The door closed behind me as I strutted inside, it was around the size of the classrooms at school, it had wooden tables accompanied by four other guys (and a girl) around them, sitting in wooden chairs. There was also a podium in front of the tables and another door behind that. From what I could see less than half wore expensive clothing, the kind you would have to be upper class to wear. That made sense as if you had enough money or influence you could get your child into the program.

It was silent, just the scribbling of pencils could be heard.

Ahem someone coughed behind me. I turned around to face a large black man with an expensive suit and a gold Rolex watch. “You may sit down and begin reading and filling out the forms” his baritone voice seemed to echo in the small room.

The realization that I was just standing there for like two minutes struck me as I listened to him. I turned and looked back to the tables, nearly everyone was staring at me. Clenching my jaw, I walked to the only open chair at a normal pace, hoping to look nonchalant as this was my first day. I didn’t want to look any more of a dumbass than I actually am.

I glanced around my table, there were two guys both wearing clothes with what I could tell was from a designer brand. To my left, there was a pretty blond girl with a sweater and jeans on. The kind of girl who would make other girls jealous just by walking down the hall. I looked back down to the forms in front of me, it seemed to be pretty thick, and not in the good way either. Sighing audibly I got to work.

I started out reading through it and signing as I went along but quickly that evolved into skimming. Shortly after signing the twenty odd forms I set the pen down (which they provided). Looking around I noticed that everyone had finished going through the forms and I was the last one done, making me feel like that guy who spent the entire time on a test.

The room was still quiet, I began to wonder if we weren’t supposed to talk or everyone’s just anti-social, when the same door I came through, creaked opened. Two men strutted through, one was in his thirties with slicked-back hair, flashing a pearl white smile as his eyes swept across the room over us. The other was in what I could tell in his late fifties, much more fit than others I see his age and- and hardened look over his eyes, seemingly as he’s seen too much for one man to bear. Something was familiar about the older gentlemen but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Both men walked past the tables to the front of the room and the younger man in the suit stepped in front of the podium. We all were paying attention now, the man paused once more his eyes looking at us.

He smiled “I’d like to officially welcome you to the Greensdale Project” pausing as he waited, perhaps for some sort of applause but the room stayed silent. He went on “I’m Mr. Calahan, I’ll be explaining the process which you’ll be going through, among other things. An interesting fact about me is that I was one of the first to... experience that is the project” He grimaced slightly as if remembering his past.

“I received the gift of pyromancy, it may not be powerful enough to graduate from the academy but it helps when starting a campfire!” He chuckled slightly to himself, I smiled despite myself there was positive atmosphere about him that was infectious.

“Any who, the schedule is as follows Monday through Friday you will arrive at the breakfast hall with the rest of the patients, from there you will go to the prep room where you're- he paused as if searching for the right word- treatment will begin. Afterword’s you’ll go through a report of what you feel. Once that is over you have the rest of the day to yourself.”

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“Any questions so far?” He asked inquisitively looking at us.

Nobody spoke up, it was like a funeral gone wrong.

“Good, now the process of the project was a rocky one. At first, we had to deal with the problem of expectation. Patients who had undergone the tests who had the expectation of receiving abilities and the knowledge of not being maimed or permanently capacities when undergoing distress caused an involuntary effect. Subconsciously you know you’ll be fine so any real fear would be dulled and nothing would happen except pain and some… psychological problems.”

He continued “So with government funding and some of the greatest biochemists of our time they went out to solve this problem. They spent months going through labs and experiments when they created the Timor Dei. Or the fear of God, it’s a drug that they inject into the base of your neck where it floods the amygdala with high doses of different chemicals and heightens the nerves sensitivity. It was made to cause the body to react violently with any sort of threat. It overloads the brain, causing extreme sensitivity to pain, high pulses of adrenalin and quite literally the fear of God in you.”

I listened carefully, this was interesting knowledge that was good to have stored away somewhere if ever needed. This type of drug seemed powerful, powerful enough to be used to bring out the potential of others. But possibly if used in a different way, as a weapon it could be fatal.

“The early stages of the Timor Dei had some symptoms such as psychotic breaks, comatose, brain death, hemorrhaging, catatonic state, and death.” At that, I looked around at some of the shocked, horrified faces that stared at Mr.Calahan.

“Nowadays those symptoms have been mostly fixed, so you probably don’t have anything to worry about.” He smiled reassuringly as if that helped anything.

It didn’t.

An idea sprung into thought as I slowly raised my hand to signal Mr.Calahan.

“Yes?” He questioned.

“How do you know if someone gains powers, and what if the power they do get is so powerful it’ll go supernova and take down the building?” I inquisitional as I slowly lowered my hand, aware of the entire room’s eyes on me.

“Good question, for your first question we have some Sensors here at the facilities.” Seeing the others and my confused looks he clarified. “Sensors are a not a well-known super as they are usually used in stakeouts and infiltration as they can sense if people are either a super or a normal person. They can sense your- for lack of a better word- aurous and the better ones can pinpoint whether it’s an energy-based, physical based, mind based ability and other.”

“For your second question, it’ll bring me to introduce my friend here Edwin.” He gestured to the old man behind him who I forgot even existed until now. Again the guys in front of me and others wore confused faces.

“Edwin (who not stepped up next to Mr.Calahan) is an older super who you may know as Equinox” People gasped as recognition struck me as I remembered. Equinox was a legend among supers and normal alike. One of the strongest supers in the past, with a power that was unprecedented at the time.

Looking at the old man in a new light I listened to Mr.Calahan as he went on. “The cells wear you’ll be going to is made with powerful compact alloy which will withstand the attacks of even some of the supers today. Though in the case of one of you going “supernova” that’s when Edwin comes in. In case of an emergency, he is alerted and a force field will encase the subject and protect the lives of the people in this building as well as protect the subject him or herself.”

That was a relief as at least I won’t be murdered by another by the time summer is over.

“Great question” He checked his watch as he took a breath to start again “That’ll be the time right now, tomorrow be at the breakfast hall at eight where you need to be dressed in the clothes we provided, you’ll be given the papers with info that you’ll need for this summer and please be sure to-“

His voice was being drowned by the buzz of the other guys around me, the girl was now talking with the guy in front of me. Oh well, I’ll talk to her later. I gathered the finished forms and headed to the woman in now near the podium giving out papers.

This was going to be interesting.