It has been two years since Samuel joined the Genesis Twins to train under their mother, Silendiana. He had already mastered the concept of aerodynamics at the highest level. He knew how to bend the surrounding atmosphere to affect his speed and flight.
He had drawn so close to the twins and Delgato that they were practically inseparable quadruplets. They had all learnt to fight both individually and as a group, with Delgato being more of a Tech guy.
Unable to fully participate in the training his three monster friends were experiencing, Delgato was taken under Dr. Michelson's wing and trained in the way of the special agent. He was actually, extremely good at it; growing to the level of world class special agents in just two years. In other words, he was becoming a monster in his own right.
With the Griffin's permission, and as part of his training, Samuel joined his three friends in their middle school, sitting in the same classes as them and learning the same things they did. Though his current knowledge level was that of a college freshman, he didn't mind going through the juvenile curriculum again.
The actual purpose of this form of training was quite unique. Silendiana and Dr. Michaelson realized that, the stronger Samuel got as a dragon, he subconsciously developed a god complex, showing reverence for only those close to him.
By enrolling him in school, he'll learn to interact with others who are not his direct relations.
In fact, Samuel actually learnt that it was more fun to study with friends. They were middle school students as well as and super powered monsters; training and going on low level missions assigned by Silendiana and Dr. Michelson all over the world in order to broaden their horizons and give them more experiences.
The missions also aimed to strengthen their team work as well as developing problem solving skills while learning to get the job done quickly. So far, they've had a ninety-eight percent evaluation rate in all their missions. The other two percent had to do with the amount of destruction they left in their wake after every mission.
They were subjected to brutal training after each 'failure', subjecting the four kids to certain levels of PTSD; especially Delgato, who was a relatively normal human child. Even with all that, they only kept getting stronger and braver as their missions got harder and harder.
During such a period of intense training, Samuel discovered that, he didn't need to flap his wings constantly to stay in the air but he could levitate in place temporarily. Dr. Michelson walked in on him in the meditation chamber, suspended over hot burning flames, in a deep meditative state.
"Samuel!" he shouted; shock evident in his voice. Samuel jerked awake and fell into the flames. "What was that all about?" Samuel asked as he sat up, amidst the flames.
"How and when did you learn how to do that?" Dr. Michelson asked, quite amazed. "I was meditating and it happened. But there is something strange going on", he informed. "What's wrong?" Dr Michelson asked intrigued.
"For a while now, I've been feeling a little strange; as if my body is absorbing faint traces of an unknown substance from the air and ground. I'm able to recover from my training almost three percent faster than before, and that's a lot. It also makes me a little stronger after every recovery. Same things been happening with the twins, and Delgato, probably due to his close proximity to us, but it seems no one has noticed yet. I've tried meditating to sense whatever my body is absorbing but it's too faint to sense. This happened as a result but I guess I barely noticed", he responded as he got up and brushed off the flames on his clothes.
"An unknown substance huh? If it's being absorbed by your body and having a positive effect, I think that it would be worth investigating", Dr. Michelson said with his hand on his chin. "I guess you are right", Samuel added as he adjusted his outfit.
"Right! Anyway, it's still amazing that you were able to unlock another of your abilities. I never imagined that you'll obtain the power of levitation", Dr. Michelson commended.
"It's no big deal. I'll just add it to my arsenal of skills. All the perks of being the only Dragon in existence", Samuel declared with a smile. "You are going to continue evolving as time passes. I wonder what you'll discover next." Dr. Michelson said as he walked out of the training room.
Back in Sienna Metropolis, Catherina's fifth grade class was about to embark on a geological field trip to the valleys in the mountains, where she calls her home. The school had been planning the trip for months and now the time had finally come.
The students were not having an easy time since the wait was torturing them. Being from the area, Catherina wasn't really as enthused about the trip as her colleagues. It was basically the same as going back home for her; an action she takes at the end of every school day, but she was comforted on the fact that she would be with her best friend during the trip.
They intended on having as much fun as they possibly could during the trip. The eve of the school trip soon arrived.
"Nooo!!" a nightmare forced Catherina off of her pillow. She sat on her bed, soaked in cold sweat, shaking and clutching her pillow hard as she could. "Cathy, what's the matter?!!" her parents shouted as they rushed into her room.
"Mommy, Daddy; I'm scared", Catherina said as she looked up to her parents, fear clearly visible all over her face. "Tell us what's wrong baby girl", Bernard said as he sat on her bed and held her in an embrace.
"It's the nightmares. I have been having the them for a while now and every day that goes by, they keep getting worse", she informed them.
"For how long have you been having these nightmares?" Bernard asked his daughter. "It started a while back, ever since I saw Sammy transform into a dragon. They started off as regular dreams but recently they've been getting more and more nightmarish. I keep seeing that image of his transformation in my dreams every time I go to sleep, and for a while, I didn't think much of it until a month ago; leading up to last night".
"In my dream, I see another dragon, a different one from Sammy's, a blue one this time, and when it transforms back into a human, it is my shadow. I don't know what to make of it. Will I become like Sammy or what? Will I also transform into a dragon or what?", she asked and continued, "it doesn't stop there. It will then change back into a dragon and stay that way. Its eyes would then stare into my own as if I was looking into a mirror. The feeling I get from the stare is uncomfortable, disturbing actually and its almost as if I'm being pulled into the dragon with no way to resist. I'm scared!" she said hugging her mother after her long description.
Vivian looked at her husband with a distraught look on her face. "You are going to be alright; I promise you. For now, try to rest. It will be morning soon. We'll talk more about this when you get back home from school this evening, okay?" Bernard said as he kissed her on the forehead and stood up from the bed.
"Be strong dear; we'll figure this out one way or the other", Vivian said as she also kissed her and stood up. "Okay", Catherina said simply as she laid back on her bed and her parents tucked her in. Her parents then walked out of the room, Vivian heading down to join Betty, who was already up in preparing breakfast and the lunch boxes.
Catherina soon woke up and came out of her room looking excited and prepared, a complete one- eighty of how she looked when she awoke earlier. She quickly had breakfast and hugged her parents, goodbye.
"Have fun on your trip!" Vivian waved as Catherina took her seat in their family car. "Remember to pick up groceries on your way back", Vivian shouted to Betty who took the wheel. "Will do ma'am", Betty responded as she started the engine. "Drive safely", Bernard called out as the car drove off in the direction of the city.