Doctor Peters led Ronnie to a small medical room, where a sterile white robot was lit up and waiting for them. Ronnie had never seen anything like it before, but he wasn’t surprised that the Syndicate had this kind of technology. The doctor told him to take a seat and began examining his wounds. The robot also floated around him, scanning him with different colored lasers and sending the results to a monitor near the doctor. A small alarm went off, and Doctor Peters paused to look at it. Ronnie caught a glimpse of a graph on the screen. He wasn’t sure what it was measuring, but Doctor Peters didn’t seem concerned.

“How old are you, Ronnie?”

"Eighteen.”

She made a note. “Still in school?”

“Graduated last month. Just working right now.”

“Any exposure to toxic chemicals, or contact with animals that may have been genetically modified in some way?”

“Um, no?” Ronnie’s head hurt, what kind of question was that?

“And this is the first time you’ve experienced a power outburst?”

“Yeah. Nothing like that has ever happened before.”

Doctor Peters made a few extra notes on the touchpad and then flicked her hand to send them and the strange graph away from the screen. After about 10 more minutes of poking and prodding, she straightened up and removed her glasses. “You’ve got a fractured orbital on your left side, and also a minor concussion. Your ribs are bruised as well. Overall, fairly minor injuries. But I’m a little concerned about how your powers have manifested through this ordeal. Ronnie… did anything else happen in that alley?”

Ronnie looked down at his hands. He knew what Doctor Peters was getting at, and it was the last conversation he wanted to have right now. “He… he got grabby. But he didn’t get the chance to do anything else.”

Doctor Peters sighed. “I’m really sorry that happened to you. Do you need to talk to someone about it?”

Ronnie shook his head. All he wanted was a good night’s sleep.

“I’d like to keep you overnight for observation. Just for a little bit to make sure you’re safe.”

“And so others are too, right?”

The doctor sighed and bowed her head. “Yes, that too. You’ve been through a physical and emotional shock, and that seems to have triggered your abilities. I’ll be honest, in my experience manifestations like this usually happen at a younger age. We want to make sure that things have leveled off a bit and that you can get some rest. I hope you understand.”

“What about my father? He doesn’t know where I am, and he’ll be worried.” Ronnie wasn’t sure how much of that was the truth. Usually, his father was sound asleep by the time he got home from his shift at the diner. He likely wouldn’t even notice Ronnie was gone until morning.

“Someone will be in later to talk to you about that. As you can understand, The Syndicate will require some amount of secrecy. But all of that can wait. Get some sleep and worry about that in the morning.”

Doctor Peters looked up and motioned to a girl standing in the doorway. “Please come in, Maya.”

A young Asian woman entered the room. She looked to be about Ronnie’s age and had a sharp, shoulder-length haircut. She was sporting a well-worn hooded sweatshirt that read “SOH Academy” across the front. Ronnie also noticed that she wore a long beaded necklace.

“Maya is one of our senior trainees here at The Syndicate and lives at the facility full time. She will show you to your room, and make sure you have everything you need.”

Ronnie suddenly realized just how tired he was. It was after two in the morning by this point, and the events of the night had left him physically and emotionally exhausted. “That sounds great.”

“Take these before you go, they’ll help with your head.” Doctor Peters handed him two white tablets and a paper cup of water. She also gave him a small device with a button in the middle of it. “Your readings seemed to have leveled out, so I’m not going to make you stay in the ward overnight. But if you feel even the smallest twinge of power, press that, and I’ll be on my way.”

Maya steered him out of the room and down the hall. She was immediately warm and friendly, putting him at ease in these strange surroundings. Definitely someone Ronnie would have gotten along well with in the outside world. “The dorms are this way. It’s where all trainees stay when they are on-site for training,” Maya’s eyes narrowed at him, “From what I hear, we should be expecting your placement into the program?”

“I’m not sure… everything has happened so quickly. I haven’t thought that far ahead.” Were they really going to allow him into a Syndicate program? What about his family? Couldn’t he just go back to his old life?

Maya nodded and continued on her way. She placed a hand on a pad next to the door. With a hiss, the doors swung open, revealing another long white hallway. Doors lined the hall, each one numbered with a small keypad. She stopped them about halfway down the hall.

“Here we are,” Maya said, taking a red card out of her pocket and offering it to Ronnie. She excitedly rattled off a ton of information in quick bursts. “This is your key to the room, you’ll have access to these quarters for as long as you need. I’ve made sure to provide you with a fresh change of clothes. The showers are at the end of the hall if you wanna clean up.”

Ronnie waved his card in front of the keypad by the door. It slid into the wall with a soft hiss. The space was sparsely decorated. A small desk and chair sat in one corner next to a lamp. A bed lined the other wall, with a dresser placed at the far end. The overall feel of the room was quite sterile, similar to the medical quarters.

“Oh, cozy,” Ronnie smiled.

Maya approached an info station embedded into the wall next to the desk. “I’ve entered my contact information into your console. If there’s anything else you need, just give me a buzz.”

“Thanks, Maya. I think I’m just going to clean up and head to bed.”

“Totally get it. I hope you have a pleasant rest, Ronnie,” Maya paused at the door before turning to him again. “And hey, I’m really sorry about what happened.” She exited the room, the door sliding shut behind her.