In my dream, I stood in the middle of a street downtown with a storm raging overhead. The winds whipped at my clothes and hair, forcing me to squint so that I could see. In front of me was the silhouette of a person but I couldn't make out who they were yet they seemed to be controlling the storm since their left hand was raised into the air. Lightning came down from the sky and danced along the sides of the buildings, ripping through them. The person controlling the storm suddenly started walking towards me, causing the storm to intensify as well.
Who is that?! I thought.
Just as the person finally stepped into my vision, the dream ended and I woke up covered in a cold sweat, gasping for air as I gripped my covers. My body was cold and shivering, my breath labored. Remembering the breathing exercises my mom had taught me, I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing until I felt calm and steady.
It was just a dream, just a dream.
So why had it felt so real? Whoever the silhouette was in my dream had a very destructive ability to be able to conjure up a storm powerful enough to destroy buildings. Shaking off the lingering feeling from my dream, I checked my phone to see what time it was. It was eleven o'clock at night which meant I had been sleep since I got home around seven. Based on how quiet the house was I had to assume that everyone in my family was sleep too. I was debating on going back to sleep when my phone starting vibrating with an incoming FaceTime call from Becky. Rubbing the sleep from eyes and propping my phone up so I could lay down while talking to her, I answered the call. Becky came into the camera with her hair in a messy bun and a charcoal gray hoodie on, typing away at her computer.
"Hola, Bestie," she said with a smile.
"Hola, Chica," I chuckled. "You're up late."
Becky sighed and rolled her eyes. "I forgot to do my lab report for physics so I here am at eleven o'clock at night. Wanna keep me company?"
I'd rather be sleeping, I thought but I kept that to myself.
"Sure. That way I can tell you about my study date with Yasmine today," I said.
Becky snorted. "Your new friend?"
Her tone had some infliction in it and what sounded like jealousy but I brushed it off and proceeded to tell her about everything that happened, including Mrs Knight knowing about my powers. Becky shot me a worried glance through the phone at that particular part, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Should we be worried?" She asked. "Just because she claims she won't tell Yasmine, doesn't mean that we can trust her."
I nodded. "Especially if I do something she doesn't like. But all I can do is just hope that she lets me tell Yasmine on my own terms."
Becky sighed. "She just had to have an ability that lets her know other people's powers."
Tell me about it, I thought to myself.
I wondered how many people she had used her power on. It was activated through touch and eye contact so had I not shook her hand today then she probably would've never discovered my powers in the first place. Guess that's what I get for trying to be polite and make a good first impression.
"What do you make of the promise she's making me keep to her?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbow. "Don't you think it's weird that she chose me specifically?"
Becky pondered for a moment, chewing her bottom lip as she thought about my question. It honestly was weird to me that Mrs Knight had asked me specifically to protect Yasmine. Aside from my self defense training and my body now being able to handle fifteen percent of my full power, I wasn't capable of protecting anybody. During my fight with Kato, I had primarily relied on my instincts and hand to hand skills to win. Had Kato been fighting to kill, I probably wouldn't be here. And during my sparring match with Braxton I had only won because I had managed to unlock a new facet of my powers. Up against someone who wanted me dead, I wouldn't last long. Wits, instincts and luck would only get me so far which made it all the more pertinent that I learned to control my powers at a higher level than fifteen percent. I made a mental promise to myself to start working out three days a week instead of my usual two as well as to buy a weighted vest. I also needed to up my fighting skills from just basic defensive skills so that I could better hold my own when I wasn't able to use my powers.
"You're thinking awfully hard over there," Becky remarked. "You're even mumbling to yourself."
I chuckled nervously. I had a bad habit of mumbling to myself whenever my mind was on overdrive. It helped me to better organize my ideas instead of trying to keep everything in my head. It was a trait I had picked up from my late grandpa. He would often mumble to himself when he was doing his work and according to him it helped him to stay focused and organized.
"All ways around," I said finally, "I intend to keep the promise. I have to make sure that I'm capable enough to keep her safe though."
"What do you mean?" Becky asked, peering at the phone.
"My current power output is fifteen percent but it causes a lot of strain on my body because I'm not used to it," I explained. "If I wanna get used to my powers, I have to get used to using them at higher percentages just in case the situation calls for it. In order to do that I have to train my body even more than I already have."
"How're you gonna do that?" Becky asked.
I thought about it. Layla had suggested weighted calisthenics in order to get my body used to the strain that fifteen percent put on it. But I would also need to increase my muscle mass so that I could go above fifteen percent if I ever really needed to. That would mean adding more reps or an extra five or ten pounds to my weightlifting routines. I explained my plan to Becky and her eyes widened in surprise then she nodded in understanding.
"That does make sense if you think about it," she said thoughtfully. "But you don't wanna be too big or else you'll slow down."
I nodded in a agreement. "My current weight is one hundred and ninety, so I was thinking of increasing my weight to two hundred pounds even. I'll have to start eating more as well in order to increase my muscle size. I'm going to start doing more sparring sessions with my dad to stay lean and increase my stamina and endurance."
Becky laughed to herself. "I sometimes forget how analytical your mind is when it comes to your powers and how to better use them. That's one of the more unnatural things about you, Bestie."
"How so?" I asked, genuinely curious.
Becky gestured with her hands. "You're highly analytical. You always find ways to solve a problem or figure out a situation with just your intelligence. Your intelligence is unnatural, almost like you're a genius."
I waved my hand dismissively. "It's part of my habit to overthink simple things. I honestly hate it but it's part of the reason I came up with the idea to spread my tactile telekinesis throughout my body instead of focusing it in a single concentrated burst."
Our conversation continued like this for another hour or so before Becky told me she was gonna get some sleep and call me later to hangout if she wasn't busy. After she hung up, I laid in my bed staring up at the ceiling as my mind raced. I was making slow but steady progress with my powers and I was honestly satisfied with that but I needed to get better. The biggest thing I wanted to master was the energy blasts that I could now generate. I had resolved to only fire an energy beam from my chest as a last ditch effort if my back was against the wall and I needed a sure fire way to win. For now, I needed to focus on being able to continuously fire energy from my hands and being able to continuously use tactile telekinesis at fifteen percent with little to no strain. That's when it hit me, and I came up with probably my craziest idea yet.
• • •
The next morning I was up earlier than everyone else in the house. After brushing my teeth, I threw on an old tracksuit and my running shoes then headed out the door to my intended destination. Before going to bed last night, I had sent out a text to my friend Dario to meet me at the park reserve near our school to train together. Dario and I had been cool since our freshman year and we were close enough to where I felt comfortable revealing my powers to him. Dario's power allowed him to manipulate the earth which made him the perfect training partner for me. He had been a bit hesitant about my idea when I had told him about it but when I explained my reasoning, he was fully on board and agreed to help in whatever way he could. And now I was here, standing across from Dario in the middle of the reserve. Dario was light skin and stood at six foot three with medium length locs. He had a lean but powerful build with decent sized biceps and broad shoulders. He was dressed in sweats with the jacket removed leaving him in just a black tank top.
"You sure about this, bro?" He asked, a slightly nervous expression on his face.
I nodded my head as I stretched and removed my jacket.
"Once I power up, start attacking me. Then we'll move on to the actual workout," I said casually.
Taking a deep breath, I clenched my fist and activated my powers. I felt an adrenaline rush as my power surged through my body and cracked the ground underneath me.
Tactile telekinesis, fifteen percent!
Red energy swirled around me, whipping up the dirt and grass as my power fully activated. Dario slammed his hand into the ground and a wave of rocks came barreling towards me. With a huge effort, I raised my fist and punched through them, causing tiny pebbles to fly everywhere. Dario didn't let up, though, and proceeded to launch large boulders at me, forcing me to put all my effort into dodging.
"You good?" Dario called out, sending another boulder at me.
I roundhouse kicked it away into a nearby tree then rolled to the side to dodge another rock wave.
"Never better," I grunted. "Keep em coming."
Dario punched the ground, causing the earth beneath my feet to crack and make me lose balance. Placing my hand on the ground, I cartwheeled, rebounded, and threw a Brazilian kick directly at Dario. My kick generated a pressurized wave of wind that blew him back a few feet away but not before he threw a boulder at me that hit me dead in the chest. Luckily, having my power at fifteen percent afforded me some enhanced durability so I wasn't too badly hurt but my body was starting to feel heavy from using my powers for longer than five minutes. I gritted my teeth. Concentrating, I exhaled and felt the energy around my body disperse, a gust of wind blowing up. I jogged over to Dario and helped him up, dusting him off as we both tried to catch our breath.
"I wasn't expecting a pressurized wind attack," he breathed, laughing slightly. "And was that energy surrounding your body?"
I wiped the sweat from my forehead before answering him.
"It's the energy from my telekinetic force field," I explained. "I don't really get how it works, but I think the more power I exert, the more energy I generate and the stronger my force field becomes as a result."
Dario's eyes widened. "I thought my ability was strong. I can literally manipulate all forms of earth, even metal. But you, you're just broken."
I laughed. A lot of my friends who knew about my power often referred to it as broken because of how strong it was. My power was seemingly bottomless and now that I was discovering that I had subsets to my power, the possibilities were now endless.
"Alright. So what's next?" Dario asked, slapping my shoulder lightly.
"Calisthenics and then some more sparring," I responded, getting into a push-up position.
Dario levitated a medium sized boulder onto my back causing me to sink a bit but I managed to stay upright. Activating my fifteen percent, I begun doing push-ups while concentrating on keeping my powers at fifteen percent. For the next couple hours, Dario and I alternated between calisthenics and sparring sessions as I worked to get my body adjusted to using fifteen percent. It was arduous and my body was definitely starting to feel the affects of using fifteen percent for an extended period of time but it was a necessary endeavor in order for me to get stronger. By the time we finished with the workout, the sun had set and I was covered in sweat, dirt, and bruises. My body ached heavily but I felt great despite all that because my body was getting used to maintaining my fifteen percent limit. There was less physical backlash and my body didn't feel as heavy as it did when I had first started using it but I was still a long way from using it for prolonged periods of time.
"Thanks again, Dario," I said, gripping forearms with him. "I'll see you Wednesday."
After Dario left, I stayed in the park by myself for a bit. With everything that I was experiencing, I hadn't had a moment to myself to sit and sift through my thoughts and emotions. Yasmine and I were exclusively talking to each other with the end goal of it being us winding up as a couple. I chalked that up as a positive since it basically meant that I now was sole object of affection for the finest girl in the school and that was something I would always mentally high five myself for. Then there was my growing rivalry with Braxton. I hadn't heard from him since his indirect declaration and it was beginning to bug me because we were very close but now there was a divide between us caused by the gap between our powers and levels. Braxton was an alpha and I was an omega. By right, we weren't supposed to be friends due to the view the other levels had of omegas. We were seen as arrogant and haughty but also as powerful and capable of devastating levels of destruction if we ever unleashed our full power. Omegas were treated with reverence; the authorities were even made up of omegas entirely. While we had always been rivals, Braxton had also held an inferiority complex towards me because I was born an omega yet chose to live the life of a gamma. I couldn't count the number of times we'd gotten into arguments because he was frustrated at the fact that I hid my true powers because I was still haunted by my past. He had even tried to goad me into fighting him at one point to see the true extent of my powers. But my past wasn't the only thing holding me back from using my powers. Truthfully, I was somewhat afraid of my powers. When I was twelve, I had caused a huge shockwave from my powers first activating when I had hit puberty. I remember being so afraid and feeling out of control as my powers rampaged and destroyed everything around me. The only thing that saved me was my body wearing itself out, causing me to collapse from the sheer exhaustion of exerting my powers. Two years later, my parents told me that my powers were so strong that my shockwave caused nearby objects to levitate off the ground and fly into nearby buildings and homes; I had even disassembled the ground my touching it. The fact that I was able to cause that level of destruction at only twelve is what had made me swear to never use the full extent of my abilities. If I were to go berserk....there's no telling what I'd be capable of. But now I had to break my vow to uphold the one I'd made to Mrs Knight, to protect Yasmine. My final thought was the meaning of my dream from last night. From what I had deduced, the silhouette in my dream was someone with the power to generate electrical storms but I didn't know anyone with that kind of an ability. Was my dream a warning? Was there someone out there with that power who I would have to face? If so, I needed to be ready just in case I had to put everything on the line.
••••
"Where've you been, Jo?" Pops asked, his expression one of curiosity.
I had taken longer to get home than intended due to my body being more sore than I thought. But I managed to get home in one piece, albeit thirty minutes past my scheduled training time with my dad. I was restarting my self defense training so that I could be able to my apply my martial arts and my powers into my own unique fighting style.
"I was at the park working out with a friend," I responded, strapping on a pair of mixed martial arts gloves. "So what am I learning today?"
Sighing at my lack of time management, my dad strapped on his gloves and took a stance across from me on the floor mats that were part of his home gym in the basement. Even though I was taller than him, my dad was way more muscular than me and his powers only amplified his already impressive physical strength.
"We're gonna brush up on your boxing and wrestling fundamentals first then move onto Brazilian jiu-jitsu," Pops said, taking up an orthodox boxing stance. "Come at me."
Taking up my own stance, I bursted forward with a power jab aimed directly at his face. Pops parried the punch then threw a right counter cross that I barely managed to block. I reset myself and circled to the outside then threw a double jab-cross combination. The two jabs were parried but my cross caught my dad right on his nose, causing him to stumble. This exchange of punches continued between us with the intensity ramping up the longer we went on. After boxing, we moved onto wrestling drills (which weren't my strong point) working on sprawls, slams, chokeholds, and endurance. I had never been so tired in my life but I pushed myself to keep going. I had to get stronger and the best way to do so was by working on my basics. I spent the rest of the night training with Pops as we rotated from boxing drills, wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu submissions until I looked up and it was already midnight.
"We'll stop here," Pops said, helping me to my feet. "Despite not training as much as you used to, your body still remembers everything that I taught you."
"Muscle memory," I stated. "As well as having to defend myself from the kids at school."
I offered to help put away the training gear but Pops told to go shower and get to bed so I could be up on time for school. Alone in the shower, I contemplated my next steps. Getting my body in shape was only half of the solution, I needed actual experience so I could see how my powers would fair in a real fight. School fights didn't count because a teacher would step in before things got too serious and sparring sessions with my friends didn't help either because they always held back against me. I needed to fight people who wouldn't take it easy on me. After my shower, I threw a T-shirt and basketball shorts then laid down. The hot shower had done wonders for my aching muscles but had done little to calm my racing thoughts. As I drifted off to sleep, I made a mental note to have a conversation with Layla about something she'd brought it up in the past. Something that would either help me greatly....become my biggest mistake.