The black abyss started to ripple. Blotches of white and gray scattered through the sea of black and Lee Seng felt his whole body suddenly become whole.
'Was I always missing something?' Lee Seng thought. He watched the sea of black turn to shades of gray and white. The empty feeling was replaced with an endless sense of peace he hadn't felt in years. His rough demeanor eased and he found himself pulling away from the endless graying and white seascape.
----
Lee Seng eyes fluttered open. The sound of medicinal devices were rhythmically beeping quietly in the background. He was staring at familiar white ceilings. He slowly lifted himself up as the thin sheets fell onto his lap.
Lee Seng observed his surroundings. He was in the familiar room he had called "home" for many years. A desk sat on the wall to his left with pencils, pens and assorted writing utensils in a cup. A desk lamp was on and shining down upon a bare dark wood desk. Two bookshelves sat on both sides of the desk, filled with an assortment of books.
Lee Seng swung his body to the left and his feet landed on slippers. He slipped his feet into the slippers and reached for the nightstand on his left and grabbed his plugged, charging phone. He wandered over to the right and into the bathroom. He did his business and changed clothes and walked out into his room. He wandered over to the front door to his right and opened it.
He walked down the hallway and turned left into a lab area. He walked out the door and the sound of people walking by and chatting were heard. Lee Seng's phone beeped and he lifted it up and saw it was a message from the Creator.
[Are you awake? Come down to my lab and we'll talk about last night.]
Lee Seng sighed and tapped out [I'm awake. I'll head your way] and started his way through the lab halls. He waved and said hi to the workers who he passed. Some asking him when he got back and how school was. He answered quickly with a smile and made his way to the back of the building.
Room 197
Dr. Vang Chang
The door was closed and Lee Seng sighed and prepared himself for whatever the Creator was about to talk to him about. He knocked three times and heard shuffling.
"Come in," the Creator said. Lee Seng opened the door and stepped into the lab. The lab was in a state of chaos. Papers were sprawled across the island countertop and a single laptop sat in the middle of it all.
The Creator was a mid-forties man who always seemed like he was in a hurry. Lee Seng knew the Creator had totally different personalities. The hard working man the public knew wasn't who Lee Seng knew at all. He was always worried about something and working. Lee Seng grew to not care so much about the Creator's well-being. He would always be told "worry about yourself" and that would be it.
The Creator pushed away from his desk in the back of the room and stretched. Lee Seng closed the door behind him and moved exactly five steps forward before stopping. The Creator stood up and took of his glasses, rubbing his eyes. He looked like he hadn't taken a break in hours and was disheveled.
"Nine and Ten told me you passed out while training." The Creator said. He rounded the desk and made his way over to the island and leaned on it. "What were you trying to do exactly?"
"Training." Lee Seng replied. The Creator nodded and looked off to some papers and pulled one out. He waved it in the air and it disappeared into thin air before appearing in Lee Seng's hand. He lifted the paper to read.
Report 537149
Lee Seng Chang moved from the Scanning room approximately 30 minutes after everyone evacuated the room. He spent his time doing physical training until Numbers 9 and 10 came back from mission.
They talked about his fox-like tail and ears before moving onto the topic of hitting the dummy with Lee Seng's power. Lee Seng did not hit the dummy at all and was distracted thus causing 9 and 10 to intervene. Lee Seng passed out before 9 and 10 could get to him.
Reasoning for passing out: blunt force trauma dealt inside of stomach
"You were doing physical training and didn't even try to do any power training? You expect me to allow you to go off to the Academy when you can't even show me results?!?" The Creator yelled. Lee Seng crumpled the paper and tossed it into the bin beside him. The Creator pointed at Lee Seng, rounding the island and marching towards him. Lee Seng gave a blank stare as the Creator came closer, but never moved. He didn't dare.
Lee Seng knew what was coming and knew if he did anything to stop his punishment, he would only get it ten fold more. The Creator snapped his fingers and a large flat wooden piece attached to a baseball bat handle appeared in his hand.
"You don't deserve to even think about the Academy. You will stay here!" The Creator screamed. He lifted the long paddle and swung. It slammed into the side of Lee Seng and he grunted as he jerked right. The Creator began to swing again and Lee Seng let out another grunt.
'Show him your power.' Keng spoke. Lee Seng's eyes widened and he quickly grabbed the paddle. The Creator grunted as he tried to pull the paddle. Lee Seng's cold eyes stared at his father and he threw the Creator's arm away. The Creator stumbled backwards and looked at his son with disgust.
"You would dare defy me?!?" The Creator screamed. Lee Seng sighed and lifted his hand. His tail swiped back and forth behind him and Lee Seng moved forward.
"You want proof?" Lee Seng coldly asked. "Here." Lee Seng felt his left arm vibrate and he imagined a blast pushing the paddle out of the Creator's hand. In a blink of an eye, the paddle flew backwards and landed half deep into the wall behind the Creator. Lee Seng's arm grew heavy and slumped to his side.
"There." Lee Seng said. "Your proof I'm capable of using my own power, Father. Whatever 'excuse' I give you for yesterday won't matter to you." Lee Seng turned and the Creator quickly stood up, shouting.
"What do you think you're doing?" The Creator was furious. Lee Seng put his right hand on the door and started to push down on the handle. "You won't be able to apply to the Academy, I won't allow you."
"You won't?" Lee Seng let go of the handle and turned to look at the Creator. The Creator's face was red as a tomato. He was pointing at Lee Seng who only gave him a look devoid of any feelings for his supposed 'father'. "I know the procedures to get into the school. I'll do it the hard way. I can pull a favor from Dr. Valentin if I have to."
"You wouldn't dare--"
"You do anything, it'll ruin your reputation. Frame it however you want. I'll be sure to use my title favorably for you just this once." Lee Seng smiled. "Don't pull strings. It doesn't look good for you." Lee Seng turned as the Creator begin spewing nonsense he didn't bother to decipher. He fully opened the door and left.
Lee Seng's arm ached as he managed to tap the left side of his pants where he slid his phone.
"Let Brother Akio I'm coming to him." Lee Seng said. The phone chirped and buzzed.
"Alright, I'll relay the message." The AI responded. Lee Seng made his way to the other side of the building as his phone chirped.
"Message from Brother Akio. Hey dude, I'll be outside waiting for ya." The AI read. Akio followed the hallway to the end and ended up near the entrance of the building. He waved at the security guards as he stepped out. Akio stood at the edge of the building, legs crossed and scrolling his phone.
"Why're you out here?" Lee Seng asked. Akio turned and smiled. He waved and came over.
"Figured you didn't want to walk buildings to see me. You doing okay?" Akio asked. Lee Seng nodded. He smiled widely as he flexed and jumped. Akio chuckled and put a hand onto Lee Seng's shoulder. "I guess you are fine."
"Ah, yeah." Lee Seng chuckled. "I guess I was... just tired." His eyes glanced at his feet as he kicked the ground.
"Did... you talk to your father?" Akio wondered. Lee Seng nodded.
"He doesn't want to put me into the Academy. He rather have me chained up here. Hide his disappointment away." Lee Seng softly replied. He looked back at Akio, who was worried and let out a forced smile. "Despite all of that, I want to try to get in."
Akio nodded. He knew Lee Seng didn't have the best of terms with his father, but he never was one to stop him from doing something like this. If Akio could see a connection from the Creator and his son, they were both strong willed.
"Alright, and how do you plan on doing that?" Akio asked. Lee Seng wiggled his fingers and felt the heavy weight shifting off. He grabbed his phone and pulled it out.
"Could you grab my phone? I used my power in front of Father and... I can't move well."
Akio grabbed his phone and held it out for Lee Seng. Lee Seng quickly scanned his finger with the biometric reading and swiped quickly until he pulled up a website.
"There's a entrance exam for latecomers in a couple weeks. With the help of Dr. Valentin, if I could get his backing, I could have a chance of getting into the entrance exam." Lee Seng explained. Akio pulled the screen away from Lee Seng and read the website. He slowly nodded and looked up at Lee Seng.
"You know the exam is tough, right? Those who typically have basic knowledge and know how to use their powers get in. Even then, this is a Numbers Academy. Only the top get in here."
"Yeah, I know. That's what I need training. If I can train for this, I might be able to pass."
"But you've only awakened yesterday. You aren't going to dramatically improve in a couple of weeks, let alone have basic knowledge and basic handling to get in. The top get in here, Lee." Akio worriedly explained. Akio grabbed Lee Seng's left arm and pulled it up.
"Your negative is quite taxing on your body too. You would need to figure out how to alleviate the negative to even reach the lowest conditions I've just covered. Your power intensity level needs to be charted too and we don't know exactly how intense it is."
Lee Seng nodded and pulled his arm back. It swung back to his side and he started to walk down one of the sidewalk paths. Akio was worried for Lee Seng and Lee Seng knew that. Akio never was one to hide his thoughts from Lee Seng which made it harder to convince himself if what he was doing was truly right.
"Lee Seng, I only say this because it's a tall order to get into the Numbers Academy here." Akio explained. Lee Seng looked at Akio and nodded. He continued forward towards the back of the building.
"I know, but I have a feeling I can do this. I just need help and I think you and Akali could help me just a tad." Lee Seng stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Akio. Akio sighed, rubbing his temples. He was definitely conflicted now.
"We've got tight schedules all day. You know we would definitely help you with this, but you're on your own during the day. Akali and I got things to do during the day so you need to figure out most of it on your own." Akio pointed out.
"I know. I will try my best to figure this out. It's like everyone says, 'It starts with you and grows with you.' I can handle experimenting and trying to get a hold of my powers but some pointers would be nice."
Lee Seng's phone started to ring and Akio lifted it and was surprised. He looked at Lee Seng and handed him the phone.
"I think he could help you." Akio said. Lee Seng grabbed the phone and red the caller ID.
[ Manny ]