CHAPTER 5: A Special Experiment

The hall buzzed with murmurs, passing through them like static electricity. 

"We are proud of the candidates this year for their exemplary showing today...."Scarlett started, "...that is however, not the big news I promised."

She paused until everyone was silent.

"...For the candidates who had a negative trace.....your procedure is not over. You will taking a new special experiment that might give you abilities."

Oliver who had been standing near the entrance, stepped a lot closer.

“What kind of ‘special experiment’?” he demanded.

Scarlett's gaze flicked to him, calm and unwavering. "An opportunity to rewrite your future Mr. Obed. For those whose mutant gene has not manifested, we've been working on a new method to awaken those latent abilities...."

The murmurs turned into an uproar. Candidates exchanged incredulous looks, while others shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

“They’re giving powers to people without the gene?” Hector hissed. "Awesome."

"...This is, however, not guaranteed and is extremely dangerous. So after your names are called, if you wish to refuse, you can do so."

 Arlon returned to the podium and began reading off names, everyone hanging on his every word.

“Hector Cruz.”

Hector’s face drained of color. “What? No....way!” he stammered.

“Oliver Obed.”

A slow, confident smirk spread across Oliver’s face as he stepped to the podium.

More names followed, including Diana Novak, whose disappointment from her earlier results was now replaced with hesitant hope.  When all was said and done, a total of ten negative trace candidates had been accepted. 

“Of course,” Arlon added, his voice smooth and practiced, “this procedure is not without risk. Those selected must willingly accept the terms.”

Oliver stepped forward, his smirk now a full grin. “I’ll do it."

“No surprise there,” Michael muttered, crossing his arms.

A screen behind them illuminated, showing a diagram of the experimental procedure. It involved a neural infusion system and what appeared to be injections of a glowing, crystalline serum.

Scarlett raised her hands for silence. 

“For the rest of you, get situated at your designated place and await further instructions."

The ten chosen for the special experiment were led away under heavy escort, their departure marked by a silence that was anything but calm. The candidates who passed the procedure stayed in the huts in the Outer gates of the Founders, where they would stay for a while.

Usually, one can start manifesting abilities a few days after the procedure; however, this year was full of late bloomers. 

Jace spent his days reading books he could find about the strongest abilities recorded. There were some abilities he obviously wanted, like superstrength and some he didn't like invisibility. He didn't have any ambitions about joining Taskforce X like some of the other candidates, but all the same he wanted a powerful ability.

Three weeks had passed before the first candidate manifested their ability. Phoebe Thunder walked in one day with lightning flickering across her fingertips. Her blue eyes crackled with energy as she let it dance above her palm.

“Storm manipulation,” she said smugly. “Just like my grandmother.”

Soon everyone was showing off.

“Hey, watch this!” shouted Frank Castle.

He threw a chair across the hall in a tantrum, but before it hit the ground, Chester from the Elite extended his hand. The chair froze mid-air, by his telekinetic ability.

“Seriously, Frank?” Chester said dryly, lowering the chair gently to the floor.

Elsa Revel conjured a perfect sphere of water, which hovered gracefully in the air.

Jackson Peralta cracked the floor with a single stomp, his raw physical strength sending a shockwave through the hall. 

“Nothing yet?” Michael’s voice cut through Jace's thoughts.

Jace shook his head. “You?”

Michael, ever the prodigy, displayed a dazzling mix of lightning manipulation and telekinetic enhancement, charging electronics with precision and sending objects flying with a crackling flick of his hand.

"Wait, isn't that like Phoebe?" Jace asked.

"I guess, our families are related so we have a similar lightning ability."

"Did you expect it?" Jace asked. "You can control it pretty well given you unlocked it recently.

Michael grinned. "Both my parents have the same ability and my brother. It would have been weird If i got something different."

The next morning, chaos erupted in the Dome. The candidates who had undergone through the special experiment were back—and they weren’t the same.

Oliver Obed stood at the forefront, his presence like a storm cloud. His veins glowed faintly blue, and his eyes carried a dangerous, unnatural light. Behind him, the other nine followed, their expressions a mix of triumph and menace.

“I guess the experiment worked,” Michael said beside Jace, his tone low and wary.

Oliver raised his hands, and the air around him rippled. A moment later, jagged crystalline structures erupted from the floor, scattering candidates in every direction.

“What the hell is he doing?” Hector shouted, diving for cover as another crystalline spike exploded nearby.

“Showing off,” Michael growled.

Oliver’s laughter echoed through the hall. “You wanted to doubt us? Let me show you what power looks like!”

He raised a hand, a massive shard forming above him, poised to strike.

"Oliver, stop this!" Diana Novak's voice boomed from the entrance, but he ignored her.

The shard shot forward—straight toward Jace.

Time seemed to slow as adrenaline flooded his veins. He tried to dodge but his body refused. It was like his body w/"as rooted to the ground and his veins started bulging outward.

“Jace, move!” Michael’s shout cut through the chaos as he leaped between him and the shard. His lightning surged, deflecting part of the attack, but a smaller fragment struck his shoulder, sending him sprawling.

The sight of Michael bleeding snapped something inside Jace. His vision blurred. His hands moved instinctively and a whip bent through the air, crushing the shards.

“What....” Oliver’s voice faltered, his smug confidence replaced by confusion.

Jace clenched my fists, and the same red whip of liquid struck the ground at Oliver’s feet, forcing him to stumble back.

“What... was that?” Michael asked, clutching his wounded shoulder.

“I... I don’t know,” Jace stammered, staring at the liquid that got back into his skin. 

"Was that my blood?"

After that, news spread of Oilvier's suspension. His punishment was swift: barred from the choosing ceremony, where one would choose the House they would stay in.

The ceremony itself was brief. The nine candidates from the special experiment all chose the Glades, while the rest of us, only two selected the Elite House.

From the moment they approached the gates, it was clear the Glades were unlike the other houses. The sound of grunts and the dull thuds of bodies hitting the ground echoed through the air. Guards in sleek black coats stood at attention, their imposing presence a silent warning.

Suddenly, a tall jacked woman stepped forward, her sharp gaze locking onto them. The guards saluted her but did not look at her.