The building was in the shape of a perfect circle. The ball was massive; about a mile and a half in radius. It was held in the ground by a gold base that glittered in the afternoon light.
To be honest? I was a little scared. I had no idea what to expect from the quiz. I thought it was a mere figurative of a speech she was using. Was there actually a test? A better question, if it WAS a test, then would I fail?
I froze in the doorway, completely overwhelmed. My feet wouldn’t budge. Hands gripped my shoulders from behind.
“Go on,” Rim urged, pushing me through the doorway. 433Please respect copyright.PENANArqrjWzr4mI
I walked for the rest of the time. I didn’t want points taken off just because I was dragged in by a teenage girl. A teenage girl with superpowers, to be exact. There was a hallway, and in it were a bunch of pictures of people framed on the walls. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAG910Obbla9
I saw a man in a cape with big muscles and a mask. I saw a woman holding up a baby elephant, and another man using his mind to pick up some big heavy rocks. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAfp1apzHToS
Again, this is where the realization kicked in. I was not this guy, or this girl, or that other guy. I wasn’t Rim, or her sneezing buddy, or the kids I saw at the cafe. I was a normal kid, and I didn’t belong here. 433Please respect copyright.PENANA4xuBekE9xP
Why couldn’t Rim see that?433Please respect copyright.PENANAgYgRV1NROw
Closer to the end of the hallway, the pictures looked more modern. One of the final pictures was a man in a fireman’s outfit. I guess the word “hero” goes a long way. Rim scanned her hand on a panel like the one at the main entrance of the city and the two double doors at the end of the hallway swung wide open. She walked through, me following close behind. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAZQ2tH1uy4K
The room reminded me of an aviation hangar we got a tour of on my third-grade field trip. It was huge and the walls, floors, and rounded ceiling were all white. Blue lines shone between the tiles, making it look like a grid. Behind us, the double doors closed with a thump, and suddenly another wall fell in front of me. I realized then and only then that I was completely enclosed in the facility. No doors, no windows, no escape. 433Please respect copyright.PENANANcskxo5Ljn
My pulse quickened. Standing in the middle of the room were a bunch of kids, maybe seven of them, ranging from maybe ten to sixteen. Rim pushed me closer to them. I fought against her a bit, but that girl was strong. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAvnil4qUBBp
“Hello everyone,” she told the group, releasing her steel grip on me and placing her hands on her hips. 433Please respect copyright.PENANADwQDyCMNKk
The kids murmured some greetings, but mostly they looked interested in something else. Then I realized that something was me. A girl was looking at me, looking almost scared. I waved a little bit, and she shyly waved back. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAWJa4qfdQgg
“Everyone, this is Blake,” Rim explained. A kid with very blue eyes came up and poked me cautiously with his finger.433Please respect copyright.PENANAbtBZlGjjhA
“Is he a Natural?” Rim shrugged. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAfUqSdnFUqu
“I have every reason to believe so, yet he hasn’t really showcased any of his powers yet. That’s strange. Usually, people like us just can’t help it.”433Please respect copyright.PENANAQKpncNNWJc
“Cut the kid a break,” A male voice shouted. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAAgWcfgDxY5
The boy made his way through the crowd. It was Allen. He was wearing fresh, casual clothes and slick new sneakers. He was still wearing his sports goggles. I didn’t get to say anything before he tackled me in a hug. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAOYZx5ct1uu
“How are you kid?”433Please respect copyright.PENANAOACeTQtX42
“Confused, to say the least. Allen, what’s going on? Why am I here?” Allen loosened the hug.433Please respect copyright.PENANA9yYKmb6WDP
“They’re here to test you for your abilities. I told them they shouldn’t, that it would put too much stress on you, but they insisted. Listen, I want you to stay as normal and calm as possible. You do that and everything will be fine and you won’t get hurt. You feel me?”433Please respect copyright.PENANA5pp64cJXwH
“Mm-hm,” I murmured, a little scared. 433Please respect copyright.PENANA8VzQwxYRVE
Be calm and I won’t get hurt? Now I never wanted to let Allen go. I wanted to go home. Allen let me go.433Please respect copyright.PENANAHWlH5thEv3
“I think this is everyone. Now six of you guys have been here before. The census is such a pain, but it’s mandatory to get tested. Most of you know your powers. Then we have our newbies: Blake and Tara." He gestured to the girl that waved to me before and pushed her forward. 433Please respect copyright.PENANA7em4gkKRXU
She was wearing a purple sweatshirt. Her eyes were brown and her bit past shoulder-length hair was brown too. Rim pushed me forward. We stood a foot apart, sizing each other up. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAlfE1GGaV2e
Allen continued. “A series of variables will be thrown into the room once I give the signal. These variables will test you for your abilities. Not all of them hurt, I’ll assure you.” He crossed his arms. “Are you all ready?” 433Please respect copyright.PENANAZerWDn8OhZ
I wanted to scream ‘NO! I'M NOT READY! GET ME OUT OF HERE!’433Please respect copyright.PENANAd9bVeQD3EB
But a few nods and affirmations started it, as Allen raised his first high in the air and the test began. First, thousands of ping-pong-looking balls fell through circular holes in the ceiling. They were hot to the touch and probably would burn you if it landed on you for a second too long. I tried to dodge them, rolling out of the way of some and getting hit by others.433Please respect copyright.PENANANpRSoKfs5L
“Teamwork is encouraged!” Allen reminded me somewhere to my left. 433Please respect copyright.PENANALGT2KQ89T7
I spotted Rim. She was standing on her hands, her rubbery legs stretching and making a sort of umbrella over her body. She shifted on her hands for balance, but her protection strategy was interesting. The kid who had poked me before was dashing back and forth on his legs, which you could hardly see because he was running so fast. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAEtzkJ6wY0q
Me, I couldn’t find any way to avoid the balls. There were too many and rained too fast. I stumbled back from a bigger ball and ran backward into someone. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAcH5CokjpQn
“Ow,” the person said. I turned and saw the girl, Tara. 433Please respect copyright.PENANA5wsbAmMKrW
“Sorry,” I apologized, trying the avoid the flaming ping pong balls hitting me head. She gave a dry smile. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAw2nuEdfMn9
“No prob.” A ball fell on her head and she winced. I rolled to evade another ball. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAYGbDYbMOTv
“How’d you get here?” I asked, raising my voice above the noise. The girl swatted a ball away from her face. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAzoVM261zdc
“I was just at school and it was time to dismiss ‘cause it was a half-day, and suddenly these football players and cheerleaders start chasing me with glowing sticks. Then that kid with the goggles pulls up in his car and tells me to jump in and I do.....” 433Please respect copyright.PENANAhcW53VFeff
“Hey!” Allen says, “this is no time for tea and chat newbies! You’ll have plenty of time to find your soul mate later!” 433Please respect copyright.PENANAGVHxoPclG3
A couple of chuckles broke loose around and Tara and I stopped speaking to each other. I ran to another part of the room just before the next variable appeared: swarms of bugs. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAyBjnuRl7s1
Oh no. It really wasn’t fair. All these other kids had ways to protect themselves. I didn’t. How cruel. I watched in awe as the bugs swarmed around a red-haired boy and sting him. Then I realized they weren’t hurting him. 433Please respect copyright.PENANA3emKV1jFG0
His skin glowed as if he was indestructible on the outside. The blue-eyed kid kept running, and that seemed to do the trick. Rim used her legs to jump up the high ceiling and grab on to something up there, she would wait for the bugs to follow her and then jump back down. Clever. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAhw0kcy4Z8G
Blake, on the other hand, got stung a few times and man it hurt. I tried to think ‘My skin is indestructible’ but that only made it worse. It made me stand in one place for too long. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAmbix0VTNCN
Then the final variable came. The room began to pool with water. I gulped. Nope. I didn’t have a chance in this one. Before we knew it the water was up to our necks and we had to kick to get out heads above the water. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAfhANDQwpXG
I gasped for air, my entire body getting tired. I just wanted to get above the water. And then it happened. I was there in the air, flying. I didn’t even know how I was doing it, to tell you the truth. I thought I was drowning because my eyes were closed until I heard the gasps below me. 433Please respect copyright.PENANArIcxZt81va
I opened my eyes and the truth was revealed: I had the ability to fly. Then, all the water began to drain to one corner of the room. The water there concentrated. I realized it was becoming a tornado. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAi52GdxJKqq
Another variable? The water left the space where Allen and the others were and they found themselves on the ground. Tara was the only one missing. She stood close to the tornado, and it didn’t take long for me to realize she was controlling it. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAQlBlRrOJQ8
“Tara!” Allen cried. “Let it go! It’s getting too strong!” It seemed that way. 433Please respect copyright.PENANA0yLZ17YYNP
The tower of water began to sway. Tara opened her eyes. They widened when she saw what she was doing. She immediately clamped her hands into fists. She tried again, her eyes widening more. 433Please respect copyright.PENANArAVc0sCVZH
“I...I can’t!”433Please respect copyright.PENANAFoMJ9Lkv7O
“TRY!”433Please respect copyright.PENANAtEkTJ9Vj4N
“I CAN’T! It won’t listen!” Then the square underneath the water opened and the water disappeared. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAkAMroYr1Qr
Tara collapsed onto her hands and knees. Everyone was sitting or laying on the ground. That is, everyone except me, who was floating in the air. Everyone was staring, and looking at their faces made my concentration crumble. I shot towards the ground, my arms flailing. Luckily Allen caught me in his big, strong arms. I looked up into his eyes.433Please respect copyright.PENANA8MCwZYbteu
“Uh....hi?” He let me go and took a few steps back. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAMyxvj9jisL
“You’re......You’re.....” I could feel his surprise.433Please respect copyright.PENANA6GvbnxsnAj
Who knew it better than me, as I looked myself up and down. How long could I do THAT? All the kids were making space between me and them. Tara stood up maybe four feet away. Our eyes met with equal confusion and fear.433Please respect copyright.PENANAGbZsb1j1ga
“Oh man,” breathed Allen, his eyes claiming a deer-in-headlights look. “This is bad. We have an ultra-natural. And not just one, but two!”433Please respect copyright.PENANAdGjsBKgAiy
“What does it mean?” asked a ten-year-old girl. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAxlbp4fy2JV
Allen gulped. “It means the world is in for it. Something bad is going to happen."433Please respect copyright.PENANA6HdD8nw4N4
A door opened and a few adults came in. One was a woman with golden hair, who placed a hand on a few of the children and healed their wounds with her powers. Another man looked incredibly muscular, his upper body putting magazine bodybuilders to shame. 433Please respect copyright.PENANA3XmlUuNRSn
There was Lana, our wizard friend, her red hair messy, and her eyes as alert as ever. Then there was a man with amber-colored hair. It was a blonde-brown color like mine. I recognized the man from the photograph in the hallway of the firefighter. He was smiling, while the other adults seemed a bit more serious.433Please respect copyright.PENANAxiimsYoWpr
“Lena told you,” Lena said, nibbling on her stick. “Lena knew boy is dangerous.” 433Please respect copyright.PENANAZ7HNkqkIQb
“Lena, calm down,” the handsome man said soothingly. "I want you all to settle down. For those of you who don’t know me... my name in Knight, or knights armor if you want to go by hero names.” 433Please respect copyright.PENANAd5BUPPLzBN
Armor. Was he the man Rim was talking about in the car? 433Please respect copyright.PENANAzRGGmLUFuo
He continued. “All of you head down to the lounge on the lower floor until we figure this out. I want to have a word with these two.” 433Please respect copyright.PENANAkHFJTuIDnw
With that, the adults herded the kids towards the elevators that appeared behind a wall that had raised behind us. A few kids stole glances at me over their shoulders. I tried to look cool and collective, but I was as nervous as anyone. Rim stayed behind. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAeYRVQp8owy
“Daddy, what’s going on?” 433Please respect copyright.PENANAN8DjXf7SoE
Daddy? Was this guy Rim’s father? 433Please respect copyright.PENANAgwifumDmQF
“Hush Rim." He used a remote and two black couches rose from the floor. He motioned us to sit and we sat across each other. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAH4bh0Q0B5r
“I’m sorry, this is probably so much to take in. I wanted to welcome you personally to Super Natropolis. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourselves before we start with the heavy stuff? Who are you, sweetheart?” Tara smoothed her sweatshirt. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAqpiLmMrxSJ
“I’m not sure I even know anymore,” she said softly. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAeYhNEGp0zP
Armor smiled gently. “What’s your name?”433Please respect copyright.PENANAOvwWCBHq9p
“Taradelta,” she replied. “But I like Tara better.” Taradelta... That was a cool name. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAjzxRrtMHxx
Tara continued, telling the story about the football players and cheerleaders with magic. Armor nodded, looking very supportive. I really like this guy. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAOeB1pHxB8W
“Don’t worry about others. You’re a very special girl, Tara, and that’s a good thing. You have good potential, and no matter what words come out of those other kid's mouths, I want you to keep going. Taradelta...that’s so pretty.” Tara blushed and thanked him. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAFh5Z05Kg2j
Next, he took my small hands in his big ones and looked me in the eyes. “And what’s your name?” I relaxed a little. 433Please respect copyright.PENANA175Z4bmveK
“Blake,” I told him. He blinked. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAKtgd64qEdD
“Blake?” I nodded, wondering why he looked so surprised. His eyes looked almost watery. He gulped. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAE0jIJywaeg
“Do you...have a father at home?” It was a weird question, but I answered honestly. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAxWvFFutG4m
“No, he disappeared a long time ago. I never knew him. All I know is what my mom told me.”433Please respect copyright.PENANA0BWekehx7Q
“Lauren,” he said. I blinked. 433Please respect copyright.PENANACQOZMeR5Ip
That was her name. He gave a half-smile. 433Please respect copyright.PENANAV7atOl7NUS
“She still works at that little cupcake shop?” I couldn’t breathe. How did he know who my mother was? 433Please respect copyright.PENANAfFW9BBJ1L4
All I could say was, “how do you know all that?” I didn’t have time to finish before I found his arms around me in a huge hug.433Please respect copyright.PENANAxqIm4qp60a
“Oh Blake,” he said, his voice breaking. 433Please respect copyright.PENANApVJmdNFNZ8
“I’m your Dad."
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