The first Class I power outside of the Council has been awarded today. Five year-old Morgan Hudson is quickly becoming a local celebrity since the Council declared that his power is beyond anything they’ve seen before. While the results of Morgan’s tests are still undisclosed, my sources tell me that it’s something completely novel. He is officially a Class I Intellect, but what makes Morgan unique is his ability to affect others with his power. Until now, all powers have been internally focused – giving oneself enhanced capabilities. This may be the next step in the evolution of our powers, or it may simply be one unique individual. Either way, young Morgan Hudson and his proud parents are already impressing us all. – Charles Black, 649 Anno Imperii Ortu

“What was that?” Lance growls, pressing his ulna into my windpipe. Trying to appear stronger than I am, I struggle to avoid gasping or wheezing. I claw at his arm, hoping to pull it from me and free myself, but he holds strong. Easily overpowering me, he leans forward and cuts off my airflow completely.

“What did you do out there?” He demands. My eyes dart around the empty locker room as I desperately search for a way out. I grasp at his arm, pulling downward in attempt to open my airway slightly. When that fails, I close my eyes, calming myself despite the screaming of my lungs. I go numb as I turn my focus from the pain and toward my power. I can stop him. I don’t know how, but I know I did something during that game, and I can do it again.

I envision Lance’s arm falling. I picture him stumbling backward as if a massive forward propelled him. I imagine the relief as oxygen fills my lungs again and Lance falls, gasping to the floor in amazement. When I open my eyes, none of that happens. Whatever my power is, it refuses to activate. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe he just missed.

My eyelids grow heavy and my head throbs dully. I feel my eyes closing as the world grows dark around me. Then a rush as his hand no longer supports me. Dropping down, I land on my knees and pitch forward to catch myself on my hands. Gasping for air, I slowly feel my faculties being returned to me.

I don’t want to be weak, and I don’t want him to see me gasping for breath. Regardless, I can’t stop myself.

Before I’m able to regain my composure, I feel my weight vanish. He lifts me back up, grabbing on either side of my shirt, and slams me against the wall. I’m dizzy, so my head bobs and drops forward. It takes all of my willpower to lift it up, meeting my attacker’s eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I finally mutter. I don’t know what’s going on with me, but the last person to whom I have to explain myself is Lance Quill.

“Your act won’t last any longer, Carson,” he spits, narrowing his eyes at me. I flinch, expecting a punch as he releases my left shoulder. It never comes. Instead, he drops his hand to his side, sighing angrily as he unclenches the other fist as well. I try to stay standing, but I’m still lightheaded from my near-fainting. As I fall forward, Lance catches me, pushing me back against the wall.

“It’s not an act,” I stutter. My strength is flooding back as oxygen recirculates through my body, but even at my peak I know I stand no chance in this fight.

“You think I can’t tell? That ball was going straight for your face.”

“I guess you have bad aim.”

“Good thing I threw two.”

“Yeah, maybe no one noticed that you missed.”

“I didn’t miss, Carson,” he retorts with a scowl. Lance shoves me into the wall with his right hand and clenches his left. I feel a rush of wind as his fist passes me, colliding with the wall next to my ear. “I don’t miss.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” I grunt, grabbing his hand and pulling it from my shirt. I’m able to stand on my own feet again, and I feel my sense of defiance coming back. I don’t know if it’s my best course of action, but I know I won’t be pushed around simply because he has a power. He was promoted to Class I – but that doesn’t make him better than me. At least, I can’t let everyone think it does.

“Enough with the attitude, Adachi! You think you’re clever, but you’re not. You don’t know anything.”

“You have experience with that.”

Lance doesn’t bother to respond. Instead, he pulls his left fist back and throws a tight hook, connecting with my jaw. Referred pain overtakes my face and even my arm as I fall to the ground. My vision goes blurry and I feel nauseous, but I struggle to stay conscious. Balancing myself on my hands and knees, I try to climb back to my feet. Lance kicks my ribs and my arms instinctively grab the wounded area. My right cheek slams into the locker room floor and my eyes become far too heavy to hold open.

“You don’t have any idea what you’re messing with,” Lance whispers menacingly. He squats down, bringing himself closer to my level.

Finally, I can see the fear in his eyes. Lance is the golden child – a prodigy. Minerva, a Councilwoman, has accepted him as her apprentice. He will be the next generation. I was never a threat to him, but now he thinks I have a power. I could take his spot. He’s afraid of me. I want more than anything to cherish that feeling – but I don’t know what Lance is capable of.

“I don’t want your spot on the Council,” I choke between a few coughs.

“My spot?” He laughs. “You’re clueless, Carson. That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is it about?”

Lance scowls, drawing himself closer to my ear. My heart pounds faster as he does, but I know I can’t stop him. I wish I were as confident in my power as he seems to be, but I can’t activate it. I don’t feel any different than I did before the match, and I think that if that adrenaline had changed something within me, it would have happened again.

“Watch your back,” he threatens, malice dripping from his tone. Without another word, Lance pulls away and stands up. Leaving me on the floor, he turns and walks out of the room.

Cowering in a ball and fighting back the tears, I’m humiliated. I’ve been Powerless my entire life, but this is a unique feeling. As much as I want to force myself to stand – to break out of the negative feedback loop in which I’m trapped – I can’t bring myself to move. Uncontrollable, tears force their way from my eyes.

I’m confused. I don’t understand anything anymore, and everything I’ve known about the world is in question. Lance couldn’t have missed that throw. He was in point-blank range. Anyway, the ball curved as if I’d deflected it. Maybe I did – everything is a blur. For some reason, though, whatever I’d done had scared Lance enough to make him assert his dominance as the number one student. No, it was a mistake. I don’t have a power – I never have. He’s just on-edge from the testing.

My mind spirals and the nausea only gets worse. Testing is far from over, and I only have a short break as the rest of the classes work through their test. I have to pull myself together. Every time I try to move, though, my arms feel heavy.

“Carson,” a familiar voice calls through the fog of my mind. My eyes finally focus on something as Rhett walks through a row of lockers. I want to sit up and wipe my tears away. I have to look strong for the Class Vs – they’re looking up to me. My resolve doesn’t measure up to my frailty, so I stay where I am.

Rhett looks around, calling my name again. I try to make a noise, but I feel my motivation draining away. I’m just going to be placed in the drone school anyway. I lost my first test, and I failed to help any of my team stand out. Coach Cranston has always had a problem with me, but he finally managed to do irreparable damage.

“Carson?” Rhett asks, concern flooding his voice as he catches a glimpse of me. He runs toward me, falling to his knees. Gently, he shakes me – which only serves to panic me more. His touch, though, brings me back to reality.

“Hey, are you alright?” He asks. I manage a nod. Rhett slides an arm under me and pulls me into a seated position. “Who did this to you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I choke.

“I’m so sorry. I should have been here with you. I just got so distracted with the scores.”

“It’s not your fault, Rhett,” I assure him. The conversation helps pull me from the recesses of my mind, giving me enough strength to struggle to my feet. “I got in a fight. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it? Are you kidding?”

“You should see the other guy.”

“I have a strong feeling he doesn’t look worse.”

“Unscathed.”

“What happened, Car?”

“Honestly, Rhett, don’t think about it. There’s nothing we can do. Please, can we talk about something else?”

“Do you want to tell me what happened out there?”

“That wasn’t quite what I meant,” I sigh. Our defeat on the court is a slightly better topic, but it still isn’t ideal. “Maybe something that isn’t our defeat.”

“You didn’t stay for the points,” Rhett corrects me. “Yes, we lost, but it wasn’t win or lose. Thanks to you, the scouts have asked that we all continue in testing.”

“Wait, what?” I ask. For some reason, I am baffled by his words. I can’t wrap my mind around the face that we have been given a second chance.

“You did it, Car. We’re behind, but you gave us a fighting chance. We’ve all just been wondering how you dodged that ball. The commentators were far away, so they didn’t see it I guess. They just think Lance missed. But that was way too close.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” I shrug.

“Okay, keep your secrets,” he laughs. His laughter fades as he catches sight of my lip, which feels damp with blood. I wipe the blood on my sleeve and smile broadly. Lance doesn’t matter. High school bullies won’t be a problem next year. I just have to focus on getting my friends into good schools.

“The next test is going to start soon,” Rhett explains. “This one is splitting us up based on power.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, it’s not about Classes this time. I can’t say for sure, but I think we’re testing for some of the brainier schools, and they don’t want the Intellects getting all the glory.”

“Interesting,” I mutter. “What about me?”

“I asked – they gave us fifteen minutes to pick partners. You can test with any group.”

“You don’t even have to ask,” I smile. “Just give me a few minutes to get cleaned up and I’ll meet you back near the Arena?”

“Alright, be quick though, we wouldn’t want to be late for Phase II.”

“Right.”

I jog to the sinks and catch sight of myself in the mirror. My lip is split open and a bruise is already forming on my jawline. My eyes are red and puffy from the tears and my clothes are sticking to my body. My disheveled hair makes me wonder if I’d actually passed out for a while. I have no concept of how much time had passed while I wallowed, but I can’t waste this opportunity.

I turn on the sink and watch the water flow from the faucet. As I lower my hands, to catch some water, I swear the stream comes to meet me. When I blink, though, it’s clearly falling straight down. What’s happening to me?

“Do that again,” I command the water. Realizing I must look like a crazy person, I glance around to make sure I’m alone. I don’t have time for this. Whatever’s happening, it’s going to have to wait. Extending my hand the rest of the way, I intercept the water and splash it in my face.

I rinse my face, watching as the blood swirls down the drain. Grabbing a paper towel, I press it against the wound. With the pressure, I hope to stop the bleeding, but it seems to have stopped already. Shaking my head, I toss the towel and splash my face again.

Leaning forward, I wet my hair down to make it easier to style. At the very least, I don’t want to look like I just woke up. With my fingers, I brush my hair and part it to the side. Finally, I wash my hands, flicking the water forward. One more heavy sigh and I’m ready to go. I stand up, admiring myself in the mirror. It is a massive improvement, but I still look beaten-up. That isn’t going to change, so I decide to accept it.

I glance down at my watch and see that I only have a few more minutes. I’m about to head out, but I notice that the floor isn’t wet. That doesn’t seem right. I wasn’t careful with the water, I can’t image I possibly managed to keep the floor dry.

Narrowing my eyes in confusion, I turn, looking for any sign of splash. A droplet lands on my arm, so I look toward the ceiling. Had I splashed everything up there?

I don’t know why this is bothering me so much. Maybe I’m just trying to distract myself from the test. Still, it doesn’t seem quite right. The ceiling is completely dry as well.

“Huh,” I mutter. Shaking my head, I decide to let it go. It isn’t important. I take one last glance in the mirror to make sure I didn’t miss anything. That’s where all the water went – I see droplets covering the mirror.

“Calm down,” I whisper. I can’t get so worked up about simple things. I just have to keep giving this testing my best. We’ve made it through the first Phase – most drones don’t even get this far. This means that at least one School has asked about each of us. All I have to do is impress them.

Compulsively, I feel the need to wipe down the mirror. I groan, annoyed at myself for the hesitation. Unable to quiet the nagging voice, I grab a paper towel and rub the mirror. The droplets refuse to disappear. Finally, the shock sets in. I understand exactly what that inner voice was trying to tell me.

I take a step back and feel a bit of water absorb into my shirt. Spinning around me, I see all of the stray water. It’s floating around me.

“Carson?” I hear a surprised voice. Quickly, I turn around. My concentration shattered, the water begins to fall around me, splashing on the ground.

“You’re really going to tell me that’s nothing?” Rhett asks.