Mutants

Chapter 16

   Chapter 16: Focus

   Jack

  I'm staring at a pebble, trying to make it levitate. Not easy. I can teleport, but I can't move a pebble, how interesting.

   I'm standing in front of our house, holding a pebble in my hand. I must look like an idiot right now. Frustrated, I give up, and the pebble suddenly shatters. I'm so surprised, I almost don't notice the door opening behind me.

   I turn around and Lythus steps out, a curious but determined look on his face.

   "What's up," He asks.

   "Not much," I say. "Just trying to use telekinesis for the thousandth time."

   "Well, look at the window on the house across the street."

  I look, and  the window is cracked. So are all the other windows near it. Except they're all cracked in the same method, actually bent into a curve, and then an impact through the middle. From outside the house.

  "How..." I stutter. "How did I do that?"

  "Your abilities require a focal point to work properly," Lythus begins, "At least, that's how it usually works. But yours seem strong enough that an uncontrolled area of effect is powerful enough to create unpredictable effects. For instance..."

  I feel a tugging desire inside of me, and I realize Lythus is using telepathy. I drop my guard, and he inserts his memory of our battle two days ago. Everything is blurry and unfocused except for the things he noticed at the time. I can already tell that Lythus's eyes are different from mine from the colors I'm seeing that are definitely off the visible light spectrum.

  When I fire the blast of pain at him, I feel it. I feel a blast of every pain imaginable: Burning, stabbing, sickness, stinging, scraping, emotional pain, and then everything goes numb.

    I feel slightly guilty for doing that to him. But his memory, surprisingly, wasn't focused on the pain. It was focused on Kate and Marc in the background, who clutched their heads and fainted almost immediately. Lythus's head is pounding, and a warm rush begins to spill over his head, indicating he's about to faint. He manages to save himself, and the memory ends.

  The memory plays again, but this time Lythus wants me to look at the colors. When I fire the beam, a wide ray of color shoots out, encompassing Lythus and enough space to fit a retro school pickup vehicle in. The same color, but slightly different, radiates around me in a shock wave, washing over the area. The memory ends.

  I step back in shock.

  "Your power was only slightly focused," Lythus continues, "But it was enough to make everyone, even me, faint."

  "Say what?" I ask. "What happens when it's completely focused?" But I already guess. And I'm scared.

  "You manipulate the fabric of the universe, quantum foam, and obtain godlike power. However, there's a limit, it seems."

  I know what he means, partly because I'm working it out and partly because of our telepathic link. I can't seem to use it for personal gain, and I can only use it when it's necessary.

  The Watchers memtioned a kid like me, but influenced by the Dark Watchers. Does that mean he/she had more control over their abilities than me?

  And how would I defend myself?