Exploring Hell's Kitchen

I took a deep breath as I hit the street.

That hadn't gone the way I'd expected, but I still didn't feel bad about it, not really.

I felt strange though, like maybe I should feel bad.

...

I left Jessica happier and healthier than I found her, didn't I? That's what I told myself.

I'd gotten a significant boost from all the intimate contact with her, her aura blazing against me. It wouldn't take many visits like that before I'd passively replicated her ability.

I could still feel one other aura blazing in Hell's Kitchen, the stronger physical one, and my eyes focused in that direction instinctively. The weaker one had left whatever my sensory radius was now.

It isn't that it was addictive in a literal, physical sense. My ability. I didn't need to keep siphoning more.

But when your potential might be limitless... Tempting. Very tempting.

How could I not test it? I had to see, at least. Check out who this meta-human was.

My path ended at a bar called Luke's, in a brick building with a red door. I wasn't drinking age. I imagine that wouldn't really matter any more, but I wasn't looking for a drink anyway.

At half past three, the bar wasn't exactly packed. A few old guys drowning their sorrows that barely glanced my way before returning to their drinks. A guy at a side table in a suit, talking and laughing quietly with his date, a blonde twenty-something in a tight dress. They looked cozy, didn't even look up.

And then there was the huge, bald black guy behind the bar. "What can I get for you? Do me a favor and don't ask for anything alcoholic."

I chuckled as I slid into the barstool closest to him, near the middle of the bar. "Just a coke, thanks."

His aura was blazing. Durability at the top, then strength. My perception had changed since yesterday, but I think I was correct that he was at least slightly stronger than Jess at full power.

Artificial, if I had to guess, but I really couldn't tell. It was particularly concentrated in his skin, the lining of his organs.

Lesser enhancements in speed, stamina and healing factor.

I didn't know if same-kind powers were cumulative, complementary or whatever else when I absorbed them. But I was going to find out.

I stuck out my hand, already drawing as much of his power as I could. "I'm Mason, pleasure to meet you."

The bartender blinked, his eyes a little fuzzy as he shook my hand firmly. "Luke. Likewise."

I think I siphoned about ten percent from that handshake alone. My skin buzzed, tingling. It felt good.

I grinned as he served up my coke, "Thanks."

I waived my omni over towards the register and made sure to tip well. Least I could do, all things considered.

I responded to emails, messages - mostly school stuff - and reluctantly set up an actual meeting with the group for my Psych class project, on Sunday.

All the while, my attention was mostly on the bartender, even if I wasn't looking at him. Luke seemed like a good guy, but it was hard to tell from just observing someone for a little while.

Regardless, I didn't see myself as the authority on who should keep their powers, unless they did something horrible right in front of me. Or were an absolute douche, like Josh.

I was just siphoning a little bit off the top.

Who knows, maybe this guy had some superheroic side-gig, didn't want to get him killed.

Direct contact got me a jump start, but now I had some time to kill.

I let my focus drift slightly and brought up some class assignments. Might as well get some work done, right? I hadn't decided if I was going to drop out yet, after all.

I checked in with mom about when to be home for dinner, kept working, kept drawing in power, and headed out of Luke's slightly before five to make it home on time.

I'd spent about five hundred credits on coke and bar food, making the big guy furrow his brow in confusion.

Well worth it, though.

In return, I also siphoned off about 25% of his power. Very good deal for me. I put a reminder in my calendar to drop by again in a couple of days, when he should be back to full strength.

I was buzzing with energy as I kept working on the train.

Being tired felt like a foreign concept, despite a rather strenuous day.

Before I knew it, I was actually caught up on my assignments, even on my research for the Psycho project. To be fair, the human mind was interesting, even more so when you suddenly find yourself with the ability to manipulate it.

I flipped through news for the rest of the ride.

Lois Lane's latest article about Superman's escapades down in Metropolis was a good read, but more because of her flair for dramatics than anything substantial I could learn from it.

I had no idea how the whole superhero thing actually worked, and it was starting to feel more relevant. I knew the League had that space station, the Watchtower, to... Monitor dangerous situations? Not entirely sure.

Things would go to shit somewhere and they'd know. And they'd just show up. Them, or one of the other teams.

Considering how long Killgrave had been around and ruining people's lives though, they obviously didn't monitor things too closely.

I think my activities had been considerably less illegal than Kevin's. And more beneficial for everyone involved. I'd saved a cop, right? Cured an alcoholic, sort of. It still left an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach that Mrs. Thompson had died because I was a chicken-shit.

I'd have to wait and see if the altered thought patterns from my voice stuck around, or if Jess went back to drinking. I should give it a rest with new suggestions to her for a bit, observe what happened.

Even if the balance of the scales leaned heavily in my direction, profit-wise, I was doing good... Right? Or at least not very bad.

Maybe I should avoid Gotham in the near future. Everyone knew the Bats had eyes and ears everywhere in their hometown.

Although, maybe that's just what they wanted people to think.

Still... Just to be safe.