“What is going on, guys? It’s your boy PowerGainz with a real, serious way to get yourself Awakened! As my viewers know, I’ve been running investigations and conducting a lot of research into this field and this time, I have one crazy trick that’ll work for pretty much everyone.”

  Isabel raised an eyebrow, pausing from taking another bite of her meal. She’d followed PowerGainz from the beginning, before he even cracked 100 subscribers on ViewCube. More out of a morbid curiosity than a genuine interest. Awakenings having a rhyme or reason was nothing more than a conspiracy theory. Certain individuals possessed an inherent predisposition, a natural inclination, that granted them extraordinary abilities. There wasn’t a scientific process that would convince her otherwise. It didn’t matter where you were from, or what you did, so long as you were living in Hammerton.

  There was a long stint of PowerGainz videos where he genuinely believed that the Awakenings were a gift left behind by Lightcrown. That didn’t make any sense to Isabel, since the timeline didn’t add up at all. Lightcrown died at least ten years prior to the Awakenings beginning in the city. Whatever granted him power must have gone dormant for a few years. Or maybe his powers were just dispersed to the masses, giving everyone a latent power after he died. There was no way it was intentional. Having the wherewithal to leave powers behind as he was dying was too far-fetched.

  “I’ve tested this method with over a dozen people, and over 80 percent end up Awakened… Myself included!” PowerGainz held up a fork and showed as each tine wiggled like seaweed.

  Isabel leaned into the screen. That was new. PowerGainz had never claimed to have powers before, nor did he imply he knew how to get one. This was something special for this channel. Perhaps some sort of viral marketing for a future project? The slightly jerky, unnatural wiggling of the fork prongs could have been easily faked with video editing software, after all.

  “If you don’t believe me, feel free to check out my live streams. I already have a VOD up from last night, and I’ll stream again tonight. Make any request, and I’ll show you! I’m really, truly Awakened! I can reshape metal on small objects, up to the size of a baton. Last stream, I even extended a leg on a wobbly chair for it to stay flat!” PowerGainz beamed with pride.

  Confused, Isabel drummed a set of knuckles on her desk. What was the game? There was no way he cracked the code. Tearing off half her sandwich in a single bite, she frowned as she chewed. Was there something real to this? Even admitting the fact to herself felt gross: She was curious. PowerGainz had always been so earnest before, but she didn’t think anything substantial would come of it.

  Some graphics of old videos popped on screen as PowerGainz continued. “I know I’ve run investigations where I debunked claims before, but I’m serious when I say this is real. It actually takes some inspiration from the Lemon Cake Conspiracy, where one of the kids was convinced the Awakening was inspired by pain.”

  Isabel’s lip quirked down in further skepticism.

  “And I think he was right, in his own way. Pain is the key to unlocking it, but people have different thresholds for what they believe pain is. Some people are a lot more stricken by mental pain than physical pain. That’s why I think that one kid got ice power when watching his friend hurt himself.”

  More images flashed on screen. Captures of moments of the viral video uploaded by the two teens in their basement. Greg watching in horror as Henry brought down a bat with full force. Grainy, zoomed-in images of the mortification growing deeper in his eyes.

  Pursing her lips, Isabel couldn’t stop from oscillating between denying the ideas and being convinced. It almost made sense. Maybe one person could Awaken through a stressful mental load where another needed a physical stimulant. That could be why the Awakened people couldn’t pin down what the relationship was between their Awakenings. Drowning her sandwich with gulps of water with a hint of lemon, Isabel started to come around on the idea.

  “Naturally, you might wonder what would it take to consistently get people Awakened?” PowerGainz had his fork do the worm in his hand as he spoke. “You don’t want something that would cause permanent injury. Breaking a bone might be enough to do it, but that would be an agony that might last longer than needed. So… What is there to work with?”

  Theories started cooking quickly in Isabel’s mind, but she blinked in frustration. PowerGainz was stalling because he didn’t have anything. Or he wanted to pad the watch time to get the ViewCube ads on his videos. Either scenario was equally likely. Rolling her eyes, she set the video to two times speed.

  “I promise I’ll explain everything in detail! All you have to do is join my online course and I’ll give you the exact…”

  Groaning, Isabel slammed her head on her keyboard, pausing the video. Of course it was an online course scam! Why did she even have hope for anything otherwise?

  She added a Dislike to the video and went to check out comments. Obviously, they were deactivated. Exhaling in annoyance, she slid her mouse to Unsubscribe from the channel now that he had become a soulless sellout. Hesitating with her mouse over the button, she started to feel a burning annoyance. It bubbled into burning frustration. Her subscription and support for him in his early days might have been the boost he needed to gain a larger following. Good will had been used and exchanged for a quick cash grab.

  An Unsubscribe wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t offset the damage he had done to her and all the other PowerGainz viewers. Lips tight, she thought about how she could really repay him. Glancing at the sidebar, she scanned the related content. Nothing about it was a discussion on the betrayal of PowerGainz to his audience. Maybe it was too soon? She could start that conversation.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Tilting her head slightly, she realized she could go further. If she could document everything wrong with the supposed “course” that PowerGainz had put together, she could definitively prove he was a fraud. And as an impassioned audience member, she could let him know just how disappointed she was in him as a creator. She didn’t have any hopes of going viral, but PowerGainz was known for pursuing everything related to Awakening, so the intended audience would see her video.

  Moving the mouse away from Unsubscribe, she slid to the description and clicked into the link for his course. The page flashed as it transferred domains to PowerGainz’s personal website, a massive video on the home page. Shining animations spun around the video, enticing her to click it and learn more about the course.

  Scrolling down, Isabel checked for any details on how much this would cost her before deciding to pursue it. There were links to some weird supplements to purchase for a few dollars, but nothing more about the course. Another ploy to keep the information as far away from inaccessible to people as possible. She started screen recording and scrolled back up to the video.

  “What is going on guys?” PowerGainz sounded more somber. Serious, almost. “I wanted to pull people off ViewCube because I didn’t trust that they’d let me keep the video up. Thanks for joining the course. Like I promised on ViewCube, this will be a totally free course.”

  Isabel’s eyes narrowed in confusion. Free? She didn’t expect that, but it was also her fault for closing the original video so soon.

  PowerGainz held up a tiny rock, half the size of a black peppercorn, and presented it to the camera.

  “This, here, is the secret to Awakening. It’s not something you consume, but something that comes out of you... A kidney stone.”

  Isabel’s jaw dropped wide open.

  “I got it by accident, but it was the one true way for me to Awaken. I’m absolutely certain of it. Once I’m up for it, I might even induce another one to try to Awaken a second time. But I have to be prepared for that because… Well it wasn’t easy.

  “This is not medical advice, not even close. There’s no way ViewCube would allow a video of me telling people to actively get a kidney stone stay up. And, to be clear, I’m not guaranteeing anything. Again, I don’t know if this will work for you. But over 80% of people who have induced kidney stones have had it pass by the time they have Awakened. And let me be clear: This is agony.” He pointed to the stone. “I have nothing to compare the pain of this to, it’s that bad. It’s like someone tightens a pipe wrench on your kidney and it keeps squeezing, night and day. Morphine did nothing for me, and drinking as much fluids as possible barely helped get it out by the end of a week.”

  Lowering the stone, he smiled slightly at the camera and held up a spoon. The neck spun six times, and the metal twisted to the side.

  “But that unbearable pain takes over every faculty. Mental and physical anguish of an incomparable level. Enough to Awaken a lot of people. And once the pain passes, you feel okay again. No permanent damage.”

  Blinking a half dozen times, Isabel could barely contain herself. Was he insane? Had PowerGainz seriously lost his mind? Who in their right mind would give themselves a kidney stone?

  “Luckily, I wasn’t the only person in recent times to get a stone in Hammerton. Those I talked to have the same story. No power going in, Awakening on the way out. And there was one guy that already had a power and gained a new one by the time the stone passed! The actual timing seems to fluctuate, some people Awaken earlier than others, but the stone pretty much always does it.”

  Isabel was wondering where she could get some proof of any of this.

  “Now I know what you’re wondering… How do I give myself a kidney stone?” PowerGainz said confidently, spinning the spoon back upright. “Well, you need to cut out water. Dehydrate yourself and live on something like black tea from now on. Laxatives can help get you to faster dehydration. Get yourself regular supplements with high doses of Vitamin C and Calcium. It won’t be immediate, but in a couple weeks or months time, you’ll form a stone that needs to pass. Once you feel that agonizing pain in your kidney area, you’re done putting yourself through pain. Get a prescription from a doctor and drink as much water as you possibly can to flush it out.

  “And I can’t emphasize just how much pain it is. You really shouldn’t do this on a whim. You have to be serious about it. But the results speak for themselves.”

  A quick montage of home videos of Awakened people flashed on screen. Someone talking with their dog, someone making a flower grow with their hands alone, another person hovering on a skateboard and laughing the whole time. Social media tags accompanied each person, and Isabel made mental notes to check they were all real people.

  “These are all real people that tried my methods! If you’re concerned about dosage to give yourself a stone, I sell supplements on my site. It’ll overdose you in just the right way to get a stone. And they’re pretty affordable, if I do say so myself. Your support has always supported the channel. I’m really grateful for all of you, especially my first few subscribers that helped me from the beginning. I’m super grateful to be Awakened now and I can’t wait to see you Awaken with me!”

  The video stopped there, with some links to his social media channels as the last frame on screen. Isabel finally closed her gaping mouth, shaking her head to herself. PowerGainz was a complete lunatic. Selling supplements just like any other grifter and pretending it was still part of his brand.

  Scrolling down, Isabel examined one of the supplements’ ingredients. It looked pretty standard, with absurdly high numbers for Vitamin C values. Surprisingly, Isabel did find them all very affordable, some samples going for as little as five dollars. Eyes frozen on the purchase button, Isabel weighed options.

  Awakening? Really? It was always in the back of her mind. Why she always added lemon flavoring to her drinks, just in case there was something going on with the lemon cakes. But this was clearly a grift.

  Right?

  Clicking ‘Purchase’ on a bottle of 100 pills, Isabel told herself it was to prove the ridiculousness of PowerGainz’s claims. Obviously, she was smarter than believing him and his fake customers at face value. But what about all of the other poor followers that could be duped!

  She would go through the whole process and record everything. Just needed to prove it for other, more gullible types.