Chapter 2. Psycho

Multiple rays of light filtered through the cracks in an innocuous everyday pair of blinds, two of the rays landed on a sleeping teens face causing his nose to wrinkle.

"Mmm," he groaned petulantly not enjoying being woken by the same blinds that woke him nearly every day of his life.

Rolling over Jericho cracked open his one eye that wasn't buried in a pillow to gaze at his one bedroom apartment, the only sign that anyone lived in it being his sleeping form and the odd dish in the sink still dirty from last nights meal.

Sighing Jericho closed his eyes again clearly tired yet he still sat up stretching his arms to work the kinks out of his limbs from the cheap lumpy mattress. As he fully woke and his brain became less addled with sleep he threw his covers off of himself, and swung his feet over the side of the bed so he could begin his morning routine.

As Jericho plodded his bare feet over the hardwood of his floor he flipped on the tv in his tiny living room so he could listen to the latest news on the war effort," -says a trusted source. In other news the colony on Ceres was attacked by another vessel scientists and military personnel believe belonged to a regiment of Diabolus soldiers that continue to show hostility toward well established human colonies. The hostilities have only escalated since they first began happening nearly a decade ago," said a raven haired woman at a pristine news desk.

Jericho listened to the tv as it detailed the numerous buildings, roads, and casualties suffered on Ceres along with the retaliation that was expected to come from the military forces of Earth.

"These hostilities have only grown more and more severe as time has progressed and no clear reason has ever been given to humanity as to why the Diabolus have continued to ignore attempts at peace talks. Many scientists have speculated that perhaps the space time distortion cause by Lieutenant Artyom," said the dark haired woman as a picture of a blonde haired man with rough features and a scar on his chin appeared on the bottom right corner of the screen with the caption 'Lieutenant Artyom Abramov 2058' ," while fighting another unnamed soldier 67 years ago today, caused an equally violent reaction on the Diabolus home world or another colony that they found originated from Earth. This could explain the open h-," as the woman continued with the multiple theories people have put forward Jericho couldn't help but tune her out as he moved past the tv to take a shower.

The shower was nothing special it was cold and made Jericho want to get out and lie back down in his bed but he couldn't very well do that. Today was the day his middle school would be announcing students who had performed well enough to get into some of the most prestigious military schools and who had been put into the bottom of the barrel institutions.

Once he finished with his shower he grabbed his well worn towel and dried himself off, put on his underwear, blue jeans with tears in the knees, a blue shirt, and his black hoodie. When he looked in the mirror while brushing his teeth he saw the same angular face with slightly curly dark hair and hazel eyes that always greeted him. He wasn't anything special to look at but Jericho had never bothered to care about those things.

He made his way back to the living room and scooped up his backpack he had thrown onto the single chair in the living room he used to sit in and watch the news or other things. As he sat down at the front door to put on his combat boots his mind wandered back to the news about Ceres being attacked.

'Does this mean the Ceres bases were destroyed too? If so we've basically lost another planet to the Diabolus. If our military isn't completely inept they should know they'll most likely attack the other city on Ceres and they should send more troops to reinforce it. Whatever, this stuff isn't really my problem right now I'll worry about it when I'm either an official soldier or when they attack Vesta with me on it.'

Jericho stood dismissing all of the questions he wanted to ask about humanities situation and all of the curiosity he had about the Diabolus like their physiology, because as far as he knew no one had ever successfully captured one alive or been able to recover one of their dead bodies.

As he opened the door to his apartment and he began his morning jog to school his thoughts turned toward the school he would be admitted to. He may not have had a choice wether or not he wanted to join the military being an orphan but it most likely helped his chances he had voluntarily signed up on his own. His grades were top of his class when it came to most subjects and he was more fit than average for his age it was his relations with people that was severely lacking. Jericho had little to no success when attempting to talk with others his age, but that was most likely to do with him not having an ability.

Of course he wouldn't have an ability, he had no one to learn one from and not enough money to buy one from the multiple websites that sold the injection that was needed if you didn't have someone to awake the ability for you.

It was a well known fact almost every ability could be learned by anyone, it was just that anyone with a unique ability would never want to share it with people unless they were hurting for money. Of course people with exceptional abilities would never need money because the government valued their abilities and wanted them to create large families to inherit the ability. Although, Jericho was fairly sure if the government had it their way they would want the families to donate all of their abilities so they could create a super charged army, but of course none of the families would do that because it wouldn't give them special privileges anymore.

Jericho didn't really care that he didn't have an ability right now, but if he wanted to advance in the military he would need to get one. He had decide that he would work as hard as he could and get into one of the top military schools on Vesta so that he would get a larger stipend every month from the school for supplies and eventually have enough to buy an above average ability.

As he jogged down the streets of his little town on Vesta he kept considering the abilities he would most likely want. He wouldn't be to picky once the opportunity came but he wouldn't jump on the first ability that stood out to him either. If he got to choose he would want an ability that was versatile and could aid him readily in combat. Of course until he had the money for an ability he wouldn't really have to worry about that anytime soon.

Before Jericho could continue his line of thought he bumped into someone just a block away from his school," watch where you're going shithead!"

Jericho remembered that voice. Looking over had that he was right in identifying Lucas Blakemore one of the people that enjoyed calling him names and using his abilities on Jericho. Lucas was from a moderately well known family that had enhancement type ability users, Lucas himself could increase his upper bodies muscle mass making himself able to hit harder. In Jericho's opinion it was an ability that in the right hands could be practical but was basically useless for Lucas because the idiot almost always bulked up his upper body so much he was usually off balance and slow. All in all he was a complete idiot.

"The fuck are you staring at like a retard Jeri. If you keep looking at me with your dead little eyes I'm gonna punch your lights out," Lucas threatened, his shirt slightly growing tighter as he began channeling energy into his ability.

"Nothing at all," Jericho said with a flat face and a deadpan voice as he walked past Lucas.

"Don't ignore me you little shit."

Jericho of course continued walking his hands in his hoodies front pocket while ignoring Lucas throwing insults his way. Jericho might have been more concerned if Lucas had stayed a regular size and tried running after him but the idiot had began ballooning his muscles while also trying to keep up with Jericho.

As Jericho entered the school he could hear people whispering and pointing at him. When he stopped at his locker to get the books he would need out he was forced to listen to conversation a group of girls was having about him.

"I'm surprised the freak showed up today."

"I know. I heard the psycho applied for Vesta's Military School for the Gifted. As if a nobody like him could get into such an elite military school."

"Didn't he beat the crap out of some random kid with some low level flame ability last month."

"Yeah I heard he put him in the hospital and beat the crap out of his friends. That one kid with the fire ability is still in the hospital and they haven't been able to wake him up."

As Jericho listened he began to remember the events that lead up to the beating they were talking about and the brutality of what he had done.

—————————flashback————————

"Hey Jeri the teacher said he needs to talk to you about your school application forms around the back parking lot of the school," said a short boy with medium length brown hair and eyes.

"Why did he want to talk about my application there? Why not the teachers lounge?"

"I don't fucking know man take it up with him he just told me to tell you," he said walking off down the hall.

Jericho sighed this wasn't the first time the teacher had tried talking him out of signing up for one of the well known schools because of how notoriously harsh they are on people without abilities.

"Sir? Are you here," Jericho asks looking through the rows of cars in the back parking lot of the school.

"No, but we are."

When Jericho went to turn to see the person, he was immediately greeted with a fist to the face and someone knocking him to the ground.

"So you think you're hot shit Jeri. You think your weak ass could ever get accepted into a good military school. I'll show you hot shit," he said with an evil grin.

Jericho was slightly confused until the boys friends started to hold him down so he could tug down the collar of Jericho's hoodie. The boy placed a hand on Jericho's collar bone.

A flash of hot pain and agony shot up Jericho's neck and he could smell his skin burning as a red hot point on his neck charred even further. Jericho couldn't hear what the flame ability user was saying past his own screams. He began thrashing wildly until he finally broke free of the hold one of the boys had on him. His foot connected with another boys face his free hand lashed up punching the boy with the fire ability in the throat.

Before he knew what was happening Jericho was on top of the other boy swinging his fists into his face left and right. Over and over and over again His nose crunched under the impacts and his eyes started watering with tears of pain.

"S-stop p-please," the boy pleaded.

Jericho was all but numb to his pleads for mercy. He just stared down at the boy with a vacant expression, before he gripped his face with one hand and slammed his head down onto the concrete with an audible thunk. Then another and another and another. Blood pooled under the boys head as Jericho observed impassively, and just for a second he could have sworn when he let go of the boys face a dull orange wisp escaped from the boys mouth and nostrils flowing up Jericho's arm and flooding his senses with the most exhilarating feeling he had ever had in his life.

The boys friends looked on in horror as their friend was brutally beaten, and just to make sure they got the point Jericho abruptly stood, stomping his foot one last time onto the unconscious boys face breaking his teeth.

" Whose next?"

————————flashback end————————

"What is that psycho doing now? He's just staring at his closed locker door."

"What a freak. Do you see that creepy smile on his face."

Jericho hadn't realized it but when he was thinking about how good it felt to beat the shit out of that boy and his friends he had a blissful smile on his face. Honestly he had never gotten into a fight like the one he had been forced into a month ago. Just remembering it made him antsy and wish he could fight someone again just so he could feel their bones breaking and grinding under his fists.

He still had no idea what that wisp he had seen was or what it meant. But ever since he had absorbed it he felt more alive and responsive than he ever had. It felt like dozens of new feelings and sensations were opening up to him. Every day of his life he never felt anything other than the odd bit of annoyance at little things, frustration when things didn't go his way, and now blind rage but only in extreme situations.

Jericho sighed leaning his head against the locker, closing his eyes.

'Just one more day. Just one more day we'll get the results for the school acceptance letters and I won't have to deal with this shit.'

System Start Progression

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