Corey could hardly bring himself to move. He was exhausted, but he didn’t regret a single moment of the awesome sex he’d just had. Pollux was not only a great fuck, he was also an A+ cuddler, and the feeling of his hot, muscular arms around Corey’s midriff made leaving very unappealing.

Master was still better at cuddling than Pollux, of course. It was just a matter of principle. Unfortunately, Master also had a lot of work, which meant that there was often very little time for cuddling.

At some point, Corey drifted off, enveloped by Pollux’s warmth. When he woke up, the sky was already dark. As he watched, the last rays of sunlight faded beyond the horizon and the first stars came out upon the night sky.

"It’s a pretty sight, isn’t it?" said Corey’s Pollux. Castor and the other Pollux were both fast asleep across from him. "The night sky, I mean… When I was young, my family lived on a farm out in the country. I don’t really remember what the night sky from back then looked like. When I was around five or six I had to move to the city, and there you’d be lucky to see anything past the smog and the bright lights."

"It is," said Corey. He chewed on his lower lip as he looked out the window. His mind felt clearer, less foggy. He felt more like his old self, now. The only difference was that there was still a pleasant buzz in the back of his head, a reminder of who he belonged to.

That he could actually think for himself now meant to Corey that the weekend was about to come to a close. It was sad, but it was what it was. "It’s just a simulation, you know," said Corey. "Walk outside the city limits and you’ll probably see everything else is lit up bright as day."

"Really?" said Pollux. Corey glanced over his shoulder and nodded. "You can tell?" Corey wasn’t surprised Pollux couldn’t. Most Earthfolk couldn’t. It was probably for the best, though.

Corey turned back to the window. "Always," he said. "If you pay enough attention, you’ll notice. The stars don’t quite twinkle right… They’ve never been able to fix that. The sky’s a lot better now, but it’s still the wrong shade of black.

"The wrong shade of… Are you even listening to yourself, Sparky? The wrong shade of black? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" said Pollux.

Corey shrugged and tucked his hands under his cheek. "I don’t know," he said. "It just looks wrong to me." Then again, most people didn’t spend so much of their time as a child looking up at the night sky. The real night sky. As only citizens of the Commonwealth could experience it.

Before anything else could be said, a gentle knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Two knuckles rapped against the wood, twice in quick succession.

Corey struggled to muster the will to get up and answer the door but before he could, it opened. Master popped his head in, squinting in the dim light streaming in through the window. As Master’s gaze met his, Corey felt heat rise to his cheeks. He wondered what Master would think if he learned that Corey had spent all day in bed.

"There you are," said Master. He looked amused, which was a good sign. He entered the room fully and flicked on the light switch. "I was wondering if you had gone and found Castor like I suggested."

"I did, Master!" said Corey. His cock strained in his cage, arousal flooding his body at the sight of Master. It seemed that Master had the same effect on Pollux, because Corey could feel Pollux’s cock harden between his ass cheeks, pressing up against him as it throbbed with arousal. "Did you need me for something, Master?"

"Oh, no," said Master. "You need not worry. Everything has already been taken care of. I just wanted to see how you boys were doing. I’m sorry work took a fair bit longer than I anticipated."

"It’s okay, Master," said Corey. "There’s no need to apologize!"

Master smirked. He walked around to Corey’s side of the bed. He leaned down, bending over Pollux to brush his thumb over the ridge of Corey’s cheekbone. "I see that you and Pollux have been properly introduced," said Master. "Quite a few times, too, it seems."

Corey blushed. He looked over his shoulder and watched as Master gave Pollux a brief kiss on the lips. When they parted, Pollux grinned up at Master and said, "I made sure to really introduce myself to Sparky here, Master. I introduced myself nice and hard."

"Sparky?" said Master. He chuckled. The sound made Corey’s heart skip a beat. "I think I might like that."

Corey tried his best not to pout. If Master decided to start calling him Sparky, it wasn’t his place to question that decision. But he quite liked it when Master called him his little thundercloud. He could only hope that the endearment wouldn’t be replaced by Pollux’s crude nickname for him.

Master seemed to notice Corey’s distress. He leaned down and murmured, in Corey’s ear, "Don’t worry that pretty little head, jockboy," said Master. "You’ll always be my little thundercloud."

Corey felt like his cheeks were going to catch on fire at any moment. His chest felt like it was going to burst. He felt all warm and tingly and he didn’t quite know what to do but smile. He looked up at Master as Master straightened up. "In any case, I expect you to clean yourself off before bed, jockboy. Do you understand?"

"Aww," Pollux complained. "Come on, Master. I want Sparky to smell like me for the rest of the night."

"Not a chance, Pollux," said Master. His voice was stern, but Corey didn’t think he was angry. If anything, Master seemed amused. "The only cum my boys will have drying on their faces while they sleep in my bed is mine, Pollux. You know this."

Pollux looked down and blushed. "However, as you did quite well on your last assignment, I believe you are owed a reward. You are more than welcome to mark him again tomorrow and whenever he is available."

Master didn’t even bother asking Corey if he was up for it. But that was okay. Master could offer him to any man and he would gladly please that man like he would please Master. As a good jockboy, it was his place to serve. And he would serve in any way that he could.

Master turned his attention to Corey. "Jockboy. I expect you to give Pollux your home address if and when he asks you for it, just in case he wants to use you before I move you in here on a more permanent basis," said Master.

"I’m sure you wouldn’t mind taking care of him on occasion," said Master. "Treat him as you would treat me. But never forget who you belong to. In any case, I would not be too surprised if Castor tells him where you live before then."

Corey nodded solemnly. "Yes, Master. I will do as you say," he said. Truth be told, he was quite excited to. He finally had a playmate for whenever Master was too busy. And he would make sure that he didn’t disappoint.

"Now, onto the matter at hand," said Master. "I only have one more thing to attend to, here. After that, well, I’ve come to take you away to dinner, my little thundercloud."

"Yes, Master," said Corey. Master, as it turned out, was the perfect motivation to leave Pollux’s warm embrace. Corey got up out of bed and followed Master as he walked over to Castor’s side.

Master placed a hand on Castor’s shoulder, gently shaking him awake. As Castor was blinking blearily, Master leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Corey didn’t catch it, but whatever Master had said seemed to restore Castor’s mind. Castor’s eyes were bright and clear for a moment before they teared up at the sight of Pollux.

"Come along," said Master, placing his hand on the small of Corey’s back.

Master and Corey made a quick exit out of the room. They closed the door behind them, but not before Corey heard Castor exclaim, "You’re supposed to be dead!"

---

The other slaveboys that passed by as Master led Corey down the hall bowed in deference to him. Master’s firm hand on the small of Corey’s back made him feel like he was walking on clouds. He loved the closeness of it, the intimacy that made his heart race.

Some ways down the corridor, out of earshot of Castor’s room, Master stopped abruptly. Corey glanced at Master, but that was all the warning he had before Master pushed him against the wall. Master’s hands found his wrists and pinned them to either side of his head.

Corey’s face flushed with heat as his locked-up cock swelled in his cage. Master’s bright blue eyes were smoldering as they bore into his. Warm, tingling arousal welled in his stomach, spreading out across his body to the tips of his fingers.

Master leaned into Corey. His warm breath tickled the crook of Corey’s neck, just so, making his skin tingle. Corey felt Master’s nose trace a line along the curve of his neck, from his collarbone to his jawbone. "You smell like Pollux," Master said.

"I-I’m sorry, Master," Corey stammered, as Master’s weight pressed into him, pushing his back flush against the cool stone of the wall behind him. He felt helpless. Powerless against Master. Owned as he was meant to be. As any jockboy should be. "I-I can go and wash up before we head to dinner if you would like, Master," said Corey.

Master pulled away. He smiled. The mirth touched his eyes and made them bright. But at the same time, MAster’s eyes were smoldering with desire. "Did I say that I disliked it?" said Master, his hot breath ghosting over the sensitive skin of Corey’s jaw.

Corey shook his head. "Is it your place to assume what I mean with the things that I say?" said Master.

Corey’s eyes fluttered as Master’s hands pushed his wrists even harder against the unyielding wall. It almost hurt, but the pain was a reminder. It mingled with the pleasure, making his body ache with yearning for Master’s touch. "No, Master," Corey breathed, a fog descending on his thoughts, "it isn’t my place."

"That is good," said Master. Corey shivered as Master pressed a kiss to the side of his face. "I know you’re in possession of most of your faculties right now, my little thundercloud. But never forget who you are and what your place is."

Corey’s hole twitched. He could feel pre-cum dripping from the tip of his cock onto the floor below. "Yes, Master," he murmured, practically purring as Master let go of one of his wrists to stroke his cheek. "I am yours. Now and forever."

"I actually like that you smell like Pollux," said Master. His words were a whisper that made Corey’s body tremble with want. A quiet moan escaped him as Master’s teeth grazed the lobe of his ear. Around them, Corey could see that many of the other boys who had stopped to watch were straining in their cages.

"You smell good," said Master. "You smell like _sex. And that turns me on," Master breathed, pressing kisses to the skin behind Corey’s ear. "It makes me want to ravish you. Cover his scent with mine. So that there is no question as to whom you belong."

Corey looked at Master as Master let go of his other wrist. He kept his hands up by his head as Master had given him no command to let them down. He licked his lips as Master leaned in and let out a little whimper as Master’s lips pressed into his own.

Master was not gentle with his kiss. There was affection there, yes, that made Corey’s heart skip a beat. But it was also harsh. Possessive. Master’s teeth caught his bottom lip and bit down, hard enough to draw a drop of blood.

When Master pulled away from him, Corey was breathless. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused. His felt empty despite the plug, his entrance twitching and all too eager for Master’s cock. He wanted to be filled. No. More than that. He needed to be filled.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Master had other things in mind. "No time for that, my little thundercloud," said Master. The words interrupted Corey’s little fantasy where Master flipped him over, pushed him up against the wall, and roughly pounded his tight little jockboy hole.

Corey looked into Master’s eyes and pouted. Master was such a tease. But it wasn’t his place to question Master’s decisions so he said nothing.

Master smiled. "Well," said Master, "since you’ve been a good boy. I don’t see how it could hurt to give you a little appetizer before dinner. Would you like that, my little thundercloud?"

Corey chewed on his lower lip. The metallic tang of his own blood coated his tongue, but he didn’t mind. It did nothing to mask the taste of Master’s mouth on his own. "Please, Master," he breathed, his cock feeling like it would burst through the delicate filigree of the cage wrapped around it.

Master’s fingers were hot on Corey’s skin as they gently pushed down on his shoulders. Corey didn’t resist—nor could he find any reason to. His back slid easily on the cool stone of the wall as he lowered himself to his knees, to his natural place at Master’s feet.

"Undo my robe," Master commanded.

There was nothing to do for Corey but obey. He did so without thinking, without questioning, and without hesitating. Because that was what a good jockboy was supposed to do.

With reverence, Corey brought his hands up to Master’s waist. Master’s cock was already hard, pushing out on the smooth, luxurious velvety fabric of the robe.

Corey fumbled with the sash that tied the two halves of the robe together and pulled the knot apart. The cloth fell away to either side, exposing Master’s large, erect cock to the air.

Corey’s breath hitched in his throat, as it always did, whenever he was knelt in front of Master’s cock. It was beautiful, thick and veiny in just the right ways, with a gentle curve that never failed to hit that sweet spot buried deep inside of him. Corey wanted nothing more than to give Master’s cock the worship that it rightfully deserved.

"You may begin," said Master. Corey looked up at Master and mouthed thanks for the opportunity. Master smiled at him and patted the top of his head. "You’re welcome, my little thundercloud. Enjoy your reward," said Master.

Corey did not need any encouragement. Permission was the only thing that he had been waiting for. This was the best reward that he could have possibly asked for. Other than maybe Master filling him up from the other end. He would savor it as much as he was allowed to.

As his lips locked around the head of Master’s cock, Corey shifted his knees apart and pushed his ass out. His hole throbbed around the stem of the buttplug, clenching around the metal as it slowly heated up with his arousal. Pre-cum dribbled from the tip of his caged penis and pooled on the floor between his legs as his entire body tingled.

Corey moaned around Master’s cock as he slowly swirled his tongue around the head. The musky taste, the distinctive male scent, it made his head spin. To say nothing of the salty-sweetness of the pre-cum at the tip that seemed to explode into electric shocks down his spine as it touched his tongue.

Master’s fingers threaded through Corey’s hair as Corey tongued at the tip of Master’s cock. The more he tasted, the more he craved. Stopping at any point didn’t even register as a possibility in his mind. Master, however, seemed to have other ideas.

"No playing with your food, now, my little thundercloud," said Master, gently rubbing Corey’s scalp, making him shiver. "Master hasn’t had anything to eat all day, except for maybe that cute little jock ass of yours. You don’t want to make Master late to dinner now, do you?"

Corey muttered something in the affirmative though the words were hopelessly garbled by the cock in his mouth. He set aside his own desires, the heat pooling in his groin, and set himself to the task that he had at hand. He didn’t want Master to go hungry for even one minute.

Rocking back and forth on his knees, the movement pushing the rounded tip of the metal buttplug in his ass against his prostate, Corey slowly worked his mouth up and down Master’s erect cock. He grabbed on to Master’s thighs for leverage, feeling the strong muscles tense at his touch.

Every stroke was faster and harder than the last as Corey swallowed Master inch by inch. He fucked his throat on Master’s cock until he was mashing his nose against Master’s crotch. He coughed and gagged and choked, but that didn’t matter, not to him. The grunts and the groans coming from Master made all of it worthwhile.

In and out. In and out. Faster and faster until spittle was dripping from Corey’s bottom lip and his eyes were watering. Master’s fingers tightened in Corey’s hair just as he felt Master’s cock swelling in his throat.

Master unceremoniously pulled Corey off his cock with a wet, sucking sound, but less than half a heartbeat later, he was coming. Thick white ropes of cum shot out of Master’s cock and splattered on Corey’s face. Gooey strands draped themselves from eyebrow to cheekbone as Master marked Corey his own.

Master’s copious load was significantly larger than Pollux’s had been, and Corey loved it. Hot cum dripped from his brows onto his cheeks and despite being unable to open one eye because of cum that had landed on his eyelid, he couldn’t help but grin widely up at Master as he said, "Thank you for your cum, Master."

"Ah… That was good," said Master, patting Corey on the head. "You don’t need to thank me, my little thundercloud. You’ve earned it today. But now, it’s time for a proper meal. And we don’t want to keep the other boys waiting, do we?"

Corey licked his lips and giggled. He could taste salty cum on the tip of his tongue. He loved the thought that the other boys would see him with Master’s fresh, hot cum on his face. "I don’t want to keep you waiting, Master," said Corey, as Master helped him back up to his feet.

---

Corey breathed out through his nose. He was naked. His arms were tied behind his back, the rope tied around what was probably a ring fixed to the wall, leaving very little space to maneuver. There were cushions under his knees to help him with the kneeling, but his ankles were also tied up.

It had been a week since the party at Marcus’ manor, and the day after. Pollux had visited him at his dorm a few times, both alone and with Castor in tow. The two looked happy. They were definitely wild in bed, when they got into it.

Corey also remembered the dream that he’d had. How his Tempest persona, how he had surrendered to the good little jockboy that eagerly served Imperious. He should have been angry. He should have been railing against it. But if he was being honest, he just felt like he had finally filled an emptiness inside of him that he hadn’t even known he had.

Right now, though, Corey was in uncharted territory. He’d arrived at Marcus’ place at 8am on Saturday morning, just as he was always supposed to. But Marcus didn’t "activate" him. He had no idea what was going on, only that it was some form of training.

Although he had all sorts of thoughts about where "training" could go with Imperious involved, Corey was calm and collected. Sure, he couldn’t see anything courtesy of the blind fold on his eyes, but he was confident in the knowledge that Marcus would do nothing to hurt him.

Whatever the circumstances that had surrounded their meeting, and the complications in the relationship between them, Corey knew deep down that Marcus felt something for him. The same way that he felt something for Marcus. Despite the two of them coming from two completely different sides of the moral compass.

Still, Corey would have liked to know what kind of training he was in for. He doubted that it was slave training because if that was the case, then he probably wouldn’t have been so lucid. But then again, he was naked and in chastity, so maybe he was just trying to figure out something he had no place trying to figure out.

After a few minutes, someone on Corey’s left, whom he hadn’t even noticed, pulled the blindfold off his head. Whoever it was removed themselves from the room before Corey’s eyes could adjust to the light shining down on him from above.

Corey was somewhere unfamiliar. But wasn’t dumb enough to not keep track of where he was being taken. From what he could gather, he was still somewhere inside the manor. But he didn’t remember there ever being a pitch-black room anywhere he’d explored.

Apart from the fixtures in the ceiling that shone circles of light on the black marble floor, the rest of the room was swathed in seemingly-impenetrable darkness. The spots of light were each a few feet in diameter, spaced roughly five feet from one another.

The lights were arranged in a line in front of Corey, all of them, forming a broken divider between the two halves of the room. The first circle of light shone down directly on him. The very last one, at the far end of the room, shone upon a high-backed chair where Imperious was sitting, in full regalia, with his legs crossed.

"Hello, my little thundercloud," said Imperious, his smooth tone of voice enough to send a little shiver down Corey’s spine. It made his cock twitch.

The older version of Corey would have been horrified at the sight of Imperious, at the knowledge that he had fallen under the thumb of one of the most notorious villains in the commonwealth. Not his new self. His new self accepted it. Reveled in it. Understood that he had always wanted this, as much as he had told himself that it was just a fantasy on lonely nights.

Besides. Just because he was in bed with a villain didn’t mean that Corey couldn’t be a hero anymore.

"Hello, Mas—Imperious," said Corey. It sounded wrong to call Marcus that, but at the same time, it felt inappropriate to address Imperious by any other name. It was unfamiliar territory, for sure. "Where am I? And what am I doing here?"

"Good questions," said Imperious. His expression was inscrutable. "I will need you in the days to come." Obviously. Imperious didn’t seem like the kind of person to do anything without a reason. He wanted to know why, but he doubted Imperious would tell him. "But before you can be of use to me in that regard, we must hone your talents."

Corey pursed his lips. It was power training. With a sexual incentive, he hoped, because even clear-minded he was definitely feeling the edge of the horniness of being kept in chastity for so long.

"Lord Fulminant told me that he had nothing more he could teach me," said Corey. The memory of his old mentor brought a pang of pain. It was an old wound, but a deep one. "What more do I have to learn?"

Imperious smiled. It wasn’t the dark, intimidating smile that he sometimes had on camera. If anything, it was affectionate. Tender. "So, so much more," said Imperious. "Tell me, didn’t you notice how much stronger your lightning was when you fought Luxus? How much easier flying has become for you?"

Corey cast his mind back. The memory was fuzzy, but it was there. SIBYL had commented on the extreme power he’d been able to call to his command, back then. "I thought that was just a fluke. Some sort of reaction to the adrenaline of the situation."

Imperious shook his head. "When you were with me for the month before you were ‘rescued,’ I removed many of the mental blocks that you had on your powers." Corey looked at Imperious, wide-eyed. He hadn’t even been aware he was subconsciously holding himself back.

"It was necessary, if I wanted you to reach your full potential," Imperious explained. It didn’t make Corey feel any less warm about Imperious unleashing him. "The late Lord Fulminant told you that he had nothing more he could teach you because you had already surpassed him. The truth is that you are, quite possibly, the most powerful electromancer that the world has ever known."

"How could you possibly know that?" said Corey, more shocked than skeptical at the superlative. He trusted Marcus implicitly. And Imperious, by extension. But it was a difficult statement to believe.

"Let’s just say that it’s a gift of mine," said Imperious, his blue eyes bright with something that Corey just couldn’t quite place. "I’ll only ask you this once, my little thundercloud. Do you want to learn?"

Corey was certain that Imperious wanted to use him for something nefarious. He was convinced that it would go against every value that he had once held dear, every principle that he had once stood for. And yet, the prospect didn’t bother him nearly as much as it should have.

The truth was that Corey did want to learn. If he had greater heights to reach, he wanted to glimpse them. If he had gifts he did not understand, he wanted to know them. "Yes," he breathed, his heart and mind made up. "I want to learn." More than that, he wanted to be of use to the man that owned his heart.

"We’ll start with your ability to sense living creatures," said Imperious. He rose from his chair with the grace of a predator, and he strode out of his circle of light into the obscuring darkness. From there, he continued, his voice strangely disembodied. "Close your eyes. And try to follow where I go with your head."

"I don’t…" Corey sighed. There was no point objecting. With a huff, he closed his eyes. "How am I supposed to do this? You’re not even giving me a hint," he said.

Corey had a vague idea of where Imperious could be. Before he’d closed his eyes, he had seen which side of the room Imperious had gone. He had heard the direction from which Imperious had spoken. He turned his head toward the place that he imagined Imperious would be. Truth was that he was just guessing.

"Wrong," said Imperious. His voice now emanated from the opposite side of the room. The bastard was moving. And quietly, at that. Giving Corey no chance to use his other senses to find him. Imperious laughed. Now he was somewhere else again. "Focus, my little thundercloud. Call a little of your lightning. It might help."

Corey took a deep breath and did as Imperious told him. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, see, or feel, or what the point of all of this was. But he trusted Imperious implicitly.

Energy coursed through Corey’s veins as he called upon his lightning. It was always an exhilarating sensation, and it was difficult to restrict the amount of sheer power thrumming under his skin. Lightning arced at the tips of his fingers as Imperious called out and said, "Try to ignore the sensation of lightning in your body. Focus on your environment."

Imperious had moved again, judging from the sound of his voice. At this rate, the only hope that Corey had was to do as Imperious had said. The buzzing and tingling in his hands was almost impossible to ignore, but he managed. He focused. He concentrated on shutting the sensation out.

As the crackling electricity in the palms of his hands was pushed to the edges of his consciousness, Corey became aware of a similar sensation beyond himself. It was faint, a subtle buzz that was adrift in space. He figured that was what he was supposed to be looking for and inclined his head toward it.

"Very good," said Imperious, as Corey turned his head to follow the movement of that fuzzy blob. "Keep going. Practice will make this come easier. And the more sensitive you become, the better you will be at discerning just what you are sensing."

Corey realized with a start that Imperious’ voice was actually coming from a different direction entirely than the blob was. Somehow, Imperious was projecting his voice away from his body. Imperious laughed, as though reading his mind. "I never said I was going to make it easy on you, my little thundercloud," said Imperious. "I will need you for something important. And I will need you to be ready when the time comes."

That was probably the most that Corey was going to get from Imperious about his plans. It was best just not to think about it too much and focus on the task at hand.

Imperious was right. As the minutes ticked by, the shapeless blob of sensation outside of Corey became vaguely person-like. Following it became easier, too. Movements were more precise, and not smeared through space like they had been before.

"Reduce the amount of electricity that you’re holding on to," said Imperious. Corey did as he was told, but the vaguely human-shaped thing returned to being an amorphous, fuzzy blob.

"That made it worse," said Corey, frowning in the general direction that Imperious was walking through.

"Of course," said Imperious. "But that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Before we started, you couldn’t see anything at this reduced level, right? Clearly you’re improving your sensitivity," said Imperious.

Now that it was put that way, it made a lot more sense to Corey. "You’re weaning me off the electricity," said Corey. "Is the point of the exercise to get me to learn how to do this without having to call on any electricity?"

The blob stopped. It was slowly resolving into a person-shaped patch of sensation again. It was faster than before. "Yes," said Imperious. "Well, I’m training you to use as little as possible. There’s no guarantee that you will be able to do it without, even if it’s theoretically possible."

"I will," said Corey. "I’ll learn how to do it without," he clarified, through gritted teeth. Just as the blob settled into a vaguely person-shaped form, he lowered the amount of energy coursing in his veins again.

This time, Corey almost lost the signal. But it was still there. Faint. Still moving. "That’s the spirit," said Imperious. "You make me very proud, my little thundercloud. Maybe this won’t take as long as I expected."

Corey grinned. "I like to think I’m a quick study…" he said, feeling sweat trickle from his brow. Even though the exercise wasn’t exactly physically taxing, it did require a significant amount of concentration.

"Do you think I’ll be able to tell different people apart with this at some point?" said Corey. Right now, he couldn’t tell if there were any defining characteristics of the person-shaped blob that was Imperious. He didn’t have anything to compare with, in any case.

"I’m sure you will, my little thundercloud," said Imperious. "If there is anyone who will be able to figure it out, it’s you."

---

Marcus brushed his fingers through Corey’s hair. The poor boy was probably exhausted. Corey had pushed himself even harder than Marcus had planned on pushing him. And he’d still had the temerity to demand a prize at the end of it.

Corey’s resilience and determination were admirable, to say the least. Marcus had no doubt that they would be of great importance in the days to come. Still, he couldn’t help but feel that maybe he should have been more insistent on stopping. He understood the boy’s limits well enough, but… Well, sentiment wouldn’t get him anywhere. Nothing could be done about it now, anyway.

With a grunt, Marcus reached over to the coffee table in front of him and grabbed the remote. He turned on the television, one of the few in the house. He switched to one of the more reliable news networks — one that he owned — and listened to the goings on in the wider world of the Commonwealth.

"Member for the Central District of Selene City, Jason Robert Stein, attracted national attention earlier today when he put forward to the House what has widely been called the ‘Let Supers Lead’ bill," said the newscaster, Sharon Saunders.

Sharon was a pretty young lady with a colored story. Marcus remembered her fondly. He’d met her planetside, almost a decade ago. She had been living on the streets in Old Detroit. Her genuineness had taken him for a loop and he’d decided then and there that he would give her a chance to start a new life.

Well, it wasn’t just Sharon’s personality that Marcus had found compelling. She was also a super, even if she didn’t know it. People had trouble telling lies around her; in fact, they found the thought of telling her anything unsupported profoundly uncomfortable.

There was a reason Marcus had put her right in the middle of his media holdings. She would ensure that all the news his organization put together would be accurate to the best of the employees’ abilities.

Marcus smiled. "The bill, which seeks to overturn decades of governmental policy barring gifted individuals from holding public office has been controversial from the moment of its conception. Opponents on both sides of the aisle have levied multiple criticisms against the practicality of the bill, as well as the ethical question of letting augmented humans hold public office," Sharon continued.

"Despite existing questions about his motives, Member Stein has remained resolute in his support for the measure, stating emphatically in a press release earlier today that he believes it is time to stop treating ‘supers’ as second-class citizens in the Commonwealth," said Sharon.

The image beside Sharon, that had been displaying Member Stein’s conventionally handsome face was replaced by the rather severe-looking portrait of another Member. "Member for Nectaris, Alexandre Lapointe, hit back on Member Stein’s words, accusing Stein of exploiting the very serious question of supers’ rights for political gain," said Sharon.

The report continued, this time showing footage of Alexandre Lapointe standing in front of the houses of parliament, speaking to a crowd of journalists. "In a press conference held just outside of parliament at the end of the session today, Member Lapointe stated that he found the introduction of the bill ‘disgraceful and, frankly, revolting,’ just hours after a government Minister accused Member Stein of pushing a hot-button topic to help his chances on an election year."

"Despite significant pushback from the political establishment, the bill has proven quite popular among the public. It has also garnered unexpected support from more moderate voices in both the government and the opposition, as well as from the traditionally-fragmented independent bloc," said Sharon.

"While it is much too early in the process to tell whether the bill will succeed in parliament and make it into the lawbooks, Member Stein says that he is confident equality will win the day. That concludes tonight’s broadcast. This is Sharon Saunders reporting for Commonwealth News Central, goodnight and on behalf of the CNC staff, thank you for tuning in."

Marcus pursed his lips. They had been waiting for this for a while. The game was afoot. "So… It’s begun, then," he said. Things were proceeding a tad faster than he anticipated, but he was confident in his abilities. He looked down at Corey and sighed.

"I’m sorry, my little thundercloud," said Marcus. "But it seems we’re going to have to train a lot harder if we want to be ready when the endgame comes."