Peacekeepers responded to a disturbance at the bank on Seventh Avenue this afternoon, but upon arrival found nothing of note. Hostages were reported, but every individual in the bank was questioned to no avail. Currency is missing, but there is no sign of struggle and Power Sensors report no activity. This is just the most recent in a string of robberies with the same M.O. Peacekeepers are asking citizens to provide any information which may lead to the identification of this mysterious individual. – Julia Nash 670 Anno Imperi Ortu

“I would love to be able to explain,” I mutter quietly, feeling as though I’d been caught in a crime. I don’t know why, but I feel guilty. I search my blank mind for an explanation.

“Have you been hiding this from me?” Rhett stammers, his voice and demeanor betraying his pain.

“What? No!” I assure him too adamantly.

“You have a power,” Rhett laughs, his tone shifting. I am having trouble gauging exactly how he feels. I can’t blame him, I’m going through a roller coaster of emotion myself. I still don’t want to accept that I actually have a power, but these incidents are becoming more difficult to understand.

“I didn’t know,” I reiterate. “It just happened.”

“What is it?”

“I haven’t figured much out yet.”

“I knew something happened with that dodgeball,” Rhett cheers, rushing forward.

“Keep your voice down,” I whisper, covering his mouth as he gets closer. After I move my hand, he wraps me in a silent embrace. I take a moment to try to collect my thoughts before explaining to him. “I don’t know anything about this, and I don’t want to make myself a target.”

“This could help us,” he argues quietly.

“I don’t know what ‘this’ is. I don’t know how to use it. Anyway, if there are more team sports, we’re going to need the support of the Vs. I can’t have everyone thinking I’ve been lying to them.”

“You’ve thought this through.”

“Not really. Stream of consciousness,” I sigh. “I’m completely winging it right now.”

“So we keep it under wraps. You still need to know what you can do. Maybe you can subtly affect something. This could be your chance.”

“I can’t control it. It just happens.”

“What is it? Are you a magnet? Maybe you can repel things.”

“I noticed it first with the dodgeball, then with water.”

“The water in the school has plenty of ions floating around. It could be an electrical thing.”

“Maybe adrenaline is altering my charge somehow. That would explain the water, but it also explains why Lance’s fist wasn’t repelled.”

“Lance? I knew it!”

“Not important,” I redirect. I don’t want the conversation to become about him. If we’re going to figure out what I can do, we have to be single-minded.

“Yes it is!”

“Rhett, right now, we have two minutes. An electrical charge doesn’t make sense because the balls are rubber. I could be a Shifter like you and I’m projecting a weak aura. That doesn’t really explain the water.”

“Maybe you’re able to alter your gravity. It kept light molecules such as water revolving around you and it repelled the ball by changing your center of gravity.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Increasing my gravitational pull could levitate the water, but decreasing it wouldn’t redirect a ball. Look, we don’t have time to think about this. We have to focus on the test.”

“This is huge, Car!”

“For now, it isn’t. For now, we pass.”

“Okay, okay,” Rhett accepts, raising his hands over his head. He releases a disappointed sigh, but I can see that he knows I’m right. It doesn’t matter how impressive my power turns out to be if we miss the test. Recruitment is an unforgiving process.

I step back, cracking my knuckles. With one final nod, I put all of the thoughts concerning my potential power to the back of my mind. I don’t need them, and they won’t help me here. For now, it’s time to proceed to the second round. I step past Rhett, leading him out of the locker room.

We seem to reach the group at the perfect moment, because we find a nearly empty waiting area. People are clearly being escorted to the Arena. Those who remain are already sorted into pairs. I can’t help but wonder if they have been given any information regarding the test, but if I ask I may rouse suspicion. No, I have to wait.

A chemistry teacher, Dr. Calton, emerges from a long corridor. He is dressed in his white coat and full personal protective equipment. The goggles hang around his neck, but his hands are covered in gloves which protect all visible skin past his coat. I want to believe he’s overdressed, but I’m ready for anything today. Representatives are present from all types of schools and it makes sense that we would need to prove our intelligence.

The teacher nods silently and turns on his heel. Without hesitation, the remaining groups follow him. Rhett and I eye each other for a moment. As the crowd disappears down the corridor, we quickly chase after them.

We are led to a large door which opens to a blinding light. The floodlights of the Arena are all too familiar. As my eyes adjust to the new environment, I realize that we are walking onto a new part of the stadium. The ground beneath me is solid and reverberates with a solid clack in response to each step. The checkered tile is a plain pattern of various shades of blue, and the only pieces of furniture present are two dozen benches with stools at them. Each bench is covered with flasks, burners, and what I assume are carefully selected chemicals. As we approach the benches, I’m able to see charred pieces of the floor from where previous examinees have spilled strong acids.

“Welcome to Phase II of Recruitment, students,” the principal’s voice bellows over the loudspeaker. I look over my shoulder to see Dr. Calton wave as a wall rises to block the door. That seems excessive. “This test will focus on your mental capacities. You will be given two hours to synthesize a compound. This can be anything you deem useful for society. You are provided with samples of various historical bacterial and viral strains to produce a vaccine or an antivirus. These have working cures; your goal is to either replicate that cure or create something effective of your own. Begin.”

“Wait, that’s it?” Rhett stammers.

“They don’t seem to be fond of instruction,” I shrug. “I guess they don’t want to limit our creativity.”

“I don’t even know what these are,” Rhett informs me as he examines the petri dishes. “Bubonic plague, MRSA, Ebola, COVID-19, Polio.”

“Okay, slow down,” I tell him. There is no sense in reading through a list of ancient diseases. We only have a few hours to replicate a cure. That means we’ll have to pick a virus, analyze its genetic structure, and synthesize antibodies with no guidance. Of course, we could take the easy route and create some antibiotics to target bacterial infections, but that won’t get us noticed.

“What do you think we should do?” He asks.

“First, let’s check the drawers. I’m sure they left some coats down there somewhere. It’s just another part of the test, but we shouldn’t be handling chemicals like this with bare skin.”

Rhett begins digging through drawers only to find scalpels, a mortar and pestle, a few pipettes, a stir-bar, and an assortment of other tools. I open the door in the center of the cabinet and retrieve two lab coats, goggles, and gloves.

“Calm down,” I tell him.

“Car, I know nothing about viruses.”

“Look, we don’t have to. This is about ingenuity. The Intellects will be the ones in the Research School, that’s almost always the case. This is a formality.”

“But our performance can still make us look bad to scouts who liked us in Phase I. We may not need to create compounds in our jobs, but they don’t want us to look stupid.”

“We won’t ace every test. Let’s just try,” I comfort. He is right, though. We’ve both taken chemistry classes, but that doesn’t mean I’m confident doing work which historically took entire research teams.

I look back at the bench, racking my brain for another option. We have to be fast, and we may not even have time to complete our vaccines. We have Rhett, so he will be able to greatly expedite the heating and cooling process. He can raise his body temperature and simply hold the glasses, so we won’t have to wait on hot plates. That will buy us a few minutes, but it won’t give us knowledge we don’t have.

The rest of the examinees are already wreaking havoc on their respective benches. One team has opened virus samples and spilled them, while another is pouring sulfuric acid into a petri dish. All Rhett and I have to do is avoid appearing incompetent. If we can produce any viable chemical, we could actually come out on top. We don’t have to impress the Medical or Research schools, we just have to do enough to show versatility.

“I’ve got it,” I snap, turning to Rhett. “We don’t know anything about viruses. I know the general steps, but we can’t actually cure the Old World’s deadliest diseases in a matter of hours. But we can make perfume.”

“Perfume?”

“Vanity is one disease which will never have a cure.”

“You’re a genius,” Rhett laughs. “It’ll be enough to keep us out of the bottom. We aren’t going to compete with the Intellects, but we don’t have to.”

Shattering glass pulls my attention to the right. The team adjacent to me has broken a flask and spilled something on the ground. Beyond them, I see a team of shifters, one of whom converted his hands to metal flasks rather than using the glass.

“Alright, so we’re synthesizing an ester. We need hydrochloric acid, ethanol, and then find me any compound with a ring and a lot of oxygen in the chemical structure,” I instruct.

Rhett nods, searching through the cabinet. As he does, I quickly prepare an array of flasks and burners. This synthesis took two weeks when we learned it in class, and I don’t remember the specifics, but I hope it will be enough. Our yield won’t be high, but I think that with Rhett’s ability to heat the reaction to boiling and cool it to nearly freezing, we will be able to isolate something. All I need is a few molecules to prove we were successful.

“Alright, so I want you to pour those into here and heat it up,” I tell him.

“This is great, as long as you’re giving me instructions,” Rhett jokes. I just hope I don’t let him down. He’s putting all of his faith in me, and I’m taking a risky approach. Transesterification is not the most impressive chemical synthesis; I know the Intellects will be leagues above us, but right now we’re in a group of Shifters. They’re all smart, but none of them are prepared for this. I just have to outshine a few of them, and Rhett and I will be fine.

Time flies by as I walk Rhett through the reaction. When he cools the flask, I’m able to see a few crystals forming. I bite back my joy. We haven’t won yet, but it’s something.

Apparently comfortable with the rate of the reaction, Rhett sets the flask on the edge of the bench. I breathe a sigh of relief as I watch the crystals begin to sink. Suddenly, the ground starts to shake.

“You dropped it!” One of the students in the pair in front of us screams. He shoves his partner, who seems to have increased his own mass because he barely moves. His step is enough to shake the earth beneath him.

The heavy student angrily shoves his partner back. Before anyone can intervene with the team, the smaller student collides with my bench. My heart skips a beat as our flask topples over the edge. I reach my hand out and catch the neck of the flask before all of the contents spill over the floor. As I set it back down, the adrenaline fades from my system. We still have something to show.

“You did it again,” Rhett whispers, joy overwhelming any concern which I would have expected to hear.

“What are you talking about?”

“Those reflexes – that was incredible.”

“I guarantee you, that was adrenaline and a streak of luck,” I counter as I step to the side of our bench. I look around, hoping to see a teacher running to the rescue. Of course, I have no such luck.

As calmly as I can, I approach the two lab partners who are shoving each other. They barely notice me as they grip each other’s shoulders and grunt angrily. They are making fools of themselves in front of the entire country. That part doesn’t bother me, but they’re also putting my project at risk.

“Hey,” I growl. Neither of them look up, so I repeat myself with more force. I feel the eyes of everyone in the room begin to drift toward me. “Stop this. You’re acting like children. I know you’re both stressed, but this is not the way to handle that.”

“Your Class doesn’t mean anything here,” the heavy one snaps. “You’re just like the rest of us.”

“I am. I’m worried, I’m nervous, and I just want to get accepted into a good school. I’m no different, but I’m not pushing my partner. You both need to stop, or no school will believe you can work together. Don’t let the stress overtake you. Don’t you get it? This is part of the test. They know we aren’t all going to be great at each phase – but they want to see how we handle the failure. You’re proving that you can’t, and you have to stop.”

“He’s right,” the small one grunted, rubbing his back. I hear applause erupt from the room, and I look around in confusion. Did one of the other teams actually produce something successful? Maybe I missed an explosion.

“That’s time,” the principal booms over the loudspeaker. “Impressive work. Dr. Calton will come to discuss your reactions. He will then verify molecular structure and we will take a recess.”

The wall falls once again and Dr. Calton stands in exactly the same location he’d been in when it rose. I wonder if he moved at all. With his steely gaze and statue-like composure, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d simply waited for hours.

Muffled conversation erupts as groups wait for the doctor to assess their projects. I return to my position near Rhett with dismay. We hadn’t had time to extract the ester, so I can’t imagine we will receive high marks for the synthesis. At least I didn’t end up losing points like the two students in front of me are bound to.

Finally, Dr. Calton approaches us and eyes our bench.

“What is it?” He asks.

“Well,” I begin my pitch. “I think in society, we function because we cater to our strengths. Intellects are able to cure any disease, it’s incredible. Rhett and I aren’t on that level – but one thing people will always care about is how others perceive them.”

“Get to the point,” he sighs.

“We used transesterification to synthesize an ester to be used as perfume. We didn’t –” I start, but Rhett cuts me off.

“This is the perfume,” he interrupts as he hands a bottle to the doctor. “Or cologne, men may want to smell like a raspberry.”

“Clever,” Dr. Calton nods slowly. “I’ll give you that much. You played to your strengths and you knew your weaknesses. You pushed the speed of the reaction using your power. I’ll verify composition, but the scent is clear. Good job.”

I stutter as I try to find a response. Instead, I end up staring blankly at the teacher and barely managing to keep my jaw closed.

“Alright,” he adds slowly. “Go to lunch now.”

Rhett grabs my wrist and pulls me away as we follow the others who have been dismissed. Finally, I’m able to regain my composure and start walking less awkwardly.

“How did you do it?” I ask.

“I isolated the crystals and melted them. It wasn’t that hard from where we left off – and they spilled most of the fluid anyway.”

“That’s incredible!” I cheer. “Rhett, I think we really stood out.”

“Thanks to your quick thinking.”

“Mine? You crossed the finish line.”

As we pass a window in the hallway, I see the black council car which had dropped Lance off. It seems they stayed to watch the show. I suppose that makes sense – he is their golden child after all.

I turn my attention back to Rhett, who is continuing to redirect the compliments back toward me. I don’t know what he said, so I just smile and laugh humbly, hoping to end the conversation. We walk through the mostly empty hallway and toward the lunchroom. The closer we get, the more apparent it becomes that I have had nothing more than cereal to eat today.

As we turn a corner, I feel a strong hand clasp around my shoulder. My body continues to automatically walk beside Rhett, and I am jerked backwards. It takes a second for Rhett to notice and turn around, but he narrows his eyes in confusion when he sees me. Does he not notice the person holding me in place?

“What’s up?” He asks.

“Tell him you have to go to the bathroom,” a voice whispers in my ear.

“I… have to go to the bathroom,” I obediently repeat. “I’ll meet you at lunch.”

“Oh, okay,” Rhett responds slowly. “Seems like a randomly harsh stop, but that’s cool. Hurry back, I want to see if we can figure out your power before Phase III!”

“Yeah, no doubt,” I smile awkwardly. Rhett raises an eyebrow but shrugs it off. When he turns and walks down the hall, I allow myself to glance at my shoulder. Nothing is present at first, but slowly, fingertips begin to materialize.

“Sorry for the roughness,” the disembodied voice says as the full hand becomes visible. Slowly, as if intentionally dramatic, the man’s body begins to appear. He’s clearly a Shifter able to make himself invisible, but he’s not a teacher that I recognize and he’s far too old to be a student. I back away, looking for any other students in the hallway. Since we were in such a small group, they had all already made it to the cafeteria. I begin to regret my decision to take orders from an unknown invisible figure.

“That’s alright,” I stammer.

“Don’t be afraid, Mr. Adachi. I just needed to talk with you.”

“About what?”

“Come with me.”

“I’m actually pretty hungry,” I argue, backing away toward the lunchroom. I point my thumb over my shoulder and shrug apologetically as I desperately clamor to get away from the imposing figure. Somehow, the business attire he adorns serves to make him all the more menacing.

“Mr. Adachi, I’m with the Council. Now, if you would please follow me to the car, they’d like to speak with you.”