Kaine sat in his war room, the glow from the quantum computer casting eerie shadows on the walls. Pred’s voice, smooth and confident, filled the room like an uninvited guest who had made himself comfortable.

He began with his prosthetic legs. They were already state-of-the-art, but they felt like a foundation waiting to be improved. Kaine envisioned them integrated into a seamless armored system, something that would enhance his movement and strength while keeping him grounded. He stripped them off, placed them on the workbench alongside his other creations, and began dismantling everything with a touch.

Over the next few hours, Kaine pushed his powers to their limits. He learned that as long as objects were touching, he could combine their mass into a single transformation. A pile of bricks, a broken chair, and a toaster became a fully functioning drone with cameras and a turret. A stack of old magazines morphed into an armored helmet with a HUD interface.

Kaine woke to the soft hum of his alarm clock and the faint rays of sunlight filtering through the blinds. It was his 18th birthday—a milestone most people would celebrate. Kaine? He couldn’t give less of a damn. Birthdays didn’t mean shit when everyone you loved was dead. He stared at the ceiling, his body heavy with a familiar numbness, before rolling over and grabbing his phone.

The Maze family home in Natchitoches, Louisiana, was a sprawling, two-story piece of suburban perfection nestled in a quiet neighborhood of manicured lawns and old oaks. It used to be filled with laughter, Sunday barbecues, and late-night movie marathons. Now it was a hollow shell. Kaine lived there alone, his only company the occasional nurse sent by Bayou Care Services, a local nursing agency that specialized in high-maintenance cases.

The sun was high in the cloudless California sky, casting its golden warmth over the Santa Monica Pier. The smell of salty air mingled with the aromas of funnel cakes and freshly grilled hot dogs. Children screamed in delight on the roller coasters, street performers dazzled crowds with fire-eating tricks, and the Maze family basked in the rare chance to relax together.