"A door…" Adam muttered softly. He traced his fingers over the rune-like tattoo and asked no one in particular, "Why would it be a door?"
At that moment, he suddenly turned to look at the living room door. The two girls watched as he walked over and stopped before it. Adam reached out his hand, carefully touching the cold surface.
He stood there for a while, eyes closed and thoughts fixated on one thing.
Suddenly, his fingers sank. A weird sensation coursed through his body and he opened his eyes. His outstretched hand had passed through the door.
"So, the ability to phase through objects." Nina confirmed. "But, what has that got to do with a door, or mirror?"
"I'm not sure about how it relates to the tattoo, but I feel like I understand what the third ability is…" Adam paused for a moment, then said, "It could be referring to access."
"Access?" Nana was puzzled, so was her twin.
Adam exhaled and returned to the sofa. He sat and carefully orchestrated his words, "I've been thinking about it. Three runes, three different abilities. One, unparalleled strength. Another is foresight."
He continued, "If this tattoo is indeed a door and not a mirror, then it would be Access. Unparalleled power, knowledge of the future, and the ability to go through locked things, accessing what would be otherwise impossible."
Adam raised his gaze and looked at the two girls. He then asked, "Notice anything?"
"Power, knowledge and Access." Nina said, deep in thought. At that moment, she remembered what she had seen when she first looked at the tattoos. When she saw the door or mirror, she had been thrust into an unknown world filled with various versions of herself– old, young, joyful, sinister, sad.
Versions? She frowned. "No, no… those were all me from different timelines."
"Exactly." Adam nodded.
Nana was quite lost, but she continued to pay great attention.
Adam explained further, "I thought about it and deduced that you probably saw yourself from different moments in the stream of time. In other words, this door-like tattoo–"
"Allows access to time." Nina completed his sentence.
"Not just that. Time and space. Which would explain passing through solid objects and becoming intangible. It's because I'm entering a different space."
Adam felt like he was getting close to understanding the power that had been forced on him.
Nana suddenly asked, "Would that explain why you saw the future in a dream-like space? You said the second rune probably refers to Foresight. But, you mentioned that those dreams were very vivid– almost like they were real. So, what if, due to the power of the third rune, you actually kept travelling to the future?"
"That's very possible." Adam nodded slowly and carefully considered her words. "Strength, Foresight, Access."
"But, if all this is true…" Nina frowned and looked at her twin and Adam. "Then it means…"
"That couldn't possibly be the case, right?"
All three fell silent as they looked at each other.
Strength, Foresight, Access. Powers said to be bestowed by the Lord God from an era forgotten by man. A being said to be Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent.
Although still in basic forms, Adam's abilities were beginning to bear similarities to that of God.
"The old man from the past mentioned that I am burdened. The horned-beast I saw whenever I entered that space also mentioned something about being unable to handle the weight of the power given to me."
The young teen suddenly sighed. "I need answers. I need direct answers."
The girls could feel his struggle. Nana flashed a bright smile and tried to console him, "Well, that's why we're here to take care of you. Our fates are intertwined now."
"Heh," Adam chuckled in response, but his eyes lacked any trace of joy.
…
East Gate hospital,
Marshall Bates wasn't in his usual coat or suit. He wore a casual white shirt, brown pants and held his hat in hand. He flashed his best smile as he navigated the corridor, hoping the nurses would sneak glances at him.
Eventually, he arrived at a private room. Without knocking, he stepped in and glanced at the figure on the bed.
"Sorry state you're in." Mathew chuckled and pulled himself a chair.
Ijvesta was on the bed, face half-wrapped in bandages. He spoke slowly, but with irritation, "Bastard almost fractured my skull."
Mathew Bates chuckled and said, "Actually, I didn't realise it was that powerful a hit. Until it clicked that the alien had the strength to tear tanks apart. It's a wonder how you're still alive."
"Will take more than that to put me down," Ijvesta struggled to say. Then, he asked, "Any updates?"
"On the kid, or the new division?"
"Both."
Bates leaned into his chair, scratched his head and spoke, "I went to see him yesterday. I believe he'll accept the offer. I have some of my men monitoring him, however, as we can't be completely sure he's not hostile."
"The generals know about him?"
"Only ours." Bates answered. "If the other generals find out, then the Major general will too, and inevitably, the Paragon will. If they do, the boy might be stripped of his freedom. He shouldn't have to go through that."
Ijvesta nodded approvingly. "I'm glad it was you who found him. At least, he has a chance to decide what he wants."
"He's been through a lot," Mathew Bates sighed. "I looked into his files. He lost his parents about 3 years back. The lady that had been impaled that day was his only family. He must be devastated."
"Yeah. But, last time, you said he was with two girls?"
Mathew Bates nodded. "They're his friends, I think. The Hemlock twins. Their mother had died in the same explosion that killed Adam's parents. As for the father, he passed when the twins were still very young."
Ijvesta shook his head and snickered, "Reeks of orphans in here."
Mathew hit his friend on the chest. "Insensitive bastard." He had also been an orphan before joining the ranks of the Overseers.
The two burst into a round of laughter, and after a while, Ijvesta asked, "And what about the new division?"
"Well, a recruitment invitation has been sent out. We can only recruit ages 18-25 into the division, due to the compatibility of the new power orbs. The applicants will go through months of training and examination, till they're eventually whittled down to just twenty.
"However, there will be five slots retained for those recommended personally by the generals, or by me. Those recommended do not have to go through the examination process unlike the others.
"So, 25 in total." Ijvesta confirmed, to which Mathew nodded.
"Yes, that's the amount of power orbs we've been able to refine so far. What else? My former squad will be incorporated into Marshall Cathy's squad. The only problem is…"
"Yeah?" Ijvesta looked at him.
Mathew said in all seriousness, "I haven't decided on a name for the new division."