Prologue-A decade

Earth year: 3010

Day: January 1^st

Planet: Earth

A little girl, dressed in a pink dress, wandered down the street, glancing in the stores windows as she went. She stopped in front of one. It was named The supernatural.

The girl shrugged and entered. She had just left school. She had graduated because of her “special skills,” and the danger of her staying any longer. She had nearly killed another child in a fit of rage. Or that's what everyone thought. An organization had stepped in and stopped her from receiving any serious punishment. She was a lucky girl.

She was being trained for a special job. Very special. They would teach her from dusk 'til dawn. The girl had never needed sleep.

She loved animals and would hurt anyone who hurt them.

As she walked to the counter, a boy in the corner turned towards her and smiled a mocking smile. The girl turned to the boy. She walked slowly over to him.

His smile waned.

She got up really close to him and whispered in his ear, “Siegel is not being bothered anymore, I trust.”

The boy backed away, but she followed him until he was pinned against the bookshelf. She was shorter then he was, and slight. He tried to push her away, but when he pushed, he might as well have attempted to push away an oak tree. She would stand her ground. If she punched him, he probably wouldn't wake up until next week. He swallowed audibly.

“He showed the teacher a nanobot. The teacher didn't understand it.” The boy paused, and caught his breath, which escaped him so easily in front of this small girl. “They brought in a proffesser from the university. He didn't understand them either. But they worked. They ate away the desk in a few seconds and made more of themselves. He's graduating tommorrow. From any form of school he would ever need to take.”

The girl frowned, but made no move to move.

“It's nobel prize material. The teachers all suspect he'll win. I swear, Rosaharn, I swear.”

Rosaharn backed away and the child dashed away from her. She had nearly killed him last week. With a single punch. He had been bullying Siegel, and she had punched him. He didn't remember anything until the next week.

He pushed open the door and dashed down the sidewalk.

Back in the store Rosaharn stood in the bookstore, her eyes scanning the shelves. Her eyes rested on a book. It was called The Druid, the practicer of Lakire. Rosaharn beckoned to a staff member and pointed at the book. The man got up on his toes and pulled the book from the shelf. He handed it to her, and walked off.

The man was shaking. Badly.

That was the girl who almost killed a boy with a punch, he thought. She looked so small.

Rosaharn started toward the counter when something in her shoe vibrated. She leaned over and pulled out the phone and glanced at the screen. She flipped open the phone. “Yes?”

“Rose!” A boy's voice came across the line. “You wouldn't believe what just happened!”

Rosaharn's hard expression broke apart into a smile. That would be Siegel, all right. “I think I would, Siegel.”

“Who told you?” Siegel's voice was quizzical. “Oh. You didn't hurt him again, did you?”

Rosaharn smiled wider. “Not this time. I wouldn't have. But he didn't know that. Stupid kid.”

“People still scared of little old you?” Siegel teased, happy he was out of his fellow orphan's reach.

“Apparently so,” Rosaharn said. “Stupid really. It wasn't intended. Oh, he tried to push me. I expected him to knock me over. He didn't”

“Hm...” The boy's voice was thoughtful. “Come down to the lab today and I'll run some tests. Don't know if whatever caused this would show up, but, you never know,” he sound excited now.

“I'll come, just let me buy this book first. You needn't worry. I'll make sure you have your fun. I need to leave before dusk. Can that be arranged?”

“Oh, dusk is five hours away, Rose. You'll be out long before then. Well, I leave you to buy your book. I'm expecting it when you're done, by the way.” A click.

She closed her phone, still smiling. She leaned over again, and slid the phone back into her shoe.

Rosaharn arrived quickly. She put the book in her room, in a place where Siegel couldn't steal it from. She knocked on the front door of the shack politely, then waited. After a minute, she reached up and felt around for the invisible key. She slid it into the lock and twisted. The floor beneath her feet opened up and she fell through.

The key was tossed back to its hiding place as Rosaharn landed on the couch, one hundred feet down.

Siegel was doing... something. Rosaharn wasn't sure what.

He held what he was working on in the air.

His gaze turned to her and he lowered the weapon. He smiled. “So nice of you to drop in, Rose.”

A shot. Rosaharn flinched, but the bullet never came. Siegel ran over and dragged her over to the screen. It showed a video of the cells in her skin. He pointed at it.

“That means your cells changed. Your body changed to withstand a gunshot.” Siegel tossed the gun aside and collapsed into a chair.

“Siegel.” She took a deep breath. He gestured to a chair. “I'm all for experiments, but –”

“You don't want me to shoot at you.”

She took the chair. “Yep.”

Siegel shrugged. “Sorry. First thing I thought of.”

Rosaharn took a deep breath. “So, how'd you make the nanobot?”

He leaned towards her. “With other, smaller nanobots that I found. I disassembled the smaller nanobots and found how they worked. I made reproducing versions. Slightly bigger. I couldn't add it using zero space though, that's why they're bigger. I'm trying to make the design more efficient.”

Rosaharn wasn't a science person. She was an action person. “Are they weapons?”

“Yes. Ah, speaking of, I'd like to show you something I've made.” He wandered his was to the back, stepping around cluttered table after cluttered table.

He stopped at one of the cleaner ones. He reached out and plucked a paintbrush off of it. He handed it to her.

A bottle of funny looking ink was placed into her hand. “This is my birthday present to you, Rose.”

He was shorter than she, and had to reach up to give her a hug. She hugged him back.

They pulled apart and now Rosaharn got the chance to look at the ink funny.

He smiled and told her, “Draw something in the air with it.”

The paintbrush was dipped in it and drew a line in the air. “The ink is alive. Ask me no questions how, and you'll get no lies. The druid is about how to control such things, right?” Siegel smiled widely.

The ink fell, and was sucked back into the bottle.

Rosaharn's jaw dropped. The bottle slipped through her fingers. Siegel caught it deftly. He handed it back to her. “The edges are quite sharp. You could use them in your line of work.”

Rosaharn smiled. How Siegel always knew everything was beyond her. She hugged him again. “Thank you, Siege,” she whishpered.

She turned away and ran back to the couch. She jumped on top of it and vanished.

Quilson's smile faded. “How you have a book from 3120, however, is beyond me.”

He turned slowly. He faced a wall. A projecter was projecting an old man's face onto it.

His kind old voice asked, “Has she forgotten your birthday, Siegel?”

Siegel laughed at the absurdity of the old man's statement. She'd never forget. “No. She wasn't expecting hers yet. Had a bad habit of waking her up at 11:59 and giving it to her.”

The old man's face crinkled into a smile. He chuckled. “Children,” he said.

Siegel cocked a quivering eyebrow. The man laughed again. “Have you practiced, child?”

Siegel nodded. He stepped back wards, and disappeared. On the projector, Siegel appeared next to the old man. “Just picture the destination, and your mind will find it, right sir?”

The man initially looked shocked, then he disappeared. He appeared in front of the projection. He cocked a quivering eyebrow at Siegel.

Siegel laughed. “Flash-jumping is so fun,” Siegel appeared next to his teacher, “Isn't it?”

“Good good. Now you need to teach me of nanobots, child.”

Siegel smiled.

Siegel stared at the screen. It showed a middle aged man waiting for Rosaharn, humming a tune to himself. Ava had come with her gift, and received Siegel's in return. Same with Runeheld. He frowned. Rose couldn't have forgotten. Could she?

It was dusk now. Rosaharn ran up to the man and leaned on her tip toes and whispered into his ear. The man smiled and nodded. She hugged him and turned to Siegel's camera and smiled at it.

Siegel smiled. How could he have doubted her?

He watched Rosaharn train with the man with half a brain. With one eye, actually. The other was scanning the book she had bought. He had made a copy of it. He had also made a copy of the book Ava had found that same day as well. He flipped the pages nearly continuously. At last he tossed the book aside. The pages were all written in another language, but Rosaharn read it like it was english. Not only was it another language, but he couldn't decifer it. He frowned. How did that happen? It was the same with Ava's book.

And then there was Runeheld's tutor. Runeheld had managed to get out of school at ten years old, like Siegel. He was no idiot, but Siegel hadn't expected it. Runeheld's tutor had showed up, and then Runeheld automatically trusted this man. And understood him. Siegel couldn't understand a word that had been said. All he knew was the man's name was Jack Folly.

Stupid name

It didn't show up in any registry. Anywhere. But he hadn't harmed Runeheld yet. And he showed no signs of doing so. He had had enough oppurtunities.

Maybe Siegel was being too paranoid. Maybe he was being too nosy. He shook his head. That was stupid. He'd keep an eye out for Runeheld. He'd keep him safe.

There was also the problem that Siegel's tutor didn't technically exist either. He didn't show up in any registry Siegel could hack. But they had been teaching each other for months, and no attempt had been made on Siegel's life, or his inventions. His life was being too complicated.

Far too complicated.

Eight minutes until midnight. Rose bowed to her teacher and ran off.

Six minute until midnight. There was a knock, followed by a plop as Rose dropped onto the couch. His chair spun and he stood up. She ran across the room pressed a wrapped object into his hands. He unwrapped it quickly and he stared at what he held in his hands.

They were five of Leonardo Da Vinci's journals. Originals.

He set them reverently onto the closest table and turned towards Rosaharn and hugged her tightly. “Thank you,” He whispered to her, as she had whispered to him hours before.

“Welcome,” she said and kissed him on the cheek and ran towards the sofa, jumped on it, and disappeared.

Siegel heard his teacher laughing at him. He could almost see that eyebrow.

Five minutes to midnight. Siegel's body turned to face his teacher. He was smiling broadly. “Best. Day. Ever.”

An image on one of Methis's screens caught his attention. Ava had fallen over dead. And Runeheld was near Courtney. A serial killer.

No time for emotions. He vanished. Reappearing next to Runeheld. Nanobots spewed from his lungs. They blocked the attacks of Courtney. And attacked her. Runeheld's tutor lay dead in front of both of them. The nanobots attacked Courtney. The police arrived. An EMP was set off. The nanobots fell, useless, to the ground. Runeheld crumpled next to him.

His eyes were blank. Runeheld was dead.

Siegel sank to his knees. This can't be happening! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!

Siegel vanished and reappeared in his lab. Rosaharn was already there, sitting, her eyes staring blankly at nothing, sitting on his couch. Siegel moved towards her, sitting next to her.

Siegel's stoic expression returned. He wrapped his arms around her.

She lifted a hand and smacked him.

“No being stoic. I know it's a load of crap, Siege.” Her head leaned into him. “Ah... crap,” she said, tears leaking from her eyes.

“No stoic from you either, Rose,” tears were beginning to leak from his eyes too.

Amazing what can change in five minutes.