The Clan of Outcasts [Season 3]

Part 5: "Family Matters"

Markus frowned. "Mom and Dad? Why can't they know?"

"Promise, Mark!"

"Okay, fine!" Markus felt the twinge in his robotic hip that said he needed to sit. He backed up to a cask resting against the wall, and rested against it. "I promise I won't tell Mom and Dad. Now will you--"

"The job is at the palace." The words came tumbling out of her mouth, and with it, the rush of excitement and accomplishment she'd felt when the King's man first offered her the job. "The King's appointing Gifted folk, and I'm assigned to a position on his security staff." She finally looked up, her Gift-sight glowing green around her iris.

Markus rewarded her with a smile, his eyes wide in astonishment. "You're going to be a spy?" he gasped.

She held up a finger. "Remember, not a word!"

Markus nodded, and sat, his mind whirling as he processed the information she'd just entrusted to him. His own cousin, going to work for the King in the realm of espionage--he hadn't thought of it, but her Gift certainly did seem well-suited to the line of work, especially when she could see people moving from miles away using her "rainbow" sight. He looked down at his hands resting on his lap: one strong, calloused, and covered in skin, and the other spindly, metallic, and constantly adjusting and balancing to maintain optimal performance for whatever he needed. The fingers themselves could adjust in size and shape to be any kind of tool, and there were many other added features besides. Could something like that be useful to the King? Markus lifted his head, seeing the edge of Denahlia's cape as she dropped down to the scaffolding attached to the side of the building. He stood. Her name was on the tip of his tongue. Take me with you! He wanted to say.

No. Stay. Said the Other Voice in his head, the one that encouraged rationality from time to time. Think of Harrison. Markus subconsciously obeyed, his mind returning to the events of earlier that day, when his friend casually mentioned a "festival of talents" he would be attending the following week, in a . "There are these people," Harrison had been saying, "whose abilities defy reason! Ones who can lift things without touching them, or produce snow out of thin air--you have to see it to believe it!" You believe it already, said the Other Voice, following his thoughts and fitting seamlessly within them. Your cousin has such Gifts, so you know they exist... but what potential do they hold for humanity? Are they really so harmless if the King is drafting Gifted people for his own protection?
Markus shook his head. Denahlia's glowing eyes was one thing--but he'd go and see what the fuss was in Zapheira, and decide for himself.

>>>>>>>>>

Harbor (West)

Present Day...

Denahlia crossed her arms and stared across the desk at her cousin. He'd grown, she saw that at once. Compared to the last time she saw him, he now stood head-and-shoulders over her, his muscles had bulked up considerably, and his face now sported a patch of stubble on his chin. On his mechanical side, she saw smooth casings covering what was once naked joints and pistons. He had a few more scars on his flesh side, but the twinkle in his eye was bright as ever.

Markus coughed, running his fingers over the angry red welts her shocking touch had left on his neck. "Nice upgrade, cousin."

Denahlia squinted, as her implant fruitlessly scanned for any information on her cousin since the time she left the Firron farm. She nodded toward the plating on his arm and leg. "I see you've upgraded too." She flicked aside the holding records just coming in on her desk surface. "And you have a dragon?"

Markus smiled. "Her name's Hadrian, and I'll thank your men to deal gently with her. She's due to lay an egg any time."

Denahlia planted her hands flat on the desk. "What in The Realm are you doing with a dragon?"
The young cyborg shrugged, stretching his flesh limbs out to their full length, working the kinks out of his natural muscles. "Picked her up while looking for a job a while back. Some rather ugly fellows seemed to think that she belonged to them after I found her almost crushed under a wall that had collapsed." He shrugged.