"You'll step up one by one to the machine and channel your ability into it. "
The tension and excitement in the air were palpable.
"The Chronobox will classify you based on your main ability. Some of you may have several talents; your main ability is the one that first manifested when you awakened your talent." Darius explained.
"The Chronobox will rank you based on the type of talent. There are five types of talents."
He pointed to a large display that had been brought into the room at some point.
" As you can see on the screen, those of you who can control wind, fire, or any of the elements are elementals."
A woman on the screen hurled a bolt of electricity from her fingertips, and a man rose into the air, his eyes ablaze as he manipulated the air around him.
"Neural types are those with telepathy, telekinesis, or who can perform any sort of mental manipulation."
This time, a bike levitated in front of an unassuming man. It spun a couple of times in the air before landing on the ground.
"Biological type talents are those that involve transformation or regeneration."
A man ran through the forest, then morphed into a large, furry creature that resembled a jaguar, leaping from tree to tree with ambidextrous ease.
"Kinetic type talents grant one the power to move fast or inhuman physical strength."
Norvax appeared on screen with a smile, then abruptly disappeared, his image blurring as he zipped through the room at inhuman speeds.
The agent who had stopped the desk Rob had hurled across the room casually lifted a car off the ground, then set it back down.
Darius paused, allowing his words to sink in.
"The last and probably rarest type of talent is the Exotic type. Under this category, we have those of you who can manipulate time and even space itself."
A shocked silence filled the room.
"Do you think there are kids here with more than one ability?" Samantha whispered.
" Honestly, I don't know, but it seems we'll find out soon enough," Emily whispered back.
" If you're ready, any of you may step forward and go first."
" I'll go first," Edmund piped up.
He confidently walked to where the Chronobox stood.
The compartments of the box whirled around him as the box rearranged itself and surrounded him.
" You may commence."
Edmund's eyes glowed, emitting a vivid blue light.
Droplets of water condensed from the air, forming a small sphere that continued to grow larger. The sphere began to spin in on itself as he compressed it.
"Come on, I can do better than this," He thought.
The sphere grew larger as more and more water was added to it. Soon, a gigantic ball of water floated above him, slowly swirling in space.
" Water Elemental talent detected, Edmund Brewer, Arc scale class A-3 "
An automated voice rang out.
The machine reconfigured itself, shrinking back to the original cubicle. Edmund walked back confidently; some of the kids gawked at him with reverence.
"He's a class A-3. Is he the same age as us?"
A long-haired girl with messy brown hair stepped forward next. She slowly sauntered forward with her hands in her pockets.
The panels of the Chronobox once again whirled, spinning around her at a frenetic pace.
Her eyes lit up with a fierce red glow, and red lightning began to crackle around her. Several bursts of electricity surged around her body, threatening to escape the Chronobox.
She slowly rose into the air.
Her hair levitated eeerily around her, her eyes crackling with electricity. It was as though a primordial force of nature was trying to escape its bindings.
The electricity crackled within the Chronobox, striking violently at the panels.
The panels of the Chronobox expanded around her, absorbing the stray bolts of electricity.
She slowly descended to the ground.
" Lightning Elemental talent detected, Amanda Gardner, Class A-3," the automated voice rang out once more.
"This batch of recruits is no joke," one of the agents whispered.
" Did you see that, Em? She can use lightning, how cool is that?" Samantha whispered.
Emily stared intently at Amanda as she confidently walked back.
The slight smell of ozone permeated the air around her as she walked past them.
Norvax grinned.
"If we continue at this rate, this is going to be quite the interesting year."
A muscular teenager with wild dreadlocks stepped forward with a ferocious grin on his face. His russet eyes shone with a fanatical light as he menacingly cracked his knuckles.
"Let's do this." He declared.
He approached the machine with a wide smile.
As the Chronobox surrounded him, a grotesque sight began to unfold. His muscles writhed beneath his skin.
Fur sprouted rapidly on his arms. He let out a feral growl as his limbs drastically lengthened till he stood seven feet tall.
" Biological talent detected, Cassius Wulfric, Class A-2".
" Oh come on," Cassius snarled, hitting one of the revolving panels.
The panel didn't budge, and instead, Cassius grunted in pain as he cradled his fist.
He quickly reverted to his human form and sullenly strode back to where the rest of the kids stood.
Slowly but steadily, the remaining kids got assessed without incident.
Until it was Warren Frost's turn.
The quiet, dark-haired youth slowly strode to the testing area and stood still.
He folded his arms, then promptly closed his eyes.
Seconds ticked by, then minutes. Nothing happened.
" What's he doing?"
Whispers started to float around as more time passed. The murmurs continued increasing in intensity.
"Is he talentless? All that talk and he can't do jack shit."
"Pathetic."
The seconds continued to tick by as nothing happened. Darius sighed.
"Warren," He began.
Edmund smelt it before he saw it. The thick smell of ozone permeated the room.
Suddenly, the temperature in the room plummeted several degrees.
A cold, unnatural fog swept through the room until everyone present could see their breath in front of them. The kids began to shiver as the temperature plunged lower.
"Everybody get back," Norvax commanded.
Frost formed in the air around Warren. Icicles bloomed out of thin air along with electricity that crackled.
Warren suddenly opened his eyes; his eyes had turned completely black, emitting a strange, dark light.
The icicles revolved around him as he slowly rose into the air. Bolts of black lightning raced around him.
"Initiating talent containment protocol, stage two. Recalibration of Arc scale upraisal underway."
Within a split second, the Chronobox rapidly expanded in size as a wave of ice surged across the floor towards the kids.
The nanite panels lengthened and then thickened, barring the ice, managing to contain it at the last second.
"Quadra elemental talent detected, Warren Frost, Class A-5".
The whole room burst into pandemonium as a fresh wave of murmurs rose. Darius' lips curled ever so slightly upward.
Norvax grinned.
"It appears we have a monster on our hands." They thought in unison.
The fog slowly began to clear.
Warren nonchalantly strode back to his spot, casting a glance at Edmund.
Edmund smiled wryly. " Show off."
The kids gave him a wide berth as he made his way through the crowd.
"Emily, it's your turn," Samantha said.
"Right." Emily thought as she walked to the Chronobox. She stood in place as the machine unfurled and the giant panels revolved around her.
Norvax stopped the conversation he'd been having with one of the agents to watch. Nothing happened.
"Is she another monster like Warren?" Norvax thought.
A few minutes ticked by as she blankly stared at the machine. Then a few more.
"You're supposed to channel your power into the machine," Darius said.
"Well, I'm trying, but it seems to be having no effect."
Norvax silently cursed under his breath.
" What the hell? That can't be right." He thought.
"No active talent detected. Emily Whizen, Class A-1.
Further evaluation may be required. Latent talent suspected."
"Whizen? Is she related to the Commander?" One of the agents asked.
" She took his family name since it was his sister who cared for her at the orphanage where we found her," Norvax replied.
"This doesn't make sense at all. What about the attack on the orphanage? She's certainly connected to what happened. Whose ability was at work then?" He thought.
The murmurings resumed, but this time it wasn't in awe.
" Look at her."
" She doesn't have an ability. Who is she?"
" How did she even get in here?"
" It seems they were lax with the vetting process this tíme."
" I thought she was another monster in human skin."
Emily walked back to where Samantha was paying no heed to the whispers around her.
Edmund curiously observed her.
Warren briefly glanced at her before staring into space again.
The agent who had unpacked the Chronobox stepped forward and placed a drop of his blood on it once more. It morphed back into a black cube.
The agent gently laid it back in the briefcase.
As Norvax pondered over what he'd seen, Darius announced the end of the test.
" And now for the last part of the test, the sparring matches. You'll be pitted against each other in exhibition matches. The goal is to force your opponent out of bounds or to make them yield. You are not to kill your opponent. The match will end when your opponent has surrendered or walked out of bounds. The matchups will be decided randomly by our Vireon core system."
Darius strode over to where Emily and Samantha stood.
Emily Whizen, since you do not have a talent, there's no need for you to participate."
Emily silently nodded at him.
"Who do you think is going up against that monster Warren?" Edmund asked. He'd made his way over after the announcement.
As if on cue, the matchups were displayed on a large screen
Emily's eyes narrowed as she scanned the screen.
Edmund was up against a kid who had a biological type talent.
Amanda Gardner was matched up with a neural type talent user.
She scanned the screen until her eyes settled on the last fight.
Warren Frost versus Cassius Wulfric.
Edmund turned to look at Warren.
Cassius grinned ferociously.
It promised to be quite the matchup.