Secrets Part 1

"If there are no more questions, I think Zion and I are gonna head out now," Layla announced.

Layla and I went inside the room, she motioned to close the doors, and I quickly do so. We started to look for the vent's opening but couldn't find one.

"Try looking under these bunk beds." She instructed. I swiftly ducked below and started to look for the vent's opening. Almost immediately, I found it right under the second bunk bed.

"I found it," I whispered proudly. She went over and ducked below to see the vent. She smiles after seeing that it was actually there and that I wasn't bluffing.

"Good job Zion, and that vent looks large enough to fit the both of us, but probably not side by side. Let's hurry up and go, we're wasting precious time." She whispered a reply to me, she then closes her eyes and raised her hand close to her chest.

"What are you doing?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I'm using my quirk. It's a little bit dangerous so you might want to back away" She said. Following her instructions by heart, I quickly backed away. As I back away, I saw liquid metallic tentacles coming out of her body, ripping out small parts of her shirt. The tentacles encircled the vent as if it's their prey, and with a swift motion of Layla's wrist, the water tentacles quickly ripped out the metal cover of the vent and fold it into a tiny square metal scrap like it's paper.

"Zion look out!" Layla called out as a rogue metal scrap quickly approaches me. I tried to evade it but my body was frozen in place, the only thing I can do is to move my hand or use my unstable quirk.

Ultimately deciding that choice, I quickly positioned myself and got comfortable. I raised my hand and closed my palm hoping my ability works and save me from the deadly rogue metal scrap. To my surprise it did work. The scrap suddenly convulsed and shakes violently. In a matter of seconds, the once metal scrap before turns into a set of little brown moths.

"Dang, so that was your ability? Turn things into little brown moths?" Layla questioned, unbothered to the that a metal scrap was almost about to stab me in the face.

"Geez, and here I thought you were gonna ask me if I'm okay," I commented sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Fine your highness, are you okay? Did that mean metal scrap hurt your pretty face?"She quipped.

"Okay, I am not sensitive nor I'm anything relating to a royalty but yes my "pretty" face is fine, thank you for asking. Can we move on now?" I replied. She moved aside and gestured for me to enter the open vent.

"Royals first."

"Ha ha real funny, just don't stare at my butt."

****

I entered the cold metal vent and surprising I do not feel uncomfortable, sure the vent is cold to crawl and that gives my elbows a little sting and numbness but the adrenaline in my body fuels me that I can almost bare it for now.

"You still didn't answer my question, Zion." Layla suddenly whispered. I was about to ask her why she was whispering but then I remembered every movie heist and every movie moment when you're in a vent is that you always have to stay quiet or simply whisper whenever you are talking to somebody.

"What question are you asking?" I whispered a reply. I suddenly noticed that this vent does not have any intersections, turns, or dead ends, it just goes straight.

"Was that your ability? Turning stuff into brown moths?" She questioned. I hesitated to answer her question for a while. I barely even know this person and yes we did meet and became a sort of friends but that interaction was quick and it happened a long time ago. Should I just evade the question or trust her?

Choosing the latter I said, "Actually and honestly, I still don't know what I'm capable of."

"What do you mean?" She asked a slight worry was present in her tone.

"I just found out that I do have extraordinary abilities, but I don't know what it is. It seems like it's random. One time I managed to make those beasts in the maze to freeze in place, the next, I somehow managed to create a huge gargoyle from the metal walls of the maze." I explained. I was expecting a reaction from her or a response but she didn't utter a single word. Fearing that I lost her in the vents somehow, I turn around, but she was there, behind me.

"Why are you suddenly quiet Layla? Did I say something that offended you?" I asked, internally panicking and thinking that I might screw up our friendship.

"No, you didn't say anything offensive. I was just thinking about your random ability." Layla replied, she titled her head slightly and looked at me.

"Tell me, do your quirk intensifies whenever you feel a strong emotion? Or maybe your ability's power and intensity amplifies whenever you're angry, scared, sad, or you're about to die?" She added. I was quite surprised by her question, how does she know about my ability's strangeness? Is this just a lucky guess or does she know something?

"Yeah, that is exactly how my quirk is. How do you know that?" I asked.

"Do you know the story of Claire Mendez?" Layla suddenly stopped crawling, I immediately halted once I saw her not crawling, I turned around to face her.

" Do you mean Claire Marie Mendez? Daughter of Hellviana Mendez the person who built this place?" I answered. Layla gleamed at my response and nodded excitedly.

"Yeah I know her story but not that much, unfortunately. That part in the history books is kinda vague and the full story of it is restricted to the school officials only." I explained.

"Good, then you probably know that she went missing during her and her boyfriend, Adam Fortuna's son. She found out that he was cheating on her with a pregnant girl and ran away, never to be seen." Layla explained so quickly she sounded like she was rapping.

She took a huge gulp of air and continued to explain, "But did you know she was pregnant to Adam's son and she was also an Extraordinaire?"

"Wait what? In the books in history, it was stated that she went missing after their anniversary, and also it was never stated that she was just like us. An Extraordinaire." I commented, dumbfounded, and completely in disbelief to this revelation.

"Those books are all lies, well some of them. But the point that I'm trying to say is that when she was an Extraordinaire, she showed the same symptoms as you." Layla explained.

"She became and had extraordinary abilities late, and she, just like you, has an ability that's connected to their emotions, and her ability is at random as well. That's why this place was formed, to begin with, but then she vanished into thin air so Hellviana turned this into a school for the Elite and Extraordinaire, just like her daughter." She rambled. There was so much information in my brain that I couldn't handle everything at once.

"Wait, hold up just for a second... What are you trying to imply here?" I questioned. The world was spinning all around me and I felt dizzy, the cold air brought by the air-conditioning didn't help either.

"I'm implying that you and Claire Mendez might be connected. She had an unborn child with her when she disappeared, maybe you're his son. You're Claire Mendez's son." Layla Asperth finally said what I was thinking she was gonna say.