THE MOMENT
"Mundo said I was brave...," Valerie shrugged. She walked along a winding dirt path with her newest friends Alis and Surge. They'd met informally the previous day but this was the first time they met in person. The sun was low in the sky on its way down. They were exploring a lush green countryside and showing her around when the subject of their abilities came up. "...whatever that means," she said.
"That's pretty useful," Alis replied. Surge nodded in agreement; his blue mop of hair bobbed with the motion.
"It's not super strength like a Calavera, or Traversing like an Estrella...," Valerie whined. As soon as she discovered how special she was, she also discovered there were plenty of other people that were even more special. She had bravery in any situation; but, Surge was strong enough to shatter an Earth and Alis could move freely between alternate Earths.
"It's just the benefits of being higher tier," Alis shrugged with a giggle. All three of them were Unique Souls; but, Surge and Alis were ranked higher.
"I know almost anyone can Traverse with nodes; but, you don't need a card to do it!" Valerie giggled. "You can literally go to another Earth any time you want! That's the best ability, hands down."
"It's not that great," Alis shrugged. "I like my plasma better," she added.
"Yeah, I'd rather have what I got than Traversing," Surge agreed.
"Huh, what did you get?" Valerie stopped walking to ask the question. The pair of teenage friends stopped too and Surge tilted his head at her. "I mean, I know all Calaveras get the strength you have; but, what's your other ability? Mundo said Calaveras usually have an Ability hinted at by their name; but, I can't figure out what 'Serge' is? Is it short for Sergio?" she asked. Surge and Alis chuckled.
"That's right, we haven't used the group chat very much," he nodded. Then, Valerie felt a Whisper on her wrist. She heard his voice in her mind and felt the words on her wrist.
[/p: It's actually spelled like this. -Surge]
"Ohhhhh," Valerie giggled. "Sorry, I think I get it now."
"I was an NPC named IceSurge," he replied. "I can control ice as a Super power...," as he explained his ability he held his hand out with the palm facing up. A small single snowflake crystallized in the air just above his palm. "And the 'Surge' part is like giving it a boost." When he said that, the single snowflake exploded into a tiny blizzard that swirled between the three of them before it died down.
"Then, when I Woke up as a Unique Soul, I found out I could do it with any element," he said. "Gimme a spark, Alis." The teen with pink highlights in her brown hair nodded a flicked her hand up. A bright blue spark flew into the air and Surge raised his hand at it.
The blue spark became a deluge of blue plasma that disintegrated the ground where it landed.
"Even just air," he made a gentle pushing motion at Valerie and she felt a solid gust of wind try to knock her over.
"Whoa....!" Valerie giggled in awe. But, after a moment, she shook her head.
"Nope, I still think Traversing is better," she said. "The freedom to go anywhere is amazing!" Alis giggled and shook her head as the trio started walking forward again.
"It's not that great... honestly, it's actually pretty useless," Alis said. But, Valerie wasn't ready to hear it.
"What? How can you say that?" Surge chuckled to himself while the two talked it out.
"Like you said, anyone with a Node can Traverse like I can, that alone means it's not that special. But, on top of that, I barely use it. If you think about it...," Alis shrugged. "...99% of the time I'm already where I want to be anyway."