PROLOGUE.
the white eyed thief.ALEC ABSOLUTELY HATED RUNNING. He'd been doing it for so long, ever since he could remember, he was always on the run. Whether it be from the villagers he stole some measly bread from or the police drones soaring in the air, or even other members of the Coalition, he was always running. He hated everything about it: the tired feeling your legs got after constantly moving for a while, the smell of sweat slicking his skin, making his already-raggedy clothes stick to his body, and the small voice in the back of his head nagging him, insisting that he'd never make it if he stopped. You have to keep running, keep running.
And, that was exactly what he was doing. Running. Well, not right in that very moment, but figuratively, he was on the run.
The thief sat with his back to the wall of a narrow alleyway, chest heaving as he sucked in a deep breath, lifting the stolen item in his hand, eyes glancing over the round, shiny, green bunch of fruit. Sure, maybe the chasing and hiding wasn't worth a measly vine of Killberries to some, but to him, it was a lot more than just a snack. Plus, Killberries are his favorite food, and they were so rare, he just couldn't pass that up.
So, now, because of his undeniable love for what he would call the best food to have ever been created, Alec Murphy, infamously known criminal, was hiding in an alleyway, hoping to dodge the fruit vendor's angry rampage.
Many people knew of the irritatingly quick, and seemingly invisible thief, since he had been committing these minor crimes since he was a child, and they also knew of his gift; or, what he referred to as his curse. Almost none of them actually knew his name, only the ones that mattered. Only the ones that were looking for him, the ones that wanted to capture and kill him.
Aleksandar Murphy had become a name that you just did not simply say without some combination of ugly insults around it.
He could hear the vendor's heavy footsteps pounding on the rocky ground, promptly shoving the vine of fruits deep into his bag, the old fabric torn in new places. He made a mental note to remind himself to patch up the recent holes and rips, before slinging it over his shoulder.
" Where'd the little shit go. . . " The man's gruff voice muttered, just loud enough for Alec to hear it; the teen's head turned to peer out from behind the wall, strands of short, stringy brown hair flopping in his vision; he brushed them back with a quiet hand, watching as the vendor finally walked into view, just across the ways, standing in the middle of the dirt road that led to the Plaza.
Right in front of you, asshole, Alec thought sharply, pale blue-green eye analyzing the man's every move as he raised a thick hand to his forehead, beady brown eyes squinting to look far ahead of him.
Alec got a bit too confident in the man's ignorance that he leaned forward, shifting his weight on his feet, accidentally kicking a discarded glass bottle, causing it to roll down the uneven ground, out into the open street. The man's head snapped in Alec's direction, light purple skin and horridly contrasting oily black hair shining underneath the starlight, his eyes narrowed into a glare as he saw the lanky figure crouching in the alleyway. Alec felt his heart drop to his stomach, palms sweating around the straps of his bag.
" Why, you rotten thief- " The man began to roar, storming over towards the darkened alley hurriedly, causing said boy to raise a clammy hand, a faint white glow appearing from beneath the fingerless glove on his hand, body stiffening and pupil disappearing as a cloudy glaze replaced it, matching his already whitened left eye.
In an instant, Alec was in the vendor's head, zooming past recent memories like he was on a rocket and every memory was a planet, flipping through them like an album of baby pictures. If he had paid attention, he could easily learn the man's entire life story within minutes, but he was only looking for one particular image.
He stopped the rapid switching of pictures and memories as he found the one he needed; letting his mind rest on it, the scene of him snatching the Killberries replayed in his mind, only this time shown from the vendor's perspective. Alec didn't bother watching the entire thing (but wow, maybe he needed a shower, his hair was not looking so great), and crushed it in his brain, physically pulling his fist together around nothing.
The memory burned from the man's mind, and Alec released his hold, finding himself stumbling back as he came back into the material world where his feet stood on the ground. His eye returned to its normal state, and the white light disappeared within his skin. Alec struggled to regain his breath, resting a hand on the wall of the alley, raising his head to see the man still standing in the middle of the street. However, with the thought of Alec's thievery gone, like it was a dream of sorts that never even happened, he only scowled at the grimy teenager, grumbling something under his breath, and turned on his heel.
As the vendor stormed back down to the Plaza, presumably to his fruit stand, Alec let out a huff of air, a grin replacing the pained grimace on his face as he strolled out of the alley, swinging his cloth bag back in front of him, digging around inside before pulling out the bunch of Killberries, plucking a small one off and popping it into his mouth.
His victory was short lived, and he just barely got to hear the satisfying crunch of the Killberry as he chomped down on it, because as soon as he took a handful of steps down the path, away from the Plaza, he noticed the small spaceship ahead in the opening, a ramp already laid out.
Usually cocked eyebrows pulled together in confusion, moving to drop the rest of the Killberries into his bag before shoving it on to his back, gripping it tightly. He tried to calm his intensive nerves, plastering a frown on his face, trying to figure out how to play the situation; his plotting was quickly cut when a woman strutted down the ramp, two guards dressed in all black on either of her sides.
Alec froze in place, even more confused than before. The woman was one of the Council of Elders, why would she come to see him? Then, in order to help him keep control, multiple explanations and excuses ran through his mind; maybe she was just checking on the Eols, ensuring that they were still going about their meaningless lives and not trying to join the Titans in the inevitable war against the Elders. Or, on the other hand, maybe she was here for him, and she was going to personally arrest him and throw him on Damnation before the Coalition could capture him.
Yeah, that definitely wasn't helping.
" Shit. '' Alec breathed out as the trio approached him, his knuckles turning white from his painfully strong grip on the bag's straps; the woman had the appearance of an Oceon, pale blue skin paired with short, cleanly-cut white hair, and the unmistakable gills on her neck and scales along her arms that she didn't bother to try and hide, her rolled up sleeves proved that.
The fishlike qualities proved her to be Elayne Juno, the Oceon representative on the Council of Elders. At first, while she was still taking her time to walk to him, Alec wondered why they called them the 'Elders', because she didn't seem that old. She wore a small, warm smile that seemed out of place as she finally stopped, just a few feet in front of him. The guards at her side held long blasters, painted as black as their helmets and suits, but Alec didn't feel threatened, not in the slightest. He'd escaped from situations like this many times before, he would surely be able to figure something out.
" Don't worry, Mr. Murphy, " Elayne insisted, her voice soothing and calming, but that only made Alec worry more, swallowing hard as she held her hands together in front of her, a certain glint in her striking green eyes that made him even more uneasy than he had been. " We aren't going to arrest you. "
That should've washed all his concerns away, but it didn't, and, for obvious reasons, neither did her next words.
" As long as you do what we need of you, that is. "
xxx.

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