Rowin was dropped off at the apartment complex he lived in and told to spend the rest of the day there since there were a few things that would be delivered for him. He walked to his apartment on the third floor and stood outside his open door. Rowin walked in and a bouquet of flowers floated in the air right behind him. The door shut itself and the flowers levitated into the kitchen where they stayed on a counter. Rowin sat on the couch in the living room and the TV turned on as the remote flew toward his hand. Just before reaching his hand, it stopped for a second before floating to the coffee table.
'This is the ability every lazy person wishes to have. I only know the basic functions but I'm sure it can do more than just move the remote. I guess I need to start practicing and mastering my ability. I wonder how they'll react at school when they find out that I'm a Powered now. School... Oh shit I forgot about my assignment!' As soon as he thought that, Rowin stood up and was about to rush to his room when he stopped.
' I don't have to go to school that soon. I'll just skip school for about a month then go back and say that I was in a Power Egg for the whole time I was absent. Plus, the teachers won't have the courage to mess with me now that I'm a Powered. I can do whatever I want in that place. Now I kinda want to go there just to hurt some nuisances. Nahh, they aren't worth it.'
'What do I do in the meantime? I can't go outside, I subconsciously know the current limits of my telekinesis and there's nothing to do in here. Hmmm, maybe I should test out Rule Breaker. I don't even know what it does.' As soon as he thought that, Rowin opened the window with his telekinesis and pointed his open palm towards it. He concentrated his energy into his palm and then.... Nothing. He just stood there with his hand pointed at the window.
' I don't even know how to activate it, what was I even expecting to happen?' Rowin thought as he sighed in disappointment. ' I guess I can only practice my telekinesis for the time being.'
Two hours later, the doorbell to Rowin's apartment rang and the door opened immediately. The two men were a bit surprised when they saw the kid they were delivering to standing a few meters away from the door. The kid in question was levitating a few inches off the floor.
"We have a delivery for the Powered named Rowin Hendrick Jacobson. We are from the Sleeper Association." One of the men said, his voice so deep that it felt forced.
"That's me. You can come in." The two men entered the apartment and sat on the couch after Rowin motioned for them to sit. With the two men seated, the tiny couch had no space for anyone else but Rowin didn't really mind. He fell backwards and suddenly stopped. The posture he levitated in made it look like he was on a reclining seats. "You said you have a delivery for me."
"As a Powered under the Sleeper Association's Orphan Fund, you are entitled to receive the junior sleeper starter pack. This includes a new apartment, an official Power watch, a few funds to start you off and a chance to join one of the private guilds that partnered with our association. Before you ask, you don't need a guardian to approve any of this. Once you get the Power watch, you are considered an official member of the Sleeper Association and have access to the facilities under our jurisdiction. The Sleeper Association doesn't bother with age, we focus on rank."
The man with the deep voice was the one who spoke and as soon as he finished, his companion placed a box on the coffee table. " Inside is the Power watch and a booklet with all the details you need to know about our association. The funds will be sent to the account you are currently using by the end of the day. Welcome to the Sleeper Association."
The second man said and the two stood up and headed for the door. Rowin watched them leave and shut the door with his telekinesis before levitating the box into his hands. The cover had the Sleeper Association sigil, the face of man with his eyes closed.
'The Sleeper Association sigil doesn't help with the stereotype of being an association of lazy people. I guess they didn't care about public opinion when they named the association in the first place.' Rowin thought to himself as he opened the box. The first thing he saw was a watch with plain white straps and metallic body. The watch's lack of a screen made Rowin smile brightly.
'The Sleeper Association really is a universal organization! They can afford to give nanotechnology as a welcome gift to a simple orphan. This has to be some kind of tactic to lure people into the association but I can't find a reason for it. The Sleeper Association doesn't have any grand purpose to achieve. The members aren't even united. I want to assume that this package comes with strings attached but I can't fathom any reason for it. Maybe I'm just overthinking and they really don't see this as worth anything at all.'Rowin shrugged and put the watch on his wrist.
"Requesting permission to scan your face to verify if you are my host." A voice from the watch said as soon as he put it on.
"Permission granted." A horizontal beam of light emitted by the watch scanned his face and disappeared once the permission was given.
"Identity confirmed, bond to host has been established. Host identity, Rowin Hendrick Jacobson, human male, 17 years of age. Ability name; Telekinesis. Ability type; Versatile. Ability rank; Tier 1 C. Ability potential; Tier 2 A. For more accurate information regarding your ability please visit one of the Sleeper Association testing facilities.
"I am NW-6374-31, the private artificial intelligence of the second generation nano watch provided by the Sleeper Association. You can customize my settings at any time." The voice said and a holographic screen appeared in front of Rowin. On the screen was a user manual that explained everything about the watch.
Rowin spent the next two hours tweaking the watch to his liking. By the time he was done, it was mid morning and the watch looked entirely different. The watch had changed shape to resemble a fingerless glove, it was now black in color with luminescent shifting patterns. This was the reason Rowin didn't believe that the nano watch was a free gift. Nanotechnology of this level was already shocking to be given without a second thought.
The doorbell rang forcing Rowin out of his thoughts. He opened the door with his telekinesis revealing three men and a woman standing outside his doorstep. Rowin silently looked at the boxes that the men held before his eyes landed on a rabbit in the woman's arms. He broke into a toothy grin and used his telekinesis to shoot towards the woman. The woman shut her eyes and covered the rabbit with her hands to protect it. She had seen how fast that kid was flying and doubted that he would stop in time.
"Oh my god, he's so fluffy!!! Can I hold him?" The woman heard a voice say. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the same young man who had been flying at her floating a few inches away from her. His gaze was fixed on the rabbit in her arms and his hands were already reaching for it. "Uhm,yes of course you can hold him. He's your rabbit after all."
The woman hadn't even finished the sentences when she realized that her arms were empty. The rabbit was in Rowin's arms as he snuggled his face into its thick, colorful fur. The woman and her male companions were so focused on the scene before that they didn't notice a man in a suit standing behind all of them.
"Are you the junior sleeper Rowin?" The man's voice was deep yet smooth.
"I am, what can do for you?" Rowin answered, his face still buried in the rabbit's fur.
"You are coming with me to Katix Sleeper Academy for your mandatory therapy and to undergo compulsory training all young members of the Sleeper Association go through." The man's voice was as soothing as can be but his eyes were different. Rowin felt threatened by the look in the man's eyes. Almost as if he was waiting for Rowin to resist.
"Do I have to prepare anything?"
"No, the academy will provide for your basic needs."
"Then let's go." And just like that, Rowin found himself in the back of a hover car heading outside the city.