"The Power You Never Knew You Had"

Chapter 1: The Accident

The screech of tires was the last thing Emma remembered before everything went black.

When she woke up in the hospital, the doctors called it a miracle. The car had flipped three times, yet she walked away with only a concussion and a few scratches. But something was different.

The nurses’ whispers sounded like shouts. The flickering fluorescent lights pulsed like strobes. And when the rude orderly bumped into her without apologizing, Emma’s vision tinted red—and his coffee exploded in his hands.

She stared at her trembling fingers. Did I just…?

Chapter 2: The First Test

Back in her apartment, Emma experimented. A shattered lightbulb flickered back to life when she glared at it. A wilting plant straightened under her touch. But when her landlord banged on the door demanding rent, her panic sent cracks spiderwebbing up the wall behind him.

That night, she Googled frantically: telekinesis, psychokinesis, real-life superpowers. Dozens of conspiracy forums mentioned a secret drug trial in her city—one shut down after "unforeseen side effects." Her blood ran cold. She’d been in that study three months ago for quick cash.

They’d told her it was a migraine medication.

Chapter 3: The Watchers

The men in black suits arrived the next morning.

Emma spotted them from her fire escape—two figures lingering near her dumpster, their eyes scanning windows. She barely grabbed her backpack before they kicked in her door.

"Emma Carter," said the taller one, flipping open a badge too fast to read. "You need to come with us."

She backed toward the window. "Who are you?"

"The people who gave you that power," he said, pulling a syringe from his coat. "And the ones who’ll take it away."

Chapter 4: The Escape

Emma’s fury erupted.

The syringe yanked from the man’s grip and impaled itself in the ceiling. His partner lunged, but the floorboards rippled like water, sending him crashing into the fridge. She leapt out the window just as the first agent drew a gun—

—and landed softly, ten feet below, as if the air had cushioned her.

She ran, her pulse screaming. They made me like this. And now they want me dead.

Chapter 5: The Truth

The homeless man by the subway knew things he shouldn’t.

"Project Pyrokine," he muttered, eyeing Emma’s shaking hands. "They tested it on dozens before you. Most burned out—literally." He pointed to a news clipping: Apartment Fire Kills Five; Cause Unknown.

Emma’s stomach twisted. "The others… like me?"

"Gone. Or working for them." He pressed a napkin into her palm—an address scribbled in grease. "Find the scientist who ran the trial. Only he can help you control it before you—" His head snapped up. Overhead, a drone whirred. "Go!"

Chapter 6: The Choice

The abandoned lab reeked of chemicals and old blood.

Dr. Kael, gaunt and twitching, barely looked up from his monitors. "I wondered when they’d lose one," he rasped. On-screen, security feeds showed agents fanning through the city.

Emma slammed her palm on his desk. "Fix me!"

"I can’t. The drug rewrites your DNA. But I can teach you to master it." He gestured to a steel door. "Or… we weaponize you. Fight back."

Outside, sirens wailed. Emma’s hands crackled with energy.

She knew her answer.

Chapter 7: The Awakening

The explosion lit up the night.

Emma walked through the smoke, agents’ bullets freezing midair before melting into slag. Dr. Kael’s formula burned through her veins, sharpening her focus. She could feel their fear like heat off pavement.

One agent radioed for backup. Emma flicked her wrist—his device crumpled like paper.

"This isn’t a rescue mission," she said, flames dancing in her pupils. "It’s a warning."

Somewhere, an alarm blared.

But Emma was already gone.