This was a waste of time. Then again the whole day had been. Syrion figured he should have felt lucky to even get MDE duty at the Access Facility. But he would have preferred playing video games at home or even better, napping. Still, it was an easy job and it had the benefit of riling up Micah Kesson. He didn't have much contact with Micah since the 'golden boy' tended to be kept sheltered. Syrion, on the other hand, was often on the field. Still, they ran into each other often enough For Syrion to know the guy needed to lighten up. They were only a year apart, but Micah acted like he was already in his forties.

Micah wasn't a bad sort, but he was constantly trying to take on the burdens of the world. It sucked being a teenager surrounded by adults. Syrion knew that from personal experience. Still, it was better to not let yourself get absorbed in their world. The way Micah was going, so hell-bent on proving himself, he was never going to enjoy being a teenager. Syrion liked to spend every free moment he got living his life to the fullest. Fieldwork had shown him how short life could be.

An alarm beeped insistently as the girl's vitals spiked. The doctors stood around, looking stupidly at each other. 'Should we or shouldn't we,' hung like question marks over their heads as the girl struggled to live. The doctors tend to say interrupting a person Awakening would damage her or stunt her growth. Syrion scoffed. She won't grow at all if she's dead.

Syrion caught the eyes of one of the doctors. The man stiffened and turned around, nodding to his colleague. Finally, they were getting their shit together. Of course, that all changed when Dr. Kesson opened his mouth.

"Not yet," Dr. Kesson said.

Syrion gritted his teeth. He glanced at the doctor whose attention was set on the blue-haired girl. Though his voice was pleasant it held a steely command that made Syrion stiffened. Dr. Kesson might not be a bad guy, but Syrion didn't like him. The man was dangerous and he took people's lives for granted. Syrion tended to avoid him when he could. He had once, after all, been part of the man's little experiments.

Turning his attention to Micah, he noticed the boy was barely holding onto his temper. It was obvious that Micah had some sort of thing for the girl. Clearly, watching her being tortured in some bid for power wasn't on Micah's 'fun things to do' list. Syrion turned back to the girl. His eyes narrowed.

If push came to shove he could neutralize the girl's power. He wasn't sure if it would help much, but if anything it might buy her some time. Dr. Briton would at least try to save her. He studied the defense magic that covered the window. It was to keep magic from coming in, but strong enough to prevent magic from going out. There were pockets he could use to seep his power through, but it wouldn't help much. Of course, it would be easier to neutralize the whole thing, but if the girl did pop off that would put them all in danger.

Syrion let his magic trickle through the holes in the barrier. The beeping stopped before he could reach her. A collective sigh went through the medical officers. "Vitals are returning to normal."

Syrion retracted his magic. Guess he wasn't needed after all. As he watched the girl he noticed something strange happening.

Black smoke began to seep from the girl's skin. Something about it made him instinctively step back. He turned to see Dr. Kesson lean forward, his gaze intent. Syrion turned away from the man. Of course the good doctor wasn't creeped out. His attention shifted to Micah to see what the guy was thinking about his crush oozing out black smoke. Micah's attention, like his father, was riveted. Syrion mentally sighed. He supposed he should have expected those two were more alike than he thought. But then he realized Micah's expression was different. Micah looked frozen, and his breathing was speeding up. Pure fear flashed in Micah's eyes.

"Manifestation forming," one of the doctor's said.

At the same time, Micah spoke. "Something's wrong?"

Syrion's attention turned back to the girl. She was standing. Syrion blinked, surprised. The straps that had been around her were gone like they had never been there. The black smoke curled around her, building and building. Nancy, the Access Facility defense officer, immediately raised her arm up. The floor literally rose up, surrounding her and Dr. Briton in a protective barrier.

It was a maneuver made to protect them without interfering with the Awakening. From this angle, it was hard to see, but it looked like Nancy was arguing with Dr. Briton. Syrion frowned. Something was off and a quick look at Nancy's face explained why. Nancy was panicking.

"What the hell is going on?" Syrion mumbled to himself.

Nancy was an old MDE field officer who decided to take on work at the Access Facility as a form of early retirement. She had the experience, but right now she was panicking like a newbie on their first assignment.

Then, as if to answer his question, the black smoke around the blue-haired girl surged forward. It engulfed the ground shield. The smoke shifted and moved. He couldn't see what was happening, but then the smoke pulled back. Syrion was stunned to see that the shield was simply, gone. There was no trace of it and all that was left was a gaping hole where the floor used to be. Nancy and Dr. Briton had fallen back, their eyes wide in fear.

Syrion tapped a small metal disc on his neck. "Need back up at East Corridor 2 - Room 8. CA break. Neutralizers and stuns at ready."

Syrion turned to the door and froze. The girl's smoke had wrapped around Nancy and Dr. Briton. The two entire bodies went stiff and their eyes rolled back behind their head.

"Shit," Syrion said and rushed out of the room. As he stepped out he saw two guards already rushing down the hall towards Room 8. Syrion ran down the corridor and turned. Straight in front of him were six students and an Access Facility staff. They were waiting for a new door to open to guide the next student in.

One of the guards noticed Syrion and nodded in his direction. It was a silent request to handle the students.

"Clear the halls, head back to the auditorium," Syrion said, hurrying to the group. He tried to stay calm. He didn't want to cause a panic.

The kids looked at him in confusion, but most were paying more attention to the guards. The guards were preparing to enter Room 8 but were hesitating with the students so close.

Syrion gritted his teeth. He must look like a crazy sixteen-year-old to them. He took out his badge and waved it. "Clear out!"

The sight of his MDE badge seemed to work, but slowly. The woman in charge of the students began herding them back down the hall. The two guards turned back to Room 8. As one of them reached for the door, he jerked back. Both guards scrambled backward as the door and part of the wall disintegrated into nothing. No ash or crushed plaster and steel, just nothing.