I pulled the grey jacket I'd stolen from a lost and found two weeks ago closer to my body as I exited the motel I'd been staying at the night before after quickly paying the soft spoken clerk. The clerk paid my peculiar, closed off behavior no mind.

We were in Canton Wyoming, a small city with a population just over two thousand. Drifters and hitchhikers were not unusual.

I tucked the wallet I'd picked off of a big nosed business type wearing a knock off Rolex a few days ago into the inside pocket of my jacket. There was still enough money left for me to get by for the week as long as I slept under a bridge or tree a few nights.

I paced down the cracked sidewalk under the overcast skies with no real destination in mind. I figured that if I stayed moving and covered my tracks, no one would ever be able to find me. It wasn't a perfect plan but I'd attempted hiding in one place under a false name before and it only took a few weeks for the agency to find me.

My pale brown eyes stayed alert on my surroundings, not allowing anything to go unremarked, just as I was trained to do.

In front of me was a man and presumably his son walking in the opposite direction towards me. The boy's cheeks were tinged pinj from the oddly chilly May air but the weather did little to dampen his mood. A gleeful smile sprouted on his youthful features after his father, an unassuming and round male, made a remark I couldn't quite hear. The father carried a colorful box and a plastic grocery sack with unknown contents. The boy only held a particularly large balloon with bold cursive writing scrippled across its pink and white surface.

I squinted to read it.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's day?

I could only imagine what my mother might have been doing this morning. My imagination didn't span far though considering I couldn't put a face or name with the concept of either parents. But maybe my father was out getting flowers or something.

My mouth twitched in blank curiosity at the seemingly normal sight.

The father dipped his head politely as I passed by and I offered a similar gesture just before my stomach prickled unhappily. My last square meal had been over fourteen hours ago after I microwaved a TV dinner for the third night in a row. Half frozen Salisbury steak and flavorless mash potatoes had gotten real old real fast.

I glanced across the street to see a red bricked dinner with white paned windows. I stopped at a crosswalk, my gaze still fixed on the dinner which was the only restaurant open at 7am aside from the fast food joint two blocks over. It was a simple layout on the corner with a nearby alley and sewer exit that could serve as easy escape ways.

My stomach gurgled again and after another moment of deliberation, my feet whisked me to the diner. I took a seat close to the front window but in the corner so that my back was facing the wall and I had a good view of the rest of the room. There were a total of six other occupants including the plump chef in the kitchen and two waitresses. There was a Hispanic couple across from me with a half eaten plate of hotcakes between them as they stared lovingly into each other's eyes. The last individual was a solitary Asian male with sharp features and a full cup of coffee on his table.

He wore a long over coat and had a noticeably hunched back - as if he spent most of his days cowered over a computer. He hadn't seemed to have noticed my entrance and appeared more interested in reading an out of date news paper that was almost two weeks old. I wouldn't have considered that odd if I hadn't seen the fresh stack of newspaper on the hostess table upon entering.

The male reached for his phone as one of the waitresses approached me with a notepad in hand. Her name tag said: Abbie.

"Hi there hon', could I get ya' anything'?" The middle aged woman with pasty pale skin asked.

I'd hardly looked at the menu yet.

"Do you have french toast?" I asked simply, purposefully making my voice airy and non threatening.

"Yes m'am we do," Abbie replied with a charming smile full of straight teeth. I'd always had an affinity for french toast since the day I escaped. I liked to think sometimes that, before I'd been taken, my parents would've taken me to get a bunch like this one on any Sunday afternoon. "Anything else?"

"Eggs, scrambled, and water with no ice," I added and she nodded before jotting it down in her notepad.

"Alrighty, it'll be out in a few," She said before leaving.

I leaned back in my seat, attempting to relax. My slender hand found itself fiddling with the ends of my hair that I had cut recently. It was now just past shoulder length and no longer an auburn brown but an inky black. I'd probably dye it again soon.

My reflection showed faintly through the clear glass. I'd left the agency before they had enough time to put me under the knife, at least for my face. My pale brown eyes that had faint purple circles underneath them stared back.

I turned away from the window as the couple left hand in hand. As they exited, a sandy brown haired woman with icy blue eyes entered. She was shorter than I was, then again, most women were, and had a stockier build. Her nails were a sharp silver, either nail polish or a false set. Her strong jaw was stuck in a tight clench as if she was holding something back. She reminded me of those hard ass military drill instructors.

I watched from my peripheral as she sat down only a few tables away from the dark hair male. As the waitress, Abbie, returned with my water, the brunette's icy gaze inadvertently met mine. A subtle flash of recognition ran across her face rather than the vacant stare of a stranger.

She knew who I was.

I looked away, casually picking up the water glass and taping a sip. My blank expression didn't betray the instinctive intuition I felt in my gut.

I glanced at the Asian male again who had yet to touch his still full coffee. Steam issued in lazy wisps off of the hot cup. The male, almost purposefully, didn't take notice of my curious look and instead stayed purely fixated on his out of date news paper.

There was something going on here.

Perhaps it was purely paranoid built off of living on the edge of my toes for a year but an undeniable tension had gripped the air and I was almost sure the other two could sense it as well.

A police cruiser passed by outside as the waitress came by with my eggs. I thanked her as she told me the toast would be out soon. I didn't dare touch the food. My appetite had disappeared at the threat of the two mysterious oncomers.

Without warning, I took a deep whiff of the air as if clearing my nose. The male glanced up, for the first time, with minute curiosity in his narrow gaze. I sniffed again, this time louder, intentionally getting both of the occupant's attention as well as one of the waitresses who looked at me strangely.

My sense of smell had been enhanced by the agency many years ago. A gift that felt like a curse.

I immediately picked up the sure scent of cinnamon coming from the kitchen where the chef hummed happily. There was also the sweet smell of the second waitresse's cheap perfume. However, there was a certain sharp, almost tangy, scent that specifically caught my attention because normal humans didn't give off the smell. It was the same scent I had.

Variants.

If I had been skeptical before, I now knew full well that whoever these people were, they were not normal humans.

Variants are generally defined as 'supernatural' or 'enhanced' being's. Meaning they had 'powers' of sorts.

I, for example, am a Variant. A telepath and telekinetic to be exact.

An extremely rare natural combination but I'd only been a telepath at birth and a minor one at that since I can only pathologically enter someone's thoughts or mind through physical contact. It was only after the agency took me away that I was given telekinesis. It was a common procedure but also not highly successful.

The sandy hair woman and hunched over male were, without a doubt, Variants.

Variants weren't uncommon but having three in a random diner at 7:15 in the morning in some podunk town in Ohio with one being an escaped special agent was suspicious. I now looked openly at the two Variants who were well aware by now that I was onto them. Not to mention that the same police cruiser I'd seen just a moment ago was now parked outside.

My pale brown eyes flickered between them, pondering over what abilities they might have been hiding up their sleeves. The pair stared back and I could sense their nerves rising.

They knew who I was but not what I could do to them.

I cleared my throat loudly, effortlessly cutting through the cold silence.

"So," I asked, looking directly at the sharply featured male. "How's this going to play out?"

At first neither responded and I noticed a second police cruiser pull up across the street. The pair shared a silent look between them. They obviously weren't strangers.

"That depends Ms.Sterling," The male began with an even tenor. My jaw unintentionally clenched at the sound of my name. "A peaceful detainment would be ideal."

My gaze went back to the female who was now tensed in her seat, as if ready to pounce.

"Peace?" I asked distantly.

The male didn't repeat himself.

I tilted my head to the right until I heard a distinct pop. I could feel a familiar power gather behind my fingers. I'd been out of action for a year but some habits die hard.

Abbie the waitress looked between us in stark confusion with a plate of french toast in hand.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," I said calmly as I focused upon the table the male sat at.

With a telekinetic shove, I rammed the table backwards, right into the male. The cup of coffee went with the table, spilling onto the man's coat and exposed skin.

The female reacted in kind as she reached for a concealed handgun at her waist. She never had a chance to get a finger on the trigger before I gripped a nearby chair with telekinetic energy and sent it careening into her stomach. The force was enough to knock her onto the floor with her male companion. A scream sounded from one of the waitresses at the sudden violence.

I was at the door in a split second and aggressively swung it open as a surge of adrenaline rushed through my veins.

Unfortunately, upon exiting, I found myself held at gunpoint by around a dozen officers with anxious expressions in blue uniforms. Four other men, dressed in black uniforms and kevlar vests, stood near a black Escalade with their weapons also drawn. The four looked like secret service types.

FBI probably. Maybe even CIA.

They had the street blocked off to avoid any collateral.

The human barricade and loaded weapons would have made most people a lire worried. My expression remained steady as my heart rate slowly climbed.

However, what did catch my attention was the one particular individual who had yet to draw his gun from the holster at his waist. He stood at the front of the barricade with his shoulders rolled back confidently.

He was tall, well over six foot, with twisted dreadlocks that reached a few inches past his slender shoulders that matched his dark beige skin. He had long arms, similar to a football player, and jade green eyes that met mine with calm recognition. Unlike the officers and supposed agents behind him, he didn't look nervous. Unsure, maybe even curious, but not fearful.

He had to be a Variant.

He wore a kevlar vest, similar to the other agents, but I noticed three distinct letters embroidered in yellow on the upper right corner of his chest.

DCL

The Division of Criminal Logistics.

One of the few federally funded agencies that actively hired Variants as agents. Specifically because unlike the FBI or DOD, the DCL focused on criminal Variant activity in particular.

I looked between the man and those behind him,

mindful of the pair still in the diner.

They probably thought they had me cornered.

The dreadlocked male cleared. "Please stand down ma'am we don't want to hurt you. We just want your cooperation," The man claimed evenly.

I quirked a brow in disbelief.

"Says the guy with a small army behind him," I pointed out.

"You can't blame us for being precautious," He replied. "I just ask that you cooperate by dropping any weapons you may have to the ground and raising your hands where we can see them."

I held his gaze for a moment, gaging the situation in my mind. There was an alleyway forty yards away that led to the street behind us which connected to the sewage lines. I didn't know where the sewage line would bring me but as long as it was far and away from the DCL's nose I would be pleased.

All I had to do was make it to that alley.

I slowly began to raise my hands, still not breaking eye contact with the tall male. Some of the officers looked relieved at my apparent decision to comply but the dreadlocked male stayed steadfast. But even he couldn't see the invisible energy building behind my hands.

In one sudden movement, I brought down my hands against the sidewalk. The impact was instantaneous, like a bomb had gone off. A shock wave was sent hurtling outward from my hands. The shear power of the telekinetic energy sent each of the officers and even the agents off their feet. Many were sent flying into their respective vehicles where they then crumpled to the ground.

The only one to keep their feet was the dreadlocked man who was half obscured by a shimmering projection that seemed to have appeared from thin air.

The diner windows behind me shattered and the glass crunched against the bottom of my soft soled sneakers as I sought to escape. I'd bought myself maybe a five second head start and I was determined to use those precious seconds. I sprinted down the sidewalk at top speed, closing the distance between me and the alleyway quickly.

I could already hear footsteps sounding from behind me as I turned down the narrow alley. I only made it a few more yards before colliding directly into a shimmering wall that had seemingly sprouted from the ground. I grunted in surprise at the sudden dilema. I turned back to see none other than the tall man with jade green eyes just as he turned the corner. He had his hand outstretched in my direction.

He was a variant too and he could obviously create shield projections of some sort.

"Stop!" The male persisted but his words might as well have fallen on deaf ears.

I didn't have time to engage him fairly as he approached swiftly. Instead, I gripped him telekinetically by the arm, abruptly halting his advance and causing him to jerk against my hold in bemusement as he found himself held back by an invisible force. His confusion was replaced by pain as I swung him into the nearby brick wall. His shoulder collided harshly against the stone but didn't crack.

I could have killed him. It would at least ensure we would never cross paths again. However, a blood trail and an increase in attention was the last thing I needed.

Not to mention, I didn't enjoy killing. I never had. But unfortunately, I was good at it.

I continued at a sprint down the alley as the shimmering force wall collapsed after the male had been incapacitated. My breaths had grown heavier but not due to lack of stamina. I had used a great deal of energy in creating that shockwave. The power wasn't priceless

I took a sharp turn, making sure I was going north since that's where I knew the sewer entry was located.

I suddenly spotted a flash of black from the corner of my vision before the male from the diner, quite literally, landed right in front of me. I came to an abrupt stop, my feet nearly skidding against the concrete.

I'd initially determined the Asian male's hunched back as a side effect of cubicle work but the true cause was far more surprising. Now that his heavy overcoat was removed, a set of silky, feathered wings that went down to his ankles were revealed. His nails had also extended into black talons, like a hawk.

A Hybrid.

Some Variants are born with animalistic qualities that are specifically designated to one animal. And in this man's case, a bird, most likely a bird of prey, of some kind.

He used my split second of hesitation to pull out a glock. I reacted soundly and snapped the weapon from his hands with a well aimed kick. The retaliation left my right flank exposed and he took the opportunity to make a swift jab that managed to catch me under the ribs but I deflected his next shot and the one after that. Yet he was relentless and surprisingly well trained.

He had an odd fighting technique that combined the raw moves of a moves kickboxer and a martial art style that I recognized to be hapkido.

He frequently attempted to hit me with a low kick to the shins or legs to get me onto the ground yet kept his talons retracted. But I evaded each attack with the deft precision, reacting mostly in defense, that came from years of experience on the field. He was fast and certainly skilled but I had no interest in genuinely engaging him.

I allowed him to continue pressing an attack which caused me to back up a few steps. My defensive moves become purposefully slower, letting him think that he would soon gain the upper hand. I leaned away, intentionally forgetting to pivot on my foot and he saw and took his chance just as quickly as I anticipated. The sharply featured male made a sudden lunge, most likely interested in getting me off balance but before he had a chance to follow through, I grabbed his wrist in a vice like grip. His skin met mine. His expression turned puzzled but before he could react, I entered his mind.

The familiar sensation of falling into thick nothingness overcame my senses. I was vulnerable while in a telepathic connection since I could no longer see my surroundings but I didn't plan on staying in his head for long.

The immediate sense of adrenaline induced excitement hit me instantly and was then followed by intensity. Colorful images soon appeared at random since I had no intended direction to pursue. Flashes of peoples faces and precious interactions spanned across my vision that was now linked with his. I even caught a few glimpses of the sandy haired brunette woman and the dreadlocked male that I had engaged only a moment ago.

I released his wrist from my stiff grip after a few seconds. The telepathic connection had only been meant to discombobulate the man. A side effect of extended telepathic connections resulted in permanent brain damage or aneurism and sometimes a sudden fatal heart attack. Luckily for him, I didn't have time to render him disabled and also no intention of doing so.

The male stumbled to the side, his feet suddenly failing him. His dark gaze was foggy and unfocused as he tried to stay standing. His wings fluttered abruptly, as if unsure of weather to take flight or not, and a hand went to his stomach due to the ensuing nausea that came with my telepathy.

I felt tempted to shove him to the ground for a good measure but decided against it. I turned away instead, and continued on route to the sewage escape. It was practically in view now, just at the end of the alley across the street. I could have closed the distance in seconds but a figure suddenly stepped in front of the exit of the alley with a glock raised in my direction.

It was the icy blue eyed female from the diner. Her jaw was set tightly as she faced me down confidently. I would've whisked the weapon away from her if it weren't for the shimmery haze, which were becoming irritable, that suddenly appeared in front of me.

I quickly came to a stop but didn't yet turn to face the dreadlocked male who'd recovered faster than I'd predicted. I guess I should've dislocated his shoulder.

A ball of telekinetic energy gathered in my fist as I stuttered step toward the force projection that stood between me and my escape. With one seamless punch, I slammed my fist against the shimmery wall. The sound of the two energies colliding sounded jarringly reminiscent of a whizzing firework. The projection shattered upon contact, splitting across the center before disappearing entirely.

"Stand down!" A voice sounded behind me and I turned to the side with an annoyed expression to see the dreadlocked male with his gun raised as he helped the dazed hybrid male to his feet. "This is your last warning. Surrender now."

My mouth twitched in agitation before I looked between the female and male who both had the barrel of their guns pointed in my direction.

Maybe not killing them was a mistake.

"You people really are persistent," I noted blankly as I looked for a way out.

"Lay face down against the ground," The female persisted.

Suddenly, something bit my neck.

I exclaimed in soft surprise rather than pain and took a subconscious step forward. My hand went to the back of my neck to pluck a metal dart from my skin. I brought the dart forward so that I could see it with my own eyes.

A tranquilizer.

Shit.

Even as I thought that, my vision blurred, the colors around me blending together. A warm, fuzzy feeling seeped into that back of my skull and began to spread down my neck. My head began to feel heavy as I stumbled to the side, hardly managing to keep my feet.

"That's...... cheating," I mumbled as the dart felt from my fingers that were becoming numb. Even the sound of my voice seemed far away.

My breathing grew heavy as I turned to look up at the roofs of the buildings behind me. I spotted I male figure clad in black on the roof of a building across the street. The figure became distorted as my vision continued to decline and my eyelids grew heavy. They were a blur, but I could see the figures of the other Variants closing in as the tranquilizer took effect. I instinctively sent a telekinetic wave out wards but even that resort was weak and most likely had little effect.

I don't remember falling but I found myself on the ground. My pale brown eyes fluttered shut, sealing me in an unconscious darkness.

They'd caught me.

Motherfu-