Where do they come from? Well, it

is really hard to tell. Although, I’m certain

that potens aren’t angels and demons

sent by whatever deity.

-Richard J. Richter, from the Colorado University

Gravity slowly descended until Friction was able to step on the rooftop. She then let her gravitational pull to return to its original direction. Gravity had fallen with him to a building where people wouldn’t be able to listen to them. At least normal people.

“So, what did you mean about ‘it’ helping?” Gravity asked as he stretched her arms.

The hero in front of her accommodated his white mask made out of silk, his eyes looking at hers through that rectangular aperture.

“Well, it’s more like two things.”

Gravity stood there in silence.

“Alright, alright. You don’t have to be so insistent. I was gonna tell you anyway.”

The heroine smiled behind her mask.

“I’m a Plus now,” Friction calmly said.

“What?” Gravity said surprised. “It has only been seven months, how did you get it?”

“I took the test.”

“What test?” She said, almost lost.

“The… Test to become a Plus hero before the two and a half year mark. Didn’t you know?” Friction said, now confused as well.

Of course she didn’t!

“No!” She said, putting her hands in her face. “There was a test?! You mean I could have become a Plus before spending two and a half years with the old bastard?!

Friction laughed.

“Yes. How did you not know? It’s one of the things they tell you about when you stop being a Neighbor.”

“I wasn’t a Neighbor!” She spat, throwing her hands in the air.

“Oh. Right,” Friction said with a hand on his chin. ”I think it still deserved that laugh, though.”

Gravity gave out a long and drawn out sigh.

Friction was talking about one of the many ways Ataki classified their heroes. There was the Capacity Classification, which assigned to heroes a letter ranging from A to C, A being the highest and C being the lowest, according to the capabilities of their powers. The Experience Classification, which determined if a hero was authorized to work alone, marking them as Plus if they were, and Minus if they weren’t. And finally, the Affection Classification, which determined your popularity based on your presence in social media, and whether it was a good one or a bad one. Only the first one had been made public. The other two remained a secret for everyone outside the company.

When speaking about the Experience Classification, the Plus was kind of a big deal. Not only did it mean a big pay raise compared to being a Minus, which was in fact, the reason why most of the people wanted to be a Plus, but it also meant independence and the opportunity to work as one liked.

Although, her reason for wanting to work alone was to get away from Jack. Deep down in her heart, she knew she felt affection for the man as her mentor, but that didn’t make her talk about how he would have ‘bodied’ most people at The First Potens War any easier. Mainly, since his principal and only argument was because he was ‘built differently’.

And now… Friction was a B-Plus hero. They were… Equals. Well, maybe not equals. They had the same position, but the gap in experience was considerable. She still remembered the day she had become one. But… This wasn’t about her. It was about her protege… No, her partner.

Gravity regained her composure and stood straight.

“Congratulations,” She said while she clapped. “You deserve it. You’ve been working hard since the start. Especially when you first chose me. Honestly, it was cute, like an excited puppy,” she said calmly.

Friction stood still. He then faced away from Gravity, trying to give a sneaky sidelong glance.

“You can’t say that out of nowhere. It breaks your character.”

“Aw,” Gravity said with a smile under her mask.

“Shut up! Learn some continuity, goddammit!”

The hero stayed that way until his embarrassment passed away. He then faced Gravity and cleared his throat.

“So, speaking about not knowing stuff. What do you do on the test?” Gravity asked.

“Well, um… There’s three things you need in order to pass the test. A good enough record when it comes to detaining criminals, a seventy percent of public appeal, and a test of strength.”

“Test of strength?”

“Yeah. Basically, you need to ask three heroes with a different set of abilities to fight you. After the fight, they’ll tell the ones that are conducting the test if you’re good enough or not.”

“Huh.”

It seemed a little… Barbaric. Nevertheless, her job consisted in punching people for money, so she supposed it made sense within the system.

“Who did you ask?” Laura then inquired, intrigued.

“Since I’m pretty good against atlas, I chose Muscle King as my first opponent.”

“Really? He seems a little strong for you to handle.”

“Despite my greatness,” Friction said while striking a bodybuilder pose, “I will admit that without an ally or something to support me, he is. But, I used an electric baton, so it was okay.”

Gravity raised an eyebrow.

“Is that allowed?”

Atlas were individuals with formidable strength, but that was where it normally ended. Sure, the atlas with high enough levels gained invulnerability to some sort of damage like normal bladed weapons or calibers. But they could still get burnt, or electrocuted in this case. Maybe not as much as someone who isn’t a potens, but a decent amount.

“The judge said that if the opponent is willing to accept it, the hero being tested could bring any sort of equipment.”

“Isn’t that convenient?”

“No, it’s called proper planning. Shut up,” Friction said, raising his index finger.

“Who else did you fight?”

“Then I chose Phase. I suspected that my power would hinder him, and… I was right.”

Gravity nodded as she remembered the end of the fight that took place in the gym.

“And… For my last one, I chose… DP.”

“Oh?”

There was a pause.

“So, why did you want to lose?” Gravity finally asked.

Friction laughed.

“Yeah, that wasn’t a good decision, was it?”

No, it wasn’t. And for many reasons.

Dimensional Pocket was an A rank hero, and probably one of the most annoying ones to fight. Despite his name, he couldn’t create pocket dimensions, at least not directly. DP could create pocket dimensions that he could only access when reaching inside a pocket, which doesn’t sound that impressive. Nonetheless, Gravity had been with the man for two and a half years, and she knew what he was capable of.

He was prepared for every situation. As simple as that might sound, it was all it took for him to be at the top. Though he wasn’t on par with the monsters of this world, he could take care of the murderers walking around it.

“Why? I mean, you’re not that dumb.”

“Eh… It… Mmh…,” was all that Friction was able to say.

“Are you that dumb?”

“No, It’s just… I wanted to fight him because… Since you are like my master, and he was your master, I wanted to… You know. Prove I was… Worthy.”

Well, that was unexpected.

“Worthy for what?” Gravity asked a bit confused.

“I don’t know! It's just… Seemed right.”

Gravity sighed.

“I’ve seen you save lives. Of course you’re ‘worthy’, dumb dumb.”

The embarrassment from before seemed to return to Friction’s face. Or at least, the visible part of it.

But a thought was still intriguing Gravity.

“But, if he beat you, how did you pass?”

“He must have told the conductors that I passed. Although I wasn’t able to do much to him,” Friction said while adjusting his mask.

Gravity’s curiosity spiked.

“By the way, how did he beat you?”

“He used paint adhesive, self-defense spray, and a taser.”

…

“You’re incredibly cheap to beat.”

“Shut up!”

Gravity smiled.

And then she seemed to notice. Worry rushed into her as her pessimistic side took control of her brain. Was Friction… Going to leave her?

Since he was now a Plus, he could work alone. She didn’t want him to leave. Despite being annoying, she had taken a liking to him, and considered him a friend. She also doubted she could find another partner that complemented her set of abilities that well, and not having one was not an option, since she was now used to it.

“Since you are now a Plus. Are you gonna work alone?” Gravity said with a calm tone.

She then seemed to realize what she had said.

“Nah, I’m gonna stick with you,” Friction said in his usual cheery tone.

There was a still moment inside Gravity. Until a wave of relief hit her.

She was… Happy. She really was happy that he wasn’t going anywhere…

Nevertheless, she couldn’t let him find out. If he did… He would be even more annoying than before. That’s why she took his previous advice, and remained consistent.

“Good,” Gravity said in a cold tone. “What was the other thing that you wanted to tell me?”

Friction looked at her plainly.

“You know how we’ve been working together a lot less this month?”

“Yeah?” Gravity said after a moment of consideration.

“Well…”

—-----

Reveca was walking across the first floor of the Ataki Tower. She could barely hear her footsteps among the sounds and talking coming from the crowds on the same floor. But unlike them, she wasn’t going to one of the multiple shops dedicated to clothes or merchandising. She was now a Neighbor.

Reveca went around the circle made out of shops and establishments located at the center, and entered the hallway that cut it in half. She had never entered it before, like most people.

She walked into the hallways and was greeted with four elevators, each guarded by tall and muscular security staff. Reveca almost tripped at the unexpected sight. Yet, she continued walking. She was a Neighbor now, the step before a superhero. This was now a view she would have to get accustomed to.

Once she approached the end of the corridor, she stopped there in thought. She didn’t know which elevator to take. The letter didn't mention anything about it. After a moment of panic, she shrugged, trying to calm herself, and approached the one closest to her, the second leftmost.

Reveca then stood silently in front of the security staff, incredibly uncomfortable. The woman in front of her caught on to it.

“ID?”

“Eh? Ah, yes, yeah. Give me… A second…” Reveca said while reaching into her pockets for the paper. “Here… Here you go,” she said as she handed it to her.

The woman picked the piece of paper and scanned the QR code on it with the machine she had strapped on to her right. The device made a loud beep. She then gave the paper back to Reveca, and pointed with her head the opened elevator to her right.

Reveca walked into it, but before she could press anything, the woman gave her indications.

“You have to scan the code with the sensor on the number pad as well to use the elevator.”

Reveca turned around and gave a silent nod to the security officer. She then used the piece of paper on the number pad, which made four of the seventy-something buttons to light up in a blue light instead of the red one that she had just seen.

The letter had said to go to the fifth floor. And so she pressed the button for it.

The doors closed smoothly without making a noise. Reveca then felt how the elevator got into motion. She was going up, where the rest of the heroes and Neighbors were. Because she was now one of them…

She wanted to scream in excitement.

It still felt surreal. Since she had gotten that letter three weeks ago, everything had felt… Dreamy. She had gotten in. It had happened!

Reveca had wanted to become part of this world since her more embarrassing days, when she was twelve. It had been a silly fantasy of a little girl, impossible, but pleasant to think about. But then it became a possibility. Something plausible. An opportunity for a young adult.

She had discovered that she was a potens two years ago. Though the event hadn’t been as flatering as she would have liked.

That day, Reveca had had a lot of gas. And once she got home after school, she let everything out with a burp. Which had been quite scary since that provoked a short little breeze with a velocity of a hundred kilometers per hour.

Reveca admitted that she had been lucky that her dad was also a potens, which made everything significantly easier to explain. She was also lucky that she didn’t discover her pyrokinesis then. Strong winds and fire weren't a good combination indoors.

After two years of hard work and practice, she had passed the initial tests. And now… She was here! But it still felt… Like it was luck. Something that wasn’t supposed to happen, but by some miracle, it did.

Despite her hard work, she would have to accept that she wasn’t an ordinary potens. And… Well, potens weren’t ordinary people either. She was an eight-eight-eight-aerokinetic and a two-two-two-pyrokinetic. Not only did she have two elements, which was rare among kinetics, but she was very powerful with one of them.

Had she gotten in because… Of her powers? Because she had been lucky?

She turned around and faced the mirror that had been behind her. Her red hair tied into a ponytail and her freckles popped out of her sharp face and small nose, whilst her brown eyes looked depressed at her. No, worried…

No, no, no. This was a special day. And even if it had been luck, she had still been elected. She was a Neighbor because of her, and only her. Everyone here was a hero because of their powers. She was just like them. She was no different.

Reveca turned around as the elevator seemed to stop. But before the doors could open, a blue light scanned the insides of the machine from top to bottom. Then a panel popped out from the wall to her right:

Scan complete:

Analysis:

Bomb (Not found) Bladed weapons (Not found) Guns (Not found) Narcotics/Illegal substances (Not found) Symbologist equipment (Not found) Unidentified objects (Not found)

Diagnosis:

Safe to proceed

A moment later, the doors finally opened and let the light from the floor come into the elevator.

“You have arrived at your destination, Reveca Lounghburg,” the speakers from the elevator said. “Please, step outside the elevator.”

After a moment of shock, Reveca finally reacted and stepped outside the machine. The doors then finally closed, and she was able to hear the device once again.

That elevator was… Surprising. She had seen similar equipment at the airport or at the bank, but… Not like that. Weird, considering it looked more useful than the ones they had.

She grabbed the letter and the rest of the papers that came with it, and pulled them out of her pocket. Reveca then read it to remember where she should go. And it appeared that her destination was the Conference Room Seven.

She looked around the floor trying to find some sign or indication of where all the rooms were. But the only thing she was able to see was the red, big, and curved desk in front of her with a man behind it, and windows at both ends of her view.

Reveca approached the man with black hair, who was dressed in a black and blue suit with a white tie.

“Excuse me, do you know where the Conference Room Seven is?” She asked, more nervous than what she would have liked.

The man didn’t look away from his screen, and just pointed to her left, “The third room.”

“T-Thanks.”

The man just shrugged.

Reveca quickly strode her way to the designated room. Once she got there, she was able to see a brunette woman dressed in a black suit with a white shirt underneath. The woman glanced at Reveca while holding a stack of papers.

“Can I help you?” The woman then asked.

“Um… Yes. I was supposed to be here at… The Conference Room Seven.”

“Can you… Give me a name?”

“Reveca Lounghburg.”

“Ah. Yes. You had a meeting here at seven thirty,” She said while looking at her phone. “Although there’s fifteen minutes left.”

“Um…” Reveca had no idea what to say.

Was it a bad thing that she had arrived early? It definitely was something that she had taken after her father.

“...Yeah,” was all that she was able to say.

“Don’t worry. I just finished everything I had left, so we can do it now.”

Reveca then sighed in relief.

“Have a seat,” the woman then said, pointing at the chair in front of her.

The room didn’t have much. It was only decorated by the dark red carpet, the many black chairs, and the long brown table that stood across the middle of the room that was being lit by the white light above it.

Reveca sat while looking at the woman as she grabbed something on the floor. After seeing people dressed so formally, she regretted not choosing something more… Suitable. She should have at least chosen something more formal than purple jeans and a green sweater.

“I believe I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Irina. I’ll be your ‘manager’ during your training here. If there’s something you need help with, ask me. Or you can always ask your tutor.”

“Tutor?”

“Yes. You’ll be assigned a hero that will act as some sort of mentor. But that comes later.”

Irina then put a big briefcase on the table, opening it after.

“First, your suit. The SHD Team followed the indications you left, but it also took some liberties to improve the design.”

Irina raised the cover and Reveca was able to see the costume.

She was able to see a helmet with tinted dark glass on top of a folded white and red fabric. Reveca grabbed the helmet and approached it to her face.

The first thing that surprised her was how light it turned out to be. Though, from what she could feel with her hands, it was sturdy.

The helmet had been inspired by the ones that pilots used in the military. Nonetheless, her helmet had more straight lines to fit tightly around her skull, and lacked a top, in order for her hair to be free. Reveca had put a strap to the helmet, but she was surprised to find it hidden under the chin, making it look almost hidden.

She put the helmet on the table, and then held the upper part of the fabric in the air.

It was… Different to what she had indicated.

It had a different color palette than the one she had specified. The arms were white instead of orange, and the abdomen, chest, and neck were red, and not yellow. Also, there was a hole above the chest and in the back of the costume.

“Um… Sorry, but this is… The costume doesn’t have the colors that it’s supposed to have and it has holes… How is that… ‘Improving’?” She said as respectfully as she could.

“Oh. Let me check.”

Irina put the lower half of the costume on the table, which Reveca was able to see that it also was different. It had red all over the inner thighs, whilst the rest was white. She then grabbed a stack of papers that had been underneath the costume, and started flipping over the pages.

“Changes, changes, changes… Ah. Here it is. According to the SHD Team, the white and red makes the colors pop out more and have a better aesthetic.”

“But that’s subjective, right? I mean, for me the orange and yellow had a nicer tone.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, honey. The SHD Team makes the suits for all the heroes. They know what they’re doing.”

“Ah… Yes, of course,” Reveca said slowly.

Right… They were professionals… But still, aesthetics were subjective. Didn’t her opinion matter more in this field than the SHD Team’s? After all, she was going to be the one to wear the suit.

“And the… Holes?” She then asked.

“Um… They apparently… Er… Will help with the air regulation.”

“Right…” Reveca said plainly.

“They’re professionals,” Irina then said to try and reassure her.

This time, it failed.

Not only was she going to fly around with the suit on, which would cool her down consistently, but why would she need air regulation when she could control air? She wasn’t dumb. There had to be some reason for it.

But before she could ask, Irina continued with the suit.

“Then that is that. Um… They also say that the straps in the forearms and the shins are used to tighten the suit around your body. It appears that the ‘wings’ are the same that you specified. And the only remaining change is the material used for the main suit. It’s pretty flexible. Not as tough, but it won’t easily break. And it will protect you against some knives and edges.”

Reveca grabbed the piece of metal next to the forearm and pulled it. She was able to see the yellow wings similar to the ones used by skydivers. At least the wings were yellow. She had designed the suit to allow the metal protrusion in the arms to connect the wings to the metal anchorage at the outer part of the legs. There also was another wing similar to the forearm’s between the legs, making her able to quickly gain access to a full wingsuit of her own.

That still was her favorite feature, and seeing it in person only increased how much she liked it.

In the end, the costume was not as she had expected. But she did like it, even though they didn’t get the colors right. Mainly because it was her’s. She now had a costume.

Her own costume.

That realization solidified everything for her. This… Was real. This wasn’t a dream.

A knock coming from the door made Reveca turn around.

She was greeted by a figure in a blue and brown costume with tiny horns on her head.

“What’s up with being early to meetings? Not that I hate it, but… Oh, right.”

Irina then stood.

“Reveca, this will be your mentor. Gravity,” she said while pointing at her.

Reveca only blinked in response.

During her training, not once had the thought of going alone to fight crime crossed her mind. And the reason was simple.

She hated vigilantes.