So this idea has been in my head for the longest time. So after giving up finding good fan fiction on the subject I decided to write it. This first chapter is just a little beginning, involving Reid's childhood and when he first experienced his power. I don't know how long this story will be, but it will definitely be multiple chapters.

Prologue: Assault of Empathy

It had started happening to him when he was 12 years old. He was finishing up his high school year, avoiding bullies was a usual task. But today was different- final exams were done and they were graduating tomorrow. His tormentors hadn't bothered him in a while- so he wasn't surprised when one of them, Josh Hudson, had come up to him as he was putting books in his locker and spoke.

"Yo, Spence." The voice perked up from behind him and Spencer flinched.

"Don't call me that." Spencer muttered, only his mom gave him nicknames.

"Fine. Spencer." He said forcefully. Spencer kept his back to Josh, and hoped that he would go away soon. The senior only spoke again, "Me and friends, we feel kind of bad about the way we treated you these years." Spencer's eyebrows rose. "We wanted to make it up to you- and we all want to say sorry." Josh's voice was clear, "Meet us in the locker rooms?" Then he was gone just as quickly as he came.

Spencer Reid didn't know why he listened. He supposed it was because he had a niggling hope that people really did feel bad. That he could leave high school being happy, and that he could embrace the sorry and give back his forgiveness. He hoped so hard. So he let himself go the locker rooms after school. His sneakers squeaked against the ground and he walked into the locker rooms. He looked around and saw no one there and sighed, "Of course." He said sadly, "Of course he was just messing with me." Spencer turned around to leave when suddenly the wind was knocked out of him. His small body tumbled to the ground and his head roughly smacked against the tile. He heard laughing and a voice as he laid on the ground.

"You really thought I was telling the truth?" It was Josh's voice and a girl's laughter along with two other male laughs accompanied it. "Come on Spencer- why would we ever say sorry?" Josh swung his foot and hit the twelve year old in the stomach. "You make us all look-" He kicked again, "Like-" Again, "IDIOTS!" Spencer was now crying on the ground. The laughing had stopped.

"Come on, Josh." A voice he recognized as David Hart spoke, "You just said we would knock him down and have a few laughs. Look at him!" He gestured at the young boy crying on the ground, "I think he's had enough. Calm down." David went to put his hand on Josh's shoulder but the other boy just quickly shrugged him off.

"David's right, man." Another boy said. Spencer remembered him too- he was? What? His last name was House and his first name was-

"Shut up, Connor!" The girl yelled, "You're the one who suggested this in the first place!" She walked over to Spencer and leaned over him, pushing his head into the ground as tears ran down his face, "Look at this fucking know-it-all boy genius!" She shoved his head down again and came up to sling her arm around Josh. "He's getting what he deserves." Samantha Lange... She was one of the few girls who actual participated in physically bullying. She was also the well known girlfriend of Josh.

"Kick him, dude." Josh taunted, "Kick him in the fucking balls and prove you're not some bitch!"

"Josh-" David walked toward him but Josh interrupted him.

"Was I talking to you?" Josh looked back towards Connor, "Kick him!"

Connor furrowed his brows and looked down at the boy on the ground. "Fine." He wouldn't lose a friend over some stupid kid, he pulled his foot back and slammed it into Spencer. Spencer made a small gasp and whimpered. "There." He said simply. "Now can we go?"

"Not yet." Josh said. He leaned down and gripped Spencer by the shoulders pulling him up he shoved him against a locker. "What up, fucker?" He said slowly, "You made a fool out of all of us." He gestured around the room. David and Connor only stayed silent and had a worried looks on their faces. Samantha was nodding and had a manic grin. "So next time you think about spouting one of your fuckin statistics. Think about my foot up your ass."

Spencer was feeling sick. And he was having a hard time breathing. He gasped for breath and then coughed loudly. Blood sprayed from his mouth and spattered on Josh's face. Josh cringed and threw him roughly on the ground. "Fuck!" He yelled and began to wipe his face. Spencer's head collided with the tile and a loud crack reverberated in the locker room.

Everybody in the room's shoulders perked up quickly. That did not sound good.

Even Josh and Samantha cringed at the sound. Everyone looked towards Spencer. Blood was on the ground and his body was limp. There was no more crying, or whimpering, just silence.

"H-he's just winded." Josh whispered.

"He's not just winded!" Connor yelled, "We need to call an ambulance!" He went towards Spencer and leaned over the twelve year-old, "Fuck, fuck Josh." He said quickly. He let his hands hover over Spencer's mouth and didn't feel anything, "Fuck. He's not breathing. Josh we need to call an ambulance."

David was already bringing out his phone and tried to dial out 911, but Samantha quickly slammed it out of his hand.

"If he's not breathing." She said quickly, "Then he won't be breathing when the medics come. All that will happen, is that we'll get arrested and go to jail for the rest of our lives! We're all eighteen!" Samantha was panicking, "We won't go to juvy for this!"

Connor was panicking. "B-But-" David went over to Spencer and felt for a pulse.

"God. God." David breathed heavily, "He's dead guys. He's dead." He put his hands over his face, "Oh, god."

"I killed someone." Josh whispered quietly. "I killed someone."

"And we need to hide the body!" Samantha gripped her boyfriend's shoulder's roughly. "We'll just set him outside the woods. He doesn't have any evidence on him." She said assuredly, "We can put the body in the woods, clean the locker room. Go to school tomorrow for graduation and it will all be like a bad dream."

Josh nodded slowly. "O-okay." He said.

David and Connor looked at each other over what they thought was the dead body of a twelve year old boy genius. They both nodded in understanding, agreeing with Samantha and picked up the body. Spencer was unbelievably light- he was really skinny and there was practically no weight on his bones.

"Let's go, then." David muttered sadly.

It didn't take long for all of them to sneak out of school. The halls were empty. Making their way into the woods in the middle of the day was difficult though. They threw the body in a random spot in the woods. All of them were very silent throughout the whole process. When they made their way back to the school to clean the locker room it was for all of them a very surreal experience. Nobody spoke. They all went home.

None of them slept.

Spencer Reid woke up the next day. He really had died. He remembered the blackness and the sudden unknown force pulling him back. He opened his eyes and could see the sun. He breathed heavily and his head was beating with pain. He put his hand up to his head and could feel a large bump and an open wound. When he brought his hand back down from his head he saw red on his fingers.

"Wha' appened?" He mumbled to himself. His mind tried to go over the events of the other day. Josh had jumped him? He remembered being beaten and then he had been thrown on the ground and then... Black. Today was- today was? What day was it?

He tried to stand up, but his legs collapsed under him. He pushed himself back up again and tried to walk. Leaves brushed up against his legs. He put his hand on a tree and then suddenly feelings of grief, fear, and anger came over him. He gasped suddenly and took his hand off the tree. "What was that?" He said quietly.

Spencer continued to walk through the woods his shoes crunched against leaves and only until he saw the neighborhood he lived in did he realized today was his graduation.

That's when he began running.

He ran home to his mother, who was locked in her room, probably didn't even notice he didn't come home last night. When he made it home he felt extremely paranoid. Though he was unsure why- yes it was understandable under the circumstances, but he would get over it. A lot of bad things had happened to him over the school year he just wanted to graduate. Though he noticed... he was more paranoid as he walked over to the door then when he was far away from, and the feelings felt foreign in his mind.

He looked at the time and sighed in relief when he realized it was only six o' clock in the morning. He had two hours and fifteen minutes to get ready. He took a shower his wound stinging on his head. He observed it a bit more, and came to the conclusion he would go to the clinic to get it stitched up before he went to school. He would make an excuse like he tripped... and the doctors there knew about his mother's problems. They wouldn't call her.

It didn't take long for him to get cleaned up. He rubbed the bruises on his stomach, and occasionally coughed up blood. He kept trying to assure himself it was no big deal. He fetched a suit that was just a little too big for him from his closet and put it on. Then he took his gown and cap. He folded the gold gown and put his cap over it. He even took his valedictorian speech, he had it memorized, but he wanted it with him just in case.

He walked to the clinic, when he walked in a nurse began towards him. They were used to him being there, but they knew his graduation today. A rush of worry suddenly came over him and just like the paranoia it felt foreign. It was like a separate feeling separated from himself.

"Little man! What happened?" An old nurse named Rita asked him. She leaned over and put her hand on his cheek. Poor boy he always gets hurt. Her voice sounded through his mind like it was said out loud- but she hadn't- had she? What was going on?

"I just tripped." He said quietly, "I need to get this stitched up before I go to my graduation today." Her hand was still on his cheek and suddenly feelings of doubt and worry rushed over him along with words Why does he always lie about these kind of th- Rita's voice suddenly left his head as her hand disconnected from his cheek and she stood up.

"Okay." She said lightly, "Come with me."

He followed silently. And he wondered what just happened. Is he feeling what she was feeling? Did he hear her thoughts? What was wrong with him? As he walked through the clinic feelings of pain, concern, sadness, and others invaded him. It was beginning to get overwhelming.

Rita led him to a seat and gestured for him to sit down, "A doctor will come in any second sweetie." She said kindly. She then left and he let out the breath he had been holding.

He tried to block out whatever foreign feelings or thoughts tried to invade his mind and he tried to focus on his own. His immediate thought went to schizophrenia. Although it was extremely rare for these kind of things to present in children his mom did have it... But he hadn't been showing any symptoms. There's no evidence of him having any other form of mental illness. He thought more and more for a logical explanation- when he died? Did something happen? His thoughts went through everything and he tried to go through his memories then suddenly the door opened.

Spencer looked up to see a doctor walk into the room, "Hello, Spencer. In the clinic again?" Spencer didn't feel any concern radiating from the man, but he did feel suspicion.

"Hey, Dr. Mitty. Yeah." Spencer said sheepishly, "I tripped." A strip of doubt invaded his own emotions as he pointed to his head, "Can you stitch this up for me, please?"

The doctor nodded. And he opened a drawer and brought out his stitching supplies. "I'll give you some mild anesthetic." He administered some to Spencer and then brought his hands up to Spencer's head and began to stitch. His forearms lightly rested against the boys hair and thoughts invaded Spencer.

How does this kid always get in trouble. I can't believe he's gotten hurt again. The way he held himself when he came in here probably means he has some bruising too. Should I call his mother about this? No last time that happened she had a breakdown on me and I had to deal with the kid even more. It's not like she's actually hurting him- but- Should I send him to child services? No. Then they'll ask why and I'll have to explain and- ugh don't want them finding out about Brenda. That's what you get for cheating against your wife Mitty.

The thoughts went on, about the doctor's personal life. About what he thought of other people. Spencer was silent the whole time and he was breathing shallowly. Then when the doctor finished and brought his hands up the invading thoughts abruptly stopped. Spencer came to the conclusion he could only hear thoughts when people touched him. When the nurse touched his cheek. When the doctor touched his head. And he could feel emotions? Was it their emotions? What was this?

"I'm all done." Dr. Mitty muttered, "Now go ahead and graduate kid." A slither of pride shot from the man and it made Spencer feel nice.

"Thank you, Dr. Mitty." Spencer said. He quickly left the room and the clinic. The overwhelming amount of feelings invading his mind. If this was bad- how would school be?

He walked to school, the occasional feeling invaded his mind, but he did his best to ignore it. Usually by thinking of something completely different, like the statistics about children graduating from school by age.

When he got to school he wasn't on time. He put on his cap and gown and headed over to his classroom. If he remembered correctly they would be giving out report cards, and then practicing the ceremony. So they still might be in his classroom. He runs to the room and comes in quietly.

"Sorry for being late." He muttered as he looked at his teacher handing out papers.

"It's fine, Spencer." His teacher Mrs. Jackson smiled at him and he felt a wave of pride come over him again. So the teacher did care about his abilities. The feelings didn't last for long, though. He was about to sit in his seat when suddenly he was assaulted with feelings of fear. He gasped and gripped his head.

His teacher began to rush towards him, but he put up his hand quickly, "I'm fine. Just had a rough time, last night." He said quickly before sitting down. The teacher seemed to accept that and then she set down his report card. A+ across the board 100% for every assignment and test. He had perfect grades. He looked up to find the source of invading fear and scanned his eyes over the classroom. His breath caught in his throat when he saw what it was. Josh Hudson, David Hart, Connor House, and Samantha Lange were all looking at him like they saw a ghost.

'I won't tell' Spencer mouthed the words to them a few times making sure each got the message. All of them nodded dumbly and Spencer sensed confusion radiating off of all of them- David and Connor were tinged with guilt and Josh and Samantha had strips of fear.

It didn't take long until the ceremony happened. He didn't speak much. All he did was practice his speech. And he could tell the feelings of everybody. He felt so much jealousy leaking off of so many students- even teachers. And hatred. Did people really dislike him this much?

His mother didn't show up to the final ceremony.

He went home and locked himself in his room and did his research.

Empath: A person with the paranormal ability to apprehend the mental or emotional state of another individual.

And there you are :) The first chapter to my story. In the next chapter he will be completely used to his power, now how to use it. He even has rules for himself. I'll explore his powers more in the next chapter. For instance, why did Reid freak out when he touched a tree? Well that's the power for ya.

The next chapters will probably be longer. The prologue is just shorter then the rest.

Plase tell me what you think! Review!

~Moriarty-Mastermind