 
                       Marcus's Power (15 of 16)
 
Marcus' Power
 
by Matrix
 
Chapter 15
 
Jesse walked through the rather large house with the scene of Mouse and
Kait both jumping out from behind the kitchen counter and had to laugh.
Again. 'Mouse and Kait... Who would have thought it?' she thought. She
wasn't at all against it... She just wondered what Marcus would think
of it. That was a couple of hours ago.
 
Jesse was, for lack of a better word, bored. It was only almost two O
clock and she was ashamed to say, that she already missed Marcus. She
knew that him and Shain had been training for close to seven hours. 'I
Shouldn't bother them' Jesse thought as she walked through the house.
'It wouldn't be right' her thoughts added
 
Then she stopped walking and sent a telepathic message. *<'Shain, you
guys have been at it for seven hours! Can I take him to New Orleans to
get some lunch??'>* the message asked. Then she just cocked her head
slightly and awaited an answer.
 
*<'Yeah, in truth, I could use a break. Don't you dare tell him that
though!'>* she heard the reply say. A ghost of a chuckle followed it.
*<'I'll send him to you... Where are you at?'>* Shain then asked.
 
*<'Near the game room.... I'll meet him half way'>* her thoughts
replied.
 
*<'Ohhh, you're so cute when you're impatient'>* Shain replied, Jesse
could almost see her brother smirk.
 
*<'Just send him, will ya??'>* she replied, her face a little red from
embarrassment from her brother's comment.
 
*<'He's on his way'>*
 
Jesse started to make her way towards the den. Her mind was a little
worried though. Marcus did not sleep with her the night before. That
worried her quite a bit. At first she thought that Marcus had chosen
Mouse over her. Then she found out that Kait had been assigned his
personal guard and asked her. She told her that he had chose to sleep
on the couch. That worried her even more.
 
'He just has a lot on his mind, Jesse' she told herself as she walked.
But she was a little insecure about the way he felt about her. She
thought that she was being a little silly, but she had never felt this
way about a boy before... And it was a little intimidating. But she
kept her chin up as she walked to her love.
 
She turned the corner and seen Marcus coming her way. His shades were
lowered somewhat and she could see a wild look in his eyes. Jesse could
tell immediately that Marcus was in a good mood. The light seemed to
almost dance in his eyes as a smile crossed his face when he seen her.
'See, Jesse?? He's glad to see you... So quit being such a worry wart!'
Jesse thought with a light laugh.
 
"What's so funny?" Marcus asked, he looked a little confused but still
cheerful.
 
"Aw, it's nothing, just thinking about stuff. Hey, you up for a little
lunch in the city?" she asked as she leaned forward and gave him a
light kiss on the lips.
 
"Hmm, give me another kiss I might be," he replied and waited for
another kiss. Marcus got his wish. "Yeah, lets go... If we keep doing
that I won't get any further than the bedroom for lunch." he added with
a devilish smile.
 
Jesse blushed a little bit and said, "And what would be wrong with
that??"
 
"Not a damn thing! But I would like to see New Orleans."
 
"Alright, let's go."
 
"I think that we should walk. I don't feel like taking the car. What do
you think?"
 
Jesse looked at him adoringly and said, "Yeah, a walk would be good."
 
And then they started for the door and New Orleans.
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Orleans was not what Marcus had expected. It wasn't the fact that
every one looked at him because he had a sword on his back, because
Marcus and Jesse had both sent out a command that people should ignore
the swords. No, what was out of place was... Jesse. She had to be the
only person that he knew that came to New Orleans and picked hamburgers
over cajun food. That was... Surprising.
 
They had chosen a little outdoor cafe to eat at. It was nice, Marcus
liked the accent of the natives. They had a small booth and looked like
to teenagers in love. In fact, there were two or three couples doing
the same thing. All seemed to be all right in the cafe. But Marcus kept
his guard up anyway. They were both seated and talking, like always,
Marcus loved Jesse's company.
 
"So, how did the training go?" Jesse asked, she already had a good
idea, because Shain said he needed a break and he never said that.
 
"I think it went alright. I didn't know a person could *program*
themselves... At first Shain was kicking my ass when we were sparring.
After he showed me that mind trick though...." he let the sentence hand
and a smirk appear on his face.
 
"After he showed you that, you started to kick HIS ass." Jesse said, an
appreciative look on her face.
 
"Yeah... He said that I could meet the Knights I was going to lead
tonight on the training grounds. At seven. I'm a little nervous about
that..." he said, the nervousness showed just a little on his face.
 
"Marcus, I'm not going to bullshit you... Some of those Knights aren't
as willing to follow you as blindly as Kait is. You might have to....
Put on a show. Accept a few challenges. There's something else
though..." she said, she was looking at the worry on Marcus' face.
 
"Yeah, and what would that be?"
 
"Well, most of the Knights have at least one *follower*. I think they
would appreciate it if you did too. I don't know for sure, mind you,
but it's just a thought." Jesse finished, glad it was over. She really
didn't know how Marcus felt about slaves.
 
'Slaves? Think about the responsibility Marky my boy. Casey did not
work out that well... But... I bet I could do it differently this time
around, I know more than I did' he thought, then looked into Jesse's
mirror shades. "All right, I'll get one before we go back today," he
said in a calm and even voice. "Where would you suggest I look for one
at?"
 
'Whoa, that was easier than I thought!' "Well, believe it or not
Marcus, New Orleans does have a mall. We could find one there just as
good as anywhere else.... Just be a little more careful this time,
huh?" she said, lowering her shades to give him a wink.
 
Marcus decided to say something that he knew would catch Jesse
completely off guard. "Ok, but if I get me a follower, that means you
have to get one too!" he said, laughing out loud at the expression on
her face.
 
"I-I-I guess I could. I didn't know if you wanted me too. I guess it
would be nice. The last one I had... Well she... Aw, never mind, I
never thought you would say that." she said with a nervous chuckle. She
wasn't about to tell him the last one she had died for her being
insubordinate. The Zone in New Mexico killed her.
 
Marcus seen that he was missing something by the way Jesse was acting.
But he chose to let it go for the moment. "All right, let's finished up
lunch and walk down to the mall.... I bet Kait is having a fit I didn't
tell her where I was going. She thought it was a real *honer* to become
my personal guard." Marcus said with a chuckle as he sipped his milk
shake.
 
"You don't get it, do you Marcus? After the wars are over, you will
rule all the Knights in the Zone. You already are going to rule the
ones here. Your going to be like a King. What you say, *goes*. So,
yeah, she is honored, as she should be." Jesse replied, the warmth of
her smile was radiating charm.
 
"Yeah, well, it just takes some getting used to. I mean, it wasn't that
long ago I was going to fuckin' high school and my biggest worry was
people talking to me. Now I have to lead a band of Shadow Knights into
a war... That's a big step in a short time." Marcus said, his voice low
and serious.
 
"I know, but you can handle it. It's prophecy, we'll win. I know it."
Jesse said, the sheer conviction of her voice made Marcus feel better.
 
After lunch, the walk through New Orleans was an interesting one, to
say the least. For some reason, Marcus decide to take the scenic route
to the mall. The scenic route he had in mind was the worst part of New
Orleans. This didn't worry Jesse. It just made her curious. She had no
idea why he would want to go through this part of the neighborhood on
foot. They were walking by a district that had a few abandon buildings
and those that weren't... People was living in them anyway. Jesse felt
pretty bad when she seen the dirty malnutrition kids, but said nothing.
 
What Marcus did not tell Jesse, was that they were going to an illegal
fighting tournament. As they were walking along, Marcus was reading
people's thoughts at random. One of the thoughts he read had told him
of a all-girl street fighting competition. They could only win by two
ways. They either had to knock there opponent out or they had to make
them submit. He had also read deeper about a regular fighter that went
by the name of Sam "Special K" Wilson. From what he could read, she was
the favorite for the competition.
 
Marcus stopped dead in his tracks in from of an old abandoned
warehouse. Jesse couldn't take it no more. "Ok, I give. Why the hell
are we here??" she asked in a good natured voice.
 
"You wanted me to find a follower... I'll find her here... Maybe." he
said evenly.
 
"What is this place. I would say that there is nothing here, but I did
a scan on it. There is about 20 teenagers and ten adults in there," she
let her scan roam there thoughts. "Hey! There watching a fight.... Ya
know, this is just like you to pick a fighter!" she said with a laugh.
 
"Yeah, I know. But I have someone specific in mind." he said and
started walking for the entrance.
 
"You want me to handle the guard that is on the other side of that
door?" Jesse asked in a nonchalant voice as she followed him.
 
"Go ahead... Just don't kill him." Marcus replied jokingly.
 
"Alright."
 
When they made it to the metal door, Jesse used her Kinetics and
unlocked it. The door opened at her will and a guard rushed out which
Jesse handled very efficiently with a spinning back fist. The guard was
an over-muscled man in his late thirties and had a mustache. When
Jesse's Kinetic charged fist landed against his temple, he fell to the
ground completely unconscious.
 
"Nice," Marcus said with an appreciative look. "But why didn't you use
mind control?" he asked with a chuckle.
 
"What's the fun in that?" Jesse replied with a smirk as she hopped over
the unconscious body. She walked into the building with Marcus right
behind her.
 
The floor was made of cement, Marcus noticed. He also noticed the
circle of people in the center of the room. Most were cheering on the
fighting that was going on in the center of the ring. Marcus nudged his
way through the circle of people so that he could see the fight better.
And he seen that Sam Wilson, his pick for a follower, was fighting. She
looked to be about 20 years old.
 
She was wearing cut-off blue jeans and a red tank top. Marcus admired
her long muscular looking legs. They were very tanned. They were not
overly muscular, just very toned, as were her arms. She had dark red
hair and an ample sized chest. Marcus wanted to do an in depth scan on
her but didn't want to throw her concentration. The girl she was
fighting was about two or more inches taller than she was.
 
People were yelling all around Marcus. Most of the bets were placed on
Sam. She was circling her opponent with a.... Smirk. She knew that she
would win. Her opponent stepped in and threw all her weight into a
punch. Sam merely sidestepped and kicked out with her foot. Marcus
watched as the foot landed squarely against the other girl's knee. The
audible crunching sound was heard by everyone in the circle. The girl
fell like a rock, screaming... Until Sam kicked her again, this time in
the jaw. That kick made the girl slip into unconsciousness.
 
Sam stood in the middle of the circle of people, but she was not
smiling. Marcus did a scan on her to see why. He found out that she did
not like fighting. She fought so she would have money to eat. She was a
fifth degree black belt in Kenpo, so, these fights were like a cake
walk for her. She still didn't like hurting people, though.
 
Sam walked up to a very large, fat man and held out her hand. The man
placed five crisp one hundred dollar bills in her hand. They exchange a
few words and from what Marcus could see, they were not very friendly
words either. Marcus lowered his mirror shades a little so that he
could see Sam a little better. That was when she just happened to look
over at Marcus. She gave him a small smile.
 
*<'Follow me outside and meet me at the back of the building>* Marcus
sent the command to Sam. He watched as a confused look came over her
face for a few seconds, then she gave him a bright smile and nodded.
 
Marcus then turned to Jesse. "Give me about ten minutes... I'll
reprogram her behind this building.... And you still have to pick YOU a
follower!" he said with a smirk.
 
"Alright, get outta here. I already have one in mind. Ten minutes, then
I'm coming back there Marcus. Don't forget, this town is crawling with
Dark Knights." she said, pushing him a little towards the door.
 
Marcus started for the door, he could sense that Sam was about five
feet behind him. The day light hit him like a ton of bricks when he
made it outside. He walked slowly to the back of the building. Marcus
was planning on being a little more careful with this one. He didn't
want her to be totally dependant on him. He wanted to leave her
personality intact. That was, if she had a personality that he liked.
 
When he made it around the corner of the building he turned around. He
could hear and sense Sam coming. He was a little anxious. Well, that
didn't quite describe it. He was nervous as hell, he didn't want to
screw this up like he did with Casey. He was barely able to fix her and
it drained the hell out of him when he did. Marcus spared a brief
moment to wonder how she was doing and then he seen Sam turn the corner.
 
"Who the fuck are ya and why did you want to talk to me?" she asked,
she was a little annoyed at not knowing why she even came out behind
the building.
 
Marcus looked into her sparkling green eyes and thought, 'Well, she's a
little rude, but I think I can fix that' "Hello Sam, my name is Marcus
Carver, also known as the Son Of Dakrin." he didn't know why he threw
in that last bit, but it sounded good. She didn't get a chance to reply
though. He reached inside her head with an extension and made her
immobile for the moment, so that he could do his reprogramming.
 
The first thing he did was look through her memories. This girl had a
hard knock life. She was orphaned at fourteen and went through some
tough shit in foster care. Marcus knew what that was like. Her
personality was fine if she wasn't mad at you though. She had a bad
temper and when she lost it, people got hurt. Her temper sort of
reminded him of Mouse a little... But this girl was way more violent.
 
Marcus started off with simple stuff. She would be totally in love with
him and would always obey him. Things like that. But he threw in the
command that she would always call him Master. He did that mostly for
the Knights he was going to meet later. Like he did Casey, he made it
so that her nipples were easily aroused and that she would always have
an orgasm at the beginning, middle and end of sex when they had it. He
did all those things, but... He also threw in that she would not miss
him if he had to leave and he said the words "I'll be right back." that
way he didn't have to worry about fucking up her head if something
happened to him.
 
He implied more rules, mostly ones that would make her completely loyal
to him. Making it so that she would never try to hurt him, or letting
her let anyone else hurt him. And above all, she would never lie to
him. If there was on thing that Marcus hated, it was a liar. Sam would
never do that to him. Marcus did manage to keep most of her personality
intact, just like he wanted to.
 
The hole process took about seven minutes. It took that long because he
wanted to make sure everything went right. There was no need to rush
and make mistakes on the way. He had learned this the hard way. Sam was
more like a very, very, very loyal girlfriend. Or at least that's how
she would act... Save the fact that she would call him Master.
 
Marcus pulled his extension out of her mind and took a look at his new
*follower*. Sam's eyes held a dazed look for a about twenty seconds.
She shook her head once or twice, as if to clear the cob webs, then her
gaze made a direct line to Marcus and her green eyes sparkled when she
seen him. She just looked at him for the longest time. She was looking
at him like he was a long lost love that she had just found.
 
"How do you feel Sammy?" he asked, he had decided that name sounded
better.
 
"I feel.... Wonderful, Master. I can't believe I finally found someone
that finally understands me and that I'm in love with him." Sammy said
in a calm and even voice. This was how she supposed to act. She was not
supposed to be a die-hard slave. She was just to think of him in the
highest regards and be helplessly in love with him.
 
"Master, is there anything I can do for you??" she said with a touch of
mischief in her eyes.
 
Marcus looked up and down her body several times, then sighed. "There
could be plenty of things you could do for me Sammy. But this isn't the
right place or time." Marcus said, genuine disappointment in his voice.
 
"You just let me know the time and I'll be there, Master." she said
with a small giggle.
 
Just about the time she said that, Jesse walked around the corner of
the building. A smile covered her face that seemed to almost radiate
charm. Following slightly behind was a girl that looked to be about
Sammy's age. She was wearing a pair of tight fitting jeans and a
t-shirt that left a piece of her mid-rift exposed. She was very pretty
and Marcus could see why Jesse was smiling so broadly.
 
"What's her name?" Marcus asked Jesse, a look of amusement on his face.
He would have sworn that Jesse would have picked a guy.
 
"Terri. Apparently, your follow and mine were best friends. I left it
like that in case you wanted to keep yours half way normal," she stated
with a proud look, then added, "May I?" she was talking about having a
look at what kind of job that Marcus did on Sammy.
 
"By all means, what ever get's your kicks," he said with that same
amused expression. "That is, as long as I get to look at your work." he
added ruefully.
 
Jesse shrugged her consent and sat about to look into Sammy's head.
Sammy had no clue as to what was going on. She did feel the confusion
when her Master's friend entered her head though. Sammy was still
content. If her Master trusted this kid, so did she. She went along
with the confusion for her Master's sake. She had no clue she didn't
have a choice. But that was alright, because her Master wanted it to be
so.
 
"Damn Marcus, I think you did a great job!" Jesse said as she pulled
out her extension.
 
Marcus had just pulled his extension out of Terri's mind as well. "You
didn't do that bad yourself, Love. You would think we're becoming Pro's
at this!" he said with a lighted hearted laugh. Marcus noticed when he
laughed, it seemed to make Sammy smile wider. He also noticed that
Jesse had made Terri into more of a *slave* than Sammy. She was a lot
more submissive... At least to Jesse. She was her regular self with
everyone else.
 
"Well, Marcus, I think we should get back. You're supposed to meet the
Knights in the training yard in three hours." Jesse said, a frown
adorning her face.
 
"You feel up to walking a few miles, Sammy?" he asked his new follower.
He hoped that she would tell the truth, he was monitoring her thoughts
just in case.
 
"Sure. I love walking, Master." she said, and hooked her arm through
his.
 
"Well, Jess, lets hit the road before Shain has a shit fit about us
being gone so long." He said with a chuckle and started walking. Jesse
was on one side of him, Sammy on the other, and Terri walking beside,
but slightly behind Jesse.
 
They started their walk back to the base.
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were about ninety percent of the way home and it was a couple of
hours before dark. They all walked in silence for most of the way.
Marcus was in deep thought most of the way. Both Jesse and Sammy could
see that. So, they did not want to disturb his thoughts. He was
thinking of the Dark Knights... He was thinking of breaking his word
and starting the war early. The old saying, all is fair in love and war
was ringing in his thoughts.
 
Waiting a month was a little tough for Marcus to understand, even
though it was his idea. He wanted to get this little war over with as
soon as possible, So that he could move on to bigger fish. Mainly The
Zone in New Mexico. But what could he do? They were pretty evenly
matched and that meant that there would be quite a bit of blood shed if
they didn't train properly... There would be blood shed regardless.
 
As luck would have it... Fate would decide for him. Jesse and Marcus
both got a telepathic message from Shain. *<'Where the hell are you
guys?? You won't believe this.... But I have 75 Knights at the main
gate and they say they will only talk to you... Their not from the Zone
and I sure as hell have never seen them'>* the message said.
 
*<'I'll be right there'>* Marcus sent back. Then he looked over at
Jesse. Then at Sammy and said, "Do you see that big ass house about a
mile down the road?" she nodded. "That's where I'm going to be... Get
there when you can." Marcus said, in a hurried voice. Then took one
more look at Jesse and she knew what he was going to do.
 
They both took off in a dead run, at supernatural speed. Neither sure
what they would find when the got there. Marcus was moving so fast that
the world around him almost seemed a blur. He could sense that Jesse
was barely keeping up. Marcus was not going top speed. He knew if he
did that, he would end up needing new clothes when he got there. All
sorts of possibilities were racing through his head about what he would
see when he got there. None of them were the actual truth.
 
Marcus rounded the bend in the driveway and slowed his pace to a walk.
There were three busses parked in front of the big iron gate. They were
all very shiny. The windows were tinted so dark that a person could not
see inside them. There was about five Knights standing and facing the
gate.... And about 15 of Marcus' Knights.
 
There was one lone girl standing in front of the five mysterious
Knights. Her hair was such a light blonde that it was almost white. It
was cut short, save the bangs which covered half her eyes. That was
when Marcus realized none of the mysterious Knights were wearing
shades. The girl's eyes were a pale. pale blue and she was dressed in
all black.
 
All of them, even the girl, stood at such a disciplined attention that
they almost looked like statues. Marcus and Jesse moved around the
nights to where his were standing. They were looking a little nervous.
Marcus came to stand by Shain. "I guess we have some guests." Marcus
said, there was no humor in his voice.
 
"She said that she would only talk to you. I told her you wasn't
here... She said they would wait." Shain said calmly. He didn't feel
calm though. He felt nervous, real nervous. There were 69 Knights, not
counting the ones standing in front of him, on them buses.
 
The girl with the pale blue eyes stepped forward until she was only
about three feet from Marcus. She knew who he was. She pulled out the
sword that was on her back slowly, her eyes never leaving his. She did
a twirling motion with it so that the hilt was point skyward and the
tip was pointing at the ground. She was fast to notice that Marcus did
not even blink. She then fell to one knee, driving the sword through
the asphalt at the same time.
 
Her eyes never left his when she started to speak. "I am Kamren.
Daughter of Kalib. I offer my blade and skill in hopes of an alliance."
she said in a soft but firm voice and Marcus could have sworn he saw a
ghost of a smile in those pale eyes...
 
