Andre had always relied heavily on logic. Things could always be explained, measured, or proven. Myths and folklore was only that. Anything that couldn't be explained through evidence, reliable eyewitnesses, or science was questionable. This applied to all aspects of his life. Andre and his family were Christian, and he believed in God, but Andre even held up most of the more far-fetched stories and miracles in the Bible as potential exaggeration. Due to this, Andre would have assumed a television blowing up was because of a power surge or faulty manufacturing in any other circumstance. Yet, Andre, who always examined things with a critical eye, was still making his way into the local wilderness behind Hollywood Arts. To make matters worse, Andre's intent was literally to see if he did have "mind powers" as he thought the previous night. It was ironic. The young man who would sometimes wonder if Jesus actually walked on ice, and everyone thought it was water, was now open to the possibility of telekinesis.
Andre shook his head, getting rid of his self-ridicule, as he let out a yawn. Pulling out his cellphone, Andre let out a scoff when he saw it was barely past six. He always left for school before his parents woke up for work. The anticipation was so heavy from the previous night that he left the house at 5 A.M.
Andre was anxious to test his theory the previous night. Still, he knew his parents wouldn't let him leave the house when he was home sick from school that day. Besides, even in the highly unlikely situation that he actually did have any powers, his only option was testing it out in his bedroom. Andre really didn't feel like turning his bed or anything else in his room into a pile of rubble like the television.
In any other situation, Andre knew he wouldn't be walking out into the woods. He didn't believe in this kind of nonsense. Then again, up until recently he didn't believe in giant, underground, glowing crystals, but those existed.
Turning around, Andre looked back towards where he had come from. He could no longer see the rear parking lot or buildings of Hollywood Arts. He had to be at least half a mile into the woods at this point. Shaking his head, Andre couldn't help but think how ridiculous it would be, and how pissed of his parents would be, if he happened to fall in another giant hole and 911 had to be called again.
Looking around, Andre walked up to a giant log that was laying against the tree. Rubbing his hands together, Andre knelt down beside it. Changing his mind, Andre said, "Nahhh, let's start small."
Scanning the area again, Andre's eyes fell onto a large rock a few feet away. Andre let out a groan as he picked the rock up with both hands. It was heavier than it looked and had to weight at least 50 pounds. Tossing it to the side, Andre continued scanning the ground. Finally, Andre's eyes fell onto a much smaller rock. Picking it up, Andre held the rock that was about the size of a softball in his right hand. Extending his hand, Andre opened his palm and stared at the rock.
Remembering the previous night, Andre tried to issue the inanimate object a command. "Go...fly..." Andre shook his head, feeling incredibly stupid. "Go, go, go." Growing louder, Andre repeated the command. "Go, go , GO!"
Thinking back, Andre remembered he hadn't said anything when the TV exploded. Instead, he merely thought it. It was ridiculous, but he was talking about telekinesis after all. There was no reason if he was able to control stuff with his mind that he would have to speak to it out loud.
"Go, go, go, go, GO!" Andre thought in his head. The rock didn't move, quickly growing heavier by the second.
"Ughhh," Andre growled. Dropping his hand, Andre let the rock fall to the ground as he started pacing.
"Well, it's official. I'm crazy," Andre mused. "Maybe I did hit my head...too hard..."
Still, Andre wasn't completely ready to give up.
Shaking his head, Andre bent down and snagged the rock off the ground. Once again, he internally thought, "GO, GO, GO!" in his head. Again, the rock didn't budge.
"Uhhh," Andre grunted, growing more angry by the second. There was a reason he went out into the wilderness. He didn't want anyone around to see him embarrass himself or think he was crazy. Due to pride, and maybe frustration, Andre gripped the rock in his hand as tightly as possible. This was stupid, and beyond all else, this was crazy. He shouldn't be out there.
"Ahhh," Andre seethed as he dropped the rock and clenched the bridge of his nose. The pain was back. It wasn't as severe as before, but still, it was there. Rubbing his hand over his forehead, Andre quipped, "Now we're getting somewhere." Next, Andre noticed the faintest humming noise. It wasn't nearly as loud as in the tunnel or the living room, but it was there. Before, it always seemed to come from an outside source. This time, it seemed like it was a faint ringing in his ears. Andre also noticed the tension building up on his temples, as if someone had their hands on each side of his head and was pushing them together.
For a third time, Andre reached down and grabbed the rock. Extending his hand, Andre narrowed his eyes as he stared at the object in his hand.
The pain was different this time. Honestly, it wasn't pain. He could feel pressure, as if he was wearing a baseball cap a few sizes too small, but it wasn't really headache or an aching pain. With tunnel vision, Andre stared down the rock.
"Go, go, go...GO!"
"Come on," Andre exclaimed in a frustrated voice. Almost instantly, he noticed the faint humming sound that seemed to be all around him grew slightly louder.
Clenching his fist around the rock, Andre snapped his arm with the intent of throwing the large pebble into the forest. Halfway through the motion, Andre stopped. Thinking back on the previous evening, Andre realized something.
He didn't will the television to explode, he simply wanted to turn it off. Still, the humming noise and the pain in his head was so severe he was focused solely on the television. Thinking back, he literally remembered having the urge to throw something, even a fist, at the television to make it turn off. This desire increased to an almost necessity. A split second before the TV exploded, Andre's only thought was he wanted the television gone. He didn't care if it disappeared, smashed against the wall, or blew up. Every fiber of his being wanted it gone.
His dad was a golfer. He always talked about 'visualizing' the shot before taking it. He would go on to explain that a good golfer would know exactly how he would contact the ball, how it would fly through the air, and about where it would land on the green before he took his shot. That wasn't accounting for human error of course. Honestly, it sounded like a lie, but the concept applied.
Gritting his teeth, Andre snapped his hand back out and turned over his wrist and opened his hand. He didn't will the rock to move, and he didn't ask it to go. He focused his eyes, mind, and attention directly behind the rock in his hand. He swore he could sense the inertia and energy that was spring loaded behind the rock, ready to release at any moment. When that happened, the rock had no choice but to move. It was the point of contact. It was the same as the moment the club hit the ball.
Andre did his best to keep his eyes focused as the pain in his temples went from slight discomfort to throbbing. Andre couldn't hear anything except that same, annoying humming noise. It wasn't really loud, but the noise blocked the sounds of the surrounding wilderness completely. For a split second, Andre felt like he was going to collapse. Then, he just let go.
The rock exploded from his hand, looking something like a fastball from a professional pitcher, and quickly fell out of sight once it zipped by a few trees.
"Holy shit!" Andre exclaimed, jumping back a few feet in response. Unaware of his surroundings, Andre lost his footing and quickly fell to the ground. Pushing his feet against the ground, Andre continued to back his body away from where he previously stood.
"Holy shit!" Andre screamed again. Andre's triumphant laughter boomed and bounced of the surrounding wilderness, not that anyone was around to hear it.
Jumping back to his feet, Andre's head spun as he searched the forest floor. Andre quickly picked up a rock that was close in size to his first. As before, Andre took a deep breath as he extended the rock in the palm of his hand.
Andre didn't feel anything initially. For a brief second, he thought it was possible he was only able to use his powers when the humming sound, whatever it was caused by, could be heard. Maybe, it was caused by emotion. The Incredible Hulk had to be angry to transform. Excluding the night in the tunnel, both times Andre could hear the humming was when he was angry or frustrated, even if only a little. Then again, Andre had only gotten angry as a result of the humming during the TV incident. On the other hand, Andre had gotten angry moments before and the humming followed afterwards. Contradicting evidence destroyed a hypothesis after all.
Focusing harder, Andre still couldn't hear the humming. However, he didn't notice a slight "pulling" sensation that he couldn't quite grasp or explain. Andre squinted his eyes as the sensation grew slightly stronger, followed closely by the high-pitched noise he was growing accustomed to hearing. Smirking, Andre once again "visualized" the energy building up behind the rock. Again, Andre sent the rock flying from his hand quickly out of sight.
Andre couldn't help but giggle again. This was absolutely amazing. Looking around, Andre's eyes fell onto a third rock near his feet. Deciding not to bend down, Andre simply focused his mind and vision on the ground. As before, Andre's ears picked up the subtle humming sound.
"Awesome," Andre muttered to himself.
LEGENDARY
Andre stayed out in the woods as long as he could before school. Honestly, he must have flung over a hundred random rocks and sticks around the forest. Feeling confident, Andre managed to levitate a rock above his hand. Still, he was only able to for a few seconds before it fell back into his hand. It was much more difficult to focus his mind and lift the rock than it was to simply send it flying. After all, Andre did understand basic physics. Making the rock move required applying force in one general direction. On the other hand, lifting a rock into the air required him holding it with his mind. He had to cup it from underneath and apply force equally. It required much more skill and concentration. It only took a second for a rock to wobble in the air and fall if he lost focus.
After a few minutes, Andre had a headache from lifting object directly into the air. Andre wasn't surprised considering levitating objects required a greater deal of mental exertion. Sitting on the fallen log, Andre went back to scooping up small rocks from the ground and sending them ricocheting across the forest. He was getting better, or at least getting used to his power. The humming noise was hardly noticeable anymore, and Andre only had to focus on any object for a brief second before he could make it move compared to the few seconds it took the first handful of times.
One rock led to two. Before long, Andre was picking up a small handful of rocks. He couldn't get them to go as far, and they all skewed off in slightly different directions like buckshot from a shotgun, but it was still improvement. Standing back up, Andre searched the ground. It only took a minute for Andre to find the bigger rock he had thrown aside. He focused on the rock, attempting to get it to move to no avail. This rock was ten times the size of the others. Andre felt the same "pulling" sensation, except stronger, as he continued staring at the rock. Quickly, the sensation went away, like the snapping of a rubber band, as severe pain shot through Andre's head.
"Ahhh!" Andre screamed as he doubled over at the waist. Holding the sides of his head, Andre let out a sigh as he saw the blood from his nose trickle and fall to the ground.
"Too much," Andre grunted, staying bent over so the blood didn't get on his clothes.
LEGENDARY
Andre was in an incredibly good mood. He had telekinesis. Even if he couldn't lift a small boulder, Andre could lift softball sized rocks. That was something no one else in the world was capable of doing. Besides, the assumption in the back of his mind that he would be able to lift school buses and move mountains was due to seeing too many superhero movies the last few years. He was optimistic. He could get better over time, he already had. Throwing the first rock required intense concentration. The last few he threw that morning required only moderate effort. He could get stronger over time. Even if he didn't, he had freaking telekinesis.
Andre cleared his head from thoughts as he approached his friend. "Little Red!" Andre boomed.
"Ahhh!", Cat exclaimed, turning from her locker and dropping her books. Cat's eyes quickly darted to the ground then up at Andre. Once her brain registered Andre was in front of her, a smile popped onto her face. "Andre!"
"Cat!" Andre said in an equally chipper tone.
"Oh my gosh," Cat started as she opened up her arms to give Andre a hug. Andre easily lifted Cat up off the ground, and his strong grip made it slightly difficult to continue talking. "How...do you...feel...Andre?"
"Great!" Andre replied as he lowered his friend to the ground and helped her pick up her dropped books.
"Thanks!" Cat replied offering a huge smile once all her books were back in her hands.
"No problem C-"
"Andre," Robbie squealed, sounding more like Cat than himself as he made his way towards his best friend.
Cat and Andre's heads both snapped to look towards the sound. They quickly noticed that Robbie was approaching and Beck and Jade were a few paces behind. Andre didn't have time to reply, but opened his arms in time to reciprocate the hug from Robbie.
"Dude, how are you feeling?" Robbie asked at the end of the hug. He waited patiently as Andre slapped hands with Beck and said hello. Jade wasn't as affectionate as any of the boys, but even she managed a genuine smile and reply to Andre's greeting. Once that was done, Andre turned to look at Robbie.
"I feel...really, really good man." Andre replied. "The headache went away...and my ankle must have just been rolled and not sprained...it hasn't hurt since..."
Andre trailed off as he caught a glimpse of Tori approaching from behind Beck and Jade. Cat was the first to notice besides Andre as she yelled, "Tori!" towards the brunette.
Tori threw both hands around Andre's neck, breathing a small sigh of relief as she held onto him. Without thinking, Andre wrapped both hands around Tori's lower back as they tightly hugged one another. After a few seconds, Tori removed her head that was resting against Andre's upper chest and neck.
"I'm sorry I left," Tori said, with her hands still around Andre's neck and only a few inches separating their faces. She kept her voice quiet, not wanting her friends and especially not Jade to hear her words. "I figured you needed your rest."
"It's...it's cool. Thanks for coming over T." Andre swallowed back hard after his statement, doing his best to act calm and not flustered.
Neither Tori nor Andre noticed as Jade nudged Beck and let out a cough. Beck shot his girlfriend a gentle look, pleading with his eyes for her to let it go. Andre was back in back in school and seemingly health. Beck simply wanted to enjoy the moment. Jade was amazing at ruining heartfelt moments by embarrassing people. Jade rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her hip, but said nothing.
"How are you feeling?" Tori asked, finally removing her hands from Andre's neck and taking a small step backwards out of his personal space.
"Good...real good...my head-"
"If I get to class before any of you...you are officially late."
The entire group of friends turned their heads towards the voice. Their eyes fell on Mr. Sikowitz, who was walking towards class.
"Ohhh, by the way," Mr. Sikowitz said as he turned back to look at his students. "Andre...I am glad you are not dead and feeling well."
LEGENDARY
The man looked out of place to say the least. He appeared to be in his mid-20's, average height, and with a moderate amount of muscle tone. His muscle tone could even be seen through the full suit and tie he was wearing. He looked like a successful and important businessman. The only odd thing was him and his associate weren't walking down the street of New York City or in a office boardroom. They were in the middle of the forest.
"Are you sure this thing will work?" The young man asked, looking at the piece of technology his middle-aged accomplice held in his hands. "What if it's buried too deep?"
"Yeah rookie," The older man hissed. Being at least a full foot taller, the middle-aged man stared down to meet eyes with his associate. "It could be a mile underground...it doesn't matter."
"Okay Lucas, sorry..." The young man mumbled, not wanting to further anger the older man.
Heading the same direction Andre walked the night of the party, both men focused on the beeping sounds the piece of technology started to make.
"This way," Lucas said in a raspy voice. "We're close."
