PREFACE

            There once lived a happy couple whose love was a million generations. She was afraid of everything and he was afraid of being alone, but together their fear vanished and they became brave and strong and made it their duty to change the world. But the boy was cursed, and sometimes he couldn’t help but feel lonely, and on one day three thousand years after their meeting, the girl left in frustration because the boy couldn’t tell her what was wrong. He felt alone, he loved her but he couldn’t help but feel alone, and then when the girl was gone, he truly was alone.

            “I need to find her,” he told himself. “I can’t live without her.”

            And so he set off after his beloved only to discover that she’d been captured by humans who sought to steal her knowledge. He needed to rescue her, he needed his beloved to be safe and sound, but the humans had learned strange Secrets, and these Secrets had the ability to bend reality. And so our couple of a million generations was plunged into a world where they were forgotten, a place where their love was lost, waiting to be found.

CHAPTER 1

The Mysterious Case of Peter Glass

            Pete tipped the tiny vial of powdered crystal over the customer’s drink. It was a poison so deadly that it sent the most powerful war criminals to their death. Of course, the poison was only made of crystals. It was harmless to humans, which could only mean that the type of people it targeted were something else.

            Yes, that’s right, Pete thought. There is such a thing as inhuman humanoids, and I’ll kill every last one them if I have to.

            A minuscule pinch of poison was poured into the glass, just enough so that it’d blend in with the sugar added to the lemonade. Then Pete quickly approached the loneliest corner in Kristo’s Mediterranean Grill before the crystals had a chance to settle in.

            Smiling, he set down the glass in front of the unnaturally impassive customer. “There you are, Sir! What do you think? Did I match your friend’s recipe right?”

            Pete watched in anticipation as the emotionless stranger lifted the straw to his lips. Pete considered making a break for the door, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to see exactly how the powdered poison affected this customer. Would he foam at the mouth until his eyes rolled back? Or maybe this time he’d start seizing until he got a concussion and bled out.

            Pete watched the man intently. There were few witnesses around, the lighting was dim and the restaurant was too fancy for people to be paying attention to anything other than the prices or the fashionably cooked food. Pete was in a pretty good situation, so now all he had to do was wait.

            The man took his first drink, slowly and perfectly composed, and then, as the liquid in the straw lost its suction, he frowned.

            Pete’s heart skipped a beat. Did he notice the tiny crystal shards sinking to the bottom of the glass? Did he sense the other crystals that Pete kept on his person? No, it didn't matter. It was already too late. The man-beast had taken his first drink, and as he sat there, his face gradually waning, the crystal powder flowed down his throat and mixed with the contents of his stomach.

            Pete feigned an expression of concern. “Sir? Sir, are you okay?”

            The glass slipped from his hand, splashing lemonade onto his shirt and further exposing him to the poison. He seemed stiff and defenseless, as if a serial killer was holding a gun to his head and promised to pull the trigger. But of course, the poison must’ve been doing its job. This man was a Kinetic—in no way was he even remotely human—and the alien beast didn’t deserve to breathe, let alone dine at an expensive restaurant. In fact, Pete had made it his duty to overcome the Kinetic invaders one wandering monster at a time. Why? He could say it was for vengeance, but in truth, he enjoyed killing them far too much to stop.

            Pete continued to play at his game. Wearing his skillful mask of apprehension, he stuck out his hand and shook the man’s shoulder. “Sir…?”

            The Kinetic monster fell out of his chair, a heavy wooden doll carved by a cruel god. Pete leapt back, his heart racing with jovial satisfaction. “Help!” he cried. “Somebody! This man just collapsed!”

            He had to remind himself not to grin. What would people think if they saw the pleasure in his eyes? What would they do if they knew that he’d killed this man with a minute pinch of crushed rocks? Pete tried to avoid them. As the surrounding humans wailed and gathered around the fallen beast, Pete did as his mother recommended—he disappeared into the background and slipped out the restaurant's back door.

            He couldn’t deny that he was proud. Very rarely did Pete come across a Kinetic, and usually when he did, he was with somebody else, so he couldn’t wander off and kill it. Today, however, seemed like the perfect day to skip track practice and go for Chinese food. After he saw the Kinetic heading towards Kristo’s Mediterranean Grill, Pete didn’t hesitate to sneak into the back, knock out the waiter on smoke break and play dress up.

            After scanning the area, Pete located the poor guy behind the dumpster and, ensuring that he was still unconscious, he grabbed his pants and changed back into his clothes. “Sorry, uh… Ralph,” Pete muttered. “Here, have a fortune cookie. My treat.” He tucked the poor excuse for a cookie into the waiter’s shirt pocket and then quickly looked around him. Good. The British hadn’t arrived yet. He slipped on his shirt, fastened his shoes and then grabbed his jacket and stood.

            For the slightest of moments, Pete’s heart stopped beating.

            On the other side of the dumpster, the Kinetic he’d just killed stood staring at him with his head cocked to the side while his expression was perfectly emotionless. His pale blue eyes were dull and without luster, and his body seemed perfectly relaxed.

            Pete didn’t understand. Wasn’t this emotionless creature a petrified statue five minutes ago? The crystal poison should’ve worked—it was the only way to disable a Kinetic’s ability to revive—and if a crystal substance didn’t have any effect on it, what did?

            Immediately, his mind raced with a thousand different ways to save himself. This Kinetic was most likely a special case. Most Kinetics had one unique ability to help it defend itself in times of desperation, but special case Kinetics could have two, three, or sometimes even more. So far, Pete had no way of determining what these abilities might be without witnessing them being used, so at the moment, he could do one of two things. He could fight back and get killed, or he could run and get killed. Either way, his death was imminent.

            He unclenched his jaw and attempted a smile. “Hey there, uhh, Sir. I’m happy to see you’re okay. Good thing, too. My shift’s over and I have an appointment—”

            As if by magic, the dumpster shot towards him, crushing Ralph the waiter’s head and thrusting Pete back against the restaurant’s outer wall. His skull cracked and a dull, throbbing pain ruptured from his abdomen and chest. The pressure increased, the smelly dumpster inching closer as the seconds passed, and the only things keeping it from completely crushing him were two metal rods on each end of the dumpster that were used to chain it to the wall.

            Pete was terrified. Ralph was dead—an innocent human, dead—and the Kinetic was most likely feasting on his life-giving energy at that very moment. Why did Kinetics do this? Why were they such immoral, emotionless and selfish creatures? They were animals, always fighting to stay alive and killing innocent people whom they could only assume were threats. And what did they do after this? They reaped the energy from human bodies and used it to power their freaky alien abilities. It was disgusting. Pete would never understand how such mindless paranoia could be tolerated amongst a race of humanoid things.

            He tried to move and break free from the dumpster’s hold, but his arms and legs were immobile, smashed like the contents of a sandwich while the bricks in the wall around the two metal rods crumbled.

            “Dammit,” he hissed. “Damn you, monster! You just killed an innocent bystander. Have you no soul at all?”

            The Kinetic made no emotional response. Pete half expected it to transform into some type of demonic spawn from Hell, but he knew that wouldn’t happen. That was the most terrifying part about them. They weren’t the stereotypical aliens with giant black eyes or antennae and purple exoskeletons. On the outside, they looked completely human, and only other Kinetics knew when one of their kind approached.

            Once again, the Kinetic tilted his head to the side. “Hmm…. You’re a strange one, aren’t you? You reek of human emotions, yet somehow you were able to find me. How would you like to have every drop of energy ripped from your body until nothing remains but the tiny flickering of your soul?”

            Pete was having difficulties breathing. His lungs struggled to expand beneath the pressure of the dumpster. “Do it,” he croaked. “Take whatever energy you want, but if you even dare to take my life, my mother will—”

            The Kinetic actually laughed. “Your mother will what? Poison me with your pathetic crystal weapons?”

            Pete was beyond amazed. How was this Kinetic able to express such human emotions? It shouldn’t have been possible. He was a special case, yes, but Kinetics were emotionless by nature. They were able to smell a human’s emotions, but that didn’t mean they knew what they meant. In their eyes, every human expression was a symbol of hostility.

            All the more reason to be afraid, Pete thought. Dammit, Pete, you idiot…

            The man’s smile faded, leaving impassivity in its wake. Slowly, he took three steps towards the dumpster. “Aren’t you forgetting something, assassin? You tried to kill me when I was only attempting to satisfy my hunger.” He narrowed his eyes, and when he peeled back his lips, he seemed to sneer. “Ah, yes. I’d nearly forgotten. All Kinetics are evil, isn’t that right? They take energy only from humans because humans are oh so innocent, and of course the humans are never at fault.” Once again, he laughed, but it was faint and without expression. “Open your eyes, child. Energy is all around us. The only reason we take from puny mortals like you is because you threaten our lives with crystals and promises of death. If a man held a blade to your throat, would you not try to save yourself? And if he got away, would you not return to him and kill him? We have just as much of a right to live as you do.”

            Pete smirked. “What about the war?” he spat. His voice was slightly hoarse from his strained breathing. “Your kind invaded Earth long ago, and then suddenly you just… you decided you wanted Earth for yourself, so you attacked us and—”

            “Your words make no sense to me, assassin.”

            “Don’t give me that bullshit!” Pete shouted. He coughed and then gasped for air, the dumpster still tight against his chest. Nevertheless, he continued to glare. “You were there, weren’t you? You immortal bastards were all there, and then you killed my father when he was only trying to do what was right.”

            “Oh? And what exactly does it mean to be ‘right?’”

            Pete gritted his teeth and snarled. This Kinetic bastard was only toying with him now. He knew what he was, he knew that to be “right” was something that only humans could comprehend, so he threw Pete’s words back at him to push him to anger. Well, it was working. Pete wanted to rip off his head with a splintered pair of tongs, but Pete was such a pathetic excuse for a vigilante that he hadn’t even predicted that the dumpster would make an excellent human compactor.

            Human. Pete wanted to smirk. If only, if only.

            “So the whiny invader’s confused, huh?” Pete grimaced. “Perfect.”

            The Kinetic narrowed his eyes, yet another display of emotion. This man was certainly a special case. Not only was he incredibly powerful and immune to crystals, but he seemed to possess some form of personality, as well. It was odd. Kinetics were like mindless robots who only obeyed the orders of logic and reason, and then when they decided to change their facial expressions, they always seemed forced and insincere, something like a bad actor.

            What type of monster are you? Pete wondered. He couldn’t possibly know that, could he?

            The Kinetic produced an expression of disgust. “Behave yourself and answer my question, and I might just spare your life.”

            Pete frowned. Now he was showing mercy?

            “And what the hell type of question does a freak like you have to ask?”

            The kinetic seemed to glower. “I need to know what you are, boy. You seem to be human, but I can sense your desire for your father’s Kinetic traits.”

            Pete gasped. No, he thought. Impossible. How the hell does he know something like that?

            As he stared at the man standing before him, Pete noticed several minor details that must’ve been concealed before now. This guy was definitely familiar, but his coloring was off. Exchange his blond hair for brown, brighten his eyes a little and make him slightly more buff and he’d look nearly identical to the only Kinetic who’d been known to wield human emotions.

            Leone Gallaway, Pete thought. No, impossible!

            Pete wanted to say something, but it was painful to speak and his body was growing increasingly weaker as the seconds passed. The dumpster was still crushing him, the bricks in the wall were still crumbling and he was certain the Kinetic had already begun the process of draining him of his energy.

            But why? he wondered. Why would he…?

            Although Pete was low on energy and his vision was faltering, he was still able to see the Kinetic’s black aura when he narrowed his eyes and focused. It surrounded the beast in a hazy black cloud that was invisible to humans and appeared most prominent when the Kinetic was using its ability. As it pulled some of the energy from Pete’s body, black tendrils extending from the Kinetic’s aura licked the surface of his skin.

            Pete blinked away the vision, and once again he could see normally. Unfortunately, using his ability took a toll on his body just like it did to all Kinetics, despite how meager his ability really was. And to make his situation a thousand times worse, he was already incredibly weak, so the infinitesimal amount of energy that the ability had consumed seemed to devour five of the seven oceans that he possessed in energy rather than the usual pond.

            Pete rapidly blinked his eyes, trying to keep his head up and focus on the scene before him. The Kinetic was still there, though this time there were four of them, and each of them wore the same expression of concern.

            Pursing his lips, the alien stranger stepped forward and pushed the dumpster out of the way. The chains broke free from the wall as it rolled to the side and, although Pete was relieved to have been set free, he now struggled to keep himself upright.

            His fingers itched for the throwing knives hidden in his jacket, but he could barely curl his fingers to grab one.

            The Kinetic approached him. “Something’s changed. Your hostility… do you recognize me?”

            Pete’s energy levels were incredibly low. He could no longer strain himself to remain upright, so he gave up. Ignoring the man’s question, he slid down to the ground where he rested in the pool of waiter Ralph’s blood and remains.

            Suddenly, the Kinetic was there before him, kneeling down with his warm fingers perched beneath his chin. He wasn’t the same as before. Pete could barely see, but he was sure that the man’s skin was darker and his hair was thick and black. “No, not yet,” he whispered with a voice that was much softer and more pleasing to hear. “You still need to answer my question. Peter Glass, do you recognize me?”

            Pete blinked and inhaled a deep, uneasy breath. “I know your face,” he murmured “It’s the same as mine.”

            The man pulled his hand away and smiled. “Yet you still think me a stranger.”

            “Father?”

            Pete could barely see now, his eyelids so incredibly heavy, but he was sure that the man had frowned. “So then it’s true,” he whispered. “I really do look like that man… Leone Gallaway.” 

            Pete’s eyes fought to fall shut, but this moment was too precious to pass up. He took a deep breath and blinked his eyes rapidly, struggling to stay awake. “If you’re not him, then… who the hell are you?”

            There could only be one other answer, and Pete feared this response the most. If it was really him, then…

            Through cloudy vision, Pete saw the man’s brilliant blue eyes dart back to his. “I’m your brother.”

            “What?”

            “I believe you may know me as Allen Glass, but that is unimportant at the moment. I’d like to know why you disturbed my rest. I’m supposed to be dead right now.”

            And with that, the last of Pete’s energy was drained from his body as he settled into a deep sleep.

_________________

Dear Glorious Readers,

I've edited this story to be more similar to the original Hello I have uploaded onto SorrowHasNoHANDhere... the updates for this story are called "Perfect World" and are currently being uploaded. The reason I'm doing this is because I'd like to try out for the watties! I hope to have your support, and thanks again for reading!

Live Long and Prosper,

Asgardian / SorrowHasNoHANDhere