Catalyst
"I'm going to enjoy squashing your pathetic little organization a second time," Autumn roared.
As she did, the team charged into the fray, throwing up TK barriers and dodging the strange sonic blasts from the hover tanks. Within minutes, Autumn had rendered the tanks and flying platforms burning chunks of metal, and the other four left the soldiers around them nothing but mangled flesh. Fate used his TK to snap the neck of the scientist, and Autumn slung the corpse over her shoulder. They continued to the tall building a mile away.
The inside of the building was as white as everything else on this damn planet. They could vaguely see furniture, a desk, and several potted plants scattered throughout the lobby, although these things were the exact shade of white as the walls, ceiling, and floor, making it seem like they were merely a trick of the mind.
Nikolas ran into a coffee table he didn't see, his boots protecting his toes, but not preventing a trip. When the table shattered from the impact, they saw that even the insides were pure white, although they could now tell that it was wood, judging by the grain inside.
"This planet sucks," groaned Maya. "Why does everything always have to be white with these guys?"
"That's probably why they're all uptight assholes with no empathy," Tom replied. "Seeing the same monotonous color every single day, everywhere you look has to crush the soul out of you."
"But not us."
"No, not us."
The group looked around for an elevator. After around fifteen minutes of searching, they were glad that the creases in the wall finally revealed the elevator.
Tom reached out with his TK to find where the hell the buttons were, then pointed at a seemingly random area on the wall and said "Looks like it's some kind of integrated touch screen. Put his hands on it."
Autumn dropped him off her shoulder and lifted him up by his with one arm, using her other arm to press his right hand into the indicated part of the wall. They saw a green flash, then a screen appeared, a projection of light hovering only a couple of inches from the wall.
She continued using his hand to press buttons, in case there was some kind of trap that would activate if a non-authorized person attempted to use the elevator. The Advanced had pulled that trick before.
She used the dead man's hand to scroll through the list filled with dozens of labs, offices, and holding floors for 'test subjects' until she alighted upon a floor labeled "Warehouse Delta," at the very bottom of the list.
It appeared that this warehouse was in the basement. They all piled into the elevator, and the long ride confirmed that it was, indeed, miles below the surface of the planet. It was a very lengthy, unpleasant ride down. They were all smooshed together a little to fit, and the corpse was starting to stink.
When they made it to the 'Warehouse Delta,' they all stepped out of the cramped elevator and stretched. Autumn dumped the body on the ground. They took a moment to gather their bearings.
The walls, floor, and ceiling were the same boring white as the rest of the planet, but they saw their first glimpse of different colors here. The warehouse was easily as long as an Atlas and shaped like a square. Even such a massive amount of space felt tiny due to the object sitting in the center.
A nuclear reactor loomed over them, so large it only left a few feet on each side empty, along with the hundred or so feet in front of it to accommodate dozens of diagnostic terminals on desks and toolbox towers. It was so tall it almost touched the ceiling twenty miles above their heads. The room was filled with people in lab coats or overalls, who were now staring at the new arrivals with fear, their eyes darting from the group to the corpse and back again.
Tom studied the state-sized reactor. "Well, that was easy. I say we just rig this thing to explode and call it even."
"Seems like too quick a death for this scum," Autumn spat out.
"Maybe, but it would sure be funny," Nikolas said with a hint of amusement.
"Never take the hard path when there's an easy path in front of you," Fate said. "Let's get rid of these people and do what Tom suggested.
The group strode toward the reactor, pulling out their weapons and mowing down the frightened workers. Many tried to run or hide, but none could escape the TK senses of the Prodigies. Fate almost felt guilty, but then he remembered all the 'test subject' floors on the elevator's list and he got over it.
When they eventually stood in a room covered in blood and corpses, they heard the elevator ding. Fate looked behind him, only to fly dozens of feet into the left wall, hitting it hard and dropping to the floor. He pushed himself up and hopped to his feet, turning his furious gaze to the elevator.
He saw a dozen soldiers, none armed with conventional weapons. However, his TK senses told him they were equipped with something much deadlier. Each one of these men was a psychic. And from what he knew of the methods of the Advanced, there was likely a Prodigy or two among them.
He grinned, although only the narrowing of his eyes was visible with his mask on. Despite the impediment, he had no doubt that the group of soldiers knew what he was doing. He fancied he painted quite a grim picture, covered in blood and visibly excited.
The soldier that had attacked him, their arm still outstretched, attacked again, sending a blast of force toward him. He dove behind a desk nearby, activated his Null power, and stood up. The soldiers had entirely forgotten about him, sending wave after wave of force toward the other members of Styx. He sauntered forward, confident in his ability. Then one of the soldiers looked at him, swinging his arm in Fate's direction, and Fate's back met the wall once more.
He staggered up. 'Some kind of sensory ability, it seems. Maybe more than that. I can tell they're amplifying the psychic attacks of their allies. Looks like Maya and Nikolas can't get through to them.' His grin widened.
He remembered an offhanded statement made by an Advanced scientist years ago, about how the first psychic humans awakened to their powers in a moment of extreme danger. The abilities of Prodigies appeared in a similar manner. He wondered, did the members of Styx have more power to unlock? And more importantly…
Did this Prodigious soldier think they were enough to stop him and his friends?