The Ten

Three stretched, yawning, and lumbered into the kitchen just as one would imagine 'lumbering' to look like - clumsy yet powerful. He sniffed the air deeply, breathing in the mountain's essence, before exhaling loudly and sitting down at the table, where a large spread of assorted breakfast foods had been laid out: toast, pancakes, waffles, eggs, ham, fruit, juice, and of course (Three's favorite), fried chicken. "THANKS, SEVEN!" Three bellowed, knowing that his loud voice would carry his gratitude all the way down the hallway to where Seven was, no doubt, already warming up for a morning run. Three tucked into the breakfast eagerly, swallowing up five plates stacked high with steaming food as he did every morning. After several minutes of shoving his face full of the delicious dishes, he scooted back and gingerly put the plates into the sink. He'd broken more than his share of plates simply by tossing them too hard. Stupid fragile plates, he thought to himself. Three went outside, finding Seven already speeding around the trees, barely containing her pent-up excitement. Three grinned at Seven, a small girl much shorter than him yet so much faster. Quickly spinning and sprinting to a nearby grove of trees, Three attempted to get the better of Seven, but to no avail. Seven's reflexes had long since alerted her of Three's mad dash, and she easily overtook him, running back and forth between Three and the grove of trees thrice before Three arrived.

Three bent over on his knees, sucking in deep lungfuls of air, before clapping Seven on the back and admitting, "Yeah, I knew I wasn't gonna beat you." Seven snickered and poked, "You slow old log." Laughing, the two began walking off to the main hall for the day's activities. They were two members of ten people in which ten powers had chosen to reside, named and ranked by their power levels. Each cabin held two people, whose power levels added up to 10, meaning they were supposed to be a compatible duo. Seven's was speed and Three's was lightning, but it had been a long while since Three had been able to harness lightning at his will. He knew he was falling far behind in training and control, but lightning was fickle and Three was not. He just couldn't adapt fast enough to the way the lightning wanted to move through him and around him. So, for the time being, he'd begun amassing great amounts of muscle and strength. Although he knew he would never beat anyone whose power was strength (which hadn't shown up as a power this Choosing Year and thus wasn't any of the ten's powers), Three could easily throw down all nine other members in a fistfight. When they reached the main hall, they found that Six was, as usual, late, but Four had already arrived. The present nine talked and chatted amongst themselves until Six arrived, whereupon they headed into the hall to train for a few hours and then receive coaching from a previous One. Ones were natural leaders who could harness or at least understand most other powers, and they were also the only hosts who could retire their powers before death. Every other host had to die before the power transferred into another person. Three was jealous of One, her natural ability to quickly adapt and make use of her surrounding resources, which included mirroring the power of everyone else. It didn't help that One's grandfather had also been a One -- powers passing down generations indicated strong hosts practically shaped for power-wielding. Three had come from a farming village in the middle of nowhere, his acquisition of power at during Choosing Year more unexpected than anything the village had ever seen.

As the ten began to go train, occasionally mixing and fighting each other for practice, Eleven (which is what they respectfully called their teacher, a previous One) called Three over. Three padded over, dreading what he knew would come next.

"Try." Eleven commanded.

Three closed his eyes slowly. "Eleven, sir, I can't. I've tried every day for years. I can't summon lightning."

Eleven looked at him imperiously, somehow conveying the feeling of looking down even though Three's hulking figure towered over the shorter man. "Try."

Three heaved a sigh, then immediately regretted it as Eleven whacked him in the stomach with his cane. It brought a swift force that one wouldn't have guessed based on Eleven's frame, but Eleven still retained traces of his previous power. Three put his hands out, cupping them as if he were receiving a gift. Eleven took out an electric lighter and flipped it on. The goal was simple: make the electricity travel from the lighter to his fingers. Three tried to empty his mind, brush it clear, but it wouldn't still and Three could sense the frustration and turbulence rising in his head. After a few minutes of straining, Three threw his hands in the air and said, "See? I can't do it. I just can't."

Eleven pursed his lips. "We will try something else." Without warning, Eleven grabbed Three's hand and put the lighter right on his skin. Three felt a momentary burst of pain, but then felt electricity crawl over his skin. It crept up his arms like a vine, and Three felt it cross over his chest, travel down his torso, and encircle his legs. He breathed deeply, feeling the tingling on his skin as the electricity came to life, sparking about and dancing with energy.

Eleven spoke. "Take the electricity off of your arm. Twist it into a rope."

Three, his eyes shut, felt for the strand on his arm. He was fiercely fighting to keep his thoughts at bay, but when he touched the electricity, it was as if everything in his head dissipated. There was just the bright, bright energy filling his mind. He carefully took it off his arm, gingerly tugging on the electricity as it lightly fought him. He held the strand in his hand like a rope and smiled, his eyes still closed. All of a sudden, he realized that the sounds of the other nine had ceased - everyone else had stopped training to look at Three. Immediately, his focus slipped and the electricity slithered back onto his arm. He felt increasingly unbalanced and the feverish sense of helplessness began rising until Eleven's voice broke through. "Focus."

Three wanted to shout, "I'm trying!" but with great effort, he stilled his panic and tried to feel for the light buzz he'd felt before. Slowly, he recovered it and opened his eyes. He was covered in sparking electricity... he had control! Three felt so victorious, and with a pump of his fist in the air, the electricity shot out of his hand and up to the ceiling of the training arena. It bounced off the walls before returning to his fist like a boomerang. He laughed gleefully, ebullient and giddy with his coursing power. Without explanation, the electricity around him suddenly fizzled out, turning off like a switch. Three whipped around to Eleven, confused and devastated. "What just happened?"

Eleven looked at him disapprovingly. "I turned off the lighter."

Three's shoulders slumped. He knew the goal wasn't just to be able to move electricity, but to keep it alive once the source was gone, and eventually, to generate it by himself.

Eleven reached his cane out and lifted Three's chin up. "Be grateful, Three. You moved it today." Three nodded, swallowing hard. The rest of the nine returned to training, and Three joined them, unhappy. He knew he should've felt overjoyed that he had finally moved electricity for the first time in too long, but he somehow felt robbed. He should've been able to do this years ago, yet he was only now able to, and it was the prompt of direct contact and pain that had spurred his power.

As Three did bicep curls, he watched the others with envy. One was following others, trying to do what they were doing and oftentimes succeeding. Two, who could control water, was attempting her most ambitious venture yet - controlling ice as well. Four, whose harnessed air, was throwing knives at a bullseye backwards, curving its path so that the blade found its way to the center every single time. Three personally thought Four should have been ranked much higher, considering all the potential related to air, but it wasn't his place to rank the hosts. Five was speaking to Eleven while mindlessly twirling a growing vine around his leg, making it grow thicker and stronger until he had created a little chair for himself, and simultaneously also watching Ten, his best friend. Six was pretending to lift two tons of metal, but he was really just lifting it with his mind and placing his hands underneath. Seven was attempting to run through a wall, which she tried every day with varying success. Eight was trying to make the flames in his hand so hot they turned blue, while Nine was struggling to shift her arm into a paw. Three mused more about the rankings- shapeshifting was usually a Three power, but the host that the power had picked turned out to be so weak that it had tanked the power down to the ninth rank. Both the host and the power that picked it needed to be strong, but occasionally the power made mistakes in choosing and the host turned out not to be as promising. Nine knew she was weak, and she tried so hard without success that sometimes Three was afraid she might turn into a Zero. Zeroes formed when the power felt that the host was so unsuitable that they killed off the current host so that they could pick a new one. Ten hurled a knife into the air, created two portals, and was engaged in a heated competition with Four to see who could split whose knife. Three knew Four would win because Ten couldn't make the knife go any faster than he threw it, whereas Four could guide the air around the knife until it was going at over 100 miles per second. Five poked fun at Ten and Ten returned a witty remark that sent them both in peals of laughter.

After another hour of hard working and once Two had wicked all the sweat off of all the hosts, the ten comrades headed off to lunch. Three noticed that One lingered behind to talk to Eleven, her eyebrows drawn. Seven noticed too, worrying a bit, but both of them continued walking - One was often angry at Eleven, and their spats happened nearly every day. The group tramped through the cool mountain air until they arrived at a familiar clearing near the river. Ten created a portal and reached his arm through, taking a small jar of seeds out and giving it to Five, who scattered the seeds on the ground. With a crack, the seeds split open and Five urged the plants on, forming produce within seconds. Eight started a blazing fire in his hands and Seven quickly roasted all the vegetables, caught and cooked fish, and washed the fruits. In less than a minute, the nine each had a delicious plate of fresh fruit, roasted vegetables, and grilled fish in front of them, held at chest-level by Four and Six, whose controls over air and telekinesis meant no need for plates. One's portion was left hanging in the air, and Eight kept small waves of heat circulating around the meal so that it would still be hot when One came back from arguing with Eleven. The everyday routine fazed nobody, but when One tramped through the bushes loudly, they all turned, surprised. One never walked, much less through woods. She always floated through the air or teleported. A flickering fire in her eyes, One sat down at her spot next to Seven, fury roiling in her expression.

"What happened?" Seven inquired, knowing that being her girlfriend, she was the only one who could ever calm down One.

"He. Tried. To. Take. My. Power." One hissed. Three and the others gasped collectively, their eyebrows raising.

"Eleven?" Seven asked tentatively, just to make sure.

One spat, "Yes, that toad. He thinks he's still so powerful, always saying he was the best host the One power has ever seen. He always ignores me and never actually trains me. I even overheard him talking to my grandfather once, telling him that I was doing horrible and didn't even have my own power. But I do," One continued, wrathful. "I just don't use it."

Three and the others nodded in agreement. They all knew One's power: mind manipulation. One had long since pledged never to use it on any of the other nine hosts, for to enter someone's mind was to invade their privacy and to actively control what they did, consciously or unconsciously. Once One took control of someone's mind once, she would influence every one of their decisions even when she wasn't trying to. She'd tried it on a commoner when she was young and hadn't known any better, but the experience alone had turned her away from using her power again. However, the more One held off on practicing it, the more unstable it would be in the future. But if she practiced it on anybody, she would be controlling them forever.

"Wait, how can he take your power?" prodded Seven, still confused.

One's expression darkened further and she fixed her gaze on a piece of grass, which immediately wilted. "He tried to transfer my power to himself. You know, like how I borrow your powers in training. Except, I don't take your powers. I just mirror them. He took mine. Well, he tried to take mine. The moment I felt him tugging on my power, I lashed out, but it still feels like a piece is missing. My power's intact, but... something just feels off." One got angrier and Three could feel bubbling waves of raw power pulsing from her.

"One," Seven said softly. "What did you do to him?" Seven gently put her hand on One's knee. One didn't meet Seven's firm gaze. "One." Seven tried again. "What did you do?"

One finally broke her focus away from the grass, which had been burning. "I... I killed him."

A wave of emotion pushed through the circle of hosts, rippling through them like a wildfire. "You killed him? What the heck, One?!" Nine yelled, continuing to yip, "You... you killed him!"

Seven was staring at One. She swallowed and said softly, "It's okay. I understand why she did it." Seven broke her gaze with One and turned to the rest of us. "How would you feel if someone robbed you of your power?" she questioned, turning to Three. "Three, you know how your power doesn't really listen to you? What if the reason you can't do it is because Eleven is taking your power?!"

Three sat up straight, thinking. He did always feel so sapped of energy around Eleven. The hateful relationship between the two was stronger than anybody else's... what if it was because Eleven didn't want Three knowing he was secretly taking Three's power? Three stood up, enraged at the possibility. Lightning sparked at the edge of his fingers.

"Look!" Seven pointed. "You're generating your own electricity. It's because Eleven's dead now!" Indeed, Three felt a well of bottled power within him, as if the morning had just been a taste, now surging forth like a sleeping beast that had finally awoken.

Five cut in. "Hey. Eleven's our teacher. You can't just accuse him all of a sudden just to protect your precious girlfriend." he said sharply. "And you," he bit, turning to One, "you've always been a loose cannon. Control yourself, One! You can't just go killing everyone who says you're not as good as them! Reign in your ego, for god's sake!"

Now the whole group was clamoring, standing up and pointing fingers. Three could feel the auras of power rolling off each host, filled to the brim with emotion and adrenaline. Three himself felt dangerously volatile, having never tapped into the energy source he felt crackling inside him. Even Nine seemed stronger, more confident, and Three could tell she was capable of shifting into any amalgamation of myriad creatures. Seven had her arm protectively over One, as if shielding her from the onslaught of accusations pouring forth from Nine and Five. The rest of them hung back, taking stock of the situation and forming their own opinions. Within minutes, they were all divided.

Nine, Five, Two, Eight, and Six stood against Seven, One, Three, Ten, and Four. To Three, it seemed unevenly stacked, but they'd never really fought each other before. Suddenly, a rogue spark of fire flew over from Eight, and Three dodged it as it narrowly missed his ear. "HEY!" Three bellowed. The two sides began fighting, but Three knew everyone was pulling punches. Nobody intended to inflict any real damage, until... Ten drew back in horror. Five lay split on the ground, chopped in half by a portal that Ten had closed before Five had fully gotten through. Ten fell to his knees, murmuring, "Brother, Brother, no." The fighting momentarily halted, and the nine hosts came to grips with their reality. With outrage in her eyes, Nine (who had transformed into a dragon) burnt Ten into a crisp before his grief-stricken self could react. That was it. War had begun, and everyone knew it. The battle between the powers was here.