Path of the Hunters - NSFW

"Oui. Petty thievery, street brawlin', resistin' arrest-I did pretty much al of it. Did about three years inside, bolted the first chance I got. Then, things started goin' south."

"After you left juvie things went bad?" She sighed. "Nova, your 'ole life sounds bad."

"Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, I ran afoul a group of scientists. They were roundin' up drifters, doin' these wierd experiments on them. I fought 'em off as best as I could, but let's face it, I was still just a kid."

She stared at him, a bit of understanding dawning. "Your earth control... It came from them?"

He nodded. "My bones are stronger than titanium, skin tougher than a rhino's. I have ant-like strength, meaning I can lift several times my weight. But sometimes, my body feels so heavy, I can barely move. Thankfully, that hasn't happened in some time.

"I thought I was going to die as a guinea pig. That's when Cross showed up."

"His electricity," she murmured and walked over to settle in his lap.

"Back then, he was on the run, too. Him and Elesis-both of them were being hunted. Soon after, Sol and Mani showed up, too-escaped POWs, both heavily wounded. And so, in a nutshell, the team is formed."

She nodded, laid her head on his shoulder. "No wonder you are all so... different and yet you still click together."

"Back then, we had to. Otherwise, we'd probably die in those experiments.

"After we escaped, we went about our own business. Cross and Elesis went to clear their names; Sol and Mani found a safe spot to fully recover. I didn't really have anything to do, so I went back home."

"What 'appened?"

"Well, in the scraps of what was left of our old home, I found something that changed everything: My mother's old diary. Virtually everything was in it: a basic history of the Baudoin family, the events that led her here, my birthright, my uncle's stories-I think I spent a whole day looking through that book.

"Afterwards, I tried going back to the gang life, but that fell through. My head wasn't in it, anymore, because I knew I was better than some street thug. And so begins my career as a bounty hunter. Couple of years into it, I run into Cross and company again, and we form our merc team."

"'Appily ever after from that point, I suppose."

"Pretty much, yeah. Sure, there were a few bumps on the way, but that comes with the territory."

"Oui. I was right about your story being more interesting than mine."

"What? The story behind your powers isn't exciting? Just a family trait, or something?"

"A family trait that gets 'ammered into you." A blade was in her hand, twirling between her fingers too quickly to be seen. "I showed no signs of it when I was younger, none at all until I spent a year with my grand-père..." And it had hurt like hell, trying to learn...

"Hammered into you? How do you train yourself into what you can do, making knives, or metal in general, phase through objects?"

"It is complicated..."

He looked at her for a moment. "...All right. I won't force it out of you. For now, let's enjoy our food before it gets cold."

Since she was still in his lap, she took a piece of his chicken. "I will tell you 'ow I grew up if you wish."

"That's all up to you," he said, taking a bite of his biscut.

"Mm..." She'd never told anyone her story... "My father and my mother are deserters. My father from the Laroche way of life, my mother from royalty. She was a duchess and he was charged to guard 'er. It was a different assignment from what the Laroche's are usually given. We kill for royalty; we do not guard them. Then it was learned that the target was really my mother...

"She was already pregnant, so my father refused... They ran away together, changed their names. I 'ad no idea 'oo I was, but I 'ated being stuck in the small town... It was dull, but they would not let me go to Paris..."

"That's where you'd find out about yourself, so that's understandable."

"Oui, but I 'ad no idea and their only reasoning was that it would be 'dangerous.' I was douze and believed I could do anything I wanted. So I started creating mischief. If I was terrible enough, per'aps they would send me to Paris just to be rid of me.

"Instead, I found a book with the Laroche crest in 'is closet and I learned a lot. I knew why when I was huit a knife I had dropped right through my foot did not 'urt or leave a mark. At the time, my father claimed that 'e 'ad gotten me out of the way in time. But I 'eard the knife fall before 'e grabbed me...

"I even found a letter. My father's orders to kill la Grande Duchesse. The picture attached was of ma mère... At that point, I did not understand or care about the consequences of writing to the leader of the Laroches..."

"What happened?"