It was an average day, the golden rays of the sun sluggish stretched across the night covered land. Its warm rays of light breathed new life into the cold, sleeping village. People rose from their beds, walked around, chatted with friends, and went about their daily business. Most who see the village would think it's just a normal town on the edge of a lush oak forest, but on closer inspection, one would see that the town was covered in orange, and its people? Fluffy, bright orange hair bounced around on tangerine skin. Orange Steve's. Creative, happy, meat loving group of Chromatic Steves. They were one of 7 races of Steve's. Each color has a different aspect, something that they represent. That was half of what made a Steve well, a Steve. The second thing would have to be power, each Steve had some energy within them, some have more than others. The strongest being the leaders, kings, and Elders. However, in this Orange Village, there happened to live one Orange Steve with no power at all, but this never bothered him. And no one in the village seemed to care, they all liked him, he was a funny guy, and one of their strongest fighters. Who knew that this one Steve would gain the power to decide the fate of not only his fellow Oranges Steve's, but the fate of all Steve's.
[dreamnotfound & dTeam fantasy/superpower road trip au, 133k+ words, complete]
"You're... not afraid?" His voice was barely a peep, shy gaze half-turning away but still watching him out of the corner of his eye. His hand instinctively reached for the pendant at his chest, tips of his finger grazing the crystal and ready to grasp it, somewhat afraid of the answer that would come next.
"Why would I be afraid? You're like the coolest person I've met so far! Plus-" He poked his side, and George squeaked, jumping back from the ticklish sensation. "You're so scrawny and small. I'd never be afraid of you!"
* * *
George never wanted to be one of them. But at eight years old, he discovered he was a Psychic and he was committed into a faraway island academy for Extramundanes. Despite the difficulty of making friends when even other super-powered classmates are afraid of you, George finds a tight-knit group of best friends who aren't afraid to stand up for him.
Yet with age comes his developing abilities, and as he grapples for control, the disappearance of one of his best friends leads George and his friends on a runaway road trip to rescue him. However, they fail to realize their true adversary is the threatening power searing inside one of their own.
[Cross-posted to AO3]