Chapter 1

I pursed my lips and glanced around the glass room that has been my home for the last five years. The 12 foot by 14 foot glass box contained one bed, one desk, one dresser, and a bathroom. The bathroom has three fogged glass walls and a curtain. The toilet set off to one side and a drain in the floor so the whole 5 by 7 area is a shower. I leaned back on the glass behind my bed, propped my arm up on my knee, and began tapping an unfamiliar beat against my cheek.

"Pst, Nia." A voice sang out from one of the surrounding boxes causing me to hum in response. "Nia, I'm bored." The voice had a masculine and feminine tone overlapping each other. I closed my eyes and slowly chewed the inside of my lip ignoring the voice. "Nia." The voice whined.

"Shut up, Yuko!" another voice boomed with authority.

"Come on over here and make me big boy!" Yuko taunted with his double voice. I heard Reku growl in response.

"Don't let it get to you, Reku." A calm passive voice sighed

"What do you know Seron?" Yuko pouted back. I squeezed my eyes shut tuning everyone out before opening them and standing from my bed. I stretched my arms over my head cracking my spine with a sigh of relief. I walked into my little bathroom and looked myself in the mirror. I ruffled my messy chestnut and purple hair and rubbed my lavender eyes before stripping and turning the shower on. I turned my back to the mirror and glanced at my back running a hand down my tattooed wing on my back. I stepped under the water and let it run down my body as I listened with a half an ear to everyone talk to each other.

"Nia." I heard Seron pull me from my daze. The water ran down my face and into my mouth as I hummed my response. "What is the plan for today?" He asked having heard my response. I pulled my head out from under the water and wiped the water away with my hand.

"I don't know." I replied as I turned the water off and wrapped myself in my large towel. I stepped out of the little room and sat in the chair at my desk before speaking. "Anybody have any desire for something in particular?" I received a round of no's before leaning back in my chair and crossing my ankles. "Let's start with physical training. Reku, when would you like us to be ready?" I closed my eyes as I let my head hang back and laced my fingers across my stomach.

"In thirty minutes" Reku's voice was final. I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling through the glass top of my cage. We don't actually know a length of time in here. The lights slowly come on in the morning and dim until it's dark at what we assume is night. It's never really dark in this place at "night" red low lights come on so we can be checked on during the night. A group of 4 guards do a walk every 3 hours to make sure the prisoners are accounted for and not doing anything to try and escape.

I let out a grunt as I stood and walked over to my dresser. I pulled out some underwear, a sports bra, a pair of black baggy sweats, and a tight, white wife beater and dressed quickly in the bathroom before walking to sit in front of the glass wall. I looked at the glass box across from me. I could clearly see Reku's broad shoulders and rippling back muscles and short spiked black hair. He stood with his back to the glass wall, his arms were crossed and he was leaned back so his back pressed firmly into the glass. He wore grey sweats and a white wife beater. I looked to the cage to the left of his and saw the bob of green hair before a perfectly groomed Yuko appeared wearing a grey cut off shirt and dark grey sweats. The shirt had the neck cut out allowing it to bag off his broad shoulder and slightly defined abs. He bounced up and down warming up. I looked to the box immediately to my left and looked over Seron. His silver hair fell based his knees in thick locks and his piercing silver eyes caught my gaze. I skimmed his outfit seeing his grey sweats and black tee shirt. Reku turned around glancing us over with his black eyes before preparing us to start our physical training for the day.

I remember the day they stuck me in my box. My family used to love me. The day I began controlling the elements was the day they stopped. It's interesting how when're you're a child with powers, you're a freak. The day you're an adult with powers you become "super" whether you become a hero or a villain is up to you. One bad day, losing my temper once, landed me in the highest security prison on earth. I had been telling my family what was going on at school. I was pushed and beat by the other students for being different. I was told never to engage and to ignore it. I eventually just snapped. I blew up the school. I never meant to. I shut down completely and ran. I ran for a year before anyone caught me. I haven't been outside of here since, and not a soul has come to visit me.

6 Weeks after me, Seron was put in his box. He told me once that he was a thief, a damn good one at that. He was placed in prison, this prison in particular, after a bad job. The government found out he could use his control energy and he got tossed in the box. We decided to begin training each other, I trained him with the elements to the best I could, and he trained me to manipulate energies around me. We found that by bettering one, we strengthened the other.

Then came Reku, he got his box two years after Seron, he had gone on a killing spree. Apparently He had a temper that would last days. It took a week before we could speak to him. He smashed everything in his box in blind rage trying to escape. He had to sleep on a mat on the floor and had a pile of wood where his desk used to stand. When he finally calmed Seron and I worked with him. After a month of us helping him control his rage and him watching us teach each other all we could, he decided he wanted to try. We agreed that, in exchange, he would work with us to become physically strong. The three of us worked together to strengthen ourselves and each other for the next year and a half until Yuko found his way in his box. He had tried to take over a small country by taking over the country's leader. As annoying and odd as he was, it turns out he is a quit talented telepath. 3 months of him being here we managed to get him to stop driving Reku to rage. It served as a great exercise for Reku as well, after he destroyed everything again.

"Nia." Seron drew me from my thoughts "It's your turn." I blinked coming back to my senses, I was covered in sweat and I sighed.

"Let's sit. Cross legged. Yuko, where did we leave off?" I sat and looked at Yuko expectantly.

"we're still working with air. I finally made a little twister." He replied as he squeezed his eyes shut making an inch high tornado between his hands before almost instantly disappearing.

"Slow down. And breathe" I spoke softly, I closed my eyes with my hands about an inch apart. "In hale- exhale- inhale, feel the air around you. –exhale. Now blow into your hands and catch it." I leaned forward blowing into the space between my hands and picture a cylinder between my hands. "Blow into your hands again. Create some tension in your hands." I opened my eyes to see Seron and Reku are building a gust easily and Yuko building it slowly. "Good, Yuko, open your eyes." I watched as he smirked as the little cylinder of air he had created. "Now twist it." I made a twisting motion with my right hand keeping my left steady. The air began to form a little twister. "Now make it bigger." I blew into my hands spreading them as my twister grew. It was two feet large when I heard Yuko's frustrated growl. I looked over to see he had lost it. "Yuko." I whispered in sympathy. I knew it frustrated him that we could all do this and he was still just learning. Yuko was scatter-brained and that made controlling the elements very difficult.

"This is so dumb!" He shouted standing and storming to the back of his box.

"It's ok." I looked at him sadly. I knew how hard this was on him.

"No! It's not. Inhale- exhale bullshit! They can already play with fire and I can't get down breathing! Like I haven't done it my whole life!" He pulled the papers off his desk and threw them across the room.

"Yuko! It's not simple." I stood placing my hands on the glass of my box. "This isn't easy, especially not in an artificial hell. You have so much time- we all do" my head dropped a little "These two have been with me for so long, Seron's gone through the same lessons three times now, of course he can get it a little quicker. And Reku is still working on his." I watched as Yuko collapsed in front of his box with his head down. "You will love water one day, it's just as playful as you are. Reku, earth will be your spirit animal, and fire will be your best friend Seron. Guy's this isn't just a muscle you can grow and strengthen, this is nature, it will do whatever it please. Nature has to like you, there are some people who will never be able to control even a moment of it. I am blessed to be surrounded by you three. You have potential, I promise." I heard Yuko inhale deeply before lifting his hands back into position and exhale. He then blew a steady breathe into his hands and I watched as everyone worked in silence for the next hour to get it down.

By the time Seron and Yuko had taken their turns teaching us we were all wiped out. Seron is amazing at controlling energy, he has spent his days teaching us to pull our energy to our center. He has us working on shields currently. Yuko, the crazy telepath, on the other hand has us working on trying to tap into each other's minds to communicate with each other without speaking. So far Seron and I have gotten passed sending feelings and flashes of images to sending single words. Reku and I are still working passed sending feelings.

Afterwards we spent our time resting. I was sprawled out on the floor humming to myself. Reku sat on his bed with his back against the wall sleeping. I could hear Yuko in the shower and Seron kept sending me words trying to read me his book through telepathy. I could feel my stomach growl and couldn't help but wonder what time it is. I haven't known the time since I was put in the box. I pulled my arms behind my head feeling the annoying tug of sadness in my chest. We all did our best to keep ourselves occupied and happy, but this little glass box could drive even the sanest person mad.

"Nia! Think you can sing something today?" Yuko came out of the shower naked as the day he was born. I pinched my eyes closed inhaling and letting out a shakey breath. The memory from Yuko first coming to us flashed through my mind.

"What's wrong with princess over there? She's drowning me in her self pity." Yuko hissed loudly in my direction but talking to the guys.

"You don't know what it's like kid." Reku crossed his arms leaning against his box looking over at me. He watched my seemingly peaceful face as I rested with my eye closed. Yuko scoffed in response.

"Do you know the worst punishment for an elemental?" Seron asked never looking up from his book.

"An elemental?" Yuko looked me over as Reku lifted an eyebrow studying the new comer.

"To be put in an artificial environment." Seron replied softly glancing over at me briefly before going back to his book. "If she's driving you that mad, ask her to sing to you, it'll calm her down." I pinched my eyes shut trying not to let the tears slid down my face.

"Yeah, Yuko, of course I'll sing."