Light And Death.

It all started on a particularly painful day for me. I looked straight at my dad and saw him hovering over my mom, holding a heart in his hand, with a gaping hole in her chest. I immediately understood what had happened. Without thinking, I bolted past him and ran straight to the door. But as expected, he was faster than me-and not by a minor margin. He caught up to me almost instantly and struck my head with something heavy. I blacked out immediately. When I regained consciousness, he was standing right in front of me, telling me to keep quiet and listen. He explained that my mother was a spy sent to kill both of us and that he had done what he did to protect us. I struggled to process his words. My mother? A spy? The same woman who gave me life, cared for me, and raised me? If she had truly wanted to kill us, she could have done so effortlessly. She handled our meals for years— poisoning us would have been simple. Almost as though he could read my thoughts, my father said, "If you're wondering why she didn't poison us, it's because we're special. We have gifts that set us apart from normal people." I couldn't deny that I was special. Once, a car hit me at over a hundred miles an hour. The car was wrecked, but I walked away without a scratch. I also had unbelievable strength and intellect. Despite being only eight years old at the time, I could lift objects as heavy as a car with ease. Yet, I still found it hard to believe my dad's story. It felt surreal, almost like a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. While I was lost in thought, the police barged into our house. My father immediately grabbed me and tried to escape through the window. I wantedno part of his madness. I kicked him in the groin and ran straight to the police. At first, they mistook me for my dad and were ready to fire. When they realized I was just a kid, they lowered their weapons and asked where my father was. I told them everything. They rushed upstairs but came back looking disappointed-my father had escaped. Judging by their lack of pursuit, it was obvious he was gone for good. The police said I needed protection and took me to a maximum-security facility where gifted kids like me were trained to harness their powers. "And that, Elizabeth, is how I got into the academy and worked my way into the League of Light," I said, looking into her deep blue eyes. She was stunning. Her tears, shed because of my story, made me blush. I had a huge crush on her, and being this close to her made my heart race. When I was assigned to lead Team Alpha with Elizabeth and Jordan, I thought it was fate. But Elizabeth showed no interest in me —or if she did, she hid it well. She was consumed by vengeance and hatred for her mother. You see, Elizabeth's story was even more tragic than mine. Her father had lost his first wife and later remarried her mother, who had also lost her husband. Technically, her stepfather wasn't her biological father, but that detail didn't matter. For a few years, everything seemed blissful-until tragedy struck. Her mother murdered her stepfather and his three children from his first marriage. As if that wasn't enough, she nearly beat Elizabeth to death. The police intervened just in time to save Elizabeth and brought her to the academy. She eventually joined the League of Light. Elizabeth was incredibly powerful. She had unbelievable speed and could generate electricity, using it in battle. She currently moved at the speed of sound, but the academy's technicians believed she'd soon be able to reach the speed of light, just like her mother. She hated her mother deeply but bore an uncanny resemblance to her. They were both breathtakingly beautiful. Elizabeth looked at me with pity. "I'm so sorry. I never expected your story to be so tragic." "It's alright," I said, trying to sound composed. "Should we join Jordan in his loft?" She nodded. The truth was, I couldn't ask Elizabeth about her story. Everyone knew it-she didn't need to tell it again. Jordan, on the other hand, had no tragic past. He was picked up on the streets after his father, a wanted murderer, abandoned him. Jordan had no vendetta or personal loss-he simply believed in truth and justice. Jordan was powerful, though. He was telepathic and could control metals, bending them to his will. However, he had endurance issues. Unlike Elizabeth and me, he couldn't use his powers for long. When he pushed himself too hard, he'd pass out, blood streaming from his nose. We were Team Alpha, the most powerful of the ten major teams in the League of Light. Most of us had parents in the Death Squad, a team of assassins and murderers with powers like ours-but far stronger. We were only half-bloods, possessing a fraction of their abilities, while they had theirs in full. It was rumored that my father was the leader of the Death Squad and that Elizabeth's mother was his second-in-command. That's right-our parents were the heads of the most dangerous organization ever created. And it was our job to stop them. Failure was not an option. We arrived at Jordan's door and knocked. If you think we've been through a lot, know this: this is only the BEGINNING…………………