~ Omniscient Pov, A few hours later... ~
.
.
.
After taking care of the remaining bases. All the squads had re-grouped. At their main base, Javier was finally back with his team members before he gave a final debriefing to the higher ups, however, his squad had questions first...
They all sat in one of the equipment rooms, the harsh fluorescent lights casting long shadows on the walls. Javier leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Across the table, Carter sat with his hands steepled, his eyes narrowed as he studied Javier. The rest of the team—Riley, Morgan, and a few others—were scattered around the room, their attention fixed on the conversation.
"I keep telling you," Javier said, his voice tight with frustration, "I saw someone come out of nowhere and save us. I don't know who they were or what they were, but they were there. And if it weren't for them, we'd all be dead."
Carter paused when he heard that, 'Still... All of us on the outside saw what happened from afar too, it was hard not to notice it.'
"I believe you Javier, we all do, actually..." Carter added, but in his head, he might have an inkling as to who had really done this...
~ Back at the Hideout ~
.
.
.
Carter made his way past the fake rubble, slipping through the hidden entrance of his home. It was well past midnight, and the weariness of the day clung to him like a second skin. The base was quiet now, the usual hum of activity replaced by the soft creak of the floorboards under his boots and the distant hum of the generator. He was tired—bone-tired—but there was a strange sense of relief mixed in with the exhaustion. The mission was over, and somehow, against all odds, Javier and his squad had made it back alive.
When he stepped into the main room, he stopped short. Alex was there, sitting cross-legged in the center of the room, his eyes closed and his expression serene. But what caught Carter's attention—what made his breath hitch in his throat—was the faint crimson glow surrounding Alex, pulsating gently like a heartbeat. And then there was the fact that Alex wasn't sitting at all. He was floating, suspended a few inches above the ground, as if gravity had no hold on him.
His eyes flicked to the corner of the room, where a large trench coat and a smooth, featureless mask were neatly folded and placed on a chair. The sight of it made his stomach twist a bit. It was exactly what Javier had described—exactly what he'd been trying to convince himself was real...
'Well, he's definitely not hiding the fact that he went there... A few points for blatant honesty I guess.' He thought... But, he had another thing he needed to get off his chest.
"Al—" Carter started to say, but he stopped himself mid-word. His voice felt too loud in the quiet room, too intrusive. Instead, he just stood there for a moment, his eyes moving between Alex and the trench coat, his mind racing.
Finally, he let out a long, slow breath and dropped his bag to the floor. The sound was soft, but it seemed to echo in the stillness. He moved to a nearby stool and sat down heavily, his shoulders slumping as the weight of the day finally caught up with him.
"Thanks, kid," he said quietly, his voice low and rough. "Thanks for saving my friend and his squad."
Alex didn't open his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he were fighting back a smile. The crimson energy around him pulsed faintly, casting a soft, warm glow across the room. "Don't worry," he said, his voice calm and even, "It wasn't an issue for me."
Carter snorted, a tired but genuine laugh escaping him, "Not an issue, huh? You've got a funny way of downplaying things, you know that?"
Unbeknownst to him, Alex's smile widened, but just a little; he didn't respond at first. The room fell silent again, the only sound the faint hum of the energy surrounding him. Carter sat there for a while, just watching him, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. He wanted to ask questions—so many questions—but he didn't know where to start. And part of him wasn't sure he wanted to know the answers.
To him, Alex was growing fast... Too fast. And it was scaring even him now. The boy likely possessed knowledge and understanding even ahead of even his now. His abilities? Carter didn't even want to think about them anymore, it wouldn't even matter either. Alex was just powerful, plain and simple.
But what the kid had done today had struck him hard, 'It's a damn waste to let the kid stay cooped up in a place like this, it'll do him and the world no good...' The man had seen what potential was, but not like this. Alex needed to be known, not on a large scale, but maybe as a vigilante?
Sending the kid to a normal school was no longer an option to him, he'd likely ace all the classes in a year... Alex, was already way beyond regular human kids at this point, and Carter felt as if he didn't have enough resources for that potential to either grow or even prosper.
He sighed, thinking to himself 'I'll just have to leave that task for the me tomorrow.'
~ The Next Day, Alex's Pov ~
.
.
.
I woke up after a good night's worth of meditation training. I feel super refreshed too... Regardless, I now had a better grasp on my abilities now. Last night, I basically confirmed that my shield has defensive capabilities much higher than just my basic load bearing capacity.
Which is, interesting to me. Other than that, I'm wondering if my physical strength has some sort of correlation to how much I can lift with my telekinesis too... Maybe energy isn't just an external force, but both? It's definitely something to think about since there's seemingly a connection between the two.
For now, other priorities...
"Morning kid."
Never mind my priorities I guess...
"Morning Carter." I replied, stretching a bit.
"Could I bother you for a second?" Carter asked me. But, I knew this was just a polite way of saying, could we have a long chat. Not that I really mind it, plus, I also have something else to tell him too, so it's a win-win, I suppose...
"Yeah... What do you want to ask?"
Carter took one of the chairs from the side, and sat on it, while I just opted to float in the air for the time being... I still needed to get used to my ability to fly; so I might as well practice it whilst I'm practically idling. Doing this earned me a weird look from him, but he seemed to brush it off quickly.
"Good... Now, I just wanted to ask. Since when were you this strong? No... I should be a bit more specific; since when the hell could you fly fast enough to break the damn sound barrier?"
And, he's already starting off on a good note...
.
.
.
.
.
.
END