Quite an interesting story. One that seemed to ring some bells in the ole noggin but not one that was instantly recognizable. Maybe I didn’t know it due to it being old news. Did they even have the internet or even electricity back then? The reason it was familiar was that it was probably talked about in my History class. That gosh darn useless History.

I noticed that Julian was looking uncomfortable again, I knew this due to an odd feeling in my chest that something was amiss. I just couldn’t put my tongue on it. I glanced back at Equinox who was rambling on about something. I should probably start paying attention or I’ll miss something semi-important.

“Most of you will probably be pretty skeptical of my power. And if I were in your position I would be too, since it’s been two weeks I propose a challenge.” He said with a glorious flourish of his arm across the room.

It didn’t feel like two weeks, it seemed like just yesterday I arrived in the room writing paperwork and making a fool out of myself. Although Ashley did tell me I was unconscious for most of that time. What a waste, I could’ve been using that time for more important things, like working out. Or the ladies.

“Everyone who has any sort of tangible ability please step forward. The rest of you just observe and learn what you may become.”

I proudly stepped forward with my chest slightly puffed out along with Ashley on my left. I counted the rest of the people who stepped forward, about ten girls to eight boys including me. That surprised me, that was like more than half. It seemed that everyone stepped forward when one final person stepped forward.

I raised an eyebrow at Julian who just shrugged. If Ashley was bothered by this she didn’t show and when I glanced at Jayden his face as stoic as a smooth stone roughed down to a pebble by the crashing waves that is life. But I guess he always looked like that.

“Ah good turnout this year, happy to see such happy, breathing faces” Equnoix chuckled slightly at his joke along with absolutely no one in the room.

He coughed slightly, stifling his laughter “Here is the challenge, whoever can break through my energy field through any means will get the bragging rights and an extra slice of pie for dessert tonight”

I do enjoy myself a good slice of pie, as well as bragging rights which last me a lifetime. My fire that is my competing spirit is kindled by the spark that is the challenge.

“I will be shielding the rest of you guys just in case of any backlash, does everyone understand the perimeters?”

“Oh yeah,” I said all the while stretching out the word yeah and my shoulders. The other guys and gals murmured in agreement.

Equinox held up his wrinkled hand outwards palm facing upwards and summoned a wall of green energy about an inch thick from the floor to the ceiling. Ooos and ahhs reverberated around the room. I was much less astounded as I’d already seen it. During my hellish time with that electric dude, I was protected along with him during my little temper tantrum.

“Now which brave soul would like to start us off?” He questioned while eyeing each and every one of us.

Being the man I am I was about to step forward and show what I can do but I was, unfortunately, beat to the punch. The imposing guy that was Arnold sauntered up toward the wall of energy looking confident. Not even batting an eye towards the girls unabashedly gazing moon-eyed at him. Lucky him.

Unlike the action movies, I had seen before Arnold did not crack his knuckles but instead he just shook out his entire body and positioned himself into an attacking stance. I recognized it as a boxing stance and I could appreciate his form. He readied himself and threw a punch that could level a very small shop in maybe Panama.

Nothing happened. Arnold frowned as he began to throw punches, kicks, elbows and even tried to headbutt the wall. Maybe if I used my imagination I could see the barest ripple throughout the field of force. After a few minutes of many grunts, Arnold finally off in defeat.

Everyone looked a little less confident unlike me who I was as proud as ever.

“We will now go counterclockwise from Arnold so this young lady will go next and so on,” Equinox said.

The girl walked up and I must say she is kinda hot, she had nice hazel curly hair, pale skin, and a couple flashy rings on her right hand.

“Here we go!” She said with an unsurprisingly high pitched voice.

She raised her hands in the air like she just doesn’t care and twirled her fingers. Little sparks exploded out of her fingers like fireworks but instead of firing like a rocket toward the wall they fell to the ground slowly at her toes. They crackled and popped and did absolutely nothing special.

“Can you umm, like move your energy shield?” She asked Equinox who was looking slightly amused.

“Sure thing,” He said while without even twitching his finger the shield moved forward and stopped right at her waist like a table. Again she twirled her fingers in the air and again the sparkles dropped like a feather onto the force field doing nothing. She walked off to her friends who congratulated her loudly.

To my left, a guy whispered to Julian “Ill twinkle and spark her and her friends if you catch my drift”

Julian glanced at me with a horrified look on his face as I just chuckled slightly into my elbow. Again and again, people walked up and each person walked off to no avail. Next, after twinkletoes was a girl who could shapeshift into a small tabby house cat. After uselessly scratching the wall of energy she changed back into human form. After her, an Asian guy walked up with shoulders set back and chest puffed up.

He reared back his punch as far back as he could go all the while looking a bit silly and through his punch at the base of the wall of green energy. While the fist traveled it grew to the size of a watermelon than a large wheel untill it hit. The barest of a sliver of a ripple was released from the force of the punch. The fist hit the ground with a mighty crack as it seemed to be too heavy for the guy to lift.

Jaydev leaned over to me from my right and whispered to me “He can manipulate the size and presumably his mass of his body parts if you’re wondering.”

I nodded in appreciation as I watched with renewing interest. That could put him on par with Arnold depending on how big he can make himself. He rubbed his slightly grown beard for a moment before apparently getting a bright idea. He walked over to the other side of the room and motioned the other kids to move to the side. His whole body tensed as he started running toward the wall.

Like a human bowling ball, his body began to enlargen, each and every extremity blew up like a balloon, but only his head stayed the same size making him look clownish at worst. This all happened in midair as he had football tackled the wall creating a small ripple into the wall. Thankfully he was caught with another forcefield and was set lightly on the ground.

“Dang” I muttered no one in particular as I gauged my chances by comparing what I could do to what the others were doing and my confidence was slightly diminishing. Several people went at it with almost none effect, one had an icy touch that accomplished making the girls next to him shiver. Another turned his skin into solid wood.

Wood, not stone, metal, or even bricks. He could be more useful as a chair for all he did when he punched the shield his fist actually splintered. He was unfortunately led to the infirmary. He seemed like a nice guy though, I’d have to ask him what type of tree wood he can turn into. My favorite wood is mahogany but his color was more of a light tan.

Eventually, a short girl walked up with a bright smile and a flutter in her step.

“Good luck Ana” Ashley yelled out in encouragement.

Ana smiled back as she furrowed her brows in concentration. I made a mental note to ask Ashley to introduce me to her little friend. She raised her hands and two rainbows arced from her palms, and two my utter surprise they phased through the shield and landed onto the pot of gold that was the slightly bulging belly of Equinox.

“Ha I there is always one!”He said as the rainbows flickered off.

“My shield can filter out poisons in the air but not light itself. If it could then I would be shrouded in eternal darkness if I kept it as a full body shield. The light was not harmful in itself but this leads me to the point that I want to teach you today. be creative with your power. You were gifted with something that few get to experience, take many if not every moment experimenting and thinking of new ways to use it. A rainbow at first glance might not seem as much but it was the only thing that passed through the seemingly impenetrable wall of my energy” he signaled for the next person to go which coincidentally was Ashley.

Just like the others, her tentacles were useless. Even with each crack of the whip, her tentacles bounced harmlessly off. Ashley asked him to change the wall into a cylinder which he complied.She even tried wrapping them around the now and squeezing with what I assumed was all her might. She walked next to me in defeat untill I realized it was my turn.

Time to win this challenge. I sauntered up to the center all the while aware of the eyeballs glued to me. Maybe it was because of some of the rumors floating around about my time during Phase II, or maybe it was because of my rugged looks. Whatever it was pressure is what I excelled in. Equinox eyed me while I walked up to the wall until it was only an inch away. Instead of aimlessly pounding away at it I observed what the others did and came up with a plan.

Everything has a weakness, even a wall of energy that shouldn’t theoretically exist. Whenever I help my dad in the garage nailing things to the wall the nail always penetrated the wood. Maybe the same thing applied here. I pressed my palm against the wall of green energy, it felt weird. Like an invisible smooth stainless steel wall.

I clenched both of my fists together, ignoring the sweat accumulating on my palms I visualized a very thin layer of carbon coat the forcefield. If I could touch it that should mean it’s physical enough for matter to accumulate on it. Right? My bet paid off as the carbon grew from the center and outwards to surround it. Next, I had to create the nail. I imagined a “nail” build upon itself from the center and toward me as I took a step back as it grew.

Next, I needed the hammer, I always felt like my body was a weapon, a tool. Well, now I am. Carbon began to coat around my skin and up my forearm untill stopping at my elbow. But it was loose.

I frowned as I tried to fuse it onto me, to make it a part of me. The carbon slowly began to ingrain itself into my skin and muscle as I watched it. Like the veins in a leaf, the dark material took root into me. I grunted slightly in pain and concentration as I flexed and tested it out. Moving it up and about.

“Pretty cool huh?” I said to Julian who like the rest of the kids around me sported a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and another unreadable expression.

He gave me an encouraging thumbs up in response. If this works maybe it’ll even impress the girls around me, especially Ashley who I knew was watching me intently. I took a deep breath before rearing back with my now a fifty-pound arm and swung it with all my might at the nail all the while envisioning growing more carbon at the other side of the makeshift carbon nail.