Atlas blinked. He stared at Andrea with visible confusion. He couldn’t have that right, could he? “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” He was on his feet before he noticed.
“Language, Mr. Driscol,” she scolded before she continued speaking. “And I can assure you that your situation is anything but a joke.”
“‘My situation,’” Atlas snarked, putting up air quotes, ignoring the first part of her statement. “That bastard attacked me first, the fucking prick, and if not for my powers, who knows what would have happened!” Unnoticed in his rage, the pressure the headmistress controlled rolled over Atlas as it tried to suppress him, only to be forced back as a red glow surrounded Atlas and fought it back.
While Arellano certainly felt impressed by the potency of the boy’s aura, she did not stop and increased it to the point that Atlas’s rage could not fight back. As if a boulder had been placed on his chest, his breath grew shallow and reedy, and he dropped back into the chair with a wheeze. The headmistress watched him for a moment before speaking. “There is something that you obviously don’t understand, Atlas,” she said in a gentle tone that surprised Atlas but did nothing to calm the defiance in his eyes. “When you became an esper, you lost some of the basic rights that every human is afforded, including self-defense against normal humans. The moment your aura touched him, the fight went from a conflict between two people to an esper attacking a human with excessive force.”
“That’s bullshit,” Atlas spat out through gritted teeth.
“I agree, but that is the world we live in, at least until espers become more populous. Your particular brand of power certainly doesn’t help.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It’s inconsequential unless you choose to join us,” she said with a small smirk.
Atlas knew she intended to wind him up, but he couldn’t stop himself. “It’s not a fucking choice! Either I live the rest of my life as a soldier enslaved to you people, or I get a part of me torn out as I’m locked away for something that wasn’t… that wasn’t even my fault.” Just hearing himself say it washed away his anger, and hopelessness overwhelmed him as he slumped back in his chair, and his voice broke at the end.
Andrea released him after waiting a moment to see if he would start fighting again, and Atlas’s breathing began to even out. She watched him for a moment more before she said, “It might not be as bad as you think. Espers who participate in the Earth’s defense earn prestige, money, and quite a bit of fame, and they never have to worry about material needs again.” She took Atlas’s continued silence as a sign to continue. “Aside from the more mundane rewards, you will become stronger than anyone you’ve ever known. Should you push yourself and prove to have some level of talent as an esper, you could even reach a level of power similar to Director Helsing. How does that sound?” Finished with her spiel, Arellano sat back and let Atlas process her offer, his head down.
He remained silent for well over a minute as a clock on one of her bookshelves ticked away the seconds. She pressed her palms against the arms of her chair to stand up and check to make sure he was all right when he lifted his head and met her eyes. Her breath sucked in as she saw the resolve in his eyes. She knew his choice before he even spoke.
“Fuck off.”
His voice was soft but firm, carrying the conviction of a hardened warrior. Andrea, sure she knew what he meant, asked anyway. “I’m sorry?”
Atlas gave a dark little chuckle. “Fuck off with your offer.” He stood up, and even though Andrea tried to force him back down with her power, he acted as if he didn’t notice it. “I’ve been here at least ten minutes, and all you’ve done is push me down, threaten me, and tell me that the reward for selling my soul is money and power. Well, fuck your offer, lady!” The boy's aura began to swell once again, but now it felt strong and clear. No longer tainted by the Atlas’s anger, rather his anger boosted the aura and fought off any of Andrea’s influence. “My life is my own, and I refuse to give that up to you or anyone else, nor am I going to become some attack dog that you point at your enemies to kill.” Andrea watched as his aura seemed to grow stronger and covered more area until it pressed against her shelves and caused them to shake. She began making out what appeared to be thin threads made of energy in that aura as Atlas continued to speak. “I refuse, and if that means that I have to live with you ripping something out of me and go to jail then so be it.” With his final words, Atlas’s aura pulled back into his body as he let out a heaving breath, though even with his aura gone he stood despite Andrea releasing a portion of her own aura. She couldn’t help but be impressed as an idea wormed its way into her mind.
~~~
Atlas watched the woman in front of him warily as his chest heaved up and down from the effort of what he’d just done. The silence that filled the room was heavy, and he quickly realized what he had just done. He had told a powerful woman who could obviously crush him like a bug to “fuck right off” before taunting her and goading her to rip something out of him. Granted, he meant every word of it, but what the hell had he been thinking?!
A snicker broke Atlas out of his internal panic. He looked at the only possible source of the noise, convinced he’d heard wrong. After another second, Arellano snickered again, only this time it continued, and before long, the snickering grew into a true laugh and from there into a mad cackle. It scared the shit out of Atlas.
I’m absolutely fucked, aren’t I? He thought, unwilling to interrupt the cackling witch.
After another minute of the terrifying cackle, and Atlas continued each second in fear, Arellano finally calmed down enough to take a deep breath. She took a moment to sit up straight and wipe away a tear. She took one more deep breath to steady herself and looked at Atlas.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Here it comes, Atlas silently bemoaned. He desperately tried to keep a straight face.
“I’ve changed my mind. You’re far too interesting to just let go, Mr. Driscol. I think I’ll keep you.”
“Huh?” Atlas’s mind short-circuited. He tried to replay what she said in his mind, and it still didn’t work. “I’m sorry, what?”
Arellano chuckled at his confusion. “Allow me to explain myself. Each professor or Director is allowed to pick a student who matches their philosophies and powers to take under their wing and train them for the future. As of now, I have been unable to find someone who fits those criteria. Until now that is.”
Atlas’s confusion turned to irritation. “You’re not listening to me. I already said I’m not going to be your fucking attack dog.”
“Mr. Driscol, we will definitely have to do something about that mouth of yours. You're not listening to me. I don’t want an attack dog. I want you.” She leaned forward, and as she looked at him, Atlas felt vulnerable in a completely different way than he had the rest of the day. It felt like she could see straight through to his soul.
“What? Why?” He questioned as he pulled his chair back in and sat down again.
“Even aside from the fact that you very obviously have potential as a soul-based esper, you didn’t take my offer. That is something that most would have done even without the threat of power loss and imprisonment.”
There was too much in her statement that Atlas couldn’t follow so he focused on the one part he could. “Are you saying it was all a test? That I wasn’t going to go to jail and get my powers taken?”
Arellano shook her head. “Not at all. The threat was quite serious. This meeting was a test, however. I needed to see if the power you hold had gone to the wrong person. It did not.”
“What does that mean? I don’t care what you say about me. I’m not a soldier or one of you superhero-for-hires, and I certainly don’t plan on signing a deal with the devil to become one.”
“If you accept my proposition, Mr. Driscol, I will not be turning you into one of the superheroes that land on the ten o’clock news. No, I will help you become a leader on the real front lines protecting the Earth.”
“Protect it from what?”
“There are certain agreements in place that prevent me from revealing any more until you’ve awakened fully as an esper, but I can tell you that those crime fighters are more of a public front than anything else.”
“Why me? I’m no hero. I’m barely a good surface!” Atlas only grew more confused at this complete change in the conversation.
“Let’s say I have a hunch, and I like to believe in my hunches. However, I can understand your hesitancy in committing yourself to something you do not understand. In that case, what would you say to agree to one year? Give me that long to show you what I see in you. If at the end of that time, you are convinced this life isn’t right for you, you can be transferred to the course track for students returning to civilian life. How does that sound?” Atlas’s indecision must have shown on his face because she continued. “Atlas.” He jumped at the sound of his first name, and as he looked deep into her eyes, he saw her vulnerability. “Please give me the chance to show you what you can do.”
He stared at her for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. He could feel his powers guiding him toward a choice, and he agreed with them. “Okay,” he said. “One year.”
Arellano smiled at him before she said, “Thank you, Atlas.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, feeling self-conscious at her overt sincerity. “What do I have to do?”
“Well, Mr. Driscol, it’s quite simple,” she started, the moment of vulnerability passed. “All you need to do is grab this and think, ‘Yes.’” As she spoke, she pulled something out from her desk and set it between them. She didn’t say anything more, leaving the decision to him.
Atlas looked at the object in confusion. It looked like a gemstone but not one that Atlas had ever seen before. It seemed to change colors shifting from ruby-red, to emerald-green, to sapphire-blue before continuing through the rest of the rainbow and beyond. Atlas reached out to grab it, but he stopped right before he touched it. He glanced at Arellano one last time, and receiving a small nod from her, he committed.
“Fuck it,” he muttered and grabbed the gemstone.
He instantly regretted it as it felt as if an electric current ran wild through his body, burning away everything within. He almost dropped the gem, but he could just barely make out Arellano saying something.
“Push through, Atlas. You can do this, embrace who you are.”
Taking her words to heart, he gritted his teeth and brought his left hand to join his right on the gemstone before lifting it off the desk. That only increased the pain, and he only barely managed to hold on as he screamed out in pain. Following some gut instinct, he grunted and brought it close to his chest, and with one final cry of effort, he shoved it into his chest right over his.
That pushed him over the edge, and he dropped off his chair, writhing in pain. He thought he heard Arellano shout something, but he could no longer hear her over the sound of his own screams. He thought he might die. No, he wanted to die, if only to escape the pain. The only consolation he had came in the hallucinations that flashed across his eyes as words.
Wait. Atlas forced himself to reread the words.
PARTIAL AWAKENING DETECTED
PROCEED WITH COMPLETION
YES
NO
Unable to think about why video game-esque text had just appeared, Atlas used the last of his consciousness to focus on the ‘YES’ option and select it. For a moment, nothing happened, and Atlas feared that he had just voluntarily killed himself by listening to a deranged Esper woman.
The next second everything disappeared into a void of black, and Atlas found himself floating completely naked. He was just about to try calling out when new text appeared in his vision.
CONNECTION ESTABLISHED
COMMENCING INTEGRATION