Photo by Kerri Singh

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"Are you nervous?"

Mia's voice is soft and kind as she ties my short white hair into a tight ponytail that rests on the back of my neck.

We had walked back through the door Mia and the others emerged from, and were now in some sort of locker room. Anna and her attendant, Ruby were also here with us as the boys had branched towards the boys' locker room.

I'm glad I had Mia with me, otherwise, I would not have managed to put on the elastic white clothing that hugged my entire body. The material felt light and easy to move in, yet dense and tough. It came in two parts, the lower half which looked like regular leggings, and the top half which had a zipper on the back, so one had to wear it like a hospital gown. The two halves joined together at the waist through an impressive zipper that seemed to weave top and bottom into one.

As I settled into my new skin, because that's what this fabric felt like, It seemed as if the loose ends became tighter around my teeny body, fitting me entirely and absolutely.

"Leah?"

"Yeah?, Oh... am I nervous? A little bit, yeah."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do great, we aren't allowed in as you lot do your thing, but I'll be watching from outside." Mia's nurturing tone fills me with enthusiasm, I thank her with a warm smile. I can do this.

We exit our spacious stall just a few seconds after Anna and Ruby leave theirs. Anna wears the same outfit I do, and she looks awesome in it. The fabric hugs her slender and athletic body and I swear I could see the contours of her muscles in her biceps and calves. As she turns to face me, I can't help but notice the outline of her abs under her D-cup breasts. No way she has abs!

"Gosh Leah, you look stunning!" Liar, you look stunning. "I can't wait to see you in action, I hope I don't bore you with my ability." Anna sounds too excited. The ability program can't be that good, can it?

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure whatever you do will blow my mind."

I wasn't lying, I haven't had a chance to meet that many people with abilities, so I was genuinely thrilled at the thought of what Anna, Ryan, and Colin could do.

"Says you who has two abilities in the bag already, not to mention tons of field application, I'm jealous. Anyway, see you out there!" With that, Anna skips out of the locker room. Is she always this happy?

Ruby gives us a slight nod before following Anna. She was part of the staff just like Mia, but a bit less graceful. Her red hair was in a bun, under the translucent surgical cap on her head. I had yet to meet anyone as pretty as Mia in the facility but Ruby had a pleasant face to look at, though not a face that would stand out in a crowd.

"Ready?"

I nod as I follow Anna out the door and back into the Harmony Chamber.

"Welcome back test subjects!" The squeaky voice starts up again as soon as everyone is back in place.

Ryan takes the win for who wore it best. We're all in the same white fabric that latches desperately onto our skin. The fabric does wonders for a girl's curves but does even more for a man with a good physique. Ryan might as well have been naked as my eyes shamelessly raked over his body.

He was of average build, with a well-toned body, which was further highlighted by the fabric stretched across his skin. I made sure not to stare too long, afraid that one of the others would catch me, Anna looked better than the rest of us while Colin looked like a cuddly bear. I couldn't care less how Jay looked, but I did notice he was fit too, not like Ryan though.

"I would advise that you get used to the modified thermo-suits you wear since they will be your regular attire whenever you test your abilities. They are capable of reading your vitals while being resistant to any drastic changes in temperature, and generally tough enough to survive most of the strain all of you will undoubtedly put on them."

We all shift on our feet as the scratchy-voiced scientist takes a pause, I try to sneak a look at Ryan to my left but our eyes lock instead. Had he been staring at me?

"We call them the H-Suits, H standing for harmony. They are still currently under development, so after the end of each testing session you will leave them here so that our various teams can work to improve them based on the vitals and other various readings they record while you are in action."

Another pause, I don't dare to look in Ryan's direction, I don't think I can handle another instance of eye contact from him, my heart would burst from excitement.

"We hope to eventually modify the H-Suits to fit each of your specific needs, allowing you to constantly use your abilities to their utmost potential."

My mind suddenly snaps onto one of the features of the H-Suit, resistance to temperature changes? Could that mean while in these suits I had no weakness?

"The tests will now begin, one by one, Jason first, then Anna, Colin, Ryan, and finally our newest arrival, Leah." Of course, he knew our names, jerk. "Please stand back towards the wall If it isn't your turn. Do as much as you can when it's your turn, whatever you think is impressive, this is an open, and overall demonstration."

"Begin!"

I shuffle as far back as I can the moment I feel the temperature drop.

Jay wastes no time, stretching his arms to his side as a thick mist begins to form around his body, obscuring the form below his head.

I can tell it's really cold by now, but there's no strain on my body. These suits are awesome. I could easily escape from the facility with this suit, yet the idea doesn't seem as appealing as I had thought it would be.

A barrage of icicles, the size of a beer can but cone-shaped, erupt from the mist enveloping Jay's body. I almost can't keep up with their speed and only notice them after they hit multiple targets. Jay could have killed me with ease the first time we met if he wanted to.

I watch warily as multiple icicles form but don't launch, instead, they hover ahead of Jay, constantly increasing in number, I count more than 50. Jay's dense mist eventually ceases producing more icicles, as the existing ones hover closer and closer to each other, as if blending into one. The density of Jay's mist lessens as the icicles join to form a larger one, the size of a human torso, its pointy end facing a derelict car in the distance.

With a heavy grunt and a low-sounding guttural scream, Jay launches the icicle toward the car, the force of the launch sending billows of dusty clouds all around him. This icicle moves slow enough for my eyes to keep up, but I can tell it packs a punch evident by the dust rising along its path as it flies towards is target.

I involuntarily shut my eyes as the icicle makes contact with the car, metallic screeches echoing in the chamber. I open my eyes as the sounds of clashing metal stop, and the sight before me scares me. Jay had just torn a car clean in half using ice.

"Wonderful demonstration Jason, impressive as always." The scratchy voice applauds. "Your turn Anna."

Jay turns back to face us, a sneer on his face, he must be very proud of himself. He meets my eyes as he pulls back towards the wall, an icy stare that seems to freeze time and chill my bones. He was showing off for me.

"Wish me luck," Anna whispers as she moves past me, drawing my attention from Jay. "Good luck," I whisper back hurriedly, she smiles and heads deeper into the chamber.

My eyes seem to have trouble focusing on what Anna is doing. She seems to be standing still, yet simultaneously moving back, forth, left, and right. My head aches slightly as my eyes struggle to focus on Anna's hazy form. She seems to be vibrating at some weird frequency or something.

I rub my eyes furiously as Anna's top half seems to split, two torsos now sprout from her waist instead of one. I barely have enough time to digest the sight before her lower half splits too and suddenly there's two people where there only stood one. I don't bother to collect my jaw from the floor as Anna's original body repeats the process four more times.

Six stunning figures stand before us, my mind blown. Anna seems to have some replicating or cloning power that I hadn't thought possible. But there was more. Five Annas step forward, the clones I assume, two pair up while one stands on the side. The paired clones stand close together, one hugging the other from the back. Their form goes hazy once more, as they quiver and tremble into one body. What the hell is going on?

Of the five clones, only three remain. My mind is still reeling from what I just saw, when the clones suddenly erupt into movement, running faster than I imagined possible. Two of them pull ahead, faster than the last clone, probably because they had each fused with one other clone. Stopping at the car Jay had ripped apart, the two strongest clones each picked up half of the car, launching the pieces into the nearby rundown buildings, destroying their walls even further.

The final clone, still sprinting, launches herself ten meters into the air, entirely jumping over one of the dilapidated buildings.

"Beautiful display as always Anna!" The scratchy voice seemed even more impressed by Anna than I was.

"How did you... I mean that was.... I can't even..." I struggle to form a coherent sentence as Anna heads back towards the wall, clones trailing behind her. Nothing I do could be as impressive as what she had done. She thought she'd bore me with that?

"I'm glad you liked it," she looks worn out and sounds breathless, but gives me a faint smile, "I'll tell you all about it later if you'd like"

I would love to hear all about her ability, "Yes, I would love that, after you're rested though. "

Anna simply gives me a nod as she moves past me. I turn to look at her clones as they come close, they're identical, completely indistinguishable from the original. Except two of them seem sturdier and slightly larger than the main Anna.

Colin is away from the wall as he looks back at us, turning towards me, he flashes a cheeky smile and vanishes. I barely have time to display shock before he materializes right next to me, so abruptly that I stumble backwards. His arms reach towards mine and keep me stable, preventing a fall. I lift my face to meet his, to say thank you, we lock eyes and the words never leave my mouth.

His eyes, originally brown, were now glowing a bold gold hue, shimmering almost, it was beautiful. He gives me a polite smile before letting my arms fall to my sides, and disappears again, returning to his spot next to the wall.

"A gracious and brief demonstration Colin, well done." The scientist's voice sounds unamused.

It was Ryan's turn, everyone had been spectacular, though Colin seemed to be holding back. I watch Ryan delicately as he approaches one of the other misshapen cars lying around. He stops maybe 26 feet away and inhales deeply, I can't hear the inhale but I can tell by the way his abdomen moves.

The air and the ground seem to tremble in unison, reverberating into my bones. What's happening? Panic begins to set in but I look back to Ryan and realize this must be his doing, my panic dissipating. Apart from Jay, he was the only one who's abilities seemed to affect me despite the distance between us. That must mean he's pretty strong.

I gasp audibly as I notice the levitating car before Ryan, shaking even more furiously than the ground and air around us. I watch carefully as every part of the car comes loose and pulls apart from the main body. The tremors intensify slightly before stopping completely and the car, now in pieces scatters in various directions as it falls to the ground.

The metal of a car door ripped apart comes flying toward me so fast that I don't have the time to trigger my phasing ability. I instinctively move to my left, trying to avoid the trajectory of the oncoming chunk of metal. I close my eyes as a whistling sound whizzes past me, stopping with a loud thunk behind me.

Phew, it missed. I open my eyes, searching for Ryan. Had he lost control? Was he okay?

My eyes meet the horrified expressions of my fellow test subjects. The looks on their faces seem familiar, and I match them to those of the terrified kids back at my group home, moments after I had accidentally hurt a bully.

I'm about to open my mouth, ask what was going on, when I feel a warm numbness on the lower half of my right leg. I follow the horrified looks down to my legs, just in time to see the lower part of my right leg, directly below my knee separate from the rest of my body.

The chunk of metal stuck in the wall behind me hadn't missed.

I look up from my leg as blood begins to gush out, Several Annas are rushing towards me, their mouths open but I hear nothing. Lights flicker in the Harmony Chamber while Ryan and Jay remain fixed in their positions and Colin has his face buried in his palms.

My head feels light as I look back at my leg, a pool of blood forming around it under me. My body feels heavy as I fall backward, everything seemingly happening in slow motion.

I hit the ground and my nerves appear to come alive as pain erupts right below my knee, tears well in my eyes and I involuntarily scream as loud as I can, but hear no sound. The pain is unbearable, I blink furiously, trying to keep myself awake but I can't resist the comfortable embrace of nothingness.

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Whoa, that was intense! What do you think of the harmony chamber and everyone's abilities. Were you as impressed as Leah? Let's hope she'll pull through in the next chapter. Remember to comment and vote if you like it so far, and see you in the next one!