The Legendary Junkmaster

Jason grew cold as soon as the man said that sentence. He felt the grip on his hands tighten as the Captain in the room reached for his weapon. 

"Pfft! You think so highly of yourself! Did you honestly think that your Power is that special?" The man announced with a disdainful tone.

Dani frowned when she heard that. 'Isn't his mutation just a cosmetic one?' Dani stared at Jason's back in disbelief. It was clear that he had been keeping something from her! Something important at that!

"I-I don't know what you mean?" Jason attempted to lie through his teeth in the hopes that there were limitations on the man's Power.

"Super Intelligence! What else?" The man let go of Jason before waving a hand as if dismissing Jason's entire existence. "People like you are a dime a dozen in Bridgend! Don't be so conceited! Now get out of my way."

Jason was stunned into silence. His Power was something he had gone to great lengths to keep hidden. However, now he was being told that he was not the only one? As if it were a common ability?

"Oh? It seems like Lady Rust was right about you!" The Captain chuckled as he relaxed. "Don't worry, people with your Power are highly valued in the Capital! How do you think it became so amazing!"

Jason caught a glimpse of Dani as the Captain led him into the box after passing the test. She looked hurt that Jason had not shared this secret with her. Adam, on the other hand, seemed to think that it was no big deal. To him, it was just a different type of Power.

Jason had no idea what to think as his mind was thrown into disarray as he took a seat within the cube structure. 'It was never anything to worry about? What was all that effort for then?' Jason sighed as he thought about what the man had said. 'I really did think I was more important than what I am.'

"Isn't this a good thing? Think about it for a moment. If you're not the only one, then…" Syssie had a broad grin on her face.

'Oh shit! Doesn't that mean that they should have the technology to survive the damage it causes?' Jason never thought that he would ever be excited to not be unique! However, in this case, it meant that he had made the right choice to accept Rust's offer!

"Why do you think that he picked up on that but not that you were Black arrow?" Even though Syssie was also excited, she was still curious about this fact.

'If I had to guess, it's something to do with what he said before he outed me… He said he knew what I was hiding. But, I was hiding more than one thing. I guess I maybe put more importance on my Power than what went down with Dani's father.' Jason felt like the man's Power would allow him to find out what he wanted to hide the most. 

If anyone was planning on rebelling or causing trouble, it would make sense for that to be what they wanted to hide. It seemed like Rust was banking on Black Arrow being the most concerned about the murder of Wraith.

'It seems like my paranoia about my Power saved me this time.' Jason let out a sigh as Dani soon joined him. However, she sat as far away from him as she could. It was clear that Dani was angry with him, and trying to explain himself would probably just make the situation worse. Even if he felt like he did nothing wrong, Jason knew she would only get over it if he apologised and seemed to understand that he had done something wrong.

Jason felt a headache coming on when he thought about that. 'Why do girls have to be so complicated?'

Syssie sighed by his side as she thought about how much of an idiot he was being. She could completely understand what Dani was mad about. It was evident that she was hurt because Jason did not trust her and kept such a massive secret from her. Now she would be wondering if she could really trust him at all. That one secret was enough to poison her faith in him. 

After all, if he did it once, he could certainly do it again! This kind of damage would take a long time to heal. Even if Jason had legitimate and good reasons for keeping it from her. Less than a minute passed by before Adam joined them.

"Yo! Why didn't you tell anyone about your Power! It makes so much sense now!" Adam chuckled as he thought about the scene of the examiner bringing Jason down a peg. "Let's face it, being Super Intelligent is a lot better than letting people think you only had a cosmetic mutation, bro!"

"I don't know… I was just worried about what it meant. It doesn't mean I can protect myself, so it would have been easy for someone to take advantage of me. I didn't want to be turned into somebody's lapdog that barked whenever they ordered me to." Jason sighed as he glanced at Dani.

Her expression changed slightly for a split second as she listened in on their conversation. Adam rubbed his chin for a moment before he replied. "Ok, I get that. But it seems like you didn't tell anyone? Does the old man back in Highrise know?"

"Of course not!" Jason snorted. "I just couldn't take the risk of anyone accidentally letting it slip, you know?"

"Well, I guess it kind of makes sense, but man. You've really got to have more faith in people! Open up more! You know? I mean, I owe you a lot. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the gear you made me. And you helped Dani out as well. Just think about it, bro, otherwise you'll end up all alone before you realise it…."