The crowd began to disperse, each leaving to their respective classes, the confused Luke deciding to follow them, but then...
"Wait behind." He felt a tug at his shoulder, instinctively turning to it.
A boy, his age, adorned not in the usual school uniform but a tactical black military uniform.
"Are they going to test me..." he thought internally, excited, yet on the outside he only nodded.
After a couple of minutes the crowds had completely dispersed, leaving behind him and a couple of students, each standing with the Starborn Special Force.
"Hey, Light..." a familiar voice called him; he pretended not to hear it.
"...Don't ignore me, I know you heard me..." Arthur walked to him, playfully bumping shoulders.
Luke felt a headache coming, but he could only keep his cool, turning to Arthur with his expressionless face.
"Please follow us..." One of the Starborn Special Forces gestured, the students who remained following them.
Arthur spoke throughout their short walk...
"I don't know what that pink-haired girl was talking about, it felt like she was talking gibberish..." Arthur said, Luke finally turning to him.
Out of all he spoke, this was what he actually listened to.
"Yeah, so I wasn't the only one..." Luke muttered.
"You heard it too? I thought I was crazy, my friends said they could hear her clearly..." Arthur beamed, glad he wasn't the only one.
"Yeah, I could hear her for a while, and then it just became gibberish..." Luke explained.
Arthur explained his; for him, from the beginning, he couldn't hear a word.
The two conversed, no longer one-sided as Luke now responded, even starting one of his own.
Before they knew it, they had arrived in an empty classroom.
They were facing Boris and the other Starborn Special Forces.
They four, including Luke and Arthur.
"Sophia isn't here..." Luke thought, checking his surroundings.
"I wanted to ask how she was..."
"...Ok, there is no need to be nervous, I just want to confirm something here..." Boris sat on the teacher's table leisurely.
"...You all heard Sophia speaking gibberish, right?" he said.
Slowly, they all nodded.
"I told you..." Arthur commented.
He had speculated that the people who were brought here all heard the girl speaking gibberish, believing they were going to be silenced or something along the line.
"Don't worry... She was talking gibberish, but as a psionic, her words should have been intelligible to you. So how come..." Boris leaned forward, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Sir..." One of the four raised her hand.
A beautiful girl with long black hair and striking green eyes.
Her gaze a bit mature for her young self.
She had the air of an adult.
Giving the go-ahead, she spoke.
"My ability is telekinesis, using my will to control things remotely... I believe that needs a strong mental will... That should have annulled her ability somehow. We didn't mean to go against her; it just happened..." she explained, Boris nodding in acknowledgement.
"Don't be so uptight, kid, I know. That's why I brought you guys here..." He jumped down with a thud.
"You are a special case. To be able to resist mental attacks, you have already passed the requirements to take the next test..." He strode towards them, his hands behind his back.
"Test?..." They all wondered.
"Yes, the world isn't that safe, you know. We need the truly strong to stand and fight, and mental fortitude is the first step towards strength," he added.
"We will move on to the next test. If you pass, you then go to the next. If you pass all of them, you will be able to join the special class. What do you say..." He stepped back, a grin on his face.
"What makes the class special..." The last person in the room, a boy with round glasses, his smart silver eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He wasn't naive enough to jump onto a cocktail when there was nothing in it for them.
There had to be something to gain, as he was sure they were special. Four out of 2,000+ meant they were truly special and thus needed by the government.
This wasn't a heroic comic where he would jump at the mention of a special class.
"Well, don't we have a smart one... I like your guts, but I am not telling. Only those who pass will be privileged to it. So, will you take the rest of the test or not..." Boris smiled teasingly.
The boy only hurrumph, saying nothing else.
"This wasn't someone to reason with..." he thought to himself.
"Well, what do you say, will you take the test?"
They all nodded in agreement.
"Then off to the next..."
The Starborn Special Forces led them, Luke staying behind.
"Sir, I have yet to test my ability..." Luke approached Boris.
"I knew I liked you the first time we met..." He patted Luke's back, the latter confused.
"What is this guy on about now..." Luke couldn't handle these eccentric types; they always pushed themselves on you, not caring about your feelings.
Not that he would complain; he too was once like that.
"You didn't act overly friendly despite meeting me before... That's great," Boris gave him a thumbs-up.
Luke raised an eyebrow; wasn't this normal?
He didn't know him in the first place.
"Well, let's get you evaluated. You might have a strong ability. Being able to resist mental attacks shows your ability could be really strong..."
...
Luke stood in front of a device resembling an MRI scanner, blinking intermittently with neon-lit lights.
"Is this the device?" Luke thought.
"Change and lie down; we will do the rest..." a middle-aged woman in nurse attire said to Luke.
He had been dropped off by Boris at the nearest testing centre, as the device wasn't in the school, Boris waiting outside.
...
WHOOM!! WHOOM!! WHOOM!!
Luke lay quietly in the testing device, the lasers illuminating his features.
His heart rate spiked in excitement as he thought of the various abilities he would get.
He always admired one particular hero from his favorite show, the Novus Heroes.
The hero's ability was gravity control, an ability the hero used creatively.
He wasn't religious, but he thought of a small prayer, even if it wasn't that powerful, to make his dream a reality.
The device hum slowly died down, Luke stepping out of it, his face expressionless.
It had become a permanent trait; no matter how he felt, it seemed difficult to show it.
He was nervous, something he hadn't felt in a long time, but now...
"So what is my ability?" he asked the nurse by his side.
~~~
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A/N
Please add to your library.