Elli sat rigidly, silently commanding her body not to fidget as the small room felt suffocating under the scrutinizing gaze of Magenta and Armon.

"Shall we begin?" Armon's pale feature lit up with a grin. "Or should we sit in awkward silence for half an hour?"

Elli glanced at Magenta, who only shrugged. "Maybe a bit of background will help her feel less nervous."

Armon stroked their chin. "Background? Well, I suppose. Not that I usually get all personal, but sure."

Elli lost the battle for fidgeting. Out of everyone she'd spent time with today, this was the most intimidating pair, yet she'd met. Armon was at least trying to be open, but she felt on edge with the empath. It was funny, how a few words of comfort had restored her trust in Trevor, but Magenta's admittance that she could read Elli like a book made her hard to like.

"So, as you can imagine-" Armon's lilting voice pulled her back into the room. "I was born with these fabulous looks, so it was quite evident I'd never be 'normal.' It was when puberty hit, though, that the extent of my condition was revealed. You see, as hard as it is to believe, I was assumed a female from birth. When the hormones kicked in, well, that was no longer the case."

Elli squirmed uncomfortably as she contemplated what that meant, but she didn't dare ask.

"Told you it was personal." Armon laughed their bell-like laugh. "You see, my ability first manifested as swapping genders at will. Something tough for a teen to process. One minute I'm a she, the next I have a very testosterone-driven boy staring back at me in the mirror. I'm sad to say it led me to become somewhat promiscuous in my youth..."

Armon trailed off, staring wistfully at the wall.

Elli balked, wondering if she should say out loud that she really didn't need to know all that.

"Hurry up to the point," Magenta growled. "We still have a lesson to get to."

"Oh, right," Aron blinked, refocusing their pale gaze on Elli. "Anyway, sexual conquests in place of real affection aside, it didn't take long for me to slip up and the whole village came after me with pitchforks--figuratively, not really-- and I wandered my way into a group of misfits with abilities living on the streets. Eventually, I was rescued by Trevor and Reach, who understood my potential and helped me to both control and expand my gift so I can maintain the glorious and gorgeous figure you see before you today."

"Um..." Elli forced a smile, even though Armon's story left her a little bewildered. "Thank you... for sharing your background."

"Of course, now that you know all that, do you feel more at ease?"

"Yes--"

"Of course she doesn't." Magenta snorted. "You just wasted ten minutes on intimate past details that have nothing to do with Quantum or learning about gifts."

"Well excuse me." Armon huffed, indigently. "Who suggested backstory share time?"

"Nevermind," Magenta growled, focusing on Elli. "Look, all you really need to know is most of us wound up here in similar situations to yours; and we all have to learn how to use our gifts properly. That's what this training is for."

"Oh." Elli quietly acknowledged.

"All gifted fall into a five-category system we've developed. It's not a perfect system, but it classifies most N.N.s we've found. Level ones aren't usually in danger, they can be odd and out of place, but don't have gifts noticeable enough to get Dark sector's attention. Level two have more severe physical mutations or manifested gifts up to meta-level three. Level three have gifts solidly displayed."

Magenta paused, twirling her hair. "Ah, if that's confusing... the difference between level 2 and 3 can sometimes mean that Level two cannot rely on their ability always being the same intensity, or even summoning their gift at all; whereas a level three can maintain their gift nearly all the time. The fourth level is N.Ns with more intense manifestations than level three, and level five are... well, badass. Like, Find anyone in the world with just a thought, badass."

"Reach--is Reach a level five?" Elli wondered.

"Yes," Armon nodded. "Reach is the only level five we're aware of."

Elli frowned. "Is Trevor--"

"Four," Magenta interjected.

"And before you ask, the rest of us are threes, except for Hailey she's a four."

"Oh." Elli blinked, processing that.

"Some of the field ops agents are level two, but mostly we look out for class three or higher," Magenta stated.

"Why?" Elli frowned. That seemed odd to have that sort of criteria. Wouldn't they be looking for all N.N.s?

"Do you think I'm a level three?"

"One way to find out!" a familiar chipper male voice exclaimed from the room's entrance.

Ferris waltzed in, lugging a strange looking metallic contraption with wires looped everywhere.

"So, Elli," Armon stood. "The only thing we're doing tonight is we'll measure your meta-level. Then we can plan out how best to train you."

Elli titled her head, the gears shifting to another question. "Earlier-- didn't Magenta say something about meta-levels and class level. Like, are they separate things?"

"They are." Magenta finally cracked a smile. "You pay attention pretty good. Basically, your class level is determined by the measurable "Power" of your ability, and Meta-level is like..."

She trailed off, looking pensive.

"The easiest way to say it," Ferris jumped in, rubbing his hands together. "Is your meta-level is a range of potential, the highest your ability could reach if trained properly. Ready to get plugged in, my lady?"

Elli warily eyed the contraption. "What are you going to do?"

Ferris shrugged, happily taking some pieces apart from the central unit. "Small blood sample, brain wave reading, the typical. No rougher than going to see the good ol' family doctor."

"Oh, okay." Elli instinctively tensed as he carried a glass bowl looking thing with wires poking out toward her.

"Relax." he laughed, gently setting it on her head. "There's a strap--"

He deftly swept a leather buckle under her chin.

"You're looking good." Armon snickered, and the joke cut through her nerves a little. She smirked back.

Ferris took a few moments connecting everything and laying out the wires, then he came back and put a blood-pressure cuff on her upper arm.

"Okay, all set." his boyish grin put her more at ease, even though the weight of the bowl on her head was starting to give her a small headache.

"Wanna do the blood draw now, or later?" he offered.

"Now, I guess." she murmured.

Armon stepped around the teen, a wet towelette reeking of alcohol in one hand, a small white cylinder in the other. They swabbed her ring finger on her left hand

"You get to ask me one question." Armon smiled gently, "To take your mind of off things."

"Um...." Elli glanced at where Ferris was doing something with the metallic machine.

There were a million things she wanted to ask, but now probably wasn't the best time, her head buzzing from everything from a very full day of crash coursing in this world she'd never known anything about. So, she settled back into asking something personal for the pale N.N.

"So... if you can swap genders whenever, what are you... er, I mean should I think of you like something?"

Armon laughed as they slipped the cylinder over the tip of her finger. "No, gender was so last century. I am androgynous. Like, nothing going on in this state at all.... and I've been this way so long, it feels weird to go back, even in someone else's form."

It was such an earnest statement, Elli hardly felt the quick tap of the needle against her finger.

"I think you're beautiful." she blurted out.

Armon grinned. "I know I am, but your opinion is noted."

Elli laughed, and a moment after Armon removed the cylinder and wrapped her finger with a Band-Aid, Ferris announced they were all set.

Surprised, she asked, "How'd I do?"

Elli removed the glass bowl carefully, glanced between the three of them nervously as they huddled about a tablet Ferris produced out of God knows where.

She sat for a moment, watching them frown, her heart sinking.

Magenta glanced up, the frown disappearing as she caught Elli's gaze. "Don't worry about it, newbie. It's just data right now. Ferris and Hailey will sort through it tonight, and we can tell you tomorrow."

Elli sighed in relief that she hadn't 'failed,' but she was still curious to know what her results would be, and afraid she'd only disappoint them.

"Why don't I take you to see Trevor now, we're done tonight." Magenta offered in a kind tone.

Elli tried to bury her suspicion of the teen, and agreed, setting the glass bowl in the chair.

She mumbled through her goodbyes and followed Magenta into the hallway, that sinking feeling still gnawing at her stomach.