Damage Me

Chapter 28

I had skipped my morning workout, and just got back from my evening one.

Aaron, Juliette, Eva and I are on our way to the training room for the nightly meeting. This is the first one Eva has been allowed to go to.

Everyone is sitting in a circle on some blue mats, and when Alia sees us, or, Juliette I should say, her face lights up.

She's made a new suit for her.

Alias explaining what it's made of, and how it was created. It's pretty interesting. I won't explain the whole process because it's a lot of information.

"The carbon fibers will give you an added level of protection; they won't damage easily, so you'll be able to move more freely through different terrains. And when you're in a dangerous environment, you must remember to maintain a state of electricum at all times; that way your body will become virtually indestructible," she says.

"What do you mean . . . ?" Juliette asks, and I widen my eyes, though I'm not hugely surprised. "How can that be possible?"

"Because," Alia explains. "In the same way that you can break through concrete without hurting yourself, you should also be able to sustain an attack—from a bullet, for example—without harm." She smiles. "Your powers make you functionally invincible."

"This suit is a precaution more than anything else," she goes on. "We've seen in the past that you can, in fact, damage your skin if you're not wholly in control of your power. When you broke the ground in the research rooms," she says, "we thought it was the enormity of the act that injured you. But after examining the situation and your abilities more thoroughly, Castle and I found this deduction to be inaccurate."

"Our energies are never inconsistent," Castle jumps in, nodding at Alia. "They follow a pattern—an almost mathematical precision. If you cannot injure yourself while

breaking through a concrete wall, it does not then follow that you should be able to injure yourself by breaking the ground, only to remain uninjured after breaking the ground a second time." He looks at Juliette. "Your injuries have to do with your hold on your ability. If you ever slip out of electricum—if you dial it back for even a moment—you will be vulnerable. Remember to be on, at all times. If you do, you cannot be defeated."

"I hate you so hard right now," Kenji mutters under his breath. "Functionally invincible my ass."

"Jealous?" Juliette grins.

"I can't even look at you."

"You shouldn't even be surprised," Aaron says, still standing above the group.

"I always knew your powers, once harnessed, would be unmatched."

I'm still standing up, along with Aaron and Eva, when James walks—or skips, I should say—into the room from the locker room.

He walks right up to Aaron and I.

"Hi," He says loudly, a grin on his face.
"What are you guys doing here?"

Aaron and I raise our eyebrows.

"We live here," I say.

"This is your house?" James asks, incredulous.

Aaron nods.
"In some capacity, yes. It serves as our home. We live upstairs."

"That's so cool," James says, grinning widely. "This whole place is so cool." He frowns. "Hey, I thought we were supposed to hate you, though."

"James," Kent says, followed by a warning glance in his direction.

"What?" James asks, innocently.