Chapter 13: Power Placement (Part 2/3)

As Mia reached out, she couldn't help but feel a mix of anticipation and dread. Whatever happened in this room, she had a feeling her life at Evergreen Academy was about to get a whole lot more colorful... for better or worse.

Her fingers brushed against the pristine white surface of the cube, and instantly, a vibrant shade of electric blue bloomed beneath her touch. The color spread rapidly, engulfing the entire object in a matter of seconds.

"Fascinating!" Dr. Chromatic exclaimed, his eyes literally sparkling with excitement. "And tell me, Miss Harper, did you intend for it to be this particular shade of blue?"

Mia snorted, withdrawing her hand. "Yeah, right. Because I totally wake up every morning and think, 'You know what this world needs? More things that look like they've been dipped in Smurf blood.'" She paused, realizing how that sounded. "Uh, I mean, no. No, I didn't."

Dr. Chromatic chuckled, the sound reminiscent of wind chimes in a tornado. "I see your power comes with a side of sass. Excellent! Humor is an oft-overlooked component of superhuman abilities. Now, let's try something a bit more challenging, shall we?"

He gestured towards a table covered in various objects: a rubber ball, a metal spoon, a piece of fabric, and what looked suspiciously like a half-eaten sandwich.

"I want you to touch each of these items in succession," Dr. Chromatic instructed. "Let's see how your power interacts with different materials."

Mia approached the table warily, eyeing the objects like they might suddenly sprout fangs and attack. "Alright, but fair warning: I once turned my entire wardrobe neon pink the night before picture day. Don't blame me if your lunch ends up looking like it came from the reject pile at a Skittles factory."

She reached out, touching the rubber ball first. It immediately transformed into a lurid shade of orange that made her eyes water. The spoon followed, turning a deep, shimmering purple that actually looked kind of cool. The fabric became an eye-searing yellow that would make a traffic cone jealous.

And the sandwich... well, the sandwich turned a sickly shade of green that made it look like it had been marinating in radioactive waste for a week.

"Ugh," Mia grimaced, stepping back. "I think I just ruined your lunch, doc. Unless you're into food that looks like it might grant you superpowers of the 'oops, I grew an extra head' variety."

Dr. Chromatic, however, looked absolutely delighted. He was scribbling notes furiously on a holographic pad, his hair cycling through colors faster than a disco ball on crack.

"Marvelous! Simply marvelous!" he exclaimed. "The speed of the color change, the intensity of the hues... Miss Harper, I don't think you realize just how extraordinary your ability is."

Mia blinked, caught off guard by his enthusiasm. "Uh, did you miss the part where I just turned your sandwich into something that looks like it crawled out of the Black Lagoon's trash can?"

Dr. Chromatic waved a hand dismissively. "Aesthetic preferences aside, the fact that your power works consistently across various materials is quite remarkable. Many color-based abilities are limited to specific substances or conditions."

He paused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Tell me, have you ever tried to change an object's color more than once?"

Mia shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but it usually just makes the color deeper or more intense. Like turning something from 'my eyes are bleeding' pink to 'oh god, make it stop' fuchsia."

"Interesting," Dr. Chromatic mused. "And have you ever attempted to revert an object to its original color?"

Mia let out a bitter laugh. "Oh sure, all the time. Right after I finish my side gig as a unicorn wrangler and before my evening shift as the tooth fairy."

Dr. Chromatic's eyebrows shot up, disappearing into his kaleidoscopic hairline. "I'll take that as a no, then. Well, why don't we give it a try?"

He gestured towards the now-orange rubber ball. "Focus on this object. Visualize its original red color. Concentrate on willing that color back into existence."

Mia stared at him like he'd just suggested she try to lick her own elbow while reciting the alphabet backwards. "Uh, doc, I hate to break it to you, but my power isn't exactly a two-way street. It's more like a one-way ticket to Colorville, population: whatever poor schmuck I happen to touch."

But Dr. Chromatic just smiled encouragingly. "Humor me, Miss Harper. You might surprise yourself."

Feeling more than a little foolish, Mia reached out and placed her hand on the ball. She closed her eyes, trying to picture its original red color. She imagined the orange fading away, replaced by a deep, vibrant crimson.

Nothing happened.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Mia sighed, opening her eyes. "Guess I won't be getting a job at the 'Make Everything Boring Again' factory anytime soon."

But Dr. Chromatic was leaning in close, his eyes wide with excitement. "Look closer, Miss Harper. The ball."

Mia glanced down, ready to deliver another snarky comment, but the words died in her throat. The ball wasn't red, but... it wasn't quite the same orange as before, either. There was a hint of something else there, a barely perceptible shift towards a warmer, almost reddish hue.

"Holy shit," Mia breathed. "Did I... did I actually do something?"

Dr. Chromatic's grin was so wide it threatened to split his face in half. "Indeed you did, my dear. It's subtle, but there's definitely a change. This is most exciting!"

Mia stared at her hands in disbelief. For the first time since her power had manifested, she felt a tiny flicker of... hope? Maybe she wasn't doomed to be a walking, talking box of crayons for the rest of her life after all.

"Okay," she said, a newfound determination in her voice. "What's next, doc? Want me to try turning water into wine? Or maybe we could shoot for the stars and see if I can make your hair a normal color for once."

Dr. Chromatic laughed, the sound reminiscent of a xylophone falling down a flight of stairs. "Oh, Miss Harper, I have a feeling you're going to keep us all on our toes. Now, let's see how you handle multiple objects at once, shall we?"

For the next hour, Dr. Chromatic put Mia through her paces. She changed the colors of everything from tiny beads to large sheets of metal. She tried (and mostly failed) to control the spread of her power, ending up with some truly psychedelic patterns in the process. At one point, she even managed to create a gradient effect on a piece of fabric, though she had no idea how she'd done it.

Through it all, Dr. Chromatic's enthusiasm never wavered. He oohed and aahed over every colorful disaster, scribbling notes and muttering to himself about "chromatic resonance" and "pigment manipulation thresholds."

By the end of the session, Mia was exhausted, her hands aching and her brain feeling like it had been put through a kaleidoscope-themed blender. But she also felt... different. More aware of her power, somehow. Like she'd caught a glimpse of something bigger lurking just beneath the surface.

"Well, Miss Harper," Dr. Chromatic said, finally setting down his holographic pad. "I must say, this has been one of the most fascinating assessments I've conducted in years."

Mia raised an eyebrow, gesturing at the riot of colors surrounding them. The testing room now looked like a rainbow had gotten drunk and thrown up all over it. "Fascinating is one word for it. I was thinking more along the lines of 'migraine-inducing' or 'taste's-worst-nightmare,' but sure, let's go with fascinating."

Dr. Chromatic chuckled. "Your power may seem chaotic now, but I believe there's far more to it than meets the eye. With proper training and practice, you could develop a level of control and precision that would be truly remarkable."

Mia felt a flutter of excitement in her chest, quickly tamped down by years of disappointment and frustration. "Yeah, well, unless that training includes a crash course in 'How Not to Turn Everything You Touch into a Walking Acid Trip 101,' I'm not holding my breath."

The doctor's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure. Evergreen Academy has a way of bringing out the unexpected in its students. I have a feeling you're going to surprise yourself, Miss Harper."

As Mia left the testing room, her mind was whirling with possibilities. For the first time in years, she allowed herself to imagine a future where her power was more than just an inconvenience or a punchline. Maybe, just maybe, there was more to this color-changing thing than she'd thought.

But as she rejoined her friends in the waiting area, their excited chatter about their own assessments brought her crashing back to reality. She was still just Mia Harper, the girl who could turn the world into a crayon box with a touch. One slightly successful test didn't change that.

Right?