Steam Core

There were only three new students in the invention elective. Ed, Dexter, and Flair were walking together towards the class. Dexter was a tall and scrawny black teenager that wore glasses. He had short hair and looked very ordinary. He had chosen to use his real name for his hunter name, which was unusual. Flair's real name was Kiania. She had chosen Flair as her hunter name and insisted that others call her it. She had long blond hair, tan skin, and hazel eyes.

Dexter took the lead in starting a conversation. "So, it looks like we're the only three invention espers. We're a lot rarer than combat espers and support espers. The government highly values our types since we can use our products to improve combat strength for other espers and ordinary humans. The companies also value us since our products can make them a fortune. We should end up pretty well off."

"Haha." Flair chuckled, "I'm going to become rich. Then I'll lock myself up in a garage all day while I make things. I don't want to fight mutants. What weirdos would want to do that?"

Ed shook his head, "We'll probably be forced to fight anyways. At least while we're still in training. Maybe we'll get more say when we become stronger."

"True." Dexter nodded. "I'm not sure why, but the government encourages all espers to engage in combat."

"That's obvious!" Flair replied. "Espers get stronger more quickly if they fight often. Who knows why though? Maybe the stress helps or something?"

"Anyways…" Dexter interrupted. "Since the three of us will be in class together, how about we introduce our powers? We may be able to work together. I've named my power AI. It stands for Artificial Intelligence. I can provide simple instructions to machines. For example, I could take a mech suit and make it run on its own without anyone controlling it."

"Eh?" Ed spoke, "That's kind of weird isn't it? Those things aren't designed to move on their own."

"Haha!" Flair laughed, "Do you really think any of our powers make sense? If they did, then nobody would be researching them." She skipped a few steps ahead of the boys. Then she turned around and smiled, "As for my power… I can cover anything I want with a bright light. Then I immediately understand information about it. If I covered a mech suit, then I would know exactly how it worked, its weak points, and its current status. If I cover a human, then I can learn their height, lineage, weakness, etc. I can even use it to learn other esper's powers, but it only partially works on those stronger than me. I call my power perception!"

"Hmm." Ed rubbed his chin. "Your power sounds more like a support type. Is it because your powers allow you to understand technology easily that you were put in the invention elective?"

"That's part of it." She nodded. "The other reason is that I'm a genius! I was already making things before I awakened as an esper. I went to the number one college in Reef city after all."

"College?" Dexter questioned. "Shouldn't we all be around the same age?"

"Un!" Flair nodded. "I'm actually a bit younger than most of our class. I'd still be in middle school if I was an ordinary person. I skipped a bunch of grades and went to engineering college early."

"Woah! Lucky!" Dexter replied. "I wish I could have skipped grades. School was always so boring." He turned to look at Ed. "You're next. What's your power?"

"I can freely reform and weld together any solid, non-living things." Ed smiled. "I call my power Weld and chose it as my hunter name as well."

"Mm." Dexter nodded. "Seems like the three of us mesh well together. Flair is a genius engineer. Ed can shape and weld most things as we need. I can provide instructions to the machines. Haha! I bet we're going to kick ass in this class!"

The trio reached their elective class. It was in a huge warehouse several minutes away from the main school building. The warehouse was divided into various garages and a common area in the center for students and teachers to meet. The three entered and sat down in the center of the building.

"Welcome, students!" A voice rang out. The three turned to look and they spoke in unison, "Mr. Ardy?"

"Right." Mr. Ardy nodded. "I'm also the teacher for the invention elective. I've spent my whole life researching espers and mutants. I've worked to use my research and engineering experience to combine technology and mana. I'll give you a tour before we get started. Let's go."

Mr. Ardy led them into one of the garages. "Each of you will receive your own garage identical to this one." He pointed towards a workbench and some crates. "You'll have a full assortment of tools and supplies available for your use. You may also fill out requests for additional supplies. All materials used must be documented. Every big project requires a proposal and budget. A presentation and learning report must be presented when it's finished. Smaller projects can be worked on whenever you want, and you're only required to report the materials used when finished."

Mr. Ardy led them out of the garage and walked towards the back of the warehouse. He opened a door and the group walked outside. They were in a scrap yard surrounded by metal and wood scraps. Broken steam wagons, rusty mech suits, and other miscellaneous items were scattered everywhere. "This is the junkyard. You're free to take anything from here without reporting it. It's all scrapped junk from older projects."

He then led them back into the warehouse, walking towards a corner of it where a garage labeled #1 was located. They entered the garage.

"Is that?!" Dexter exclaimed excitedly "A mech suit? It looks nothing like the ones I've seen before!"

"That's correct." Mr. Ardy smiled. "This is my baby. I've been working on her for the past ten years and she's almost finished." His eyes gleamed with excitement. "It won't be possible to mass produce them, but I'm hoping to form a team that can custom build them for elite soldiers to operate. Truly worthy soldiers that deserve to pilot these, despite not being espers."

Ed stared at the mech. It made the one his father piloted look like a kid's toy. The mech in front of him stood three stories tall. Its steel shone brightly in the light. It's arms and legs seemed flexible, just like a human's limbs. A giant spear was wielded in its right arm. One thing that seemed odd was that the entire mech, including the spear, was covered with holes.

Mr. Ardy rose his chest proudly, "I'll explain a bit of how it works. This mech is a result of my research into engineering, mana, and steam technology. The body is a feat of engineering. I recruited quite a few espers to help get everything just right. The biggest challenge was the issue of power. A steam engine wasn't enough to operate it alone. Even if it was, then the water supply would never last beyond a minute."

He pointed towards the mech torso. "Inside the chest, I've placed a new steam engine I've invented! I call this engine a steam core! I took mana-cores from mutants and ground them into dust. The dust can be divided into 7 different colored powders. These powders correspond to fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, dark, and light. This is a relatively recent discovery and is being researched heavily. We believe it may unlock new discoveries into the laws of how mana operates. I used the fire powder to create a battery and the water powder to create a 2nd battery. The water battery can produce large volumes of water. The fire battery converts the water to steam. I placed the batteries inside a sphere covered with holes. As the pressure increases, the sphere rapidly spins while shooting out steam."

Mr. Ardy pointed towards the holes on the body. "I'm sure you've noticed the holes all over the mech body by now, right? The pilot can use levers to control the paths the steam takes to exit the mech. The various holes allow for fine control of the entire mech, as opposed to relying purely on gears and pistons. Unfortunately, the piloting ability required is extremely high. Any questions?"

"This… This is amazing!" Flair yelled excitedly. "This will change steam technology as we know it! How long can it operate using a steam core?"

"It should last for at least an hour." Mr. Ardy smiled. "Not only that! It's easy to replace the batteries. You can even take the whole steam core out and throw a new one in to immediately begin operations again. Pretty cool, right?"

Ed stared at the machine, desperately wanting to try piloting it. "Mr. Ardy, will students ever get a chance to pilot one?"

"Hmm." Mr. Ardy rubbed his chin. "Show me some impressive inventions and I'll consider it. It's already operable. I'm mainly just looking for ways to simplify the controls now. Each hole has a lever corresponding to it. It's too difficult for a human to pilot. If I cluster the holes together then it leads to a decrease in precision…"

"I think I may be able to help with that in the future." Dexter smiled. "My power allows me to assign simple instructions to machines. Couldn't we find a way to use it to simplify the controls somehow? Perhaps we can make some kind of switch controller or something?"

"That would certainly solve the problem…" Mr. Ardy nodded. "However, I can't trust you with my baby just yet. Let's see how you do on other projects first. I can't risk you ruining my prized invention because of inexperience."

Dexter nodded. The trio continued to talk excitedly while discussing the mech. They offered different ideas for improvement and occasionally discussed the mana-powders. The mana-powders had the potential to drastically change the way all technology operated. Soon, it grew dark outside. The trio realized class had ended a long time ago.

"Haha! This is embarrassing." Mr. Ardy scratched the back of his head while blushing. "I always get a bit excited when discussing the steam core and mana-powders." He waved his hand, "Sorry to keep you so long. Class is dismissed. We'll meet again tomorrow afternoon. Head on home. You all have to get up early tomorrow for your ordinary classes at the mainland."

The trio headed towards their dorms and went to sleep for the night.

…

The next morning. The group of twenty students met at the boat on the east side of Governors Island. They had to pass the Buttermilk Channel by boat to reach the mainland. Then, they would take a 15-minute steam wagon ride to reach an ordinary school.

Mr. Sai led the students on the boat. "Listen up!" He yelled. "Today, I will be leading you to the school. In the future, you will be expected to attend on your own. No one is going to babysit you. All of you have been registered as part of an exchange student program we have set up with the school. No one there will know you're espers except for the principle and a few select teachers. If you expose your identity, we will pull you out of school and claim the government recruited you after discovering your powers."

"What will you do with us after that happens?" A student interrupted.

He smiled, "Any students pulled out of school will be personally tutored by me. I will give you the best training you could ever hope for. The trip to the moon from yesterday will seem like a vacation compared to it! You might even die!"

The ten students that went with Mr. Sai yesterday shivered in fear. Husky spoke, "Eh? They really were taken to the moon?! What could be scarier than that?"

"You don't want to know" Yuki shivered while holding her arms to her chest.

The steam boat slowly traveled across the water. They reached the other side and quickly boarded a steam bus. The group gaped and stared at the surrounding buildings as they traveled through the streets. Most of them were from Reef city and were not used to the amazing sights.

"Hey!" Husky yelled excitedly. "Did you guys see the lights on the dome at night? Those sexy lingerie models they use in advertisements! How is that even legal?!"

"Gross" Yuki frowned. "That's the kind of thought you should keep to yourself."

"Eh? What lights?" Dexter questioned. "I usually go to sleep early. I've seen the dome cover the city before, but I haven't seen any lights on it?"

"You don't know what you're missing." Husky grinned. "Late at night, a bunch of lights form moving images on the dome. All sorts of advertisements for food, clothing, and more. The women were so pretty."

"Mm." Another student nodded. "It was pretty amazing. I want to know how it all works. I bet we'll learn about it in our ordinary classes."

The wagon continued to zig and zag through several streets before reaching a large building. It was much bigger than the school building used at Steam Work Academy. It had a more modern look that matched the rest of the city. Streams of students were entering the school. They all wore dark blue uniforms.

"Let's head inside!" Flair smiled. "It's been so long since I've gone to an ordinary school. I can't believe they're making me go back! They kept muttering nonsense about emotional and social development. I'm plenty social and emotional!" She happily continued to grumble as the twenty espers entered the school. They split up based on their age, some heading towards the middle school section and others the high school section. Today, they would start their ordinary lives once again.