^{Location: Hallway -> Exam Room}

---

Shuddering, Marcus sat up then looked around himself. His face was wet-- oh gross it was drool-- and he then realized he'd apparently dozed off while sitting in the hallway. Wiping his face and attempting to collect himself was more of a process than he realized. By the time he managed to stand up, he was still a little confused as to why Past Marcus thought it a good idea to sit in the hallway in the first place.

And then the intercom came on.

Part of Marcus immediately wished he could have kept sleeping for the next twenty minutes. What was he supposed to do with all this time? A yawn escaped him as he began walking down the hall. Maybe a bit of exploration would burn away the time. As he walked, he could hear voices coming from the kitchen area. Of course people would be up and about at this hour. Briefly he wondered how many of them has walked past him in the hall, then felt embarrassed. "Check out that weird nerd," they must have thought, "Sleeping in the hallway, covered in slobber, how gross." When Marcus stepped into the cafeteria, he lingered by the doorway and stared toward the kitchen, with these thoughts on his mind. Did anyone want gross drool guy around? Did Marcus actually care?

Shoulders bunched, hands clenched, and lips pressed into a thin line, Marcus narrowed his eyes at this thought and accidentally the kitchen. How dare he think these thoughts with his own brain? He fixed his jaw then told himself he shouldn't be caring about what they thought of him, they weren't his friends anyway, so it didn't matter, right? He didn't care, yeah. Not a single care about any of those things. Yeah! He didn't care about anything! While he stood by the door a minute longer, his stomach growled, letting him know he cared about one thing, at least. Letting out a sigh, he counted it as another misfortune, then turned away from the kitchen. He could eat later, when there were less eyes watching him, and perhaps time to really make a proper meal.

As he began walking away from the cafeteria, after having stared into it like a total creep, he tried to imagine just how angry his mother would be at him, were she to know how he'd been eating the past few days. He passed a few people in the hallway but didn't look up to greet them. For now, he decided he need to focus on getting to... his...

Marcus halted, backed up a few paces, then turned toward his exam room door. He tensed up, made the same face he'd been making while standing in the cafeteria, then walked into the room. "Not one for punctuality? Five minutes late." His trainer was standing just beyond the door with a clipboard in hand-- had she been about to walk out? Marcus looked at his feet then scratched his head in response, feeling somehow more anxious than he had previously. "Come in, take your shoes and shirt off, we're going to take your height and weight again, Nkiru told him. After doing as he was told, Marcus stepped on the scale, then squinted as the digital display began to count upward... more... passed his weight.

His brows knitted together and he looked toward Nkiru for answers. Marcus mumbled defensively,

"Your scale's broke."

"It's been calibrated this morning," Nkiru told him after jotting down a few notes. She pointed at him with her pen, "When did that happen?" Marcus looked to the indicated area and felt goosebumps rise across his flesh as he stared at his elbow-- that bone nub sticking out. As he stepped off of the scale, Marcus felt as if he knees had turned to jelly. He found he couldn't answer as he stared dumbly at Nkiru. She narrowed her eyes at Marcus, then moved something toward him with the nudge of her foot. He looked down to see a waste-bin positioned before him. Nkiru stepped back.

"My bone's out," Marcus managed over his fiercely churning stomach.

"That's not your bone. Do you not see that it follows skin contour?"Marcus stared at Nkiru dumbly. Again. Lightly, Nkiru shook her head then gestured for him to follow. After a brief walk in silence, Nkiru and Marcus entered the gym. She walked him over to what was probably the largest rack of dumbbells he'd ever seen, then she halted. "Since you apparently cannot run on a treadmill--" her tone was so mocking that Marcus winced "--I have devised a weight test instead."

Nkiru gestured to the weights then told him, "We'll start with curls. Choose a weight you can do at least five repetitions of the exercise with." As Marcus reached for the ten pound weight, Nkiru added, "Maximum you can do." Marcus then eyed the thirty pound and removed it from the rack. All he had to do was a curl. He made a face. Nkiru let out a tired sigh then asked, "Have you never lifted weights?" Not waiting for an answer, she picked up a dumbbell, then performed a few curls to show him the proper way to do so. Marcus mimicked the motion with an ease he didn't expect. Thirty must not have been his maximum. He tilted his head then changed weights. Forty, fifty, sixty five-- Marcus hesitated with his hand over the seventy pound weight, confused at their lightness, then asked, "These mislabeled?" Nkiru silently scratched a few notes then pointed told him coldly, "Lift the rack."

Marcus stared at her as if she sprouted another head for a moment. The expression on her face was hard and serious.

"You real funny, ya know that?"

"Lift the rack, Marcus. If you insist upon wasting my time, accusing me that they are mislabeled, then lift the rack," came the curt response.

"Look I'm sorry I up'n insulted ya weights but--"

"You have ten seconds to lift the rack, Macrus, or you'll face administrative consequences."

"What for? Ain't nobody can lift this-- that's impossible-- you need a forklift-- Marcus cut off when he noticed Nkiru looking at her watch. In a panic, he moved toward the center of the rack, got the best grip he could manage with his shaking hands, squatted down, then began to try and do as he was told-- administrative consequences-- no this wasn't good it wasn't moving-- who could do this  bullshit?!

After a long moment's worth of strain and struggle, Marcus could feel tears streaming down his face, as the exertion and anxiety began to build to intolerable levels. An eternity went by. "That's enough," Nkiru told Marcus gently. Whimpering, Marcus collapsed backward, then stared toward Nkiru fearfully. Her eyes were on the rack of weights, a few of which has shifted slightly out of place, before she looked thoughtfully at Marcus. "Look in the mirror," Nkiru told him in a gentler tone, "I believe it to be a... symptom of sorts. Possibly stress induced."

As Marcus stood and glanced at himself in the mirror positioned behind the weight rack, he felt himself go numb, and his heart beat out something incomprehensible. Across his torso there were grey splotches the size of his hand, similar to the way his elbow looked and-- no it wasn't just his elbow now, it was his arm from wrist to shoulder-- it was on his neck too. He touched the splotches and found them to be cool to the touch and solid without give-- the remaining skin on his chest looked waxy as if he would melt or something. Trembling, he looked to Nkiru for help again.

"We're done for today," Nkiru told him. In frightened tearful silence, Marcus stared toward Nkiru, disbelieving her words. With an arched brow,  Nkiru seemed to finalize her notes before telling him, "I suggest eating and hydrating. Its important that you eat properly." Numbly he nodded at Nkiru but didn't make a move. Without a word more, she turned walked toward the door, then left him sitting on the floor alone. He cursed inwardly as he realized he was missing a shirt once again.

Eli turned his focus back towards the kitchen as Eliza sat down, grabbing a clean pan and what little remained of the eggs. He ignored the two girls, instead focusing his laser like concentration on poaching eggs. The attempt was....decent. Hardly note worthy to be fair, but they were decidedly eggs and they were decidedly poached, or atleast cooked. He gently shifts the food onto a plate as he feels bump into the back of him.

"...Good morning to you to Danvers. Please excuse my state at the moment. Me and Eliza were just recovering from something." He grumbles politely, awkwardly shifting with the plates of eggs in each hand. Carefully he brushes past the excitable woman as she heads to grab an apron, not thinking about it too hard as he sets the plate down in front of the would be chef turned would be arsonist. "Hope you do not mind it just being...this. I'd offer toast but I'm afraid I don-HEY!" A sudden eep escapes the young man as frills and pink fill his vision, a cold hand brushing past his neck.

The boy is stunned for a moment, before managing to stammer out a very confused, almost questioning, thank you. The apron was form hugging, which struck him as odd, almost as if it were meant to be worn as a singular layer. Would rather defeat the purpose of an apron if you asked him. The buzz of the PA system woke him from his fugue, and he welcomed it. This morning had turned very strange. "You two should hurry up and eat. Leave the plates in the sink and I'll get to them after....class? ...Let us go with class." He adds, quickly heading out the door.

It took him longer to find the testing area than he like to admit, still unused to the layout of the building. Eventually though, he managed to fumble his way into the office of DR. Childs. She sat, crossed legged in her office chair with all the haughty airs of a queen in court as an aproned, and slightly greasy smelling at this point, Eli stumbles in. He was pretty sure he could FEEL her amusement, but Eli was not in the mood to feed her ego further today.

He gingerly takes a seat in front of her, the two silently exchanging their greetings as he did so, careful to not ruffle his frilly apron. "So...."She begins, sizing him up from her chair as she gently removes a small glowing stone from her pocket. "Lets talk about your little episode last night Mr. O'Dell."

"...how did you..." Eli begins, gawking at the emerald stone as the 'good' doctor placed it on a scale on her desk. "I had it retrieved off you while you were sleeping....well. I had a grunt do so." She adds passively, as though that was a perfectly valid excuse.

"You have access to me while I am asleep?" he asks, his confusion punctuated by the staccato clicking of a fountain pin. "Do it again." She commands, ignoring his protest, her glare cutting into him. Eli continues to stare at her, somewhat stunned by the casual ease she had in brushing away his questions.

"I...I'll try doctor?" He manages to mewl in confusion. He closes his eyes, reaching out for the feeling from before while trying to ignore the harsh, almost violent, scratching noises as Dr. Childs took her notes. It came...more easily than last time, drawing itself from his mind to the air around the previously made rock. But the thread of thought, if it could be called such, felt weak, like trying to fish with spider silk.

Eli tried to probe further down this previously unknown portion of his mind, but he could feel his stomach begin to churn in protest. The space was too new still, to alien, so he could merely grope weakly at the patches of what felt so sturdy last night.

With a shakey breath, he lets it go. "That..that's the most I think I can manage Doctor." He manages to stammer, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. Dr. Childs leans forward, examining the digital read out of the scale with a look that fell somewhere between amusement and dismissal. "Well congratulations Mr. O'dell, you have managed to produce 10 grams of a previously undiscovered element. How do you feel?"

Eli was about to protest when a wave of pain hit his gut, doubling him over face first (thankfully) in to the small waste basket next to the desk. "....Duly noted. Feel free to leave when you're done." She says, standing and unceremoniously stepping over him to leave, pocketing the stone as she went, leaving him to heave in relative peace.

"Good morning all - we'll be starting your sessions in the next twenty minutes to make sure y'all arrive on time! Artie, if you could come straightaway there's a few things we need to discuss on your results from your last session."

The intercom buzzed throughout the facility with the same voice the patients had been hearing for several days on end. Arthur was called away first, and so he said his goodbyes to both Sienna and Cassius who had been accompanying him in the pool room with warm tea. "Don't mention it, Arthur. Perhaps we'll get out of this fast enough. After all, I don't want to get rusty with my flight skills!" Sienna explained, still attempting to keep the mood upbeat, yet no matter how the pilot tried, she understood what Arthur had tried to convey. There was more to this, yet Sienna was still suspicious of what was hidden--these scientists were not her superiors, in any case.

Saying her own goodbye to Cassius now, Sienna left the pool room to be on time for the tests she was about undergo. There was still some time to wait, but Sienna didn't mind standing around for a few minutes. It wasn't like there was any place to leave in this facility, and it was always best to be punctual in the military. A few people passed by, familiar faces she knew. Sienna waved, perhaps exchanging greetings with a few people, but she couldn't seem to shake out the man with the dreadlocks from her thoughts. At least to pilot's knowledge, the man had yet to speak at all, and as he walked by, he seemed to be obvious to Sienna as if she wasn't there at all--invisible.

Odd fellow, Sienna thought, as Ashton called her into the testing room. Everything had seemed normal, except the sparking wire that was certainly a safety hazard. "I don't think it happens to be safe in this room, Ashton. I'm not an electrician, but I'm certain someone is going to get hurt because of that wire." Sienna explained, standing a decent distance away from the exposed wiring with a wary gaze. Despite Sienna's caution, Ashton appeared confident and shook his head. "Nonsense. If anything, that wire is more dangerous for me. Now, Sienna, touch the wire." Ashton stated, his face as straight as it could be for someone that just ordered a person to touch a safety hazard that could potentially kill.

Yet Sienna looked back at Ashton with a blank stare. Touch an open wire that was sparking? Was the man insane, or was he just trying to make a terrible joke? "Touch the wire, Sienna. If you don't, disciplinary actions will commence." Ashton spoke again, dropping his cheerful act. Sienna gazed confused at Ashton, her natural instincts telling the pilot not to touch the wire, yet something clicked. Sienna had shot electricity out of her palm the night before, but she only felt surprise. There was no pain from an electrical shock, just surprise.

Deciding against all odds, Sienna reached forward, albeit cautiously. Sienna grasped the wire with her hand, yet nothing came to fruition. No shock shaking the pilot or harming her, just an awkward grasp with the wire in Sienna's hand. "I figured as much. You're a walking insulator, Sienna. There is a current running through your body, but outside influences--at least to what we know--won't effect you. In any case, we're done for today." Ashton explained, waving his hand for Sienna to leave. Sienna had a mind full of questions, but she wasn't to get any answers. Just a do this for me, and out the door you go.

---

Eliza suddenly didn't feel like eating. Despite food being presented to her by a shirtless guy wearing an apron. And under normal standards, she would have preferred chocolate covered strawberries. But she wasn't in Malibu anymore.
The PA system echoed in the cafeteria commencing the starting of their day. Eli was already out the door, and Eliza had no other need to wait any longer to ask her "trainer" what the hell happened to her. She bids goodbye to anyone else in the cafeteria before heading out back to the examination room from yesterday.

The walk from the cafeteria felt long with each step of hers feeling heavy. Her mind dreaded two things: Finding out that she might have some power and having to interact with the asshole trainer guy from yesterday. Upon reaching the door she hears a loud sigh from inside. She slowly enters the room to see her trainer at a desk intensely staring at something. When she gets closer Eliza realizes that it is the same type of pen in her room. Startled, she wanted to scream at him for trespassing but then came to a realization that all the pens in the facility could be the same.

"W-why are you staring at that pen?" Eliza stood next to the desk also taking a look at the writing utensil as if it held some dangerous secret.
The trainer had an agitated look on his face and ran a hand through his hair.
"Because you dumbass, you had to get the most complicated power didn't you? Why couldn't you get something more obvious like controlling water?" He spoke with more annoyance than anger.
But Eliza's eyes widened when she realized he was watching them, more likely they were being watched the whole time.
"You creep! Watching us like that! Ugh!" Eliza turned away embarrassed at the thought they could have been watching her when she was changing.
"Don't read into detail, we only see what we need to in order to help you guys with your powers. What I did see was that garbage display in your room. And I've been up studying what happened to you while most of the other guys got off easy with their water boy and electric gal." He motioned to the flurry of papers on the other side of the desk and a laptop. On the screen was a video of what happened last night in her room.

"Can you play that video perhaps?" Eliza stepped closer to the desk to get a better look.
Mr. Trainer Guy shakes his head and shifts the laptop closer. The video plays and the clip was more embarrassing than everything. It showed Eliza picking up the pen, standing there for a good 15 seconds with nothing happening and then dropping to the floor freaking out. Just wearing a towel no less.
She could feel her face turn red and looked to the trainer for a reaction.
He only concentrated back to the pen and cursed.
"And that's it! No light show no nothing. Maybe..." He picks up the pen and points it at Eliza.
"Okay what I want you to do is hold onto this pen for as long as you can. Even if it feels weird just hold onto it."
He hands her the pen which never before has she ever gotten an ominous tone from an inanimate object before.
She reaches out and clutches the pen in her hand. Instantly her eyes shut tight and the same feeling from the night before rushes over her body. Or out of her body in this case. Her consciousness became a feeling as it glided down her arm and into her hand. At this point, she didn't know if she was still holding onto the pen. But when she came to, the room revealed itself in a white blur and she was on the floor. She felt cold all around and small. Significantly small.
"Hello?" She shouts startling the trainer who knelt over her actual body that lay unconscious on the floor.
"Holy crap, you're the pen now!" The trainer stood over her, like a giant and picks her up.
It was the weirdest feeling ever. She was able to talk, hear, and see. She was able to slightly move too.
"This is my power? Going into pens?" Eliza's voice filled with disappointment as she was set down on the desk. She rolls around trying to get a feel for her new "body".
The trainer doesn't answer her as he types ferociously on the laptop.
"Okay this has been fun and all but... how do I go back?" Eliza rolls over to the edge of the desk to look at her real body strewn awkwardly on the floor.