CH.4 Superpower Awakening

Jane scrolled through the livestream on her phone, using her Ghost Vision to watch the chaos unfold. The system pinged “Ability Granted Successfully,” but she had no clue what it did yet. Guess she’d have to wait for those guys to figure it out on their own.

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“Yesterday was a total disaster,” Calvin groaned, rubbing his throbbing forehead. The cops grilled him and Tommy for, like, four or five hours, trying to trick them into admitting it was all a prank.

His parents were pissed, chewing him out for sneaking around so late. They didn’t mind him making videos, but being a YouTuber? To them, it was basically clown college. Honestly, Calvin didn’t even want to be an internet star. He spent forever explaining, tagging along with Tommy. Noah and Ethan got off easy—the cops just called them, no need to show up.

Last night was the worst. After the police were done, they didn’t keep them at the station, just told their parents the boys were probably “stressed” or “having a rough patch.” They got a warning to steer clear of abandoned buildings and were sent home.

Calvin’s parents lectured him for another half-hour when he got back. It was 4 a.m. before he crashed in bed, and he had to email the school for a sick day. Sleep? Barely. All night, until dawn, he kept replaying the hospital—those blood footprints, the door slamming shut. He left the light on, staring at every corner of his room, half-expecting something to move. Fear clung to him like a bad vibe.

“My head’s killing me,” Calvin muttered, pressing his temples. He’d slept till noon, and the house was empty—his parents were out dropping his little sister at school. They probably only got four hours of sleep themselves, which made him feel like a jerk for stressing them out.

Calvin glanced at his phone. A text from Tommy: “You good? Last night was wild, but the stream popped off! Made $330. I’ll split it with you later.”

“I’m fine. Sorry, Tommy, I’m done with YouTube. Keep the money,” Calvin typed, letting out a sigh. He shuffled into the kitchen, feeling like a total zombie. Too lazy for a real breakfast, he grabbed a box of cereal and some cold milk from the fridge.

He poured the cereal, ready to chow down, when he realized he’d left the fridge door open. If his parents were home, they’d probably nag him about it. But the house was empty, and while that usually felt chill, today it gave him the creeps.

Calvin got up to shut the fridge door when— BAM! —it slammed closed on its own. He nearly face-planted from the shock.

“What the heck?!” His heart raced, like he couldn’t catch his breath. He glanced around—it was broad daylight, windows wide open, sunlight flooding the room. No spooky vibes here, right?

Calvin’s first thought was to bolt… or maybe call 911 again? He was freaking out, so bad that when he grabbed for his phone, it slipped from his hands. He lunged to pick it up, but—get this—the phone didn’t hit the floor. It was floating in midair.

“What’s going on?” Calvin’s was jaw dropped, He wastotally spooked. He snatched the phone, gripping it tight, barely believing it. He looked at his hand—same old hand. The room? Same old room. Nothing weird.

Except… maybe it wasn’t a ghost. Maybe it was… something else.

Testing a hunch, Calvin reached out, focusing on a kitchen knife on the rack three feet away. He mimed grabbing it—and the knife _lifted_ off the rack, drifting slowly into his hand. He gripped the handle, feeling the cold metal, his mind blown.

“This is… for real?” Calvin’s fear flipped into something else—a wild, electric buzz. His boring high school life had just jumped the rails, and he was _stoked_.

“Nice, nailed it—gave powers to both of them,” Jane said, sipping apple juice and watching the chaos through her Ghost Vision, like some supernatural security cam. She could feel the Forger System leveling up, unlocking the ability to upload and grant fancier powers.

“Now what? Let those two figure out their powers on their own? Nah, teens can’t keep a secret. They’ll probably get busted by the cops in no time,” she muttered. “Gotta guide them somehow…”

“Let’s start with these two, then scale up and give powers to more people. But ugh, the abilities I can upload are so basic,” she sighed, thinking it over. “And I can’t show my face—that’s too risky. Maybe try that ‘upload avatar’ feature and roll as someone else.”

“Hey, looks like I can upload more abilities now,” she said, perking up. “I’ve got a bunch of low-level powers from movies and novels ready to go. Plus, some stuff I found on that sketchy magic forum—like low-grade fireball spells. Let’s upload it all and see what sticks.”

“Oh, crap, my rent’s due in two weeks. So annoying,” she groaned.

Jane got to work, uploading a ton of material. Fireball spell? Denied. But “Flame Trick”? That one passed—a sparkly little fire that could barely light a piece of paper, all flash and no damage. Total party trick.

She managed to upload a bunch of low-tier abilities from movies and novels: moving tables from a distance, creating foggy special effects, or tweaking people’s moods with whispers. Basically, a magician’s starter kit.

Next up, she needed a plan to boost her influence. More people needed powers, and they had to _use_ them to level up the system. That was the key.

Jane kicked her feet up, plotting. First, she’d whip up some avatars—dark, mysterious vibes, nothing ripped straight from a movie to avoid getting called out. Good thing she had a secret weapon: her Photoshop skills, honed from years as a photography nerd. She pulled inspiration from a few film characters, saved the files, and fired up Photoshop to start designing.

So, you get superpowers—what’s the first thing you do? Obviously, you mess around with them. Calvin spent half the day testing his new ability, even though he already knew his limit was barely lifting a small chair. He went wild anyway, trying everything from nails to furniture. He even accidentally smashed a glass—good thing his family had a ton of those, so no one would notice.

As the initial thrill faded, a million questions hit him. “Where’d this power come from? Was it that creepy hospital last night?” Calvin wondered. It had to be tied to those spooky events. Did Tommy, Noah, or Ethan get powers too?

He glanced at his phone. Tommy had texted: “Why’d you bail? The channel’s finally popping off!” Then another: “Is it ‘cause of last night? Look, I might hit up more abandoned spots, but probably no more ghosts… Okay, I get it, sorry. I’m keeping the channel going. I’ll send you your share of the cash, just take it.”

Nothing from Noah or Ethan.

“Okay, maybe I’m the only one with powers,” Calvin muttered. Now what? Tell someone? Like, the cops? Nah. Even if he kept it secret, shouldn’t he _do_ something with it? He was totally lost. Going back to that hospital to figure out his powers’ origin? Hard pass—way too risky. Moving small objects wasn’t exactly superhero material.

Calvin scoured the internet for anything on superpowers. Most of it was junk: people claiming they were born with abilities, or got them from near-death experiences or lightning strikes. Nothing about getting powers after a ghost encounter. He watched some documentaries and read wild theories—brain unlocking, mysterious elements, psychic vibes—but it just made his head spin more.

“Maybe I’ll figure it out at school tomorrow,” he sighed. His sister and parents were coming home, so he decided to keep his powers on the down-low, eat dinner, and play some video games to chill.

Note: Ability usage: +300 Influence Points