The Dictator stands on the stage, gazing down at his people, as he seemingly picks out the strongest, the ones who will be his puppets. Whiplash feels his own gaze flit around the crowd. There were, yes, definitely some people bulky-looking, and looking perfect for the Bravery Branch. He spies a girl with brilliant lavender eyes, yet another strange eye color, signifying the ability to control a specific element. He looks back to the stage. "All fifteens may rise, and gather at the front." The dictator says.
As Whiplash bids a silent farewell to his mother, his gaze falls on a raised platform. A man sits perfectly straight in his large chair. He was the one from earlier, leading the Superiors. He was staring intensely at the crowd. Whiplash faces the front as the dictator clears his throat. "I will announce your names, and you will go to your assigned branch when I say it. No objections. I am sure you will all be very pleased!" The man lets out a croaky laugh. "Now, the Bravery, Manipulators, and Observing Branch are led by Highest Pyre. Give him a round of applause!
The crowd obeys, looking up to the platform with the man. The man's Amber eyes flicker as he looks down at the crowd. The dictator continues. "Highest Pyre was chosen to lead all three branches due to his incredible strength and smarts," Whiplash recalled learning about the Highest. He did not control any elements, but the previous leader of the Manipulators mysteriously vanished, leaving him fit to lead all three branches, all at age 26. "Now, we shall begin the ceremony! You will be in order from birth number..."
Whiplash looks down at the permanent barcode tattoo on his wrist. It was given to him at birth, along with all of the other humans. Once scanned, it releases all recorded information about the owner, including birth date, relations, and crimes. He began to call names, and the people who were called stepped forward, and were given their branches, and then stepped back in line. Finally, the number just before Whiplash's was called. He anticipated his name, forcing his shoulders to tense. The dictator called a name. It wasn't Whiplash's. He felt his jaw drop, as he looked at the group of people. Did he even exist? What was going on?
He felt as if he was being watched, not by the dictator, but by someone else. He whipped around, seeing Highest Pyre's stunning, Amber eyes burn into his, the Highest's hands neatly folded thoughtfully on the railing, covering his mouth. Whiplash, caught off guard, tore his gaze away. He faced the dictator again. He was afraid to raise his hand to announce his skipping. Was he just not qualified?
After all of the fifteen year olds were called and recorded, the dictator now intensely focused on Whiplash. Whiplash felt an invisible weight on his shoulders, as the world blurred around him, and he focused on the dictator. With much effort, he squeezed his eyes shut and tore his gaze away, leaving the crowd to gasp. He opened an eye, as the dictator let out an unsettling laugh. He looked back up at the platform. The Highest was gone. Whiplash widened his eyes. The crowd curiously studied him, as did the dictator. The dictator was about to say something, when Highest Pyre suddenly announced his arrival to the stage with the clearing of his throat.
He muttered something to the dictator, who looked up at the Highest and nodded swiftly. The Highest drifted elegantly off the stage, long black trenchcoat flowing after him, as the dictator gave Whiplash a wry smile. "Whiplash. You belong with the Manipulators."
Whiplash couldn't contain his response. "Wh...what?!"
The crowd clapped, drowning out his voice, as the screen behind the dictator flickered and vanished, and the dictator climbed in a hover, and left. Whiplash looked around, as the other fifteens began to shuffle through the cheering crowd to where a woman and two men were waving them over. Whiplash followed hesitantly.
"Welcome, all. I am one of the Highest's most trusted. My name is Aileen." The woman says, softly, greeting them with a wave of a dainty hand.
Aileen had porcelain skin, with tender light gray eyes and bright orange hair. She had hi-tech glasses, Whiplash having no idea what they were for due to his poor community, and she wore a white pencil skirt with a white blazer, white pumps and white frilly gloves.
"I am Orion." A man with light brown hair and dark eyes says. He wears a white skin-tight shirt, with markings on the back, and white dress pants.
The last man speaks up, with black hair and two different colored eyes says. One eye appeared to be green, the other a gingery brown. "I am Gale." He muttered softly.
Aileen motioned for them to follow, eagerly smiling. Whiplash feels the sorrow radiating from her, despite her optimistic expression. Gale and Orion follow Aileen, her heels clicking on the black road, as she crosses the street. "Now, I'm going to have to ask you all to split into your branch. Observers, Bravery, you know." She waves her hand, walking down a set of reflective stairs.
Whiplash steps aside from the rest, watching as the few other Manipulators joined. They follow Aileen down the steps first, Whiplash looking down at his reflection on the steps. He was still who he was. There were only seven Manipulators, including Whiplash himself. Aileen leads them down the staircase, underground, apparently. The footsteps of other fifteens echo along the white tiled walls. Occasionally, a strip of mirror and light would mark a segment of wall, as Aileen continued down the warmly-lit hallway.
The groups kept quiet, as they entered a station. Large pillars of white marble extended to the ceiling, a sunroof at the very top, casting rays of welcoming sun down. Aileen faced the group, smiled, and walked to a pillar, pressing a button. Three tracks lit up in bright color, as sleek, glossy white hovers connected to the rails. The glass was tinted white, along with the doors, as they slid open. Whiplash had never seen this luxury. "Please, enter the hovers. Gale, Orion, and I will all be inside separate hovers. The separate branches must be in separate hovers! Thank you." Aileen happily walked to a hover, entering.
Whiplash stuck to his small group of Manipulators, still wondering how he was one of them. He had no powers. They entered a hover, Gale following. Once all were inside, Gale closed the doors, slouching on the modern bench against a wall. Whiplash sat next to the girl with the lavender eyes, and she glanced at him fearfully. She snorted. "You have no... Idea what you've just done."
Whiplash raised an eyebrow. "Uh? What're you talking about?" He frowned.
Gale sniffed. "Yep. I'm surprised you didn't notice. There's a small number of people that can look away from the dictator when he does his mind tricks."
Whiplash studied Gale's oddly colored eyes. "I just looked away."
"That's the thing," A boy with neon blue hair chimed in. "You looked away from the dictator."
"'S there a law forbidding it?" Whiplash feels the hover jerk forward into a smooth pace.
"...No." Gale only replies with a murmur.
