style - the fractured but whole

- part 3 -

I woke up at around 8am and checked my phone. There was a text from an unknown number.

Unknown : Hey, meet me at the quarter elevators.

I figured the text was from someone involved in the testing I was told would take place today. I didn't really have any other clothes so I just took off the sweatshirt I was wearing and left the dorm in a white band t-shirt and baggy jeans.

As I neared the elevators I was greeted by Kyle. He smiled.

"Hey Stan! You feeling better?"

"Yeah I'm great, did you send the text?"

" Oh yeah that was me. Mysterion employed me as your "mentor". I basically just babysit you, it'll be fun!"

He sounded really excited about it. I'm sure it wouldn't be too bad.

-

I was pretty out of breath, we had walked from the quarters on the far left wing of the building, to the hospital wing on the far right. Despite my struggles, Kyle didn't seem phased so I guessed I would get used to it. If I really was the ninth wielder, that is. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be or not. It would be a huge change, would this change be for the better or for worse? My life sucked at the moment anyways.

We walked through two double doors followed by a long hallway, it looked exactly like a hospital. Kyle led me around a corner and into a lobby sort of room. He walked up to the front desk and talked to the lady for a few minutes. I stood behind him like a child would with mother. Soon after, a girl who looked about our age came out through a set of doors towards the back of the room. She had brown hair and was dressed in blue scrubs and a lab coat.

"Hey Kyle! Is this the new recruit?"

"Sure is! Stan this is Heidi, she takes care of all the medical stuff around here." Heidi and I greeted each other and shook hands.

I was really nervous, what if things didn't go well? I was never really well behaved at doctors appointments, always kicking and yelling when I got shots.

"Kyle take a seat anywhere, Stan you can follow me to the back."  

"Actually, can Kyle come with?" I asked. Heidi nodded and motioned for us to follow her.

This sounds stupid, but Kyle's presence was reassuring. I felt like I wouldn't freak out as much if he was there. The three of us went through the doors and then walked along yet another hallway.

"So Stan, I have a few questions for you." Heidi started, looking down at her clipboard.

"Alright, shoot."

"So obviously as a wielder of a class you have experienced some sort of inhuman ability. Could you specify what it was like?"

"What? I don't have powers. I figured that was like- installed or something after the test."

"Interesting..."

I could tell this wasn't going well. We reached a room labeled "testing". It kind of looked like those recording studios, there was a smaller room with a window looking into a bigger room. In the bigger room was a chair in the middle and a bunch of technology surrounding it. Kyle went into the smaller viewing room while Heidi led me into the bigger one.

"You're gonna need to take off your shirt Stan."

She stuck these sticky things with wires coming out of them on my chest and temples.

"What even are these?" I asked

"Electrodes, they'll read and scan your brainwaves. It'll help us locate any inhuman abilities. If you have any, that is."

She then put a headset over my head and met Kyle in the viewing room.

| Kyle |

I couldn't seem to take my eyes off of Stan, especially with his shirt off. I had to quickly subside my blushing once Heidi entered the room. She turned on the monitor and sat back in her chair. She explained that the monitor mirrored what Stan saw on his headset. Somehow the electrodes were connected to his memories which would be shown on the screen. Physic abilities are so high-tech these days it's getting hard to understand how things work. There was another machine to the left, this showed Stans heart rate I assumed.
Instructions appeared on the monitor:

| Third Person |

Simulation initiating.

...

Scanning memories...

-
| third person |

The screen depicted a sunny day when Stan was 13. He was at Starks Pond sitting on a bench next to a black haired girl with a pink beret. The scene carried on happily when it suddenly changed into another memory. He was at Whistlin' Willies for his 10th birthday. It then changed again, this time not for the better.
Stans parents were fighting, his dad was drunk and his mom was crying. Stan stood on the steps watching the scene unfold. His dad smashed his beer bottle on the ground and left the house. The memory changed again.
It was a recent memory of Stan at a party. He looked really drunk and was beating the living daylights out of another boy. Stan's knuckles were busted and the boy was passed out. People were shouting at him to stop and a boy behind him was holding him back in an effort to restrain him.

| Kyle |

Stan's heart rate spiked and the monitor starting beeping like crazy. I didn't want to want to witness what happened next.

"Turn it off!" I said to Heidi.

"I can't Kyle, it's part of the simulation."

I bolted out of the viewing room and into the main room. Stan seemed to be freaking out. He was sweating and his hands were in fist. I took off the headset and we locked eyes.