Project Eximius
by Moonraker One

Author Notes: This started out as a joke idea. I did a photoshop of Akira Toya as Superman and it snowballed from there. If you go to deviantart, and look up the user "moonrakerone," that's me, and it's a photoshop called "Super Toya." It may have been just an itch, but I felt I needed to write about it.

CHAPTER ONE – The Super Man exists, and he is Japanese

"It started when the old way of doing business ended."

The voice came from a mid-forties man with the lines and other stains of age on his face. He had graying hair and his white coat had numerous gadgets attached to it at the belt. He had green eyes which held a look of discomfort. Just speaking put him on edge because of where he was. Not seven feet from him, in the front row of desks, was the most important student in his classroom. Garbed in a dress suit with effeminate black hair that hung down to the start of his neck and surrounded three-quarters of his head like a curtain, and youthful facial features with mild blue eyes, was Akira Toya. The young boy paid close attention to the board as the moderately discomforted teacher wrote important dates. The other students were of varying age between ten and sixteen, with hair varying between light blonde and ebony black, and faces varying from soft features to hardened foreign features. Each wore a dress suit with the same color and texture; a dark blue jacket and pants with light blue undershirt and a black tie. They looked quite uniform despite their different faces; however, the major difference between them was also the reason they were gathered together.

"In ninteen eighty-nine," the instructor continued, "before some of you were born, the way countries partake in international politics changed forever." He pointed to several spots on the world map, each signified with a red X. "The original Cold War was between the United States of America and the Soviet Union." He indicated those countries. "But it was realized in the late eighties that nuclear weapons were not the deadliest thing mankind had yet discovered. Science had led to the realization and creation of superhuman beings, such as yourselves, and that became the new Cold War." He pointed to a student with his hand raised. "Yes, Kakumaru?"

The student with bowl-cut blonde hair lowered his hand. "I thought you taught us that traditional superpowers, like the kind in fictional media, is impossible?"

The teacher gave him a smile and a finger point. "You're getting ahead of me, Kakumaru." He used his pointer to indicate the red X's on the map. "The X's on this map signify points on the globe where people were discovered who had the very first, true psychic abilities. Psionic powers had never been seen before, and even though these people had very basic powers—they might be able to levitate small objects, or make small orbs of light, nothing powerful—it proved to be a turning point in human history. Countries spent billions experimenting on people to create superbeings of incredible psionic powers, and it almost lead to World War Three until the World Organization, the successor to the antiquated United Nations, passed a law requiring humane treatment of superbeings." He pulled down a display screen, which had graphs and diagrams of the human brain. "As per Kakumaru's question, yes; the superpowers you read about in comic books are largely impossible. But psionics is possible. The old myth that you use only seven or so percent of your brain is a lie, but not completely; you only think with around seven percent of your brain. The rest utilizes the four fundamental forces of nature—gravitation, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear interactions—to create powers in ordinary people such as yourselves. And that is what brings you to this class."

A boy raised his hand. "So, we're sent here to learn how to use our superpowers?"

The teacher nodded. "Yes, Michio. In fact, some of you may not even realize you have powers, but believe me, if you are sitting in front of me, it is because locked within your brains are the ability to do things ordinary people cannot." He turned to the board to write down a paragraph of information. "And unlike in the past, the governments will not force you to their will as if you were a slave of the old days. Instead, you will be instructed so that you can use your powers for the better of mankind, if you so choose." Just then, there was a knock on the door. The teacher looked over, and upon seeing the face of the person on the other side, excused himself to talk to him.

"Kuchima-san," the man said to the classroom teacher, "you will report to me if Toya-san experiences anything during your class, right?" He was an elderly man with many years stained on his face.

The teacher put his hands on his hips. "Godora-san," he huffed, "I understand that Akira Toya is our prized pupil, but do you have to tell me? I'm fully aware of his importance. He was, after all, the first to score above a hundred in the possibility scale. Our next strongest student to him is only a thirty-six."

Godora put his hand on the teacher's shoulder. "I'm just reminding you. The core of the experiment rests on us unlocking the potential in that skull of his." He walked away.

The teacher shot him a look. Then he went back into the classroom. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "Anyway, let's get down to the core of the lesson for today." He pointed to a list on the display screen and a diagram on the other. "There are five basic categories of psionic powers. Kinetic-based powers, which are some variation of psychokinesis, involve the mind moving something either remotely or through touching the object, which is tactile telekinesis. This could be anything from lifting an object to slicing a block of something with your mind. Energy-based powers, which involve the generation of light or flame, or the manipulation of energy, such as electrical powers. We've even seen people capable of utilizing the energy of splitting the atom. Communication-based powers, which are some variation of telepathy. This involves either direct transfer of thought or feeling. Now, many of you are used to comic books where telepaths are "speaking" to each other mentally. In reality, thoughts are above language. If you communicate a dislike for something, another telepath will be able to understand you, even if you don't speak his language. Other types are enhanced senses, in which the psionic mind acts as a mental version of your basic senses. This ranges from super-hearing and sight to remote viewing, where someone can see thousands of miles away as if it were close. And the final type is temporal-based powers, which are some manipulation of time. The diagram above shows which parts of the brain utilize which types."

He turned to the class. "Any questions yet?" The class was silent. "Okay then. The next stop for many of you is the practice room, while for others you may be sent to analysis. Check your cards to see where you're going next." The bell rang. "This class is dismissed."

Akira Toya stood up from his seat and adjusted his collar. His card said that he would be given an hour of free time prior to his next session of analysis. This usually meant that he'd be having a game of Go with his father. The institute didn't usually give him free time to play Go, but whenever they did, it always meant he'd be enjoying himself. He was easily as good as a professional, thanks to his father teaching him on every free occasion he could. The fifteen year old boy had been playing almost every day since he was three years old. It was his favorite activity that didn't involve training to utilize his powers.

He saw his father, Koyo Toya, enter the hallway outside the classroom, and he perked up. "Good morning, son, was class eventful?"

Akira shook his head. "Not really. We learned about history from the start of World War Two all the way up to the end of the old Cold War and the start of the new Cold War, and then got a brief repeat of the lecture on psionic powers." He walked alongside his dad towards the private break rooms. "So, are we going to play Go today?"

"I'm having a game with a professional from the mainland of Japan, so I won't be back at the institute until two days from now, but I wanted to have a game with you, at least." He smiled at his son. "Here. I bought you a new board, since your old portable one was worn out." He handed him a plastic bag with an expensive looking goban in it. "The stones are already in your room, but I wanted to show you the board, since I paid a pretty good sum for it."

Akira smiled widely. "Wow! Thank you, father!" He had a question, and it was important to him. "Are we going to go to the mainland together soon? I mean, the institute treats us great and all, but when will I get to see the outside world?" He saw his father's smile fade a bit.

"The institute won't let you leave until you've proven that you've mastered your powers. It's a safety precaution, and what not."

"But, I haven't even used them yet! How do they know what would happen?"

Koyo led his son towards a clearly marked break room. "Let's not worry about that now. Let's get down to playing a game. You're already a professional, in terms of skill, did you know that? When you graduate, I'll have you go take the pro test. What do you think of that?"

Akira nodded, the news perking him up. "I'd really enjoy that." He sat down across the goban, in a very formal sitting position, and took a three-stone handicap against one of the top professionals in Japan, his father Koyo, also known as Toya Meijin. What they didn't know was that, even in the break room, they were being watched.

A male scientist of what appeared to be Chinese descent, turned to a female scientist of eastern European heritage. "Doctor Adams, what does the mental scans say of Akira Toya while he's playing the game?" He took a drink from a flask in his pocket. The institute didn't pay him enough to care this much about the kids.

She looked at the computer screen. "He's in a state of deep concentration, but none of his psionic centers appear to be active." She turned to her colleague. "This indicates the game isn't being affected by his powers; he's thinking purely skill-related. None of his extrasensory powers are affecting his thought."

"So he's not cheating in any way," the Chinese scientist replied. "That's interesting. You'd think with almost all of his mind activated psionically, that super-intelligence would be among them. I guess the analysis will have to tell us what the deal is."

She folded her arms. "What makes him the star pupil? We've analyzed him a few dozen times, and even with ninety-nine percent psionic activation, more than any other student by far,he's yet to display any superpowers." She turned to the screen. "I don't know. This just stinks of a false alarm."

"It's not up to us," the Asian scientist replied. "The big-wigs told us what to look for, not what to choose."

After Akira finished the game with his father, they discussed, in great detail, what caused the boy to lose, and what moves he should have made. It was a learning as well as a bonding experience, and afterwards, the father and son hugged and admitted that they loved each other, and departed. The younger Toya headed down the southern hallway towards the analysis rooms, and the elder Toya walked up the northern hallway towards the landing pad. A series of helicopters ventured between the island and the various other islands of Japan several times per day, and the father didn't want to miss his. His son made it to a cold exam room, labeled "1-b," and he laid down on a cold metal table.

"I'm ready for the tests," Akira said to the scientists behind bulletproof glass. "Let's get this over with." He stripped out of his suit while he waited, sitting up to do so. He carefully took off all of his clothing, a little at a time, until he was completely naked against cold metal.

"Just be calm, Akira, and this'll be over before you know it." The large glass hemisphere, attached to what looked like a crane arm, emitted an eerie blue light as it passed over every inch of the boy's body. The boy breathed quite hesitatingly due to the temperature of the table he lay on. After the electromagnetic scan of his tissue completed, the orb moved over to his head and surrounded his skull in a reddish grid pattern of light. "You don't seem to have any abnormal growths, and your tissue scan is normal, the only exception being a large number of stem cells, but that can be easily explained. Your muscle tone is sufficient to indicate you've been exercising appropriately." The scientist pressed a button on the computer several times, and a dozen different screens passed by. "Now we're just waiting on the results of your brain scan."

"Has there been any change in the psionic centers?" he inquired. His powers had yet to activate. Many of those even younger than him by several years had demonstrated their abilities already. One of his friends was quite strong, able to break through a laminated bulletproof window with his bare fist intact. He had yet to be able to do anything impressive besides beat everyone in the institute at Go.

The scientist's voice crackled over the speakers. "No. You've still got amazing potential for when it does activate, though. Still ninety-nine point four percent of your psionic centers are active. They just don't report significant activity." The orb retracted towards the ceiling and the lights resumed. "Any questions?"

Akira sat up. "Can I get dressed now? I have to remind you, I'm quite naked, and my genitals are touching cold metal."

This drew a laugh from the scientists. "Okay, Akira, you can get dressed. Make sure you head next to the testing center. They want to do some electro-stimulation tests."

He stood, and slid his clothing on one article at a time. The first object was an undersuit. Skin tight, yet breathable and flexible, it covered from the bottom of his legs to the collarbone, and all the way down the arms, leaving only the feet, hands, neck and above areas open. It was a light shade of blue, had remarkable thermal properties as well as being damage-resistant; it could withstand flame, tear and small caliber pistol fire. The chest of the blue undersuit had a shield symbol emblazoned on the chest; a red outline with yellow background, and a red S in the middle. This indicated he was a superhuman subject and not a scientist. A scientist's symbol was a circle and not a shield. Over it, he slid a pair of red underwear. It was made of the same material as the blue undersuit, and it had a yellow strap to hold it on. Over this, he donned his shirt, pants, jacket and tie. He also adjusted his belt.

The hallway had a series of subjects walking towards various rooms. Some on the left were recreation rooms, large enough to play a game of basket ball with one hoop, others with gym equipment or free weights instead of action games. Others on the left were study rooms, with bookshelves full of reading material from reference all the way to science fiction and fantasy. Most of the rooms on the right were test centers or mess rooms, where subjects could eat if they weren't comfortable eating in the cafeteria down the hall that connected to the main one via a turn at the end, right before the exit into the outside observation area. Akira knew his room was the third on the right, marked with a sign indicating it would be in use very shortly.

He stepped in and scanned his fingerprint on the console attached to the wall. "Hello, I'm here for my electro-stimulation test." A man in a lab coat walked up to him with a smile. "We're going to see if the telekinetic centers of your brain can be activated. Just stand on this platform." He led the boy up a tiny hill where he stood on a shiny metal platform and a pair of wristclamps attached to titanium cables were pulled up from the floor and attached to his wrists. The scientist then walked over to the right corner of the room below the observation window above, where he activated the computer console. Akira then felt a lot of resistance pull down as an electric current traveled up his arms. "The purpose of this, is to see if the brain responds to electric currents in your arms, and enables you to telekinetically summon enough strength to resist the pull of the cables." Almost involuntarily, he jerked upward, gritting his teeth as what seemed to be an incomprehensible force resisted his efforts. He let out a groan as he couldn't pull the cables. The scientist deactivated the console. "Negative. Barely seventy pounds of resistance. Let's see if a different frequency of electric stimulation will do any better." They conducted the same test with a different frequency of electricity, but the same result.

"Doctor," a voice came over the speaker from the above observation room, "shut off the test. Before we switch to another test, let's compare the data from the analysis with the previous test results so we can synchronize the databases." Six scientists on their consoles typed up the numbers from the previous tests and analyses. Akira stood patiently while the cables went lax.

Just then, a gunshot could be heard.

The scientists scrambled to get on the emergency channels. "What the hell just happened?" The scientist on the floor near Akira radioed to the main office. A crackle preceded an erratic response.

"One of the subjects...just killed a security officer...running around with a gun," then there was a scream and the line went dead.

"Just what we need," the scientist screamed, reaching for his gun in the case below the console. The next gunshot was much closer than the previous one. The scientist peered around the edge of the doorway, and the next gunshot caught him in the shoulder. Akira gasped as the man retreated to the middle of the room. The subject with the gun then stepped into his line of sight, and he carried a smaller student in his grasp by the neck. The tips of the tall, muscular Korean boy's fingers were glowing as they dug shallowly into the neck of the smaller boy. Blood trickled down to the floor at a mild pace.

Akira strained against the chains, eager to help his comrade. "Kido! Leave Kido alone, you bastard!" he screeched.

"I'm sick of this damn complex!" He shouted in Korean, "you're going to take me to the landing pad and we're going to the mainland, and if any of you tries to attack me, our friend Kido here will be eating a bullet!"

"Just calm down," the scientist attempted. "No one has to get hurt. We'll take you to the landing pad. Just put Kido down."

Akira grit his teeth angrily and pulled with all his might. "KIDO! ERRGH!" The cables went tight automatically as force was applied. As he yelled angrily, the previously insurmountable opposing force felt lighter and lighter against his pull.

The scientists were too busy being frightened by the attacker's display of aggression to see what the computer was recording instinctively, but they, as well as the boy, saw when the cables snapped like string. "So, Akira! His blood is on your hands then!" He pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to stop as Akira bounded forth from the platform. "KIDO! NO!" His friend, the attacker, the gun, and the flash from the muzzle all seemed to be in slow motion. Before he knew what he was doing, Akira had traversed the room, and put his hand, instinctively, over the muzzle of the revolver. Still operating on adrenaline, he failed to notice that he had stopped a bullet with bare flesh, nor did he notice the gun's metal crumbled like potato chips in his right hand. As Kido dropped out of the grip of his assailant, due to the distraction, Akira clasped his hand around the wrist attached to the hand holding the ruined gun, and with one jerk, threw the boy over his head behind him, where he flew up into the air and smashed against the reinforced glass of the observation window.

Akira snapped out of it the moment it was over. "W...what? What happened?" Nervously, he turned around and saw the boy, who fell from his body-shaped impression in the bulletproof glass, and sprawled out on the console three feet below. Frightened, he drew his gaze to the gun's metal, which looked like gravel, and then to a hyperventilating Kido, looking up at his friend Akira as though he were staring at a ghost. "D...did...did that just happen? Did I...do...that?"

The scientists expressions went from scared to happy. "Akira! You did it! You saved Kido!"

Bleeding from his shoulder, the doctor got on the phone. "The situation's over. No, that's irrelevant. You're not going to believe this. Toya stopped it. No, I'm not lying. He broke the testing cables—yes, you heard me, he BROKE the testing cables—then he stopped a bullet with his bare hand, crushed the gun, and stopped the attacker. Oh, I forgot to mention! He crossed the room in an instant!"

One scientist looked at the wreckage of the stress cables. "Those were tested at a thousand ton strength."

"And that glass is resistant to assault arms fire," another added.

The eldest in the room started examining the computer results. "It looks like we have ourselves a winner." He scanned his fingerprint on the scanner. "I think we found another subject for secondary training." He got on the intercom. "Akira?"

The young Toya looked up at the observation window. "I hope I didn't kill him," he sheepishly admitted. "I don't want to kill anybody."

"I don't think that hurt him. His powers were energy-based psionics. His body should recover." The man shook his head. "That's not what I wanted to say. Toya? You are hereby qualified to enter secondary training. What do you think of that?"

"Really? I'd love that!" This time, he jumped for joy.

One young scientist made an astute observation. "That display was only two percent of his psionic capacity." He shook his head. "That's amazing."