Mutagen

Day 55 – 6:32 PM – Surveillance Cell, Hospital Area, Military Laboratory, North District, Bay City Settlement, Pasay City, Metro Manila

The three stood wide eyed as they stared at the crystal floating above Mark's palm.

Mark had asked them if they recalled anything about that crystal and an event that happened six years ago.

Recall? They felt that Mark should be joking. Even if they wanted to forget, that would never ever happen.

It was because that event Mark was talking about…

… It was the event that changed their lives for the better.

***

Nia and Allen were siblings that both grew up in the streets. Since their only guardian, their grandmother, died, no one was left to take care of the two. In order to live, the two wandered the streets searching for anything that could fill their stomachs. They did everything from searching garbage bins for scraps that could be sold to junk shops to begging passersby in order to eat.

If it was that, it would still be fine. After all, they still had the small house that was left by their grandmother.

One day after returning home however, they found out that there were strangers in their home. They claimed that the house was theirs and mercilessly chased the siblings out. The two tried to fight. But as children, they were not able to do anything and were beaten instead.

Since that day, the two started to sleep in the streets.

And their hardships continued…

Most street children would group up and claim territories to scavenge and beg while bullying those that unknowingly entered their territories and snatch their hard work. Unfortunately, the siblings were also at the receiving end of it and sometimes, they ended up sleeping without eating a single crumb of bread.

There were also cases where they would be chased off in the middle of the night since the owner of the place they decided to sleep at caught them.

They did not know how long they spent in the streets anymore. It may be a year but could also be more than that. The two lost count as they were desperate enough just to find ways to fill their stomachs.

One day however, a sweep happened.

People from the local government enacted the ordinance. The homeless were caught and the siblings were included.

As children, Nia and Allen were brought unto the local social welfare department while the authorities waiting for any parent to show up to pick up the two. Unlike the other children that were caught that time however, no one would come for the siblings.

Because of that, they were sent at a rundown orphanage in the middle of nowhere.

The orphanage was poor as the fund coming from the local government was lacking. The roof leaked every time it rained, the walls were filled with soot and the floors were badly maintained. Those conditions were still fine but the orphanage was way over capacity compared to its size. The children were ill behaved and those who were weaker would likely have less to eat.

And the worst thing was that the only caretaker of the orphanage was not doing her job. She did not care about the state of the orphanage and would hit the children if they annoyed her. The only things she would do was to cook porridge that barely had any taste and make sure that the children would not get out after curfew. Aside from those, the children were left on their own.

It was a very bad environment to live in for children. Due to the same reasons, no people came there in interest to adopt any of the children. From what the siblings heard, every children living in that orphanage would end up leaving after they were old enough to work. It meant that they would live in that place until they were of age.

At that time, Nia was fourteen and Allen was a year younger. In the least, they only had a few years to spend in that orphanage before they go back to the harsher society.

Six years however, Nia and Allen saw two bright lights falling unto the backyard of the orphanage in the middle of the night. In curiosity, the two sneaked out of their room despite the curfew and went to the backyard.

There, Nia and Allen saw the two floating crystals emitting bright light. It was beautiful that the two could not help but reach of one. After touching the crystals however, the crystals turned into glowing dust and entered their bodies. They felt a very painful sensation in their heads as if something was trying to take over. The two wailed in pain and that was the last thing they knew before they fainted.

The next thing they knew, they woke up in a hospital being guarded by soldiers. There, they met Professor Isaach Co that later adopted the two and became their foster father.

Since then, their lives turned better. They lived in a beautiful house, ate delicious food and were even homeschooled to catch up to the years they missed being out of school. Fortunately, their mental changes after they absorbed the crystals aided them in their studies. They did not only reach the level of studies of the others of the same age but surpassed them with flying colors.

That was why the two became official assistants of the Professor in their young ages.

Now, Nia was twenty and Allen was nineteen but the two were regarded as geniuses in the Professor's field of study.

It was all thanks to those crystals.

***

Spera was not an orphan. She had a father and mother and probably, even siblings.

Unfortunately, Spera came from a family of black market merchandise. She, her father, her mother… None of them were treated as people and were regarded as merchandise.

Spera was born in a family of slaves. That was why…

She was never given a name…

Human trafficking and slavery… For the most parts of the world, these two things were illegal and were punishable by law. Everyone knew that slavery was abolished a very long time ago.

However, that was only in the surface…

Under that surface, the dark secrets were hidden. Human trafficking and slave trading was a very profitable business in this area. Not only actual transactions happen but these kinds of things could also be accessed through internet for those that knew how to.

Unluckily, Spera was born to be a part of this dark mess.

When she was born, she was supposed to be sold to a couple that wanted a baby. However, she was too sickly to become merchandise and she was able to stay with her father and mother. At that time, their owners thought that it would need a miracle for her to survive her infancy.

And the miracle occurred. She was able to survive. Nevertheless, she was born a weak child. Her arms were thin and her stature was small for her age.

Even though she was already put up for sale, no one wanted her.

And during each time that she was put up for sale, there was a sentence that was engraved into her mind.

"We don't need someone like her."

She often heard these words from the potential buyers. Every time she heard those words, even though she already submitted to her fate as a slave, she was still severely affected. She never noticed… Little by little, her emotions vanished.

When she was eleven years old, her last sale was conducted. Finally, she was bought.

It was because an old pedophile took interest in her younger looking body.

Even before the sale was finalized, he kept touching her in inappropriate places. She hated it but as a slave, she could not do anything about it. Not only that she was trained just to obey orders, her weak physique disabled her to do anything.

During her transport however…

It happened…

Their vehicle was driving at a road beside a cliff at that time since the place of business where she was bought was in a very secluded area. Something then crashed unto the vehicle she was riding on together with the old man that bought her.

Immediately, it became a pandemonium.

The windows of the car were broken and a large part of the left side of the car was dented. From the force of the crash, the old man could only scream as the car was thrown off from the road unto the cliff.

"It might be the end of me… But it was better than being a plaything."

That was what came into her young mind at that time. She closed her eyes waiting for the impact.

However, while the car was falling, a pint of light entered her eye making her open them. She then saw a crystal glowing in front of her.

Who knows what happened to her but she grabbed the crystal by reflex.

BAM!

The vehicle crashed below the cliff and immediately caught fire.

She did not know what happened that time since she lost consciousness after she grabbed the crystal.

The next thing she knew however…

She was nowhere in the scene of the crash anymore. Spera could see the smoke from the fire and the cliff where the car fell but it was about a kilometer or more away from her. Furthermore, it seemed that she had passed out for quite a while as she could already see rescue personnel at the road above the cliff.

That was when she knew that she gained a supernatural ability. She did not know why but she knew what it was, how to use it and the rules needed to follow to properly use the ability.

Using the ability, the very first portal she created was connected to the cell where her mother and father were being held. She wanted to free them.

Unfortunately, rather than glee, her mother and father saw her as a monster.

"We don't need you! Just leave!"

That was the last word she heard from her father.

From then on, she used her ability to live freely. As a wanderer, she had no way to earn money and used small portals to steal food from stores.

However, it seemed that her frequent use of her ability caught the eyes of the members of the Auraboros.

Soon enough, she was scouted by robed people.

Initially, she wanted to decline and flee but a single sentence made her stay and join.

"We need you in the organization."

Since then, she became an outer member of the organization following tasks where she most of it were either rescue or transport missions which could make use of her ability.

For the most part however, she was free to do anything as long as it did not harm the organization and its goals. That was why she was able to reject a certain kind of job. It was to personally kill people. She did not mind if others in her team kill them but she did not want to do this kind of thing herself. Her resolve was still not enough.

Nevertheless, her fate was changed and it was because of that crystal that appeared in the most crucial time possible.

***

"You three are that shocked?"

Mark panned his eyes at the three people around him.

However, he could feel the turmoil inside their minds which indicated how much that even impacted their lives.

"Well then, I think you three really remember." Mark smiled. "As for the talk we will have here… It will regard to the futures of you three."

"What do you mean? And how did you know that we encountered those crystals? That is our greatest secret… Also, that crystal…"

Nia spoke in a rather tensed tone.

To that question…

"I already said it. We are all the same right? I also got one six years ago, no, I got several actually." Mark looked at Nia. "Another thing is that my circumstances are different from you three. You can say that I met the source of the crystals and he wanted me to retrieve them."

That declaration made Nia and Allen step back with a tensed expression.

Spera on the other hand had a look of realization. Shaking, she slowly stood up from her bed. She soon fell on her knees and hugged Mark's legs with her eyes filled with tears.

"No… Please! Return it to me! Please! I-I'll do anything!"

She cried out loud.