Scene 16 - October 16th

Exterior Docks, Continuous

Quinn Kaufman

Canaveral flipped himself over the edge of the building and plummeted to the ground, landing lightly on his feet. A moment later, I jumped myself, pushing against the building while pulling on one of the ones on the opposite side to launch myself across the street as he had directed me. With a momentary grip on the world around me, I twisted in midair and adjusted my trajectory. One more push slowed me as I approached the ground, and my landing was only a little bit jarring.

On the other hand, even with the greater toughness that had come either along with my other powers or from the PA4, the backlash of my TK was starting to make me incredibly sore. It wasn’t exactly debilitating, but it certainly wasn’t fun.

“Bit late for a walk, isn’t it?” Canaveral asked the assembled gangsters as though they had just bumped into each other in the park. His hands were casually hooked in his belt as he began to stroll towards them.

“Canaveral,” growled one of the Buff Boys who seemed to be in charge, snapping shut a briefcase that my ESP told me was filled with cash. “You’ll forget what you saw here if you know what’s good for you.”

The hero responded with a cheeky grin. “I’m afraid that reliable sources tell me I don’t know what’s good for me.”

“You really don’t know what you’re stepping in the middle of here,” said one of the buyers, who also carried a briefcase - presumably the brawn they had just bought. “Walk away.”

Canaveral sighed. “You criminal types never come up with anything new,” he bemoaned as I hesitated. “It’s always either ‘leave if you know what’s good for you,’ ‘you don’t understand the full picture’, ‘I’ll give you a cut if you keep your mouth shut,’ or ‘hey, it’s that hero guy! Get him!’ Just once, once, I’d like it if you did something new. I don’t really care what.” He shook his head as though disappointed. “I guess I’ll keep up my end of the script. You’re all under arrest.”

“Get him!” roared the Buff leader.

That seemed to be the cue for the fight to begin, as the gangsters all rushed for Canaveral. He casually flicked a hand, something he had pulled from his belt spreading out and striking the vast majority of them, knocking most of them over. “Oh, and just so you know,” he called, “It’s ‘bring your sidekick to work day’ today, so I’ve brought a friend. Feel free to join in any time, Newton!”

I shook off my hesitation and flicked my fingers at one of the thugs who remained on her feet, pulling her legs out from under her and causing her to fall as well. The sudden feedback from my TK almost knocked me off my feet too, though - I would need to figure out how to compensate. “Your sidekick?” I asked Canaveral. “Doesn’t that imply a preexisting relationship? We met barely three hours ago!”

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He somehow shrugged while handcuffing a groaning gangster. “Well, I’m taking it on myself to mentor you, at least for tonight. You’re not experienced enough to qualify as a partner. You’re not a civilian. If the shoe fits, wear it.” He smirked at me.

There was a guttural growl as two of the Buff Boys were rising to their feet and pulling vials of golden fluid from within their jackets. Canaveral turned towards them as they uncorked and drank the vials - brawn, I had to assume. Steam rose from their skin, which turned a vaguely golden color, and they visibly grew at least an inch in height.

“I’ve got this, Newton,” he assured me, producing a thin length of chain from within his belt. “Make sure none of the others get up.”

Without looking, I pushed at any who seemed to be getting to their feet, strongly enough to prevent them from making any headway. I could feel it nearly knocking me into the air, so I pulled at the ground, locking myself there as well. The forces canceled out, but it felt like being squeezed in a giant vise. I really needed to figure out a better way to do this.

I watched as Canaveral manhandled the two boosted thugs, using his control of kinetic force to manipulate the chain in impossible ways. It was impressive to watch. I was so wrapped up that I forgot to pay attention to the downed gangsters, and almost missed it when one of the buyers who had fallen on her back managed to produce another vial from within her jacket.

I whirled, and tried to pull it out of her hand towards mine, while pushing at her fingers to make her lose her grip. But I was already splitting my attention and power so many ways that she managed to hold onto it just long enough. She squeezed, and the vial shattered.

There was a moment of silence as all eyes were drawn to the prismatic cloud that briefly hovered around her hand before expanding to encompass all of us, and she grinned from her position on the ground. Suddenly, my ESP cut out, as did my TK.

“Fuck,” the hero spat. “Where did you get equality, lady?”

“I told you,” she said as she rose, glaring at him, “you don’t know what you’re stepping into. Leave, Canaveral.” She brushed a few shards of glass off of her gloves hands, then reached into her jacket again and produced a pistol, aiming it squarely at me. “Or I’ll have to do something to your sidekick that I’d rather not.”

Canaveral raised his hands, as did I. “Let’s not be hasty,” he said, his voice low, as he stepped over towards me.

“Ah ah ah!” she tutted. “Stay away from the boy.”

“They’re nonbinary, actually -”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Stay away from them. I know that your powers are magical and equality doesn’t do shit to you - you’re not stepping in front of this gun.”

“...how the hell did you know that.”

She smirked. “The same way I got a vial of equality. Now then. You’re going to turn around and leave. These boys and I are going to go our separate ways. And your new friend is going to live. Sound good?”

There was silence for a moment, then I narrowed my eyes towards Canaveral. “What were you saying about how it would be perfectly safe for me to join you?”

“I don’t think I ever put it in quite those words,” he said. “I think I said something along the lines of ‘experience is the best teacher’.”

“And what am I supposed to be learning from having a gun pointed at my head?”

He shrugged. “What’s it’s like to have a gun pointed at your head, I guess.”

“It won’t be the last time, if you continue on this path,” the buyer commented. “So, heroes? What will it be?”