An outing gone horribly wrong

"Did you guys pack everything we need for the picnic?" The beautiful blonde middle aged lady asked as they made their way out of the van. "It would be unfortunate to have left something behind."

The van had parked in a clearing that had been made somewhere east of the forest's borders. This was quite the popular site in the region, for most families and couples used this area to relax and have fun.

"Don't worry, Mum." The girl Elora, who was to be celebrated, said with a grin."I put in effort to go through all the bags again before we left. Nothing was left behind."

"Right." Juno added. He pulled out a picnic hamper from the back of the van, slinging it over his shoulder. He looked to be in a grumpy mood, almost as if he was annoyed by everything that was currently happening. And he had reason to be.

The Klaks weren't born with inherent mutant genes, just like majority of families on the planet. However, just a week ago, Elora Klak began to show signs of manifesting her dormant abilities, much to the astonishment and elation of the family. Their father, Jean, felt it was necessary to hold a celebration. He had opted for a party, but then Joana their mother, felt it would be extravagant and recommended a family outing. Everyone except Juno loved the idea. If a party had been held, it would have been easier to remain cooped in his room whilst the others had to interact and socialize with the attendees. No one would take note of his presence...they barely did...and besides, he preferred that anyway. But now, he had to be involved in this outing even though the idea didn't sit well with him.

After bringing everything that was needed out of the van, the family of four began to set up for their picnic.

"Bring the barbecue stand over here Juno." Jean called out to his son, who was getting ready to sit after preparing the mat. His figure paused in the air and he silently cursed a thousand times in his head. Much to his chagrin however, he had no option but to comply. He began to drag himself to the stand that had been placed to the side by Elora, and then cursed again in his head that it was rather unfortunate she didn't awaken superhuman strength instead. And then it struck him.

"Hey Elora!", he called out with a knowing smirk. "I bet you can help me out with your telekinesis right?"

Elora grimaced uncomfortably. A vein almost popped out of her head when she saw the irritating smirk hanging at the side of his lips. "I'm sorry, but it looks rather heavy to lift. I'd have to expend a great deal of energy if I use my powers. You'd probably use lesser if you carried it on your own." She stuck her tongue out after saying that.

Juno gnashed his teeth silently. He could not refute her, for what she said was probably the truth even if he didn't trust her. Besides, the look he was receiving from his father was making him have second thoughts on getting help. As he made his way to the stand, a sudden flash of blue light caught his attention.

"Whoa...is that a comet?" Joana, who had also noticed the streak of light in the sky that was getting closer by the second, questioned.

The others also took notice. "It's a shooting star." Elora said in glee. "A real shooting star!" The excitement on her pretty face was clearly visible, her eyes visibly twinkling to reflect the shine of the 'star' in the sky. Jean on the other hand was frowning.

"That doesn't look like a shooting star." He said. He had worked as an anchor for a weather forecast programme in the past, and thus had some bit of knowledge on these kind of things. "That's probably a meteorite, or something similar. Judging by its trajectory, it should land a few metres from our present location, and it's highly possible that the blast radius would affect us too. We need to leave now."

"H-huh?" Elora turned in confusion. "B-but we had just began-"

"-Elora!" Jean cut her sharply. "I know I promised you that we were going to have this outing and that promise is not void. It's just, I don't think it would be a smart idea to have our outing now. We need to leave."

"Your dad is right Elora." Joana added in support of her husband. "It's too risky to be here now." She turned to look at Jean who gave her a silent nod in response. He knew it was difficult to convince their daughter once she had her mind set on something so he was rather grateful to his wife. Elora nodded in understanding, certainly she wasn't the kind to make things hard for her parents.

As for Juno himself, the ecstasy in his heart was beyond words. He hurriedly moved to lift the stand and place it in the van even as the others also began to move the things. Soon, they were back in the van and ready to leave. Until a loud boom resounded in the distance, followed by an intense rumbling of the land.

"Dammit!" Jean cursed in exasperation as he started the van. "It might have been closer than I estimated, we won't be able to make it in time. Quickly take cover!"

Almost at once, the four of them bent down to take cover under their seats. Lifting his head a little, Juno started to peep through the window. He could see the the trees vibrating in their rooted positions, and could still feel the intense rumbling that run through the van itself, similar to when an earthquake is imminent. Then, he felt the van rock so forcefully that he was thrown from his position due to the inertia. Crashing pathetically out of the windows, he was blown away at once. The next thing he saw could only be described as chaos.

He saw the trees uproot like paper and fly about him even as the inertia carried him along. He could barely make out the panicked screams of his family through the fierce winds that threatened to split his eardrums apart. A feeling of vertigo began to well up inside him, and he was sure the nausea would hit him hard later. Through the chaos he found himself in, his mind was still working spontaneously, a feat which ordinarily should not have been possible.

Racking pain assaulted his entire being the instant he struck the forest floor. That wasn't all, for the next few seconds were one hell of a nightmare for him. He continued to hit the forest floors in expected fashion, being thrown further away as a result of failing to regain his bearings. It wasn't until he had gone much further away from his previous location, that he finally stopped moving. A low grunt left his now bruised lips as he lay weakly on the forest floor. The pain in his body was great, further intensifying with every little movement he attempted. Struggling, he managed to move close to a nearby tree trunk and rest his body on it. His brain reflexively began an analysis on his condition.

'My ribs are broken.' He thought as he wiped the blood that leaked from the sides of his mouth. 'It doesn't feel too serious though, but my breathing has become laborious. And I can tell many of my carpals and tarsals are damaged. Luckily, I can still feel them though. But the pain...'

He began to look around in search of his family or the van, and none of them seemed to be in sight. In fact, the area around him had now become akin to land devastated by war. Juno gulped loudly. He began to fear for his family, and wished he could move in search of them now. Unfortunately, his broken bones would not allow that. Praying and hoping that they'd be safe, he was ready to close his eyes when sudden movement to his left drew his attention. Turning abruptly, he was in for the shock of his life.

A figure was walking in his direction, barely managing to take his steps. He seemed to be mumbling something to himself, and Juno could not hear him clearly due to the distance. But what made Juno sit up with fright was what he made out as the figure came close. His skin was brown in colour, just like those of American Indians one would see in movies. His hair was dark red, and so were his pupils too, giving him a frightening look. His exposed arms and legs behind the armour he wore were coated with strange symbols and tattoos. There were multiple wounds on his body, they looked to have been inflicted by someone else, with some of the wounds being so grave, Juno could even feel the pain from where he sat. In one hand was some kind of strange blue rock that was continually emiting bright energy and the first thing that crossed Juno's mind when he saw it was the comet that they'd seen earlier. There was also one thing Juno was sure of though...this figure wasn't human at all.

The strange figure made his way to Juno in staggering steps, only finally noticing the latter after arriving a metre before him. He was initially startled, instinctively stepping back at once, but upon seeing the lad's condition he felt there was nothing to fear. His guard was still up though, he couldn't afford to lose vigilance...especially not now. He said something in a language Juno didn't understand, but he could guess that the strange man was asking a question. And honestly, he didn't know how he was going to respond.

After failing to get a response, the strange man began to blabber endlessly, his voice rising all of a sudden. As if to make matters worse, visible red energy began to ripple out of the figure's muscles into the surroundings. Juno's heart began to beat wildly and his hair stood on end, as a deadly feeling loomed over his entire being. He could tell that he was in danger, that he was going to die...and his fears manifested, for the strange figure suddenly moved his arm and effortlessly pierced through Juno's chest with his palm...