I wiped my face and stared at my reflection on a nearby lamppost, my makeup is now all over my face and the chalk-white color had turned black, thick strands of black ran down my cheeks, the color got richer the more it went down until it caked just below my jawline, lining it with gathered makeup and giving it edge lines that if I were to be honest, made me look like a cartoon character.
I looked at my reflection again and chuckled, "I really do look like one don't I?" The black lines that went down from my eyes, the ruined makeup, the red nose, and the leftover white spots formed together to make me look like a funny cartoon clown that just finished crying. If this were an actual cartoon, all my makeup would probably magically fix themselves by the next shot comes around but as things stand, this is real life and the only way I can do something even close to that is donning my mask.
Right... my mask. I stared at it as I held it with my right hand, this had been a silver lining in the entire situation with Doughey, if it wasn't for this smiling, completely creepy accessory he would've been able to see my face. Makeup or not. I put my mask on and combed my hair with my fingers, as expected, it became oily from all the running I did earlier. I trailed my scalp, watching as my autumn brown hair parted from my fingers.
"I'm gonna need to dye my hair," I concluded.
I lost my hat somewhere in all that chaos and Doughey definitely saw the way too distinctive brown hair that I have and if I'm not careful, he might even find records of me on the rubble of the charred circus tent. As impossible as that might sound.
I started walking away from the spot I puked on. The streets are empty, a small benefit given to me by Doughey getting as large as he was and becoming a City Wide threat. During times like that, the city usually goes into a lockdown while the heroes try to subjugate the evil and vile villain that caused the scenario in the first place.
'Heroes and Villains. Huh?' I pulled my sleeves closer the moment that I noticed the invisible energy all over the place. Theikos, as the Super Geniuses of the world had named it, is the energy responsible for why people like Doughey exist. Locked by the planet's magnetic field, the mysterious energy stays on planet Earth and planet Earth alone, causing mutations to form in the children of pregnant beings. It doesn't care if it's a dog, tiger, or human, if you're alive then Theikos is gonna give them mutations that will result in a stronger body.
And sometimes, these mutations pop up in the form of superpowers. The exact cause is relatively unknown, but sometimes something out there will manifest a supernatural ability, putting them above the rest of us plebians with their Super Strengths, Flights, and whatever else Peerless has got going on with him.
Well, it puts us above the regular plebians. I have manifested something and it's clearly magical in nature. I'm gonna have to register to know what exactly it is that I got but since I boosted myself physically when I ran away from the circus earlier, it's probably a variant of self-enhancement that some "Martial Artists" put themselves on.
It's a variant because I just don't get why I can sense the Theikos around me, I can see it when I focus too, the small tinge of blue that's visible all around me should be Theikos.
With an audible sigh, I put my hands in my pocket, "Seeing them should usually mean that I can cast stuff," I frowned. So what? Am I some sort of Caster Monk? Is that it? Did I cast and give myself super strength that let me run through the metal dome back at the tent?
"This is so fucking confusing." Deciding to just put the questions at the back of my head for now and I walked the streets in silence until I reached the three story building that I call my home.
Decrepit, ruined, and pretty much infested with all manners of lowlives such as cockroaches, rats, and homeless people like yours truly.
Since the abandoned building in front of me is one of the few things that went way back to the Technological Renaissance that came with the wave of Super Geniuses that popped up 40 years ago, it's built with the bad kind of concrete and thus, cracks are now starting to line the walls due to the process of natural weathering. The pipes, if you can call them that now, are made of regular, non-super metal that grows rust, gets holes, and causes leakage of... wastes. Because of that, I'm feeling pretty thankful that water is no longer running here.
Even with all these conditions though, a roof is still a roof and I can see a few homeless people lying on the street outside, doing whatever it is they do underneath the intact outer roof of the building. A low orange light emerges from the windows, a small sign that tells me that there are people living inside enjoying the warmth of the fire as well as the comfort of being able to sleep inside an actual building.
When I got a little bit closer, the scent of something roasted badly entered my nose, causing it to scrunch up. I ran to a dumpster and closed the lid, climbing up, I took a peek at the open window and saw that the people inside are roasting vegetables over a fire burning inside a metal drum, all of them, no matter how old, waited in patience as the guy at the center cooked.
I quickly moved on and scaled the building, finding a hole that I inserted my finger into to keep it in place as I lifted myself up. My feet found support on a hole in the wall soon afterward, and with a bit of effort, I hefted myself high enough that I managed to grab a rope made of cloth. I pulled on the rope and pushed with my feet and now I'm on the second floor of the building.
It looks so much cleaner here and the wooden planks that acted as the floor are polished, glistening under the light of the lightbulb. Shadows lined the floor too, and one of them belonged to a gruff looking man with a scar on his cheek, the thin lines that ran down horizontally through the scar showed that it had been stitched without the use of modern technology- a rather common thing among the slums due to everyone being poor.
The man waved at me and something metallic glistened under his sleeve, it shone and hit me in the eye. "Tyler," he greeted without bothering to stand up from his seat, "Heard the circus burned down earlier, my condolences." Whirring sounds from the generator took over everything as I stood there in silence and Ryan, in turn, eyed me. I flinched when he chuckled, "It's fine you know?"
I nodded and gulped, "I guess." I laughed awkwardly, "I'd just find a new job alright? Just let me stay here for an extra month,"
"Fair' nuff'." I held back a sigh of relief when he said that, "But after that you're gone you hear?" he stared back at the ceiling and waved me off. I started walking away, past cardboard boxes full of weapons, food, and other stuff and into the lift on the far wall to the right. Just as I'm about to start pulling the rope to lift myself up, Ryan spoke, "You'd be gone but your debt wouldn't be,"
"I understand." I started pulling myself up. Even with new powers, I don't think I can take Ryan on. He's only Wave 3 and that's pretty low on the spectrum, sure, but it's not like he doesn't know how to utilize his powers in a fight.
I've heard stories before, about how the people he fights suddenly get stabbed through the feet when they least expect it. And you don't mess with Ryan when you're near walls.
After all, it's a known fact that his blades extend longer the higher he places them. Just what exactly is that height is based on, I don't know but I have theories, one of them being mainly that it's based on his own ground level and where exactly are his feet at the moment.
I walked out of the lift and into a narrow hallway, the difference between here and the room I found Ryan in couldn't have been any more different; the dark grey ceiling, faded peach walls, and creaking floor gave the hallway a vibe of being abandoned for a long time. Which I guess isn't exactly that far off from the truth. Not one of us bothers to clean the place and really, we care more about our own room than some dingy hallway outside of it.
There are four doors in front of me and every single one of them is occupied by people like me. Places like these are managed by people like Ryan and because of that, they're relatively safe compared to the streets outside. And, hey, at least the people here actually have the luxury of leaving their stuff without it getting stolen by some persistent drug addict willing to search every nook and cranny.
Walking over to my door, I inserted the key and twisted the doorknob. With a push, the door opened to reveal a well kept apartment with a mattress on the floor, on the wall to the left sat a bunch of platforms with stuff on top of them, trophies, toys, cans of food, and even spare clothing. A window sat directly in front of the door, a blue curtain with a floral design is the only thing that prevented some sick cape from peering in.
I entered the room and locked the door behind me, I walked over to my mattress without accidentally tripping on anything in the darkness; a product of my organized way of living as well as familiarity around the place.
Too tired to do anything else, I collapsed into the soft sheets, I sighed when I felt myself sink deep into the foam. I closed my eyes and everything faded to black moments later.
It was early morning when I woke up, with the dim blue light of dawn peering through the curtain and illuminating the room. I sat up, looked around for a second or two, then fell back down onto the mattress with a stressed out sigh. I closed my eyes and covered them with the back of my hand while my open palm, which is facing the ceiling, got used to try and collect Theikos.
So I lay there, hand on my face, fingers spread in a grabbing motion- I'm not getting anything yet but it's not like I expected to make progress the first few times.
I sighed. "Now what?" I raised my hand and opened my eyes to the sight of me trying to grab the ceiling, "this is the dream for most people isn't it?"
"Of course it is," I got up and fixed my mattress. A can of pickled vegetables got taken from the shelf and opened. I'm sitting on my mattress chewing on a random assortment of vegetables moments later. I plunged my plastic fork into the open can and took out a thin piece of celery. I stared at it, wondering; is what I'm eating food? The answer is yes. A lot of people out here aren't even fortunate enough to eat consistently like I do. I shrugged and tossed the celery into my mouth.
"Bhetter-" I swallowed and the memory of what the people on the first floor are eating resurfaced, "-then roasted vegetables at least."
I put the can somewhere next to my feet when I finished eating. I closed my eyes. The energy is still around me, I can feel it, I just have problems sucking it into me and turning them into spells. I raised my arm, focusing and forcing myself to remember the reaction of Theikos to my own movement; unlike everyone else, my arm doesn't make the energy wild, it didn't move away from my touch too, no, it's like Theikos just lets my arm move through itself without minding about it too much.
It looked comfortable, even. Feeling a bit more confident now, I started to make my hand move into a waving motion, dancing it around. Theikos' reaction is the same, it just lets it happen without moving away. I rotated my wrist and smiled when I saw the energy react in excitement to what I'm doing. It was like it expected me to cast a spell but I clearly can't. Not in the way normal magic users can at least.
Well at least the energy looks like it isn't feeling my disappointment at least.
I continued playing around with my hands, moving, swaying, and making gestures and the Theikos loved everything I did. I did notice that it gets more excited the more my actions looked showier. If over-exaggerated gestures made it go wild then quick, energetic movements made the energy dance. I must've gotten infected by the Theikos' excitement because I opened my eyes and started bouncing around my room minutes into the "practice".
I did my best not to make sounds, obviously, but even that restriction didn't stop me from circling my room like a kid while chuckling.
I spread my arms like a bird and started flapping them around while running, and the energy followed after me while I moved. It's no longer still and lifeless, its more excited now, more fun. I did little hops, grabbed the fork I'm eating with, and stabbed the air in quick little thrusts like I'm some fencer in the western side of the city. I danced, literally- I moved my hips, flailed my arms, and bent my body to the sound of non-existent music and the Theikos danced along with me.
Like all things fun, I stopped eventually. The Theikos went back to being still and I stared at the blue hue all over my room, "You're like an animal." I said with a grin. I held a palm out and coaxed the energy mentally, "come on," I tugged on the blue sheet that covered everything around me, "I won't bite."
I could only widen my eyes in happiness when I saw the energy gather in the middle of my palm.
I wiped my face and stared at my reflection on a nearby lamppost, my makeup is now all over my face and the chalk-white color had turned black, thick strands of black ran down my cheeks, the color got richer the more it went down until it caked just below my jawline, lining it with gathered makeup and giving it edge lines that if I were to be honest, made me look like a cartoon character.
I looked at my reflection again and chuckled, "I really do look like one don't I?" The black lines that went down from my eyes, the ruined makeup, the red nose, and the leftover white spots formed together to make me look like a funny cartoon clown that just finished crying. If this were an actual cartoon, all my makeup would probably magically fix themselves by the next shot comes around but as things stand, this is real life and the only way I can do something even close to that is donning my mask.
Right... my mask. I stared at it as I held it with my right hand, this had been a silver lining in the entire situation with Doughey, if it wasn't for this smiling, completely creepy accessory he would've been able to see my face. Makeup or not. I put my mask on and combed my hair with my fingers, as expected, it became oily from all the running I did earlier. I trailed my scalp, watching as my autumn brown hair parted from my fingers.
"I'm gonna need to dye my hair," I concluded.
I lost my hat somewhere in all that chaos and Doughey definitely saw the way too distinctive brown hair that I have and if I'm not careful, he might even find records of me on the rubble of the charred circus tent. As impossible as that might sound.
I started walking away from the spot I puked on. The streets are empty, a small benefit given to me by Doughey getting as large as he was and becoming a City Wide threat. During times like that, the city usually goes into a lockdown while the heroes try to subjugate the evil and vile villain that caused the scenario in the first place.
'Heroes and Villains. Huh?' I pulled my sleeves closer the moment that I noticed the invisible energy all over the place. Theikos, as the Super Geniuses of the world had named it, is the energy responsible for why people like Doughey exist. Locked by the planet's magnetic field, the mysterious energy stays on planet Earth and planet Earth alone, causing mutations to form in the children of pregnant beings. It doesn't care if it's a dog, tiger, or human, if you're alive then Theikos is gonna give them mutations that will result in a stronger body.
And sometimes, these mutations pop up in the form of superpowers. The exact cause is relatively unknown, but sometimes something out there will manifest a supernatural ability, putting them above the rest of us plebians with their Super Strengths, Flights, and whatever else Peerless has got going on with him.
Well, it puts us above the regular plebians. I have manifested something and it's clearly magical in nature. I'm gonna have to register to know what exactly it is that I got but since I boosted myself physically when I ran away from the circus earlier, it's probably a variant of self-enhancement that some "Martial Artists" put themselves on.
It's a variant because I just don't get why I can sense the Theikos around me, I can see it when I focus too, the small tinge of blue that's visible all around me should be Theikos.
With an audible sigh, I put my hands in my pocket, "Seeing them should usually mean that I can cast stuff," I frowned. So what? Am I some sort of Caster Monk? Is that it? Did I cast and give myself super strength that let me run through the metal dome back at the tent?
"This is so fucking confusing." Deciding to just put the questions at the back of my head for now and I walked the streets in silence until I reached the three story building that I call my home.
Decrepit, ruined, and pretty much infested with all manners of lowlives such as cockroaches, rats, and homeless people like yours truly.
Since the abandoned building in front of me is one of the few things that went way back to the Technological Renaissance that came with the wave of Super Geniuses that popped up 40 years ago, it's built with the bad kind of concrete and thus, cracks are now starting to line the walls due to the process of natural weathering. The pipes, if you can call them that now, are made of regular, non-super metal that grows rust, gets holes, and causes leakage of... wastes. Because of that, I'm feeling pretty thankful that water is no longer running here.
Even with all these conditions though, a roof is still a roof and I can see a few homeless people lying on the street outside, doing whatever it is they do underneath the intact outer roof of the building. A low orange light emerges from the windows, a small sign that tells me that there are people living inside enjoying the warmth of the fire as well as the comfort of being able to sleep inside an actual building.
When I got a little bit closer, the scent of something roasted badly entered my nose, causing it to scrunch up. I ran to a dumpster and closed the lid, climbing up, I took a peek at the open window and saw that the people inside are roasting vegetables over a fire burning inside a metal drum, all of them, no matter how old, waited in patience as the guy at the center cooked.
I quickly moved on and scaled the building, finding a hole that I inserted my finger into to keep it in place as I lifted myself up. My feet found support on a hole in the wall soon afterward, and with a bit of effort, I hefted myself high enough that I managed to grab a rope made of cloth. I pulled on the rope and pushed with my feet and now I'm on the second floor of the building.
It looks so much cleaner here and the wooden planks that acted as the floor are polished, glistening under the light of the lightbulb. Shadows lined the floor too, and one of them belonged to a gruff looking man with a scar on his cheek, the thin lines that ran down horizontally through the scar showed that it had been stitched without the use of modern technology- a rather common thing among the slums due to everyone being poor.
The man waved at me and something metallic glistened under his sleeve, it shone and hit me in the eye. "Tyler," he greeted without bothering to stand up from his seat, "Heard the circus burned down earlier, my condolences." Whirring sounds from the generator took over everything as I stood there in silence and Ryan, in turn, eyed me. I flinched when he chuckled, "It's fine you know?"
I nodded and gulped, "I guess." I laughed awkwardly, "I'd just find a new job alright? Just let me stay here for an extra month,"
"Fair' nuff'." I held back a sigh of relief when he said that, "But after that you're gone you hear?" he stared back at the ceiling and waved me off. I started walking away, past cardboard boxes full of weapons, food, and other stuff and into the lift on the far wall to the right. Just as I'm about to start pulling the rope to lift myself up, Ryan spoke, "You'd be gone but your debt wouldn't be,"
"I understand." I started pulling myself up. Even with new powers, I don't think I can take Ryan on. He's only Wave 3 and that's pretty low on the spectrum, sure, but it's not like he doesn't know how to utilize his powers in a fight.
I've heard stories before, about how the people he fights suddenly get stabbed through the feet when they least expect it. And you don't mess with Ryan when you're near walls.
After all, it's a known fact that his blades extend longer the higher he places them. Just what exactly is that height is based on, I don't know but I have theories, one of them being mainly that it's based on his own ground level and where exactly are his feet at the moment.
I walked out of the lift and into a narrow hallway, the difference between here and the room I found Ryan in couldn't have been any more different; the dark grey ceiling, faded peach walls, and creaking floor gave the hallway a vibe of being abandoned for a long time. Which I guess isn't exactly that far off from the truth. Not one of us bothers to clean the place and really, we care more about our own room than some dingy hallway outside of it.
There are four doors in front of me and every single one of them is occupied by people like me. Places like these are managed by people like Ryan and because of that, they're relatively safe compared to the streets outside. And, hey, at least the people here actually have the luxury of leaving their stuff without it getting stolen by some persistent drug addict willing to search every nook and cranny.
Walking over to my door, I inserted the key and twisted the doorknob. With a push, the door opened to reveal a well kept apartment with a mattress on the floor, on the wall to the left sat a bunch of platforms with stuff on top of them, trophies, toys, cans of food, and even spare clothing. A window sat directly in front of the door, a blue curtain with a floral design is the only thing that prevented some sick cape from peering in.
I entered the room and locked the door behind me, I walked over to my mattress without accidentally tripping on anything in the darkness; a product of my organized way of living as well as familiarity around the place.
Too tired to do anything else, I collapsed into the soft sheets, I sighed when I felt myself sink deep into the foam. I closed my eyes and everything faded to black moments later.
It was early morning when I woke up, with the dim blue light of dawn peering through the curtain and illuminating the room. I sat up, looked around for a second or two, then fell back down onto the mattress with a stressed out sigh. I closed my eyes and covered them with the back of my hand while my open palm, which is facing the ceiling, got used to try and collect Theikos.
So I lay there, hand on my face, fingers spread in a grabbing motion- I'm not getting anything yet but it's not like I expected to make progress the first few times.
I sighed. "Now what?" I raised my hand and opened my eyes to the sight of me trying to grab the ceiling, "this is the dream for most people isn't it?"
"Of course it is," I got up and fixed my mattress. A can of pickled vegetables got taken from the shelf and opened. I'm sitting on my mattress chewing on a random assortment of vegetables moments later. I plunged my plastic fork into the open can and took out a thin piece of celery. I stared at it, wondering; is what I'm eating food? The answer is yes. A lot of people out here aren't even fortunate enough to eat consistently like I do. I shrugged and tossed the celery into my mouth.
"Bhetter-" I swallowed and the memory of what the people on the first floor are eating resurfaced, "-then roasted vegetables at least."
I put the can somewhere next to my feet when I finished eating. I closed my eyes. The energy is still around me, I can feel it, I just have problems sucking it into me and turning them into spells. I raised my arm, focusing and forcing myself to remember the reaction of Theikos to my own movement; unlike everyone else, my arm doesn't make the energy wild, it didn't move away from my touch too, no, it's like Theikos just lets my arm move through itself without minding about it too much.
It looked comfortable, even. Feeling a bit more confident now, I started to make my hand move into a waving motion, dancing it around. Theikos' reaction is the same, it just lets it happen without moving away. I rotated my wrist and smiled when I saw the energy react in excitement to what I'm doing. It was like it expected me to cast a spell but I clearly can't. Not in the way normal magic users can at least.
Well at least the energy looks like it isn't feeling my disappointment at least.
I continued playing around with my hands, moving, swaying, and making gestures and the Theikos loved everything I did. I did notice that it gets more excited the more my actions looked showier. If over-exaggerated gestures made it go wild then quick, energetic movements made the energy dance. I must've gotten infected by the Theikos' excitement because I opened my eyes and started bouncing around my room minutes into the "practice".
I did my best not to make sounds, obviously, but even that restriction didn't stop me from circling my room like a kid while chuckling.
I spread my arms like a bird and started flapping them around while running, and the energy followed after me while I moved. It's no longer still and lifeless, its more excited now, more fun. I did little hops, grabbed the fork I'm eating with, and stabbed the air in quick little thrusts like I'm some fencer in the western side of the city. I danced, literally- I moved my hips, flailed my arms, and bent my body to the sound of non-existent music and the Theikos danced along with me.
Like all things fun, I stopped eventually. The Theikos went back to being still and I stared at the blue hue all over my room, "You're like an animal." I said with a grin. I held a palm out and coaxed the energy mentally, "come on," I tugged on the blue sheet that covered everything around me, "I won't bite."
I could only widen my eyes in happiness when I saw the energy gather in the middle of my palm.
