Nothing Less than Extraordinary

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That night, my dreams had been the most realistic impressions my brain had ever made. As if my time at the Academy was a documentary, I was seeing myself grow from a reluctant 15-year-old into a 17-year-old Special component of Sentara's unit. I was seeing myself secretly utilizing Wib's powers. I was seeing myself unknowingly inherit Zaine's strength to punch out a ceiling when we acquired the jets. I even saw myself utilizing my powers as I have this whole journey. Ideally, I was seeing myself absorb anything I needed from anyone so well that the image of myself was fostered off Special confidence in that I could utilize anyone's powers I came into contact with all while healing myself and those I cared about.

The dream was entirely about me and my transition. When it shifted into the future—me as a panelist or advisor for the New Agency—I was confused. This was no longer a dream. It seemed like a vision's projection, but I knew I didn't make contact with Sumer so I didn't know how it was possible. When my future self finally got interaction from another being in this state, it was handsome Zaine Union in his own adult-fashion. He seemed just as confused as I was when he walked through the magically appearing doorway until his eyes laid on mine and there was a defined moment of relaxation and comfort. When he took another step towards me, another fourteen doorways appearing around us with aged Specials. My eyes immediately went to Wib's, but I was distracted by the presence of not only Carlisle Craig, but also Tyler. We were all confused, but their attendance made things more unclear. Yet no one said anything. There were no sounds at all, but there was a shimmering rainbow aura to the infinite arena space around us. And as expected, a familiar voice boomed over us all.

"Each of you are survivors," Maxwell Noble's voice proclaimed. "Though some of you still have unlocked potential, you each must realize why you've survived rather than dwell on how and who didn't. You'll need to figure out and truly be who you see yourself to be. Whether the Academy helped you or not, you owe it to each other and to yourself as members of the Special community to develop your own abilities. But it'll take all of you to develop a world that fosters Specialty. You'll need each other to stop the extinction of our race and to restore the humanity that should be protected at all costs. And I have no doubt that you'll do just that. I'm honored to leave a Special world in such Special hands." As soon as the monologue ended, the rainbow shine evaporated away.

As soon as the dream ended, I instantly woke up. The sun was shining through the curtains, but it was far from a bright feeling. I hopped up from the bed and when I exited my room, it was apparent that everyone had the same inclination because everyone else was peaking out into the hallway from their respective rooms. They looked around and eventually between me and Sumer. Sentara began jogging towards the stairs and I followed suit. When we made it downstairs, the twins had the same look of confusion, but Zaine and Jane sat at the dining table with their head in their hands.

"What did he tell you?" was all Sentara asked them while out of breath from bounding down the stairs. Jane's panting sounded like crying, but Zaine eventually looked up and I saw that his cheeks were red with repressed emotions along with his blood shot eyes. He hadn't slept, but he didn't need to.

We hadn't all been in a dream. We weren't even experiencing the mercy of someone's hopes spread between us. We were in a final communication pathway from Maxwell.

"Everything he could," Zaine answered and in a second, Sentara was looking over at me before grabbing my wrist, sending electricity through my body, and teleporting us right into Maxwell's hospital room where a doctor and trio of nurses were rushing around with loud beeping happening. He was seizing or stroking out with his eyes rolled back and his muscles tensed. They were already doing chest compressions, but the steady line of a pulse didn't seem too optimistic.

I looked over at Sentara.

"Heal him," she told me. Her face was more composed than Jane's was but less stoic than Zaine's. "HEAL HIM!"

Even though I thought it would be a lost cause and the thought of possible pain flashed across my consciousness for once, I took steps towards the hospital bed. Even though a nurse pulled Sentara back and yelled at me to stay back, I mustered everything I could remember about healing Tyler or Zaine. I reached my hand out to him, but when I would make contact with his ankle—as the only reachable appendage—something stopped me. It wasn't me. It wasn't even my subconscious. It was the newly conscious Maxwell who had stopped seizing in order to control my mind and my bodily movements for me.

"You don't want my pain or my power," was all he said before dropping my arm to my side. Now, I was just a vessel doing his bidding, even though his eyes were still closed and life was being beat into him. Even though he was the sole person who could unlock my potential and Developed powers to heal him without absorbing his powers or pain considering it was also of the mind, he didn't want to. "I've already put all I know and will know into the world. Good luck, Aspen."

"Thank you," I heard myself finally expel as if it was the only thing I could do for myself at the moment. It was gratitude for him and what he's done for us Specials. It was gratitude for the grace he lived with even though he could've been the most powerful man alive. It was gratitude for him inviting me into his home and putting up with me and aligning me with Sentara's Unit. Plus, my memory never failed. I remembered him saying I would thank him later for escorting me to an introduction with Zaine who he must've known I would love. And finally, I had to thank him for wishing us luck with the hardest thing we would ever try to accomplish—living in a Special world without him.

And then all at once, the healthcare professions stopped. The doctor called the time. Maxwell Noble was gone.

=XXX=

I stayed at the hospital mourning by myself. I didn't know how long I sat outside Maxwell's room and I didn't care. I didn't even know if Sentara had called the rest of the unit back at Sumer's. I really wanted to be bawling in Zaine's arms, but I knew that would only weaken him and his tough-guy exterior he was surely going to pursue now that he was our one true leader. Surprisingly, the next person I wanted to confront was Tyler. There was a reason Maxwell sent a mental message to him with the rest of us just like there was a reason he specifically asked for an amended sentencing for him. I wanted to march into Tyler's room and heal him enough to make him appreciate the man whose Academy he raided and defiled. It was making me angry to think of how Tyler and the rogue agents and Jase and goddamn Macintyre wasted the single most powerful and accepting Special among us all.

When I got up with a justified amount of fury, my sights were set on Tyler's room. But on my way there, I had passed Chance's room. Did he even know? He deserved to know. When I knocked and received no answer, I took the liberty of opening the door myself and found it empty. I turned to approach the nurse's desk to question if he had checked out, but Sentara made an abrupt arrival near the window. I walked over.

"Where is he?"

"Long gone," she said with a pathetic laugh despite her tear stained face. I looked back over to see that his bed was still unmade and some of his belongings including a book of Sumer's was still there. In addition to that, there was a familiar electricity in the air from before her most recent return. She helped him leave. "We did as Maxwell told us. He took the Cure and I took him where he needed to go."

The knowledge of Chance taking the cure was surprisingly not a surprise. I saw what his powers did to him. Even if they left no damage, it was a lot to bear. I had no doubt that Maxwell told him that too. But to up and leave? To take the Cure after being completely Developed? It was abrupt. Did Sumer know about this?

"According to them both, things should start going back to normal in a matter of days," Sentara informed. I noticed the absent look in her eyes. She wasn't just obeying Maxwell's hopes. She was avoiding feeling Maxwell's death by throwing herself into his life's work. "And in the meantime, I'll be at the Academy putting things in order like he wanted."

"But Sentara—"

Before I could stop her, the black mist was back and she was gone. Sentara had thought through loads of necessary plans, but I doubted she contemplated the fact that I was the one who would have to break the news to everyone else.