This time, Bohdan went first. Again, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ivarsson. On this occasion, the female agent approached her.
“You were serious about becoming a superhero,” Ivarsson noted.
“Of course,” she said. “You already know my reason.”
They watched Bohdan shuffle under the press and grasp onto the handles under the heavy barrel.
“That, I do. Since I didn’t get the chance before, I’d like to formally thank you for saving my arse.”
She shot a questioning look at the tall woman. “When?”
“At the Radiant Tower when Obsidian Jess was momentarily incapacitated and you faced Crocman alone.”
“Oh. Yeah… it was the only option I had.”
“And you were brave for not only seeing that but following through. Few superheroes have the balls to take on someone like Crocman.”
Bohdan strained against the giant slab of steel, the machine’s hydraulics working to counteract his force. His breaths became choppy, his muscles flexed stiff. The agent reading the display had long since given up on telling Bohdan that he had passed the threshold.
Ella read the display, which showcased spiking values in tonnage.
5,000… 6,000…7,000…
“This press is of a higher grade than the previous one,” Ivarsson told her. “So you can push harder. With gentle increments, of course. We can’t have you send a $15 million piece of equipment in for repair.”
She gulped, remembering what she did to the other press. Suddenly, her mind filled with apprehensive thoughts. Was this showdown against Bohdan necessary? More importantly, did she have it in her to discern her true strength? 10,000 tons, the kind of strength that allowed her to move a fully loaded jumbo jet as easily as a dumbbell already scared her. She truly hoped she was near her limit.
The pained cries of Bohdan halted her tumultuous thoughts. He was actually near his limit and willing every ounce of his being to summon more strength. Regardless, the counter inched over 11,000 tons, bouncing higher and lower in the hundreds as Bohdan reached his maximum capacity. It got to a point where his strength waned from exhaustion, and the machine reclaimed some of its lost territory.
“You’ve lifted 11,000 tons,” the agent confirmed in an excited tone. “That puts you in the 0.001 percentile of all superhumans. Why are you still exerting your energy aimlessly? There are more trying days ahead.”
It was Ivarsson who answered the agent’s question. “Because he is pitted against a top ten superhuman as far as strength is concerned.”
When Bohdan returned, drenched in sweat and exhausted, she was the one who offered a fist which he bumped.
“That was amazing.” She beamed, truly meaning it.
Bohdan only offered her a tired smile in response before pointing at the press. It seems her turn had come.
As she positioned herself under the giant machine, her innate psychology attempted to breed fear into her, a nagging feeling in the back of her head that at any moment, the massive slab of steel would break loose and squash her like a bug. Those whispers of fear died down when she wrapped her hands around the warm steel handles and felt the machine give way in response to a little push. It was almost comical how this machine weighing thousands of tons had to be handled with baby gloves. The babble of the agent notifying her that the threshold was passed blended into the background as she focused, steadily increasing the level of strength she imposed. The hiss of expelled gas and the hums of electronics became a backdrop on her little playground. A relationship was born in which she applied some force and the press had no other option but to obey.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Bohdan exclaimed.
“You’ve passed 10,000 tons, ma’am,” the agent mentioned.
She continued to push, the press groaning in response. Her breath was steady, as calm as the water in a large motionless lake, while she lifted over 15,000 tons. Soon after that, she broke into the 20,000s. One name kept ringing over and over in her head.
Jalen! What in the actual fuck have you done to me?
“30,000 tons, ma’am,” the agent said. “You are somehow approaching the machine’s maximum output. I can’t believe this!”
At 35,000 tons, she let go of the press, displeased. She loved her brother dearly and would be forever grateful to him till the end of time for giving her the greatest gift imaginable. Like something out of a fairytale, she could communicate with birds, even going as far as to befriend a literal chatterbox of a blue jay. But this? 10,000 tons was astronomical and she had just got around to accepting the burden. To now find out she could lift in excesses of 35,000 tons and so easily at that, with more strength to spare. In truth, what was her brother thinking? She was not just the god of animals and the hunt, but a god of strength as well.
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“Why!” Bohdan rushed to her, his face scrunched up and red. “Why did you stop when you were nowhere near your limit?”
His outburst caught her off guard. Seconds ago, she dwelled in her own thoughts, and from nowhere, a giant angry man was screaming in her face.
“Back off, Bohdan,” she finally said.
He shook his head, his hands resting on his hips, gaze ripe with disappointment for the first time today.
It was only then she noticed the crowd around them. Most superhumans drew near to witness someone take on the towering monstrosity they shied away from. Jamal was the first to clap with Kylara close by, joining in. Then ten people applauded, which quickly multiplied until everyone around her was clapping.
A warm smile crept on her face. She couldn’t help it when almost thirty people appreciated what she had done. Even Bohdan warmed up.
“I just lifted something big,” she said to Ivarsson. “What’s the big deal? Besides, Raquel Vicente trounced everyone during the speed test, to no fanfare.”
“The exact reason eludes me,” Ivarsson said. “But if I had to guess, there is something inherent about human nature when we see someone move the impossible. Also, keep in mind that Vicente was a pro in Brazil before coming over. Most people are familiar with her efforts in South America.”
By the time she reached Sasha, Kylara, and Jamal, most of the crowd had tapered off.
“You were so amazing.” Kylara gripped her hand tightly.
“Who knew someone could beat the big guy at his game?” Sasha said. “You did the lord’s work, Ella. That should knock him down a peg or two.”
“I have no problem facing adversity, Sasha,” Bohdan said. “That reminds me, your training starts tomorrow. We’ve got to knock some semblance of strength into those muscles.”
Sasha rolled her eyes and cursed.
Ivarsson notified everyone that the agenda for the day was over, so they were free to go. However, most people waited, staring up at the jumbotron to display the ranking index. 30 seconds later, it flashed, a list appearing on the screen.
Wow!
Ella claimed the top spot with an impressive score of 108. She had leaped from having almost three times fewer points than Raquel Vicente to eclipsing the speedster by 7 points. Bohdan climbed to third place with a score of 76, while Luc slipped down a position with 65.
So pumped full of elation, she broke off from the friends she had just met today and left The Genesis Empowerment Center with a pep in her step, riding on waves of triumph. There were still worries about her bottomless, superhuman strength, but she shrugged, kicking that problem down the road for her future self to encounter. For today, all she would do was celebrate her achievement of scoring a perfect 12% in the speed and strength test, as well as reaching the top spot in the superhero ranking index.
A momentary hitch in her elated mood came when she spotted one of Mr. Yale’s men waiting on a path she frequented on her journey home. So she backtracked to a closed parking lot, secured her scooter, and then transformed into a barred owl, spotting brown and white striped plumage. With her large feathered wings designed to muffle sound, she silently soared into the evening sky, the first snowflakes of an early winter filling the chilly air.
❊ ❊ ❊
Ella pulled the whistling kettle off the burner and poured some hot water into her favorite mug—painted with a colorful school of dolphins—which she got from SeaWorld so many years ago when things were normal. After dropping a green tea bag into the mug, she scooted over to the window overlooking the front of her little corner in the trailer park and lifted the blinds to let in some natural light. It seemed Mr. Yale’s goon who lingered a few yards from her trailer last night finally gave up after he failed to notice her approach. A heavy layer of snow had already buried the arid lawn, with many more snowflakes dancing in the air.
Despite the blistering cold, winter always filled her with a warm glow and fond memories of a time when Jalen, her mother, and she would pile into Aunt Darcy’s home to share gifts, warmth, and companionship. Her mother’s death and the supposed passing of Jalen marked the end of that tradition. Now that her brother had returned, she hoped to revive the Christmas tradition, even though worshiping another god made no sense now. She pushed those thoughts of her fledgling Christianity away and enjoyed her hot tea.
Not long after, she took on the appearance of a copperhead snake, a pit viper known for its reddish-brown scales adorned with distinct dark brown hourglass-shaped patterns. Aided by the constant whip of her forked tongue against the air, she perceived if any life forms were nearby. She had hoped to use the copperhead’s enhanced pit organs to detect heat signatures, but she quickly found that it only worked up to fifty centimeters, much too short of a distance to be of use in this scenario. Regardless, her sense of smell proved sufficient in finding a lone squirrel racing up a tree and some birds perched on the roof of another trailer. There were no signs of Mr. Yale and his men.
So she slithered up the counter and through the window where her potted plants used to be until she moved them inside for the winter. Before gravity took its toll and dropped her into the snow below, she morphed into a snowy owl, spotting white plumage broken by brown flecks, and flapped her wings to gain altitude.
In danger of being late for the Superhero Assessment Test, she didn’t bother making a detour to the parking lot where she left her scooter. Instead, she soared over the docks into the ocean, on a direct route to The Genesis Empowerment Center. If birds could smile, she would grin ear to ear. Her ability to change into any animal was the best thing ever. The freedom it afforded her to experience so many perspectives of life truly dwarfed the fear of her insane strength.
As she reached the island and transitioned into a circling pattern over the buildings, her superior eyesight scanned the wave of humans below, easily spotting Kylara and Sasha among other superhumans making their way to the D wing. With a graceful dive and a smooth glide, she closed in on her friends, seamlessly transforming into her humanoid form just as she caught up with them.
“Hey,” she whispered into their ears.
“Fuck!”
They both jumped in fright as Sasha’s mouth blew up with curses.
Oh, she absolutely loved her transformation.