Project X

The Next Step: The Key

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE KEY

    It happened a few weeks later.

    We started really dedicating our time to training; both physically, with basic stamina, fighting and defensive skills, and metaphysically, with expanding our skillsets with our powers and working to incorporate them into our physical training. It was hard work, but it was paying off, Halos popping up among us like Jack-in-the-boxes.

    Kai got hers first. For her, it was as simple as reaching her top speed and mastering her static forcefield. We think she may have had it for a day or two before anyone noticed, I just know she came to breakfast one morning insisting it was there. She demanded Vi confirm it for her, which she obliged, and then they ended up inadvertently recreating that one Spiderman meme when Kai realized that Vi had her Halo, too. We had no idea when Vi's developed, but it was light enough that it made sense to assume it'd been there, and gone unnoticed, for a while. My personal theory was that she had gotten it when she "Mercy-ed" her dad, but I wasn't about to mention that. She already tries to kill me for fun enough during training, I'm not about to risk pissing her off.

    Blake got theirs next. For them, it was more... Complicated. Kind of mental. Emotional. The more everyone trained and grew stronger, the more they seemed to question themselves and their origin. Who and what they were, where they were from, what they were supposed to be. Their uncertainty caused them to struggle with shifting and holding shape, and they ended up constantly accidentally turning into whoever they happened to be nearest to, and being unable to change from that shape. At one point, they got stuck as me for nearly two full days, much to Irwin's discomfort.

    "Listen, Blake," He had told them, "I love you endlessly, but I cannot be romantic with you while you're my brother. It's too weird."

    "It could be worse." Syd offered, "They could be Kai." Irwin groaned,

    "My partner being any of you is weird, stop making me have to picture them as one of my siblings. I might actually vomit. No offense, babe." He blanched, "Ugh, nope. I can't call my brother's face 'babe', I'm so sorry."

    Blake was, obviously, fully understanding of Win's feelings; and, selfishly, the rest of us were not-so-secretly grateful to get some breaks from the 'Blake and Irwin PDA Show'. Thankfully, though, they managed to keep the chameleon tattoo on their shoulder no matter what shape they were in, which absolutely helped to avoid any awkward situations with those of us who were partnered.

    It was the end of their second day as me that they approached me while I was in the gym, making the punching bag my absolute bitch (hurting my wrist repeatedly, because my punching form is shit).

    "I am afraid." They announced, seemingly out of nowhere. I stopped my absolute, total domination of the punching bag that I was totally doing, and turned to them,

    "What's wrong?"

    "What if I never find out who I am?" They asked, "I'm supposed to be Truth, but everything I am is a lie. I'm... I'm not real. All of you... You're real. You all know exactly who you are, you're all so sure. You never have to question. You look in the mirror, and your reflection is always the same, always you looking back. Pero I'm... Nothing. Mi reflejo esta vacio. I'm never there, always just some stranger... I always thought that one day I'd put on a face and it... It would feel right. Feel like me. But it never does. Or, it always does. I'm not sure I know the difference." They took a shaky breath, "How can I be Truth when nothing about me is true? How can I be... Me, when I have no idea who I am?" I laughed slightly, despite myself,