"What the fuck do you mean invasion?"

"Did you talk to the disembodied voice at all between the trials?"

"Like it gave me directions and I listened. You think I just guessed how to visualize Anima forming constructs in my soul space? I didn't know what most of that shit even meant until the voice told me "

My mind raced back over all my exchanges with the voice. It was willing to answer some questions, but did it ever really volunteer information, and if so, how much? Did any of the shit I knew come before the Akashic link?

T started to say something but I held up my hand in a stop gesture as I tried to focus. The more I thought about it, the more worried I started to feel. After rehashing everything I'd heard versus everything I'd assumed I came to a conclusion I didn't care for much.

"Maybe invasion isn't the right word. It said we were gradually being prepared for contact with other realms. Shit, do you remember anything from Coach's world history class?"

"I remember Tiffany Jensen never buttoned the top button of her shirt and her tits were noice."

I grinned and gave him a fist bump in solidarity. Maybe not the best rack in our class, but definitely honorable mention and willing to show them off.

"Valid point but not where I was going. I'm talking the first contact bullshit he was always going on about. Cargo cults in Asia, conquistadors decimating the central Americans, the US fucking over the Hawaiians. Pretty much every time a modern culture bumped into some dirt worshipping heathens, shit got rough. "

"Yeah, historically you white people were assholes. I'm well aware. "

"Fuck off, your dad's a dentist dude. You're all about first world problems. The point is these trials were for 'those on the cusp of adulthood' but if that's worldwide nothing will be the same again. Forget other realms, just super powered teenagers are dangerous as hell. You think prison would hold you now? Whose gonna go to med school if you can get magic healing powers? What about if north Korea has a bunch of teenagers who've been brainwashed but now they can punch a fighter jet out of the air? Everything is gonna change man. Our culture is bumping up against the culture that has been through the trials. I'm talking end of days shit. "

T was quiet for a minute and I could see he hadn't viewed it through the same paranoid lens I had. Eventually he shook his shoulders like he was trying to physically displace the negative vibes I'd brought in, before he flashed me that same old cocky grin.

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"Financial literacy, dude. We've got first movers advantage. "

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the rest of the world probably doesn't even know the trials are a thing yet. We can invest in Bezos while he's still hustling books in his garage. We are the trials, so we figure out which way the wind is blowing and get there first. "

"I dig the optimism but how?"

He got up and started clearing the weight off the bar, shrugging as he worked. "I dunno. You're the idea guy, I'm the muscle. You still wanna work out this morning?"

"Sure, helps me think. "

I dropped into my normal workout routine on autopilot, while T seemed to focus on his cardio. A guy with super strength could still gas out I guess. You'd think a stronger heart muscle would help with that. But I dismissed that distraction to focus on working the problem. Soon enough it was time to hit the showers and get ready for 1st period.

I shot a quick glance across the locker room to make sure we were dressed enough to have a conversation. Nobody wants a conversation with cocks out, but it looked like we were out of the danger zone there.

"OK, T. I've got a plan. "

"We're gonna buy neon yoga pants and go fight crime, then....profit."

I diverted the dirty socks that had been headed into my gym bag into a missile that he batted out of the air before they touched his face. He slipped me the bird and apologized in an incredibly insincere tone.

"I'm sorry. I interrupted you, please enlighten me with your ever so well thought out plan. "

"Allright I fucking will." I stopped then and watched him with narrow eyes in case he was planning to throw something back. He just sat there with a butter wouldn't melt in his mouth expression so I went on. "The problem is we don't have enough information yet. So two parts to the plan. You remember the research paper we did for senior English?"

"Hell yeah. 17 pages on cryptozoology proving Bigfoot exists and Mrs. Beatty tried to give me a D."

"God you're a tool. You know how to set up the Google research assistant though right? We each rig up filters and start looking for stuff on the trials. If this hit everybody our age you know some people are posting shit about their powers all over the internet. No telling how long till people start taking it seriously and it all gets taken down so set the RA to download everything."

"Sure, and part two?"

"Part 2 we need a nerd. Who's the biggest nerd you know?"

"Is this a trick question?" At my black look he shrugged uncomfortably. "It's you dude. "

"Fuck you. Not somebody with good grades cause they're trying for a scholarship, I'm talking about the real deal. Special powers, other realms, there's amine and websites full of shittily edited web fiction with that stuff. We don't just need a nerd. Nah, the animal we're hunting here is the nerdicus rex."

"What?"

"I'm talking king of the nerds. I want the Otaku mother fucker who spanks his monkey to Zelda and princess Peach but never Sonia cause that bitch unbalanced the game play. The guy who follows a hundred stories on royal road and thinks Cradle should replace Grapes of Wrath as classic American literature. "

I was getting worked up with my rant and T stopped me with his hands up in the time out position.

"Uber nerd, I understand the assignment, but what for?"

"Cause that guy definitely did the trials, probably got further than me, and will definitely be thinking how this shit will all play out in the real world. We find him in school today before lunch, make our plan then alright?"

"Plan in place, dude. We got this. What could possibly go wrong. "