Patrolling at four in the morning was odd. It gave me the whole uncanny valley sensation. What stood before me was still my city, the place I was intimately familiar with. One I had been patrolling on and off more or less since I got my powers. I knew this place.

  And yet, it was all silent.

  Well, there were a few people driving home from work who were going far past the speed limit, taking the opportunity of no cops being around to go as fast as they felt like instead of remaining at a law-abiding pace.

  There wasn’t any particularly egregious-looking crime either. And there was nobody I actually stopped since when I got closer I often learned how shady people can be at this time of day. Even when they’re doing perfectly mundane tasks.

  Or the police were already there doing the apprehending. While they seemed to have an alright relationship with Cass and Amelia, that definitely didn’t extend to me since I’ve dealt with a few car chases recently.

  Though now that I’m fully aware of just how fast I can run, the car chases are more fun. Getting shot still sucks, but I don’t truly mind most of the time.

  Three more hours till I’m free from patrol and head home.

  As I do my best gargoyle impression perched on the corner of a tall building, I fall back to my most recent time-killing technique while in costume, trying to solidify the air.

  Phasing the air I have found to be easier than actually getting my power to work in that direction. I went through the air all the time, so phasing it was easy.

  My brain broke when I tried to stand on phased air. Normal humans can’t stand on air, and even though I could stand on phased things because I was immune to my power when it worked on other objects, that didn’t change the fact my brain couldn’t compute.

  Yes, other people fell through the stuff I phased. But I have spent my whole life standing on concrete, so it made sense to me that I wouldn’t fall through it.

  More than that particular mind bend, turning it immutable and unchangeable would hopefully work for others.

  Unless I act on it, immutable things made by my power don’t move, so hopefully that would apply to the air as well. I could create a massive barrier to protect people. Weapons to use that couldn’t be broken or removed from my grip. I could almost fly. There were so many things I hoped for when and if I pulled it off, so I was happy to continue slamming my head against the wall in the effort to perfect the ability.

  It wasn’t hard to have my power permeate the air around me, but specifically directing it into a shape was complicated at best. The air didn’t particularly like being in one shape all that much, and my power mimicked that fact, swirling around me in a nearly unreadable distortion.

  One hour into my time-killing practice, I get an alert pinging my helmet that there’s some kind of super robbery in progress at the bank, and I wonder why so many criminals decide that robbing the bank is the best decision for their powers.

  I would actually get it with someone who had abilities like mine. I still hadn’t found many great options for my powers for money making.

  Besides being able to remove practically any shrapnel that could be inside something, I could do that without much problem now, couldn’t I?

  However, I wouldn’t be getting an alert about something going on if it was a phaser or other suitable stealth ability that allowed them to travel around with as much impudence as they felt like having at any particular moment.

  I push off gently, mentally timing myself. I have a vague idea of how long it would take me to get there running full speed just phasing through everything. I want to know how quickly I can bound along the rooftops while holding back enough that I don’t accidentally break any buildings.

  Most people don’t have accidental super attack insurance on stuff since it’s prohibitively expensive, and until recently it wasn’t like our city had any supers that it was actually worth buying for.

  Though I’ve gotten more ads for insurance against super attacks in the past month than I’ve gotten in years, so if that’s any indication, the winds of profit are changing in the area.

  As far as I can tell, it boiled down to about the same amount of time. While going all out is faster, the fact that I was able to go in a straight line this way was a huge benefit.

  Which once again has me questioning on if I should just barrel through people’s homes if I’m chasing someone.

  Corporate buildings or stores I’ve never minded phasing through, but someone’s house is definitely awkward.

  A problem for another time.

  On top of the bank, I pause, focusing my attention downwards. I really can only feel one person down there and what I’m getting used to calling fire gushing out of their fingertips towards a large safe door.

  Sweeping back, I can see that the doors seem as if they were more or less blasted through, so why are they trying to melt the safe doors with fire?

  They’re either stupid or the fire they’re generating is hot enough that it can melt through the safe doors.

  Problem with that second theory is I’m pretty sure the safe doors aren’t melting in the slightest.

  I phase

  Dropping onto the bank’s main floor, I switch from phasing to immutable, not wanting to test any theories on whether or not he can barbecue me inside the suit or not.

  The would-be criminal spins around, hands still guttering out flames, as he looks around wildly to see me.

  As it turns out, when everything is on fire, it’s really easy to see the person who looks like a black splotch on reality.

  “You’re not one of the heroes,” he sputters, the flames swirling around his hands and compressing.

  With the flames gone, I can even see it. While there’s a slight glow to the metal, nothing has begun to change, and it’s already dimming as we speak as the door cools down.

  “No, I’m not.” I agree with a nod. “Fractal would probably have a much harder time dealing with you than me.”

  “I’m not scared,” the man roars as he shoots a cannonball-sized flame, which slams into my torso, scattering in the air.

  “You shouldn’t be because I’m going to do my best to make sure you leave this place alive and with the building no longer on fire,” I explain, pulling my hands up into a guard.

  “Just because you didn’t get burned that time doesn’t mean you won’t!” he practically spat out. “Everything burns eventually.”

  “I don’t.”

  The world blurred around me as I pushed off with all my might, closing the distance between the two of us before my shin slams into his own, the sound of his leg cracking filling the room.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  Instantly he collapses to the floor in pain as more fire begins to pour out of the man in every which direction.

  “Just like the hospital.” I mumble, reaching out and plunging my hands into the fire as I flex my ability. In the moment before letting it turn off, I pause, looking down at the person writhing on the ground, who still was producing flames even as I phased more and more.

  I broke his leg entirely on accident. I don’t think he could deal with the explosion about what’s to come if I release it all at once.

  Like fireworks going off, small gouts of flame return to normal and pop as I try to get the blaster to stop producing flame.

  When he doesn’t listen even after my fifth attempt, I kick him gently, pulsing my power through him, causing the fire not to get past a few centimeters for whatever reason before they finally stop.

  Once the fire is all gone, I lower my hands and release my power's hold over himself and myself.

  “Are you done trying to set me on fire now or do I have to break something again?” I ask picking the other man up so I can look him in the eyes better.

  “No,” he mumbles like a petulant child.

  “Can you walk?”

  “No, I can’t fucking walk; you broke my leg!”

  In hindsight, that was an incredibly stupid question, I suppose, so I don’t fault him for being snippy with me.

  “So why the hell were you trying to burn through the bank wall? Wouldn’t you have destroyed all the money if you could do that?” I ask, carrying him through the bank and back outside.

  While he is formulating a response, I pull out the police summon device Asher had made and press the button. It was the same thing Cass and Amelia used, so I knew it would work, and I would have someone here to take care of the pyro in minutes.

  “I have control. I wouldn’t have burnt the money.”

  “Uh-huh, so what about having tried to melt through reinforced steel earlier before you tried that?”

  “Why would I need to do that? Gloomwraith said that I would be able to burn through anything that tried to oppose me, and so far he had been right.”

  I’m beginning to think that whoever I’m talking to isn’t all there. “How long have you had powers?”

  “I dunno man, it's all the same. It wasn’t till I was really living that I started paying attention.”

  And now he’s actually beginning to freak me out a little. “And would living by any chance coincide with getting super powers?”

  “No, it came from when I finally got the chance to realize my destiny.”

  “Are you part of a cult?”

  “Yes?”

  “The cult of self-actualization through super powers and doing whatever the hell you want because if you’re a super it’s not actually a crime?” I ask, taking a wild swing in the dark, but I knew there were enough super-supremacist ones that I had to be slightly close.

  “It’s not called that.” He grumbles.

  I tried to get more information out of him, but he proved very difficult to work with, especially when the adrenaline wore off and he was reduced to nothing but whimpers of pain.

  While we wait for the police to arrive, I mull over what I did know, trying to pull the threads together in a way that made sense.

  This isn’t the first super-supremacist society ever, but the fact that everyone in it seems to have joined the society before becoming supers was, in a word, odd.

  Most people are happy to place things below them, but to place someone above you didn’t make any sense.

  When I felt the police cars draw near, I quickly make sure the pyrokinetic is secure and not about blast anyone with fire before dropping down to the tunnels beneath us and waiting.

  Maybe it’s a bit of an asshole move, but I don’t want to get shot, and I’m sure they can figure it out from here. There were reports of a pyrokinetic attacking a bank, and here’s someone outside the bank that looks like they lost a fight.

  Thankfully, everything goes smoothly, and he’s apprehended and taken away though part of me wishes I had the power to take someone so that I could then question him more and figure out what all is going on but that’s a far to grand wish I’m sure.

  It’s a little bit earlier than I had intended on returning, but after the fight, I desperately need something to eat and drink, so I begin making my way back to the clock tower this time using the underground tunnels so that nobody can see me.

  I don’t particularly want to be seen any more than I already am. Already, websites are speculating about my identity and what my relationship is to Smoulder and Fractal, and I don’t want to end up accidentally named by the public.

  Not that all the names they’ve suggested are particularly bad, I just want to be the one who names myself. It’s my identity after all.

  My heart rate spikes when I feel someone puttering about the top of the clock tower since, as far as I’m aware, nobody is planning on heading out today, and I know for certain that Amelia wouldn’t be up yet.

  Whoever they are, they’re certainly moving about the facility as if they know the place well. In fact, it looked as if they were leaving one of the training rooms and heading to the showers when I caught them…

  Upon realizing who it is, I pull my mind back quickly, not wanting to spy on Cass.

  How do people deal with privacy when it comes to super powers because I’m quickly beginning to believe that the answer is you just don’t?

  Still kicking myself internally, I clamber my way up and begin stripping out of uniform before placing it back on the mannequin so that it can be cleaned, and messed with if Asher or anyone else wants to fiddle with it.

  Now free from the armor, I take my own shower, enjoying the warm water cascading down. It feels good to be clean, especially after a fight. No matter how much I can logically know I’m clean from phasing and all that stuff, there’s something special about how it feels.

  Now the question is how do I apologize for spying on Cass and should I ask her what she’s doing up and about this early in the morning.

  The answer is going to be both because I am nosy and because I do want to be open everyone knows my ability so I guess they probably already expect me to do some spying on accident but that doesn’t mean it has to be a habit for me.

  I find Cass in our breakroom tossing a piece of fruit at me right as I walk in.

  “Fancy seeing you here.” I comment beginning to peel the orange.

  “I know you’re not the only one who has a monopoly on getting up early in the morning, though I hadn’t realized you would be coming back early. I thought I had another thirty minutes,” she admits, grabbing her sandwich.

  “I hadn’t realized that you were in the tower either, so I wanted to say I’m sorry for spying on you on accident.” I say, sitting down across from her.

  “Jason, I know you’re new to this whole thing, but for me this is honestly old hat. Yeah, you’re a super with an extrasensory power; it in fact, if you think about it too long, makes it really awkward to go to the bathroom. But I can barbecue you with a thought. You turned your power off as soon as you knew, I’m sure. And honestly, in terms of detection powers, you’re better than the telepaths.” Cass says between bites of sandwich, waving my concerns away.

  “It just feels really weird to be able to see everyone all the time, but it’s useful.”

  “Why do you think the only part of my power I’m really good at is spreading myself thin and processing information from multiple sources? It’s fucking incredible. You just do it easier.”

  I laugh at that. “Now I feel a little bit silly about those concerns.”

  “I am only able to wave them down because you are how you are and actually brought it up to me. If you hadn’t said shit, I would be way more suspicious.” Cass admits.

  “I’m glad I could help?”

  “Yup, you’re pretty good at making yourself useful. But circling back to why I am up this early, I wanted to ask if you and Amelia were doing anything for Christmas or New Year's?” She asks, looking away from me. “New place and I don’t exactly have family to spend it with, so I was wondering if you would be willing to spend it with me or invite me over?”

  I tap my fingers against the table as I work through the problem the plan is to open our new campaign on new years which Cass wouldn’t be invited too most likely unless Ben and Reyna change their mind in the upcoming days but the group would understand rescheduling it wouldn’t be the first time our new years game was played on not new years.

  It actually may have been played more often on the night of the first instead of the thirty-first historically.

  And for the question of having her over for Christmas, I already knew the answer to that one several days ago when discussing Christmas plans with Amelia.

  “I was going to ask you to spend Christmas with us as well.” I admit with a laugh as I lean back in the chair. “It wouldn’t be Christmas without you, and we don’t want you to be alone either.”

  “Thanks Jason. So, uh, second question: do you have any idea about what I should get Bianca and Amelia for Christmas cause I don’t have any clue, honestly?” Cass says, laughing.

  “Do you want to go shopping today to see if we can figure it out together?” I ask finishing my orange and standing myself up.

  “You haven’t gotten them stuff yet?”

  “No, I’ve gotten some stuff, but I still don’t know what exactly I really want to get them.”

  “I guess I can’t blame you for doing the exact same thing.” Cass laughs once she’s finished her food.

  “No, you should definitely give me shit. I should have a substantially better idea about what I’m supposed to be getting them.” I laugh.

  Discord

  Patreon