Sudden Superhero

7. Maroon and Burgundy

THE REST OF the drive to Henderson Technologies was short. I held my textbook tightly against my chest as we took the turn into the building's lot. My heart was pounding; I'd accepted that I was about to become a hero, but could I actually do this? As Kavanagh said, I was a kid who got superpowers by mistake. Nothing else qualified me for what I was about to do...whatever it even was that I was about to do.

I took a deep breath and swallowed. Don't doubt yourself before you even start.

As per usual, the employees went about their busy day and payed us no attention. I still kept my head down, determined to keep a low profile.

Jenny was in the testing room, all ready with her clipboard. After the doors were closed and locked secure behind us, Kavanagh asked her, "Where are your goggles?"

She shook her head. "We decided not to test if he's resistant to chemicals. It's highly improbable, anyway."

I looked between them, wondering if they had been planning to throw chemicals at me and see what happened. Needless to say, I was glad she decided against it. 

"So what are we doing today?" I asked.

"The rest of the tests." She walked to the far side of the room and turned around so that her back was against the wall. "What color are my eyes?"

Did I mention that the room was huge? I think I did. She was a significant distance away from me, and even though I wasn't in need of glasses, I couldn't tell what color her eyes were. 

"I can't see that far," I said.

"Okay, sight is off," she murmured, putting an x on her clipboard when she returned to us. "I don't think I'm going about this the right way. If we keep guessing and checking what powers you might have, we'll be here forever. And if we wanted to test your senses properly, it will be more complicated than what I just did."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means that, some of your powers—the little effects of the serum like not getting as tired or better reflexes—you're going to learn about those as you go about your day. I can't test them because I don't even know what to test. As for the big powers..." She sighed. "What do you want to test?"

I glanced at Kavanagh. "There may be a possibility of super strength."

Jenny's face lit up. She went over to that storage room, looked inside, and gestured me over.

Half of the stuff in there seemed to be old tech, computers and machines and such, and very heavy-looking things, too. I looked around for something I was willing to touch, and a Craftsman drawer caught my eye. It came up to my shoulders, and I crouched and curled my fingers under it.

"Jenny," I said carefully. "If I break this, will that be okay?"

"Yes."

"Great."

I didn't know what I was thinking, what I was expecting to feel. As I stood, lifting with both my hands, the Craftsman easily tilted back as if it were a cardboard box and not a heavy chunk of metal filled with tools. I wiggled my arms underneath it and lifted it entirely off the ground, leaning back from the weight distribution, but it didn't break my spine or my arms. I put it down before I got tired and then stared at it.

It was Jenny who broke the silence. "That was freaking awesome."

I smiled sheepishly. She abruptly left the storage, and Kavanagh followed her into the main room, and I followed him, but I stopped when he caught up to her and they started talking in whispers. I took a few steps back, but he glanced at me. He probably thought I was listening, but I couldn't even hear them from here.