Echo [11] (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 5

Carol and I spent the next 4 hours talking until she glanced at the clock and jumped up. 

"It's almost time for the party. Put something else on. It doesn't have to be formal," She said, moving to her dresser.

 I pulled out my dark jeans and dark denim jacket, alongside an old Blondie band shirt. 

"You listen to Blondie?" She asked, looking at the shirt folded in my hand.

 "No, I just like the design," I said, and she shrugged.

"Understandable. I'll take the bathroom," She said, going into the bathroom we shared. I changed into the aforementioned clothes, and Carol emerged in a white t-shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. 

"Come on, let's go before they start without us," She said, and we walked down to the field. I could hear people talking in the distance, along with music playing. A girl in a wheelchair saw us approaching, and started waving to us.

"Come on, Carol! We're about to start," She shouted as we approached. 

"Hey, fresh meat! What's your name?" She asked, nodding towards me.

 "Tessa, you?" I asked. 

"Rue Darness, resident disabled person," She said, smirking. 

"Fresh meat?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"You're new. Fresh meat," She said as Carol vanished. 

"Oh, god, here comes Tony. I'm gonna dip. Good luck!" She rolled off into the group.

 "Hey, Freshie!" A brown-haired man shouted, a classic red cup in his hand.

 "Not my name," I said in a sing-song voice. 

"Then what is it?" He asked.

"Not telling," I smirked.

 "Then I guess I'll just ask around. Someone's gotta know," He said. 

"Good luck with that," I said, then walked off. The music was hurting my head already, so I moved to a quieter spot where no one was standing. 

"Aw, come on, Tessa! You're killing me! Come on," Carol grabbed my wrist, and I felt an energy surge through me.

My veins started glowing with a yellow light, and Carol dropped my hand, staring. The light faded as quickly as it came.

 "What the hell was that?" She asked.

 "I dunno. I touched you and felt super strong. The same thing happened with Hill," I shrugged, and she seized my wrist, the glowing returning. She dragged me into the mess of things, dropping my hand as we got closer.

"We've got another super! You two, this is Tessa. Tessa, this is Ellie and Misha. They're two of the other supers in the group," She said, and Ellie offered a hand. I took it, and Misha let out a sound of shock. 

"Where'd she go?!" She cried, attracting some attention.

 "Where did who go?" Someone with curly brown hair asked. 

"The new girl! I can feel her, but I can't see her," Ellie said.

"Well, feel around for her," He suggested. 

Ellie put a hand on my chest, and I felt my feet leave the ground.

 "Oh, god, she's flying now," Ellie said, hovering to keep up.

 "Try letting go!" Misha suggested, and Ellie let go. I felt normal again and started falling to the ground.

"Shit! Move!" Rue said, and a small circle of grass appeared.

 I landed on my rear end with a thud, standing up with a groan. 

"What the hell is going on? First, your veins start glowing, then you go invisible and start flying," Carol said, and I shrugged. 

"It only happened when I touched people. I'll just refrain from touching, I guess. We can talk to a teacher about it tomorrow," I suggested.

 "You okay?" A large, blonde man asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little surprised. It's not every day that you fly, glow, and go invisible," I said.

 "Eh..." Carol said, tilting her hand.

 "Don't you start. Today has been crazy enough," I said. 

"I'll grant your wish. This time," She said.

 "Ah! New girl! It is a pleasure to meet you!" Another large blonde man boomed.

He moved to hug me, but I held up my hand. 

"No touching. I don't need to go through any more strange events today," I said, and his arms dropped. 

"My name is Thor, Prince of Asgard," He introduced.

 "Tessa...student of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy?" I said, my voice going up at the end. 

"What brings you to this fair establishment?" He asked.

"Uh, superpowers, apparently," I said. 

"Excellent, another super! There are enough normal Midgardians here, it's always nice to meet a fellow super," He said. 

"Nice to meet you too," I said uncertainly.

 "I am gonna step away for a second, my head is killing me," I muttered to Carol, and she nodded. I moved over to where 3 black-haired individuals were standing, two of them talking to each other and the other just watching.

"Don't like the noise?" She asked as I approached.

 "Not at all. God, it's like one of those galas my parents would drag me to, but outdoors with teenagers," I muttered.

 "I'm Asya," She said, nodding.

 "Tessa," I said, glancing over at the other two. 

"That's Loki and Tanya. They're not the most social of people, not for a lack of effort on Thor's part," She said, following my gaze.

"You're Inhuman," She said, and I started. "How did you know?" I asked. "Most of my friends are Inhuman. Guess I just attract them," She shrugged. "There are other Inhumans here?" I asked. "Yeah. 9 including you," She said.

"You'll meet them during Enhanced gym," She said. "Are you enhanced?" I asked, and she laughed. "Yes, actually. Particle manipulation, it's weird. 24 enhanced individuals go to this school. They're all here, you might've met some of them,"

 She said. "I've met you, Thor, Carol, Misha, Ellie, and Rue. That's it," I said.

 "Mm. They're all nice, though Rue isn't the most filtered person I've met," She said.

"Filtered?" I asked. 

"She cusses. A lot. She's a little twisted up there, but we all are. Just comes with this group," She said.

 "I'm not twisted," I objected.

 "You will be, eventually. Don't be upset, it's just one of the side-effects of coming to this school," She shrugged like it was no big deal. Miss Hill started coming towards us, looking slightly annoyed.

"It's curfew, all of you. Get to bed,"