He watched the woman staring into his soul. He had so many questions to ask her and no idea where to start.
“Um.. I-” She lifted her hand and stopped him in his tracks.
“Your original power is something I would call transformation. Not in the shifter power sense but the bacterial sense. You seem to gain other people's power by ingesting their DNA through your mucus membranes.”
“Huh?” Sean’s jaw dropped as she spoke.
It was far beyond anything he was originally expecting. Enhanced strength, a weird motley mix of small bonuses, or maybe even some mental stuff, but this was confusing on a whole new level.
“Your other powers include body duplication from your mother, thought transfer from the hero’s execution, strength and blunt resistance from your first night as a bouncer, and healing from your coworker. Quite an impressive menagerie of skills if you ask me. I’ve only seen one person with more though she was vastly stronger. More established if you will.”
She stood up from the chair and flattened her long skirt.
“Unfortunately, that is all the time we have together. I need to handle our other customers now. This way if you would Sean.” She gestured to the side where the wall cracked open at its edges.
“I have so many questions.” He stood up and walked towards her only for a massive hand to land on his shoulder.
“Let’s go buddy.” He turned around and slowly looked upwards at the person's face. His eye kept roaming farther and farther up a man's broad chest before finally meeting his eyes.
They were a picturesque biker with a large gut, gray beard, and a leather vest wrapped around him. He was easily seven feet tall, topping off his already impressive figure with just a hint of gigantism. Sean tried to pull away only for the hand on his shoulder to squeeze tighter. Joints creaked under the pressure. The man jerked him to the side and started pushing him through the exit.
“How can we talk? Please, I need to know.” He looked back at the woman and saw her half-lidded eyes staring through him.
“We’ll talk when I believe the time is right. For now, familiarize yourself with your powers. I heard Mr.Shen was a little peeved by you entering his territory.”
The news shocked his already fried mind. It was yet another thing for him to worry about.
“Thanks for the business. Now, leave.” The grizzly man patted his back with the lightest taps he could manage, stumbling Sean forward and into the alley.
The door creaked shut, leaving him a confused mess. He looked around the path like a deer in headlights. Dark clouds hung overhead, and the loud rumble of thunder shook the earth.
“Fuck.” His shoulders fell and a deep sigh left his lips.
Rain started pouring onto him, quickly soaking through his shirt, but he was too preoccupied to care. The walk to the new hotel was long and filled with complicated feelings. Every concern he had was matched with a dozen worse ones.
“I’m just so tired.”
He pushed the door open, stripped the wet clothes from his body and flopped onto the bed. The exhaustion of the day did little to work his haywire mind to sleep.
Tossing and turning for far too long interspersed with ugly cries and snot bubbles. Hours of isolated mental gymnastics finally welcomed him into the dreamworld.
-
Sean slammed into the floor, startling himself awake and alert in seconds. Fists raised in front of him as he scrambled to his feet. The room’s light was still on, and the door was shut and locked just as he left it. His arms dropped to the side, and he plopped back down to the bed.
“Falling off a bed in my sleep? I don’t think I’ve ever done that…To be fair, I haven’t slept in a bed for a looong time.” He listlessly looked towards the clock, too tired for the rapid movements despite the exhaustion long gone from his body.
Twelve thirty-nine.
He rolled his head to the other side and looked for the faint rays of light filtering through only for the oppressive darkness of night to welcome him.
‘Phone?’ He felt his naked body for the device before spotting the pile of clothes only feet away.
He stared and stared, minutes passing by as he built the courage and energy to make the move. Finally, he reached for his clothes and fished through the fabric. The cheap device lit up in his hands only to immediately die before his eyes.
His hand dropped to the side with it in his grasp. The disappointment and tiredness caught up to him. A deep laborious sigh left his lung as he forced himself out of bed and over to the charger.
The entire ordeal felt like a challenge he was barely capable of achieving.
He watched the small lightning bolt appear on the screen as he fell back onto the bed. Sean's chest rose and fell for hours without any visible movement. His eyes looked straight to the stucco ceiling.
Brown lines laced the plaster peaks where cigarette smoke latched onto spider silk. Sleep came no easier, leaving his mind wandering from topic to topic and his body comatose on the cushions. The sun finally began to peak through the morning sky when a new idea crashed into his mind.
“I..should smoke.”
He threw his legs off the bed and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. He changed into a new set of clothes and pulled the wet money from the jeans.
The new boost of energy carried him into the early morning streets, determination for the worst possible goal. The traffic was already congested at every light and construction had already fucked up everyone’s day. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.
Only a few blocks from his job, a bundle of street stands pocketed the sidewalks selling cheap food and newspapers.
Sean stepped over broken bottles and used needles to finally make it to the most familiar alley from his recent past. The twenty-four hour, one stop shop for most normie drugs.
The street was overlooked by the Normal Watch and a clear den for deviancy, but that mattered very little when it was just a bunch of poor people overdosing out of sight of the rich and influential.
The first tinge of guilt wracked the back of his mind. He knew what he was about to do was the opposite of the right thing. It raised every red flag in his mind. He was blessed with freedom from smoking pills and now he was running headlong into the familiar addiction.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
He turned the corner with a small pit in the bottom of his stomach. His hands were shaking as he rasped his knuckles against the back door of a shitty pizza place. The knocks rang out in the established pattern, but no one came to answer.
The pit in his stomach grew. He knocked again. His teeth ground together with mounting anxiety,
Minutes passed before someone finally cracked the door open. The chain lock was visible right at Sean's eye level.
“Who are you? I don’t recognize you. You a watcher?” The man looked him up and down, searching for any clues he could.
“Hey Tylin, I’m here to buy.” The man looked Sean straight in the eyes for a moment, a series of confused looks and panning glances following soon after.
“Who gave you my name?”
He scratched his face, an old habit returning at the thought of an old fix.
“It’s Sean. I want some pills.”
There was a flash of disbelief on the man’s face as he realized who he was talking to.
“Sean? We thought you died. Pretty damn certain about it actually. Fuck, that means I lost.”
He raised his eyebrow in confusion. Tylin showed his ugly teeth in a crooked smile.
“Ah, we take bets to see if someone is dead, in jail, or skipping town. A whole lot of fun when your whole job is selling to junkies. No offense.”
The dreadful feeling in his stomach began to ache.
“None taken, I guess.” He sighed as the conversation dragged on. “Listen man. I just want five pills. Can you get me them?”
The drug dealer snapped his fingers as a thought came to mind.
“You know what. I don’t think anyone had you as still alive. That means I ain’t losing shit. Hell yeah. Give me a minute.” The door slammed in Sean’s face as rustling erupted from inside.
He began biting at his nails as his anxiety grew with each passing second. His foot tapped rapidly against the wet asphalt, splashing into the small puddle repeatedly.
“Come on.” He looked towards the street and watched a few familiar faces pass by. Pill addicted just like he used to be, lifelessly stumbling through their bleak existence.
The door opened once more. A small baggy hung from the man’s hand.
“Thirty for six.”
Sean pulled a few stray bills from his shrinking band when a loud crash filled the streaks. He jerked his vision towards the street as the man pulled his arm back and slammed the door shut.
“Ah-hey! The pills!” He shouted towards the metal door only for the ground to shake and a few errant screams to break through the loud rumbling.
“Villain! We’re all gonna die!”
Sean’s hand curled up around the bills as his head swiveled from location to location. Shouts filled the air. Screams of terror and confusion billowed around the streets.
“Fuck.” He could do little more than curse as he jammed the money back into his pocket.
He slowly walked towards the road in search of the cause of the disturbance when a blast of dust poured from the top floors of the store opposite of him.
-
Johnny ducked behind a brick wall as a bright red light lit the air ablaze. Mere moments later, a sizzling bolt of energy flew through the place where he once stood. The attack slammed into an elevator door, melting through the aluminum with ease and disappearing into the hole.
‘I have 5 seconds.’
He rushed out from the cover and pumped his feet against the ruined carpet. The vacant apartment building had been taken over by the villain and a few of his lackeys and he was here to lay it to waste.
“Come get some bitch!” The villain yelled out from the dust curtain that blanketed the area.
Johnny blasted through the screen not a second later only for the silhouette he aimed for to be one of the many henchmen.
The hero tucked his shoulder and rammed into the man’s gut, scattering his weapon to the floor and knocking the air from him. He scanned the area around him, searching for his next target. A hail of bullets rained through the cloud peppering his armored suit, bruising the skin underneath with every hit.
A lull in the firing gave him ample opportunity to reposition to a safer place as he prowled the rooms for more enemies. A large door swung open to his left.
Johnny’s heightened reaction times let him pull back as a large sword came swinging down where he once stood. The blue mask he had grown so familiar with stared back at him in the weapons reflection The henchman’s face fell from glee to concern.
An armored fist came flying in as the blade scraped the ground, knocking him unconscious instantly. Another barrage of bullets flew in his direction. The comatose man couldn’t do a thing as new holes peppered his body.
Johnny sucked his teeth as he ducked behind the brick wall nearby.
‘I see how this is gonna be.’
There were at least another five henchmen that he was certain of along with the boss and one powered of undetermined description. A murderous red bolt blasted through the stone, slamming into his back, and shredding into the armor.
He grunted as he rolled to safety. The suit had stopped much of the energy, but the force it imparted had undoubtably broken a bone or two. With adrenaline pumping through his system, Johnny dropped low to the ground and pulled his nonlethal weapons free from his belt.
The electrified brass knuckles popped with energy as they activated.
“Check the body out!” The villain ordered one of his men over.
The footsteps slowly approached through the dust until he was just within range. A hand flew over the henchman’s mouth as one brass knuckle slammed into his chest.
Barely a noise escaped the scuffle as the enemy waited for the man to confirm the hero’s death.
“We…we know you are still kicking!” Another unfamiliar voice shouted in Johnny’s direction.
“I suggest you guys give up! I won’t be so nice now!” His shouts were answered with a series of hoots and hollers as the villain gloated.
“That one stung, didn’t it?” A cacophony of laughs followed.
‘Piece of shit.’ He gritted his teeth and his nose scrunched in annoyance.
His hand reached for his shoulder where the radio normally sat only to feel the rough texture of his frayed armor.
“Fuck.” He rolled out of the way as a few bullets slammed into the area beside him.
The dust began to settle during the tense standoff. The cushioned boots carried Johnny silently through the halls as he thought back to the apartment’s layout. He turned the corner and stopped as he saw someone from the corner of his eye.
A woman sat curled up, shaking and crying . The clear distress painted on her features tugged at his heart as he quickly rushed to her side.
“Don’t make a noise. I am gonna get you out.” He turned around as she nodded her head.
One step later and he jerked forward as a sharp pain rocketed up his side. An old steak knife was lodged right below his ribs. A weak point in his armor’s design that he would need to remember.
He turned around with his fist raised. The woman was gone, replaced by a slimy looking man with a surprised look plastered on his face as a heavy fist smashed into his nose. A spray of blood splattered across his arm.
“Stupid shifting bastard.” He swore quietly as he snapped the blade off as close to his skin as possible and kept moving, the weapon grinding in his gut.
“Come on out wherever you are.” The villain taunted once more to egg Johnny into a disadvantageous fight.
Another old wall crumpled under its own weight. The two parties stared at each other in various states of surprise as the only barrier that separated them disappeared.
Johnny was the first to move. He jumped over the rubble and slammed his fist into one of the lackeys' faces. The other side lifted their weapons after the initial surprise faded.
It was already too late.
The superhero had made his way to the next man and stopped him in his tracks. Only three more lackeys and the villain were left.
A ball of death missed him by a hair's breadth. The energy scraped layers of material from his suit despite not making contact. He could see the villain tense as the attack failed. A sense of impending doom undoubtedly shook him to his core.
The jig was up. The villain knew he was about to be dead or in jail again.
Johnny struggled to keep the grin from his face as he dissected the situation in slow motion. His enhanced perception did double duty to take everything into account. He grabbed the unconscious man by the arm and pivoted on the dusty carpet, launching the heavy man straight into one of the remaining enemies.
Without a moment to waste, the hero shot forward and slammed his fist into the largest henchman's knees. It cracked under the pressure and the man fell to the ground screaming in horrific pain.
A blindingly fast kick lashed out and connected with his chin. His heavy body slammed into the ground while Johnny rushed to the man he had knocked over with his throw. Like he was back in high school, he punted the struggling henchman's head like a football causing it to whip to the side with a quick thwack.
Only one straggler was left. He spun around to survey the situation. The remaining man had his hands raised to the sky and a submachine gun at his feet.
The villain had his eyes tightly shut while his hands glowed a vibrant red. It was almost over. There was one final thing he had to do.
All he needed to take care of now was the real threat.
He swiped his foot against the floor, catching a bundle of brick and mortar. The object flew toward the villain with impeccable only for the henchman to run directly in its path in a bid to escape. His shoulders dropped as he watched the moron flop to the floor, limp.
“God damnit.” He kicked off and barreled towards the evildoer with his hands cocked back.
His brass knuckles crackled with electricity in anticipation only for a blindingly bright red light to overcome the entire room.
“Fuck!”