Mind Control

An icy sensation seeped into Lucian's right palm, and a faint silvery-white halo appeared at the edges of his vision.

Mind Control LV3, copying complete.

Ability permanently acquired: close-range memory reading, memory deletion, false memory implantation, basic hypnosis.

Lucian closed his eyes, feeling out how to use his new ability. It was like learning to ride a bicycle: his body already knew what to do. He just needed practice.

He opened his eyes again and looked at Rufus's face.

His right hand was still pressed against it. He no longer needed to copy the ability, but he needed to test it.

Lucian focused, his consciousness piercing Rufus's brain like an invisible needle. He saw fragments. Rufus's memories were like a ball of yarn clawed into a tangle by a cat, filled with all kinds of disgusting images. Parties, drugging drinks, girls' terrified faces, then a blank. There were also nondisclosure agreements handed over by people from the Vought Legal Department, lawyers' smiling faces, and phone calls from his parents.

Lucian frowned. He didn't like these images, but he needed to find the memories from just now.

He found them, right on the surface. Memories from three minutes ago: seeing an Asian kid come in, swearing at him a couple of times, going into the bathroom, then coming out... After that, there was a blank. His memories cut off the instant the shockwave knocked him unconscious.

Lucian began to weave.

He implanted a new memory: after finishing up, Rufus walked out of the bathroom and saw his new roommate standing by the door. They exchanged a brief greeting. Then Rufus looked around the dorm room and suddenly felt the place was awful. The mattress was as hard as a coffin lid, and a foul smell always hung in the air. He immediately decided he had to change rooms. He couldn't stay another moment.

At the same time, Lucian buried a suggestion deep in Rufus's memories: nothing had happened just now. There had been no conflict. Everything had been boring and not worth remembering.

The implantation was complete.

Lucian withdrew his right hand and shook his wrist. The shockwave in his left palm slowly dissipated, its blue light fading out. He stood, his knee clicking.

He walked to the window and pulled back the curtains, letting in the afternoon sunlight. Then he took a cup out of the plastic bag, went to the bathroom to fill it with water, and took a sip.

A few minutes later, Rufus groaned on the floor.

His eyelids fluttered and slowly opened. His gaze was confused at first, then turned to heartfelt disgust. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his chest.

"Fuck, what a shithole," Rufus muttered. "I can't fucking live here."

He got up and brushed off his pants. Without even glancing at Lucian, he went straight to his bed. He grabbed his backpack, haphazardly stuffed in a few pieces of clothing, and shoved his laptop into its sleeve, his movements hurried.

At the door, Rufus stopped. He glanced back at Lucian, his eyes holding no suspicion, only a look of disdain that said, How can you stand living here?

"Suit yourself," Rufus said. "This place is fit for rats."

The door slammed shut. His footsteps quickly receded down the hallway.

Lucian stood in the middle of the room, still holding his cup of water. He took a sip, then walked to the bed Rufus had been lying on, pulled off the blanket, balled it up, and tossed it into the trash can outside the door.

He returned to his own bed, spread out the new blanket he had bought at Walmart, and sat down.

He was the only one left in the dorm room. The disgusting smell Rufus had left behind still lingered, but the window was open, and the breeze was slowly dispersing it.

After using his ability to drive Rufus away, Lucian lay on his bed for a while, recovering from the fatigue of prolonged ability use. Just then, his phone vibrated twice on the bedside table.

He reached for his phone. A message from Jordan was on the screen.

"Hey bro, have you checked in yet? Which building are you in?"

Lucian typed, "D-317."

"What a coincidence. I'm in D-325. Just a few doors down. Want to grab some food?"

"Sure. Meet downstairs in a bit."

Lucian got up and took a quick shower. He changed into a newly bought black T-shirt and jeans, then headed out.

He stopped when he reached the second floor.

The stairwell window faced the administration building. A blonde figure was walking along the flagstone path. She wore an oversized gray hoodie and thick black leather gloves on both hands, her fingers curled inside her cuffs. She clutched several books tightly, their corners pressed against her chin.

Cate.

During a family camping trip when she was nine, she had grown annoyed with her noisy younger brother and unconsciously said, "Go away and never come back." It had triggered her Mind Control ability, causing her brother to go missing and ultimately die.

After that, she had been locked in her bedroom for nine years. Her parents saw her as a monster and required him to wear thick gloves to keep her from accidentally touching anyone and saying something she shouldn't again.

That lasted until Principal Indira learned of her ability and came to visit, giving her medication to control it and bringing her to Godolkin, offering her a chance to be "normal."

Cate had probably just come out of the principal's office after getting her medication, or had just been lectured. She still wasn't used to crowds and wasn't yet the glamorous figure she would become.

Lucian watched her retreating figure disappear through the administration building's revolving door.

"What are you looking at?"

Jordan's voice came from behind him. Lucian turned.

"Nothing. Let's go eat." Lucian looked away and continued down the stairs.

Jordan leaned toward the window and followed his earlier line of sight.

"Oh, that blonde girl." Jordan whistled. "That's your type? The gloomy kind?"

"Just remembered something."

"She looks like the type to write sad poetry." Jordan caught up with Lucian as they headed toward the cafeteria. "Or keep three cats in her dorm and never talk to anyone."

"Maybe."

Jordan shrugged and didn't press further.

The cafeteria was bustling. Carrying trays, the two lined up at the pizza and burger counter. Jordan piled three slices of pizza onto a plate, while Lucian only ordered a grilled chicken salad and a black coffee.

People at a nearby table were loudly discussing last night's party.

"Did you guys go to the one on the lawn? Someone set the grill on fire, and the fire suppression system didn't even kick in."

"What happened to that idiot playing with fire?"

"An upperclassman snapped him out of it with a basin of water. Classic."

Lucian turned to Jordan. "Sounds like there's a freshman party on the lawn outside. Want to check it out?"

Jordan looked at the people discussing the party, a hint of hesitation in that eager gaze. "Sure. Nothing else to do anyway."

The crowd on the lawn was already partying hard.

Speakers were set up in the bed of a pickup, the subwoofers making the ground tremble. Hundreds of young people crowded the lawn. Some held up beer cans, while others floated three meters in the air, swaying to the beat. A bald kid was breathing fire into the sky. The air was thick with barbecue smoke, perfume, sweat, and another, more pungent smell that might have been tobacco or something else.

Here, he was in his element.