The Five Evolution

『"Silence all the violence in my head..."』

Sophia woke up to the sound of Hiro’s voice rambling about something ridiculous.

"—and that’s why I’m convinced the vending machine on Level 3 is sentient. It gave me the wrong snack three times in a row, which statistically shouldn’t happen—"

"Hiro."

"—unless it’s deliberately messing with me. I’m thinking low-level AI demon-baby, maybe possessed by a minor spirit poltergeist, or possibly just a really passive-aggressive—"

"Hiro." Her voice came out rough as she called for the second time.

He stopped mid-sentence, his head turning toward her immediately. "Sophia? Oh thank God. You’re—how do you feel? Do I need to call the doctor? Should I—"

"Water." She tried to sit up and quickly regretted it as the room spun. "Please."

He was already moving, grabbing the cup from her bedside table and helping her drink with surprising gentleness. The water tasted like heaven and dust simultaneously.

"How long?" she asked after draining half the cup.

"Fourteen hours. It’s almost noon." Hiro set the cup down, studying her face so intensely, it made her uncomfortable. "The doctors said it could be days. You scared the shit out of me."

Sophia closed her eyes as memories of the cafe flooded back. Her mother’s face. The cruel words. The moment her control had shattered and she’d broadcast her shit to an entire room full of strangers.

"Oh God," she whispered. "Everyone saw. Everyone felt—"

"Yeah." Hiro’s voice was gentle. "It wasn’t pretty. But most people didn’t even know what was going on."

"Fuck... me." She covered her face with her hands.

"Sophia, it’s ok." He pulled his chair closer to the bed and placed his hand on her arm. "No one thinks you’re damaged goods."

"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow. "People think I’m damaged goods?"

"No, no, no, no." He took a deep breath. "What I meant to say was, we all care about you... some more than others." He scratched the back of his head.

Her frown was gone. "Thanks."

"And for what it’s worth?" Hiro continued. "Your mom was way out of line. Like, restraining-order levels of out of line."

"She’s always been like that." Sophia sighed. "Convinced the world owes her something. I thought getting away would be enough. Proved I wasn’t like her..." she couldn’t finish.

The door opened and a nurse entered, smiled with professional warmth, and began checking Sophia’s vitals.

"Welcome back," the nurse said. "You gave us quite a scare. How are you feeling? Any headaches, nausea, disorientation?"

"Tired. Just really tired." Sophia tried to reach for her telepathy, to sense the nurse’s surface thoughts, to find out more about her situation, but found nothing. She drew a complete blank.

Her eyes widened, and she immediately started panicking. "I can’t—my powers—"

"Are temporarily offline," the nurse said calmly. "It’s completely normal for Dream Walkers after a psychic burnout."

"See, Sophia? Completely normal," Hiro said to keep her calm.

"Your brain shut down supernatural functions to protect itself," the nurse continued. "They should return gradually over the next few days as you recover."

"Should?"

"Will," the nurse corrected, but Sophia caught the hesitation. "Rest is your best option right now. No stress, no overexertion, plenty of sleep. Doctor’s orders."

She finished her checks, made notes on a tablet, and left with instructions to call if Sophia needed anything.

Once she left, the room was swallowed up by silence.

Sophia reached again, but she still got nothing. No surface thoughts. No emotional static. No background noise. Nothing. For the first time since awakening, the silence felt wrong.

Then her gaze shifted to Hiro’s face, studying it. "Hiro. What is it?"

"What is what?" Hiro asked.

"That." She pointed at him. "That face you’re making."

"Wow..." he turned away from her. "I never expected you to be so shallow. Don’t you know beauty comes from within, Sophia?"

Sophia sighed. He still wasn’t making eye contact, and his foot hadn’t stopped bouncing for the past five minutes.

"Hiro." She narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or do I have to guilt you into it?"

"Okay, fine." Hiro sighed. "It’s really not that big a deal. Nothing to worry yourself about."

She stared at him. "Then you wouldn’t mind telling me."

Hiro groaned and leaned back in his chair, and Sophia waited. Eventually, he cracked.

"You’re supposed to be resting."

"Hiro."

"And not stressing yourself out."

"Hiro."

"And definitely not getting involved in Institute business. You heard the nurse."

"Hiro."

"Fine!" His hands flew into the air. "There is..." He hesitated. "A situation."

Sophia’s expression didn’t change. "What kind of situation?"

"The bad kind."

She folded her arms. "That’s not helpful."

"A rogue Awakener." Hiro rubbed the back of his neck. "Big-Little Havana."

Sophia raised an eyebrow. "What’s the big deal about a Rogue Awakener?"

"We don’t know much." He paused. "Except that people are tearing themselves apart."

Sophia’s eyes narrowed. "Mind control?"

"That’s the problem. The Institute has blockers, dampeners, all that fancy anti-psychic stuff..." Hiro struggled for the words. "But they’re all useless. This guy just gets into your head."

She didn’t need telepathy to read between the lines.

"They need me."

"No. They need a telepath. You need rest." His hands clenched into fists. "The Director already talked to medical team. If you’re not stable enough to deploy, they’ll handle it another way."

"What other way? The other telepaths are deployed elsewhere." Sophia pushed herself more upright despite the dizziness. "How many casualties?"

"Sophia—"

"How many?"

Hiro’s silence was answer enough.

Sophia swung her legs over the side of the bed. The moment her feet touched the floor, she knew she’d made a mistake. Her knees nearly buckled beneath her, and the room tilted.

"Whoa." Hiro was out of his chair instantly. Before she could hit the floor, his hand caught her arm while the other steadied her shoulder. "This is a very bad idea."

Sophia grimaced. "I’m fine."

"You almost folded like a lawn chair," Hiro said.

"Temporary setback." She tried to take a step, and her legs immediately betrayed her again.

Hiro tightened his grip before she could fall. "Sophia."

"What?"

"You can barely stand." He looked at her. "And last I remember, you gave us a whole speech about definitely not trying to be a hero when this all started."

Sophia looked offended. "I’m not."

Hiro kept staring at her, and she stared back as neither said anything.

Eventually, Sophia broke the silence. "It’s a good thing I don’t need my legs to do what I do."

Hiro nodded. "You know what? Fair point." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Charles Xavier managed."

Sophia blinked. "Charles who?"

Hiro blinked. Then he shook his head. "That’s completely beside the point." His expression became serious again. "Do you even have your abilities?"

Sophia adjusted her grip on his shoulder. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Hiro stared at her for several seconds, then sighed dramatically. "This friendship is extremely one-sided." Despite the complaint, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and helped her stay upright.

Sophia smiled. "Thanks."

Hiro shook his head. "Don’t make it weird."

Slowly, they made their way across the room toward the small cabinet containing her clothes.

Once they reached it, Sophia pulled out a fresh outfit and pointed toward the door. "Okay. Get out."

Hiro frowned. "You know, the least you could do is let me watch."

Sophia nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, she grinned. "Okay."

Hiro froze. "...okay?"

"Sure." She slipped one arm out of the hospital gown. Then another.

Hiro’s eyes widened. "Wait."

Sophia hooked her fingers under the collar of the hospital gown hanging above her bust and slowly lowered it. "You know what, you’re right. You’ve earned—"

"Very funny!" Hiro practically teleported out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him.

Sophia looked at the closed door for a moment. Then a smirk spread across her face. "Too fucking easy."