Ermis slowly opened his eyes again, feeling drowsiness as he called out, "Mom? Dad? Where are you guys?"
His blurry vision faded as he looked around the room and heard his mother respond, "Hey sweetie, are you feeling okay? We had the 'Doc' transfer you over to headquarters."
Ermis gave her a nod and gradually sat upright, feeling a stiffness that mimicked the aftermath of his very first workout.
He took a moment and noticed the strangers in the room, presumably his parents' subordinates here to help acclimate him to this new reality.
A beautiful young woman in a lab coat approached him with a tablet and asked, "Are you having any internal discomfort?"
He nodded slightly, looking to his mother for reassurance. When she nodded back for him to continue, he added, "I am feeling a little light-headed and tired from using my powers."
The woman marked something down on her tablet and then asked, "Are you aware of your PP level?"
He shook his head, "I know it was high, but I can't feel it yet."
As he spoke those words, the room of people slowed down to look at him, and then she continued, "Is that so? Well, alright then, how about any internal stressors that might prohibit your powers from reactivating?"
He shook his head, "I feel good. No symptoms of Drain."
A momentary furrow appeared on her brow. She cast an angry look towards Sandy, then shifted her gaze back to Ermis. "I believe we'll need to proceed with standard testing," she remarked, "if you feel up to it."
Sandy looked like she wanted to intervene on a primal level. But she placed faith in her people, so she did nothing.
Ermis smiled and said, "Sure. I can't wait!"
Ermis finally had powers. He just had to know what they did.
'I know I have a green, indigo, and an orange power. They seem to all be blends for some reason.'
He innately understood there was more to be unlocked, a power untapped within himself.
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As he thought, people moved about, with some performing basic tasks and others preparing for one of the most important diagnostic tests in the current century.
Multiple 'Testers' were selected for this, a necessity dictated by the power spectrum he possessed. Yet, it wasn't solely the range of powers, but the depth that caused the issue.
So far, Jorge had noted, 'Superstrength, Superspeed, Extreme reflexes, Pisonic invasion, Healing, Hyperintelligence, and a few others that he could not confirm.'
Jorge knew it was rather odd, but his son was strong. Strong enough to weather this storm. He looked over to his wife across the room, she was having a difficult time, and he'd need to prepare a bubble bath at home.
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A few diode receptors were telekinesised onto his body as he looked around the gray-padded room. A voice coming through a speaker began, "Okay. Ermis Jones, this is a basic diagnostic test. You may be wondering why this room looks so odd. Allow me to assure you that it is for your safety. Right now, I am considering you a danger to yourself and others until you experience your first Cycle, can you understand that?"
He nodded, unbothered by the woman's assertion that he was a danger, "Thank you. Now, it seems your mental faculties are enhanced and differ from the norm, would you agree?"
He tried to think if he was any more intelligent, but it was an unanswerable question from within one's self.
She noticed his plight, "No worries, I just need you to look at a small video."
A monitor floated into the room with a video playing on it. It was a child counting cars from a rooftop. The baby pointed at the cars and slowly described them, "B-b-blue! Hehehe! Yellow!" but something was wrong. The baby was inching closer to the edge. Ermis thought the child looked like he would crawl off the edge of the roof in his distraction. The moment the baby tried to place his hand on the air-WHOOSH!
Orange flashed and unfurled off his shoulders as he ducked the attack from behind. The brute of a man behind him appeared to be a B-class Cape. He had an, 'I can bench a car' physique that most Brawlers developed.
The man smiled as he spoke, "Nice to finally meet you, kid, your old man speaks so highly of you, the name is Bobby, Bobby Brown."
Ermis smiled and asked, "After the musician?"
Bobby replied, "The very same." Then he exploded into movement, he would get his hands on the Baby Jones.
As Ermis danced around him, he noticed that the man's moment was much more linear than his own. Explosivity controlled through rudimentary movements, the weakness of pure-strength powers on full display. Until it changed, "Well, Jorge does have a little speedster at home, it seems."
His movements blurred as his extreme strength became his boon as Bobby ended escape routes before they began. It was pure experience and forethought belittling extreme mobility.
The impromptu game of tag was quickly coming to a result but not in Ermis' favor.
The moment the light in Ermis' eyes died, Bobby advanced, his voice triumphant as he exclaimed, "GOTCHA'!" His fingers closed firmly around Ermis' wrist.
Bobby locked on extremely tight, incrementally increasing the pressure with his hand until he felt the radius and ulnar bones crack.
Ermis was baffled, this man worked for his father, but he fractured his arm in a 'test'.
It took him a moment, but Ermis realized, 'The pain isn't overbearing. Hell, it isn't even "painful" in a traditional sense, just a pressur-' His thoughts were interrupted by his opponent throwing a haymaker at him.
He ducked one, then another, but eventually, Bobby connected with his jaw.
Ermis saw stars for a moment, his vision faded almost entirely, large sparks of light bursting into his pupil, the common expression finally having a true meaning for him.
Ermis opened his eyes wide in recognition as he realized he was falling to the floor. He knew he had to step forward to catch himself, but all he could move was his eyes.
Then a flash of Green came to his rescue.