“What do you mean?”

“A few days ago, cases like that boy were constantly being admitted here. Other hospitals around the city are all seeing the same situation. It wasn’t until today that none of the patients recovered.”

“Could it be a virus?” Jasmine asks the doctor however, the doctor nods his head slowly.

“It’s not. There isn’t a known virus that is capable of this and the people in close contact with him aren’t infected. The possibility of it being a pathogen is highly non creditable. However, I believe there has to be a sort of common factor connecting all the cases like this.”

Kuniva pulls Jasmine outside the room. “My money is on the Stigmata Enhancer.”

Jasmine scratched her head looking down at the floor. “We don’t have enough evidence to accurately say it is the device, but the feeling is mutual.” Jasmine whispered.

“But assuming what you said to be fact and not fiction. Then this situation is nearing a critical point, Jaz!"

The doctor looks at Jasmine and Kuniva. “Because of low staff numbers and inefficient in-house facilities, we called for assistance from an outsource. A team that specializes in the human brain and stigmata nodules. They should be here soon.”

Jasmine tilts her head. A specialized team? This is reaching its critical point.

As they waited in the wall a group of people in lab coats appeared around the corner.

*******

“Ah hell. I’ve spent 4 hours looking for that Stigmata Enhancer and still no luck.” Shantae looks up at the pile of textbooks and packets of untouched homework on her desk, she sulks spinning around in her swivel chair.

She stops and looks at her phone on the bed.

“Oh…I wonder what new songs have been released this week?”

Shantae picks up the phone and scrolls.

“Awe~ there aren’t any good recommendations on this site. Well at least I don’t have to use the pc for this.”

Shantae tosses her phone on the bed and turns back to her desk looking at the holo-monitor.

“That thing about the Stigmata Enhancer is nothing but a rumor… right?” she leaned back in her swivel chair, she glared at the Downtown Manhattan skyline.

Uh oh!

She leans back too far and falls on her back hitting her head on the floor, she didn’t react when she hit the floor.

“Ya! for carpet.”

In the middle of cleaning up, Shantae takes a glance at her computer and starts clicking around until she stumbles upon a strange website. This is a hidden site but why? She carefully looks through the unknown site.

“What’s this!”

Shantae pauses midway through, her eyes widened with an overwhelming joy, jumping about in her room knocking objects off the desk. No way this is… Her disbelief grew the longer she stared into her computer monitor.

*******