Check up

[Cometborn]

It was about 8:30 pm when Coach Waters called Cal into the gymnasium. The evening was starting to set in, the shadows stretching across the athletic center. The Coach's voice called out clearly in the empty building.

"Kepler, over here."

Calvin made his way inside, greeted by the sight of Coach Waters, and his characteristically stoic expression. Standing next to him was a man wearing a very smartly cut black suit with a starched white shirt. The Coach held a small bag of equipment, while the man held a small PDA. The man in the suit spoke with a smooth rhythm that was somehow more unsettling than ingratiating.

"Good evening, Calvin. My name is Mister Jericho."

His plastic smile was as unnerving as his voice, and Calvin said nothing in response. The image of Jericho carried with him an unpleasant nostalgia, reminding Cal of the visits he'd had as a child from similarly dressed men and women. While growing up back at the facility, he had occasionally had tests performed on him, similar to a physical. But who exactly these people were or why they arrived was never made known to him. Additionally, none of them had visited since Cal manifested his Metahuman abilities. Before long, Waters cut in.

"Alright, Kepler. I'm going to set you up with a couple of monitors to take a look at your vitals, nothing fancy, and I'm going to have you show me a bit of what you've learned with your Metahuman abilities. If you find yourself having any trouble, or feeling anything uncomfortable, speak up, and we'll stop. We got it?"

Calvin nodded and turned to Jericho again, trying not to stare or show his obvious discomfort, despite the Coach's words. Again, the Coach cut in, snapping Cal's attention away from his worries.

"Warm yourself up, Kepler. Give me a lap around the track."

Once the physical exercise began, Calvin started to relax a bit. It became easier for him to simply focus on his own body, controlling the abilities he'd been learning, using the habits and tricks he'd developed to make his powers manifest. He'd done a bit of flight, armored himself in his energy absorbing ice-crystal shell, hardened his muscles and joints to work the lifting machine. The Coach was curt in his instruction, and from time to time he would glance over to Jericho, who would type a few strokes into his handheld and nod wordlessly.

Finally, he put away the device and spoke up.

"Excellent, Calvin. That should be enough for now. Now, if you bear with me just another moment, I'd like to collect a small blood sample. Don't worry, it won't hurt."

Pulling a syringe and an alcohol cloth, Jericho moved to take the sample, and while decidedly uncomfortable about the idea, Calvin offered no resistance. Before he could take Calvin's arm however, Coach waters reached out and grabbed Jericho's hand. Jericho turned to face him, his expression souring a bit, but Water's expression remained stern.

"Go shower up, Kepler. We're done here."

Calvin started to head to the locker room, but lingered a bit, as the two men spoke in hushed tones. As Jericho became more clearly frustrated, the Coach's features we unchanged. As the words seemed to become a bit more heated, Coach Waters took a long breath and rolled his shoulders a bit, but responded with an even more steely tone than Cal had become accustomed to. His response was clear enough that even Cal was able to make it out.

"I know exactly what the rights of everyone here are, and just how far your authority extends. You wouldn't like life on the other side of that line."

Jericho said nothing, but put away the syringe, and adjusted his rather bland tie. He simply replaced the plastic smile, nodded to Calvin and turned to leave.

Cal stared a moment as Jericho left, before the Coach brought him back to reality with another firm sentence.

"Didn't you hear me the first time, Kepler?"

Nodding and apologizing, Calvin turned and jogged to the locker room.