Atlas knew that fear was the natural response to such power. He could feel the power calling for the submission of all who witnessed. It demanded obedience and respect from those weaker its source, and yet…

Atlas smiled. His power, silent since he’d pushed it away, roared to the forefront, bolstering the defiance that the oppressive force had aroused. He grabbed the door handle and twisted, walking into the room with his head held high.

That confidence lasted all of two seconds when he entered the room. From outside the room, the aura forced those to acknowledge they were entering the territory of someone far above them. From inside, it told them they stood on the holy ground of a goddess and should worship as such lest they be branded a heretic.

Fortunately, Atlas wore the brand of heretic with pride. He gathered his will as his powers continued to act contrary to how they’d first appeared, boosting him, and walked to one of the chairs in front of the origin of the tyrannic aura, a confident smirk on his face. He could feel the woman behind the desk observing him, but he slowly looked around the room and took in all the decorations. After over a minute, he finally focused on the headmistress.

Smirk still in place despite the ever-increasing impression pressure of the woman’s aura, Atlas said, “Quite the room you have here. Got a real Professor X meets Lara Croft vibe going on. Could use a little more natural light, though.”

The headmistress stared at him for a moment in disbelief before she raised an eyebrow. “You know, most people who come to see me show me a little respect.”

Atlas’s smirk twisted into an impetuous snarl at her words. “Respect is earned, lady, and all you’ve done so far is crush me with whatever weird-ass vibes you’re letting off. Not exactly respectful behavior.” Atlas took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down when he finished talking. Even if the stress from the constant shift in circumstances had caught up to him, losing his head wouldn’t help here.

The woman across from him stared at him for long enough to make him more uncomfortable than he already felt before her cold expression morphed into a small smile. The pressure in the room abated as she said, “Just so, Mr. Driscol. Please accept my apologies.”

Caught off-guard by her sudden tone shift, Atlas hesitated before saying, “Uh… Of course, no harm done. Would be great if you could tell me what I’m doing here, though.” Atlas could hear the desperation in his voice at finally getting some answers.

Other than a slight chuckle, the headmistress ignored how pathetic Atlas knew he sounded. “Of course. Where should I start?” She tapped her finger against her chin in thought.

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“A name would be great,” Atlas interjected, tired of calling the woman “the headmistress” in his head.

“Ah, yes. My name is Andrea Arellano, and I lead recruitment and training for the Esper Foundation. I also help with the adjustment of newly awakened espers whose powers are of a… less predictable nature.”

“You mean powers that are just as likely to cause them to off themselves as they are actually to do something useful,” Atlas said bluntly.

“Perhaps not how I would have put it, but yes. I work to find those who might cause more harm than good if left unchecked. That’s especially true if they get found by the less savory players of esper society.”

“You mean the Oracles of the End,” Atlas guessed. At his words, the air in the room went dead silent. He could feel the tension rolling off Arellano at the mention of the esper supremacy terrorist group.

“I’ll thank you not to mention those monsters, Mr. Driscol,” she forced out, her tone clipped and cold. Her oppressive aura, which she skillfully controlled even before he entered the room, became erratic and overpowering. Atlas felt like a guest who risked offending a foreign ruler. Now he ran the risk of being sentenced to execution.

As sweat began to run down his back at the feeling, Atlas’s logical mind screamed at him to let it go and back off the topic, but he had never been one to listen to logic when it came to opening his mouth. “You have experience with them, don’t you?”

“I do, and that’s all you need to know for now. Anything more will only complicate the rest of this conversation.” A tacit warning hid beneath her terse tone, but Atlas was grateful enough that she at least pulled her aura back under control.

Atlas watched her warily for a moment as his heart slowly came back under control. He let out a shaky breath as he rubbed his chest and said, “You know, I’ve heard that there’s this whole career based on helping with anger issues. You should check one out.”

She glared at him and flared her aura for less than a second before she stopped and chuckled. “You’re quite impudent, aren’t you? It’s a refreshing difference from the amount of people who instantly capitulate the moment they get a whiff of my powers.”

“I blame it on being a dumbass at heart, really helps with the whole not giving a fuck thing. Besides, life is so much more interesting when you actually tell people the truth. Enough about me being an idiot, though. You were saying something about the rest of our little chat. I’m guessing that includes whatever choice Director Helsing kept referencing to oh so mysteriously,” Atlas said, his tone growing especially dry at the end as his annoyance at the woman’s vagueness bled through.

Arellano shook her head and sighed in exasperation. “That girl,” she muttered before addressing his statement. “Yes, the choice she talked about is one of my duties and a pretty important one at that.”

“And that choice would be…?” Atlas encouraged, annoyed with how Director Helsing and Headmistress Arellano delayed telling him the supposedly massive choice.

The latter chuckled at his impatience but her mirth quickly died as her expression shifted and her tone took on a heavy gravitas. “The choice of whether or not to keep your powers and become one of the illustrious superheroes that you’ve no doubt seen on the news.”

When she didn’t continue, Atlas prodded her forward by saying, “Or?”

“Or having your powers permanently stripped away and facing a possible assault charge for what you did to that boy from your school?”