KP

"The objective is to create the best weapons of mass destruction without actual guns and to keep weapons looking as inconspicuous as possible. "

"What do you mean?" KP expected Carly would be confused. After hauling her over to his temporary place of residency since his other place was set on fire, he can't as thoroughly explain to her as he would like. They're even sitting on boxes he pulled out in the living room since he hasn't had time to get all new furniture for this place.

"Both Nathen and I come from a long line of creators. However, Nathen's side has taken things into their own hands after certain countries used their goods for their civil wars claiming it as their own. Now I believe their people are planing their own war and possibly worse. " Carly's eyes widen but she didn't say a word.

"Nathen came here to try and raid our labs for information. I've been doing my best to keep him trapped in this town for as long as I possibly can so I and my people can figure out what exactly it is he's trying to get from us. I have my theories, but nothing is confirmed." He told her.

"How exactly are you trapping him?" Carly asked. KP walked over to one of his boxes stacked by the window and pulled out a small black cube he placed in his hand.

"Shield open." Carly watched as KP spoke. She looked confused because to her eye, nothing about the little black box changed.

"Try touching the box." KP held the box to her. Carly was still confused. She was hesitant, but slowly reached out to the box but her hand stopped before reaching it.

"What's going on?" She pulled back and tried again.  Her fingers shook trying to push forward to grab it.

"Don't try so hard. If you take too long trying to penetrate the shield, the shock activation will turn on."

"Shock activation?"

"This is the old prototype of the invisible shield that is now up and active. You know how trying to put the same poles of magnets together is virtually impossible without a very strong force to hold them together? This works kind of like that. This goes against the kind of energy Nathen and Tom have with the same kind of energy. If they even get close to the town's border, that shock wave will activate."

"But, how does that little thing work around the whole town?" Carly was trying to understand, but she was still confused.

"This is just the test form. Nothing can penetrate inside this box's perimeter of six inches. Now, it's not even a box, but an electronic radio wave going through four posts set at the town's edges creating a dome like shield. So walking, driving, or flying would be impossible for them to try to get out."

"And he hasn't tried to take it down?"

"He has. Numerous times. But he's been missing the necessary power to complete his means of take down." KP told her.

"And what does that mean?"

"He can't take it down himself. Most of his outside sources can't get in because they carry the same energy as they do. So he has to wait until someone with a high enough compatible energy to the posts comes here."

"Do-does that have something to do with me?" She asked. She was beginning to put the pieces together.

"Yes it does."

"Is this why people from Uptown stopped coming here? Not just me, but it has something to do with us, right? My parents and I came in no problem."

"You're very perceptive," KP said actually relived she was handling it better than others, "the people in Midtown have little hope, care, and energy. Half the people here are barely fighting their will to live much less could fight a high-powered post that's near impossible to break by the human hand. Those of you in Uptown have this higher level of energy because of your better living. I know this all sounds strange. But you have to know that he's serious about trying to find the right opening to take you into his lab and do testing on you. With that bracelet I gave you, he hasn't been able to touch you which is why you're still here." Carly immediately looked to the bracelet.

"Is that why he kept acting strange after you gave this to me? He tried to help me before but let go of me in a panic."

"So you did activate it?"

"I-I don't know. Did I? I don't have any special abilities or powers or scientific gifts. All I did was put it on."

"Did you say what I told you for 'good luck'? Regardless of how you said it, as long as you verbally said, 'keep my peace' while wearing it, it will automatically be activated to your person."

"I think I did. The night you gave it to me I was in my bed fiddling with it and I said keep my peace as a joke. I didn't think anything of it because I still don't buy into that whole superstition thing."

"It's not a superstition thing. It's a personal weapon created for offensive and defensive use. A lot of our gadgets are voice command with specific phrases that wouldn't commonly set it off. It's also so we don't have to keep track of a bunch of different buttons and remotes. In case we're ever in a situation of being unable to use our hands, what we use will still work as long as you know what to say." KP explained it to her. Carly again looked to the bracelet. KP could almost see the gears in her head turning. He knows this is a lot for a normal person to take in.

"You seem like you understand, but you're still doubting."

"This is all too strange. And me being the goal is freaky enough. It's too much to take on."

"I didn't want to tell you because the last time I tried to tell someone, they ended up taking their on life out of fear and disbelief. I don't want that to happen to anyone else." KP saw the fear growing in her eye after hearing that.

"I understand this is more than you're used to or even thought was going on, but now that I've told you, you have to find it to believe what I say and work with me so we can avoid letting Nathen achieve his goals."

"How exactly do you plan to stop him?"

"Well, I have two options in mind. We take away his power and wash his memory of all his goals and scientific gifts, or..." KP raised his free hand and clasped it over the box, making a large crunching of metal echo in the room.

"Or we could kill him." KP removed his top hand from over the box showing the four walls crushing in and the top pushed out of place.

"This isn't nearly as stable as the posts that are up now." KP clarified.

"This is unreal." Carly managed to mutter. "Is talking no longer an option? You know, asking him to stop or cut a deal or something?"

"If you can sit him down and ask him that, I'll renounce my title as the VP of the Pims lab. I tired that when he first tried to break in my labs. And let's just say... we're short a few people now." KP sat the broken pieces of the box down.

"There's one other thing."

"You have more to say?" Carly was at her limit of discoveries for one day.

"This has more to do with you."

"With me? You mean aside you saying I'm the reason for all this to begin with?" She asked. Out of everything he told her, he felt this will be the hardest for her to understand.

"Yes. I don't know what it is, but I think you have a gift."

"A gift? What is this a movie? You're saying I have a hidden power or something?"

"To put it simply, yes. Your presence is much different from the previous Uptown people that have come here. Your perception of everything is great, and seem to have this natural intuition."

"So what? I'm smart? Is that what you're saying? You think I could go play in your labs with you?"

"Not simply that. I believe you have a sleeping ability that I can try to awake for you if you're willing to try."

"Oh no. No no no. I'm perfectly okay with not being a test dummy. I thought the whole point of this was to avoid being that."

"You wouldn't be considered a test dummy. This is just a harmless shock test. It would simply just be something to wake your inner system up to tap into your hidden ability. Then once we see if it's there or not, I can help you learn to work and control your talent."

"That sounds dangerous and delusional. What if I don't have whatever it is you're talking about?"

"There is a small risk of nerve damage if there's nothing there, but the chances of that is small."

"But still a chance." Carly reiterated. KP knew this would be the part she would have the most trouble accepting.

"This is just a thought. If you don't want to, I won't force you to."

"This is all so mind blowing as it is. And now you're telling me I could be some mad scientist creating weird weapons like you? No offense, I'm just a normal girl who picks up on a lot."

"I told you I won't force you to do anything. But believe in this world, anything is possible. You've never walked all four corners of it, so what's out there to you is still undiscovered. There are people who can do things you could never imagine, but they keep their abilities low because like you, they know it seems ridiculous and people wouldn't accept them. Just keep an open mind and think about it." KP made sure to look her in the eye as he spoke. Carly is still Nathen's target. That much he believe she gets. He's taking a risk by wanting to see if she has an ability. But with Nathen's rash actions, and Lodia here, KP is taking all his chances.

"You're crazy KP." Carly started, "but I guess it can't hurt to keep it a thought."