Chapter 22

Psychic Training part 3

A loud splashing could be heard as a powerful stream of water pushed Felix to the wall.

“What’s wrong, you’re not scared of a little water, are you?” Anastasia said, carrying a heavy machine in her arms.

“I thought you said you would look for an alternative that won’t kill me?” Felix whined as he wiped off the dripping water from his face.

“It’s on low pressure. It won’t kill you.”

“I don’t think I can relax with you pointing a waterjet at—” A sudden blast of water tossed him across the room before he could finish his sentence.

“I’m doing what you asked. Now get up and draw out your energy.”

Water dripped from Felix’s face and hair as he dropped to his knees letting out gasps for air. In his head echoes the Chief’s words to him;

It was still too early for you to fight, too early for you to protect anyone. That’s why you were kept from real missions. Instead of being a help, you would’ve been a liability. But now you don’t have that excuse.

A small flicker, then a stream of blue electricity, until it became a hazy, transparent blue fire that wrapped around his hands.

“Good, now let the rest of it flow all over your body.”

He gulped and said nothing in return. He tried and concentrated, but the streams of blue lightning that came out of him amounted to nothing, and just as quickly faded as they came out of him.

“At this rate, you’ll get left behind.” Anastasia said.

“Left behind? By whom…?”

“By the other three. I heard from David that they’ve been able to maintain their auras for a while. But so far, you’ve only been able to use it on your whole body on instinct.”

“Right… I guess that means we have plenty of work to catch up.” He blurted out in a tired, lamenting tone. He then grinned and got up, “What are we waiting for, hurry up and— GAHK!” The surge of water quickly blasted him away.

“You lost focus. You can only control your aura through your hands, so keep pouring it out from there.” Anastasia said as she continued to use the waterjet on him.

The blast of water was split between Felix’s palms into four different directions between his fingers. The psychic energy in his palm was slowly drained away by the force of the water. His legs were being pushed back and slid on the surface of the tile floor.

Unable to keep his body steady against the powerful pressure, Felix slipped and fell.

“I ran out of aura…”

“You shouldn’t have. You’re supposed to have the most psychic power of any of us.”

“…Right.” he wiped his drenched face as he lied flat on the ground, the sound of splashing water crackling in his ears.

In the other room, Nero was flung across the floor.

“Two minutes is up.” David declared. “You’ve gotten sloppy.”

“That’s because I’m out of aura…” Nero said as he got back up.

“You should have a lot more than that.” David replied. “Besides, I told you to manage that. You have a lot of psychic energy, but your explosive use of it drains it far too quickly.”

“Right. Fine tuning.” Nero blurted out in response.

“Grant, your next.” David called out.

Grant stood up. His eyes had thick, visible bags under them, and a bead of sweat poured down his face.

“Have you ever run out of aura before?” he asked.

“Of course, I have… aura is a different form of energy, and energy used against it quickly drains it. It takes a lot of aura just to prevent bullet from killing you.”

“…So what do you do when that happens?”

Anastasia explained to Felix, “Whatever improv you can come up with on the spot to survive. Let me tell you a secret. You’ll always have a little more aura to draw, even when you think you’re all out... But…” She stopped, realizing that she was about to explain things she was not supposed to.

“But?”

“But if you feel like you’re all out, it’s best not to force it.”

“Why?”

Anastasia paused, choosing her words carefully, “You’ll get a nosebleed if you do.”

Felix’s eyebrows raised and he replied, “I see.”

She did not have the heart to tell him the whole truth, she could not bear to tell him the reason why the nosebleeds occur.

“I didn’t know there were downsides to our abilities.”

“Actually, there are two downsides.” She corrected him.

Grant fell to the ground, but with a burst of crimson flare, he quickly got back up. David’s eyes widened as a stream of blood began to pour out of Grant’s nose. He lowered his arms.

“That’s enough.” David said as Grant slowly got back up, “Maybe. I was told that your hair has already turned white.”

“Only some of it…” Grant responded.

“So you have some access to your power, but you have no control over it yet.” David stated as he placed his fingers on his chin.

“Isn’t that what we’re training to fix?”

“It is, but you’re overworking yourself.”

“Ha? What do you mean? We’ve barely gotten started.”

“And how much have you been using your psychic power since? How much have you been training outside of this?”

“What does that matter?”

“Grant. I know you feel like psychic energy isn’t a part of you. But it is. It may not be a normal bodily function, but it takes place in your brain. Any form of overexertion is harmful if not handled properly. Even psychic power. When your body feels like it’s starting to overheat, that’s when you should ease up.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. Take a break. That goes for the two of you as well.” David said to the other red-eyed espers.

“If you use too much psychic energy, you um…risk getting a nosebleed. Which shouldn’t be a problem for you. But if you use too little, you risk psychic overcharge. David and I suffer from the former. You, being the strongest esper, will suffer from the latter.” Anastasia explained to Felix as they sat next to each other on the bench.

“So I just need to keep using it consistently?” Felix replied.

“That’s right.”

Felix then looked on the pale floor as he pondered to himself, “I have a question that’s been lingering in my mind.”

“Shoot.”

“What… what does it mean to be an esper?” He looked at her with his azure eyes.

“Hah?” She glanced at him and repeated his question, “What it means to be an esper?”

“That’s right.” Felix nodded.

“I don’t think that’s a question I can answer, why bother assigning meaning to something so...” She scoffed and shrugged, but halfway through her sentence, she caught a glimpse of Felix’s crestfallen expression and the volume of her already small voice shrunk, “...vague and arbitrary.”

Gears started turning in her head as she thought to herself;

What am I doing? This is the moment I can be a cool and caring mentor!

Anastasia pushed back her cynical thoughts and cleared her throat, “Superficially speaking, we now have the ability to move things with our mind, but I think...”

She flashed him a calculated smile, “That it gives us a strength to push beyond our limits. To be strong in a way that we need to be.”

Felix’s spirits were lifted by this answer, and he too gave a bright smile.

“That’s why you need learn how it works before you become a liability. Figure out what’s keeping you from using your powers and overcome it. You’re supposed to be the strongest, after all.”

He clenched his fist and confidently answered, “Alright.”

*

Isabelle laid flat on the ground in an open field, her bright eyes were hidden behind opaque goggles.

Beams of sunlight shined across her body as she held a steady aim holding a rifle. There were ten targets up ahead, one of which was a wooden plank that appeared as though it had been ravaged by a machine gun prior.

In her mind, she constructed a path way from the first one to the last. As soon as she felt confident in her mental calculations — she fired.

The first one was a bullseye, a perfect hit that traveled to the next target behind it.

It flew across the open field and changed directions immediately after hitting its mark, and then struck the second. But by the third, target, it missed. Striking the very edges of its head.

“Well, it almost worked…” She lamented to herself.

She got up and dusted herself off, and went over to David, who asked her, “Are you finally going to eat lunch?” He yawned.

She removed her goggles and said, “I have a few questions…”

“Does it concern pie?”

“What? No… I just wanna know, how did you figure all of this aura stuff?”

He scratched his head and answered, “We didn’t learn it so well. Me and Anastasia, as well as our old comrades, had to figure this out on our own through trial and error. We copied from nature, watching fire burn and waves crash. It took us almost two years to understand how it works. That and also tv gave us an idea.”

“I see…”

“Don’t worry, it won’t take you that long. You have us to teach you, and you’ve already come a long way experimenting with your abilities like this. I was surprised when you said you wanted to try this out on the shooting range. If there’s anything you need to know, just ask.” He said confidently.

“Yeah, um… did you also dye your hair?”

“Huh? Yeah, I did.”

“Did you dye your hair to match with your eyes? Is it like a pun or something, like curtains matching the window? Orange hair and orange eyes?”

“Lu— My friend… said that she liked it better this way.” David answered in a roundabout way, his metal arm then started to ring.

“Hmmmm…” She mumbled out with doubt.

“I need to take this. You should take a break already and meet up with the other two.” He said as he quickly left. “Sir, yes sir… okay sir.”

“Mhm… okay then.”

Isabelle headed to the kitchen with her chin in her hand, “Luna, huh? I guess I shouldn’t pry, but…”

As she opened the door, she found three individuals already there with drinks beside them.

“If it isn’t little miss vampire wannabe.” She was greeted with a taunt from the black-haired woman sat at the counter, eating a cookie. On the table were her two red-eyed colleagues, eating potato chips while they stared at the screen.

“Where have you been?” Isabelle asked.

“Missions.” Maria shrugged, “Where’s Felix?”

“I’m surprised he’s not with you.”

“I thought he was still training. Haven’t seen him all day.” Maria replied.

“Could you go look for him?” Grant requested without even bothering to look at her.

“Sigh, fine. Whatever.” Isabelle said as she walked out the door.

“And what are you two doing.” Maria asked as she glanced over to the other two.

“Watching a movie.” The two replied in tandem.

Maria perched her head over her hand. “… morons.”

**

In the office of the chief, David and Anastasia stood in front of the desk.

“David, how is the training going for the three?” Asked the Director, who was sat on the chief’s desk. The chief, stood behind him, their silhouettes traced a fine white from the light coming from the window.

“Nero progresses at a regular rate. He doesn’t understand it very quickly, but once he does, he’s able to catch up. He has a bad habit of creating explosive energy, as a result, he quickly runs out of aura to use. As for Grant, he’s rather slow on the uptake. He’s rather inflexible and is limiting himself, but he does push himself, and there’s been a little progress with him.”

“And as for Isabelle Castella?”

“As for her, she’s...” David stated as he lowered his head.

“That’s to be expected. Given her background, I would assume she’s a little slow.” Chief replied as she shrugged her arms, expecting the silver-haired girl to lag behind.

“No, it’s actually the opposite. Her progress is unbelievably fast. She started off releasing all of her energy at once, and in the past few training sessions, she’s already learned how to minimize and use it. She still has problems, but she’s incredibly quick to overcome them.”

“You must be exaggerating.” Chief scoffed.

“I’m not, sir. I would go so far as to say she’s almost on par with Nero or Felix in terms of combat. My guess is... If Isabelle was a fourth stage, you’d have yourself a monster.”

“Is that a suggestion?” The Director humored the assertion.

“If she could survive it, then maybe…” David considered.

“Perhaps Isabelle is an anomaly, but her heart is too soft.” The Chief interjected. In those few short words, she implied everything she needed to say.

David looked up and responded, “Ah, it’s as you say, sir. She’s very soft-hearted. I’m afraid that she might not have the stomach for what we do.”

“Don’t forget, I chose her for a reason.” The Director opened his other eye, revealing the amber glare underneath. The entire room suddenly felt tense, and the air suddenly became heavy.

Even two of the most experienced agents felt a thick discomfort with the look he gave them.

But as he closed it, he gave a very small smile, “She just needs a little push. And Anastasia, how’s Felix?”

“Sir, he’s progressing at a normal pace as expected. So far he’s learned how to manifest psychic energy in his hands.”

“But he can’t use it on his whole body yet?”

“He can… but he can only do it on instinct, not on command.”

“Is that so?”

“Right now, I think he and Nero should be on the same level.”

“I see. Then, how about we see for ourselves.” The Director’s lips curled lightly, letting out a smile ever so slight as he scratched his beard, “Thank you for the suggestion, Anastasia.”

“I, um… you’re welcome, sir.”

***

The door to Felix’s room creaked open as a silver-haired girl peaked inside.

“Huh? Who’s there?” Felix asked, his face still covered by the shirt.

She looked quickly looked away, but her crimson red eyes gravitated towards the shirtless Felix, unable to help herself, “It’s— it’s me.”

“Oh hi, Isabelle.”

As he put on his gray shirt, he looked to Isabelle, who was desperately trying to look away. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s … nothing.” She faced away and twirled her hair.

“So…” He said as he put on his four-leaf clover necklace.

“Y-yeah… I was gonna— why are you soaking wet?”

“Training.”

“Why… would you ever need to train with water?”

“It was Anastasia’s idea. It’s the closest thing we could come up with… against…” His eyes narrowed, the memory of the white beam of destruction that tore through his hand in his previous mission.

Isabelle looked around the dim room and noticed a pen on the table, as she looked back at Felix’s dripping wet body with a red flush on her cheeks, she smirked slightly and picked it up the pen, “You know… I have a pen that can write underwater.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Yeah, it can write other words too.”

“Huh? Oh. Oh…” Felix responded dryly as he caught on to her joke.

Suddenly, there was a buzz noise on the table, and a ring from Isabelle’s back pocket. As Felix picked up his phone, Isabelle spoke first, “It’s a message from David. Said that he’ll be working on paper work today, also says not to disturb him otherwise we have to buy him—”

“—Apple pie.” Felix cut her off, knowing full well what David would say.

“Ah, mhm. That’s right. And yours?”

“Anastasia says she went to headquarters. Guess that means I don’t have anything to do.”

“So, what do you plan to do?”

“Normally I would just train for a little while, have some coffee after… but…” Felix picked up a bottle, the one meant to stabilize his psychic powers, and swallowed one of the pills. “…I’ve been training nonstop. Now I just wanna have some coffee and rest.”

Her curious expression turned into a smile.

“Really.” She giggled, “You’re nothing like I thought you were.”

“What did you think of me, then?” He asked with dry sarcasm.

“From the stories I’ve heard, I thought that you’d be cold, and hardened, and difficult to talk to... Sometimes I idealized that you’d be this shining beacon, raised to save lives and to protect the peace at all costs…”

“Thanks. I’m glad you hold me in such high regard.” Felix jested.

“I mean, you’re still difficult to talk to, just in another way. But I like this you much better than the ideal I held you in.”

“To be fair, neither of those are wrong.” Felix smiled.

“You really surpassed my expectations, you and Nero both.” She softly giggled.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought Nero was just an idiot, and yet I realize he’s incredibly strong. And I thought you were incredibly strong, but…”

“Are you saying I’m an idiot?” Felix squinted.

“Well…” She looked away.

“Here I thought I was the cold-hearted killer…Besides, how is Nero strong?” Felix asked condescendingly.

“I mean… he beat David the first time they sparred.”

“Nero… beat David?” He mumbled out with a startled expression.

“Ah, yeah.”

A stream of blue began to seep out of his skin, his eyes radiating bright with a cold, azure glow. “… Now I’m motivated.”

“How about we leave your motivation here for a while so you can focus on resting and having your coffee?” Isabelle replied as she flicked her finger against his head.

“Ow… oh, right.”

The two of them returned to the sight of three people watching a movie on a small, maroon laptop. Felix’s sharp eyes were set on the blonde-haired man with a sandwich in hand. Maria looked up at Felix and Isabelle with a cold glare.

When Grant noticed, he looked up and waved, all while Nero was still focused on the film.

As they sat down with the other three, Grant asked a question. “I already asked these two, but do you have any tips for me to work on for my power.

“I… really don’t… know.” Felix answered as he looked at his own reflection in his coffee, his blue eyes being a stark contrast to the dark brown, but as he looked up the Grant’s focused gaze, he gave his answer, “But… Anastasia told me to find out what’s keeping me from using my power… and overcome it.”

Maria subtly smirked as she listened silently to Felix’s answer.

Grant’s serious expression broke into an awkward smile and replied, “I see. Well, practice will just have to make perfect, then.”

“That’s all we really can do.” Isabelle shrugged in response.

“I don’t wanna hear it from you, you’re the one improving the fastest.” Nero replied as he dug into his snack.

Isabelle pouted, and Grant laughed. While the other two partners simply smiled and continued eating.

****

In the slowly dimming training room stood a frustrated man with red eyes, struggling to hit the mark he set out for himself.

“One more time.” Grant grunted as he gripped his chain, but when it launched forward, it missed the target. He sighed as he pulled back his arm, expecting it to return. But it remained suspended in the air, stiff and steady like a broadsword, wrapped in a red glow.

“Argh! Come back!” He grumbled as he waved his arm around, but the ball on the chain remained in the same spot, while the rest of it moved along with his arm, making a soft clatter.

“URGH! Why won’t you work?! Listen to me!” He growled as he shook his arm.

“It’s because you’re doing it wrong.” A figure spoke from behind him.

“Ahk!—” Startled, the red energy on the chain dispersed and it fell to the ground. When Grant looked at the figure, he sighed and asked, “Maria... when did you get here?”

“You left the door open. I’ve been watching for five minutes.” She cheerfully replied.

“Huh…” He let out a resigned sigh, “What am I doing wrong, then?”

“You’re thinking of how it should move, trying to dictate how it should be. Don’t you hear the chains rattling? What you have to do is let it move on its own. Even a bystander can figure it out just by watching how you use your psychic energy.” She sharply remarked.

“That’s what I’m doing.”

“It’s not. You’re imagining where the chain should go and trying to dictate its every move. That’s not how it works. You let the head lead, and everything else follows. Once you’ve got that down, learn to use your energy to disperse the surrounding air and enforce the swing.”

“But Isabelle was able to...”

“You’re not Isabelle. You’re you. It’s the same power expressed differently. From how I understand it, what Isabelle’s doing is pre-calculating a dozen possibilities for her trajectory, so the bullet is preprogrammed to react in a certain way before the gun is even fired. But with you, you’re doing it in real time, so don’t think of the chain as something you control, but something you guide.”

“You mean… like a snake?”

Maria nodded, “Now, picture it in your head and try again.”

Grant attempted once more. Missing the target, he moved back his arm and the chain followed, only to miss again.

“You’re still doing it wrong. Learn to use momentum to your energy’s advantage.”

One more time, he took a deep breath. He struck once more and missed his target, but as he held bated breath, his expression changed. He threw back his arm, and the chain followed. It wrapped around the target and quickly smashed against it.

Grant let out a heavy exhale, “It… worked.”

“See?” She smirked and asked, “Why a chain, anyway?”

“It was the first thing I was able to work with… everything else just seemed… so much more difficult compared to this.”

“That so? Must be your inflexible mindset. Anyways, keep practicing until it hits like a cannon ball.” She patted his back before heading towards the door.

“Maria... Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She replied without even bothering turning around.

*****

In the chief’s office, Anastasia stood with arms behind her back while the chief went over the files in her hand.

“So… three Elite Agents, as well as a robin?” Chief asked, her orange glasses turned white from the sharp light of her window. A line of smoke filling the air

“Yes sir.” Anastasia responded; her face covered in scratches. Her outfit, covered in blood stains.

“You were there for less than three hours, and three people under your watch died.” The chief lamented.

“We were careful, but it turned out more dangerous than what we had prepared for.”

“This is unacceptable. This is our second recon there. I was hoping you would be able to handle it.”

“Chief Vivian.” A deep voice said. The two glanced over to the small black pin on the table, where a holographic projection suddenly appeared.

The chief’s eyes furrowed, “Director. Where are you?”

“I’m going to see an old friend.” The Director replied from the inside of a limousine.

“Sir, you should have said something instead of suddenly leaving like that.”

“I did not mean to worry you, Vivian. I was in a rush. Think it’s time we see the fruits of their training, don’t you agree?”

“Sir,” Anastasia interjected. “It’s barely been a month since we started training. I don’t think they’re ready.”

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion, agent Tundra.” Director replied. “They were already skilled elites before they became espers, they should be able to handle it now. Besides… I would like to see Grant and Nero are capable of.”

“Sir—”

“That is all. You have until tomorrow to prepare.” The Director announced before ending transmission.

“…You heard him. I’ll begin the preparations.” The chief sighed.

Director Sullivan exited the vehicle and adjusted his tie, and faced the building in front of him, “Now…”