Empowered Academy 1985 Page 7

  Just as I was thinking that, however, the handle of the door that opened out onto the roof started jangling, and then the door opened and a figure stepped through. It was so dark that I couldn’t make out who it was right away, but the figure approached and sure enough it was Edgar.

  I had always seen him in his full school uniform—black, thin-striped slacks and a white button-up shirt that he either wore a vest or a blazer over—but presently he was wearing just slacks and a white undershirt. He came over to where I was leaning against the balustrade.

  “Almost thought you weren’t gonna come,” I said with a laugh.

  “Me too,” he said with a sigh. “I kept thinking—no, it’s stupid,” he added, shaking his head.

  “What? You kept thinking what?” I wanted to know why he almost hadn’t come.

  “I kept thinking this was some kind of trick. Like you’d get me to come out here and then there’d be Ray and Dexter waiting to kick my ass or something.”

  “Dude!” I gasped. “How could you think I’d do that?”

  “I know, I know,” he said, tousling his hair with one hand. “It’s just, that’s the kind of treatment I’ve come to expect, I guess. But that’s why I came—I told myself you’re different from everybody else.”

  “Seems like you’ve had a pretty rough life,” I said.

  “Not always,” Edgar replied. He seemed to be a little more relaxed than normal now. “Most of my life growing up was pretty ideal actually. An older brother who looked out for me. Two loving parents...”

  “So what happened?”

  “You said you found out about your power when you were twelve, right? I was the same age. And that was the day everything started going downhill for me.”

  I remembered when Lizzy and I first found out about our powers. We were both tomboys at that age and one of our favorite things to do was climb and explore—abandoned buildings, trees, anything we could scamper up. It happened gradually, Lizzy’s ability to cling to sheer walls with unbelievable skill, until eventually it was impossible to deny that there was something magical or supernatural going on. We discovered my own ability shortly thereafter, as I could climb with similar effortlessness after I’d touched Lizzy. We both felt it, too—the energies that swirled around inside us.

  “How did you learn about your powers?” I asked.

  Edgar stayed quiet. He was looking out across the forest that stretched away from the mansion, but his gaze looked like it was searching; searching through the past. His brow was knit tight, and an expression of pain had begun to spread across his features. I wanted to put my hand on his to give him strength, but I couldn’t control my power and I was afraid that the sensation would be too much for him right now, so instead I placed my hand gently but firmly on his back over his t-shirt.

  My touch seemed to break him out of a trance, and he turned to look at me.

  “You can tell me about everything that I happened,” I said, looking deeply into his blue eyes. “Sometimes it’s good to get it off your chest.”

  He studied my expression for a bit. I imagined he was gauging my sincerity, trying to determine whether or not he actually could trust me or if I’d just burn him like others had done in the past.

  “We were on a ski trip out in Utah,” he finally said. “We went every winter. Me, my parents, and my older brother. I’d actually noticed some weird... feelings before this time. Every so often my arm would seem to slip through the wall for a brief second, but I never told anybody. I just assumed it was my imagination.

  “And nothing weird happened throughout the entire trip that year... until the last day. Most families liked to stay in one of the big resorts, but my dad loved being out in nature and camping, so we always stayed in a little log cabin that had its own fireplace. We’d grown so used to the place and we had so many great memories there, but on the last night before going back home to Seattle, there was a fire.”

  I noticed Edgar was gripping the balustrade tightly now, his gaze trained on a single spot in the distance as he recounted the event.

  “To this day, I don’t know how it happened or how the fire managed to grow so large without us realizing it, but by the time my father woke us all up, half the cabin was already consumed in a great blaze. Black plumes of smoke were chugging out of the fire as it expanded, the heat like nothing I’d ever felt before, and we were all pressed against one corner of the tiny cabin. We were trapped. Mom was screaming. My brother and I were crying, scared for our lives. My father pounded on the wall, but they were thick logs; there was no way he would’ve broken through without an ax. The smoke choked our lungs as we huddled as tightly as we could into the corner.

  “My mother tried to shield me from the flames, but it was useless. I saw her scampering, shaking her legs frantically as the fire leaped up her nightgown. It quickly spread to my dad and to my brother, and to me too. As the flames melted my skin, I knew then that we were all going to die. We were going to be cremated in this cabin we’d had so many great times in together. In desperation, I pressed myself against the wall as tightly as I could. I didn’t want to die. I knew I was going to, but I wanted to extend my life, to hold on to my consciousness for as long as I possibly could, so I shoved myself against the wall and then... I was out. In an instant I had phased through the wall, having activated my true power for the first time in my life. I was confused, in shock, and right before I passed out I could hear the final cries of my family inside the burning cabin...”

  Tears were streaming down my eyes as Edgar finished telling me about his past. I had never met anybody who had had something as tragic as this happen to them. I could only imagine how much Edgar blamed himself for what happened; for being the only one among his family to get out alive. And how terrified he must have been as a twelve-year-old to have had his whole family suddenly taken away from him in such a horrific manner.

  “I’m so sorry, Edgar,” I said. I desperately wanted to touch him, to hold him, but I held back. I was still afraid of how he would react to my power.

  He looked at me. His cheeks were stained with tears too.

  “It’s okay,” he said, sniffling and rubbing his eyes. “You were right; it feels good to tell somebody.”

  I smiled, which felt like a relief from the concerned frown I had been wearing as Edgar talked before.

  “As rough as it’s been, I’m actually glad I found the Academy,” he said, leaning back against the balustrade. “Or that they found me, rather. I was never the same after the fire. I thought my powers made me a freak—I didn’t know there were others like me—and I felt guilty for having used them, even though it wasn’t on purpose. I was just drifting from odd job to odd job, living in dilapidated rooms...”

  “And what about... the other power?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure. I recovered, but I was left scarred. I just wanted to look normal. It was all I thought about all day, and then one day I was looking at myself in the mirror and it just... happened. I saw my face change back to how it had been. At first I could only hold the transformation for a couple of seconds, but eventually I learned to hold it for hours, and I could change myself into anybody I imagined.”

  “It’s incredible, really,” I said. “It’s one of the coolest powers I’ve ever absorbed.”

  My compliment made him smile, and then we were both quiet for a moment before he finally said, “So, do you want to see?”

  We both knew what he was talking about. I had wanted to know what he really looked like ever since I first absorbed his powers, but now, after learning about his past, I wasn’t sure if I really did want to see after all. I was afraid—not because I thought he might be ugly or grotesque, but because I now realized how important this was to Edgar, how difficult it was for him to trust somebody with this secret. If I agreed and he let me see him—his true self—I’d be taking on a large responsibility.

  Was I ready for that responsibility? Was I ready to be that important in somebody’s life?

  �
��Yes,” I said calmly.

  Edgar stood up straight and took a deep breath. I could tell he was trying to convince himself to do it, and I tried to look as supportive as possible, tried to show the empathy coming from my heart. At the same time, I was also prepared to be shocked; I had never seen a burn victim before, and I had no idea what to expect.

  When it finally happened—when Edgar finally discarded his disguise and revealed his true appearance—I felt a big smile spread across my face. I was so proud of him for being so brave, but also for trusting me. I had been hesitant before—unsure of whether or not I really could accept him—but as soon as I saw the “real” Edgar, I knew right away that I was able to.

  In fact, his transformation wasn’t that extreme. It wasn’t like when I turned into Lizzy and all of my facial features changed; Edgar’s true form was still the one I knew, it was just badly scarred. The worst scarring was all along the left side of his face, and it looked like it went well past his collar too. It looked like old, leathery skin, which contrasted sharply with the skin on the right side of his face, which was so smooth and clear. Along his left jawline, the scars twisted at the skin, which made the left side of his mouth dip down slightly. His left arm was also covered in scar tissue, so much so that it seemed like his pinkie and ring finger had fused, but other than that, he was still the Edgar I knew—the same height and stature, the same bitchin black hair, and the same soulful blue eyes.

  He was looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes, searching my features, trying to see what my reaction would be. I’m sure he was expecting the worst, but when he saw me smile, he actually looked confused at first. Soon after he realized that I was okay with his appearance, I saw this wave of relief wash over him. It was like he’d been holding his breath this whole time, and then he finally relaxed and let it all out.

  I didn’t know what to say. I was feeling so many different emotions at that moment—honor that he would show his true self to me, compassion knowing what Edgar had been through to get here, attraction that he was brave enough to open up to me. I was so overwhelmed by these feelings that I didn’t know what to say to Edgar so I just—right there, on the roof of the Academy, on an April night in Montauk—stepped forward and kissed Edgar.

  It was the first time I kissed a boy, and the sensation was intense. I couldn’t turn my power “off,” so it immediately channeled into Edgar’s body, finding his power source and drawing it out. In the past, I’d only ever absorbed people’s powers by touching them somewhere with my hands—usually Lizzy and I would hold hands—but hand-to-hand contact was nothing compared to lip-to-lip; I was able to absorb more of Edgar’s power than I ever had with anybody else. It felt like he was feeding me, channeling his essence directly into my core, and as we kissed, my whole body was aflame with arousal.

  Edgar seemed stunned and just stood there for a second as I pressed my mouth to his, but he quickly came alive and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in as he returned my kiss. It must have been his first kiss too, since neither of us really knew what to do with our lips or tongues, but that didn’t matter because both of us were overcome with passion. I greedily sucked on his lips and licked at his tongue, but it never seemed like enough; there was a hidden need, a frustrated desire growing inside me that was becoming stronger by the second. My nipples pressed against the fabric of my bra as my breasts rubbed against Edgar’s chest, sending little jolts of pleasure down to my toes. I caressed his face with my hand, trying to be as gentle as possible because I didn’t know if that area would still hurt after all these years, trying to show him with my body what I had no way of saying with words.

  When we finally pulled away from one another, both of us were panting with desire. My heart was throbbing in my chest, as I guessed Edgar’s was too, and the lingering wisp of Edgar’s power tickled my lips before finally joining the rest of his power in my core. This was the most complete I’d ever assimilated somebody’s power before, and I was struck by how strong the emotional element was. Remarkably, however, the emotion Edgar’s power exuded was different than it had been the first time I absorbed it. There was still that trace of fear in it, but now that fear was being chipped away by something else—hope. There was hope growing in Edgar’s heart, just as there was hope growing in mine that Edgar might have been the man I’d waited all throughout high school for.

  “Your power’s pretty amazing too,” Edgar said finally. His voice sounded different from before; it was so much more grounded and confident.

  “I’ve never used it this way before... through a kiss,” I said.

  “So you can use my power now?” he asked curiously. “I’ve never seen anybody else do what I can do.”

  “I’ll have to practice with it a bit, but...” I summoned his power to change me, trying to think of a celebrity I’d seen hundreds of times before on TV.

  “Whoa!” Edgar said when he saw my transformation, his eyes lit up. “Jane Fonda! Not bad... Maybe you could try something more difficult though...”

  Showing off how much he could control his power, I watched in amazement as Edgar turned into a spitting image of Eddie Murphy—he even became shorter!

  “I can’t do the accent, though,” he said with a smile. It sounded freaky to hear Edgar’s voice coming from a completely different person now.

  His power felt so much more anchored within me this time, so I knew it would stay with me longer—possibly even hours. Edgar and I spent the rest of the night playing a super-powered version of charades, each of us taking turns morphing into a celebrity or famous person while the other guessed who it was. We were laughing and yelling and having a blast, and Edgar even taught me a lot about how to use the power more effectively.

  It was around two in the morning by the time I finally got into bed, and the last thought I had before falling asleep was:

  Am I in love?

  Chapter 9

  Emily

  “It was such a rush!” Wesley said. “I’ve deflected tons of shit with my forcefields in simulations and training before, but that was the only time I’ve ever had to stop a bullet! I almost thought I was a goner.”

  We were in the cafeteria and Lizzy, Blink, and Wesley were recounting the field mission they had gone on the previous night. They had gone to Brooklyn to bust a car theft ring, and apparently the thieves hadn’t been willing to play nicely.

  “Also,” said Blink, “check this out.” He rolled up his shirt sleeve and proudly showed a pretty gnarly scar on his bicep. “One of them had a knife. Got nicked bad, but then I punched his lights out.”

  Apparently, Lizzy’s three-way relationship was going smashingly because Wesley had dethroned me in my spot next to Lizzy. She looked radiant and content sitting between her two studs. I didn’t mind so much, though, because aside from Brock and Mace, who were also sitting with us as usual, there was a new addition to our lunch crew: Edgar. With his fashionable dark hair and moody features, he actually fit in quite well with everybody else.

  “By the way,” said Lizzy, turning to me excitedly, “I found out who this ‘Mazzy’ is.” She was referring to the “Mazzy” that Mr. Silva had mentioned to me a few days ago when he encouraged me to open myself up to others more. “It’s Ms. Martins!”

  “Shut up,” I gasped. “Actually, it kind of makes sense. Ms. Martins and Mr. Silva are basically the two best-looking teachers here. Figures they’d be together.”

  “She’s wicked powerful too,” Wesley added.

  Blink and Lizzy nodded in agreement. “She made a car literally wrap itself around one of the thieves,” Blink explained, gesturing with his hands how the body of the car had twisted around to trap one of the criminals inside like a prison.

  “Man,” I sighed, “I can’t wait for my first field mission. I wonder what teacher they’re going to send me with...”

  “Whoever it is, I hope they put me in your squad too,” Edgar said to me.

  “I don’t know about that, newbie,” Lizzy said with a smile. “They p
robably want you to get some more training before they send you out on a field mission.”

  “Yeah—what’s your power again anyway?” Mace asked Edgar incredulously.

  “I can phase through walls,” Edgar replied in a manner that seemed way more confident than he had been in the past. We had decided to keep his second power a secret for now.

  “Tier two,” Brock said definitively.

  “Tier one,” I quickly snapped back. “It’s more useful than you can imagine.”

  “Looks like you’ve already got some firsthand experience with it, Em,” Lizzy said with a giggle.

  Some of the others smirked and I blushed a bit, but it was true; Edgar and I had spent all of last night playing with his powers.

  “Still though, a chop shop?” Mace said, returning to the original topic of conversation. “I thought EMPs were supposed to do like... assassinations, espionage, anti-terrorism, stuff like that. Arresting a bunch of car thieves; isn’t that kind of tame?”

  “We are still students, after all,” Wesley said. “They’re probably gonna ease us into the cooler shit.”

  As the guys at the table continued talking and theorizing about field missions, I got up, my insatiable stomach demanding seconds.

  “Round two?” Lizzy asked, standing up with me. She still had a bunch of food on her plate, but we were close enough friends that I knew she just wanted an excuse to talk to me in private. I flashed her a knowing smile and then we walked toward the buffet together.

  “So that’s who you were seeing last night,” Lizzy said as soon as we were away from the others, nudging me in the ribs playfully.

  “You don’t think he’s lame, do you? Because of the other day?” I asked, referring to how he’d stormed out of the cafeteria on the first day.

  “What? No way,” Lizzy said reassuringly. “First days always suck, especially at this loony bin. Besides, he’s effin’ hot.”