Coeus?

“It is 16.2.2489AD and the world's most powerful governments finally announced that they decided to work together in order to create a united Earth! Nordas, Russia, China, India and the Indonesian Kingdom already gave their consent. Australia confirmed that they are thinking about joining. South America also confirmed their wish to join, but hasn't completed the vote. If all those countries decide to work together, then the remaining nations will have no other choice besides joining as well.”

-Newspaper

***Aether, The Floating City, above the Atlantic Ocean***

***Gideon***

Finally alone! It's almost as if I am back in my own little room. My grandparents have some business to attend to, Aunty and Uncle are working, and my cousins are in school. I began to fear that I will never get some time for myself. During the last month my grandmother created such a tight schedule for me that I wasn't alone or unsupervised for a single moment. I wonder what she is afraid of? From her explanation I understood that I am extremely socially awkward, even for a techno-mage. But I doubt that my psyche can be healed by keeping me around people day and night. At least, I don't feel different from my time in my own world.

At least she allowed me to use my magic again, though she put a spy charm on me to check on how much I use my ability. According to her it's very unhealthy to use magic while your body is in a weakened state.

Apparently magic works by influencing the structure of reality through manipulating the structure of the energy around you. Magicians are able to do that by using their nervous system, which is apparently much stronger than that of normal people. The first thing I got taught by Grandmother was creating an electrical current between my fingertips. Great! Guess what! I am an electric eel now!

And yes, apparently I am talking to myself. I let my eyes wander through the living room. Maybe being alone isn't that nice after all. Recently I always had someone to talk to. Now that I am alone I tend to talk to myself. At least in my mind... but it kills time, so I'll continue.

The teachings didn't end there. Next I learned the most basic runes to influence the world around me. Well, they are vastly different from the runes someone might imagine from the word alone.

I concentrate on my plush cat and collect my power to shape it into the three dimensional rune-pattern for 'Force'. The toy flies away and impacts on a nearby wall. This is so cool, despite my dampened emotions I can't help but feel something that might be called excitement! It's like a new game came out and I just logged in.

I look down at the floor where I have the spellbook which I got from Melan. There are runes for almost everything and you can combine them as you want by connecting them.

The buzzing of the doorbell distracts me from my training. I access the house's network to take a look at the visitor. Melan gave me access, but I can't do much more than locking and unlocking doors and access some other minor functions. There is no access to something like the internet, which does exist according to Melan. She doesn't want to give me access at this point.

What I find in front of our mansion is a yellow haired woman in a black cloak, with a white mask on her face. She is looking up at the security camera. “My name is inspector Zu. Open the door.”

No serial number? Ed had a serial number. I activate the speakers on our door. “Why? There is nobody at home.”

“It doesn't matter if there is nobody besides you at home. There are no restrictions for an inspector. Open the door,” The woman orders with a cold voice.

If she had acted like the other inspector, I would have believed her. But as the situation is now, it smells fishy. Why are two different people working on the same case? Shouldn't Ed be with her? “Then at least identify yourself properly. I want to see your certificate and your serial number.”

At the same time, I open a connection to Melan and she answers almost immediately. “Yes, Gideon?” It's good that she taught me to call her telepathically.

“There is a faceless at the door and she wants to enter the house, but she didn't show her seal. Can she really do that?” I watch the woman at the door who is doing something with the door handle. “And now she is breaking in I think.”

“Hide yourself, Gideon! I am on my way, and I've alerted the authorities. That's not an inspector!” Grandmother screams over the connection.

I activate my ability and time comes to a creeping halt as I return to my virtual reality. The woman broke the door and is about to enter the house. In her left hand is something which I assume to be a gun. It's a futuristic looking tube, like from Star Wars, but still recognizable as a weapon.

That means that she wants to kill me. No one would pull a weapon to subdue a child. This situation is strange. Just when I found my own personal heaven, someone wants to ruin it! Didn't I walk through hell already?

What can I do? Simply hiding won't cut it, I have no idea how much time the faceless need to arrive at the crime scene. What if she finds me by then? First thing is locking all doors in the mansion. Done.

The only chance is to fight back! But how? She'll walk all over me with brute force, and I have no idea what her gun can do. Are there weapons in the house? Not to my knowledge. But there is a kitchen and yesterday Grandfather bought some fertilizer for the lawn. It might work if it's not some magical wonder-powder. If the nitrate content is high enough I might be able to blow it up with a simple heat spell. But how do I get there? I start making my plan.

After half an hour of thinking about my possibilities I decide that I can't do anything more to ensure my survival. The situation is very straightforward, so I don't have a lot of options anyway. I return to reality and get to my feet. I grab my plush cat and the rabbit, then I leave the living room.

Luckily Grandfather's study is right opposite to the living room and the fertilizer is still there. I grab the package and slam the study's door shut as loud as I can. That should have informed the woman of my position. Right now she has to be running up the stairwell.

Pushing the office chair to the window is harder than I thought but I manage it without taking too much time. A command to the house opens the window and I climb outside, using the chair as a ladder.

Looking down I suddenly start doubting my plan. This idea sounded so good while it was just a plan in my head. But a loud noise convinces me to jump. Someone broke a door in the upper floor.

I cast Force on my plush toys as I fall and try desperately to hold onto them. Losing the rabbit, I concentrate my efforts on the cat, and on the second try it slows my fall considerably.

The landing is still hard and pain shoots through my leg, but I have no time. So I get up and move to the window of the kitchen which I ordered open. Luckily it's intended as an access door to the garden, so I don't have to climb again.

Sugar and flour are attained easily enough in the kitchen. I work fast and messy while doors are broken open one floor above me. An emptied coffee can serves as a container for my makeshift bomb.

For good measure, I add some teaspoons and forks. With luck, they'll work as shrapnel. My noisy endeavour with the metal obviously pulled attention and I hear footsteps running down the stairs as I screw the coffee can closed.

Please let the heat rune work. Please let the heat rune work. I just looked at it and never tried to cast it in fear of starting a fire.

Steps approach the kitchen and I curse in my mind. How did she find me so fast? My plan assumed that I would encounter her on the stairs!

It has to work, now or never. I use Force to propel the can towards the kitchen door just as it is swung open.

The masked woman raises a hand to protect herself and points her gun at me. I cast the heat rune from behind the kitchen's oven and close my eyes while taking cover.

A loud boom tears my world apart and after a few moments I open one eye, then the other. I am alive! Ha! My leg hurts and my ears are ringing, but there is no hole in my body!

I peek around the oven to take a look at the destroyed kitchen and my visitor. To my astonishment she seems to be completely unhurt!

The explosion just threw her backwards in direction of the stairwell, and she is in the process of getting up. I accelerate my mind once more to find another solution and the world stops moving.

Taking in the image in front of me, I notice that she wasn't completely unharmed. A fork is embedded in the hand which she used to protect herself.

Her gun is gone! Where is it? I let time run slightly faster and survey the area by flicking my eyes. There it is! Just three metres from me. I reach for the gun and cast Force. This time not away from me, but towards me. The gun flies into my hands and I catch it.

Then I aim it at the woman who is looking at me. I guess if she didn't wear a mask I would get to see a genuine expression of surprise? That would be interesting. Too bad that I can't see her face.

Aiming the gun at the woman I press the trigger and a thin beam of yellow light shoots out of it. The beam burns a hole into the wall beside the woman and she starts saying something.

I don't bother to listen and sweep the beam across her legs, which are taken cleanly off. What a cool gun!

Coming back in an arc I take off both her arms and remove my finger from the trigger. Time starts running normally again and the woman's pieces fall to the ground. She is screaming like a pig, but I don't care.

This can't be a laser. If it was, I would be dead. A laser that strong would heat the air around it to the point of burning its user. Is this some kind of particle weapon?

I turn around and use the laser to cut off a part of the oven. It's metal and it got cleanly sliced through with a quick slash of the weapon. No. Can't be a laser.

“Please give me that.” A voice from behind startles me. Turning around I find another faceless looming above me with an outstretched hand.

But at least I know the voice this time. “Ed?”

“Yes, give me the gun. There is nothing here that threatens you,” he says, still not moving.

I squint my eyes at him. “But it's mine. I looted it fairly from a defeated enemy.”

He doesn't budge. “Molecular disruptors are illegal for a reason. You wouldn't be allowed to keep it anyway.”

I take my time to think the situation over, but I can't find a possibility to keep the gun. Killing Ed and hiding the gun would probably cause even more trouble than I already have. And I doubt Grandmother would like it.

Personal heaven, or a cool science fiction gun? I guess I'll come across other good drops. The assassin surely had an employer.

I take my finger from the trigger. “And I already had my hopes up.” I hand the weapon to Ed who sighs in relief.

A look at the woman informs me that she is alive. Her chest is rising and falling. It seems like she lost her consciousness, but there isn't as much blood as I had expected. Apparently the weapon cauterised the wounds. “Will she live?”

Ed nods. “Probably, I already called the healers. You didn't injure her vitals. Recommendable. After meeting you I thought that you were the type who is best locked in a cell without a door. It seems that I was wrong.”

Eh? Damn! I should have cut off her head. I was so fascinated by the gun that I completely forgot about finishing her off!

A tingling in my mind reminds me that I practically hung up on Grandmother. Or what do you call it when you cancel a telepathic connection? I have to ask her later.

Probably she is turning red right now, so I answer her call. “Sorry Grandma, but I was busy with the intruder.”

“Are you alright!?” her voice screams in my mind.

“I am fine. Ed is here now. You can go back to work. We just need a new kitchen.” I hang up on her, feeling that I explained everything of importance.

“That was your grandmother?” Ed asks.

I look up at him. “Yes, you can listen in on telepathic connections?” It seems like the faceless have a few cool tricks up their sleeves. Maybe becoming a faceless is also cool. Hmm. Now I already have two ideas for a future job.

He nods. “And you hung up on her.”

I nod. “I said everything of importance. Didn't I?”

Ed shakes his head. “I'll call your grandmother for you. She'll want to know if you are fine.”

“Isn't the fact that I talked to her enough confirmation that I am fine?” I ask.

Ed continues to shake his head. “It's not. And sit down. I think your ankle is broken.”

I look down at my foot, which is swollen. “Yes, now that you mention it. It still hurts.” Something runs down my cheeks and I wipe the annoying fluid away. On the ground close by I find my plush cat and pick it up. Somehow it soothes my mind to hold it, but I have no explanation why.

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