Killian continued concentrating.
The first locking bolt shifted.
Clunk.
Penelope stared at the vault.
Another sound followed.
Clunk.
Then another.
One by one, the enormous locking bolts began retracting from the reinforced frame.
Killian could feel pressure building behind his eyes.
His ability wasn't exhausted.
The difficulty came from precision.
One mistake could alter something he hadn't intended to touch.
He slowed down rather than rushing.
Erik noticed.
Killian was being careful.
That alone told him something important about the ability.
Atom Manipulation wasn't simply destructive.
It could be precise.
Potentially extremely precise.
The implications were enormous.
Erik said nothing.
There would be time to think about that later.
Another locking bolt moved.
Clunk.
Only one remained.
Killian found it.
Focused.
Then manipulated the metal.
A deep mechanical sound echoed throughout the basement.
CLUNK.
The final bolt retracted.
Killian opened his eyes.
