Following the international ban of Interpowered relationships, powered individuals and their supporters have begun protests throughout the world. In peaceful demonstrations, they attempt to prove that their powers aren’t dangerous. With each passing day, the powered community is growing louder and their supporters are increasing in number. Protests continue to divide communities, as normal families cower at the display of power. When questioned, their leader had this to say: “While our demands for equality and civil liberties fall on deaf ears, we will continue to cry out. We will not, however, become what they think us to be.” – Kaitlyn Quinn, 197 Anno Imperi Ortu

As the alarm clock screams, ripping me from my intense concentration, I focus my energy toward it. Eyeing the angry banshee in my peripheral vision, I make a point to keep my hands at my sides. I have no delusions that extending my hand makes my power any physically stronger, yet I’m tempted to do so nonetheless. Despite my best efforts, the cry refuses to be silenced. With a groan, I finally accept my own weakness and extend a hand toward the clock. The clock vibrates in protest, threatening to fall from its perch. Jostled loose by the motion, the cord disconnects from the wall. It wasn’t my intended method, but the results are indisputable.

Uncrossing my legs, I rise and stretch toward the ceiling. Today is a big day. Recruitment was a few weeks ago, and now the preparations are complete. Now, I’m going to high school for the last time – for orientation to Mechanic School. With the option of Battle School stolen from me, along with the fact that I must now conceal my power, I chose to follow Rhett to his school. I’ve never had ambitions for a particular career path, so being my with friend is enough.

I quickly change and head out of my room. Laughing at myself as I do, I realize how easy it’s been for me to brush aside any use of my power. The metal doorknob feels almost foreign, pressing its icy steel against my hand. I release the knob and hover my hand an inch away, miming the motion of turning it. Following my hand, the doorknob turns and the door opens as I pull. I’ve always had this power, and I’ve always had control. That shouldn’t change now that I’m aware of it. Still, I have to monitor my emotions.

I have already seen what will happen if the Council finds out about me. I managed to evade the serum once, but I can’t get cocky. If I don’t want to be powerless, I have to allow the world to believe I am.

“Good morning, Car,” my mom calls, apparently hearing the creak of my door. I step into the hall with a fake smile on my face. I have no idea what she does for work, but I know someone mentioned her when I was asleep. I can’t trust her – not entirely. I definitely can’t risk telling her about my power.

“Good morning,” I reply cheerfully. I have never envisioned myself as an entertainer, but perhaps I should have gone to that school. I am convinced that my lifelong experience pretending to be someone I’m not would translate wonderfully to acting.

“Do you want cereal?”

“That would be great, thank you,” I say. She pours a bowl and fills it with milk, setting it on the counter. I pull a stool up and sit. As I do, I begin poking at the dry oats instinctively.

“What’s on your mind?” She asks, trying to make conversation.

“Just thinking about the fact that I’m not a kid after today. Maybe this is the last bowl of cereal you’ll pour for me,” I tease.

“Why would you say that?” She asks. I laugh and lean back in my chair. Tears start welling up in her eyes. I have never known her to be this emotional. I figured I’d get a bit of a rise, but I’m starting to get uncomfortable.

“Mom, I’m just kidding,” I console.

“No you’re not. You’re going to orientation for your trade today. Next, you’ll be living in a dormitory. Then you have your own house.”

“It’ll be just the same,” I tell her. “At least for a while, until school starts. Even then, I’ll just be going to a different school than Ash. I don’t even want to live in a dorm.”

“Yes you do,” she sniffs.

“I mean, I haven’t thought much about it,” I admit.

“See?”

Another door opens and I pivot my head, silently begging for someone to join this conversation. I hadn’t been prepared for my mom to react this way to a simple joke. She’s always been the strongest and coldest member of my family. All I know about her job is that she knows how to fight – which now convinces me that she attended Battle School and is an Agent – but maybe that’s paranoia. Whatever the case, she’s more rational than anyone else I’ve met.

“You’ll still have Ashley,” I console, hoping to subvert the empty nest syndrome developing within her. Ashley, coming down the hallway, hears me and turns back around.

“Nope, I’m not getting involved in this one,” she says.

“Wait, Ash,” I call.

“I am brushing me teeth.”

I look back at my mother, who has already composed herself. The tears are gone and she stands up straight. I can still see her bottom lip quivering, but she hides it well.

Silently, I take a bite of cereal and smile, waving the spoon at her. She laughs, turns from me, and flees.

“That was painful,” Ashley teases.

“I thought you were brushing your teeth.”

“I hid around the corner.”

“Of course you did.”

“Hey, do you want a ride to school today?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t mind.”

“You don’t even have to go,” I argue.

“Yeah, but we probably won’t ever go to the same school again. Come on, let me help one more time.”

“Alright, I appreciate it,” I agree. I know how much it would mean to her, and there aren’t going to be as many people as usual to see me. Anyway, this will give me an opportunity to study her power a bit. Since my fights, I have looked at powers in a new light. Everything has a strength and a weakness. If I want to get ahead in life, I have to understand everyone else’s.

“Bye Dad!” I call as I lead Ashley outside. There’s no response, so I assume he’s sleeping. When I open the front door, though, he grabs me and embraces me in a tight bear hug. Dad leans back, pulling me off the ground. I wonder if their power has something to do with gravity. Somehow, I’m essentially weightless to him and Ashley the moment I’m off the ground.

“Show them what you’re made of, son,” Dad encourages, setting me down and patting my shoulder.

“I don’t think that would behoove me,” I counter. “My innards are there for a reason.”

“But your spirit is everywhere.”

“I’m not sure that makes sense.”

“It doesn’t have to make sense, it’s poetic.”

“I don’t think that’s how poetry works.”

“Poetry is magic, Car. No one knows how it works.”

I feel compelled to continue my debate, but I know he will just continue spewing nonsense. Instead, I laugh and shake my head. He may not be able to formulate a sound argument, but he knows how to smile. In some ways, that’s even more important. He doesn’t seem to be faking it like I am. He is genuinely happy with his world.

“Alright,” I concede. “I have to get going though.”

“Go! Embrace your destiny!”

“That one was a little much, Dad.”

“I agree entirely,” he shrugs.

“As… Interesting as this is,” Ashley interjects, “I don’t want you to be late.”

“Thanks,” I respond. I turn toward her and she holds her arms out. I hesitate for a moment. There won’t be many people at school today, but that number is still nonzero. I’d rather not be cradled and delivered to the school like an infant carried by a mythical stork. Starting my day off like that is bound to leave me a bit bitter, and I have to be in complete control. This is the first real human interaction I’ve had since the Council tried to take my powers. I think I’ve worked through the anger, but I don’t want to risk it.

“Can I just get on your back?” I ask.

“Then you have to hold on with our own strength. I won’t be able to keep hold on you,” she argues.

“I’m strong. And if I fall, you’ll catch me.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

“Come on, it’ll be fine. Anyway, this way you can levitate before I jump on.”

“That will be easier,” she admits. “Fine.”

Ashley raises herself from the ground slightly. She doesn’t use her hands to direct her motion, and she doesn’t seem to strain like I do when I use my power. It’s effortless. As easily as I would take a step, Ashley lifts herself into the air.

As I claimed I would, I jump onto her back and wrap my arms around her shoulders. Ashley raises herself higher, moving toward the school. She picks up speed and flies over the houses of our neighborhood. Every second of the journey, I want nothing more than to let go. I want to try. Unfortunately, I know I can’t let Ashley see my power. Anyway, there’s no chance I could convince her to agree to trying to catch me. No, I have to be subtle.

When we land, I hug her and turn toward the school. It’s completely deserted. There should still be over one hundred people who were Recruited coming for their respective orientations. Where is everyone?

“Are you early?” She asks.

“Yeah,” I admit, “but I didn’t think by this much.”

“Do you want me to wait?”

“No, that’s okay. I should head inside,” I tell her too quickly. I think she interprets my eagerness as a drive to begin orientation, which is great for me. Maybe I’m not quite as good of an actor as I thought. I can’t hide my excitement for even a moment.

“Okay, whatever you say,” she shrugs. Ashley rises from the ground, but she hesitates before flying away. “I love you, Car.”

“I love you too,” I reply. Smiling sadly, she turns and flies home. I watch as she disappears into the horizon. I didn’t realize my leaving would affect my family this much. I wonder if I’m supposed to be afraid or worried, but I don’t think I am. Moving to a trade school is just the step after high school. We all knew it was coming. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to mourn it or to be afraid of the change.

Looking around, I make sure no one is nearby. I sneak around to the back of the building. Pointing my hands at the ground, I push against it. My body moves a few feet into the air before gravity pulls me back down. I try again. I need to maintain a constant pressure.

Shakily, I rise from the ground. My right side lifts faster and my left overcompensates. I almost spin, but I shift my left hand to provide a counter-force. Without that support, I fall to my right. Plummeting toward the dirt beneath me, I tuck my head to my chin. Standing, I brush dirt from my arms and pants and examine myself for scrapes. There are no wounds openly bleeding, so I think I’m okay to try again.

Once again, I rise slowly into the air. This time, I channel two equal streams of energy. I’m only a few inches off the ground, but I’m flying. If I can think about pushing against air rather than earth, I can apply this concept to higher altitudes. When I hear voices from the front of the building, I know I’m going to have to wait to fully test that theory. Regardless, I can barely contain my excitement. My power has more potential than I could have imagined. I give myself a second to silently celebrate before adopting a steely expression and walking into view of the new arrivals.

Quite a few students, all walking in one massive group, approach the lawn. Somewhere in the middle of the crowd, I find Rhett.

“Hey Car!” He greets cheerily when he notices me. Rhett pushes his way through the crowd and reaches me on the outskirts. Somehow, seeing Rhett only serves to make me bitter. Of course, I’m happy to see my friend, but his glee is cumbersome. He is ecstatic to be here, and I can’t understand why. Keeping secrets from him is also exhausting, but I can’t tell him about my power or what the Council did. He’d just think I’m crazy. Anyway, he deserves to be ignorant. There’s nothing we can do to change the system, and now at least he’s happy.

“Hey,” I reply, smiling back and hiding my thoughts.

“Crazy that we’re going to the same school, huh?”

“I mean, it’s not that crazy,” I laugh. “That’s why I picked it.”

“Oh, wow. Well, I’ll feel pretty awful if you don’t like it,” he stammers, his expression becoming more somber.

“Don’t worry about that. I find that things are more about the company. Anyway, none of the other schools seem particularly interesting. It’s not like my power gives me an advantage in any of them.”

“I guess not,” he shrugs. As if remembering for the first time, he cocks his head and looks at me. “Are you ready to tell me what happened at Recruitment?”

“No,” I shake my head. “It was a crazy day, but I think there were just a lot of misunderstandings.”

“You made water float.”

“I don’t know, gravity can be weird.”

“Gravity? You’re blaming physics for being broken?”

“I think there were anomalies which we assumed we correlated,” I lie. It’s safer for both of us if he doesn’t know. Until I understand exactly what’s happening to me, no one can know. I have to bear this burden alone.

“Okay, well what did the Council want to talk to you about?”

“Formalities. Since I’m technically a Class I, they had to talk to me before I chose my school.”

“About what?”

“I’m Dante’s successor,” I joke. “If I outlive him, I take his spot on the Council.”

“Very funny,” Rhett groans. “Fine, keep your secrets.”

“I’m serious, that’s what he told me. He said he’s never had to think about a successor, but the way the laws are set up, Class I can only be afforded to the Council or their successors.” Spinning half-truths into the lie gives me more confidence in it. It won’t be this way forever. One day I’ll trust Rhett, but now I know he would be too excited to keep his mouth shut. If he knew the extent of my power, it wouldn’t be long before the Council discovered that their serum had failed.

“Wow, that seems a little underhanded,” he sympathizes.

“It’s not a big deal. I just throw a wrench into the system. Whoever says one man can’t make a difference hasn’t met the least powerful person in the world.”

Rhett laughs before quickly quieting himself. I caught him off guard, but I know he doesn’t like supporting that type of thought.

“Adachi,” a voice greets. A hand grips my shoulder. On edge, I turn and swing my fist in a tight hook toward the stranger’s face. Lance easily weaves backward, but he releases my shoulder. “Nice form. Been practicing?”

“What do you want?” I spit.

“I just want to chat,” Lance smirks smugly. I raise my eyebrows, annoyed that he’s taking his time. The courtyard begins to clear out as the Fliers land and walk into the building. Lance glances at Rhett and I shrug, pretending I don’t understand his implication. Finally, he sighs and makes his point clear. “Alone?”

“We’re kind of a package deal, right Car?” Rhett asks. I want to agree with him, but I get the feeling that Lance knows something. So far, he’s the only chosen successor for a Council member – that must give him insider knowledge. I have to find out what Lance knows or I might slip up and give him a hint.

“It’s alright, Rhett,” I sigh. “The Council’s dog is going to get what he wants anyway.”

“Really?” Rhett coughs. As he glares at me, I can practically see the gears turning in his head. “Fine. I guess a Class V couldn’t understand anyway.”

Rhett storms off, walking toward orientation. I think he’s overreacting, but maybe the knowledge that he’s being lied to is finally festering. I can’t keep this up forever. If there’s anyone I can trust, it’s Rhett. Anyway, I don’t want to keep fighting with him. I’ll have to tell him everything. Regardless, that has to wait until I figure out what Lance knows. Addressing both of them at the same time would be bound to cause problems.

“What are you doing here, Lance? You don’t need an orientation,” I growl.

“Minerva and I are here doing some training. I told her I had to check on a friend.”

“You use that term very liberally.”

“When I have to. It worked, didn’t it?”

“What do you want with me?”

“I heard about what happened.”

“About what?” I choke. Did they already tell him? Did they send him to keep an eye on me?

“The fight. Battle School seems barbaric, but it’s necessary. PeaceKeepers have to able to defend the citizens.”

“I did just fine,” I mutter.

“But the interview is what disqualified you…”

“Are you trying to rub it in my face?”

“What?”

“I don’t need to listen to this. Congratulations, Lance, you’re the strongest Class I. Happy? Now leave me alone.” I try to keep my voice low, but I can feel the volume growing. He’s acted so superior his entire life, and now the Council seems to agree with him. Whatever they saw in me scared them enough to steal my power, but they think Lance is a hero?

I can’t think about it. I feel my blood boiling, and the blades of grass around us begin to blow in a nonexistent breeze. I storm off, finding my way toward my orientation.

Turning through the halls of the school, I look for any indication of the location of my orientation. I can’t help but think about Rhett’s reaction when I sent him away. It quickly became an issue about Class. I don’t understand how the Council intended this system to help people – it causes nothing but pain.

Maybe one person truly can make a difference. Maybe I shouldn’t be so afraid of sharing my story. Public demand could be enough to convince our leaders that there’s a better way.

I see a sign marked “Mechanic” and slowly open the door. I’m still on time, but I’m the last person in the room. Silently, I slink into a seat and look around. These are the people with whom I will work for the rest of my life. The gravity of my decision finally sets in. Why do people accept this as normal?

“Welcome,” the man at the front of class begins precisely on time. “Thank you all for choosing the Mechanic School. The work you will learn to do here is invaluable. Anything mechanical within the entire city falls under our responsibility to fix. This is a great task, and a great honor. Every school will tell you theirs is the most important, but we are the only one who can accurately make that claim.”

Cheers erupt from the classroom, but I just roll my eyes. At least this speaker knows how to engage his audience. Everyone in this room – excluding me – is here because they believe he’s right. Rather than being annoyed at his clichés, I try to focus on his speech. He knows how to stir up a crowd. That’s a skill I want to learn to mimic.

“The Council has graciously assigned each of you a Class to help understand your own powers. We will use those as a qualitative assessment, but we’re more interested in seeing what you can do. You see, no power is required for any job, but that won’t stop us from using ours to be the most effective team!”

Praising the Council always elicits a positive response, but I’m not sure that’s something which will help me. Other than that, it appears people just continually react to being told they’re good at things – even if it’s completely unwarranted.

“So, first, let’s gauge our powers so I’m better able to tailor orientation to each of you,” the speaker says. One by one, the people in the room demonstrate their abilities. Tuning out the process, I focus on a fly buzzing around the room. It’s a nuisance, and I know I’m not in a particularly emotional stable place. I don’t want to be set off by something as small as an insect.

I know I should be watching their demonstrations. I want to study their powers, after all. Right now, though, I know my emotions are too volatile. I’ll have the rest of my life to study the people in this room. For now, I have to focus on something else. I will try to use my own power subtly.

Steadying my breathing, I focus on controlling my power. A tiny surge of energy is all I need. It won’t alert anyone, but it will allow me to practice while everyone else glories in their own capabilities.

The fly zips past my face, startling me as it does. I watch as it falls to the desk in front of me. Its wings, however, stay behind, floating in the air. Realizing I’m holding them there, I quickly release them and let them drift to the ground. My heart starts racing as I wonder if anyone saw me, but it seems they’re all distracted. Rhett is the only one looking at me, and he looks furious. I don’t know if he noticed my display or if he’s just still wounded from the conversation with Lance.

“Rhett,” I whisper. I can’t keep fighting with him. He deserves to know, but this isn’t the proper forum. “I’ll explain everything later, okay?”

“Who’s talking back there?” The instructor asks. “Would you like to go next?”

Rhett scoffs, turning around and sulking in his seat. The teacher turns his gaze and recognizes me. His expression shifts and pity fills his eyes. Trying to recover, he stumbles over his words for a moment.

“I thought powers weren’t required,” I growl. The tension is finally building to a point I’m not sure I can control. Fighting with Rhett and dealing with Lance would be enough, but I don’t need to be demeaned by this stranger as well.

“It is!” He assures me.

“Then stop pitying me.”

I grit my teeth. My mind slips into a negative feedback loop. Every thought builds off the last and I start to get angrier. I try to slow my breathing, but it doesn’t work. More people are showing their powers, all of them believing they’re better than me. More people are pitying me. For one moment, I had been powerful. The Council wanted to take that away. Although I had stopped their serum, they had still achieved their goal. In this room, with all of these people, I am once again Powerless.

I refuse to accept the title. The pent-up anger explodes from me like a bomb. I feel the school shake, and everyone in the room gasps. Three people hide under their desks as the shaking intensifies. I have to stop, but I can’t. The fear only makes it more difficult for me to control.

Suddenly, a light shatters and glass sprays into the room. The rest of the lights follow, plunging the classroom into darkness. I can’t stay here. Climbing from my seat, I lower my head and sneak away.