Gene was struck by this admission and the statement from Hero. He wanted to be angry, to rage against the original Hero System for making all of these decisions about him without him, but all of that rage melted away. He was right. To Gene with all his current power, he could topple this world with some effort. If what Hero said was true then his true power could probably split this world in two.

  At that moment, he realized he had been thinking about things all wrong. He wasn’t just a side character or even leader on a superteam. He was the Superman, the Storm, the Phoenix. Within New Venturis, he could be a god.

  “No, that’s not what I want,” he said, shaking his head profusely. “I don’t want to be a god. I just…I just want to keep the people I care about safe. You saw what Verdant and Verity can do. He moved faster than I could think to charge up a Psy Blast. He saw me before I could do anything. I just need to be a little stronger.”

  Hero sighed and Gene blinked in surprise.

  “No, you don’t,” said Hero bluntly. “You just need to be calm and think. Your powers are an idealized representation of your view of a psychic. Tell me, Gene Grey, what wondrous things can a powerful psychic do?”

  Gene frowned in confusion and then he went silent. He searched his memories for any comics featuring psychics and then it hit him. He had been going about this all wrong. He pictured powerful psychics engaged in mental warfare with each other, mind blasting foes, or controlling minds.

  “I’m an idiot,” he said with a chuckle. “Their powers are mental. We readers can see them because the artists and writers want us to but within the world of the comic, no one can see this but other psychics. How have I been so stupid? My communication power is imperceptible so why couldn’t my other powers be?”

  Gene collapsed at the revelation and plopped into a couch that seemed to be composed of the nothing around him. Hero came to join him and tapped him on his back.

  “Now you’re thinking like a psychic.”

  Gene looked at him and finally asked the question that had been brewing in the back of his mind.

  “Why are you acting like this now? No more notification or message warnings?”

  Hero didn’t respond. He didn’t know how to respond. He simply looked at Gene and took his mask off to reveal his twinned appearance.

  “If I had to wager a guess, I would have to say it’s because of you. I am as much a part of you as I am my progenitor. ”

  Gene’s eyes went wild. It was freaky. Mirrored eyes stared back at him. Hero was the idealized version of himself as a costumed superhero. It unsettled him and Hero seemed to pick up on it as he donned his mask again and clapped.

  “Right, well we have some points to spend, don’t we? Well I have some suggestions on how to fill in your array if you don’t mind the help. After all, we’re in this together and I want nothing more than to see you succeed.”

  Gene shook his head and smiled. He could use all the help he could get and more than that, he wanted to see what he could do as a real psychic.

  When he stepped out of the Margins, no time had passed in the real world. Verity’s cold stare and Verdant’s devilish grin loomed over him. He still couldn’t move. He was powerless to overcome whatever strange magic Verity wielded. He eyed her. As the Magistrate, she had the power to enforce her will upon the world with her speech. From what Gene could surmise, that power came with a great restriction. She could only place three laws at a time and had to maintain her concentration on those effects.

  She’d been focused on keeping them isolated. Not to minimize casualties, but to ensure their mission was carried out swiftly without them needing to raze the town to the ground before reinforcements could arrive. They were both foolish to think that Gene would be calling for reinforcements.

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  “Don’t worry,” thought Gene, projecting his thoughts to Kyrie. “I’m going to make them wish they never left their rooms this morning.”

  The tension in his shoulders eased, unsettling the twin warlords for a moment. Verdant worked fast to regain the upper hand.

  “You should be honored. Never before has Lord Demetrios sought allegiance with someone not already under his control.”

  Verdant moved towards Verity’s side as he spoke. He stopped in his place. A sense of mild confusion washed over him and left his mind before he could recognize it.

  “He is curious about your class. Overcoming Tir’s will saves isn’t much of a feat for someone of our level but Melias’s? That piqued his interests. He wishes to peel back the layers of your class and learn your secrets.”

  Verity tapped her foot suddenly, stealing Verdant’s attention. He looked at her, once again feeling confused as he stepped closer to his sister.

  “Why did I say that?” he asked himself.

  He looked around the room in a daze and his focus fell on Gene. The man on the ground held an icy stare as cold as his sister’s and a shiver ran up Verdant’s spine, chilling his thoughts. He looked at Verity in a panic and his body moved of its own accord.

  Slick! His sharp claws raked through the air, tearing Verity’s side open in one swift motion.

  “What?!” he exclaimed as his sister fell to the ground, grasping the open wound.

  Her eyes were wild in disbelief and her concentration lapsed as she struggled to close her wound. Verdant dropped to her side. He frantically tried to help and caught Gene standing in his peripheral vision.

  Rage flushed his pale face and he launched himself off the ground at Gene screaming, “You wretch!”

  “Sit. Be calm”

  Gene’s voice boomed with authority and Verdant dropped to the ground. His face went slack and terror gripped him. He glanced at his sister struggling on the ground and his heart raced.

  “I have to thank you,” said Gene as he approached. “I’ve yet to encounter any real resistance here so it’s good to know where my weaknesses lie.”

  Kyrie sat on the bed in a daze. So quickly had a fun night turned horrific that he couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Two of the Warlords lay at Gene’s feet, completely under his control, and he couldn’t believe his eyes.

  “Gene…” said Kyrie softly. It wasn’t clear if he heard him.

  Gene’s cold gaze bore into Verdant. His eyes flicked to Verity and both twins tensed up.

  “I’m sure something like that won’t kill you so consider this my only warning,” he said, looking back at Verdant. “Take your sister and flee this place. Taos–no, this world is under my protection. Go, now, and keep going until you no longer hear my voice in your head. I’ll count until I’m bored and then come for you if you’re still within the borders of Taos.”

  Gene began counting and Verdant scrambled off the floor to grab Verity and leap out of the window. He didn’t know it yet, but Verdant’s actions that day shook the foundation of the world. The Hero System spoke and Gene moved to join Kyrie on the bed.

  Hero System Message: You have completed your mission: Save Taos from destruction and earned 3 power points. You have completed your secondary objective: Protect Kyrie Winthrop earned 4 power points. You have earned enough power points to progress to Power Level 9.

  He held Kyrie until the fear subsided and he fell asleep in his arms.

  Gene did not sleep that night. He would never sleep again after committing the points to make himself immune to sleep. From that day forward, he would be a psychic sentinel and would never allow harm to befall his friends again.

  He fell into the margins with a thought and accessed his character profile.

  Character Profile. Name: Gene Grey, Codename: GreyMatter. Archetype: Psychic. Power Level: 8. Abilities: Might: 2, Toughness: 4, Agility: 3, Awareness: 6, Presence: 5.

  Powers:

  Mental Communication 2: Project your thoughts and hear the thoughts of willing targets within 1 mile.

  Thought Sense 10: Sense the presence of minds and surface thoughts within 10 miles with diminishing clarity the further targets are away from self.

  Sleepless 1: Your are immune to sleep and effects that cause sleep.

  Language Absorption 1: Temporarily learn the language of any being you’ve been in active mental communication with.

  Array: Psy Bolt 8 - Subtly unleash an explosive bolt of psionic energy to damage the mind of your foe.

  Array: Illusion Casting 8 - Subtly control the senses of targets in an area to create illusions by concentrating.

  Array: Mind Control 8 - Subtly control the minds of others, impose the Dazed, Compelled, and Controlled conditions on a target with cumulative attacks.

  Unallocated Power Points available: 7.

  With his senses cast wide over all of Taos and its borders, Gene watched the twin generals flee for their lives. He spent his newly acquired points and began to formulate a plan. He was ready to take the fight to the Dark Lord in a way only he could.

  He thought to himself, “You took your best shot. Now it’s my turn.”