The Numbers on Our Arms

Chapter 1

Everyone is born with a number on their body – at the time 1.0. It varied where it was on one's body, but there were always a few consistent features for each person: it had their soulmate's ability level, eye colour and it would glow anytime they activated their ability, like their eyes would.

At that very moment, Seraphina had pulled back the sleeve on her left forearm as she stared out in horror at the scene unfolding before her.

The 7.5 showed on her forearm near her wrist with a burnt orange-gold glow.

Her heart thumped as she looked out over the East courtyard. Joker, Remi and Arlo were in their fight – Joker with black lightning surrounding him and Remi with her electric blue lighting and a yellow barrier around her.

That posture... It's the one that John taught me.

... Who did he learn that from?

"KICK HIS ASS!" another student – an onlooker – yelled out from her side. He held his hands out around his face as if to amplify his voice. "GO REMI! GO ARLO! SHOW JOKER WHO'S BOSS!"

'Joker!'...

The barrier was removed from around Remi and she skidded back, powered by lightning, and pulled her hands out in front of her. Lightning charged between her hands and directed it at Joker. Then a yellow barrier surrounded him, trapping him in a bubble with the charging blue lightning.

He fell to his knees.

Then he charged a beam in his left hand as he knelt. His right arm hung by his side.

It was broken.

Just before the beam shot the barrier vanished and the beam blasted towards Remi. He ran up the side of the beam with another smaller charging in his left hand.

"REMI!"

The barrier covered her just as the beam struck and shattered it into pieces.

She jumped around the beam and reached forward with one hand, but he blocked it before he struck her in the stomach with his knee.

She sailed back several metres up in the air and then he leaped up after her. He kicked her back down to the ground and landed a metre away from her.

Bile rose up in her mouth.

Arlo leaped over and shoved Joker away from her and slammed him into the ground. He raised his fist over him but Joker grabbed it and pushed it away.

Then he shocked him.

A beam charged up and shot at Arlo, which blasted him up and to the side through the air with a beam.

He landed in a crouch on the ground only to get kneed in the face, splattering blood. Then he grabbed his face and shoved him to the ground with lightning sparking around them. His head smashed into the concrete.

Seraphina fell to her knees.

"Hey, you okay?" Holand asked. Both his and Evie's hands hovered near her, but did not dare to touch her.

That's John. Their builds are identical and the moves he used, I've seen them all before because he taught them to me.

So after all this time, he isn't powerless.

Why would you lie about that?

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It was the first time her and John had went out to the café. He had convinced her to try an ice tea, although she had chosen strawberry just to spite him, and he sat across from her with a mango ice tea in hand.