Broken Kingdom Ch. 02

"Wait what the fuck? There's people with more shit?" Aaron placed Thane's recovered cell phone on the table and nodded in confirmation. Thane was told that when they needed him they would call, other than that he was free to do whatever he wanted as long as it didn't raise too much attention. Aaron also eliminated another worry of Thane's, he didn't have to worry about anything related to Amanda. Since she was Aaron's link, her past was taken care of.

Aaron still had no idea how Thane effectively broke a link and made a new one, it was unheard of. That, and the fact he could alter memories, was why he was recruited. Thane expected Aaron to be at least slightly bothered by losing a link but he couldn't care less, he assured Thane that he had stables of women. "Bitch, I got an all you can eat buffet over at my place. Bitches from around the world, every type I got em. Fuck I need that bitch for?"

It angered Thane greatly how he could talk about other people like that but then hypocrisy yelled in his mind. With that much power, it was only a matter of time before anyone broke. The power made it near impossible to subdue the urges, it just screamed Darwinism over and over in the mind. As much as Thane wanted to be, he was no better than Aaron. The power controlled them instead of the other way around.

"Yo, uhh-"

Aaron interrupted him mid-sentence, he practically knew what Thane was about to ask. "The eyes change depending on what power you keep using, once it changes there's no going back. You can't read thoughts no more can you?" Thane stared at the ground before nodding in agreement, slightly ashamed for some reason. "You got the pink shit now, just keep using that. It's better than that fucking mystic shit, leave that shit to me." Aaron passed him a smile before leaving.

Thane couldn't place a finger on his character, Aaron would be concerned but a moment later wouldn't give one the time of day. No matter how deep Thane went, he couldn't figure out what was genuine. The shroud of mystery surrounding Aaron only increased his dread about the organization, whatever they wanted him to do he would have to blindly agree. Although faded, he still had a moral compass. The power coupled with an unbound id proved it near impossible to stick to one's morals, the high road seemed to get further and further by the minute.

Needing to get even out his karma he did the only good deed he could think of, return his aunt's glasses. He grabbed the glasses from Amanda and began to run to the other side of the neighborhood. His adrenaline fueled mission of good got in the way of logic once again as he forgot a bus went straight there. The adrenaline got him half way but one can the stretch the limits only so much, Thane ended up walking the final twelve blocks panting like a bulldog. The frames were drenched by the time he arrived at his destination.

He furiously rang the doorbell as if returning them quicker would yield him more moral points. Jane took her time answering the door, as usual, allowing him to recover his breath and adopt a confident body language. "I got your glasses." Thane just spat out the words as soon Jane opened the door, she probably didn't even register that it was Thane yet.

Instead of gaining good boy points or at least a bump in beneficial karma, he was awarded with a lecture. She amplified her voice so the neighbors could hear just how useless he actually was. From her perspective, he should've returned those days ago even though she was the one that forgot them. Like before the high road was getting out of reach, he couldn't even see it in this situation.

"You couldn't even call to tell me my glasses were over there!? How am I supposed to see anything!? What if I got into an accident like your parents!?"

Just then a rush of memories entered his mind, forcing their way to the front of the line.

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"Yo dad, where are you I've been calling for hours. You didn't leave money for pizza and the fridge is empty. Call me back." He sighed and threw the house phone across the couch. That was the fourth message he left his parents.

It wasn't uncommon for his parents to come home late when they went to social gatherings of any type but they always left money pinned to the refrigerator. It was always enough for a pie of pizza or an order of Chinese but the fridge wall was clean, devoid of any currency. Thane drank the last of the soda and busied himself with unsalted crackers, which only intensified his hunger. Once his stomach growled for the fourth time he went to call his dad again, his mom picking up her phone was like winning the lottery.

As soon as he picked up the phone it rang. Great timing dad. He smiled as he answered the phone only to hear heightened panic and police sirens. On the other line stood a cop informing Thane that he should hurry to Bellemoore hospital. The officer wouldn't disclose any other information despite Thane's repeated attempts. His hunger took a backseat and let fear and panic run the system. Accompanied with adrenaline he ran to his uncle's house and explained the situation with vague statements interrupted by gasps of air.

"Slow down Thane! What happened?" Luke, his uncle, was more frustrated at his incoherent nephew than he was about the situation and when he couldn't get any useful information he simply rushed Thane to the car and sped to the hospital breaking majority of the lights.

"We're here! We're here! Open the door!" Thane screamed with fear of the worst rushing through his veins. Luke stopped the car abruptly, cutting off traffic in the process, and let the frenzied teen out. Thane bolted through the doors with speed that matched a sprinter. "Uhh..." he stuttered his words as he attempted to calm his mind remember the room the officer told him. Thane began to snap his fingers to jog his memory. "Fuck! I got a call from a cop about my parents!" He screamed on the top of his lungs at the nurse when he couldn't remember the single most important detail.
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"Are you even listening!?"

The fact that she could casually mention his parent's death made his boil but he still reached for the high road, he would to anything to separate himself from Aaron. "I forgot my phone in school, I would've called but I got no landline." It took everything he had to push out that statement as well as lace it with as little anger as he could.

"But you can call me to pick you up from school when you're feeling down right? Maybe you're getting too relaxed on the rent, thinking you can just call us whenever since you're paying us."

There it was, that was the reason she picked him up from school. Thane knew there was a reason behind the niceness, what he couldn't believe was that they would forsake their own family for a little more cash. Fuck this bitch, she needs to be taught a lesson.

Thane's mind was split in two, one screaming for war while the other screamed for peace. The angel and demon instead of his shoulders, were in his head. It was harder to shut down the demon each time and the angel's voice got softer and softer by the second. "Look Aunt Jane, I'm sorry. I'm a shithead I know, it won't happen again." Thane begged the gods to calm her down, he would leave at the very second he allowed him to but time proved otherwise.

"You're damn right it won't happen again!" She shifted her posture and folded her arms. "We got an offer on the house, you'll get a cut as well. You need to start packing."

The high road was nothing but a myth at that moment and the angel was quieter than a mute. "Fine but can I just get a glass of water before I start packing?"

Jane was surprised by his sudden surrender but she wasn't going to question, she had what she wanted there was no point in complicating the issue. She invited him inside and locked the door. While she was briefly at the kitchen he used the moment to peek inside her memory bank, the memories transitioned like butter. It used almost no energy or effort to go through her past, that or it didn't too long to find a compromising memory. A drunken night at work and sleeping with the boss to solidify her promotion were great choices, Get ready to beg bitch.

Thane sipped the water like it was scotch, savoring the moment before he destroyed her. "Hey Aunt Jane, so does Luke know you fucked Andy at the Christmas party last year?" Jane immediately lost her balance as she grabbed the top of the sofa for support. "He must know about fucking your boss for that new executive position right?" Once again words failed to come out her mouth as she stood in shock. It was too late to turn back now.

"How d-"

"Fuck that part, I know so leave it at that. Now it's your turn to tell me what you're going to do for me." Thane could've attempted to do what he did to Veruca but that didn't do Jane justice, she needed to put in her place and he knew just how to do it.

"I-You don't have proof..." There was no confidence in her voice as she grabbed whatever branch she could as she fell.

"You really think Luke would give a fuck? He'd go to your boss and ask him directly, good luck staying there after that." He knew he had her, there was no way to wiggle out of it. Moments later she said the four magic words, asking him what he wants. "What can you do for me?"

"I want to fuck you." He stated flatly his intentions and waited for her response, sipping the water ever so slowly in the meantime. He expected some type of resistance, a simple denial at the very least but she just shifted her yes and agreed to the act. "That's it? You're gonna let me walk in and just fuck you? That's it? Really!?"

"Whatever, just get it over with quick."

Thane was seething with anger, mostly at the fact that she agreed so easily. If that was all it took to get in her pants then he would've done it years ago. The id was completely unbound, all sense of control was lost. She had no shame whatsoever, she was too proud of herself. Thane put on an evil smirk, knowing exactly what he was going to break. He went deep into the recesses of her mind, almost instantly, and conjured up the tendrils once more. Safety was blown out the way as he went straight into the unconscious, giving her a headache in the process.

Her unconscious had a centerpiece, which the tendrils swiftly approached, surrounded by miniature orbs each radiating different lights. Before the tendrils got in contact with the orb, Thane forcefully softened them. The act brought upon a torrent of pain inside his own mind but he was hell-bent on completing his mission. The tendrils were as soft as feathers when they grabbed the orb. Unlike before, Thane could now see what was inside the orb or in this case what was most precious to Jane. It came to no surprise that it was herself, everything she did was to fuel her own image but that was quickly about to change.

Thane thought about breaking the orb but went against it, he had no idea what it would be replaced with. The thing he hated the most was a lack of control and this task, control was all that was required. Viewing it as a computer folder, all he needed to do was replace the current file with another one. Heading further down the path of the demon, he replaced the image of herself with an image of her marriage. Now her marriage would mean everything to her, even more than her life.

Her expression had already changed, from nonchalant to excessive worry. Exiting out of her unconscious was easier said than done however, countless mechanisms of defense took life as they tried to undo the changes. The orb was still adopting to the newly formed idea, until it solidified it was open to anything. Having no experience, Thane went with instinct, which in this case prompted him to block the tendrils of her own. They were white with hints of yellow scattered in between but much sharper than Thane's, even before he altered them and they were making quick work of the intruders.

Fortunately for him the defenses kicked in too late, even though they chopped up his forces like nothing, they were too late to stop the conversion. Moments before and all the changes made in her mind would've been reset, he would have to remember not to take such a hostile approach the next time. Once the conversion was done Thane quickly exited her mind, having no tendrils following made it much easier. Thane battled a full blown migraine by the time he got out, possibly from the beating he took on the inside.

"So should I tell Luke about your adventures?" Despite the pain, he still managed to put on a devilish grin.

"Please no!" Immediately she began to spout out offers, "I'll cancel the rent. The house is paid for, you don't need to do anything. Just, just live there."

Thane smiled at the victory, even though his vision was getting a bit hazy. While he had the upper hand he downed an aspirin with the water his aunt so kindly got him. He could already see her world imploding, yea just keep thinking about it. I hope you can't sleep now and then start to silently scream. Your life is mine now bitch and you're gonna come crawling to me to get it back.

In the span of a few minutes, Thane had taken on an entire new persona. Once again the id had full reign but this time there was no systemic shutdown to stop it. There was no manual override or a failsafe, Thane's mind had once again become infected with the power. All he could think of was dominance, ruling over the sheep in his view. This was the natural way of the world, the strong ruling the weak. After all it, was survival of the fittest. The smile on his face grew larger and larger each second yet it never failed to separate itself from a menacing undertone.

"Now Aunt Jane, why don't you show me your bedroom."