Stella's eyes widened in shock as she knelt beside the lifeless bodies of Palmer and the others. "This can't be right, can it? They can't be dead, can they?" she exclaimed, her voice trembling. Kenneth stood beside her, his face etched with concern. "This was a total disaster," he said, shaking his head. "Who is this guy, anyway? What kind of power does he possess? He may have taken them all down without breaking a sweat!"
Cole, meanwhile, was examining the strange ice sculptures that littered the area. "It looks like they tried to fight back," he observed, his eyes scanning the scene. As he walked further, he spotted Sir David's headless body on the snowy ground. Bending down, he noticed the same mark on Sir David's shoulder that The-void had left on Stella's shoulder during their previous encounter. "He can manipulate reality, gravity, and time," Cole said, his voice grave. "We don't know the full extent of his powers, but we need to be on high alert. He's a planet-level threat."
Stella's anger boiled over, and she stormed over to Cole, her eyes blazing. "You're standing there, comfortable and calm, analyzing the threat level, while we lost people because of your stupid plan!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the frozen landscape. "We killed them, Cole! We literally killed them!"
Kenneth rushed over, intervening just in time, and pulled Stella away from Cole. "Not here, Stella, not now," he urged, his voice soothing. "We didn't fail, we just missed a crucial detail. I should have seen this coming before we put the plan into action." Cole said.
"What do you mean, Cole? Please, explain it in a way we can understand," Kenneth asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Well, when we encountered The-void, I found a glass shard from Sir David's glass formation. When I touched it, I saw infinite possibilities of what was to come," Cole explained.
"So, you're saying you saw future events?" Stella asked, her eyes wide with wonder.
"Yes, I felt time itself at that moment, and it gave me a choice - a difficult one. I had to decide between The-void killing us and the Palmer family living, or saving you all and the Palmer family dying. It was a hard choice, and that's when I allowed The-void to trap us in my own construct reality," Cole said, his voice heavy with the weight of his decision.
"I don't understand, Cole. What do you mean by 'choose between the two'?" Kenneth asked, his confusion evident.
"It's called a Temporal Decision Point, a point in time where a choice or decision determines the course of future events. I know no one here wanted to die, but that's not the case. The Temporal Decision Point can only be triggered if one of the characters in these events alters what was supposed to happen by making a different choice themselves," Cole explained.
"So, what you're saying is that the curse of their death was because they didn't follow the plan? They didn't want to follow the plan, and it cost them their lives? But what did Sir David have in mind? What was he planning to do?" Kenneth asked, his mind racing with questions.
"That explains the ice sculptures over there," Stella said, her eyes fixed on the frozen structures. "That's Belle's ability - frost manipulation. She must have entered a rage point when she saw her parents' death and tried fighting against The-void."
"That's likely the case with Sofia too - she may have entered a rage point. Look around, there's a high amount of cosmic energy resonating throughout this area. It won't take long for the Sector Unit to detect this. If the Council finds out we're involved, they'll investigate and make their decision about us without hesitation. We've made a grave mistake," Stella said, her voice laced with concern.
"We need to leave, now, before it's too late," Kenneth urged, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger.
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, Derek and his friends couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Hina standing up for Dave. Hina stood firm, her fists clenched, ready for what was to come.
"Hina, what are you doing here? You can't save me, please leave. I can handle this myself," Dave said, his voice weak as he lay on the floor.
"Dave, you don't look like someone who has this under control. You were just getting beaten up a minute ago," Hina pointed out.
"And what are you going to do about it, new girl? You think you can save this little coward?" Derek sneered.
"Well, why don't you come and find out? I'm right in front of you. Take your best shot," Hina said, her confidence and agility evident in her stance.
"Look, we don't want you in our business. We came for him, not you. You better go home before your dad finds out his daughter is missing, and also, you need to..." one of Derek's friends was saying when Hina interrupted him with a powerful punch that sent him flying across the alley.
Everyone was shocked, and this triggered the others to attack. One of them closed in, but Hina swiftly took him down, slamming him into the floor. Two were down, and four more to go. The boys didn't underestimate her again, attacking with all their might. Hina simultaneously hit them each time any of them got close to her.
One of them jumped, attempting to take her down, but Hina swiftly turned and kicked him into a brick wall. After a while, two of them came at her at the same time, but she dodged and gave them a hard punch on the face and rib, knocking them out. Now it was just Derek, standing in confusion, looking at her.
"What are you?" Derek asked, unable to tell if she was an Izigan due to her hidden tattoos.
Derek's friends all stood up, one by one, and ran away, even Dave was shocked. "You're not getting away with this, new girl," Derek said, walking away.
"Hey Dave, are you okay? You look hurt," Hina said, kneeling down to talk to him as he lay on the floor.
"Hina, what are you?" Dave asked, still confused.
"I'm an Izigan, just like you, Dave. You're not alone," she said, smiling at him.
Meanwhile, in a nearby store, Dave's mom, Rita, had just finished shopping and was packing her bags to pay for her goods. As she glanced at the mirror-like object behind the store clerk, she noticed something strange - her reflection was nowhere to be seen. After paying, she approached the clerk, looking concerned.
"Excuse me, can I ask you a question quickly?" Rita asked.
"Of course, what is it?" the store clerk replied.
"Can you see my reflection on that plane screen behind you?" Rita asked, her voice laced with worry.
The store clerk found the question odd but turned to check anyway. "Yes, ma, I can see your reflection. You're right there," she said, pointing to the mirror.
Rita thanked her and quickly left the store, her face etched with a worried look. Something was definitely off, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.