Prometheus: Harbinger of Conflagration (Shatterpoint part 1)

Chapter 11

I woke up sometime later back in my room on the first floor with a pounding headache. I was back in the loose-fitting robes, except this time they were red, not gray. Surrounding my bed were the experts and Vendetta. Seeing I was awake, Dr. Greene spoke first.

"Alex, are you alright?"

"I think so, Dr. Greene. Thank you," I replied.

David Lincoln continued saying "Kid, those pyrotechnics you displayed... you'd make a great asset in the war against the Blackwoar Guild. Tell me you're up to-" Vendetta interrupted him before he could finish.

"Etum. David, Alex has already expressed his disposition to joining the Corps. Neither myself nor anyone currently enlisted will press him further. Do you understand?" Dean nodded, and Vendetta waved a hand, dismissing his spell. Dr. Greene turned back to face me.

"Alex, like David said, your abilities were quite impressive. However, as you came out of the cocoon, your scleras- the white part of your eyes- were a myriad of colors. Based off what you told Azrael Sage, I believe that when you use your powers, your eyes actually change the way they perceive things, and see light at a lower frequency than what humans normally see at. In the 20th and 21st centuries, it's called infrared light. While using your powers, you see not the physical objects and their colors, but rather the heat each object gives off. I know a woman in France who specializes in the building of... extraordinary pieces of tech. She should be able to fashion a pair of goggles based off my designs. It should be ready in a few days as she tends to prioritize more fascinating work over old work- and let's be honest, your powers are pretty fascinating," the doctor said, handing me a sketchbook open to a page full of various designs and elements.

'She must be talking about Sam Rhodes,' I thought to myself. "These are really cool! Thanks Dr. Greene!" I said enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Alex," she said beaming, "I'm glad you like them. They should be here sometime soon, However, I have other research to conduct. I'll see you around." Dr. Greene took the notebook back and walked out. As she left, I noticed another of Vendetta's spheres sparking- this time with a purplish-gold color. He turned, whispered something to David Lincoln, and the two of them also left, but not before each saying how impressed with me they were, and that they'd be in touch soon. Mackenzie Flood left as well, but didn't say anything. She just took a deep breath, then melted into the stone floor. For a moment the floor rippled like water, then it was still. All who was left was Revelation and Azrael Sage.

Revelation got up announcing "Excuse me, Azrael Sage, Alex. But I'm leaving now. What comes next is a private event," he winked at me. "Have fun Alexander."

As he left, I called after him "It's Alex!" After the door shut, Azrael Sage turned towards me.

"Alright kid," he growled. "Here's the deal. Your demonstration to the experts impressed me. Not many Powereds actually escape. They mostly just bang on Mackenzie's stone cocoon until they pass out, then the next day we actually have them showcase their Powered abilities. But you, you broke out. I can count on one hands the number of Powereds able to do that, and we have hundreds working for the Corps." He paused, then continued. "I was talking with Vendetta earlier, and he agreed with me- you're our best bet at putting reality back together. Vendetta's currently off researching interdimensional portal spells to see if they can be modified in order to send a recipient to another part of reality. In the meantime, I've been instructed to..." he trailed off, coughed, grumbled then finished talking, saying "What I mean to say, is that Vendetta has asked me to personally train you to better control your abilities. C'mon, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can go back to doing nothing. I'm not 1186 anymore, I'm getting old. Tropelet." We vanished in a flash of dirty colored magic.