Both Kai and Levi were excited when they found out Ashton had accepted the invitation to participate in testing, even when they found out they would not be dealing directly with Untouchable itself. It seemed they shared the opinion that learning more about how the serum worked was just as important.

  Before they actually began testing, everyone who was participating was gathered together for introductions. There were a couple familiar faces for Ashton. John Doe and RepliKtion were there just as Ms. Gale had told him they would be. None of the others were familiar at all. The three guests were wearing name tags identifying who they were and which agency they came from, but the actual test participants who had taken Untouchable remained anonymous.

  For once, the people in the room didn’t seem to immediately recognize who Ashton was and drag up his past as a villain for SI. The only one who even seemed to recognize him at all was RepliKtion and he seemed to be having trouble placing how he knew him. John Doe likely only knew him from his time at Gale Research to begin with.

  “Welcome, everyone,” Amber Gale greeted, attending the meeting personally, “Now that we are all here, I am going to explain a little bit about how the testing will proceed. To start, there is no need for anyone new to take the serum, as I have gathered some willing participants who have already gone through the process of having their power permanently repressed. This test will begin by focusing on whether or not the serum also provided a permanent resistance to the abilities of others.”

  A woman with heavy bags under her eyes and a tag showing her affiliation with Heroix raised her hand halfheartedly. “I know that my ability may seem like a good idea since it has to do with sleep, but I have no control over who it targets. If I fall asleep there is a high chance that everyone on the premises will fall asleep with me.”

  “I have already looked into your ability,” Ms. Gale assured, “Because of that we will be using this opportunity to test the latest design of the power suppression chamber. Our previous goal was only to suppress all powers within, but this one functions more like a wall. No powers should be able to escape the chamber, but they will still be fully functional within it.”

  That seemed to satisfy her. Ashton glanced at the tag again. Insomnia seemed like a surprisingly fitting name for an annoying ability like that. The poor woman looked like she hadn’t actually had a chance to sleep in ages. Why had Heroix left RepliKtion’s name the same as it had been during his villainy at SI? Surely that would be a drawback for a hero.

  “My ability allows me to copy things,” RepliKtion spoke up, “Since I can’t make a copy of a person, how are we supposed to be able to tell whether or not my ability is resisted by the serum?”

  “You will be given further direction during the test itself,” Amber explained, “For your ability we would begin by exploring things such as whether or not items you copy disappear when they come in contact with them.”

  Their third guest didn’t speak up like the other two did. Their barely visible tag labelled them as Phobia from Superview. Rather than their power having to do with fear, it looked like they were the one who was terrified. The baggy hoody pulled over their face hid all of their features, and the way they sat hugging their legs to their chest hid just about everything else. It was hard to believe someone so clearly out of their comfort zone would have signed up for testing like this.

  “If there are no more questions, we will set up the order of testing. I will have Ashton lead since he has excellent control of his ability, and will be the quickest to know whether or not it is working,” Ms. Gale continued, “There is no point to continuing testing if his ability works on any of them. All of the stages of Untouchable will be tested at the same time. Our guest heroes as well as my own personal operatives will be taking turns testing their ability on them. I would like to make it clear that none of them should be hurt under any circumstances. Now that their powers are gone, each of our participants are civilians.”

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  The order she arranged was simple. Ashton would start by giving everyone a little shock. If the shock proved ineffective, they would move on to Insomnia putting them to sleep. If none of them were affected by her power, Phobia would step in to make them afraid. Phobia jerked back the moment they were mentioned and muttered something along the lines of hoping it never made it to their turn.

  If Phobia’s fear also did nothing, then it would be RepliKtion’s turn to test if indirect abilities were affected. Finally it would be the twins’ turn. They were placed last because their power had the highest chance of something going wrong if their ability was nullified incorrectly.

  With the order decided, Amber led them to the power suppression chamber she had arranged to conduct the test in. The room was wide and bare, save for seven beds. One for all six participating subjects and another for Insomnia. Ever since his name and role in the testing had been mentioned, Ashton could feel RepliKtion’s eyes on him. Since things would be troublesome if he was called out in public, Ashton pretended he didn’t notice.

  Everything would be fine. Even the other villains were under the assumption that Shadow Phoenix’s power involved the purple fire. Using his actual ability here would throw his old colleague off rather than convince him he was right. Right now he needed to focus on controlling his power. If Untouchable did not make them resistant, he needed to be sure that they didn’t get too big of a shock. Just a little one, like static, should be good enough for the test.

  Once everyone was inside, Ashton moved down the line of participants, giving them a quick handshake complete with a shock. After each handshake they confirmed whether or not they felt anything different. So far, it seemed like Untouchable really was blocking his power from reaching them. John Doe gave him a respectful nod once he reached his part of the line, but neither of them exchanged words.

  Just like that, Ashton’s part of the test was over, and Insomnia stepped up. “Just so you know, mine might take a while,” she warned, “I have to fall asleep naturally, and I am not going to bother if you intend to wake me up the moment you get your results. The only reason I am here is to secure a chance for a proper nap.”

  “Once we get our results, we will break for lunch,” Ms. Gale promised, “Let me know if there is anything you would like us to bring back for you. We could also send you home right after your part in this test is over.”

  “Rather than that, if this room of yours really works, I would like to be first in line to get my own version installed,” Insomnia replied, “I’d pay anything to have somewhere I can actually sleep.”

  “I will keep that in mind,” Amber agreed.

  For their own safety, everyone was told to lay on the beds once Insomnia entered the room. Despite her earlier insistence that it might take her a while to fall asleep, she was out the moment her head hit the pillow. So was everyone else. Such an instant, potent power. No wonder she wasn’t being allowed to sleep under normal conditions. Depending on the range it affected it could cause all sorts of life threatening situations for those who suddenly found themselves unconscious.

  “What does this mean for us now? Her power worked on them,” RepliKtion asked.

  “We will have to run more tests to find out whether her type of power is the problem, or if the intensity of her power is what broke through the resistance,” Ms. Gale replied, “Based on how the chamber is still functioning properly, I am going to assume it is the latter. If sleep powers could break through Untouchable, we would all be sleeping right now. We will continue with the testing after lunch.”

  “So, what’s for lunch, then?” Kai broke in.