Chapter 2: First Victory

I could hardly sleep the night before, but I had decided to make my move today, and I would.

I got to my destination 30 minutes before Taylor was due to be there. She had kept to the same route for over a week, and I didn't expect any deviance at this stage. If I had learned one thing after stalking her for a week, it was that she enjoyed her habits.

As the seconds ticked by, I grew increasingly nervous. I felt ridiculous in the outfit I was wearing. My breath started coming in shorter and shorter bursts. I could feel myself sweat despite the chill in the air. My formerly well thought out plan suddenly seemed to be full of holes.

If Taylor didn't come the moment she did, I probably would have lost my nerve. As it was, the second I saw her from my vantage point I made my move.

I had my bike parked on the same side of the road she was running on, a step or two away from where the alley began. Hoping I timed this correctly, I looked both ways before briskly walking toward what appeared to be my motorcycle. I saw her glance my way briefly before continuing to look straight ahead and continuing her run, dismissing me as important.

I didn't know how good her endurance was, but part of the reason I'd picked this spot in particular was because it was in the last leg of her run. Hoping to catch her while she was at her most tired. The fact that this particular spot was quiet and deserted this early in the morning definitely made this more plausible.

Fortunately for me, my timing couldn't have been better. She and I intersected almost as soon as I reached the sidewalk. The second we did, I rushed her from the side. Putting my arm around her throat I dragged her into the alley. Adrenaline must have been gushing through my system as time all but stopped as I carried her into the shadows with strength I didn't know I had.

In the corner of my eye, I saw bugs gathering.

"Now now. Put those bugs away and no one has to get hurt. How does that sound to you Ms. Hebert." I said, changing the pitch of my voice to something that just might pass as a bad Batman impression.

"How… How do you know who I am? How do you know I have powers?" She asked, her voice raspy and her breath labored as I put pressure on her throat.

"None of that matters now does it? If everything goes to plan, you and I will never run into each other again." I lied to her rather blatantly. There was no way I'd never see her again. I planned on it in fact. She just wouldn't know it was me. "Just know this. I know your power better than you do. I know how big your range is, I know how much feedback your bugs give you, and I've taken precautions to make sure they can't harm me."

"What do you want then!" She said, her bugs buzzing aggressively behind us.

"It's quite simple. In this situation right here. Who won?" I asked her.

"What? I don't know what you mean." She stuttered as I eased the pressure on her throat just enough for her to breath without too much difficulty.

"It's a rather simple question don't you think? Right now, in this alley. There's me and there's you. No one else. You have your bugs, and all I have is the strength of my flesh. Even so, one of us is in a superior position, while the other has to submit to the whims of the other. Who is that? Which of us is victorious and which one has been defeated?"

Tears fell freely from her eyes. If the realization hadn't sunk in before, it definitely did now. She was in a dark alley, a stranger holding her against her will. Her power completely neutralized before she could even use it.

I was an asshole. A selfish asshole. Capable of making innocent little girls cry for power. Amazing power for sure, but at this moment right now that seemed like a hollow excuse.

Power, malleable and beautiful came into existence inside my soul. The words may not have left her mouth, but she had accepted her defeat. For some reason, I couldn't quite bring myself to be happy about it. I'd dreamed of this moment since the second I'd woken up as Eric in this shit hole of a universe. Victory, at least in this instance, felt empty.

"I'm glad you understand." I said, taking a step back and letting her breath. Her bugs buzzing erratically in the background.

"What… What was the point of all this?"

"Well, if everything works out this may be my first real step to saving billions of lives. The world of Capes and Cowls is bigger and crueler than you think."

"What?" She asked, confusion and curiosity replacing her fear with startling speed. There was definitely something wrong with this girl I thought.

I moved my hand to the back of my head in an attempt to scratch it, only for it to bounce off my helmet. Awkwardly I brought it back to my side, as I thought of what to say.

I hadn't planned on talking to her at all once I got the Charge. I wanted to be in and out as soon as possible, but leaving her in the alley confused, scared, and paranoid was harder than I thought it would be. Part of that was weaknesses. I wanted to keep as much distance between myself and the world of Capes as possible until I was ready. Evidently that approach was naive.

I couldn't just swagger in, scare the shit out of someone and walk away like nothing happened. Especially when the person I did that to was a traumatized 15 year old girl. I wracked my brain for ideas before finally settling on being mysterious.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you. It's best that you forget ever running into me. Use it as a learning opportunity if you must, but don't let it sway your plans." I said ominously before making a beeline towards my motorcycle and driving off. Mentally patting myself on the back for having the foresight to remove the license plate.

Not that it would be an obstacle to any of the real players, or someone with the resources of an established organization. I'd imagine most of them being capable of accessing government records and searching for the make and model of my bike and from there compiling a short list of people who owned one and didn't have an alibi. The government could be scary, that was for sure. Even so, I resolved to get rid of it as soon as possible. I didn't want Taylor randomly stumbling onto it and recognising it while I was getting groceries or something.

After getting my Charge, I didn't immediately use it. The Deity I'd bargained with had said that I would have two days to craft it into a power. Before I did that though, I needed to cover my trail. It would suck if Taylor left a bug on me, and followed me back to my apartment.

I drove all the way to the other end of the city into a 24 hour carwash, and sprayed everything with high pressure water and soap. Not an inch was spared. After that I drove to a motel room that I had rented in advance and immediately upon entering my room dumped all my clothes in a garbage bag, and then in the trash.

A very thorough shower, and another round at a carwash later I was back at home and ready. Ready to craft my power.

Closing my eyes, my consciousness was instinctively drawn toward the charge. A spark of power waiting to be molded.

I'd thought long and hard about what I wanted my first power to be. Ultimately it was a simple decision. A power I had wanted since I was a kid sitting at home watching the Star Wars movies. Telekinesis. Was it the most optimal choice? I don't know. Did I care overly much, not particularly.

As soon as I had the thought, my power crafting ability got to work. A basic outline of the ability appeared in my mind's eye along with an understanding of how much of the Charge I was using.

It called for me to set the parameters. Distance, mass, size, activation conditions, limitations. Every part of the ability was under my purview, and could be tailored to my liking.

As I played around with the settings, the costs became clearer.

I could have a massive range, being able to use the ability as far as I could see, doing so however made it weak. I wouldn't be able to move anything heavier than a penny, and even then it would be slow. Sacrificing speed and power for range wasn't something that I wanted.

I could go to the other extreme and give myself tactile telekinesis, limiting the range to me and whatever I was touching. Making me Superman-Lite. Tempting, but not as versatile as I would prefer.

I could limit the amount of objects I could manipulate at a single time, and in turn massively increase the skill I maneuvered them with. That being said, skill was something I could develop with practice, and not something I wanted to waste my charge on developing. If it really came down to it, I could create a whole other power that aided in skill growth. It wasn't like there was a shortage of Capes in this world.

I even tried to create a telekinetic ability that would let me shuffle around a person's innards, but unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, was out of my 'budget'. I could make it work by killing the range to practically nothing, but at that point I would be making another version of Amy Dallons power. Something that was potentially in the cards, but not something I was interested in at the moment.

Although that limitation didn't seem to apply to a person's exterior. Specifying body parts like hair, nails, and teeth had zero effect on how much of the charge they used.

I ended up playing around with different configurations for the better part of the day before making my choice. The final result. I could manipulate any object with a axis greater than 1 cm upto a maximum carrying capacity of 10 000kg within a radius of 50m, and I could accelerate objects within that field at a rate of 10m/s^2.

I could have doubled those numbers if I had abstained from adding an extra function to the power, but I felt it was needed. At least until I made myself less squishy. The added function only had one purpose, and that was to automatically alter the trajectory of any projectiles aimed at my person away from me once they entered my range, even if I couldn't see them. It would absolutely suck if I was killed by some schmuck with a gun. The Unwritten Rules may theoretically prevent such an outcome, but I wouldn't be trusting them with my life.

Going over my parameters one final time, I crystallized my first Charge. Flexing a muscle that hadn't existed moments before I focused on the first thing I saw. A shoe.

I giggled as I willed it to lift off the ground. A giggle that turned into all out laughter as it obeyed. So this was power huh? Dropping the shoe, I focused on my next target. Myself.

Suffice to say, I spent the next few hours flying around my apartment in my undies, walking on walls, and anything else I could think of.

After all, tomorrow will be a long day. I wasn't quite sure what was involved, but I imagine joining the local branch of the Protectorate would come with its own unique brand of troubles.

AN:

Hot off the press just for you guys. Thanks for all the feedback, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please take the time to leave a review, I really enjoyed interacting with you guys so directly. Especially do so if you have any cool ideas for powers, or interesting synergies.