Chapter 5

While the class system is by no means perfect it has been a valuable tool to distinguish between the ability levels regarding transformations across the CoL population. The majority of CoLs can only affect minor changes to their physical makeups while there are a select few who seem to have few upper limits. Basic CoL classes can be broken down from most common to least common as: D, C, B, A, S. Our first study had thirty nine volunteers. Fifteen of them were Class D, ten were Class C, seven were Class B, five were Class A, and only two were Class S. Of the subsequent studies no other Class S CoLs have volunteered making our data on them extremely limited.

Excerpt from "The Book of CoL: Second Edition", Chapter 2: The Class System.

The new bed sheets are simple lavender colored cotton with a pretty low thread count that I don't mind. I wash them in the building's laundry room which seems well maintained, albeit not very busy. My comforter and other blankets are still a bit small for the bed but they'll work for now.

I'm sure it'll be comfortable enough for me to wake well rested and on time. I'm also sure someone's having a very loud party in the unit above mine that has been going on since two hours before sunset.

It is currently two in the morning.

I really hoped the noise would die down by now but if anything it's gotten louder. I don't bother changing out of my pajamas but I do slip on my house shoes, grab my key card, and my ID which I slip into my pants pocket before leaving my unit.

Eterna pokes her head out of her door just as I'm starting toward the stairs. She's in her Basic form as well as pajamas.

"Oh, no, Page," she whispers loud enough to be heard over the bass music that's vibrating the building.

I would have just temporarily turned my ears off using my powers if I thought that would help. I can feel the music with my skin and bones. It is very fucking loud.

"He does this sometimes, just ignore it," Eterna pleads with me as I continue down the hallway.

"I need to get up early tomorrow," I say. "I've got a meeting. It's two in the morning. They've been partying for eight hours. I am going to ask them to turn it down."

"You can't," she says as I reach the stairs. "Please. Don't mess with Thunderskull, Page. It's not worth it."

"You can stay here," I say. "I really need to get some sleep."

Sure, I could just blank out my fatigue again but I'd rather not do that if I can avoid it. I'd be awake and alert but actual sleep is always better. Really helps someone center themself.

I start up the stairs to the fourth floor with Eterna on my heels. I strengthen my body as I go, just in case I run into trouble. As I turn to go up the next flight I see she's paused to shift. Her pajamas stretch a bit as she grows taller, though not quite as tall as when I first met her. Her skin becomes deep red and her ears pointed as a pair of black horns sprout from her short curly hair. I don't stop long enough to see her complete the transformation. I don't have time to waste. I really need to get some sleep.

Eterna catches up to me after I've exited the stairs onto the forth floor. The music is louder as we go down the hall. Eterna follows me nervously.

People linger ahead of us with disposable plastic cups in hand. I can smell cheap beer, pot, and sweat. Most people I see are either in Basic form or not CoLs at all. I ignore them and their stares as I approach the apartment that's the source of the racket. The door is propped open with a skull shaped cement lawn ornament. Eterna pleads with me one more time before I enter the party.

There are more people in the apartment than I think live in the entire apartment complex. I wonder how many people this Thunderskull buzzed in. No wonder there's been people sneaking in to cause problems.

I look around the crowd. Basic looking people rub elbows with CoLs who range from barely shifted to high elf and demon looks. I see a minotaur that doesn't look like the lawyer I met yesterday. I wonder what Ivar would have to say about this party. It very much goes against the lease. In the back of the living area, near the large speakers and sound system, stands a person wearing steel armor, their head is an exposed skull with horns.

They also have a red plastic cup full of beer in hand and sip from it while laughing and shouting to the people near them.

Eterna touches my shoulder and I don't turn around.

I push through the drunk party goers, drumming up more ire with ever bumped shoulder. Eventually I get up to the skull headed knight.

"Hey, you Thunderskull?" I ask.

You wouldn't think a person without a face could look down at someone with disdain but this guy manages it. "Yeah, so what?"

"Could you please turn the music down?" I ask. "I have a work thing in the morning."

He throws back the rest of his beer. How he's managed the skull look while still being able to drink fluids is somewhat fascinating, to be honest, but also beside the point. Especially when he leans down to get in my face. The smell of his breath reminds me I don't like beer.

"What are you gonna do about it? Call the cops?"

Thunderskull and his three companions laugh. I stare up at him until he stops laughing.

"You're serious?" He asks. "You came here in your fucking PJs to ask me to 'turn it down?'" He mocks and rubs his eyesocket with his free hand. "Waaa, I can't sleep! I have work tomorrow! Haha."

"Please, just turn your music down," I say.

"Mute your hearing," he barks back. "Even a D like you could do that, right?" Fire fills his hollow eye sockets. I'm sure he thinks it looks very intimidating but he's still holding a plastic cup.

"I don't want to start any problems," I begin. "I just want to get some sleep and be able to hear my alarm in the morning. Please, just turn it down and I'll leave."

"No fucking Basic bosses me around," he says as he crushes his cup.

I lose it and begin laughing. Full-throated cackling. The guy's attempts to appear scary have just been hilarious as hell. I double over and clutch my knees as I laugh.

Everyone stops as the loud music is temporarily drowned out by my laughter. I reign it in and quiet myself before standing back up. Thunderskull is not amused.

"You're fucking hilarious, dude," I say as I wipe tears from my eyes. "Wow."

"What?" He asked angrily.

I wave my hand at him. "Just, turn the music down, okay?"

Thunderskull's flaming eyes grow brighter as he draws his fist back for a very telegraphed punch. I've already strengthened my body and decide to double it up at the last moment before his fist connects with my jaw. I hear bones cracking over the music, sharp breaks that pierce the night.

None of them are mine.

I haven't moved at all and barely felt the impact. The most his attack has done to me is make my hair move a bit from the air being displaced. His fist and forearm are shattered. It takes him a moment to realize just how fucked up he is and that he's shifted back to his Basic form. He's young, thin, Latino, and in too much pain to scream.

Thunderskull clutches his busted arm. His companions' faces are filled with horror but no one quite seems sure where the horror should be directed.

Him or me.

"Does this mean you're going to turn the music down?" I ask.

When a party's host breaks their arm on someones face most parties are over, and one where many people attending have the ability to shapeshift is no exception. Folks begin to leave immediately.

"Page, are you okay!" Eterna asks loudly.

One of the people who had been talking to Thunderskull, a thin person with deer antlers, reaches over and turns off the stereo.

Thunderskull has begun whimpering, the only sound besides the shuffling of partygoers leaving as quickly as they can.

I don't reply to Eterna. I look down at Thunderskull who has collapsed to the floor, clutching his broken hand and arm. His clothing is still plate armor that hangs a more loosely on his body. He didn't have any armor over his arms, which is probably for the best. He'd have even more trouble if the metal had become as twisted as his limb. I'd probably have to cut him out of it myself were that the case. Hopefully his buddies who haven't left yet can help if he needs it.

"You gonna need help with that or do you know how to heal?"

"What?" He asks weakly.

I squat down in front of him. "Shift it so it's not broken and you'll be fine."

"It'll just change back," he says.

"You've got to be Class A with that fire and eye thing, right?"

He nods.

"You can do this then, you can heal it." I point to his arm. It does take practice and time to make it stick, but I have seen a Class A CoL heal a pretty bad injury using their powers. "Heal it, when you have to take a breather see a doctor if you don't want to just go on healing it till it's patched up for good. May take a few weeks or months since, wow that is pretty fucked up. You probably should go to the hospital, to be honest."

"You broke his arm," someone says in disbelief.

"He punched me," I reply without looking up.

Thunderskull nods. "I punched them," he confirms.

I suppose the pain has sobered him up. His arm goes from a mangled mess to functional after a stuttering wave of a shapeshift runs down the length of it. I kinda hope he goes to the hospital. I didn't see any bones sticking through his skin before he shapeshifted but an arm isn't supposed to look like a meat bag full of crushed ice.

"For what it's worth I didn't think you'd break your arm like that," I say. "Figured it would just be your hand."

He looks up at me. "What the fuck are you?"

"Leaving now," I reply. "I need to get up early."

Eterna follows me out and down the stairs in silence. We get to our apartments before she says anything.

"What did you do back there, Page?"

"Just strengthened my body," I say. "I think that was the equivalent of him punching a solid wall of tungsten or something."

"Thunderskull's a Class A," she breathes then glances at me. "You're...a..."

"Class S," I say. "Who's going to bed now. Goodnight Eterna."

***

I wake thanks to the alarm on my phone after sleeping a few hours. At least I got some rest but still, I can't help but feel kind of shitty about letting Thunderskull break his arm on my face.

I could have done a lot of things differently. Should have. Tried to calm him down instead of laughing. I'll see if he needs a lift to the hospital if he's still messed up when I get home today.

I wear my best shift-ready clothing. I have a pair of prototype boots, which aren't slated to be available for purchase anytime I'm aware of because they were incredibly expensive to make. I leave them as they are since they look kind of neat without being altered. Like tanker boots someone might wear in a dystopian movie. My pants are a higher end model that's newly on the market. I've had them over a year since I'm a beta tester. They're easy to will into other shapes, so I make them look like black slacks. My undershirt is a simple inexpensive shift-ready one that I alter to look like a plain creme colored button up shirt with black tie. I shouldn't have to do anything drastic that would shred it. My underwear are the same brand as the pants and I keep them as-is but they should survive if I have to use my powers to almost any extreme.

Almost.

I throw my long sleeve shift-ready top on over everything. It's baggy and loose. I will into a longish black jacket that matches the pants. It will never stop fascinating me how I can make one set of clothing look like whatever I want like this. Or buttons.

I gather my wallet, phone, and keycard which I store in the jacket's inner pocket before buttoning the front.

How the fuck do I make buttons work?

I text Detective Windgate that I'm on the way as I leave.

He does not reply.