flowers and thorns

- 5 -

After leaving the restaurant, I make my way to my place. Since I don't go to work, I spend the first part of my afternoon working out.
The question of how I can not go to work and afford housing and leisure activities at the same time is quite easy to answer. No matter what I pick up, I can turn it into whatever bill I need at the time. For example, when I was at Rubins, I mentioned that I could theoretically buy all the stock and unfortunately I still wouldn't be remotely befuddled - I meant it.
So after I've been for a run and showered, thoughts of my pursuers finally catch up with me. Of course, now I have the ability to identify every human being on the planet. I'm gonna need their fingerprint or something connected with their DNA, though. But the latter rather is difficult and not very helpful. I may know the appearance and characteristics of the DNA of anybody on this world, but I don't know how I get to see them as I need them to do so.
Just getting a device to analyze molecular genetic conditions would be very conspicuous. After all, I don't know to what extent I'm being monitored, if they have any leads at all. Fortunately, though, I haven't seen or heard of any other related events since the Rubins incident either. Come to think of it, maybe it would make sense to get one of these identifying things after all. Or at least adopt the characteristics of one.
I could tell they were coming after me last time because I heard his voice. Yes, this may sound strange at first - but to be able to activate the hearing of a bat as you like, brings considerable advantages. Admittedly, it was difficult to hear anything in such a crowded club - but since I have a sensor at the entrances, at all of them, I knew when a new guest was coming and I should listen.
Well, maybe it's time to explain briefly what my gift is. Then my different abilities, much of the reason for my disappearance, and also why I am not called a 'divine weapon' for nothing, are more understandable. In summary, my gift is to be able to transfer everything I understand in detail to myself and make it one of my abilities. So I can, for example, turn a stone into a fifty-pound note, because I know how to change the elements. To do this, however, I first need to know which elements and which composition the individual materials consist of.
I can control sound waves because I know how they are constructed and how to manipulate them. I can change my shape because I was able to observe a shape-shifter from Earth 9 at work one-to-one. Yes, the really magical thing is that I am able to create and transform things into other things, atoms into other atoms, new compositions.
My retrievable photographic memory, for example, I learned when I read through an in-depth article describing it. And that's what makes me so dangerous to everything and everyone. I can mimic any gift of any being in the universe with no problem, insofar as I understand the basis. I wouldn't even need approval, I'd just have to do spy work.
And even if Father put the golden chains on me that mean no one, not even gods can make use of their magic; it would only limit Zeus' lightning and my gift to teach myself more. Everything I learned in advance with it remains. It's not conditional. I need my gift to learn it, but the application works without it. Think of it like Tetris for a smartphone: you need an internet connection to download the app, but you can use it without once you have it.
Now all this may sound nice and good at first glance. You might think that I have limitless possibilities, that I am – in fact – the most dangerous weapon in the universe.
But it's not that easy for me. I'll probably have to keep my gift a secret for the rest of my life. As soon as I tell someone about it, they have power over what I can learn. The one can withhold things from me, people, animals whose abilities I don't yet have, keep away from me and limit my horizon. And that wouldn't be good, because then I'd be predictable. And it's precisely the unpredictable, the moment of surprise, what I like most about the whole thing. You can't prepare for something you don't know what it is.
To be honest, I've always wondered why not even the prophecies could tell us about my powers. After all, they always know everything. Sometimes I imagine the prophets gave me this as a gift. The secrecy of what I'm capable of. Because I can't imagine they don't know.
All they're saying is there are two things that can limit my power apart from knowing about it. The first thing is about feelings, about love. Not that it would restrict me much, but it does mean that I might theoretically be willing to sacrifice everything for love and to give my gift openly and honestly – something I can't imagine with the best of intentions.
The only thing I know about the second thing is that it's supposed to be some kind of weapon. One that hasn't been built yet, that doesn't exist, that nobody knows how to build - a weapon that can kill the deadliest person in the universe. Whenever I think back to how my father sat over that prophecy, his forehead would wrinkle and you could smell his anger over his ignorance ten miles against the wind, I have to laugh. I couldn't hurt a fly if she didn't provoke me. And I couldn't kill someone. For that, I come far too much after my mother – at least after most of her, because as I have learned, she also wanted me dead.
So, yes, it's true. I could force the gods from their throne, if I had learned enough. I could destroy planets, exterminate peoples and turn the universe pink. I don't even like pink, but it's possible. I wouldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I kind of have a conscience, I couldn't look at myself in the mirror anymore. Life is so precious, so beautiful, I wouldn't end it. Why should I? Dad never understood. He never understood I'm not the type of person who's obsessed with having all the power.
What would it do me to sit on the throne alone? Loneliness is not worth the greatest power, and I knew that before I snoozed between people.
Because I was alone. Always have. Since I was born.
I was also alone during my time at boarding school. The outsider. No one knew about me, but by the time I came, they had been with each other for two years. There were groups, and none were particularly willing to take in a daughter of the God of War they knew nothing about. I could have tricked and taken advantage of them. I was too dangerous to them, and they didn't even know.
Anyway, I broke out when I was thirteen. It was not easy to get on one of my father's ships, not at all. In short, it only worked the second time, and I'd rather not talk about the consequences of the first.
I was on the road for about a year. Contrary to what most people believe, there are no parallel universes that exist. It's too complicated to explain how all this is to be understood, but I'm gona try. Basically, every Earth has the same conditionality, but different life forms have evolved. Some Grounders are more similar to each other, it only takes a tiny component to change the entire configuration of a being. But if they are similar, so are the techniques they develop. So humans can only interact with similarly constructed humans because they develop a similar technique because they are developed similar. It is the same with other life forms on other Earths among each other.
People still think this is parallel earths, but eventually they'll realize that's not the case. They are simply planets of different distances with developments that are almost the same, which then also gives rise to the doppelgangers that science is trying to keep secret here. However, through superhero movies, such as the one Tyrone is in, attention is drawn to it. I don't think it will be long before more is found out here.
Anyway; I've been flying around the universe for about a year trying to find a suitable hiding place. I was able to technically manipulate my father's flying ship so that it was no longer traceable. The coordinates of the planets were already stored; as I said, we are much further along than the humans here, and so I could check one after the other until I found something suitable. Earth 15 became my new home.
Along the way, I met all kinds of living beings, became friends with them – and of course, pretend to be someone else, after all, I never know how much people know about me where – and secretly train their abilities. Hence the change of shape.
But enough of that. A fraction of the story is enough for now.
I've made up my mind to break into the main police station tonight. They must have a device there showing me how to read DNA by touching a hair or saliva or blood or whatever. When the time comes, I will set a trap for my persecutor and then I will know who to chase to know how many there are and what they have. To know how to protect myself.
Just as I'm getting black clothes for the mission, my phone rings. Irritated, I reach for it; Ruby is working, she can't be, and otherwise, I have no business with almost no one.
I open the chat of an unknown number. Suddenly and frowning, I remember I gave it to someone earlier. Why, to be honest, I don't know. Probably just so he'll leave me alone with it if we ever see each other again.
Hey, Tyrone here :) tomorrow morning at 10am at Poilane
Unwillingly, I have to smirk and shake my head. Why does he actually think he can just decide that?
Tomorrow is Saturday and since I don't have to go to college or work, I'm free in theory, but I might want to do something in practice other than meet up with him. Frowning, I realize he's actually already displayed a rather arrogant personality. Even once he paid for my meal.
Who says I'm off duty?
Not a second later I get the next message: Who says you're not? And even if,  you can certainly take time off  ;)
Now I want to write him he can forget about us doing something together tomorrow morning, just to get him off his high horse for once and also because I'm not really into contact with people, when it occurs to me what advantage he could give me. He was there that night at Rubins, even after I left. Well, he might have had a few drinks, but basically he might still have noticed a few men who stood out like colorful poodles at a mastiff show. He could help me with my problem.
Without giving it much thought, I agree to the meeting. Tomorrow I just need to be able to ask about that night somehow unnoticed, I mean who would like a question about meeting for the first time at a club that has something to do with an inconsistency?
But before I do that, I have to break into a police station.