The Library of Powers

Chapter 1 - Part 3

He arrived at school with time to spare, so Jackson walked aimlessly around the school, unsure of what to do. His first period had a sub today, and they hadn't arrived to open the classroom yet. He already knew that someone would say "If they don't arrive in 10 minutes, legally we can leave". Jackson knew this was bullshit, he had read the Vera City School district rulebook after stumbling upon it while in the library. If they didn't want to go to school so much, then just don't go. Well, if that person even existed, this was all still hypothetical. Jackson idly stopped in the middle of a hallway, wondering if he should practice getting as close to entering the library as possible while not putting his metaphorical "foot in the door". For all intents and purposes, it would seem as if he had slowed down time, even made it stop. He'd done this plenty of times before but wasn't sure enough in his abilities to think he could do it at school without being caught. Which would be the worst case scenario, because no one in the school could know he had powers.

Keeping his powers secret was a simple, but difficult decision for Jackson to make. Everyone knew about the Library. The Library of Powers, the place where superheroes were created. It was the same reason that he hid from others while in the Library. If people knew Jackson could enter it, everyone would want to get in. Jackson didn't want that kind of attention, besides, he didn't think he could bring others into the Library. He'd never tried, but he didn't really want to find out.

Jackson didn't make friends for the same reason. If someone was too close to him, they'd eventually find out. Sure, it was selfish, but Jackson didn't mind. He knew he would be able to help more people backstage, not in the limelight. There he was, standing in the middle of Takeshi High looking like an idiot. Collecting his thoughts, Jackson meandered a bit more until the bell rang, and headed to class.

Jackson's first class was Extraordinary Peoples History, a garbage fire of a class that taught not a single student anything, only offered because it was required by the state. With more than 30 years in an environment dedicated to learning, all classes felt like a garbage fire to Jackson. But this one, this one was especially bad. He had to go anyways, both to further his goals and appease his parents. It wasn't like it was a huge time commitment when he could literally stretch minutes into hours.

Jackson pondered that for a moment. He had never really put much thought into the time altering powers of the Library. To give its inhabitants (who were always 15, no exceptions) enough time to find a book and learn how to use its power. He didn't think anyone had not found a book in the allotted amount of time, the one night spent in the library felt like a week to its inhabitants. Good thing there was no aging in the Library, or Jackson would probably be dead. Jackson's mind continued to wander until he heard the dreaded phrase. "Jackson, could you please answer the next question from the reading?"

Jackson floundered as his teacher, the middle-aged Ms. Doil, cooly watched him drown. Jackson had done the reading, it was simple enough. He just hated the attention. Recollecting himself, he answered, "which question are we on?"

"Number 3," Ms.Doil said, her voice dripping with apathy. "What are the three major classifications of Powered Humans?"

Powered Humans, Supers, Enhanced Humans, the naming scheme for those with a gift were eclectic on a good day. Jackson ruffled at the question asked of him because it was so simple it's only possible purpose would be as TV exposition using the worst trope possible. Jackson tried to keep the sarcasm out of his tone, only succeeding in saying through gritted teeth, "Why, the text informed us that the three classifications are Planar, Domain, and Mind Palace."

Ms. Doil walked over to the whiteboard and wrote down the titles he gave her. After poking and prodding other unresponsive high schoolers, she eventually compiled a list of what each meant and why it was important. And despite all the curses Jackson had muttered under his breath about the class, he had to admit it was a pretty good summary.

The first type of power is Planar, the most common and most versatile. Planar powers draw their abilities from some other plane of existence, which they almost always can travel to and from. The example given was someone who could teleport, their plane they travel to a hallway filled with every door they had ever been through. Jackson was fairly certain he was a Planar, because of how he could enter and exit the library at will.

The second type of power is Domain. Domain powers were similar to Planar in that they were tied to a place, but these places were physical locations in the real world. From as large as a forest to as small as a car's engine, Domain powers almost always drew power in some way from their domain, using it in other, more useful ways. Everyone's favorite example power, flight, was almost exclusively a domain power. Jackson wondered what the domain of the girl he had witnessed receive her powers was. From the look of the book, it was probably something wind related, maybe a windmill or cloud.

The last type of power is Mind Palace. Despite the annoyingly amateurish name, Mind Palace fit the specification incredibly well. Those with a Mind Palace power could enter their own head, similar to a Planar but with more control over their surroundings. The stereotype was that all Mind Palace powers were about being smart or fast, but some of the most famous heroes were Mind Palace powereds who gained some form of Super fitness out of it. Despite changing attitudes, most still wanted their saviors strong and handsome. Jackson knew there were one or two Mind Palace heroes at Takeshi High, children of Vera City Superheroes.

Soon enough, class ended, and Jackson headed towards his second period. And then his third. And then his fourth, his last class before lunch. As he passed the sign on the door, which read "English", Jackson gave a sigh of relief. English was a breeze for Jackson, for obvious reasons. He entered the corner room prepared and bored, which for a public high school in Vera City is a rare treat. Jackson sat at his desk and looked towards the board, only to notice something terrifying. In big black marker, his teacher had written "Test today: The Old Man and the Sea. 20% of grade" with a red circle around twenty percent. 

Jackson leapt from his chair, which drew stares from a few entering students. A test? Jackson didn't remember even being assigned to read The Old Man and the Sea, let alone there being a test on it. He weighed his options. No way did he want to fail this test, but he hadn't read the book. He could probably just wing it and do fine, but why fake it when he could actually go and read the book? Jackson knew he couldn't enter the library here. To the other students, it would look as if he had fallen asleep then abruptly woken up a moment or two later. Jackson needed another place, free from prying eyes. The bathroom could work, even if it's not the most graceful of options. He glanced at the clock. Jackson had 2 minutes until passing period ended and class started. His English teacher, Ms. Salmon, was a stickler for attendance and maybe wouldn't even let him in if he came in late. Jackson cursed himself for never reading the Old Man and the Sea. Jackson had read virtually all the classics, how did he miss that one? Finally figuring out where to enter the library, Jackson dashed out of the room and straight into the next door over, Takeshi High Public Library. Only fitting he enter his library in a real one.

Pushing past the heavy entrance doors and wading through the metal racks of mistreated hardbacks, Jackson found a quiet study area and sat down. First checking to see if anyone was around, Jackson put his head down, feigned sleep, and entered the library. Entering the library was a completely different experience from leaving it. Jackson had much more control on entering, and he was confident he could, away from prying eyes, only enter partway. Jackson visualized the purely mental procedure as a sliding scale, where 100% reality would be normal time, and 0% is when he enters the library. Jackson wanted it at a measly 1%. In that state, Jackson's time would slow to a crawl, but he would still be on planet earth. Instead of doing this, Jackson dashed to 0%, rapidly entering the Library.