A team of specialists arrived and carefully picked Emma up in a specialized tank. She had fully transformed into a mermaid, her body now adorned with glistening green scales.
As soon as they exited, the hall began to shift. All the obstacles and terrain dispersed into the floor.
"Okay, everyone who has awakened their superpower, please follow my colleague," Dr. Mathers said, pointing to one of the scientists.
The students who had discovered their boosts quickly exited the hall, leaving behind only those who hadn't.
"Alright… twenty-three of you. That's quite a number," Dr. Mathers muttered, glancing at his tablet. "Let's move on to the second phase."
He tapped a few commands. Four square platforms rose from the ground. On them were:
A hamster in a small cage.
A sword.
An x-ray scanner.
A lit torch.
"These represent common types of boosts—communication with animals, enhancement of weapons or tools, internal body changes, and elemental manipulation like fire," he explained as he walked along the line.
He signaled the students forward one by one.
Lucus went first. Nothing happened. No reaction. No change.
Amelia followed. When she approached the flame, it flickered and bent toward her.
As the line progressed, the results were logged:
Kanu and Sophia: Able to communicate with or understand the hamster.
Marini, Evelyn, and Charlotte: Weapon-based enhancement boosts.
Asani: Could transmute metals into other metals.
Marini: Duplicated the sword. (More testing required to confirm if she can duplicate other materials.)
Evelyn: Displayed master-level swordsmanship when touching the sword.
Charlotte: Manifested medieval armor upon contact with the sword.
Titus, Oyinlola, and Alexander: Internal physiological changes.
Titus: Two hearts and three lungs.
Oyinlola: Altered brain structure (further testing required).
Alexander: Bones turned to titanium; potential changes in his blood as well.
Phase Two concluded. The representatives made their picks. The platforms sank back into the floor. The boosted students exited, leaving fourteen behind.
"Alright, on to the final phase. If you don't awaken your powers now, you're either a late bloomer or have a full-body metamorphosis boost. Those can take days to fully activate," Dr. Mathers explained. "Fair warning—metamorphosis cases can be… complicated. Some individuals end up needing special living arrangements. Others suffer meltdowns when their form changes too drastically."
Ulim's anxiety intensified. He couldn't shake the thought of becoming something grotesque… maybe a giant lizard or even a whale, forced to live away from his family.
Dr. Mathers signaled, and a group of scientists wheeled in a trolley containing advanced testing kits: vials of lava, acid, liquid nitrogen, and a vacuum chamber.
They took blood and cell samples from all the remaining students—except Felix. His skin couldn't be penetrated by needles, though he still felt pain. That reaction alone confirmed his boost.
The rest were tested:
Noah, Samuel, Dean, Ulim, Sophia, Abigail, Olivia, and Elizabeth: No reactions to any of the test materials.
Asani: Cells resistant to lava—heat resistance.
Lucia: Cells survived in zero atmosphere.
Harper: Cells absorbed heat and began replicating—possible energy-based regeneration.
Kanu: Cells formed protective ice crystals when exposed to liquid nitrogen.
Lucus: Cells and blood seemed to be immune to acid damage and the cells started to produce a substance that countered the acid.
"The first half of Phase Three is complete," Dr. Mathers said with a smirk. "Eight of you still haven't revealed your boosts."
The five who discovered their powers left with the scientists.
"Now for my favorite part," Dr. Mathers said, walking to the door. "Good old trauma… always works."
He activated the room's hologram system. The floor vanished beneath the students—they were suddenly falling from the sky in a virtual simulation.
Samuel grabbed his twin brother Dean in panic. A burst of light engulfed them, and they merged into a demon-like being with angelic white wings.
Sophia let out a sonic scream. Olivia's arm stretched out unnaturally and latched onto the creature. Abigail floated midair—she had awakened gravity manipulation. Elizabeth shimmered, her form flickering and vanishing slowly.
"Stop!" Dr. Mathers interrupted, shutting down the simulation. He opened the door.
"Seems one of you has a rare power… time travel," he said, pointing at Elizabeth. "Unfortunately, it's not stable. People with this boost usually can't control it. Most can only use it once or twice… if they survive. So don't get too excited."
Elizabeth's smile vanished.
"Of the eight of you, six have awakened your powers. The last two—Noah and Ulim—you may be late bloomers or have metamorphosis boosts."
He turned to the demon creature. "Hey, big and scary. Mind separating back into two kids?"
"We are unable to," the creature replied in a dual voice.
Dr. Mathers sighed and tapped his tablet. The restrictor bands on the creature glowed bright red, and a flash engulfed it. When the light faded, Samuel and Dean lay on the floor.
"You may all leave now," he said, gesturing to the door.
Ulim lingered behind. "Sir… my results don't show the intensity of my boost."
Dr. Mathers scanned the report. "The system didn't detect any. Either you have an intensity so low it's negligible… or," he paused, "something else is happening."
Ulim exited, devastated.
"ULIM!" Delis called out from among the crowd.
Ulim quickly tried to compose himself as his friend ran over.
"So… how did it go?"
"Nothing happened," Ulim said flatly.
"What do you mean? Wait—are you embarrassed? Is it something weird? Like, you can only see through clothes with x-ray vision or something?"
"Leave it to you to go straight to the perverted stuff," Ulim groaned. "Dr. Mathers said Noah and I are either late bloomers or have metamorphosis boosts."
"Hey, that could be a good thing!" Delis grinned. "Maybe you'll turn into a dragon! Or maybe it's just taking longer to awaken because it's something super powerful!"
"Highly unlikely with my intensity level," Ulim muttered.
"What do you m—"
"Okay students, it's getting late. Let's move," Mr. Port called out.
On the bus, Noah and Ulim shared the same defeated look. Ulim tried his best to hide it.
"Hey, door boy!" Mark yelled. "Where's your boost? Couldn't even get your dad's mediocre power—what a dis—"
Mr. Port's glare cut him off mid-sentence.
Delis and Ulim got off at their stop.
"You know I'll be going to the Hero Training Institute next week," Delis said.
"Cool," Ulim responded quietly.
"I'm gonna work hard and become a hero just like Valiant!" Delis said, raising a fist.
"Sounds nice."
Delis wanted to cheer him up, but before he could—
"I'll see you," Ulim said, turning onto his street.
"Yeah… see you later," Delis replied.
At Home
"I'm home," Ulim called out as he entered.
"So how did it go, honey?" Diana asked, seated at the dining table with her husband.
"Bad."
"Well, even if it's low-intensity or a niche boost, we'll make it work!" she said optimistically.
"Too bad I don't even know what it is," Ulim replied, heading upstairs.
"What do you mean?" she asked, smile fading.
"Didn't activate. The doctor said I might be a late bloomer or it's a metamorphosis boost."
"That just means you still have opportunities," Diana called after him.
"I don't think so," Ulim said from the top of the stairs.
She stood to follow, but Jerold gently held her hand. "Give him time. He'll be fine."
Meanwhile, at Infiniverse Labs
"Sir, we've had a high percentage of high-intensity powers this year," a scientist reported, displaying charts on a screen. "Not just in our continent, but across all five."
"I see," Dr. Mathers murmured, eyes on his tablet.
"Shall I send the report to the Heads?"
He nodded.
Then he looked again—Ulim's report.
"How is this possible?" he whispered. "A boost with no detectable intensity? Or… is it so high the system couldn't read it?"
He stared deeper at the data. "Interesting case… very interesting."
He tapped into Ulim's restrictor band logs.
Later that night…
Ulim stood once again in the white room.
The dark figure bound to the wall grinned menacingly.
Ulim jolted awake on the floor. "How did I end up here?" he wondered. "Must've been one hell of a dream."
He looked around. "Weird how the pain didn't wake me..."
He climbed back into bed. On his desk sat an unfinished device. Its lights blinked faintly in the darkness.