Eli sat with a bowl of cereal in front of him, but his eyes glazed over as his foot bounced against the tile floor. Jitters of nervousness and anxiety surged through him as he glanced at the clock again and saw it was nearly 7:10 AM. School resumed today.
He wasn't ready. Sure, all of his homework was done and he'd even done a bit of studying to refresh himself after the spontaneous two week break. He'd even gotten an acceptance on his application to NFU in New Faram, but he bet that was because a lot of people were making erratic decisions. On his anonymous social media accounts he noticed a lot of people his age were refusing to go to school or do anything 'Old World’ since everything changed.
Yet, it hadn't.
After two weeks post-System things were starting to reach a balance again. Crime was dangerous and there were numerous manhunts out for escaped prisoners who were now stronger than ever thanks to their newfound abilities. The police weren't able to get anyone close enough to help catch criminals without dying themselves, which meant that certain crimes went unsolved every night. But that might change now that states were authorizing police to be able to use their own powers more and more. However, that had people rightfully nervous.
He'd heard rumors that the federal government was planning on creating some sort of Federal Superpower Task Force that'd basically be federally regulated superheroes, but everyone was arguing about it. Currently private security firms started advertising and pushing their rights to fulfill that role. Bounty hunters had also started to pop up to assist with the capture and deterrent of top priority criminal cases. Eli had idle thoughts about trying out for it, but he wasn't sure. While he'd been training his powers and preparing for the need to defend himself, he didn't necessarily want to fight. Training to be prepared for trouble was different than throwing himself into trouble.
Unless if that fight happened to include Tom. Then he'd be ready for a stomping.
"Come on, Eli! It's time for us to go!" Lana called over by the door and he sighed as he teleported the milk out of his cereal into the sink and then did the same with the cereal in the trash. Another teleport later put his dishes away and he was at the door.
"I'm not the one holding us up."
"Oh, stop you two." Lyra rolled her eyes as they walked out of the door.
"I'm excited for P.E. now." Lana practically skipped through the air. Literally sailing about six feet with every jump before she finally realized and stopped. "What about you guys?"
"I'm going to slay art class with my Illusions." Lyra beamed as the colors of her dress swirled. Her hair darkened to a pitch black then lightened to a blonde brighter than even their mom's. He still didn’t know what her new power was!
"I'm just going to school." Eli shrugged as he thought about all of the classes he was required to take. He didn't really have much interest in any of them beyond some of the history classes, but it wasn't like his powers would actually help for that. He glanced at the shimmering graylight jewelry that Lana wore as rings or her necklace. It somehow seemed more luminescent than it had before. "What level are your powers?"
"Secret!” Lyra giggled as she winked at him. “But I’ve really stepped up my game with illusions.” A phantasmic quartet appeared in front of them singing some nonsensical tune with acapella.
"I got Superhuman Conditioning up to level six finally. It's been really hard to level since I can't really safely push its limits. So far, I've been managing by controlling exactly how much of the power I use. I've found that I can start controlling what part of me physically becomes 'superhuman'," Lana shrugged as she flounced along. "But the real prize is Graylight Construction! I've gotten it up to level eight, but I think I'm really close to level nine."
Eli frowned at their rapid pace of leveling and he shook his head as he said, "Teleportation is still maxed out. I can use it far easier now that I've gotten more used to it and can even go a lot farther without getting sick." It took only a dozen teleports for him to reach his secret training ground at night now. "But telekinesis hasn't leveled since I hit level four for a long time now. I thought it was because I wasn't pushing the weight limit, but that doesn't seem to be the case." Whenever he tried to lift something too heavy it'd just break his telekinetic field. "But I've gotten Photon Shot up to level six."
"Huh... Do you think it's taking you longer because you have more powers?" Lyra asked as the school became visible down the hill. "I only have… well, I have fewer than you.”
Eli thought about it as they walked closer to the school where a stream of people milled around outside as they waited to be let in. Two cop cars were parked a block away that elicited a frown from him. He wondered if what Lyra said was accurate, he felt like it could have been. Maybe something about his other powers were getting in the way of telekinesis, and the only reason Photon Shot was at such a high level now was that he'd been practicing with it almost constantly. Now he could charge, condense, and fire light from any point of his body… including his telekinesis. It drastically weakened its power, but he could do it.
"I'll text you guys if I want to walk back together. I might hang out with my friends." Lana said as she flounced off towards a small huddle of freshmen girls.
"I'll meet you after school. Bye!" Lyra said as she ran off to her own group of friends. Eli watched her leave before turning to look over at the police cruisers down the street. He thought about that federal program again and wondered if it'd be worth looking into once it got finalized. When the home invasion had happened, he'd been traumatized, but there had been something thrilling about fighting for the right to live. Well, according to his parents, he still was traumatized.
They’d set up an appointment for him with a local therapist recommended by the police for youth in similar situations. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about it.
"Eli, man, how have you been?" asked a familiar breathless voice. Eli cringed inwardly as he turned around to face his forced acquaintance at school, Jimmy Southerland. Jimmy was tall and lanky with blonde hair and a wispy mustache that he swore would grow in. "Is your phone service still down? I tried texting you, but you never responded."
"Sorry, Jim, I've been busy." Eli said as he struggled to keep his tone from turning flat. "What power did you get?"
"Oh! I got something called Design! It's pretty cool, I can turn any drawings or images that I've created into real objects. It only works with my own stuff, though. I've leveled it pretty high too."
"Wait, anything you draw?"
"Yeah! Pretty much. It erases whatever I drew though. So I've mainly been using digital art on my phone so I can create multiple copies of the same file. It's pretty sweet. What's your power?"
"Teleportation, but I can only go somewhere I can see. I've been playing around with it a lot, but your power is cooler." Or flashier, at least. Eli was pretty jealous of how his sisters could create whatever they wanted, but he liked how much utility his power set had.
"Dude that's—”
"Attention! All students will be required to head to the auditorium for a mandatory school assembly." One of the office receptionists said over the blaring intercom. Cafeteria workers unlocked and opened the front doors, and Eli surreptitiously teleported a few feet forward at an angle so it'd look like he was already there as he headed in. Jimmy was alright to talk to, but not when Eli was trying to avoid running into Tom or any of his friends. Plus, he never stopped talking and he didn't want to get in trouble for being next to Mr. Chatterbox again.
The cafeteria filled up quickly as kids began gathering by their tables while others sat down on benches lining the walls. The smell of cheap pancakes, breakfast pizzas, and french toast sticks wafted in the air. School was just the same as always. Eli headed over to the bathroom so he could hide and avoid any attention. As soon as he entered one of the stalls, he pulled out his phone and levitated it over his palm with telekinesis.
What Lyra said stuck in his mind. Maybe he should try unequipping his different powers when training. It'd probably be a good idea to limit what he had equipped anyways when in public. He didn't want to get startled and instinctively fire off a Photon Shot after all. Eli called up his status and unequipped both Teleportation and Photon Shot.
[Equipped Power List:
Slot One -- Telekinesis Lv. 4
Slot Two – N/A
Slot Three – N/A
]
[Unequipped Powers:
Teleportation Lv. 5 (Maxed)
Photon Shot Lv. 6
]
Eli shuddered as a tidal wave of sensation roiled across his body. It felt odd to suddenly lose the intimate connection to his spatial field and the space around his body. Light no longer felt like something he could control, something he could feel. He narrowed his eyes as he let his phone drop into his hand with a plop as he focused on the spot a few inches away from the stall door as he tried to teleport.
He declined it then tried to use Photon Shot and winced at the screen that popped up.
At least he knew for sure that he could easily equip Teleportation whenever he wanted, but he wondered what the arbitrary two hour cooldown was for. Was it because Photon Shot was at a higher level? Maybe he’d have to unequip Telekinesis at some point and compare, but he didn’t want to be restricted to only Teleportation. Especially in tight quarters.
What if something happened and he had to escape through his spatial field or line of sight? In the school that’d be next to impossible. He needed Telekinesis to balance things out.
He thought about it as he poked and prodded at his mental telekinetic field and found that it was far more responsive than it had been before. Now, it felt like he could extend it up to about fifteen feet and he could feel every grimy inch of the tile floors, the chill of the toilet water, the laminated wood of the bathroom stalls.
Eli unlocked the door with his telekinesis the moment the bell rang and he headed towards the main auditorium used for assemblies. It was strange navigating through the thrones of humanity with the growth of detail he experienced with his telekinetic field. Everything felt clearer. Every person sitting there looked less like silhouettes with blurry features, and more like actual people. He tucked himself into the first chair he could find and shoved his backpack under his chair.
While he waited for the rest of the room's chairs to fill up with people, he experimented with creating opposing forces within his field and watched as the air seemed to twist and ripple right next to his chest. It was interesting how stable his telekinetic field felt now, compared to how it was with his other powers equipped.
"Hello students!" Mrs. Morrie, the school principal, greeted the crowd warmly while standing behind her podium near center stage. "I hope you've all recovered well from your spontaneous vacation." She smiled brightly down at them. "The world has undergone a spectacular change and it's become clear that your generation, your peers, will be instrumental in shaping how the nation and the world will move forward. We need heroes who can lead us past these tumultuous times; we need leaders whose actions inspire those following in their footsteps. That is why I am proud today to announce our speaker today, please join me in welcoming Federal Agent Jackson Daniels! Welcome Mr. Daniels," she added cheerfully once the applause died down.
A tall man dressed in a plain black suit walked onto the stage and took position beside Principal Morrie. His face was plain, utterly ordinary. Except for the crimson shining twin stars that smoldered where his eyes should have been. Eli frowned slightly as Mrs. Daniels burning gaze swept across the hall of the students where it lingered on a few different people. Including him.
The agent coughed dryly, "Thank you Mrs. Morrie for inviting me to Farbrook High. Today I wanted to remind all of you that these strange, systematic powers are as dangerous as they are miraculous. People across the United States, as well as the rest of the world, have been restored from crippling states of distress. A second chance has been given to many. However, many have decided to use these powers to harm their fellow men and women. Do you know how many have already died in America alone?"
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Silence.
"Nearly a million American citizens have died in the past two weeks from improper use of powers. We have decided to treat these powers as an intrinsic part of every citizen. Everyone had the potential for destruction before, but now, nearly everyone is equipped with weapons of mass destruction that rivaled that of pre-System military weapons. As such, stringent gun and weapon laws will be added to the curriculum. You have a responsibility to not use your powers to cause the destruction of property or cause undue harm to yourself or others. Each of your powers will be evaluated to help you—and us— understand the weight of your responsibility. Your powers can be what helps you become a productive member of society... or to be removed from it."
He paused as he studied all of them one more time. "My team and I will test each class one at a time until the entire school has been evaluated. Until you've been tested, you must lawfully refrain from all public uses of your powers. We will interrupt your classes as little as possible. Thank you, and good day."
"Join me in a round of applause for our speaker, Mr. Daniels," Mrs. Morrie said then clapped as he walked off the stage. "Please treat each and every member of his team with as much respect as you possibly can. With that, we'll start the assessment with the senior class and then move down the grades from there." She pulled out a clipboard and read off five names, "I'll need Lucy Allen, Jessie Anderson, Benjamin Andrews, Victoria Alston, and Emma Adams to stay behind for their test. First period will start in five minutes. Thank you."
Eli weaved through the crowd as he booked it for his first period of English class. There were still quite a lot of kids milling around outside the hallways as he headed inside and took his seat. It was going to take a while for them to start reaching the 'N' names. He struggled to pay attention throughout his classes, but it was difficult with the nagging sensation of his powers in the background. Ever since he'd gotten them he'd indulged and practiced at every chance and now he had to step back into his old life?
To pretend he never even had them? It grated at him every time he had to bend down to search for something in his bag, to waste his time scraping notes into paper with a pen when he could just sit back and write with his power. To wait behind slow people in the hallways when he could have just passed them all in a single blip.
Insufferable.
Lunch started then passed without anything of note except for a slight spat. Some freshmen got in a fight about something or another. Eli heard that the one had cut the other in line. Their powers were boring, unpolished. One could apparently create ice, but didn't have any control over it afterward. The line cutter was some variant of speedster, but it sounded like there were severe drawbacks. When they slowed down, they actually slowed down. Their every movement as laborious as if they moved through amber or molasses.
Supposedly they both got a severe suspension with mandatory summer classes.
Hearing that definitely knocked any of Eli’s suppressed plans for paying Tom back for every foul thing he’d ever done down the to-do list a few spots. It was already in the ‘maybe, but probably shouldn’t’ category, now it was in the ‘definitely shouldn’t… but still might’ camp.
It was sixth period when Eli finally heard his name crackle over the intercom in Economics. He stood up gratefully and swung his backpack over his shoulders and walked out of class. Kady Norton smiled at him as she walked out of her own classroom across the hall.
"Hey! It's Elliot, right?" Kady asked as she caught up to him with a chemistry textbook cradled in her arms.
"Elias, but I go by Eli," he nodded as they headed towards the auditorium. "Kady from Spanish class, right?"
"Yeah! Senorita Johnson is the *worst*, isn't she?" Kady giggled as they rounded the corner to go down the stairs. "That quiz today was killer. I haven't thought about a single word in Spanish the whole time."
"Neither have I. It's been insane." They reached the bottom of the steps when Kady sighed and turned to him.
"Hey, I just wanted to say that I appreciate that you haven't asked me about my powers or anything like that. It's all anyone's wanted to talk about all day."
"Well… um..." He felt himself blushing slightly under her warm smile. "You're welcome? It's a lot. I like my powers, but I don't want that to be the only thing that matters about me. You know?" A wriggle of discomfort burrowed in his chest at the thought. It was true, but… he didn’t want to neglect them either. If the past repeated himself, he’d live or die by his powers.
She nodded and started walking again, "How about we don't talk about powers then? What do you like to do for fun?"
“Oh. Well, I love to travel. Play games and go outside.” He shrugged awkwardly then added with a small smirk. “I also love flying.”
“Ugh, sorry, but no thanks. I can’t stand being in an airplane. My mom has to bring around a small pharmacy with us every time and we always get searched a bit extra because of it.” She shuddered while they made their way across the school closer to the auditorium. They talked about all of the places they had been and everywhere they wanted to go.
When they stepped inside, Eli noted that the theater curtains were drawn shut so that they blocked the stage off from view. Four agents stood sentry around the room. They sat down next to each other and started working on the Spanish homework together while they waited for Felix Narris to finish with his test. The bell rang announcing seventh period while they worked.
Eventually he limped out from the stage with a shell shocked expression evident on his face.
"Elias Newton?" called the agent at the stage.
"Well, that's me." Eli said awkwardly as he stuffed his half finished homework into his bag.
"Good luck! See you in Spanish tomorrow." She smiled as she waved him off.
His smile lasted the entire way up the steps of the auditorium until he stood face to face with the towering Federal Agent Jackson Daniels. His burning eyes flared as he extended his hand.
"You have quite the interesting file, Elias Newton. I look forward to your assessment." Mr. Daniels said as he waved for his assistant to speak.
"Please verify each of the statements as I say them for the sake of accuracy." He flipped a page over from his file. "Elias Newton, son of Rick and Adelaide Newton. Born on May 17th, 20XX."
Eli nodded.
"At the local DMV, you and your mother reported that you have a teleportation power?" Eli nodded again. “And it appears that your family experienced a break in on the second day following the appearance of the System. Both intruders were killed. One by severe blunt trauma spread across the entirety of their body and the other had suffocated and had a broken trachea. Is that correct?"
"Yes." Eli winced at the reminder. His hands shook in his pockets where he hid them, but under Mr. Daniels’s stern fiery gaze, he might as well walk around with the story of it all written on his chest for how easily the man seemed to read him.
"Did you know them?"
"No." Eli shook his head, his voice wavered as he remembered the sting of broken glass in his hands. Being blasted back by a wall of graylight. Teleporting ninety pounds of assorted weights straight into the one that gave him Photon Shot. Bones broken, sprays of blood that jetted across the hall.
"Trenton Knight and his uncle Brandon Knight were the intruders, does that ring any bells? We suspect that a number of break-ins and murders around Fallbrook traced back to them."
"I've never heard of them before."
"I see. Who killed them?"
"What?"
"Who killed Trenton and Brandon Knight, Mr. Newton."
"I don't..." He sighed as his mind flailed from thought to thought. Mom and Dad said they’d handled everything but did that mean he spun some sort of story or had he told the whole truth about the entire situation? It was in self-defense but still. Two men were dead. He decided to take the credit for both. He could teleport, after all. "I did, sir."
"Interesting. That's not what the file says, but go on. How did the events of the night transpire from your recollection?"
"I woke up from a technomantically sent message from my dad on my phone. He said that he sensed flashlights turned on downstairs and thought people had broken in. He warned me not to do anything, and to be prepared to run or hide. So I got dressed and cast around for something to use as a weapon, just in case. I picked up a lamp and got ready if any of them came upstairs. I heard footsteps as one of them came upstairs and then..." He swallowed with a dry click. "Lana, my sister, screamed as one of them went into her room across from mine. I teleported across the hall into her room and hit him over the head with the lamp. He created a wall of shimmering metal like light and sent me out of the room. Then the other one from downstairs started firing these lasers of light. I panicked and teleported into the basement to grab a lot of weights and teleported them into his back. Then I teleported upstairs and—"
"Don't lie, Mr. Newton. You insult us and yourself. We know that Lana Newton killed Brandon Knight and took his power. However, it is true that you did kill Trenton Knight." Mr. Daniels interrupted in a brisk tone. "That lie is your first infraction. Please be honest with us for the rest of this."
"Do I need a lawyer?" Eli asked nervously, his mouth and throat dry as his dad's infamous steakburgers.
"No. Any superpower-related crime that happened in the past two weeks is under our jurisdiction. We decide your fate here today." Mr. Daniels said with a blazing stare into Eli's soul then he nodded at his assistant.
"What did you do after this happened?"
"Dad moved them to the garage until the police came the next day.”
"No. I don’t mean what happened after that, but what have you done since then? Since the Knight’s broke into your home?” His stare brightened with each of his flaming eyes flaring, as if they’d char him to a crisp if he didn’t get the exact answer he desired. “Well, Mr. Newton?”
"I did my homework. Helped out around the house. Did what I’ve always done. And..." He gulped. "I trained my powers every chance I could get."
"What powers do you have and what are their current levels?"
"I have teleportation maxed out at level five. I chose to get a new power, Telekinesis which is at level four. I haven't had any luck leveling it since. And my Photon Shot power, that I... that I got from the home invasion is at level six. It hasn't evolved yet."
"I see. Thank you for your cooperation so far. That part of the investigation is now concluded." Mr. Daniels nodded at the assistant who’d transcribed what he’d said.
"Just so you are aware, Mr. Newton, it has been ruled that any power obtained after the death of an individual must be handed over to the police as either evidence or so they can then make sure it gets passed onto the next of kin. However, at this time, there's no real official record of any powers before the mandatory registration. You get to keep it this time, but if you ever come in possession of illegally gained powers and can’t prove under oath and polygraph test how you obtained it… Well. It’d be very bad for you.”
Eli nodded frantically as he fought to restrain the sweltering heat that started to boil across his skin, sweat beaded under his shirt. He didn't intend to go on a murder spree after all... even if he was still planning on being ready if Tom, this ‘Dave’ and ‘Sandra’ or anyone else threatened his family.
"Good. Now, we have a series of tests that we'd like you to perform." Mr. Daniels said as the fires in his eyes sockets died down slightly. "The results of these tests are only to determine the worst-case scenario threat level you and your powers represent at this current time. Understood?"
Eli nodded then stumbled as the crushing pressure of something slammed into his brain. Vibrations scrambled his thoughts. Shapes crackled in smears behind his closed eyes. Or were they open? He couldn't tell.
Order restored itself.
He was back home in the living room with a game controller in his hands. Everything was clean and pristine. Safety saturated his entire being as he relaxed back into the cushion of the couch. Mom stood talking excitedly to dad in the entryway. Lana came in from outside through the door in the kitchen with Lyra with the family's black lab Sadie on their heels.
Lightning crashed through the building in an oscillating pillar of destruction. Eli was thrown back bodily in the massive shockwave that mulched their house in seconds. Mounds of rubble buried him in a tomb, but Eli ignored the splinters of bone that his left arm had been reduced to. Light flashed in the distance as a giddy voice echoed with laughter.
"Wh...y?" Lana asked weakly over somewhere to his left. His shoulder dislocated with a wet pop when he tried to turn and look over.
"Because I could. You and your family always spat on me, but I don't have it. Burn in hell." A scorching wave of heat blasted out from the figure. Sizzlings pops of cooked meat crackled in time with Lana's screams up until the moment she turned to ash. Footsteps crunched brittle, hollowed out stone from the heat as the shadow silhouette stood over him. Looming.
"Hello, Eli." The empty silhouette grinned, a mouth opening to reveal pristine teeth, as the figure stepped on top of the mound of rubble covering Eli. His body pulsed with molten rivers of fire and crackling electricity that made Eli’s eyes water just from looking at them. “What a nice… house you had.”
Hatred pulsed in Eli's chest as he reached for the powers he knew were waiting for him to call. He reappeared above Silhouette as he launched the mountain of rubble and solid ground he’d culled from the earth. Everything he could reach on top and under him entered his void.
Teleportation, telekinesis and Photon Shot became a medley of power as they combined and synergized around the rapidly condensing ammunition. A flex of his powers unleashed his man-made comet, his battering ram of destruction upon Silhouette.
A flash of electric fire flickered from Silhouette’s hands and a shield of simmering ash caught the rubble and sent a cascade of molten stone and glass in a rainstorm around him. Before Eli could fall from the air, he teleported again and combined his powers again to compress, teleport and ignite the air around him in a cannon blast into Silhouette’s back.
The vague shadowy figure launched across the broken street as it carved a tunnel through the ground in its wake. Before it could twitch so much as a finger, Eli teleported again and tightened his telekinetic field into a javelin of tightly restrained kinetic energy. He glared down at the sniveling form of the intruder who'd murdered his family and ruined everything.
Eli didn't dare blink as he hurled the kinetic javelin into Silhouette’s chest. He felt bones flex, crack then break and shatter as his javelin-shaped field hammered into and through its body. Then he unfurled his field in a whipping wave that pulverized—
"—a crater eight feet deep and a foot and a half wide. He held nothing back, sir. I made sure to simulate agonizing torture and he became a focused beacon of vengeance. Every action was about killing his enemy, but other than specific areas he contained the resulting destruction adequately," said the assistant with a clipped tone.
"What's your recommended rating?" asked Mr. Daniels with a glance down at Eli's prone body. He flopped bonelessly while he felt himself become more lucid, more attuned with his real body.
"Lethal-5, but I also think he'd be a more than adequate candidate for the Federal Superpower Task Force. He has a strong desire to protect and defend. The individual he dreamed about was a, quite frankly, terrifying silhouette that killed his family. He didn’t go into a blind rage, but he didn’t hesitate either. With some discipline? He’d do well, sir.”
"Noted. Thank you Mr. Swan." Mr. Daniels nodded at his assistant who stepped away. "Can you stand, Mr. Newton?"
"Yes." He snapped in a tight tone as he climbed to his feet, dumbfounded at what he'd experienced. It had felt so viscerally real. Even though Sadie the dog had died a few years ago, every other aspect could've happened. Easily. He even halfway remembered the way his powers had combined and felt that he'd be able to replicate the different things he'd done in whatever that was. It all felt like the natural progression he was on, if he wanted his powers to be nothing more than a weapon. "That was something else."
"Indeed. Well, normally, I'd stamp you with the second most dangerous threat assessment levels we have without immediately stuffing you under severe surveillance. However, Mr. Swan is an exceptional judge of character. If he says you have finesse and control, then I'm willing to give you a Potential for Lethality, or a PL rating, as long as you undergo some mandatory compliance training. I also highly suggest you sign up for the Task Force if you’d like to serve your country and the men and women embodying it. If you enlist, you'd be very well compensated."
Eli stood with his mouth agape before Mr. Daniels pointed at the exit out from the curtains and said, "With a PL rating, you're deemed potentially dangerous no matter the power, so you're allowed to use your powers in a minor public capacity. But you will be required to share your rating with any law enforcement that asks." He paused, then said, "Good day, Mr. Newton. I hope I don’t see you again outside of mandatory compliance training.”