I wiped away the sweat from my forehead as I proudly stared at my work. This last month or so had been one of the happiest summers I'd ever had. It was the first month of playing with myself, or I should say with my newfound powers. Sure I messed around at the facilities but I wasn't given any free reign or space to explore what I could do, and after a month of experimenting I was beginning to understand my power better.

After making the finalizing touches on my project I took a step closer to analyze it. It took hours of work but It was at long last done! I created a chair! Now many may be thinking this was a waste of time but creating objects through my power and making them satisfactory and/or usable was a task much harder than it sounded.

Staving off the urges to see how much power, and size, I could make something I wanted to test out my fine, artistic touch, due to hearing control is pretty important in a hero. And anything that I made to fast or too big caused a splintering headache that made training a bitch. So I naturally chose a chair for my first project. After multiple failed attempts at even creating a passable framework for one I scrapped the project for the time being and started small. With a simple sphere, which took me only a day but that day included four hours of creating and dissolving my work (amorphous lumps at first) which naturally led to a blistering headache.

From the sphere, I went on to the cube, the pyramid, and eventually, after around a week, an idea struck me. I could create gym equipment, or at least the free weights, a revelation that blew my socks off.

I slumped into the chair and relaxed my arms on the armrests. The back of the of the chair was perfectly balanced and curved to my specific back letting my spine align at just the right angle, a perfect balance with my butt indentation on the seat which was custom made after an hour of experimenting with my butt. I glanced at the clear-crystal like gym ensemble in the corner of the garage (or my training guru as I liked to call it.)

To the outside eye, it looked like every dumbell, barbell, and plate was made of glass. Which I was pretty sure it wasn't, I mean come to think of it I don't really know what the element was anymore, it was carbon to start off now it was a hard, clear, crystal solid. I added it to the mental list that consisted of all things I'd do/ask at the Academy. Since my sphere making skills were already pretty good the dumbells weren't that hard to make, and the weights were even adjustable (I could add or decrease how much of the crystal-carbon on the sides to add or decrease weight) so it saved space. I even figured out to add little grains on the handle to make it rough so the weight wouldn't just slip out of my hands.

I should open my own gym.

After a week of training my dad came up with the brilliant idea to research more about Creationists, but I had to go to the library because of me leaving my phone underneath literal tons of rock.

Stupid terrorists.

After checking out no more than three, four-inch volumes about powers I read them from cover to cover in only two days. I could read it so quickly due to me actually being interested in the material, unlike the books they made us read at school.

I learned loads about people like me, the first was that Creationists could be split up into three groups (well four if you counted metalloids which I didn't). The ones who could control gases, and the ones who could metals, and the ones who could control man-made elements. Although the Creationists who could control man-made elements had to come in contact with them at some point, which was why elements like plutonium were so rare. To be crazy enough to take the time to touch an ultra-radioactive element such as that one was... well suicidal.

I obviously fell into the metals group which led me to research deeper about my power. Turns out there actually wasn't much known about us (scientifically), but there was still a bunch of interesting things to learn. But the biggest rule about powers was that every single one was different. For example, two people who could run at super-sonic speeds had look-alike powers but one could simply be slowing down time and running normally while the other could move their body parts at well... supersonic speeds.

But even due to these differences they may have different training regimes and uses. The one who could move their limbs quicker would have an acceleration period before reaching optimal speeds while the time-slower would be able to go instantly top "speed". But flip-flop it, while the time-slower would be able to hit their top speed instantly the one who could move their limbs quicker could have a higher potential due to not having time-constraints on how slow there could slow down time (until stopping it which no-one has ever reached, or at least no-known person.)

There was also tidbit in one of the chapters that alluded to Creationists being able to control different elements but couldn't due to the belief that they could only control one, leading to a sub-conscious psychological block on them forever. That's when I stopped reading and started solo, I wanted to experiment with my own ideas. It would make me think about my power more creatively and could make breakthroughs without any sort of bias on it (or at least as little bias as possible.) So I dropped the books and went back to the garage, which was nice, cause reading is for nerds, and continued my own self-experimentation.

I snuggled more into my rock-hard chair that was surprisingly much more comfortable than even some of the puffier chairs I sat in before and enjoyed delicious ache of the soreness in my muscles. Spying my first completed sphere that was no larger than a baseball on a shelf I had an idea. Without moving I narrowed my eyes at the sphere and concentrated, a slide of crystal began to grow out of the edge of the shelf (just in front of the sphere). I created little inch thick pillars to support it as the slide grew inch by inch toward my chair until approximately twelve feet of slide remained. The slide was a semi-circle that resembled a slide at a water park (with sides so the people/sphere wouldn't fly off.) I created another small pillar behind the sphere and guided it to the edge.

Slowly the sphere rolled down until it plopped gently into my hand, I'm a genius! Or maybe just a lazy bum, but still I just created a slide smooth enough that it could support itself and a crystal ball (another future item production maybe?) The bridge/slide was familiar though, I through the sphere up and down as I thought until it hit me. It looked like the aqueducts the Romans had to transport water, great minds do truly think alike. Or maybe I just copied the structure from a memory on accident.

The reason I made this slide though was because of four reasons. One, I didn't want to get up. Two, I wanted to play with the sphere. Three, it was actually good practice. The fourth reason was the most important, and the most key. I couldn't create anything in thin air, no matter how hard I concentrated, visualized, and pushed nothing came out (not that way.) It turned out I could only make the crystal-carbon build off another solid, an interesting limitation that I needed to work around.

I guess I wouldn't be dropping boulders of clear carbon-carbon. Who know's maybe I could make a catapult and throw those boulders, what a sight that would be. Wait, I looked closer at the sphere. It wasn't clear but it was a shade of baby blue with insides that had a milky fog that I didn't notice before, a fog that made it so I couldn't see through it.

Weird.

A knock from the door of the garage disrupted my deep interest in my ball.

My dad walked in with a glass of water, "Hey, still playing with your balls I see."

I smiled slightly on the play on words.

"You haven't drunk anything for two hours, drink some," He prodded as he handed me the glass.

Coincidentally enough it was one of the glasses I made.

"Thanks,"

I accepted the glass and drank deeply from it. After I dropped a glass carelessly and shattered one another one of my brilliant ideas of making one with my power. The cylindrical glasses were easy enough to create but champagne glasses were a class above what I could make. Another product to add to the list, since glasses were meant to be well... glass and... clear, my crystal-carbon gave it an intriguing and expensive look. I also hadn't been able to create small designs on them yet but it was on my bucket list. And since hero's were paid on a government salary (since they worked for the government of course) most weren't making that much. Other than the more popular ones who got merch deals and paid by companies.

This was a good thing too because I don't know anyone who would buy a crystal chair, other than me of course.

Style points.

After draining the cup I handed it back to him and trailed my fingers on my chair's armrest.

"So are ya excited for tomorrow?" My dad questioned as he moved closer to inspect my bridge/slide.

"Tommorrow?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I racked my brain for what could possibly be tomorrow.

"It's your first day at your academy!" He exclaimed with a laugh.

"I can't believe you forgot!"

Neither could I, had the day really come so close? I stood up excitedly at the thought of tomorrow, now I could barely wait for th4e next day to come quicker.

"Hmph, I was wondering why you were wearing yourself out before the first day," He commented as he poked on the slides pillars (which didn't even budge).

"Shoot," I grumbled as I dissolved the bridge to my dad's surprise and returned the sphere to its rightful spot on the shelf where my other knick-knacks and shapes lied.

"Do you know what I'm gonna do there tomorrow?" I inquisitioned.

My dad rubbed his scraggly beard for a moment before answering, "Well the letter we got said to bring your stuff to move in. Oh and something about a good attitude cause you're gonna be evaluated or something."

That really got me going, I loved getting testing and seeing how I stacked up against my peers. But hopefully, I wouldn't be too worn out tomorrow if I got a good nights rest and a big dinner.

My dad walked over to my chair and picked up the glass and examined it before asking "So how strong is this "carbon" anyways?"

This threw me for a loop, I mean I never saw it break before... Maybe I should add that to the list and test how much it can withstand at the Academy, they probably had things or Supers to break other things. I mean what professional Academy wouldn't have such a staple benefit?

"I dunno."

"Well, it's steak night tonight so take a shower. You stink." He commanded with a chuckle before walking out.

I sniffed my armpits tentatively, and phew, did I stink.

I stunk more than a gopher in August.

And that's saying something.