Waking up from a healer induced sleep was odd. Emily felt like she was underwater swimming towards the surface that looked like a pool of light. All around her was pitch blackness so dark that nothing existed in it. One second she was swimming to consciousness then the next second she was awake. She opened her eyes and found herself in a hospital room.

The hospital room was small almost like a large closet. To her right was a single window with a view of the roof and in the distance, Emily could see a forest. To her left and almost close enough to touch was a while wall. She was not attached to anything, like an IV, heart monitor or whatever else they attach to you in a hospital. She was in a hospital gown and when Emily checked not wearing any underwear.

It was right about then that Emily noticed that she really had to go to the bathroom. She stood up and found the floor really cold to her bare feet. She found the bathroom by the door to her room. The bathroom was tiny with a stand-up shower and a really wide metal toilet that didn’t have a toilet seat on it. It creaked slightly when she sat down. Completing her business she made her way back into bed. The toilet flushed on its own.

“Well, still alive. Check.” Emily muttered out loud.

There was a TV at the end of her bed and some superhero reality TV show was on. The Super Hero Wind Ward was working hard flying on an obstacle course designed for fliers. After seeing real obstacle courses, even if it was only a ground course, Emily was not impressed. Wind’s husband the superhero Rodz was shown to be on his speedboat in the ocean drinking and hanging out with his friends while his wife work. The sound on the TV was very low thank goodness. “Another superhero reality TV marriage doomed to failure. Wow, what a surprise.” Emily thought to herself. Still, she ended up watching the last few minutes of it. After the reality TV show was over the next show was a preview episode of the Citizen Awards and last year's best and worst dress supers.

Right around the time when the sun was setting someone knocked on the door. “Hospitality with your dinner. Can I come in?”

“Ok sure.” Emily said feeling hungry all of a sudden.

The dinner lady came in with a large tray with filled with drinks that had straws already in them. She placed the tray on an odd little side tray that was hiding behind her bed. “Okay honey have you eaten yet since your awakening?” She asked.

“Yes.” Emily said not understanding why the dinner lady would ask such a weird question.

“Okay, then sugar. Just remember not to touch the drinks until you got a handle on your strength. Drink your shakes through your straws.” The dinner lady said putting her tray in front of her.

“Oh, I’m not. I mean I don’t have super strength. I just have self-healing and endurance.” Emily told her.

The lady frowned and reached into her blue apron and pulled out a slip of paper. “Are you sure? According to my list, you are marked down as a strength hazard. Hang on sugar let me check with the nurse out front.” She said turning around and leaving Emily’s room.

A few minutes later she returned. “Honey, the nurse up front said you are under super strength hazard watch. I can't let you have a normal meal until you are taken off the watch. Is there anything else I can get you?”

“Ah no, I am good thanks.” Emily said looking at the drinks in front of her.

After the dinner lady left Emily reached out and pinched the thick metal side of the tray. It bent a little but didn’t break. “Well, that was a bust still no super strength. Must be a mix-up.”She thought to herself. The four cups contained milkshakes with different flavors. The first one she tried was chocolate. It was thick and really good. Since no one was around she kept sucking on the straw make that annoying straw noise. The strawberry one was okay but a bit too chalky for her taste. The vanilla one tasted pretty good but had an odd aftertaste of coffee. The last one was a mix berry flavor milkshake. It tasted so awful Emily left it alone.

Emily couldn’t find the remote control for the TV so she ended up watching another reality TV show. The producers of the reality TV show dropped low-level supers into remote locations and left them alone for twenty-one days by themselves with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The woman on the show was a brute class 4C. It was obvious she was an actor trying to get famous because she had no idea how to survive on her own and wore clothes no sane person would wear in the jungle. The guy on the show was another brute class 4C. He had some experience camping but he made some stupid mistakes like eating a fish he found dead on the side of the river. It made him sick and he ended up leaving the show. That left the woman contestant alone by herself. She cried a lot to her green infrared camera. It was a new show that Emily hadn't seen before and it was interesting.

Emily ended up watching TV late into the night before falling asleep again. In the morning Emily woke up early and ended up watching the news. The hospitality lady came back with Emily's breakfast of milkshakes around six in the morning with the same flavors shakes as the previous nights. Emily waited for another thirty minutes before getting antsy and peeking her head out the door of her room.

“Can I help you.” Asked a lady in scrubs who was sitting across her room at a desk.

“Oh yea, is there any chance that I can get a shower soon?” Emily told the nurse then winced. She had opened the door because she was curious what was behind her door. She had no for any real reason except that she was curious. The excuse she told the nurse sounded stupid to her.

“Sure let me just get someone to turn on your shower so you don't accidentally break the shower handles. Also next time, just use the white call button that is on your bed so you don't break the door by accident.” The nurse said getting up from the desk.

“Oh okay sorry.” Emily said retreating into her room. “There is a call button?” Emily thought to herself looking around her bed. She found a white box that was attached to a cord that was hidden under her pillow. There were a few buttons on it and one of them said the nurse in blue. The call box felt like it was made out of some really thick metal and when she turned the call box over she found the controls to the TV.

A different nurse came in and turned on the shower. She also placed some white towels and a new hospital gown on the sink. She showed Emily where she had placed some plastic bottles of soap and shampoo on the side of the shower. Before she left she had Emily check the water and make sure the temperature was okay. The whole time she avoided Emily like she had the plague. “Wouldn't want to accidentally break the nurse.” Emily thought sarcastically.

The morning dragged on until around eight o’clock. When the Major knocked on Emily's door. “Morning Emerson. How are you feeling this morning.” The Major asked as she walked in. She looked tired and was holding a large coffee cup.

"Pretty good Ma'am. Maybe a bit bored.” Emily responded.

“Yes, sorry about not seeing you when you woke up but we had a helicopter crash last night. Luckily everyone made it out okay.” The Major said pausing to take a sip of coffee. “So I am sure you have some questions but first let me explain what we know. Five days ago you awoke in the last event of the program.”

“Five days ago? How long have I been asleep?” Emily thought to herself in shock.

“We tested you and found you to be a self-healer with no apparent other superpowers. The boys concluded that your power was progressive though. Meaning that your powers made proactive changes to your body to prevent future injuries. The boys did not understand just how proactive your power is in regards to you. The first clue was your weight in. Your weight has increased by approximately eleven pounds overnight. Your strength also increased pretty significantly in that time. We believe what was the tipping point was that you set the machine you were found working on wrong. You set the machine to increase the weight by ten pounds per lift. The boys had set it to a half a pound for you.” The Major said pausing to sip again at her coffee.

“You had what witnesses described as a seizure. It was not. You forced your power to take a proactive step to keep up with the weight you were lifting. Normal muscles while fine for a normal human it is not suited for superhuman strength. The way a muscle gets stronger is that it breaks down and the body adds another layer in between the muscle layers to make it stronger. Your powers were doing that at a phenomenal rate to keep up with the weight you were lifting. Apparently your powers had enough and decided to completely change your muscles in your body to be more efficient. But it couldn't do that without changing you bones, tendons, ligaments and pretty much your entire musculoskeletal system to keep up with the demand.”

Emily stared at the Major in shock “So I'm a mutant?”

The Major sighed and stepped closer to Emily's bed. “There is no such thing as a mutant outside of Hollywood and comic books. Your musculoskeletal system is mostly the same but among other things, it's now very dense and has increase….” The Major said trailing off. “Look, a Brute class super does not use his or her muscles to life objects. Brutes are basically touched telekinetics. They use their minds to lift objects. It's why if a class one Brute lifts a train by one end the train does not break in half under its own weight. Your not a touch telekinetic. You actually use your muscles to lift objects. You can't use your existing musculoskeletal system to lift really heavy objects without tearing your body apart. The boys think that with some training you can now achieve at least class two brute status without injury.”

“Oh.” Emily said surprised. “So you guys think I can lift twenty tons?”

“With some training yes. Not the same way as a Brute at the same level can of course. We have extended your time here for three months to see exactly how far we can push your powers. The boys are very excited.” The Major said smiling. “Now the downside to having super strength without being a touch telekinetic. As far as we can see you won't have to increase your calories in your diet. It looks like your power has altered your body in some way we haven't figured out yet so that you're gaining enough energy from somewhere to keep you healthy. You do not want to know our estimate on how many calories you would have to eat to keep you healthy. That's the good news. The bad news is that the increasing density of your musculoskeletal system means that you have increased your weight significantly. Your current weight as of yesterday is two hundred and eighty-six. We expect you to be in the mid to high three hundred by the time you reach an equivalent of a class two Brute. Possibly more depending if your body decides to change again.”

Shocked Emily put both her hands on her stomach. “I don't look fat.” She thought to herself. “I am not fat I am just really really big boned. Wanna see my x-ray? Wow, tough crowd, I can't even make myself laugh.”

“Also you gained about an inch in height since your power started to alter you. This could be just your body adjusting to the new skeletal system or as the boys think you may be growing taller to add more room for muscles on your body. Time will tell.” The Major said shrugging.

Emily looked down at her toes. She didn't feel any taller but then she didn't feel that she was more than twice her normal body weight either.

“The good news is that it appears that your body senses are getting better. That could be both good and bad. For an example, great eyesight means better aim but better hearing means that you will have to wear hearing protection every time someone fires a gun around you. The Boys have set up an appointment this afternoon to have you rechecked. We will see about having you released before then. Now if you would excuse me it's time for me to go. Let's hope this is the last time we meet at least under these circumstances.” The Major said with a smile.