Careful not to create more of a disturbance than was already happening, Imani took a quick peek around her door frame to see what was happening. A door across the hall closed and she was sure that didn’t signify anything good. The thumping of running boots grew louder and louder as men and women dressed in black SWAT gear came running down the hall after the boy whose nose was bleeding freely. The boy barely looked behind him as the heavily armed group came to a stop just in front of Imani’s door with their guns drawn.

Words were shouted at the boy but he continued on his way. A gunshot split the air, making Imani jump and cover her ears. A ringing filled her mind and she started to shake as more gunshots followed, until the only sound that could be heard was a constant ring and the pop’s of rifles. The girl closed her eyes as she crouched beside her door in her room, hoping that a bullet wouldn’t find it’s way to her. Guns stopped firing and the building was still as Imani opened her eyes and dared to look down the hall. The boy lay on the floor surrounded by bullets. Involuntarily, the multi-colored hair girl let out a gasp and then noticed there was no blood.

The armed group of people walked quickly to the boy and felt for a pulse. Giving a hand signal, one of the squad beckoned a nurse who brought a bed on wheels to the boys side. They lifted him onto the gurney and strapped his arms, legs, and torso to the mobile trundle. Without another word, the nurse rushed the boy through a pair of double doors as the SWAT team disappeared without a trace.

Imani sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest as a voice came over the intercom.

“Good evening everyone.” It began, “A hostile person was recently on floor B. This person had an ability that was much stronger than we anticipated and he took to violence. He has been neutralized for the time being and is being moved to a more secure floor. We want only your safety and comfort. If you have any question or concerns, please talk to the nurses or attendants on your floor and they will help as best as you can. Thank you for your continued adherence to the structure of the Sphere.”

And with that the intercom shut off and the floor was left in an uncomfortable silence. Imani gathered herself off the cold laminate and walked to her bathroom where she splashed water on her face. She had agreed to come here because she was promised safety, but it no longer felt safe. A person had just been nearly gunned down and had only been saved, it seemed, because of his ability. Instinctively, the girl’s hands went into fists and flashed forward, cracking the tile around the bathroom mirror. Inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, Imani calmed herself and decided to find a nurse. She needed to let out some energy before she broke something more important, like a wall.

Not entirely convinced that the staff would help her, Imani walked to the nurses station at the end of her hallway, passing the place where the boy had been laying on the ground. Standing behind the counter was a woman in scrubs, shuffling folders and filing them away in a cabinet.

“Hi.” Imani started, trying to get the nurse’s attention without seeming to forward.

“Just a second please.” The nurse said sounding hurried and slightly frustrated. “I have to file these quickly and get back on my rounds to ensure everyone is safe and that no extra bullets flew into any bodies.”

Imani stood at the counter, used to being pushed to the side, and waited. The energy was building in her hands and she could feel them begin to jerk forward. Now knowing what was done to people who used their powers, the girl tried to sound calm as she spoke up again.

“I just need directions to the gym. I’m certain I can find it myself if you just point me in the right direction.”

“Just a moment please.” the nurse said now sounding fully irritated as a folder fell from her pile and spilled onto the floor.

Imani felt her right arm jerk forward and pulled back before she reached the counter, causing a sharp pain to trace up her bones and muscles. Stopping your arm as it shot forward at 50 mph hurt. No longer able to stand still and wait, Imani walked from the nurses desk and hurried down the hall. If she couldn’t find the gym soon, her arms were going to start punching whatever was in front of her and without something to stop them, she was promised torn muscles.

Imani was born with multi-colored hair. Her parents had been surprised at the hues of blue that changed to green, yellow, orange, red, purple, and back to blue. The colors flawlessly flowed from one to the other but they soon found that her hair wasn’t the only special thing about their daughter. Toys were quickly broken into pieces and holes spotted their walls as Imani grew. There didn’t seem to be any explanation for it, until Imani’s mother witnessed a toy sitting in front of the girl explode out of nowhere.

Out of fear, the woman had set up a video camera and placed it to watched the girl, hoping to catch whatever was causing the damage. When they played the video back after capturing a toy be destroyed, they found through a series of pausing and rewatching, that the little girl was the one doing the demolishing. From that moment on, Imani’s father took her to the gym to hone her skills and teach her control. They found that her punches exceeded 40 mph at the age of ten. The punching bags in the gym were soon piles of sawdust as she learned how to punch and how to pull back in a way that didn’t destroy what she was punching or hurt herself.

Imani had joined a boxing league, trying to put this power to good use, when an opponent saw her practicing and quickly spread the news of her lightning speed. A few days later she had been confronted by the head of the league and accidentally lashed out, breaking his ribs, puncturing one of his lungs, and causing his heart to bounce off his rib cage, causing it to swell. After that, the girl actively began to search for others like her so that she could be taken off the streets to ensure the safety of those around her. An agent from the Sphere had shown up within days and Imani turned herself in.

Being here in this facility now, she wasn’t sure she had made the right choice and she knew they would try to take her out if she didn’t find a punching bag soon. Racing down the hallway, the girl found another attendant.

“I need a gym now.” She tried to be kind but the words came out demanding as she clutched her hands to her chest.

The attendant looked her up and down and pulled out his phone. “What’s your name?” He asked as he pushed on its screen opening an app.

“Imani Jackson.” She said bouncing up and down.

The attendant typed in her name on his phone and read the screen. “Fast punches huh?” He asked with a smirk. “I think you’ll be okay.” The man slipped his phone back into his pocket and began to walk away.

“You don’t understand!” the girl yelled at the man’s back as he continued down the corridor. The energy in her arms was growing to the point where she was beginning to shake. Imani ran the opposition direction of the attendant and found a stairwell. She reached out to grab the door handle but her arm shot forward and she punched the door instead, denting the knob and creating a boom on impact.

Imani grabbed the damaged metal and pulled the door open before she lost control again. She stepped into the stairwell, causing an alarm to sound. Looking around her, Imani found the shaft was made of concrete and ran to the opposing wall, which she assumed was touching the outside. She wanted to do as little damage as possible to the building. Without thinking, Imani let her fists pump as fast as they could and felt the ecstasy as her clutched hands made contact over and over. Chunks of concrete fell off the wall at the first punch and now a hole formed as more and more stone fell from its place.

The alarm blared around the girl but she could care less as a breeze came through the hole she was punching through a foot of concrete. Thumping boots filled the stairwell, but Imani continued to punch, waiting for the armed men and women to find her there.