It's new story time with PerspectiveDeveloped! By the way, I promise I'll update The Reigning Consort, I Thought I Knew You, and Reaching Across the Stars soon. This story will be unlike anything I've ever written, so I'm excited. Are you ready?
Freak.
Monster
Mutant.
The words drifted across Diana's sleeping mind. She rolled over, and words continued to be heard in her dreams.
Destroyer.
Killer.
Diana sat up quickly, wiping beads of sweat off of her face. Groaning, she stood up, walked into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror before splashing water on her face. Wiping her face, she took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the old mirror. Looking closely, she found one thing startling: it was getting harder and harder to recognize herself.
She still had the same short black hair and gray eyes, but the stress and the nervous energy she was burning had been giving her face a leaner look, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't eat. She was too afraid she would lose control of her...ability and harm someone she cared for, so she kept her mouth closed, closing herself to the world. It all worked out, because she never felt like eating, and preferred not to speak.
It was why she still lived in her grandfather's house, with her father and brother. Her mother had disappeared many years ago, after metahumans started popping up and the government tried to wipe out any threat. Metahumans, called supers, were people with superhuman abilities. First, they were forced to register. Many did. But the few that didn't began to wreak havoc allnover the world. Because of the damage caused, international law forced the supers into hiding.
Diana didn't know if her mother was a super or a sympathizer, but either could be dangerous. No one knew what happened if a super was caught, but rumors were prevalent. Some said that they were taken to a secret location and trained to fight as mercenaries. Others said that their powers were wiped, along with their memories. They were given new identities, along with new jobs and places to live.
Diana sighed and splashed more water on her face. At 21, she should have been enjoying the prime of her life, not locking herself away because she was afraid.
Afraid of hurting others. Afraid of being taken away from her family. Afraid of losing all memories and connections with them, so that they would be nothing less than a passing daydream.
Walking back to her room, a whispered conversation caught her attention.
"We have to give her up. Who knows what she could do, or what would happen if they found out we were harboring one?"
She stifled a gasp. That voice belonged to her father.
But then she heard her grandfather speak. "She is one of us. We will not give her up. This is my house, and I make the rules."
"Make the smart decision. Think about the rest of the family."
They lowered their voices, but Diana had heard enough. Running down the stairs, she grabbed her coat from the closet and ran out of the door. As she left, she heard her grandfather yell at her father, "A family looks out for each other, not turns against its own kind!"
Diana ran as far as she could, not stopping until she reached the wheat fields at the edge of her small town. Running straight into the middle, she stopped, fell to her knees, and let out a scream.
Not just any scream. A sonic scream, made powerful by the high-frequency sound waves it produced. It was powerful enough to destroy buildings, and with its full potential, render anyone within earshot unconscious.
The rows of wheat in front of her toppled where the sound waves had hit them, and several car alarms went off all over the area.
Gasping for breath, Diana realized that she had unintentionally used most of the air in her lungs to generate her scream, and wouldn't be able to make it home for a very long time. She stood up to take a step, but the effort knocked her over. Diana collapsed, fighting to force air into her lungs. Trying again, she managed to make it to the edge, before stumbling.
This time, she couldn't force herself up.
Diana managed to move back into the field, out of danger, before passing out.
Kendall Knight stood atop a building and stared at the city below him, wondering how life had brought him there. Due to the government, he was in hiding, yet snuck out every night to freely use his powers. He was one of the known supers in the area, being forced to register when he was young, and due to his frequent sightings, it was unknown whether or not he was in hiding.
Kendall flew off of the building, flying over city after city, before reaching the rural area. He suddenly began to start falling, temporarily losing consciousness after hearing what sounded like a loud scream, but quickly regained it. Looking down, he noticed a girl trying to make her way out of a field of wheat. Judging from her location, she was the one with the powerful scream, and she looked like she was struggling.
Kendall silently hovered above, watching to see if she could make it.
She didn't.
Kendall swooped down and grabbed her. He knew exactly where to take her.
Diana woke up in a white bed in a white room. A heart monitor on the wall beeped softly, and a clock showed her the time. Softly swinging her legs out of the bed, she walked slowly out of the room.
The hallway outside was bustling with activity. Crowds of people walked to and from various places, not stopping to giver her a glance. She quickly shut herself back in, jumping when two people, a woman and a boy about her age, appeared in her room.
"Who are you?" She asked.
The woman smiled. "This is Kendall, and everyone here calls me J," she said.
"Where am I?"
J smiled even more. "You are at the Palm Woods, top-secret home of the specially gifted."
"Specially gifted? Does that mean you all have powers?"
Kendall nodded. "My powers are flight, speed, and strength. J here has telepathy."
"The power to read minds," Diana answered.
J nodded. "Precisely. Now, since you seem to be all right, would you mind following Kendall? We need to analyze your powers."
Diana nodded and followed Kendall to a large empty room.
"This is the simulation room," he explained. "We use it to train, practice control, and test our powers. It tells you the exact extent of your powers, and the name of the ability."
"I couldn't explain it any better myself," said J's voice over a speaker. "Now, we need you to state your name and power."
Diana sighed. "My name is Diana, and I have a have a sonic scream."
"Wonderful. Now show us what you've got, Diana," J answered after a pause.
Diana motioned for Kendall to step back before taking a deep breath and releasing a powerful scream, holding it for fifteen seconds.
"Interesting," J slowly stated. "Kendall, could you bring Diana up here?"
Kendall led Diana up a set of stairs into a control room. J sat at a desk, tapping away at a tablet.
Once Kendall and Diana entered, she looked up. "Diana, the software said you actually have telekinesis, not a sonic scream. According to this, your sonic scream is you manipulating the air around your scream to make it more powerful. But there's one thing I need to see. Kendall, take her back to the simulation room. Diana, I wamt you to try to read his mind."
Once they were back in the simulation room, Diana took a deep breath and focused, somehow finding herself in Kendall's thoughts. Before she had time to read anything, she was forced out.
Kendall gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, force of habit."
Both Kendall and Diana jumped when J's excited voice came pcer the speakers. "I knew it! Diana, you have telepathy as well as telekinesis. Finally, I have someone to train."
Diana smiled.
"Congratulations," Kendall said.
Diana thought for a moment and looked up. "J," she called.
"Yes Diana?" J replied.
"If I have telekinesis, does that mean that if I control it to a certain point, I'll be able to fly?"
J was silent. "I guess. I've never seen it done, though. But now we need to design an outfit for you."
"An outfit?" Diana responded. For the first time, she noticed that Kendall was wearing a red and blue unitard that reminded her of Spider-Man, but instead of a full face mask, he only had a mask to cover his eyes.
"If you're going to be training here, then we need to identify you. You'll need at least two kinds of outfits: a regular one and a special occasions one. They're all bullet-proof, and protect the wearer from high and low temperatures. And as a bonus, they're friction resistant, machine washable, and come with a locator device. If you ever need any sort of backup, we'll be able to see and send help. Kendall will show you to the design room."
Kendall silently led Diana to the room, allowing her the time to design an outfit.
Diana looked over colors and designs, and finally created two outfits. Looking at Kendall, she asked, "What now?"
"Choose which one you want to be your main one, then step over there," he pointed.
Diana quickly tapped the computer screen, then went to where Kendall directed. It looked like a small, circular elevator that was only big enough for one person. He pressed a button, then a green laser began to scan her. It stopped, and then the doors closed. A few seconds later, they opened, and Diana stepped out.
She was wearing a strapless navy blue jumpsuit, with silver around the waist. For shoes, she wore matching flat boots. Silver gloves completed the outfit. Kendall seemed stunned, but quickly recovered.
"A bunch of copies of both your regular outfit and special occasion outfit are being sent to your room."
The door to the room opened as J walked in. "I see you've taken care of everything. Nice outfit. By the way, you might want to head to the cafeteria. They're serving pizza today."
Diana walked out, following Kendall. The cafeteria was a large room, easily fitting all of the people, as well as the serving area.
The line moved quickly, so they got their food in a short while, before Diana realized she didn't have a place to sit.
"Diana, sit with me. There are some people I want you to meet," Kendall said, motioning for her to follow him. At his table were eight people, including Kendalll. There were five guys and three girls.
"James, Logan, Carlos, Dak, Camille, Lucy, and Stephanie, this is Diana."
They all grinned.
"I'm James," said the one sitting next to Kendall. He had brown hair and hazel eyes.
"Carlos," continued a guy with raven hair and tan skin, between bites of pizza.
"I'm Logan," spoke a pale, dark haired guy.
"I'm Dak," finished a guy with dark hair and brown eyes.
"It's very nice to meet you," Diana said, sitting with the girls.
"I'm Stephanie, and those are Camille and Lucy," said the girl Diana sat next to. She had olive skin and brown hair and eyes.
Camille was slightly paler, but she had a bright smile. Lucy seemed more edgy, but also seemed to have a sense of humor.
"What are your powers?" Diana asked.
Camille smiled. "You probably know Kendall's. James has speed and is excellent with hand to hand combat, and he has what J calls durability. Logan, aside from intellect, has elasticity. Carlos has retractable wings, and can communicate with animals. Dak is a shapeshifter, Stephanie is pyrokinetic, Lucy also has a sonic scream, and I can mimic the abilities of animals.
Diana nodded. "I have telekinesis and telepathy. And a sort of sonic scream."
Lucy said, "You know, Kendall must see some massive potential in you. He's never brought a first day recruit with him to the center table."
"Stop it, Lucy," Stephanie replied. "We do need a ninth member. That way, we'll habe a tiebreaker."
"A tiebreaker?" Diana echoed, surprised.
Camille laughed. "Sorry for not explaining earlier. We're sort of like a council, and we make the decisions concerning the student body. We have public meetings every week, and meet by ourselves every day."
"Is there some sort of...order?" Diana asked.
Camille nodded. "Kendall and James are one and two. After James is Lucy, then Logan, then me, then Carlos, then Stephanie, then Dak, then you. I think. Depending on how the week ends, you could end up above Dak."
"Why was I picked?" Diana questioned.
"To be picked, you need to have mastered one part of your powers. Kendall and James have full control. Lucy can focus her scream, and even curve it. Logan can stretch to fit everything and anything. He still doesn't know how far he can stretch. When I absorb an animal's abilities, I can absorb only one thing, instead of everything."
"So rather than absorb the size and mass of an elephant, you choose to absorb the strength," concluded Diana.
Camille nodded and continued. "Carlos can communicate with animals by species. Stephanie can focus a small, hot flame. Dak can shapeshift animals without being taken over by their instincts. And from what I hear, you can manipulate the air around you into speeding up sound waves to form a sonic scream. And since you're one of us now, the name of our team is now The Nine. Welcome aboard, Diana."
List of powers of The Nine:
Kendall: Strength, speed, flight (because he's the leader)
James: Speed, hand to hand combat master, durability (because he can be sneaky)
Lucy: Sonic scream (because she's a rockstar)
Logan: Intelligence, elasticity (self-explanatory on that one)
Camille: Animal mimicry (because she can act)
Carlos: Flight, ability to speak to animals (because he's the innocent one)
Stephanie: Pyrokinetic (I don't know why, but she would look cool controlling fire)
Dak: Shapeshifting (Because. Just because)
Diana: Telekinesis, telepathy
I'm going to refer to that list later, so it's there for me as much as it is for you. Review please!