Ashton broke through the tense silence left in the wake of Harper’s declaration. “I will begin,” he told their trainer, “I already have a good control of my power, so how much of a shock do you want me to give you?”

  “Start off with enough to knock me out, and scale up from there if nothing happens,” Harper ordered.

  He braced himself to do exactly as she said, though he started a bit lower than that just in case. Just enough to cause pain, like a static shock. He grasped her outstretched hand and winced at the spark and accompanying pop when their hands met. After that it was a careful game of slowly raising the level of electricity he sent her way. Every time he wanted to falter, Harper’s gaze egged him onward. Just when he felt that things were getting too dangerous, he both heard and felt something break. He instantly disengaged, but not fast enough to spare Harper completely.

  “That is quite the dangerous power you have,” she muttered through gritted teeth, “If I didn’t have another barrier that might have been the end of me. How much further could you have gone?”

  “I don’t know,” Ashton admitted, “I would rather not find out. My power is meant to be well controlled, not thrown about haphazardly.”

  “I see,” Harper replied and took a moment to collect herself.

  Ashton was relieved when she backed off and moved to the next person. How was he meant to lead a team when he was terrified of his own power? He hid it well, so no one had noticed, but he had started to feel a bit of a tingle on his own fingertips. If things had gone on any longer he might have been the one who ended up electrocuted. He would need to be even more careful now that he knew that was a possibility.

  Summer’s light show managed to pull him out of his thoughts and he was able to focus on the task at hand once more. She had improved her control. Ashton was proud to see her grow so quickly. He hadn’t quite been expecting the bright flash at the end, and his eyes took a while to adjust to normal again. After Summer, Harper called the twins forward. It was understandable to want Kayla to go last just in case the power she gave interfered with her defensive ability.

  The Smith twins truly seemed to despise their power despite their efficiency with using it. It was a feeling Ashton could understand completely. It was no wonder why they had chosen to join the team in order to gain some chance of getting rid of it for good. The power seemed to be based on give and take. One must be weak for the other to be strong, and one must shrink for the other to grow.

  “You seem well practiced in your power,” Harper commented.

  “We have to agree and work together or nothing will happen,” Kai explained, “It is more of an inconvenience than anything else. Neither of us can remember what normal was like before.”

  Normal, huh? Ashton also wondered what normal was like, but the path he was taking now was far from the commonly perceived definition of normal. Then it was Kayla’s turn. She did not even approach Harper before declaring that she was done. The power had been given.

  “I don’t feel any different,” Harper mused, “Is there any way to tell what you gave me?”

  Kayla shook her head. “I have done plenty of testing before, and there is nothing I can do to make it easier to tell what I gave someone,” she explained, “However, I usually always give the same person the same power, and it has something to do with what kind of power they desire.”

  “So the odd times out they must have desired something different,” Harper deduced, “How long until this new ability wears off?”

  “It varies but the shortest is an hour and the longest was three before I had to recharge it,” Kayla answered.

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  “Alright, I will take some time to try to figure out this power and meet you each individually after lunch,” Harper announced, “All of you have a lot to learn, and I won’t send out a team, noncombatant or otherwise, until I am sure you know enough to live past your first mission.”

  It was definitely safer testing some unknown power without an audience. Ashton was more than ready for some alone time to sort through the new information. Everyone else seemed to agree with this idea, and they all spent their brief reprieve in solitude. Ashton tried to relax as much as possible, but it was difficult. After all, he was certain that Harper would have more for him as the team leader than anyone else.

  Ashton was right about that. He was last to meet her, and she had things set out for a long discussion. Chairs, papers, and even something to drink for each of them. It was just bottled water but it was one of those brands that was supposedly meant to be better for you in some way. He took his seat and his water and waited for her to begin.

  “Let’s start with you,” Harper told him, passing him a folder with plenty of space on the profiles of each team member so he could take notes if he wished, “You have excellent control of your power, but you don’t know your limits. If you don’t find your threshold now, it could put you in mortal danger when it matters most.”

  “I think I just have,” Ashton replied, and showed her his hands. Light burns ran in lines down his fingers, and spread to his palms like lightning. It didn’t hurt much anymore since he had applied medicine, but the fact that his power could hurt him was enough reason to call his limits. “It felt like when I used too much power it rebounded onto me instead.”

  Harper frowned. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will put a hold on further testing until we can investigate the cause of this and you finish healing. Let’s move onto your girlfriend instead.”

  It seemed that was never going to be a secret here, not that Ashton had really intended to hide it. “She has already improved leaps and bounds in a short time,” he reported, “I am sure you already know the extent of her power while she was Golden Reign.”

  “While that is true, I see a way it could improve even further,” Harper told him, “It is a far off goal, but I believe if she works at it as diligently as she has been, Summer will be able to create full scale illusions.”

  Ashton paused, unable to hide his surprise. “Do you really think that is possible? She can bend light, but an illusion, especially a realistic one, would require hundreds if not thousands of different sources.”

  “That is why I claimed it was a far off goal,” Harper reminded, “Whether or not it is actually possible depends on Summer herself. I find the greatest limiter to our powers is usually ourselves.”

  Ashton looked at his hands again. Something about her last phrase made him uncomfortable. Even if he was limiting himself, it was fine. He never wanted this power to begin with. “Was that all for Summer?”

  “For now, yes,” Harper replied, “Next we will move onto the Smith twins. Their power is impressive, but it usually ends up leaving one of them in a weakened state of some kind. Just like the demonstration where one grew and the other shrunk, I want you to help them brainstorm other ideas where both can benefit from the exchange in some way.”

  That made sense, and it might even help them not be so miserable with their power. At least in the meantime. He carefully wrote some notes, glad that his burns did not seem to cause any pain on contact with something else. Perhaps injuries from your own power were special, or the medicine had worked better than he thought.

  “That leaves Kayla,” Harper continued, “The power was exactly as she guessed. Since it was created to meet a desire of mine, I believe there may be a way to control what power is given if we focus on a more specific need or desire when she transfers it to us. There was no harm to me, and there never has been in any of her records but I still urge you to be careful when testing this theory.”

  That was a lot to go over and think about. “How long do we have to practice these things?” Ashton asked.

  “This first week will be spent with me, training your powers and your teamwork,” Harper explained, “Today was merely introductions. Tomorrow will be a more practical lesson. I suggest you take this information and figure out the different ways your team can work together. You will be expected to lead them in the morning.”

  That was it? No special leader classes or training? He was just supposed to jump into it and give orders? Due to his endless trainings in both the facilities and SI, Ashton had come to expect that sort of thing and felt lost without it. His only hope was that this was only for the initial lessons with Harper. He would receive proper leadership training before he took to the field. At least, he hoped he would.