The room was dark and empty. The silence was deafening and John could hardly breathe. All he could think about was dying. Right there, right then. He wanted it to happen. He wanted someone to just kill him. He'd have done it himself, but he could hardly move at all in his restraints. The heavy metal door in front of him scraped open loudly, the sound was unexpected and caused John to jump in his seat, the light that came from the now open door blinded him momentarily before he saw the outline of his biggest fear.
Keon stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, turning on a dim overhead light that just barely lit up the room. "Good evening, John," he said. His voice was smooth and snake-like. It was the voice John despised for these past three months. At least he thought it was three months. That's how long he heard he was supposed to be there, but he had lost track of time an eternity ago. "Are you ready for one final lesson?"
John swallowed his breath. "Yes," he said submissively. He had learned not to fight against it or else bad things would come to him. He didn't want to deal with that again. "I'm ready. Do what you have to." John didn't notice, but Keon smirked slightly and activated his ability. John saw his channels light up with aura instantly through his passive. John turned to face him as Keon brought his hand to John's forehead and touched it, sending a wave of red aura flooding into him.
With a flash of red, John's mind blanked for a brief moment before showing him a twisted, broken memory that he had seen over, and over, and over, and over again...
. . .
John was beating down the King of another school in New Bostin's region. He smiled gleefully as he repeatedly punched the unconscious boy. As he kept punching, he briefly felt a hand on his shoulder, followed by a quick and rough push. John barely moved, but he glared angrily at his "attacker". His burning gold eyes met with Adrion's.
"Adrion! Did you just push me?" he asked, shouting. Adrion winced and flinched backwards.
"I— uh," Adrion stuttered. John stood up and inched closer to him, causing him to back up again.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" John yelled, stepping closer.
"John please," Adrion finally mustered up the courage to say. "This needs to stop! You're taking it too far! They haven't done anything to you. Let's just call it for today and head back. You've already won."
John felt the anger burn inside of him. He looked up and glared at his friend. "Shut up!" he shouted, punching Adrion hard across the face. "What the hell do you know? Don't you dare tell me what to do! This is Turf Wars! If I don't beat the sh*t out of them, then they'll do it to me! Is that what you want?"
Claire couldn't take it anymore. She was watching this whole time, but she couldn't sit back and watch any longer. "Guys, stop it!" she screamed.
John just ignored her. "That's how sh*t works!" he continued screaming at the unconscious Adrion. "But of course you wouldn't know! Because you get the luxury of hiding behind me all the time!"
John felt somone grab his arm tightly. It was Claire. He glared at her as she started shouting at him. "Hey, cut it out!" she cried. "That's enough! We're on the same side!" John ignored her and elbowed her in the cheek, sending her backwards with a hard thud.
"Let go!" John shouted. "Don't stand in my way!" He slapped her square across the face. "What the hell is wrong with you two? I'm out here boosting New Bostin's status while trying to master my ability, and you're both yelling at me and rooting for the opposite school? Wow, way to have my back!"
"That's not the point, John!" Claire retorted. "Those students stopped fighting back ages ago! Why can't you be civil and stop hitting everyone while they're down?"
"Because everyone hit me while I was down!" John exclaimed.
"But you don't have to be like them!"
"Quiet! I'll do whatever the hell I want!"
Claire didn't reply. She just hung her head and cried quietly to herself.
John saw another flash of red light and he had gone back into a deeper memory. One he hadn't thought about in a long time. He saw his mother picking him up and hugging him tightly before setting him down and walking out of the house. John could see the faint red and blue lights of police cars outside. Another red flash and now he saw his father sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.
"D-daddy?" he heard his young, high pitched voice say. "Are you okay?" His father looked at him for a moment and wiped his eyes.
"Yeah, buddy," William said. "I'm fine, I promise."
A final flash of red, and John now saw the memory he had seen countless times over the past three months. He stood above Claire and glared down at her, smiling sadistically the whole time.
"Claire," he said. "Why did you turn everyone against me?" When she didn't answer, he grabbed a handful of her hair and roughly tugged on it, causing her to exclaim in fear and pain. "Answer me!"
"You turned them against yourself!" she shouted. "Have you seen yourself?" He stared at her blankly, his glowing eyes burning a hole through her own eyes. "Let go!" She pushed his arm away and slapped him across the face. The impact echoed throughout the field. "Take a look at what you've become! You're always looking for a reason to hurt others! You don't care about anyone but yourself! You're a tyrant and a hypocrite."
"You—"
She cut him off. "You don't deserve any of the power you have now! I never should've helped you! I wish I never met you!"
"Shut up!" he screamed.
"Make me!" she cried. "Go ahead and beat me up like you did with everyone else!"
John gripped her by the shirt and raised his fist. "I said shut the f*ck up!" He brought his fist down against her as she uttered the words that would give him nightmares and painful memories for the rest of his miserable life.
"M̴̥͗͑̋ò̵̻̩̝͑ń̶̢̟̟̓͊s̴͚̠̏̄ṫ̸̞e̸͍̫̫͊͂ŕ̵̡̳̘!̵̪̐̇̋"
He punched her very hard across the face and watched as her limp body fell to the ground. One final red flash went across his mind...
. . .
John gasped for air as Keon removed his hand from his head. His eyelids began to droop as he panted heavily. He was so tired, but there was so much going through his mind he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. Keon put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.
"You've improved, John," he said. "I'm impressed by how much you've learned. I think you're finally ready to go back home." He unlocked John's restraints. For once, he finally felt free. He could move about again. He rubbed his arms, they were sore and numb from being in the restraints for so long. "Pack up your things. You'll leave in an hour."
The hour went by forever. John "packed" his things, which really just meant he had to mentally prepare himself and grab his backpack, which had been with him since he got there. Keon led him out of the building and watched him board the bus back to New Bostin. The drive home was the first time he'd truly slept for three months. However, it was just as bad as he'd worried. The nightmares he had, the guilt, the pain, everything was tearing his mind apart as he slept until he woke up with a loud gasp before hyperventilating for a brief minute before slowing down to heavy pants.
After several hours of waiting, the bus finally arrived in New Bostin. John was a much different person now, and his father could tell as his son exited the bus and walked towards him.
William walked towards him waving and smiling nervously. "Hey John!" he said, trying to sound light hearted for John's sake. He put his hand on John's shoulder. "Welcome home! How did the classes go?" John didn't respond at first. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," John said at last, walking past his father. "I learned a lot." He kept walking until he and his father reached their apartment.
The whole day, he just laid down in his bed. He wanted to kill himself. He just wanted to take one of the knives from the kitchen and end it all right there. He stared at his shaking hands with tears in his eyes. I'm worthless was all he could think. He put his hands on his face and cried.
He decided to get out of bed. Not because he wanted to keep on living, but because he wanted to die. He went into the kitchen, making sure his father wasn't around. He grabbed a knife and brought the sharp edge of the blade to his wrist.
He sliced.
Once, twice, a third time.
He kept cutting himself until the blood was flooding out his wounds. He hurt all over, but he mustered up what little strength he had and brought the pointed tip of the knife to his chest, right by his heart. He tried to stab into himself, but before he could, he passed out. His last memory as he was lying on the ground, the blood loss going to his head and making him tired was of his father's muffled voice shouting his name as he saw the blurred figure of William rush toward him.
. . .
John slowly opened his eyes. It had been a week since he had tried to kill himself. William had made sure he didn't have any way of trying it again, boarding up his windows, locking away all the sharp objects. John was a little less miserable, but still wished he were dead instead of enduring the immense physical and emotional pain. The wounds he'd inflicted onto himself were now scarring and hurt like hell.
But he really didn't mind the pain. It was a constant reminder to him that he was worthless. A constant reminder of his own memories. He heard a soft knock on the door and looked at the door as it opened. William stepped in holding a book in his hand.
"John, what's the matter?" he said softly. "You haven't spoken to me or left your room since the incident." No response. "John, please talk to me. You're depression is only going to get worse if you don't talk to somebody."
"It's none of your business, dad," John whispered, just barely loud enough for William to hear. "I've just had a lot on my mind. It's not like you'd understand anyway."
William sighed. "No, I probably don't," he admitted. "But I can listen. And I can try to give you some sort of advice. Either way, I just wanted to let you know that my publisher sent me the first copy of my book. I think that its message might help you." He set the book down on the side table and walked back to the door. "Remember, you can talk to me about anything on your mind. Let me know if you want to talk."
The door shut behind him and John painfully and stiffly reached over to turn on the light on his table. He grabbed the book from its surface and opened the first page.
Dedicated to my son.
How embarrassing. John thought as he read the words on the page. He flipped through the pages until he arrived at the first page of chapter one. He began to read slowly, taking in each word and analyzing it, just like William had taught him to do with not just words, but with people.
Several hours passed and he had finished the book. Unordinary. An interesting title. Regardless, it was a good book, he had to admit. His father truly was an amazing writer. Deep down, John was proud to be his son. But that pride was drowned by his depression.
But after reading Unordinary, he felt a little bit of hope. A story about an ordinary man in a world full of cripples was an interesting concept. It helped him to realize that his power could be used for the good of others. For bringing peace and order to the world.
From then on, John was more and more determined to shake off his depression and become the best version of himself. Over the course of a week and a half, he trained with his father, worked out to keep himself busy, and studied for the entrance exam for Wellston Private High School, one of the most prestigious and high ranked schools in the district. With his level and academic vigor, he was sure he'd get in.
Just as he had hoped, he was accepted into the school. He flew out to Wellston a few days after, over the weekend, and met with the headmaster for one final confirmation of his enrollment. Once that meeting was over, he was ready to start school again. He had been given a house off campus at his request and spent the weekend moving his stuff in and settling down.
Perhaps he could finally start over again. No pain, no trauma, no depression...
No anger.
- - -
"Everyone, I know it's a little late in the year, but we have a new student joining us today!" the English teacher said excitedly. John looked out at the class, looking closely at each one of them, analyzing their expressions while wearing a kind smile. "Please introduce yourself."
"Hello everyone," John said. "My name is John! I hope I can get to know you all and become friends!" He waved at them and smiled. The English teacher tapped on his shoulder and gestured to a desk right next to an absent minded girl looking out the window. She had a commanding aura to her, even without her ability. She must've been someone important.
"There's a seat right over there next to Seraphina," the teacher said. John walked over and sat down, placing his backpack on the ground next to his desk. "Anyway, class, we will beginning a big project on Speareshake very soon, so today we will be making preparations and giving an overview of the different plays."
The teacher kept talking on and on and John was taking notes all the while. Occasionally, he would briefly glance over and make quick eye contact with Seraphina, before turning back to his notes. She was definitely powerful, possibly the most powerful, though he'd need more information to gauge that.
After class was over, John noticed a girl about a year younger than him, but in his grade, approach him enthusiastically. "Hi John!" she said waving. John couldn't help but notice that she was super cute. "I'm Elaine! Welcome to Wellston!" She waved at him and smiled widely. "How's your first day been so far?"
"Not bad, I guess," he replied, scratching his cheek with his index finger.
"Wonderful!" Elaine exclaimed happily. "So, which school did you transfer from?"
John had thought all of this out beforehand, but it still felt strange to say. "Well, actually, I was homeschooled before this," he said.
"Woah really?" Elaine asked curiously. "We've never had one of those before."
John chuckled nervously, his hands shaking in his lap under his desk. "I was feeling a bit lonely, so I decided to try something new." Seraphina briefly glanced over at the conversation, but kept on staring out of the window.
"Well, you've come to the right place!" Elaine exclaimed excitedly. John smiled widely.
"Ah, that's great to know!"
"So, John," Elaine said, her smile narrowing a bit as she still looked at him curiously. "What kind of ability do you have?" Suddenly the entire room was paying attention to him. Any previous conversations were halted. Even Seraphina looked over at them.
"Well," John said. "It's a little difficult to explain." Sweat dripped from his forehead, prompting him to wipe it off with the sleeve. Elaine placed a hand on his shoulder. Reflexively, he jerked away and stood up.
"Come on," she said. "It can't be that hard to explain. Why don't you just show me instead?"
Why don't you just show her?
He sighed, his hands shaking faster. "O-okay," he stuttered. "I can show you how it works. I'll need you to activate your ability as well, though." His eyes burned with a golden glow as he felt his aura channels light up.
"What?" Elaine asked. "Why?"
"My ability is pretty much useless unless someone else uses their ability," John explained. "I'll show you what I mean if you activate your ability." She obliged and her green eyes glowed as he saw the aura begin to flow through her channels. He sampled the aura and manipulated his own to turn it into an identical copy. Then, he reflexively amplified it. "A healing ability? Well, this is gonna hurt, but I can't show you without doing it..."
Elaine looked at him puzzledly, but she just watched him intently. John gripped his thumb and pulled down hard. A flash of pain washed over the thumb as it was broken. Elaine gasped loudly. "Why did you do that?!" she exclaimed. John winced and looked at the injury. Yep, dislocated.
"Don't worry," he strained. "I'll be fine because of my ability." A small flame of black aura surrounded his thumb as the bone cracked back into place. The pain had gone now. He smiled nervously at her.
"Woah," Elaine muttered. "You have a healing ability too?" She was still confused as to why he asked her to activate her ability, but she supposed it was better not to worry about it.
He simply chuckled. "No, I don't have a healing ability," he said. "Well, I mean now I do, because of your ability, but I can essentially copy people's abilities. Up to four, so far. If you want some more info on how it works, I can meet you at lunch and explain it to you."
"Oh," Elaine said. "Wow, that sounds pretty powerful, John! And yeah, I'd love to hear more. I'll see you at lunch!" She waved him goodbye as she walked out of the classroom. He waved at her and the glow in his eyes dissipated as he deactivated his ability.
Seraphina stood up, suddenly, and pushed past him. He glared at the back of her head, but pushed down his anger. Instead, he just grabbed his bag and walked out after her, going to his next class, which was math.
. . .
The rest of the day up until lunch was pretty basic. He had managed to avoid a few encounters and didn't have to use his ability that often, using it once to copy a speed ability and get away from a fight that was going on down in the halls. So when lunch came, he was happy just to sit down and talk with a few people. Interestingly enough, word of his unique ability traveled fast and quite a few people sat with him at his table, including Blyke, Isen, Elaine, Ventus, Meili and a few other Elites.
"So, John," Blyke said, "tell us about how your ability works. It's really unique!"
John chuckled. "Well, it's a bit complicated," he explained. "Not even I understand my full capabilities yet, but essentially the way it works is that whenever someone activates their ability, aura begins to flow through their channels, allowing them to use their abilities. Usually, no one has control over their channels, but I do. When someone activates, I'm able to sample their aura and manipulate my own to be an exact copy of it. The only abilities I've had trouble copying are abilities that involve some sort of future sight or abilities that are more spontaneous."
"Wow, that's really interesting!" Elaine exclaimed. The others nodded and spoke in agreement.
"Wait, so, how powerful are you?" Isen asked, chewing on his pen. "With an ability like that you have to be at least an Elite."
John thought for a moment. "Last I checked, my level was around 7." Everyone's eyes widened at that statement. "I've trained my ability a lot, and I have a major potential as well, at least according to my dad. On top of being able to copy abilities, I can also amplify my own to use a stronger version of that ability, that's how I was able to heal a little faster when using Elaine's ability."
"Wow, a level 7," Elaine muttered. "That's just as powerful as Seraphina!"
Speaking of which, John noticed that Seraphina was just walking into the cafeteria. He tried to ignore her and took a bite of his chocolate cake, which he'd managed to snag one of the last pieces using that speed ability that he'd copied earlier.
"So, can you retain previously copied abilities?" Isen asked.
John averted his gaze back to the table. "Um, no I can't," he said. "That's one of my setbacks. Any ability I copy is lost after deactivation. Not sure if I'd be able to learn how to retain them, but it might be an interesting thing to try, though one that I'd imagine takes a lot of time to figure out."
His gaze went back to Seraphina, who was now approaching his table with an angry expression on her face. He kept taking some bites of his cake. "John, is it?" she asked as she finally got up to the table. Everyone shifted and winced when they heard her icy voice, fear shooting straight down their spines.
"Yeah," John said, swallowing a piece of cake. "You're Seraphina, right? How's it going?"
"I'm not here to socialize," she said bluntly. "That chocolate cake you're eating. I want it."
"Hell no! Do you have any idea what I went through to get this?" he chided. Whispers of how the new kid had just denied the Queen of something she wanted spread across the table and the cafeteria.
"I don't care," Seraphina replied, coolly. "When I want something, I usually get it." Typical pompous high-tiers. John thought. I used to be like that too.
"Look, lady, I'm not gonna give you this cake just from you ordering me to," John said. "I might be willing to let you have the rest if you ask nicely, but you don't have the authority to boss me around."
"Says who?" she asked. "I'm the Queen of Wellston, I have way more authority than a new guy like you."
"I wouldn't exactly say that," he said. "You and I are the same level. We're equals if anything."
"But I have a title," she reasoned. "You've yet to climb the ranks. You can say that you're as powerful as me, but I won't believe that until I see it. You did a cool little trick back in English, copying Elaine's ability, but that won't matter if you're knocked out before you even get a chance to activate your ability."
John stood up, his eyes glinted with his golden aura. "Is that so?" he challenged, the anger and fury building up inside of him. "We can go, right here, right now."
Before he knew it, she saw her aura channels light up before she disappeared from her spot. He instantly copied her ability, realizing its capabilities and slowed down time before she punched him. He dodged out of the way, and raised his fist to punch her.
He stopped himself, though. The word monster ringing out in his head. Before he could even react, she appeared in front of him and punched him square across the face, sending him flying over the table and crashing into the wall.
"Ouch" was the last thing he could say, before he fell unconscious.
- - -
Le bonus
Keon
Ability: Memory Recall
Level: 5.2
Power (1)
Speed (3)
Trick (10)
Recovery (4)
Defense (2)