He walked down the row of doors, brushing past a group of men before finally making it to his room.

“Oh what the fuck?” He double checked the door number before rushing inside. The entrance had been busted down and the whole place had been ransacked.

“My clothes..” He moved the sheets from the ground in hopes of finding the bag that housed all of his possession to no avail. They were missing.

“My cash!”

He rushed to the bathroom and felt underneath the sink.

A small ledge acted as the perfect place to hide something so valuable where no one would have checked if the dead roaches that littered it were anything to go by. His heart sank and he brushed a series of bugs and grime onto the floor as he frantically searched.

“No…no, no, no, no. Come on.” He stuck his whole head under in the cabinet to only confirm his fears.

They had stollen almost three hundred dollars and all of his food and clothes.

“What dickheads!” He flexed his hands in anger. “Who the fuck..wait.”

He looked to the grimy floors and notice a barrage of wet foot prints covering the carpets. He counted at least three different shoes in the bundle of trails that snaked around the room. A sudden realization smashed into him.

“Those guys were carrying my bag!” He froze for a moment like a deer in headlights as the realization hit him.

“Oh shit.” He rushed for the exit, following in his own footsteps to where he last saw them.

“Naw, I can’t have lost them.” He kept running.

‘They went this direction. They had to of. There aren’t any alleys that lead to other streets so he still had a chance.’

He jogged along, scanning the sidewalks as he went. The cracked walkways were sparely filled with people but he knew he hadn’t passed them over. They had to be up ahead.

His tension grew worse as he reached the first intersection. He turned to the left. Shadman Burrows. It was the nicer part of town. The rich people shopped there and the Normal Watchers enjoyed walking it in peace, free of their daily duties.

Straight ahead was a possibility. Martin Rethul Drive was home to a number of small shops they could trade the clothes in at, but everything he owned were already hand-me-downs multiple times over. It wasn’t anything they would be willing to buy.

He turned to the last direction. It lead straight to Xing crossing. It was the only real chance he had.

The law enforcement was certainly more laxed and the people weren’t very likely to snitch when the Normal Watch couldn’t even understand half the population. The decision was made for him as the light turned and traffic started back up, blocking him from continuing forward.

He rushed across the road and headed down the sidewalk. The lettering turned from English to Korean, before finally only Chinese dominated the signage. The group of men were nowhere to be seen. He had already ran nearly a mile from where he started. His hope began to dwindle.

“God damnit. This can’t be happening.” He spun in circles, hoping by some infinitely small chance to watch a glimpse of just one of their backs.

“What did they even look like?” He fell back, dizzy and in despair.

He threw his head into his hands as his frustration mounted. He already needed to start over. It would be another week without answers. The five hundred in his pocket offered him a small amount of solace as he stood back up.

“I guess everything can’t go smooth.”

He turned around only to immediately bump into someone. They fell straight back, dropping their bags onto the ground and flinging a small cane into the road.

“Oh my god. I am so sorry.” An old Asian women looked up at him with an intense glare on her features.

He rushed for the items pouring onto the road and gathered them back into the bags before helping her to her feet.

“I, uh.” He chewed his lip as she stared into his soul.

He bowed.

“Dwyboochi.” There was a tense moment of silence before he heard a scoff.

“Was that some sort of attempt at mandarin and why the hell are you bowing?” Her accent was as American as they came.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry.” He felt his cheeks warm in embarrassment.

“I’m Vietnamese, asshole. Why are you in such a hurry that you bump into old ladies?” The question seemed more rhetorical than anything, but Sean couldn’t help it. He needed to vent.

“I was chasing some guys. They broke into my room and took everything I owned. My bag, cash, clothes. I was just running around to look for them.” He sighed.

“And I should have been paying better attention. Again, I’m sorry.”

She started walking away before pausing.

“You say they took some of your stuff? A bag? How many of them were there?” Sean perked up.

“There were three or four I think. It was a smaller grey duffle bag. Dark clothes.”

Her eyes squinted towards him.

“Hmmm. I might have seen something. I might remember for ten bucks. I need to get some more eggs after a certain someone ran into me and broke all of mine.” Sean went shuffling in his clothes before pulling a twenty dollar bill from his pocket.

“That's the smallest I got.” She snatched it from his hand and deposited it into a small coin purse overflowing with random objects.

“That’ll work. I saw a couple young men enter the alley between the coat place and and the phone repair store. It’s right down the street. Now, you never talked to me and this didn’t happen.” She immediately turned from him and headed in the opposite direction.

Sean looked in the direction she pointed and saw the stores she called out. He walked to the alley that separated the businesses and stopped just outside. It looked like any other. There was absolutely nothing different beyond the lack of trash piles that often dominated the paths.

‘She better of been telling the truth.’

He began walking down the path, deeper into the abyss. The unfamiliar space wracked his nerves as he lost sight of the entrance.

“Hey, we have some shit to sell for the tenth time! Just open up and give us the money.”

The heavily accented voice screamed out around the next corner. Sean peaked around the side and caught a glimpse of the same group of men. They were banging on a heavy iron door relentlessly.

“Dude, they don’t want that shit. Let’s just toss it and run off with the money.” One of the other men grabbed him by the shoulder.

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The leader of the small group threw his hand off and turned around to yell.

“I need this money. Three hundred ain’t enough.”

The third man went to speak before receiving an intense glare.

‘Do I got out now?’

His body froze. He hadn’t even tried to practice with his abilities and now he was chasing after people who had stollen his shit without a second thought. He pressed his back against the wall and put his hands to his face.

‘What was I thinking? I could die. They probably have guns or some shit. Did I just come here to die?’

“Fuck!” The shout stole his attention away from his inner musings.

Rapid footfalls caused his heart to skip a beat. They were coming his way! The end of the alley was too far away for him to make it without being seen and he was certainly the only white guy e within the block.

He had a decision to make. Was he going to try and run for it or would he fight? The mugger had walked away scott free after taking all of his hard earned money and now these people were going to do the same if he didn’t do something.

He clenched his fist and could feel his heart beating in his palm. He would do it. He had to.

He turned the corner with his hands raised in a traditional boxing stance and stared the trio down.

“What the fuck you doing? You picking a fight? Huh?” The leader moved his hands up in a much tighter stance and began weave side to side.

“I just want my shit back. Give me my bag and cash and no one will get hurt.” They looked amongst themselves before filling the alleyway with laughter.

“Listen to fucker. It’s three v one moron and look at stance. Probably haven’t trained a day in your life.”

Sean’s heart blared in his ears as adrenaline rushed through his body. The leader began marching forward with his fists raised and a serious look on his features.

It was coming. Sean’s first real fight since the powered. They were only a few feet apart when his opponent made the first move.

He threw a jab over Sean’s guard, cracking straight in his collarbone. The pain far less than he was expecting. He threw his own attack, swinging wide, missing the man by a large margin. A loud swishing noise filled the alley.

“Woah. Alright, you got power.” The leader began approaching again with his fists raised. Sean watched a punch fly only to miss him by a large margin.

‘I might be getting the-’

His thoughts ended as a heavy impact shook his leg.

“Oo. Tough son of bitch. Can’t fight for shit.”

“Did you just fucking kick me?” He received a sneer in response. The thought that legs were in play hadn't even entered his mind.

“Pussy boy.”

Sean pulled his arms closer and and kept his eyes on the man’s form. There was a clear disparity in their skills, but he still felt fine. Even after the first two hits, he barely noticed an ounce of pain leaking through.

‘My adrenaline must be through the roof.’

His thoughts were interrupted as a barrage of fast jabs blasted through his fists and peppered his body. He could do little more than keep his hands up and absorb the punches as they came.

There was a small lull in the attacks and Sean threw a body shot forward only to miss and be rewarded with another kick straight to his calf. The slick pavement nearly caused him to slip only to barely succeed in keeping his posture. A slight ache radiated from his leg.

“Really think you can gas me out and just take hits. You crazy. Stupid fool.”

The man dipped in closer and punched him straight in the liver, opening himself up for retaliation. Sean pushed through the attack and threw a hail marry, barely grazing his chest and receiving a left hook straight to the jaw in return.

It slid off his chin like a perfect knock out punch. Sean watched his opponents eyes light up as he stepped back, unaffected by the momentous impact.

“Oh what the fuck. You should be on ground. Big fucker.” His confusion and anger filled the alley once more. Sean was just as confused. He had felt the blow for sure, but it wasn’t anything crazy.

“You must be pretty weak to not knock me out. I’m a street urchin.” The provocation caused the man’s lackeys to exchanged worried glances.

“Don’t start second guessing the fight now.” He pressured him a little more and watched the leaders brow twitch.

“Hui, calm down, man. Don’t let him get to you.”

“Surrounded by a bunch of pussies too.” Hui grit his teeth in anger and pressed forward.

“I gonna break your fucking bones.” Sean cracked a smile.

The man threw kick after kick to no avail. They landed clean right into the calf but he didn’t falter. After one particularly hard smash, the leader himself stumbled as he put pressure back on his leg.

‘I feel great! These blows are barely doing anything. Maybe my ability is invulnerability with a hint of force pushing and mind reading.’

Sean saw the short man switch to his other leg to continue his attack. He kicked once more and nearly fell as a result. It was an opportunity that he couldn't miss.

He lunged at his opponent with his arms reaching for his clothes. Hui was taken by surprise at the sudden offense and stumbled back, tripping over his own leg. Sean chased him to the floor and grabbed at his wrists.

“Help!” The leader shouted for assistance as the pair rolled over the wet asphalt.

Sean felt a series of blows rain into his back and sides as he struggled to gain control. Their attacks did little to deter his new position on top. He cocked a fist back and threw it towards the man’s face only for his arms to stop the blow.

The attack connected cleanly and a sickening crack startled Sean from throwing another blow. A bloodcurdling scream rocked the alley.

Everyone froze.

Hui desperately covered his face with his one good hand while the other hung limp at his side. It was broken clean in two. The lackeys looked towards each other and then to their downed leader. They turned around and began running.

“Hey! My bag!” The duffle flopped around on the shorter one’s back as he fled from the scene.

Sean reached in his direction and felt a familiar wave of energy overcome him.

“Ahhh! My brain! It feels like its melting!” The screams only got worse as the seconds passed. He lowered his hand and the shouts turned to groans.

“Drop my bag and leave!”

The man followed his command and stumbled out of the alley, sweating and grabbing at his head. Sean turned his attention back to the man between his legs.

“Give me my money back right now.” Hui reached into his pockets before pulling out the familiar wad of cash.

“See how simple that was?” He stood up and flipped through the money when a flash of pain hit his calf.

“Ow!” He jumped back and saw a growing stain of blood covering his jeans

He turned to the downed man and saw a small blade clutched in his hand and a grin on his face. Sean kicked him in the leg with his full force, denting the skin in unnatural ways.

“Son of a-ahhh. Fuck you!”

The bastard stared at him with complete hatred in his heart.

‘I guess this is fair enough. I get stabbed and he gets a few broken bones.’

Sean turned to leave when the creaky hinges of a heavy metal door stopped him in his tracks.

“What in the world is happening out here?” He heard the newcomer speak from around the corner.

“Help! It’s Hui. I’m getting robbed!”

Sean immediately began running to the end of the alley, pouring blood the entire way. He turned around just before making the corner and saw a muscular asian man with a gun clutched in his hand. His eyes were trained on him like a K9 staring at its target.

-

He kept running, making it out of the damp deathtrap and John Shen’s territory as fast as he could. He only stopped running as he recognized a few of the shops around him.

‘Did I just screw myself?’

He went in totally unprepared and without a bit of fighting experience. He was blinded by confidence thanks to Imani’s words and only made it out of there alive thank to his aberrant power.

His heart slowed down to a normal rate and the ache in his leg worsened. Without the adrenaline to dampen the pain, he was feeling the full brunt of his mistakes.

‘I really could have just died. I could have died again. The second time! Holy shit, I’m stupid. I even waited for the fight to end before using my power.’

He clutched his leg while he thought about his mistakes.

‘Maybe I can call Imani and get some healing?’ He opened pulled his phone out and opened his contacts.

Three names.

Devon, Imani, and Hannah.

‘When did she…. Whatever.’

He quickly dialed his coworker and listened to it ring away. After a few tense moments of waiting he heard the familiar voice.

“Hello?”

“Imani, I got a favor to ask.” He could hear the man sigh instantly.

“Hold on. Just listen. I got stabbed.”

“What?!” There was a hint of disbelief in his tone.

“Some people tried to steal my shit so I fought back and they got me.”

“You need to go to the hospital.” He immediately responded.

“I can’t. I just really need this favor. Please.” Silence rained for a moment before he answered.

“Fine. Meet me in the Little Ceremonial Park in twenty minutes. You know where that is?”

Sean agreed and immediately headed over with his bag in tow.