Kyle is so surprised he almost yells at his team leader. The news was so sudden that he teleported straight here to get the details.
"I told you, stop asking me!" James shakes his head in disappointment, the bags under his eyes darker from the all-nighters he has pulled. "Early this morning, a witness came forward and provided Gabriel's confirmed locations and activities during all the times of the murders."
As James tries to drive Kyle away impatiently, Kyle keeps running after him. "Just like that? Where did this witness come from out of nowhere?"
"That person demanded to keep their identity a secret. He met with our chief directly, so even I don't know the details. Now stop pestering me, OK?" James nearly shouts at Kyle, stressed since his seemingly progressing case is now back to square one. "If you're that curious, go ask your brother!"
Kyle catches up with Gabriel at the back gate. Gabriel looks exhausted from a sleepless night at the police station. Kyle suddenly feels guilty seeing his brother's condition, but the young detective isn't good at expressing himself, so he clumsily calls out to Gabriel.
"You are... discharged?" Kyle hesitates before asking.
"So you are irrelevant after all!" Kyle laughs to cover the awkwardness. "What a relief!"
"Yeah..." Gabriel answers tiredly. "I'm going home."
Again with that vague reaction. After all the questions Kyle has stumbled upon, still hanging without any answers, he starts becoming irritated. The hot-tempered second brother can't keep it in any longer.
"Honestly, Gab. Dad bailed you out, didn't he? Or did Mom pay a huge amount of cash?" Kyle blurts out, not caring anymore.
"That's not it," Gabriel argues. "You know our parents would never do that."
"Then what are you hiding, really?" Kyle yells after Gabriel. "Why can't you tell us the truth? Are we not family?"
Gabriel stops, then turns back, smiling bitterly. "What about you then? You talk by telepathy in front of me to keep things from me. You think I don't know? Is that what you call family?"
Kyle is dumbstruck, unable to respond, watching Gabriel leave in frustration.
Gabriel returns to the Lanes' house. No one's home at this hour except May and Clara, the housekeepers. As for Daniel, Mary, and Jason, although they are worried for Gabriel, they still have work they can't skip. Anna has her school and shows to attend.
Seeing him, May comes running like a flustered older sister. "You're back. Did you have anything to eat? What should I get you?"
Gabriel tries to act normal. "Hi May. Could you get me a... cup of water? Thanks..."
May hurries away and returns almost immediately with a full glass of pure water. Gabriel receives it gratefully.
"I'm fine, really." Gabriel smiles when he sees May's concerned stare, his gloomy expression lightening a bit. "Do you have snacks? Anything's okay."
"Sure, just a second!" When May comes back with a plate full of warm, delicious cookies and crackers, she finds Gabriel has already fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room. Only now does May have a chance to get a closer look at him. Although he appears sick and disheveled, his facial features are still eye-pleasing.
"He looks like a painting, really." May sighs sadly. "How come there's no picture of him in this house?"
___
It's a peaceful and prosperous era for humans, especially those with dominant, superpower genes. But fifteen years ago, it was a different story. Back then, the "original" people, now referred to as "recessives," were still powerful rulers and dictators of the world. The dominants, who were called "mutants," despite having a larger population, were still oppressed and discriminated against. To maintain their high social status and prevent the mutants from rebelling against them, the original governments limited the mutants' civil rights, from healthcare and education to work opportunities. If they were caught using their special abilities outside their designated roles, they would be severely punished. Any sign of discontent or opposition from the mutants would result in dire consequences for all of them and their families, whether they were responsible or not. Coldor Republic and its capital, Coldor City were no exception in that harsh world.
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Fifteen years ago, there was no "the Lanes," just a poor family of six, with an unemployed father who frequently went missing for months, God knew where, leaving only the hardworking wife and four little children at their tiny, shabby house. The wife was busy working all day with laborious tasks like washing dishes, assisting cooks, and cleaning at local eateries, so the children mostly took care of themselves. The third son was the only one allowed to go to school, but no one cared if he attended his classes dutifully or not. Given their family circumstances, those kids wouldn't have a bright future anyway.
It was a typical day in a small alley in one of Coldor's slums. Some well-off original kids were indulging in their usual, civilized pleasure of ganging up on an unlucky mutant child. Their target these days was Kyle, the foul-tempered but skinny boy from that filthy mutant family. Even though he was just a lowly creature, he dared to look at the original kids with those repulsive, fearless eyes of his, which was intolerable. Insolents like him had to be taught their place.
"Hit him! Hit him harder!" A fat boy in the group of those original teenagers shouted, throwing punches at Kyle along with his peers. Kyle gritted his teeth. As weak as those puny hits were, they still started to hurt after a while. He wanted to fight back, but he held back. The last time he acted up, things didn't end well. The original kids' parents demanded a huge amount of settlement money, and his mom had to take out another loan on top of the debt she was already struggling with. Kyle vowed to himself since then that even if he was useless to his family, he would try his best not to cause them more trouble.
"Why so obedient now?" Another kid from the group, a tall and older-looking boy who seemed like the leader, laughed mockingly. "Where's that fierceness of yours?" He looked down at Kyle lying on the ground, smirking. "You thought you were some hot sh*t, huh? Scum freak."
The group burst out laughing. Kyle wished he could just teleport away, but even doing that was against the law. As an express courier, he could only use teleportation for his deliveries. He felt so powerless and humiliated.
"Hey! Stop it! You f*cking bullies!!" In the midst of that heated moment, the scream of a boy interrupted the original kids' laughter and mockeries. They turned to see who had dared to curse them. There he was, wearing a costume of a God of Death, holding a fake scythe in his hands, looking more like a puny mushroom than a threatening horror character.
"Who the hell are you?" The kids barked at the newcomer.
"The one who'll send you all to hell!" The little grim reaper shouted at the top of his lungs, lunging forward with his fake but heavy-looking scythe swinging down on the kids. "Go eat sh*t you motherf*ckers!!!"
Along with his ear-piercing scream, a loud 'Bam!' startled them all. From the scythe toy, lots of confetti, streamers, and colored smoke exploded, obscuring their view for a short while. The original kids coughed loudly, waving their hands in front of their faces, momentarily distracted from their bullying target.
In the chaos, the costumed boy threw his scythe to the side and grabbed Kyle's hand, whispering to him, "Hurry! Run!"
Recognizing that voice, Kyle sprang up, tripping the leader to make him fall hard to the ground, and dashed out of the narrow alley. They kept running until the little boy behind Kyle stopped, out of breath.
"You okay?" Kyle stooped down before the boy, who was much shorter than him. "It's fine now. They won't be able to catch up."
"I should be asking you," the boy said, taking off the costume to reveal the eight-year-old version of Gabriel. He looked at his brother's bruised face, frowning like an old man. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
"You know how tough I am," Kyle chuckled, gently tousling Gabriel's hair. "This much is nothing!"
Noticing Gabriel's strange appearance, Kyle asked, "What is this costume? Where did you get it?"
"Oh, this?" Gabriel looked at the outfit he was wearing. "I was running an errand for a nearby store's event. It's Halloween, so..."
"What? You didn't go to school?" Kyle exclaimed in disbelief.
"Shhh... Don't tell mom!" Gabriel told his brother. "School sucks, anyway. I'd rather make some money, like you and Jason."
Kyle looked back at Gabriel with wide eyes.
a small alley in one of Coldor's slums