Here it is: the second chapter. Also known as the second half of the original Part One.
Chapter Two:
The acceptance letter had come in just three days after the tryouts. Gage had known, even before he’d opened it, that he’d reaped the rewards he’d wanted.
Gage, Last Name Unknown
Class Placement: Class B, Year 1
Physical: 5/5
Superpower: ?/5
Effectiveness: 5/5
Fighting Ability: 5/5
Tactical Ability: 5/5
Total: ?/25, 20+
Notes: Nice job, kid. I look forward to seeing you in my class. No idea what your power is, though. Also looking forward to figuring it out. Whatever the case, I expect I’m going to enjoy teaching you. -Chancemaker
His mouth quirked up as he remembered the comment. Oh, you have no idea.
Summer would officially end in half an hour, and the boy was striding towards the gates of Destiny once more, but this time, butterflies had decided to whirl to life inside him. He counted about twenty of them at the very least. Beating people up is easy, but making friends…
Just gotta hope Soren got in; he’s the only person there I know exists.
Oh, and maybe that green-haired girl.
The lack of people was to be expected; Destiny only accepted up to sixty-four students a year in its three classes of A, B, and C, making a grand total of two hundred and fifty-six current students at a time. Though that wasn’t a crowd to sneeze at, it certainly didn’t match up with a regular high school, especially with such a megalopolis of a campus. Only a couple others in uniform were seen strolling around among many there, and Gage didn’t remember seeing any of them around the test.
He let out a deep breath, and strode forward, pulling a silver, battered carrier behind him. He’d been told to go to his dorms first, to settle into his new house for the next few years.
Seeing the paint splattered over the building right in front of him reading “A,” and knowing that he had to get to “B,” Gage glanced around quickly. The apartment-like building on his right caught his eye, and he turned to see a less apparent, though large, second letter of the alphabet.
All right. Time to meet my new dorm-mates.
The door was incredibly well-oiled, and it took him almost no effort to push it open, to his first glance of the inside of the giant building.
For a second, he thought he’d walked into some rich person’s home, then saw the sign next to a staircase in the corner, saying “Class 1-B,” and he realized he’d come into the right place.
Everything was about five times as large as he was used to. A single kitchen at least four times the size of his old room dominated the background behind a living room, fit with couches, cushions, and a TV that Gage could easily have slept on. Behind the kitchen, which was a pristine white and seemed to be filled with all sorts of ingredients and cooking apparatus, he made out a dining area, filled by a huge table which could easily have formed a wall of the house by itself.
The boy blinked and glanced around. Where the hell did they get all of this stuff?
“Oh, hey!”
Gage turned. In the stairwell, cheerful green eyes smiled out at him. The owner of the eyes stepped out of the shadows, a small heart-shaped face, soft amber locks parting on either side to reveal smooth, pale skin. Her hands were folded under a box, which in turn was in front of a blue tee, and black shorts hung just above her knees. There was a light, teasing quality in the girl’s eyes that Gage found somewhat reassuring, maybe even familiar, though not the eyes themselves .
“Hi there! My name’s Kate, what’s yours?”
Gage blinked for a couple seconds, caught off guard. “Oh. Uh, my name’s Gage.”
“Hey, Gage, nice to meet ya!” She grinned infectiously, then strode forward, past him. “The boys’ rooms themselves are upstairs, by the way!”
He sighed as the girl disappeared, soft tapping sounds coming from behind him until the door slammed shut. Well, at least there’s an optimist in the class.
The boy hefted his carrier and stepped forward. Am I gonna have a roommate? I wonder…
There weren’t really that many stairs, so it was a few seconds before the boy found himself on the second floor, the stairs behind him whirling up to the third floor. He put the bag back down, then glanced around. I’m in room seven, which is… oh, that’s right here.
The hallway spread out in front of him, a long, narrow corridor of unstained white walls and eight oaken doors, four on each side. The first one to his left had a plaque on in that glimmered a ‘seven’ with bronze and black. He twisted the handle, and pushed open the door.
It wasn’t as large as the living room and kitchen downstairs, but it was still sizable. Around the size of what he remembered his family’s living room, there was a large, squishy-looking bed swathed in white sheets in the right corner, wedged in front of an even bigger, unopened walk-in closet. Next to the bed, a desk touched the corner of the frame all the way to the opposite side of the room, complete with desk lamps and a few outlets here and there for those that needed them. The walls were a comfortable, quietly reassuring grey, and the far wall was lined with several emptied bookshelves, towering to the impressively high ceiling of the room. No roommate, then.
He rolled his carrier over to the desk, and slung his backpack onto the bed. He dropped the carrier onto the floor and quietly zipped it open, kicking the door closed as he did. The boy grabbed his shirts and pants, and walked over to the closet.
When he opened the door, he blinked twice. Already, an outfit hung on the rack, gleaming dark shades in the bright light of the morning sun and the fluorescent gleam of his overhead lights. The emblem of Destiny shimmered on the front.
This uniform seems a lot more tailor-made than the other one. For starters, it’s a lot looser and less… tight than the other one. It’s as if they decided to increase the total possible mobility and agility for me. Also, it’s a separate shirt and pants, not a one-piece outfit, which is nice.
Probably a PE outfit, honestly. I know they let you design and wear your own armor, but I’m guessing that won’t come until a few weeks later.
He slung the rest of his clothes into several drawers, and hung up his shirts. The boy kicked off his shoes, and tossed them to the side. No shoes indoors policy, can’t go wrong with that. Never really liked wearing shoes indoors. Guess Mom nailed that into my brain.
He smiled ruefully, then ripped open his backpack. Three pencils and a notebook bounced onto his desk, as well as several sheets of binder paper. Right, I think that’s everything--
Someone rapped on his door, and he stumbled backwards, before reflexively dropping down, crouching slightly with his hands raised for a defense. Then he realized it was probably another student outside.
He relaxed his stance and opened the door. Kate stood outside, one hand on her waist. “Teacher’s here, he wants us out in the living room for icebreakers.” And with that, she skipped down the hall, to the next door.
Gage sighed, then closed the door gently behind himself as he slid towards the stairs.
Oh boy, classmates.
Chancemaker stood slightly awkwardly by the door, arms crossed over his chest, which was clad in cotton fabric instead of his shining metal chestplate. Even though the hero wasn’t in his armor, Gage still recognized him instantly by his glowing silvery hair. The massive couches currently supported about six girls and a guy, with plenty of room to spare. Light chatter buzzed in the air, and everyone looked at least slightly comfortable. Well, guess I’m an outcast.
Gage glanced around, before stepping down towards the sofa, before someone shoved him forward roughly. “Shove off and move, idiot.” He stumbled half a step, before glancing behind him.
Sharp brown streaks of hair spat outwards, above malicious eyes, glowing an aggressive scarlet. A pointed face, sharpened teeth bared in a dark grin, deadly and threatening, used to being in control. It was as if he dared Gage to look away, to ignore him.
Naturally, the boy did, and slowly, dismissively, he dropped down the stairs. So there’s a bully in this class. What fun, what fun.
The red-eyed boy behind him growled angrily, stomping forward and smacking down onto a spare seat on the couch, as if angered by the other boy’s reactions. Several others followed, though far less violently, and Gage stood, uneasy, a little hesitant to sit down, before a girl took the final seat, next to Kate. The two instantly began chatting about some obscure boy band, or at least that was what he could make out from what he heard. Guess I’m standing, then.
The boy found himself reflexively glancing around, surveying his fellow students, and looking for strengths and weaknesses. Though he knew there wasn’t any way to accurately gauge their abilities at this point, he could at least make estimations…
A flash of green hair in the corner of his eye. Oh, wait. What are the chances?
The girl Gage had saved was sitting by herself in the corner of the couch, almond-shaped eyes open nervously. Her eyes shimmered emerald, and her hands were clasping each other across her lap. Lips opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure she wanted to, as she leaned back into the seat. Well, that’s comforting. I’m not the only one here who doesn’t really have anyone to talk with.
He glanced around again, before his eyes fell on a semi-familiar shade of bronze. Soren caught his eye and smiled a little, waving his hand slightly. The Indian boy reclined comfortably on the couch, seeming to have been talking with the blond boy next to him, who seemed a little unnerved, and yet his crimson eyes blazed with a sort of determination, a will to… survive? Gage wasn’t too sure what to make of him, and simply waved back at Soren.
Chancemaker coughed into his fist, and everyone glanced up, as if they’d forgotten about the teacher that had called them there in the first place. “Hey, guys. I’m Chancemaker, your homeroom teacher, and, uh, yeah. This is gonna be my first year teaching, but like previous years, you kids are gonna be stuck with me until you graduate.” He seemed on edge as if unsure if he’d be accepted or not, what the reaction would be.
It makes sense. Chancemaker’s a fairly new hero, having only started doing hero work four years ago. He’s popular and strong, but he won’t have had much experience in this field; I think I might actually be able to empathize with him.
Everyone watched him, their gazes slightly uncertain as well, and the hero coughed again. “All right, maybe we should start with icebreakers. What about you?” The man pointed at the girl sitting at the opposite end of where Gage was standing, and relief washed over the boy. Good, he’s not starting with me; in fact, I’ll be last.
The girl in question blinked nearly colorless grey eyes rapidly, before shaking a vibrant mane of reddish-orange locks. “Hi everyone, my name’s Elizabeth! Nice to meet you all!” A bubbly voice fit perfectly, waving both hands unabashedly, and she seemed to emanate a dark-reddish aura around her dark brown skin.
Before she sat down, Chancemaker opened his mouth. “And please tell everyone your power as well, if you would please.” He seemed interested in what she was going to say, and ready to hear perhaps a confirmation of what he’d suspected from the entrance exam.
“Oh! I call my ability Pulse, and what it does is it allows me to release pulses of stored up energy at a time. The more I store it up, the stronger it is! Watch!” And the girl smacked her right fist into her left palm.
Something like a thunderclap sent those nearest to the girl reeling backwards, and even from across the room, Gage felt something shudder slightly through his bones. Chancemaker, who was only a few feet away from the girl, staggered backwards a step, before righting himself.
That’s potentially incredibly powerful, but even without any physical drawbacks, the most obvious ones are the need to store up energy and the fact that the impact disperses over a large area. I don’t think I was affected as much as Chancemaker, so that means she has to get close, which means she’ll have to develop a combat skill other than that to do any real damage. Also, even if she gets close, she’ll have to store it up for a long time. Overall, she could be really powerful, but only if she can store up incredible amounts of power in the blink of an eye, and if she can toss it out with enough strength to level buildings even a couple good city blocks away from her. Without training, more of a wild card than anything, I suppose.
There was a group of girls clustered around the corner of the couch, and the one next to Elizabeth, a slim brunette with large, dark eyes and a light, delicate face, glanced around, smiling nervously as she stood. “Hi, my name’s Joyce, and my ability is called Scale. It’s pretty simple; I can change the sizes of things, including myself. Watch.” She snatched a pen off of a nearby table and raised it up for everyone to see. Gage saw nothing extraordinary about it. The thing could barely be seen in her hand. She snapped the fingers on her right hand, and Gage could swear he heard her hum a tune under her breath.
In the blink of an eye, it whirled larger, until it was about as thick as one of her fingers were long. It rested in her palm, and the girl wasn’t able to get her hand around it completely. She smiled, then snapped her fingers again. The pen simply shrank into its original size, and the girl put it down again, before taking a seat.
That’s not the best combat power, unless she can use it on things she’s not currently touching. If so, then it would be pretty easy to throw something like a pebble and expand it in size when it leaves your hand, making it difficult for your opponent to dodge but easy to throw. It could be nice, being able to make your opponent bigger or smaller, but there are downsides to that as well. If your opponent’s the size of a skyscraper, you might be screwed. If your opponent’s the size of an ant, how the heck are you going to defeat them? Maybe a support member would be the easiest spot on a team for her, or even a rescue spot. But as a main fighter, nah. I don’t see much potential if she has to touch the opponent to trigger her power.
Kate, who was right next to Joyce, smiled, and scooted forward gracefully, somehow. As the other girl sat down, she rose to her feet, something of a bring it on! attitude on her smile and glare. “Hi, everyone! My name’s Kate O’Connor, and my power’s called Cooldown! The way it works is that I can lower the temperature of anything I touch or myself! Nice to meet you guys!” And with a slight bow, the redhead took her seat, as everyone blinked and tried to process what she’d just said.
All right, what?
Cooldown, huh? She can lower temperatures? That means she’s really useful in hot locations, like the desert, but more than that, it keeps her temperature cool. That means as long as her muscles can manage, she could have a lot of stamina, and pull of all kinds of bull here and there because she doesn’t overheat or anything. Not only that, but there’s the matter of water vapor. Since she’d technically be touching water all the time, she can use that to create ice or water for hydrating herself, and could use her own sweat as armor, even, if it freezes around herself. The problem with that is if she uses it on herself wrong, then she could kill herself, or get frostbite. Pretty practical, and pretty strong as well.
“Uh, that’s nice.” The girl next to her, a tall, black-haired, golden eyed Latina, raised herself to her feet. “I’m Natalia, and my power’s called Deception. What it does is it messes up the target’s senses for about two or three seconds, making them see ‘shadow’ variations of myself where I’m actually not, while I do whatever. I just need to get within arm’s reach of them to trigger the thing, which is pretty useful.”
If what she says is true, then that’s the first person here with real potential to be a fighter. Her ability to confuse could be paired up with some martial arts training, which would be a really good combo to beat people up. On the other hand, it’s pretty useless if she doesn’t have any experience at all, because that gives the enemy a chance to figure out where she is, and exploit the fact she probably thinks the guy she used her power on doesn’t know where she is. So it could work out well, but only under certain circumstances. That's pretty much a double-edged sword right now.
As Natalia sat down, Gage glanced over to who was next. Oh, look, it’s the green-haired girl. I think her ability was, uh, plants or something?
Unlike those before her, the girl hesitated before standing, and as she did, he noticed her hunched shoulders, eyes darting back and forth as she surveyed the room. Is she trying to make herself a smaller target?
Chancemaker stirred as the girl didn’t open her mouth to speak. “What’s your name?” Even though his voice was gentle, the girl still flinched slightly, before pursing her lips.
“M…my name’s Delphi.” The boy had to strain slightly to hear her, even though he couldn’t have been that far away from her. “I… I can grow and manipulate plants. It’s called Chlorokinesis.” And with that, the girl silently withdrew back onto the couch.
Plants? That’s not the end of it; I saw her grow entire trees in seconds during the tryouts. That’s definitely a powerful ability; if she completely masters it, she could easily take down entire cities and armies. But the thing is, she seems pretty cautious and… scared. That’s going to hurt a lot in actual fights. With time, there’re so many things you can do with that one skill, but it’s not going to help at all if she doesn’t want to do anything with it. The ability itself, though, I can’t really think of any weakness to it, except maybe being really prone to fire and things stronger than wood?
Everyone stood still for several seconds, uncomfortably shifting as they processed the reaction. Then the girl next to Delphi took to her feet, flowing brown hair being brushed to the side as she stood, revealing startlingly alert silver irises. “Hey, everyone. My name’s Sara, and my power’s called Shadows. It lets me literally blend into the darkness; I can become and move around in the shade. Here, watch.” And with that, the girl stepped forward, reaching out towards the wall, where a slight patch of darkness waved. As her hand reached it, it wisped into the dark, and…
Disembodied?
No, it’s… disappearing into the shade. There isn’t anything suggesting her hand’s in there. It’s completely covered.
“As you can see, it’s pretty good for hide-and-seek.” Sara grinned cheekily at everyone before taking her hand out of the darkness. “So, yeah.” And with that, the girl took a seat.
It’s good for spying on people, recon, getting information, all kinds of stuff. It’s also pretty nice in combat, since it’s basically teleporting as long as you’re in a dark place. But that’s also the greatest downfall; if the sun’s shining as bright as possible, it’s just not useful at all, and that’s considering the shadow itself doesn’t disappear. If it does while she’s inside it, then does she stay trapped inside? Just some things to consider…
Next to the Indian girl, flaming golden locks shook as the next student flipped her head. “Hey everyone, I’m Charlotte, and my power’s called Warcry. Basically, have you guys heard of the rebel yell from the Civil War?” Everyone nodded their head yes. “Warcry works sort of like that, except it also temporarily disables the opponent’s power, physically pushes them backwards, and distorts their vision temporarily when I scream.” She smirked, a little self-satisfied smile dancing on her lips. “I hope you won’t mind if I don’t demonstrate. Anyways, I’ll enjoy studying with you guys.” And with that, she took her seat.
If she’s telling the truth, then it should be pretty decent to open a battle, and maybe even as a final, desperate ploy against a lot of people, but not as much in the middle of a fight. If there’s a cooldown, it won’t do much good for that. It is really useful in single combat, though, as if it can be concentrated, it’s going to hurt the opponent a lot. But mostly, I’d say rescues are her thing; she can alert rescuers while moving rubble out of the way at the same time.
The final girl in the row got to her feet, dark skin shimmering slightly in the light. Dreadlocks, dyed half pink, coiled around her head, and only seemed to enhance electric green eyes. “I’m Eliana, and my power’s called Copycat, or Ditto.” She held out her hand. “Someone grab my hand?”
Elizabeth shrugged and leaned forward to take it.
The moment she did, something within the other girl’s eyes flashed, as if there was a light behind her emerald irises, and the room seemed to get a little darker. Elizabeth yelped and withdrew her arm quickly, as if to run from a menace. Eliana grinned, and clapped her hands.
The same blast of power from when Elizabeth had introduced herself smacked Gage in the nose, and he blinked. It was significantly weaker than Elizabeth’s, but still felt the same nonetheless. Interesting.
“I think you all get the general idea. Basically, I touch someone, and I can use their ability for a certain amount of time, which varies from person to person. And, uh, yeah, that’s about it.” Eliana grinned gracefully before turning back to sit down in her chair.
That’s pretty powerful, if used with the right powers and people. Most don’t expect their own fighting styles to be turned against themselves, let alone how to counter it when someone else attacks them with it. Even if you don’t have any way to put your hands on a powerful opponent, even an ally will do, and you won’t be stealing their powers. Of course, there’s the issue of being alone. It’s pretty much impossible to solo a long-range fighter, and it really won’t do you any favors if they do know how to beat themselves. Not to mention the fact the copied abilities are weaker than the originals. In most cases, though, it’s going to be a pretty useful thing to have. Maybe, with practice, it can give complete mastery of copied powers, and that would just pretty much be a jack-of-all-trades, honestly. I don’t think anyone’s going to be in the same situation as I am, so that should work out.
He realized all eight girls had, with each their own individual quirks and idiosyncrasies, had finished introducing themselves, and now the African-American boy next to Eliana was rising to his feet. Oh wait. That was a lot faster than I thought it would be.
I’m up soon. This is bad.
The first guy in line, a tall, dark- and curly-haired boy with a powerful physique, grinned slightly as he stood. “Hey guys, my name’s Jackson. You guys know that classic cliche where that one dude has like fifteen different forms? I have a similar power. My ability lets me change specialties initially, for example speed, and then goes on to boost my raw strength if I get defeated in some way, shape, or form, and just keeps going.” A little nod that seemed to be a miniature bow, and the boy took his seat.
Not the most creative power, but if used correctly, it should be a pretty strong one. As long as he isn’t knocked out in a single blow, it should be pretty difficult to defeat him. If by raw power he means all his physical attributes, such as strength, speed, endurance, maybe even give him a superpower or two for the sake of it, then I can see him easily becoming one of the most powerful members of the class. The thing is, though, an untrained user would probably be a lot more emotional than calculating, and fall into traps easily, which gives a higher chance of getting the one-tap. Still a powerful ability, but one that I would definitely want training with.
The next boy, a short, spiky-haired kid with sharp, curved, small eyes and a powerful physique to boast, grinned as he got to his feet. Acne littered his face, more so than any of the others, but on the other hand, the worry and fear that slightly - or in Delphi’s case, completely - showed on their visages was unseen on his. “Hey, everyone, my name’s Brandon, and my power’s called Recoil. It’s pretty basic. I have nearly inexhaustible stamina, as well as enhanced strength. At times, I can throw a blow that’s a lot stronger than normal ones, but it’ll shatter my bones.”
To be honest, if you’re smart about it, that could easily give you a lot of wins. The strength and stamina buff is nice, though I would have preferred one for speed instead of strength. The final part about breaking bones seems like something to be used out of desperation, unless there’s a healer. If there is, then he’s definitely going to be one of the best fighters, even more so if he has any training in combat. If not, he’s really nothing special.
As the boy sat down, a blond, equally short and slim, lightly built Scandinavian got to his feet. Unlike Brandon and Jackson before him, he was shaped more for speed instead of strength, which was evident from his thin frame. And yet, there was still a powerful air about him, joking and sarcastic, and yet at the same time, as if something were lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. “Hi, my name’s Erik. My power’s called Speedster, which basically allows me to move at faster and faster speeds as time goes on, but only if I’m actively moving around. So if I start at a sprint and maintain it, it means I’ll be able to outrun a race car within two minutes, and I could pretty much type up a storm. The reason I can’t hold it up for too long, though, is because my stamina deteriorates the faster I go, and my metabolism goes up to crazy levels. The more I use it, though, the faster my base speed becomes.”
As long as he catches the opponent off guard, this guy can probably just blitz most opponents. It should work with large groups as well. Really, if he has a weapon and formal training, he should really just be used as a hidden card, a final ace. Even if attackers have hostages, he has the choices of either just striking them down where they stand, or getting the hostages out of there in the blink of an eye. The only downside is that he implies he burns himself out pretty quickly, which means he’s just not going to do that well if he goes against someone with crazy durability or reflexes, because all they need to do is stall.
The next boy was much taller than the ones before him, and bright scarlet hair seemed to glow in the light, as gentle and yet teasing sea-green eyes scanned the room. “I’m Steven, guys, nice to meet you all. My power’s called Combat Lock, which, honestly, is pretty interesting. Basically, I can either try to fight everyone or concentrate on one person. If I focus on one dude, my skin becomes nigh-impenetrable and also rock-hard, with some other random advantages, but I can’t fight the entire group; if I do, I go back to normal.”
Well. That could work out to his favor, to be honest, but it’s pretty bad if someone can just backstab him at any time they want. Unless he moves faster than his enemies, he’s screwed in a situation like that. If he could focus on objects and change focus at will, it could be really good for rescues; I can see him bashing down rocks in his way and stuff.
His eyes shifted, and he realized the blond, spiky-haired boy with the flashing scarlet eyes no had been talking with Soren was getting to his feet. “Uh, hey. My name’s Daniel, and my power’s called Heartbreak. Basically, it makes other people feel pain, mostly mentally, to the point of doing anything for it to end, and the more pain they feel, the more physical strength and mental resistance I have. I, uh…don’t want to demonstrate.”
Mostly mentally? Can he make people feel pain physically too, and even harm them physically that way? Maybe that’s why he seems so reluctant to demonstrate. It’s a pretty strong ability, so I’m going to guess the weakness is really an Achilles’ Heel instead of a slight crack in a crumbling wall. Maybe that’s the reason he’s scared of it? Overall, it could be one of the backbones of an army, even, but his fear holds him back.
Now Soren was climbing to his feet, hands shoved into his pockets. The Indian boy’s shades of strange bronze and shimmering purple strands of hair sparked in the light of day, and the silver and gold irises flashed. “I’m Soren, and my power’s called Dice. Basically, whenever I throw a die, whatever number comes face-up decides a temporary buff I get for about five minutes, give or take. The higher the number, the stronger the power, but nothing’s really set in stone, so if I roll a three twice, I could get, I dunno, light manipulation once and, uh, let’s say, mind control the second time.”
Oh, wow, that’s actually pretty interesting. The thing about this is that it pretty much guarantees a strong power with weighted dice, and no matter what it is, if mind control’s a three, then a six should be enough to get you out of nearly any situation. Obvious problems include the weighted dice not working, or you could take him out before he even gets to roll the dice. Overall, a really good power, though.
The guy that had shoved Gage aside earlier snorted, scarlet rounded eyes flashing an aggressive red, as spiky and furious as his sharp clumps of brown hair slashing upwards. “My name’s Adam, and my power’s called Fury Flash. I can hit you with fire, and electricity, and whatever the heck you want thrown at you, and the more energy nearby makes me stronger power-wise and physically.”
Mhm. He seems powerful, but more than that, he seems aggressive. That’s going to be his real selling point; if he isn’t reckless, he’ll be able to catch opponents off guard with stronger, more ferocious attacks. Not to mention, if it’s like he absorbs energy from a grenade or can photosynthesize or some bull like that, he’s not going to go down too easily. But the backlash… I wonder, is it really so small that he doesn’t even talk about it
Wait. It’s my turn.
Oh.
“…Hi. My name’s, uh, Gage. Nice to meet you all.” He stammered a quick introduction as everyone glanced over at him, relaxed, maybe a little eager to hear what he had to say. Judging by the looks on their faces, he’d left something out.
Kate half raised her hand. “Uh, not to nitpick or anything, but you left out your introduction to your power.” Chancemaker half nodded, seeming even more interested in the boy’s ability that had allowed him to take out multiple veterans in a single run.
“Oh. Uh…about that.” He shifted to the side, holding his hands together. How will they react to what I have to say next?
“…I’m Unawakened.”
Silence seemed to scream louder than anything else.
The first children to have powers were born with them, and in this way, they were unique. Their children weren’t born with the abilities, but instead found a power several years after they were born, usually around the time they began to walk.
Since the first superhuman children, not a single little boy or girl has gone past the age of six at most without having their powers revealed to them through some sort of incident, barring several unique cases. About a year after the first ‘miracle children’ were born, an anthropologist coined the term “Awakening” to describe the situation in which a child would first use and discover their ability. Those who had knowledge about their abilities, as well as having been able to use it at some point, if not currently, were Awakened, and those who didn’t were Unawakened.
In the past, however, there were multiple cases that broke this rule of thumb. For example, a woman didn’t receive her ability before the age of fifty-one. These people, however, were all motivated by this lack of power instead of discouraged. The woman was the top officer of the police force of a major city before she received her ability, and easily became one of the best cops in the country without the use of a power.
Even though these people were incredible mold-breakers, the Unawakened are mostly seen as inferior and lesser, mainly because many Unawakened are under the age of five. Because of this, those who receive their abilities later on have a social stigma attached to them, as if they cannot do anything without an ability. Although this is obviously not true, society has decided to strike down those with powers Awakened later on, as if they were inferior.
The Unawakened are looked down upon by everyone, from noble to beggar, and it takes an incredible amount of willpower to endure the shame that comes with it, from childhood to later life.
It is fortunate, then, that all the noted examples of being Unawakened were strong, independent people.
Adam was the first to move, a harsh, unbelieving growl meant to be a laugh gurgling up from his throat. “And I thought it would be a challenge to be the best in this class!” A sneer lit his eyes all the more brighter than before, an ugly growl rising up from his throat.
Gage didn’t flinch, didn’t look down, instead staring the other boy right in his scarlet eyes. Adam’s smirk faltered slightly, and he was the first to glance away.
Those sitting around the boy had scooted away from him slightly, as if by that one action he had made himself a pariah, a force of evil to be reckoned with in the classroom. By making that remark right after Gage had revealed himself to be powerless, there was no reason they shouldn’t have seen him as such. It was with satisfaction that the boy thought to himself, No one survives long in a world of social connections by being a bully.
Even then, the majority of the staring was directed at him. Chancemaker’s mouth was hanging open, and he wasn’t moving. Well, I think I may have done way too well in the entrance exam for him to suspect the truth.
He hasn’t been moving for a while. I think I broke him.
“All…alright.” The hero shook his head, as if doing a quick reality check, and the class turned to look at him. “All that aside, uh, it’s nice to meet you all. I’m, uh, I’m going to enjoy teaching you guys, and I’ll see you in the classroom at one fifteen. Lunch is at the cafeteria from twelve thirty to one, but if you want, there are ingredients for cooking your own meal in the refrigerator. I’ll see you guys in classroom 1 in the B building.” And with that, the hero turned, and grabbed the door handle.
As the door shut, everyone just sat silent for a second.
Gage took the opportunity to turn and head for the stairs.