NEW START

"Do you really want that one?"

Billy inquired, concern in his eyes. "It may sound appealing in theory and be practically untraceable, but trust me, having a refugee ID, especially one for the borderlands, won't do your reputation any favors, even there. Those who go for it are usually those with no other options or those aiming to disappear from society. Even then, they use these as secondary IDs. But from what I gather, you intend to start a new life as a pioneer in the empire with this ID. Once you register at the DPMC with it, it becomes your lifelong identity as long as you serve as a pioneer. There are no do-overs, unless you're willing to give up your official pioneer status."Cillian locked eyes with Billy. "Thanks for the warning, but I'm sure about my decision. I want this type of ID."

Billy shrugged, conceding, "It's your choice. I just wanted you to understand the consequences, so you don't come running back here when problems arise."

Cillian replied nonchalantly, "Don't worry, you won't be seeing me again after this."

" well you just made my Job easier so take your pick. What do you prefer to be called by ? an alphabet or number or both ? because that's all there is to choose from . These are normally randomly generated with little to no consistency but i can create a custom one for you within the limit that is "

" Let's just make it Z "

Billy raised his brow at Cillian's reply. Simmon who was standing quietly at the back had a look of curiosity as well .

Billy raised an eyebrow and joked, "Just 'Z'? No fancy words or letters? I've seen some creative names in my time,both form good luck or some good bribes but never have never seen someone choose something plain and boring as a single letter other than a single delusional guy who choose X for his name because he wanted to be called ' Mr. X' ."

Cillian remained resolute, saying, "No, 'Z' will do just fine."

"So 'Z' it is then. Now I only need a photo and a few biometrics. Since your biometrics will be in the galactic criminal record for sure by the looks of it, I assume you need a makeover and a new set of fingerprints. The photo will not be a big problem because it can be easily changed in the future without any hassle through the galactic net. The biometrics do matter a bit more because although they have become irrelevant with the arrival of resonances and advanced surgeries, their use still widely exists because an Integrated scanner can easily match the biometrics with the individual resonance signatures once the ID is active. So unless you can change your resonance signature, forget about entering any place that requires Class B Clearance or above. This, in your case, involves registering at the DPMC, which will make your resonance registered unless it's already in, which you shouldn't be considering your confidence in joining the DPMC," Billy asked inquiringly."Yes, my resonance is unregistered, and I am a newly awakened, which you should know already considering you are a pioneer yourself," Cillian replied without any hesitation. It's not like he can hide his resonance with his pitiful grade E Control.Billy didn't react much to Cillian's answer either. "That's good then; the only thing to worry about is the biometrics. Come here," Billy motioned Cillian to come to his side. Cillian did what he was told and went beside Billy's chair.Billy pulled out two strange gloves with another set of electronics integrated into them. "These are a pair of gloves specially made for creating new fingerprints. This device uses micro lasers to destroy existing fingerprints and uses a special type of radiation to edit the genes that control the regeneration of the fingers so that a new and completely different fingerprint is formed."Hearing Billy's explanation, Cillian suddenly realized a problem. This is not going to work! There is no way any form of laser can damage his skin at such small power outputs. Even if it did work, there is no way any type of radiation is going to damage his genes, and who knows if his regeneration is influenced by genes or not? This procedure will definitely not work on anyone significantly stronger because they have already transcended the biological controls, so the only way this procedure works is when you are weak, only before C rank at best. But Cillian didn't share his findings with others. Even Simmon didn't seem to understand what his resonance actually is, so why would he revealit now?Cillian put on the gloves without any hesitation. The gloves started to glow, indicating that the process had started. "This won't take long, so just hold still, OK?" Billy said, looking at Cillian, who seemed to be a bit nervous in his eyes. The fact was, Cillian was trying his best to hold back his powers so that the gloves wouldn't die instantly from power loss, but also to see if the process could work. His first objective was a success, but the second objective, not so much. No matter how much he held back, the lasers didn't manage to damage his skin. As Cillian was racking his brain for ideas, he had a thought, "My regeneration isn't like others, based on a genetic blueprint. Maybe I can control it, just like how I controlled which part of my body to regenerate first."With that thought, Cillian started to focus on the tips of his fingers as hard as he could. Minutes passed, and there wasn't much progress. Billy was already getting concerned about the process taking longer than expected. Cillian was pushing his concentration to its limits, trying to make new fingerprints, but he made little to no headway. "Maybe I should rethink this; I am currently not powerful enough to manage a change like this." With that, Cillian started looking for alternatives and soon found a plausible one. He once again focused on his fingertips, but this time, instead of regenerating, he actively channeled energy to his fingertips and exploded! It would be injustice to call it an explosion, but more like he popped every cell in his fingertips. Then he focused on the regeneration that was already kicking in. Instead of controlling it, he tried to readjust the energy distribution so that the cell growth was not even on a cellular level. This eventually worked, and new fingerprints started to form. But these fingerprints were more like random lines than the complex natural design of fingerprints. But Cillian wasn't complaining; as long as it works, it's good. After an unprecedented wait of 2 hours, the process was done, and Billy was less than pleased with the output."Is this junk of a machine broken or something? All this wait for this ugly fingerprint?" Cillian felt that he was being insulted but didn't let it show; he instead told Billy to move on. Billy insisted that they try a second time, but Cillian refused. As he realized that Cillian wasn't going to budge from his decision, he moved on. The next step was an iris scan. Cillian was given an artificial organic contact lens-like membrane to mask his eye scans, but Cillian refused them since he could fool any optical-based scans with his ability. After that came a picture, and after another hour, Cillian's new ID was ready.

"I have completed my end of the deal," Simmon said as he stood facing Cillian, along with Billy. He was sweating buckets, waiting for Cillian's reply.

"Yes, you did. And I will keep mine. You are free to do as you wish, but if I ever find out that a third person knows what happened here, I will make sure that you wish that I killed you." Simmon felt a chill in his spine and gulped down a mouthful of saliva. Even Billy, who didn't know how terrifying Cillian was, felt the threat. Simmon regained his composure and replied in the loudest voice he could muster, "Boss, it will never happen, I swear on my life. There won't be a third person who will know about this."

"It better. So, I hope we don't have to meet again." With that threat, Cillian reached out his hand. Simmon hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand. In an instant, Simmon felt his body relax, and that was it. Simmon was dead; his heart had stopped, and his brain shut down from the electricity coursing through his nerves. Before Billy could realize that his buddy was dead, Cillian was already standing behind Billy in his lightning armor with his severed head in his hands. The next instant, both Simmons and Billy's lifeless bodies fell to the ground simultaneously.

Cillian disengaged his lightning armor and collapsed on one knee. These two attacks had almost drained him completely. Cillian, a recently awakened E grade, had killed two pioneers stronger than him without them even having a chance to react. If word got out about this, Cillian would become the talk of the entire pioneer community, which considered grade differences almost insurmountable. But Cillian didn't want the world to know his existence; that's why he did this in the first place. When he entered, he had made sure that the cameras didn't capture him entering the shop by hiding all his radiation emissions from them, including IR and UV. The same goes for every camera in the shop, hidden and open. There was no way of hiding anything energy powers from his vision.

Cillian slowly stood up and reached out his hand to a power outlet. Electricity coursed through his body, recharging his lost power. He stood up and walked to Billy's PC setup. He used his power to absorb the energy from each component, wiping out any trace of data to the micro-component level. The reason he used this method was that there were resonance users out there who could restore items that were physically destroyed. But since all the data was stored based on an energy-coded data crystal, Cillian could absorb all the energy thoroughly, so that even if someone restores the data crystal, it will be just empty unless a time-based resonance is used. But at that stage, the data storage chip doesn't matter anyway. After wiping out all the components, Cillian looked at the two dead bodies. He then walked to another supply outlet and put his hands over it. But instead of absorbing energy, he released energy, short-circuiting the wiring throughout the building, which resulted in fires breaking out throughout the shop. Before the fire suppressor system kicked in, Cillian absorbed all the energy in it, shutting it down. Cillian watched as the fire blazed throughout the building. He slowly walked out of the building and disappeared into the dark alley.

<AUTHOURS NOTE : Thanks everybody who stuck arround till now . The buildup part of the story is over and the real adventures begins now >