The next day at school, Carl sat in his classroom, half-listening to the usual lunchtime chatter buzzing around him. Students laughed, gossiped, and speculated, their voices filling the room like a low hum.
"It turns out that Magnograv and the space engineer were helped by the other heroes," one student said excitedly. "The news confirmed yesterday that they're both safe."
"Thank goodness," another sighed in relief. "For a minute there, I almost believed he was a bad guy."
"I never doubted him," the first student added proudly.
Carl leaned his head against his right arm, sighing heavily as he gazed out the window to his left. Man, he thought irritably, these guys are something else. All they ever do is talk and talk. His frustration grew, and he closed his eyes, willing himself to tune out the endless voices.
Just then, Katy entered the classroom, walking straight toward him with a determined look. She stopped at his desk, her arms crossed. "Carl, we need to talk."
Carl groaned internally and lifted his head. "Really? Right now?" he grumbled, letting his forehead drop against the desk with a soft thud. "I was just starting to get sleepy."
"I won't force you," Katy said, shrugging. "I just got some new info on him."
That caught Carl's attention. He looked up at her, interest piqued. Without waiting for a response, Katy turned and walked away. Carl quickly stood up and followed her out of the classroom, his curiosity outweighing his exhaustion.
They ended up on the school roof, where the afternoon breeze tugged at their hair. Katy pulled out her phone and held the screen up to him. "We found this in his room yesterday," she said.
Carl stared at the image, confused. "Okay... but what is it?" he asked, squinting.
"That's what I haven't figured out yet," Katy admitted, lowering the phone. "But one thing's for sure—it's pure alien tech."
Carl's mind whirled. What if I show it to the others? Maybe they'll know what it is. Out loud, he asked, "Can you send me a picture of it?"
"Alright," Katy agreed. "I'll have Beatrix send it to you."
"Thanks," Carl said, already turning to head back inside.
Later that day at I.P.F. Headquarters, Carl was in his assigned room. He had taken the liberty of arranging it exactly how he liked, personalizing the space with posters, equipment, and other touches that made it feel like his own.
After finishing his organizing, Carl stretched his arms above his head and let out a long breath. "Haaa! That was a lot of work."
Link's voice chimed from the room's AI system. "Yes, you have done really nicely. Good job."
"Thanks, Link," Carl said, smiling. Then, hearing another voice from his watch, he rolled his eyes.
"You're calling me ungrateful?!" Beatrix huffed. "What have you ever done that requires me to be grateful? Nothing! That's what!"
Carl chuckled to himself. I don't have time for your rant today, he thought. I have to go train.
As if on cue, Link spoke again. "An invite has also just been sent from the training room requesting your presence."
Carl's excitement returned. "Alright," he said, quickly changing into his training clothes. "Okay, Link, show me the way." He left the room with a spring in his step.
Meanwhile, in the training room, Cecelia floated gracefully in the air, effortlessly dodging and firing blasts of wind at Leo, who responded with increasing agility.
"Your attack speed has gotten even faster than before!" Cecelia called down, grinning.
"Thanks! It's something I've been working on," Leo replied, summoning a protective wall of stone from the earth with the opal gemstone embedded in his suit.
Cecelia wasn't letting up. She hurled a massive ball of compressed air toward him. Leo braced himself, but even with his earth wall, he struggled to withstand the force.
Nearby, Brody was immersed in a high-intensity simulation, dodging and countering with his nanobots, his focus unbreakable.
Just as Leo was about to falter against the air blast, Carl walked in. With a casual motion, he directed a gravitational force against the attack, dispersing the ball of wind harmlessly. "Hey guys," he greeted.
"Hey, Carl! You wanna train too?" Leo asked.
"Of course," Carl said enthusiastically. "Though I heard someone already sent me an invitation."
Leo chuckled. "That would be Brody over there."
Carl glanced over and saw Brody still deep in his simulation, barely aware of anything else. "Well, it seems he's busy right now," Carl said. "Might as well start my own training."
Cecelia dropped lightly to the ground and walked over. "How do you train, Carl? Do you, like, use your powers to make movement easier or something?"
Carl chuckled nervously. "Actually, it's kind of the opposite."
"What do you mean?" Cecelia asked, tilting her head.
"I actually use my gravitational powers to increase the weight on myself while running. I add the pressure slowly so I can stop right before I strain myself."
"Wow," Cecelia said, wide-eyed. "That must be super hard. My training is just skydiving and feeling out the wind currents."
Carl blinked at her, horrified. That's not an easier task at all, he thought. It might not strain you physically, but my heart and mental state couldn't take that kind of adrenaline.
Leo chimed in. "Well, your method might be difficult in the beginning, but since you're used to it, it's basically part of you now. Plus, it definitely increases your natural speed."
"Yeah, yeah," Carl said with a sheepish smile. Even though I never really thought about it that way.
Determined, he walked over to a circular racing track simulation that wrapped around the training room. Taking a deep breath, he began increasing the gravity on himself slowly, forcing his body to adapt as he ran.
Up in the main hall, Oliver and Mike observed the training sessions from behind a glass panel.
"Look at that boy," Mike said, intrigued. "He trains while increasing gravity on himself. While it might have some disadvantages, it's a very solid approach, especially for powers like his."
Oliver smiled thoughtfully. "I'm interested in him too. He's got the power, and more importantly, he's got the potential and determination to push beyond his limits. I wonder—how did he even gain such abilities in the first place?"
"There are a lot of things we don't know about him," Mike agreed. "But I think you should ask him. He's not arrogant or selfish. He'll tell you if you're honest."
Oliver nodded, deep in thought. Speaking of asking him, he mused silently, I've been wanting to know what he truly knows about the Ceresian he fought. He did say there was a personal reason for their battle… so he must be hiding something important.