Awakening!

Reef City. A large city constructed on flat land by the sea. Concrete skyscrapers towered into the sky. Steam wagons traveled through the wide roads, despite having no horses pull them. Soldiers marched the streets with large steam powered rifles on their backs.

A young boy, around 15 years in age, was riding a scooter. Two exhausts pipes occasionally had steam burst out, which boosted the scooter forward for several meters before it slowed down again. The scooter traveled down the roads and stopped in front of a high school. He got off the scooter and folded it up to carry in his arms. The boy's hair was so ruffled from the wind that it puffed out in random directions. The boy had pale skin, black eyes, and very curly black hair. He was about 1.6 meters tall.

"Hey Ed! That's a nice scooter you got there! You build this one too? I think I'll borrow it since your last one broke! You don't mind, right? Haha!"

The bully approaching Ed was much larger than him. He stood at least 1.8 meters tall. His hair was curly orange and he was covered in freckles.

Ed pulled out a shiny metal object and pointed it towards the large boy, "I'm not letting you take this one too Jake. Fuck off if you don't want a bullet in your head!"

Jake backed off slowly with sweat dripping down his back, "E… Ed where did you get that? You know it's illegal for citizens to carry arms. Have you gone crazy? Just calm down, okay? We're all friends here. It's all good."

As Jake continued to back up, he carefully examined the gun. Upon looking closer, he realized it was fake. He pummeled one fist in the other and yelled, "Oy, I've never seen a gun like that before?! It's fake, isn't it? Bastard! I'll fucking kill you!"

Jake rushed towards Ed with his arm ready to swing into a big punch!

BANG! A loud sound rang out. Jake stopped where he was and looked down in panic only to see he was unharmed. He looked back at Ed and the gun only to see a flag sticking out of it that said 'Bang' in cartoonish letters.

"ARAGHH! You little bitch!" Jake swung his fist at Ed who immediately ducked down and tried to tackle him. Ed pushed with all his might, trying to force Jake back. Suddenly, Ed felt his body being lifted into the air. The air rushed past him as he felt the ground rapidly approaching. "Ugh!" Ed felt the air leaving his lungs as the world turned black.

…

"Damn. I lost again. Just wait until I hit a growth spurt. I'll get my revenge!" Ed clenched his fists in anger. 'That was the third scooter I've lost… I shouldn't have brought it, but I was running late today. Damnit, I'm probably late now anyways. How long was I out for?'

Ed headed into the school and entered his classroom. The teacher was already lecturing and didn't give him a 2nd glance. He sat down in the back row and began to listen. Today's lesson was history.

The teacher spoke to the class, "The first apocalypse occurred when Earth was hit by a massive amount of plasma from the sun. This came to be known as the Coronal Mass Ejection Apocalypse. It wiped out all electronics in the world. When we attempted to recreate technology from the past, most of it did not work. However, it was soon discovered that steam technology still worked. We entered a new golden age of peace and prosperity.

Today, we are currently suffering from the 2nd apocalypse. The Mana Apocalypse. Each day, lives are lost to the growing mutant threat. Occasionally, a nightmare massacres an entire city, causing millions to die and even more to become homeless. Experts believe that the cause of this apocalypse is the new form of energy we've discovered throughout the world. This is known as mana."

A female student interrupted the teacher, "Professor! Is it really as bad as you say? Sure, people die a lot, but now we have espers with amazing powers!"

The teacher nodded and replied to the student, "Indeed. Some make the argument that we are in a new golden age due to the espers. Some believe they are the next step in human evolution. However, these people tend to be the odd ones out. Do you know how many espers died in the last nightmare attack?"

The student shook her head, "Was it a lot?"

The teacher sighed, "Over 300 espers died. Only 900 espers responded in total. In other words, there was a 33% casualty rate among espers. As for civilians? The death toll was in the millions. The nightmare left the scene without so much as a scratch."

Another student yelled in a deep voice, "What about the mech suits and steam tanks?! Can't we hold them off with those?"

The teacher shook his head, "It's true we've developed steam technology to new heights. Mech suits are the weapons of choice against mutants. Unfortunately, they won't even be able to scratch a nightmare. You children have grown up protected behind the city walls. Before Reef City had finished constructing the giant metal walls that surround it, we lost an uncountable number of lives. We didn't have mech suits back then, but even the steam rifles were practically worthless at the time. Today, normal humans at least stand a chance against them when piloting mechs."

The class ended, and the students got up to head for their next class. The teacher called for Ed, "Mr. Tesla. Please come up here for a minute."

"Yes professor. Was there something you needed?"

"Mm. I saw you were late again today. I'll expect to see you in detention after school today."

Ed nodded and left the classroom. He had already gotten used to it. Even if he tried to argue, the teacher wouldn't care. It's not that the teacher disliked Ed. On the contrary, he was the top student in school. However, this was an era where the strong survived and the weak died. A school bully wasn't a huge concern to anyone these days.

Ed headed for gym class and got changed. He walked two miles with the rest of his class. On the way back to the gym, Jake wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Hey buddy, thanks for the ride. My buddies want some too. Think you could help us out?"

Ed scowled, "Fuck off! You already took three. That was the only one I have, and it will take me at least a week to build another one!"

Two older boys walked over. One was covered in piercings and wore his uniform properly. The school uniform consisted of gray slacks, a white dress shirt, and a gray vest. This 17-year-old boy was a well-known delinquent within the school known as Robby.

The other student wasn't even wearing his uniform. He wore black jeans and a sleeveless black shirt. His arms had bracelets on them that continuously released steam into the air. His arms appeared slightly red from it, but he didn't seem to care. He was considered as part of the emo crowd. Some cut themselves and others used steam. Basically, they all wore black and liked hurting themselves. Ed had never seen this student before.

The two boys grabbed Ed by his arms and dragged him towards the nearby storage shed used for gym. They threw him into the shed and Jake followed them inside. The boy with the piercings squatted down and looked at Ed, "Me and my friend want some steam scooters. Problem is, we can't afford them. Jake told us you're the guy to talk to."

Ed glared at him, "I don't have any. Even if I did, I wouldn't give you one, so you can fuck off. Get a job if you want one so bad, lazy bastards."

The boy with the piercings smiled and then slammed a kick into Ed's stomach.

"Ugh!" Ed knelt down and held his stomach in pain.

The boy kicked Ed several more times before stopping. He glanced at his friend, "Andy, go get the bucket we prepared." Then he turned to look at Jake, "You. Come over and beat his ass too. The weak need to learn their place. The runt should be grateful I want something from him."

Jake ran over and started kicking Ed as well. This continued for several minutes until Andy returned with a big bucket. "Robby, I've got it!"

Robby smiled, "Good. Let's go."

Andy, Jake, and Robby walked out of the shed. Robby took the bucket and threw it towards Ed. Dozens of fist-size spiders started climbing out. "Aghhh! Get off! Get off!" Ed screamed in panic, trying to wipe the spiders off. Several bit him in the process. He dashed for the door, only for it to be slammed in his face. Che-clunk. The sound of a lock being closed echoed.

Robby yelled, "Enjoy the present! I'll come back to let you out on Monday. I hope you have a good weekend. We'll discuss the scooter business again then!"

Robby walked away while laughing. Andy and Jake followed him. Jake turned to Robby and hesitated a moment before whispering, "Is this really okay? There's no food or water in that shed?"

"Haha, don't worry about it. The teachers will let him out before the end of the day. They always put away equipment when school closes. They'll find him then. I'm just doing this to scare the brat into submission."

Jake sighed in relief, "That's good then. I've gotta get going to my next class. See you guys later!" He waved as he jogged off into the distance.

Robby turned to look at Andy, "You made sure to let the teacher know you'd handle putting away the gym equipment after school today, right?"

Andy nodded, "The coach was more than happy to let me do it, so he could leave early."

Robby grinned, "Good! See if that brat fights back after spending the whole weekend in that shed."

Ed was still fighting the spiders in the shed. He managed to kill most of them while the rest scurried off into hiding. He was covered in spider bites. He sighed, "God damnit. What did I do to deserve this? Maybe I should just make a real steam gun and prepare for jail."

He tried to open the doors, but all he could do was create a rattling sound. He screamed for help for several minutes, but nobody came. Feeling defeated, he slouched down against the wall and muttered, "Whatever. The teachers will let me out at the end of the day anyways." He yawned and slowly drifted off to sleep…

Edward woke up after several hours. Small trails of light drifted into the shed from some finger sized holes on the roof. Ed glanced at his watch, 'Eh? School closed an hour ago? Did they forget to put the gym equipment away?' His stomach made some grumbling noises, causing him to rub his stomach. 'Ugh, I haven't eaten all day. I might as well try to find a way out.'

He looked around the shed. Ordinary sports equipment was scattered on the floor and some tables were in a corner. He setup a table and began to grab things that looked useful to him. He found some ordinary pipes, a crowbar, and a rusty steam lawnmower. It looked like it hadn't been touched in over a decade.

Ed pulled out a swiss army knife from his pocket and dissembled the lawnmower. 'Ugh, this thing is totally trashed! The engine needs oiled and cleaned… or just trashed altogether.' He picked up the crowbar and tried to pry open the shed. 'Damn, this is no good. The entire shed is made of solid metal.'

Giving up, he decided to rest. He laid on the hard floor and slowly drifted off to sleep once again. He awoke in the middle of the night to a loud siren blaring! He got up and looked towards the ceiling. He could see sparks of flame flickering past the roof. He panicked, "What the hell is going on? Those are the city sirens! They only go off during an emergency that affects the whole city!"

Ed grabbed the crowbar and began banging it against the shed wall. He yelled in frustration, "Shit! It isn't working!" He threw the crowbar aside and grabbed the fake steam gun he carried in his pocket. He ripped out the flag he used as a prank. Then he grabbed some bolts he took off the lawnmower and shoved them inside. He pushed against the shed doors until he could barely see the lock holding the doors shut. He aimed and slowly squeezed the trigger. Ding! A high-pitched sound rang out. "Gah!" A small piece of metal ricocheted and hit Ed's hand, causing him to drop the gun in pain. The lock was barely scratched.

The fire started to spread onto the shed. Smoke flowed inside. Bu-bump, Bu-bump, Bu-bump. Ed could hear his heart beating loudly as he gasped for air. The smoke burned his watery eyes, causing his vision to turn blurry. 'What do I do? What do I do?!' He looked at the parts on the table trying to come up with an idea. "Ugh!" He groaned as some flames caused minor burns on his arm. Bu-bump! Bu-bump! Bu-bump! His heart beat louder and louder. Sweat covered his entire body. He could feel the heat turning his skin red.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down for Ed. He could feel the world slowing down around him, almost as if time had stopped. The parts he was staring at started to float in midair. The rusty engine separated into many smaller parts, the rust falling off the parts as it happened. Some of the lawnmower scraps melted into molten metal and merged with the damaged parts. Then the engine quickly reassembled.

What was left of the lawnmower quickly distorted, reforming into a large gauntlet. The steam engine welded itself onto the gauntlet, and the lawnmower blade welded onto the piston of the engine. Ed put the gauntlet on and aimed at the nearby wall. The motor rotated, causing the piston to pump back and forth faster and faster! Steam flew out from the back of the engine as the piston-knife jammed repeatedly into the wall! Ed moved the gauntlet in a large circle and managed to cut a big hole in the metal wall. He quickly squeezed through the hole and ran away from the blazing flames.

He reached an area with no flames and slowly calmed down. 'Holy shit. Holy fuck! What the hell! Was that mana I just used? Did I awaken as an esper? I can feel some type of energy flowing into me. What kind of power did I awaken exactly?' As he calmed down, he slowly looked at his surroundings. Flames blazed in the distance as far as the eye could see. The entire city was on fire! The sirens were still blaring, causing Ed to have a headache. His body was aching from the spider bites and the heat from earlier.

"Roar!" Ed heard a sound and turned around. Facing him was a 1.2-meter-tall mutant. It had four claws and dark green skin. Its body was covered in tumor like bumps that spewed a vicious black gas. Sharp teeth jutted out from its mouth. Its eyes were bloodshot as it stared at the boy in front of it.

Ed's eyes widened in fear as he slowly backed away. Suddenly, the mutant lunged at him! He quickly rolled to the side and narrowly dodged the attack. He hurriedly stood up and glanced at his gauntlet. Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump! His heartbeat echoed loudly. He screamed, "Damnit! What the fuck! Let's go!" He charged towards the beast. The gauntlet spewed steam as the piston-knife rapidly shook back-and-forth. He threw a punch at the beast as it opened its mouth to bite him!

"Aghhh!!!" Ed screamed in pain. The mutant bit right onto his right arm, which he had used to punch the beast. However, the steam gauntlet continued to work. The knife hammered repeatedly into the mutant's mouth. Blood splattered everywhere, staining Ed's face and clothes red. The mutant didn't let go and held on stubbornly for several seconds before its eyes grew dark and it collapsed.

Ed grabbed his arm in pain. Blood dripped down from his bite marks. The knife on the gauntlet had snapped in half and was barely useable. He raised his head to look around him. There were dozens of four legged mutants walking towards him from all directions.