Jordan

Lucian looked around. A long line stretched out from registration, filled with people here for admissions testing, all talking noisily.

He surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. Then it stopped on a boy.

The boy stood at the edge of the lawn in a plain white T-shirt and jeans, with short hair and delicate features, though their contours were rather angular. He was looking down at his phone, with no one beside him.

Lucian recognized him. Jordan. The Supe from Gen V who could switch genders. In his male form, he had incredible defense; in his female form, he was extremely fast and could fire energy attacks. His defense was pretty good, but Lucian wondered whether the system could copy the male and female forms' abilities separately.

He walked over. "Hey, bro. Seeing an Asian in a place like this is fucking rare."

Jordan raised his head. His eyes were wary at first, but he relaxed when he saw Lucian's face.

"Chinese American. Lucian." Lucian held out his hand. Jordan looked at it, hesitated for half a second, and shook it.

"It really is rare. My family immigrated from Korea. My parents forced me to come here. Something about polishing my credentials."

The instant their palms touched, a panel popped up in Lucian's vision.

Copyable target detected: Jordan.

Available abilities:

[1. Super Physique LV2]

[2. Body Modification LV3]

[3. Shockwave LV2]

[4. Body Enhancement LV3]

The four abilities were listed side by side. This meant the system had separated the male and female forms' abilities. Lucian hesitated briefly, then chose Shockwave LV2, partly to test how long copying an LV2 ability would take, and partly to improve his chances of passing the entrance test.

[Estimated completion time: five minutes.]

He prolonged the handshake a little, then let go for the moment and slipped his hand into his pocket.

[Copy progress: 10%]

"Did you come alone?" Lucian asked.

"My parents came with me, but they left for a bit after we got to the school. What about you?"

"Orphan. Getting by on my own."

The two stood at the edge of the lawn, watching the people in line. His parents favored boys over girls and demanded that he stay in his male form in public, which had made his life oppressive. He was only just about to start his freshman year now and hadn't yet become as uninhibited as he was in the story. Jordan's expression was a little stiff, as though he still wasn't used to this kind of socializing.

Lucian checked his phone. It was already noon. He looked up at Jordan.

"Hungry? My treat. What's there to eat nearby?"

Jordan froze for a moment. "You don't have to."

"Don't drag this out. I'm on my own anyway. Besides, seeing someone with yellow skin in a place full of white and Black people makes you feel like old friends right away, you know?"

Jordan smiled. "Okay. I know a Chinese food truck nearby that sells chow mein."

The two headed off campus. The Chinese food truck was parked on a street corner, run by a middle-aged man from Guangdong whose spatula sent sparks flying as he worked. Lucian ordered two portions of chicken chow mein, extra spicy. Carrying their foam containers, they sat on a roadside bench to eat. The bench wasn't large, so they sat close together, their arms touching from time to time as the system's progress notifications appeared intermittently.

[Copy progress: 23%...27%...32%]

Jordan ate slowly, as though he was thinking about something.

"Where were you before?" Jordan asked.

"Queens. Working at a convenience store."

"I'm from New York too." Jordan poked at his noodles with his chopsticks. "My dad's a doctor, and my mom's an accountant. They wanted me to come here so I could get into The Seven someday, or at least Vought Headquarters. Bring honor to the family, you know."

Lucian chewed his noodles. "You don't look that excited."

Jordan put down his chopsticks and looked at the school gates across the street. "My superpower lets me switch genders freely. They want me to stay male. They say it makes me look more like a hero, more intimidating. They think my female form is something I do to deliberately piss him off, that it's rebellion."

Lucian didn't respond. He just listened.

Jordan continued, "All my life, I've been told to do this and do that. What clothes to wear, what hairstyle to have, what abilities to use. Nobody ever asked what I wanted to be."

Lucian swallowed his last mouthful of noodles. "In a place like this, everyone's a product. Vought packages you, and the audience consumes you. Male or female, strong or weak, as long as you sell tickets, you're a good product. If you want to get back at them, do something big in your female form."

Jordan turned to look at Lucian. "What about you? What do you want to be?"

Lucian crushed his food container and tossed it into the trash can beside them. He looked at Godolkin's steel archway, one corner of his mouth twitching. "A good person?"

Jordan didn't understand. "What?"

"Nothing." Lucian stood up. "If you don't mind, could you show me your transformation? I'm pretty curious."

Jordan was quiet for a while. "Sure, but we'll need to find somewhere with no one around. If my parents see me when they get back, I'm screwed."

They found a small grove on campus. Jordan looked around and activated his ability, abruptly turning from a handsome, masculine boy standing 1.8 meters tall into a five-foot-four girl. Lucian looked at her, stepped closer, and poked her arm. Even her muscle density changed? These superpowers don't follow the laws of physics at all.

[Copy progress: 78%]

"This is nothing. You should see Homelander." Jordan awkwardly swatted his hand away. "How do you think I look?"

"Pretty good. Pretty cute." Lucian stared for a while before answering, rubbing his chin.

"Fuck, bro, you look like you want to bang me right now." Unable to stand that gaze, Jordan changed back into his male form.

Lucian patted Jordan's shoulder. "Buddy, now that I've seen your female form, I think your plan to get back at your parents has a pretty good chance of working."

[Copy progress: 83%]

"Let's hold off for now. They'll probably be back soon. I need to go wait for them."

"Go ahead," Lucian said, holding out his hand again. "One more handshake before you leave? Here's to meeting each other."

"Fuck, you don't actually want to screw me, do you?" Jordan said, but he still held out his hand. "Let's add each other on TikTok. You're a little weird, but you're still my first friend here."

"OK."

After they added each other, Jordan waved and headed toward the school gates. Lucian checked the panel.

[Copy progress: 100%]

"At least acting like a pervert wasn't for nothing." Lucian slipped his hands into his pockets, feeling the new power inside him. The sensation of air compressing in his palm was like a bomb that could detonate at any moment.

Lucian walked toward registration and looked at the crowd there.

The line was still long. But he was no longer in a hurry. Lucian stood at the end of the line, and it was an hour before the queue system called his name.

A gymnasium connected to the registration office in Room B12, its iron doors wide open, all sorts of noises coming from inside. Lucian walked in. The air was thick with the smell of rubber and sweat. The floor was divided into several areas. Some people were running, some were jumping, and someone was breathing fire at a punching bag, sending waves of heat rolling through the surrounding area.

A staff member in a gray uniform sat behind a folding table with a tablet on it. After asking for his information, the staff member had him begin the tests: the indoor track, striking force. When the results came out, the staff member frowned. "Your physical fitness is in the lowest tier for Supes. Barely a pass."

Lucian panted, his hands braced on his knees. "But I have something else."

"Show me. Don't waste time."

Lucian walked to the center of the floor. Three rubber dummies stood opposite him, painted blue with white bull's-eyes on their chests. He took a deep breath and held out both hands.

Bang.

A shockwave exploded from his palms, visibly distorting the air for an instant. It struck the rubber dummies, lifting them half a meter off the ground and sending them sliding back three or four feet before they wobbled to a stop. The gym fell silent for two seconds. The staff member leaned out from behind the folding table and whistled.

"Whoa. Shockwaves? Nice ability. Both the range and the force are respectable. Looks like you can apply to the Lamplighter School for Crimefighting. Congratulations, you passed the test. Pay your fees, then wait for your dorm assignment notice."