Sage:
Magnus went one way.
I went the other.
I stepped through the large iron door and it slammed shut behind me. I didn't flinch. There were worst things to worry about.
Lights clicked on around me. A training room revealed. Mats covered the floor. The only difference between this and a normal training room was that in this one, the roof was open, icy wind raising the hair on my arms. I turned in a circle, looking around me, eyes taking in every detail. I wasn't sure what to expect, especially not in this place. For all I knew they would just ask me to summon a breeze. Or maybe not.
I moved towards the centre of the room, stepping onto the mat and keeping still. As predicted, a speaker flickered to life overhead and a woman's emotionless voice came into the room.
"You have been chosen as one of the finalists. We have unlocked your powers, and now we will teach you to use them."
I bite back the retort that lingers on the tip of my tongue, knowing it probably wouldn't be appreciated. Chosen as one of the finalists. Because whatever, it's not like people have died or anything. I sigh through my teeth, lifting my chin to stare at the camera.
"What do I start with?"
Maybe the question came out a little more snappy than I had originally intended but... I was past caring now, as faces flashed across the front of my mind. All to save the world, and yet we were somehow the ones who ended up tortured, hurt, dying, dead-
I tear out of my own thoughts, barely catching the speaker as the woman spoke again.
"I want you to close your eyes."
I did as she said, resisting the urge to raise my eyebrows.
"So I just... wait for this power thing to happen or..."
I could almost sense the exasperation through the speaker.
"Sarcasm will not bring it on any faster Sage."
"Undoubtedly," I mutter under my breath, rolling my eyes and refocusing my attention on keeping my eyes shut.
"Focus on something to anchor you. Or something that usually triggers this."
I sigh, "Since I've only used it once..."
The woman mutters something I can't make out, probably a good thing judging from the annoyance I could feel. I think about it. What did trigger it last time? Desperation. But also... Anger. I've been holding in so much anger over the last week, the last few days even. So much shit had happened, over and over again, to everyone I cared about. And tests, more tests, near death experiences. Everything. It was anger that had fuelled me the first time I used my power.
And it was anger that fuelled me now.
I acted on instinct, my eyes flickering open to look at the camera, the speaker, the woman's voice finally falling silent. I raise a hand, palm facing towards the camera.
"Found a trigger."
And then I let it go.
Lightning cracks through the room, slamming into the walls and blasting a whole through the left wall, another strike crashing into the camera, electricity sparking across the wires, across my skin, my hands. wind swirls, debris moving around my feet. My voice is quiet amidst all the chaos, something in me finally settling down. I am in control. I will no longer be their experiment. This is my power, and mine alone.
"I think," I say quietly, "that you'll find some of us a lot less easy to use as weapons. If you want someone who will answer your every call, your every command, I suggest you find someone else."
There's no answer, probably because I just blasted their stupid cameras and speakers to pieces. Satisfying at least. I turn around, abandoning the mat on the floor and walk towards the door, lightning flickering around me. I pull it open, blinding light meeting me: another room, this one with an open roof. Perfect for something... Flying.
I am in control, and I'm not losing it any time soon.
