The Library of Powers

Chapter 4 - Part 2

Once Ms.Forrester had left the room, the students returned to their usual routines, sitting on the couches looking at their phones. Selina and Damien were in a heated argument heard only in low whispers, tipping Jackson off that it was something about The Golden Snake. Connor, being the furthest away from the rest of the students, had put in earbuds and closed his eyes, almost in a sort of trance. Melanie, well, Melanie had forsaken her earlier demure demeanor and was staring straight at Jackson.

Catching her cue, Jackson walked across the room to a chair next to her. Once reclined, Jackson thrust his arm towards her, aiming it in such a way so the Writing Well's message was clearly visible.

"I am sorry," Melanie told Jackson, reading the words engraved with spiraling text, "But I don't know what that thing is."

Great, Jackson thought, that leaves one person who this could be referring to. He both hoped and dreaded it being that overzealous pen-wielder. "Alright." was all he said.

This didn't satisfy Melanie. Pressing the topic, she continued, "What I did was really shitty, I know. I don't want to get off on the wrong foot though, could we start over?"

Wrong foot? The wrong foot? Melanie seemed to think he had only been minorly inconvenienced by her mistake. If only she knew how much depended on Jackson's powers --- on The Library of Powers --- being kept a secret. It would be the end of him, he would end up kidnapped, murdered, or worse. She wanted to start over! Cooling his demeanor as to not openly seeth with rage, Jackson looked at the advice so maliciously bequeathed to him. Even if it didn't apply to Melanie, it was still a good motto to live by. Maybe she could be useful. She was at least making an effort towards reparations. Sticking out his hand, Jackson repeated his earlier "Alright."

She grasped his hand and have it a firm shake. "Just so you know, my powers are telling me it's a good idea to be friendly towards you," she muttered, in that same strange tone Jackson had heard from her back in Takeshi High Public Library. It was flat yet not monotone, almost as if she was trying too hard to be indifferent. Capitalizing on both her word choice and the opportunity, Jackson asked her "So are you really sorry? Or is it just your power forcing you to act nice?"

In both awe and horror, it finally dawned on Melanie what she had just said. Back in her usual preppy go-lucky timbre, Melanie hastily apologized. "That's not what I meant at all and it was my power telling me to tell you that and I actually am sorry- oh god that sounded horrible." She looked as if her own power had betrayed her, but Jackson had a theory that her "slip up" was actually helping her more than the original embarrassment. At the very least, it was helping Jackson figure out if he could trust Melanie.

Before they could continue their conversation, Ms. Forrester returned, this time with a rolling chalkboard in tow. It was the only large object Jackson had seen so far not in the room's signature yellow putty, the blackboard made of green slate with a thick oak border. As she made her way to the front of the room, all the students put away their phones and stood up just a little bit straighter. The lesson was starting.

***

"Forgive me, it seems like I have not adequately taught you the differences between the types of powers in my ordinary class," Ms. Forrester said, addressing the students. "Let me make reparations here. Melanie, if you would, please describe the process you go through to use your power."

Melanie took a moment to respond, her face contorting, trying to describe the sensations which had become second nature. "I sort of slip into a state where I know what reaction would be best. It's like I'm still here, but not quite," she remarked, unsure if her explanation was adequate.

"Hmmm... Would you say that you are put out of your body? You are not always in this state of hyper-understanding, correct?"

This time her answer was instant, "Of course."

Ms. Forrester smiled at that. It was a triumphantly sinister smile, the kind a tiger gives when prey had just come within pouncing range. She turned her back to the class, picking up a piece of chalk and drawing a line down the center of the blackboard. It shuddered under her strident hand but did not make any sound. "Unfortunately Melanie, you are not a Domain super," she told her. "You see, for Planar and Mind Palace supers, they go into a state unlike reality when they use their powers," she instructed, writing the words Planar and Mind Palace on one side of the line. "Domain supers, however, are always in the reality their power is located in." She wrote Domain on the other side of the line, but drew a large box around it, enough to fit other text if necessary. She then drew arrows from the side with Domain written on it pointing towards the other two classifications and wrote "Earth" above that area.

"But how come I can still use my powers here? We're not on earth," Connor asked. To demonstrate, he got up from the large recliner he was sitting in and lifted it above his head, not even breaking a sweat.

"Astute observation, Connor!" Ms. Forrester proclaimed, turning back to the blackboard. She wrote the words "Translatable" and "Non-Translatable" inside the box labeled Domain. "You are one of the rare Translateable Domain supers," she answered, drawing an arrow from the word translatable into the other side of the board. "Your Domain is your body, or more specifically, and excuse me if I'm wrong, your muscles. So when you travel to another plane you are essentially bringing your Domain with you."

This seemed to placate Connor, but not Melanie. "Wait," she retorted, "I'm not a Domain, then how can I be connected to the Writing Well? When I go there, all it tells me is what my power tells me."

"To rip the band-aid off quickly, Melanie, you are not connected to the Writing Well. I don't know why it just repeats things for you, but there is no way your power has to do with the Writing Well. I'm sorry. Perhaps your power simply conflicts with the fountain's fortunes, or it's trying to tell you to listen to your power more often." Selina snickered at Ms. Forrester's comment, and Melanie shot her a look.

"Are you sure?" Melanie pleaded, still not satisfied.

"Absolutely, but for another reason. the Writing Well was created by one of Vera City's most famous heroes and founder of the Adjusted Human Bureau, Jin Takeshi. Who you should all know --- or I have failed you as an educator --- is the namesake of Takeshi High."

"Yeah, the guy with the statue on Market Island. So what?"

"So what is that the Writing Well was made with Jin's power, not yours. Having a power tied to a place not controlled by you would be nuts. It's like if your plane was The Library of Powers, it just doesn't happen."