The class around him was clearly struggling to contain themselves. The problem was that they knew the lead was about to come off, so they were chomping at the bit.
The teacher capitulated, "You are free to go, remember, DO NOT RUN AMUCK! AND NO POWERS!"
The students quickly stood up and rushed towards the door, causing a minor traffic jam. However, Ermis remained calm and made his way to the teacher's desk.
"Mr. Morris, when did you know what you were going to be?"
The older gentleman squinted in thought, "Excellent question. It was about 37 seconds ago."
Ermis nearly did a spit take, but he clarified, "I assume you meant earlier in life? Yes?"
He continued after a small nod, "Well, I was about to be evicted by my mother. My "odd jobs" weren't cutting it anymore. She said a man in his late 20s needed to get his life together. She was right."
"I realized that day that what I did at work was teaching. In every job, I was the guy that trained the new hire. Pizza, janitorial, IT, you name it, I worked it. But. I always found myself teaching. No matter where I was, my calling found me. Then I went to school, something I dreaded, but it was different, so different. I was already an educator. I just needed the specifics."
Ermis nodded slowly.
"Always remember Ermis, you are never done deciding who you will be." He pointed to a pamphlet on his desk, "The answer isn't in here. It is in your heart."
He was going to sit back down but stopped, "Do you know why your parents do what they do?"
Ermis nodded vaguely, "No. I mean REALLY know why they do what they do. Why does your mother get shot, stabbed, blown up, and die probably every day?"
Ermis thought he was being hyperbolic, but he was right, Mom did come home with a "stare" on some days.
"Why does your father look the insane in the eye? How does he know what they know? How does he shrug off insanity? He must be strong to envision the absurd and be untainted."
Mr. Morris truly sat down, feeling this answer is something he could live with.
"No regrets, Mr. Jones. No regrets."
Ermis smiled and walked off blankly.
Mr. Morris only chuckled as the boy was struck by real questions.
--------------------------------------------------
Once he was out the door, the stupor wore off.
Those questions wouldn't be answered today, no matter how much he thought about it.
Ermis wandered to Jessica's Homeroom, thinking about how his parents both manifested their powers. They were certified Capes, but not always. Had they known what they would do before they awoke, or did their powers help guide them?
As students passed, he felt the nerves of everyone fumble out into the world. Some were excited and speaking too loudly, but most were darting to find their friends, hoping that the routine of "hanging" would ease their psyche.
The white noise was soothing, like a TV playing as you drifted to sleep. But he soon found his friend, "Hey Jess, did you get a silly pamphlet too?"
She nodded, "They are super generic, but the government is just doing its best, I guess."
Ermis looked around at the bustling crowd, most Homerooms had released their 'herd' for the day. All they had to do was "tag" the next classroom and check-in, easy as pie.
Jessica stared at Ermis for a few moments, wondering what he was thinking. She knew he was nervous, but his pedigree was no joke, he was sure to awaken and be extremely powerful in the very near future.
It was exactly why both of their parents were so "joyous" that they were friends.
She smiled for a moment and noticed his indecision, "Come on, let me show you my power."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, weaving and squeezing through the crowd, looking for the roof access.
As she neared it, she noticed the chains, "Ah, dang it."
Ermis squinted, "They are at least taking us seriously, but it is a pretty big fire hazard, right? Chaining an exit for Flyers is a tad extreme."
Jess turned to him and smacked him on the shoulder, "Yea. But whatever, I can show you mine tomorrow, and then you can show me yours."
He smiled, "Thanks. I would like that, I just hop-"
A loud buzz went off on his wrist.
[Prism-Particulate levels critical! Congratulations! If you can read this, sit down, you will be losing consciousness so-]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ermis woke to a wicked smell.
The Doctor smiled and said, "Welcome back Mr. Jones. You were quite extraordinary."
He rolled his chair over to a computer and pecked away, "I have your parents outside, but I am legally bound to share my results with whoever you deem worthy of knowing your greatest secret."
He leaned from behind the monitor, "If you don't want them in here, you are well within your rights as an adult. Do you need a moment to decide?"
He shook his head, "My dad would figure it out in 5 minutes anyways. You have my permission to let them in."
The Doctor smiled at the explicit consent and hit his keyboard.
He stood and spoke as he shook their hands, "Welcome, Deputy Director Jones, and the Legendary Sandy Jones. I am a big fan."
Sandy smiled and nodded, while Jorge pushed forwards to Ermis, "You seem fine, what happened?"
Ermis shook his head, "I was walking to the roof access with Jess, but it was locked, then I got a notification on my watch. That is all I remember before waking up here."
The Doctor coughed, "Yes, I believe I can shed some light on that."
He typed away at his computer, "I am baffled by this occurrence. Ermis' awakening seems to have triggered 12 nearby awakenings, all on his own."
Sandy and Jorge nodded as he continued, "Resonance Awakening, while uncommon, is certainly within the realm of possibility for the close proximity of a school."
Then he pointed to a graph, "Here is the interesting part, his Prism-parts-per-million was clocked at over 100,000. But he has no visible displays of power."
Ermis could sort of follow that reasoning, normally a powerful individual experiences an overload just before awakening, like Jessica had this morning.
Jorge squinted and turned back to his son, "Stand."
Ermis looked at his mother for backup, but she was in War Mode as well.
Jorge stepped close and they nearly touched noses as he peered into Ermis.