13 12: Kelsie

'Whelp, time to get this nightmare started,' Kelsie thinks. She sinks down in her chair and waits for the class to officially get rolling.

Most of the students in her class harbor EXTREME anti-meta opinions so getting through their presentations would be hard. Since they were going in alphabetical order, Victoria would be among the first few. Another small blessing is that there is only 10-15 of them so the class will be fairly short.

"Katie!" Doctor Becker calls her out. Katie looks up from where she's sitting in the back row.

"Yes?"

"You're up. Now, let's see what you've got today!" She motions for Katie to come down to the floor.

Once she reaches the podium, Katie looks around in confusion. "How am I supposed to show everyone my video?"

"Grab the cord and plug it into the USB port," Kelsie calls out. "Then you should just be able to pull up the video."

"Thank you Miss Mortem! Now, let's get this show on the road!" Taking a seat behind her desk, Doctor Becker motions for Katie to start her project.

Finding the file on her laptop, Katie pulls up her video presentation and presses play.

The Katie in the video starts talking. "It took me a little while to find a meta that I can use for my project but I finally came across one. They performs all over the country to show everyone that no matter what anyone thinks a meta is, they aren't all dangerous. Unfortunately, they are choosing to remain anonymous so that no one comes hunting them down. I am still able to record them but their face will be blurred out. So without further ado, let the show begin!" She steps out of the frame to reveal a blurred figure behind her.

The figure immediately sends out bursts of flames and proceeds to put on a show using flames that are dozens of colors.

Quickly glancing around the room, Kelsie notices that most of her classmates look agitated at the show of power. The video wraps up with the figure taking a deep bow. \

"So as you can see, the person I chose is a fire meta. They have multiple skills but this one in particular chooses to focus on fire and creating illusion like effects with flames. Metas like them chanel the energy in them to create fire. The particles around them are not necessarily affected but there is currently limited knowledge of how a fire meta works." Katie says. "If there were ways to learn more about them that are not the current methods, it would be interesting to see what I can learn." She shuts the lid of her laptop and the projector goes dark.

Scattered applause comes from different points around the lecture hall.

"Thank you so much Katie! Does anyone have any questions for her before we move on?"

Everyone remains silent. Speaking up about metas in any way tends to be a death wish in this class.

"Alrighty then. Victoria! You're up next!"

"Wish me luck," she whispers to Kelsie. "Let's hope this doesn't go sideways."

"Good luck girl," Kelsie whispers back.

Victoria heads down to the podium and gets her video started.

She's standing in Zoo Atlanta holding a lizard in her hands. "Hey y'all, finding a meta for this project was not hard but it was hard to find one that is different from what everyone else could be choosing. Since some meta's have unique powers, I decided to track one down. My search lead me here to Zoo Atlanta where I found exactly who I'm looking for."

Crawling down her leg, the lizard morphs into a man in a zookeepers outfit. "Thank you for letting me be a part of your project miss. My name is Braxton Temple and I'm the head zookeeper here. Due to my special ability, I'm able to find out what our animals need here and make sure they're comfortable."

"Even though everyone thinks metas are a menace, there are some like Braxton who is able to help our planet and those that live on it." A roar sounds from off-screen and Braxton turns towards the sound.

"I'd love to stay and explain more but duty calls." With that, he shifts into an eagle and flies away. The video ends right after that.

From the podium, Victoria picks up her presentation. "Braxton is able to shift the particles in his body into other forms. There are limits to how long he can stay changed and what animals he can use, but overall he can interact with almost all species without any problems." Her presentation leaves everyone speechless. A smirk is on Victoria's face as she makes her way back to her seat.

"How did I not know he was a meta," Kelsie whispers. "I've seen him enough times that I should've figured it out."

Brian is the first one to break the silence. "So you're telling me, that someone we've all interacted with is a meta? I know I'm never going there again."

Murmurs of agreement break out all over the room.

"Well, if you feel so strongly about metas, why don't you present next?" Dr. Becker calls him out. She knows how the class feels but she refuses to fuel their argument.

He scoffs at her remark. "I think I'll go last if you don't mind."

"Whatever you say Brian. Does anyone else want to go now?"

Kelsie raises her hand. "I can go next if that's okay."

"Perfect!"

Sliding her phone into the pocket in her jeans, Kelsie grabs her iMac and makes her way down to the podium.

While connecting her laptop Kelsie takes a deep breath. 'Please let this go well,' she thinks.

She lets the video play and then pauses it right after she explains.

Immediately, a guy in the back of the class says, "That's awful. Children shouldn't be using their powers like that. If they keep using them then society will fall to pieces over children that use them for good and evil."

Dr. Becker sighs in disappointment. "The point of this project is not to state your opinions but to learn about metas in some way. If you want to talk about other matters, please wait until all presentations are over."

Almost all of the class groans when she cuts them off. There is nothing they love more than a good argument.

"Kelsie, if you could please continue."

...

The rest of the presentations go by fairly quickly and without any incidents. Next was the one Kelsie had been dreading the entire class: Brian's.

He sets up and waits for the class to quiet down before powering up his video. Kelsie's face flashes on screen. Only thing is the class doesn't know that it's her. The eyes and hair are all wrong and the picture is blurry. That and it's from a few years ago.

"For my project I couldn't find a meta to use so I found one that everyone has heard about," Brian begins.

Kelsie groans and slumps down in her seat. Victoria looks at her and proceeds to pull out her phone. A second later Kelsie's phone buzzes in her pocket.

Pulling it out Kelsie finds a text from Victoria reading: "U good?"

She shoots a "yes" back and then turns her attention back to Brian.

"Not much is known about this meta except that she is able to manipulate light however she wants and is deadly. This clip is one of the few videos we have of her in action." He presses play and the video starts.

...

She's standing right under a security camera and is keeping an eye on a lady standing across the street. In one quick movement she runs across the street and pulls light into her hands. It quickly forms a gag and knife and she moves behind the lady.

Manipulating the light forming the gag, she ties it around the lady's head and jerks her into an alleyway.

...

The video ends with that. With the class still in shock over what they just saw Brian takes his chance.

"People like her is why metas need to be locked away and not allowed out around normal people like us. It's rumored that she has killed dozens of people and yet none of the world governments are taking actions to find her." Brian keeps going.

After a minute or two Kelsie tunes him out. She leans towards Victoria. "This really is some bullshit he's saying."

"Agreed. I wish something would shut him up already."

"Who knows, maybe something will save us from this torture." With that an idea forms in Kelsie's head. Now she just had to wait for the right moment.

Soon, enough light streams in that Kelsie can execute her plan unnoticed. She pulls a small beam and focuses on Brian's laptops hinge. A little more time passes and the laptop catches on fire.

As soon as the fire gets large enough to be noticed, Brian screams at the top of his lungs. "SOMEONE PUT IT OUT! SOMEONE PUT IT OUT!!"

"Just get a water bottle you idiot," Victoria calls out. "That should take care of it."

Kelsie just sits there and snickers at the rest of the class. Some are running around like chickens with their heads cut off and some are trying to locate water. Eventually a water bottle makes its way to right beside the podium.

Unseen to anyone else, Victoria makes several hand movements and looks around until her eyes focus on Brian. A minute later while he's still flailing his arms around, something happens.

All the water bottles in the lecture hall explode and everyone gets soaked. Next thing that happens is the water pulls straight towards Brian and starts circling him. He screams again and all the water falls towards the floor.

"META!!!" Someone yells. The class grabs all their stuff and scrambles to the top of the lecture hall so they're as far away from him as possible.

"What just happened?" Victoria asks.

"I-I don't know. He's been here the whole semester and no one knew he was a meta?" Kelsie responds.

"The perfect cover," Victoria whispers. "Who would ever think that someone who hates metas would be a meta themself. It's literally the PERFECT COVER!"

"It actually is."

...

After a couple minutes of everyone staying as far away from Brian as they can, campus security finally walks in. They handcuff him and pull him out of the lecture hall.

Everyone slowly trickles out of the building to see a small crowd waiting for them outside. Marin catches Kelsie's eyes from the crowd and he runs over to her. Victoria steps back while he pulls her into a hug.

"Are you okay? I heard what happened with that boy."

"I'm fine. No one was hurt so this can all be left behind."

"Umm, can we actually talk about this somewhere else?" Victoria speaks up. "I know what you think about metas so with all these people around it might not be the best time."

Marin looks at Kelsie to see if it's okay. She gives a quick nod and he turns towards Victoria. "Let's head to our car. We might be able to talk there since it's away from prying eyes."

"Whatever works for y'all."

They head towards the garage where their Tesla is parked. Climbing in Victoria looks at them both dead in the eyes. "I know you're both metas."

"What!? No we're not." Marin immediately tries to deny it.

"Yes you are. You," she points at Marin, "are an invisibility meta and Kelsie is the one Brian used for his project."

Kelsie looks at her in shock. "How did you figure that out."

Victoria just shoots a slightly evil grin at her. "Because I'm a meta myself. I can absorb other meta's powers and use them myself along with activate dormant meta DNA in people."

"Woah woah woah." Marin interrupts her. "You've known she was a meta for how long?"

"Since we met. I always like messing with the powers of metas I run into throughout the day and was surprised to find hers. One day I went nowhere but to class and figured it out. Yours was easy since there's very few metas on campus and I know exactly who they are. It might also be a good time to mention that I can boost the powers of other metas."

Realization dawns on Kelsie. "So you're the reason Brian went crazy in class."

"Yep! He must have someone back in his family tree who was a meta so I simply used what was there and activated his powers. Now, he has to learn how to use them so he doesn't kill somebody."

"Eh, it'll toughen the kid up. Seeing someone dead does that to you," Marin tells her.

Victoria just sighs at him. "So, can I see how y'all operate?"