The Five Evolution

『"A brother. A son. An Awakener."』

Silence filled the room, the only sound being Raj’s slow and controlled breathing. He stood over the man on the floor, chest rising and falling like he was still deciding whether to finish it.

Priya stood frozen in the doorway, her eyes locked on the man on the floor. Then on Raj. His mother didn’t move either.

"Priya, I told you to—"

"What is going on?" his sister whispered, and there was fear in her eyes. Not of the stalker. Of him. "You broke down our front door. You’re breaking his bones like it’s nothing. You’re—"

The stalker chose that moment to lunge for his Spirit Weapon, his good hand stretching, fingers brushing the metal rod.

Juggernaut Shell manifested without Raj’s conscious command. Emerald light flashed across his chest as the breastplate formed in layers of armor that glowed like a flash bang going off.

He hadn’t called it, but it came anyway. The righteous fury that powered his weapon responding to his need to protect.

The glow lit up the entire room, impossible to miss, impossible to deny.

His mother gasped, and Priya’s eyes went huge.

The stalker stared at the breastplate with recognition. "You’re one of them. The Five. The legendary weapons." His laugh was pained. "No wonder you could track me. No wonder—"

Raj’s fist, now darkened, shut him up with a punch to the face. The stalker’s head snapped back, and he went unconscious as silence filled Priya’s bedroom.

Then his sister asked the question that almost broke his heart: "What are you?"

He looked at her, at the fear, confusion, and betrayal in her eyes. At his mother backing away from him like he was the monster, and felt something in his chest go very still.

"I’m your brother," he said, his voice breaking. "And I’m trying to keep you safe."

"By lying to us?" His mother found her voice, sharp with anger and hurt. "By pretending to be at some scholarship program while you’re... what? Fighting with some magic armor?"

"The scholarship is sort of real. I just—I also do this. I have to do this." The breastplate flickered with his distress. "There are things out there, Mom. Monsters. Things that want to hurt people."

"You didn’t have to go enlist!" His mother shouted. "You just had to stay here. With us! And finish school."

"It’s not that simple." He stepped closer. "I can help. I can help stop these bad things. Keep not just you, but a lot of people safe, mom."

"You’re a child!" Her voice cracked. "You’re my child. And you’re out there risking your life... and I didn’t even know, I couldn’t even—" She couldn’t finish, just stood there crying.

Priya stepped forward, past their mother’s protective grab, and looked at the unconscious stalker on her floor. "He was going to kill me wasn’t he?"

Raj hesitated, then answered, "yeah..."

"Because I’m like you? Because I’m awakening?" Her voice was small but steady. "The dreams about the four sisters. That’s real, isn’t it? I’m becoming a freak like you."

"Probably," Raj admitted. There was no point lying now. "I’m not sure what his true agenda was, but it doesn’t feel like a coincidence."

"Priya, your brother is not a freak." Their mom said defensively.

Priya looked at her brother, seeing past the armor to the exhaustion and fear underneath. "You knew. That’s why you’ve been watching. Following me around. Playing bodyguard."

"You noticed?" He scratched the back of his neck.

"In the stupid baseball cap and mom’s old car?"

He relaxed a little now. "I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you."

"So ask for help, idiot." She punched him on the arm. "Aren’t you supposed to be in some Awakener’s Shield organization or something like that?"

The words hit him hard. Raj stared at his fourteen-year-old sister, at the tears streaming down her face, and at the way she looked at him with something between love and exasperation.

"It’s called the Institute," Raj corrected.

Priya stomped her foot on the ground. "Who gives a shit what it’s called!"

"Priya!" Their mom called.

Priya flinched for a moment, then she carried on. "Point is. You’re trying to protect everyone by yourself. Fighting this creep alone. Shouldering everything alone like you did after Dad’s..."

Raj lowered his head. "I guess you weren’t lying about practically being an adult."

"Duh." She wiped tears from her face. "That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you."

"I..." Raj’s voice cracked. Before he could bring himself to say something, his phone buzzed again with another text.

Once he pulled it out, there were multiple missed calls and texts from Amara, Ethan, and Sophia. From the team who’d been trying to help, trying to support him, trying to be there for him.

The team he’d pushed away because asking for help felt like admitting he couldn’t handle it. "I’m an idiot." He immediately clicked on Amara’s number and called.

She answered on the first ring. "Raj, where the hell—"

"I need backup," he interrupted. "And I’m sorry it took me this long to ask. I’m at my family’s house. I’ve got a rogue Awakener in custody here. And I—" He looked at his mother and sister. "I need help."

There was silence on the other end. Then: "We’re coming. Twenty minutes."

"Um..." He cleared his throat. "Thanks."

"That’s what teams are for." She paused. "We’ll be there soon." The call ended.

Raj looked at his family, his mother still crying, his sister standing brave despite everything, both of them staring at him like they were seeing him for the first time.

"People are coming," he said. "Friends. Teammates. They’ll help with—" He gestured at the unconscious stalker. "—this. And then maybe we can talk. About myself, Priya. All of it."

"I think we have to," his mother said, her voice trembling. "Because I’m not losing you to secrets and lies, beta." Her voice dropped. "Not after your father."

"No more secrets," Raj agreed. "No more lies. I promise."

The talk proceeded while they waited for back up, and twenty minutes had never felt longer.