Alex was the first one to talk. Him being oblivious led him to obviously reveal too much.

“Hey! Did you guys get out of a lab just now too?”

The subsequent sound of a slap, was enough to rupture the eardrum of a pre-awakened human. Cameron, though being the more mild mannered one of the group, was the one who had just left a hand shaped welt in Alex’s back.

“Ow! What the heck was that for? I’m just trying to be friendly. Obviously they are here for the same reason we are so I was just trying to make conversation. Geez!”

He started feeling at his back, caressing the tender spot in the middle of his back. The wound already raising slightly.

I can’t believe it! I just got a super powered five star! Alex thought.

The rest of the group just stood there shaking their heads. Sophia stuck out her tongue, making her look a lot more immature than Alex had initially thought. He stuck his tongue out right back her.

Serves her right. She can’t possibly think she can be more immature than me.

The man in the middle of the other group spoke up, a grin solidly planted on his face.

“I’m David and this is my party. To answer your question, yes we have just left our own lab and have been searching the city for another entrance. We have yet to find one but we are glad that we have been able to find you. It is indeed a welcome experience running into someone who does not wish to harm us.”

Alex’s group sized up David’s. Just from looking they could tell that two of them were Mights. They were massive. Well they probably couldn’t go just off of looks as Ethan was nearly larger than Cameron, even though Cameron was the Might and Ethan was not. It was safe to say they were physical fighters though. The person to David’s left looked like he was a bouncer at a club. The strong silent type. David himself just seemed like he had a more aggressive personality. The others seemed to reserved. That, and their builds were much too scrawny for it to be likely. Cameron had said that he was bigger before awakening but that he had bulked up as his stats increased. Based off of those deductions, both teams likely had two physical fighters and a few supports as well.

“Have any of you finished the quest given by the Forge yet?” Lila asked, figuring the cat was already out of the bag.

“We have not,” David responded. “I believe this set up was intentional. If we were able to finish the quest in one go, what would we do with the other month? Unless one was to clear the lab alone. If you were able to finish the quest this early, then the Forge would probably rewarded you handsomely.”

He said that last bit with a touch of desire and a hint of greed. His face reminiscent of Alex when he sees a Mexican restaurant, mouth slightly open with ample amounts of saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth. This instantly put Alex’s team back on alarm. Alex joined their uneasy state after he stopped thinking about chimichangas.

This guy is just greasy. I wonder if he was one of those con artists that scammed old ladies. He seems like he would do that. Smiling and distracting them with his muscles, while clearing out their retirement funds. While that might work on naive and unsuspecting widows, I doubt anybody here is believing it.

They talked a little more, each group sharing a little about what they knew of both the city and the labs. They all had similar knowledge of the city and they confirmed that both labs had been identical. They even had the same amount of quest items in each group. Each member in Alex’s group had more since they had one less member than the other group. After the two groups had spoken for a while longer, they began to part ways, their unsettled feeling subsiding the more the two parties conversed.

As they began to part ways, with each going in opposing directions, they crossed each other’s paths. Sophia had decided to take her bird form as they left.

That is so dope. I don’t know if I’m ever going to get tired of watching that. If I could go back, that would honestly be a pretty cool class.

While Alex was busy looking up at Sophia’s transition, he was inattentive of the ground below. An uneven slab of road was sticking up. The edge of his foot caught it and he fell forward hard, right into David. At least he should have fallen right into David. Instead, he kept moving through David and into the ground. Alex looked up at David thinking he had just let him fall to the ground.

“What the heck man! You could’ve caught me instead of just letting me hit the ground. There are girls here. Nobody is attracted to a klutz. You’re hurting my chances.”

When he got up finally, he looked around ready to hear the laughter of everyone making fun of him. Instead, everyone had alarmed looks on their faces. It made him think of the time he had accidentally bumped into the stand holding his grandma’s ashes, nearly knocking it over. He understood the reaction that time but this hardly seemed like an appropriate one for this.

“It wasn’t that bad guys. I just tripped. Everybody does.”

And when their faces changed from shock to rage he immediately started to back up, hands raised in alarm.

“Woah guys you really need to calm down. It was an accident. Look I’ll apologize and we can all go on our way.”

He turned to atone for his apparently egregious sin when he finally realized that something was wrong. The party that had just been there had vanished. Six people gone like they got snapped out of existence.

What the heck? Did I do that? Is that why they’re so mad? But that doesn’t make any sense. How could I have done that? And wouldn’t there be some evidence of their disappearance? Some blood, or dust settling or something?

He turned to ask some to shed some light on the matter, but no one was looking his direction. They were all looking around with their various weapons and armors activated, standing defensively.

So as to not look like a total idiot Alex did the same, not entirely sure what he was looking for but looking nonetheless.

Maybe they’re trying to see where they vanished to? Realization started to form on Alex’s face. They weren’t mad at me, he didn’t even try to catch me. That’s why they’re mad. They are such a good team having my back like that.

“Guys it’s really ok that he didn’t catch me. I appreciate you defending me and standing up for me like this but I don’t feel like this is worth a fight. We can just let bygones be bygones. Forgive and forget. Turn the other cheek and all that stuff. I’m super durable anyway so that didn’t even hurt that much.”

The look of confusion and pain that Lila shot him made Alex wonder if she had gotten hit by an invisible rock in the gut.

“We aren’t mad that he didn’t catch you! We are mad that he couldn’t catch you,” Lila said with exasperation.

“Ok he wasn’t fast enough. Still not a big deal.”

“No like he wasn’t even here. The second you tripped into him you phased right through him. That’s why you hit the ground. As soon as you went through him, the whole group vanished. That’s why we’re angry. This whole interaction was a trap.”

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Harold couldn’t believe it. This entire plan had almost worked. Their Psion had linked their minds somehow. He was able to instantly know what each team member wanted their illusion to do and he was able to imitate it. It was his best illusion yet and he had actually gained a level during that conversation. Everything was going well. The idea had been to gain information, see if they had any items, get them to lower their guards, and then follow them after they split up. As soon as an opportunity arose, they would strike.

It was all going well. Harold was extremely tired with beads of sweat covering every inch of his body. He was nearly out of energy and had decided that they needed to end this conversation quickly. The conversation ended naturally despite his rush and the other group was still unaware. They said their goodbyes and began walking away. The idiot in their group got distracted and tripped, falling right into his illusion.

Harold had come a long way with his abilities. Being able to make six separate people each acting differently in a convincing way was proof of this. He was not, however, able to make his illusions tangible. That was out of his grasp for now. He felt like eventually he would be able to make it work. He just wasn’t strong enough yet. Once the clumsy fool had fallen through the illusion, it had been much harder to maintain. Once someone was aware that something was off, it cost him a lot more energy to maintain it. That was why he had opted to drop the apparitions immediately. He was close to exhaustion and there was no point in wasting what little energy he had left.

Evidently, this was not the correct decision. David stormed over from his vantage point overlooking the entire exchange, fuming. He grabbed Harold by the face and lifted him. Harold was left flailing his arms and legs like the rotors on a drone, trying to find purchase somewhere. David made his way back to his outlook and with an overhand throw, launched Harold out the window, only realizing after his mistake. He had given away their position.

“Oh well, I guess we do this the old fashioned way,” David told the group.

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With Alex finally understanding the situation, they all continued their search. It was likely that they were close, at least the one who had been creating the illusion. They might be surrounded. They had been talking for nearly fifteen minutes. That would be plenty of time for the treacherous group to find advantageous locations to attack them from.

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They continued to look for a while with no luck when a deafening crash sliced through the otherwise silent surroundings.

Is that a body?

Alex had played some driving games before where, in a collision, the driver was rag-dolled out of the car. It had always been comical to him in the game and even though it marked the failure of the level or loss of the race, it had made it a slightly more enjoyable experience than just telling him he had lost. This was not like that. Yes, the body had a sinister resemblance to the driver’s in the game. But this, this was bloodcurdling. They could hear the scream from here. He was at least thirty stories up. Each of them had varying expressions, ranging from disgust to horror to utter astonishment.

Before the body hit the ground, they saw another body follow quickly after. Then another. Then a blob of water began to descend down from the building.

David and the other large man landed like meteors creating massive craters in the ground. The blob of water was not far behind making those craters into a lake. Out emerged three more people. The other members of David’s party it appeared.

From that display the group could definitively concur that both David and his bouncer friend were Mights or possibly a Shift like Alex. There was also a water Elemental in their group. They didn’t know what class the other two had selected. There was a Mirage in their group but they were unsure if it had been the one launched from window or if it were one of the two standing at the edge of the lake.

“This did not go the way we intended it. Our friend did his job inadequately. So he has been fired,” David called out.

“Fired from a window. I don’t think that HR would approve,” Alex asserted.

That at least, confirmed that the guy flying out the window had in fact been the Mirage. Now there were only two unknowns. Alex had a feeling their powers would not be unknown for much longer.

“Be that as it may. We have no intention of wasting our time searching for another lab. You have everything we need to finish the quest. We will receive great rewards for finishing so quickly, and for that I thank you. We will remember what you have done for us.”

This guy is a psychopath! If he hadn’t become awakened he would probably have started a cult. Actually, he is probably more likely to start a cult now.

Sophia, who had been circling around this entire time, decided she had enough of David. She never liked him and was never at ease for the entire conversation with him. She had a pretty good judge of character as her days working in the law firm had exposed her to all kinds of people. David was the kind of person who came in with a smile while telling them he had been caught assaulting an old lady. Every word he said making her feel like someone was reaching inside her, wringing her intestines. Needless to say, she did not like that feeling. So, to make that feeling go away, she dive bombed the man.

She tore through the air with the precision and determination of a missile. Air streamed behind her just before she struck, David reached up to grab her.

Luckily, Lila had seen the entire thing begin to unfold. Just as David was about to grasp ahold of Sophia, a large ice chunk hit him square in the jaw. This stunned him enough for him to miss Sophia. Sophia did not miss however. Claws extended, she raked across his face making deep, bleeding incisions in his flesh. She even got a couple of pecks in for good measure before she was swatted away by the bouncer.

If there were anyway to talk themselves out of this situation before, it had flown right out the window. Alex groaned internally at his poor word choice.

The rest of them prepared for the battle. While David recovered from his shock, Alex’s group advanced. Without even communicating, Alex and Cameron made their way towards the two Mights. The rest of the group deciding to target the other supports.

Just as Alex and Cameron arrived, David seemed to get his bearings again. He was visibly surprised he had been hit and even more evident was his rage.

Like he can even be mad. He was going to ambush, rob, and most likely kill us. I definitely think us taking a preemptive strike is justified.

David clearly didn’t agree with Alex. He and the other Might charged on the offensive to avenge the injustice they endured, roaring the entire way.

There were globs of water flying around behind David. A bright, orange flash followed by an intense heatwave implied the presence of a fire Elemental.

David made a giant leap into the air as he neared the end of his approach. The other Might just charged dead ahead. Alex remembered the videos he watched of the bull runs where people ran down the streets while bulls chased them. A super reckless and dangerous tradition but also kind of cool at the same time. One of Alex’s friends from high school said that he had done it with his dad over summer vacation. He had a bull right behind him and dodged at the last second. The bull had run headfirst into a wall which had stunned it long enough for Alex’s friend to get to safety. Alex didn’t believe his friend. It just sounded like the kind of thing a seventeen year old would say to get some clout, but it did give Alex an idea.

“Get behind me and get ready,” was all Alex had time to tell Cameron before he got himself in position.

Fortunately, it looked like Cameron had understood the plan when Alex lined up right in front of him.

David was descending like death from above, the sun shining right behind his head giving him an unholy halo. The other Might was either oblivious to their plan or simply didn’t care enough to slow down.

Maybe he thinks that he can barrel through us with no resistance. This guys must think he’s super strong. Wait how strong is he?

Alex realized he had the perfect tool for this. He just received an identification skill. He quickly identified the bull of a man.

Human-Awakened

Level 4

That wasn’t a lot of information but it was enough to know that he was outmatched.

What’s with the awakened part attached to his race? Is that part of our race now? Are we not considered humans anymore? At least not fully it appears.

The momentum of the hurtling behemoth was unstoppable. He finally reached Alex, who casually dodged the brute. Behind him, Cameron swung his hammer in an upward strike. The clobbering strike connected with a crunch of teeth. He was sent soaring in the direction of the lake he helped create. As he was landing the water was removed from the lake, used by the water Elemental in an attack of their own. With no water to cushion the fall, the boorish man crashed into the crater hard, making the crater larger in the process.

David finally arrived with a downward double handed strike aimed straight for Cameron’s head. He barely had enough time before the blow came crashing down, burying Cameron's legs deep in the road. David followed up with a kick to Cameron’s chest, propelling him nearly through an entire building.

David turned his sights toward Alex who was still getting up from his dive earlier. In a full sprint, David arrived next to Alex in a second. Alex had barely regained his feet when David’s fist launched him into a building as well.

Cameron began running forward, recovered. He had ended up right next to David with his hammer at the ready, a downward swing aimed at David’s head. At the last moment, David turned and caught the hammer following up with an uppercut. Cameron was lifted from his feet but not launched like before. Instead, David opted to put in some extra work before flinging his prey away. He hit Cameron with a series of strikes to the midsection followed by a right hook that knocked Cameron to the ground. Another kick sent him flying into the same building he had been acquainted with earlier. A smug grin on David’s face.

Alex identified him to see why he was so strong compared to them.

Human-Awakened

Level 9

Well that makes sense. How did he get so strong compared to us? He has been through the same lab as us. He has faced the same challenges. Did he just force everyone else to let him level? The other Might was surprisingly low level. This environment was essentially made for their class. Strength rules supreme where nearly all of the fights are physical in nature.

It didn’t really matter why he was stronger right now. Alex just needed to beat him. He was absolutely wreaking havoc on him and Alex right now. They hadn’t even hit him yet. He looked around. He had some P.E. to burn but didn’t want to go back empty handed. He needed a little bit of range. His last remaining pipe would not likely be much use right now. He kept looking, not finding anything that he could use. He also realized that he needed to get back to fight, so he couldn’t be too picky. He lowered his standards a little and found something. A beam lying on the ground. A beam that he had crashed through just moments earlier. It had hurt. If it hurt Alex, then it would likely hurt David as well. He picked it up, using a little energy to slightly crush the bottom of it to make a handle. He trotted back to the fight with his makeshift club.

Cameron had just been launched into the building again so he was going to be down for a little. Alex would have David’s undivided attention.

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Lila, Sophia, and Ethan faced off against the remaining three members of David’s team. Sophia had decided to don her wolf form for this battle, her armor morphing to her new shape. Lila had her shield activated already and her bracelet ready to go. Ethan’s servo suit was activated and the spinning mechanisms at the joints began to thrum to life.

The water Elemental wasted no time and began hurling projectiles at them, trying to keep them off balance. This was a similar tactic that Lila had adopted with Alex. It kept your opponent busy either trying to dodge your attacks or getting hit by them, thus limiting their own movements. As this was a stratagem that she had employed she knew its weaknesses. She simply conjured an ice wall to limit the projectiles coming their direction.

The man continued his assault to no avail. Only tiny divots were made along the surface of the wall, which Lila filled using the very water used to make them. The three of them were about to strategize when a sudden flare and heatwave came their way. The flame impacted the ice wall, visibly evaporating it at an alarming rate. They dove away just as the ice wall lost its integrity and fell apart, the fire continuing forward a little before dissipating.

Without time to make a plan, the trio moved forward. Sophia leapt up some fallen debris, vaulted off of a building and right into the final enemy. He had yet to make a move and she wanted to see what he had to offer. She was hurtling forward with her full speed. Just as she reached him, he stuck out his hand and touched her snout. For a split second she stopped in midair. With his other hand he punched into her side. When time resumed, he was out of harms way and she had a sharp pain in her side. It was an odd feeling. Sophia had been aware the entire time she was stopped. She had seen the attack but didn’t feel anything until time resumed. His punch hadn’t been anything terribly strong but for some reason, when combined with the time freeze, it had been extremely painful.

Lila had seen the entire exchange. Now she knew what each of them had to offer and she began trying to formulate a plan. It was hard as she barely knew what her other two teammates had to offer. She wished that Alex were here. They had gotten so accustomed to each other’s fighting style that it was nearly automatic. She could know what he was thinking about doing just as he had the thought to do it. She could just read him. Sophia’s class seemed pretty straightforward but Lila couldn’t read her at all. Sophia was too much of a wild card. Ethan was a lot more predictable, but his powers were too confusing for her. She didn’t even really know what he did. He was a Mirage, but it wasn’t like the other Mirage that was lying still next to the lip of the crater created by David and his tank of a friend. Ethan didn’t make illusions. He was strong physically but that wasn’t entirely due to his class. Lila postulated that was more due to his strength before the awakening and his own stat allocation. Without much to go off, Lila decided to just attack when she saw an opening while trying not to get in each other’s way.

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Ethan was also trying to formulate a plan with the same amount of luck.

If we could get the other two freed then maybe we could make short work of this. Too bad we all have our hands full at the moment, Ethan thought.

He began thinking of ways that he could remove one of the Mights from the equation for at least a little while.

A shadow crossed his vision as a large man started flying in their direction, right for the man made lake. Just as he was about to land, the water was removed allowing him to make full contact with the unyielding ground.

That should keep him down for a little. I really need to get a better grasp on this reality shaping I’ve got. Sometimes it comes as an errant thought and other times I will for it to happen with no result, Ethan thought pensively just as the water that had been extracted from the lake collided with him. Focus Ethan.