Morph [EDITING] || Wattys 2017 Winner

~FORTY~

~amelie~

The next few days are a mindless blur, a confusing mix of last-minute training, techniques, and strategies, allocation of weapons and gear to all the fighters, and unavoidable worrying about if this is the day Roman attacks.

I spend the majority of my time worrying. I have no idea what's coming - I have no way of finding out. I can't shake the constant fear that, when we are attacked, something will go wrong. Someone will get hurt. I will lose someone I love. My friends try and help me, distracting me, taking my mind off the worry. Most of the time, it works - it's only when I realise that they are all just as worried as me that the distractions fail. But I try and get rid of the fear, because I know it won't help. Right now, I need to be strong.

I already have my camo suit, newly upgraded with more effective armour, and I don't use guns, so I spend almost no time in the gear room. Other people have to spend time trying out which firearms work for them, and which suits fit them, and so getting them all the correct equipment takes a day and a half. Twenty four hours later, Hunter gets a message.

He, Genevieve, Thomas and I are sitting together, discussing different ways to evade an attacker, when a boy with a shaved head appears. He looks slightly older than me, with vivid brown eyes and wearing a combat suit. He looks out of breath as he speeds up to us, and our conversation stops.

"Hi," he says, holding up a hand. "Elian wants you, Hunter. Med room."
"Thanks, Bryce," answers Hunter, and the other boy nods quickly. "You know why?"
Bryce cocks his head and says, "We're getting boosted."

With that, he runs off, zooming away in a split second and causing a slight gust of wind. Hunter looks back at us. I stare at him.
"Why are you getting boosted now?" I frown. "Is Roman coming?"
"I'm pretty sure there'd be more alarms and panicking if that was happening," Genevieve remarks dryly.
Hunter's brow creases to match mine. "You're right, I don't think it's that. Maybe... they're testing if we can handle it?"
Thomas shrugs. "No clue. Good luck if you need it, Hunter," he says, as Hunter starts to stand.
"Thanks," he replies. "Are you in Boosters?"
"Nah, Defenders," says Thomas. "Sorry."
I get up, and smile at Hunter. "I'll come. It's fine."
He returns the grin. "Not gonna lie, I was hoping you'd offer me some company."

Genevieve and Thomas laugh as we leave, winding our way towards the medical room. When we arrive, I see Elian, the Professor, and Victoria inside. Elian spots us, and beckons both of us into the room. Hunter goes first and I follow, and Victoria gives me a nod. I smile back.

"Thank you for coming," Elian says.
Hunter answers, "Sure. Bryce said you wanted to talk to me about... getting boosted?"
Victoria nods, and tells him, "Elian and I have been discussing everyone who signed up for Boosters, and what the risks are for each person. You... we came to the conclusion that..." She trails off, looking slightly embarrassed.
Elian cuts in, and says bluntly, "Nobody actually knows what you can do, Hunter. We want to find out, so we can decide if you gain anything by being boosted. For instance, Bryce... he's already very, very quick. We were unsure if he could handle extra power. So Victoria gave him a very small boost, to see if he could cope with it."
Victoria adds, "We need to know exactly what your power is, Hunter, so we can decide if it's safe to try boosting you."

With that, both of them fall silent, and look expectantly at Hunter. There's a pause before a confused look crosses his face, and he holds up his hands.
"Wait," he says, "I don't even know how it works."
Elian sighs. "That's... what we thought might be the case. That's why Alexander is here." He gestures to the Professor, whose annoyed look at being called Alexander vanishes as Elian turns to him. "I'm sure he can help you figure out what you can actually do. If you're willing, of course."
Hunter looks at the smaller boy and asks, "You're the Professor, aren't you?" He gets a nod as an answer, and turns to face Elian again. "Sure, we can try and figure it out."

Both Elian and Victoria's attentions are focused on Hunter right now, and so when the boy shoots me a look I'm the only one who sees it. I remember how he helped me when I went to find Roman's list, and as I look at him, about to thank him, he shakes his head. When I frown, confused, he points towards Elian and shakes his head again. I realise he hasn't told Elian that he gave me a map - even after all that's happened since, I still shouldn't have gone, and so he must be worried he'll get into trouble for having helped me. So I look back at him and shake my own head, and relief at my understanding fills his features. I give him a grin, and he smiles back.

"...leave you alone, then," I hear Elian say, as I tune back into their conversation. "We'll come back in about half an hour, after we've talked to some more Boosters."
"Okay," Hunter answers, and then the two of them exit the room swiftly. Only the Professor remains, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.
"Hi," he says.
"Hey," Hunter replies. "So, can you help me?"
The question makes the boy's eyes light up, and he says, "Well, I think so. From what I've been told about what your power appears to be, I've formulated several hypotheses... but I think the best way I can help is for you to just show me."
"Alright," Hunter says, shrugging, and turns to face the door. Hunter concentrates and vanishes, and then so does the door, enveloped by the sparkling galaxy. Hunter reappears a few seconds later. "See," he explains, "I can get through doors."
But the Professor is frowning, hard, and he asks, "Can you make it reappear?"

Hunter does so, and the small boy cocks his head, a focused look in his eyes. "Okay," he says. "Try and make something else disappear."
Hunter frowns. "What?"
The Professor shrugs, and waves a hand round the room. "I don't know. Anything. That mirror," he suggests, pointing to a small hanging mirror on the wall.
"...Fine," Hunter mumbles, clearly doubtful he can do it. His eyes narrow as he stares at the mirror and disappears.

A few seconds later, the mirror is swallowed by the galaxy, and Hunter materialises again.

"You did it!" I say, grinning, and he stares, shocked, at the now non-existent mirror.
The Professor's smile matches mine, but he says, "Don't make it reappear."
"Why?"
"I want to see how long it will stay away for."

Sure enough, a few minutes later the galaxy reappears and so does the mirror, without Hunter making it do so. The Professor looks extremely pleased with himself when this happens, and I can't help but laugh at his smug expression.
"One last thing," he tells Hunter. "When you disappear, where do you go?"
Hunter frowns, pausing before answering. "I... I don't really know. I don't think it's an actual place, just something surrounding me. Darkness, with bits of colour in it. Like a galaxy."

I realise he's describing the appearance of the miniature galaxies that make the objects vanish, and I glance at the Professor. Hunter's words seem to have confirmed something for him, and he takes a breath before speaking. But then Elian and Victoria enter the room, and he stays silent.

"Have you learned anything?" Elian asks, smiling at the Professor.
Hunter replies, "He's just about to tell us what I can do."
"Go on, then," says Victoria encouragingly.

"Okay. I think, Hunter, that you can control a pocket dimension."
"What?" Both Hunter and I blurt the word at the same time. I can't believe what he's just said.
"What do you mean, a dimension?" Hunter asks, incredulous.
The Professor laces his hands together. "Well, when you make something disappear, first you vanish - I think you travel inside a pocket dimension, then bring the object to you, which is why it looks like it's being swallowed up by a galaxy. It's actually a bit of the dimension. I think, if you got boosted, you could make people disappear inside the dimension. But only for a few minutes, when I'm pretty sure they'll reappear like the mirror did."

There's a stunned silence, and we're all staring at the boy.

"Well," Elian says finally. "Are you sure?"
He nods confidently. "Yes. I could be wrong, but I'm ninety percent sure I've got it right."
Victoria glances at Hunter, then at Elian. "If that's true, he shouldn't pose a danger to anyone while boosted."
He nods. "Okay. Thank you, Hunter, Alexander."

Both of them nod as Elian and Victoria turn to exit, and I shoot a congratulatory look at Hunter. Suddenly, a loud noise makes us all jump, a sound like a siren. Elian stops dead in his tracks and the Professor flinches slightly. The screeching noise lasts for a few seconds before it cuts off suddenly, and I frown as I hear a voice filling the room, replacing the wailing alarm. I recognise Genevieve's voice, heavily amplified, repeating the same two phrases again and again, presumably filling the whole base.

"Get to your teams. Roman is here."