"I bet my boost is super strength," said Lanny as he punched a brick column.
"CRACK"
Lanny dropped to the ground, clutching his hand. "I think I broke something," he winced, trying to nurse it.
Lucia, Calliope, and Tanaka saw it happen—and burst into laughter.
"Laugh while you can," Lanny growled. "When I get my boost, you'll be the first ones I use it on."
Calliope kept laughing as she walked over to him.
"If you had any brains, you'd deduce that the best way to find your boost is to emulate your parents' abilities—especially your father's. You have a higher chance of inheriting his."
"Let me look at that," she said, grabbing Lanny's hand. "My father's a healer. Maybe I can heal it."
She closed her eyes and focused hard.
"Nothing's happening, Four-Eyes," Lanny scoffed.
She opened her eyes in disappointment.
"WAIT!" she exclaimed. Her glasses gave off a faint blue light. Text began to appear on the lenses.
"You're fine, Lanny—you just pulled a muscle," she said, letting go of his hand.
"And how do you know that?" he asked, flexing his fingers skeptically.
"I got my boost," she said with a smirk.
The other students turned their attention toward her.
"What does it do?"Tanaka asked the question everyone was thinking.
"Well, I have no idea yet," Calliope said while adjusting her glasses. "But I can see a person's physical condition. The information displays on my lenses."
"Wait... does that mean you can see the boosts we might have?" Lanny asked, excited.
"Look at me and tell—"
"I can't do that," she interrupted. "It only gives physical information. No boost data."
"Well, that's a mediocre boost. I hope I get something better," Lanny grumbled, walking over to the pool.
Meanwhile, the other students were inspired to try mimicking their parents' boosts.
"Well, my dad can phase through objects," Oliver said as he walked straight into one of the ledges.
He vanished into it—and reappeared on the other side.
**"It worked!"** he screamed in delight.
Noah jumped into the pool and tried to breathe underwater. It didn't work.
He came up coughing and gasping.
"Guess you don't have your father's boost," Mia laughed from the edge of the pool.
"I'd like to see you try," he coughed.
She stepped back, then charged forward.
"Maybe I will—"
She leapt... but never touched the water.
She was suspended in midair. From her back sprouted mesmerizing, buttery wings. Scales rained from them into the pool—instantly freezing the surface.
Noah scrambled out, slipped, and fell—right onto David.
"Sorry!" he blurted, trying to get up.
But something was lifting him higher and higher.
"What's happening?" he yelled. "Wait... maybe I have flight!"
He looked down—and realized he was standing on something glowing orange.
It was David. He had formed a massive suit of defensive armor around himself, almost as big as the research hall.
Everyone turned to stare—even Mark, who had been sitting uninterested in the corner, glanced up.
"Now *that's* a boost!" Delis shouted, dodging the stray bullets firing from the automated turret embedded in David's shoulder.
David stumbled. Unused to the bulk, he lost balance and began to fall—directly toward the group of students.
Tanaka stepped in front of Calliope, arms spread to shield her. Mark leapt from his seat and sprinted toward the falling behemoth. Delis, who wasn't in the fall radius, also dashed forward to help.
**BOOM!**
The massive armored suit crashed down.
The students gasped—but it started shrinking. David emerged, dazed but unharmed, being held upright by Mark, who had gotten there just in time.
Behind Mark, a glowing green ball of scales unfurled—a giant serpent, with three eyes on each side of its head and golden antlers. In the center stood Tanaka, still shielding Calliope. A glowing tattoo now stretched from his arm to his neck.
He stood and faced the snake.
**"Naga,"** he whispered.
On the far side of the room, Delis blinked.
"Wait... how did I get here?"
He looked down. Siri was nestled in his arms.
"You can put me down now," she said dryly.
He released her. She dropped and stood up, brushing herself off.
"I have super speed!" Delis shouted, realizing he had crossed the room in a blink.
"Not very gentlemanly of you," Siri muttered.
Delis tried to defend himself.
"Well, I—"
Suddenly he dropped to the ground.
Siri's eyes were glowing pink, with dark swirling pupils.
While all this chaos unfolded, Lanny sat on a ledge, deep in thought.
"Well... I don't know my father. So what should I do?"
He watched Tanaka protect Calliope and clenched his fists.
The turret behind him began to bend and twist, contorting into a tight metal ball.
Ulim, still beside the punching bag, slowly walked toward the heavy metal door of the research hall.
"Maybe I have my father's boost too," he thought as he reached for the door, wondering if it would open at his touch.
Just before his hand met the handle, the door burst open.
He staggered back.
**"What's with all the ruckus in here?"** Dr. Mathers asked, entering the room with a group of scientists and people in corporate suits.
"Seems some of you have already discovered your capabilities. Good. Less work for me," he said, flipping through papers.
"I'll be calling your names. You'll come collect the analysis results from your binding. You'll see your boost intensity level and whether it's already been activated. These people," he gestured to the formal-dressed group, "represent the career fields of engineering, hospitality, medicine, information, construction, and hero training."
A scientist whispered to him, "Sir, don't we have 34 students?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I just did a head count—we only have 33."
"I see," Dr. Mathers raised his voice. "Seems someone has invisibility. If you can speak or revert, let us know you're here."
"I don't know how to turn it off," a soft voice said.
It was Livia.
"We'll deal with that later," Dr. Mathers replied calmly.
"Now," he continued, "I'll call out your names. You'll receive your stats."
Names were called, and students came forward one by one to receive their sheets.
The hero training representative stepped up.
"We'd like to recruit a few of you. We've already taken Mark under our wing, and we'd like to do the same for..."
He checked his tablet.
"Tanaka, Delis, and David."
Delis leapt with joy.
"I made it!" he shouted, grabbing Ulim's hand.
"Well done, buddy," Ulim smiled, a bittersweet mix of pride and sadness in his voice.
David and Delis joined Mark at the front. Delis shot Mark a smug grin.
Tanaka stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said,
"I'm sorry, but I must humbly decline."
The representative looked like he wanted to protest—but then the door opened again.
Mr. Oken entered, followed by a group of stern-looking men. He whispered something to the hero rep and Dr. Mathers.
One of the men turned to Tanaka.
"Tanaka," he said, motioning him over.
Tanaka nodded and silently followed them out of the room. The other students looked at each other in confusion.
"Let's continue," Dr. Mathers said flatly, cutting through the silence.
The information specialist stepped forward.
"We will be taking Livia and Siri. Calliope, what exactly can your boost do?"
Calliope hesitated.
"I can see the physical condition of a person and any injuries..."
"So you *can't* see what boost someone has?" the rep asked.
Calliope activated her ability, focusing on the others—then paused while looking at Ulim.
"What's that…?" she muttered. "That dark—"
"Mrs. Calliope," the rep interrupted. "Can you or can you not detect boosts?"
"I can only see if they *have* one. I can't identify the specific boost," she clarified.
"Well, maybe we can work with—"
"I have just received a call from her father," the medicine rep interrupted smugly. "He's the head of the medical board. She's coming with us."
The information rep was clearly annoyed.
"Fine. We'll take Siri and Livia then."
Livia, still invisible, was only visible thanks to the restrictor band on her wrist.
The door swung open again. Dr. Lacey entered.
"What do you want, Cathy? We're busy," Dr. Mathers said, not looking up.
"I want Siri," she replied.
The room went dead quiet.
"What do you mean?" Dr. Mathers asked.
"I want Siri to be part of the Containment Department. It's already hard to find viable recruits—we're not letting this one go."
The info rep interjected.
"We already claimed her."
"I have permission from Dr. Oken," Lacey said with a sly smile. "Your decision is overruled."
The information rep clenched her jaw.
"Fine. We'll just take Livia, then."
"Good," Dr. Lacey said, walking out with Siri in tow.
Next, the engineering rep stepped forward, pointing at the damaged turret.
"Who did that?"
Silence.
"Pull up the camera feed," Dr. Mathers instructed.
"Ah... Lanny," the rep said. "We'll be taking him."
Then the hospitality rep looked at Mia.
"You have the potential to become a megastar. Those wings, those shimmering scales—they'll light up the stage. You're coming with us."
Mia smiled and joined him.
The room fell quiet.
Dr. Mathers cleared his throat.
"The rest of you who haven't activated your boosts, we'll move on to the next testing phase."
Suddenly, a student dropped to the floor, gasping for air.
"What's going on over there?!" Dr. Mathers shouted.
The scientists rushed over.
"We have a full-body metamorphosis, sir!"
"What kind?"
The girl's legs fused, fish scales forming rapidly.
"Mermaid, sir," one replied.
"Well, put her in the water."
They quickly carried her to the section of the pool that wasn't frozen.
Meanwhile,Ulim stared at the result sheet in his hand, a cold sweat forming on his brow.
Boost: Available
Intensity: ERROR [ob1011]
"What... does this even mean?" he muttered, the noise of the room fading behind him.