Marcus made his way out of the training center, stepping outside he noticed that the sky was still dark, or to be more precise, an entire day had passed and it was around the same time he came to the training center yesterday.
"No wonder Felix didn't come back," Marcus said to himself, Felix was probably just waking up as Marcus was in surgery.
On the bright side, at least that meant he'd have someone to talk to….
Suddenly Marcus paused, realization hitting him like a bus.
How could he be confident Felix was alive?
Everyone who went through the procedure had a forty percent chance of dying!
Marcus' heart began pounding as he began racing towards the male dorms.
Surprisingly, his body felt light and nimble, allowing him to run at full speed, each stride he took was short and quick.
Worry began creeping into Marcus's mind as he ran. The thought of Felix dying was unbearable, he couldn't lose his first real friend, not after everything they've been through, it would be like losing a piece of himself.
As Marcus reached his dorm building, he burst through the front doors and crashed onto the lobby floor with a thud. He slid across the floor briefly before quickly jumping up and continuing his mad dash towards Felix.
He ran towards the elevator, pressing the call button rapidly. The elevator let off a soft chime as its doors opened, Marcus quickly slipped inside and pressed the button for his designated floor.
The elevator doors closed and began its ascent. The ride seemed to take an eternity, each second ticking by like an hour. Marcus' adrenaline rush wasn't helping the situation, as his hyper-focus was drawing out the time even further.
The elevator finally came to a stop, and its doors opened. Marcus wasted no time in bolting out, sprinting down the hall like a flash of lightning.
Reaching their shared dorm, Marcus began beating on the door in a panic. "Felix!" He called out loudly, "Felix are you in there." Marcus waited in desperation for what felt like an hour, before eventually the door opened, revealing a disorganized Felix.
"Calm down man, it's like four in the morning," Felix said with a chuckle.
Marcus pushed past the door and embraced Felix in a tight hug. Felix was taken aback, his expression a clear indicator of his bewilderment, his eyes wide, his eyebrows raised, and his mouth left agape.
"Thank god you're alive." Marcus cried softly, "I don't know what I would have done without you."
Felix hesitantly hugged Marcus back, his expression still puzzled. "I love you too bro, but what's this about?"
"The procedure, we could've died, remember?" Marcus reminded Felix as he leaned back.
Felix's expression turned perplexed for a brief moment before suddenly his eyes widened. He immediately pulled Marcus back into an embrace, holding him tightly.
"I honestly forgot about that bro," Felix said. Chuckle, "I'm glad you're alive too."
The room was silent for a brief moment until a familiar voice broke through it. "Aren't you forgetting someone, Marcus?" Luna said with a pout, stepping to the door to greet Marcus.
Marcus chuckled, releasing Felix from the hug. "Sorry Felix, but I have to share the love," Marcus said playfully as he picked up Luna. Her small frame and light weight make the task easy.
"It's cool," Felix said with a chuckle as he closed the door. "If we hugged any longer, people might've gotten suspicious." He remarked jokingly.
Marcus smirked before turning his attention to Luna, her expression filled with frustration. "Am I not worthy of you rushing back?" She asked.
Marcus chuckled as he touched noses with Luna. "Of course you are, but unlike Felix, I had no reason to think you were dead." Marcus joked.
Luna rolled her eyes before smiling. "I'll allow it this time." She said teasingly.
With Felix's safety confirmed and Luna's anger quelled, Marcus finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His pulse started to slow as his adrenaline began to fade. His earlier panic was now melting away. Leaving only satisfaction and exhaustion.
Marcus navigated towards Felix's bed, Luna still in his arms, and plopped down. "Can't believe we did it." He said with a chuckle.
"So what's next?" Felix asked as he navigated towards his bed, plopping down beside him.
Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't know, but hey, now that I think about it, have you suffered from ether shock yet?"
Felix shrugged his shoulders, "Not that I know off, I remember hearing a cadet ask one of the doctors about it, and apparently if you suffer from either shock a day after getting your implant, you're cooked."
"What do you mean?" Marcus asked.
"Because that means the implant is eating through your body, allowing for ether to travel faster within you. That's also why they have those vats, to facilitate and speed up the process." Felix explained.
Marcus nodded in understanding, the picture becoming clearer. "I see, but if that's the case, why don't they hold us in a medical facility for a day?"
Felix shrugged, "your guess is as good as mine."
Marcus sighed as he looked down at Luna, who was now sitting in his lap, her head in his chest. "Well, I'm not too concerned, if it was really a problem I doubt they'd just let it go unchecked."
"Sure," Felis said skeptically. "Anyway, enough about that, I'm ready to try out my powers, bro," Felix said with a grin, rubbing his hands together, creating a purple spark of electricity.
Marcus's eyes widened, "y-you have your powers already?" Marcus asked in disbelief, he was shocked by such a feat, it took him about three weeks before he first activated his powers, and even then it wasn't controllable. "How?!" Marcus exclaimed.
"Well, before my surgery, my doctor gave me a brief breakdown of my implant. It's an electric type, so I can create positive and negative energy, but that's all they told me." Felix said with a sigh, "So right now all I can do is this little party trick Luna taught me."
Marcus looked down at Luna. "Can you teach me too?" He asked in excitement. He knew Luna probably couldn't help much due to her not being human but still.
"Sure," Luna said with a chuckle. "But I'm tired now, maybe later?"
Marcus sighed. "How convenient." Marcus groaned.
Felix chuckled as he created another purple arc of electricity. "I am the thunder god!!!!"
Marcus laughed at Felix's antics, his earlier disappointment fading away. "Alright Felix, don't zap us to kingdom come," Marcus said between laughs.
Felix cackled mischievously. "We're sitting on the money here bro, I could be like a portable battery, 50 euros a charge!"
Marcus chuckled. "Of course, you'd find a way to profit." Marcus then sighed deeply, a smile plastered on his face. "I doubt the organization would let their cadets freelance like that though."
Felix scoffed. "You're right bro, but that won't stop me from trying."
Marcus chuckled before yawning, "Well, I'm gonna take a light nap, then I got an officer to find."
"That guy who looks like a girl?" Felix asked as Marcus stood up from his bed.
"Yep," Marcus replied, walking toward the ladder that led to the top bunk.
"Ah, so you picked him to train you?"
Marcus nodded as he began his ascent with Luna in hand. "Yeah, you could say that."
Felix nodded. "I'm gonna let Lieutenant Revia train me, well it's more like she demanded it," Felix said with a chuckle.
"Good luck, that woman seems like overkill," Marcus commented as he settled into the top buck.
Felix chuckled. "Ehh, she's practically family at this point."
Marcus settled into his bunk, Luna nestling comfortably beside him. Marcus noticed purple sparks and embers emerging from Felix's bunk, causing him to smile faintly.
"Felix please don't fry anything important, I wanna wake up in a few hours, alive mind you."
Felix chuckled. "Alright, alright, I was just excited to show you, got a little carried away."
Marcus chuckled softly, before closing his eyes. He was relieved that both his and Felix's operations were a success, and now they were stronger for it.
Drifting off to sleep, the soft hums from the AC and the occasional crackle of energy from Felix offered a great background noise, which lulled him into a deep sleep.
A few hours later Marcus awoke feeling a bit more refreshed and relaxed. Sitting up in bed he looked around the room as he rubbed his eyes. There was nothing particularly different, it was the same dimly lit room as always.
Marcus yawned as he stretched his arms, "Felix?" He called out in a strained voice, stretching him further.
"I'm here bro, I'm heading out to meet Lieutenant Revia for training." Felix said, rising from the bottom bunk, fully suited in his trainee combat suit. "Sorry to leave you hanging."
Marcus chuckled as he gave Felix a thumbs up. "You look ready to get your ass kicked by the lieutenant." He said with a chuckle.
Felix rolled his eyes as he popped his knuckles. "Maybe, but I'm still hyped, bro!"
Marcus chuckled as he gave Felix a salute. "Well I'm not going to hold you back, I got my own date to attend."
Felix saluted Marcus back before practically teleporting out of the room.
Marcus couldn't help but chuckle at Felix's enthusiasm.
It was understandable that Felix would be excited though.
He's practically a superhero at this point.
Marcus took a deep breath as he swung his legs over the edge of his bed. He then massaged his neck before jumping down from his bed.
Marcus knew today would probably be extremely hectic, so he should probably enjoy his morning and take his time to enjoy the peace.
He took a nice, long shower, enjoying it to its fullest, once done, he moved on to brushing his teeth and fixing his hair. By the time he was done with his morning routine, Luna had stirred awake.
"Marcus?" She called out softly.
"Right here," Marcus called out as he emerged from the bathroom fully suited in his combat suit, its white fibers holding tight against his body, the black outline a stark contrast to its white base.
Luna grinned as she descended from Marcus's bed. "You look to be in a rush." She teased.
Marcus chuckled, "Me? You should've seen Felix." He said with a chuckle, gesturing towards the door.
Luna smiled. "I can only imagine."
Marcus smirked as he grabbed Luna's hand, "Well come on, we gotta find Mr. Volkov."
Luna nodded.
With a deep breath, Marcus made his way out of the room, closing the door behind himself. He and Luna quietly walked through the halls of the dormitory, both parties lost in their own thoughts.
Stepping outside, Marcus was greeted with a rather peculiar sight, it was a cadet, slowly floating around about 20 feet in the air. Underneath her, standing on the ground was an officer from the previous year, shouting for her to withdraw her ether.
"Bring it in!" She shouted, "Hold it in!"
"I'm flying!!!" The cadet exclaimed with a giddy laugh, "I'm really flying!!"
"And you're gonna die if you don't stop!" The officer exclaimed as he waved his arms in the air.
The cadet continued to hover without a care in the world, causing the officer, who was most likely her instructor, to fire rock pellets at her, causing her to howl in pain.
"Next time it'll be a boulder if you don't listen!"
Marcus watched the interaction with a small smile, "he must have the ability to control Earth, but I wonder what abilities that girl has?" Marcus asked, before taking his attention off the girl and continuing on his path to find Officer Volkov.
"Could be a variety, there are a lot of implants that can give the ability to fly, but none are rank-four," Luna commented.
"Oh?" Marcus looked down at Luna with a curious expression, "do you know why?" He asked.
Luna nodded, "from what I know, what really factors in the difference between rank implants, Is the amount of ether it can cycle, something like flying requires a constant supply of ether, while say teleportation for instance only requires a large amount once per teleport."
Marcus nodded, taking in Luna's words thoughtfully. "That makes sense, it would definitely explain why that officer was in such a panic." Marcus then grinned, "I can't wait to see what I can do."