It had been a few weeks since the emergence. Governments had worked day and night to get a hold on their crumbling societies. Many organizations and groups had been created, either by the government or a band of heroes, to combat the chaos. One such organization was the self-proclaimed Peacekeepers. With their main operation based in New York City, they had spread across the whole state within a few weeks and had started to bleed into neighboring states. With funding from the United States Government, they had access to unheard-of technology. The first and most widely produced of these were the suppression cuffs.
These metallic cuffs could put a stop to anyone’s powers once they were secured around the target’s wrists. The challenge was getting close enough to use them. However, even though they were against these powers, they allowed their own agents to use them, provided they had undergone the required training. Only a few had passed so far.
Laws had been put in place specifically prohibiting the use of powers in public without a license. At that time, there was no way to obtain a license for power usage, although the Peacekeepers were working on a process. No one had any idea when they would be able to get a license.
Our group had continued to use their spot in the forest to train their powers in secret, even though the Peacekeeper presence in their small town felt absent. With most of their funding and supplies going to New York City, the rest of the force got anything left over.
James had managed to perfect his flying and discover a new power in the three weeks. Along with his fire powers, he could also use telekinesis to move small objects. His control over fire and objects still wasn’t anything grand; he could only stably create small flames and move a light object, no more than 5 pounds, around.
Sig sadly had been unable to find his own power in this time, so he had mostly been the hype man for the group. He kept up with the research better than Hunter had with his training.
Hunter had learned more about his own power. He could absorb any energy and store it in his body. There was a limit to how much he could hold, and if he went over it, all his stored energy would come out in a huge blast. In the three weeks, he had figured out a nonviolent way to release the energy he had stored. He could focus on letting it drain into the earth, as well as the destructive sonic blast he could release if violence were needed.
Joseph and Johnson had made little progress. Johnson was unable to find new ways to train his power aside from sparring. Joseph was slowed by his stamina. Being exhausted after a few teleports prevented any long-term training. He was too scared after the last event to continue training his electrical abilities.
The start of the fourth week came. The news stations continued to update everyone about the current state of society. Repair efforts had started, and while the progress was slow, some major buildings had already been mostly completed. In James’s small town, many buildings still lay in ruin. Only the government buildings had seen any care.
The group had done what they could for Johnson’s house, at least making it more habitable for him again, with him out of the hospital and back in his own home. Everyone except Joseph started to relax into this new life. Joseph still couldn't shake away the feeling that he was in a nightmare. With everything around him feeling fake and distant, he struggled to focus on anything but his goal: find someone who could revive the dead.
Back in James’s house, with no one truly understanding these powers, James was the first to suggest seeking outside help. “The Peacekeepers are nothing good, but they seem to be the only ones that have some clue as to what is going on. They have those suppression cuffs, so obviously they have to know something.” He said with an underlying annoyance.
Hunter sighed heavily, “I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to deal with them.” He complained, looking up from the laptop he was actively researching on. “But no one else really knows either. I’ve read multiple theories, and the only one that even seems close is that these powers come from our souls.” The sound of key tapping filled the room as he searched for proof. “Not like any of these theories are proven, though, just a thought.”
Sig came into the living room finally, with a plate of chicken wings. “I like that idea, our souls choose our powers. Or maybe there's like another universe that’s crossing over with ours.” He continued listing off ideas as he plopped down on the couch, until Hunter cut him off.
“Those sound so impossible, but... at the moment, anything could be possible.” Hunter held his head, trying to fight off the headache of confusion.
“The Peacekeepers should have some info. I doubt we’d be able to get a direct line to Val herself,” Sig pointed out.
“Wouldn’t hurt to try, maybe we could figure out some kind of deal,” James added on, “But we don’t have anything they would want.”
As James finished, Sig quickly shushed everyone and turned up the TV volume. It was another broadcast from Val Zotova, with an update on their progress toward obtaining a license.
“This still has to undergo a trial run, and as such, we are asking for volunteers for the first trial runs. This device is completely safe; however, we need individuals who know at least one power they have to confirm this process is accurate.” She stated coldly, the chill felt through the TV and in the air.
“Is she talking about a device to detect powers?” Hunter thought out loud, prompting Sig to shush him.
Val’s broadcast continued, “If you know that you fit the criteria, please contact us at (555)749-4937. Together we can understand this tragedy and fix it.” Her broadcast cut to the news anchor. James was already dialing the number.
“Hold on, this sounds more like a trap than anything else.” Hunter pleaded, forcing James to stop halfway.
“I know that, but really, I think it’s time to do more than just sit at home and research,” James said sternly, causing an annoyed sigh out of Hunter.
“Fine, as long as you aren’t rushing into this without thinking first.” Hunter forced a warm smile.
“I wouldn’t put you in any harm. If you don’t want to go with me, you can stay back. I am curious to know what else I could have.”
“You know I can’t just stay back. I am definitely coming, just hoping for the best.” Hunter folded his arms.
“And I’ll prepare for the worst,” Sig interjected, cutting off what James was about to say.
“Yeah, what he said,” James replied with a chuckle. “Let’s at least call and see what this is about.”
After a lengthy call with a monotone representative, James finally secured a spot for himself, Hunter, and Joseph for the next day. Sig seemed a little annoyed at first until James told him he could still tag along, just not participate.
Sig let out a disgruntled huff, “Fine... and who knows, it might be tested enough that they’ll let me try.” He chuckled.
“We can at least ask, that wouldn’t hurt,” Hunter added in.
“Awesome! If they tell me what my power is, I will catch up so fast. I’ll train day and night!”
“Sig, going without sleep probably isn’t the best idea with these unknown powers,” James replied.
“You’re right... Maybe not all night... But I will be training hard!” Sig pounded his palm, full of determination.
With everyone having decided on how to approach this event, they just needed to keep busy. They headed back out to their training grounds. With the roads cleared, they didn’t take long to get there. Parking in a nearby lot for the main hiking trail, they took their alternate route deep into the woods.
With everyone else lost in conversation, Joseph ended up in the lead, lost in his own thoughts until distant sounds snapped him out of it. He stopped in his tracks to listen and held out a hand behind him to quiet the rest of the group. “You hear that?” Joseph asked.
“Yeah, it sounds like someone else found our spot.” James hissed out between his teeth.
“Calm down, sweetie. It’s not like we have our names plastered everywhere. They could be understanding.” Hunter said in a soft tone, attempting to talk some sense into James’s anger.
He balled up a fist, “Other people are fine, but I bet it’s those Peackeepers tools.”
Sig chimed in with, “And if it is them, we need to leave before we are spotted.” He could tell James was ready to try out his new powers on something. “There’s no reason to pick a fight with them of all people.”
James spun around to retaliate. but instead, let out a stabilizing sigh. “You’re right, we have that thing tomorrow anyway. As much as I don’t trust them, our local ones haven’t been that bad, really.”
Joseph finally replies, “Yeah, cause they probably live here. This is their community as well. I doubt they'll do anything stupid. At least until they get paid enough to forget that.”
They finished their hushed conversation and continued stealthily. They stayed low and weaved through the underbrush until they could each get a good enough view of their clearing. They could see a lone person in the middle of the field. A large-framed man was practicing what seemed to be martial arts in the air.
“Well, if he isn’t nice, we have the number advantage.” Hunter pointed out nervously.
“Follow up behind me. I’ll take the lead.” James offers.
With everyone agreeing, James was the first to step out into the clearing—the other 3 members of his group close behind. He called out from afar, trying to get the man’s attention before suddenly appearing behind him. He didn’t seem to notice at first until he replied, “Hello!” Without missing a beat in his training. As they got closer, the man closed out his regimen and turned to face them. Up close, they could tell he was no younger than 55. His face was battle-scarred from experience. “I assume you’re going to take this spot for yourselves, huh?” His voice came out gravely and kind.
James went to speak, but Hunter cut him off. Stepping in front, “No, not at all! We were going to see if you’re alright sharing it. There's more than enough room for all of us.”
The other man chuckled, holding out a hand towards Hunter. “We’re going to need more people like you in these times. The name’s Stanley Barnes.”
Hunter accepts the handshake, “I’m Hunter, and this is my fiancé, James.” He waved his hand towards James.
James stepped forward. “And my two friends since high school, Sig and Joseph.” He introduced his friends, who all seemed a little more relaxed.
“Well, it’s great to meet you four. If any of you have flashy powers, I suggest staying farther away. I don’t want some stray lightning bolt to hit me.” He chuckled, but his tone suggested he was serious.
“Of course! I think Joseph actually does have some kind of electrical power.” Hunter replied.
“What’s your power, if you found it out yet, that is,” Sig asked, immediately given a look from Hunter.
Stanely shook his head. “Not yet, but I have a spot at the peacekeeper trial test tomorrow. I’ll figure it out then.” He smiled.
“Wait, don’t you have to know your power first before going there?” Sig looked around, confused.
“As long as they believe you know what you have,” Stanley smirks, “Lying to a corporation that is also lying isn’t wrong, it’s just a fair game.”
“Then what are you doing out here?”
“What did it look like? Just cause powers exist doesn’t mean I get to skimp on my hand-to-hand combat skills.”
They continued to get to know each other and began training. Stanley took his own corner while everyone else spread out.
During this time, down in New York City, the Peacekeepers were conducting their first trial runs. With a few glitches and errors, Val’s team of engineers and scientists had found a way to determine a person’s powers. Although it had only a 75% accuracy rating, Val felt it was good enough to expand the testing group. Sending out the word to update their search to include anyone willing to partake in this trial run, whether or not they know their powers.
As she walked through the halls to the main chamber, she stopped by a door with a small window. Through it, another hallway could be seen, along with other rooms with barred doors. She smirked, knowing all the ones who had dared to defy her so far were locked away in there with plenty of room for anyone else who refused.
Val continued on her way until she reached the testing room. The door slid open to her presence, and she glared at the computer monitor, staring past the researcher who was working at it. A middle-aged test subject was sitting in a chair waiting for his results. As she entered, a high-pitched ding sounded, alerting the nearby worker that the results were ready. The worker typed away on the keyboard, bringing up the results as Val walked over to read them. The worker’s mouth slowly opened in shock, while Val slowly looked over at the man. Her expression was stoic, but a slight excitement shone in her eyes. “So, Marduk, how would you like to join the Peacekeepers?”
The shady man’s face slowly formed a sadistic smirk, “On one condition...”
The day passed quickly, and our group woke up the next morning. They finished off their morning routines and were out by 8:00 Am. It was going to be a long four-hour trip down to New York City, but the group was ready for whatever they would have to face on the road.
After two and a half hours, the trip came to a screeching halt. In front of them was another traffic jam. However, with this one, everyone could see the cause of the delay. About half a mile up, a huge explosion occurred. Many cars started driving off the road or backing up into other cars behind them. Some people started fleeing from their cars altogether.
James attempted to get out and check on what was happening, but was stopped as Hunter grabbed hold of his arm tightly. “What are you doing? We need to get out of here.” His eyes were wide with fear.
Before James could even reply, Sig already threw his door open and was running towards the danger. As Hunter saw that, he let go of James’s arm and got out with him. He yelled for Sig to stop, but he acted like he didn’t hear him, continuing to run past cars and other people running in the opposite direction.
James opted to run for speed before he jumped into the air. He took off down the road, flying up a little higher to get a better vantage point. From here, he could see a single person damaging the highway and flinging chunks of it into nearby cars. A few were on fire, and one was obviously the source of the explosion.
Joseph was the last to get out, debating whether he should stay or help. With his friends quickly gaining distance, he finally decided to hop out and follow them.
James flew down and roughly landed in front of Sig. “Listen, don’t get near that villain, ok? Just focus on helping any survivors with the others. I’ll go at least see if he’ll talk.”
Sig nodded as Hunter finally caught up, panting heavily. “That was the plan, but I’ll let Joseph know when he catches up. Just be careful, man.” With that said, he turned back with Hunter to catch Joseph up on the plan while James ran forward, keeping to the ground to stay hidden.
As he neared the disruptor, a crack in the ground raced between James’s feet. He quickly jumped and hovered for a moment, flying low over the car roofs to avoid easy detection, and determined that the ground approach was riskier than expected.
Upon reaching the front, a huge chunk of asphalt flew by ten feet away into a car, crushing it and blaring the horn for a moment before it died out. He locked eyes with the villain who caused all this destruction. “Why are you doing this?” That was all James could manage to ask at first. I was truly at a loss as to why this man had chosen to destroy a section of the highway.
“I expected Peacekeepers to show up first. Who the hell are you?” He asked, ripping out another chunk of earth and asphalt from the road. It hovered in mid-air next to him. The man was poised to attack if needed.
James held both his hands up at chest level. “Whoa, not here to hurt you. Just understand... Why do this?”
“To disrupt everything. The more thinly spread government agencies are, the easier it will be to take over in the chaos. Maybe not for me, but it’ll pave the way for our true ruler.” He dropped the rock back into its crater. “My name is Earthquake, remember it well.” He said coldly.
Before James had a chance to speak, Earthquake slammed his fists into the road and sent out a shockwave down the road. Causing a foot-high wave of earth to race down the highway towards the other cars stuck in traffic. Flipping some over onto their sides or roofs, while the screaming and panic intensified. James knew his friends were in there somewhere and that Hunter couldn’t stop this kinetic power.
James didn’t even think about what to do next. He forced himself to fly down as fast as possible, his fist raised. Earthquake didn’t expect such speed from someone already, unable to bring his arms up in time as James’s fist connected with his temple.
Earthquake flipped backwards from the impact, sliding back several feet before using his powers to come to a grinding halt. Long and deep grooves were left in the ground from where his hands dragged to slow him down. A groan escaped his lips as he held a hand to his head in an attempt to get the world to stop spinning. His eyes widened as he pulled back his hand and saw it covered in blood.
Using that moment of distraction, James closed the distance. Only to see Earthquake flick his hand sideways through the air as a chunk of earth slammed into James from the side. Able to slide away from the falling boulder before it crushed him against the ground on the other side of the highway. Rolling against the ground, he tried to stop himself, but Earthquake was already in range again.
Earthquake slammed his hands into the ground and forced the section of earth James was on to launch upwards. Pinning him against it until it reached its peak height of around 30 feet. James panicked slightly, seeing how far up he was, until he remembered he could just fly down instead of falling. He jumped off once it slowed down enough and allowed himself to fall for a while to pick up speed. Aiming for the only strong attack he had at the moment.
Earthquake could easily predict what James was going to do, so he threw his hands up in front of him to block the attack, along with a wall of stone that jutted out of the ground right as James reached it—forcing him to punch through the stone. James’s fist connected with Earthquake’s arms that were in front of his face—sending him backwards into the ground as his head snapped backwards, knocking him unconscious.
James let out a yell of agony as he saw the condition of his hand. A bone could easily be seen poking through the skin at multiple sites. His fingers were limp and snapped at different angles. He fell to his knees, holding his forearm.
As he heard his friends running up from behind, sirens from up ahead also sounded. The Peacekeepers finally showed up, but were forced to keep their vehicles on the opposite side of the destruction. They chose instead to send in a few agents to assess the situation before the rest of the team joined them.
“James, what happened? Are you ok?” Hunter could be heard yelling behind James. Along with Sig and Joseph, right behind him. Hunter let out a startled noise of shock as he saw James’s hand. “We need to go to the hospital now!”
Before anyone could move, a Peacekeeper who had approached them and heard Hunter responded with, “None of you are going anywhere until we figure out what happened here.” Her tone wasn’t cold or uncaring like Val’s was. The unnamed officer walked up to James and knelt, holding out a hand to inspect his.
James hesitates for a second before the pain forces him to trust the Peacekeeper. “If you can help with the pain, we will answer any questions you have.” He mutters out before holding his hand up the best he can.
Instead of touching his hand, she hovers hers over his broken hand. A green light emanated from her palms as she closed her eyes. “This might hurt at first, but once it’s over, the pain will be gone.”
James gave a confused look at first before feeling the pain tenfold as his bones slowly re-adjusted and tissue repaired itself. He let out a grunt of pain as tears welled up in his eyes. He did his best not to yank his hand back, scared of what would happen if the healing were canceled halfway through. After what felt like the most agonizing minute of his life, the pain started to vanish slowly. He stared in awe at his hand and flexed his fingers, making sure all the feeling was back. “Thank you, that was amazing.”
The officer lowered her hands back to her side and stood back up. She took a stabilizing breath. “You’re welcome. Now, I hope you all will come willingly... or if not, we will use force if needed.” After talking, it was clear she was winded from the healing, taking deep breaths when she could, as if she were trying to catch her breath after running.
“Of course, we didn’t do anything wrong here. You might want to restrain that guy in case he wakes back up, though.” James said, pointing to the nearly motionless body on the ground. “And maybe some medical attention?”
“We already have that covered. I assume your car is still stuck back in that jam somewhere. Let us know what kind to look out for, and we will make sure it is either ready for you or have it towed if you are arrested for any charges. That way it isn’t hauled off with the rest of these vacant cars.”
“A blue SUV, I can write down the license plate number for you as well,” James responded, pulling out his phone and scrolling to a picture of the plate he had saved.
“You can just send that picture to me. We will address that during transport. You can call me Krystal, by the way.” She turned around, casting a glance at the 3 other Peacekeepers who had already cuffed Earthquake. They loaded him onto a stretcher and carefully navigated back to their ambulance. James felt a little sick at the sight of the Peacekeepers' logo and colors over what used to be a public ambulance.
“You guys couldn’t even get your own?” James’s words had venom behind them.
“They are being worked on. For the time being, Val assured us that these were decommissioned and repurposed. I find it’s better off here saving lives than rotting in a landfill. Wouldn’t you agree?”
He scoffed, “If you can believe anything she says.” He followed behind her, back to her transport APC, a large vehicle with room for eight people in the back, also adorned with their logo and colors. Hunter, Sig, and Joseph followed closely behind.
“I understand your stance, but not everything she says is a lie. I, too, feel that there's something deeper behind her reasons. That comes with the position. People seek power to gain something for themselves. It’s human nature.” She opened the back door to the APC and climbed in, anchoring herself and helping the others in. “I’m her head researcher as well as personal doctor.”
Hunter’s eyes lit up, “So you're researching into all this superpower stuff, right? We’ve been trying to learn as much as we can, but there isn’t much info to work off of.”
“Publicly available Info, you mean. All of our work has been kept under lock and key. No one outside can know of it just yet. Once this detection device is up and running, more will be revealed to the public. As for now, we need to make sure the info we have is correct. You’ve probably seen how much misinformation is on the internet if that’s where you were looking.”
Sig chimed in next, “We actually were on our way to New York City, in case you could take us there.” He asked nicely.
“We can see about having you transported down there after questioning. Until then, let’s get some of this out of the way. What exactly happened there?”
James took a deep breath, recalling as much detail as he could about the fight. “Traffic was stopped, and we were waiting until a large explosion from much farther up alerted us. I had my friends help anyone in need while I dealt with the cause.”
“How very noble of you, but careless. You barely know how your powers work, and you went up against someone who has had plenty of time for training. You did buy time for your friends and won in the end, but what if I hadn’t been there? Your hand would’ve been unusable for the rest of your life.”
James glared at her. “I don’t need to be lectured by you; I understand the risks we have to take now to survive. To help others survive.”
Sig shifted uneasily in his seat as the tension from James grew. Krystal, on the other hand, remained stoic and calm. “Continuing. I believe I know why you were all there in the first place, so how long have you been training your powers?”
The group discussed whether to trust her with the truth. Hunter wins out in the end. “About a month, give or take. It hasn’t been every day, so the actual time of training is unknown.”
Krystal shook her head, “Not much time has been put into actual training, it seems. We have people who have trained eight hours a day to be a part of the special forces of the Peacekeepers, and they are much farther along than you are.”
“Yeah cause ever since your stupid little laws have been put in place, we have had to train in secret,” James growled out.
“Yes, it is illegal to train your powers at the moment. However, being a part of the Peacekeepers or any law enforcement will give you the legal right to train. I do believe those laws should only be enforced on the reckless. Sadly, that is not the case.”
“Well, hopefully that device we were going to test for you guys works, and that ban can be lifted.” Hunter pointed out. Sitting up in his seat and looking around at the different tech that was set up on the inside of the APC.
“That is the goal. Val’s approval rating as the Peacekeeper's leader hasn’t been great after the ban. So she is at least working endlessly to lift it. I do understand it was extreme, but she had to do something to control the situation. An example that a few of the bad can ruin something for the rest.”
James let out a defeated sigh, “You seem a lot more rational and understanding than Val made the Peacekeepers out to be.”
“You wouldn’t be wrong to get that kind of vibe from her. Most of the Peacekeepers are power-hungry nobodies who found a legal way to climb the ranks. We aren’t all like those, though. Some of us actually care for the citizens and try our best.”
Hunter shifted from anxiety. “Hopefully, your actions will speak louder than her words. I’m sure the citizens you treated fairly will back you when the time comes.” His thoughts swam with the problems they could face if Val kept up her bad reputation.
She nodded in response, “I hope you’re right about that. It shouldn’t be too much longer until we are back. We just have to follow our procedure, and I’m sure we’ll get you four to our headquarters in no time. I’ll have someone contact Val as well.”
After half an hour, the vehicle came to a stop. “Alright, we’re here.” She opened the doors and stepped down, letting the others follow behind. In front of them was an ordinary police station. “Until our own buildings are built, we have to share with the local law enforcement.”
She led them into an interrogation room. With five people, it started to seem a little cramped. “Sadly, this is all we have for now, but I’ll make this as quick as possible.”
After what felt like an hour of questioning, Krystal stopped the recording on her phone and saved it. “Alright, I’ll send a copy of this to Val, and we should have a transport to NYC and back ready for you. Your car will remain here until you return to claim it.”
James’s group let out a collective sigh of relief, “Thank you. Is there any other place we could wait on that, though?” Hunter asked.
Krystal nodded, “Of course, I’ll lead you to the public waiting area, and either another officer or I will let you know when we are ready to depart.”
Only about a minute passed until they were summoned. After their delay, they were only an hour and a half outside the city. The group had time to share their concerns for what’s next in private. The APC separated the driver and passenger up front, away from the people in the back.
At the Peacekeepers' Headquarters, Val sat in her office. As she finished an email, her earpiece rang. A pleased smile spread across her face as she received an update about the late test group. “Understood, we’ll be ready for them when they get here.” She got up and quickly paged down to the testing personnel. “Warm her up, we have a promising group coming in.”
Inside the specialized room, a couple of devices similar to those used for DNA extraction sat on tables, along with massive supercomputers that took up most of the wall space. Val entered with a commanding presence, ensuring everyone was in the right place and that none of the equipment was having any issues. “Update on our accuracy rating.” She demanded more than she asked of a scientist sitting at a computer. He quickly typed commands into the computer to get the updated report.
“After the batch from today, we are up to a more reasonable eighty percent. However, if you just count over the last 24 hours, we have 100% accuracy. So aside from the possible outlier, our results won’t be wrong.”
“Great, if all goes well, then we’ll be ready for a public release in two days. The quicker the better.”
As she watched over the team, her earpiece buzzed again, alerting her to the group's arrival. She passed the info along to her team and walked out to the main lobby.
After a minute, the front doors opened to reveal James and his friends. They walked in hesitantly as James’s glare didn’t leave Val.
“Welcome to your new life. You four will be our final test before we release this method to the public.”
James continued to stare her down while Hunter spoke up, “Thank you for this opportunity.”
“Just follow me to your individual waiting rooms, where someone will be with you shortly.” Val started walking away, no longer waiting for them to ask questions, leading them to a hallway where, one by one, the group was separated into different rooms.
James paced back and forth in his room, anxious about being separated from his friends and fiancée. Hunter sat patiently while Sig pulled out his phone and started distracting himself to pass the time. Joseph was also pacing, lost in his thoughts. This was the best place to ask about any info on a revival power. If no one there knew, he could ask Krystal on the way back.
Hunter was the first to be visited. The scientist took a vial of his blood and told him it would take about 15 minutes for the results. The scientist then went to each other's room to do the same with the other three. Joseph, Sig, then finally James.
Hunter was the first to be visited. The scientist sat down near the room’s computer and brought up the results. Handing over printed papers that explained everything they could about his powers.
“You only have this one power, but it’s a type of energy accumulation power. I’m not sure how much you know about it, but you must review the papers I gave you. They’ll explain how your power works. The biggest warning I should give you now is, don’t accumulate too much energy. Otherwise, we believe a violent explosion could occur.”
Hunter stifled a chuckle, “Understood.”
“We also advise against any unauthorized training. These types of powers are one of the reasons for the high casualty rate in the Emergence. We offer official training to those who join us.”
“I will think about it. I appreciate your help,” he began to read over the papers as he left.
Joseph was next, receiving papers regarding his two powers as well. Teleportation and Electrical manipulation. Stuff he already knew about, but the papers at least gave him further insight into what the Peacekeepers have already learned.
Sig was next to last, nearly dropping his phone when he heard the door open. His results brought him the worst news. He was powerless. He stared at the single sheet, ignoring what the scientist said about how 10% of the people they had tested so far were also powerless. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were wrong as he walked out of the room and waited with the others.
Forced to wait longer, James’s anxiety grew. The only thing keeping him sane was knowing Hunter would be disappointed if he did anything rash. The wait for James felt like an eternity. Until finally the door handle turned.
However, James received a personal visit from Val herself. “Why are you here? I doubt you really have the time to be the person who reveals the results.”
“You’re right, I’m not. Unless the results are something that intrigues me.” She pulled over the rolling chair and sat down. “Have a seat, James.”
James reluctantly sat down. “So what, do I have a power that you want to exploit or something?” He said, holding back his anger for now.
“Not exploit, no. Our goal is to rid the world of these powers, not use them for our own gain. However, we don’t pass up a chance for... super-powered assistance. ” She paused, as if she had to think over the right words to use.
“Just cut to the chase, and I’m not joining you guys today. If anything, I would have to talk to my friends and Hunter about it.”
“It would be a wise decision to join our ranks. I understand this may require time, but do not keep me waiting long. The truth behind what powers you have will be revealed upon your acceptance-”
“That’s bullshit! We came here to help you test your device so we could understand what we have. You aren’t going to withhold the results just because I won’t join you.” He slammed his fist against the nearby desk. Leaving behind a small dent in the metal.
Val was unfazed by his outburst. “I suggest you calm yourself. This is exactly why we refuse to inform certain people of their powers. Unless we know you are getting proper training for your powers, you won’t be allowed to know your powers. So we will let you think about it, just don’t wait too long.” She walked over and opened the door. “You’re free to leave.”
James couldn’t explain it, but as she spoke, he felt his anger calm against his will. He glared at her as he walked past, but didn’t say anything. He followed the hallway down to the main lobby of the building they entered, where he saw his friends sitting, waiting for him. “I don’t like this. We need to go.” He said in a hurry.
“James, what happened in there?” Hunter asked as he followed him out the door with Sig and Joseph right behind.
“They won’t tell me my results until I join them.”
“We don’t need them; we already know you have a couple, so we can work on those,” Hunter said softly as he held James's hand in his.
Sig thought for a moment. “They said I don’t have any powers, but I want to test something. Trust me.” He walked back into the building.
Hunter went to protest, but James stopped him. “I trust him. He will be fine.”
Inside the building, Sig walked up to the receptionist and asked where the bathroom was. Knowing it was down the same hallway as their rooms were in. Reaching the hallway, he checked each room quietly for any computers that were still logged in. Luckily, he found one and quickly searched up James's name. There, he found the truth. James technically had only one power. He quickly took his phone out and took a picture of it before sneaking out and back down the hall towards the main entrance. Somehow, not a single staff member walked by while he was sneaking around.
He left without issue and regrouped with everyone, who were still waiting for an update on their ride. “James, you won’t believe this, so I got a picture if needed. You only have one power.”
The other three looked confused. James spoke first, “How is that possible. I know I have more than one.”
Sig chuckled, “You do, and you don’t, your power is nigh-omnipotence,” he said under his breath to James, making sure only they could hear. “And I have a good feeling my power is Luck.”
