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To the esteemed members of the Risitan Council,
Two weeks ago, I received a tip regarding a possibly "empowered" human. A female in her teenage years named Delia Fuller, a student in her final year at Alexandria High School. I thought it was yet another attempt by some student to look "cool" to her peers, but Acheas was getting restless with lack of anything to do, so I tasked him with following her to catch her in the act - not that I actually believed she was capable of anything. My intent was to recall him the instant an actual assignment came in and use this as an opportunity to give him something to do, even if I believed it was a joke. The following is copied verbatim from his report:
Please forgive my informality, but you will not believe this. The young woman you assigned me to watch for evidence of empowerment: I found some.
Following standard shadow agent protocol, I invisibly followed the target as she left home to go to school. She sat with her friends and talked about a great number of things, none of them relevant to the investigation. There were no displays of empowerment in any of her classes, with the possible exception of her physics class. The class was studying sound waves and the instructor had set up what he called a "Ruben's Tube" - a tube with evenly spaced holes along the top and sealed on both ends, one with a speaker and the other connected to a supply of flammable gas. The gas is then lit on fire so that small flames appear above each hole. When sound goes through the speaker, the flames jump due to pressure differences in the tube. The target was sitting in the front row and volunteered to light the gas. I did not think much of it until later, but she had an odd glint in her eyes as the flames started leaping. I thought I saw the flames being attracted to her as well, but it is possible that there was merely a breeze coming through the window.
In the history class the teacher, one Rebecca Dawson, made a borderline treasonous comment about how there was more freedom before the Risitan brought peace to this world (technically true, though that freedom was used for cruel purposes). The target's response was a scowl that I interpreted as silent, angry agreement.
When the target arrived home, her parents were still at work, so she thought she was alone. After she unlocked the door, I had to nudge her water bottle from the pocket on the side of her backpack in order to sneak inside the house without her noticing.
According to her bedroom clock, I stood in the corner and watched her do homework on her bed for 44 minutes before she stood up and left the room. I followed and observed as she poured some cold water into a mug and carried it back to her bedroom. I slid inside as she closed the door, nearly missing what happened next: as I took my same position in the corner, she went to the desk and pulled out a tea bag. She placed it in the mug of **cold** water and sat back down on her bed with the mug clasped between her hands. As I watched, the water in the mug began to steam and then to simmer. The target smiled and took a sip of her tea, then set it down on the bedside table, where it continued to steam.
Further reports repeat this tea-heating scenario, and Acheas has confirmed that she must be generating the heat herself. What is concerning is that there is evidence not only of possible empowerment but also treasonous thought. She has not acted on these thoughts or abilities yet, though I have Acheas under orders to apprehend her should that change. There is no precedent for handling the generation of powers in a race that did not previously have them; shall I continue to have her watched until such time as she acts, or shall I have her brought in - and under what pretense? I look to your guidance in this matter.
Intelligence Commander Qaiten