In Her Head

14. New World Order

Almost thirty years before Zeke and Aurora were taken by Nova, a tall handsome black man, well dressed in a suit and tie was returning home late one night in the middle of San Francisco after a hard day. He was a doctor named Evan Ward, and he was soft spoken and gentle, and rather quiet. As he walked home to his sleeping wife and baby he was snatched in the middle of the street in the darkness by Nova.

Nova had facilities in many states, since they were a multinational pharmaceutical company and free from suspicion from the general public, and anybody who got too close to uncovering the truth would be payed off or would disappear. Their main facility in San Francisco was very similar to the one Zeke and Aurora were held in, and held many test subjects, enforcers and scientists. 

Evan was taken to the facility and injected with their serum while the scientists watched in anticipation to see if he would explode as so many did before. He didn't and while he was unconscious they put him in a cell like the others, ready to monitor what abilities he might get. When Evan woke, his calm and gentle personality faded fast as he slammed his fists against the glass while the scientists watched. 

A rage built in Evan, just like it would for Zeke many years later, and like Zeke, he felt a release of pure power. But unlike Zeke, it didn't create a beam of light that vaporised anyone it touched, those close to him just disappeared. The scientists outside the cell turned to ash as Evan felt stronger, but the people in the cells around him were completely unharmed. It was easy, he barely had to focus or concentrate his power, he could just kill instantly, and power himself in the process.

Kenji was present in the building at the time, and watched the cameras while the scientists were killed. He was amazed, not at the power, but he'd finally got the kind of subject they wanted. Although only theorised at the time, scientists thought that eventually they would find someone who could siphon power from others or themselves, since they had seen people before Evan copy abilities, but never power themselves up from them.

Nova called those who had abilities Catalysts, those who could copy or absorb from the environment around them were called Conduits, and the rarest and most prized, Siphons, someone who can absorb power from those around them and themselves, making them unbelievably powerful. 

Unfortunately for Nova, while Evan was technically a Siphon, he couldn't absorb power from others, rather from completely normal people. He could power himself up infinitely by evaporating people around him, and this scared Kenji, since he didn't know Evan's reach. They had the perfect weapon, and Kenji had the knife, so he considered his options carefully, but while deep in thought, Kenji was interrupted by the sound of an alarm as Evan dematerialized inside the cell, and rematerialized just outside it and killed anyone who entered the room.

Evan was gaining power fast since the enforcers were all just normal people, so it took no effort to evaporate them all at once. Eventually Kenji called off the pointless reinforcements and spoke over the intercom.

"Evan Ward, your wife's name is Eliza Ward and your baby boy's name is Chris Ward. We know where you live. We know where your friends live. We even know where your patients live. You will surrender now, or I will pay your family a visit. I will snap the child's neck while your beautiful wife watches, then I will kill her slowly. Nod if you understand."

A tear fell down Evan's face as he nodded while dropping to his knees. Two enforcers walked toward him safely, and Kenji entered the lab. The enforcers lifted him and walked him to the cell as Kenji held his shoulder from behind. 

"We've given you a gift, try to be grateful." Kenji whispered before plunging the knife into his back. Evan fell to the ground immediately and the enforcers were told to take Evan's body to a farmhouse near Los Angeles. The enforcers followed their order and Kenji took the knife back upstairs and gently placed it in its case.