AN: Everything is picking up in the next two chapters and I am so ECSTATIC! Who is your favorite character so far? :D 

A gentle breeze swept through the trees of the small empty park. The old swing set creaked with every push the wind gave. The seesaw appeared worn down to an almost broken state. The slide had a small hole in it, so if a kid decided to slide down on it, they'd probably crack the whole thing and it would crumble. Birds chirped in the trees and butterflies flew around the playground.

Tanis waited patiently for the other two to arrive. They're going to come. They did the first time. He sat on one of the benches that still stood as a whole and waited. He had been waiting for three days for them to find him. If they traveled to some desert for the object, they'd be able to find him out in the middle of some small town easily.

Fear remained in his system from earlier in the week. Whatever happened to cause the lab to explode came from his hands. That was all him. This mysterious object changed Tanis, and he didn't like it one bit. He was already different from other people. Why make it worse?

He was afraid to touch everything in case it would disintegrate. He couldn't bear the thought of touching someone else and having their death on his hands. Literally. A shiver ran down his spine just thinking about it.

Alaura walked up to Tanis without fear, her mind calm and collected. Her duel pistols were holstered in her thigh holsters underneath her long army jacket. It would be hard to walk around people with visible weapons. She stood in front of the bench and peered down at him. "You've been sitting here for a while."

Tanis nodded in acknowledgement, and he looked up at her with his chestnut shaded eyes. A sorrowful expression covered his face and all he wanted to do was be alone. "I just want this thing out of my sight." He held the object outwards toward her, leaving room so he doesn't touch her hand, and waited for her to grab it.

"Why the change of heart?" Alaura looked at him curiously, her navy blue eyes searching his face for some hidden emotion. Something bad happened to this guy, but did it have to with the object?

Tanis stood up and pushed the object into her hands. He moved slightly in his thin jacket and awkwardly swayed from side-to-side. He looked the other way and sternly replied, "How about you don't question me and I won't question you. Got it?"

"Okay then. I'll be on my way." Alaura put the object in her small bag that she brought and started to walk towards her car down the block. The object was retrieved. Mission success. Now, she could go back to her superiors triumphant.

Malachi stepped forward from behind a tree and pointed a pistol at Alaura's back. He clicked the safety off and hovered his finger over the trigger. His dark brown eyes focused on Alaura, revealing the hatred and anger. He called out to her, "That object isn't yours."

"And last time I checked, it wasn't yours," she retaliated and turned her head slightly to look back at him. A knowing sparkle was in her eye. Calling his bluff seemed too easy. "You didn't shoot the first time, so why would you now, especially in front of a witness?"

Malachi contemplated for a moment as he pointed the pistol at Alaura's back. On one hand, he could keep his word and kill her, or...Or he could fight her for it. Something nagged at him in the back of his mind to go with the second option. He tried to shake the feeling off, but it persisted and wouldn't leave. Malachi licked his lips and put his gun away. He narrowed his eyes and growled, "I'll take it from you myself."

Malachi ran at her and eyed the small bag. He went to grab it, but Alaura punched him in the jaw. He stumbled backwards, and a soaring pain flowed through his tongue. He had bitten his tongue on accident; some blood mixed with his saliva, the bitter metallic taste dancing across his taste buds. He spit the blood out and grimaced.

Alaura quickly used his shock to her advantage. She went in, punching left and right, over and over. One hit to the stomach, another to the chest. Her fists hit different limbs quickly, not allowing him to gain control. He ducked and tried to dodge, but she still managed to hit him.

Hit. Hit.

Miss.

She elbowed him in the shoulder and dove for another punch, but Malachi caught her fist. He smiled and twisted her arm. She cried out and kicked his leg, but he stood strong. He elbowed her in the back, causing her to lurch forward onto the ground. He kicked her in the stomach twice until he stepped back and allowed her to get up. His hands felt like they were on fire, but it wasn't from pain. The feeling felt all too familiar.

Alaura stumbled up and hunched over for a second. She could already tell bruises were going to form later on, and she wasn't looking forward to that. She glared at Malachi, who smiled devilishly at her, waiting for her next move. Her hands felt hot, like a ton of energy flowed through them. I'm going to wipe that smile off of his damn face.

Malachi stepped forward and aimed to punch her jaw. She ducked in time and gave him her best punch she could muster up. A bright blue light surrounded from her hand as it collided with Malachi's ribcage. On impact, he stood strong and didn't budge, but a large boom erupted and a blue light uprooted the ground around them in a circle. Alaura backed away and stared at her hands in confusion. What she had seen the other night wasn't a dream. It was real, and it destroyed the earth around them.

Malachi's eyes widened and peered at her curiously. He didn't think anyone else had any strange occurrences like that, so this was a grand surprise. He narrowed his eyes and tried to snatch the bag from her. She saw him coming and kicked him in the chest. He coughed for a second and quickly swiped his legs underneath hers. She fell to the ground and landed on her back. He forced her down by putting his foot on her stomach to keep her there, causing her to groan in pain.

By this time, his hands were literally on fire. The golden gun appeared again in his hands out of thin air. Malachi's chest rose and fell, blood coursed through his veins as if the cells were in a race. This woman made his life so difficult. He just came for the object. Short. Simple. She was standing in the way between him and millions of dollars. He gritted his teeth and he spat, "Give me the object!"

When she didn't comply, he shot a round off by her stomach. Alaura flinched and glared at him, but still refused to hand it over. He shot next to her head and scowled, "I won't be so generous with this next round."

Alaura's ear rang loudly, and the sounds around her were muffled. She winced from the pain and stared down the barrel of the gun. She wouldn't give the object up, but he wouldn't shoot. This guy seemed to be all talk and not a real threat. If he didn't shoot her when he had the chance, why would he now? Her words dripped from her tongue like venom from a snake, "Go screw yourself."

Tanis finally had enough of their fighting. He didn't want to see anyone die in front of him. His life was bad already. No need to make it worse and have a death on his conscience. He threw out his hands in frustration and yelled, "Enough!"

A purple orb flew from his hand and bounced off of the two people in front of him. It collided with the playground a little ways away from them and blew up, devouring everything in a small circle radius in purple light. The playground disappeared in seconds, leaving no trace of it ever being there. Tanis watched the two other people as they peered over at him with wide eyes. Malachi's golden gun vanished into thin air. Alaura kicked him in the crotch and pushed herself up from the ground. Malachi groaned and almost fell, but held himself up.

Tanis dragged his hands down his face in frustration. Both of them wanted it, but this object wasn't worth murdering someone else. In the wrong hands, this could be an incredibly bad start towards the future. In the right hands, the people might be ruled with an iron fist. Decisions, decisions. This object caused more chaos than it did good, so there was only one thing left to do. Tanis spoke up as he set his hands down to his side, "We need to take this back to where it belongs."

Malachi shot an icy glare at him and questioned angrily, "And where is that? In the middle of some fucking desert?"

Alaura held Tanis' stare and knew exactly what he was talking about. She rolled her eyes at the man's answer and corrected him, "He means The Traveler, dumbass."

Malachi muttered something under his breath and replied, "It's not my fault I can't read his damn mind." He brushed the dirt off of his dark clothing and leather jacket, trying to calm himself down from the fight.

Alaura chose to ignore him and tilted her head to the side slightly. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she asked, "That whole place below The Traveler is swarming with armed guards and military personnel. How do you plan to get to it?"

Tanis peered at the ground nervously and shrugged. It was just an idea. He never thought they'd take him seriously. "I thought one of you would have had a plan."

"Well, you two can do that. I'm not planning on dying or getting thrown in jail today," Malachi declared and started to walk off. He was done with this. The job was over. Money was lost. He had to find another way to get that cash. These people are nut jobs. He thought to himself.

"Don't you want to know what's happening to us? Why we have these...powers?" Tanis questioned as he turned his attention to him. There had to be an inkling of curiosity in him somewhere.

Malachi stopped in his tracks at those words. He thought about it for a moment, and not just the quick thinking, he thought about this deeply. Something pecked at his brain, almost like that nagging feeling from earlier. He felt the need to go with them, but that was crazy. Malachi thought he was in his right mind, not having some crazy epiphany about working with others and doing the right thing. A part of him wanted to know, but the other part of him really didn't care. Then again, he did say he'd kill Alaura for the object and doesn't have the guts to. His way of thinking just didn't feel right. Something about this whole situation threw him off his game, and that's what intrigued him more than anything. Malachi turned to the other two and sighed, "This is the stupidest idea I've ever been a part of."

"It's the only idea we have," Tanis pointed out. He glanced between the two people in front of him patiently, waiting for Alaura to answer.

Alaura stared at the two men for a moment. What am I getting myself into? She thought and sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, this adventure had to be worth it. She couldn't stand knowing she had powers and didn't know why or how. "I guess we're doing this together then." She turned on her heels and walked off in the direction of her car.

Malachi scoffed and followed behind her. He wasn't happy about having these two along for the ride, but he could get something out of this. If worse came to worse, they would just split the shares three different ways.

Tanis followed close behind Malachi. He wanted the object out of his hands, and he got what he wanted. Tanis thought it best to just leave, but something tugged him along with the two strangers. He didn't know what, but there was a strong feeling in his gut that told him to go. He complied and decided to quietly tag along. He couldn't offer much to them, but he could gain some knowledge in return. He wanted to know what the object was as much as they did. The mystery had gone on long enough.