OCs 4

Caleb's Training (Powers, Caleb)

Caleb struggled to block the mental attacks he was being bombarded with.
'Don't mess this up again.'
Caleb finally groaned and rubbed his head, unable to keep his guard up.
'Again.'
He kept repeating the training over and over for months until his defenses simply couldn't be broken. Once he mastered that, he moved on to taking down attackers all at once.
'Okay... Attack now.'
Caleb threw his hands out, slamming them all into a wall but not doing so well with his mental attack.
Viren sighed. 'Why can't he be more like his brother?' He focused on Caleb. 'Again.'
Caleb sighed slightly, rubbing his head. Ryan, Ryan, Ryan... Ryan was older than him, but Caleb was still expected to do just as well. It wasn't fair.
'What isn't fair is that, if you skip your training, one day, you'll want to protect someone, and you won't be able to. Now... If you don't want that to happen, try again.'
Caleb nodded, giving in. Fine. He'd keep going until he could take them down like dominos.

- - - - -

Caleb was led into a room. He felt the cries and pleading of a woman, but he also felt the judgment radiating from the guards.
Viren eyed the woman. 'Caleb, this is Ava. Ava is the general responsible for the terrible attack on the college - the one that nearly killed your brother.'
Caleb's eyes widened, frowning as he focused on her. This woman, who seemed so weak and harmless now, was responsible for that?
'Don't underestimate her. Look into her mind. Don't bother trying to get past her defenses gently. Break them down.'
Caleb's eyes widened. 'That's illegal.'
'Caleb, criminals don't deserve lawful protection. Especially not her. She's been a thorn in our side for years anyway. This is only her most recent transgression. Go on... Look. I'll know if you do or not.'
Caleb hesitated then gently entered her mind.
'Please... Don't let them kill me.'
Caleb frowned. 'They won't kill you. They'll do something far worse.' He ignored her pleading, going through her mind like flipping through pages of a book. He knew this could give people a splitting headache, so he felt bad about the harshness, but his father was watching.
'He needs practice forcing his way into a strong mind anyway.'
'He does.'
'Agreed.'
Caleb tried not to become angry at their thoughts, looking through her memories. She had been...happy to watch the college burn. She thought this would prevent expert telepaths from rising to fight against her people. He made fists, upset. How could she be so happy about hurting other people? What could possibly make that worth it?
'Do you see now?' Viren said, putting a hand on his shoulder. 'You know now... We have to break her mind so she can never hurt anyone again. Imprisonment is too risky, and execution is too barbaric. Shatter it, Caleb. I'll guide you through it.'
'Me?!' Caleb's eyes flew open, looking up at him in shock. 'Why me?'
'You need to learn. I know you think me cruel, but you'll be glad one day for the lessons I taught you.'
Caleb frowned but nodded. 'I... Okay.'
'Please don't do this. I... I can change! Don't you believe everything can be fixed? Isn't that your culture?'
'There's a limit to that,' Viren explained coldly. 'Murder is only forgivable by the victims' families or the survivors, and they voted to shatter your mind instead.'
'No! Please-'
Viren knocked her out, annoyed with her useless pleading. 'End this, Caleb. Start with her earliest memories. Scramble them. Then keep going, unraveling the threads as you go. Then, finally, break the rest of her mind's functions so that she can never do anything else except be an empty husk.'
Caleb took a deep breath and nodded. 'I... If the victims' families and survivors voted for this, they have the right to see it done. I'll do it.'
He felt her pain, even unconscious, as he unraveled her mind. It took him a while, but he got it done.
'Well done, Caleb. We'll get you more practice. You need to be able to do it in seconds. Five minutes is too long. Bring in the next criminal.'
Caleb's eyes widened, and he frowned. 'Okay... I'll try.'

Over time, Caleb became the best mind shatterer on the planet. He could do it in seconds, faster than anyone else. He became the primary shatterer of the planet in his teenage years. At this point, he was one of the strongest telepaths on the planet.
His amount of mental energy and skill intimidated the leadership. He was the rightful king of their people with that kind of potential. They just hoped he wouldn't claim his rightful place.
Viren knew the potential his son possessed. That was why he had pushed him so hard. He fully expected Caleb to take his place. But despite all of that, Caleb ran away after Ian escaped with an unshattered mind. He took his identifying documents, a few personal belongings, and had fled on a ship to the next solar system. The leaders knew he was leaving, but they didn't stop him. If Caleb wasn't there, their leadership would remain unchallenged. Viren was furious. All of his work had been for nothing... That ungrateful son of his...
After he had traveled a few galaxies away, he was able to use his extensive telepathic skills to get by. Telepathy of his caliber was rare where he ended up. It would be several thousand years before he saw Ian again and joined his team... Until then, he was pretty much on his own.