An uneasy silence filled the air.
Savanna's words had hit Mark like a bullet.
"I know this might surprise you, but that's the best way to put it."
Mark was way more than surprised; he was wildly perplexed.
For the last ten years, his life had been painful and torturous, yet it was predictable.
However, within a week, he had gone from a prisoner to humanity's apparent savior.
Despite his inner voices warning him not to bother, he decided to hear what the captain had to say.
"What do you mean?" Mark inquired.
Savanna was afraid that Mark would storm out before she could explain herself. A quiet relief crossed her when she realized he was willing to listen.
"Tell me, Marcus, what exactly do you know about your powers?"
"Uh...I'm a powerborn. A weatherborn to be exact. But our powers are dangerous and need to be removed."
"Do you believe that?"
"I don't know what to believe."
The captain felt pity for Mark. Half of his life was spent in a cell, where his captors taught him to despise his powers.
He had no formal education and no one to guide him on what was true or false.
"All your life, you've been taught to hate the very thing that makes you unique. Now, I'm going to show you the truth."
Savanna activated her aura, and her eyes began to glow with the usual bright yellow.
[WARNING: Mind Breach Initiated]
In response, Mark quickly switched to an offensive pose.
He stood up and raised his right arm at the captain, ready to fire a bolt.
Natalia rose to defend the captain, facing her right palm toward Mark.
The captain tried to defuse the situation.
"Calm down, both of you."
"I saw what you did to those agents," Mark yelled. "You're trying to control me!"
"No, Marcus. I'm not trying to hurt you. To understand what I have to say, I must transfer images from my mind to yours."
Mark paused for a bit, uncertain what to do next.
"I need you to trust me, Marcus." The captain pleaded. "Can you do that?"
Mark slowly let his head down and slumped back to his seat.
Natalya did the same, keeping her eyes on Mark.
"Ready?"
Marcus nodded.
Immediately, Mark felt an unseen grip on him.
[WARNING: Mind Breach Detected]
[Initiate Mind Block...Y/N?]
Mark's system tried to resist Savanna's influence, but her grip was strong. His body was frozen in place.
"You don't have to fight me, Marcus. Relax."
Mark heard Savanna's voice within his mind, calming and soothing him.
He stopped resisting her force and let her take control of him.
"Allow Mind Breach." He instructed.
[Understood.]
[Mind Breach, Accepted]
At that moment, Mark's eyes began to glow a bright yellow.
[NOTIFICATION: New Ability Detected.]
[Mental Synergy, Level 4 (P-Type - Mindborn)]
[COPY STATUS: Unavailable. No empty slots.]
Savanna had perfectly merged her mind with his, and his consciousness transferred to her body.
Mark opened his eyes and found himself standing in the middle of a busy street, with Savanna by his side.
"Where are we?" Mark asked the captain, his voice originating from his mind.
"You're in my construct; a part of my mind designed to contain two or more mental energies without any permanent adhesion.
"Here, I can show you whatever I want you to see without hurting my brain or yours."
Mark saw rapid flashes — visions of different events happening separately and simultaneously.
As Savanna began her lecture, the visions she showed him seemed to echo or emphasize every point she made.
"In all humans, there is a genetic code that lies dormant. However, this gene has been triggered within a few of us. No one knows what triggers it, and the pattern of occurrence is random.
"Once activated, it mutates into five different forms, granting the human access to a set of powers based on whatever form it takes.
"We call these forms strains, and based on our current knowledge, there are five strains, giving the human control over a certain aspect of reality."
The busy street suddenly disappeared, and a vision manifested before Mark.
It was a vision of himself summoning a lightning bolt from the sky to the ground.
It wasn't something he had tried before, but he believed it was something he could do.
"The W-Strain grants an individual the ability to manipulate the weather and its elements. Such individuals are called Weatherborns"
The vision faded, and Mark saw another one. This time, Captain Savanna is controlling the agents at the prison where he escaped.
"I have the M-Strain, granting me the ability to manipulate my mind and the minds of others. They call us, Mindborns, and our ability is quite rare."
The visions changed once again, and Mark was back at the prison, and he could see the red portal before him.
"The S-Strain enables a human to manipulate and travel through physical space at will, and they're called?"
"Spaceborns."
Mark then witnessed another vision of himself.
In this vision, he was unconscious, but he was being healed by a Lifeborn whose aura glowed with a bright green color.
"With the L-Strain, one can manipulate living organisms and bio-matter. They are called Lifeborns."
All the visions disappeared, and Mark realized he was standing with Savanna, this time in the heart of a barren desert.
"Finally, there's the T-Strain, which is the rarest."
"What aspect of reality does it control?"
"Time."
"Timeborns exist?"
"Well... It's speculative. In all of history, only two individuals who possess the strain have ever been found."
The visions ended abruptly, and a sharp, dizzying sense of falling gripped hold of Mark.
Savanna had cut the mental bridge, and Mark's consciousness drifted back into his body.
Slowly, he regained awareness of his physical body and opened his eyes.
"Humans who activated their strain are called powerborns." Savanna continued after deactivating her aura. "Many call us dangerous when in reality, we're still human... Just evolved."
"They're not wrong. Our powers make us dangerous."
"No, Marcus. That's a terrible idea. Some powerborns caused havoc, and now the whole world fears us all. But with proper guidance, we can harness this power to reshape the world for the better. "
Savanna suddenly looked downcast. Mark was quick to notice.
"I started this organization a decade ago to change the world's perspective on us. To show the world that our powers are good.
"But first, I must rescue all powerborns who have been captured and bring them here, where I can give them a new purpose."
The captain suddenly stood and marched around the room in a glorious stride.
"With our powers, we can stop natural disasters before they occur, cure all sorts of diseases, and end world hunger. Then the world will stop hunting us and see us for what we truly are — Human."
Mark wasn't impressed by the hopeful speech. At this point, he had grown bored of the lecture.
"So, what is the name of your cult?" he asked jokingly, although he was genuinely curious.
Captain Savanna smiled and walked back to her seat.
"We are... The New Resistance."
An awkward silence fell in the room, lasting for a while. Natalya cleared her throat.
"That's uh… original." Mark complimented, but Savanna could tell he was being sarcastic.
"It makes sense." She argued.
"Right. No judgement here. But what does all this have to do with me?"
Mark had finally asked the question Savanna hoped to hear. On impulse,she turned to Natalya, who nodded back in encouragement.
"Marcus, there's something you need to know about your past."