Elements of the Heart

[Nightshine]

Just another random story that I thought up, so I wrote it down. Enjoy.



Modern day America… the prosperous land of freedom… is now in utter turmoil and chaos. In an unprecedented and disastrous accident of unknown cause, a nuclear warhead was set off in the upper atmosphere over the country. Though nothing on land was harmed, the radiation spread over a tremendous distance and covered the whole country, though it was barely even slightly volatile at all, having dispersed over such a great amount of land. The government toiled to cover up the incident, and actually did a decent job of it.
But then… some people started to show bizarre symptoms. Not everyone was affected; most people were immune to it. But very few of those who were affected began to exhibit strange powers. As the energy had entered their bodies, it caused them to absorb the natural elements surrounding them, until they had built to a point where they had mutated the victim’s genetic code and allowed them control over a certain element.
The results indeed would have been disastrous if not for one man… Agent Fred Dane, formerly of the FBI. He was affected the worst by the radiation, and acquired many different powers at once. The government would have quarantined all those affected immediately if not for Dane, who proposed to start a government program to aid those affected by the energies.
Many of the American citizens who were affected by it weren’t even aware of it, for in a majority of the ones affected their powers lay dormant. But in some cases, a person’s powers arose, most often through a surge of emotion, such as extreme sadness or anger. Even though many adults were affected, their powers were always dormant, and they only seemed to arise in young teens, ranging from 13 to 18 years of age. It was something about their genes that allowed this.
Fred Dane built an underground training facility, and began to recruit kids to train them in their powers. Which marks the occasion for one such situation…

[Nightshine]

There was a bang at the steel office door of Fred Dane, and he called them in. He was a large man, with hard brown eyes and the stubble of a beard at his chin. His muscles slightly stretched the fabric of the tight black sweater he was wearing. He sat at his desk, waiting to see who was at his door.
Three armed men walked in, escorting a boy with a blindfold around his eyes and bound wrists. They sat him down in a chair in front of Dane’s desk, and stood next to him. Dane looked up at them, and then examined the boy.
He was African-American, with dark skin and long black hair, that hung down at his shoulders, though a long stray strand of hair hung over his face. He wore a white T-shirt, with black pants and leather boots. A large black leather trench coat hung down at his feet, and he wore biker gloves on his hands. He sat with his head hanging down, his chin resting on his chest. “What’s his name?” asked Dane, looking up at the lead man.
“Brett, sir,” stated the soldier. “Brett Antoine.” Dane motioned for him to continue. “He was discovered within Michigan, sir. Apparently, he grew angry with a boy at school, and his powers emerged. I…”
But Dane cut him off. “What’s his power?” The soldier looked grim, and glanced over at Brett before replying.
“Um… shadow, sir.” Dane raised an eyebrow and looked at Brett.
“Shadow… There’s only two other people I know of who have that power, and I’m one of them,” he mused to himself. Then he motioned to the soldier to continue.
“Yes sir. He got mad, and his powers manifested, and he covered the school in a dark shadow, along with the whole block.” Dane’s eyes widened.
“The whole block??” he exclaimed. The soldier nodded. Dane rubbed his forehead with one hand. This one could be trouble, he thought to himself. He motioned again, and the soldiers took the blindfold off, though Brett’s eyes were closed. “His powers shouldn’t be that strong right off the bat,” he muttered.
The soldier continued his report. “We tracked him from the school records and came to his house. His parents were keeping him locked in a room. They were scared of him. They told us to take him, but not to bring him back. They… didn’t want him anymore, sir.”<br>As he said this, Brett’s eyes flashed open. They were brown for a moment, but then they quickly changed color and become completely black. The soldiers drew back as a dark shadowy aura emitted from Brett’s body and surrounded the area around him. One of the soldiers moved forward with a taser in hand. “No! Don’t touch it!” yelled Dane, but it was too late. As the soldier touched the aura, his eyes widened in shock, and he collapsed. The other soldiers grabbed his feet and dragged him free from the surrounding field, looking to Dane in confusion.
“The dark energies of the aura drains a person’s energy instantly upon contact,” he explained. The lead soldier stood at attention once more. “He is still angry from his parents’ abandonment. He did the same thing back at the house, but we used tranqs to subdue him.” Brett remained within the protective field, not moving a muscle.
“That’s all. You are dismissed,” said Dane, waving them out. The soldiers hurried out, carrying their comrade between them, who was beginning to recover. Dane knelt in front of Brett and looked into his eyes, which were still devoid of any color other than black.
“Brett, listen to me,” he said softly. “Your powers are controlling you, son. You must calm down. Get control, Brett. Control your powers. Control your emotions. Growing angry will not help you get your parents back. It only makes things worse.”<br>As he continued speaking, Brett’s eyes slowly grew lighter, the darkness fading away. “That’s it…” Dane muttered. “Just calm down, Brett.” Soon, Brett’s eyes had returned to normal, except the irises were black, and the dark aura still surrounded him.
“Now, let down the shield, Brett. You have control now. You don’t need it anymore…” said Dane. Slowly, the aura began to flicker, and then it quickly drew back as if it was being drawn inside of Brett, and it disappeared. Brett raised his head and looked at Dane, as his eyes now returned to their normal brown.

[Nightshine]

Dane stood up and went back to his desk, taking a seat in his chair. Brett looked around with one eyebrow raised, trying to make sense of his surroundings. Dane’s office had the appearance of an old English library, with the wallpaper and the many bookcases lining the walls, and even the large mahogany desk in front of him. “Where am I?” Brett asked Dane, fixing his eyes on him once more.
“You are currently inside a state-of-the-art government facility called Sector 0, established and run underground by yours truly,” said Dane, smiling. Brett folded his arms.
“Well, who are you?” he asked somewhat rhetorically.
“Fred Dane, former agent of the FBI, founder of Sector 0 and head officer.” Dane said, bowing his head slightly. Brett narrowed his eyes, nodding his head towards the door.
“Those your goons that brought me here?” he asked quietly. Dane nodded.
“Not exactly my ‘goons’ per say, but they are soldiers issued to me by our government.” Brett looked around a few more times, and then shifted in his seat.
“Why am I here?” he asked. Dane leaned forward, propping his elbows on the desk.
“Brett, you have been brought to Sector 0 because you have… abilities. Abilities, skills, powers, whatever you wish to call them. I…”
Brett cut him off. “Yeah, I know that. Get on with it.” Dane glared at him for a moment, and then continued, clearing his throat pointedly. He went on to explain to Brett about the nuclear incident, and the effect of the radiation that spread over the country. When he was finished, he leaned back in his padded chair.
“And that’s how you came to acquire your powers. At the moment, they are too unstable, and you have no control over them. They flare up with your emotions, and they have the potential to hurt a lot of innocent people. I had you brought here to give you the proper training at this facility. There are others like you here, other students of the facility. And there are a number of people on my staff with powers of the same nature as yours, and they will help you to control them. I sincerely hope you consider this opportunity. You would never be accepted in public again, if you keep letting your powers get the better of you. And the government… has declared that everyone with these powers… if they refuse to stay here, they will be locked up, for however long it takes them to agree. I tried to speak against it, but the President wouldn’t listen.” Dane said in conclusion.
Brett just stared at him for a few moments, and then he chuckled. “You guys really screwed up, didn’t you?” he said with a glint in his eye. He also leaned back in his chair. Then he grew serious and brought his hand up in front of his face, staring intently at it. Then he seemed to concentrate, and his hand became swallowed in the same shadowy aura they had seen earlier. Brett smiled at Dane, and extended his hand towards him, his irises turning black once more. A dark beam of swirling energy shot from his hand and flew towards Dane. At the last moment, right before it reached his face, it turned aside and began to spiral around his body, surrounding his chair. But Dane didn’t even flinch.
“I’ve already got some measure of control,” Brett said. “What if I refused, and just blasted everyone who even tried to lock me up?” he asked slyly. Dane just stared at Brett through the swirl of darkness, and suddenly his irises turned black as well, and a large burst of dark energy seemed to explode from him, blowing away the energy emitted by Brett and sending objects on his desk scattering. Dane’s eyes quickly returned to normal, and he smiled.
“You wouldn’t get very far,” he said. “I’m one of the most powerful beings alive. One of only two people to ever be gifted with all of the known elemental powers.” Dane stated this somewhat proudly. Brett lowered his hand and folded his arms.
“Don’t worry. I have absolutely no intention of doing anything of the sort. I just wanted to draw you out,” he said. Dane looked at him queerly.
“How so?” he asked. Brett shrugged.
“I sensed something about you… I sensed that you were hiding something. Just a feeling, I suppose.” Dane smiled, and nodded his head. “Not bad. You may be developing another power as well.” This time it was Brett who looked at him queerly. Dane quickly explained. “I also have the gift to sense the powers of other people, whether it be dormant or active. It is how we locate others, to bring to the facility… It is how we located you.” Brett just shrugged and looked away.
“Okay then… I’ll give this place a shot,” he said after a few minutes. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. “Shouldn’t be that hard.” Dane stared pointedly at the booted feet on his desk, but Brett made no move to relocate them. Dane sighed, but smiled at him.
“Glad to hear it, Brett,” he started to say, and then an intercom on his desk beeped. He looked at the display and then up at Brett. “Sorry I can’t give you the whole introductory spiel, but I’ve got to take this call. It’ll have to wait. The students’ lounge is down the hall to the left. You should meet somebody in there who’ll show you around.” Brett raised an eyebrow at him quizzically, obviously not wanting to meet anyone. Dane chuckled. “Go on, it’ll be good for you. Now get, this is important.” Brett sighed and stood up, walking slowly out of the door.

[Nightshine]

Standing just outside of the door, Brett looked around at the hallway of the facility. It had a metallic, futuristic look to it, complete with sliding doors and keypad door locks. He chuckled to himself, wondering where they came up with this stuff.
“Hey!” came a shout from down the hall, and Brett turned to look. A perky-looking girl with long blond hair came walking quickly up to him. She looked to be around Brett’s age. She smiled, revealing a row of dazzling white teeth. She was fair-skinned, with a hint of blush on her cheeks and a slight tan. Her blue eyes stared up at Brett in curiosity, for she only stood at around 5’6” while Brett stood at 6’1”. She wore a black V-neck T-shirt, and tight blue jeans. A number of different bracelets adorned her left arm.
“You must be the new guy they brought in,” she said cheerfully, extending her hand. “I’m Hallie.” Brett shook her hand, introducing himself. She giggled. “Ooo, that’s a nice name.” She winked at him, and giggled again. “How old are you?” she asked. Brett raised an eyebrow.
“I’m 16,” he said. Hallie smiled again.
“Same as me! Awesome!” she exclaimed.
Another voice came from behind her. “Hallie? Oh, there you are. Why’d you run off like that?” A boy looking to be their age came up behind her, throwing an arm around Hallie’s shoulders. He wore a grey tank top, exposing muscular biceps, and baggy khakis. He had medium length brown hair with bangs that hung over his face, and a red bandana was tied under it, around his forehead.
“Oh… nothing, Kevin. I was just… welcoming the new kid.” Hallie mumbled out, giving Brett a sidelong glance. The boy’s green eyes roved up and down Brett’s body, studying him. “New kid, huh?” he muttered, eyeing Brett oddly. He finally offered his hand to him. “Name’s Kevin,” he said none too enthusiastically. Brett shook his hand.
“Brett. Nice to meet you.” Each boy gave a firm shake, almost as if in a competition. But soon, Brett noticed that Kevin’s hand was growing steadily warmer, getting more uncomfortable by the second. He felt it even through his gloves. Finally it became so hot that Brett quickly released the grip, shaking his hand to cool it. Kevin gave a grin, but it quickly disappeared when Hallie hit him gently on the shoulder. A faint tone of red could be seen in his irises, but then they turned green again.
“Kevin!” she exclaimed. “Stop that!” Kevin quickly shrugged in his defense.
“What?” he said in a mock questioning tone. Hallie rolled her eyes, and turned to Brett.
“Are you okay? Sorry about that. He likes to do that to people, especially new ones.” Brett looked at his hand, which was slightly red from the heat, though it had cooled off now.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s okay,” he said, and smiled at her. Hallie blushed a little and looked away. Brett glanced over at Kevin. “I take it that’s your power, then?” he asked him. Kevin smiled and nodded.
“Yup. Fire, baby. The only way to go.” Brett nodded understandingly.
“Cool. What’s yours, Hallie?” Hallie smiled and beckoned him close with one finger. Then she pointed her index finger at him. “Look closely, or you’ll miss it,” she said with a smile. Brett came closer. “Closer… closer…” When Brett had leaned close enough, her sky blue eyes turned an even deeper shade of blue, and a jet of water squirted out from her finger and hit Brett square in the face. He spluttered, and stumbled back as Hallie and Kevin both chuckled softly. Brett eyed them both with a smile, wiping off his face.
“You guys aren’t very nice to newbies, are you?” he said, and they shook their heads. Wiping his face clean, he grinned at Hallie. “Is that it? Is that all you can do?” he teased. Hallie scoffed.
“Oh, as if,” she said haughtily, and turned down the hallway. Extending her hand, palm outwards, her eyes turned a dark blue once more. Suddenly a large jet of water shot from her hand, similar to that of a fire hose except larger. It sprayed down the hallway, crashing to the floor and making a small wave as it ran down most of the length of the hall. She turned back to Brett with a smile. “And I can do more than that, too.” Kevin chuckled and pointed down the hall. The floor was almost completely covered in water, its surfaces slippery and wet. Hallie smiled sheepishly.
“Oops… Kev, could you take care of that for me?” she asked. Kevin nodded, and almost immediately his eyes turned red. Hallie turned to Brett. “It’s about to get hot in here… really hot.” Brett simply shrugged, and Hallie turned around. “Suit yourself,” she said. After a few moments, the gradual change in temperature became noticeable. It was indeed very hot, and both Hallie and Brett began to fan themselves with their hands, Hallie squirting a little water on their faces. Kevin obviously wasn’t affected, and kept up the heat. Soon the water on the floor was completely evaporated, and Kevin let the temperature return to normal.
Folding his arms, Kevin turned to Brett. “So, what can you do?” he asked him. Hallie smiled.
“Yeah, what’s your power?” she asked excitedly. Brett smirked, and stood in the middle of the hallway.
“Stand back,” he said. His eyes turned black again, though for a moment nothing happened. Then a dark shadow began to creep out from his feet, spreading swiftly out around him. It climbed up the walls and traveled all the way down the hall, covering everything in its vast shade, and soon the whole hallway was pitch black. Absolutely nothing could be seen, and the voice of Hallie could be heard saying “Whoa….” Suddenly a ball of flame erupted in midair. Though it could be seen within the shadow, it’s light didn’t penetrate the inky blackness around it, so it didn’t provide any type of light for them. “Impressive,” Kevin said, his voice now seeming to echo in the hall.
“Okay, cut it out, Brett. You’re creeping me out,” Hallie said, and Brett chuckled. The shadow began to creep inward again, and they could see again. It grew smaller and smaller until it reached where Brett had been standing… but he wasn’t there anymore. The shadow collected in a round spot on the floor and slowly faded. Both Kevin and Hallie whirled around, trying to see where Brett had gone, but he was nowhere in sight. “Come on, Brett. This isn’t funny,” said Hallie.
After a few moments, a small dark circle of shadow appeared behind them, and Brett melted out of it, rising up behind them. “It’s not?” he said with a smile, and they both jumped, turning around swiftly. Brett chuckled. “Oh, did I scare you? So sorry…” Hallie frowned, and she pounded her fist on his shoulder.
“Don’t do that! You scared me half to death!” she said. But then a small smile crept over her face, and she laughed. “That was amazing though. Your powers have developed much, already. It’s very impressive.” Brett smiled, and scratched the back of his head.
“Oh, no, it was nothing. I’m not that great… not yet anyway,” he insisted, but Hallie wouldn’t have it.
“Oh, don’t be silly. Of course you are. You are very talented.” She smiled and giggled at him. Kevin rolled his eyes and turned around, walking away down another hall. “Come on, Hallie. We’re leaving,” he grumbled. Hallie turned towards him, surprised. “What? Why? I’m just talking to hi…”
“We’re leaving, Hallie,” Kevin repeated again. Hallie sighed and turned back towards Brett. “Well, it was nice meeting you Brett.” She smiled, and then walked over to join Kevin. She nudged him in the side, and he rolled his eyes again. “Yeah, whatever. What she said.” The couple walked down the hall in silence, leaving Brett looking after them in confusion.

[Nightshine]

“Yep… that’s Kevin for ya,” came a quiet voice from behind Brett, and he turned to see whom it was. Another boy stood in the hall behind him, as if appearing from nowhere. He was of average height, being around 5’9”, and he had medium length black hair that was just a bit messy, sticking up at odd angles in some places. Like Kevin, he also had long bangs, and most of it hung over his eyes. He had very strange eyes that were a light gray in color, and they had a blank look to them, as if the boy were always staring off into nothingness. He held a small toothpick in the side of his mouth.
He wore a ragged blue denim jacket over a black T-shirt that said “Just Deal” in white letters. The shirt was bunched up slightly at his right side, revealing a studded black leather belt looped around his baggy blue jeans, which sagged down on the right. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket, and he walked right up beside Brett, not even glancing at him as he watched Kevin and Hallie round a corner.
Brett looked down at him curiously. “And who are you?” he asked. The boy’s mouth drew up in a small smirk.
“Leon,” said the 15 year-old. “Leon Stark… resident loner.” His voice was very calm and confident-sounding. He turned to Brett, moving a few strands of hair from his eyes with a deft flick of his head. “And you are Brett Antoine, 16 year old junior from Detroit, Michigan, granted with the rare and powerful abilities of shadow.” Brett arched his brow once more, something that he had been doing quite often that day. Leon’s amused smirk didn’t leave his face, and he turned aside again. “I know these things,” he assured Brett, who gave a confused shrug and turned with him to gaze down the empty hall.
“So are they…” he started to ask, but Leon cut him off.
“Dating? Yes… though Hallie didn’t act like it much, after she saw you.” Brett rolled his eyes.
“No, I suppose she didn’t…” he said quietly, smiling sheepishly. Leon glanced up at him, his smirk gone.
“I’d advise you to be careful… Kevin’s jealous…of you. And knowing Kevin, that’s probably not a good thing.” Leon walked over and leaned against the far wall, facing Brett, and Brett leaned on the wall across from him. They stood in silence for a moment, each of them staring back at the other. A small group of kids walked by, laughing amongst themselves and breaking the monotony, but they quickly passed. Brett finally opened his mouth to speak, but Leon beat him to it.
“You’re about to ask why my eyes are so different, am I right?” Brett’s mouth stayed wide open, but he nodded, dumbfounded. Leon chuckled at his reaction. “It’s a result of my powers. They used to be hazel, and would only change to this color when I used my powers, but then one day after my powers had a sudden outburst… they just stayed like that.” He shrugged nonchalantly and smirked again. “I’m not complaining…” he said quietly.
Brett tried to speak again, but again he was cut off. “Now you want to know exactly what my power is, right?” Leon said. Brett rolled his eyes but nodded, folding his arms. “Like I said… I know these things,” Leon said. Then they heard footsteps echoing down the hallway. “Just wait…” Leon told him. Soon another student came into view, though he was younger than the two boys. Leon watched as he approached them, apparently listening to a CD player. As he passed in front of them, Leon moved his toothpick to one side of his mouth, and then blew out of the other side. A large funnel of misty frost escaped from his lips and hit the ground in front of him, covering it with solid ice. The kid stepped on the ice and immediately lost his balance, falling on his posterior.
“Hey! Leon!” he shouted, glaring up at him. Both Leon and Brett were chuckling softly at him. “Hey what?” said Leon, flashing a toothy grin. “Read the shirt, kid.” He indicated the saying on his shirt. The student grumbled a response under his breath and crawled off of the ice before walking away.
Brett looked across at Leon, a smile creeping upon his face. “I like your style, Leon,” he said. He stood up and offered Leon his hand. “I think your days of being a loner are officially over. Whaddya say?” Leon stared up at him, and then down at his hand. He paused for a moment, and then shook Brett’s hand slowly but firmly. Leon smiled, and looked down the hall.
“Student lounge’s that way,” he said, drawing his hands out of his pockets for the first time and pointing. Brett only looked surprised for a moment, and then smiled.
“I suppose I should get used to this, huh?” Leon nodded. “Come with me,” said Brett. “Show me around a little.” Leon shrugged, and they walked off down the hall towards the lounge.

[Nightshine]

Leon keyed a button next to the door, and it whooshed open. Walking in, Brett gave a low whistle. It was a very nice and spacious lounge, and it looked much like the lounge of a ship, but grander. It had a large TV area in the main part, with many comfortable couches and chairs. There were multiple TVs in the room, some kids watching TV shows while others played video games and such. There was also a large kitchen area over to one side, complete with refrigerator, stove and oven, sink, dishwasher, and many cupboards filled with all types of food and ingredients. There was a game area on the other side, having a fuse ball and ping pong table in the middle, and also a few arcade games.
“Very nice…” said Brett, placing his hands on his hips. Leon smiled.
“There are three more spread about the whole facility.” Brett gave him an astonished look.
“Wow… The facility’s that big, huh?” Leon nodded. Then he looked over to the kitchen and frowned at a kid rummaging around in the refrigerator. Taking the toothpick out of his mouth, he flicked it across the room. It hit the kid in the back of the head, and he looked up.
“Outta my lasagna, beatnik.” Leon said, glaring at him. The kid rolled his eyes, but closed the refrigerator and went over to look in the cupboards. Brett was about to comment on this when the door opened behind him, and two large guys shoved past him. They were easily 6’4” and very ripped, looking to be around 18.
“Move it or lose it,” one said, moving Brett forcefully out of the way. In a flash, Leon’s hand reached up and grabbed the boy’s collar, bringing him down to eye level.
“Play nice, Einstein.” He stared into the boy’s eyes, his frosty breath washing over his face. The kid was much bigger and older than Leon, yet he didn’t do anything in his defense. Leon released him and he looked over at Brett, smoothing out his shirt.
“Yeah, whatever…” he muttered, and left with his friend. Brett moved over to Leon’s side, obviously impressed with Leon’s no-guff type attitude.
“Resident loner, huh?” he finally said, and Leon smirked.
“And enforcer.” He motioned for Brett to follow him and headed for the kitchen area. “I was the first student here, at the facility,” he said. “Enough people know me enough by now to have learned to stay out of my way.” He went down the line of drawers in the counter, opening and closing them, until he apparently found what he was looking for. He reached into one and pulled out another toothpick, which he then stuck in his mouth again.
Brett watched as the two boys entered a room labeled “Weight Room”. “Those guys were pretty big, though,” he said. “What…”
“They were earth elements,” said Leon. “People with powers of earth are usually pretty big…” He gave Brett a sly grin. “They’re nothing… You should see Charlie.” Brett looked at him quizzically.
“Charlie? What does he look like?” Leon nodded to a picture on a nearby coffee table. Brett walked over and picked it up, and almost burst out laughing. “This guy?” he said chuckling. The boy in the picture was what many teens would classify as a nerd. He had wide-rimmed glasses and messy red hair, with lots of freckles on his face. He was very skinny, and wore a collared shirt and pants that were too big for him. Leon nodded.
“Yep, that’s him.” Brett eyed the picture confusedly. Leon walked out of the kitchen and towards the weight room, bidding Brett follow him once more. Reaching the door, Leon opened it and went in, closely followed by an intrigued Brett. There were exercise machines everywhere as one would expect, and motley assortments of people were working out in the room. Leon looked around for a moment and then nodded towards a particular machine. “There he is,” he said. Brett looked in that direction, and his eyes narrowed as he tried to spot him.
“I don’t see ‘im, ” he said. “Is he behind that big guy?” Leon smiled and called over to him.
“Hey, Charlie!” Brett kept looking, expecting to see Charlie poke his head up from behind someone. But his eyes widened as the large kid he had been referring to raised his head, and stood up. As he approached them, his large form loomed larger and larger and seemingly blocked out the overhead lights. “Whoa…” was all that Brett could say.

[Nightshine]

Charlie stood six feet, eight inches tall and though he wasn’t overly muscular, he was one of the fittest and biggest people Brett had ever seen. His sizeable muscles glistened in the light, drenched with sweat as they were, as was his white T-shirt. It was obvious that he had been working out for a while. He wore loose fitting blue basketball shorts and his hands were taped up. It looked like a completely different person except he still had his short and messy red hair and many freckles. His glasses, however, were nowhere in sight, and deep green eyes looked down at the two boys.
“Charlie, meet Brett,” said Leon, obviously used to the presence of the enormous adolescent. Charlie smiled and offered his hand to Brett.
“Nice t’ meetcha,” he said in a deep bass voice. Brett slowly took his hand, simply nodding and still staring up at him as his hand was enveloped by Charlie’s huge fist, though he made sure to relax his grip.
“Um, yeah… You… too…” Brett said. Leon grinned.
“I showed him your old picture,” he said. Charlie chuckled.
“Oh, I see. Hehe, bet you were surprised, eh?” Brett nodded, his mouth hanging open. Charlie ran his hand back through his hair. “Well, it’s only a result of my powers. As soon as they manifested, I just started to grow, right there. Mr. Dane said that sometimes some people are more affected by their powers than others.” He shrugged. “I guess I… needed to look the part, eh?” he joked. “And I got contacts a few months ago… I’m practically a whole new person, eh?” Brett got over his initial shock, and decided that he liked Charlie, smiling up at him. He seemed like a nice enough guy.
“Charlie here’s practically the smartest kid at the school.” Leon said with a roll of his eyes. Charlie gave a hearty laugh.
“Yeah, well I used to be a total geek, remember? I still pretty much am, in my head at least.” He picked a 60-pound weight off of a nearby rack and began lifting it idly, seemingly without effort. “So, Lee, you showin’ him around?” Leon nodded silently. “Hmm, well maybe I’ll come with, eh?” Charlie put the weight down after a few more lifts, and stood up. Then a voice rang out, with a thick Boston accent. “Ey, Charlie! Come spot me, why dontcha!” Charlie sighed. “Ah… guess I’d better rain check, eh? Later, guys! And welcome to Sector 0, Brett!” he called back as he walked off.
They both walked out of the weight room, and Leon indicated another door at the other side of the lounge. “C’mon… I’ll show you around like I promised.” They weaved their way through a throng of students, and Brett thought for a moment.
“Hey, was he…” he began.
“Canadian? Yes, he was,” said Leon. Brett nodded knowingly.
“Yeah, I was wondering about all the eh’s.” Brett mused. Leon chuckled. “What?” asked Brett.
“You’ve gotten used to me already,” came his reply. Brett shook his head with a small laugh.
“I guess so, huh?” he said, but then they were interrupted by a shout from behind them. They turned and saw Dane walking towards them and waving to get their attention.
“Brett! I’m glad I found you,” he said as he caught up to them. “Given the strength of your powers and the measure of control you have over them, I’ve decided you to put you in Class Alpha. I see you’ve already made a new friend, and Leon is also in Class Alpha. He’ll show you the ropes. You’ll start class bright and early tomorrow.” He smiled and patted them both on the shoulder. “Well, time stands still for no man, and I must be off. See you guys later!” Dane walked off, eyeing the rascally inhabitant of one of the couches. “Devon, you behave. I’m watching you.” Devon put on a look of pure innocence, which quickly turned into a devious grin. As Dane passed, Devon turned and spit into a small plant that stood on the table in front of him, and after a few moments the plant erupted in flame.
Leon rolled his eyes and raised his hand, holding his thumb and forefinger like a gun. “Bang,” he said softly, and a small orb of ice shot from his finger, resembling a miniature snowball. The orb flew through the air and hit the plant, putting out the fire but also turning the plant into solid ice. Leon gave another one of his smirks, and then raised his hand, pointing it at Devon. Devon immediately scrambled over the couch and hid behind it. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Leon said, lowering his hand.
“What’s Class Alpha?” asked Brett.
“Well, this is like a school, right? Well, all the students are divided up into different classes; depending on how much control they have over their powers and such. Class Alpha is the highest class, reserved for those who actually can control their powers without outbreaks. Not many students are in the class, just me, Kevin, Hallie, Charlie, and a few other people… And now you, of course.” Leon turned and started heading for the door again, and Brett followed his lead. This place might not be so bad, he thought to himself, and actually found himself looking forward to his class tomorrow.

[Nightshine]

“…And these are our training classrooms,” said Leon, leading Brett into a large room. Brett looked around, but didn’t see any desks or chalkboards or anything. He scratched his head in puzzlement.
“Well, where’s all the…”
“Oh, this isn’t the classroom. This is the observation room for our classrooms.” Leon led him over to a row of large thick glass windows, looking down into various rooms. The rooms weren’t actually classrooms, but just large rooms with high ceilings and thick steel walls. Leon smiled at Brett’s confused look. “Well, if you were training a bunch of hyperactive students with unstable powers, wouldn’t you rather do it in a secure steel room built to withstand violent outbreaks of energy?” Brett understood and smiled.
“Hmm…No, not really. Where’s the fun in that?” He gave Leon a wink, and Leon smiled, punching him in the shoulder playfully.
“I knew I liked you for a reason,” he said quietly. They walked down the row of observation windows, viewing various classes and sessions. Brett noticed that there were doors next to each window, and concluded that they must be elevator lifts to take the students to the training rooms below. “’Ey, c’mere,” Leon called, and Brett walked over.
“Yeah, dude?” Leon leaned against the broad sill of the window and pointed down into a room.
“Check it,” he said, and Brett peered down. “She’s taking a private session.” Standing in the middle of the room was a girl, also around their age. She was Asian, characterized by her long black hair and narrow eyes, though they were closed. She wore faded blue jeans and a white T-shirt, over which was a small yellow sweater, though it was unbuttoned in the front. She wore black cotton gloves, and her hands were held together in front of her as if she were praying. She also wore a small black beanie on her head which had its edges turned up, and her hair hung down freely from it.
She stood like this for a while, her head bowed. “She’s concentrating,” Leon explained. “Focusing her power by building up energy and slowly releasing it. It helps our powers to grow stronger.” They watched the girl do this for a few minutes as she stood, still as a statue. Finally Brett broke the silence once more.
“So, what’s her…” he started to say, but then something happened in the room. The girl raised her head and opened her eyes wide. Her eyes were completely white, without a trace of any other color. Then she quickly spread her arms outward, and a fierce wind was expelled from her body. The powerful gust quickly turned into a large grey cyclone, which surrounded her and swirled around the whole room. The girl let the cyclone build around her, whipping her hair and clothes around as it grew in intensity. The winds battered against the window, rattling it somewhat even though it was held firmly in place, and causing the two boys to back up a little. Then she raised her arms above her, and the cyclone narrowed, drawing around her and then shooting up towards the ceiling. She was almost completely lost from view within the center of it, and the cyclone continued for a few more moments. Then she brought her arms across her chest and flung them outward, and the cyclone instantly dispelled. She stood in the room silently, apparently tired from her exertions for she was breathing hard. Her eyes slowly faded from white to normal brown eyes.
“I believe that answers your question,” Leon said to Brett, still staring down at her. Brett merely nodded in reply. The girl’s breathing eventually slowed to normal, and she began to walk slowly towards the lift, pushing her hair behind her ear. The lift did indeed take her up to the observation room, and she stepped through the door, her arms folded. “Not bad, Liana,” Leon said to her. “You held it for a few more minutes this time, and didn’t use up as much of your energy.” He smiled a little. But Liana merely glanced at him, and his smile disappeared. He quickly preoccupied himself by watching a class being held in the next room.
Liana glanced over at Brett, looking him over coldly. He extended his hand to her. “Hi. I’m Brett,” he said. She stared at his hand pointedly, and then back up at him, making no move to shake it. Brett slowly lowered his hand, averting his eyes around the room.
“Whatever,” Liana said grumpily. She began to walk to the door. “Just…don’t talk to me.” Even the door sensed her cold-hearted attitude, slamming behind her with a seemingly louder ‘whoosh’ than before.
Brett stared after her with a blank look, and then turned to Leon, who shook his head. “That girl scares me sometimes…” he muttered. Brett raised an eyebrow.
“Scares you?” he asked in disbelief, and Leon nodded slowly. Brett gave a whistle
“Don’t take it personally,” Leon said. “She’s like that to everyone. Maybe her powers, like, sucked up her heart or something. I dunno.” Brett gave a chuckle. “Just don’t get on her bad side,” Leon said, but then realized what he had just said. “Well… never mind, that ain’t possible. Don’t get her angry at you, at least… She’s in our class.”<br>Brett gave a look of mock concern. “Yeesh…” he muttered.

[Nightshine]

Leon looked at a clock on the wall and stood up slowly.
“Well, let’s get outta here. It’s getting late and you still haven’t seen your room yet.”
“My room?” Brett asked. Leon rolled his eyes.
“Well, you’re obviously not sleeping on a couch in the student lounge. We’ve got sleeping quarters, one area for each different class. They brought all your clothes and things from your house too.” Brett followed him out of the room and through the long and seemingly endless corridors of Sector 0, sometimes stopping so that Leon could introduce him to some more students. Nearing the sleeping quarters, they reached a long hallway, which seemed seemingly emptier than the other ones. They didn’t really take much notice of this, however, and walked slowly along in silence. Then as they reached a crossway, suddenly the overhead lights flickered, and Leon looked up quickly.
“Get down!” he yelled and tackled Brett to the ground. Just in time too, for a bolt of lighting shot over their heads from the side, crackling with energy. Then the two boys heard hysterical, almost maniacal laughter. Leon stood up and rolled his eyes, glaring down the side corridor at someone. Brett stood up and inched into the corridor trying to see who it was.
A boy sat on the ground, rolling around in fits of laughter. He was younger and shorter than them, probably 14 years old. His short hair was black with blond highlights, and it was spiked up. He wore an unbuttoned blue collared shirt, with a white shirt underneath, and extremely baggy black pants that covered his sneakers. As he rolled on the ground, electricity would occasionally flash around his body for a few moments.
“Aha, ahahahahahaha!” he laughed. “Y- hehehehahahahaha! Y-you should ha-hahahahaha! H-have seen your faces! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” He stood slowly to his feet, but almost fell back down from laughing. Leon narrowed his eyes and raised his hand. A bluish white beam shot from his hands at the kid, but the kid neatly ducked, still laughing and pounding the floor with his fists in his hysteria. He raised his hand and his eyes turned yellow. A bolt of lightening similar to the previous one shot towards Leon, but he raised his hand once more and a shield of ice appeared in front of him. The lightning was deflected by the shield, though the shield was shattered.
The kid stood up again, now slightly calmed but still chuckling, and he would randomly burst into fits of laughter. “Heh, hehehehe! I-I’m sorry, but that was classic… heheh, hehehe….Ahahahahahaha!! That’s, like, the sixth time!! Hahahahaha!” Every time the electricity crackled around him, his eyes would flash yellow for a moment before turning black again.
“And… this would be…” Brett asked, totally lost. He looked at Leon, who was still glaring at the kid, and then to the boy.
“This… is Ryan…” Leon said through clenched teeth. “He’s… my little brother…” Brett chuckled, and Leon glared at him.
“Sorry…” Brett mumbled, turning serious once more. But he couldn’t hold it in any longer and he burst out laughing. “Buahahahahaha! I , I can see the resemblance! Hahahahahaha!” He doubled over, his stomach aching from laughing. He regained some of his composure and looked up, but found Leon’s hand in his face. “Holy…!” he exclaimed. Leon’s beam fired again, but Brett turned into a shadow in the nick of time and disappeared into the floor again, the shadow dispersing about the hallway. Then Brett’s laughter echoed throughout the hallway again, mingling with that of Ryan’s. Leon growled, shooting beams everywhere and freezing the walls and ceiling.
“Shuttup and get out here, you little weasel!” he said. Soon the shadow gathered behind him, and Brett rose out of it again, about to tap him on the shoulder. But before he could, Leon whirled around and grabbed him by the collar. Brett stared into his blank grey eyes, giving him a broad grin. Leon stood there, his face totally serious, but then it slowly cracked into a smile. “You dork…” he muttered, letting Brett go. Meanwhile, Ryan was still behind them chuckling. Leon rolled his eyes. “Ryan, Brett. Brett, Ryan,” he mumbled quickly.
Ryan gave Leon an amused smile. “Oh, you’ve found yourself a babysitter, huh? Mom’ll sure be glad to hear that.” Leon’s fists clenched, but he did nothing. Ryan extended his hand to Brett. “Sup?” he said. As Brett reached for his hand, more electricity flickered around him, and he stopped.
“Don’t worry, you won’t get hurt by touching him,” said Leon. “He can’t totally control his strength, and some of his electricity escapes every now and then.” Brett hesitated, and then finally shook his hand. Leon had been right; the electricity around his body did nothing to him. Ryan smiled innocently as his eyes kept flashing yellow occasionally. But then they turned yellow and stayed yellow, and Ryan grinned. Brett stiffened as volts of electricity ran through his body as Ryan zapped him through their handshake. He released his hand and stepped back as he recoiled from the shock, and Ryan’s hoots of laughter rang out once more.
Brett shook his head to clear it, and then glared at the smaller kid. “You little punk…” he muttered, dashing towards him. But Ryan just smiled, and right as Brett reached him, his body flashed yellow and he transported into one of the overhead lights, which flickered for a moment.
“It’s no use,” Leon said from behind him. “He can change into electricity, just as you can turn to shadow. He always hides in lights or something like that. And if you try to break it, he just moves to another one… Dane doesn’t exactly appreciate lights being broken anyway.” Bolts of electricity shot down from the light, and Ryan appeared once more, snickering.
“Listen, we don’t have time for this, pipsqueak. I have to take Brett to see his room assignment,” Leon said. Ryan shrugged.
“Whatever. I don’t wanna be seen with you losers anyway.” He grinned mischievously. “Later!” He said as he zapped back up into the light, and then the bolt of electricity could be seen jumping from light to light as he traveled down the hall. The other two boys walked the other way, towards the sleeping quarters once more.
“Yes, he is in our class,” Leon said before Brett could speak. Brett looked down at him.
“Are you sure you don’t have some kinda psychic powers? This is creepy…” he muttered. Leon smiled as they reached another door.
“No, I don’t. Like I said before…” He yanked Brett to the side as the door whizzed open and a bunch of younger kids ran through the doorway. “…I know these things,” he continued, walking through the doorway. Brett rolled his eyes yet again and followed him.

[Nightshine]

They finally reached the large sleeping quarters, which was a whole area of hallways lined with dorm-like rooms for the students. There were different sections according to age and gender. Leon motioned Brett over to a large bulletin board, with many lists posted up. “This is where the new room assignments are posted,” he explained. Brett walked up and searched for his name on the lists. Finding it, he read across the paper looking for the room number.
“Hmm… it says I’m rooming with…Randall Stark. Ain’t that your last name? Do you have another brother or something?” Leon frowned and ripped the paper down, crumpling it into a ball.
“I told them not to use that name…” he muttered, and Brett crossed his arms expectantly. Leon turned his back on Brett. “Let’s just say that Leon is my middle name,” he growled, obviously not wanting to talk about it. Brett thought for a moment, and then chuckled. “Hehehe…. Your name is Randall? Hehehehe….” He said softly. The crumpled paper in Leon’s hands quickly froze into a ball of ice, and he whirled around, chucking it at Brett’s head. Brett ducked just in time as the ice shattered against the wall behind him. “Geez… tou-chy,” he muttered.
“Let’s just go,” Leon said, walking away. He knew his way around the halls and they soon arrived at their room. Walking in, Brett gave another whistle, as the room was more impressive than he thought. A large bunk bed stood on the right side of the room, and on the left was a casual area, complete with a couch, TV, and a desk. A door past the couch led to the bathrooms, and a closet took up some space on the wall near the bed. Brett saw that his things had been packed in large bags and were lying on the top bunk. Lots of other things were lying about the room that were obviously Leon’s: a Playstation near the TV, a shelf of books that stood near his desk, a large CD player on the desk. A few patches of ice were evident on the walls, though they were almost gone.
Leon walked in and took Brett’s bags from the top bunk, setting them on the floor. “What are you doing?” Brett asked.
“I’m taking your stuff off of my bed,” Leon said. Brett rolled his eyes.
“Well, why can’t I have the top one?” he asked. Leon glanced over at him.
“I was living here before you. I always sleep on the top bunk.” He continued to throw Brett’s stuff down to the ground.
“But…” Brett started to say, but Leon turned towards him and glared at him.
“Top bunk. Mine. End of discussion.” Brett rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. “I will freeze you to this bed if I have to,” Leon said, pointing to the bottom one. Brett held up his hands.
“Oh, no need. Bottom’s fine,” he said. He kicked his bags under the bed. “I’ll unpack later.” He looked around idly. “Nice room you got here.” His eyes settled on the remote for the TV, which lay on the arm of the couch. He glanced over at Leon, who looked back at him, and then they both looked at the remote. Suddenly they both bolted towards the couch, leaping over it as they dived for the remote at the same time. It fell to the floor and they both grabbed it, rolling around on the floor and wrestling for it. They were lost to view behind the couch for a moment, and then Brett sprang up, sitting on the couch and turning on the TV with the remote. He tried to hold off Leon from taking it back while changing the channel at the same time. The room was filled with pandemonium as the two boys made it evident that they indeed were becoming entwined in a somewhat odd yet lasting friendship.