We were all standing in the entrance to a mostly featureless room, all the surfaces around us made of a gray marble like tile, it was the long-waited training room, it wasn’t exactly for human training though, as the table behind a protective glass on one end of the room showed,

Our group composed of everyone expect Victor and Spyglass, with everyone but LED coming only to watch, I'd do the same so I couldn’t blame them.

“So how we’re doing this?” I asked not really used to the situation, and not seeing anything that looked like a normal physical assessment in place.

“First I'd like you to tell me what happened in the fight with Thunder” Led said, standing in front of the group. “Have you figured more about your power? You reverted to normal, yet was at his level of strength.”

“Well, do you mind long explanations?” I said a little thoughtful of the rants I could get into. “I think I might’ve figured out how it works, mostly, but its theories.”

“You're finally gonna tell what your power is?” Swordjuice said beaming with a glint in her eyes.

“The guy’s a bigger power nerd than you, look forward to it Swordjuice” Spotlight said to her using the name with gusto.

“I don’t mind as long as it pertains to the subject” LED answered and I decided to not answer the blue haired girl as she would get the explanations with the others.

I took a moment to organize my thoughts and then started: “Well, my power is adaptive mutation, it seems to respond to stress by transforming my body into biological forms that can resist the effects of attacks, method of mass and energy acquirement unconclusive. The mutations didn’t stay for long after the end of the fight, I didn’t test if I can maintain them in place, but as we saw in our spar” I nodded to LED “I seem to be able to control the mutations to an extent, also pending further experimentation.”

All this rant was making me want to take out my notebook and start taking notes. “But from the start I had noticed another facet of the ability, starting with when Spyglass interacted with me, when she scanned me with her power, I felt mine reacting to it, it has reacted in the same way every time I interact with other powers since then.”

Everyone present was listening intently, I guess powered people were more interested in powers and their workings than people who didn’t get powers, no matter what they said they normally didn’t like dwelling in what they didn’t have.

“Does it copy powers then? Is that what happened at the fight?” Payback asked, curious

“No, not exactly at least, it seems to be able to learn from other powers if it makes sense?”

“Learn? Isn't that just the same as copying, basically?”Glassmetal said looking puzzled.

“Well, what I feel is that the more I interact with a power, the more I can understand about it. Until it gets to a point it all just clicks in my mind, and then I can use the same.” I put a hand over my chin adopting a thinking pose. “Hmm, What I feel is happening is that my power learns how the other powers do whatever they do, and then I can adapt to do it myself.”

“Do you have any example?” Swordjuice asked this time, LED was just listening quietly.

“Yes, actually. It was what happened with Thunder, he was using his electricity, channeling it into me. Well, his power function by creating this energy that he can enhance himself with, the electricity around him is basically the overflow that escapes from him. I adapted to be able to enhance myself as well with the energy, so I got as strong as him and made his attacks useless, it was how I won.

“Interesting, it can function as information gathering in some situations” LED said giving his opinion so far “You got a really useful power, by what you said you think it can grow stronger even” everyone nodded at that.

“Yes.” I agreed easily, I was very satisfied with the power I got, even more so because; “Actually there’s more.” I finished the thought out loud.

“Even more?” Glassmetal said raising an eyebrow.

“You’re plenty powerful huh, looking all quiet like while being such a badass” Payback jokingly said.

“Let him continue” LED simply cut them off, I continued then.

“It has to do on how the power grows, the learning sticks, like, its cumulative. LED, you remember when you used your buff on me? Before I fought with him alone?”

“Yes, of course.”

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“You fought Thunder alone?” Swordjuice shouted in disbelief, Glassmetal had the same look on his face.

“My power learnt from that as well, it reacted and mutated, its, huh...” I paused to gather my thoughts, shooing the two youngest Dawnbreakers with my hand so they stayed quiet, finishing gathering my thoughts, I continued. “I can sense a structure that changes when my power learns. It's like a ball floating in my mental scape that is what interacts and touches powers, it has a lot of structures over and inside of it. It’s what I'm calling the matrix, everyone with me still?”

“Hmhum” The girl nodded enthusiastically, the young man besides her just gave a simple “Yes”, the blonde let a ‘Yes, yes.’ Payback gave me a nod and LED in front of us just nodded as well.

“So, my matrix took the structure of your power, enhancement, and used it to bridge the gap to Thunder’s power, the same with the telepath, Spyglass’s power interacted with mine in a similar way, so I could learn faster. It was a lucky match up.”

Remembering what I thought to ask before I used the moment to do so. “Do any of you feel something similar?”

“For me there's like a part of my mind where I pull the effect from.” Payback was the first to say, getting what I was asking. The other looked about pensive.

Swordjuice brought a hand to her face cupping her chin. “If I think hard, I think there actually is something like that. It's like the place the powers inhabit?”

I don’t think I feel anything of the sort” Glassmetal said with a confused face. “I mean, the powers are directly in my mind but not more like any other part?”

“For me theres something like a center as well. “Spotlight said also giving his experiecen. “I can pull from it to use my effects, but guys we getting sidetracked here. Power manifest differently to everyone.”

“Yes, I guess so” I said, nodding

LED nodded saying "That's right, now about your powers; they’re quite powerful. So, it has no active uses right now?” LED asked

“Yes, I think so.” I said, musing that I didn’t think I could activate anything without external stress.

“Well, do you know how Spyglass’s power works?”

“Yes, she can huh... learn things from others?”

“Isn't that a bit vague? Compared to what you got from other people, and also, similar maybe? To what you're doing, with the other powers.” LED continued leading me in a specific train of thought;

“Oh!” I said simply in realization, my powers can learn and adapt when interacted with, when Spyglass used her powers on me it learned how to gather more information, it might be little, but who know how long that went in the fights.

“So Openmind’s power isn't even necessarily similar to spyglass’s, well shit we really lucked out that she accepted to use her powers on me.” I said thinking what would’ve happened if my powers had taken more time to activate, in the little time they had Thunder almost got payback out of commission.

“Yeah, it's going to be hard to see eye to eye with her, she's is very... reluctant, towards our whole practice.” LED

“She just doesn’t really believe in the purpose of it, it’s what she says at least” Payback supplied.

Before we could talk more about her the two youngest members of the room made themselves known again both asking “What?” loudly. “What happened, I'm lost” Swordjuice concluded for both of them.

“Never mind that, we got a way forward, we need to expose you to the greatest number of powers, we can.” LEDsaid, giving a smile. “We’ll basically power level you.”

I gave a grin at that “No problem, is what I would do myself, I told you I'm not afraid of some experimentation.”

“Want to go first Sword?” he asked the girl, I felt a little more reluctant at that, but said nothing I was planning on play defensive anyway.

“Yes!” she exclaimed loudly, as was her default mode, I guessed. “let's go” she said gesturing to me and running towards the middle of the room the others staying behind to watch.

I walked to the spot she had chosen as well, right in the middle of the smoky polished ground, she was already waiting for me taking out a little switchblade from her back pocket.

“Is that something an underage girl should be carrying around?”

“I’m already seventeen why do everyone keep calling me a teenager?” cause you act like one I thought, and the colorful hair with bouncy attitude didn’t help. She had a round face that just looked young, being shortish too, I guess that didn’t prove anything, but still seventeen still is underage what happened that she joined the organization so soon. Glassmetal I get, college students are the group that more goes against the regime, although seventeen can be college age if she finished early.

“Perks of living the criminal lifestyle, right?” she cheerily said, pulling me out of my mulling, she was holding the switchblade in one hand, having opened it. She straightened her arm so the blade now stretched in front of her, hovering her other hand over it, she put on a face of concentration.

I watched on, preparing to receive an attack, but not moving, from the blade she was holding a silvery light started to emanate, undulating around the whole weapon, "You see, my power lets me extract a liquid from any type of weapon.” I didn’t even need to try to figure out what was happening as Swordjuice just told me everything eagerly.

“The liquid will have different properties based on the type of weapon, this one of course if sharpness.” She smiled as the undulating light coalesced to the point of the blade turning into a thick droplet, which she caught in her hand not holding the switchblade.

“You can then use the liquid to enhance other stuff, even people” she said looking at the liquid with a fond smile.

She brought her hand up to her mouth drinking the silver drop, and in a moment a silver shine overtakes her form, giving her a sheen around her whole body. she kicked her foot on the ground, nicking the floor, her smiled widened at that. “It makes no physical sense, it's so great.”

it really was great, and it was very interesting as well, my mind going to what other types of weapons she could extract from and what kind of liquid they produced, could she influence it? My mind spun with thoughts and possibilities.

“You get it” she said her eyes glinting, the visage of another nerd wanting a long discussion about hypothetical facts.

“Start fighting already, the effect isn't infinite, Sword.” LED reminded the girl cutting the possibility of a debate in the training room.

“Here I go then” she announced sparking her arms against each other, the silver sheen on them brushing against each other making sparks fly with the distinctive sound of two blades sharpening each other.