Super Genetics

Part Two: The Awakening

6 Months Later…

“The difference between Catalyst Class powers and Alterant Class powers are subtle, but significant.”

Terry’s head leaned back against the desk chair, his eyes counting tiles on the ceiling for the hundredth time. He was pretty sure he’d heard this exact same lecture—or some variant of it—from the Professor just as many times.

He let his mind drift off, losing track of the tiles at one-hundred-and-seventy-three. He already knew there were one-thousand-two-hundred-and-twenty-six—not counting the thirty-seven broken and chipped ones.

Catalyst and Alterant were fine as far as classes went—objectively, they could be really powerful actually. But Terry wanted to be a Distorter, just like mom. Or if not that, at least a Visionary or Amplifier—they were both considered top tier Classes and could still swap to Distorter via the Midmark Quest.

When he was younger, he’d have preferred Duelist or Summoner, like Whipvine or his father. But now, there was no appeal to being a physical-type super, not when there was so much he still didn’t know.

Something sharp jabbed into his rib and he yelped, shooting up in his chair to spot the aggressor grinning at him evilly in the adjacent desk.

“If I have to sit through this,” Tania whispered, “you do, too.”

He snarled and went to swat at the pen she had poked him with, but she pulled her hand back too fast.

“I’ve been listening to the Professor rotate through the same lectures for six years,” he hissed. “You’ve only been at it for six months.”

“Six months of this is like six years,” she whispered back. “It’s like dog years, I’m basically a grizzled old vet when it comes to lectures on superpowers.” She tilted her head with a smile. “Guess that makes you the old fart.”

“It makes me your elder,” he replied haughtily. “Show some respect to your elder young lady.”

She rolled her eyes, then blew a raspberry—a bit too loud. The two of them froze, whipping their heads toward the Professor who was writing on the board with her stylus. She finished her sentence with a flourish, then turned to regard the two of them.

“Boring you, am I?” The question was delivered with a bland expression, no malice in her tone. All the same, neither of them felt like sticking their neck out to reply. After a moment, she sighed. “I suppose it’s to be expected, with your Awakening tomorrow, Prince Terry.” She set her stylus down and perched on the edge of her desk. “Fine, how about we discuss that, then?”

That got both of them double-taking. The Professor never talked about super Awakenings—no one did. Not on the net, not in Terry’s classes—not even in hushed whispers. It was the only thing he had never been able to find more information about, other than System-given Quests. The Taboo Duo, the secrets only the Awakened were initiated into.

“I thought supers couldn’t talk about the Awakening?” Tania asked, echoing Terry’s own thoughts.

“Oh, no, I can’t discuss the specifics of the process,” the Professor replied, dashing his hopes.

Well, he had waited fourteen years to finally learn what the Awakening entailed, what was another fourteen hours? Still, he was desperate for any little tidbit.

“Then what we talking bout here?” Tania asked with a shrug.

The Professor pushed her glasses up her nose, her eyes blinking slow, like she had just woken up. She had always possessed a dreamy quality to her, like the part that was addressing you was a distant, small part of her focus. He knew that was a Savant peculiarity, that they could partition their minds to create distinct threads of thought, which led to them sometimes seeming distracted. But the Professor seemed to take it to an entirely new level, like she was barely present in the physical realm.

“Well, Tania, I thought we’d discuss your expectations. Your own Awakening isn’t far off and it can be useful to visualize yourself receiving each Class individually.” She paused, her eyes blinking three times as her gaze went out of focus. Terry and Tania exchanged a knowing look before the Professor’s mind came back to the room. She continued her line of thought as if she hadn’t just stared blankly at the wall for five long seconds. “That way, you won’t be disappointed, no matter what you receive.”

Tania scoffed. “Already know what I’m getting.”

Terry bit his cheek but didn’t respond. She was touchy about this subject, but the Professor had all the tact of a bull in a china shop.

“Impossible.”

The girl sniffed in irritation, crossing her arms defiantly.

“Getting Traveler, like my mom.”

The Professor picked up her stylus and tapped it to her lips. “Unlikely. In fact, pop quiz. What percentage of Awakened receive the Traveler class?” She looked between the two of them expectantly.

Terry slinked into his chair, already sensing the trap. The Professor seemed not to recognize the danger, nor his reluctance. She flipped her stylus in the air and Terry watched with wide-eyed horror as it pirouetted through the air, angling toward him like a falling knife. With a thud, it embedded in his desk, landing in the space between his index and middle finger. Belatedly, he yanked his hand back with a soft yelp.

“Prince Terry! The stylus has chosen. Care to answer?”

He felt Tania’s glare and tried to slide even deeper into his chair.

“I, uh…not exactly sure,” he muttered.

The Professor regarded him stoically, no expression of disappointment or annoyance in her face. But he could feel Tania’s anger rising in the unconscious flex of her aura.

“Come on, Terry,” Tania said with an acid tone. “Tell us.”

“Have you forgotten, Prince Terry? I can recall seven different instances wherein you demonstrated specific quantifiable data related to the percentages of each Awakened class.” A quizzical expression crossed her face. “Perhaps there was damage from your repeated head injuries? I shall recommend to the Emperor that we hold off on your Awakening until we can eliminate—”

“No!” he burst out, sitting up in his desk. His eyes flicked to Tania and she regarded him expectantly. With a sigh, he answered. “Three percent roughly.”

The Professor waffled her head back and forth. “Two point six percent, to be more exact. And for legacies?”

Tania’s eyes were aflame, her jaw clenching repeatedly. Damn you, Professor.

“About fifteen percent of legacies receive Traveler,” he replied with a sigh.

She nodded and thankfully didn’t correct his rounding up.

“Of course, our sample size is statistically insignificant, but suffice it to say, we can safely assume the odds are against you receiving Traveler. In fact, considering your father was an Infuser, the highest likelihood is that you receive Duelis—”

Tania stood up with a huff, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind her.

Terry and the Professor watched her go, him with trepidation, her with surprise.

“Oh, perhaps she had an urgent bathroom need. Well, we’re almost out of time, anyway. We can end today’s session here. Have a pleasant Awakening, Prince Terry.”

He rose to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck with embarrassment.

“Uh, thanks Professor. See you next week.”

But she was already lost to the world, her eyes unfocused as she delved into her inner thoughts.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, he left the room, half-hoping Tania had stormed off to her dorm so he didn’t have to face the aftershock of the Professor’s lack of tact.

Whatever I get, please don’t let it be Savant.

As he left the room, he spotted Tania pacing back and forth a ways down the hall. He hesitated, wondering if it would be worse if he slipped away now or just listened to the tirade and got it over with.

Or, a distraction.

Before Tania spotted him, he spoke.

“Tonight’s the night! I couldn’t sleep a wink last night thinking about it.”

She whirled around at his voice, a look of confusion replacing the thundercloud that was her face.

“Oh, right.” She hesitated. “You’re still doing that?”

They’d had this argument before and now he was second-guessing his choice of distraction. If discussion of Tania’s eventual super Class was her hot button, he supposed this was his.

“Yes, we’re still doing that,” he said with a bit of exasperation. “I already know you’ve got nothing going on tonight, so don’t try to weasel out of it.”

She squinted at that. “No one’s weaseling outta anything. Just not sure it’s a good idea…”

“It’s okay to say you’re scared—”

He knew he was lobbing the grenade into the foxhole with that one, but her reluctance to commit had started to wear at him.

Her eyebrows climbed her forehead and she took a step into his space like she was gonna take a swing.

“Scared?” Her voice was low, promising violence.

He poked the bear some more, affecting a casual shrug.

“Just sayin’, you can keep watch or something—”

He very neatly dodged the arm swat that came in low, then skipped away as she half-heartedly chased him.

“When I get Traveler, you won’t get away so easy anymore!”

Terry scoffed. “Please, Distorter hard counters Traveler. You’ll basically be a normie when you come at me.”

She looked off thoughtfully. “Then I better get you before then!” She was suddenly lunging after him and he let out a little yelp as she charged.

“Oh, shit.”

She chased him down the halls for a minute before her footsteps faltered and she was breathing heavy.

Terry turned around, his lungs conditioned from his daily sessions with Whipvine. He put his hands on his hips and gave her a taunting look.

“You should really be exercising. Even if you get Traveler—” She shot him a cold stare from where she was resting with hands on knees. He held up his hands defensively. “—I’m just saying, regardless of what Class you get, everyone agrees that being in shape eases the process.”

She waved away his comment, finally catching her breath enough to respond.

“You can only outrun me because you grew six inches over winter. Bet I’m still stronger than you.”

He shrugged. “What does strength matter if you can’t catch me?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, finally rising and walking over to him.

He side-eyed her, on guard in case she decided for a sneak attack, but the mood had passed, a pensive look on her face now.

“What’s up?” he asked, sensing the shift in her aura, even as she visibly chewed the inside of her cheek.

“What if the space cadet’s right?” she asked quietly.

“Who? The Professor?” She gave the slightest nod in response. He sighed, wondering how to delicately approach the tense subject. “I know you want Traveler, and I know why you want Traveler. You looked up to your mom. Trust me, if anyone understands you, I do.”

She shook her head, looking away as they walked. “It’s not just that, Ter.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, so soft he could barely hear her. “You were right, I am scared.” She turned back to him, a sheen in her eyes. “I’m so scared all the time.”

He stopped and she turned to face him.

“Scared about what, Tania?”

She bit her lip, looking around to make sure they were alone before closing the gap between them.

“I…I have nightmares. Of it.”

He rocked back on his heels at the admission.

“The draugr,” he supplied. She nodded, looking down with embarrassment. He sighed, finally understanding what it was about her Class prospects that was bothering her. “You feel like you could have escaped, saved your mom and dad, if you were a Traveler.”

She whipped her head away with an angry snort. “It’s stupid! I know that! It didn’t save my mom, but that was because she used it on me, wasted her charge. If I was a Traveler, we could have all ported away together.”

“But Tania, if you get Duelist, you’d have stomped the draugr like Silver! A Summoner like…like my dad could have held it off without even lifting a finger. There’re so many powerful classes out there!” She was looking off, not seeming convinced. He elbowed her gently, pulling her attention back. “Let’s just agree on one thing.”

“What?” she asked hesitantly.

“Neither of us are getting Savant!”

Tania snorted, and they were both laughing, more from the snort than anything else. After they both settled, she gave him a somber look.

“So, we’re digging up your mom’s casket tonight, huh? How you feelin’ bout that?”

It was his turn to look off, his thoughts conflicted.

“I’m nervous. Scared.” He turned back to her. “What if she’s not there, what then?”

She shrugged. “You’ve seen Art’s footage, she probably isn’t there. You know that.”

“Right…I think that’s even scarier.”

“Why?” she asked, her brow knitting in confusion.

He sighed. “Because it means she’s still out there…and she’s choosing not to come back for me.”

“We don’t know that…”

He cast her a dubious look and she bit her lip. He could see the doubt in her own thoughts.

“If your mother had got separated from you during the draugr attack, is there any world where she didn’t move heaven and earth to get back to you? Six months, Tania. Six months.” He shook his head. “It…would almost be easier if she were in that casket tonight.”

They stood there in silence for a minute, both lost in their thoughts. Then, Tania lightly smacked his arm.

“Come on, we’re so lame with our feelings and junk. Let’s go find Crunch and get some dinner. I’m starving.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Later that evening, well after midnight, Terry opened the door of his bedroom to see Crunch standing casually in the hallway, his single eye scanning diligently.

“Find any bad guys?” Terry asked with a smile.

“Nothing. Only shadows,” Crunch replied, his tone deadly serious. But there was a flare in the aura, a shape to it that Terry could finally read after months of agonizingly slow progress, almost like an inflection in the voice—a ghoulish joke.

“Funny guy,” Terry replied, lightly punching Crunch’s arm. “I’m not afraid of shadows.” Anymore, he didn’t say. His run in with Tenebrous had left its scars, but Mesmer had helped him through that with some light hypnosis and had even led him down into the dungeons to look in on where Tenebrous was being held. Seeing a famous super, one he had looked up to just as much as Savage or Sol, sitting morosely on his cot, his beard long and tangled, his clothes hanging on a thin frame…to be honest, it had been depressing and humbling.

And a bit cathartic.

No, he wasn’t afraid of shadows anymore, but he had come across a draugr down in the Catacombs last month. Now that had nearly sent him into a panic. But the draugr hadn’t flared its aura, hadn’t even acknowledged Terry’s presence. He had been surrounded by nearly the entire court of the Emperor as they did a tour of the Catacombs, including his grandfather himself, so there had been nothing to fear.

Yet, his vision had tunneled in, his heart trying to leap out of his chest. Only Crunch’s steadying presence and Whipvine’s powerful grip on his shoulder had got him through that encounter.

One day, draugr’s will fear me, not the other way around.

The two of them walked in companionable silence while Terry worked on some minor aura control exercises Crunch had taught him. Aura responded naturally to emotions and thoughts, but that was raw, unfocused aura. Communicating like the undead and some supers were able to required fine control, like flaring a pinky finger as you kept the other fingers still.

Except way harder, because it wasn’t a muscle, but more like an internal force you had to tame and corral into shape.

It only took them fifteen minutes to reach Tania’s dorm and she was already waiting outside. Terry waved and she greeted the two of them in a whisper, not wanting to wake any of the servants she lived with.

Once they were down the hall from her dorms, Terry bumped her with his backpack.

“Anyone spot you?”

She bumped him back harder.

“Course not. I can be stealthy when I need to be.”

He snorted. “Riiiight.”

“I can be!” she said, her voice rising in volume.

He stopped, regarding her with raised eyebrows. She at least had the grace to look abashed.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said much quieter. “No one saw me.”

Crunch led them in silence to the carport rather than the palace entrance. This was a clandestine mission and even at this hour, there would have to pass a dozen people if they went that way. But as they approached the rear of the palace where the garage was, they only passed ghouls who operated on a strict hierarchy. None they passed were of a status to question Crunch.

As they entered the carport, a sedan was parked near the door, its engine idling. Crunch slipped into the front seat without a word, leaving Tania and Terry to slide into the back.

Dalton sat in the driver seat, shifting to look back at them. “Evening, Terry.”

“Hey, Dalton. Thanks for doing this.”

“Don’t mention it, anything for you, kid.” He turned to Tania. “Evening, dear.”

Tania leaned forward to give Dalton a quick hug.

“Alright, Dalton?”

“Peachy, hon, peachy.” He turned back, putting the car into gear. “Buckle up, kids. Crunch…you can do whatever you want.”

The car took off, meandering through the garage and up the ramp through the back entrance. Six ghouls stopped them at a checkpoint, but Crunch flared his aura and they were let right through.

“You have his address?” Terry asked Dalton.

“Got it right here,” he said, tapping his temple.

“Address?” Tania asked, narrowing her eyes. “Arthur gave you his address?”

“No, Jimmy. We’re grabbing him first.”

“What? Jimmy? Why?”

“I told you this,” Terry said, his tone exasperated. “Jimmy’s coming. And I already explained why.”

“You did not tell me this.”

“Yes, I did. I said, ‘we should invite Jimmy’ and you rolled your eyes and said, ‘he’s like twenty, that’s weird’ and I said ‘he’s my friend’ and you changed the subject.” He waved his hand to indicate the car. “And here we are.”

She crinkled her nose. “It’s weird for fourteen-year-olds to be hanging out with a twenty-year-old.”

“Dalton’s like forty—no offense, Dalton.”

“None taken, Terry. Though, I tend to agree with the lady, the more people that know about this, the more likely we get found out.”

“It’ll be fine,” Terry replied dismissively. “Jimmy knows the deal. He’s cool.”

As they pulled up outside Jimmy’s house though, they realized immediately, it was not fine.