Chapter 1-14

His eyes opened slowly, shying away from the bright light above. He was hooked up to machines and wires. His vitals visible on a monitor to the side. A white robed figure stood over him and upon seeing his eyes flutter called out to their colleagues. Their gloved hands guided him from his bed and unhooked him from the machines. An armored escort guided him through the halls of the complex and he was thrust into the training facility. Rinzlo and the others awaited him there.

"Wonderful, we were just about to start. Fall in!"

28 rushed up onto the mat, exchanging a meaningful glance with 78. Rinzlo eyed them all up coldly.

"It's time to find out what the peak of your evolution looks like. For some of you we already have an idea of what you're capable of. For others we're not even entirely sure the operation was a success."

He gestured for 99 to step forward.

"Now, show us what you are capable of. You exhibited the strongest reaction."

99 shifted back and forth for a moment before closing his eyes and grimacing. His shirt began to stretch and tear as his body contorted beneath it. A hard carapace-like surface emerged from beneath the fabric, his body encased in some form of shell armor. As this happened Rinzlo moved to ready a weapon, turning the barrel of the rifle on the transformed boy and firing a bolt of blazing energy at him. The bolt dashed off the gleaming black surface and went astray, barreling through a punching bag. Rinzlo then took a moment to examine the carapace's surface where it had been struck, casting away the energy rifle in disgust.

"Well well well," he snarled, "What an interesting little thing."

The rest were quickly set to work. Discovering what their abilities actually were was difficult, certainly not an exact science. 99 claimed it was just about natural talent, while 82 who was the second fastest to learn said it was like trying to use a muscle you didn't actually know was there. 82 had the ability to fire high-intensity beams of energy from his eyes. The blue flames he spewed forth sliced through steel with ease. 36 seemed to be able to make himself the center of a gravity field, the closer one got to him, the greater the weight would push down on them, this also rendered him immobile. 78 could create a protective barrier around herself, an invisible bubble of protection. And try as he might, 28 could do nothing. He flexed the imaginary muscle as hard as he could, even tried to get himself into the mindset he had been in inside that chamber. Tried to feel the fear and pain he had then. But nothing would happen. Rinzlo quickly became frustrated with his apparent failure and turned to focus on 99 who was now sprouting additional arms. By the end of the session everyone had been given an official distinction except for 28. 99 had mutation, 78 had force projection, 36 had gravity well and 82 had heat vision. But 28 had nothing, he was a failure. Or at least that's what 99 said. The eggheads, as Rinzlo called them, claimed he was a late bloomer or more difficult to define. 28 didn't know what to believe, all he knew was that they had created him for a reason, that he had one purpose in his life and that he was failing at it. 78 tried to reach out for him as they made their way back to the dorms but he shied away. He didn't speak a word to Amy during his visit, much to her displeasure. And as he lay in bed that night he tried to piece together that feeling he had had when his vision had faded and the operation had run its course.

'Nothing.' 28 rolled over to face 78. Her back was to him but they had known each other long enough that he knew when she was actually asleep.

"Hey, you awake?"

She turned towards him.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"What was it like? When your ability manifested I mean."

She thought for a moment.

"I don't know. One minute I was in so much pain and then the next it was like it was being pushed away. And then today, well, I just kind of focused. Like Eighty-two said, it feels like flexing an imaginary muscle. Once you get that down the rest is instinct. Kinda like you were always meant to do it. Like it's always been there and you just didn't know it."

"But what did you see? Did you feel...I don't even know how to describe it."

"No, no I don't know what you're talking about. What did you see? Twenty-eight?"

He rolled over again.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

78 rose from her cot and 28 sat up to face her.

"We'll figure it out, alright? You're not a failure I promise."

Together they sat in silence for a long while. Enjoying each other's presence. Eventually she moved to return to her own cot, giving his hand a squeeze as she did. The moment her hand touched his it was like an icy shock. 28 was immersed in an overwhelming tide of images and sensations. He saw himself inside of a capsule from across the way, felt heart gripping fear as 29 stopped moving and 28 tore at the wires attached to him, felt tears welling up in his eyes as he stomped down on his own swollen face, as he watched on through the window as he watched himself choke on the green gas in that chamber. Only he wasn't 28, he was 78. These were her memories.

Her hand released his and she retreated back to her cot. He remained there, frozen by what he had seen. His mind raced to comprehend it all. 'Is this my ability? Can I see into other's minds by touch?' After some time 28 rose shakily to his feet. He had to be sure, he had to test the limit of this power. 82 lay sprawled in his bed. He snored ever so slightly and occasionally muttered something about his dream. He hardly reacted as 28 lay his palm on his forehead.